Everyone needs a Magickal box…

I was looking for inspiration for this newsletter and went to my 3 magickal boxes under the bed. One is full of herbal snippets, one full of magickal snippets and one full of spell ideas/poems and thoughts and ideas, all written on bits of paper. These three wooden boxes match but another is really bright and colourful and is full of all other ‘stuff’…like a bucket box of ideas and things to do. The winter is a great time to make your inspirational or magickal box or boxes. You might even get a box for Yule or Christmas that contains something, but the box itself could be very useful for this…or someone might give you a beautiful box as a gift. Maybe your dad will have an old cigar box or mum has an old wooden box that was too good to throw away but has never been used?

I have left my boxes as they are…one was a beautiful box that contained a gift but the others are plain wooden boxes, but you can paint or decorate your box to please you and personalize it for whatever it contains.

Maybe you want to make a portable altar, containing all your elemental pieces to create an altar for travelling or outdoors. Another idea is to keep all your magickal candles, crystals, bits and pieces to use for spell work…the list is endless. A magickal altar box can be decorated with a pentagram and elemental signs etc, spell box with a Book of Shadows, you get my drift, but just make them yours.

When ready to consecrate, hold your box in copal incense, fill with its contents, close the lid and draw a pentagram on the top with your finger to protect your box until it is needed. Your magickal box can then be stored in a closet or, like mine, under where I sleep. Simples!!

Any cackling witch would be unrecognisable unless she was bent over her cauldron stirring her brewing potion! All witches want their symbolic cauldron in gunmetal grey or cast iron black in pride of place, even if they only use it for incense burning!

The cauldron symbolises Earth, Air, Fire and Water simply by the way it’s made in its cast iron and its 3 legs represent the three faces of women: maiden, mother and crone and the three phases of the moon: waxing, full and waning and the magickal Witch number of 3. It is the tool of magickal and spiritual transformation, so any negative issues can be written and burned at Samhain in your cauldron, helping this negative trait to be transformed. Even when you are using it, the metal is Earth, the Fire heats the Water inside and the steam it creates is Air…elemental magick indeed!!

Just remember that the cauldron is a personal tool and should never be used by another. Each witch must have her own magickal cauldron and bad luck will bestow anyone using someone else’s cauldron for magickal purposes!!

If you don’t ask, you don’t get…

A couple of years ago, I made my ‘Bucket board” and placed it in my career and life path area as part of my Magickal Housekeeping. This was to provide inspiration for my time off and consisted of lots pictures of all the things my partner and I want to do and see before we die, so a long-term project. When deciding on holidays, my only request is that it includes something off our board.

Since building my bucket board and ensuring it was in the correct magickal area of our home, we have travelled a lot more and I have removed quite a few completed things from the board. It is almost like the Universe has made more space and funds available to help fulfil my travel requests and we have been on more than our usual holidays. Since creating the board, I have been lucky enough to have been up the Eiffel Tower, on a steamboat down the Mississippi, seen the grassy knoll in Dallas and the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. I have climbed among the cooled path of a volcano, and overcame my fear of gondolas by going peak to peak in the Canadian mountains. I really believe that, if I hadn’t spent time putting my dreams on a board, these trips would never have been done. It provides focus, so every time you pass and glance at your board, you are putting energy into your dreams.

So, what does that mean for you?

Is there anything you want to do in your future? Maybe you want your dream home? Maybe you have that dream job in your mind or want to set up your own company because you have a great business idea? Maybe you want to climb every mountain or take a swim in every ocean, or move to another country? Then you too can make a dream board to help make it happen! Here’s what to do?

Firstly, you need a pin board or, if wall space is limited, then you can use a picture frame. Depending on what the board is for, select the area of your home you think it best located. Start collecting a file of pictures and words to depict your dreams. Mine was obviously from travel and holiday magazines, but if you want a home of your dreams, then collect pictures of aspects of your dream home you want in it…roll-top bath, patio doors, garden swing, dream kitchen…you get my drift? Include things like the security it offers, who will be living in it, where it needs to be… all the things that matter and build the vision of what you want the new home to do for you and yours!! Are you following me?

Your dream board should offer what your dream means to you, and build up the collage of your needs and wants!! Once you have you’re a plethora of picture in your file, you can start to build your board on the next new moon. Burn incense of your choosing, depending on your chosen subject, and concentrate on your wishes and dreams. Start to pin your pics on the board and over time, add to it to build your vision and let’s see where is takes you!!

You need a journal to write your dreams into – whether a lockable diary-type, a beautiful spiral book or a Leather-bound Dream Book – whatever pleases you, plus a small note book and pencil which will live by your bed or under your pillow for you to jot down notes on waking. Dreams are vivid when you wake up, whether through the night or with the alarm, but fade very quickly. You can use the pad and pencil to scribble down as quickly as possible as much information as is vivid when you wake, even in the dark, before getting out of bed. Write down as much detail as possible –sensations, feelings, places, colours, smells, objects, etc and date each entry like a dream diary.

