Apple Picking and Magic

With how much Cody and I have been working, it is rare that the both of us have an evening off together, let alone a whole day… But yesterday both of us were fortunate enough to be off work all day long with one another. Originally, we were talking about doing a lot of much needed shopping, running errands, cleaning house, then making dinner and calling it an early night; practical and boring, but thing that needed to be done.  However, as soon as we woke up and saw what a beautiful day it was, we decided an adventure was in order.

We got dressed, threw together some snacks, and jumped into the car and set off for Blue Ridge, GA. There is a family run apple orchard there called Mercier, which hosts a “U Pick,” where guests can pay for a bag and pick all the apples they could possibly ask for. Cody and I spent the day in the Orchards and picked more apples than I could ever dream of eating, so I imagine I will be spending the next several days putting  together obscene amounts of baked goods for my loved ones.

With all the time we spent in the orchards, surrounded by the mountains and apples, it was hard to not thing about all the wonderful, magical properties in which the apple possesses and the many ways that you can incorporate said properties into your magical and mundane life.

The magical properties of apples:

• Health and fertility
• Financial Abundance
• Happiness
• Protection
• Divination
• Connecting to the feminine
• Emotional and romantic love

As you can see, apples can be used for nearly anything you can possibly imagine, and using apples for these purposes are incredibly easy. For health, bless and apple before you eat it. Add apple seeds to a financial security mojo bag. Bake apple pies for your loved ones. Place apples on your altar to protect and bless it.

As you can imagine, you all will be flooded with magical apple crafts for the next week or so- in fact, as we speak I am waiting for my sweet potato and apple dog treats to come out of the oven, so you will be getting a post on the baking process within the day.

Apples…apples for days. I have a life time of magic laying across my counters at the moment (and at least a week’s worth of baking… at least), so I will leave you here for the moment. I hope you all enjoied your long weekend (if you did indeed have a long weekend).

Be Blessed,
-D

 

Magic with Cody

I’m very fortunate that my fiancé is my best friend. Seriously, he is the perfect person for me. I don’t say this just to be sappy or to portray an unrealistic relationship between us- we still bicker and have our issues, but that pales in comparison to the love, understanding, and support we experience from one another.

Waiting for the concert to begin… I was crying I was so excited!

I bring this up for two reasons. The first: last nights he helped me cross off a bucket list item and took me to see one of my very favorite bands ever… The Cure! Such a great time, they sounded amazing and I loved every second of it. The second reason: though we don’t necessarily share the same beliefs in terms of my spirituality, he still has a desire to learn and to be a part of my practice.

 

I was reading through some old books on witchcraft and was telling him about how I kind of miss practicing magic the way I use to; several years ago I was constantly crafting something, and now I am constantly reading about someone else’s craft. I then told him how I use to really enjoy making magical oils and using them to dress candles, tools, etc.

Being the person that he is, Cody then allowed me to elaborate on the making of oils, the steps I took to produce them and how I went about decided what ingredients I wanted to use. I got very noticeably worked up and excited while explaining it to him- I don’t always actively try to involve him in this portion of my life, I would rather him try to involve himself in it. Knowing how happy it made me, he asked me to make an oil with him.

Guys, I’m excited. Working magic with this man is always an adventure.

We have been working together to come up with a list of ingredients and a spell, I can’t wait to share it with you guys!

 

 

 

Celebrating the Solstice

I’ve been struggling to keep my head above water lately, so I am sorry that I’ve been going to long between posts. My new job is starting off a little rocky for me and I’m still trying to get this house in order, but I am trying to get back on top of my game.

So, the Summer Solstice and the full moon… Can you think of a better time to practice magic? Instead of giving you a history lesson on the solstice or telling you all the ways that you could possibly celebrate it, I’ve decided to tell you what I am doing today.

If you have been reading my page for even a short amount of time, you will find a pattern with me: when I am getting ready to celebrate a holiday (or when I’m stressed) I clean. I hate cleaning, but I love a clean house. I feel like a clean, clutter free home lends itself to successful magic making- that having a fresh open room makes it near impossible for negative energy to gather in corners. So today, I clean.

