Natural Witchery (22 page)

As I dumped the weeds in the compost pile, I realized that if I had still been inside, I wouldn't have enjoyed the pretty black and blue butterflies or the gorgeous hummingbirds. Actually, the more I thought about it, I began to realize that a hummingbird is a symbol of joy, and the butterfly is an emblem of transformation. The butterfly's colors of black and blue could even symbolize the removal of negativity and peace. Well, well. Wasn't that interesting?

On my way back to the front yard, I detoured inside and got my husband and I both some water. As I walked over to him, he turned off the lawn mower, and we stood there chatting for a moment. I remember standing there and thinking that I needed to pay more attention to the magickal messages that spirit was sending. After he finished his water, I turned to take the glasses back in the house, and I heard him shout.

I spun around just in time to see a big, gorgeous red-tailed hawk zip down at shoulder level, right between where he and I were standing. We see hawks flying around our old suburban neighborhood often, but never
that
close. There wasn't more than six feet between the two of us when it swooped down, less than five feet from the ground and almost close enough to touch. We both began to laugh in amazed delight as the hawk flew up high and circled the yard, only to land in the top of our big oak tree. The hawk perched there regally for a while, looking down on us with a superior attitude. I guess the hawk thought he'd give us a thrill, and he certainly did.

Messages,
I realized. The hawk is a bringer of spiritual messages. When the hawk shows up, the element of spirit is thought to be on the job and sending you information about yourself and your life. I would have never received all these wonderful messages from nature if I would have ignored my intuition and stayed inside feeling sorry for myself. That experience left me jazzed for a good week afterwards. It was a wonderful present that my husband and I cherish. We still talk about the hawk that gave us a fly-by.

A religion without the element of mystery
would not be a religion at all.

Edwin Lewis

The Fifth Element: Spirit

Are you open to the messages that the element of spirit may be sending you? These messages from the spirit may be inconspicuous, or they can be about as subtle as a brick to the forehead. Living your life as a Witch means that you need to pay attention and keep watch for those spiritual messages, no matter what life may throw at you. Yes, I am speaking through personal experience here. I am not some type of Super Witch, and I don't write down all these suggestions and techniques to help you find a way to improve your spirituality and your own Witchcraft with the lofty attitude of “Well, of course, such a thing would never happen to me …” Oh, please. I share my own experiences because I believe that people relate to a personal story much more than they relate to dry instructions or eye-crossing theories.

So, what about the fifth and final element, the element of spirit? It is easy to focus on the traditional four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. They are the most familiar to us, and it is vitally important to have those four elemental energies working in harmony in your life. Once you have acknowledged this and make strides toward becoming a balanced person, you gain magickal confidence. However, if you really want to turn up the volume on your magick, the fifth element—spirit—can show you the way.

Spirit is the life force that the other elements are born from. Spirit is represented as the top point of the pentagram and found at the center of a circle. It is above and below, and within as well as without. This element corresponds to every zodiac sign. It can be a physical presence that surrounds you or something ethereal and fleeting. Spirit is both masculine and feminine; it is all colors, all seasons, and the energy found in daily life. It can also be an elusive quality to capture, like trying to catch the wind inside of a paper bag. It is a paradox.

Now, if you are wondering just why this element is so tricky to define and so darn hard to physically “grab hold of,” the best answer that I can give you is because this fifth element known as spirit is a mystery.

A mystery? I can just hear you grinding your teeth in frustration. No, I am not trying to sound all spooky and mysterious. The best way I can think to explain this to you is to give you an analogy: understanding the mysteries of the Craft is like becoming a parent. Oh, sure—in theory, a parent-to-be understands babies, and children, and how to raise them. After all, they have love for their child and the examples of friends and family to guide them. They read a few books, follow the example of other parents that they admire, and they listen to “the experts,” so they feel that they are ready and know what to expect. Then they bring baby home, and guess what? Everything they
thought
they knew doesn't mean squat.