The reason I suggest a pad and pencil as well as a book is that I wake up through the night, sometimes twice, so I will be scribbling stuff down in the dark – it will be untidy and disjointed. I can then copy the notes/symbols down into the Dream Diary in the morning, with the notes reminding me what my thoughts were on waking, even if it was only briefly. If you just want to use a journal, then do so. When you refer to your notes/transfer your notes in the morning to your diary, let them process and recap, then try to interpret what they mean underneath.

There are lots of listings and books out there, though I always found that my brain didn’t necessarily follow someone else’s thoughts so you might need to check a few out. Make notes at the bottom of the page as to your interpretation. These might mean things, or they might be your brain re-filing stuff that have happened through the day! By creating a Diary of Dreams, when things happen in your life, you can refer back and see if you were psychically aware of it before it occurred.

An example for you…I always told my guides if they wanted to pass a message through dreams, make it obvious. I dreamt it was Christmas day and my shop neighbour rang to ask why all my stuff was outside on the pavement, and had something happened? I ran down to find that my landlord had sold the property to someone who had given it as a present to his wife as a surprise, along with the Landlords spare set of keys. She went along to view her present and decided she didn’t want a witches’ shop but would create her own thing, and was putting all my shop contents on the pavement. My shop was no more! I awoke panicking and for a moment, didn’t know if it was real!

Shortly after the dream, another village business had a problem with his roof and the landlord asked him to vacate whilst structural repairs were carried out. A long-forgotten Scottish law was then secretly used to sell the premises and he lost his business overnight! Remembering the dream, I went into panic mode again. It could also happen to me so I began negotiations with the landlord and my bank, and bought the shop premises a few months later. The message had been very clear and I followed the instructions and guidance given!! Panic over!

So, if you want to learn about your psychic side of your brain, start a dream journal  and see if you can make your brain magickally work for us while you sleep!

Crystals and oils to enhance good sleep and dream recall

Most people know lavender is a good restful oil for sleep but that doesn’t close off the psychic side of the head. Also adding a drop Clary Sage to your pillow should help enhance your dreams and your ability to remember them.

A lot of crystals can help good dreams and dream recall. The one I would recommend using is Amethyst but Dream Quartz, red jasper or Herkimer diamonds can also be effective. Mine will be a nice large tumble that fits nicely in my hand, but I also wear an amethyst bead bracelet to bed. Programme your dream crystal by cleansing in incense smoke for a few minutes, then hold in your dominant hand and request it help you with your dreams.  Hold or place under your pillow nightly for a dreamy night, and hold when writing/recapping in your journal. Happy dreams

The essential Magickal broomstick

Of all the witch’s tools, the favourite is probably the broomstick, alongside the cauldron, the hat and the black cat, and all witches have one somewhere, even if just a small one for the altar. One proudly stands in my home, a 2^ndstands at the shop door when I open up after I have swept the previous day’s negativity out of the premises, and a 3^rdhovers above the counter so the children know where my transportation is parked!! 2 more small ones live on my altar, one plain and another decorated to the Goddess.

Brooms were a household tool of the past, now replaced by the vacuum, more efficient for the dust but less so for the negativity! Typically, a good broomstick would consist of birch twigs tied around a hazel handle.

Brooms are great given as gifts. A new broom sweeps clean…so makes a great housewarming present, but also a broom given to a newly-wedded couple and used for them to jump as their 1^stattempt at overcoming an obstacle together is a lovely present. The broom can be decorated with relevant colours and charms for happiness, luck, protection, abundance, fertility and other good wishes you might want to bless the home or couple with. Magickal symbols can be carved into the handle and it can be anointed with love or prosperity oil. Get creative and you can create a unique gift to be kept by the recipient for a lifetime.

When a couple have a child, a mini broom can be made for the baby and hung in their room for protection. Don’t forget yourself…make a magickal love broom and hang from your newly blessed bed. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless…!!

Unwanted visitors…

It is said that if people come to visit and overstay their welcome, turn your broomstick so the handle is downwards, then stabbing the brush part with a fork…this will encourage them to leave!!

Ever wandered by the sea or a river and let your mind wander around all the stones on the beach or riverbank? Then, next time, use the time to look for an object of power – the witch’s holey stone.

Holey stones cannot be bought. You cannot go out and purchase a crystal donut and expect that to work for you in the same way. You have to find one – a gift from the sea and a blessing from the Goddess indeed. They are pieces of stone that have had a hole worn all the way through naturally by sea and sand, and are very magickal indeed.

My collection has pride of place on my altar awaiting their time to be used. If you visit the shop, you will see one hung above the door to protect my business. They would, in days gone by, be used to protect animals by hanging above stables and barns, be hung on the bow of boats to bring the sailors/fishermen back safely from the sea, be hung over beds to prevent nightmares, and be worn to protect from Fairie folk, the magick being that it enabled the wearer to see the enchanted folk and thus not be tricked by them.

They we used to ensure a healthy pregnancy, to heal every ailment going, to bring luck to you, or solve your problems. A magickal stone indeed, what ever you decide to use it for. However, a holey stone is only effective if used by the person who found it, or if it is given to you by one who loves you.

