Book of Witchery (16 page)

Tuesday is the day to work any magick that falls in the category of increasing strength, courage, bravery, and passion. All of these intense emotions are linked to this day's energies, and spells designed around these themes will have extra punch when performed on this magickal day.

So, let's add a little passion and conviction into your life! Break out the daring red pieces of your wardrobe, and put a little pizzazz into your day. Work with Lilith, and see what she has to teach you about personal power and sexuality. Meditate on Tiw/Tyr and Mars, and see what those ancient warrior gods will show you about new tactics, strategies, and claiming personal victories in your life. Practice conjuring up that astral weapon from the meditation and use it wisely for protection and for courage.

Create a philter for courage and protection or handcraft your own Witch's jar to remove negativity from your home. See what other Witch crafts you can conjure up with Tuesday's magick. Create some kitchen magick on this Tuesday by whipping up a spicy stew—add in a few Mars-associated ingredients such as carrots, peppers, and garlic. Empower the stew for success, and then treat yourself and your family to a good, hearty meal. Try working with a little aromatherapy and burn some spicy or coffee-scented candles to increase your energy level.

Check the sky at night, and see if you can find the reddish planet Mars up in the heavens. Not sure where to look? Check an astronomy magazine or search the Web for more information.

Become a magickal warrior and move forward in your life with strength, courage, and compassion. Embrace the side of yourself that loves a good challenge and that is passionate and daring! Banish fear, and face your future with strength and conviction. Believe in yourself and in your dreams, work hard, and you will win every time.

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Wednesday

At-a-Glance Correspondences

Daily Magickal Applications

To the Romans, this day was called
Dies Mercurii
, or “Mercury's day.” Mercury was a popular character in the Roman pantheon. A messenger of the gods, he presided over commerce, trade, and anything that required skill or dexterity. The Celts also worshiped Mercury and eventually equated him with the Norse god Odin (some spelling variations on this name include Wotan, Wodin, and Wodan). In Norse mythologies, Odin, like Mercury, is associated with poetry and music. Interestingly enough, both Odin and Mercury were regarded as psychopomps, or the leaders of souls, in their individual mythologies.

Odin, one of the main gods in Norse mythology, was constantly seeking wisdom. He traveled the world in disguise as a one-eyed man with a long gray beard, wearing an old, beat-up hat and carrying a staff or a spear (which brings to my mind images of Gandalf from
The Lord of the Rings
). In the Old English language, this day of Mercury evolved into
Wodnes daeg
, “Woden's day,” or Wednesday.

Wednesday carries all of the planetary and magickal energies and associations of the witty and nimble god Mercury himself. Some of these mercurial traits included good communication skills, cleverness, intelligence, creativity, business sense, writing, artistic talent, trickiness, and thievery. And don't forget all of those wise and enigmatic qualities associated with the Norse god Odin/Wodin, not to mention the goddess Athena's contributions of music, the arts, handmade crafts, and writing. Wednesdays afford excellent opportunities for seeking wisdom, changing your circumstances, and improving your skills, be they in trade and commerce, music and art, or in communication and writing.

Deities

Mercury⁄Hermes

Mercury is the fleet-footed Roman god of commerce, travel, self-expression, speed, and science. Mercury had a sacred festival day called the Mercuralia that was held in Rome on May 15. To the Greeks he was known as Hermes, and his symbols included winged sandals or boots and a winged cap of invisibility. There is a theory that the cap he wears can be a symbol for secrets and concealed feelings or thoughts. Mercury/Hermes also carried a bag full of magick, and he held a magickal healing rod with two intertwined, winged serpents called the caduceus.

While the Roman god Mercury's caduceus was a symbol of heralds and commerce, the caduceus of the Greek god Hermes became linked with medicine sometime during the seventh century
bce
. As Hermes became connected with alchemy, the alchemists were called “the sons of Hermes.” These practitioners of the Hermetic arts were also known as Hermeticists. Both Mercury and Hermes are known as the god with the winged feet.

This is a god of the crossroads, of travel; he is a guardian of commerce and anything that requires skill and dexterity. Mercury/Hermes is a multifaceted god and one of contradictions. He is also known as a patron deity of thieves for his sneaky, tricky, and cunning attributes. (According to mythology, as an infant he stole the god Apollo's cattle.) On the flip side of the coin, he can be both benevolent and helpful to shopkeepers and tradespeople as a god of profit and a guardian of merchants. This is a god of unexpected luck, happy coincidences, and synchronicity.

A familiar icon today, this Greco-Roman god is famous as the golden emblem for a major floral delivery service that advertises speedy and efficient floral delivery worldwide. Keep in mind, Mercury/Hermes was known as a joker and a clever, cunning magician. I'll just bet you that old Mercury or Hermes is secretly tickled at all of the attention that he receives from florists every day of the year.

