After 2 very busy weeks, we are now closed...permanently, as per Ostara newsletter.

Now to pack up and empty the shop, but we will be back as a much smaller enterprise online...

Watch this space

Thank you to all who visited over 26 years

Chris (alias The Green Witch)

Ostara 2022…and the final countdown!!

Welcome to 2022, the year I have been calling the year of ‘hope and change’. The pandemic has shown us where our lives were failing, and where changes need to be made. It has also shown us where we need to find balance in our lives too. Our old perception that we are here to work 24/7 is at an end, and that other parts of our life are more important, such as our family & friends. I am brimming with hope this year and keep saying to everyone that we will all have made changes in our lives, some life changing, by the time 2022 gets to and end ! More later…

It is so nice when I wake up in the morning and it is light and the sun melting that morning frost away. Suddenly, the world feels different – brighter, more hopeful, and soon the light will overwhelm the dark and we can look forward to warmer and sunnier times. I am indeed convinced this is a year of wishing and hoping and being, and we can embrace the equinox and move our lives forward.

I spent December mostly missing from the shop after my ‘big son’ was rushed to intensive care. We all thought it was Covid, but he had a bacterial infection that led to pneumonia. I abandoned the shop and left it to the girls to run, whilst I collapsed in a heap at the thought of losing my son, and my grandson losing his dad!! He fought hard and, to the surprise of even the ICU doctors, recovered well and was allowed home in time for Christmas. Spending a few days over the festive period at his, cooking the feast, with a little overseeing from him, for us to celebrate his homecoming was a great joy and the realisation of how precious family is.

More optimism for the future was to come from spending New Year in an airport hotel, and the fear of testing in the hope of getting on a plane for the first time in 2 years. We waited 15 minutes on tenterhooks, like many others in lots of hotels around many UK airports, for that line not to show up, and jumped up and down like idiots, celebrating with a glass of bubbly when the tests were negative. For the 1^st time since Jan 2020, we would be heading off to the cold in search of snow, exploring of another country and culture, not to mention Après ski!! The next morning, we got on our plane and headed for the Arctic circle in Finland. I had been and seen the Midsummer sun, but never seen winter in the Arctic, & my optimism flourished at the thoughts of seeing the Northern lights! On the plane and in flight, the stewardess came to chat and brought us champagne…a treat to surprise me by my husband. Around, they began to congratulate us, asking what the occasion was …to which my husband replied “We are all alive and kicking, and on a plane” – the only excuse we needed – so we celebrated in style at just being alive and starting to live again! There was this sudden realisation that life was back and the future was for living it!

Time away in up to -37c certainly gives you time to think and helps you think clearly...as life is so much simpler up there. Life is about getting out for the necessities and staying alive & warm – it takes 15 minutes to dress just to step out the door with a 50°C difference between inside and out…no just nipping out to put stuff in the bin!! It was interesting to walk to the shops, see something wonderful and just watch it…there was no chance I was removing gloves and holding a lump of metal in -25 to capture a photo! The mind was the old-fashioned way of storing your memories and would suffice on this and many more occasions on this holiday. We went riding on a snowmobile to see reindeer, and completely froze through 4 layers clothing plus a balaclava and helmet. That feeling of frozen eyelashes hitting your cheek when you blinked and removing helmets to see our frozen white eyebrows & hair made such a picture… but again, in our memory as I am sure it would not be good for the phone in such temperatures, plus those 2 layers of gloves were not coming off!! To be honest, some of the best moments have been captured to memory rather than phone, as I enjoyed living that moment rather than being distracted for even a second to sort out the phone to record the occasion and actually miss watching it. It’s all about living in the moment and enjoying it as it happens… something often forgotten in these days of social media!

Another such occasion was when the alert to the Northern lights went off, telling you to go straight outside as it can be fleeting! If there is no nipping out in slippers to the bin in daytime, there is definitely no chance of nipping out late at night to check the sky. 15-20 minutes to dress ready to go see if the Northern lights were visible. Standing on a snow slope in -25c in the freezing night air looking for the lights was exciting, but then no fun after  30 minutes. I saw a little of them - not like you see in the movies, but I did see the sky moving behind the edge of the mountain…oh well, was worth checking it out. After 3 attempts to see them, I gave up… the effort made to go outside was not worth the light level on show, visible to the naked eye but a dark green. Oh well, maybe next time!

Ostara - the balance of light and dark…

The Equinox is all about balance, and time to decide what you want to attract and what needs removing from your life to bring about balance. This is a year of change, and the Equinox is the perfect time to work out your plan of action to bring about those much-needed changes.

Being in Finland gave me lots of time to think, and it’s with this newsletter that the final countdown begins. This began life as the Imbolc newsletter, but my life was so busy, I gave up writing it, and nobody even noticed!! Life is too precious to stress about such things, but have only missed 2 others since 1999!! Maybe that’s a sign…

Whilst on that cold, frozen mountain, the same tune spun in my head… and it made me think about life in 2022…                                           All my life’s a circle, sunrise and sundown,

                                                The Moon rolls thru the night-time till the daybreak comes around.

                                                All my life’s a circle, but I can’t tell you why

                                                The Season’s spinning round again, the years keep rolling by!

On the equinox, the shop is 26 years old & I feel I have come full circle (2+6 =8 = infinity). In the beginning, I was told I would need to make 25 years stood behind that counter, with my office by the fire, and although that seemed impossible, I have done it, but the pandemic has changed the way people shop, and that my customers have also changed. It used to be kids bored whilst mum checked out my shop, but now the shop’s busy with youngsters buying crystals, and bored parents hanging in corners. They don’t want to speak to the old dinosaur sitting in the rocking chair by the fire – all their information comes from TikTok and Instagram! I am redundant!

So, now what’s in store…?

Some years ago now, the village gave my shop 6 months, but my stubbornness made me keep going just to prove them wrong! I started the shop to support my children, but they are now have jobs, homes and families of their own. Having worked my whole life since 16, some 47 years, I have decided to finally let go of my little baby. The recent few months have proved that my family should now be my priority and with an 88-year-old disabled mum living 300 miles away and another grandchild on the way, I feel I have done my witchy duty helping the public deal with their little bumps in the road on the journey of life, and now it’s time to pay attention to my husband, mum, kids and grandkids and have time for me, as I’m not getting any younger either!! The Universe has always worked in mysterious ways in my life, and just 12 hours after finally deciding to sell and mentioning my thoughts in passing, the shop had been reserved with a list of interested behind without even going to market. It is never done and dusted for definite in Scotland until Missives are complete, boxes all ticked and the dotted line signed, so I waited for that final thumbs up, and now we are complete, I can  finally tell you the shop’s fate!

The future for me…

What will life be like after the shop has gone? I am looking forward to getting back into travelling in Meg the magickal Motorhome, our godsend after each release from lockdown. We want to explore more in her, along with our daft Dally, Marshall. I need to see more of mum now she is heading for 90 and still living alone without help but  for her neighbours, and I cannot do that with a shop to run!

I am looking forward to getting back into my gardening. I need to spend time with nature, and I want to show my grandkids how things grow. When I began the shop, I had a garden and 2 allotments and grew all my own herbs and vegetables etc in among the jasmine, holly and lilac. Then the allotments had to go, the garden simplified and the herb section ignored as the business got busier. So, it’s time to do what I want, when I want, how I want!! I’m going to get a garden full of herbs, fruit and vegetables once more, and the way things are going, we’ll need to, as prices continue to rise and wallets gets tested!! I am looking forward to planning meals instead of cooking in a rush each night after work – making that Biryani instead of sending for it, and using home grown ingredients like I used to… so it’s back to the beginning that launched the shop in the 1^st place…like I said, I have come full circle!

Mad March Sale…the 1^st and last…

During March, as days get lighter and the mad hares begin to box, we will have our Mad March sale – my very 1^st and last! To mark 25 years of the Green Witch, which under lockdown, I marked alone in the shop, there will be 25% off your total witchy shop from 8-19 March inclusive meaning youngsters can buy he best crystals for their collection and remember to stock up on tinctures and oils etc, because, once my shelves are emptied, as I opened the door 26 years ago, so I will close it for the last time to customers on 19^th. We will still be in the shop until at least 31. March if anything has been missed, as we begin to pack away whatever is left, before the shop changes hands and the Green Witch leaves Aberdour High Street for the last time! We will continue in a small way on FB,      website & Instagram until the last of the stock has gone (because I’m a crystal hoarder), and of course, I will continue to make the things I have made over the years because they were made for me & mine long before the shop, and we will continue to use them. I’ll miss the shop – it’s been my life for 26 years through thick & thin. Maybe there will be the odd appearance at a local festival or school fayre or a festive pop-up shop…who knows!

For those who have stuck with me over the many years, I say a massive Thank You. I will miss our many long conversations in the shop with lots of you…like old friends, and I thank you for all the support over the years. It has been hard, it has been challenging, it has been fun, and in many ways, just living my truth, not work at all!

I wish you all luck, success, love and happiness for the future and hope to see you instore before I close the door for good and say goodbye to what has been such a massive part of my life…and look forward to my new life!