For every child is different, and every parenting situation is unique. The only way to earn your stripes as a parent is to raise the baby. By the time you have survived nighttime feedings, teething, crawling, and walking, then there is potty training and preschool. You look back on what you thought you knew about parenting and begin to realize there is so much more to understand. But hey, you love your kids, and you just know that you can handle anything. Just about the time you are patting yourself on the back, their primary school years begin. The next thing you know, they are playing sports, taking dance, and worrying about being cool. Then, Goddess help you, they morph into teenagers, and then you have to teach them how to drive and get them through high school and then off to college. By the time you are done, you look back and realize just how far you have come as a parent and how much you have grown as a person.

So can this “mysterious” and lengthy process really be explained to a new parent? Well, yes and no. You can certainly pass along some information and share the knowledge, but when it comes down to it, only time and living will give a new parent wisdom. The same can certainly be said of the Craft. So realize that this magickal development does take time and living. This is an on-the-job magickal training program, and it is one that lasts for a lifetime.

Look, between the stones is a blade of grass;
And all the rites of the High Mysteries,
And the runes of all witcheries,
Are written upon it.

Doreen Valiente

Traveling the Path of the Mysteries

When it comes to the mysteries, I can certainly give you some pointers and nudge you in the correct direction of which path to travel, but when it comes to your relation with the divine and how you connect to the element of spirit, you will be walking this path on your own. For all Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches, the journey is every bit as important as the destination.

Craft knowledge is one thing; I am sure you can rattle off correspondences and theories just as well as the next Witch. However, to grasp the concept of spirit, you will require more than book learning. This quest is about taking the knowledge that you have gained as you travel your spiritual path and then turning it into wisdom. Truthfully, it is worth saying again, you do achieve real magickal wisdom by living your life, growing in your craft, and experiencing the natural cycles and seasons of growth and change.

By incorporating the aspect of spirit into your Witchcraft, you will move on to the next level of expertise. I have yet to meet any Witch who didn't want to become a more advanced magickal practitioner. The title “advanced Witch” always sounded sort of self-important to me; I prefer the word “adept.” What I find very interesting is that the term “adept” is defined as someone who is “thoroughly proficient.” Let's hear it for proficiency—which is another word for expertise—for the desire to advance your magickal skills and your witchery is a beautiful thing. And it is completely up to you.

To be a skilled or adept natural Witch is to be a practitioner who has an aptitude for the Craft, a flair and a real instinct for magick. These all can be improved by working with your intuition, by considering your own personal development, and by expanding your magickal skills until they become second nature. Your skill level will be enhanced by study, practice, and simply living the magick. (And if you've been paying attention, you have already figured out that that is just what we've been doing throughout this entire book.)

Well, what a lovely surprise. See, you have been improving your skills and working toward personal advancement all at once. Congratulations! The adept natural Witch works in harmony with the elements and nature, and they create their own personal and unique types of spells, charms, and magick. They also know when it's appropriate to work their magick and when it's best to stand back and to allow situations to unfold all on their own. An adept understands that in order to truly consider themselves a wise and skilled practitioner, they must have many years of experience under their belts. With time comes experience and wisdom. These folks happily contribute their personal time and talents to their community, and most importantly, an adept Witch sets a spiritual example for others to follow.

Essentially, an adept natural Witch is a confident one. Adepts are unafraid to admit when they have made a mistake, and they actually learn from those errors. They are secure in who they are, what they have learned, and where they are headed down their own spiritual path. Adepts are always open to the discovery of new spiritual lessons. These lessons can be found within the most everyday of situations and basic of magickal theories. It simply depends on the individual's willingness to get in there and learn.

Witchcraft is a mystery tradition. To truly comprehend it, you must look within and know that those answers have always been right in your own backyard, so to speak. Spirit has been waiting for you to wake up and to pay attention so that you may bring its inspiration, creativity, and purpose into your life and into your craft. The only way to understand this part of the mystery is to live it. There is no one who can do this for you; you must come to understand and to discover this fact about Witchcraft all on your own.

