Sleepy Soak

Setting Up Your Altar: Ostara

Ostara is the time to honor rebirth and renewal, not just physical but spiritual as well. It is the time when light and dark are once again at balance and are equal. Here are a few ways you can decorate your altar for the coming Sabbat.

Colors of the Season:

Yellows

Purples

Greens

Blues 

Pinks

Pastel Colors

Balance of the Equinox Symbols:

God and Goddess Statue

Black and White Candle

Balancing Scales

Sun and Moon Symbol

Yin and Yang

New Life:

Milk

Plants (daffodils, lilies)

Basket of Eggs

Spring is synonymous with new life, put things that are just being born or renewed onto your altar.

Other Symbols of the Season:

Seeds and Bulbs

Nature Deities (Herne, Flora, Gaia, Attis, etc)

Gemstones and Crystals (aquamarine, rose quartz, and moonstone)

Ostara is March 20th this year. 

Blessed Be

)o(

Astrology/Cosmic Witch

It seems that when people have actual problems you suddenly forget all about 'magic' and just tell them to seek real practical solutions

Because this isn’t Harry Potter and it’d be stupid not to.

Magic doesn’t solve all your problems.  A job spell doesn’t mean anything if you never send out resumes.  All the wards in the world don’t replace a lock on the front door.  A friendship spell is going to have a hard time manifesting if you never leave the house.  A protection amulet isn’t a brick wall that’s going to stop someone coming at you with a knife.  All the prayer circles in the world don’t do anything for communities ravaged by natural disaster.  We live in a world that is both physical and metaphysical, so why would a solution be only one or the other?

People interpret magic differently.  I see it as often tilting probabilities: a job spell would nudge an employer’s attention to your resume, a ward will make intruders feel that maybe they don’t need to rob you after all.  You don’t chant for a while and then sit back and expect the universe to do everything else for you, and in cases where someone is being abused or has health conditions – which is usually when we bring out the mundane advice over the magical on this blog – hell yes you do everything you possibly can. 

Sure, there are exceptions: a friend might recommend you for a job without you ever stepping foot outside the door, for example.  But there’s a reason every experienced magical practitioner I know or whose texts I’ve read emphasize that a) magic alone doesn’t solve everything, and b) you’ve got to do the physical work, too.  As a professional spirit worker once explained to me, her wight protected her on magical and spiritual planes, not physical, because that part was her job.

A witch – in my opinion – should be, above all other things, practical, and the work doesn’t end when the candle burns out.

- mountain hound

The way magick works for me is in shifting probabilities. You can increase or decrease the probability of something happen but working with small probabilities it’s extremely hard for it to matter. It’s like adding a teaspoon of water to a lake and complaining that you don’t notice a difference. Mundane things help shift the probabilities even more in my favour. Without the mundane helping it along a lot of times your magick won’t add up to shit.

Sparrow

before asking | faq+tags | resource blog

cosmic witchcraft 101: tips for beginners

It’s been a while since I was an astronomy TA, so I’ve devoted a lot of time to getting familiar with the cosmos during this first month or so of practicing cosmic witchcraft. These are a few of the most important things I’ve done to grow my craft:

Stargaze. Looking at pictures of the galaxy and solar system is nice, but there’s nothing like using your own eyes to gaze into the night sky. 

You can see quite a bit with a good pair of binoculars and you can find some small telescopes for less than $100, although you don’t really need any magnification to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. 

Maybe there’s an observatory in your area! Find anywhere you might get a little closer to the sky, even if it’s just an open field out of town away from light pollution.

For city witches, the roofs of parking garages can be great spots to look at the planets and brightest constellations.

Celebrate stellar events. Meteor showers, eclipses, equinoxes, solstices, there are plenty of stellar events every year and many of them already correspond with traditional pagan/Wiccan holidays! Celebrate by stargazing, watching a sci-fi movie, or performing a magickal ritual.

Get in tune with the moon, sun, and the planets. What phase is the moon in today? When will Jupiter set? When will Saturn rise? Astrologers utilize the motions of the planets to show us how they affect our day to day life - and even if you don’t ascribe to astrology, knowing where the planets and stellar bodies will be throughout the day will help you plan your practice and get in tune with the universe.