For the last time, which you many blessings from Chris (alias the Green Witch, Aberdour)

Christine Macdonald,

Imbolc Newsletter 2 February 2021

Here we are, now February 2021 and life remains in the status quo! Who would have thought that, after nearly a year, we are all still fighting the virus, still going in and out of lockdown and nearly 6 months and I am still trying to get my shop recovered from the flood…who’d have thought, but it is what it is so, onwards and upwards!!

On the positive note, lockdown cannot keep going and with the fightback, we are hopefully on the way out of this pandemic and I am certainly on the way back with my little shop…more on that later!!

Imbolc sees the coldest of our weather and January up here has certainly been the month of snow and ice. The clear, sunny, blue skies through the day and the dark, starry skies at night herald waking up to frost and the best weather in winter…oh how I do dislike the grey, rainy days so this weather suit me very well…it’s just a matter of the correct clothing and footwear!!

Imbolc heralds the waking of the Earth with the arrival of snowdrops pushing through the snow, which I have seen from mid-January. They are early this year, which is lovely to see, as I am usually searching for them for Imbolc! Mother Nature is waking up and soon, new life will begin to appear as the pregnant ewes milk begins to come in, showing that the first lambs will be born any day. As Alan and I celebrated Burns night with Haggis, neeps and tatties on 25^th Jan, our conversation was steered to how times have changed! We expect anything we want to be available today, but back then, even just 100 years ago, food would be getting to an end from the Autumn harvest, so the celebration involved what was left: lamb offal with oats and spices, plus the only things still standing in the Scottish fields…potatoes and turnips! How lucky we are…if only we realised it!

Three wishes… we could all do with a little extra…

Imbolc encourages hope for the coming year, and after 2020, we all need a little hope, so use this wisely! Brigid gives us three wishes on her special day of Imbolc: one Universal, one for the family and the last for yourself!

Place 3 white flowers on your altar (snowdrops from the garden if you can find them) and light a white/natural beeswax candle dedicated to Brigid. From that candle, light 3 more and make your wishes as you light them. This must be done during the day of the 2^nd and the candles allowed to burn to the end. Think carefully about what you wish for, as you only get the one chance annually, so make it matter and fill your life with hope for 2021!!

Self-care in this new year…

One thing I have learned over this whole pandemic thing, is to give time to me. Although I am in the shop every day trying to sort it out, set it up, unpack etc, when I am tired, I am done,! I close up and go home and have a little me-time…even if it is just a cup of coffee and a game of Sudoku before starting to make tea or take the dog out!

I think that the need for self-care has never been so obvious or necessary to ensure that your system is not overloaded to allow this virus to defeat your body, and equally, our mental health is supported, so here are some simple things you can do to help yourself physically, mentally and emotionally (if you don’t do them already!): 

1. Remember to eat properly and eat well – find some new cooking recipes and enjoy preparing your food: teach the kids at the same time, and remember to take your supplements: Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc help fight this war and help keep your immune system boosted to defend your body against all invaders!!

2. Remember to take your exercise time outside and get that walk or bike ride to help you feed your soul as well as your body…reconnecting with time outside in Nature can only be a good thing for your physical & mental health! 

3. Remember to drink plenty water to keep your system hydrated – vary the flavour with slices of orange, lemon or lime and learn to love the elixir of life! This applies to kids too rather than relying on cans of fizzy stuff!!

4. Remember to go to bed and relax: switch off social media and pick up a book at bedtime to ensure your brain relaxes and helps give you a good night’s sleep...sleep is the best self-care there is and if you get a good night’s sleep, you can cope much better with the day ahead! 

5. Remember to relax, especially if you have kids: try a nightly bath with oils – my kids soon learned that I was in a much better mood with a relaxing bath that without it, and don’t disturb me…just 20 minutes was all I needed! 

6. Get creative – use all this time to read those books, learn to knit, crochet, patchwork, cook, bake or teach yourself guitar, painting or decorating, kitchen drone-flying or DIY…whatever floats your boat or whatever you have always wanted to learn or do, but never had the time…use the time wisely and gain a skill, rather than laying on the settee watching endless daytime tv or playing computer games: do something you enjoy to fill your day!

7. Connect with Nature – whether a daily walk or finding time to tend your garden, deal with your house plants or maybe begin to teach yourself gardening. Plant a few bits on windowsills – anyone has space for herbs indoors for your healthy cooking – basil, chives, parsley, lettuce, sage, thyme. Get the kids to help and tend them…let them see them begin to grown and then regrow after cutting. You can even put a slice of carrot top in a saucer with water and let it grow. Also, how about home Astrology lessons & watch the sky. Look at the clouds, the stars, the Moon. Work out moon phases and star constellations in these clear night skies. Look for the North star, the Orion constellation , the red planet Mars or the Andromeda galaxy: connect with our ancestors and read the night sky.

There is so much you can do for yourself, you deserve it and we are being given so much time locked indoors, there is no excuse not to look for the positive & indulge in special self-care…always look for the silver lining!!

Make your own bath salts…

Sometimes, we just need to feel surrounded by warm water, close our eyes and relax, and a bath in a candlelit bathroom will do that for you and give you indulgent me-time. You will need:

2 cups coarse Sea Salt, 1 cup Epson Salts and ½ Cup Baking Soda. You can make it a milky skin-softening bath by also adding 1 cup whole milk powder. Mix the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. 

If you like dried flowers in your bath, you can add some dried lavender flowers and some rose petals or orange flowers, but I personally dislike bits floating in my bath, so never use them but this is your bath salts so add here if you would like them (I’m not the one cleaning your bath after!!) Also mix in 15-20 drops your favourite oil blend whether lavender, geranium, sweet marjoram, Frankincense, Black Pepper or Juniper berry or a mix…again, use whatever you would like for indulgence in your bath, as is completely up to you. Put your mix in glass jars and you can add a small amethyst point or rose quartz piece to the jar for infusion too. When you want a self-care soak after a challenging day, run a nice warm bath and add a handful or two of your mix to the water and swish it about until mixed in. Ensure your clothes are warming for when you get out, lose the phone, get in your bath with a good book and glass water, (and a wine if you really want to indulge) and just simply relax…you are welcome!!

How about a glass of Imbolc mulled wine…(if only I could prepare it for you…)

Like the normal mulled wine, you need red wine, but first, take 1 tsp mixed dried rosemary and mint leaves and infuse in a cup boiling water for 10-15 mins. Strain and add to half bottle red wine in a pan, heat with a cinnamon stick and couple cloves for a few minutes till hot, strain and serve…slainte …xx

Moon time…

I intended to cover monthly moons and moon work over the last few newsletters, but time has just disappeared with the flood, the pandemic and no customers, so I intend to catch myself back up!! The Ice Moon is the February moon, which is about spiritual purification, healing and loving yourself (hence self-care!!) It is also said that a cold, snowy February will bring a good spring, but a mild one will bring a stormy March…so watch that weather!! 

The end of January can be used to end old cycles and February, when the Earth is beginning to awaken, means a good time to begin afresh, so is a good time to start clearing and making space for the new energies to come in (been doing that for weeks in the shop – gonna be Fab!) Start getting your body, mind and spirit into shape, which is why I have given you a few tips…as those times, they are a-changing!!

So how is the shop, I hear you ask?

When I saw the flood had hit my shop on 12. August, I expected to clean up and be back  beginning September, then drying took us to end of September and expected to be back by Samhain. Disaster struck with the damage to the floor revealing it needing to be replaced! That meant the whole shop to be packed, floor removed which we discovered the brick wall between the stock room and the shop floor was actually built on the floor and was just suspended in mid-air, which meant new joists to support the wall or watch the end of my shop collapse, then a new kitchen, work area and toilet and I finally got the shop back by Yule, with all joinery work now complete. Painting took place after New Year followed by the arrival of the carpet tiles, fitted whilst filling shelves where possible, just in time for the arrival of the shop’s new shelving system. Now the rebuild of the shop, making it flow better by changing the layout, then to begin the long task of emptying of all those boxes & baskets and put the whole of the shop back in its new place…and finally, finally, we are getting there. With just 33 boxes to go after the re-construction of the shop, we hope to re-open by end February, ready for our 25^th celebrations on 21 March (if we can have any!!). Seems to me that Maggie and the Elements decided that the storm would make a good time to give my shop a new look to celebrate the big anniversary…so I am looking at the silver lining and enjoying it. I have been updating the pictures on FB for you all to see the journey from destruction to our fresh, new beginning, but I am loving my shop’s new look, the magick is back, the fire is on and hopefully you customers will love its new look too!

I will begin again doing collections and orders once a week from beginning February, so if you need anything, let me know by the weekend, and if I can find it/bottle it on a Monday, you can collect or it will be packaged ready for posting on the Tuesday, ( to be posted Wednesday). The rest of the week will be spent undisturbed bottling, stocking, emptying, sorting and rebuilding full time to get ready for opening asap!! WATCH THIS SPACE!!

