Welcome to the first newsletter of 2019. It has been quite a mild winter so far but, the rate the berries were cleared off my trees late December, and the fat balls eaten by the little birds, I am waiting for the cold spell to appear…those birds know something you know and it has been far too warm for winter to be done with yet! Weather Folklore says “A green December fills the graveyard” and “A green Christmas, a white Easter” both of which means a cold spell is yet to come…we will find out soon no doubt!!
Imbolc and the Earth is waking up, even though all should mostly look dormant. The livestock are pregnant and fresh milk and meat will soon appear after the long dark winter, heralding spring will be soon on its way. The snowdrops should be pushing their green stalks above the frost and snow to show life on Earth is beginning again but have seen them since early January, which naturally is also early and a bad sign. The nights are not so long now, and although the worst of the winter is still to come, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Nowadays, this means very little, as we have electricity, freezers and the ability to get food from all over the world, but to those living on what they had dried and what had survived, it meant a lifeline and had survived another long, hard winter!
Imbolc has always been the Sabbat of hope and optimism with the turning of the wheel towards regeneration and new life. Life is beginning again and we all hope it turns for the better!! With all this political uncertainty, I wonder where our country will be at the end of the year!! Only time will tell.
Out and about…
Brigid is the Celtic Goddess of fire, blacksmiths, healing springs, poets and midwives, fertility and motherhood. What a way to celebrate than a walk with children. My little grandson loves walking outdoors and is very into birds, animals, and smelling flowers to see if they have a scent (that’s my boy), so this is a perfect time to get wrapped up and out with the younger ones for a walk amongst nature. In Aberdour, it is never far away, but if you live in a town or city, head to the nearest park! You will see the new life poking out of the soil, birds in pairs busy making their nests and tight little buds beginning to appear on the trees. It is important that children learn about nature from an early age. Put a bird feeding station up on a window so they can watch. If you teach the youngsters about the wonders of nature, they will grow up helping protect our planet in the future!
If the weather turns bad…
This year, we spent Hogmanay in the Italian Alps. I love walking in the fresh mountain air, no longer wishing to ski since my accident, but the alone-time gives me lots of magickal thinking time and makes way for new ideas. On one walk along a river, a song suddenly burst into my head out of the quiet, but instead of “Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me”, it was “Beautiful Nature, frozen in time…” so decided I ought to try and find a frozen waterfall! I had to climb up a hill to get to the bottom of the cliff face over which is had frozen, but it was beautiful! The closer I got, the more amazing it looked, yet the sound of running water also got louder. As I reached the bottom of the mountain face, I realised melt water was running underneath it but was not visible to the eye. I sat in the moment and knew instantly what to do. I found a fallen stone from the same rock face, held it in my power hand, closed my eyes and made a wish. Then, the following words flowed…
“Beautiful Nature, frozen in time, take this wish and make it mine,
May joy and prosperity in my life stay with me, this is my will, so mote it be”
I get so excited when this happens, and I threw the stone into the frozen river where I could see the water running underneath, but it stuck on a fine bridge between two small ice holes, which made me laugh. Nature was frozen in time but now so was my wish!! Only when the river melts will the wish be released into the rushing melt water of the Alps. I adored this idea, and made a couple more wishes. So, if we get a run of frosty weather, or you find yourself up a snowy mountain, you too can do this magick and make a wish for you and yours!
A little Techno-magick for you…
I am a bit of a dinosaur where technology is concerned, but I have learned to love my phone. I have a Galaxy note and do is Sudoku and jigsaws to keep my brain active and giving me 15 minutes coffee & me-time in my busy week. One thing I love doing is changing the screens. I adapt them to the forthcoming seasons, to colours for how I am feeling or what magick I need to attract into my life. If I am feeling a bit down, I will put a funny note on my screen that makes me smile every time I switch it on. If I need calm, I will put a page of lavender fields or trees or a beach! I also use different ones on my locked screen to my home screen so double bonus! Only when I thought about what I was doing and my thought processes finding the right screen picture, did I realised that this must be a modern form of magick. Every time you switch on your phone, or your phone sends you a notification, you are igniting energy to light up that thought, feeling or desire, like the flame of a candle. I don’t know if anyone else has thought of this and are using it, but ‘every little helps’ and I do feel it helps my life moves forward with every new change of screen. Give it a try…free magick with every phone…what have you got to lose? It just needs a little thought, the right picture and who knows what you can do: just don’t smash your screen or let that battery die!!
