Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion

by Llewellyn

  The reasons to send a magickal care package are as numerous as the items you can include in them. Your reason for sending the package will help you determine what to include in the parcel. At this point, you may be asking yourself, “What exactly makes a care package magickal?” The answer is, of course, you! The energies and intentions you put into the process of choosing, creating, gathering, and packing the items create a great amount of magickal energy.

  Let’s take a look at some of the reasons you might send a magickal care package to someone, as well as a few ideas of what kind of items you may choose to include. One of the most obvious reasons would be to send well wishes and healing energy to a person recovering from an illness, medical condition, or surgery. Other ailments can include the loss of loved ones (animal or human), the loss of one’s job, or if a person you know is going through a particularly rough emotional patch. As witches we are well aware of the effectiveness of sending directed healing energy, and a care package is a tangible manifestation of this power. A wonderful inclusion in this type of package would be a candle that has been anointed with a healing oil such as lavender or eucalyptus, carved with healing symbols, and charged with healing energy. Perhaps one could also employ their kitchen witch skills to bake the person a batch of scrumptious lavender cookies, visualizing their healing during the baking process. Other items that lend themselves well to healing packages include crystals and gemstones that correspond to the ailment and area of the body that is in need of healing, such as bloodstone for the circulatory system/heart/kidneys or labradorite for problems relating to the digestive tract. Clear quartz crystals can be programmed with any intent you wish. Let’s also not forget that healing and soothing teas like green tea and chamomile tea make an excellent gift.

  The acquisition of a new home is another wonderful opportunity to let your loved ones know you’re thinking of them. A person’s home is their sanctuary, refuge, and temple. Creating a magickal housewarming package can be especially fun as you choose items to help lend your blessings to this person’s new home. House cleansing and blessing items such as sage smudge bundles, sweet grass braids, or a homemade protection/house blessing incense are all wonderful ideas. A horseshoe to hang over the door for protection, luck, and prosperity would be a charming and thoughtful addition as well. When my partner and I moved into our current home, we were sent a care package by a coven of dear friends. It included a hand drawn sigil for blessing and protection, an herb and candle spell kit for setting up wards and protecting our new home, and a CD of relaxation music and baked goods infused with love. It was a loving and thoughtfully planned parcel designed to help us bless, protect, and settle into our new home.

  Handfastings and weddings are another great reason to send a package. Inspiration can be drawn from many sources for items to include in this type of care package. A possible theme to keep in mind during the creation of this package is that of pairs. Things that come in twos will serve as a symbol of the union the two being joined will soon enter into. Items the couple may need for their ceremony may also be great gifts to include in the package. These can easily be determined by talking to those being handfasted. Perhaps you can gift them with the perfect set of chalices or a wonderful piece of statuary to sit on their handfasting altar. When my partner and I were handfasted, we received a handfasting care package from friends that included a carefully and specially handmade blend of handfasting incense. Even though these friends could not attend the ceremony due to distance, they were able to make a very special contribution as the lovely scent filled the ritual space during the ceremony.

  When I lived in Florida, our local Pagan community started a program to send care packages to Pagan soldiers participating in a Pagan group on an army base in Iraq. Although we are now thankfully reaching a time when the U.S. military is recognizing Pagan and Wiccan paths, Pagan soldiers are still in great need and are deeply appreciative of acknowledgement and contact from their Pagan brothers and sisters on the homefront. When sending packages to military groups overseas, it is important to check beforehand what types of items are permitted—both the military and the postal service have guidelines and restrictions as to what type of items may be sent. Items that were popular among the recipients of our packages included divination tools such as tarot decks and pendulums, pentacle pendants and other magickal jewelry, as well as metaphysical books of all kinds, both new and used. Altar tools and even ritual items were also readily accepted, giving a much-needed (even if small) touch of the sacred to a harsh working environment. With these packages we included several seemingly mundane items that take on a magickal meaning when given with love due to how much they were needed and sought after by the soldiers. Things like drink mix packets, shelf-stable snack foods, playing cards, and old magazines to pass the time. However, in the soldier care packages, the most requested and coveted items were heartfelt handwritten letters. Even to a stranger, sharing the normalcy of life back at home can bring great grounding and comfort. You’d be surprised how interested a deployed soldier may be in hearing about the simple ritual you did with your family for a sabbat. On a similar note, there are many growing Pagan and Wiccan prison ministries as well. These individuals would also benefit from care packages, for many of the same reasons. Remember to check before sending, as with the military packages, to see what items are permitted.

  … in soldier care packages, the most requested and coveted items were heartfelt handwritten letters.

  You might also consider sending a friend a solar return package. A person’s solar return happens on or very close to their birthday, marking the occasion when the sun returns to the same position it was in at the time of their birth. Think of this type of package as a kit for an enchanting birthday celebration. Suns and celestial-themed items make great additions; plan in advance and keep your eye out for items like cosmic-themed candles or holders or similar items, as stores shift their seasonal merchandise toward the start of the summer season. Stained glass sun catchers to hang in the window also make for a creative solar tie-in. And by all means, include any of the normal birthday trappings you would normally want to send along, such as a card or gift (with your own magickal touches of course).