Moon Times:

New Moon:       Thu 11 Feb @ 19.06 hrs           Full Moon:        Sat 27 Feb @ 08.18 hrs

New Moon:       Sat 13 Mar @ 10.22 hrs           

Bright Imbolc Blessings from

Chris (alias the Green Witch)

Yule Newsletter 21 December 2020

Welcome to winter and to the shortest day in this unusual year of years…and for me, even more strange, as I’m not running around like a warrior witch for the first festive season in 25 years!! As I sit here writing this newsletter, we have had a stormy night known as thundersnow, which I have never known before - which took me straight back to that tropical thunderstorm back in August, the likes we had not seen and which is the reason I am not running around like an idiot this festive time!! It was also 10 years ago that we were cut off for snow…I know we had a hot summer and am expecting a cold winter up here in Scotland, but let’s not end 2020 on a ‘Beast from the East’!!

The good thing about the shortest day is it’s all new and full of hope from here, and after the year we’ve had, that’s exactly what we need. The Earth, along with my poor shop, is at complete rest, and this is a time to batten down the hatches as they say and enjoy and appreciate family and friends. Then, as we move away from the longest night and shortest day, the Earth will slowly but surely, under the frozen ground, begin to wake, and life, slowly but surely, will begin appearing once again as the Sun begins to grow in strength once more.

In the meantime, the festive time is a time of celebration with those you love to welcome the return of the Sun. That is why we light up the home with fairy lights and candles, and bring in greenery, of Holly, Ivy and a pine tree to aid our celebrations. To celebrate new beginnings, we indulge in the best of food and wine with those we are closest to, and take a rest until after the New Year when work begins again. 

Hope in a tree…

Decorations and bringing in the greenery are all part of the festive fun but did you know that the humble Pine tree is a symbol of abundance, hope and new beginnings? By bringing a fresh pine tree into the house before Yule, you are bringing hope and abundance into your home just in that one action. Completing that are lights for warmth and comfort and to encourage the Sun’s return, and why not get the kids to make popcorn and string them together with cranberries for symbols of holly and mistletoe to attract fairies and feed the elementals in your greenery, and Juniper berries for a home of love. Tie together cinnamon sticks and hang for abundance and healing, chocolate money for wealth, golden spheres for the sun and for happiness, pine cones, again for abundance, hearts for love, acorns for new beginnings – let your imagination run and place symbols of your hopes and dreams to adorn your humble Scottish pine tree, top it with a fairy, Goddess or Star and let your tree work for you to attract what you need for 2021 as well as looking fab…it just takes a little thought!

Let there be Mistletoe

Mistletoe is and always has been the symbol of peace, prosperity and fertility. On 21^th December, the night of the equinox (the longest night that is followed by the shortest day), it’s time to hang the mistletoe if you wish to ensure a year of joy and happiness, and most of us will definitely want that after this year!! Cut a piece of mistletoe and bind with red ribbon or cotton, and, without letting it touch the floor, hang inside over the front door and leave in place for the year (alongside the St John’s wort, which is hung at Midsummer – longest day /shortest night) and you will have done your best to ensure a lucky year for you and all who enter. Finally, take the old mistletoe outside and ceremoniously burn it, whether in a cast iron pot, incinerator, firepit, chimera or just a hole in the ground surrounded by a few stones, stating “Burn, burn, mistletoe burn, last years worries never to return” and let the energy of 2020 turn to dust, so we can begin afresh with the Sun…

On Hogmanay, we are going to do it all again, only this time with the calendar. Take down your 2020 calendar, wrap with wool and, like the mistletoe, burn outdoors but state “Burn, burn, calendar burn, last year’s worries, never return” then back indoors to celebrate the New Year at Midnight. Only then can you hang your new calendar up to begin 2021 anew (more Hogmanay traditions later, as we need to bring as much luck in for 2021 as we can!)

Fresh Mistletoe for 2021

I may not have a shop but I will definitely have Mistletoe for sale, whether in an empty part of my premises or indeed, the doorway of my closed shop if all else fails, but mistletoe is quite rare this year as the markets cannot happen due to Covid. My normal supplier has also been hit but, as our need is magickal and not just for fun, gave me the name of a sympathetic apple farmer who is allowing me to have some of his harvest. I have no idea how much we will have and no, I cannot save you any, as had far too many requests and everyone wants 3x as much this year, so it is being picked after the New Moon on 14^th, despatched immediately, arriving with me on 15^th and on sale on 16^th. I’ll be selling it 11-4ish daily until it’s gone! Updates on FB but 1^st come, 1^st served and when it’s gone, it’s gone…no chance of any more (I’ve sent a request to double my order but no response, so let’s not push my luck!)

More on Hogmanay…

I celebrate both the Celtic New Year and Hogmanay, and this year, leaving 2020 behind means you made it through and can welcome 2021 with even more vigour than usual. Celebrate this fresh start and let’s see the back of 2020, going in with the prospect of better to come (ignore falling off the Brexit cliff) and now a vaccine to fight the deadly enemy giving hope of life returning to the most vulnerable (astrologically more on this later!)

It’s very traditional in Scotland, as in days gone by, to go into the New Year completely clean. I’ve personally always cleaned my home for New Year, even taking down the decorations on 31^st Dec. The body should be bathed and new clothes put on after the home has been thoroughly scrubbed, locks opened (open house) and a new clean knife (blunt) left at the door for protection for the next year. One thing passed down from mum and nan is to always pay the bills (even if it is the minimum payment on the visa and you are paying it with your overdraft), but never enter the New Year with unpaid bills. Once all jobs are to done, the New Year celebrations can begin and the New Year can enter your home. A fire in the hearth would have burned all night to complete the New Year ritual, but these days, candles in a covered holder or even fairy lights will suffice. The New Year tradition of bringing in coal, bread and whisky (fuel, food and drink) still goes on as does that of the dark male, which was apparently from the Celts being dark haired but the Norse and Vikings not so dark hair means friend not foe! It is also important that the bringer of the New Year isn’t wearing all black or isn’t carrying a knife, though a Skein Dubh is part of the kilt so isn’t counted!! If someone enters by mistake before the bringer of the New Year, counteract it by throwing salt into a fire so don’t panic (unless you don’t have a fire then use a flame!!) Other New Year traditions are to ensure your cupboards are full of fresh food to go into New Year’s Day and your pockets and wallet or purse full of cash for a year of plenty. Sharing your food and wine with those around you ensures abundance is yours.

Make some Luck for 2021…

On every beach, especially during the rough seas of winter, there’s always washed up seaweed. Traditionally in Scotland, seaweed was used as food, medicine, fertiliser and fodder and was part of coastal tradition, and Whisky is said to be the ‘Fountain of Youth’, made with pure Scottish water and barley, a shot of whisky a day is the key to living a long and healthy life (or so my nan and grandad said as they partook of their daily tipple at 3pm every day out of china teacups – grandad lived well into his 80’s and nan was 94!) 

Before Yule, collect a little seaweed and a tiny quartz or flint from your nearest beach, rinse and put aside in a nice little jar or bottle and on the night of Yule, top up with whisky. Seal with a cork or screw-top and paint a pentagram on the glass. Hold in your hands, close your eyes and see everyone in the house happy and healthy and getting on with their full and abundant lives. If you have some, take a tiny sprig of mistletoe off your bunch and tie to the bottle with red ribbon, then stand it in the home on your kitchen windowsill, where these local ingredients will magickally blend to attract a long, healthy and abundant life to all who reside within.

It’s in the stars…
As if this year hasn’t given enough, Jupiter and Saturn are now lining up to play. From now until Yule, you can see the giant Jupiter getting closer to Saturn and its rings in the sky, plain as day! This is called a ‘great conjunction’ and occurs once-every-20-years, with this the closest they’ve been since 1623, just as Galileo had made his first telescope!! It will be 2080 before they will be this close again, so check out the western sky shortly after sunset to see them through December. Jupiter will be brighter than any star and Saturn is brightly golden in colour, just to the East of Jupiter, so go keep an eye on this great celestial omen in the clear winter sky.

I’m not an Astrologer but I’m excited by this Astro shift!! This amazing planetary affair moves into Aquarius on Yule, stepping away from the rules, authoritarianism and structure of Capricorn (Covid lockdown & tiers) to the openness and freedom of airy Aquarius (Covid vaccine and the ‘new normal’ way of living). This celestial spectacle symbolises new beginnings and great change for outdated political constraints (Brexit, Indyref2?) and also socially, (freedom to live life no matter who you are or what you believe?) Life will feel different after this conjunction, after the way our lives have changed due to the constraints of the pandemic, I hope the things that matter to us in 2021 is more about life and love and living free than things and stuff and who’s got what! Maybe this is the big change and we leave unwanted and outdated thoughts and material things behind and who we are & where and how we live will really matter. Time to care for our planet and each other, dream big, jump on this new revolution and get on with our new life… because change is coming: hang onto your hats ‘cos the optimism of 2021 is nearly here!

Moon Times:

New Moon:       Mon 14 Dec @ 16.17 hrs (solar eclipse)            Full Moon:        Wed 30 Dec @ 03.29 hrs

New Moon:       Wed 13 Jan @ 05.01 hrs                                  Full Moon:        Thur 28 Jan @ 19.17 hrs

Mystique Moments moving with the new…

By the time we get to Yule, my shop should ‘ve completed its restoration and we begin the internal rebuild! Fingers crossed, I am hoping to be back fully in situ by Imbolc, but then I said I would be back in September and here we are in December! It will definitely be looking fab for my 25^th anniversary in March!! In the meantime, keep an eye on our progress on FB and I’ll be back in 2021, rested, restored and raring to go forward with our new normal!

