The Witching Hour
Page 28
Recommended candle color: red
White Owl Wisdom
white tea, spearmint, sage, horehound, eyebright, 1 drop cypress essential oil
Like the moth, the owl is a messenger from the spirit world. To invoke owl wisdom, at dusk sprinkle the powder at your feet as you stand facing west. Whisper to the spirit of the owl with the following charm. Indicate your intent, then follow with the Call to Wisdom prayer.
I hear your wisdom in twilight bright
And then again in dark of night
Your call echoes power and tells me of death
Of what must be finished and what put to rest
Of where magick placed will do the most good
And where I should stand in the depths of the wood.
Call to Wisdom Prayer:
May the universe open the pathway
To joy, wisdom, clarity, and right solutions.
May I be blessed with peace of mind
In my thoughts, feelings, and choices.
Witches’ Foot Hexefus Protection
black salt, yarrow, red clover, pennyroyal
Witches’ Foot Blummersterne
Blummersterne means “flower star” and is also called the Hexefus Rosette. The symbol is used to ward off bad luck, accidents, illness, gossip, and general evil. It is invoked as a protective symbol and used in Braucherei magicks and healing. Write your protection request on the back of the design. Color the sigil and place the powder in the center with the colored candle you desire.
Worry Breaker
angelica, black cohosh, black-eyed Susan, chrysanthemum, garlic, yarrow, St. John’s wort, thistle
The darkness weighs upon my head
But here I conjure light instead
The joy, the love, the sweet, the peace
For on that path I find release!
This blend covers a variety of fears that lead to constant worry. The angelica provides protection given to you by your guardians, while the black cohosh dissolves the negative energy created by fear-based relationships. The black-eyed Susan is to bring light to the mind, while the chrysanthemum is thought to soothe the fear of loss of physical objects. The garlic tones down nervous energy, the yarrow keeps the individual from being overly sensitive, the St. John’s wort protects from hexes and night terrors, and the thistle cuts down on the worry about bills, shelter, and food for the family. I prefer to use this blend in a white conjuring bag dressed with violet fragrance or essential oil, or I make an herb pillow, first mixing the raw herbs with several drops of the violet essential oil. Prettily decorated with ribbons and lace, this is a lovely gift for someone going through a rough time.
As you stuff the pillow or conjuring bag, remember to command the blend to work for your specific intent, then recite the charm three times. If the pillow or bag is for another person, change the wording of the charm to match the individual.
Yule Good Fortune Gift Bag Formula
ginger, lavender, chamomile, peppermint herb and candies, sassafras, crushed pine cones, cinnamon, white nutmeg, goldenseal, dressed pumpkin seeds (pumpkin seeds dried from Samhain pumpkin carving festivities and rolled in Granny Silver’s special formula)
Lace mixture with pine essential oil and good fortune cornucopia fluid condenser.
I love to mix herbal sachets to give as gifts during the Yule holidays. I sew the bags myself from themed cotton material and create a ribbon drawstring closure that can be easily opened. Once I have mixed and blessed the herbal formula, I place the blend in the holiday bags. During the first healing circle in December I distribute the bags, telling the recipients that they should add their names and a lock of their hair to the bag, breathing their wishes for good fortune into the bag before they close it. Leave the bag on your altar or hang from the Yule tree. Burn on New Year’s Eve as the clock strikes the first hour of the New Year!
Recommended candle color: red, green, and white
Planetary Powder Formulas
These recipes are excellent for matching the planetary hour of a working or when using the planets as the primary focus of your magick. For example, if you wish to find a solution to a problem, use the Mercury planetary powder along with a conjuration involving Mercury in the hour of Mercury. I use these formulas in my hand-rolled candles as well as other applications. These herbals were chosen by considering aroma, planetary rulership, and ease of procurement. You may wish to use other herbs in your formulas—perhaps that you have gathered yourself from your locality that share the same rulership, or unique herbals or items that can be obtained from a botanica.
Mars: allspice, basil, dragon’s blood, mustard, galangal, chili, ginger, woodruff. For assertion, harnessing force, and shaping energy by will. Color: red.
Sun: sunflower hulls, tangerine, cedar, rue, marigold, chamomile, cinnamon, frankincense, oak. For power of integration, vitality, and true will. Color: yellow.