When I am fished with my cleaning, I am baking blueberry and orange muffins as a summery treat and as an offering to the fae. Cody brought home tons of fresh blueberries and I bought more oranges than I can eat, so I am tinkering with muffin recipe and trying to come up with the perfect summery treat.

Other than that, we are simply going to enjoy dinner out on the patio with a glass of sweet wine… perhaps I’ll paint outside as well. But it is officially summer now, so I am planning on staying outside as much as possible.

What are you guys doing tonight?

 

Witchy Unpacking

The worst part about moving is undoubtedly the packing and unpacking. Sure, taking all of your belongings out of boxes has an air of “Christmas” about it… at first. But then it always seems to take a dark turn for the worst. You have more “junk” than you have room for and all the still packed boxes seem to multiply. It sucks.

To keep myself somewhat sane while unpacking and reorganizing, I’ve been slowly setting up altars around the house. It helps me channel my frustrations into creative, spiritual energy.

My Altar When I Lived With Cody’s Parents

When we lived with Cody’s parents, I wasn’t sure how his parent’s would feel if I had a full altar set up, so I had added a ton of “essentials” into a beautiful wooden box with flowered carvings.  Though I no longer need to hide all of my things, I still love having my box and have it on display on my main altar.

My Main Altar

I’ll be honest, I’m not 100% loving this set up. I thought having my altar on my dresser top would look wonderful and I would have a ton to room to spread out my tools, but now I’m not so sure. I guess we will figure that out later on.
My two white candles represent the god and goddess, I have taper candles to represent my elements, my tarot and oracle cards, my book of shadows and a few other’s here and there… but it still feels a little odd. I may begin looking for a smaller table and restart it from there.

My Living Room Altar

So far, this is my favorite part of my living room.
My living room altar, though to most it doesn’t appear to be an altar at all, I feel is even more magical than my main altar (which is a problem to me, but it is what it is). I have on it two of my favorite pictures of Cody and myself, all of the wine corks from the many bottles of wine I’ve shared with my family and friends, two lamps (one owl, on elephant), and my Buddha, Ganesha, and my owl totems, and a  few candles here and there. There is so much love on this small little area, it makes my heart happy.

I am still unpacking, still organizing, and still looking to create more altars, but so far this is where I am sitting.

As soon as I get a little more settled in, I will have more posts to come.

 

Witchy Tip: Use Rose

First of all, I’m sorry for the venting involved in yesterday’s post. My family is going through a lot right now and I had a desperate need to vent to the world without actually airing out all that dirty laundry to the people who personally know us. Today, I’m feeling a little bit better and I’m ready to write to you about all kinds of magical things.

Because I was so down last night, Cody brought up the topic of taking a Disney Vacation (I’m eat, sleep, breath Disney…) as a way of taking my mind off things. He promised that The next time we go, we will wait in line to meet the Beast- something I have never done before. That is when I began telling him about my life long fascination with roses.

From a young age, I have always believed that roses were magical. My favorite movie (then and now) was Beauty and the Beast and I was OBSESSED with that rose. My mother had a beautiful rose garden at the time, so any time we were outside I would pretend that all of those beautiful roses were magical, that they served as a “count down” to finding love. Sense then, I have always considered roses to be a sacred plant and I love using them in my magical workings.

How I use Roses in my magical workings:

• Have your received a bouquet from a loved one lately? Dry and keep the petals for future spell work. When my fiancé proposed, I pressed a few of the flowers to keep and I hung the others out to dry for upcoming spell work. When I need a spell for harmony in the household or to strengthen mine and my fiancé’s communication skills, I use these flowers.
• Boil the petals in water charged by the moon to make rose water. This can then be used in love related rituals, beauty spells, or as holy water. My favorite way to use rose water is to anoint candles with it when preforming love spells (love spells regarding my fiancé and I with his consent, so relax). When you are done with your rose water, store in a cool place.
• Add dried rose petals to homemade smudge sticks. It will purify your home and promote peace- I like to use sage, rose and lavender in one bundle.
• Take advantage of those thorns- they can be used in witches’ bottles and  home protection spells as a way to deter any negative forced from entering your home.
• Plant a bush as an offering to the Fae or the Green Man. Roses, to me, are the ultimate sign of beauty in nature. Planting and caring for the bush can be shown as a sign of respect and love to these nature entities, dedicating this special flower to these spirits may encourage them to look after and care for all of your other plants in your garden.