Odin/Wodin

The name Odin tends to be more Norse in origin, while the name Wodin is Anglo-Saxon and Germanic. This hanged god is a god of wisdom and poetry, and his titles are many, including the All-Father. In some Norse mythologies, he is described as wearing a blue or black hooded cloak as he wanders the earth in the winter months, visiting his people. He has two raven companions, Huginn and Muninn, whose names translate to “thought” and “memory.” These ravens circle the earth daily and then return to Odin to whisper to him the news of humankind. In Norse mythology, Odin willingly hung on the world tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days, seeking power. He gained several songs of power and twenty-four runes. Odin carried a spear that never missed its target. Trading one of his eyes for a drink from the well of wisdom, his sacrifice gained him immense knowledge.

Odin is a god of mystery, magick, shamanism, and rune lore. He also eventually became wrapped up in the mythology of Mercury and was called by many names, including Wodan, Wotan, and Ohdinn. Odin is associated with divine intention and the element of air. The horse, raven, wolf, and eagle are all sacred to him. Odin likes to challenge his followers, but he is always there if you need him. Legend says he may only be approached by those who know of him, but in particular by individuals who call his name.

Athena

Athena is a warrior/maiden goddess of wisdom, war, crafts, and poetry. In her war aspect, she is known as Pallas Athena. Some of the more familiar symbols for Athena are the javelin, spear, shield, and plumed helmet. She was usually depicted with an owl perched on her shoulder, symbolizing wisdom. There is some debate over Athena's origins. Traditional mythology says that she sprang full grown and ready to rumble from her father Zeus's head, while another school of thought believes that she may have been originally a Mycenaean goddess of home and hearth.

Athena was called “bright eyed” and was a patroness of women's rights and free-dom. She also presided over craftsmen, potters, weavers, and spinners. To round things up, Athena was also associated with writing, music, wisdom, justice, and peace. In this aspect, her symbols are the owl and the olive tree. In a Homeric hymn to Athena, she is described as a “glorious goddess, gray-eyed, resourceful, and of implacable heart.” The birthday of Athena was celebrated on March 23. Her sacred city was, of course, Athens.

Wednesday's Witchery

This meditation took me a while to get down on paper. No matter what idea I thought I had—my original idea had been to feature Hermes and Mercury in Wednesday's meditation—it just never seemed to gel. Plus, I was on a strict deadline. Since this fourth chapter refused to finish up and I could not get the meditation done, I sent in the introduction and the first three chapters and thought that in a worst-case scenario, I'd simply move on to another chapter and come back and write this meditation later when it finally clicked for me.

Once I made that decision, dreams chased me—some of the most vividly clear dreams I had experienced in years. However, no matter what the theme of the dream, a quietly kind, wise, cloaked man was featured in all of them. It was easy to recognize Odin in the dreams, and apparently he had other plans for the theme of Wednesday's meditation. Even though I had taken a break on working on the expansion of this book for Thanksgiving weekend, it seemed the Norse gods, especially Odin, had other plans for me.

For some reason, I had always imagined Odin as stern and harsh. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that he is not like that at all. He actually has a wicked sense of humor, and he will challenge you in many ways until you open up your mind and your heart to his lessons. All he had to do was to get through to one stubborn and distracted writing Witch. And I'll admit that it took him a few days . . .

When I woke up early this morning, it was snowing. Where I live in the midwestern United States, snow is not that common on the first of December. Sure enough, when I staggered out of bed at five
am
and looked out the windows, I saw a light and festive snowfall.

Cheered, I sat down at my computer, still in my pajamas and old gray hoodie, and prepared to dive back into this chapter. To get myself in the holiday mood, I was listening to my favorite holiday music on my iPod, and while I began to work, I was becoming very distracted, because my instincts were all screaming for me to
go outside
.

At five o' clock in the morning.

In the dark, while it was snowing.

Then I realized with a start that Odin was thought to visit his people during the winter months . . . okay, so technically December first is not yet winter—it would officially begin at the winter solstice, which was still three weeks away—but snowfall equals winter for me. So as quietly as possible, so as not to wake up the family, I quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants, grabbed my boots and gloves, and tossed an insulated vest on top of my hoodie. I left the iPod on, zipped up the vest, and pulled the hood over my head. Then I let myself out the door to stand in my snowy backyard gardens.

I walked away from the house and down the garden path so I could feel the wind, and then stopped and stood still. It was so quiet and gorgeous. Then, in an interesting quirk of fate, Loreena McKennitt's song “Snow” started to play in my holiday music playlist. Hello, synchronicity. So I stood outside in the pre-dawn darkness, softly laughing at myself. I swear I could hear Odin laughing along with me as he finally got through to me and told me what he wanted me to know.

I stayed outside for a little while and shivered pleasantly, tipping my face up to the snowflakes, listening to the music, and breathing in the sensation of winter. It was great feeling the cold, wintry winds and the sensation of the snowflakes bouncing off my nose. Inspired, I thanked Odin, who seems to be close to me these days, and reveled in his wintry magick and his wisdom.

Meditation