Moon: eucalyptus, myrrh, sandalwood, wintergreen, willow, lemon balm. For storage of power, instinct, and emotions. The moon is thought to collect energy and then turn it to the earth. Color: white or silver.
Venus: cardamom, rose, vervain, orris, plantain, yarrow, thyme, balm of Gilead. For attraction, strategy, beauty, abundance, and drawing energy. Color: pink or seafoam green.
Mercury: bergamot, lavender, lemon verbena, lemongrass, marjoram, horehound, peppermint, dill. For stream of consciousness, mental prowess, and the flow of energy from one point to another. Color: light blue.
Jupiter: cinquefoil, clove, sage, hyssop, sassafras, nutmeg, sarsaparilla, yellow dock, linden. For expansive nature, creativity, luck, good fortune, and grace. Color: orange/purple.
Saturn: ivy, skullcap, Solomon’s seal, patchouli, lobelia, slippery elm. For limits, protection, rewards for hard work, and energy run along a particular path (guidelines). Color: brown.
The Modern Outer Planets
The modern outer planets are considered higher octaves of the classical planets, and each functions in its own way. These are considered the spiritual planets, each changing circumstances for a life more in tune with a better path. However, each of these planets is a heavy hitter; change is not necessarily so easy because we have somehow gotten stuck and refuse to see the way out. This is when the universe comes along and knocks you upside the head—usually with the energies of one of these planets. Use them wisely.
The formulas for the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, are my own. In making my choices I took into consideration their modern rulership, the classical rulership of those same signs, and the type of energy these planets represent.
Uranus
Electrifies energy to shatter bindings. Uranus zaps what is stuck, and therefore its energy is often seen as an unwanted shock or an unexpected bonus. Supercharged, it functions like Mercury on steroids. It is a bolt out of the blue that shakes up everything, rattling old habits and beliefs loose, allowing a pattern to be rearranged in a way that is more conducive to the practitioner. Color: electric blue.
Formula: l uranus glyph obelia, dill, peppermint, fenugreek, saltpeter. Please note that this formula is combustible and should be handled with care. Saltpeter is considered a toxic ingredient as it is a chemical, not a natural item.
Neptune
Dissolves energy, yet in the dissolution it creates instability wherein confusion and illusion weave in and out. This is because with Neptune’s ability to softly disperse, what remains is in suspension—the pattern of energy is not set and takes on a variety of images until focus is regained. Of all the planets, perhaps it is indicative of the world we really live in, one controlled only by our thoughts and actions. Since our thoughts can run rampant without a clear goal, many patterns appear and disappear until a bolstered intent is finally set. When using Neptune to dissolve a situation, it should be followed by a clear and unified goal so that the new energy patte
rn can be quickly set. Neptune energy can also show the many lines of possibility or breaking out of one’s own illusions to see the bigger picture and therefore is favored in divination. Traditionally, Neptune energy is used in confusion spells, particularly when dealing with an enemy who has focused on you. The idea is to break that focus so that you can move away and pull the target off your back. Color: pink.
Formula: self-heal (sanicle), lemon rind, hawthorne, flax seed, poppy seed, valerian.
Pluto
Transformation, death, and regeneration. Rather than electrifying or dissolving, Pluto incinerates the issue and builds something else in its place. It destroys the pattern completely so that a new pattern with different components can be constructed. It isn’t interested in clearing out the clog (like Drano) or rearranging what is there (like Legos); it just makes it gone and starts with new material. This is one of the reasons why this planet was chosen to be co-ruler of Scorpio, the power down below that rises up like lava and blows everything to smithereens. Pluto sometimes stands for corruption within an organization. It is dark, it is heavy, and it erodes before it explodes. Color: burgundy.
Note: Use on the waning moon, in the last quarter (eight cycle) or at the very beginning of the balsamic (eight cycle); if you are using the quarter formula of the moon, at the beginning or middle of the fourth quarter. Use this powder or herbal blend to root out and destroy corruption.
Formula: echinacea, clove, oregano, goldenseal, garlic, hot peppers, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, black pepper, curry, wormwood (poisonous). All of these herbs are known to kill cancer cells. This formula will work just fine without the wormwood.