To use a holey stone for healing, first find the holey stone given by the sea. This must be kept purely for healing and never used for anything else. Run a bath and place a handful of sea salt and the holey stone into the bathwater. Then get in and close your eyes whilst lying in the water. Now, visualise your health problem, see it being released from your body and absorbed into the water and into the stone. Continue with this magic as long as the ailment lasts and ensure the stone is kept in a safe place. Magickal indeed!!

Crystals for arousing that passion in life

When tired or down or feeling under the weather, I reach for my jewellery and crystals and tool myself up to change my attitude and turn things around. Life is a challenge and we have to face the battle and win the war so we can live and love and be happy. Crystals give added support when you need it most

Here are my favourites:

Citrine (natural)– Sunshine stone for health, wealth and happiness

Ruby– inspires passion and vigor for life, confidence and joy whilst banishing sadness and negativity

Chrysoprase– a stone of luck and will attract friends, joy and happiness

Peridot– a sunny stone to rid you of negative people, guilt and lethargy, and allow you to follow your desires to joy

Amethyst– calms stress and fears whilst raising hopes and happiness

Labradorite– balances work, rest and play, and encourages faith and trust in you, to transform your life your way.

Carry crystals and wear jewellery to help you move your life to one of living and loving life…good luck!!

Changing your luck…with a stone or two

Sometimes we need a symbol to turn our luck and thought patterns around. So, here are a few crystals that can help achieve that and, by carrying one or two or more in your pockets, will keep hope and luck alive and rid you of those negative ways by attracting those things that really matter.

Amber is a resin, not a stone and has been used for nearly every purpose. Amber attracts friends to the lonely and happiness to those unhappy with their lot. Worn near the heart, it can attract a partner and to those wanting a family, it can aid fertility. It will protect those who feel in danger and stimulate healing to those who are ill. Not a bad start as attracts money too so the list of needs is completely fulfilled…unless you carry it with Jettoo, which is known as Black Amber. Carry the two together for good fortune.

Aventurine is a good luck talisman and money magnet. It is also a gambler’s talisman too for those who like risk!

Chalcedony promotes calm and peaceful feelings, energy and success in all undertakings whilst Chrysoprase, which is apple-green chalcedony will protect you, attract money, friends, luck and happiness whilst dispelling negativity, envy, tension and stress (check out my new earrings!!).

Chiastolite (or the Fairy cross-stone) balances the four elements within you, attracting luck and magickal power. This is a lucky “giveaway” so is our Yule stone. Produce your loyalty card at the shop before Yule and get yours!!

Lepidolite is a lilac colour often filled with mica. As well as attracting luck, it promotes spirituality and calms the stresses and strains of everyday living, soothing anger, hatred and all those other negative emotions…simply hold the stone and breathe deeply!! Place next to a lit pink candle for a calmed home too especially if the stone contains pink tourmaline too…this is the stone of reconcilliation for relationships so all will be well again soon!!

Tiger’s eye is a fire/sun stone and promotes courage against adversity, strength in your convictions and protection against danger. It promotes money and wealth when alongside a burning green candle and the warmth of the stone gives energy to the body in those weak or ill. Also helps when dealing with dilemmas…

Turquoise, if carried or worn, is lucky and attracts good fortune, whilst also attracting friends and promoting pure joy. It will keep travellers safe, and protect good health. If carried by lovers, it will promote matrimonial harmony and ensure you “blend” with each other. Finally, as a gift, turquoise bestows wealth and happiness on its recipient. Something for everyone in this list to have a good new year so fill your pockets and change your luck next year!

Stones for love

A gift doesn’t have to cost a fortune to mean something, so give the one you love a stone to strengthen your relationship.

If you don’t have partner at the moment, give yourself a stone to attract someone to you; emerald will attract love, as will moonstone, rhodochrosite and peridot.

Rose quartz will stimulate love between couples, whilst wearing a rose or amethyst heart-shaped necklace will help draw love to a single’s life.

Give pearls to strengthen a relationship and amber to help increase the physical pleasures, whilst an exchange of amethyst, the stone of pure true emotional love, will strengthen a couple’s commitment to each other.

To reconcile a relationship or calm those negative emotions than can destroy a couple, place a piece of lepidolite and pink tourmaline in the bedroom, whilst giving a piece of sapphire to your partner will guard your love and help keep it safe and turquoise will help promote marital harmony – perfect!!

Give a heart to the one you love
You can spend a fortune on scentless flowers that will last a week or give someone you love a crystal heart that will last forever for less money but more meaning! Which one will you give to make someone’s day, whether on Valentine ’s Day, Mother’s day or any other day just because…:

Rose Quartz heart says “I love you and am thinking of you” and also says “Sorry” whatever the situation
Clear Quartz heart is for mind, body and spirit, lifting vibrations and enhancing intuition – does the lot
Amethyst heart as a gift brings happiness, good fortune and spiritual connection
Chevron amethyst heart is for soul connection and soul mates
Tiger eye heart helps the receiver determine the past life connection with the giver
Lepidolite heart creates harmony and connectedness between giver and receiver
Aventurine heart draws luck in love and abundance in opportunities
Carnelian heart opens doors to success and aids healing of family issues
Smoky Quartz heart keeps you safe and protected and removes emotional blockages
Sodalite heart creates inner harmony whilst easing outer conflicts and creating positive goals for the future
Rhodonite heart helps release your emotional fears and helps you achieve maximum potential

And these are just a few… Which one will you give the one you love the most?

