The Goddess Carman is said to have come from Athens in Greece to Wexford in Ireland with her three sons. A seasonal festival was held in her honor at Carman in Leinster once every three years at Lughnasa. Those who visited the fair were considered to be blessed and would enjoy prosperity, plenty, corn, milk, and fruit. Women played an important part in the festival and held special councils to discuss women's affairs
-- Anna Franklin in her book Lammas: Celebrating the Fruits of the First Harvest.
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Folk Names: Common Lilac
Gender: Feminine Planet: Venus Element: Water Powers: Exorcism, protection Magickal Uses:
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/medicinal-properties-of-blooming-lilacs/ Knot Magick isn't something I have a lot of experience in, but it's as familiar to me as my favorite childhood songs. Growing up, my mother would braid her hair every morning and then she would braid mine, as she was braiding she told me to make a wish. She was braiding the wish into my hair. Later, when my grandmother taught me to braid, she would tie yarn to the back of a kitchen chair and tell me to think of what I wanted as I braided and then to carry the braid with me for luck. Well, those yarn braids didn't always turn out so great, and they usually ended up in the washer with my jeans. I didn't think of this as magick growing up. I hadn't thought back on those memories for a long time, not until the letter K was coming up and I was having trouble coming up with something to write about. Braiding may not necessarily be knotting, but magickally it works it much the same way. Macrame is something of a middle ground between braiding and knotting, and it's a skill I was taught in Girl Scouts. There are various styles and techniques withing macrame, the easiest to learn consisted of three strands and looks something like this if repeated over and over to make a bracelet: Generally, that's how I use my knot magick. I knot my wishes and intentions into bracelets which are then worn. I just made one for my best friend for his upcoming birthday for good luck and protection: I also made one for my neice for when she's born (only a few more weeks!) for protection, health, and joy: You can use many materials to make such bracelets, but I prefer embroidery floss because of the many color options. Both of the bracelets I've shown are my own pattern using four colors. The first uses two strands of each color that are used as one strand, the second does the same using 3 strands per color. Also incorporated beads into that one.
Here's a nice site for other knotting patterns: http://www.free-macrame-patterns.com/ Klamath Weed is a folkname for St. John's Wort and as today is St. Johns's Eve as well as Midsummer's Eve, and the herb is one of today's sacred plants, I thought this would be fitting for our rather late Herbal Wednesday and Pagan Blog Post! Most information is from Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. All other sources will be listed below.
Other Names: Amber, Fuga daemonum, Goat Weed, Herba John, John's Wort, Sol Terrestis, and Tipton Weed. Gender: Masculine Planet: Sun Element: Fire Deity: Baldur Powers: Health, Protection, Strength, Love, Divination, Happiness Magickal Uses:
Sources: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham The Herb Book by Jennie Harding The Herb and Spice Companion by Marcus A. Webb and Richard Craze JadeJade is generally green in color, but can also be purple such as the one my mother owns. It was called “greenstone” by the Moari of New Zealand. It is used to promote peace and serenity and is a symbol of love. It is also used for good luck and to make decisions. Jade is used in gardening magick to improve the health of the plants. It’s also a protective stone, especially against negative energies. Jade corresponds to the element of Water, the planet Venus, the heart chakra, and is the birthstone for March. JasperJasper is brown in color and is typically stripped with light and dark shades. It was called “Egyptian Marble” by the ancients and “the rain maker” my some Native American groups. Jasper can be used for centering, balancing, and grounding as well as to attract luck. It can also be used to reduce fear and guilt. The Ancient Egyptians believed it could increase sexual energy and they often wore it carved in the shape of a scarab beetle.“Legend says that Jasper would drive away evil spirits and protect against snake and spider bites” (shimmerlings). “Drinking jasper water on hour before each meal is said to promote weight loss (to create jasper water, place the stone each night into a glass of water and cover, by morning it will have become jasper water)” (Shimmerlings). Brown Jasper is associated with the element of earth, the planet Saturn, is the birthstone for October, and can align all chakras at the same time.
Sources: http://wicca.com/celtic/stones/stonef-j.htm http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstones/jasper.htm http://www.shimmerlings.com/gemstones/jade.htm Do you have any spells or anything to dream of the truth about someone or if they are playing games with you? I thank you in advanced. xox --AnonI don’t exactly have a spell for dreaming of specific things. If you want to dream of the answer I would suggest burning a blue candle before bed and calling on a goddess or god of truth, justice, or simply prophecy and request that they send you the truth about the situation in your dreams. If the answer isn’t obvious, write down all the dreams you remember in the morning and decode them either using a symbol or dream dictionary which can be found on the internet easily. If you can one on one speak with the person about the situation. While the blue candle is still burning you may wish to say something to the effect of “Blue light, twilight, river flow, words go, only truth shall be told, from (their name) to me and as I will it, so shall it be, ” then trace a clockwise spiral over the candle, followed by an equal armed cross. If you’re less picky about how you discover the answer, you may choose to look to a divination tool such as runes or tarot cards, turning to a random page on a book and with out looking point to a word and it’s your answer, etc. I hope that helps.