  With any type of magical package, keep in mind that shopping locally (rather than in a large chain store) and supporting fair trade is highly preferable, both in terms of karma and in the uniqueness of the items themselves.

  As mentioned earlier, a major component of what actually makes a magickal care package magickal is the energy and intent you put into its creation. This includes the packing materials you use. As a general rule of thumb, we witches generally like to be as respectful and gentle as we can to our Mother Earth. To lower your impact, consider re-purposing boxes, bubble wrap, and other packing materials. Be creative when choosing your supplies. A creative friend once sent me a package in the fall and used fallen autumn leaves he gathered from his yard as the padding material. It added quite an enchanting seasonal touch! Also, boxes you receive through the mail can often easily be re-used numerous times. If it proves difficult to cover previous mailing labels or printing on the box, simply recycle a brown paper bag to wrap the box. This provides a lovely clean canvas to extend your magick to the package’s exterior through the use of magickal runes, symbols, and sigils. You can keep the energy flowing and help protect your package right up through its arrival to the recipient through the use of spellcraft. One can draw a rune such as raidho or another symbol that corresponds to safe travel (such as Mercury) on the outside of the package, and even recite an incantation for it, such as, “Swiftly traveling through the nation, may this parcel safely reach it’s destination. So mote it be!” It never hurts to add a little bit of magickal insurance to your mail. If you include something quite valuable, purchase mundane insurance as well!

  One of my favorite personal touches to spruce up envelopes when sending or including a letter or card within a package is to use a sealing wax s
tamp. This effectively, through both intent and action, seals your letter or card’s intent as it would in a spell. And wax seals have such a charming antiquarian feel to them.

  It is wonderfully fun to set up a care package exchange with magickal friends. Exchanges can be arranged in a variety of ways. One arrangement is to simply periodically send each other packages in turn. A more structured method would be to exchange packages on each sabbat. Yule would naturally lend itself to such an exchange; however, creatively themed packages can be derived for any of the other sabbats as well. Mutually arrive at an exchange arrangement that works for all parties involved. Remember, this should be a fun project and not a source of undue stress.

  The reasons for sending care packages and creating exchanges extend well beyond the actual occasions we send them for. A care package exchange is a welcome way to attract abundance into your life and the lives of others. The Law of Attraction will be automatically set into play, and simply by sharing and putting your intentions out in the world, you’ll be welcoming those same energies to return to you.

  A care package exchange is a welcome way to attract abundance into your life and into the lives of others. The Law of Attraction will be automatically set into play.

  Care packages are a great way to cultivate and strengthen community bonds. Perhaps you have magickal friends who live in rural areas with very little in-person community fellowship. In this day and age, it’s also not uncommon to have people whom you consider part of your spiritual family living many thousands of miles away from you. It is for these reasons that “just because” is reason enough to send someone a care package. As Pagans we tend to form our own sacred tribes. Anyone who has found themselves a part of such a tribe knows the bond of community holds a magick all its own—and that knows no geographical bounds. Nothing says “I care and wish to include you as part of my community” more than a spontaneous package in the mail for no reason other than the fact that you were fondly thought of. Through care packages, we also have the ability to be with loved ones in spirit when we may not be able to be there in person for occasions such as graduations, weddings, initiations, childbirths, and other milestones or rites of passage.

  When a care package project is taken on at a coven or community level, it can serve as a wonderful community-building activity. Decide within your group whose strengths lie where and what items each person could contribute. Everyone has something to offer, it’s just a matter of deciding what to include. If you have adept kitchen witches, they can commit to contribute baked items. Perhaps you have an artisan skilled in sculpture and pottery who may make a mug to include in the package. If you have a knitter in the group,

  a pair of cozy socks or mittens knitted with caring intent would be a great addition. The package is now not only well on its way to being the perfect assemblage to make someone very cozy and loved on a cool autumn or winter night, but in turn your group has worked closely together to make this happen for the recipient or recipients. You can see how care package exchanges bring the entire community closer together—the sending party gains just as much as the receiving party.

  Blake Octavian Blair is an Eclectic IndoPagan Witch, psychic, tarot reader, freelance writer, energy worker, and a devotee of Lord Ganesha. He holds a degree in English and religion from the University of Florida. Blake lives in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina with his beloved husband, an aquarium full of fish, and an indoor jungle of houseplants. Visit him on the web at www.blakeoctavianblair.com or write him at blake@blakeoctavianblair.com.