Emerald for love, Ruby for passion

Emerald is the green part of the Beryl family, along with Aquamarine (blue) and Morganite (pink). I have crystals in a sparkly mica base as well as tumbles in the stone, and this is the stone of pure love. We all want to be loved. Love makes the world go round. It stirs the blood and fires the imagination of writers and poets everywhere and none of us want to be without it; it’s what makes us ‘human’.

Emerald helps attract love into our lives. Purchase a special crystal that is purely to help enhance your love life.

Cleanse it first and keep aside in a pink pouch until needed. When ready to receive love, hold the emerald next to your heart, tell the crystal exactly the type of person you are looking for, and ask the emerald to help attract that special person to you. Then carry it daily next to your heart to attract love into your life’. You can either put it in a spiral and wear around the neck over the heart, or hide it in a top pocket or bra.

Now to the passion of Ruby. Ruby is part of the corundum family alongside Sapphire. I just adore wearing ruby!

Ruby enhances your own power and love of life. It attracts friends into your life to have fun with, and instills a passion for life and for living. If you want to enhance passion in your relationship, purchase a ruby just for this end, and keep it aside in a red pouch until needed. Cleanse and, when you want to inspire more passion with your partner, take out the ruby and hold it next to your heart. Close your eyes and see you and your partner together in a passionate embrace, and ask the crystal to help restore the passion that you had earlier in your relationship. Place next to the bed. Leave there over the next wee while until passion has been restored and fun and frolic are back. Place back in the bag and put away until needed again! Ooo la la…