My magical used of roses may not be the Beast’s magical use of rose, but that magical movie lead to my love of this beautiful plant.

How do you use rose in your metaphysical life?

Blessings,
-D

Prosperity Spell Candles

I have been wanting to start making a series of spell candles- one for prosperity and abundance, one for increasing empathic and psychic abilities, one for blessing mine and Cody’s relationship, one for home and family blessing and protection, and one for banishing anxiety and depression. The idea is that I will cast a circle while making the candles, add in magical ingredients, and charge the candles with my intentions. Any time I light this candle, it will slowly release its magical properties into the air, charging me with its magical purpose.

That being said, if you have even read a few of my posts, you know that my fiancé and I are working through some money issues. We have come a long way, but keeping our heads above water can still be a daunting task. While logically I know that the first step to getting out of the negative is by using mundane means, I am open to receiving guidance from the magical side of my life as well. With this in mind, I decided that my first spell candle would be made for Abundance and Prosperity.

**A small disclaimer- though I have made candles before in the past that have turned out gorgeous, this time was a little different… I made a rookie mistake, so while the ingredients and intentions were all there, it is a little on the “ugly” side. BUT it smells great and I feel that it will work beautifully for me.

First thing first: what does prosperity and abundance mean to me? No, It isn’t just money. Of course I need help financially, but that isn’t all that comes to mind when I think of these words. In my mind, I see comfort. I see food in the fridge and gas in my car. I see my fiancé and I not only enjoying time off for ourselves, but to be also be able to give back to our community. The goal is to not be greedy with our money, it is to be able to live comfortably, within our means, and to be able to help others if they so need it. I do not believe that magic will work in my favor if I have a greedy heart behind my motives, but I do see the universe working in my favor if my intentions are pure.

What I used:

• About four cups of soy wax chips (will make 2 eight ounce candles)- normally you will find tutorials instructing you to measure your wax by weight, but I have found that doubling the amount of wax per how many ounces your container holds usually works pretty well. Usually.
• 2 eight ounce containers
• 2 wicks and wick adhesive
• A few whole bay leaves- for luck and protection against poverty
• Patchouli oil (2 oz)- to promote wealth
• Citrine chips- for positive energy, promoting wealth, luck and mental clarity.
• Adventurine Chips- for luck and wisdom with money.
• Tiger’s eye chips- to protect the money we already have, to help grow businesses, and to protect yourself from becoming greedy.
• A dandelion flower- this was a last minute decision for me. Seriously, right as I was about to pout my wax, I looked outside and saw some of these weeds. I don’t know why, but my gut told me to go get them.

What I did:

Because I was treating this as a spell, I formally called the corners and cast my circle before beginning. I prayed over all my supplied and asked that the god and the goddess would help to lend their energies to me as I worked my spell.

First, I prepped my candle jars by adhering the wicks to the bottom of the glass.

Then, measure out about four cups of soy wax in a large, glass measuring cup. I don’t have a double boiler, so as soon as I measure everything out, I simply place this in a large sauce pan, half full of boiling water and stir until it is completely melted. It will reduce to about two  cups of melted wax.

From here, you *normally* would allow you wax to cool to about 125-135 degrees, and THEN you would add your essential/ fragerence oil to the wax and stir well.
I did not do this- so if you are going to attempt to recreate this process, I would advise you not follow my lead right exactly.

While your wax is cooling, gather the rest of your supplies.