Research:

Astronomy. Our eyes are the only tools we have to connect with the cosmos using our own five senses (actually, there are some beautiful recordings of what space sounds like), so learning more about the universe can help us connect with the sky can help deepen our relationship with it. Try to learn something new about the cosmos every day. The more you understand the universe, the more equipped you’ll be to handle its power and energy.

Astrology. If you’re interested, see what astrology charts have to say about your personality and abilities. Not everyone believes in astrology, which is totally valid, but I think it’s interesting to know where the planets/sun/moon were on the day you were born. Take everything you read with a grain of salt and find out what the relationships between the planets mean for yourself. Maybe you’ll find a certain planet/constellation does have an effect on you or your life, it’s just not the one your horoscope says.

Astro-magic. There are a few books about astro-magic and plenty of mythology to study. You might find something another witch has to say resonates with you, or perhaps you’ll be inspired to follow your own path. Experiment! Try using certain herbs and oils for different spells. Did they work? Do you think something else would work better?

Get in tune with the ocean. The sun and the moon have a powerful effect on Earth’s tides. How might these influences affect your use of liquids in your practice?

Develop a personal relationship with the stars. The stars looked different on the day everyone was born, and the sky looks different in every city in the world. Research is important, but this is your relationship with the sky. I think the most beautiful thing about cosmic witchcraft is that even though every witch’s practice may look different, we’re all looking at the same sky.

Astrology/Cosmic Witch

How to make rose water

You will need: Rose petals (fill your bottle a third of the way) Water Sugar or salt (1/8 tsp) A spray bottle (I used an old perfume bottle)

Shove your rose petals in the bottle, filling it a third of the way. Fill rest of the way with water, shake, and let that sit for a few hours.

Advantages? Rose water is proven to reduce inflammation, acne, rosacea, tone the face, and tighten pores.

You may choose to charge the water with an attraction spell before use, but you could also use this as a face mist like I do, or a perfume. It works either way.

Herbs that Correspond w/ Blessings

Health: caraway seeds, eucalyptus leaves, ginger, juniper, berries, pine needles, rose hips, sunflower petals or seeds, thyme.

Happiness: baby’s breath, cedar chips or shavings, fir needles, marigold petals, marjoram, orange peel, oregano, savory.

Love: cardamom pods or ground cardamom,carnation petals, cinnamon chips or ground cinnamon, coriander seeds, hibiscus flowers, linden flowers, mint, rose petals, willow leaves or bark.

Prosperity: acorns, allspice, almonds, banana chips, cloves, oak leave, oats, poppy seeds, rice, saffron threads, sage.

Peace: basil,catnip, lavender, lemongrass, olive branches or olive leaves, rosemary, violets.

Protection: angelica, black beans, cactus needles,garlic powder, or garlic salt, nettles, ground black pepper or black peppercorns, thistles, thorns.

Good Fortune: ash leaves, bay leaves, cumin seeds or powdered cumin, dill seeds or leaves, whole or ground nutmeg, vanilla beans.

I find these very helpful during candles magick and magick bottles, adds a little kick :)

Protection Correspodences

Herbs/Plants for Protection:

Aloe Vera

Basil

Bay leaves

Cactus

Caraway

Carnation

Cedar Wood

Cinnamon

Cloves

Curry

Dill

Dragons Blood

Echinacea

Eucalyptus

Frankincense

Garlic

Ginseng

Holly

Lavender

Marjoram

Mugwort

Myrrh

Rose

Rosemary

Sage

Sandalwood

Violets

Wintergreen

Witch Hazel

Stones for Protection:

Agate

Aquamarine (Provides protection on water)

Carenelian

Citrine

Coral (Protects children from evil influences)

Emerald

Garnet

Jade

Lapis Lazuli

Malachite

Obsidian (Protects people from abuse)

Onyx

Peridot

Pyrite

Sunstone

Tiger eye (Protects against external stresses)

Topaz (Protects against insomnia and depression)

Turquoise (Protects against environmental pollutions)

Candle Colors for Protection:

Orange

Red

Brown

Grey

Black

White

Purple

Incenses and Oils for Protection:

Frankincense

Pine

Sage

Metals for Protection:

Iron

Silver

Gold

Symbols for protection:

Hamsa

The Helm of Awe

Witches Knot/Charm

Dragon

Sources: prairiemoon.tripod.com, thortrains.com, a-rainbow-of-spirituality.com.

==Moonlight Academy==