Anyone knows that the colour of a room can affect the feel of a room so we put calming colours in the bedroom and happy colours in the kitchen. The same with clothes – you can tell a lot by colours people are wearing as to their moods and others dye their hair to match their state of mind!!
The energising colour of Orange
Ever had your breathe taken away by a sun rise or set complete with its bright orange sky? It is a marvel to behold and is orange at its best, marking the beginning or the end of the day in the most optomistic way. Orange is a warm, fun-loving colour but what does it mean to our psyche? Orange is stimulating and self-reliant. Orange is fun; the life and soul of the party, breaking down barriers and shattering illusions. Orange is even the colour of divorce; with every ending there is a new beginning!! It gives you that energy to face life and its consequences and change it!! Try wearing orange if you need a boost, are feeling down in the dumps or going through a rough time and you will see how much better and stronger it can make you feel!!
Crystals: Carnelian, tangerine quartz, sunstone
Yellow – The colour of Sunshine…
As mentioned above, when we think of spring, we associate yellow with the season. The daffodils bring the first yellow of the season and these cheer up our homes and brings us hope. The yellow yolk of the egg is rich and is the symbol of new life, another symbol of Ostara. Yellow is the colour of optimism and confidence – wear a yellow jumper and see how much happier and energised you feel!! It helps boost low self esteem and allows clear thinking. Eating yellow foods help rid you of toxins – think of lemons, grapefruit, bananas, melon, squash, sweetcorn and peppers – and help bring sunshine into your body – no more feeling down with the yellow inside and out. Think about honey and its healing properties; it can only be made from the sunshine given to plants to make yellow nectar to be collected by the yellow bees and will boost the immune system with its golden liquid. Sun on our skin makes Vitamin D, which helps heal our body and instantly makes us feel better, and the colour helps to create that feeling around us – a warm yellow room will make a dim room much brighter and make you more positive as a side effect! It activates the senses and the body, just like a sunny day. Utilise this colour more around the home and you will soon feel as cheerful as a sunny day. So, try and put a little yelllow in your life every day and see results before your own eyes…at least until the sunshine comes back.
Crystals: Citrine, yellow jasper, amber
Shades of purple…
To get purple/violet, you simply combine red and blue making it both the beginning and the end of the cycle in vibrational terms. Red is energetic fire, focus and passion whilst blue is cool, calm and quiet. Mix them together and you have imagination combined with inspiration. It expands our world into the unknown perhaps using the spiritual world to help make the physical world more bearable.
Violet is needed in your life to provide balance when you need to speed the natural healing ability of the body, when you need inspiration to find answers to the problems of today and remove obstacles in your life, and when you need to energise your life to be rid of lethargy and depression. Introducing violet into your life can make a difference, whether it is as simple as carrying, wearing or sleeping with a purple crystal, adding lavender to the bath, painting a wall purple or simply wearing purple knickers, and if, like me, you find you are suddenly drawn to purple, you may now understand why.
Crystals: Amethyst, Iolite, Charoite, Lepidolite
Black – colour of Samhain
Black is the colour when we think of Samhain or when we think about death. Black is devoid of colour as the Earth is devoid of life at this time. It is a colour of Protection and thinking inward. It is the colour of our base chakra – the very root of our being and our connection to the Earth. It is the colour of the night sky and of coal. It is a defensive colour as we give nothing about ourselves to others and if you wear nothing but black, then maybe you are saying there is nothing to look forward to and should try and introduce a little colour to your wardrobe even if it is just a scarf or jewellery!!
Crystals: Black tourmaline, Black onyx, Jet, Black Kyanite
Green – the colour of Beltane
Green is the order of the day at Beltane. Ladies usually wear ivy or hawthorn around their head and put on their greenest finery for the day to represent nature itself. In magick, green represents the Element of Earth, the heart chakra, the colour of money and material matters, the energy of Venus and fertility & growth.
In healing, green is harmony, positivity and self-acceptance and connected to the heart. It is the colour of money and abundance and is to attract the good life, not only for yourself but to share with those close to you. Green is also associated with our sense of freedom and the ability to express our true self. Green is good for fatigue in both mind and body, something everyone seems to be suffering at the moment as it enhances physical stamina. Perhaps that’s why green foods such as lettuce, spring onion, cucumber, green pepper, peas, green beans and broccoli all become important on the plate after the hardness of winter. They also help to detox the body. Apples, avocado, limes, green olives and kiwi fruit and fresh herbs are also important and all these fruit and vegetables should be eaten to take in the green and all its essential nutrients. Try taking a walk in the countryside to enjoy nature’s fresh fragrant green and take in that feeling of peace and calm. To boost the qualities of green, carry crystals such as Jade, Aventurine, Chrysoprase, green Kyanite, green Tourmaline, Bloodstone, Malachite, Moss agate, Emerald, Peridot, green Calcite, green Garnet and green Jasper and let the green feed our need to expand and grow and restore physical and mental vitality.
Red – the colour of Yule
When I think of Yule, I think of deep red wine coloured candles sprinkled with a little gold and the red berries on the Holly Red can vary from the brightest scarlet to the deepest Ruby. It is the colour of blood, the vital ingredient for life and the colour of a good Rioja, another vital ingredient to life (proven by science now in the fight against cancer, Alzheimer’s, blood pressure and any other excuse I can think of!).
Magickally, Red brings protection and passion to your home and to your life. Wear red and it shows you are full of passion, courage, excitement and fight. If you are shy, wearing red will help you bring yourself out and put some action in your life. Eat red foods as a pick-me-up – foods like red apples, strawberries, cherries, radishes and red peppers will help restore energy and drive…and spices like cayenne and chilli will soon put petrol back in your tank!! If you’re drained and your zest has dwindled, put on some red underwear or don some cherry-red lipstick and see how quickly things change. I love my red shoes – they revive my passion for life when I feel tired or drained…and it is me having a bit of a rebellion too!! Carry red crystals in your pocket and bring some passion back into your life. Red crystals include red jasper, Ruby and red garnet
Pink – the colour of love
Pink is a mix of the purity of white with the passion of red, and is regarded as a feminine colour but actually balances the male and female sides of your personality whatever the sex. It is also called the colour of love, as it represents caring and tenderness. Pink is calming and reassuring and can stop any aggression in its tracks… scientific proof shows that holding cells painted pink calm down any aggressor and stop violent behaviour – it seems to just sap the aggressive and violent tendencies!! The deeper shades of this combo colour improve self-confidence and assertiveness, whilst the paler colours are supportive of self-worth and self-acceptance. In healing, the mix of red and white not only helps heal the physical effects of illness, but the emotional fears that serious illness brings to the fore. When you need a little calm and self-love, just reach for the pink!
Pink crystals; Rose Quartz, Morganite, Kunzite, Rhodonite, Rhodochrosite, pink tourmaline and mangano-calcite
Light Blue…a colour of peace
Blue is the colour of the sea and of the sky. It is cooling, cleansing and peaceful. It can be pretty baby blue, aqua coloured green-blue or deep indigo blue. Indigo will be covered later as I am meaning the blues of the daytime sky or the crystal clear colour of a paradise sea. Blue is magickally used for healing, love, peace, friendship, dreams and meditation. Wearing the colour can make you feel calmer and more relaxed as it soothes the entire body & mind, relieving insomnia and lowering blood pressure, and is the colour of choice for bedrooms and bathrooms for those very reasons. After all, these are the rooms you want to relax, heal and sleep in and you are simply using colour magick to aid these benefits.
Blue crystals: blue lace agate, blue calcite, celestite,
Indigo blue – a colour not to be messed with…
Indigo is the colour of the night sky and connects to our 3rdeye to help you focus on personal issues that need to be addressed, whilst quietening normal mental processes, allowing you to actually think!! The lighter blues help with communication with others, whilst the indigo helps thought processes and insight into personal stuff. The sky in daytime can make you feel better, but the night sky makes you ponder stuff…it is that simple.
To bring indigo into your life, wear navy, eat blueberries, burn dark blue candles and carry a dark blue stone in your pocket, and connect to your inner self. It is the only practical way to find your solution
White – the colour of snow
White is virginal and pure – the colour of snowdrops and milk, of clouds and young brides, of freshly driven snow and the surfing horses of a stormy sea. Take in the sight of snow covered mountains or the reflection of a full moon in the sea and feel all anxiety & stress just melt away. Eating white foods such as rice, turnips, onions and parsnips will help cleanse the body and putting salt into your baths will help you detox it. Rub the body with salt to exfoliate and try coconut oil afterwards as a natural skin moisturiser to soften and protect the skin. Use the white to assist you. Magickally, putting on white clothing/underwear can help purify the body. It can assist with removing doubt, eliminating bad habits and easing depression, allowing you to find true peace within. Each day, as you dress, visualise the white from your clothing entering your body through your energy field and lifting these issues from you as you wear the white apparel. Repeat this process daily until the problem is eliminated.
White crystals: Snow quartz, selenite, azeztulite, white calcite & rainbow moonstone

Spells have always been written on parchment paper which was made from Sheepskin. Today, any hand-made paper can be used for this purpose as some paper isn’t really true paper and doesn’t burn as we need it to burn in magick.

