Wiccan & WitchCraft Information Blog

Some Clarifications

2011-12-14T23:42:00.002-06:00

Hello readers,
My name is Joseph and I am the owner of Moon's Light Magic.
I wanted to post personally on this blog because I feel that I need to express some important things to our internet customers, or individuals who order online through our website.

Having a wiccan/spiritual/occult shop is difficult because of the high demand of the products. You cannot just go to the local Walmart and pick up many of these items that we carry, obviously, so they are in high demand because they can be hard to come by.

Also, most of these products all come from the same vendors, and since there are only a few that make these kinds of products, almost all businesses involved in selling these items go to the same suppliers, which makes stock levels turn over extremely quick.

We carry over 9,000 different products on our website, and roughly 60% of these products come from overseas, with most of them coming from India and China. I wanted to let all our customers know that when items go into back order or run out of stock on our site, it can take weeks before they finally arrive. These products are mostly hand made by our vendors, and it takes time. Also, they are not shipped by plane to the US, they come by boat, which again takes a lot of time.

Our overseas vendors are also not that reliable with keeping us informed as to the status of the products. One week an item can be simply back ordered and the next it can be outright discontinued and we do not get notified that product is no longer available. This can lead to all kinds of complications when ordering online and you buy a product that says in stock yet when you get your order it is on back order. We automatically back order any product and wait for it to arrive then ship it right away to our customers as soon as it comes in

If a product is discontinued, or has gone from back ordered to discontinued, we WILL notify the customer right away and ask what they would prefer to do. A replacement item can be shipped in equal value, or a refund can be granted. If you do not hear from us, then please contact us and we will be more then happy to help you.

We are NOT in the business to stealing or ripping off our customers, if we did this we would be out of business because no one would want to shop with an unethical company. We are willing to do whatever we can to make our customers happy, sometimes no matter what we do this will not always be the case, but we do our best.

We are still a small company, our website has been online since 2007, and our new shop has only been in operation for a year and a half, and with the volume of orders we receive, with our small staff, we do everything we can to make our customers happy.

If you are a customer, have been a customer, or are thinking of purchasing from us and you would like to know the up to date status of items and products, please contact us and we will let you know if indeed it is currently on hand in our warehouse. We try our best to keep the stock levels on our site accurate and up to date, but with as many products as we have and the turn over rate of the products, this can be difficult to upkeep all the time.

We are at the mercy of our suppliers and vendors, but we do what we can to get the products to our customers as fast as possible.

We appreciate all our customers highly, without them, we wouldn't still be here today. Thank you for your time, and patronage.

Joseph Barresi
Owner of Moon's Light Magic

Moon's Light Magic Catalog Now Available

2011-10-26T13:29:00.004-05:00

Finally after many years and many requests, a Moon's Light Magic product paper catalog is available!

We are excited to finally have put together a paper catalog that features our best selling products which focus on the altar tools, wiccan supplies, and spiritual aspect of our product line.

The paper catalog is completely free, and if you are interested in obtaining a copy, please visit our website Moon's Light Magic Catalog and simply add the catalog to your cart. Catalogs are completely free, however, if you only want the catalog and the catalog alone, then the only charge is for the shipping and handling. For people who have other items in their carts and wish for a catalog, there is no other cost.

We will also be creating a PDF version of our FULL product line which will be available sometime next year. The PDF version will be able to be downloaded right from our website, or, we can also e-mail it upon request to anyone interested as an attachment.

We thank you for your business and support, and if you wish for catalog please vist our website.

New Lower Prices

2011-08-30T20:05:00.004-05:00

We have some very good news to report here at Moon's Light Magic and that is we are currently dropping prices on MANY different products we carry.

No, we are NOT going out of business, quite the contrary. Our new store location has been a great success for us so far, and we have loyal returning customers and new customers coming in all the time keeping us busy.

We have been able to lower prices by a DRAMATIC amount, anywhere from 5-20+ dollars on many products.

How have we been able to do this? Well there are several reasons but mostly we have been able to reduce costs and overhead enabling us to pass this savings onto our customers through lower prices.

Please visit our website for the new prices, and for any questions feel free to contact us!

Moon's Light Magic-Witchcraft Supplies

Wholesale Wiccan Supplies

2011-07-14T17:03:00.004-05:00

For three years now we have offered a wholesale program for those individuals who have businesses that sell wiccan, occult, pagan, and other spiritual supplies.

For those that may not know about what we do for wholesale, or those that are in need of a wholesaler, you can get over 9,000 different products from us at 40% off EVERYTHING in our product catalog.

Here is our wholesale policies:
Wholesale Inquiries: Wiccan Supplier does offer wholesale to resellers that have a valid TAX ID. After you enter all your information into our data base here on our website(Click "Log in/Register" at the top left of the site and then fill in all the personal information fields), we require that you send us your TAX ID or EIN number through an e-mail at orders@wiccansupplier.com. If you are an ebay seller, a professional psychic, or have a business through a flea market a social security number will work.

Once we have reviewed all your information you will then be eligible to purchase our products at wholesale pricing which is 40% off everything on our site. If you are a reseller we only ship through UPS and USPS for wholesale orders. Once we have approved you for wholesale we will notify you via e-mail. When you login to our site all prices will be shown as WHOLESALE.

Once you have been approved you will be notified by us that your account is active. Once you login to our site as a wholesale customer, the wholesale 40% discount will apply to all prices so that the prices that you see are already 40% off retail price.

There is no minimum to buy. You may buy as much or as little as you like.

Wiccan Supplier also has a drop shipping program for any individual or business interested in this means of shipping orders out to your customers. There are NO fees for this service, and if you are drop shipping simply enter your own billing information and then your own customer's shipping address upon check out and we will send out the items and products to your customer for you. Our business name and address does not appear anywhere on the packaging or invoice. Any product damaged or broken upon arrival on a drop ship will need to be returned to US so we can mark it off as damaged. We will either resend the same items to your customer for you and cover the shipping costs or we will issue a full refund to YOU our wholesale customer through paypal or through check by mail. If a drop ship customer receives any items or products that are NOT broken or damaged and is not happy with the product then we will follow your own company policy for refunds or exchanges.

For returns and exchanges we do NOT refund candles, herbs, and oils unless the bottle the oil comes in is broken or cracked. For candles, we will issue refunds only for jar candles but plain candles we do not offer refunds for. All other products may be refunded if received damaged or broken.

Discontinued Products: For discontinued products and items that we are no longer carrying and that you may have already on your web sites and would like to know which of these products and items to remove please contact us at orders@wiccansupplier.com and we will send you our discontinued items and products list through e-mail.

Out of Stock Products: For out of stock items we offer an RSS feed that you can subscribe to and you will updated by e-mail whenever this feed is updated when we do inventory. This includes updates on discontinued products, stock level changes, out of stock items coming back in and out of stock, and new products being added. The link provided can also be integrated into your website so that if you have programming skills you can make it to where our feed will automatically upload to your website with you not having to do anything. This means that whenever anything changes on our website it will also automatically update on yours as well. If you do not have programming knowledge you can contact our own web designer to help you integrated this feed into your site by contacting Angela www.aztechwebdesign.com.
For information on setting up your own wiccan, pagan or gift e-store utilizing our drop shipping program, please visit AZTech Web Design.
http://www.aztechwebdesign.com/wiccan-templates.php

Here is the feed link:

http://wiccansupplier.com/feed/products_feed_rss.xml

For further questions about the drop ship program please call or e-mail us.
Call:

1-847-466-7485 Between 10am-6:30pm, Central Standard Time, Monday-Thursday

Friday & Saturday we are available from 11am-7:30pm

For after hours voice messaging you can call us at 630-458-1244 and leave a message and we will attempt to get back to you within 24 hours

Phone Orders-We now are accepting orders over the phone. If you would like to place an order please call us at 1-847-466-7485 and someone will be happy to assist you.
Hours of Operation- Our store is open during the following hours:

Monday-Thursday 10am-6:30 pm CST

Friday & Saturday 11am-7:30pm CST

Sunday-CLOSED

We are also closed on the following holidays:

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, New Years Day, and 4th of July.
Even though our offices are closed, we normally have a representative on hand after hours to respond to e-mails M-F between 11am and 9pm

There is no catch to have a wholesale account with us. There is absolutely no minimum to buy, and we dropship for absolutely no fees at all.

If you are in need of wholesale, give us a call, or visit our wholesale website:
Wholesale Wiccan Supplies-Wiccan Supplier

Banishing Spell

2011-07-06T15:05:00.001-05:00

Here is a simple banishing spell to remove an unwanted person or unwanted negative energy from your life.

Tools

A black candle

A lighter or matches

Knife to carve into your candle (an Exacto knife can work)

Paper

Pen

Toilet or stream

A place where you can bury something in the ground.

Get four small pieces of paper and on each piece write the person's name or the name of whatever it is you need to banish. On the opposite side draw a pentacle.

Carve the same word and the pentacle on a black candle also.

Do what you would normally do as far as visualizing this thing or person being drawn away from you and ask the Goddess for assistance.

Light the candle.

Take the four pieces of paper and burn one, saying, "I banish ______ with the power of fire. So mote it be."

Bury another one in dirt, saying, "I banish ______ with the power of Earth. So mote it be."

Flush one down the toilet, saying, I banish ______ with the power of Water. So mote it be."

Then tear one into little pieces and throw it out your window, saying, "I banish ______ with the power of Wind. So mote it be."

Let your black candle burn down.

How to use an Altar Bell

2011-06-27T16:48:00.004-05:00

Altar bells play an important part in any ritualistic setting, especially in wicca.

The intention of an altar bell is to call attention to the gods or goddesses you are praying to.

With altar bells, they are meant to "vibrate" or to "attune" you to the gods or goddesses so that they can hear you in your prayers and ritual work.

Everyone has a preference when it comes to using their tools, but this example is a basic way to use an altar bell properly in your rituals.

Approach your altar and either sit cross legged in front of it or kneel before the altar. Close your eyes and begin your meditation, a short duration meditation to begin is ideal, just to get your energy flowing.

Next, open your eyes and take your altar bell and ring it gently once while saying a phrase such as "May the gods and goddess hear me." or "Such and such god or goddess lend me your strength." These are just examples, you can say anything you like that makes you feel comfortable.

Next, place the bell back on your altar and meditate once again, focus your energies to reaching out to your respected god/goddess and really try to FEEL like you are becoming one with their own energy.

One you feel you are making progress, open your eyes once again and take your altar bell and ring it once again with another phrase or "words of empowerment" such as "Please protect me during this ritual." or something similar.

Place the altar bell back on the altar and repeat this once again with meditating and then taking the altar bell and giving it one final ring with a phrase.

Performing this three times better ensures that your respected god/goddess will hear you and will be able to empower you for whatever ritual you may be wanting to perform.

Every so often it is also good to cleanse your altar bells and this can be quite simple. Since most altar bells are silver plated or made from brass, dipping them into water with some sea salt or salt in general for a few moments will cleanse your altar bell fairly well. Simply place it in a bucket with salt water for roughly 20 seconds and then remove and dry.

Another cleansing technique is to light a sage smudge stick and have the smoke go over the altar bell for several moments.

You may cleanse many different altar tools in this fashion as well.

If you are searching for altar bells or need more information, please visit our website.

Moon's Light Magic-Altar Bells

Love Spell

2011-06-24T12:32:00.003-05:00

Get a pink candle that will burn down in the amount of time you have to watch it burn down completely. You will have to inscribe it (see below), so it should be bigger than a birthday candle, and you will also have to watch it burn down to nothing, so it should not be a long-burning or large candle. A plain pink altar candle or, better yet, a pink "bride and groom" figure candle, will be good.

Prepare an altar and decorate it with items that are precious to you and to the one you love. Using a rose thorn from a white rose bush, inscribe the words "All my love come to me" 3 times on the candle. (If you don't have access to a thorn, you can use whatever is handy. Exacto Knives are good for carving candles.) Place the inscribed candle in the center of the altar and light it.

For the entire time the candle burns, gaze upon it and visualize your love coming to you in nakedness and beauty. When the candle burns out, collect the wax puddle that remains, wrap it up with the mementos from the altar and keep it in a safe place.

The result of this spell will not be "zombie" or "victim" thrall-love; but you will receive ALL the love that person has for you -- which may be less than, as much as, or more than the love you have for him. Accept the degree of love you receive with grace and tenderness.

If, at some future time, you no longer wish to receive that person's love, dispose of the ritual remains in a simple ceremonial way. Depending on your mood, the wax puddle can be burned on a fire, buried at a crossroads, thrown into running water, mailed to the person, ground to shavings and baked into a cake -- or whatever you feel is appropriate. But it is your responsibility to dispose of it if you no longer want to be loved in any degree by that person.

Easy Healing Spell

2011-06-23T16:07:00.004-05:00

Here is a quick and easy healing spell.

Supplies:

* 1 Blue Candle
* 1 oz. powdered ginger
* 5 drops eucalyptus oil

Directions:

Run a hot bath. Add the ginger and the eucalyptus oil. Light the blue candle and turn out the lights. Enter the bathtub, and soak in the bath water. Feel the waters cleansing you of the toxins in your body, and say:

Isis, Goddess who heals all
Release this (name illness: cold, flu, etc.) from me
Make me well again.

Chant this as you feel the toxins leaving your body. When you feel slightly shaky (this will happen!), drain the tub and visualize the toxins washing down the drain. Rinse your body and your tub with cool water, visualizing all of the toxins washing off of your body, and your body becoming free of what you were sick with.

Bring the candle to your room and immediately go to bed, keeping the candle light for a few minutes as you visualize yourself waking up feeling much better.

Need these supplies for this spell? You can get them at our store:
Witchcraft Supplies-Moon's Light Magic

Protection Spell

2011-06-21T11:01:00.005-05:00

Here is a spell we would thought we would post to help someone protect themselves from any negative spirit or demon. The importance of this protection spell is in the wording, which is very effective.

cast a circle on the ground all casters enter.. 1-? casters can be used( the more the more powerful).

Hear me knights of past, Knights of the ancient law. Hear me dead knights of an english tongue. Hear me knights lost in battle, who's blade did good. Hear me knights of old, hear me knights of lost souls. This night I invoke thee . I summon thee to my arms aid. Hear me knights, a new cause be given. Your body gone now spirit be. Hear me Dead Knights I invoke thee. By your spirit blade I invoke you. By your might I invoke you. By your spirit I invoke you. Come now , follow a new cause, I summon thee. Each of thee I enlist. I invoke you dead knights lost. Hear me and come to my aid. Hear me and fight at my side. Protect me from spirits harm. Fight my battles I say to thee. Hear me Spirits of lost knights , come to my aid, come to my side. Protect me from spirits harm. Protect me from spirits light. I invoke you. I invoke you. I invoke you. I invoke you. I invoke you.
Let my army be done.
Let it be .
Let it be

Black Blooded Heart

2011-06-21T10:31:00.003-05:00

We here at Moon's Light Magic are proud to announce the latest dark fantasy book from a small independent publisher named Midnight Rise Publications.

The name of the book is Black Blooded Heart and it is a great title! Here is some info on the book:

Valdimir...The Butcher of Antamor...the First Dark Knight...Morith's Chosen.

These are all titles of the villainous Valdimir, a once proud and just knight of Arathon that had once believed in protecting the innocent and punishing the wicked.

The first and only barbarian that ever became a knight, Valdimir had gained both fame and respect during his time as knight. All that changed when tragedy struck his life and he began to question his beliefs as a knight and began to turn towards the Death Gods for guidance...most notably, the God of Death himself, becoming his most devoted follower in life.

Having been killed over 300 years ago during the events of the novel The Curse of Silver Blood, Valdimir is brought back to life as a death knight, once again under the service of the dreaded Death God.

Valdimir's long absence from a hugely different world then when he had once lived begins to cause him to question his faith once again, even in death.

In this gripping and emotional story, Valdimir's life as a knight is fully described, as well as how he was raised from death itself to once again serve the will of Morith. From his joining the knighthood, all the way up to his grief stricken turn to the Death Gods, to the present time in Arator where Valdimir awakens, Black Blooded Heart is a dark and moving tale of a man who's soul has been tainted through life's brutal circumstances.

Will Valdimir once again bow down before Morith, or will he take his own path...forging his own destiny in a new world that still freshly remembers the atrocities and horrors he acted on in his former life?

This book takes place nearly 300 years after the events of Curse of Silver Blood, and is considered to be 10 years before the World of Arator's current time line.

We are promoting this book because we here at the store LOVE fantasy books and settings and we enjoy promoting indie authors and publishers, especially when their titles are so good.

We have the book available on our website here for those interested:
Moon's Light Magic-Black Blooded Heart

The book is $15.95 and is over 708 pages with two maps included.

Using Energy to Make Spells More Effective

2011-06-17T11:55:00.005-05:00

Energy is certainly the most important aspect when it comes down to rituals and spells, for it is, in essence, the basic building block that makes your spells and rituals successful.

Using energy wisely while performing spells and rituals is what really "makes magic happen" as it where.

In this posting, we are going to go over some helpful steps in ensuring that you make good use of the energy you will be putting into rituals and spells.

To begin, let us talk about meditation and how important it is for any form of ritualistic intent. The better and longer you can meditate the more effective you can utilize your energy.

Everyone is different when it comes down to meditation, and we all have our own methods as to what works and what does not. For those individuals who have trouble knowing how to make your energy flow through meditation, here is an example visual you can use.

Begin by imagining a blue field of glowing energy pulsing brightly within your mind. Keep this image focused for as long as possible, and imagine that the pulsing grows stronger and stronger the more you focus on it. If you feel comfortable that you have achieved a good visual, then begin to imagine that energy expanding out from the field and through your body.

A good way to know this is working for you is by feeling your body. If it begins to grow warm or you feel tingling sensations, then you know you are on track.

The more you perform this technique, the better it get in time, so we suggest that you practice it at least four times a week.

Using the above example to visualize energy flowing in meditation, we can take that method and then apply it to whatever ritual or spell we may be working on. For example, if you are performing a ritual to attract more money or wealth, you can imagine that blue field of pulsing energy in your mind, and then imagine yourself within that field with a pile of money, or, money slowly raining down on you from all over.

If you are using a candle with your ritual, you can take your hands and cup each side of the candle and imagine the energy in your mind flowing from you and into the candle. The more energy you can put into the candle, the more effective it will be as it burns down, releasing that energy you put into it so that it hopefully comes back around and grants you your intention or wish.

Energy can also be effective in protecting yourself from negative energies and psychic attacks. In order to do this, imagine the blue pulsing field in your mind and just picture that energy surrounding your body in an invisible bubble of energy, in effect, giving you a shield over your entire body that will repel these negative energies and influences.

These are just a few examples of the many things you can do further increase your energy output in spells and rituals. Many items can also be used to amplify or properly direct your energy such as wands, athames, amulets, and various talismans.

If you wish to search for these items, please visit our store:
Moon's Light Magic-Wiccan Supplies

Moon's Light Magic Membership Plans

2011-04-14T12:32:00.004-05:00

Moon's Light Magic now has membership plans available on our website for regular customers!
With membership plans you pay a one time fee then your account on our website will be activated for further purchases of between 10-30% off ALL of our products on our website. Do you practice regularly? Are you in a coven? Would you like all of our products at a discount rate? Then give this plan a try. Once you purchase the plan your account is activated for the discount, and after you login to your account ALL prices will automatically be set to that discount rate off retail price.
You can get more information and the different plans here:
Moon's Light Magic Membership Plans

Samhain/Halloween Sale

2010-10-30T13:17:00.002-05:00

Greeting everyone!
We know that updates have been rather infrequent lately but we have been busy with out new store location and our small staff just hasn't had the time to keep our blog updated. We will be adding new posts soon, but we wanted everyone to know we are currently running a Samhain/Halloween sale on our website that starts today and runs until the 5th of November. EVERY product on our website is 15% off so take advantage of the sale while you can.
Have a great Samhain/Halloween!

New Store Grand Opening!

2010-06-02T10:19:00.002-05:00

Moon's Light Magic Grand Opening Saturday June 12th.
169 W Irving Park Rd
Roselle, IL 60172
Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am-6:30pm
Friday & Saturday 11am-7:30pm
Sunday Closed (We will be open on Sunday June 13th for the Grand Opening)

If you are in the area we would love to see you in our brand new larger store location.

An Easy Love Spell

2010-03-14T15:18:00.002-05:00

Bring a New Love Into Your Life Spell

Best Night: Friday
Best Moon: Full

Things you will need:

1 sheet of lined paper(or parchment paper if available)

1 Red pen or marker

1 letter envelope

your favorite perfume

your favorite shade of red lipstick

a few Pink or Red flower petals

Write out the qualities you want in a lover on the sheet of paper using the pen.

Next spritz the paper with your perfume.

Fold the paper and place it in the envelope.

Now take the flower petals, hold them in your RIGHT hand. Envision yourself happy and in love, squeezing the petals tight in your hand. Keep envisioning this scene.

Drop the petals into the envelope. Seal the envelope closed and seal the whole spell with a kiss. Apply the red lipstick and kiss the envelope!!

Place in a safe place. NEVER open it again, if you do this will break the spell.

How to Use 7 Day Jar Candles

2010-03-06T17:30:00.005-06:00

7 day jar candles can be a great way for beginners to begin to break into the craft. Quick and easy to use these ritual candles are capable of bringing about ones desires pretty quickly if they are used properly.

7 Day jar candles come in all different makes and sizes including beeswax, soy, and plain paraffin wax. The common element in all jar candles is that the wax is self contained within a glass jar that not only keeps the wax from spilling out and making a mess when being burned but it also allows the candle to stay safely lit for several days in a row.

7 day jar candles can be used as a compliment with your other ritual tools or it can be used as a stand alone tool for a single ritual or spell. 7 day jar candles do come in various different flavors and intents such as for love, protection, energy release, astral travel, and many others.

There is no set restriction in using a 7 day jar candle and an individual can use them in several different ways. We will explain two of the more common methods for using these ritual candles in a ritual or spell.

7 Day Jar Candle Ritual Examples:

The first easier method to use a 7 day jar candle is to sit Indian style on the floor while having the candle placed in front of you about arms length away. Light the candle using your own symbolic meaning and once lit close your eyes and begin to meditate on your intention. If for example your ritual is for a new love then begin to imagine and FEEL the feelings of love and joy you would have being with another person in a happy relationship. It is important that the images you project within your mind are clear and strong and that feelings you radiate are POWERFUL.

Meditate in this fashion for 10-20 minutes and when you feel the energy coursing through you open your eyes and begin to stare into the candle flame once again imagining those images within your mind and feeling those feelings you would have. As you stare into the flame place your hands gently on either side of the 7 day jar candle so that your palms are flat against the glass container.

Begin to transfer your energies from yourself through your body, into your hands, and then into the candle itself. This transfer of energy will ensure that candle is charged and while it burns it will release that contained energy that you have transferred into the candle.

After several minutes of transferring your energy remove your hands and once again close your eyes. Begin your own way and methods of closing out your ritual and dispersing the energy that you built up during the ritual from your body.

Do NOT snuff out the candle and be sure that it remains lit. Pick up the lit jar candle and place it somewhere safe so that it will not topple or fall over such as a high dresser with a flat surface.

Keep the candle lit for seven straight days and try to ensure that it does not snuff out as the burning candle flame is releasing the energy you placed into the candle slowly over those seven days.

After seven days you can safely snuff out the flame of the candle and once that is done we would suggest that you wrap the candle in a dark cloth so it is completely covered and either store it away some where safe or you can bury it into the earth some where such as your back yard.