So if you've somehow managed to miss the fact that tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, you're either living under a rock, or very far out of the United States or British Isles. And you're definitely not in Ireland! I live in the US, and incase you haven't heard me mention it before, I'm Irish. Irish to the point that every St. Patty's day I end up sitting at my Nana's for dinner to have corned beef and cabbage, I also have at least 3 cousins named Shaun (my Da came home from work tonight sharing this bit of trivia: Shaun is the top boys name in Ireland), my cousins like to convince people that we're really leprechauns and that we bleed green, etc, etc. Another odd this is no matter how hard I try (unless I'm quoting Harry Potter), whenever I try to do an actual British accent, it falls apart and all the sudden I have a thick Irish accent. No idea why that happens but it does, and it's a wee bit embarrassing. (High five if you just read that in an Irish accent). The other strange Irish thing about my Mom's family is that my great-grandparents, after being born and raised Catholic, decided along with their siblings, that before moving to Michigan they were all going to become die-hard Southern Baptist. Go figure. Half of my family went back to the church, but my grandparents decided not to. I had to go that route on my own. All the Irish on my Da's side is fully Catholic though. Also, when my family found out I was pagan in the slightest, they said it was fine as long as I was Celtic. Yeah, I killed that didn't I? I would actually love to be completely Irish Pagan, but the other gods get in my business a bit to much to actually allow me to do so.
But in the end, my heritage, my crazy family, and my odd Catholic and Irish Pagan leanings come together and have caused a love of St. Patrick's Day that could probably rival my love of Halloween. And don't get me started about all the St. Patty's Day merchandise at stores right now. My friends and family don't allow me to be around it with money, because I'll buy it all. I have 3 St. Patty's Day shirts, pajamas, Hats, necklaces, a tiara, etc. And to be honest I have Shamrock cookies for tomorrow. Tomorrow I will look like a Gothic leprechaun. Black St. Patty's Day faerie shirt, shimmery emerald green button up used as a jacket (provided I need it, it's supposed to be 78 degrees) my "Irish Princess" tiara, St. Patty's necklaces, green makeup, and my nails are already painted sparkly shamrock green. I even have St. Patrick's Day temporary tattoos. Yes I am that happily tacky. I will also probably be rocking green lipstick. And I will be happy and speaking with an Irish accent all day, more than likely screaming random things in Gaelic. It's okay to laugh at me. But tomorrow night, after I was all the green gunk off and turn off the leprechaun-ness, I have a little ceremony I've been doing for years and some of you might be interested in it as well. St. Patrick's Day Ceremony Altar set up: colors- green and white. Incense of any kind. Green candle. Communion supplies (if you do this). Representations of a snake, leprechaun, shamrock or three leaf clover, and pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Celtic music in the background is optional. Procedure:
"In some traditions January 31st is the night that Hekate hands Her torch to Brigid, whose arrival is celebrated at Imbolc.
This seems to parallel the cycle of the Holly King and the Oak King, who each rule one half of the year: Hekate carries the torch through the dark half of the year, while Brigid takes it for the light half. Some suggest that Hekate and Brigid are sisters who share the torch." --http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/pontoon/2457/id110.htm All this may seem very odd, given that Hekate is Greek and Brigid Celtic. But traditional beliefs that evolve over time may have little to do with historical origins. Both Goddesses are very ancient, and have been worshipped in Britain for centuries, so who is to say what relationship may have developed between them? Sometimes the ways my Greek and Celtic beliefs over lap is rather surprising. . . So tonight is St. Agnes’ Eve and is a powerful night for love magick of all kinds, but especially for calling a lover to you. There are several old myths designed to help you dream of you future spouse’s face. According to the Gypsy Magic website some of these include:
St. Agnes was a Roman Catholic child martyr who was sentenced to death for refusing to marry. “St. Agnes, the patron saint of virgins, died a martyr in fourth century Rome. She was condemned to be executed after being raped all night in a brothel;however, a miraculous thunderstorm saved her from rape. St. Agnes Day is Jan. 21. ” One of the oldest superstitions associated with this night is that “if she went to bed without looking behind her and lay on her back with her hands under her head, he would appear in her dream, kiss her, and feast with her”. But personally, every year I perform the spell listed in Gerina Dunwich’s Everyday Wiccaon page 87. The basic instructions of the spell say that right before bed you should light a pink candle (anointed with the love oil of your choice) and stare into a hand mirror. While looking into the mirror you say: “Dear Saint Agnes, sweet and fair I call to thee with humble prayer: with clarity I wish to see the face of my true love to be. tonight let him be dream-revealed; with a kiss this rhyme is sealed. So mote it be!” Then you kiss the mirror ( I like to wear lipstick so it leaves the kiss mark), then you place the mirror (glass up) under your pillow and prayer to St. Agnes to thank her for listening to you. Gerina’s end note states: “If there is marriage in your future (anytime within the next twelve months), you should receive a vivid dream about the man who is destined to become your partner in matrimony.” Now, obviously the spell was written (by a woman) for women. But I see no reason it can’t be used by men with a few alterations! Sources (In order of use): http://gypsymagicspells.blogspot.com/2011/01/st-agnes-eve.html http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/st_agnes.html Everyday Wicca, Gerina Dunwich, 1997, Citadel Press |
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