Posts Tagged ‘magic’

Fairy Tales should not be swiftly discounted for their seemingly fictional and innocent purposes as children’s stories. The tales thus preserved are, in fact, windows into other times, ancient peoples’ thoughts, and older magicks. They are just as valuable a tool in anthropological study as traditional religious mythology, and to a certain extent, observational science and archaeology. They provide insight into the psychology and perception of their contemporary societies by both the people living in those societies and those transmitting the stories since. Furthermore, their archetypal nature speaks to something deeper in all man and womankind; regardless of the story’s origins or original temporal setting. This archetypal voice is why these stories still resonate with audiences today. And it is research into understanding this archetypal psychology which has dominated the anthropology of the fairy tale and been the focus of work for famous names such as J.R.R. Tolkein, Joseph Campbell, Claude Levi-Strauss, Georges Frazer, and Carl Jung, etc.

The witches of the traditional canon of fairy tales, i.e. of Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, and the rest of their late 17th through to early 19th century peers provide particularly remarkable insight into two periods of time: the time of the authors themselves; as well as the earlier pre-Industrial Revolution era their stories are typically set in.

Growing discontent with the pervading religious system and local government, coupled with rampant diseases (like the Black Plague), led to a rise in fear on the European continent. With the advent of writing and a stronger infrastructure of roads and trade, this fear was not an isolated incident, but was communicated between groups of people: between villages on a smaller level and between countries -for indeed, now we have come to the period where countries are starting to define themselves as separate states with distinct borders rather than cultural alliances and princely empires as before. Though this new, unprecedented opportunity would later prove to be the cure for the darkness of the period, it was at first but a promoter of the miasma of fear which hung over the late medieval world. In need of a scapegoat, the western world, and in particular the Catholic Church, looked around for something ‘other’ to blame all of their fears and woes upon. And they found what they sought in the form of the witch. A female with power, an outsider to the community, a link to the devil or the pagan communities that had ruled Europe prior to Christian domination ~ the figure of the witch was a multi-purpose target. An easy mark, the witch was vilified, both in person and in the resultant stories of her.

If you want to learn more about the witches of fairy tale and take a deeper look at the residual layers of fairy tale and symbolism of the new characters and archetypes attached to the myth of the witch, then join the Sacred Mists’ newest class: The History of Witches in the Western World ~ taught by yours truly. Using an anthropological perspective, this class explores the changing forms of magick and the evolution of the ‘Witch’ through the biographies of mythological witches of the antiquity through to the historical magickal figures.

Above image courtesy of fanpop

If you’ve ever been to the Sacred Mists Shoppe website, you’ve no doubt seen the Fully Stocked Chest of Witchcraft.  Sacred Mists was the first and original creators of this beautiful offering for an altar.  This was born from Lorien’s (Lady Raven to her students) creativity that said to her that she should put together something completely unique that could be used as an Altar starter for people just embarking upon the path of the Witch.

This product was originally only available in the Pentacle design and just last year expanded to new designs including Triquetra, Triple Moon, Tree of Life and Om making this the most diverse design offering of this type ever. All the images you find within this review are from my own altar and my won Triple Moon Fully Stocked Chest of Witchcraft that I just recently purchased.  You see I’ve wanted one ever since we started with this new design and I finally saved enough up for one and I am so very glad I did.

First we will start with my altar picture with everything buttoned up and set just the way I like it.  You see my primary altar is located on my desk.  I set it up this way because I spend the most amount of time at my desk and like this to be sacred space.  It keeps me at peace no matter what may be happening during my day.  You can see on the left the Pentagram of the Elements Altar Cloth.  This altar cloth is perfect for my desktop at a cool 12×12 in size and eliminates the need for me to have a separate altar tile/paten on there.  These are made by a good friend of ours exclusively for Sacred Mists.  Decorated for Litha with bright colors and butterflies and surrounded by crystals my altar is my refuge and my working space for magick throughout the day and on the fly should something need to be done suddenly I can just turn to the side and voila!

Onward to the original purpose of this post today and that is to review and share more pictures of the Fully Stocked Chests with you.  These are stocked to the rim with fabulous items to either get you started or to add to your already existing altar tools.

