Working Magic...TRUST

TRUST...small word...very BIG commitment.  We put our trust in an awful lot of people and a lot of situations, we trust that we will be loved, looked after, kept safe and a whole other heap of stuff.  We also need to trust ourselves and our own intuition.

To have complete trust in yourself is amazing, to put your whole trust in another is also wonderful but it is a tricksy one if that trust is broken or even dented a little.   I read somewhere that trust is like a blank sheet of paper...a new flat, pristine piece of paper.  If you take that sheet of paper and crumple it up it becomes a mess.  If you then try to smooth out that piece of paper and bring it back to pristine...you can't...no matter how hard you try it still remains slightly crumpled.  Trust can be very much like that if it is broken.

So today's spell work is all about trust, trusting yourself and your own abilities (especially your intuition) and putting your trust in others.  It would also work to help bring back trust that has been lost.

Intent: TRUST

Colour:
Blue

Crystals:
Blue lace agate

Amber

Herbs:
Cloves

Bay

Lavender

Mugwort

Incense Blend:
Frankincense

Lavender

Cloves

Pine

Tea Blend:
Cloves

Cinnamon

Honey

The Magic:

I wrote the word 'trust' on a piece of paper and used that as the centre then I charged each herb/spice and crystal that I chose to use with my intent and put them on my altar around the intent paper. I also chose a blue candle to light as well. I didn't have a plan or design in mind I just used my intuition.

Ultimately we put our trust in a lot of things and a lot of people...without doing so we would not experience life to the fullest.

Esbat...a witchy knees up

Esbat..a witchy knees up

In a recent discussion with a group of cackling witches the word 'esbat' came up and it was interesting to see the different interpretations that everyone had - all for the same small word.

So often it seems the word is used for a full moon ritual but actually it is much broader than that. I popped on my 'research hat' and here is what I found:


An esbat is a coven meeting of other than one the sabbats within Wicca and other Wiccan-influenced forms of contemporary paganism. Janet and Stewart Farrar describe esbats as an opportunity for a "love feast, healing work, psychic training and all."

An esbat is a Wiccan meeting held each month at the time of the full moon. This is usually the time for initiation ceremonies or healing magic to be done, as opposed to a Sabbat (holiday) celebration.
(Paganwiccanabout.com)

The second wheel of the year is made up of thirteen lunar cycles occurring within the solar year—called esbats by pagans. Covens usually meet either on the full or the new moon and a few manage both. Solitary practitioners are urged to commemorate the moon’s journey through the sky at both times, but the merrymaking and festival night has always been that of the full moon
(Edain McCoy)

A Wiccan coven gathering other than one of the Sabbats. While a full moon ritual may be held during an esbat, esbats encompass coven business meetings, social occasions, and opportunities for merriment.
(wordnik.com)

On the great Sabbats all the covens that could forgather together would do but apart from these great Sabbats minor meetings called Esbats are held. The word ‘esbat’ may come from the old French “s’esbattre” meaning ‘to frolic, to enjoy oneself’. Traditionally the Esbat is the meeting of the local coven for local matters or simply for fun and it is or should be held at or near the full moon.
Gerald Gardner

The Esbat differed from the Sabbat by being primarily for business. ... very often the Esbat was for sheer enjoyment only.
Margaret Murray

Take from that what you will...

Camellia's are in the money

The camellia in my garden is flowering and has been for several weeks, it is a bit early but I think I have a completely bizarre 'other reality' time zone in my garden...that or Mother Nature really has gone doolally...

The camellia flowers drop from the branches still in a whole flower shape (rather than losing their individual petals) so it is easy to collect them up and dry them.

I just lay the flowers out on sheets of paper in the conservatory to dry.

I wrote about the camellia a few years ago on the Kitchen Witch blog
 http://kitchenwitchuk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/camellia-flower-of-riches.html

And here is an extract from my book A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Herbs & Plants:

Camellia
(Camellia japonica)

This is THE money flower and I just happen to have a very pretty pink one that grows in my garden, dark evergreen glossy leaves and beautiful flowers (white, pinks, and reds).

Money, wealth, riches, abundance, luxury…do I need to go on? It brings riches and opens your heart to the abundance of the universe…just don’t forget to send a thank you note.