If writing on “magickal” paper, you tend to focus more on what and how you are writing your need or wish, which helps you attain your goal and gets the magick movng…after all, this isn’t just a note for the milkman; it is a spell for your instructions to the Universe, so hand-made Parchment/paper makes it a little more special.

Store your paper in your magickal box of tricks or on your altar so it gains power whilst waiting for its use to occur, along with your magickal writing implement – mine is a beautiful fountain pen given to me on my 50th by my “coven inmates” as they are affectionally called!

I have decided to share with you my interest and intrigue with the Ogham. This ancient language was the Celtic language of magick and mystery and was used for secret communication here in the British Isles. It is in 5 sets of five and each letter has its own power along with its own corresponding tree, colour, bird and much more that has been lost over time. I want to begin at the beginning of the celtic language with Beth…

Ogham letter B…Beithe/Birch
I have a Birch in my own garden and use it to watch for the beginning of spring, as the leaves and catkins suddenly appear when the sap begins to rise. Abandoned land is soon taken over by birch trees that seem to simply appear and grow and allow harder-to-establish trees to set root between them to begin a new piece of woodland. Every part of the birch has been used in the past and, just as it refertilises land with leaves and twigs to give food for other trees, so does it do the same for humans from gout to skin problems.

The Druids used it as a tea made from young birch leaves to benefit arthritic conditions and I use its oil in my knees and things!!Birch logs are favoured for the Yule log and its cleansing properties are used in its twigs for the household broom. A birch roof sheltered us from storms and the sap was used in celebratory wine. The bark was even peeled for paper. Its uses go on and on.

Several places in Scotland and Ireland even take its name from this tree…not far from me is the Scottish town of Cowdenbeath and what about the names Macbeth & MacBeath.
Beth symbolises new beginnings and opportunity and the Celts believed that as the darkness waned, so came with it new energies. Everything begins at the beginning and this change in consciousness when a new idea comes along makes the difference in our very being and mindset and so lets the magick begin to establish the new beginning in the physical.

Ogham No 2: Rowan (Luis) – Letter L
Continuing the journey, our next liason is with the Rowan. It is recognisable by clusters of bright red berries and stalkless long, thin, paired leaves. The berries are a favourite food for birds and contain vitamin C but are generally too bitter to eat but can be made into home-made wine.

Also known as Mountain Ash due to its ability to cling to mountainsides, it reaches the heights to find the light and then puts roots down higher than any oter tree as a reminder the encourage you to keep on going till you reach your destination.

The rowan has always been known as a magickal tree and the rowan has always been used in charms and spells to keep evil at bay or protect animals. Warriors would meet under a rowan tree and their fires would be made entirely of rowan by Druids before battles as part of a magickal incantation to ensure the fight would go well.

Alder; Ogham tree of steadfastness
Alder is Letter F (Fearn) in the Ogham alphabet and has grown in the British Isles for thousands of years. It was known as the Fairy tree and the Druids linked it to Mar/April in their calendar to include the equinox. In plant lore, it is a tree of fire to resist the corruption of water, and its fire is used to free the earth of water… Alder likes its roots damp so tends to be in damp ground or by rivers.

It is recognised by its conical shape, its rough grey bark and its round paired leaves, sometimes knotched on the tip. It also bears catkins, both long male and round female ones, and its green fruit in summer ripens into little cones which stay on the tree over winter. When the wood is cut, it changes colour from white to orange then to red, giving the impression it is bleeding, yet when the wood comes into contact with water, it turns black and hardens. This makes it extremely strong wood in damp places such as in water whilst stopping the banks from eroding.

The old Scottish Crannogs were built by the Celts on the long-lasting piles of Alder trees so even they recognised this ability of toughness and also protection – after all, their home was protection against enemy, wind and water and Alder ensured that their foundations were strong. Warriors also made shields from the wood as it was tough enough to withstand blows from swords but easy enough to work with. Also, maybe the fact that it bled when cut made it a favourite protector for battle. Charcoal from Alder branches was also used for gunpowder.

It is certainly regarded as a tree to help you in stepping boldly where no man has been before (to quote Star Trek), take the challenge and face whatever is thrown at you. Life is a challenge and this ancient tree helps you with the tests of life and to battle onward and upward.

