New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
When people feel ill at ease, there's a tendency to reach for things that help you feel grounded, more safe and stable. This is as true for people of any background as it is for people who follow witchcraft. One of the trends in witchcraft that some have noted is that it is during times of the greatest social upheaval when increases have occurred in the popularity of the craft. The craft can be a powerfully seductive force. If you're someone who falls outside of what the dominant culture has deemed is acceptable, the allure of the craft can be particularly poignant; it's empowering to find a worldview that says not only are you powerful, but here are the tools for empowering yourself ...
In my latest book in the Hedgewitch's Little Library, I discuss an amazing little magical resource: flowers. In The Hedgewitch's Little Book of Flower Spells, all types of flora are discussed, from Aconites to Zinnias. I show how flowers can be used within your magical practice and what correspondence they can follow. We often think of the summer months as the key time for when flowers bloom, but in fact, there are flowers all year long (especially in the spring and autumn months). However, I wanted to use this opportunity to discuss some very common summer flowers, such as the rose and poppy, and show how the whole summer can be filled with magic—with a specific flower for each ...
While you do the work of performing spells and rituals, it's also important to do doing inner work of learning about yourself. Magick creates the opportunity for connecting with major forces, entities, and beings from Other Realms. Magickal practitioners need to approach these things from a grounded and solid place. The best way to develop strong, grounding skills is to do the interpersonal work, the shadow work, the inner work. Shadow work has become something of a buzzphrase in recent years. The basic idea of shadow work is that we all have parts and pieces of ourselves that are hidden. They are hidden because they are painful, difficult, or challenging to our psyche. But when we can ...
So many times when we talk about using herbs in our rituals and spell work, we mean small plants like rosemary, sage, or vervain. Even when we turn to shrubs like roses or shrublets such as rosemary, we are talking about some of the smaller members of the plant kingdom. That's unfortunate, because it leaves out the giants of the plant kingdom: trees. Of course, you probably realize that frankincense and sandalwood come from trees. However, these aren't exactly the kind of trees most of us can readily access when we look around our own landscapes. I'll admit it: I'm big on using plants in my immediate environment if at all possible. I harped on this quite a bit in A Witch's Guide to ...