Safe Herbals for Including in
Magickal Soaps or Body Powders
The following herbs or spices are considered safe for use in magickal body powders and soaps, barring personal skin allergies or other health issues; please consult your physician. These herbs can be ground into magickal powders and added to your soaps or used alone or mixed with a filler or salt if you so desire. You will find instructions for making enchanted soaps in my book HedgeWitch. I have included a soap base supplier in the resources section in the back of this book should you be looking for a reliable one.
Allspice: Mars/fire
Almonds: Mercury/air
Barley: Venus/earth
Basil: Mars/fire
Bergamot: Mercury/air
Bladderwrack: Moon/water
Brown Sugar: Venus/water
Calendula: Sun/fire
Cardamom: Venus/water
Chamomile: Sun/fire
Chocolate: Mars/fire
Cinnamon (use only a small amount): Sun/fire
Coffee: Mars/fire
Coriander: Mars/fire
Cornmeal: Venus/earth
Dill: Mercury/air
Eucalyptus: Moon/water
Ginger: Mars/fire
Ginseng: Sun/fire
Green Tea: Sun/fire
Juniper Berries: Sun/fire
Lavender: Mercury/air
Lemongrass: Mercury/air
Lemon Peel: Moon/water
Lemon Verbena: Mercury/air
Lime Peel: Sun/fire
Mints: Mercury/air
Nutmeg: Jupiter/fire
Oatmeal: Venus/earth
Orange: Sun/fire
Oregano: Venus/Air
Patchouli: Saturn/earth
Rosemary (finely ground): Sun/fire
Safflower: Sun/fire
Sage: Jupiter/air
Thyme: Venus/water
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24. Adapted from Storms, Anglo-Saxon Magic.
25. If you are interested in more information about Brigid, check out this excellent article written by Winter Cymres: http://www.druidry.org/library/gods-goddesses/brigid-survival-goddess. You will find many other informative articles on various deities and magick on this website as well.
conclusion
I would like to thank you for spending time with me! I believe that everyone deserves a life of good fortune and happiness—one where they can create and are surrounded by a tremendous atmosphere of spirituality, love, and peace. This book encourages change in yourself in unique and artistic ways based on your willingness to let go of patterns that no longer suit you. Perhaps you will look to the universal energies of love and compassion through the assistance of nature and find a new blending of personal power. It is my sincere hope that the contents of this book will help you bloom and expand your joy into the consciousness of humanity.
Commune.
Connect.
Believe!
In service,
Silver RavenWolf
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appendix
Herbal Resources
Recommended Magickal Herb Friendly Shops
Hemlock House: 5430 Sherman-Mayville Rd. (route 430), Mayville, NY 14757. (716) 220-2082. Open seasonally; most days 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Feel free to call ahead if traveling through. Stop in for a bit of that old time magic at Hemlock House, the outpost for wayfaring wise people. Bulk herbs and essential oils, magickally crafted objects and jewelry, bones, skins and stones, honey produced onsite, handmade brooms and baskets, soaps, potions, handspun alpaca and wool yarns, alpaca fiber for spinning and felting.
Strange Brew, The Cauldron, Inc.: 2703 Elmwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217. (716) 871-0282.
Other Resources of Interest
Candle Science: http://www.candlescience.com. High-quality soy and fragrances that indicate their ingredients. By far the best soy candle company on the net. They also have soap base. All of Candle Science’s fragrances match their wax products.
Candlewic: http://www.candlewic.com. Beeswax sheets in a variety of colors for rolling your own candles.
Glenbrook Farms Herbs and Such: www.glenbrookfarm.com. High-quality, good color, food-grade herbs at reasonable prices, with many organic offerings.
How to Make Your Own Loose Incense: http://www.scents-of-earth.com/makyourownna.html.
Specialty Bottle: http://www.specialtybottle.com. A wide variety of bottles, jars, and tins for your crafting and magickal needs.
Richters Herbs: http://www.richters.com. Handles a wide variety of fresh herb and vegetable plants for immediate shipment.
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bibliography and
recommended reading
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Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1985.
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Daniels, Estelle. Astrologickal Magick. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1995.
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RavenWolf, Silver. Hedgewitch: Spells, Crafts, and Rituals for Natural Magick. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2008.
———. Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 2003.
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Weschcke, Carl Llewellyn, and Joe H. Slate. Clairvoyance for Psychic Empowerment. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn, 2015.
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Hedge Witch
Spells, Crafts & Rituals for Natural Magick