Talking of which…if out on a walk and you see these little cones clinging to the tree, pick some off the ground below and bring them home. Using a yellow, red or orange sphere, make a wish for a sunny summer or happy holiday, and surround the candle with the little cones. Visualise the beach full of happy families and the fields full of golden wheat waving in the summer sun…you get my drift…use this tree for the benefit of all from family to farmers and let us see that sun shine!

Willow… Ogham letter S…tree of inspiration and flexibility
Walking along the banks of a river on a lovely summer’s day, you might well come across the 4th tree in the Druid language…the Willow. Its name means “near water” and is known for its catkins “Pussy Willow” that get carried on the wind. Its bark is dark grey and heavily ridged and its spreading branches give the tree a very full shape. The leaves are long and slender and covered in silver hairs which make the tree appear to shimmer in the breeze, giving it a mystical otherworld effect.

The Celts coppiced the willow for furniture and for also wattling walls in the home. A cut branch can simply be put in the ground and it will regrow. This is the tree of regrowth, regeneration and inspiration. A traditional witch’s broom was bound with willow to hold its birch twigs in place. Dowsers use the twigs for divining water, poets used willow for inspiration and magicians favoured it for lunar wands.

Medicinally, willow bark contains salycilic acid (aspirin) and its tea was usd by the Druids to relieve pain and treated infections.
The Willow is about rebirth. As its cut branch gives new life if planted, so it shows us endings are just new beginnings with which will come new growth. These changes should be embraced and used to inspire us to make the changes in our lives. It lunar connection means we should work with the linar cycles…new projects at the new moon, getting rid of things at the waning moon, ending things at the dark moon and use the full moon for inspiration as to how to move our lives on. Willows flexibility helps us go where the flow is taking us…

The Mighty Oak –our Midsummer king

The Oak must be one of Britain’s best-recognised trees – you can spot its short, solid trunk and full-rounded canopy miles off, not to mention its lobed leaves and animal-friendly acorns, which make the tree not like any other. Oaks are long-living, solid and can get very large, hence its survival attributes. I utilise this by having the Oak Ogham symbol written on a stone, sat in salt for protection, survival and strength on my magickal altar.

When walking through woods, I always look for the Oaks and check they are healthy; to me, a healthy oak predicts healthy local woodland. The Oak is associated primarily with the Druids, as they famously used Oak groves for their sacred sites. Oak is a hard wood; the Elizabethans recognised this and used vast amounts of forest to create ships for the naval fleet to defeat the Armada. They nearly destroyed the Oaks of Britain but it was then offered protection and has returned to its prime position. The oak also creates great charcoal, so was regularly used by Blacksmiths to create magickal workings of metal. An old thing to do is, next time you are in the woods and find the oaks, gather 2 small straight pieces of branch off the floor to make an equal-armed cross, tie the cross with red ribbon & hang over your door or on the chimney breast for protection of the home.

In the Celtic Ogham, the Oak is the 7^thtree and represents strength and the ability to overcome and survive, and is a doorway to the Mysteries… quite apt for this newsletter and the correct symbol for my altar or what? Got some oak bark instore - available shortly – going to add to my Oak altar stone & acorn…every little helps!

A witch’s altar is the witch’s “sacred space” – a part of her world where no-one else goes, where spells can be left to do their bidding, where the Sabbats can be honoured and where her magickal equipment can be safely stored from harm’s reach.

It can be permanent or portable, fancy or plain. I am sure every witch has a different interpretation of what belongs on an altar, but every witch should have her altar. This is my interpretation and how I have set up mine.

To be honest, I have two altars – my personal magickal one in my bedroom away from prying eyes and inquisitive fingers, and my fireplace in the lounge. At one time, the mantel was everyone’s altar and the centre of the household. It was the place where people kept their favourite items, burnt candles and, of course, the fire itself was the centre of the room and people’s focus. Now it is the TV, but it would have been the warming flames of the fire. My mantle contains all my favourite crystals (which also helps the health of everyone who comes into the room), lots of candles, flowers, incense, a salt lamp and a wonderful natural sculpture that I tripped over when performing some outdoor magick during the full moon. This is my family altar that faces north – the direction of Earth – and is used by me as the north centre of my magickal circles when I perform indoor rites (the moon looks straight in the window and I can see the sea as well).

My personal magickal altar is my own sacred space. However, it is in the west – possibly the wrong direction to have it, but the only place in my room to put it. To me, having the altar is far more important than only setting it up correctly.

On your altar should be, as far as I am concerned, a representation of the Lady and her Lord, a representation of the 4 elements plus your magickal knife, wand, chalice, scrying ball and anything else that you wish to put there. Each of these things will be discussed separately. I also change the altar every Sabbat, cleansing, decorating and refreshing it all.

Our Lady and Lord.

The altar is a very personal thing and should represent what things mean to you. My oldest son bought for me a straw doll with a basket, from a holiday at his grandparents. This was perfect as my Goddess. The corn dolly represents the harvest and the basket abundance and the cauldron. My younger son then found me a small one in a charity shop whilst on an excursion with his dad. So, now I have the maiden and mother, and am yet to locate a crone. But the aspects of the triple goddess are represented, as this is whom I personally work with. You can use a goddess figure, a crystal, whatever is your personal representation of the Goddess.