The chest itself is a great size for on the altar and can be filled again and again with items you use to keep them tucked away for when you need them.  Inside each chest you receive an Itsy Bitsy Witchy Cauldron, a set of 6 ritual/spell candles, two candle holders, a set of 5 herbs (this varies by season and availability), a bag of blessed offering stones, charcoal tablets and altar oil.  As a special gift I received a pack of Sacred Mists Matches with mine, which are just beautifully designed and make lighting those candles so much easier (when you don’t always have a lighter handy).  I lit my candle (Dance of Crystals Fluorite) with my matches yesterday when I took these pictures.

I laid everything out and peeked it out of the top so you could see the contents quite nicely.  The candle holders are absolutely adorable.  Sacred Mists Shoppe uses the Bubble Magick Glass Mini- Candle Holders in the chests, this is a recent change to a much nicer and more functional holder.  I say this change is a winner!  I have a Dragonfly Urn Incense Cauldron on my desk so I am using my little cauldron for storing my blessed offering stones.

For me I used the top part of the cabinet to store my bags of herbs with the drawer holding my matches and charcoal tabs.  In the bottom I placed the mini candles and the candle holders and oil.

All in all I think this is one of the best put together little kits I’ve seen in a while and it’s always evolving with new additions and changes to presentation and offerings of within it.  No matter what your tastes are it seems that this chest has a design to suit nearly everyone.  I, obviously, am partial to the triple moon design.  Each of them are truly beautiful and works of art.  Hand-crafted with care and then stocked carefully by Sacred Mists just for you.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my own Fully Stocked chest and if you ever have any questions you can reach me Monday through Friday between 8a-3p Pacific at our toll free number 866-918-2437 or via email help@sacredmists.com

I had this wonderful post ready for today and then this morning I woke up at 5 so that I could be out of the house by a quarter till 6 to go for my bike ride.  It is far too hot to do this later in the day here in South Florida, so up early I am.  One of the best things about being up this early is the absolute quiet in the world around me.  By the time I am rolling in at home (6:45a) the rest of the world is starting to wake up and get on with their days.

Today I rode a much longer route than normal and really enjoyed the environment of the urban area in which I live.  It’s quiet and the sun started to rise bringing on a wash of beautiful oranges, yellow and pinks.  As I made my trek I paid attention to the natural spots (yards, empty lots, a water fountain & pond business, local yard center).  I love my early morning rides and I always get something out of them.  This was no different except in the richness of the messages I received.

First spotting were the morning doves, they are abundant and beautiful.  A little while later a trio of racoons, a crow greeting the morning and a peacock.  A rich morning indeed.  All within the 8.5 mile, roundtrip, ride this morning.

Thinking it would be a lovely day to showcase animal magick which can be found abundantly even in urban areas.

Let’s look at each of the messages I received today individually and see if we can make a full message.

Dove: The dove is the embodiment of motherly instincts. The dove will connect you to the Earth and her energies of creation. This is the toem of between times showing us the times of day where the veils between physical and spiritual are at the thinnest (dawn and twilight).

Raccoon: The raccoon holds it’s magic and message in it’s mask. Through the employment of a mask you can achieve altered states. The raccoon can teach you how to wear masks, should you need to use them. It can also teach you how to transform yourself from what you are into what you want to be.

Crow: Keepers of the Sacred Law, these magnificent animals teach you to speak your truth and to stay in line with your life’s mission. They can be seen as an omen of Change. What you have been working towards will come to pass when Crow appears.

Peacock: Peacock has been associated with the phoenix, reminding us that through change and transformation we can emerge complete and beautiful on the otherside of challenge. The call of the peacock is loud and sounds a lot like the laughter of a child, helping us to laugh at life and be like a child at heart.

An interesting message overall that seems to be occuring here a message about coming change, something I’ve been working towards coming to pass with a lot of self transformation taking place throughout. I think I will have to really meditate on these individual messages to complete the voice.

What types of messages might you receive if you take a moment to listen to the voice of nature?

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Today we celebrate the birthday of W.B. Yeats (1865-1939), Nobel-prize winning Irish poet and member of the Golden Dawn. In his poem, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, he speaks nostalgically of a cabin on the lake, where he will find his peace.

