The Witches Witch

On November 30 we celebrate the festival of Hecate Trivia.

Not trivia like the game, but trivia like the place where three roads meet.

Hecate is a Thracian, pre-Olympian Greek goddess. She began her goddess reign as a goddess similar to Brigid or Diana. A goddess of fertility, childbirth, menstruation and puberty. She was born during the darkest of the moon.

In the story of Persephone, Hecate is the keeper of the key to the Underworld. She kept Persephone company during her time there.

However over the years she moved on. She changed from a goddess of women to the goddess of change, witchcraft, magic, life, death, crossroads, and psychic abilities. She is a dark witch. She is connected to the spirit world, ghosts and the dark of the moon.

She is the triple goddess.

Birth Life Death
Full New Dark Moons
Past Present Future
Earth Heaven Underworld
Earth Air Fire
She is the goddess of the witches. The goddess of magic. Celebrate. You have come to the crossroads. Give a nod to Hecate. She will always be there to help you on the right path.

Blessed be.

The Sun Will Come Out

Another new moon is upon us. And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we celebrated Thanksgiving again. It was a great night I cooked a turkey and family and some friends came over. We celebrated. My daughter made a pumpkin pie from scratch. From an actual pumpkin.

I made gifts for all of our guests.

Orange pomanders!

A pomander is just a ball of fragrance.

I got the idea from the book “The Magical Year” by Danu Forest. You should check it out.

Anyway, orange is the color of summertime, of fun. Just what we need at this time of year. It is an active color with warm energy. It is an excellent color for a kitchen or dining room since it stimulates appetite and conversation. Just when we needed for a dinner party. Orange invokes balance, memory, sharing, and kindness. Again, just what we needed. And to make it all awesome, orange is awesome on Tuesday and is great for the number 2.

I studded the orange with cloves.

Cloves are awesome. They are a dried flower bud from a tropical evergreen. It stimulates circulation. And is an anesthetic and antibacterial. It is masculine and associated with the fire element. Cloves bring good luck and prosperity, to keep good friends close and to stop malicious gossip.

So to combine the two was awesome and it smelled amazing. I tied them with a fabulous ribbon and wrapped them in sparkly boxes.

And FYI… They keep moths out of the closet.

Blessed Be!

Happy Thanksgiving

Every year at this time we pause to reflect on the things for which we are most thankful. Given the demands of our daily lives, it is easy to get caught up in the tasks of work and home and not take time to appreciate our good fortunes. I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to each and every one of my family, the men, women, and children that make up our everyday lives. Every day of the year, including holidays, both religious and secular, collectively we work to ensure there is food on the tables and love in our hearts.

I am thankful for the privilege to write this for you. It’s an honor to make a positive difference in the lives of others, which is what I hope to do with this and everything I do each day. I thank you for everything you do as well: your commitment, hard work and pursuit of excellence in your own lives each day. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe Thanksgiving.

Blessed be.

Book Review: Teen Witch

Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation by Silver RavenWolf

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If you go into this book thinking it is for mature adults, you will be disappointed. This book is clearly written for the 11 to 16 age group, depending on their maturity level. Which is fine, because I didn't buy this book for me. I mean really, at my age I would not buy a book for me titled "Teen Witch". I bought it to share with the younger members of my group. But I decided to read it myself first.

I like this book. It was a good way for a kid to get started without providing them too much at once. Yes, it is a little hokey. Yes, it can be a little patronizing. But you know what, at that age and at that level, that is what you need.

It has a bit of a Christian overtone, but the author clearly wrote it for teens who do not come from Pagan families. It is also a little dated. It was written in 1997. So technology has certainly changed since then. Actually, the whole world has changed since then. The author laments that teens who are interested maybe discriminated against. While that certainly may still be true, I believe that it is way less of a problem than maybe in 1997.

I thought it was a good start. I have not read other books by this author, but now I would like to find out what she writes for adults. Should be interesting reads.



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Dam Good

Tonight’s full moon is called the Beaver Moon. Perhaps it was because the Native American’s would set their beaver traps at this time to insure plenty of furs to keep them warm through the winter. Or maybe it was just the activity of the beavers themselves as they built dams to stay safe and warm through the winter. It is also called the Frost Moon, but I think you can figure out why.

