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Flowers, Herbs, and the Faeries of May

Flowers, Herbs, And The Faeries Of May

By Edain McCoy, Llewellyn's 1995 Magical Almanac

From Beltaine to Midsummer, the faery kingdom celebrates the newborn spring. Throughout the centuries, Europeans made note of which vernal foliage was attractive to the wee folk and, by contrast, which plants would offer protection. Those plants marked with an asterisk (*) are poisonous and should be cultivated only with great caution, and should never be grown wherever children or pets are present.

• Bluebell --- If bluebells ring in your garden, an evil faery is near.
• Carnation --- The red ones draw faeries who enjoy healing animals.
• Clover --- Wildly attractive to faery life.
• Cowslip --- The best choice for attracting faeries to your yard.
• Dandelion --- Believed to be used by faeries to make beverages.
• Dill --- The fresh plant has a scent faeries dislike.
• Foxglove* --- A favorite of earth elementals.
• Hawthorne --- Sacred to faeries, as well as to May Queen.
• Heliotrope* --- Enjoyed by fire elementals.
• Gorse --- Repels virtually all faery life.
• Hollyhock* --- A faery favorite, particularly the pink variety.
• Lilac --- The gentle scent draws faery life.
• Lobelia* --- Will help attract winged faeries.
• Mistletoe* --- Can also attract unpleasant tree faeries.
• Morning Glory* --- Repels unwanted night faeries
• Mushrooms* --- Often used by faeries to mark the boundaries of their sacred circles or portals to their world.
• Pansy --- Known to attract parades of trooping faeries.
• Primrose --- Believed to give faeries their power of invisibility.
• Rosemary --- The fresh plant protects from baneful faeries.
• Sassafras --- Enjoyed by air elementals.
• Shamrock --- A form of clover Celtic faeries adore.

The Ultimate Magic Garden

By Samantha Stevens

Spring is the season to start planting seeds for the future. For me, the ultimate Magic Garden would be planted using the Feng Shui bagua as a guideline for the boundaries of the plot and incorporate flowers herbs and plants that correspond to each signifigant direction..

The first thing I would suggest, is to mark off your garden(or balcony full of pots) as a square (or as close to a square as you can get it) and determine the directions -- north, south, east and west. Then use the rough guideline below, taking into account your climate and seasons to know what to plant where to bring you health, wealth, peace, guidance, happiness and protection. You don¹t have to incorporate all the suggestions below of course -- just a couple of touches here in there might do wonders.

The SOUTHERN corner of your garden governs recognition and fame. The flowers you plant there should be predominantly red in colour. Red and pinks should be main theme, although there well be flowers in there included for properties besides colour. Flowers that bring you fame: poppies, roses, bluebells,violets. Trees: Cherry, orange. Foilage: Holly, hazel, heather and all ferns. Herbs: Star anise, veviter. Trees: .Produce: strawberries, leeks, chili peppers. This corner also represents the Fire element so it is a good area to string up lights, put the barbeque or have a little hearth for fire.

The SOUTHWESTERN corner governs marriage prospects and marital happiness.The predominant flower colour should be yellow. Flowers for emotional security: daffodils, lillies, tulips, asters, bleeding hearts, daisies, roses, gardenia, lavender, orchid, poppy, primrose, periwinkle, hyacinth, trilliums, violet, geranium. Trees: Magnolia Fig, Willow, Olive Elm, Plum,Foilage: Myrtle, rye, witch grass, juniper, chickweed. Herbs: basil, marjoram, dill, mint, rosemary, thyme. Produce: Ginger, endive, raspberries, tomatoes. This area represents Big Earth so it is a good place to put a stone statue or a large rock or boulder.

The WESTERN corner governs children and fertility. The predominant flowers should be yellow and white. Flowers: Lavender, Cyclamen, Lily of the Valley, Morning Glory Trees: Oak, olive, banana, apple pine Foilage; Hawthorne Herbs:Mustard, catnip. Produce: Beans, carrots, cucumbers, grape, mustard. This area is known as Small Metal and would benefit from some windchimes or small silvery objects that catch the sun.

The NORTHWESTERN corner governs helpful people or mentors. The predominamt flower colour should be white yellow and orange. Flowers: Passion flower, sweetpea, Sunflower, Iris, carnation Trees: Lemon, peach, beech, walnut Foilage: Rowan, Myrtle, dogwod, clover Herbs: Pennyroyal, lemon balm, sage Produce: peppers, fennel, pumpkins, squash. This corner is called "Big Metal" so it is a good place to put table and chairs to invite the help into your life.

