Farewell and Thank You for Coming

Sometimes in life we are so blessed to have found that special friend/sister who is as much us as we are ourselves.  They cry our tears, they giggle our joys.

They are with us always even when they are absent.

They are willing to share whatever is needed.

They are willing to give whatever we ask.

May you find such a friend/sister.

May you experience the true sisterhood that only two women can share.

Thank you for joining us for our Practical Magic Blog Party. 

You are always welcomed to come again.

blessings
For others who are also participating in The Practical Magic Blog Party go to

http://pmblogparty.blogspot.com/

Bring the Book, Bring the Bird

The very best Book of Shadows of all times!

 

    A recipe for Centipede Juice

One of the first pages from the dark half of the Book of Shadows. To get to that part, the book is flipped and opened from the opposite end. This is where they get the spell to keep Jimmy from "rising!"

The spell that got Jimmy-or so they thought

See how feathers and other odds and ends are tucked into the book?

Their version of the Love Potions

My version! If you will leave me your email either on this page or send it to marionwilhelm at gmail dot com, I will send you your very own copy as a pdf.

My Blood, Your Blood, Our Blood

How far would you go for someone?

How bare would you make yourself
 to those you may be trying to hide from;

In order to help someone who means the most to you?

The power and understanding of women for one another
(whether alike or different)
 if far greater than we may allow.

Sometimes we need only to be the first one to take the first step.

For others who are also participating in The Practical Magic Blog Party go to

http://pmblogparty.blogspot.com/

Bad Boys - What You Gonna Do

Why is it that we always seem to be intrigued by the dark bad boys?

Doesn't it always seem that eventually we grow to regret it?

But still for those brief moments,
when we are in ignorant bliss.......

For others who are also participating in The Practical Magic Blog Party go to

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To Love or Not to Love - Is That The Question

Who among us never dreamt of love when we were young?  How many times did you sit and dream about the one you would someday fall helplessly in love with?  How many times was your heart broke into a million tiny slivers when that love was lost or found to be not what you expected.  I think we can all relate in some way or the other. 

For others who are also participating in The Practical Magic Blog Party go to

http://pmblogparty.blogspot.com/

Those We call Sister... Those We Call Friend

The connection between those we call sister and/or friend is a fierce bond.  We can feel each others sorrow and dance to each others joys. 

Today take a moment to drop a note to someone who holds that place in your heart and let them know the blessings they have brought your way.

For others who are also participating in The Practical Magic Blog Party go to

http://pmblogparty.blogspot.com/

Let the Party Begin

There is no better way to get a party started then with a good margarita..Join us throughout the weekend as we celebrate that movie we all love "Practical Magic".

For others who are also celebrating go to http://pmblogparty.blogspot.com/

Coyote's Practical Magic

 Wile. E. Coyote, genius, super genius! Did you ever watch him on the cartoon with the Roadrunner? I hated it and loved it at the same time. I loved Wile E. Coyote and all the clever traps and tricks he tried to catch Roadrunner with but always failed. What I didn't like was him failing...and then seeing all the horrible ways he was hurt even though somehow he miraculously came back to life.


Many of you have no idea what I'm talking about or haven't seen the cartoon. Basically there was this coyote who was always after a roadrunner who he wanted to feast on. The roadrunner however kept outsmarting the coyote and setting him up for these horrific falls. In pop culture"Wile E. Coyote," is our version of a multicultural legend/deity known as the "Trickster." 

In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. (Wickipedia)

For many of the Native American tribes he is known as "Old Man Coyote" or simply, "Coyote". So who is he and why am I writing about him?

Ewitch picks a theme every week to blog about and this week was "practical magic." My first reaction was, practical, shmactical, oh goodie! I mean come on, being practical is productive and healthy, yada, yada, yada, but for me it's definitely not the most interesting subject to either write about or read about. Although I must admit, my eWitch sisters have done an excellent job on this topic. My muse never lets me down though and as surrendered she lead me my mind through this maze and had me really think about what practical magic meant for ME, no one else. I first thought of the movie "Practical Magic", no, didn't hold a charge for me and then I started thought of practical jokes. But how could I relate that to magic?
 

Then he came into my mind....Old Man Coyote. He's been around longer than any cartoon character and represents far more than a simple practical joke. He teaches us about chaos and creativity, how to not take ourselves too seriously so that we can keep getting up after embarrassing failures or horrible circumstances, because that's his "medicine" (Native American term for power, essence, magic, spirit).
 