Some wiccans also call this the Mourning Moon. As it would be the first full moon of the New Year, it is time to say goodbye to bad habits and toxic relationships, and get a fresh start for the New Year.

It was cold here tonight and the moon looked so huge. There were no clouds and a slight wind. My dearest husband made me a fire in the pit in the back yard. We burned lavender and had communion. It was a short service because we were freezing. The goddess will understand.

On a side note, I cannot wait to have the indoor fireplace fixed so we can have fires inside.

Veteran's Day

Take a moment now to reflect on the achievements and sacrifices of the many brave Americans who have served in our military, both past and present and during both peace and war. Each year we observe Veterans Day in order to honor all the men and women who have served our country in uniform.

In quiet tributes and grand parades, at community centers and war memorials, Americans of all backgrounds come together on this day to celebrate the men and women who have fought to keep our country strong and free. Their efforts laid the foundation for the peace and prosperity that our nation now enjoys. From the oldest veterans, to the men and women currently serving, all Americans who have served in uniform deserve our appreciation and respect on this uniquely special American day.

On this Veteran's Day, let us pause to honor the sacrifice of those who have serviced their country. While we all strive for peace, our Armed Forces help defend against the reality of those who seek to do our country harm. I thank you for your service, and I pray God's blessings to be upon you, your family, and your sacrifice.

Blessed be.

xoxo

Book Review: The Magical Year

The Magical Year by Danu Forest

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. It is definitely very Celtic and if you are not a Celtic pagan you might be put off by the over all Celtic vibe. But if you can get passed it, you can find a ton of useful information in this book.

This book goes over each of the main seasonal celebrations over a Pagan year. Each section gives you a basic over view of the celebration as well as ideas ideas for marking the occasion. Kitchen Witchery is included for each section as well as craft ideas and activities.

I personally used one of the Samhain recipes. I made the stew (with beef) for our Samhain celebration and it came out very good. It claimed to feed 6 and that is about right. Too bad there were 14 of us.

I also have made notes to use several of the ideas for celebrations in the future. I plan on coming back to this book a lot.

Finally, the meditations and visualizations are really great and can be used if you are leading a group. I plan to use them in the future.




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A Birthday Spell Of Love

Today is my husband’s birthday. It is also the anniversary of the day we moved in together 11 years ago.

Geez. We are getting old.

Happy Birthday Hot Stuff, may this year bring you nothing but happiness.

And for the occasion, I did a little candle spell.

I used a large candle so that it could burn for him though out the year.

I used a green candle for luck, wealth, wisdom, and abundance.

I used cinnamon and vanilla oils to anoint the candle; Cinnamon to enhance the male libido (That was a little for me.) and vanilla to relieve stress and heightened mental clarity.

I placed the candle on the alter in front of one of my favorite pictures of him with our daughters. I used a green alter cloth. I let it burn for hours.

May each day be better than the last. Let no harm come to anyone. May love always burn in your heart.

Blessed be.

Hail To The Princess

Are you the parent of a small person? Say maybe ages 2 to 8? Okay.

So then you have heard of Princess Elena of Avalor...

For those of you who are not hip on this...

Princess Elena is a Hispanic princess from a cartoon on Disney channel. She is awesome. She even has an abuela who makes tamales.

And I have a 4 year old daughter.

So I am all about Princesses.

So why an I telling you this?

I have a point, I promise.

Today is Dia de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead.

It is a Mexican custom going back to Aztec festivals honoring the dead. It can also be linked to the Catholic observance of All Saints Day. People build alters, sometimes elaborate, to honor their deceased family members. There are all kinds of interesting traditions that go with it, including the decorating of sugar skulls and baking of pan dulce. (A sweet bread or cake) Here in California those things are easy to find as we have a large Hispanic community.

But again, why am I telling you this?

Because Princess Elena's family celebrated Dia de los Muertos.

Therefore, so did my 4 year old.

The idea must not have seemed too far off to her. Make an alter, light some candles, make a cake...

So I say, go ahead.

Behold... Dia de los Muertos alter by one very cute four year old.

The spirit is strong in this little witch.

Blessed be.