The other method for a 7 day jar candle is to perform the ritual as we described above but instead of keeping it lit for seven straight days you will perform this example ritual every night for seven straight days snuffing out the flame after each ritual. Therefor you would perform the above ritual and when you are finished you would snuff out the flame. The next night you would repeat this process and keep doing so until it has been seven days in a row.

Some things to watch out for while your 7 day jar candle is lit is the following:

If your candle is burning very quickly then this means that the energy you placed into the candle is extremely strong and it is quickly burning through the candle. This is not bad, this just means that the energy is being released faster and will come back to you more quickly as well (typically within two weeks).

If the candle is being burned slowly this means that the energy is being released slowly and evenly and will come back around to you gently and over time (typically within 30-60 days)

If the jar of the candle cracks while it is lit then this is a very bad sign and means that something went wrong during the ritual. If this happen you MUST remove the candle from your home and bury it immediately as the candle has been tainted with negative energy and if you leave it in your home it could bring about that negative energy onto you.

7 day jar candles can certainly aid you in many ways. And with so many different candles to choose from you certainly will not run out of any ideas on how to use them as they can be used for almost any situation in your life.

If you would like to see examples of 7 day jar candles or if you would like to purchase some you can do so here:
7 Day Jar Candles

The History of Wicca Part 2

2010-02-18T01:31:00.003-06:00

In 1954, Gardner published a book titled Witchcraft Today which became quite popular and pushed Gardner into the public spotlight. This exposure resulted in Gardnerian Covens being seeded all over England. Later books, The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959) and Gerald Gardner Witch (1960) furthered his public exposure, publicized his ‘Craft’ and Gardnerian Witchcraft continued to develop. In 1964, Gerald Gardner passed on, leaving the Witchcraft community with no public spokesperson. I suspect there was a struggle between those in the inner circle to take over where Gardner left off because it meant fame and money to do so. One such person was Eleanor “Rae” Bone. Rae was a former High Priestess in Gardner’s own coven, liked and respected by those who knew her, and not afraid of potentially negative public reaction. Do not be upset if you are not familiar with Rae Bone, most Wiccans are not aware of what happened. Rae never achieved the position of spokesperson for the ‘Craft’ community because a man with a real knack for media exposure outpublicized her. That man was none other than Alex Sanders.

Alex ‘King of the Witches’ Sanders

Alex Sanders was an English showman who knew what to do and say in order to get public recognition, even if it was not quite the truth. Alex claimed to have been initiated into Witchcraft by his grandmother while he was still a boy, having accidentally walked in on her while she was working ritual. According to one account, he claimed to have received his Book of Shadows (a very close copy of Gardner’s) by the age of nine.

In retrospect, it does not take long to see that Sanders’ claim does not quite fit with the history. The book that Sanders would have received was not written until at least 15 years after he claims to have received it. It appears that what most likely happened was that Alex Sanders had been a practicing ceremonial magickian when he, sometime around 1963, connected with a person from Gardnerian practice who provided him with a Book of Shadows. A few minor
modifications to the Gardnerian Book of Shadows and it became the ‘Alexandrian’ Book of Shadows.

From there the details are vague, but by 1965, only a year after Gardner’s passing, Alex Sanders was getting media exposure based on his claim to having nearly 2,000 practicing Witches in over 100 covens. Supposedly, it was these Witches who insisted that he take on the role of ‘King of the Witches’. Of course, this claim appears to have been fabricated as a way to take over where Gardner had left off as spokesperson for Witchcraft. It was through this series of events that Alexandrian Tradition was the first tradition to break away from Gardnerian. Alex gained much publicity through flamboyant media exposure in the late 1960s. Alex seemed to have quite a lot of luck getting young, firm and quite naked young female Witches to pose for media photographers. Of course, the media had a field day with this. Sensationalist stories about Witchcraft with nude pictures are a great way to sell newspapers. If a pretty girl can sell anything, it certainly worked for Alex Sanders, and what he was selling was himself. Soon Alex was a celebrity, and his media exposure brought thousands into the Alexandrian Tradition of Wicca.

Raymond Buckland

While Alex Sanders was busy in England, Ray Buckland was, rather quietly in comparison, bringing Gardnerian practice to the United States. From the mid 1960s forward, he and his wife seeded Gardnerian Craft from their home in New York. In 1969 his first book on Witchcraft A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural was released, followed shortly after by Witchcraft Ancient and Modern. Ray’s contribution to the development of Wicca far exceeds his seeding Gardnerian Craft in the United States.

Paganism Splits Away From Wicca

Unless you are completely new to NeoPagan Witchcraft, you have probably noticed that there is a fairly strong following of a religion called ‘Paganism’ that very closely resembles Gardnerian derived Witchcraft (Wicca). The fact that ‘Paganism’ exists as a singular religion is a curiosity because none of the definitions of Pagan refers to a singular religion, hence there should be no religion referred to as Paganism.

Since many aspects of this ‘Paganism’ are clearly from sources other than the old religions of Europe and closely parallels Gardnerian Craft, it is clear that Gardnerian practice was the source. How this came about is still a mystery to many. In my research, I have discovered what happened. I suspect that very few of the Pagans who practice this Gardnerian derived ‘Paganism’ religion are even aware that their religion is based on Gardnerian practice. Gardnerian practice requires formal training and initiation to ‘become’ a Witch.
In the United States during the late 1960s it was painfully clear that there was no way to meet the demand for training into Wicca using conventional methods.

Something needed to be done that would allow the masses entry level access to
the practice of Wicca. It was a violation of the ‘law’ of Gardnerian practice to simply package up instructions including a real Book of Shadows. In addition, without initiation by a High Priest or High Priestess, the person would not really be a Witch anyway (in the eyes of Gardnerian practice). This left the dilemma of how to handle the demand for entrance into Wicca. Somewhere around 1968, the solution was developed.

The plan was to send out a package of very basic instructions1 of a simplified form of Gardnerian Witchcraft without divulging the origin of the material. Since one cannot be a ‘Witch’ without initiation (at that time) then the practice of this simplified version of Witchcraft had to be called something other than Witchcraft. It was decided that the name of the religion would be ‘Paganism’ and the practitioners referred to as Pagans. It appears that, according to the plan, Wiccans were to be the priestly class and Pagans were to be the general populous. An organization that did not identify its origin as from Gardnerian Wicca was created to distribute the training material. From what I can gather, this ‘Paganism’ was quite successful. In fact, it appears to have been a little too successful, because it grew so quickly that it started replacing formal Wiccan coven practice. After all, why study and work through a degreed system to
become a Witch when it was easier to just ‘be’ a Pagan?

Lady Sheba

There was one person who complicated matters in Wicca, but whose actions eventually led to the general public having access to what they wanted all along, which was Gardnerian material. Her pen name is Lady Sheba. In 1971, Jessie Wicker Bell a.k.a. Lady Sheba sold her Book of Shadows (a close copy of Gardner’s) to a book publisher. Jessie then declared herself “America’s Witch Queen” following in the steps of Alex Sanders, but was never accepted as such. With the release of Lady Sheba’s Book of Shadows, many of the great secrets of Wicca were no longer secret. The laws and rituals, even those never to be divulged except to upper degree initiates, could now be purchased in book form by anyone for $2.95. Obviously, this did not go over well with those in Gardnerian practice.

Academic Scrutiny

In the early 1970s, Wicca came to the attention of the academic community and the history of Wicca came under scrutiny. The Lady Sheba Book of Shadows may have been the catalyst for the academic curiosity into Wicca/Witchcraft. The occult academics of the period would have been familiar with the work of Crowley/Regardie and spotted the obvious ‘similarities’ in the Book of Shadows. The result of the scrutiny caused quite a shock. It was revealed that major aspects of Wicca were either recently written or borrowed from Freemasonry, Ceremonial Magick and the books of Margaret Murray, Charles Leland, Israel Regardie and Aleister Crowley among others.

At the time, people practicing Wicca believed that Wicca was authentic Ancestral Witchcraft and thousands of years old. You can imagine their shock when they found out that this was not the case. At first there was a lot of academic bashing denying what was being said, then many felt betrayed and lied to by the Wiccan community. This began the downfall of the popularity of Gerald Gardner, a name that is now nearly a dirty word in the NeoPagan community, despite his
role as a founder in the movement.

Reformed Traditional Wicca is Born

It was in the mid-1970s that Reformed Traditional Wicca as we now know it today was being born. The father was none other than Raymond Buckland. The book The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft (Weiser, 1974) introduced revolutionary concepts into Wicca, the most significant being that it was possible to create a new tradition. The book was so revolutionary that many consider it the birth of modern Wicca. This book was the introduction of the modern tradition, Seax-Wica. Wicca was ripe for change, and the creation of Seax-Wica marked the turningpoint. Wicca began heading away from coven practice, ritual nudity, coven initiation, and emphasis on ritual magick, toward the Wicca we know today with solitary practice, self-initiation and emphasis on the spiritual aspects of the religion.

By the late 1970s, Reformed Traditional Wicca was in full swing. Several traditions followed Buckland’s lead in breaking away and established themselves as alternative forms of Wiccan practice.

Feminist Wicca is Born

It was also in this time period (late 1970s) when the feminist movement latched
onto the Goddess aspect of Wicca as a female oriented alternative to male dominated Christianity. Several feminist traditions started and with a bit of creative writing shifted their flavor of Wicca away from balance toward female deity domination.

Starhawk Breaks New Ground with Spiral Dance

Modern Wicca had another boost in available information in the late 70s from Starhawk. Her book Spiral Dance from 1979 has been required reading for hundreds of thousands of Wiccan students for over 20 years.

Janet & Stewart Farrar

If modern Wicca’s father was Raymond Buckland, then its Aunt and Uncle were none other than Janet and Stewart Farrar. Their books from the 1970s and beyond were a rich source of information in this, the middle era of Wicca. Janet and Stewart’s lineage is from Alexandrian tradition, although their writing leans heavily toward Gardnerian practice. One of their collaborators was Doreen Valiente whose lineage in Gardnerian Craft goes back to 1953. I suspect that their books in the mid 1980s were the solidifying force tying together all the haphazard information into cohesive form. To this day, their books are authoritative even among the most conservative Wiccans.

Eclectic Wicca is Born

With the late 1980s came an opportunity to make huge piles of money selling books teaching Wicca. With the new crop of authors came a new crop of confusion. If Wiccans are no longer going to practice in covens, why did they even need a tradition? Many of the late 1980s books fail to mention that there was even such a thing as traditions in Wicca, let alone describe the history accurately. The prevailing attitude became “Who needs a tradition? Let’s do whatever we want and call it Wicca!”

New Age Wicca

By the 1990s the book publishers were treating Wicca as a “New Age” religionand other practices having nothing to do with Wicca started being mixed in. Soon there were pentacle wearing Wiccans with Native American spirit guides, studying Yoga chakras, and practicing Reiki (an eastern healing technique).

Fluffy Bunny Wicca is Born

The 1990s was also the start of a dark time for Wicca. While it was a boom to the number of people claiming to be Wiccan, it was also the birth of the “Fluffy Bunny” many Wiccans of this decade’s generation were the most poorly educated and least dedicated of any group of Wiccans to date. Wicca Today Over the years, Wicca has mutated or developed from a secretive mystical coven practiced tradition to a modern alternative religion with solitary practice and self-initiation.

Although the history of Wicca has been tarnished by individuals of questionable character, the potential for it to shine does exist. That potential can be made reality if those in Wiccan practice shine as individuals, which when combined will be the shimmer of a respectable religion.

The History of Wicca Part 1

2010-02-17T03:25:00.001-06:00

he History of Wicca
Wiccan history is intensely complex and can be a little confusing. Two things to
keep in mind when reading: The term Wicca is defined herein as a form of NeoPagan Witchcraft based on the Witchcraft revival of Gerald Gardner and his group in the 1940s. The term Witchcraft is a much broader term referring to practices ranging from ancient to modern.

The Roman Occupation
Europe had religions before the invasion of the Roman Empire. The specifics are beyond the scope of this book. One thing important to note is that pre-Roman Europe had not one, but several religions. A History of Pagan Europe by Prudence Jones & Nigel Pennick covers a broad range of the old European cultures and their religions.

Published Routledge; (March 1997)

The Roman Empire gradually invaded and occupied Europe around 100 CE. At this time, the official religion of the Empire was still based on the Roman Pantheon (Greco-Roman Gods). European religions were not exactly displaced by the Roman invasion; many of the old religions were merged with Greco-Roman practices, but some survived semi-intact. Around 250 CE Christians were starting to get into positions of power in the Roman Empire. Although there were attempts to stop it, Christianity became the official religion of the Empire around 390 CE. With the Roman Empire in power in Europe, Christianity spread through the nobility and upper class. In the peasant class and in the rural areas the old religions survived,although perhaps in a form mutated by the Greco-Roman Pantheon.

The peasant and rural practice of the old religions continued like this for hundreds of years. This appears to have been accepted by the Christians because it was not proving to be a problem. However, by the 10th century it had become enough of a problem to get recognition. In 906, the official church policy (as stated in Canon Episcopi) was that these people were confused and “perverted by Satan” and that no one should follow them. This was the birth of the fictitious concept of “diabolical witchcraft”, namely witches worshipping Satan. Keep in mind a commonly accepted theory is that it was not Satan who was being worshiped, but rather the gods of the old religions. To the Christian Church, the old Pagan gods and Satan were the same.

The Dark Ages
By the 15th century things had changed for the worse. Pope Innocent VIII issued
a formal declaration that anyone accused of consorting with demons (practicing
anything other than Christianity) was to be arrested and tried (tortured convicted and
executed). That began what many call “the Burning Times”. The torture at the hands of the
Christians was unspeakable. It is not clear how many of those executed for “consorting” were actually practicing the old religions. It is very likely that some if not most of those found to be “consorting” were either unpopular people or those accused so they could be eliminated and their wealth and property seized.

The spread of the Burning Times into the United States is evident in the Salem trials of 1692. It is very unlikely that any of those accused, convicted, and executed for the crime of diabolical witchcraft were practicing anything of the sort. It is likely that it was just a symptom of the Christian paranoia at the time. 19th Century The 19th Century brings us to the early stirrings of Wicca. In the 1800s and early 1900s, historians and scholars, and I use the terms loosely, started researching and speculating about the practices of Witchcraft and the Witch trials of the earlier centuries. Some authors expressed that during the ‘Burning Times’ a form of an ancient fertility religion had been flourishing and was being systematically stamped out by Christianity which feared being overthrown. In almost all cases the academic quality of the research was... and I am being nice here... definitely substandard.

Gerald Gardner, Grandfather of Wicca
Gerald Gardner was an Englishman, a civil servant, and amateur anthropologist.Gardner had an interest in religion, the occult, and magick. Gardner studied a great deal on these topics, anything he could get his hands on, including much of the “research” mentioned above. In 1939 (after his retirement) Gardner made friends with, and was initiated into, the New Forest coven. The exact nature of the New Forest coven is uncertain, although it appears to have been a subgroup of occultists from a Rosicrucian theatre. Many books state or imply that ‘Old Dorothy Clutterbuck’ was the High Priestess of the New Forest Coven.

The best information available to date indicates that Old Dorothy was involved in the theatre, did own the house where the coven practiced, but was not involved herself. In 1947, Gerald Gardner was introduced to Aleister Crowley and the two had a few meetings that spring. Gardner had an interest in Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) which is, to my understanding, a magickal order1. In this year, Gardner received, most likely purchased, a charter from Crowley to start an O.T.O. encampment with the intent of reviving interest in the organization. It appears that Gardner had little luck in gaining an O.T.O. following or perhaps had a change of heart regarding promoting O.T.O.

Shortly after his return from a trip to the United States, Gardner’s emphasis appears to have shifted back to his earlier interest of Witchcraft. Somewhere in this period, most likely 1947-48, Gardner created a manuscript known as Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical possibly based on the operational grimoire from New Forest Coven. In today’s’ terms Ye Bok was the very first Book of Shadows, and its creation marks the beginning of Orthodox Traditional Wicca. In 1949, Gardner released High Magic’s Aid, which was a fictitious novel most likely based on the ritual in Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. Although the book was a bit of a flop, it did establish Gardner as a known individual in the occult circles. It was also in this period when Gardner left New Forest Coven and started his own coven based on Ye Bok of Ye Art Magical. That new coven was the first Wiccan coven.It is possible that both of these events happening so closely together was not by coincidence. One theory has it that Gardner may have been thrown out of the New Forest Coven because of his writing the book.

At the time of the creation of the first ‘Wiccan’ coven, the religion was not called Wicca.It was referred to as Witchcraft or ‘The Old Religion’. In 1951 after the repeal of the last of the witchcraft laws in England, Gardner went public as a witch and started giving interviews as the ‘resident witch’ at a Museum of Witchcraft. In 1953 Gardner bought the Museum and shortly after met Doreen Valiente. Doreen initiated into his coven and shortly after became High Priestess. Doreen opposed how much of Gardner’s Book of Shadows was ‘borrowed’ from Aleister Crowley. Doreen helped rewrite sections of it developing the 1953 Book of Shadows to be used for years to come. Wiccan ritual (circa 1953) actually bore little resemblance to Ancestral Witchcraft because so much of the practice was ‘borrowed’ from other sources. Few Wiccans even today realize just how much of Wicca is not from Witchcraft. Here is an incomplete list of aspects of Wicca, which are known or believed to have been derived from sources other than Witchcraft:the degree system to reach Priest/Priestess status the term ‘The Craft’

· the term ‘Book of Shadows’
· the pentagram symbol
· the tool ‘athame’
· ritual in a cast circle
· altar at the center of the circle
· use of incense in a circle
· entering a circle from the northeast
· calling the quarters
· the elements Earth, Air, Fire and Water at the quarters
· most of the unnamed Goddess/God theology
· several of the rituals

Acorn Protection Amulet Ritual

2010-02-16T20:00:00.004-06:00

Acorn Protection Amulet
A charged amulet spell based on a system of Magick known as Ritual Magick. It
falls under the category of tasked energy magick.

Tools Required:
· Acorn
· Altar
· Pentacle (altar tile)
· Water bowl,
· Salt bowl,
· Goddess Candle,
· God Candle,
· Wand,
· Athame,
· Incense, and incense burner

Procedure:
Setup the altar in traditional fashion. Light the incense and let it fill the area around the altar. The incense serves as a cue that the space is being transitioned to magickal space.

Face East and say “Yae to the guardian of the East, join me and charge this area with the wisdom and energy of Air”.

Face South and say “Yae to the guardian of the South, join me and charge this
area with the wisdom and energy of Fire”.

Face West and say “Yae to the guardian of the West, join me and charge this area with the wisdom and energy of Water”.

Face North and say “Yae to the guardian of the North, join me and charge this area with the wisdom and energy of Earth”.

Calling the quarters

Some see this as drawing on the elements for energy in creating the circle. Others see it as a summoning of the elemental spirits for participation in ritual. Some with a background in Kaballah might be inclined to see it as summoning the Archangels.

Lighting quarter candles is common in some traditions. Some also ring a bell
and/or draw an invoking pentagram symbol with an athame. Take the athame from the altar and point it at the ground while drawing a circle on the ground starting at north and going clockwise (east, then south, then west, and then back to north). Set the athame back on the altar.

Casting the circle
The athame is used to direct energy to the perimeter and build the circle around you. Visualization of the stream of energy triggers the stream to flow. Pacing can be a little difficult. Sometimes moving too fast will leave it feeling half formed, while moving too slow can leave you feeling excessively drained.

Next light the God candle while saying... “oh great horned one of ancient mystery, join me bringing your wisdom and energy.”

Inviting the God to join. Consider the flame of the candle a torch to light his path to the circle or perhaps as a vessel for his spirit.

Next light the Goddess candle while saying... “oh great mother of all of the
universe, join me bringing your wisdom and energy.”
Inviting the Goddess to join. Also as above a torch to light the path or a vessel for
her spirit.

Pick up the acorn and dip it in the salt bowl saying “let this be cleansed with the
purity of earth”.

Before any amulet is charged with tasked energy, it is normally consecrated
(cleansed). The salt is symbolic of the element of earth and seen as a natural
purifying agent.

Dip the acorn in the water bowl saying “let this be cleansed with the purity of
water”.

This is the second half of the consecration. This time it is with the symbology of
the element of water, another natural purifier.

Set the acorn back on the pentacle.

The altar plate is the focal point of most altar-oriented rituals.
Touch both the candles (not the flames) drawing the divine energy into you. See yourself as glistening with white sparkly light.

Drawing divine energy. At this point, you are essentially tapping into the spirits of the Goddess and God. The drawing process is in a way like sipping on a straw except you are sipping with your fingers. The visualization of white sparkly light represents the charge of energy.

Pick up the acorn and hold it in your right hand. Visualize that sparkly energy going into the acorn. When you can see it in your mind’s eye, repeat the following 13 times:

“balanus, bona, phylacterium”

Pushing the tasked energy into the acorn. It is important to focus on tasking the energy at least as much as pushing the energy into the acorn. Tasking can be done with symbology or with words symbolizing the task. balanus is Latin for acorn, chestnut or date bona is Latin for good phylacterium is Latin for “to watch or guard”

Basically the phrase means “acorn good guard”. It isn’t an ancient phrase, nor need it be.

The repetition of the phrase 13 times is significant as the indication of the tasking process while charging. 13 times was chosen as plenty (perhaps excessive) and with the mystical association of 13 moons in a year and perceived by some as a lucky number.

Set the acorn down in the center of the pentacle.

Back to the focal point

Take the wand and draw a circle around the acorn three times saying “Bind this
spell to the amulet, as I will it, so mote it be.” Charging is only half of the task of amulet creation. The second half is binding the energy so it stays in the amulet.

The phrase “as I will it, so mote it be” is extremely common in this type of magickal work in that the magickian is now affirming that the magick will work. Note: mote = will, so the phrase means, “as I wish it, so will it be”.
Snuff the Goddess candle (blowing it out is okay only if you do not have a snuffer) and say “Thank-you M’Lady for your wisdom and energy”.
Thanks to the Goddess. NOT a dismissal, more like a goodbye type of pleasantry.

Snuff the God candle and say “Thank-you M’Lord for your wisdom and energy”.

Thanks to the God. As above, it is a pleasantry.

Face North, bow and say “Thank-you for your wisdom and energy”.

Face West, bow and say “Thank-you for your wisdom and energy”.

Face South, bow and say “Thank-you for your wisdom and energy”.

Face East, bow and say “Thank-you for your wisdom and energy”.

Thanks to the elements. As above, it is a pleasantry.

Cap the incense or douse it in water.

Starts the space on the process of returning to normal. Some people actually “take down” the circle.

As you can see, applying ritual to magickal practice gives it a sense of formality.
Do you need such a ritual to charge an amulet? No, but it may improve your focus.

Another aspect of ritual magick is when a group is working magick together. While free-form magick may be quite easy when you are by yourself, in a group it is far too chaotic. Having someone lead the ritual keeps everyone on the same task.

If you are in need of any of the items or supplies in this article you can get all of them here:
Altar Supplies & Wiccan Supplies-Moon's Light Magic

Wiccan Beliefs & Theology

2010-02-14T18:46:00.005-06:00

Wicca is considered a polytheistic religion because it embraces two gods, namely
the Goddess and the God. In Wicca, the Goddess and God represent the balance
and harmony of nature, with the two generally being viewed as equals. The
Goddess is symbolized by the moon, the God by the sun.