Most importantly he wakes us up from a long heavy sleep, laughing at us as we grumble about this and that until we see the look and shine in his eyes and we see our own reflection and then the true magic begins. The Zuni, Winnebago, Menomini, Nes Perce, Navajo, Crow, and Apache tribes all know their trickster god as "Coyote" and he is also known as "Crow or Raven" (Native American North Pacific culture), "Hermes" (Greeks), "Loki" (Norse pantheon), "Spider" (African), "Hanuman" (Hindu), "Kitsune" (Japanese), and "Br'er Rabbit" (African American Culture of the South).
It makes sense that the Trickster appears in so many forms as we have to easily relate to them and have a familiar bond.

One thing that never changes though is that the Trickster is always respected, revered and feared. I found this interesting article about tricksters and four qualities and motifs that are cross-cultural and consistent.

1. They are “go-betweens.” Tricksters are able to move with relative ease among contrasting regions or levels of being. They have the power to escape order, crossing the threshold into another version of it. Hermes was the only god able to enter the underworld regularly and without difficulty.
2. They embody inconsistency. Rather than enforcing one view of reality, tricksters support the paradox of multiple views. They follow the guiding principle of improvisational theater: you never deny another person’s reality, you only build upon it.
3. They have “smart luck.” Tricksters are always prepared for the unprepared because they hold their ideas lightly. There really are no accidents in the liminal perspective, only opportunities for discovery and insight: you simply play through. When Loki bet his head in a wager – and lost – he agreed to let the winners take his head as long as they don’t harm his neck.

4. They have no home. The trickster is closely associated with the road or constant motion. Hermes is the god of roads and escort of travelers.

(Article: "Why So Serious? How The Trickster Teaches Us About Inner Travel."
author; F. Daniel Harbecke; article originally posted on website; "Brave New Traveler")

Coyote has always lingered in my life, teasing me and taunting me, daring me to get into trouble or cause mischief upon someone else though never in a malicious or harmful way. I'll be writing in an upcoming eWitch post my very surreal, magickal, synchronistic ways that Old Man Coyote has met me on the internal and external realm.
 
Oh and the practical joke of this whole post? I kept having reformat this post over and over again while I was writing this on Blogger's editor AND in another individual blogging editor as well as almost deleting it five times!I have never had trouble before with my posts. It could be one of those days, or the way all blogging editor's are, but somehow I don't think so.

I think Old Man Coyote is laughing his head off, as I sat here all day, frustrated writing about practical magic of the practical jokes he makes up. Have you happened to run into Coyote or perhaps another trickster lately?





 








Finding Your Own Magic

There is not a day that goes by when something magical does not happen. Of course sometimes we miss the opportunity to take part in such events even when they are happening right in front of us. We dismiss them at times as coincidence or possibly just a misinterpretation. They may not necessarily go with what we are “suppose to” believe, therefore we cannot acknowledge the possibility of its validity. I will be the first to say that I am not quite sure what to call myself when it comes to the labeling and/or naming of my beliefs. I envy those who can speak right up and claim to be Wiccan, Pagan, or even Christian. I call myself Pagan yet at times wonder if I offend others who also claim this name. Offending a specific belief has always been something I try hard not to do. As I would not like anyone to say I do not have the right to practice the beliefs I hold or that I am damned because of what I do or don’t believe; I likewise do not feel I have that right to do the same to them.

A non specific Pagan is what I call myself for the most part. Gleaning from all the information and experiences I have had over time and taking some and leaving others. Still I know that I am continuously evolving. I attempt to keep my mind open and my ears sharp for those morsels that come our way. Growing up in Middle Rural America, I did not have a variety of beliefs to choose from and Paganism was definitely not one of the choices. Yet I remember from a very early age having experiences that could not be explained. I was not able to really examine its origin until I was much older and much of this was done via reading. Unfortunately we did not have the internet and even finding suitable reading material could prove to be difficult. Thus much of my walk was done blindly in the dark.

I have never been a member of a Coven. My journey has one of a solitary. Quite honestly the only group religion I have been active in participating with others in is the Christian religion. Yet this experience taught me much. I believe that much of what I learned could easily be applied to any group. It is close to impossible to please everyone. This is mainly due to the fact that there are so many differing opinions. There is the need for leadership yet there are times when this can be a very delicate road to travel. The elders or wise ones teach those who are young and learning their way. Yet even in this one has to be careful not to neglect the wisdom of the young ones. I have learned many a lesson from a child’s words.

Whatever one’s beliefs may be, they are often quite personal. Yes there are those who follow simply because they are told to do so. I have always felt sadness for such people. Although I have found much wealth in the knowledge of others journeys, I have learned the most from my own. Otherwise I would still be following the church. I choose to set out and seek the answers to the questions that I had. Some led me straight back to what I had been told, others led me elsewhere. The earth in all her wisdom has been here longer than any of us. In her there are many secrets. Who can say that one can not feel the energy from her? It is a continuous journey that we all must take. Whether we make our own choices or allow someone else to.