 

See that last picture right above? That is where it all went wrong for me. I thought it would be a wonderful idea to put the patchouli oil in the bottom of the jar first, rather than directly in the wax. The idea was that I would put my bay leaves and crystal chips in the oil and let all of the magical properties infuse together… SO, if you want your candle to turn out pretty, don’t do this…

Right before I poured the wax into the candle jars, I made a last minute decision to add a dandelion to each jar, and dandelion root to one of them I don’t know why, but my gut told me that I should. I threw it all together and waited for it to begin to cool. As soon as it looked like it was cool enough, I was going to move it in front of the altar so that it could finish setting and eventually cure and be ready for use.

The crystal chips settled to the bottom, but you can still see the dandelion and bay leaves floating around.

 

I got kitty kisses while we were waiting for our candles to set.

 

 

Overall, the candles turned out pretty awesome. They smell wonderful and a filled with so many magical items, just holding the jars gives me a rush of emotions. The only hiccup- I added the oil to the jar- not to the wax. Because of this, the oils did not mix with the wax the way it should have, no matter how much I tried to stir things up a bit.Because of this, the oils and some of my crystal chips are still free floating down there.

Despite the fact that things didn’t turn out the way I planned them, I am still very excited to work with my prosperity and abundance spell candle.

 

If you have any comments or suggestions as to what I should add to my next few spell candles, please drop a line below. I would love to hear all of your thoughts!

Blessings,
-D

 

 

Magical uses of Bay

Another herb that I always seem to have on hand at any given time I dried bay leaves. I began using it when teaching myself how to cook, and now I use it more often for magical purposes.

When cooking,  I love to use Bay for its strong, aromatic uses. It can transform nearly any dish just by added one small leaf to the mix. While bay isn’t suitable for everyone’s taste buds (my mother, for example, hates it), it is certainly worth a shit for many people. I love making robust, Italian sauces with it. I should warn, that much much like sage, I do see many people warning against using this herb while pregnant. If you wish to use it while nursing or pregnant, meet with your doctor before hand to get all the information you need.

From a magical standpoint, Bay has a way with calming the mind, helping to develop psychic abilities, protecting against unfavorable situations, and granting wishes.

Ways I like to add Bay into my magical practices:

• I’m sure by now you have seen people writing their wished on bay leafs before burning them… not to be a copy cat, but I love this simple ritual.
• Add bay to your bath teas before bed OR put a bay leaf under your pillow at night, both will help you to have prophetic dreams.
• Burn bay with your incense before practicing divination.
• Add the crumbled leaves to any wish sachet you are planning on making.
• Carry the leaves in your wallet of purse to help protect against theft or poverty.
• Incorporate bay into your household décor to promote home protection.\
• If you are feeling uneasy and need to quiet your mind, add bay to a stovetop potpourri (if you haven’t noticed by now, I am slightly obsessed to stove top potpourris…) I feel that it works very well with rosemary and lemon peels.

Gotta love them herbs. Having a small stock on hand makes it so easy to incorporate a little bit of magic into your daily life.

Blessings,
-D

Magical Beans: Coffee

Loving this picture that was recently send to me!

It is no secret to my friends and family: I drink a lot of coffee. Coffee is the reason I get out of bed in the morning. Coffee is the reason I put on a bra and go to work. Coffee is the reason I don’t stab the customers that like to come in and ask dumb questions like “how come you guys charge more money for double bacon on my sandwich.” Half of the reason I began dating my fiancé is because he worked at a coffee roaster and came home smelling like my own personal brand of heaven and gave me a free pound of whatever bean I wanted every Friday… I’m addicted and I don’t care who knows it.

 

Though I drink it every day and in mass amounts, it wasn’t until last year did I think, “huh, maybe I can start adding this to my metaphysical practices.” Though I haven’t actually found any other articles on using coffee in your craft or the magical properties of the bean itself, I began to create my own ways to use this bean in my own crafty ways.