Even so, Wicca is not as polytheistic as the old religions of Europe, which had
large pantheons of gods and goddesses. To fill in the gaps, the other goddesses
and gods are often included as aspects of (names of, or sides of) the Goddess or
the God. In essence, this is saying that all gods are the God, and all goddesses
are the Goddess. In this way, Wiccans may choose the gods of old that they are
drawn to and it is still perceived as worshiping the same primary deities.

The above refers to Orthodox Traditional Wicca (Wicca in its 1953 form). Some
of today’s traditions have a different theology. Some downplay or completely
eliminate “the God” deity from practice while others welcome the old gods from
Celtic, Greco-Roman, and Egyptian pantheons on their own behalf, without
treating them as aspects of the unnamed goddess and god.

Some descriptions of Wiccan theology may sound sexist compared to what is acceptable today. Wicca is a religion with close ties to both nature and fertility, and the sexes are a vital function of nature. Wicca is not demeaning to either sex. In nature, both sexes are essential to survival.

The Goddess

Because Christianity is a patriarchal religion (male god), people sometimes have
trouble relating to the Wiccan female god, the Goddess. With a little bit of adjusted thought about the role of gods, the Goddess being female can make a lot of sense.

The role of the Goddess is to bring and nurture life, which is very similar to a
woman’s typical role of bearing children and caring for them. All things of life are the children of the Goddess; hence, she is our mother, which relates well with a feminine deity image.

The God

The role of the God is hunter, protector, and provider, which is similar to a man’s
typical role in nature. Another significant role of the God is to fertilize the
Goddess so she can bring life. In their joining, the circle of life is completed and
that which is born lives and dies to be reborn again.

The Elements

Wicca treats the forces of nature with respect and mysticism. The role of the
Elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water in Wiccan practice varies by tradition. Some
see them as terrestrial deities, others as aspects of the Goddess and God. The
alignment of the Elements with the directions North, East, South and West plays
a significant role in formal ritual.

Many traditions also regard a 5th element, Spirit. The element Spirit is often seen
as representing the Goddess and God although this too varies by tradition.

Beliefs
Wicca regards nature as sacred and magickal and is very much tied to the earth,
nature and magick. The holidays of Wicca, known as Sabbats, relate to nature
and its seasons, fertility and harvests.

Wicca is unique in that there are no long lists of rules laid down as to how we are
to live our lives. There are only two dogmas in Wicca that are common to all
Wiccan traditions. These two are the Wiccan Rede, and the Law of Threefold
Return. Beyond these two, the individual traditions have their own doctrines
and accepted beliefs.

The Wiccan Rede is “Do as thee will, an harm thee none”. The Law of Threefold
Return is “That which one sends into the world returns to the sender threefold”.
These are detailed in a later chapter.

Book of Shadows

The individual traditions keep their own doctrine of accepted beliefs and
practices known as a Book of Shadows. In Orthodox Wiccan traditions the Book
of Shadows is commonly kept secret and gradually revealed during the process
of the year and a day training. Reformed traditions generally publish their Book
of Shadows for anyone to read. In eclectic practice it is common to keep a scrapbook of personal practice and refer to it as a Book of Shadows. Some traditions also have practitioners keep a spell book which is referred to as a ‘Personal Book of Shadows’. Modern authors often confuse this with the tradition’s Book of Shadows. Most traditions have very specific rules as to what may be added to, or removed from their Book of Shadows.

For a book of shadows and many other supplies to get you started in the wicca faith visit this link:
Altar Supplies & Wiccan Supplies-Moon's Light Magic

Some New Products

2010-02-12T01:25:00.002-06:00

We have been working very hard the past several months to bring our customers some of the best quality products out there for this industry. We now have over 9,000 different products and the list is still growing.

We are posting today just some of the over 650+ t-shirt designs we have in stock. These t-shirts are all 100% cotton, hand dyed, and come in a large variety of sizes.

This Dark Cupid T-Shirt depicts a raven haired and black winged angel holding a bow with cupid arrow drawn and ready to shoot. Magnificently detailed the dark blue and black coloration adds to the gothic look of the angel image.

Dark Cupid T-Shirt Specifications:

Top quality 100% cotton shirts.

Hand-dyed and printed in USA

This shirt only comes in this color

Pre Washed Pre Shrunk

Earth friendly dyes

Sizes Available: Adult-M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL

A male vampire haloed by a swarm of bats and his female servants are depicted in dark stunning detail. Flash red background and black coloration of the t-shirt itself makes these blood hungry vampires that much more eye catching.

Vlad T-Shirt Specifications:

Pre-washed, pre-shrunk, 100% cotton

Earth Friendly Dyed

Hand Dyed

Sizes Available:

Adult-M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL

On this Celtic Roots Tree of Life T-Shirt the Tree of Life stands strong and proud. The trunk of the tree is designed with intricate Celtic patterns.

Celtic Roots Tree of Life T-Shirt Specifications:
Pre-Washed, Pre-Shrunk 100% Cotton

Earth Friendly Dyes

Hand-Dyed

Sizes Available:

Adult-M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL

Children-S, M, L, XL

For these and many more different designed t-shirts follow this link:
Moon's Light Magic Wiccan Supplies-T-Shirts

Wiccan Social Network - Wiccan Social Network

2010-02-10T19:50:00.001-06:00

Join our community! Wiccan Social Network is a social site for like minded pagans, wiccans, occultists, and those into witchcraft. Post your own blog, make a profile, add friends, communicate with other members and more.

Wiccan Social Network - Wiccan Social Network

Trials of the Bloodstone

2010-01-25T09:03:00.007-06:00

We are very pleased to announce that we will be carrying an epic dark fantasy novel entitled "Trials of the Bloodstone".

All of us here at Moon's Light Magic simply fell in love with this book and all of its characters that were so life like and real we came to really care about them and what happened to them on their journeys.

Normally we do not announce a single product like this on our blog but we had to make an exception here with this book.

Here is some more information about the title:
Trials of the Bloodstone is an epic dark fantasy novel that spins a grand tale about a mysterious clan that are seeking to rescue an important member of their society that is being held captive by an unknown powerful entity. They will attempt to rescue their clan member by finding a powerful artifact known as the Bloodstone to aid them in their rescue attempt.

When main character Davarian is assigned the task by his clan to find the Bloodstone he finds himself traveling alongside with a mysterious member of his own society as well as an unlikely band of bounty hunters that he does not trust.

Davarian does not realize however he will find himself knee deep in dragons, alien creatures, and dark evil powers all looking stop him on his quest to secure the Bloodstone and to free his fellow clan member.

Anyone who is interested in epic fantasy, dark fantasy, or fantasy in general will really enjoy this title and we are happy to carry it.

If you would be interested in purchasing Trials of the Bloodstone you can do so here:
Trials of the Bloodstone

Cauldrons in Rituals and Spells

2009-12-30T14:33:00.004-06:00

Cauldron History

Cauldrons have long been used within wicca and witchcraft for many different purposes and from ancient times to current the cauldron continues to be a main stay within the craft.

So what makes a cauldron such a vital tool within wicca and witchcraft? Well there are many different roles a cauldron can be used for anything from cooking, to being used as incense burners, or even as a fire resistance pit for burning items for rituals and spells.

In wicca a cauldron symbolizes the womb of the Goddess and can also represent rebirth and purification through fire. The cauldron is considered a sacred vessel to the Goddess and so many individuals within the craft favor using it for this purpose.

In Celtic influenced wicca the cauldron represents the goddess Cerridwen and Celtic legend also tells of a cauldron that was useful to warring armies: dead warriors could be put into the cauldron and would be returned to life, save that they lacked the power of speech. It was suspected that they lacked souls. These warriors could go back into battle until they were killed again.

Cauldrons In General

Almost all cauldrons are made from cast iron as this material is highly resiliant to fire and will not burn or be damaged from the flames like other materials. Cast iron is also durable and strong and if properly kept clean and dried out after use will not rust that easily like other metals.

Many cauldrons come with lids and a metal handle useful for carrying and transporting them around either full or empty and the lids will protect the user from and the contents inside much like modern pots being used on the stove.

Cauldrons are excellent for cooking over camp fires or fire places and for centuries humans have used them to cook anything from stews and soups, to meat and beans.

Cauldrons can also be used as incense burners when granular or powder incense is burned within the cauldron. If charcoal and incense are placed within a cauldron and lit the incense will begin to burn and smoke and there is no fear of the heat or fire breaking loose out of the cauldron as the cast iron holds and abosobs the heat extremely well leaving one with a pleasant burning incense for quite some time until it burns out.

Cauldrons in Rituals

For ages within witchcraft and wicca the cauldron has been used for rituals and spell use. Not only are cauldrons excellent tools because you can use fire safely but they also allow for a myrid of different ingrediants and items to be burned in a ritual at the same time. Cauldrons are also well adepted at being used for scrying once filled with water. Below is an example scrying ritual to perform with your cauldron.

Example cauldron ritual and spell:
Fill a cauldron or large, black iron pot half-full of fresh water. Add a handful of Buttercup or Marigold petals. Light incense of Sage (also used for protection) or burn some Thyme. Stir the cauldron/pot gently three times while chanting: Into the threads of time I cast my thoughts, To catch a glimpse of what will be! O' Gods of Asgard, bring into my mind, The lovely gift of prophecy! Look deep into the cauldron and wait for visions to unfold. You don't request insight into any particular matter using this method.

Cauldrons For the Elements

EARTH Cauldron
Layer salt, wax shavings, three powdered or ground herbs, lighter fluid and ivy leaves in the cauldron while focus and chanting. Use a candle to light it. When the smoke starts to roll, extinguish the cauldron by putting the lid on.

AIR Cauldron
Using tongs, put a chunk of dry ice is a small glass or ceramic bowl and place the bowl on a cloth in the bottom of the cauldron. Allow the cauldron to smoke as long as the ice lasts. The mists create excellent images for scrying.

FIRE Cauldron
Cover the inside bottom with dirt or sand to dissipate heat. Light incense charcoal and add either salt-peter for flame and spark or flash powder for a different but spectacular effect. To assist in releasing or firing off peak energy, try using flash "bombs". Make a small pocket in a piece of flash paper, fill with flash powder and tie with thread. The "bomb" should be about the size of your smallest fingernail. The results are spectacularly bright, so use the powder sparingly. Don't look directly at the flash as you drop the "bomb" in the cauldron.

WATER Cauldron
At least seven days before the ritual, place equal quantities of three appropriate herbs in a pint glass jar. Fill the rest of the jar with Everclear (200 proof alcohol), cap tightly, and shake gently while concentrating on the purpose of the ritual. Add a chant if its feels right. Let the jar rest in a dark, warm spot and shake twice daily, charging with purpose. Before the ritual, place a fireproof ceramic or glass bowl in the cauldron. Pour in the herb mixture, being careful none spills into the cauldron. Light with a candle to produce a beautiful blue flame.

The cauldron, as the fifth elemental spirit, symbolizes inspiration, rebirth, illumination and rejuvenation. Use a Fire cauldron with salt-peter to cast a Circle. Use the mists of an Air cauldron for an initiation. Burn away hate, prejudice and negative self-images, with a Water cauldron. The Earth cauldron is ideal for indoor Beltane rites.

If you are interested in purchasing a cast iron cauldron for your rituals and spells please visit this link:

Cast Iron Cauldrons

Besom Brooms

2009-12-29T12:53:00.006-06:00

The besom broom has long been a symbolic tool within wicca. It has several different meanings and uses within rituals and within your living space but whatever you may use it for the besom is certainly a wonderful ritual tool to add to your altar space and home.

Traditionally the besom broom has been and sometimes is continued to be used within wiccan weddings where the couple jumps over the broom during the ceremony. This represents the couple "crossing the threshhold" into homes to begin their new union together. This broom jumping also represents fertility and domestic harmony and longetivity. Should the marriage not work or end in a divorce jumping over the broom backwards will break and end this symbolism between the couple.

The image of witches flying around on broomsticks casting vengeful spells is believed to have come from old fertility rites associated with nature and agricultural. As part of the seasonal Spring rites to aid the growth of newly planted crops, women from local villages would gather around fields with their besoms. Placed between their legs as they circled the field, much like riding on a hobby horse, the idea was the higher they leapt, the higher the crop would grow. This soon turned into the idea of woman flying on a broom over their fields to ensure that their crops would be healthy and continue to grow.

In renaissance times, according to the demonologists, the Devil himself presented brooms and flying ointment to newly initiated witches so they could fly to the Sabbats. Often they carried with them familiars in the shape of demons or animals. They were also said to fly across fields blasting their neighbour’s crops, or ride out to sea in order to rise up storms. However, such concocted myths were generally forced from the poor tortured victims of the persecutions, and should not be taken seriously.

A besom was made from three different woods, Ash for the shaft, Birch twigs for the bristles and Willow strands for the binding cord. Ash is protective and has command over the four elements, Birch is purifying and draws spirits to one’s service, while Willow is sacred to the Goddess and binds them all together. In modern witchcraft today, while the traditional besom still takes pride of place, other woods are used for special purposes: Oak for added power and protection, Pine for luck and health, Redwood for longevity, Maple for love and money, Walnut for health and wisdom, and Cinnamon for spirituality. Cinnamon is also very popular because it leaves a pleasant armoa and scent throughout your home. Cinnamon brooms are quite popular and many different individuals that make besom brooms by hand will often soak and anoint besom brooms in cinnamon scented oil.

Magically, a besom is used for a variety of purposes, but more generally they are used to purify and protect. In ritual they are used to cleanse sacred space before magick is performed by visually sweeping away negative energies and astral build up. Before casting the circle, the Priest or Priestess will walk clockwise (deosil) around the circle space, and holding the besom a few inches off the ground sweep outward from the centre while chanting the Besom Chant:

Besom Chant
“Besom, besom, sacred broom

Sweep out darkness, sweep out gloom

Sweeping the area with a besom can be done in addition to or in place of incense, to purify ritual space, and is often used for such when rituals are conducted in smoke-free areas. When not being used in ritual, place your magical besom by the door to protect the home from evil spirits and negative energies. When standing a besom, always place the bristles up, with the shaft on the floor. This not only makes the bristles last longer, it will also bring you good luck. Another old custom was to place a besom outside the door, this as an indication to other witches that the occupants are out, or working, and didn’t wish to be disturbed.

To make your own traditional besom you will need the following:

A length of Ash approximately 4ft long and about 1in

thick for the shaft.

Birch twigs (about 1-2 ft. in length) to act as the bristles.

Several strands of Willow for binding the bristles to the

end of the shaft.

A pair of Scissors.

Water and salt.

Soak the Birch twigs and Willow strands overnight in warm lightly salted water (to make them pliable) and allow them to dry slightly before using. They need to be damp and pliable before binding them to the Ash shaft. Arrange the twigs alongside the shaft about 3-6 inches from the bottom, larger twigs form the centre of the brush with shorter ones around the outside, then bind them with the Willow strands. Be sure to tie them very securely. Use as many layers of twigs as you like depending on how full you want the brush to be. Leave overnight to dry.

Whether you make your own besom in the traditional way “as above,” or purchase a ready made one, you may then wish to decorate is it with a magickal name or other meaningful symbols or sigils. Once decorated, the besom should then be consecrated ready for use in your magickal workings. To do this anoint the besom with oil while reciting the following chant:

Consecration Chant
“Besom of birch and willow tied,

Be my companion and my guide.

On ashen shaft by moonlight pale

My spirit rides the windy gale

To magickal realms beyond both space and time.

To magickal lands my soul will sail.

In the company of the crone I'll ride

This besom of birch with willow tied

So do I consecrate this magickal tree.

As I will it, so mote it be.”

Once consecrated for use in the magick circle, it should not be use for any other purpose. When making a besom for normal household usage, it can still be magically charged for that use. On one side of the shaft (from the bristles travelling upwards) carve the following words while visualising your intent: “I sweep out evil and poverty.” On the opposite side of the shaft (from the top travelling down to the bristles, carve “I sweep in money and luck.” When sweeping, visualise the same intent, but sweep towards the fireplace if you have one. If not sweep in any direction except towards the front door, so as not sweep out and lose your good luck.
Rid this sacred hallowed ground

Of demons, imps and hell bent hounds;

Then set ye down on Her green earth

By running stream or Mistress' hearth,

Till called once more on Sabbath night

To cleanse once more this sacred site.”

Placing a broom across a doorway allows your departed friends and family to speak to you if they so choose. As long as the broom remains, they can communicate freely. To bring rain, stand outside and swing a broom in the air over your head. If lightening blows your way put a broom on your porch to act as a lightening rod. Electricity and lightening are thought to be attracted to brooms. Another way to safeguard a house against lightning strikes is to cross a spade and a broom outside the main entrance.

A besom placed under the bed or beneath the pillows at night, will protect the sleeper from nightmares and ensure a peacefully sleep. Similarly, it is not wise to leave a bed empty for too long. If you are going away for any length of time, place a besom in your bed, laying the bristles on the pillow. This will guard the bed against evil spirits until you return.

Two crossed besoms hung on a wall or the back of a door will protect the house from unwanted influences. With the exception of those used exclusively for magickal purposes, moving an old besom into a new house will result in bad luck.

If you are interested in purchasing a besom broom for your rituals or just for your home please visit this link:
Besom Brooms

An Update

2009-06-24T12:33:00.004-05:00

Greetings everyone,
It has been quite a while since any updates have been made to our blog but rest assured we are going to continue to add informative information about everything that involves the occult, paranormal, witchcraft, wicca, and everything that falls into that category.

We are currently renovating our shop and have been busy fulfilling our customer's orders through our internet store http://www.moonslightmagic.com

Some articles we have planned to post soon is part 2 on how to banish demons though this one will involve how to handle and banish an individual who may be possessed. We also have in the works many different articles about a variety of wiccan and witchcraft products and how to use them properly in rituals and spells including 7 day jar candles, bath salts, besom brooms, cauldrons, and more.

We appreciate you subscribing and keeping track of our blog and we will be back to posting on a regular basis very soon.

Thank you and Blessed Be!

How To Use A Pendulum

2008-10-26T15:44:00.005-05:00

Pendulums are one of the easiest and quickest ways to perform divination. Pendulums have been used for centuries as means to divine the future and to find out answers to pressing questions that people would like to have answers for.

Even though pendulums are easy to use in a sense, there is much more to diving through pendulums then meets the eye.

In order to perform a pendulum reading properly, steps should be taken and considered before you begin to ask your questions to the pendulum.

This article will explain all the necessary steps, measures, and routines that should be used before you begin to divine with your pendulum.

Step 1: Choosing Your Pendulum

Pendulums come in many different shapes and sizes as well as materials that are used to craft and make them. Some popular pendulums include gemstone pendulums, metal pendulums, and wood pendulums.

Gemstone pendulums are made from actual gemstones and not only do they contain the energies of the stones that they are made from, but they also are best suited for pendulum divination because these energies inside the stones will cause the pendulum to swing stronger giving you a more clear answer to your questions. Gemstones are also very pure forms of energy as long as they are properly cleansed.

Metal pendulums are often made from brass, chrome, pewter, or steel. These pendulums are the next best pendulums to use after gemstones as the magnetic energies that many of these metals provide can give a strong swing to your pendulum bringing more clarification to your answers.

Wood pendulums are made from various woods and are normally hand carved. Wood is not the best medium to use for pendulums since they do not hold energy rather well and can often be weak when they swing back and forth.

Whatever pendulum type you use or decide to buy, make sure the pendulum is solid though not too heavy. The heavier your pendulum is, the harder it would be for it to swing. Like wise, you do not want a pendulum that is too light either.

Many people also like to use necklaces with pendants for pendulums. Even though this can be done and the jewelry will swing back and forth like a traditional pendulum, the SHAPE of the pendulum is a key reason why traditional pendulums are preferred over jewelry.

Traditional pendulums are shaped in a certain way to specifically aid with divination. Many pendulums are shaped to where they have a point at the end. This point represents the end of the channeling energies that are being passed from you(the diviner) to the pendulum.

If you use necklaces with pendants instead of an actual pendulum, you may find that your answers are inconsistent and wrong. Even though the energies are there making the necklace and pendant move like a pendulum, they are not being channeled correctly because the needed centered point is not there to complete the energy transfer.

For this reason it is best to use traditional pendulum shapes for your pendulums for most accurate results.

Step 2 Cleanse Your Pendulum

Once you have your pendulum of choice, it is always wise and advised to cleanse it before you perform any form of divination with it.

The easiest and most simple way to cleanse your pendulum would be to take some sage incense or a sage smudge stick and light them to where they are smoking well. Take your pendulum and pass it through the smoke several times. You can perform a prayer as you pass the pendulum through the smoke for added benefit if you choose.

Another way for cleansing would be to make up a salt water bath for it. If your pendulum is made from a gemstone this is a good method for cleansing. Take some cold water and mix it with some salt, preferably purification salts, though dead sea salt can also be used. Dunk your pendulum into the water several times and then when finished, dry it off very well.
For metal and wood pendulums this is not a good method as the salt can damage your pendulum, so the sage smoke cleansing method would be better suited for these pendulums.

Step 3 Use Your Pendulum

After you have cleansed your pendulum it is time for you to use it. Before you use a pendulum it is always best to ensure that you perform a protection ritual or spell before hand. The reasons for this is because when using any form of divination tools such as crystal balls, scrying mirrors, or pendulums, you are opening door ways not only to your subconscious, but also to the spirit world. Spirits often are summoned through divination whether intentionally or unintentionally to aid the seeker in finding their answers.

Even if you are not calling out to the spirits for aid, they will still be attracted to the divination tool because it is a doorway from their realm to ours and they often try to step through with or without our permission. This often leads to negative entities and demonic presences that can sometimes use these tools as a means to attack the seeker.

If you choose to neglect the protection ritual or spell, then be warned that you are at risk of attracting unwanted energies to you.

Take your pendulum by the chain or attached medium and hold it inbetween your index finder and thumb. Rest your arm that is holding the pendulum on a table or firm surface by the elbow and let the pendulum dangle loosely. Ensure that there is enough slack for it to swing freely and without obstruction.

Make sure your hand holding the pendulum is steady and does not move at all, also ensure that pendulum will not be influenced in any way by things such as a fan, open window, or air conditioning unit.

Once you are ready, close your eyes and clear your mind as best you can. It is important that you keep your mind blank. Try to envision however your subconscious mind opening up, almost like a door is opening in the back of your mind. Imagine energy coming out of this open door and shooting up from your mind and into the pendulum.

Try to focus on this for several minutes. The intention of this exercise is to charge the pendulum with your energy, by charging you are making the pendulum more powerful and more accurate.

Once you feel the pendulum is charged enough, open your eyes slowly, and stare at the pendulum, focus on the pendulum point(the end of the pendulum) and then ask the pendulum to show you what it's response will be to a "yes" answer for a question you ask.

For example, you can ask your pendulum "Show me Yes." after you say this, wait and watch which way your pendulum will swing. Some pendulums will swing either back and forth or circular. Whichever way it goes in response to that question will be it's direction for "yes". Do the same for "no"("Show me No") and ensure that the pendulum stops COMPLETELY then begins to turn in the opposite direction. This will then be "no".

Once you have seen the directions in which your pendulum is moving for yes and no answers, you can then begin to ask your questions. Begin by asking obvious questions such as..."do i work at..." or "is my name...." if the pendulum is correct in these answers then ask the questions that want an answer for.

It is always important when you ask your question to try and keep your mind BLANK when you ask. If you focus on the question you can influence the swing of the pendulum with your conscious mind, and it is the subconscious that you want to answer since the subconscious mind is the higher state of mind and holds the true answers that you seek.