Now that you have been walking this path of the natural Witch for a time, take a careful look around and realize just how far you have traveled. Remember when you first pulled aside those draping branches and discovered this quieter but well-worn path at the beginning of this book? Think of how far you have come, and now look to the future and see how much more of this pathway lies ahead, unexplored and waiting for you. For no matter how wise you are, there will always be more to learn. And the next spiritual lesson is waiting just beyond the horizon.

As was stated in the opening pages, one of the most important mysteries for you to realize is that true magick comes from within. Embrace all of the ways that magick manifests into your existence—on the intuitive, the personal, and the practical levels. Become inspired by and thankful for the sacred things in your life each and every day. Allow the element of spirit to rekindle the flames of knowledge, then learn from the many lessons your life brings you, for this is how we gain wisdom, and it is a type of magickal self-empowerment that sparks deep inside you, within the soul.

[contents]

May you walk your chosen path wisely,

May your heart with love overflow.

Let your intuition guide you safely,

Feel the magick that around you grows.

For knowledge in time becomes wisdom,

And enlightenment is within your grasp.

Pass it along to your daughters and sons,

And make the natural witchery truly last.

Book of Witchery

If you practice an art, be proud of it
and make it proud of you . . .

Maxwell Anderson

Book of Witchery

Adding this Book of Witchery was something I simply couldn't resist. Over the past few years, I have had many requests to put all “the good stuff” in one spot so readers could thumb through it and pull out the specific magickal correspondence information that they needed when it came time to create spells of their own design. As a practical Witch, this made good sense to me.

Now, please keep in mind that this is a basic list, but all the supplies and information are easy to understand and, better yet, easy to acquire. This Book of Witchery starts out with magickal correspondences for the days of the week. You will also find information on the magick of colors, crystals, stones, herbs, and flowers, plus there are new Witch-craft projects, such as herbal wreaths and creating herbal candles, for you to try your hand at. There are also a few spells and charms for enchanting those various Craft projects. Finally, you'll find rhyming quarter calls, circlecastings, and a spell worksheet. So peruse this Book of Witchery, jot down your own notes on the blank pages, and make it uniquely your own. Most of all, just enjoy it!

Daily Correspondences

The Bewitching Days of the Week

Sunday—
Corresponds to the sun. Colors: yellow and gold. Work magick for success, new projects, the sun god.

Monday—
Corresponds to the moon. Colors: white and silver. Work magick for women's mysteries, psychic abilities, dreams, travel, and the Goddess.

Tuesday—
Corresponds to the planet Mars. Colors: red and black. Work magick for passion, fighting for what you believe in, courage, and defense.

Wednesday—
Corresponds to the planet Mercury. Colors: orange and purple. Work magick for communication, cleverness, creativity, and speed.

Thursday—
Corresponds to the planet Jupiter. Colors: green and royal blue. Work magick for prosperity, abundance, leadership, and healing.

Friday—
Corresponds to the planet Venus. Colors: pink and aqua. Work magick for love, romance, beauty, and fertility.

Saturday—
Corresponds to the planet Saturn. Colors: black and dark purple. Work magick for banishings, bindings, and protection.

• • •

As merry as the day is long.

Shakespeare

Conjuring with Color and Light

Color and Candle Magick

This correspondence list may be used for candle or for color magick. So if you are whipping up a charm bag for an enchanting herbal sachet or simply choosing a candle for a quick candle spell, here is a guide to the colors and their magickal definitions.

Pink—
Affection, friendship, warm fuzzies, and children's magick.

Red—
Love, passion, courage, the element of fire, and the Mother Goddess.

Orange—
Energy, vitality, harvest, and intensity.

Yellow—
Creativity, communication, knowledge, and the element of air.

Green—
Prosperity, health, gardening, herbalism, faerie magick, the earth element, and the Green Man or god of nature.

Blue—
Peace, hope, healing, and the element of water.

Purple—
Psychic powers, spirituality, to increase personal power, and faerie magick.

Brown—
Homes, pets, and garden magick.

