Masterpost For Dummies - Which I Am

Beltane

may 1st

(bealtaine, cétamain, boaldyn, beltany, calan mai, may day, walpurgis nacht, floralia)

from gaelic “bael” (bright fire)

festival of sunlight, fertility, fire

honors Irish god of fire, Bel

the first day of summer in celtic tradition

the day cows are put out into the pastures

in norse myth, this is the time Othan hung himself from Yggdrasil and learned the runes

foods

sweets/honey

leafy greens

shellfish (aphrodisiac)

oats

strawberries

honey mead, ale, herbal wines

ice tea, lemonade

activities

dancing around the maypole

morris dancing

balefires (use oak, apple, hawthorn, birch, elder, ash, blackthorn, grape vine, mountain ash (rowan), holly, willow, cedar, yew, and hemlock)

decorating with hawthorn branches

divination

fertility rituals

visit a well

make and wear leaf masks

wash your face with dew for beauty

purify with ashes

corrospondences

herbs: all-heal, blessed thistle, broom, curry, daffodil, dogwood, coriander, dragon's blood reed, fern, fireweed, nettle, flaxseed, hawthorn, marjoram, paprika, radish, rue, snapdragon, mushroom, almond, meadowsweet, rose, woodruff, tansy, elder leaves

incence: jasmine, musk, ylang ylang, rose, vanilla

colors: pink, crimson, violet, yellow, rainbow

stones: carnelian, emerald, rose quartz, bloodstone, citrine

animals: rabbit, goat, bee, cat, satyr

Calan Mai (Wales)

known as an ysbrydnos (spirit night)

starts on may eve

singing may carols

couples go into the woods to spend time alone and picnic

Walpurgis Nacht (Germans)

days to celebrate St. Walpurga

begins april 30 and ends on may day

St. Walpurga healed, and protected

they say her tomb produces healing oil

bonfires were lit to drive off spirits

Floralia (Italy)

roman holiday of flowers

honors goddess Flora

april 28 to may 3

included nude dances, gladiator shows, release of hares and goats, scattering seeds

uh huh honey 🍯

(recipes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ,8 ,9 ,10)

...a weeping willow. That tree sacred to Persephone, to the underworld. That tree that the Greeks believed bestows the gift of poetry and understanding, of transcendence, but only to those willing to descend into the darkness.

Hester Fox, The Witch of Willow Hall

Rain or storm spell for drought, dry spells, and/or excessive heat.

items:

- storm (or rain) water

- freshwater shell (I used an apple snail shell, but a something like a mussel or other shell would work. if you don't have one sub with a saltwater/estuarine shell and see how it goes!)

- Any charm that you can hang, preferably one that invokes imagery/symbolism of water or rain

- 2 more shells (salt or fresh. I used ones with open faces)

- silver bell

- sea glass (blues and greens)

- salt (epsom or sea salt preferred)

- large/medium feather of a water fowl (grey or white preferred)

- clear quartz (optional)

- offering dish (optional, really for presentation and clean up)

prep:

1. Set up the freshwater shell on the offering dish (or table) and keep it stable with a ring of sea glass (optional: single clear quartz or clear sea glass at front).

2. Place the charm in the shell with rope/thread/ribbon draping towards you.

3. Place the silver bell at the "north" of the dish (imagine the dish as a compass) and place your other two shells on either side of it.

4. Put the feather in front of you with the quill end nearest to your dominant hand.

5. Have the salt in a small container you can pinch into.

ritual:

1. Breathe deeply 3 times with eyes closed to center yourself. You can also create a circle or do any other grounding exercises at this time.