Keeping a camellia shrub growing in your garden should ensure that riches come your way and that you will never be short of money. Use the flower petals in money spells, pouches, poppets and witches bottles.

Remember that wealth is not always in material form, camellia can bring spiritual riches too; just remember to be thankful for what you have.

I keep a few dried camellia petals in my money jar (the one I add all my loose change to).

Camellia Magical Properties:
Abundance, prosperity, spirituality
Ruling planet – Moon
Element – Water
Gender – Feminine

Madness and the Magic...

A wonderful new book from the lovely Sheena Cundy - author, divination queen and singing diva extrodinaire...

Madness and the Magic

This is a fiction book and comes under the heading 'Witch Lit' and it is brilliant.

"A dishy vicar, an unexpected grandchild and hot flushes...how will a witch like Minerva cope with one hormonal challenge after another?"

I mean what is there not to like?  I could totally relate to the characters - a very funny and enjoyable read.

The official blurb:

Minerva is a witch on a mission to beat the dreaded menopause disease while teenage daughter Rhiannon faces up to the trials of an unexpected pregnancy. The story undulates between Minerva's ridiculous antics to snare the local guitar-playing vicar (with tarot cards for guidance and brandy for confidence) and Rhiannon's emotional turmoil. A horse-riding accident and many crazy spells later throw mother and daughter into both a tragic and comical cauldron of change. How much difference will it make? And as one thing leads to another and madness threatens to engulf their small world...will magic save the day?
Enter the almost familiar world of contemporary magical realism written by an author with first-hand experience of modern witchcraft. This book is alive with laughter, magical possibility and the challenges and realities of life.

http://www.moon-books.net/books/madness-magic

Be Enchanted...

On Saturday 13th February I shall be heading to Bracknell in Berks to attend the fabulous

Enchanted Market

I will be giving a talk on the day about Seasons of Magic and also mooching about the stalls (with some of the Kitchen Witch posse) to see what wonderful delights I can spend my money on...

The market runs for two days, Saturday and Sunday and not only are there lots of amazing stalls you also get live music, talks and workshops thrown in too...

I highly recommend it...

For more details:

The facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/990587087628760/

and

their website http://www.theenchantedmarket.com/

Working Magic - COURAGE

Today is a full moon, the Cold or Wolf moon and my moon calendar says the moon is in Leo - so...using the powerful magic of a full moon and one in Leo which brings courage, power, authority and fertility my working magic word for this week is ... COURAGE.

Whether it is mental, physical or moral courage...let's be having some of it...

Intent: COURAGE

Colour:
Red

Crystals:
Any red crystals
Garnet

Bloodstone

Tiger's Eye

Herbs:
Carnation

Fennel

Thyme

Incense Blend:
Myrrh

Fennel

Thyme

Tea Blend:
Fennel

The Magic:

I wrote the word 'courage' on a piece of paper and used that as the centre then I charged each herb/spice and crystal that I chose to use with my intent and put them on my altar around the intent paper. I also chose a red candle to light as well. I didn't have a plan or design in mind I just used my intuition.

Whatever you have been thinking about doing, or faffing about doing or deliberating on...GO FOR IT!

To sage or not to sage...

Quite often when someone asks about smudging the immediate suggestion is to use white sage.  Now I don't have a problem with that, it is a very good herb to use for smudging and if that is what you prefer to use who am I to judge?...however... I don't personally use it.

The reason being that white sage is not native to the UK and doesn't generally grow very well here (don't think it likes our climate) so to procure white sage I would need to order online or find a shop that sells it knowing that the product had been shipped halfway across the world and then pay a fair whack of money for it...which doesn't make any sense to me.  

In the UK we have any number of other varities of sage that grow here, I have common green sage and variegated sage in my own garden (my dad also grows a very pretty purple variety) and it works extremely well as a smudge.

In fact you don't have to use sage at all...*gasp*

I like to make smudge sticks with garden sage, mint, lavender and rosemary (all from my garden) and it not only smells lovely it works for cleansing and purifying just as well as white sage.   I was at a workshop last month where mugwort was used to smudge and not only did it work brilliantly it grows like a loony in the UK.

I am a great believer in working with your intuition and whatever you have to hand.  So if you want to smudge your home and only have jasmine incense sticks ... use them.   If you don't have any sage but you have a truck load of thyme then use that.