In the meantime, stay safe, stay well and with love and Yuletide blessings, will see you soon 

Chris (alias the Green Witch)

Samhain Newsletter 31 October 2020

Well, we arrive at Samhain, the Celtic New Year where it ends one year and starts the next. All-Hallow’s eve begins at dusk on 31^st October – what is now call Halloween. Such a year as 2020 has been, of course it falls on a Saturday night on a full moon with Mercury retrograde!! No wonder Nicola hasn’t let the pubs re-open in the central belt – would have been carnage!! I thought that was it with the problems encountered this year, and I could begin the Celtic New Year by re-opening on 3^rd, when Mercury goes back to normal…but then let’s put in a Friday 13^th in the mix too…it certainly is the year that just keeps on giving…and then came the 2020 finale…more later!!

So, back to Samhain and the night of the dead… 

Winter has officially begun and it’s time for the Earth to rest. The darkness falls early, the birds have flown to warmer climates and the animals are tucked safely away in hibernation for the winter. The mists give the nights a spooky feel at this ghostly time of the year. The curtain between this world and the next is drawn back, and every witch should carry out some form of divination on this night, whether cards, crystal sphere, Ogham or runes to see what the next year holds (surely it can only get better!). Decorate your altar with apples, fallen autumn leaves and orange or black candles, plus the form of divination you are going to use later on. Meditate if that is your thing, and invite family members who have passed over to join you and help you with any advice. Light a candle to remember lost loved ones, place a light in the window to help spirit find their way, whilst keeping evil at bay and place salt and bread on the doorstep, for sheer indulgence of the departed. Don’t forget to party too. Have a drink to those who have gone before, toasting their life and their part in yours. As we go into winter, it reminds us that Death is a part of life: the Earth too is now at rest after all the work of the year. Death leads to decay which then fertilises new life – and so it begins again, which is why the colour of Samhain is black as well as orange, the colour of Fire and fallen leaves. Hollow and light a swede or pumpkin lamp, and await your late-night visitors, remembering to treat those on this plane that come by your door, if allowed: they do represent the God of Mischief escaped for the night! Halloween will probably be quite reserved for the kids this year, with trick or treating limited if allowed at all…but that doesn’t mean people cannot have fun in the house dunking for apples, sparklers in the garden and a suggestion was that houses in the neighbourhood place pumpkins in their window and leave sweets at the door, let kids still come around and count the pumpkins all dressed up in their scariest finery. No trick or treat at the door but sweets can be left in a large bowl for local kids to add to their bag. 

The New Year for the Celts represented new beginnings. If you are having a bonfire, write a habit you want rid of and throw it into the flames: give you and yours a fresh outlook as we head into winter!

Protection in a stone…

If I want to feel protected from negative energies or entities, I use black & brown earthy stones, personally selecting smoky quartz, black onyx or black tourmaline in jewellery: you always know where I am and what I am dealing with by the colours of clothing and jewellery I wear on a daily basis…so, here is my team for this winter…

One of my favourite crystals is the beautiful smoky quartz. Earthy, protective, grounding, like having the earth around you like a blanket, keeping you safe and sound. In days gone by, thin pieces were used in glasses as natural sunglasses, and the Scottish smoky, Cairngorm, was used in clan jewellery and in the heads of their skein dubh!

I find it quite passionate, unifying and lucky, and love it for getting rid of negative patterns. If I am going through a difficult time and in need of a little support, I will bring out the smoky quartz: like quartz, it can be used for all things, but I find it gentler and it looks after you…like a hug after a rotten day! 

Onyx is one I like when I need to not be distracted in my jobs to be done. It defends when things go wrong (no, very seldom have you been hexed!) and protects when in battle or conflict, keeping psychic attack and black magic away. It supports during decision making and sorting out problems, especially if you lack confidence in your actions:  it is like the saying: ‘face your fears and do it anyway’…for that, you need black onyx!! 

Black tourmaline (or Schorl) is grounding and protective whilst sending negative energy back to source, dispelling that negativity away and back to Earth. Like Onyx, it dispels negativity and that feeling of doom and gloom, yet lifts you away from negativity and guides you towards happiness. You can also find tiny needles of it in quartz and are just as effective, as quartz acts like a battery, so makes beautiful picture jewellery.

Negativity can be a real problem through winter, and I expect this winter will seem gloomier than usual, so maybe one of this little team of mine will just help you a little to make it through the darkness to the Spring!

Spell to dispel negative emotions…

Most of us have gone through a tough time this year, one way or another, and that emotion should be gotten rid of as soon as possible so as not to lead you down the spiral of gloom and doom. 

Here is a way of using your dark stone to let that dark emotion go, when, no matter what you do, it simply won’t fade or dispel: you will need healing incense and your stone plus a peaceful zone with no disturbance… so, switch off your phone, light healing incense and sit comfortably with your dark stone in hand. Now…

Allow light to light your solar plexus and come out from your belly button in a bubble until the light surrounds you.

Hold the dark stone over your solar plexus and allow that anger, hurt or resentment to flow into the stone.

Think of how this emotion arose. Does it have a colour? Is it associated with an Element?

Now, put the stone on your forehead for clarity of thought, then to your heart for healing. Then simply say:

            With this stone, negativity be gone

            Water cleanse it back where it belongs

See that negative emotion and project it into the stone, then visualise it all being sealed inside.

Now put in a sealed bag/box until you can take to open running water such as a river, waterfall or the sea. When at the water’s edge, scream the last of the emotion into the stone, repeat the above rhyme and throw the stone into the water as far as you can. The water has now taken it away, so leave it there, return and find your peace! If at the beach or water’s edge, and you can find a water-tumbled dark stone, you can do this in the moment too. If you are far from running water (not possible in Scotland), then use a hose pipe or fast running tap and bury the stone!

Update on shop

As many of you will be aware, a freak tropical storm raged for 9 hours overnight on the 11/12 August over the River Forth, and badly flooded our village. The storm was very exciting, watching the constant lightning till our eyes couldn’t stay open anymore. The morning revealed the truth behind the night of constant rain & thunder as we awoke to a flooded village. My shop is in the dip and as the mass of water, mud and grit made its way down the hills and through the village to the sea, the mass of water which had taken out the harbour bridge on its way, had left quite a few houses and shops in a muddy mess. 2months on and 3 businesses along the same stretch of road are still trying to get back to normality, mine being one of them, and the harbour bridge between the two sides of the village is still missing. Turbo dryers took 725 litres out of my little shop over 5 weeks, though I stopped counting when the water started to subside, and at the end of September, the shop was finally declared dry! Finally I could put the shop back in order and get back to normality, so ordered new stock, then decided to give the shop a lift for the winter, so bought new lighting & curtains and would give my shop its much needed tlc in the New year. 

On speaking with the insurance mid-October, they were still awaiting my ‘dry’ certificate, (Mercury retrograde, of course the much-needed paperwork was going to be delayed) - so was told I could not yet re-open to the public, so began allowing some orders and collections like in lockdown. In the meantime, along came 2 repair companies to check out the property away from what you and I can see. I thought it was mainly the back stock room that was most damaged and knew the walls needed repairing and definitely a new floor but figured the work could be sorted in January, so could probably get back open from Halloween through to Hogmanay. However, this is 2020, the year of the unknown and one that just keeps on giving, so when I was told that the shop would need to be dismantled from fireplace right through to the stockroom, all stock packed into boxes and shelving etc cleared for the laying of a whole new floor, there was the cherry on the icing of the 2020 cake!! Looking around my little shop last week, the enormity of what I had been told began to sink in. That freak storm that I thought would close me down for a couple of weeks tops has managed to close my shop down for the rest of the year!! 

And so we begin the arduous task of boxing up the shop stock. We are going to begin the packing in the stock room so, if you need anything that is in the actual shop, PM/e-mail me to book a time to call in and shop for your witchy goodies, and stock up with the essentials, because the shop will be closed down from 5 November until 2021. 

I don’t know how long it is going to take to rebuild the shop once the repairs have been finished but hopefully things will begin to get back to some form of normality sometime in January, when we can hopefully begin 2021 with a flourish and get ready to celebrate (if we can) as I make 25 years of the Green Witch! 

I shall overcome and I will be back… 

Moon Times:

Full Moon:        31 Oct @ 14.49 hrs      New Moon:       15 Nov @ 05.07 hrs

Full Moon:        30 Nov @ 09.29 hrs     New Moon:       14 Dec @ 16.16 hrs

Mercury begins to go forward on 3^rd November so we can breathe a sigh of relief. Its retrograde lesson this time was to finally deal with problems that have not been completely sorted and let go before we can actually advance forward, hence why I think my shop needs the love and tlc now, not later, and why I am not resisting it being fully closed down for the necessary repairs and restoration to be done. The challenge of 2020 has been a testing one for most of us but, as one who tries to look for the silver lining, I am going to embrace the fact that I will have a lovely new floor courtesy of the insurance, we can redesign the shop a little, give it a thorough cleansing and then come back raring to rebuild the business to a new high, when this year is finally done!! 