  Illustrator: Christa Marquez

  [contents]

  Witchcraft Essentials

  Practices, Rituals & Spells

  Dancing the Morris:

  Where Old Meets New

  Chandra Moira Beal

  It’s May Day in the Cotswold region of England, and a group of middle-aged, bearded men wearing white stockings and green sashes are dancing in a circle, waving handkerchiefs. They are dancing the Morris. Down on the south coast, another group of dancers weaves in and out of a circle. They are young men and women, dressed all in black, including their faces. Some of them wield sticks that they bang together rhythmically. They are also Morris dancing.

  For the past century, Morris dancing has been mainly the domain of older English men partial to traditional costume and drinking bitter beer. However, a new group of dancers is emerging and bringing with them elements of Goth, Paganism, and a swirl of modern values.

  Morris dancing is a distinct English folk tradition, usually performed in groups, that involves stepping in rhythm and choreographed dance. Dancers may use sticks, swords, and handkerchiefs to accentuate their movements. Music is provided by a pipe and tabor or a fiddle, or more commonly, a melodeon. Accordions and concertinas may also be heard, and drums are often employed.

  The dance got its name from its origin in the Moorish sword dance, which was devised to celebrate the unification of Spain in the fifteenth century with the driving out of the Moors. Dances with similar names were performed all over Europe and eventually reached the shores of Britain, where they evolved into a dance of the peasantry, performed especially at Whitsun (also known as Pentecost, seven weeks after Easter). Morris dancing was considered too sensual by the puritan seventeenth-century protectorate Oliver Cromwell, and so was suppressed. His successor, King Charles II, revived it. Although modern Morris dancing contains many Pagan elements, there is actually no evidence that it is a pre-Christian ritual.

  Dancing the Morris retained popularity until the Industrial Revolution, at which point many of the “country” customs were abandoned. The traditions, however, were kept quietly alive by English folklorists, who recorded first the music and later the dance steps. Some believe these recordings were selective and weeded out the sensual or dark elements of the dance, leaving a sanitized version to survive. Several men’s teams, or sides, were formed in the early twentieth century, based on this version, and an explosion of new dance teams, some of them women’s or mixed sides, appeared during the folk revival of the 1960s and 1970s.

  Morris dancing continues in modern Britain, with exhibitions commonly seen at country fairs and holidays. There are around 150 teams in the United States, and there are many sides in the Commonwealth countries of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Isolated groups exist in other countries, such as Holland, Sweden, and France.

  The traditional dances have evolved into a few main styles, each named after their region of origin. Cotswold Morris is what the older generation usually dances, involving handkerchiefs or sticks and outfits of black corduroy knee britches, white stockings, and green sashes. Border Morris (from the English-Welsh border) is a more vigorous style, normally danced with blackened faces while wearing a small strip of bells on the arms or legs. Costumes can be made from ordinary clothes decorated with ribbons or strips of cloth, and the dancers employ sticks. Molly dancing, from East Anglia, is a parody danced in work boots and with at least one man dressed as a woman. The dance itself involves an intricate set of movements in which the dancers weave in and out of each other.

  But these old-fashioned Morris styles are in decline, suffering from aging dancers and a lack of new recruits. The dances are seen by the younger generation as eccentric and—especially when waving handkerchiefs—downright silly. Many traditional dancers are concerned that Morris dancing is a dying art that will be extinct in twenty years. Although there are more than 800 Morris sides in England, many are struggling. Yet, they dance on, outside pubs and at festivals every weekend during the summer.

  Independent, mixed groups are beginning to supplant the exclusive men-only groups. These younger dancers are quietly transforming the traditional ways to meet modern values. Rivalries emerge as younger men and women reinvent not just the dance but the whole culture around the Morris in startling ways. They incorporate Gothic elements such as black clothes and blackened faces, silver skull rin
gs, and mirrored sunglasses. The women wear purple lipstick, black nail polish, fingerless gloves, and flowing velvet dresses, all atop Doc Martens boots.

  Some sides feel that the music and dance recorded in the nineteenth century should be maintained, while others freely reinterpret the music and dance to suit their abilities and modern influences. They are inventing their own traditions. Some don’t use folk tunes at all but write their own music. Their dance style is urban, saucy, and edgy. Fertility dances are decidedly unsubtle. Many performances are timed and themed around Pagan holidays, but some groups pull in ideas of shamanism, ritual theater, and street performance.

  While older Morris dancers and enthusiasts don’t always accept these modern interpretations and the connection with Pagan rituals as authentic, younger members say the new ways are just as spiritual, and that enacting the Morris dance is just one way to reconnect with the cycle of the year and with the traditions of their country.

  In England, groups often meet and practice throughout the winter to hone their dances, then perform them throughout the spring and summer. In the United States, especially in milder climates, groups may perform year round, often gathering for long weekends of dancing or performing at fairs and exhibitions.

  Although England has the highest concentration of Morris sides, there are several hundred in North America. To get involved, visit one of the websites at the end of this article to find a local group. There are a multitude of active Morris-related blogs and forums online, and many individual sides have a presence on major social networking sites. Most formal organizations will charge membership dues, whose benefits include access to organized events, magazines and newsletters, and insurance.