A stone found on the beach, again by my older son, represents my Lord. It is a tall, dark, male standing stone. My youngest made me a tree from plasticene when he was only 3, and this also represents the forest and Lord of the Greenwood and has a place on my altar. These are personal to me and no one else, but have been given by my children and are just as important as anything that can be bought in a shop. These are important points to remember – it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but personal to you.

The 4 Elements.

Working again personally, Earth is represented by a series of crystals that I keep on my altar. They are a mixed bunch of small crystals to aid any spells I may be working there and they change constantly.

Air is represented by a feather and by incense, which is always burnt during any magickal work.

Fire is represented by candles – nightlights make up the working light (I don’t use electricity if I am working at the altar) and candles are burnt to represent whatever work I am doing.

Water is in the shape of a wonderfully large chalice surrounded by oak leaves and made of iron. This is used to hold water during magickal work or even float candles in. This is not my actual working chalice.

Pentagram.

On the wall above my magickal space is a slate pentagram to protect my workspace from evil or harm. I believe every witch should have a pentacle somewhere on the altar, whether it is in the form of a disc for putting candles, spells, etc, like the ones amongst the Green Witch products, or as an offering dish of some kind. Even a stone from the beach with a hand-drawn pentagram on it would suffice at the start.

Athame and wand.

On the altar is kept the magickal items you would use for your practices. The athame is one such item. It is a double edged, black-handled knife used only for magickal practices such as casting circles.  I am a firm believer that your items will come to you when the time is right. I started my magickal career with the typical Scottish blade – the skein dubh, a £2 knife found anywhere up here. After about 3 years, another knife got my attention – still a skein dubh but with antler horn as the hilt and much finer.

That did me very well until a meeting with a blade-smith in the Isles. In the old ways, he produced blades of all sorts in hand-built equipment. He bore the 7-pointed star – the symbol of the magician – and it was like a meeting of the old ways, old traditions all at one time. A wonderful experience and after a chat, he agreed to produce a knife for me. As he worked on commissions only, he said to go away and come up with a “Green Witch” design and he would construct the knife for me. I went away with the task in hand, but didn’t get round to anything when a package arrived and there was the most powerful athame I had ever had the pleasure to experience. It was my knife. An image had come to him after I had left. He produced the knife and sent it to me, trusting that I was who I said I was and that I would actually send him some money for the item (I did of course, straight away). The power in the knife jolted through my arm like electricity. My knife had found me and it now has pride of place on my altar.

My wand is also on the altar – a piece of fallen wood, which has been stripped back and fitted with a crystal in both ends to direct the power. I don’t use it that often as my knife does all. I work as the village wise woman has always work and I don’t believe she would have had lots of equipment. I don’t possess a boline either – my athame is used for all my magickal work, including the magickal gathering of herbs.

Chalice:

Another piece of equipment every witch should have is the chalice, used during magickal work to contain the wine or water during circle work. Mine is a simple glass sundae dish with a stem that sits in my cupped hands perfectly, but can be silver, fancy, plain, whatever is right for you. I always meant to replace it but never did as it is just perfect for my needs. I also use my chalice every full moon to capture the light of the Lady of the night in and make my wishes for the next 4 weeks.

Cauldron:

This is the one tool that all witches want, instantly. I did without one for a long time, and then found a cute copper cauldron, just tiny, in a charity shop. It hangs now from my family altar. I never needed another, as I knew one would come to me when the time is right. And indeed it did, courtesy of a couple of customers who thought it would look great in the shop until they next needed it. They themselves found another one and the cauldron has remained as part of the shop ever since- thanks to Anne and David. You don’t always have to search – when the time is right, these tools simply find you – remember that.

Spells and wishes.

The altar is your safe place for carrying out spells. On the altar, I keep my wishing pyramid – a glass pyramid that I wish on daily to make things materialise. I have candleholders for fire magick and oils above my altar to enhance any work with candles.

Divination.

My scrying ball is kept out of sight in a black cloth on the altar, surrounded by 12 empowering, protective crystal points. Also, on every Sabbat, I perform certain divination tasks with various sets of cards, and the cards chosen remain on the altar until the next Sabbat as a reminder. My daily angel cards are also placed on the altar.

Your altar and the Sabbats:

You should refresh the altar every Sabbat, re-arranging things, adding flowers and symbols of the Sabbat. Don’t let it stagnate – this is your magickal working area and should be treated with the utmost of respect. I also keep my magickal jewellery on the altar in a silver box again given to me on my 40th by a customer (thanks Fi). This is consecrated jewellery worn during circle work, magickal work and during the full moon and Sabbats. And all this fits on a small space on top of a chest of drawers that is covered with a green cloth, decorated with moon and star symbols.

And that is my altar the Green Witch way. Simple. Personal. Magickal.

Yours can be fancy, portable, simpler, whatever you want, but make it yours and how you want it to be. It is your magickal space and should be your place of power. If it is done with the right intentions, even the simplest of things out the cupboard can become magickal and powerful. It is whatever you make it. Expensive doesn’t make it any more magickal – the power is in your hands, not how costly the tools are. The witches of old used what was available and to hand. Everything was simple and hand-made. Enjoy.