I don't believe that magical ingredients should cost the earth, I don't believe that you need to purchase rare and expensive items from exotic places and I also believe that those grown native to your area/country give a little bit of added energy as they are more personal to you.

And yes I even believe that herbs purchased from the supermarket will work just as well.

Take a look in your herb and spice cupboard...I bet you have all sorts of ingredients that would work really well in an incense blend.      Cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks and cardamon all work really well in cleansing and purifying incense.  Chuck them on a piece of charcoal and away you go.

You don't have to buy or make fancy smudge sticks (although they are really easy to make), you don't have to spend time crushing herbs and spices by hand in a mortar and pestle to make loose incense (although again it is easy and fun, just takes a little time) you really can just use ready made incense sticks or cones.

At the end of the day it is the smoke that you need to be able to waft it into the corners and more importantly it is your own intent that does the real hard work.

If your cupboards and garden are bare and you have no spices or herbs in the house then sprinkle some salted water in the corners and on the window sills instead (just a little you don't want to flood the house).

And if you don't even have any salt walk around your home and visualise a white cleansing and purifying light clearing out any negative energy.

Keep it simple, keep it cost effective and keep it in tune with your own intuition.

Working Magic...STRENGTH

So this week I am working with the intent of 'strength' using the energy of the waxing moon in her first quarter.

I have chosen herbs and crystals that resonate with me, ones that I feel bring the magical property of strength but work with your own intuition.

Intent: STRENGTH

Colour: 
Red

Crystals: 
Ruby
Garnet

Herbs:
Bay
Black peppercorns
Carnation
Sesame

Incense Blend:
Copal
Bay
Black peppercorns
Lavender

Tea Blend:
Lavender
Peppermint

The Magic:

I wrote the word 'stength' on a piece of paper and used that as the centre then I charged each herb/spice and crystal that I chose to use with my intent and put them on my altar around the intent paper.  I also chose a red candle to light as well.  I didn't have a plan or design in mind I just used my intuition.

Strength is within you...you just need to find it.

Working Magic...FOCUS

As it is a New Moon and I need to stop procrastinating and bring in some of that elusive focus thingumy...I thought I would work some magic...

Intent: FOCUS

Colours:
These can be brought into play using coloured cloth, scarves, coloured pencils/pens or candles.

White
Yellow
Orange
Brown

Crystals:
Crystals can be placed on your altar, carried in your pocket, put around your candle or made into a crystal grid to bring in the energy.

For clarity - jade
For concentration - green tourmaline, carnelian, lodestone, red jasper
For creativity - smokey quartz
For willpower - rose quartz, black onyx, tiger's eye, ruby, garnet

Herbs & Scents:
These can be used in incense blends, magic powders, tea blends (only the edible and non poisonous ones obviously), popped onto your altar, used for dressing a candle or in an oil burner or made into a pot pourri mix.

For focus - clove, frankincense, citrus, cinnamon, pansy, pine, ginger, sage
For inspiration - hazel, rowan, vervain, willow
For memory - caraway, honeysuckle, lemon balm
For clarity - apple, cardamon, clove, orange, rosemary, bergamot, juniper, lavender, mustard
For creativity - bay, chillies, paprika, vanilla
For decisions - lemon
For energy - cashew, chillies, coffee, citrus, paprika, sesame
For willpower - rhubarb
For intuition - ash, elder, sage, willow
For success - cinnamon, lemon balm, ginger, sage

And to ground...cakes and cookies obviously...

I chose to create a Focus incense blend using:
Cinnamon
Lemon balm
Frankincense
Cloves

I also made a Focus tea blend using:
Cinnamon
Cardamon
Orange (dried orange peel)
Ginger

Working the magic:

I wrote the word 'focus' on a piece of paper and used that as the centre then I charged each herb/spice and crystal that I chose to use with my intent and put them on my altar around the intent paper.  I didn't have a particular design in mind I just let my intuition take over.  I also chose an orange candle to light as well.

The tea will be drunk as I prepare to work and the incense will be lit at the same time along with the candle.

The lists above are just suggestions...go with your own intuition.

May the focus be with you...

Wonderfulness amongst the procrastination...