If spirits are aiding you in your answers, the pendulum may vary well swing very strongly depending on the strength of the spirit. Spirits however are notorious for giving bad and inaccurate answers on purpose. If it is a good and helpful spirit this can be one of the best ways to get an accurate answers to your question. If however, you have a mischievous or malevolent spirit, they will purposefully make your pendulum reading frustrating and possibly even dangerous.

Resources and Information:

If you would like to view various pendulums or if you are interested in purchasing a pendulum for use, you can find some here:

Pendulums

Samhain Meaning & History

2008-10-18T00:54:00.004-05:00

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
(pronounced sow-in). It is the time between Samhain (pronounced "Sow-in"
in Ireland, Sow-een in Wales, "Sav-en" in Scotland or even "Sam-haine" in
non-Gaelic speaking countries) and Brigid's Day "the period of little
sun." Thus, Samhain is often named the "Last Harvest" or "Summer's End".
The Earth nods a sad farewell to the God.

Symbolism of Samhain - Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through
Death.

Symbols of Samhain - Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms.

Herbs of Samhain - Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade,
Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Foods of Samhain - Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef,
Pork, Poultry.

Incense of Samhain - Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg.

Colors of Samhain - Black, Orange, White, Silver, Gold.

Stones of Samhain - All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian.

We know that He will once again be reborn of the
Goddess and the cycle will continue. This is the time of reflection, the
time to honor the Ancients who have gone on before us and the time of
'Seeing" (divination). As we contemplate the Wheel of the Year, we come to
recognize our own part in the eternal cycle of Life.

While almost all Celtic based traditions recognize this Holiday as the end
of the "old" year, some groups do not celebrate the coming of the New Year
until Yule. Some consider the time between Samhain and Yule as a time
which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The "time which is no
time" was considered in the old days to be both very Magickal and very
dangerous. Even today, we celebrate this holiday with a mixture of joyous
celebration and 'spine tingling" reverence.

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the
United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their New Year on November
1.

This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the
dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human
death.

Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between
the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.

On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed
that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. In addition to causing
trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the
otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to
make predictions about the future.

For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these
prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the
long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druid priests built huge sacred bonfires,
where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the
Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of
animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.

When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they
had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help
protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the
course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two
festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic
celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally
commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor
Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.

The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this
celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for
apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st 'All
Saints' Day', a time to honor saints and martyrs.

It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the
Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday.

The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle
English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the
night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually,
Halloween.

Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day,
a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big
bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and
devils.

Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and
All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Halloween is the eve of Hallowmas, better know to modern Christians as All
Saints' Day. Hallowmas celebrates God's harvesting into heaven the
faithful of every age, culture and walk of life. It is a day of glorious
rejoicing.

Saints are people who, by their joyful service, have extended the love of
God to others. The martyrologies, the list of the saints officially
honored by the church, contains over 10,000 names - and those are only the
saints we know of.

All Saints' Day also remembers those holy people whom no one but God any
longer knows. The reading for the day from Revelation describes a great
multitude that no one can count.

Pentacle vs Pentagram

2008-10-13T19:38:00.001-05:00

It is common within witchcraft, wicca, and paganism to confuse the pentacle and pentagram. Although there are several arguments that go around saying they are one in the same, this is not exactly true.

Through many different historic texts through the ages, the pentacle and pentagram have come to represent different meanings depending on the faithful who hold these symbols in holy light.

This posting will summarize the differences between the pentacle and pentagram

The Pentagram

A pentagram is a five pointed star and means "five line" or "five lines" which stems from the Greek word pentagrammos. The pentagram was used extensively in Greece and Babylonia. To the Greeks and Babylonians, the pentagram stood for magical energies and associations. Those who wore a pentagram or showed a pentagram adorned on their clothing would show off without fear their practice of witchcraft freely.

Neo Pagans are also heavily associted with the pentagram, and it is commonly tied to a deity The Horned God.

Ironically, the Christians once symbolized the pentagram as the five wounds of Jesus.

The pentagram is often represented with Venus the planet and Venus the Goddess. Ancient astronomers when viewing into space every eight years could make a constallation around Venus in the shape of a five pointed star.

By the mid-19th century a further distinction had developed amongst occultists regarding the pentagram's orientation. With a single point upwards it depicted spirit presiding over the four elements of matter, and was essentially "good".

However the other way up was considered evil. A reversed pentagram, with two points projecting upwards, is a symbol of evil and attracts sinister forces because it overturns the proper order of things and demonstrates the triumph of matter over spirit. It is the goat of lust attacking the heavens with its horns, a sign execrated by initiates.

This is perhaps where the pentagram started to become synomous with Satanism and evil. Satanist use a pentagram with two points up, often inscribed in a double circle, with the head of a goat inside the pentagram. This is referred to as the Sigil of Baphomet and is now often associated with Lucifer or Satan and has demonic meanings.

Many Neopagans, especially Wiccans, use the pentagram as a symbol of their faith similar to the Christian cross or the Jewish Star of David. It is not, however, a universal symbol for Neopaganism, and is rarely used in actual rituals and spells that Pagans and Wiccans actively practice in. It is more of a religious symbolism that is commonly explained by reference to the basic understanding that the five points of the pentagram represent the four elements air, earth, fire, and water with the addition of Spirit as the uppermost point. As a representation of the elements, the pentagram is involved in the Wiccan practice of summoning the elemental spirits of the four directions at the beginning of a ritual.

The outer circle of the "circumscribed" pentagram is sometimes interpreted as binding the elements together or bringing them into united harmony with each other. The Neopagan pentagram is generally displayed with one point up, mostly because of the "inverted" goat's head pentagram's association with Satanism; however, within traditional forms of Wicca a pentagram with two points up is associated with the Second Degree Initiation and in this context has no relation to Satanism.

Wiccan and Pagans do not believe in Satan or what Satan traditionally represents. They instead worship gods such as Gaia, The Horned God, and often Norse, Greek, and Egyptian gods.

The Pentacle

A pentacle in all definately is actually considered an amulet that is used for magical invocations, rituals, and spells. The pentacle is meant to be a symbol with which the spirit draws upon for added strength and energies for these spells and rituals.

The most famous historical pentacle is the Seal of Solomon. Solomon was historically linked to being one of the greatest wizards that ever lived. He is often revered by wiccans and pagans and in grimoires and various texts, there are different styles and designs of Solomon's pentacles. Each of them that he had crafted were used for various difference rituals and spells that he would perform.

Even though pentacle and pentagram are similar in spelling, pentacle does not represent "five" rather, it represents magical energies and any design or shapes could be considered pentacles. If they were drawn with five points they were often referred to as hexagrams, not pentagrams.

Pentacles were often used for protection against demons and negative entities. They were used and still are used extensively for these purposes within paganism and wicca. They can either be adorned around the neck as a necklace or charm, or they can be used as altar tiles or patens for altars.

Pentacles are also considered important to draw or attract spirits. Within Wicca and Paganism, the pentacle can be used as a center point with which to open the doorway for spirits to step forth into this plane. Many rituals and spells often call for a pentacle of some form to be within the center of the sacred circle as a focal point for the spirits to be drawn to.

It is often said that once a spirit has been summoned, they are "tied" to the pentacle's center often like a statue being held by a base, the spirit is tied to the center of the pentacle and cannot leave or move beyond that point.

Solomon commonly employed this method when either summoning spirits or to entrap them. He was famously known for binding and sending back evil spirits and demons to whence they came, and he often used the above method to do this.

Pentacles are also popular for appearing within the Tarot. The pentacle within the tarot replaced the coin reference within the minor Arcana. The pentacles in tarot represent the Earth or financial situations depending on the meaning of the cards to the reader.

Resources and Information:

If you would like to view various pentacles and pentagrams in their many different forms, you can do so here:

Pentacles & Pentagrams

Pentacle Symbol Denied For Fallen Solider's Plaque by The Government

2008-10-09T15:36:00.000-05:00

The Department of Veterans Affairs says that they allow 38 symbols to be used on government issued markers for fallen soliders during wars and other brave men and women who serve to protect the country and smaller municipalities such as police officers and firemen.

These symbols range from the Christian Cross to the Jewish Star of David to the Atomic Whirl that denotes Atheism.

Why then is the Pentacle that represents the Wicca faith NOT allowed on these markers?

The pentacle represent Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, and is meant as a symbol of faith and protection within Wicca and Paganism. This ancient symbol is so wide spread that when anyone even hears the word "wicca" or "wiccan" this is normally the first image that pops into their head.

There have been lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and state that are asking the government to change it's policies on this subject, arguing that Wiccan's Constitutional Rights to religious freedom have been abridged.

It is no secret that Wiccans and Pagans are normally bastardized and out right called "satanist" by many closed minded people. The pentacle is often confused with the pentagram which is popular among Satanists and Occultists as a symbol of their own faith and religious beliefs.

This confusion and the fact that wiccans and pagans practice witchcraft(rituals and spell casting) within their faith unfairly labels them as Satan worshippers even though Wiccans and Pagans do not practice black magick or any form of negative based magick. These energies are strictly forbidden within these faiths and Wiccans especially do not believe in Satan.

The fact that an individual who is giving their life freely to protect our country as well as a country that is not even his or her own, then this alone should warrant the pentacle to be allowed as an acceptable symbol to be placed on these markers.

The fact that the pentacle cannot be allowed on markers does indeed break the religious freedom and choice right, and whether or not anyone disagrees, the government needs to uphold to everyone's constitutional rights.

Some states have already begun to work on these issues however. A pentacle on a plaque honoring a Nevada National Guard a one Sgt. Patrick Stewart who died in Afghanistan last year, was put in place not too long ago on the Nevada Veterans Memorial at the state run Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetary in Fernley, Nevada.

Stewart's widow Roberta, says the federal government originally balked at her request to have the pentacle on a plaque. However, Republican Gov. of Nevada Kenny Guinn insisted that the state provide the plaque and use the wiccan symbol and the federal government then withdrew and allowed it.

A Guinn's spokesman stated, quote "Honoring the service of this man who gave his life for his country was more important than the symbol," he says. "He felt it was important that the man be honored."

For nine years Wiccans have tried to get their religious symbol approved as an offical religious symbol. During this time as they patiently wait, SIX other symbols have been approved over them.

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says he's baffled as to why the federal government continues the policy and has seen no explanation of the practice from the VA.

"I've been in Washington since 1973, and I have never seen a bureaucratic mechanism work in such a bizarre fashion," Lynn says.

The suits were filed on behalf of Wiccan widows of combat veterans and Wiccan churches that have sought to have the pentacle put on markers.

There is no central governing body for Wiccans, so it's difficult to find accurate numbers for how many Americans practice the religion. A study by City University of New York in 2001 found 134,000 self-described Wiccans in the USA.

Roberta Stewart, whose husband was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, is named in one of the lawsuits, even though she won her fight to have the pentacle placed on her husband's plaque in Nevada.

"My personal quest has been completed, but I continue this fight for all of our pagan, Wiccan veterans who have not been honored," Stewart says.

She believes that the federal government misunderstands Wicca. She says she and her husband often described their faith as a mixture of Native American and Celtic influences and rituals.

In Wicca, "you don't go off what's in a book," Stewart says. "You go off what's in your heart."

Purification And Cleansing Tools

2008-10-09T02:34:00.000-05:00

*This post is from a special guest writer who wished to spread some of her own knowledge about Purification and Cleansing Tools. Thank you Ronnie!*

"The spiritual first-aid kit for home and self"

From the very moment I learned about using purification and cleansing tools, and rituals.
I began putting them to use. My personal journey with these ancient tools has led to many
times of empowerment, and are an endless source of strentgh for me.

My first, and my favorite of these is "Sage"... It has been used for century's by the
(beloved), Native American Culture. Also at times I use "Sweet Grass Braids" which is
another tool used by some Native American Nations.

Secondly, I have always used "Incense". There are many kinds, and just as many uses...
The two that I use primarily are "Frankincense" and Myrrh Resin.
The last but by no means least, of my collection is "Blessed Olive Oil". Blessed by a
member of the Priesthood. Alongside of these special tools, are of course the Prayers and
Rituals.

These are of personal choice, depending on your area of faith or spiritual beliefs.
I have many beliefs and I see truth everywhere, so mine are varied, according to my needs.
There are many other tools out there...These listed are simply the ones of my preference.
It is my belief, through many personal experiences, that these tools and prayers, or rituals
are indeed worth researching, and making use of, especially if you feel uneasy or bogged down
by negative energies or people. They can also, in my opinion, help at times in lifting anger
or depression...

In Love, and Light..
Best Wishes,
Ronnie

Ronnie is an in depth writer on subjects such as the paranormal, spirituality, and enlightenment. You can visit her personal blog here:

What Life is This? The Extremes Of My Life.... From the enlightened and spiritual

The Athame

2008-10-06T19:03:00.001-05:00

Athame History and Background

The athame is a ritual dagger that is used by Wiccans and Neo Pagans in rituals and spells as an extension of their body.

The athame in Wicca is traditionally a male principal, or a male symbol representing the reproductive organ of the Horned God who impregnated the Goddess Gia to give birth to the Earth and nature.

The athame is traditionally either black handled or wooden handled, with the blade made of steel.

Wood is often used in an athame because of it's representation of Nature and the Earth. A tree was either sacrificed or already dead, and the wood was recycled into the athame so that it may be continued to give life and energies once again, almost like a symbolic rebirth.

It is not exactly clear as to why the black handle became a traditional, though many texts and historic refrences point back to King Solomon who was said to use a black handle athame in his rituals and spells. This black handled blade then became a symbol and a staple to the athame since Solomon was revered as one of the greatest wizards to ever have lived in real life folk lore.

Whatever handle blade you decide to use or choose for your athame, it is always best to use steel for the blade. Iron is not considered a good metal for an athame because traditionally this metal is soft and weak when put under heat and will melt. Since fire is such a strong symbolic element within Wicca and Paganism, many rituals call for it and often times, the athame needs to be plunged into a fire and must with stand the heat. For this reason stainless steel or steel in general is the best material for the blade itself to be used.

Athames are NOT meant to be used as a weapon in Wicca. These sacred tools are meant for rituals and spells only, never to be raised as a weapon even for self defense. Athames are an extension of yourself and are to be used almost like a carpenter would his hammer or saw.

It is very common within the Wicca tradition for an athame to "find" it's owner. This means that the individual who would like to own or use an athame must not actively seek it out. Rather, the blade is supposed to find the individual. Almost as if when you actively seek out love and you never find it, but when you are not looking you suddenly come across the person of your dreams.

Athames Have a Mind of Their Own

It is often believed that athames pick up a mind of their own. That often they become "alive" and almost have their own personality. This seems to be true, or at least, there have been many strange and unexplained occurrences with athames.

There have been accounts from their owners that they simply disappear without a trace for hours or sometimes days only to return right where the owner left it later on, safe and sound and without damage.

Some people insist that they placed their athames in a storage box at night and when they awaken the blade was resting besides them on their beds or night stand right next to them.

If an athame was given to you as a gift you should cherish that blade and be sure to give your thanks to the individual who gave it to you. Athames who have been in someone's possession and used extensively for rituals and spells not only pick up energies of their past owner that are retained within the blade, but they retain the energies they were used for(such as protection, love, prosperity spells and rituals etc.)

If your athame is brand new and has never been used then it is "dormant" or basically it has yet to be given life. The more you use it, the more you place your energies and will into this ritual tool, the more and more this blade will take on a life of its own. You HAVE to respect your athame for if you do not and you misuse it, much like a dog who has been abused so many times it snaps, the athame will cut you.

The more these sacred objects are mistreated and abused the more likely that are to become a source for negative energies. The blade will suddenly become a vessel for these dark forces and they will begin to leech off your energies like a vampire and will backfire the rituals and spells you use the athame in.

Much like a gun, it is not the gun that is evil or intends to do harm, it is the individual who wields it. The same can be said to any ritual tool you use, especially your athame.

To prevent this, ensure you treat your blade with respect and dignity. A good way to ensure such respect would be to offer the athame knife as an offering each night before you go to sleep or every morning when you awaken to one of the gods or goddesses you worship and pray to. Say a prayer as you are knelt down, with your head down looking at the ground and the blade held out in both hands, palms up in front of you. After the prayer lay the blade down on your altar and keep it there until you are ready to use it once more.

Rituals To Put Your Athame to Use

You can use your athame for practically any ritual or spell you perform. However, if you are just breaking into Wicca and would like some example rituals as to how you can use your athame here are a few examples.

The first ritual that you can use your athame for would be in a protection ritual. Cast and open your circle as you would any ritual and set up all your other tools(incense, candles, gemstones, etc.) when this is completed, sit cross legged in the center of your circle and begin to meditate. Since this is a ritual on protection, imagine energies begin to build up inside of you that will keep you safe from negative influences and forces. These white light energies completely surround you, imagine these energies being channeled from your core and outwards so that it surrounds your entire body in a shield.

Perform this meditation for as long as possible, and when you feel you ready pick up your athame by the hilt and hold it firmly. Stand up and while standing, hold your athame out in front of you and begin to imagine this protection energy being channeled into the athame from your body, through the hilt, and into the blade.

Imagine in your mind's eye that the blade is glowing in a white protective light, and when you feel that you have charged the blade, take the athame and begin to trace in the air in front of you a symbol of a pentacle. As you are doing this, try to imagine the pentacle forming in white light as you trace the design with the athame.

Once you have finished tracing your pentacle, stand before it and imagine the light getting brighter and brighter until it is blinding. When you reach this point, just through the pentacle and imagine it's protective white energies merging with your own to strengthen the shield that you had previously put around you.

Another example for a ritual with your athame would be a love ritual. It is very similar to the above example, only instead of imagining white protective energies surrounding you, you would imagine pink colored energy flowing through you and your body. Imagine a sense of love, peace, and harmony and that you DESERVE love, and love will find you.

Instead of tracing a pentacle, you would trace a heart in the air with your athame and then picture that energy as the same pinkish rose color. Step through the heart as you would the pentacle.

Again, these are just some example rituals you can perform. Rituals and spells when created by you are limitless in the possibilities you can do with them. These rituals will work and they are quite powerful when you put all your energies into it.

Cleansing Your Athame Knife

Cleansing your athame is quite simple and easy. The best way to cleanse your athame would be to light up some sage incense or even better, a sage smudge stick and then wave and turn over the blade several times through the smoke. Sage purifys and cleanses and is perfect for this task as your athame will not get damaged.

Another method would be to simply rinse your athame with some clean water. Get some bottled water, pour some onto a cloth, and then wipe down the blade and hilt as best you can. Be sure to dry it off when you are finished. Usually salt is mixed with water to cleanses other ritual tools however salt water can corrod and rust the blade and you do NOT want this. Keep salt away from your athame.

Resources and Information:

If you would like to view various different athames or if you would be interested in purchasing one, you may do so here:

Athames

How to Use Magical Amulets

2008-10-03T22:10:00.001-05:00

Magic amulets have long been associated with many different traditions. From the ancient Egyptians to the druids to modern day witches and wiccans, magic amulets are symbols of power that can not only be a focal point for your rituals and spells, but can be worn with you wherever you go.

Magical amulets provide amazing value within wicca, the occult, and witchcraft. The energies contained within various different amulets can surround your body always whenever you wear them. Providing you a constant source of these energies.

If you worship a certain deity you can use the amulets as a form of an offering. In this way you can take your magical amulet and as you hold it, say a prayer to your deity and then place it on your altar as an offering each night before bed, or each morning when you awake. The deities will be sure to smile down upon you for this act of good faith on your part. Amulets used in such a fashion can still be used in rituals and spells, and still worn. However, if you are going to use them as an offering it is best to cleanse and purify your magical amulet each time after you use it in a ritual, spell, or if you have worn it all day and night before making the offering to your deity.

In rituals and spell work they can be used as a tool or as symbolic symbols to amplify your energies. They can either be used just for your rituals and spells as sacred objects, or they can be used, cleansed, then worn around your neck once again.

Magical Amulet that involve protection are perhaps the most powerful ones you can obtain. There are many different types of protection amulets however, when worn, these amulets can help prevent negativity and dark entities from being drawn to you and attacking or draining your energies.

The versatility and usability of magical amulets are incredible. Many amulets already come pre-charged and energized. Other amulets need to be charged and energized by you. Either way however, you can charge your magical amulets quite easily with the proper steps. Some of these steps will be outlined here, and with the many different amulets you can obtain, this post will just go into a few examples.

Charging Your Magical Amulets

The first way to use a magical amulet would be to wear it with you wherever you go. However, before you wear it is always best to charge and strengthen the amulet before you place it around your neck. In order to do this effectively, take the amulet and wait to perform this ritual when the moon is full. The best time is around 2am-4am and on a Friday night.

Meditate while burning some incense that represents that of which you wish to obtain. For example if you wish to have a love amulet, you can use amber, dragon's blood, jasmine, or love named incense. Be sure you are holding your magical amulet in your hand this entire time, and while meditating imagine the energies that wish to have come to you flow through your body and being channeled into the amulet.

If you wish for love then imagine love, joy, and fiery passion flowing through your body. If your amulet is meant for prosperity or money, imagine wealth, prosperity, and abundance flowing through you and into your amulet, and then use the appropriate incense for wealth(prosperity named, musk, high john the conqueror).

Perform this and charge this amulet in this fashion for as long as possible(a half hour is ideal). Once the ritual is done, let the incense burn completely out and then place the amulet into a velveteen bag that is sprinkled with herbs that represent that of which you wish to use the amulet for. For example if you have a love amulet use herbs such as lavender, rose hips, rose petals, jasmine flowers, and ginseng.

Place the velveteen bag in a safe place for a period of seven days. After seven days has passed, you can take your magical amulet out and then wear it around your neck and the energies will be within the amulet, all charged and ready to help you.

The other way to charge and use a magical amulet would be to perform the above steps however instead of wearing the amulet, leave it in the velveteen bag and then carry it around with you in your pocket when you are out and about, and then when you sleep, place it under your pillow or within the pillow sheet when you retire at night.

If you wish to use your magical amulet as a tool in your rituals instead of wearing it or using it to attract things into your life, one way you can use your amulets in your rituals would be as follows.

If for example you are performing a ritual of protection to protect yourself or your home, you would open up your circle and perform your normal routine as you would any other ritual to begin with. During your ritual, hold your magical amulet in your hand as you meditate and perform the ritual and visualize protective energies coming out of the amulet and into your home or into you. In this fashion your amulet then becomes a ritual tool to be use during your rituals and spells instead of the ONLY item being used in a ritual or spell.

Cleansing Your Magical Amulets

Your magical amulet should be routinely cleansed and dowsed like any other ritual tool in your wiccan supplies, witchcraft supplies, and occult supplies collection. When cleansing an amulet there two simple easy ways to do so that is not very time consuming and doesn't necessarily need to be done within a ritual for cleansing(unless of course you prefer that method)

The first way to cleanse your amulet would be to light some sage incense or a sage smudge stick and wave the amulet through the smoke a number of times. You can say a prayer as you perform this if you wish. The sage smoke will cleanse and renew your amulet.

Another way to cleanse your magical amulet would be to make up a bucket or bowl with some water and salt. Ensure that the salt is completely dissolved and then simply dunk your amulet into the water a few times to begin with then place within the water and leave it in there for roughly 2-5 minutes. Do not keep your amulets in the water too long because the salt can damage the amulet and make them rust, tarnish, or become unusable.(do NOT perform this if your amulet is made of wood)

Remember that magical amulets only are as good as their owner. If you want them to work properly and to help you bring that of which you seek, ensure to follow the steps above and they will bring you a constant source of strong energies for that of which you desire.