2. Make a circle around the inner rim of the offering dish (or table) with the salt and get this meaning across with words: "salt, mineral of the oceans, protector and cleanser"

3. Pick up the feather and stir the energies to the metaphorical north (treat the offering dish like a compass). I did this with my eyes closed as it lessens distractions. You will repeat this action for each cardinal direction and get this meaning across in order:

"I beckon rain from the North, to soak the rich earth"

"I beckon rain from the East, aided by its winds for a swift arrival"

"I beckon rain from the South, as the heat of is your creator, and it is the heat you will abate"

"I beckon rain from the West, as all waters merge and must complete their cycle"

I find it important to use "will" rather than might/should as to bolster the confidence behind your intentions. Feel free to alter and add to this wording as much as you like for it is already loose and use this time to invoke any specific deities or spirits as I did not.

4. Place the feather down gently, breathe, and say "after I have rung this bell 3 times, whenever I hang this charm where the sky can see, it will intice rain for as long as it hangs" (be thoughtful of wording and your intentions here, loopholes are very easy to accidentally create, so set clear parameters that aren't too outrageous)

5. Ring the bell with steady motions. It's important that you get 3 clear rings, so if you try to ring it once but the sound isn't great, try until you have 3 satisfactory chimes.

6. Once you have placed the bell back down, close your circle or breathe to realign any energies.

And that's about it! I tried this today and we got a good spell of rain (with thunder and everything!) even though there was no predictions for it this whole week. I'm hesitant to do a spell for storms as I live in a hurricane-prone region and it's that time of year, but feel free to replace "rain" with "storm" or whatever wording feels specific to what you desire. I kept the wordings here intentionally vague/loose because it's important to use words that you mean something to you.

Let me know if you try this and get anything out of it, or how you changed it! It's the first spell I've posted here so I'm interested to know.

protection pennies 

I have been using protection pennies in my space warding for years now, and I find them to be a really useful aspect to my home wards. They are very simple and one dimensional, so they work best layered with other warding or protection practises. However, I do find them to be useful as a physical representation of protection.

ingredients: 

shiny and clean pennies, one for each threshold that you wish to protect

salt, you can also use green or black salt

conker shells, or something else that is symbolic of protection

a black permanent marker 

warding & protection sigils 

method:

Take your pennies and wipe them over so that the surface is clean. Then, use your black marker to draw warding and protection sigils on the tail side of them. 

Once the ink has dried on these, place them in or on something that you associate with a protective home. I used halves of a spiky conker shell, which there are lots of during this time of year. You could also use snail shells or sea shells, just make sure you are obtaining these ethically. 

Cover your pennies with salt, you can make black salt for this step. This is where conker shells come in handy as they act as little bowls for the salt and the pennies. 

Leave to charge for a little while, preferably under a dark or waning moon. Once they are charged, place the pennies above doorways, entrances and windows in your home. Ensure that your space is already cleansed before you place them.

Recharge periodically, either under the moon, with salt or with quartz crystals. 

🕯️

🕯️ Masterpost 🕯️

this is a collection of links to all the important

posts on my blog.

It will be updated regularly.

Last Update: September 18th 2021

If you happen to notice that a link isn't working, please leave a comment and I'll fix it.

Spirituality: Red Flags

🌬️ Things Toxic Spiritualists Say

🌬️ Things Toxic Spiritualists Say 2.0

Reminders

🕯️ Deities are not a requirement

🕯️ Friendly Reminders II

🕯️ You are deserving of love and happiness

🕯️ Your experience is valid

🕯️ You are allowed to say no

🕯️ People aren't judging you (overthinking)

🕯️ "communication is key" applies to deities too

🕯️ You're not a bad devotee

🕯️ No one knows where the giant primordial norse cow went

🕯️ Take care of your human vessel

🕯️ Your Gods love you for who you are - flaws and all.

Deity Prayers/Poems/Moodboards

✨ A Prayer For Loki

✨ Hail Thor

✨ Hail Loki

✨ Hail Odin

Worshipping

🌻 Different ways of worshipping the Gods

Resources

🔮 Different kinds of personal books

🔮 What it means to be a witch (for me)

🔮 Moon Phases And Their Meaning

🔮 Last Quarter Moon Magic

🔮 Small Things To Contact Spirits About

🔮 Spell Record Worksheet (how to keep track of your spells)

🔮 Transitions between the Wheel

🔮 So you've lost connection with a God.