Ways I like add coffee into my magical life:

• Take two seconds to bless your first cup of the morning and empower it to help you be more productive and positive throughout the day.
• If you have a kitchen altar, add whole beans to it as decoration.
• Add the grounds to spells regarding lack of energy and motivation.
• When you need extra help to break a bout of sadness, add coffee grounds to your soap and bath with it. It will help wake up your mind and soul.
• If you like tea leaf divination, but are sick of drinking tea, use coffee in place of it.
• Bless your coffee and use the left over grounds as a compost. You blessings will be returned to the earth.
• Drink it for it is good and your body needs it.

Get some coffee in your life!

-D

Some thoughts on Garlic

When I was getting serious about the craft, I had to learn what herbs would be most available to me and how I could use them in my magical life. Garlic, costing me around 60c a bulb, became one of the most useful, and economical, herb in my magical pantry… not to mention I love cooking with it as well.

From a health stand point, garlic is a must have in your kitchen:

• It is very low in calories and very high in nutrients, not to mention flavor. It is a great alternative to adding foods high in sodium as a flavor enhancer.
• It can help to lower your blood pressure. When my mother had her stroke, we found that it was caused by her dangerously high blood pressure. In conjunction with her medications, the doctor suggested that she add more garlic and sage into her diet. Both of these herbs help to act as a natural diuretic, which aid her medications and help to give her heart a rest.
• Garlic contains antibacterial and antiviral properties, helping you to avoid ailments such as the common cold- or at the very least help you to feel better faster.

For more health information on garlic, you can find it HERE.

As far as magical practices go, garlic has powerful banishing properties. It may sound cringe worthy and cliché, but  garlic is perfect for deterring vampires… psychic vampires, anyways. Evil in general has a hard time getting past this pungent spice, so pull it from your pantry and throw it in your potions!

Some ways I like to use garlic:

• Hang a blessed braid of garlic in the kitchen. It looks like a fun, useful piece of kitchen décor, but can also help to keep evil spirits out of your home.
• When attempting to cleanse your spirit, eat foods high in garlic.
• When casting spells on very serious matters, line your circle with garlic cloves to serve as extra protection.
• If you feel drained from dealing with other people’s negativity, eat foods high in garlic to protect you from them.
• Place a bulb of garlic on your altar for blessings and protection.
• Understand that garlic can be used as a substitute for other herbs that deal with banishing and protection… Instead of sage smudging our home, I had made a garlic infused olive oil to anoint my candles with… I lit the garlic oil dressed candles all around my house and it served as my “smudging” just as well as sage would have.
• Add garlic powder to your spell work.

There you have it… garlic is pretty amazing, so give it a shot!

Many Blessings,
-D

 

Some thoughts on Chamomile

 

 

With anxiety  like mine, you need to have a stock pile of chamomile tea and honey in your house. No ifs, ands, or buts… You need something to take the edge off of your days… and that something cannot always be scotch. Luckily, I love the mild taste of chamomile and will gladly take it on any occasion… not just when things are hard.

Chamomile is extremely useful in both mundane and metaphysical ways. From a health stand point, it is wonderful for warding away anxiety and helps aid in sleep, it helps to ease inflammation of the joints, it sooths upset stomachs, helps to work out insulin issues within your body, lowers cholesterol, can help to ease muscle spasms, and so much more. The health benefits alone are reason enough to keep a small amount of the dried flower in your pantry.

On a metaphysical stand point, chamomile is wonderful for attracting money and love, and for pur0ifying and cleansing your space.

Ways that I like to use chamomile:

• Add dried flowers to your stove top potpourri to promote love and harmony in your home.
• Add it to homemade sage bundles to help aid in the purification and cleansing.
• Made a sleep sachet to be placed under your pillow at night. I like to fill mine with equal parts chamomile and lavender- sometimes I’ll throw a bit of mint in there for fun. The mild scent helps to calm your mind.
• Placing bundles of the fresh flowers on your altar can help to bring luck in your magical workings.
• Wash your hands with a soap featuring chamomile essential oils if you are ever in need of luck or money. As a superstition, many gamblers would do this to help ensure their winnings.
• Drink the tea just because- it is good for you.