For our magickal working today, we will create our own “cabin on Innisfree,” ie. a place where we can go to find peace even while we “stand on the roadway.” You will imagine a place of total peace, a place that even while in the midst of the stress of mundane life, you can escape to, if only for a moment to regain balance and find peace. Construct your happy place…will it be on a lake, beach, mountain? Will it be a cabin or a temple? It is yours and yours alone, make it whatever you like. When you have created this place in your imagination, and filled it with the things you want, bless your astral creation by saying:

“I make this my place of peace, for love and light reside here. In my place of peace, I find balance, focus, and joy. So mote it be.”

Return here at least once a day, more often if necessary, to “hear lake water lapping…in the deep heart’s core.”

Tuesday is ruled by Mars. The energies are perfect to work with male energies such as strength, endurance. With that in mind, today we celebrate the Warrior spirit. Many Gods and Goddesses carry within them the warrior spirit, as humans on a spiritual journey we see this. We walk with the warrior spirit deep inside and we carry within us the ancestral memories of fighting for our freedom, fighting against invaders, protecting our families and homes from those who would take them from us.

However, what marks the Wiccan Warrior different from warlike invaders is that we carefully weigh how our actions will be seen and taken after “the battle”, we battle to protect those who cannot protect themselves, we battle for justice and equality in a world filled with tragedy and hardship.competition and conflict. We also have the Moon entering Aries for a double whammy of that warrior energy.

Today, we will light a red candle and state our affirmation. My choices in materials for this are twofold. I use the Dance of Crystals Bloodstone Candle for it’s brilliant red color and because bloodstone represents courage and strength (as does the color red). I anoint this candle with Hekate – Keeper of the Crossroads Oil. The combination should move me with the conviction and strength to accomplish my goals and not be held in the past or present but passing through the crossroads into the future. While anointing my candle I will state the following in a chant:

“I fight for right. I defend myself and my family against the evildoer, I protect those who cannot protect themselves, I am involved with shaping the future of my world. Blessed Be!”

If you wish you can easily write this on parchment or Color Magick Sizzling Spell Paper to give this affirmation and spell a little extra oomph.

Supporting our magick with action, we will fight for something we feel is right today. Sign a petition to protect wildlife, write to your Congressperson about an issue about which you feel strongly, set wards around your house or place of business, place shields of protection against someone who wishes to harm you physically or psychically, become involved with the battling forces of life and liberty somehow.

Ask yourself “how can I defend someone’s freedom today?” What have you battled for today?

Monday is ruled by the Moon and it is in the sign of Pisces today. Pisces is the sign of psychic power, creativity and is considered the sign of “old souls.” The Moon rules the dream world. Today we will allow ourselves time to rest.

Traditionally, witches do not work spells during the 4th quarter or Dark Moon. We will draw on this tradition today, to allow our souls time to rest and receive psychic messages from the dream world. We will not focus on the types of messages we would like to receive but simply allow the messages to come to us.

I am setting my altar now and will be performing this before bed tonight with the following items:

Silver Spell Candle
Two Moonstones & One Quartz
Moonstone Ritual Gemscent Oil
Natural colored sizzling spell paper (or any available paper/parchment)
Pen/Quill

On the Color Magick Sizzling Spell Paper I will write:
“Tonight I rest so that I will be at my best”

Again simply rest tonight. Do not focus on receiving messages, do not focus on what you did not get done, what you need to do. Simply be and rest.

In preparation for doing this I will turn off my computer at my desk altar and begin the process of relaxation by lighting a stick of one of my favorite incenses (Lotus Moon) and will release all my stresses through a simple visualization of opening a flow or cord to the universe to allow it to come into me through my crown down through my body and as it fills me I will release stresses down through my body and feet into the earth. This takes but a couple of minutes and is very relaxing. When I feel relaxed I will anoint my candle and light it. Taking the spell paper in my right hand I will fold it up into a small ‘football’ shape and then light it with the flame of the candle.

All the while I will be continuing to relax and simply be. After a few moments at the candle and altar I will extinguish my candle and then head to bed.

How much better will you be on every level, when you get the rest you need?