Black—
Protection, breaking hexes, banishing illness and negativity, and the Crone Goddess.

White—
All-purpose color, peace, calm, hope, and the Maiden Goddess.

Grey—
Bindings, neutrality, invisibility spells, and glamours.

Silver—
The Goddess, women's mysteries, and the moon.

Gold—
The God, success, wealth, fame, and the sun.

• • •

But I see your true colors shining through

I see your true colors and that's why I love you.

So don't be afraid to let them show

Your true colors, true colors
are beautiful like a rainbow.

Bill Steinberg and Tom Kelly

Practical Candle Magick

Tips, Tricks, and Creative Ideas

Spell candles come in all shapes and sizes. You may use tapers, votives, tealights, pillars, or those mini-spell candles that are so popular in magickal shops these days. While burning candles, you will need the appropriate holder for obvious safety and neatness reasons.

Tapers come in many lengths and will require candlesticks. They can be whatever style you prefer and may be made out of whatever nonflammable material you like, such as ceramic, glass, or metal. Votives require a votive cup, since they have a very high oil content and will turn to liquid wax right away. If you do not burn the votive inside of a votive cup, you are going to have a huge mess on your altar.

A tealight is already contained inside of a little metal cup, but the metal does heat up so you will have to put it somewhere heatproof. (I use a little miniature metal cauldron when I burn my tealights—found it on a Halloween endcap display one year and thought it made a great, witchy tealight holder; a tealight fits inside of it perfectly.) Oh, and lest we forget: those mini tapers that come in a rainbow of colors and are so popular will need a special mini holder, too. You will find them right next to the mini taper displays. I have a few: a blue glass holder shaped like a star and a simple white ceramic mini taper holder with a crescent moon on it.

If you choose to work with pillar or glass jar candles, you will also need to think about fire safety. If I am burning a pillar candle or a glass jar seven-day candle, I usually tuck them inside a large metal cauldron and then set that on top of my cast-iron wood-burning stove. Since the candle will burn around the clock for several days—if the glass

Colors seen by candlelight
will not look the same by day.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

should crack or a cat would decide to try and nudge against it, the jar candle or pillar will stay contained within a fireproof area.

Here is a crafty idea for an inexpensive holder for a pillar candle: paint small clay saucers. Check out the flowerpot section of the local craft store and snag a few terra-cotta saucers. I have a set of four-inch terra-cotta saucers that I have painted for my quarter candles, one in each elemental color, and they also come in very handy as decorative holders for my quarter candles.

You could take this idea even further and paint up a few saucers for lunar magick, protection magick, and so on. Decorate the saucers with runic symbols or other magickal symbols that are meaningful to you, such as pentagrams or elemental symbols. I recommend using nontoxic acrylic craft paint, or try the decorative paint pens made especially for clay pots.

Lighting the Candles and to Snuff, to Pinch,
or to Blow Out . . .That Is the Question

Now, when it comes to actually lighting the candles, for candle magick you can either light the candles with a match or use a lighter; either technique is fine. Some folks hate the smell of sulfur or are nervous around stick matches. I usually use butane lighters, since they are handy and quick. I have been to many a circle or group ritual where the “ceremonial lighter” is passed around from person to person so each of the folks standing at the quarters can easily light the quarter candles. It is practical and convenient.

Said the Wind to the Moon,
“I will blow you out!”

George MacDonald

Many of us don't worry about extinguishing spell candles—we usually tend to let those burn until they go out on their own, with the thought that the spell candle will only be used that one time. However, in the case of illuminator or quarter candles, you do pinch, snuff, or blow them out, because you will be using them again.

Now, I have read the debates and heard people screech about how “disrespectful” it is to blow out a magickal candle. But if you have to put out quarter candles and somebody forgot to bring along the snuffer into the circle or is afraid to pinch out the flame, you may not have any choice in the matter. (I personally hate to pinch out candles—I always get burned. Don't bother giving me tips on how to do it. I always wimp out and get nervous, then scorch my witchy fingers.)