Resources and Information:

If you wish to view different styles of magical amulets, or if you would like to purchase one you can do so here:

Amulets

If you would like to view or purchase the various incense scents mentioned here, you can do so here:

Incense

Purification Ritual using Smudging

2008-09-30T21:37:00.000-05:00

Smudging with smudge sticks is one of the best ways to remove negativity, negative forces, and unwanted energies from your home.

There are many different ways you can perform a smudging ritual or ceremony on your home that is quick, safe, and effective, however this post will go into just one general ritual that basically anyone can do and use as long as they have the proper smudging materials needed to perform it.

Step 1 Gather Smudging Tools

Smudge Sticks

The most important thing you will need to begin a smudging ritual for your home will be a smudge stick. Smudge sticks are normally hand made and rolled, and tightly tied together by yarn or string. There many different variations, scents, and herbs that are used in the making of a smudge stick, however, sage is the most common one used because sage is one of the most potent negativity killers out there today and has been for hundreds of years.

Incense

Another added benefit you can have while you are performing your smudging ceremony would be to obtain some incense. Incense comes in many different scents and varieties like smudge sticks, including cones, sticks, and pure natural granular incense. Any of the three will do, however we find that the more natural the better. Natural granular incense however will need to be burned different then cone or sticks. If you are going to use granular incense you will need some charcoal and an incense burner. You light the charcoal first outside the incense burner holding the charcoal with a pair of tongs so you don't get burned. Once the charcoal is lit make sure it is smoking regularly and then place it into your incense burner. Next, place your granular incense ontop of the charcoal and then if you have some sand, or gravel, or small pebbles, you can place this over the charcoal and the incense in a mound shape but ensure the smoke can rise from it.

Some scents you can use along with your smudge stick for incense would be sage, cedar, banishing, purification, water(element incense), sweetgrass, copal, dragon's blood, and lavender are some of the most effective.

Before you work with your smudge stick, it is best to place whatever incense you are using into each room of the home and let it burn with the windows open if there are windows in that room.

Gemstones

Another tool you can use along side your incense and smudge stick would be some gemstones. Gemstones are a powerful tool in cleansing. The energies within the stones can be potent, and depending on the size of the gemstone(the larger the more energy it will have) you can have an amazing purifying source in the gemstones. Some gemstones for purification and cleansing purposes are quartz, citrine, amethyst, and malachite. If you happen to have enough stones place one into every room of your home along side the incense. If you only have one stone or only have the means to have one, then you can carry it with you while you perform the smudging ritual.

Step 2 Begin your Smudging Ritual

The first step with this ritual if you have incense in every room would be to light all the incense and make sure they are burning with all the windows you have in your wide open, the curtains and blinds up.

The next step is to make sure your gemstones are in place next to your incense.

Whenever this particular ritual is performed, it is performed during the day, preferably on a sunny day. The sun and light will help you in this ritual to purge the dark energies and negative forces out of the home.

When you have that all completed, the next step is to go to your front door and hold your smudge stick in your dominate hand. Next, light the smudge stick and let it smolder and smoke real good. The best way to light a smudge stick is to use an enlongated lighter that you would use to light candles or pilot lights in stoves.

Once your smudge stick is smoldering and smoking and really good, keep that lighter on you(and your gemstone if you only have one, keep it in a pocket or in your hand whichever you prefer as long as it is close to you) and begin to walk around the first room that your front door is in. As you walk through each room say a prayer and say it with POWER and STRENGTH. One such prayer you can use is:

"Negativity that invades my sacred place
I banish you away with the light of my grace
You have no hold or power here
For I stand and face you with no fear
Be gone forever, for this I will say
This is my sacred place and you will obay"

Again this is just an example, you can use your own or this one, whichever you prefer. Once you are done with that room, go on to the next room, and the next, until every room in your house is fully covered. Ensure that you hit every corner of each room, and make sure the smudge stick is smoldering and smoking. If it begins to die out then relight it with your lighter. You being the smudging ritual at the front door of your home, and you end it at the back door. If you wish once you have finished going from front to back, you can go back through again starting at the back door and then going to the front door.

Step 3 Closing Your Smudging Ritual

This is important. Properly closing out your ritual can be vital to ensure the energy you put into it worked. For this ritual the proper way to close would be to first put out the smoldering smudge stick or you can let it burn itself out. One way of putting out a smoking smudge stick would be to get an ash tray, or ceramic plate, or something similar and gently dab the lit end onto it like putting out a cigarette. Another way would be to simply place it onto something where it won't fall and let it burn out on its own(they usually do).

Once your smudge stick is out, let your incense burn out on its own naturally. If you are using gemstones an idea to close the ritual with even more positive energy would be to take an altar bell(or any bell if you have one) and gently ring it right above the stone. The ringing of the bell will send vibrations into the stone and this will trigger the gemstone to release it's energies into the room. If you do not have an altar bell, you can get a glass and a fork and gently ding the glass with the fork over the gemstone as well.

If you do not have gemstones in every room and only have the one you were carrying around with you, take the gemstone and perform the above with the chiming technique and then place the stone by your bed or under your pillow.

If you have performed everything mentioned within this post you will have yourself one purified and blessed home for quite a while. You can re-do this ritual every six months or as needed. The incense and stones are just extra benefits to the ritual, however the smudge stick is essential. If you cannot or do not want to use the incense or gemstones, ensure you walk through your home and say the prayer with your smudge stick as mentioned.

Resources and Information:

If you would like to view various smudge sticks or if you would like to purchase some for your own purification ritual, you can find some here:

Smudge Sticks

If you would like to add incense to your ritual you can find some here:

Incense

And if you would like some gemstones for your ritual they can be found here:

Gemstones

How To Make Incense

2008-09-29T17:27:00.001-05:00

Incense in wicca, paganism, witchcraft, and the occult is extremely popular for good reason. The smoke from incense can infuse with your own energies while you are working rituals and spells enhancing the effects and potency. The scent from incense also can lure one into a more deeper meditative state because depending on the ingrediants used to make incense, they have the ability to deeply relaxe the mind and body allowing for a more pleasureable and intense meditative state.

There are basically three forms of incense - granular(or raw form), cones, and stick. The oldest form of incense is the natural granular incense and by far it's the easiest of the four to make. Loose incense usually burns on charcoal. Cone incense is economical to make and less messy than loose incense.

When learning how to make incense, the main thing to remember is that there are four basic ingredients that go into making incense, with the exception of the loose incense. They include your aromatic substance (which creates the scent), a base or chemical that helps the incense to continue to burn, some sort of bonding agent that holds it together and a liquid that allows the bonding agent to change into a type glue.

When it comes to the aromatic substance, there are many scents to choose from.

Bark: woody, semisweet, mild
Berries: heavy, earthy, resin-like
Flowers: dry, grassy, semisweet
Gums: heavy, semisweet, resin-like
Leaves: dry, herby, grassy
Roots: earthy, heavy, woody, different
Seeds: burny, bitter, smokey
Spices: sweet, dry, mild
Wood: woody, semisweet, mild

You can use any kind of herb you can possibly imagine to make incense. The same can be said to essential oils, which also can be used to make your incense. When using herbs, some give off stronger aromas then others, and depending on what you are using your incense for, you will have to experiment and discover how strong each scent will be once burned.

Things to consider when making incense

It's important to keep the proportion of aromatic substance at least twice as large as the base. Too much base can cause a strong after smell of smoke, so be careful not to overdue it.

When measuring ingredients in your incense recipe, be sure to use level teaspoons and always make sure your ingredients are grounded well, and as finely as possible. This will help assure your final incense product burns clean and evenly.

When grounding down ingredients, use a mortar and pestle. A blender can be used for larger ingredients.

The key formula is twenty parts aromatic substance, four parts base and one part bonding agent.

Bases

There are many types of bases to choose from. A base burns easily and gives off a nice odor when burning. The reason a base is needed for your incense is because most herbs burn poorly without one. The base helps make all bitter roots and herbs balance out and give them a smoother, milder fragrance. The most popular and easy to obtain bases are wood powder, sandalwood, red sandalwood, quassia, vetiver, willow, evergreen needles and talc. Wood powder is nothing more than sawdust that has been ground very fine. You can either buy it or make your own. Any lumber store will be more than happy to give you all the sawdust you can use.

Salt peter is added to incense to help reduce the burning time by 25 to 40 percent making your incense burn much longer. If you've ever bought and burned incense and notice that some burn forever while others burn out fast, salt peter is the reason. In case you don't know what salt peter is, it is a natural form potassium nitrate that they put in gunpowder and fireworks.

Choosing your bonding agent

The bonding agent is very important in good incense. You can choose from a variety of gums and resins including agar agar, ghatti gum, guar gum, gum arabic, brewer's yeast, locust bean gum, karaya, sodium alginate, tragacanth and xanthan gum.

Liquid

Any fluid can be used, but water is your best bet however you can use essential oils, wine, beer, and olive oil.

And finally...

Once you have the above ingredients, you can begin to combine them and can use them to form cones, cylinders or down hand rolled or dipped sticks. If all you want is the loose incense, then you are done.

You more then likely need something to crush up all these incense ingredients such as the herbs, and other materials that may not be already very fine and in powder form.
Mortar and Pestles are the best tool to use for this purpose.

For sticks you can use thin wood strips and dip it into your mixture. For cones you will need to shape them, the best thing to do for this would be to find a metal mold in the shape of a cone and then pour your incense mixture into it to form the cone shape.

Resources and Information:

If you would like idea on scents to use for your own incense visit this link for a large list of different scents and how each scent can be used in your rituals and spells.

Incense

If you are in need of any of the above materials or tools, please visit this link that has all the materials mentioned:

Incense Supplies

Magical Herbs In Your Wiccan Supplies

2008-09-28T16:14:00.002-05:00

Having magical herbs in your wiccan supplies can be very beneficial, not only medicinally as a natural means to help fight against less sever ailments, they can be a very powerful addition to your rituals and spells when used correctly.

Using Magical Herbs In Rituals And Spells

Many magic herbs can serve the same purpose of the same rituals and spells, and it could be a good idea to mix herbs that serve these similar functions to enhance the potency of whatever ritual or spell you may be performing.

The best way to use magical herbs are to use them as a compliment to other ritual tools you may be using.

For example, if you are using a cauldron in any ritual you can place whatever magical herbs you are using into this cauldron and then get the herbs to smolder and smoke. This is the best method to release the energies and properties within the herbs. Just having the herbs sitting besides you in a bowl, dish, or cauldron will not do you much good. The smoke from the herbs can actually carry into the air and strengthen your own magickal energies to your spells and rituals.

Another method for using magical herbs in your spells and rituals would be to place them in a velveteen bag, tie it tightly, and then place your spell OVER the bag. The magickal energies you place on the herbs within the bag will then be contained within the bag itself and you can then carry it with you in your pocket or around your neck as a charm. Velveteen bags are excellent for this purpose because these bags are designed specifically for spell use. The thickness and dark colors they come in contain the magickal energies in the bag so they do no leak out.

Here is an example spell you can use for a coltsfoot spell bag

A lucky money spell is made by placing in a conjure bag seven pieces of money, each different, such as a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, a half dollar, $1.00 bill, and $5.00 bill, all of which are sprinkled liberally with coltsfoot. Take the bag with you for seven days and your money should multiply seven times (this would give you $41.46 above your original investment ) or, in some instances if the gods are smiling in your direction, seven times seven! This would result in a tidy sum of $338.50 and seems well worth trying for

Depending on the ritual or spell you may be performing, you can sprinkle whatever herb you are using around you circle. The herbs are more of a means of representation to the energies you are performing.

For example, if you are working with a ritual circle involving healing, you would use healing herbs to sprinkle around your circle to better represent the energies of that circle.

Another purpose of magical herbs would be to use them as offerings for your altar to whatever god or goddess you hold in a sacred light and pray to. Place the herbs into your offering bowl, cauldron, or dish and place it on your altar during a sacred offering ritual, or you can place them there in the morning upon awakening, or before you go to sleep. Be sure to say a prayer to your higher power as you make the offering if it is not during a sacred offering ritual

Other Uses Of Magical Herbs

Magical herbs have many other uses you can use them for. Depending on how crafty you are, you can use them for potporii, mixtures in home made essential oils, shampoos, lotions, soaps, bath salts, and especially herbal teas. If you have other ingrediants you can take those and use these raw herbs and crush them up in a mortar and pestle and then place them within a mixture for your own home made bath and body products and healthy teas.

Disposing of Magical Herbs

Once any of these herbs are used DO NOT throw them away or re use them for other rituals and spells. The best means to dispose of them would be to gather them back up and to place them back into the Earth from once they came by burying them. You can also simply place them on the ground, however, this is not always the best idea as depending on the herbs, they can be toxic to animals if they ingest it. The best way is to bury your herbs you have already used, this ensures that no animals will be harmed, and they will be recycled back into the earth once more.

Burning magical herbs for disposal purposes is also not recommended. If you burn already used herbs this is considered disrespectful to the gods and goddesses. Burning ANYTHING after you use it within magick is not a good idea. The best way to burn herbs is explained above, to smolder and burn the herbs for the smoke to be released DURING your rituals and spells. Fire is a potent element, and represents many different things within magick, and depending on how you use fire for magick, it can be either good or bad. When burning any of magical herbs or ritual tools after a ritual is performed this then represents fire as Chaos and Destruction and this is energy you do not want to bring about to you unless you are performing dark arts and black magic that focus on more destructive energies.

Disposing magical herbs in water such as a lake or river can be used as well, however again, fish and other water life may be intolerant to these herbs and can poison them. If you know of a lake or CLEAN water source that has no life within it you can place the herbs within the water for disposal. Another great idea would be to take them to the beach and bury them within the sand. If any crustaceans such as crabs or other scavengers comes across them they will be more suited for digesting some of the more toxic properties of the herbs.

Below is a list of the five most effective herbs for the specific rituals and spells they serve. There are literally hundreds of herbs you can use for each of rituals and spells, however, these are top ones that seems to the most effective.

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Healing Rituals and Spells

Angelica
Brewer's Yeast
Calendula Petals
Cinnamon Powder
Echinacea Purpurea

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Purification Rituals And Spells

Blessed Thistle
Cloves
Calendula Petals
Cedar Tips
Red Sandalwood Chips

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Love Rituals And Spells

Rose Hips
Rose Buds & Petals
Lavender Flowers
Ginseng
Jasmine Flowers

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Prosperity, Wealth, and Abundance Rituals And Spells

Coltsfoot
Buckeyes
Galangal Root
Flax Seeds
Elder Berries

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Protection Rituals and Spells

Sage
Garlic Powder
Feverfew
Burdock Root
Mandrake Root

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Psychic Abilities, Clairvoyance, Divination, And Meditation

Agrimony
Chamomile
Damiana
Eyebright Powder
Ginseng

Top 5 Magical Herbs For Exorcism, And Banishing Negativity

Devil's Shoestring
Wormwood
Witches Grass
White Sage
Hyssop

Resources and Information:

If you would like more information as to how beneficial each of the above magical herbs are to your health and ritual use, or to gain more information on herbs not mentioned here, please visit the link below:

Magical Herbs

If you are in need of any of the other items mentioned in this post such as mortar and pestles, and velveteen bags, you can find them here:

Ritual Supplies

How To Use A Scrying Mirror

2008-09-27T15:20:00.001-05:00

The scrying mirror, or magick mirror, is a powerful psychic tool. It can bring the user hidden knowledge and clairvoyant ability and can act as a portal to other planes of existence. History shows its use in many of the traditional mystery schools and oracular temples. Today the serious student of magickal arts can rediscover the ancient rites of the magick mirror, for these techniques are again coming to light.

Scrying can be defined as the mantic art of gazing into or upon a crystal or dark mirror, allowing the physical eyes to relax, thus letting the inner psychic eyes begin to open and receive desired visions or information. The use of the black mirror is one of the best methods of achieving the state of mind required for entering trance and for scrying work. It not only acts as a focal point for visualization but can become a doorway into the astral plane. It allows communication with higher realms and the subconscious and access to Akashic records. The traditional crystal ball is also a wonderful tool, but it is more for advanced users. The scrying mirror is a more efficient way to begin to learn to scry and journey in other realms.

The practiced scryer has the ability to "read" these records and focus on this vast source of timeless knowledge with the aid of the mirror and a strongly directed imagination. Guides from the world of spirit often lead the scryer in astral travel and mental journeying through the black mirror or crystal sphere. Scrying develops one's clairvoyant abilities and is especially helpful in strengthening the third eye.

The preparation and construction of the mirror is extremely important. The black scrying mirror must be created with the highest magickal standards and traditions. At the full moon, specially cut glass disks are cleansed and magnetized. They are then anointed with a powerful herbal fluid condenser to attract and hold energy, vital force and any charge given them. A tincture of gold and moonstone is then applied to the surface, and they are ritually blessed under the light of the full moon. They remain for a night and a day within a circle of protection. The black coating is then applied to seal in the energy, and a felt backing is put on to protect the mirror and absorb later applications of fluid condenser. The mirror stand is carved rosewood, ebony or teak.

Ways in which the black mirror can be used

To contact spirit guides
To access knowledge
For healing and self improvement
As a magickal transmitter and receiver
For divining the past, present and future
As a portal to the astral plane
For shamanic journeying
For ritual invocation and evocation
To improve visualization skills
Preparing to work with the black scrying mirror

Always keep the surface very clean using alcohol and a soft cloth.
Never use it for anything but its intended magickal purpose.
Do not let others look into its surface, except in ritual context. Keep it stored in a silk bag when not in use.
Frequently recharge the mirror with vital force and fluid condenser, as explained following.
Practice the visual exercises described following until mastered.
Keep the working area clean and free from any disturbance.
Generally, scry using the mirror at night, preferably during the full or new moon, depending on the operation. The mirror can be used at any time, but tends to work better at these points.

When indoors, light two votive candles, one on each side of the mirror. Use white or colored candles appropriate to the work: blue for healing, purple for psychic work, orange for communication, and so on. (For more suggestions on candle colors, see any standard table of correspondences, for example in Scott Cunningham's books or The Spiral Dance).

Burn a lunar or psychic blend incense before working with the mirror.
Place the mirror on a wooden table or altar with a clean cloth beneath it and be seated on a wooden chair in front of it, or if you prefer, assume a comfortable asana on the floor with the mirror before you.
Extinguish all light sources except the candles and/or moonlight.
Allow nothing to reflect in the mirror's surface. It should appear as a dark tunnel or window.

Before starting, always create a sacred space to work in. Cast a circle of protection or visualize the area surrounded by white light and protection from false or misleading influences - call your guides and guardians to protect the working.
Keep a journal to record your experiences.
The rite of scrying

First, clearly decide what you seek or are trying to accomplish in the working and prepare appropriately. Then prepare the work area carefully as suggested previously.

Once you are ready, close your eyes and begin to relax; feel every part of your body releasing, relieved of all tension. Visualize your circle of protection and know you are safe and in control of all that happens within it. Begin to breath rhythmically and fully; try a count of four in, hold four, release four, four in, hold four, release four and so on. Feel yourself entering a light trance surrounded by sacred space, removed from time and the material world. Silently call your guides or guardians of the work, invoking the Goddess or calling angelic presences, spirit guides, watchtowers, astral guardians or whatever you prefer. Reaffirm your desire and the purpose of the work.

Now open your physical eyes and gaze into the mirror; remain relaxed and do not hesitate to blink when necessary. Relax the focus of your eyes but remain alert. After a while, the surface of the mirror will begin to change and fade; a dark mist will appear.

Your inner eyes will now open, and the journey into the mirror begins. Remember that the inner eye sees inside the mind, through the magickal imagination. Most people when scrying do not see the images appear with the physical eyes on the mirror's surface but see within the mirror and in the mind's eye. The mirror acts as a focal point, a gateway within.

When you have completed your journey or work you set out to do, begin the return to your body and ordinary senses. Breath fully and deeply, and remain still until you feel you have completely returned. Now close your eyes and remember all you saw and felt during the scrying or journey. Review your entire experience mentally.

Write it all down immediately in a journal kept for this purpose.

To begin to see

This is a very important exercise to master if you are new to scrying or are having trouble receiving images. It will aid your "visual imagination," which allows your psychic and physical eyes to see clearly together. It gives clairvoyant strength.

Sit before your mirror and begin to imagine objects on its surface, one after another. You should try to see these images clearly in the mirror with your eyes open, just as if they were there in reality. Try simple shapes or colors first. Hold onto the image of each shape, object or color one minute before dissolving it and going on to the next. For example, use a red triangle, a yellow square, a blue circle and silver crescent; see them appear in the mirror using your firm imagination. For best results, do this exercise every day for 15 minutes until it is mastered.

This exercise is well worth the effort; it gives magickal discipline and strengthens the inner eye so visions can come with clarity and ease.

Charging the mirror with light

To charge and empower the mirror with light force is a simple but powerful process. It should be done frequently, especially just before using the mirror, so as to ensure you see correct visions, connect with positive energy and do not experience interference.

First, you must imagine that white light is collecting inside your body, being channeled down from the crown chakra. The body becomes a vessel filled with light. Remember to breathe fully, deeply and rhythmically. Now stand in front of the mirror and direct the palms of your hands toward one another. Imagine that the internal light is now moving into your hands, forming a ball of condensed white light between them. See and feel this clearly in your imagination. When ready, begin to project this ball of light into the surface of the mirror, purifying and enlivening the mirror, filling it with magickal force. See the light "soak" into the mirror. This process needs to be repeated until the mirror feels "full."

This process can also be used to give a special or programmed charge to the mirror. Follow the steps preceding and create the ball of light between your hands, then mentally project your desire into the light before projecting the light into the mirror. This technique can be used for healing works and self-improvement. You can also charge the light with a specific color or vibration - whatever can be felt or imagined can be put into the mirror to aid the magickal energy. The empowering exercise can be used for other magickal operations as well, such as charging other magickal tools and the giving of healing light to another person. All it takes is a strong desire and powerful imagination.

Locking the charge into the mirror is accomplished by willpower. When the light has been absorbed into the mirror, state in your mind and with all the faith you can muster that the charge will remain as long as you require it. To release or remove a special charge, simply reverse the procedure, pulling the light out of the mirror into the space between your hands. Then disperse the energy into the atmosphere through the imagination. Do not draw it back into the body - see it return to the universe.

Creation and use of the fluid condenser

A fluid condenser is an infusion of herbs with tinctures, essences and gold added. It serves to hold the mirror's magickal charge and attract elemental force. The condenser can be used not only on mirrors but also on all other ritual tools you want to charge for ceremonial use. The use of certain herbs, stones and metals in small quantities attracts etheric energy of a like kind. These fluids can be made individually to represent each of the elements or to enhance a particular work. I recommend making a universal fluid condenser that will work for all purposes, having all elements represented along with tincture of gold, representing solar and God energy, and essence of moonstone, representing lunar and Goddess energy.

The fluid is applied to recharge the mirror and to draw magickal symbols upon it for use in ritual. When the mirror is not in use, it is wise to anoint its surface with the fluid before putting it away. The fluid can be cleaned off with alcohol or distilled water later.

To make the fluid, you must first gather the herbs you need. They can be fresh or dried, but the more life force they contain, the better. The list of herbs following includes some suggestions, but you need not use all the herbs to make a good condenser. Use the ones you can find of good quality.