Brigit’s wishes…
On Imbolc, Brigid gives us all 3 wishes on her day of healing. When Hitler was threatening our shores, it is well documented in Witchy world that the witches of the time got together to protect our East coast and try to prevent an invasion…the rest is history as his army never made these shores! Well now is the time we have to work together to help our country once more to prevent us ending up as “Britain nay-mates” or like a 3rdworld nation!
Give your altar a good spring clean and decorate with a tiny glass of 3 snowdrops and a white candle dedicated to Brigid. Surround them with healing crystals if you have them to give added energy to this spell this year. Include quartz for healing, rose for peace, smoky for protection and Amethyst for harmony and spiritual enlightenment, but any crystals will help in this uneasy situation. Add another 3 white candles/tea lights and you can have your 3 wishes from Brigid for Imbolc. Light the main candle first and light the other three from it.
The first wish for something universal calls on the healing ability of Brigid (the Irish triple goddess) to ask her to help bring peace and calm, harmony and healing to our 4 countries and, whatever the outcome, that we all learn the lesson of tolerance so we can live and work together to help our nations to prosper once again!
The 2ndwish can then go to a friend or relative who might need a little something in their lives, and the 3rd is for yourself. Leave the candles to burn down and that is it done. Hopefully, if we all call on her to help, it will have greater effect and perhaps she will help stop any disharmony and give us the strength to see this whole thing through. This is the Sabbat of renewal and regeneration, new life and optimism – let’s try to help our 4 countries to move on and forward, not backward, and rebuild the future for all of us who live here within these borders.
Crystal for Imbolc… pretty pink Morganite!
February is the month of love and of passion, with birds pairing to build their nests for the mating season, and we celebrate Valentine’s day too. There was a stone I kept asking for but never had any in stock for ages, then uncovered 3 different lots in my stash of crystals waiting to be sorted! They had been hiding for several years, yet appeared the same time as a few pendants became available in the same stone, so this must be the time for Morganite to be released to the world, in these days of unease and uncertainty. I have worn mine for a while now as all this Brexit business has uncovered a side of Britain that has made me feel quite uneasy and sad, and I definitely feel the need to be surrounded by an aura of comfort and calm at the moment!
Morganite is the pink variety of Beryl, the same family as Emerald (green) and Aquamarine (blue). This pale pink crystal is the stone of Universal love, calm and compassion. We are all different in so many ways, but that diversity is what makes us human. We are not all the same, and the world would be boring if we were! It is those differences that makes us interesting and individual, and we should not be judged purely bon those differences.
There is no judgement with Morganite…it just opens you to love and be loved. I feel calm and soothed by this crystal and have been unable to take it off. It helps me draw strength from the Universe in these uncertain times, keeping me positive, loving and determined in my world. For those with the need to be needed or who need to help others to feel useful, this is the stone for you. If you have had a traumatic life or one that is full of painful memories, this stone gives you the strength to let that pain go and begin to truly heal. It even helps you feel good about things you don’t like about yourself… that wobbly belly and stretch marks are not ugly, but beautiful because of the life you carried inside of you that made your belly that way or those wrinkles are from joy and laughter you have had in your life, not just age…get the idea? It is truly a special and beautiful stone to hopefully help let you live a more relaxed positive life, in love with life and simply living and embracing it, at one with the world and its people around you. Embrace the love, feel the love, see the love…it truly is a wonderful world!
Relax, Rebalance, Rejuvenate – a new collection of oils
Last year, I was asked by Kaye, a local therapist, to make a collection of oils for her therapy room to help her clients. I made her 3 in each range, expecting her to select her favourite in each section but she preferred the whole collection to let the client choose the aroma of choice. These have become quite popular, so thought a little aroma would do everyone the world of good to help relax, rebalance or rejuvenate you in these tumultuous days. If you feel the need to find some balance, do come in and smell the different oils in each range, to see which chill you and find your favourite and help create your calm zone. Should you feel you need a little extra TLC and fancy a massage, I am sure Kaye would be delighted to hear from you…her therapy room is just over the road!
Moon Times…
Full Moon: Mon 21 Jan @ 05.17 hrs (also total lunar eclipse if you want to get up early doors!)
New Moon: Mon 4 Feb @ 21.04 hrs Full Moon: Tue 19 Feb @ 15.54 hrs
New Moon: Wed 6 Mar @ 16.04 hrs Full moon: Thur 21 Mar @ 01.43 hrs (Spring Equinox)
To restore some inner peace, we are giving rose quartz and a hug free to our customers every day so you can feel the love that really is out there! Sending you all love and blessings, and may all your wishes come true
Chris (alias the Green Witch)
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