In the meantime, please stay safe, stay well and stay smiling

Chris Macdonald (alias the Green Witch)

Christine Macdonald, Mystique Moments, 59-61 High Street, ABERDOUR, Fife, Scotland, KY3 0SJ

Tel: 01383 860106 Website: www.greenwitch.co.uk E-mail: [email protected]

Holy Moly - what a year so far, with another newsletter written in an empty shop! Following an unheard of, never experienced in this country before, tropical storm, on a normal, not even hot and humid day, we had rain, thunder and lightning for 9 hours through the night, and mass flooding in our village and all up this part of east Fife. Never has my poor shop been enveloped in water before, and even though Covid-19 did not close me fully, this one-off storm has!! I am looking on it as an Elemental blessing for The Green Witch: Earth and Water (mud and rain) filling the ground inside my shop coaxed on by Air and Fire (thunder and lightning), and that they have given me and my shop a break from trading now that others have re-opened. Cleaning the mud & water away from throughout the premises and getting it clean and dry it is exhausting, but nothing I can do except stay closed and get on with the task in hand with new Witchy sidekick Janey until sorted! Poor Janey – 1^st she got the pre-lockdown queues for oils & tinctures, then lockdown itself, then just as we return to our new normal shop trading, the almighty storm…some start to her new job! Maybe Maggie was testing her, making sure she has what it takes – she passed!!! The big dryers are now in, so once the shop is dry and floors sorted, we can tidy up, restock and begin our new normal again hopefully by the time we reach Mabon: just keep an eye on FB/website for updates as the professionals progress… managed to soaked up 50 gallons water in 1^st24 hours…and there’s more!! So, onwards and upwards to Mabon…

The Autumn Equinox…

We are reaching the Autumn Equinox on 22nd, when night and day are once again equal but we are heading into darkness. The last normal newsletter was the Spring Equinox, but boy what a ‘6 months in the light’ we have had! Will life ever be ‘normal’ again? Who knows, but for now, time to plan what to do over the darker nights. My thoughts are that we should prepare for 2 eventualities: what to do if all is well, and what to do if you go into lockdown once more. Be prepared for the unexpected, because what the last 6 months have shown is that 2020 is not a normal year…so I plan to take one day at a time, work if I can and run off and chill in the motorhome if I can’t (like now). What a joy to have for escape and so glad we gambled last year on buying before retiring! I aim to survive fit and healthy until we can kick 2020 out (No 4) and allow a calmer 2021 ( No 5 - my lucky number) in!

Positivity around the home or workplace…

It is always interesting when I get to get time to go through into the storeroom and sort crystals and often find things forgotten about! This time, because the boxes got waterlogged and collapsed, I found forgotten stock whilst re-boxing & drying that should be shared as that is the point of finding them!! 1st thing I found which was a Aragonite sputniks. These are uninteresting clusters of spiked brown or white crystals, yet of which Aragonite is one of the main components of pearl and coral…it is the main part of that beautiful, shiny, rainbow surface inside a shell produced by the mollusc!! Not many know of the brown spiky cluster I speak of, but they are thought to relieve geopathic stress and open blocked ley lines, so are great for placing around the home to relieve stress and open up to balance and harmony! They can also be helpful for manifestation and for making the most of those opportunities that may come your way: place in the correct section for what you need to manifest (money corner for a job etc): check out ‘Magickal Housekeeping’ on my website for directions, and let it get on with its job!

If you have no idea how to move forward, try a lump if Iron Pyrite. A gold crystal that grows in cuboid form, it is useful to enhance the get-up-and-go in you to tap into your talents and come up with ideas to transform your life. It can be used to manifest all sorts of things whether a successful career, improved health, bring back vitality or confidence and help overcome any doubts and fears brought on by lockdown to help you move forward to success once more. Carry a small piece and put a large piece in the relevant corner of your home…simple…so let’s do it!

Put your copper on…

As we try to recover from lockdown, lots of you own copper bracelets and wear them for arthritis or rheumatism, but copper is also a conductor of energy, so can enhance your energy and combat lethargy. Copper also magickally enhances and attracts luck and optimism and wearing copper attracts money, abundance and wealth so, look out that copper bracelet you discarded and align yourself with the abundance of the Universe. Also, just as we bury copper pennies on Friday 13^th, if lockdown has really demolished your finances, put some copper pennies under rugs or add a jar of pennies to your money corner to help get that abundance back! 

Harmony bowl revisited…

Some time ago, I encouraged you all to make a harmony bowl for the centre of your home, your love/family corner, created from pink things… Creating your Harmony bowl…

When the house is calm, find a small glass bowl (clear or pink if possible but pale green or blue will also suffice). Cleanse with a smudge stick/frankincense and fill with pink. You don’t need a large bowl or lots of stones, but fill with pink crystals, rose petals, ribbon, pink buttons (go see mum or gran & raid their button tin), pink glass beads… whatever you can find to vibrate the energy of pink. 

When complete, sit the bowl on your altar, amongst family photos in your family room or the centre of the home. 

Well, after lockdown, we need to revisit: take it apart, cleanse everything and remake it with some added extras…whatever your household needs to restore harmony should be added to the bowl! Here’s some ideas:

1. A piece of pyrite and some gold £1 or £2 coins if you’re in need of a job/money/pay the bills etc
2. Add some family wishes to help your household move forward and restore family contentment
3. A photo of your family during the good times - abundant, happy & healthy - to stand with your bowl
4. Green stones to attract luck, success and abundance and protect the harmony and happiness of the family, such as Chrysoprase, aventurine, amazonite, malachite or jade
5. A pentagram, whether a silver one, painted on a rock from the beach, drawn on paper or scratched on a little piece of slate…

When complete, stand together around the bowl, incense lit, hands held, as this is for you all, and all together say…

Our bowl of possibility, harmony and tranquility

Universe we ask of thee, this is our will, so mote it be

Repeat for each of you in the home, then leave the bowl in its place with the photo and daily, pay it attention and honour with incense and let it run until harmony, contentment and happiness is restored to all of you once more

Update your wish box

In this ever-changing world, it is imperative that you attract what you need into your life to live a full and happy one, and this can change quickly, so time to update your wish box or make one if you don’t have one! I always check mine at this time of year when day and night are equal, leave it if still under way or re-do it if all has materialised. Full details are on the website if you want to make your own wish box. I have had mine running for years now and includes what I want for my home, my personal life, my business and my children…if you don’t ask, you don’t get!! We all want to have a good life, living it with love and laughter, so get writing! The Universe is never ending and full to the brim and will fulfil your every need, but don’t get greedy or a Universal kick will be all that is forthcoming!

Home is your castle…

One thing 2020 has brought to the fore is that your home should be your protection and your sanctuary away from the world, and as we all got locked down and most made to work or home-school from it, we have all been tested to the max. Lockdown was a struggle for most, even if you are in a loving family with a well-balanced relationship, but for some, the whole time has been nothing short of hell! As some form of normality returns, hopefully those who discovered life is not good and want a different kinda life will seek advice & help to make much-needed changes. The rest of us have discovered the shortfalls in our home due to suddenly everyone being at home. I am fortunate in that we have the motor home for escape and a lovely country to escape in, and it looks like Mr Mac’s office is going to remain in the kitchen till at least Spring 2021! I normally have the kitchen 2 days a week for making and bottling but now have to ‘request’ the use of the kitchen, which is still half-demolished! We had the pantries knocked down and a new door fitted after New Year & was waiting for the light to return to decide how to design the new kitchen for April/May fitting – yep – we are still waiting!! It did finally push us into sorting what we have hummed & awed about for years - a summerhouse for the garden. After a ‘trying’ day, Mr Mac bought one to act as his office! We both worked all of lockdown and the money we would have spent on meals out and holidays has now given us a lovely chill zone at the bottom of the garden near the fire pit to find peace and quiet when we need to!!

So how do you find peace amongst the chaos? Have you smudged/psychically cleansed your home since lockdown? It is something that needs to get done weekly, if not daily if there are arguments/heated discussions indoors or noise and disturbance out-with your home. Finding peace is not a request…I have always maintained that everyone has the right to find peace and calm in their own home, and nothing and no-one has the right to take that away!

Cleansing with Clearing incense or Frankincense resin on charcoal, a smudge stick or Palo Santo wood should be done regularly, then the house calmed with floral oils or incense daily to maintain love, peace and harmony. If there is a disturbance in or outside your home, carry out the cleansing & burn the floral incense, then, with a bottle of Peace Oil, visualise utter peace and quiet into the bottle. Once done, look yourself in a mirror, close your eyes, visualise harmony and peace whilst anointing your forehead, nape of neck and pulse points, knowing the noise will cease and peace will follow…then keep the bottle surrounded by rose quartz on your altar and use every time you are disturbed. It won’t be long before peace and harmony reign within your walls once more… it is your right and the Universe will provide …just keep asking in this way until it is given!!