Once gathered, the herbs are placed in a pot with distilled water or rainwater. There should be about an ounce of each herb and enough water in the pot to cover the contents completely. Bring this mixture to a boil, and then turn down the flame and let it simmer for an hour with the pot lid on. When this is done, let the mixture cool and strain it through a muslin cloth. Put the liquid back into the pot and simmer without the lid until only a quarter of the original amount is left. When this is cool, add the gold tincture, about 13 drops to each pint of liquid. Then add the essence of moonstone. If gold tincture and essence of moonstone are not available, gold chloride or gold salts can be used and whole moonstones and crystals added to the mixture as a vibrational additive. Gold tincture can also be made at home with fairly good results.

To make gold tincture, take a pure piece of gold and holding it with a pair of pliers heat it over a flame until red hot. The red-hot gold is then dunked into a container of about half a quart of distilled water or rainwater. The heat and rapid cooling causes gold molecules to remain in the liquid. This process should be repeated nine times in the same water. Be careful of the rising steam, and try not to get the hot pliers into the water!

When you have combined all the fluid condenser ingredients together in a sterilized glass container, then add an equal amount of wood or isopropyl alcohol to act as a preservative. Store the condenser in an air-tight glass container in a dark place, and it will last for years.

For a very powerful and personalized condenser, add a few drops of your own blood to the mixture. Quartz crystals can be left in the fluid while it is stored to keep it clear.

Herbs for the fluid condenser

For the water element: elder flowers, water lily, orris root, white rose, willow, cucumber seeds, jasmine

For the fire element: red poppy, cinnamon bark, bay leaves, orange peel, rosemary, marigold, galangal, damiana, tobacco, nutmeg

For the earth element: oak, ivy, cypress, mugwort, vervain, patchouli herb, wheat, primrose

For the air element: mistletoe, acacia, clover, pine, sage, lavender, verbena

For spirit: gold, blood, crystal

For healing: juniper, thyme, mandrake, tansy, elder, coriander, lavender, life-everlasting, sage, cypress

For universal fluid condenser: chamomile, dittany of Crete, ivy, oak leaves, bay leaves, almonds, cypress, clover, grape leaves, rose petals, mugwort, jasmine, vervain, mandrake root

Incense for psychic work

The best incense to use when working with the mirror or any scrying device is lunar or psychic in nature, representing the sphere of Yesod.

Resources and Information:

If you are interested in using a scrying mirror, or if you would like to obtain any of the materials you need for use of a scrying mirror, you can find them here:

Scrying Mirrors

Herbs

Incense

How to Use A Crystal Ball

2008-09-24T16:22:00.001-05:00

How to Use A Crystal Ball

Step 1. Preparation

Most people find crystal ball gazing is easiest in a quiet, dimly lit room. Many people like to have candles burning. For some the reflections of the flames help to summon images - others find them a distraction. Burning incence is common and some people like to have soothing music playing gently in the background.The important thing to remember is that you are creating an atmosphere.

The important key when doing crystal ball gazing is that you must be relaxed and your mind must be clear. It is always best to perform a cleansing ritual followed by a protection ritual, and THEN begin your crystal ball work. Normally a cleansing ritual would be performed on night one. The next night you would perform a protection ritual on yourself and within the room you intend on performing the crystal ball gazing. On the third night you can then be well prepared to use your crystal ball. Even though these rituals are not necessity, it is always wise to do them for maximum safety and best results.

When performing any form of scrying or divination you are summoning forth forces from the spirit realm. Normally these forces are closed off from this plane we live in unless otherwise disturbed such as through specific rituals such as crystal ball gazing and scrying. When you perform divination these forces can either aid you in bringing forth images of the future or other events, or attack you.

Evil spirits and negative influences can use your crystal ball, scrying mirror, ouija board, or pendulum a link for them to step through into this world. They can also use it as a means to drain energy from you as well. This is why it is always best to ensure proper cleansing and protection is prepared before hand.

Step 2. The Crystal Ball Gazing Method

Place the crystal ball on a table in front of you. Many crystal balls you can buy come with their own stand. If you don't have a crystal ball stand you might like to use a small cushion or a silk handkerchief purchased and reserved specially for this purpose.

*Tip*
To amplify your crystal ball gazing, you can use a gemstone sphere as a compliment to the crystal ball. Simply having a gemstone sphere resting next the crystal ball can augment your diving two fold.

Sit down and relax. Lay your hands gently on the ball for a minute or two in order to energise it and strengthen your psychic rapport. Whilst holding the crystal ball, think about the purpose of this scrying session. If appropriate try to visualise the subject of your question. Some people like to ask the question out loud, others prefer to internalise it.

Now, remove your hands from the crystal. Look into the crystal, stare deeply. Allow your eyes to relax and become slightly unfocused. After a little while you should see a mist or smoke forming in the crystal. Let this mist grow and fill the ball, then visualise it gradually clearing to reveal images within the crystal.

The images you see might not be what you expected. That's OK, don't fight them. Your subconscious mind knows what information you need. Many people find that when they first begin to use a crystal ball, the images have nothing to do with what they focus on. This is because your mind is not yet adjusted at being able to grasp and focus on the energies being past from your subconscious into the crystal ball itself. Think of the mental energies going from your mind to the crystal ball as a funnel. The base or "tip" of the funnel is your subconscious energies and that energy is being directed upwards towards your conscious mind which is the mid point of the funnel. The conscious part of the mind that receives the subconscious energy then "spills" it into the crystal ball to form those images from the subconscious, which would be the mouth of the funnel.

Since divination uses both the subsconscious and conscious part of the mind at the same time it can be rather difficult to concentrate on both at once. Your subconscious is where the energy is stemming from. It passes it upwards to your conscious which is needed to act on that energy into the crystal ball. Without the conscious mind you would be in more of a deep meditated state and your eyes would not be able to consciously focus or input the images within the crystal ball.

As noted, it is perfectly ok that the first couple times you divine with a crystal ball the images are not related to what it is you want. The fact you are able to see ANYTHING in the crystal ball is showing progress. The more you work with the crystal ball, the better you will get at being able to see exactly what it is you want to see by manipulating your subconscious energies to your conscious energies, and then to the crystal ball. Either way, just let the images flow, changing and taking you wherever they choose to go. Don't try to rationalise now, time for that later.

Step 3. Closing The Crystal Ball Session

Let the images slowly fade back into the crystal ball. Don't just stop the session suddenly, instead reverse the process you used at the beginning. Visualise the mists coming back and covering the images, then receding to return the ball to its natural state.

Thank your crystal ball and put it away carefully wrapped within a dark cloth is best as dark cloth keeps the energies of the ball contained within it and prevents it from leaking out.

It is also always best to ensure you cleanse your crystal ball. A good, fast, and simple way of doing this is to simply light a sage smudge stick and or sage incense and move the ball around the smoke before you place it back for storage. Another quick and easy way to cleanse your crystal ball would be to give it a dip in salt water for roughly one minute. You do not want to soak it too long in salt as it can damage and ruin the crystal ball.

Resources And Information:
If you would like to view or are interested in buying various crystal balls, crystal ball stands, and gemstone spheres you can do so here:

Crystal Balls

Benefits of Gemstone Spheres in Your Wiccan Supplies

2008-09-22T17:36:00.001-05:00

Using gemstone spheres and adding them to your wiccan supplies can be incredibly beneficial for many reasons.

Gemstones in general have many different healing, protection, attraction, and purification based properties that by themselves can be quite potent. When added to your rituals and spells these effects can be two fold.

The benefit of gemstone spheres however are that they are good sized orbs and the energy concentrated within them is amplified. Being circular, gemstone spheres also make excellent tools for diving and divination purposes which will be discussed below.

Gemstone Spheres for Healing Purposes:

Gemstone spheres can have remarkable healing powers. Depending on the type of gemstone you have, or want to get, they all have their own innate abilities that can enhance your own power.

Whether you are looking for healing emotional, mental, or even physical ailments, gemstone spheres can be used to help these issues.

A good way to use a gemstone sphere would be to take the stone and gently roll it around your body slowly going from head to toe. Focus on your forehead, chest, and stomach in particular, but by performing this slow rolling motion will have the gemstone sphere's energies go into and through your whole body.

This can be done as a prelude to a ritual, during a ritual, after a ritual, or all three depending on what you are comfortable with.

For example, if you were to perform a ritual to heal or purge negativity within and around you, a good stone for this would be the quartz gemstone sphere as quartz is incredibly powerful in eliminating negativity. You would take the quartz gemstone sphere and before you perform your ritual, roll it slowly over your body(ensure it makes direct contact with your skin) and say a prayer as you do so:

"Negativity within, you will leave
You have no more power over me
With this stone I purge you away
In my body you will no longer stay"

The above is just an example you may use, you can create your own if you wish, whatever is comfortable.

Using the gemstone spheres in such a manner is also very soothing and calming. Another idea would be to use them as a massaging tool as well. If you normally perform massages for friends or lovers, you can have them lay on their stomach and you can take your gemstone sphere and gently roll it up and down their neck, back, and legs which will guarantee an even more pleasant massage.

If you or someone you know is suffering from illness such as a cold, flu, or even something more severe, you can take your gemstone sphere and use it's energies for this as well. Again, rolling the stone over the body is best, you can even have the person who is inflicted with the illness hold the stone as you perform a prayer or ritual for them. With them holding the gemstone sphere directly, they will be able to draw in the stone's energies directly. One gemstone sphere that is excellent for ailments such as detoxify the liver, lowering blood pressure, fever reduction, speeding up recovery from burns, and can alleviate cramps is the Chrysocolla gemstone.

Divination Uses For Gemstone Spheres:

Gemstone spheres make excellent compliments to your crystal ball, scrying mirror, or pendulum if you use divination.

Many gemstone spheres have the ability to enchance your abilities as you are scrying and diving, so having a gemstone located right next to your crystal ball or scrying mirror can be very beneficial. One such gemstone sphere that promotes psychic awareness, enhances mental powers, and increases strength is Black Amethyst.

As noted, these gemstones can also be used for specific rituals and spells as well, being used as a sole tool or as a compliment tool. If you are performing a ritual for prosperity and to gain more wealth, you can use a Malachite Gemstone Sphere which promotes prosperity, wealth, better business, and to protect the money you already have.

Resources And Information:
If you would like to view various gemstone spheres or wish to add them to your wiccan supplies, you can see a good selection here:

Gemstone Spheres

How to Inscribe & Anoint Your Ritual Candles

2008-09-20T15:42:00.001-05:00

This will explain how to charged and anoint plain candles that are not already anointed or charged. Posts will be made in the future explaing the use of 7 Day Jar Candles and Figure Candles.

The importance charging and anointing your candles before you use them for spells and rituals cannot be overlooked.

If you wish for your rituals and spells to work to full effect, charging and anointing a candle with a particular oil, or inscribing symbols and words on them, will make the candle and it's purpose all that more potent.

For example, if you are performing a love spell or attraction spell to try and find love or to strengthen love you already have, you would use a pink colored candle(pink represents love) and then inscribed love based symbols. After inscribing, you would then anoint that candle with a love based or attraction based oil.

The same could be said to prosperity or wealth based spells and rituals. A green candle would be used(to represent prosperity, wealth, and money) and then inscriptions towards prosperity and wealth would be drawn onto the candle. Afterword, an oil would be anointed that focuses on prosperity.

Inscribing Your Ritual Candle

After cleansing and blessing a spell candle, you should begin to inscribed the candle with symbols or words towards whatever it is your ritual or spell is on.

For example, if you are using a love spell and you wish to obtain the love of someone you know, you can inscribed your initials and their initials onto the candle, or you can even use the full name of the quarent and yourself. You can add the names along side with symbols that represent love as well, such as a heart or even ancient symbols of love such as the Reiki love symbol.

You will need something with a fine point to scratch the surface of the candle. It can be a pin, a specialist scribing tool, a cocktail stick or anything else your imagination can dream up. Once you have chosen your tool though, dedicate it properly, then tuck it away in your magical tool chest and reserve it for just this purpose.

As you are inscribing your candle, visualise the outcome. Make it a small ritual in it's own right. Once you have inscribed your candle, you may wish to 'Dress' it. This is optional, your choice entirely, but it's easy and again adds to the potency of your spell.

Anointing Your Ritual Candle

Anointing your candle would be the next step to properly charged your ritual candles. As stated above, you should anoint with oils that are specific to your desired outcome. There for if you are looking for love and attraction, you would use those types of oils.

The method for anointing your candle is pretty specific. The most general method is to hold the ritual candle in one hand, dip the first two fingers of the other hand in oil and starting at the top (the end with the wick) run your oiled finger down toward the centre of the ritual candle. Stop at the centre, lift your finger off, turn the candle slightly and repeat the process until all the top half of the candle is covered. Then starting at the base of the candle, run the oiled fingers toward the centre. Again stop at the centre, lift the fingers off, turn the candle slightly and repeat the process until the entire bottom of the candle has been coated.

The whole time your are anointing the candle, concentrate on the outcome you wish to achieve with your spell. Experienced spell weavers often anoint the candle in a specific direction depending on the type of spell they are performing. For spells to attract something to the spell weaver, the candle is anointed from top to middle, then from bottom to middle. For banishing or sending something away i.e.. getting rid of bad habits, negative energy, breaking jinxes or hexes, the candle is dressed from the centre out to the top, and then from the centre out to the bottom.

Once the candle is coated in oil, it can be rolled in herbs relevant to the particular spell you are performing. For example, use Agrimony for breaking hexes and returning them to sender, use Chamomile for attracting friendship, Hyssop for purification and cleansing, Patchouli for wealth and so on. Once you have lit your spell candle and performed your spell, allow the candle to burn itself out completely.

Resources And Information:
If you are in need of ritual candles or anointing oils, or if you would like to view various ritual candles and anointing oils for ideas for your spells and rituals, you can do so here:

Ritual Candles

Ritual Anointing Oils

Wiccan Supplies vs WitchCraft Supplies

2008-09-18T00:07:00.001-05:00

Whats the difference between wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies? The answer is quite simple....

There really is no difference between wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies. The terms are just a preference people use to label the supplies they need for their craft, and is only a matter of personal tastes.

Many different people believe that there are differences between wicca and witchcraft, when truthfully, there really isn't any difference. The definition of a witch is one who practices magick and the occult and one who can cast spells. The term "witch" is more of a generic term, like how many people say "kleenex" over "tissue".

In wicca, individuals perform rituals, cast spells, and engage in ceremonies which in theory would make them a witch.

Usually individuals who practice wicca will use the term "wiccan supplies" or "altar tools" while others who practice magick and the craft on their own being part of no social religious faiths or beliefs will usually use the term "witchcraft supplies" or even "occult supplies".

All the supplies and tools are the same. Whether it is a wiccan, pagan, occultist, shaman, or any other individual who performs rituals, they use the same or very similar supplies.

Incense, ritual candles, and oils are perhaps the most common within any personal faith to use for their rituals and spells. Incense, candles, and oils are essentials within wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies list as they have the broadest uses. You can buy individual incense, candles, and oils for specific purposes, or you can buy incense, candles, and oils that cover a few categories at one time.

Athames, chalices, wands, and cauldrons are popular wiccan supplies within the wiccan faith. However, all of these are also used by other faiths because of how useful they are. Cauldrons make excellent tools for burning various items, especially paper because cauldrons are made of cast iron and do not burn or melt unless under extreme long exposure to heat.

After all how many times do you see depictions of a witch with her broom and cauldron? As stereo typical as this may be, it is true that cauldrons and brooms are two of the more popular wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies.

So as you can see the difference between wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies is like compairing apples and oranges, there really is nothing to compair as they are very much the same.

If you would like to view various wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies such as athames, chalices, cauldrons, besom brooms, and other common tools of the craft, you can view some here:

Wiccan Supplies & WitchCraft Supplies

Book of Shadows In Your Wiccan Supplies Part 3 The Design

2008-09-16T21:11:00.001-05:00

In a book of shadows you can record as much information as you want, or stick with a bare minimum. Chose to use it as a daily diary, where all your information is kept. Or you can maintain a couple of different books of shadow, separating your daily thoughts into one, research and magikal information into an other, with spells and incantations into a third. It's entirely up to you. But keep in mind, you want your book to be well organized. You want to be able to quickly turn to a particular section and page to find some particular information when needed.
Book of Shadows

Here's a general list and suggested organization for your personal book of shadows.

* Book Title and Date

* Book Blessing

* General Index (make a few sections to help organize your book)

* The Sections:

o Magikal Rules and Principles
Write down your personal principles, beliefs, and/or magikal rules that you chose to follow and believe in. These are your values of life and spiritual path. They should be created from scratch each time you begin a new book. This way you'll be able to review past volumes and see how much you've grown.

o Goals and Aspirations
Write down what your short term goals are. Include a date to achieve the goal and outline a few steps you plan to take in order to reach it. Then write down your long term spiritual aspirations, what you feel you need to work on and how you plan on succeeding. What you would like to achieve and by when.

o Dream and Divination Records
This section is for messages you receive through dreams, or some type of divination. Either a reading you've given to yourself, or received from someone else. This is the section where you want to record your personal introspection and interpretations.

o Research
Here you can record all the research and particular information you receive along your path. You might consider organizing this into sub-sections in alphabetical order. Astrology, candles, crystals, Gods/Goddess, tarot and timeliness research could be some examples.

o Classes & Experiences
Every witch should take a few classes or workshops on topics or subjects that you feel most interested in. Within all classes and workshops, you should receive some type of exercise or "how to" instruction. Record your experiences with these. What you liked, what didn't work and what you'd like to do differently next time.

o Spells, Incantations & Prayers
Record the spells, incantations and prayers you find along your spiritual path. Those you like and even those you really dislike. There is a message hidden within words you feel very strongly against, write them down and note that you "dislike this one". Later when you have time, re-read the words and try to find the message hidden within for you.

o Rituals & Ceremonies
Plan out your rituals and ceremonies. Record your experiences during or after conducting the event. Include your thoughts about what you liked, what worked well and what you'd like to change next time.

o Herbal Remedies and Potions
These are your personal recopies. They can cover various herbology information and recopies to specific potions which are to be used in conjunction with a spell or incantation.

o Closing Thoughts
At the end of the year, or once the book is filled, save a few pages for a review and reflection of your book of shadows. Note the goals and aspirations you achieved, the reflections of what you learned during the research and practices you made. End this section with a blessing of thanks and gratitude to all those forces, seen and unseen that helped you along this journey and with the lessons contained within this volume.

Book of Shadows In Your Wiccan Supplies Part 2 Decision

2008-09-15T13:42:00.004-05:00

Start by deciding what kind of book of shadows you want to use. A spiral notebook is one favorite method. A three hole binder is another, making it easy to maintain sections for organization. Some people purchase hard cover stationary books at their local book store, making various volumes or collections of magikal information. Whether you choose a standard notebook or a find journal that is specifically made to be a book of shadows, what matters most is what you put into it. If you would like to view some book of shadows for some ideas as to the design style you may like, you can view some here:

Book of Shadows

Which ever you choose, label the book of shadows and set it's purpose and energy from the start. You can record the title on the outside or on the page inside the cover. But it's the first thing you should do. After the title, date the book. Some witches create a new book at the beginning of each magical year during Samhain. While others use the same book over a period of time until it's full and then they start a new volume. It's up to you which way to date your book of shadows, but you should enter a date and if possible a volume reference. This will help keep your books organized over the years.

Next, take some time and think of a personal blessing to record on the first page (or after the title page). The book of shadow blessing is done as a dedication to your spiritual growth, you path of learning and protection for the information you'll gain and record within the covers of your book. You might write out the blessing on scrap paper until you get just right and then transfer the blessing to your Book of Shadows.

If you find that the book of shadows you've chosen loses it's appeal, or isn't adequate for your needs, don't hesitate in finding a new one. You must feel comfortable and well, attached to your book. This gives the book energy and meaning within your spiritual life. Another example of setting it's intent and importance in your life.

An important note should be taken when choosing a new book of shadows in favor of the old one. If you placed energy into the old book of shadows then the best course of action would simply be to store it some where in a safe place and wrap it in a dark cloth. This way, the energies within the book of shadows is contained within the book and will not leak out when it is not being used. Dark cloth will contain the energy within the book of shadows.

Another idea is to give away your old book of shadows to someone who may want one. This can be the best way, as not only are you giving someone a valuable tool for their craft, but you are freely allowing the energy within the book to pass from you to someone else. It is always a powerful thing to give something freely away and not expect anything else back in return.

Please Visit Part 3 For the Conclusion

Book of Shadows In Your Wiccan Supplies Part 3

Book of Shadows in Your Wiccan Supplies Part 1 History

2008-09-14T14:23:00.004-05:00

As with all spiritual texts, there is large debate about where and how a book of shadows came into use. Some say they were prevalent during the middle ages, written only in Runic alphabets to hide their magikal meanings. Some say the witches during the middle ages were illiterate and the books of shadow did not come into practice until the 14th or 15th centuries. Even then, Runic alphabets were used to protect the owner from persecution and death if it were found by a witch hunter.

Regardless of where they started, they've had just as many varying names. The Golden Grimoire is one of the more famous mythological versions of a book of shadows. It's said to be the Book Of Shadows of Merlin the Magician himself.

The Great Grimoire is another legendary book of shadow, reportedly it contains the spells and incantations of the world's first witch, who received this magikal information from Lucifer (the Angel, not the devil). The Great Grimoire supposedly contained all the secret information about God, including his name of creation. When this name is said backwards, the world becomes undone. Riding the universe of the creature called man and returning the heavens to the Archangels. Unfortunately, many educated scholars believe this legend to be a creation of the Catholic Church during the early 12th century. A mythological tale designed to cast doom and gloom upon those who practiced paganism during that time in history.
Book of Shadows

The "Book of Light and Shadows" is a term that found popular use during the mid-to-late 1800s in Europe. Just about the same time Alester Crowley began to publicize his many works on the Craft. This title is meant to reflect the spiritual information contained within, as well as, the spells and rituals that are performed at night beneath the moon.

"Grimoire" became a popular label for these personal books of shadow during the Victorian era. Many a young woman could be found resting in a park, or flower garden writing thoughts, poems and wishes inside a diary. Upon closer review, you might also find remedies passed down from grand mother to child for various ailments. Elixirs and salves for poison ivy, fevers and more serious ailments such as heart problems or arthritis were often shared amongst family members as well as within tight knit communities. It is from these family recipes and remedies that the term "Kitchen Witch" sprang.

Today the most common label for these personal diaries is a "Book Of Shadows", presumably containing spiritual information and energy that is kept hidden until a witch opens the book and springs forth the words into the light.

It doesn't matter what you chose to call your personal magikal diary. It's just important that you start keeping a record of your research, experiences and magikal information.

Please visit part 2 for more.

Book of Shadows In Your Wiccan Supplies Part 2

Wiccan Ritual: The Great Rite

2008-09-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

A common central element of Wiccan ritual is the Great Rite. The spelling of the
word rite is significant. It is not right, as in right and wrong, or right and left. It is rite as in ritual.
The greatest of all Wiccan rituals honors the union and fertility of the Goddess and the God. The ritual practice of the Great Rite has changed significantly during the evolution of Wicca. While the original practice of Great Rite is appropriate for a heavily nature oriented religion, it became a source of controversy primarily due to negative publicity.

In the ritual of some Orthodox traditions the High Priestess would invoke (call into her) the Goddess and the High Priest would invoke the God, then the High Priest would physically join with the High Priestess. It was seen as a way to honor the divine creation of life. In most cases,1 this was rarely if ever done with the rest of the Coven present.