I have to admit I am still struggling to get back 'into the swing' of things and my focus and lack of attention to what I am supposed to be doing is quite frankly shocking...

Anyway...yesterday whilst I was lamenting my lack of focus and fretting that I should actually be writing and doing things from my 'to do' list (what I was actually doing was pouring over cook books) I got hit with a double whammy of fabulousness...

My publisher Moon Books posted a blog entry that made my heart sing and my head say "oh my goodness, really?" here is the link:

http://moon-books.net/blogs/moonbooks/girl-power-driving-moon-books-success/

The upshot is that Moon Books has a lot of girl power and included in that is not only our fabulous Nimue Brown (PR guru and author in her own right) who has done a sterling job promoting my books and all the other wonderful tomes within Moon Books but also our resident copy editor (who is incredibly brave to take on some of my work to edit) Lucya Starza, also an author too but...

It also showed a picture of me with the words 'Rachel Patterson, through titles like Kitchen Witchcraft and Moon Magic is our best-selling author'...well blow me down, turn me round and call me Susan...I was chuffed to bits (and also slightly shocked and asked for a re-count...).

And then as if that wasn't enough to warrant cracking open the celebratory cake a list appeared on Good Reads for 'Best Pagan Books' voted by readers and there..in black and white on that list in varying positions of wonderfulness are some of my books!  (It is still open for voting if you haven't done so...).

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3421.The_Best_Pagan_Books?page=1

So...this is really... well actually it is really me 'blowing my own trumpet' but also to say a HUGE big thank you to all you guys because if you didn't buy and read my books then these amazing things would not happen, you all rock, you can all have cake and if I bump into you...there will be hugs ♥

Foodie interview

When I was approached by a journalist (Frankie Mullin) a few months back asking if he could interview me for a food blog about how food could be seen as magical I have to admit I was a bit sceptical.  The blog is purely about food (which is never a bad thing) but I always worry when being interviewed by someone that is not pagan that the article will be turned into a joke.  So I have to admit I gave him a bit of a hard time at first before I agreed to answer any questions.

And I have to say...he did a pretty good job:

https://munchies.vice.com/articles/we-spoke-to-the-high-priestess-of-the-kitchen-witch-coven-about-cake

Enough with the love spells...

We get an awful lot of queries via email, message and in the Kitchen Witch facebook group about love spells...

So here are my thoughts...this is my humble opinion, you don't have to take on board what I think...and it is a little bit of a rant...

We get variations on a theme but here are the two main scenarios:

Situation One:
My husband has left me and moved in with another woman.  He would not have done that on his own so I believe the other woman has put a spell on him. I want to cast a spell that will bring him back.

OK...you know what?  Sometimes life sucks and this happens, there is usually no occult connection at all and the 'other woman' is not a witch/druid/wizard/sorceror/rootworker or even remotely spiritual or magical.  Firstly I am not sure I would want a man back that had left me for another woman but maybe that's just me.  Secondly have you spoken to your husband?  Have you asked him why?  Does his explanation seem reasonable?     Maybe the husband had a good reason to leave or maybe it was just one of those life experiences that happens.

Situation Two:
My wife has left me and our children and I want her back, she should be here in the home being a wife and mother.  I want a spell to bring her back.

Well...I wonder why she left?  How do we know that the husband is a good husband?  Maybe she left because she fell out of love (it happens) maybe she left because he was horrible!  We just don't know. And any spell to bring her back would be working against her own free will, what right have you/we got to demand she return? Have you spoken to her?  Have you tried to win her back with love, affection and attention?  Have you asked her why she left?

The trouble is with most of these situations we don't know all the details or the facts and we never get both sides of the story and even if we did what business is it of ours and who can guarantee that what someone says is the truth?

Why do people think the solution is to just throw a spell at it?  Relationships are hard work, they take time and effort and if you don't put that into it then things go wrong, heck things go wrong in relationships anyway, that's life, it isn't a bed of roses (which is a strange phrase as lying on a bed of roses would be very uncomfortable me thinks).  Do the work...see what you can do to resolve the issues but sometimes it just happens and there isn't a thing you can do about it but deal with the situation as best you can and move on with your life.

The other scenario is being asked for a love spell to attract a soul mate, often this is for someone specific and I have to say...this can only end badly.    Back to free will here...do you really want to cast a spell and have the man/woman of your desire go out with you purely on the strength of a spell? Wouldn't you rather know that someone was with you because they truly liked you?