Moon Times:

New Moon:       Thu 17 Sep @ 12.01 hrs           Full Moon:        Thu 1. Oct @ 22.06 hrs

New Moon:       Fri 16 Oct @ 20.32 hrs            Full Moon:        Sat 31 Oct @ 14.50 hrs

…oh yes, because 2020 hasn’t handed us enough to cope with, let’s do Halloween on a full moon on a Saturday!! Again… Holy Moly: let’s just make it to the Celtic New Year, let it bring in luck, hope and happiness and begin anew

Wishing you optimism and good cheer in these challenging times

Christine Macdonald (alias the Green Witch

Lammas 31 July - 1 August 2020

This may be Lammas but certainly doesn’t feel like any normal summer. There are no Mediterranean holidays, no village festival and no Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The kids haven’t just broken up for summer. Nobody is going on holiday except in UK if you don’t want quarantining. Shops, bars, cafes and hotels have only just opened back up with people venturing maybe…and some businesses are still waiting and remain closed since lockdown began!

The world is now all about social distancing, face coverings, outside queueing, hand sanitizer and surface cleansing. People are afraid to use money whilst the card machine companies encourage contactless spending to increase their income! Let me tell you, 7 years working in a bank, we were never afraid of catching anything from money – you just learned you had to wash your hands several times a day because money was absolutely filthy!! 

The world is now changed…whether permanently remains to be seen… but this is the “new normal” and whether I can cope with it also remains to be seen. 24 years building my business and now the chaos, the fun, the crowded store and the complex and surprising questions have all gone. There is no time or space for people to ‘wander’ for an hour in search of some peace anymore…instead of a relaxing escape for as long as your please, time is limited as others queue waiting to get in. I know all businesses are trying to find their way through these new ways, but I am not a food or clothes shop! My shop is a magickal place for you to find the answer to your question, whether a crystal, a piece of jewellery, a book, a blend of oils or simply a hug, a tissue and a listening ear…and I am not sure  it will survive in this new mode… only time will tell, but I am not here to police people coming in and out, spray everyone entering and try and hurry folk along because of the queue outside…it is just not the way my shop works!!

But now to Lammas - the beginning of autumn. It is the time for harvesting the hedgerows – a time when crops come to fruition and, as the weather has been so good, I am sure the farmers are delighted  as crops ripen early..

This is a good time to eat lots of berries and collect remedies for the winter for free. Take a walk with your partner, family or kids in the country and collect brambles, rosehips and elderberries to make winter remedies to keep the kids healthy on their return to school. If you are into it, this time of year can be extremely productive until the winter. By Samhain, the larder and freezer should both be full! When you imagine witches stirring their cauldron, it is always thought it was spells and potions, but health is a very important part of being a witch, using the bounty of nature to ensure your family remain healthy…and with 2020 being a year to be remembered due to this pandemic, it is even more important to keep on top of and improve family health to keep on fighting infections and viruses over the winter, so get brewing and get those pans and cauldrons bubbling!!

What to do at Lammas…

Your altar should be dressed in autumnal colours such as yellow, orange or red. Add candles, and acorns & pine cones if you can find them. If you are near fields, when the farmer cuts the wheat fields, gather any ears you can find and place them on the altar. This is when having a dog pays off, as you can watch for such things and collect as you go. Pop the corn or barley into a wee vase or, if you want to be adventurous, then try your hand at a corn dolly...you should find a ‘how to’ on the internet!

Lammas means loaf-mass, so why not try your hand at baking. Make some bread if you can, and break a home-made loaf with friends. Add some bramble or elderberry wine but if you cannot find any, then a good red wine will do nicely, and give thanks for all that comes to the table and count your blessings; this is the time to be thankful for food, family and friends and after this year, if you and yours remained healthy and avoided Covid-19, you can be especially thankful…as lots across the world have not been so lucky and families will be dealing with the after-effects and the loss suffered for a long time to come!

Making healthy Rosehip syrup…

I used to make rosehip syrup for the kids for over the winter, plus add Niaouli oil to every bath they had, and they never seemed to get coughs and colds. Nowadays, people tend to rely on chemicals, so why not have a go at making your own home-made remedies at a fraction of the cost. Here’s how to make old-fashioned Rosehip syrup to keep the kids extra-topped up with Vitamin C through this winter…

Gather about 20g-25g fresh rosehips, rinse and put into an enamel, glass or stainless-steel pan. Cover with 375ml cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until it has been reduced by a third. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a jug and press rosehips to ensure as much goodness and liquid goes in the decoction. Add back to the pan with equal amount of local honey (250ml decoction to 250ml honey) and stir until it is dissolved. Pour into sterilized dark glass bottles, preferably with cork stoppers as syrups can ferment…keep in the fridge and give children 5ml daily for their natural vitamin C.

Elderberry rob can be made the same way. Again, full of Vitamin C, this was used at the first sign of a cold. Add a spoonful of the elderberry rob to a spoonful honey and juice half lemon and add hot water for a warming, soothing children’s drink. We have to do our utmost to stay on top of our immune system this winter and if your immune system is working and you are as healthy as you can be, it may help you avoid any recurring Covid to come!

Frankincense - oil for clarity and tranquility

One of my most used oils is Frankincense. I adore its balsamic citrus aroma. I find it calming yet uplifting, and often use the oil to clean and purify my home when I’ve been tense, stressed, or need to focus. The oil has the ability to help you relax, so if suffering from nervous exhaustion or depression, this oil is fab – it will calm that tension and soothe you to restful sleep! Just add to your bath, oil burner or inhale straight from a tissue. I even add it to my moisturizer and night oil, as Frankincense has been used for centuries as a tonic to glorify older skin and fight wrinkles!! Frankincense is a spiritual resin known throughout the ancient world, so burn the pure resin on a charcoal block to uplift and clear the home of negativity. Inhaling the oil will calm the physical whilst awakening your higher consciousness, inhale to help calm the mind but awaken your inner self if meditating, and bring a halt to those thoughts going around your head, allowing clarity and concentration to come through for answers to those questions. If you are distracted, Frankincense will centre and focus you. If you feel weighed down with life, then this oil will allow you to free yourself of the ties that bind and rekindle that calming inner light…

A wish from our native Yarrow…

Yarrow is a common grassland plant native to Scotland. Around here, it grows on the cliff area but will grow anywhere that wild flowers can grow. A sprig in the wedding bouquet will ensure 7 years happiness, a bunch fresh yarrow hung over the bed will ensure love lasts 7 years, and hung over the front door will attract good friends & keep evil away! The tea has been used for anxiety, melancholy and as a tonic in Scotland for centuries. Keep an eye on your local plants, and, when you find your first piece blooming yarrow, it will grant you one single wish. Hold the bloom and make your wish, then carry it home and sleep with it under your pillow, then keep on your altar! 

And another wish to help you get moving…

We all need help just now so here is something we can all do. Collect together a few stems of fresh herbs from your garden or supermarket, such as rosemary, sage, bay, parsley etc (will take cuttings in for those without). Write your wish in full in appropriate colour ink on a piece of paper and wrap within the herb stems. Tie with yarn or wool using 9 knots whilst saying an appropriate repeated little rhyme…if money, maybe say something like

            ‘Money come, money flow, Money sparkle, money grow’

Then light the bundle outside in a cauldron or container and let it burn till only ash remains. When a good wind blows, scatter the ashes to the wind stating “So mote it be” to set it finally in motion.

Addition to the list…3^rd wedding anniversary…

If you have reached your 3^rd year of marriage completed, it is celebrated with Leather. If you think of Roman armour, it was made of leather because it was durable and protective. Leather protects you from the elements – hence why the animals have suede and leather as skin, and the shoes, coats & gloves you wear to keep the cold out! You have now made 3 years and your marriage is growing stronger. You are working together to fight challenges you face from outside, and through rain or shine, thick or thin, you are a unit of strength against the world!

Sunflowers are the flower for this celebration, for the sunny success of your growing love. They are associated with truth, honesty and loyalty, and wish you wisdom, luck and good health. The seeds are a symbol of fertility, being eaten to promote pregnancy! The Sunflowers represent Sun and fire but the crystal for this anniversary, Moonstone, is Moon and Water…perfect balance, night and day, male and female, projective and receptive!

Moonstone is the Goddess crystal and is also the pregnancy and safe delivery stone…we getting a theme here? Your relationship is now strong enough to support a family so encourages you to move to the next stage in the circle of life! It is protective & love-drawing and is prized for the stone to work out any issues between lovers, and  exchanging stones helps you face & deal with any problems you may have. So, husbands, to reach favour with the wife, it’s a designer handbag and purse, some sunflowers and a set of moonstone jewellery…lovely!!

The Green Witch & Covid-19…

In the shop, we have now working to our new normal hours. We will be open sooner than guaranteed, but the daily cleansing takes time, so we will open as soon as it is sorted, but we will definitely be open as follows:

Tue, Thu, Fri and Sat:  11am till 4.30pm ish 

I am finding all this extra work somewhat exhausting, so keep an eye on FB and website for any sudden closures or holidays. Remember, I am not as young as I used to be nor can I do what I used to do!! Please be patient if you’ve to queue: seats outside for the sun, brollies for the rain, spray for hands, just don’t forget your face coverings!