In Reformed traditions the practice of physical joining of the High Priestess and High Priest is seldom done. It has been replaced with a symbolic joining of the Goddess and the God using a chalice (stemmed cup) and an Athame (ceremonial knife). The ritual still honors the divine creation with some finding it more appropriate than the earlier practice.

Essentials For Your Wiccan Supplies Part 2

2008-09-12T00:12:00.002-05:00

Here is part 2 of what should be considered essential for your wiccan supplies list.

Wands
A wand is used to project and direct energy to a specific area, object, person,
or even dimension. It can be used for tasks like stirring a cauldron if its
construction allows this. In some traditions, it is used in calling the God and the
Goddess to join a ritual. Although traditional wands are made of wood, you can find wands today in a variety of materials.

The ancient Druids held woods sacred and tools from wood were considered to carry the spirit of nature. It is not suggested that wood from a living tree be cut to make a wand. A piece of fallen wood is much more appropriate as it can be considered a gift from divinity. There are few rules about the size of the wand.

Some Wiccans believe wands should be the length of a persons forearm and hand, but in general wands commonly range from as little as 10 inches up to 3 feet in length. Some people like to hold a wand that is more massive because they feel more powerful.

It is equally acceptable to use a wand that is compact and lightweight. A wand can be as ornamental or as plain as desired. Anything from a wand fabricated of sterling silver and encrusted with gems to a piece of tree branch still covered in bark is acceptable for use. Each will serve well if the person wielding the wand is comfortable with it. The only real concern is that it feels comfortable.

If you would like to view some different wands if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies list you may do so here:
Wands

The Wiccan Boline
The boline is a white handled knife, which clearly distinguishes it from the black handled athame. In many cases the blade has a distinct curved shape. It is a simple working knife used in ritual or ritual preparation for tasks like cutting herbs from a garden, inscribing candles, cutting cords, etc. It is to be used for cutting purposes only for the materials and items you need for your rituals and spells.

The Wiccan Boline is commonly the size of an athame. There are larger bolines that are made, but these are normally called Druid Bolines and are common within paganism rituals and ceremonial use. Even though a larger boline can be used in Wicca, it is usually easier to use the smaller versions of the blade.

The Besom(Ritual Broom)

A besom (ritual broom) is used in Wicca for the preparation of magickal
space. The magickal significance of a besom is twofold. First, as a magickal tool directing energy for cleaning, and second in the heritage of ancient Druidic regard for the woods from which a traditional besom is made. In Wicca, the besom is used to clear the negativity and residual energy from space being prepared as sacred. The sweeping of ritual space is not to clear debris in the physical environment.

The besom does not even have to touch the ground at all. The sweeping motion in the air combined with visualization clears the negative energies lingering from the mundane world. The traditional besom has many legends associated with it. It is said to have been used in fertility rituals where it was ridden hobbyhorse style through the crops.

It is also said to have been used in handfasting ceremonies promoting fertility in a newly wed couple. Besoms are commonly made using an ash staff, birch twigs and willow binding. The ash wood serves to protect, the birch is for purifying and the willow is sacred and holy to the Goddess.

If you would like to view some different besoms if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies list you may do so here:
Besom Brooms

Cauldrons

The cauldron, like the chalice and bell, is also symbolic of the Goddess. In
Wicca, when a cauldron is used it is often central to the ritual, usually linked with fertility or transformation. Some of the lore of the cauldron is based on the legend of Kerridwen's cauldron.

Kerridwen is a goddess from the Celtic pantheon. The story begins where Kerridwen bore a son who was the ugliest and most rotten tempered man in the world. She wanted to fix this by brewing a potion to transform him into the Maiden Moon wisest man in the world. To do so she brewed a potion for a year and a day (a period still recognized as significant in Wiccan practice).

At the end of that time, there were three highly concentrated drops left. Kerridwen hired a boy to stir the potion and a man to stoke the flames. On the very day that the potion was ready, the 3 drops splashed out onto the boy’s fingers. The boy fled knowing that Kerridwen would be very angry.

Kerridwen took after him in pursuit. During the chase, both the boy and Kerridwen changed into several animals. When Kerridwen finally caught up with the boy, she ate him and became pregnant. She had planned to kill the child but when he was born, he was the most beautify boy she had ever seen, so she kept him and he grew to be Taliesin the Bard, one of the most inspired poets. As you can see, throughout the story, the concept of magickal transformation (the symbology of the cauldron) is
prevalent from beginning to end.

Cauldrons are usually made of iron and stand on three legs with the opening of
the vessel being smaller than the inside. You can find cauldrons in a wide range
of sizes from the very small altar top varieties to gigantic pots big enough for headhunters to cook a few explorers in.

If you would like to view some different cauldrons if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies list you may do so here:
Cast Iron Cauldrons

Crystal Balls
While many forms of divination tools have been used, the crystal ball has been
the longest surviving. When used for divinatory purposes, the practitioner gazes
into the ball and pictures are perceived either inside the ball itself or in the
mind's eye of the crystal gazer.

When used in Wiccan ritual, the crystal is placed on the altar to represent the Goddess. Some Wiccans use the ball during the ritual for scrying but it can also be used to store energy raised from the ritual. The crystal ball is often at the center of full moon rituals where it represents the Goddess in Mother form. Of all the tools, the crystal ball is often considered as one of the hardest to charge magickally.

Many recommend that the crystal be exposed to moonlight to increase its charge after cleansing in a saltwater bath. This is seen as aligning the crystal and filling it with energy from the Goddess.

It is usually best for crystal balls to be as close and as pure to crystal as possible. Finding pure crystal balls however is not only expensive, they are hard to find. If you can charge the standard crystal balls that are comonly available as much as possible, especially in the full moon over night, they will work just as well.

If you would like to view some different cauldrons if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies list you may do so here:
Crystal Balls

These are just some of the most common but essential wiccan supplies you may need to begin your rituals, ceremonies, and spells. If you would like to know more on how to cleanse, purify, and prepare your ritual tools, please see the posts below entitled "How To Use Ritual Tools"

Essentials For Your Wiccan Supplies Part 1

2008-09-11T18:43:00.001-05:00

It is always important to know which ritual tools you should have as standard within your wiccan supplies. This post will detail the most essential ritual tools you should have for your rituals, ceremonies, and spells.

The Athame
An athame or athamé is a ceremonial double-edged dagger, one of several magical tools used in Traditional Witchcraft and other pagan beliefs and religions such as Wicca for various ritual knives. A black-handled knife called an arthame appears in certain versions of the Key of Solomon, a grimoire originating in the Middle Ages.

The athame's primary use is for ritual and magical purposes only, to direct energy; if things such as herbs or cords need to be cut, another knife called a boline - a white-handled knife - is used. An exception is the "kitchen witchcraft" philosophy, which actively encourages the use of magical tools for mundane purposes to increase the witch's familiarity with them.

An athame may be employed in the demarcation of the Magic circle rite.

As a masculine principle, it is often used in combination with the chalice, as feminine principle, evoking the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity. This is a symbol of the Great Rite in Wiccan rituals. Some modern witchcraft traditions may prefer not to use iron blades, instead preferring alternatives such as copper, bronze or wood. This is most common amongst traditions that have a particular fondness of the Sidhe, to whom iron is supposedly harmful.

You can view some various styles of athames here if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies:
Athames

The Chalice
In Wicca a chalice, as a feminine principle, is often used in combination with the Athame (ceremonial black-handled knife), as male principle. Combining the two evokes the act of procreation, as a symbol of universal creativity. This is a symbol of the Great Rite in Wiccan rituals. A chalice is also used in the Small Rite.

A chalice is a symbol of the element of water, a feminine element representing intuition, gestation, psychic ability, and the subconscious. The Cup also stands in as a symbol of the Goddess, of the womb, and the female generative organs. The chalice is sometimes interchangeable with the cauldron.

You can view some various styles of Chalices here if you would like to add them to your wiccan supplies list:
Wiccan Chalice

Wiccan Altar Bell
Bells are like the Voice of the Goddess. When you ring one, it brings the Divine's attention to you. And your attention to the Divine.

A bell with a lovely tone will call beautiful, healing energy to you. Bells can also be used to clear energy. At the end of a ritual is a good time for this, but if unwanted energy crops up during a ritual, you can use the bell to disperse it. The purpose is that the clear tone of the altar bell will drive away negativity and keep evil spirits at bay. There are claims that evil spirits cannot tolerate the sounds of a clear high pitched bell.

Using an altar bell to call upon the goddess will ensure you are more protected during your rituals, spells, and ceremonies.

If you would like to view some various wiccan altar bells if you are interested in adding one to your wiccan supplies list you can see them here:
Altar Bells

Altar Cloths
In certain Neopagan faiths, Wicca in particular, the altar cloth is placed on the altar where magical workings are performed. Many altars are patterned with pentagrams, the traditional symbol for Wicca.

Altar cloths prevent damage, dirt, and grime to form on your altar. It is always best to keep your altar clean to ensure you appease the various gods or goddesses you may be calling upon in you rituals. Keeping ones altar untidy can show disrespect to the gods and goddess, so be sure to clean your altar cloth often. Many altar cloths can be put into the wash with your other clothing whenever it is time for you to do laundry.
Altar Cloths

Altar Tiles
The altar tile is also called a pentacle is used on a Wiccan altar as a focal point for ritual work. It is commonly made of metal, wood, or clay stoneware. The tile itself is usually inscribed with the pentagram (five-pointed star) and sometimes with other symbols. The star symbol represents the four elements of earth, air, fire, water and a fifth element of spirit, as represented by the Goddess and God. The tile is positioned with the spirit tip pointing up to signify that the spirit rules over the elements.

If you would like to view some different altar tiles if you are interested in adding them to your wiccan supplies list you may do so here:
Wiccan Altar Tiles

How To Banish Demons

2008-09-10T19:16:00.001-05:00

There is nothing more frightening or disturbing then to have the feeling you have a powerful negative force lurking inside of your home or following you around where you may go.

Demons and negative entities are actually more common then people may think, and if you are not careful, you can become a victim to their attacks and predatory nature, feeding off your energies like a leech drains blood from the body.

How Demons Invade your Life

The most common way for any demon to come into this plane of existence is through a door way or portal. This usually happen when inexperienced practitioners of the craft or even individuals just "fooling around" with these forces begin using divination tools such as ouja boards, pendulums, crystal balls, and especially scrying mirrors.

These tools are meant to be able to see into the future, or to give warning of events that may happen that can possibly be avoided. However, unfortunately, when anyone uses these tools they are calling upon the spirit realm to help them find the answers they seek. Their tools suddenly become open doorways into that world, and just as easily as good entities can come forward to help, negative entities can come forward to attack.

In most homes that are haunted by negative demonic presences, it is usually by these means. Occultists and inexperienced crafters use these tools, open the doorway, the entities come out and they wind up being stuck here. Usually people who cannot immediately sense these entities have no idea they pulled them out, and because of this, they close their ritual without ever knowing something may have stepped through. The demon presence is then trapped here, and begins to look at this as a perfect opportunity to wreck havoc in people's lives.

Other means of these creatures stepping through are through group rituals and ceremonies where occultists may purposefully summon a demon for whatever reason they may have in doing so. Again, the same rules apply as the divination tools, however the methods are a bit different.

Occultists in groups will make a circle and then if they are summoning a demon something will have to represent a "pit". A pit can be anything from a crawl space in the basement to even a closet(it has to be something that is enclosed though to represent the pit or doorway).

As the occultists begin their work, they perform their ritual or ceremony and using various tools, herbs, oils and incense summon these creatures forward. Most often times when the demons step through the people summoning them have no idea what they are in for, or they believe they have taken enough protective means to spare themselves from the demons wrath. Depending on the demon and how strong it is, this may or may not be the case. If the demons are able to penetrate through protective barriers then the occultists who summoned it will be in serious trouble and danger.

How To Expel And Banish A Demon

Expelling or banishing a demon is NOT easy. In fact, it is tremendously difficult to do this if you do not know what you are doing.

Many people commonly turn to religious means and their faith. Christians, for example, will go to the church and request an exorcism of the actual house(if it is the house that is haunted and not an individual). The priest will then come and bless the house going to each and every room saying a prayer while shaking holy water as he does.

With weaker entities this may help, but in most cases this normally just aggravates and enrages the demonic essence even further. One priest is usually not enough to expel a powerful demon from a home. The best method for this would be to have the priest, and anyone who lives within the home ALL perform a blessing on the house together.

When this takes place, the priest, and the people who reside in the home all gather into the most used room of the house. They make a tight knit circle and all begin to pray and chant together, following the priest's prayer.

Again this is the best means to perform this. Unfortunately however, not everyone has the luxury of having their local church willing to perform something like this. Other people are not Christian and would not want to turn to the church.

In these cases then it is best for the individuals living within the home to confront the demon personally. Again, proper knowledge and tools can aid you tremendously in this task.

One way of being able to expel a demon without the help of the church, would be to find some sage smudge sticks, holy water, and various washes and oils that represent protection, purification, and banishing.

The first step once you have these items, would be to take your protection, banishing, holy water or purification oil or wash, and place it in a spray bottle(if the constancy of the oil or wash is thin enough for this) and begin to spray and mist every room of the home saying a prayer as you do so or words of power such as:

"Demons that have come in my home, I do not stand alone. I banish you back to whence you came, I am the protector, the saving light, and your ultimate bane"

The above is just an example, you can say your own or use this, whichever you prefer. The important thing to remember is you must be STRONG and DEDICATED and SHOW NO FEAR as you perform this.

After misting every room, you will then light your sage incense stick and walk through each room once again saying the same prayer as before. Ensure the stick is smoldering and the smoke is thick enough.

After this you can even go a step further and place protection based gemstones into every room of the house. Gemstones can be cheap or expensive depending on the size and quality, however, they do wonders especially if you place them by your bed while you sleep. Good protection stones are amethyst, malachite, citrine, and the biggest one of them all, quartz.

These steps should help you in expelling a demon or sending it back to where it came. If this does not work, or it does not help, you may have to call professionals in see what they can do. Various psychics, paranormal teams, and skilled people in these subjects hold a wealth of knowledge and abilities able to help you if you have need of it.

There will be a future hub on how to banish demons from an individual, or most commonly called possession.

Resources and Information:

If you need any of the items or tools mentioned in this article, you can find them here to perform these tasks on your own:

Ritual Supplies

If you would like to view some of the various gemstones mentioned in this post you can do so here:

Gemstones

Adding Mandrake Root to Your Wiccan Supplies

2008-09-09T15:13:00.001-05:00

In witchcraft and occult practices, mandrake root is a very common and poten herb that witches use as an ingredient to various spells, oils, potions, and ceremonial offerings. Mandrake root is said to come in male and female "shapes" where male mandrake roots resemble the shape of a human male and the female root resembling the body of a human female.

In particular, the mandrake root is the most powerful herb of love magick, and certainly one of the most deadliest. Ones that resemble a phallus are believed to possess great aphrodisiac qualities and were, at one time, the main ingredient used in Witches' love philtres(potions) despite their highly toxic properties.

A mandrake root that is soaked every Friday in a bowl of white wine and carried in a charmbag made of red silk and velvet will give its possessor great sexual potency and make him or her attractive to the opposite sex. A mandrake root placed underneath a bed pillow will arouse passion between two lovers, even if one is indifferent.

Both male and female fertility is promoted by eating mandrake (males eat the male mandrake root and females eat the female mandrake root) or by carryin one as a charm, according to legend.

A tiny particle of powdered female mandrake leaf added to a cup of red wine (for passionate lovemaking) or white wine (for romantic love) is said to be a powerful Witch's aphrodisiac.

In addition to love magick, mandrake roots have long been believed to possess the power to divine the future. More than one book on medieval Witchcraft and sorcery states that the human-shaped roots (both male and female) shake their heads to answer yes or no when questions are put to them. With the proper incantations, mandrakes can also be made to speak out loud or through telepathy.This is another way in which they can prophesy the future and reveal secrets. Mandrakes have been used by many modern Witches in spells and rituals that increase the psychic powers. They are carried in mojobags or worn on necklaces as powerful charms to attract good luck, and it is said that money placed in a box with a mandrake root will double overnight.

Mandrake root can also be used in exorcisms as it is believed that demons cannot tolerate mandrake root and it is poisonous to them. It is not uncommon during ancient exorcisms that whilst a priest was under going an exorcism on an individual that he place a tiny piece of mandrake in their mouths under the tongue. The potent mandrake was meant to help drive out the demon essence from within the individual.

Extreme caution should always be exercised when using any part of the mandrake in potions, brews and philtres. It is a highly toxic plant, and misuse of it can result in sickness, delirium, or a slow and agonizing death.

According to the legend, when mandrake root is dug up it screams and kills anyone who hears this. Literature includes complex directions for harvesting a mandrake root in relative safety. For example Josephus (c. 37 AD Jerusalem - c. 100) gives the following directions for pulling it up:

A burrow must be dug around the root until its lower part is exposed, then a dog is tied to it, after which the person tying the dog must then run away. The dog is then enticed to follow him, and by doing so easily pulls up the root, but the dog dies suddenly instead of his master. After this the root can be handled without fear.

Mandrake is one of the traditional ritual herbs of the Samhain (Halloween) Witches' Sabbat and is sacred to the following Pagan deities: Aphrodite, Diana, Hecate and the legendary Teutonic sorceress known as the Alrauna Maiden.

Resources And Information
If you are in need of any mandrake root, you may get some here:
Mandrake Root

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 7 The Care Of Deities By Your Altar

2008-09-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

Care of Deities

Deities that you have on your altar may be statues, pictures, or items that symbolise a deity, like a shell for Aphrodite.

But no matter what it's made out of, an altar deity is not just a thing.

It is the Divine.

Anything that is venerated as a goddess or god becomes Divine. You may not be able to sense it, at first, but it happens.

So treating altar deities with respectful care is very important. As you treat Her representatives, so you treat the Divine.

Cleaning Altar Deities

The great way to tend to altar deities - besides making offerings - is to get a couple of new makeup brushes. A fat fluffy one, and a narrow one will take care of any dust that accumulates.

Keep them specifically for tending your altar.

When you are going to handle a deity, it is respectful to bow or lambaste or in some way greet Her, and share your intentions.

Then handle Her gently and with care, as you would a baby in your care. And when She is refreshed, set Her back with another bow, and gratitude for Her presence.

Keep the Goddess fresh and well-loved on your altar, and She will be strong and happy in your life.

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 6 Disposal of Your Ritual Tools

2008-09-07T13:35:00.001-05:00

Disposal Of Your Ritual Tools

When something comes off your altar, you are likely done with it. Unless it is expensive or hard to replace, you'll likely find another one when you need it.

So when you clear something off your altar, consider passing it on.

While it's still vibrantly alive, it will appreciate going to good use elsewhere. Plus, this relieves you of caring for hundreds of ritual tools that you never use - something that simply can't be done properly.

Where To Pass On Wiccan Tools

You can give ritual tools to other witches.

One lovely way is to have a give-away. Wrap each item, and then take them to your next ritual. Let each person there choose, until they are all gone.

This is not only a kindness to your Wiccan tools, but shows your appreciation for those you Circle with!

Another option, if the energy is good and the object agrees, is to give it to someone you love, as a blessing.

You can also release things to the wild. If it came from nature, you can take it back to its natural environment, if possible the place you found it.

Or you can offer them to the Goddess at a natural "altar" - a stone, tree, cave, beach, or whatever feels right. From there, their life is their own. They could end up anyplace! Wherever the Divine chooses for them, or they choose for themselves.

Before Letting Go

Remember to give this object your thanks. It gave a lot of itself for your benefit, and receives so little in return. Show it real gratitude.

In doing so, you become more honorable, and more ritual tools are then happy to work with you.

What To Do With Expired Spells

When you've crafted a spell, and its work is done, you must release it.

Generally, it is best not to recycle spell materials, although everyone has their own ideas about this. Solid objects that can be purified are easier to reuse than herbs and feathers. Use your own judgment.

And what to do with what you can't reuse? Give them to the Goddess . . .

In fire, if safe to burn (no artificial fibres etc),

In water, if not toxic or dangerous to wildlife, or

In earth.

"Losing" Ritual Objects

You can't really lose a sacred object.

They may disappear, but you haven't lost them.

When sacred items have completed the work they needed to do with you, or if they find someone who needs them more, they may wander off.

This doesn't mean you can't look for them, ask around, do a finding spell, and so on. But once you feel it's really gone, let it go with your blessings, and your thanks.

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 5 Storage

2008-09-06T00:52:00.001-05:00

Storage of ritual tools eventually plagues every witch, it seems.

The key to good storage is to remember that your Wiccan tools are sacred objects, with a consciousness of their own. They must be treated with respect.

How To Store Your Ritual Tools

Ideally, you might have a wooden chest or something similar to store your ritual tools when they're not in use.

Ritual Chest

However, in our experience a cardboard box can work, as long as it's a nice one, and clean. And small enough that you don't need to pile things on top of other things.

But make it more than shoving things out of site. You could use some nice tissue paper to store them in. (Pick some up cheap at discount stores.)

Another good alternative is to find scraps of nice fabrics, and sew pouches for your ritual objects. Natural fabrics are definitely best. You don't need to sew them yourself, of course, but pouches are very easy, and putting your care into them will convey your care to the objects that are stored in them.

Plastic mini-drawers are not recommended. Plastic is very porous and will contaminate your ritual tools.

Where To Store Your Ritual Tools

Keep your ritual tools under the altar if at all possible. Or beside it if necessary . . . as near as may be.

Altar

If there's too much to fit, chances are you need to release some. This is actually always a good idea. (See Disposal of Your Ritual Tools, above.)

Resources and information:
If you are in need of any of the above ritual tools you can find them here:
Altar and Ritual Tools

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 4 Charging

2008-09-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

You can do this the same way you consecrated, essentially. The difference is that you build up a certain magickal energy beforehand - in Ritual space, and then fill the Wiccan tool with that energy.

In this case, you can use a smudging herb that contains that energy.

You might want to use essential oils to instill certain energies into your Wiccan tools. They can be dabbed onto the object. But be sure it won't damage the material.

Another option is to place your ritual tools on the altar during rituals and spell-casting. This is especially popular - and practical - to do at group rituals, when appropriate. Lots of good magickal Power can be raised, and if you've set the intention, the object can soak it up.

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 3 Consecration Of Sacred Objects

2008-09-04T18:40:00.000-05:00

For some items, dedication may be enough. However, we think you can never go wrong by invoking the divine and other deities.

Consecrating your ritual tools is a way of setting them at a high vibrational or energy level. This protects them from contamination by negative energy, and charges them with Divine Energy. This greatly increases the item's Power. Negative energy can GREATLY decrease any and all chance you have at having a powerful item. If there is negative energy within the item it can become a leech that will suck all your energy out of you and into it.

Consecration is especially useful for anything that may be used in healings.

You may want to consecrate your ritual tools to specific deities. For instance, Tara or Quan Yin for compassion, Kali for releasing the old, Hecate for protection, Artemis for clear focus, etc. Or you may simply align it with positive energy.

How To Consecrate Sacred Objects

After purification and dedication, you can do one of the following in sacred space, using both your imagination to visualise it and your voice to ask for it . . .

Hold the item in your dominant hand (usually the right), and focus on the purest, brightest white Light you can imagine. Imagine it filling yourself, your sacred space, and the ritual object.

Smudge the Wiccan tool with cedar smoke, visualising the sacred Power of the cedar aligning its energy with the Most High.