As previously stated, there is never a day that goes by when something magical does not occur. Practical Magic is all around us. From the wearing of a crystal for protection, to the clearing of the mind via meditation, to the casting of a spell for luck, or the channeling of spirits, who is to say what is right and what is wrong. My wish for you as you continue your journey is that those moments of clarity come often to you, that your road is easily traveled, and when times do come that try or question you that you find strength to continue and wisdom to know what is right. Blessings

Practical/Magic

While I was trying to decide what to write on for this weeks post, I kept thinking about Luna's post from last week, about her Grimiore, or Book of Shadows. She mentioned that it might be more practical for us to keep our Book of Shadows as a file on the computer, "But still," she says, "I like having something pretty that can be passed on." I can get behind that idea - I love feeling my own book in my hand, I love the immediacy of it, and I am deeply in love with the idea that I am doing something that people have done for centuries - writing down my thoughts, discoveries and observations onto paper with ink.

I ponder this link to the past a lot. As modern Pagans, we are trying to walk an ancient path, but this is complicated by the modern world. We can keep our journey book on the PC; several pagan themed apps are available for the iPhone, including a Voodoo doll app, a tarot app, a Wiccan Ritual Calendar app; we can take classes in Witchcraft, Magical Herbalism, Sorcery, over the internet. Where is our ancient past among all of the shiny new tech of the future?

Not to mention that so much ancient wisdom has been lost over the centuries, we are forced to reexamine and extrapolate so much in order to fill in the blanks. We read and study and google, and yet, so much is still left to our own imaginations. I can't help but wonder what we are creating for the future, these amalgamations of old and new. I think, though, that this is also why Paganism, in it's different flavors, appeals to so many people now: We are watching the ancient past evolve into a bright future. Our link to ritual, magic, other worlds, folklore... these things give the cold, tech filled void of the present and future a meaning. Our rituals, our recipes, our methods of gathering herbs or building ritual tools - the things passed from one of us down to another. These things may seem impractical, and yet they bind us to one another, as well as to our past and our future, as a culture. I find that idea really beautiful, and it helps me understand better my own motives for somewhat esoteric way that I have chosen to exercise my faith.

Does it matter if we keep our spells in the computer? Or that we use our iPhones as a script prompt for our rituals? I'm not certain. In terms of spirituality, we may be living in our own Brave New World on a certain level, and perhaps we must make some things up as we go. A few centuries ago, Christians feared that science undermined the value and teachings of their God. The ancient Celts wrote almost nothing down, though they had a written language - was this because it was a dishonor to the knowledge that was being passed down? Or because keeping something in writing meant that you didn't actually have to learn it? I don't think anyone can really say. It does seem possible, however, that both of these cultures stood at a threshold of the future and felt the need to protect, strengthen and preserve a sense of spirituality. Maybe keeping our leather bound grimiores and other methods of maintaining or ancient collective spiritual histories in the face of these other, more 'practical' methods is our own way of preserving the spirit, the sacred link that connects us all to the Creative Forces of the Universe.

My Everyday Magic

Practical everyday magic. I think that many of us perform this far more than we may even realize. How many of you greet the day and give thanks for yet another opportunity to live? How many of you gather flowers from your gardens and bring them into your home as a means to liven up the space. How many of you light a candle for a friend who may be passing through a hard patch in their lives? All are simple every day magic.

Greeting the morning as the sun rises over the horizon is one thing I try to do each day. This is especially true as spring approaches. I love the early morning and the time right before the sun lifts its head to yet another day. The world is still quiet (at least where I live) from sleep. The birds slowly begin their song to wake mother earth and those around. It is a peaceful time and often a time when I commune best with the earth and the energy it can bring.

My garden is truly full of practical everyday magic. From the rosemary that continuously grows in my kitchen window, or the aloe that is close at hand for healing, to the multitude of plants I have in and out of my house their magic is everywhere. Although I still feel myself such a babe in this area I have learned so much in regards to herbs, flowers, and trees and their many uses. A constant in my home are Rosemary for protection and purification, Mint for protection and to attract prosperity and Lavender to bring peace and healing. I use all of them on a consistent basis whether it is in my cooking, when burning incense, or simply to pluck a small piece off and wear throughout the day.

Outdoors the possibilities are endless. Mother earth gives her own gifts to us if we only look. The strength of an Oak can felt simply by carrying an acorn in your pocket. Each fall I gather oak leaves and place them in the house to help clear the negative energy. The wild thistle which has many varieties can be found in abundance. Although I am thought silly for doing so, I love to gather its flowers and place a small vase in my home. It is said they give energy and strength as well as ward off evil from a home. I just love their appearance. There is also the well known wild clover. Another “weed” that can be found in abundance. Most think of the possession of a four leaf clover for luck as the best use for this plant yet there are many others. Clover blossoms combined with vinegar for three days can be used as a protection tincture. Sprinkled around the perimeter of one’s home this is said to discourage unwanted visitors from entering. Carrying clover flowers on your person is also said to not only protect you yet also aid in the finding of new love.