Moon Times:

Full Moon:        Mon 3 Aug @ 16.59 hrs            New Moon:       Wed 19 Aug @ 03.42 hrs

Full Moon:        Wed 2 Sep @ 06.22 hrs          New Moon:       Thu 17 Sep @ 12.01 hrs

Bright blessings and virtual hugs from

Chris (alias the Green Witch)

Well, we’ve made it through lockdown to Midsummer and the longest day…the Universe may have shut down travel around the globe, but at least it gave us decent weather, up until now, to endure it. Never have so many been so happy to exercise outdoors, which for many people, was their only escape! Walking was a joy in the warm weather, especially for us here, as we have 3 beaches, one of which is hidden away and only accessible at low tide or over the golf course. As the golf course was closed, many of us enjoyed a new walk to the secret sands…and made the most of it because, now Scotland is in phase 1, the golf course has re-opened and we are back to being banned with our dogs, but it was a delight while it lasted, silver lining and all that! 

Now we get to meet with our family and friends, just 2 households with maximum of 8 in one group…works for me! The utter joy of seeing the boys and my little bambino again highlighted the importance of family and the ability and need for humans to socialise!! Hopefully, we will use this as a lesson for life and treasure those close to us. It is people that matter, not stuff, and here in Scotland, it was the first thing to be released! When asked, the people of Scotland could continue without shopping for shoes or getting their nails done, but just wanted to see their kids, their parents, their grandchildren and their closest friends. Lesson from Covid-19 folks…people matter!!

So here we are at the longest day. Normally at this time we would be looking forward to school holidays and sun and fun at the beach, whether here or abroad. However, kids have been away from school for weeks, partners are either working from home or still furloughed, flights are now discouraged and, at time of going to press, we still have ‘no staying away from home overnight’, so life still has plenty of limitations!! 

On the silver lining note, people have learned how to cook more often, more adventurously and use what was in the kitchen rather than discard or waste food, kids have learned to bake, and probably for most, diet and exercise have been of quality and more thought, rather than freezer/microwave food and no time for exercise! Hopefully, we can all build on our new way of life and not revert back to daily pre-made food or takeaways, which is a more expensive and less healthy way to live. People have eaten together like they used to. Meals have been prepared by the family, rather than everything left up to mums or whoever is home first!!

On the down side, I have noticed that, at first, everyone was concerned about their immune system, and buying Witches Gold, Eucalyptus, Litsea and tea tree oils to clean and fight the virus plus Thyme and Echinacea for the immune system. Vitamin C, D and zinc were also flying off the shelf as people looked to keep their body, family and home as healthy and virus free as possible. I couldn’t keep up and was even more delighted to be allowed to stay open for the ‘Physical health and Emotional well-being’ part of my shop… who’d have thought??

Then I noticed things began to change…and now people were looking for tinctures of Valerian, St John’s Wort, Lime flower and Milk Thistle, and oils of Bergamot, Ylang-Ylang, Geranium, Lavender and Clary Sage. It was now not their immune system that they were primarily concerned with, but their mental health was now being affected too. People wanted happy, loving crystals like Citrine, Rose quartz, Peridot, Moonstone and Larimar to wear rather than defensive, healing stones like fluorite, smoky quartz and garnet! It was and still is an interesting twist, as people fight more for their emotional well-being and less about their physical health. Strange times but it is what it is and self-care has definitely become a priority during this on-going battle!

But now we are at the longest day…thank goodness the Corona Virus attacked in the spring…better we had the growing light and the sunnier weather to fill us with hope during the battle. But now we are at the longest day. This would normally be one of the busiest times of the year for shops like mine, located in a tourist seaside village. But this area is hardest hit. I have been very fortunate that a part of my business allowed me to stay open, even if just 12 hours a week. I may not be taking anywhere near my usual takings, but I am still able to trade in some way. Other businesses are not so lucky, and we must all plan for what will be the new normal and how to take business forward. I look at my little store that has maybe 5/6 customers per shift max, and look back to pre-lockdown with people queueing out the door and the fun-filled hustle and bustle that often goes on in my shop, and wonder if I will ever see it like that again! We will all have to make changes and Midsummer is the time to plan where we all go from here on the long run upto the shortest day!!

Back to Midsummer…

The longest day is when the Sun is at its strongest, so celebrations usually take place outdoors (think Stonehenge), but as we cannot gather indoors yet, outdoors it must be!! This is a fire ceremony, so I will be having my usual bonfire, weather permitting, out in the garden with my hubby, and I am sure one of the boys will drop by, as it is tradition to sit round our fire drinking wine and beer and enjoying the company. Tradition says stay awake till sunrise but I am getting too long in the tooth for all that these days!! Typical, as we are all mostly still based at home, Midsummer falls on a Saturday night and is the dark moon, with the New Moon at 7.40am Sunday morning, which is also Father’s Day – a family event indeed! We can use this combo to burn the negative factors in our lives on Midsummer evening, and attract the positive the next day with the New Moon…perfect!! So, what do you do??

Midsummer fire…

I light a bonfire at Midsummer for fun and relaxation, but this year we need to get our lives back on track. Before Midsummer, you need to prepare 2 circles. In days gone by in the Nordic countries, these would have been wheels to which they wrapped in straw, set on fire and rolled down the hills, but we are NOT going to do that, as is illegal. To roll away from you is to take away misfortune, and towards you is for luck. To make your own Wheel of Fortune, make a circle of copper wire, a wooden craft hoop, a fallen branch, a flower arranging circle or a dreamcatcher just prepare 2 circles from whatever you can find in the house or garden, 1^st to burn and 2^nd to keep! 

Wrap the 1st in dark ribbon/wool, and the 2^nd in red ribbon/wool for strength. The 1^st is for the dark moon of Midsummer. Write things that you need to leave your life in scroll form and attack to the circle to burn in the Midsummer bonfire or in an outside container, allowing both Fire, the element of transformation, and the dark mistress of the Moon to take them away. The 2^nd, we will tie things on it for luck: hang symbols such as acorns, nuts, pentagram, dried flowers, a pouch of seeds filled with hopes, a Sun/Phoenix, or a written scroll with a wish, even a rainbow crystal! Use your imagination to fill with things to attract luck, joy & abundance into your life for hanging in your home after the New Moon at 7.40am. Bless in incense, then hang where you can spin it whenever you pass to get your good luck moving and send messages to the Universe for what you need/desire in your life. 

Midsummer herb – St John’s wort

People have been turning to St John’s wort to fight the emotional upheaval of our current situation & even I have been taking it! I also collect the fresh herb from my garden every Midsummer, bless it over the fire and hang over my front door to bring sunshine into my home and shop for the next year and keep the bad stuff away. Add dried St John’s wort to Midsummer incense, along with lavender and heather or make a pouch and hang for protection and happiness. If you have it in your garden, you can also infuse it in Olive oil to make a lotion…internally it works on the nervous system but externally, the oil helps with nerve pain, so is a useful addition to the family 1^st aid kit!

Midsummer Sunshine with oils of Melissa & Bergamot

Melissa is Oil of Lemon Balm, a plant that’ll grow in any garden and once established, is hard to get rid of. Its scent is a burst of citrus, but the oil is difficult to obtain from the plant, but magickally is uplifting joy. If you are emotionally very sensitive or don’t work well under limitations, this crisis will be having an emotional toll upon you! That is where we call on oils of Melissa and Bergamot, known as my ‘Sunshine’ mix in the shop! Bergamot is relaxing but uplifting, calming any anxiety and relieving depressive thoughts. Melissa is helpful if full of anxious foreboding and worry and when these are combined…well, what can I say? In my house, it restores that feeling of utter calm and tranquility and in times of anxiety, inhaled from a tissue, it is simply supportive sunshine!

Get your sunny Citrine on…

There are lots of crystals helpful during this time, but I find the most helpful ones are connected to Fire, the Element of transformation, and especially the pairing of Citrine (Sun) and Peridot (Volcano)! Yellow is the colour of clarity, abundance, sunshine and happiness, whilst green is well-being, balance and harmony as well as money. Yellow stones attract what you most desire, while green crystals have the power to stimulate new ideas and bring about change. Carry or wear one or a mix of these two colours, but especially sunny Citrine and Peridot, to get things moving forward in your life, attract positive change and success, and help increase optimism, happiness and joy! 

Moon Times…

New Moon:       Sun 21 June @ 07.40 hrs         Full Moon:        Sun 5 July @ 05.30 hrs

New Moon:       Mon 20 July @ 18.33 hrs

Now for ‘The Green Witch Covid-19 protocol’…

I have remained open during this crisis 3 days a week to make up orders for despatch for those living away or isolating, but also for locals to ‘click/collect’ too. Over the last couple weeks, there’s been an increase in people dropping in, so here’s my formula for those using my shop till something like normality resumes:

1. Shop hours will remain at 11 till 3ish Tue, Thu and Sat for now, but could be extended, depending on how busy the village is, with cleaning at regular intervals & hand spray available on the counter before exiting
2. A maximum of 3 singles or 2 pairs can be instore at any one time and pairs must remain together within the shop. Shopping should be completed within 15 minutes to allow others in & lessen risks to the vulnerable.
3. Customers must be coming in for specific shopping, and not simply “to browse.” Those coming in can of course look for additional shopping whilst observing social distancing from others already in the store.
4. I accept cash and card and prefer the use of pin numbers. However, contactless is accepted if you prefer, but only during this crisis, as companies charge more for contactless than using your pin!!