Love spells are useful for drawing a soul mate as long as you aren't particularly targeting a specific person, in fact they work very well if you want to spice up your current love life or keep fidelity in your relationship.

When you want to write that love spell to attract someone to you I would recommend you really leave it fairly loosely worded and up to the universe, it usually knows best because what we want isn't always what we need.

Think about this...
If you ask specifically for someone with a good sense of humour you may get someone that treats life as a complete joke...the whole time.
If you ask specifically for someone to treat you like a lady you may end up with someone that expects you to do all the housework, cleaning, tidying, washing, ironing and have his dinner on the table at night.
If you ask specifically for someone wealthy you may get it but you may also end up with someone that works all the hours under the sun and never has time for you.
Do you see where I am going with this?

Just think carefully about it.

Spells have a habit of going off in unexpected directions...

Love is special, love is wonderful when it works and relationships when they are tended and fed can be amazing but it all takes work, not the 'light a candle and throw some herbs at it' kind of work but the real time, effort, communication, trust and spending time together kind of work.

...thanks for all the fish...

So long 2015 and thanks for all the fish...(excuse the Hitchhikers reference)...

I don't 'do' new year because it all seems a bit out of kilter to me.  I can understand the winter solstice being an ending and a new beginning of sorts because it is the point when the light starts to return but I don't get 1st January being the beginning of a new journey because for me January is still slap bang in the middle of winter.

January is cold and wet and damp and a time when I feel I should still be hibernating, sitting curled up on the sofa with a big bowl of casserole and a good book, although I do use January as a time to start thinking about new ventures and beginning to plot and plan what I want to do with the next year but I do not start January with the whole 'new me, new look, new diet, total detox thing'...actually I would never start any month, day or week with a detox and never will until detoxing involves chocolate and cake...

We have a saying in our house "tomorrow is a new day" which actually means we can start afresh on any day of the week, month or year and that works for me.

Actually I had a bit of a health scare in November which forced me to rest up...well actually I was supposed to but really I am useless at doing nothing so I was rubbish at the resting lark until the universe decided to help me out and gave me the worst cough I have ever had in mid December which really did make me stop and rest.  In fact if it hadn't been for the gift of Night Nurse/Day Nurse medication I wouldn't have been vertical for any of the festivities...

However as is the trend I thought I would do a quick summing up of 2015 which was a particularly fine twelve months for me and included the publication of two books - A Kitchen Witch's World of Magical Food in June and Pagan Portals Meditation in December.

I also got to visit Witchfest for the first time as a speaker and was overwhelmed at the response and...have been asked back this year too.  I also got to talk at a couple of local moots as well which is also fun and a workshop at The Enchanted Market (I will be back there again in February too).  It was an honour to do the first talk and book signing at the opening of a friend's shop in Glastonbury - Lady of the Silver Wheel (previously Padma).

Kitchen Witch has grown from strength to strength and we have had some lovely open rituals at the QE Park and the school is very proud to now have a team of Hearth Guardians to provide support not only to us but also to all the students (look out for more from them this year).  We also launched several courses in 2015 all of which are ongoing and open registration; Celtic Goddess, Celtic Gods, Herbal Pathways, Arc of the Goddess and Dark Goddesses.

And then on to 2016...as I mentioned above I will be talking at the Enchanted Market and hopefully at Witchfest (once a date is sorted), there is also a workshop arranged in Souls Journey, Havant in March (for more details see my website www.rachelpatterson.co.uk) and I am currently writing my new book Pagan Portals The Cailleach.  Two more books will be published in 2016...The Art of Ritual is due out on 27th May and Arc of the Goddess (co written with Tracey Roberts) will hopefully be out in the summer.

We also have a brand sparkly new Kitchen Witch course which we hope to launch at Beltane...keep an eye out for details and a new project to launch at Samhain...

Our focus this year will be on the Kitchen Witch online school with new exciting online events and more...

I also have a lot more regular blogging planned...she says hopefully...

Whether you go with the flow or celebrate the new year I hope 2016 brings you everything you wish for and I would like to thank everyone for their friendship and support over the past twelve months, it really is appreciated ♥