🔮 Crystals - Uses and Properties

🔮 Masterpost on how to move out and live on your own

🔮 Simple explanation of different Clair-Senses

🔮 Things that made me stop wanting to die that require no effort whatsoever

🔮 Why I personally (!) advise against deity work when it comes to beginner witches

🔮 Manifesting vs working your ass off

🔮 Nordic Holidays

🔮 Protective Spell Ingredients

Cute Animals

🦊 A baby otter in the water

🦊 A black cat that brings good luck

🦊 Calling cats in different languages

Honoring the elements as a sea witch:

The Sea is water. She shapes the coast and carries us to new places and old comforts.

Underwater volcanoes are fire, forging new land deep below the waves, hot vents giving life well beyond the reach of sunlight.

Sand and the seafloor is the earth, cradling the Sea and meeting her head on, even at her most fearsome.

The wind that drives the waves is air, kissing her surface and aiding her wrath on the land, but also rippling her when she is still, making her beauty sparkle in the sun.

Info YULE Appreciate

Symbols of Yule:

Yule log or small Yule log with three candles

Evergreen boughs or wreaths, holly, mistletoe hung in the doorways

Gold pillar candles

Baskets of clove studded fruit

Simmering pot of wassail, poinsettias, Christmas cactus

Herbs of Yule:

Bayberry

Blessed thistle

Evergreen

Frankincense holly

Laurel

Mistletoe

Oak

Pine

Sage

Yellow cedar

Incense of Yule:

Pine

Cedar

Bayberry

Cinnamon

Colors of Yue:

Red

Green

Gold

White

Silver

Yellow

Orange

Stones of Yule:

Rubies

Bloodstones

Garnets

Emeralds

Spellworkings of Yule:

Peace

Harmony

Love

Increased happiness

**This list is not absolute and just my opinions**

I’ve begun to feel under the weather, so I made this soup tonight. It’s one of my favorite recipes from my blog!

Cold Season Soup–Vegetable Soup with White Beans, Cauliflower, and Quinoa:

2 heads cauliflower, washed and roughly chopped

1 large white or yellow onion

1 shallot (not totally necessary, but I like to pack in the alliums when I’m sick)

5 large carrots

6 celery stalks

1 head of garlic (Yes, head, not clove. Go big or go home if you really want to clear the sinuses.) peeled and pressed, grated, or chopped

1 large or 2 small zucchini squash

1 c. dry red quinoa

2-3 c. cooked white or cannellini beans

4 large kale leaves, washed and roughly chopped

large handful of fresh parsley, washed and roughly chopped

3 quarts vegetable or chicken broth

½ t. ground black pepper

1 T dried thyme

1 T dried oregano

3 bay leaves

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt to taste

4-6 T olive oil

———————————————–

Preheat oven to 400.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread chopped cauliflower onto the baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, and toss to coat. Roast in preheated oven until slightly charred and soft all the way through, about 40-60 minutes. Turn/mix cauliflower halfway through baking to ensure even browning.

While cauliflower is roasting, chop onion, shallot, carrots and celery to desired size. Bring a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot to medium high heat, and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Once olive oil is fully heated, add onions, carrots, and celery, and cook 10 minutes, stirring often to keep from over browning. Add shallot and pressed, grated, or chopped garlic. Cook another 10 minutes or until onions are translucent and very fragrant. Add broth and all spices. Bring to a simmer and then taste and adjust spices/salt as needed. Add dry quinoa and bring to a simmer again.

Finely dice zucchini and add to the pot. Let simmer about 30 minutes or until quinoa is cooked through and all vegetables are tender. Add roasted cauliflower, chopped kale, beans, and parsley. Bring to a simmer and taste. Adjust salt and spices as needed, and don’t be afraid to add more olive oil if it lacks richness!

Also, t.= teaspoon and T= tablespoon