Hopefully, we will all stay well and safe, good luck to you all and we’ll see you on the other side if not before!

Sunny midsummer blessings to you all from Chris (alias the Green Witch)

Welcome to this special, once in a lifetime newsletter. I have been writing these newsletters since 1999, and my last one said we were off in our Motorhome Meg for a week to prepare for Ostara… little did we know that my trip would be preparing us for the nightmare that was about to unfold!! After a couple weeks of chaos as people came in to stockpile Thyme, Echinacea, Tea Tree and Witches Gold for the new virus, little did I know that I would then spend the rest of my time for the next few weeks or months in an empty shop just making up the odd mail orders – just me, Maggie and the fire! My shop is usually bustling with customers, enjoying time in their personal space smelling oils, soaps & candles, browsing books & perusing the sparkles & pretties …and then, it all changed!

We returned from a week away as this all began to break and I was positive that I didn’t want my husband going into the City on a crammed train! That was stopped the night before he was due to return to his office and his routine of working full-time from home in our kitchen, began. A week a madness, and then came ‘Lockdown’ and here we stay. As unessential travel is banned, social distancing becomes the norm, and people are only allowed out for essential travel, work, food, medicine and exercise, how we just want to hug our kids and grandkids! Phone calls and ‘zooming’ Sunday lunch with the family become the norm, shortages of everyday foods appear such as milk, flour, pasta & chopped tomatoes as people stockpile and craziness ensues. You can no longer shop, just ordering online for the vulnerable and click and collect for most of us, unless you want to spend hours in a queue just to relieve the boredom of being stuck at home. Thank goodness for local village shops. 

As we drift day by day, week into week, nobody knows when this ‘Lockdown’ will ease up and life will return to some normality once more! I am sat here, Vat and website to get on with, and a newsletter to produce to record all this for future reference! Without the normal business of my customers in and out, the shop is not somewhere I want to spend a lot of time! There is plenty of work to be done cleaning, tidying and restocking, but I have absolutely no motivation to do it, as it seems a pointless exercise right now!

However, interestingly, I think this will incite many positive benefits. Firstly, people now matter, not stuff. Rich or poor, black or white, male or female, there is no divide when it comes to this virus, and it has brought to the fore many things: we don’t need a fake tan or false nails, we need a fighting immune system. We don’t need the Celeb culture to worship, we need appreciation for our true heroes: our doctors, nurses, paramedics & care workers …these are our true stars when push comes to shove and disaster hits! We need our forces, fire brigade and police to be there when we need their help. We need post & parcels delivered and our bins emptied. We need food taken to those who cannot get out (like my mum) and neighbours to be neighbourly and look out for those around us who are vulnerable and isolating. We need local shops to serve our communities, not big shopping centres on industrial estates miles away. We need lorries taking supplies to the stores, stackers filling the shelves and the tellers getting us through the checkouts. Our local shops kept instore the things that matter for locals, so the elderly didn’t go without. Our village has a phone monitored 12hours per day so if you’re ill, stuck or self-isolating, the villagers will meet your needs, whether locals to get shopping, the pharmacy to bring your medicine to you, or our Minister to set up his deck chair and chat to you from the street or your garden, so you had someone call and chat to you to keep isolation and loneliness at bay. The milkman and fish van suddenly became busy once more, delivering fresh supplies direct to your doorstep, the baker supplied fresh bread, cakes and eggs daily and the local farms joined forces to supply bacon, steak pies, mince and sausages to the local food shops…and every shop would deliver what you needed to your doorstep - a real community looking after each other, as it should be, and hopefully be happening in every little community in the country, and will continue to be so when this is all over!

So, what have you missed about your personal life that actually mattered? Apart from hugging my little Bambino and chatting over coffee with the kids, the thing I have gone without that has had the most impact on me and my life is my hairdresser! If my hair is tidy, add a little slap and lippy, and I can face the world and take on the day… deny me my 5-weekly haircut, my hair becomes too thick, wild and wavy and it’s a disaster. It isn’t coloured or permed, just needs a 5-weekly trim to keep it shaped. Had to finally let hubby straighten the back with clippers after losing the plot and attacking it one morning with the scissors… the simple pleasures of life! My appointment is already booked for the 1^st day my hairdresser can resume her work and I can face the world head-on again!

But what about Beltane…

Beltane is the fire Sabbat for new beginnings, fertility, growth and change, including getting rid of the old and unwanted. It is usually the party Sabbat but, this year, it will be different as people can’t get together to for fun and frivolity, so fires will be lit just by household and celebrations quieter than normal. If you want to see what you can do in your own particular lockdown situation, read the Beltane page on my website and adapt accordingly!

I’m sure most households are starting to struggle a little…whether neighbours are doing your head in with noise, the kids are getting on your nerves, partners locked together 24/7 are starting to get a little ‘tetchy’ with each other, or your mental health is taking a knock so you are eating or drinking a little more than normal, try to find ways to cope and keep busy…easier said than done with fists clenched and temper raging! Have a read of ‘Calming your Home’, ‘Clearing your home’ or ‘Magickal Housekeeping’ in my Book of Shadows to see if there are small things you can do that can maybe help your situation, and every time you have a rant, smudge it out!! Burn incense, oils or scented candles every day to encourage a calm, peaceful household. Sit in incense smoke & visualise a happy castle holding nothing but peace & protection. We have some way to go before we’re done, so find peace any way you can!

Magickal mix of Hope for Beltane…

There is an old saying that says ‘Tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today’…so let’s prepare!

To attract healing, money, happiness and protection to our lives, there are crystals and oils that do all of the above, so to face the future head on, carry Chrysoprase, Jade, Peridot or Malachite or a selection of them and use oils of Pine, Juniper, Niaouli or Eucalyptus. Maybe make a spray or oil blend and a little crystal to the bottle to synergistically boost the power, or make a pouch using the money attracting herbs mentioned previously with the oils and crystals! Get creative to give your life a boost forward in any way you can and prepare for what is to come. We are all gonna need help and it is up to us to provide help for ourselves and those closest. Make one pouch or prepare a few and gift to friends and family…because, as we know, every little helps!!

Malachite – stone of transformation and change…

I should know by now that if this stone begins to sell fast, there may be trouble ahead! Malachite first sold out at the millennium, when nobody knew if computers would survive the change from 1999 to 2000 (if you remember!) Then it went quiet until the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012, got mad again for the Indy ref in 2014, steady through Brexit in 2016, then quiet, but last year, suddenly sold out & had trouble getting more due to UK demand. With stock replaced, the sales were constant along with requests for jewellery too. Malachite is a striking emerald green from its copper content, is banded, opaque and extremely soft, so is hand-polished. It is very useful when change is thrust upon us and we need to cope, adapt and break through any barriers to move on. It helps heal after the change, supporting feelings of loss or depression by oozing calm and optimism. It’ll assist you to choose healthy friendships and relationships based on love and respect, & leave unhealthy ones behind, lessons learned! When life begins to get back some normality, it will offer travellers protection if overwhelmed by people en masse where there has been space! In the pocket, it will draw money into business and get those tills ringing, and every business that has been forced to close or temporarily shut down will need help to get moving to succeed once more. We have had no control over this unprecedented situation and have been forced to do things unheard of. Life will eventually take on its new normality, so let malachite lend you the strength to be who you want to be in this new world and forge your life forward, to face whatever gonna happens over the next few years!!

Help for your finances out of your cupboards…

Light incense you have, whether granular, stick or cone. On a square piece of paper, with green ink, crayon or felt tip, draw a large pentagram and in the centre, write £ sign (& an amount if necessary). Anoint the points of the pentagram with Earth oil, patchouli oil or any money-attracting oil you have in e.g. nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, basil or vetiver. (Point of note: did you know that basil leaves were soaked in water and the scented liquid sprinkled around shop premises to encourage customers to spend…just saying!!) Now place a green candle in a stand over the £ sign. If you don’t have a green one, anoint a white candle with your ‘money’ oil and use instead. We are using the power of 3 so firstly, surround the candle with a circle of pennies (9 or 12). Surround that with a circle of money attracting herbs, whether patchouli, crushed cinnamon, grated nutmeg, or even chamomile or tea from tea bags (or a mix to make up enough). Finally mix together grinded salt and pepper (you should have that in one form or another) and surround the other two with your 3^rd circle. Now light your candle and say:

            Candle of fire, note of cash sign,

            Herbs of abundance, make prosperity mine,

            Copper for speed, salt from the Sea,

            Pepper for heat, using circles of 3.

            As the flame burns, Set in motion for me

            Abundance forthwith, then so mote it be!

Let the candle burn down and, when cool, collect the copper, herbs, condiments and wax into a green sachet or cut a square of green cloth, and hang over your door or business premises! Now let the Universe provide…

Moon Times…

Full Moon:     Thur 7 May @ 11.46 hrs           New Moon:    Fri 22 May @ 18.39 hrs

Full Moon:     Fri 5 Jun @ 20.26 hrs             New Moon:    Sun 21 June @ 07.40 hrs

Don’t forget, I am instore 3 days a week sending out orders and making up collections if you need anything and am posting jewellery and stones on Fb to help update the website. Stay well, stay safe and see you on the other side.

The Green Witch