As for candle magic once again I feel this is done far more than many realize. I myself am a true lover of the flame. And because of this I use candles in my home on a daily basis. When I have concern for someone, I light a small white candle and ask that they be blessed. When the concern is more evident and I am able to know exactly what it is they may be in need of, I will light the white candle along with another in the color which represents their need. An example of is: lighting a red candle representing the need for health or strength. Also each time I work in my kitchen preparing food, two candles burn. One is white representing that the food be blessed. The other is colored according to what I may want the emphasis to be. Blue is my favorite as it represents peace and harmony.

I believe that all of us use everyday practical magic much more than we may admit. For it truly is around us everywhere. Magic is the power that comes forth from each one of us when we believe in what we are doing.

Practical Protection – The Bra Barrier

Since my husband’s family is from the “Old Country,” protection magick was one of the first things that I learned.  We try to smudge the negative energies out of the house often and have various wards on the doors and windows.  If they get past those we have a Gorgon bust that serves as house guardian.  I truly feel sorry for anything that attempts to enter into our house uninvited.

Personal protection is also a big thing with them.  I almost always am wearing some sort of charged amulet or talisman.  For times that jewelry is not an option or when I could use a little extra protection I use a bra barrier.

Yes, it sounds a little odd, but the bra is a great place to put protective stones to reinforce your personal barrier.  I usually put one on either side and another one in the center (three total).  Make sure that you are going to be comfortable and that they are not going to fall out or cause you any other distress.

Visualize the power of the stones coming together in front of your heart chakra and branching out to form a protective barrier that extends a few inches from your body.  Be sure to ground and center well after you are done.  Cleanse your stones and charge them again for the next use.

Here is a list of stones that you might be interested in using:

• Bloodstone – Courage, Abundance, Blood and Menstrual Cycle
• Carnelian – Courage, Protection and Kidneys
• Garnet – Protection (During Travel), Intimacy and Spiritual Healing
• Jet – Protection, Fight Depression and Heal Grief
• Malachite – Protection, Abundance and Heal Heart Chakra
• Moonstone – Protection, Love and Menstrual Cycle
• Obsidian (Black & Snowflake) – Protection and Grounding
• Onyx – Protection and Grounding
• Tiger’s Eye – Grounding, Protection and Menopause “Power Surges”

Reference -
Crystal Healing, Metaphysical & Mystical Healing Properties Lore and Stone Meanings of Crystals, Gems, and Stones

A Simple Spring Ritual of Thanks

Spring comes early in Southern California. The first rains of Winter bring a greening of the grass and make flowers bloom as early as February. My own back patio is starting to look alive again: my hardy lavender is starting to bloom, the nasturtiums that died off in the heat of the summer are back in force, and oxalis is everywhere.

Seeing all this fresh growth inspires me to throw off my winter mood, and this is a simple ritual I do to bring Spring into my life and give thanks.

I start by picking some of that new growth. lavendar flowers, the big round leaves of the nasturtium, the shamrock shaped leaves and dainty yellow flowers of the oxalis. I add to that herbs from my kitchen garden - basil and it’s flowers, mint, lemon balm, etc. As I harvest these things, I give thanks to the plants for parts that I take.

I arrange the cuttings into little vases, each for a particular deity in my pantheon. For instance, Scathac, my patron, is known as both a healer and a warrior/martial artist. She gets healing herbs like mint and lemon balm as well as the shamrocks that I hope will remind her of her native Scotland and Ireland. Lord Ganesha is a Hindu deity that I respect as the “remover of obstacles.” He reminds us that life is sweet, so I make his arrangement as fun as possible, with sprays of lavender, sweet mint, and red flowers. In India, red flowers are a common offering to Ganesha.

Obviously, my garden is limited, and so might yours be at this time of year, so I go with what I have, and what feels right. I don’t fret that the Gods might be upset that I don’t have a particular flower or plant that they are associated with, or that my choices are humble, because I know that these offerings come from my heart.

As I make each arrangement, I offer sincere thanks for the hope, strength, and blessings the Lords and Ladies have given me through the winter. To Scathac, who owned her own Fortress on the Isle of Skye, I offer thanks for protecting me, seeing me through my own battles, and helping me to keep my own home, or ‘fortress.’ I give thanks to Lord Ganesha for smoothing my way as much as possible through certain problems, and for the sweet moments I have had over the winter, and so on. Once I have finished an arrangement, I place it with a little bow and a word of thanks on the altar of the corresponding deity.

Once I am done, my house has lots of little vases that bring Springtime joy, and my heart is full of thanks and hope for the new Spring.

Bright Blessings!