Pass the object "through" (or above) the light of your Goddess candle (or if you choose, both Goddess and God candles). Think of that Light penetrate and filling all the spaces between the atoms in your Wiccan tool.
After each of these, place your Wiccan tool on your object, in the very centre. Focusing on it completely, ask your Deities to sanctify this tool.

State clearly "Only the most pure Divine energy may enter and work through this sacred object."

Hold this intent, until you feel it has completely "taken." Then close your intent with "So mote it be! Blessed be."

Your Wiccan tool is now consecrated.

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 2 Dedication

2008-09-03T16:06:00.001-05:00

The dedication, or programming, of Wiccan tools is simply setting an intention for their use. And communicating that intention to the ritual item, making sure that you have its consent.

This cup will be my Chalice

This knife will be my Athame

I will heal with thisShell

For Grounding Energies I will use these Gemstones

And so on.
The dedication of your Wiccan tools begins in those first moments when you scan to find the right tools for you.

It continues when you pick up the items, and ask them whether they are willing to work with you, and in what way.

The purpose of dedication is to have the two of you - you and the Wiccan tool - coordinating your energies and focusing them on a single purpose. This magnifies the Power available to you.

How To Dedicate Your Ritual Tools

Once you've purified your Wiccan tools, take a minute or two in sacred space — that is, still within the Ritual Circle - to quietly feel the item's energy.

Once you have a sense of that, visualize clearly what purpose you have chosen it for. Send that image or idea into the ritual item. Ask it if it is willing to participate in this.

Then sit quietly, and open yourself to hearing its response. You may feel an increase in energy - which signifies yes, or a decrease - which means no.

Chances are that at this stage, the objects will be right on board. If so, this step serves to clarify the item's purpose.

If The Object Disagrees

But it is possible that it rejects the idea, even now. If so, there are three likely reasons . . .
It has not been sufficiently cleansed. In this case, do a deep purification.

Your intention is not clear, or in some way harmful. In this case, spend some time exploring your intention and getting clear on what you want to do . . . and why. Divination might help, since it is excellent at revealing hidden currents.

It has a specific purpose in coming to you, but not the one you thought. In this case, spend some time with this item, and ask it to reveal its purpose to you. Sooner or later - generally, as soon as you're willing to hear it - you'll understand. At which point you can dedicate the object and yourself to that intention.

Resources and information:
If you are in need of any of the above ritual tools you can find them here:
Altar and Ritual Tools

How To Use Ritual Tools Part 1 Purification

2008-09-02T17:46:00.001-05:00

Purification of Your Ritual Tools

Purification and dedication of your Wiccan ritual tools should be done as soon as you can after you get them.

Certainly purify them at least, before using or wearing the object!

Items that have a heavy or dark or hot energy need purification. This is particularly true of crystals. When clear, they will feel cool, tingly, bright, or positive.

A purified object is much more powerful than a contaminated one, and its magick is less likely to go awry.

Purification, dedication, and consecration of ritual objects take place in sacred space - that is, within Ritual. So begin by casting a Circle.

_______________________________________________________________________________

WITCH TIP: Before going further, check that the item won't be harmed first . . .

Water - Crystals and other stones may be damaged by hot water. Always use cool water. Some crystals may be damaged even by cool water.

Sunlight - Gem stones, crystals, and other items may also be damaged - faded, melted, or broken by the heat.

Salt - Opals, metal, leather, and fabric can be damaged by salt, either dry or in water.

Smudging or Flame - Stones may be damaged by heat. Other items, like cloth and plant material, may be flammable - use extreme care. _______________________________________________________________________________

Moon Bath

The simplest way to purify Wiccan tools is to bathe them in Moonlight. This will not only cleanse them, but recharge them as well.

Except for the very lightest cleansing, you'll probably need to leave them at least one full cycle of the Moon. Full to Full, or Dark to Dark . . . whichever feels right to you. For lighter Moon-washes, use the Waning Moonlight.

If your altar is in the Moonlight, this is the best place to leave your ritual tools for a Moon bath. Otherwise, hanging them in a tree is good. (If it's sparkly and you have lots of crows, ravens, or magpies around though, they might make off with it when you're not looking!)

Herb Baths
Herbs

You can bury your Wiccan tools in herbs for cleansing. Particularly effective are rose petals, sage, and mint. This is a lovely way to clean sacred objects, but it can take a while.

Sea Salt
Common Sea Salt

A faster method is a sea salt bath. You can bury your Wiccan tools in dry sea salt, or a salt-water bath.

Washing it in the Ocean, or even running wild water like a river, is even better.

If it feels like it needs a very deep cleansing, you can leave it in the salt water for a period of time - even in the Moonlight, for an even stronger affect.

Earth Cleansing

You can bury certain items in Earth for purification - like stones and crystals. This will do a very deep cleansing.

Simply bury them, pointing downward, into Earth outdoors, between the roots of a tree is ideal. If you can't manage that, bury them with a potted plant.

The real trick to this method of purification is remembering exactly where you buried your ritual tools! Be sure to leave a marker that is unlikely to be removed.

Smudging
Smoking Smudge Stick

Even more rapid is smudging, particularly using cedar or sage. Pass the ritual tools through the smoke a few times. This is enough for most purposes. But you can do as much as you need. If you need any smudging items, you can find some here
This is a great method for healing tools, especially stones.

Resources and Information:
If you are in need of any ritual or altar tools, you may look for them here:
Altar Supplies & Wiccan Supplies

Wiccan Social Network

2008-09-01T22:05:00.000-05:00

If your like us, then you like to interact and meet new people online. We are all about finding new people to talk to or to meet up with, especially people with similar interests that we have.

We put together a great new site called the Wiccan Social Network. It's for anyone who has interests invovling wicca, witchcraft, the occult, paranormal, anything dark and gothic, and new aged.

You can create your own profile, upload pictures, videos, music, exchange comments, talk through a forum or through an actual chat, play games, and a ton of more fun things to do.

If you like myspace and facebook, but you find it hard to find people who are into the same things you are into to talk to, then try out this site.

Its free to join, and its free to do whatever you want on there. What's nice is that being new, it doesn't have some annoying features that myspace and facebook may have such as captcha every time you want to add or message someone, or flashing banner ads everywhere. They do have ads, but they are text based ads and put off to the side to where it is not bothersome when you are on the site.

We love this site, and you will too, the more people that join, the more fun it will be in the future. You can visit the Wiccan Social Network here:

Wiccan Social Network

More Free Spells

2008-08-30T18:05:00.000-05:00

SCULLCAP MONEY SPELL
To inspire others to give you money, place some skullcap in a small saucer and moisten it
with money mist, or money drawing oil. Get a ball of green cord or yarn and wind it around
your "nest egg" of skullcap and oil, binding until the herb is completely covered and secure.
Tie the cord so that the ball will not unwind and hang above the doorway.
All who enter will become possessed with an unreasoning desire to bring gifts & money to your home.
Anoint the ball every seventh day with a few drops of the oil to preserve it's powers.

SMARTWEED MONEY SPELL
To find money, one should make a conjure bag containing a magnetic horseshoe, and a
lodestone to attract and draw wealth to you, and some smartweed to enable you to see
how to capture it and hold it without being led astray by unprofitable distractions or foolish
delays. Feed your money bag with a sprinkle of Gold magnetic sand every third day until
you find the amount you need.

MONEY RITUAL
Perform on the three nights before the full moon, the night of the full moon, and the three nights
after, using the same candles.
Ritual Bath: Use money bath salts, candlelight. Bring power through head and feet to cleanse
any negativity. Get in water and focus on goal. (When you drain the tub, negativity will go
down the drain). Cast circle. Light altar candle, God & Goddess Candle. Invoke Gods.
Anoint green pillar candle with lodestone oil, visualizing putting your energy for your goal into the candle.
Visualize the goal as already existent. Rub candle with cinnamon and cloves. Burn money incense.

MIRROR MAGICK
Take a small mirror and lay it down, so it reflects up at you.
Then take a bowl of water (preferably a glass or silver bowl, but any bowl will do.
HINT: If using a ceramic bowl, plain is best.
You should use a bowl with pictures on it only if you have to (unless they are hieroglyphs).
Only use plastic bowls if you absolutely have to.
Put the bowl of water in the center of the mirror, and surround the mirror with candles
(this spell should be done in a dark room, or at night).
The spell works best if the candles are vanilla or lavender.
There should be four candles, one at each corner of the mirror (or, if using a round mirror,
one at each of these points: Northeast, Northwest, South east, Southwest).
In between the candles, on the North, East, South, and West sides of the mirror,
put incense burners (the spell can work without the incense, but it works better with it).
Put a small piece of silver (it can be a coin, a piece of a fork, anything) in the bowl.
Look down at the mirror, and chant this:
Mirror, Mirror, on the floor,
reflect for me forever more,
give me now the thing I crave,
I'll give it back when I'm in my grave,
A pool of water, A touch of ice,
a teardrop from the moon, all this I have and all I want, Is this.
Then you say what you want.

MONEY SPELL
Place a penny that you found on the hilt of your athame.
Grasp it with your writing hand, covering the penny over the hilt and chant:
By the breeze that caresses the grass
By the fire that reduces it to ash
By the earth that supports its weight
By the water in which it ate
I summon my power and your combine
I ask for your judgement in the grand design
Money I ask for, with an absence of greed
If none I receive, then none I did need.
You also had better make sure that when you cast this you actually need money and when
you find some you had better put it to good use. Once you have spent the money and have
acquired more on you own, take the same amount and leave it out in the open somewhere
to give it back. You must give it back.

Resources and Information:
If you would like to supercharge your spells and and make any spell you cast guaranteed to work, visit this link for more information:

Underground Witch Secrets

The Meaning of Samhain

2008-08-29T23:01:00.000-05:00

Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year, for the Celts divided the year into two seasons: the light and the dark, at Beltane on May 1st and Samhain on November 1st. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night. For it was understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground. Whereas Beltane welcomes in the summer with joyous celebrations at dawn, the most magically potent time of this festival is November Eve, the night of October 31st, known today of course, as Halloween.

Samhain (Scots Gaelic: Samhuinn) literally means “summer's end.” In Scotland and Ireland, Halloween is known as Oíche Shamhna, while in Wales it is Nos Calan Gaeaf, the eve of the winter's calend, or first. With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints' Day, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became popularly known as Halloween, All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all who the departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.

In the country year, Samhain marked the first day of winter, when the herders led the cattle and sheep down from their summer hillside pastures to the shelter of stable and byre. The hay that would feed them during the winter must be stored in sturdy thatched ricks, tied down securely against storms. Those destined for the table were slaughtered, after being ritually devoted to the gods in pagan times. All the harvest must be gathered in -- barley, oats, wheat, turnips, and apples -- for come November, the faeries would blast every growing plant with their breath, blighting any nuts and berries remaining on the hedgerows. Peat and wood for winter fires were stacked high by the hearth. It was a joyous time of family reunion, when all members of the household worked together baking, salting meat, and making preserves for the winter feasts to come. The endless horizons of summer gave way to a warm, dim and often smoky room; the symphony of summer sounds was replaced by a counterpoint of voices, young and old, human and animal.

In early Ireland, people gathered at the ritual centers of the tribes, for Samhain was the principal calendar feast of the year. The greatest assembly was the 'Feast of Tara,' focusing on the royal seat of the High King as the heart of the sacred land, the point of conception for the new year. In every household throughout the country, hearth-fires were extinguished. All waited for the Druids to light the new fire of the year -- not at Tara, but at Tlachtga, a hill twelve miles to the north-west. It marked the burial-place of Tlachtga, daughter of the great druid Mogh Ruith, who may once have been a goddess in her own right in a former age.

At at all the turning points of the Celtic year, the gods drew near to Earth at Samhain, so many sacrifices and gifts were offered up in thanksgiving for the harvest. Personal prayers in the form of objects symbolizing the wishes of supplicants or ailments to be healed were cast into the fire, and at the end of the ceremonies, brands were lit from the great fire of Tara to re-kindle all the home fires of the tribe, as at Beltane. As they received the flame that marked this time of beginnings, people surely felt a sense of the kindling of new dreams, projects and hopes for the year to come.

The Samhain fires continued to blaze down the centuries. In the 1860s the Halloween bonfires were still so popular in Scotland that one traveler reported seeing thirty fires lighting up the hillsides all on one night, each surrounded by rings of dancing figures, a practice which continued up to the first World War. Young people and servants lit brands from the fire and ran around the fields and hedges of house and farm, while community leaders surrounded parish boundaries with a magic circle of light. Afterwards, ashes from the fires were sprinkled over the fields to protect them during the winter months -- and of course, they also improved the soil. The bonfire provided an island of light within the oncoming tide of winter darkness, keeping away cold, discomfort, and evil spirits long before electricity illumined our nights. When the last flame sank down, it was time to run as fast as you could for home, raising the cry, “The black sow without a tail take the hindmost!”

Even today, bonfires light up the skies in many parts of the British Isles and Ireland at this season, although in many areas of Britain their significance has been co-opted by Guy Fawkes Day, which falls on November 5th, and commemorates an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in the 17th century. In one Devonshire village, the extraordinary sight of both men and women running through the streets with blazing tar barrels on their backs can still be seen! Whatever the reason, there will probably always be a human need to make fires against the winter’s dark.

Wholesale Wiccan Supplies

2008-08-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

Are you a Wiccan Supplies or WitchCraft Supplies store? Do you have a brick and mortar store? Or perhaps an online business in this industry?

Then you know coming across good reliable wholesale businesses to purchase your inventory can be a challenge.

Wiccan Supplier is probably the best source for wholesale within the wiccan supplies industry. Why do I say this? Well i tell you.

Wiccan Supplier has over 2200 products and items on their website, so there is definitely a huge variety of items and products for you to choose from to stock your store with. Whether you are looking for cauldrons, incense, candles, spell kits, statuary, tarot cards, cds, dvds, jewelry, herbs, or anything else that is a new age product, you will find it at Wiccan Supplier.

Wiccan Supplier offers 40% off retail price on ALL their products and items. Yes that is right, 40% off TRUE wholesale mark down off retail. Many wholesalers in this industry i have found to only offer 10-25% off retail, how can you make money with that can of mark down? You can't.

Another great benefit with Wiccan Supplier is that they have NO minimum to buy from them. You can buy as little or as much as you need. Where many businesses may have to go to several different wholesale sources for their products, you can purchase all your inventory in one place with Wiccan Supplier.

Wiccan Supplier is a secured SSL site, which means you can shop safely on their site without having sensistive information at risk of being hacked into and stolen. Their website is a breeze to browse through, and you can find whatever it is you are looking for quickly and easily. Every product and item is categorized appropriately with very good pictures and product descriptions.

You may pay using credit card or paypal, and you can ship using either the USPS or UPS.

Another great thing with Wiccan Supplier is that they even have drop shipping available, with no drop shipping fees. This is very nice if you are an online only store and do not wish to stock your inventory. Whenever you recieve an order, simply go to Wiccan Supplier and order from them and they will ship to YOUR customer using your own business name and address.

With over 130 tarot cards, hundreds of herbs and jewelry of all sorts, a large selection of candles and incense, its a wonder why you would want to go anywhere else for your businesses inventory needs.

Their customer service is quick and responsive to your questions and concerns, and if you need any help at all they will do the best they can with getting back to you.

Orders usually ship out and to the customer within 2-4 business days and everything will be sealed and packaged with care in bubble wrap, pop corn, plastic baggies, and other packing material to prevent breakage on more fragile items.

If you are in the wiccan supplies industry and looking for a good reliable wholesale source, give Wiccan Supplier a try.
Wholesale Wiccan Supplies.

How to make magic happen

2008-08-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

Of course there are as many ways to perform magic as there are people doing it. This is my own personal opinion and preference. There are no rights and wrongs in magic, so do what feels right for you. Magic should not be performed for fun or to fulfill wishes. It should be performed to improve your life and the lives of those you love by solving NEEDS.
Enough chit-chat, right? Let's move some energy!

Step One: First, KNOW in your mind YOU HAVE THE POWER WITHIN YOU to achieve this goal. (Think of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz)

As you gather all the supplies needed for the spell such as candles, stones, incense and oils, visualize your goal. I could talk about this subject for days, but for the beginner I will keep it simple. Take deep breaths and relax with no distractions. SEE THE GOAL IN YOUR MIND; play it like a movie in your head.

For instance, perhaps you have a bill to pay. See yourself writing the check for the amount due and filling out the bill, then mailing it. It is paid in full! Imagine this scenario over and over, KNOWING you have the power within you to make this happen. Or, say you gained a few pounds over the holidays and you want to lose weight. SEE yourself as you would LIKE to be. Close your eyes and in your mind start at your head, seeing how you WILL look when the goal is achieved. Let your eyes travel down your body inch by inch SEEING the NEW YOU!
Touch the objects you will be using as you visualize, releasing energy into the items. Feel the muscles in your body flexing as you work, lighting candles, incense and such, all the while still visualizing. Spells usually involve a chant or prayer of some sort (all to help with staying focused on the goal). Follow the directions for the spell you are casting. (See examples below).
See the goal and know that energies are moving. Continue this as long as you can, then relax.
I believe in the theory of cast it, and then forget it. This simply means, give the spell all you've got when you perform it, and then go on with life. Don't sit around waiting for something mysterious to fall out of the sky; begin taking physical steps to achieve the goal also. You may want to perform the spell daily until the goal is achieved. We all have the power to make positive changes in our lives if we will only ALLOW it to happen.

Most of all, have fun! And if you need any materials, ingrediants, or items for these spells or others you want to perform, you may get them at online store i mentioned in my previous post

Moon's Light Magic.

Some sample spells:
Love Spell: Attract A Mate
Attract the LOVE of your life with this simple yet powerful spell. You will need a sampler size of your favorite scent and a pink candle.
First carve a heart in your candle with a tack or toothpick. Light the candle in a window where it will receive moonlight (the light of the full moon is best). Put the scent container in front of the candle and say, "Venus, grant me the love that I lack; through this scent, my mate attract!"
Let the candle burn out naturally, then carry the scent with you, spraying on a little whenever you are out or may be meeting people. Increase the power of the magic by repeating the invocation as you put on the scent.

To Get a Lover To Call
This spell is best begun when the moon is waxing, but if you cannot wait that long, go ahead and do it.
Take a photo of your lover and a photo of yourself. Using a paper clip, hook the photos together so that the faces are on top of each other. The idea is that the person cannot see past your face. Take the photos and place them at the bottom of your underwear drawer. The person should soon write, call, or reappear.

Money Spell: Attract Prosperity
The following is said while making nine knots in green, 13-inch silk cord or ribbon:
By knot of one, my spell's begun
By knot of two, plenty fruitful work to do
By knot of three, money comes to me
By knot of four, opportunity knocks at my door
By knot of five, my business thrives
By knot of six, this spell is fixed
By knot of seven, success is given
By knot of eight, increase is great
By knot of nine, these things are mine

Prosperity Oil
This classic prosperity oil has been used for at least 100 years. It is best made on a Thursday and is believed to be most effective if allowed to sit for three weeks after mixing.
A small green piece of fabric may be anointed with the oil and carried in the purse, or the oil may be worn as a perfume.
Omit the base oil if you wish to use with an aromatherapy oil warmer.
◦ One part basil powder
◦ One part spearmint essential oil
◦ One quarter part cinnamon essence
◦ Six parts base oil (virgin olive, sunflower, or light mineral)
Mix all ingredients carefully and put into a dark glass bottle. Allow it to sit for at least three weeks then strain through a cheesecloth or muslin to remove the basil powder residue. Keep a small coin in the bottle and keep away from direct sunlight.

A Magickal Powder to Create Harmony in the Workplace
Is your office or building stressful? (Whose isn't?) Try this to make your workplace full of harmony and peace. Sprinkle this magickal powder around when no one is looking. Create this powder on a Thursday evening for the strongest possible mixture.
◦ 3 drops of rose oil
◦ 5 drops of sandalwood oil
◦ 7 drops of lavender oil
◦ a handful of talcum powder
◦ a teaspoon dried and powdered chamomile flowers (if available)

Mix everything but the talc together in a ceramic bowl with a fork until well blended. Add the talcum powder and mix well. Visualize a warm blue light building and radiating from the powder as you mix. Do this until you are satisfied and gently pour the powder into a little paper envelope or sachet. Take it work the next morning.

Wiccan Supplies Store Review

2008-08-12T14:50:00.002-05:00

NOTE: This is an unbiased review of our online store from a satisfied customer who wrote this as an article and gave us permission to post it on our blog.

In such a niche industry as selling wiccan supplies and wicca products, there is one online store that raises above the rest on the net.

It is hard for individuals to find a trusted wiccan supplies store within the witchcraft, pagan, and wiccan communities that are brick and mortar stores by them where they can buy their wiccan supplies and wicca items for their craft.

Moon's Light Magic is a huge online wiccan supplies and witchcraft supplies store for anyone who practices the craft. Whether you are Pagan, Wiccan, or just spiritual in general, Moon's Light Magic online store will surely have something that will provide you the proper ritual tools and altar items for your rituals and spells.

With over 2,200 different wiccan supplies to choose from, there certainly is no shortage of products here. Moon's Light Magic carries incense, candles, oils, spell kits, pendulums, cauldrons, statuary, herbs, and just about anything you can imagine for us that practice the Craft.

They have over 130 different tarot cards, hundreds of herbs that may be otherwise IMPOSSIBLE to find at any local store, and dozens upon dozens of ritual spell candles for individuals looking for some quick and easy spells and rituals. If you would like to have much more complex rituals, they certainly have the products to provide this for you as well.

Shopping on their site is a breeze, and much like other e-commerce sites you just click and add items to your shopping cart. Each product has a detailed description and high quality picture which allows you to see if each product is what it is you are looking for.

Another thing I found really neat with Moon's Light Magic is that they add a "tip" to their wiccan supplies descriptions that basically are just little bites of advice on how to use these products even more effectively.

Moon's Light Magic also has links under practically every wiccan product category that goes to their blog Wiccan and WitchCraft Information that gives very detailed information and example rituals you can use for each product you may be interested in.

Finding supplies on their site is just as easy, everything is fitted into proper categories and sub categories so you don't have to spend a lengthy amount of time trying to find what it is you are looking for. They also have a search option which will allow you to type in exactly what is you may be looking for and if they have that product or something similar, search results will pop up on the page.

Moon's Light Magic is an authorized secured website. Meaning that when you check out whatever sensitive information you punch in(such as credit card numbers) are completely safe from hackers. This is something that Is really appealing to online consumers, as they can be quite hesitant when it comes down to purchasing online for this reason alone.

For shipping options Moon's Light Magic offers either UPS or USPS.

For payment they accept all major credit cards and paypal, so it really it is up to you as to what you are comfortable with to pay through. The fastest way to get your order to you is by paying through credit card as it says on their website that they receive payment almost immediately and then the order is processed and shipped.

Customers that have ordered several times through Moon's Light Magic and found that their orders are usually shipped within 2-4 days. They keep you posted through e-mail as to the status of your order. When it is being processed you will receive an e-mail saying so, and when your order had been shipped you will receive another e-mail confirmation that says your order has been shipped.

Customer packages always arrive professionally sealed with all the wiccan supplies carefully protected in bubble wrap, pop corn, and other shipping material to prevent breakage of the more fragile items. You also receive a free gift with every order you place. It seems free gifts range from candles to incense, to other little baubles such as sea shells, pens, bookmarks, and more.

So whether you are looking to purchase some items for your rituals, spells, and craft to add to your wiccan supplies list, or your are looking for some odd and really cool items just to own, Moon's Light Magic certainly delivers.

You can visit Moon's Light Magic here:
Wiccan Supplies