The NORTH corner governs career prospects. The flowers here should be 
predominately dark purple or blue. Flowers that boost career: Camellia, 
honeysuckle, jasmine, periwinkle, poppy, trillium, snapdragons, dandelion. 
Trees: Orange, elder, apple, oak, maple, poplar Foilage: bromeliads, myrtle, 
Irish moss (all mosses), ferns Herbs: dill, goldenseal, mint Produce: 
cashews rice, grapes, onions, oats,peas, wheat. This direction represents 
water, so it is the ideal place to put a fountain or pool. Add fish to it 
and double your luck.

The NORTHEAST corner governs education and wisdom. The flowers here should be predominatly yellow and orange. Flowers: jasmine, marigold, roses, iris , sunflower. Trees: peach, bohdi, acacia Foilage: bracken, all grasses,flax Herbs: borage, eyebright, peppermint, saffron, thyme, rosemary, caraway, rue, savory, mint Produce: celery, onons, grapes. This area is "Small Earth" so it is good for a rock garden, a small alter or a birdbath.

The EAST governs family relationships and health. The foilage here should mainly be green and filled with bush or trees. Flowers are: loosestrife, meadowsweet, morning glory, violet, daisies, hostas Trees: all trees especially pines and spruces, Magnolia, Elder Foilage: Witchgrass, purslane, tobacco, hemp, hops Herbs: Lavender, scullcap, vervain, linden, sage Produce: avocado, rhubarb, rye. This area is called Big Wood which is why it is good to have at least one big tree there or a tree house.

The SOUTHEAST governs wealth and prosperity and should be as green and lush as possible. Flowers that bring wealth: Camelia, golden rod, helorope, honeysuckle, trillum Trees: all fruit trees, pecan, walnut, oak, pine Foilage: all bromelaids, mosses and ferns Herbs basil, clover, dill, mint, vervaine Produce: lettuce, corn, peas, oats, onions. This area is known as Small Wood and would be augmented by windmills, a swing or another structure made of wood (preferably one that moves to circulate energy.)

The Sound of one Dog Barking

Human beings understand too much. But what they understand is just somebody's

  opinion. Like a dog barking. American dogs say, "Woof, woof." Korean dogs say,

  "Mung, mung." Polish dogs say, "How, how." So which dog barking is correct? This

  is human beings' barking, not dog barking. If dog and you become one hundred

  percent one, then you know sound of barking.

 

 

 

  This is Zen teaching.  Boom! Become one.

 

 

 

  –Seung Sahn0-,

  from "Boom! An Interview with Zen Master Seung Sahn,"

  Tricycle, Winter 1996

The Domestic Cat as a Spirit Guide

THE CAT (DOMESTIC) AS A SPIRIT GUIDE 
.
The domestic cat has long been connected with magick and is a popular "familiar". 
This should not be mistaken for a totem. They are distinctly different. Those with the cat 
as a totem have a strong protector and teacher of independence and self assurance. It can 
bring the yearning for understanding of hidden information and encourage you to explore new 
vistas of reality. The cat can teach you the ability to see spirits and give you great agility of mind 
and body. When cat enters your life, you may find yourself (if you are not already a night person) 
discovering new creative energy during the night hours. Cat will help you maintain a balance on 
your spiritual path. Traits usually associated with cats are curiosity, many lives, cleverness, 
unpredictability, healing and witchcraft since in ancient times it was believed that witches took 
the form of their cats at night. If you're a cat person, then you have magic and mystery in your life, 
you're independent! and probably a "free thinker" even if you don't admit it, and you like the night;
probably feel energized at night. You will stay with a person or situation until it bores you, and then 
you're gone. You have a great talent for organizing things, but probably hate the nitty-gritty paper 
pushing to keep it going. Non-cat people can do that. 

She Wears My Heart on Her Skin

I have always wanted a tattoo.  Something discreet, something mystical, something groovy.  I thought about a permanent anklet of birds for Ahren and Rhi.  I have thought about a Paisley because I really think I should have been named Paisley Moonbeam.  Due to my severe psoriasis getting a tattoo is just a dream.  Today she got one for me.  The sweetest gesture anyone ever did for me.  I have always felt blessed to have Sarah in my life since the day she was born.  I knew her Mom was pregnant with her before she did.  I knew from the first time I ever held her that she would be mine.  That we would be close.  I would be cool Aunt Marci.  That we would share secrets and clothing and be best friends too.  We are like Lorelai and Rory Gilmore without being Mom and Daughter.  We have a bond.  I love my kids to pieces and I am blessed to have a special bond with each of them which is a unique as each kid.  Today Sarafina came over to show me something really cool.  She got a tattoo.  She got something that would remind her of me and something I would have gotten myself designed by her.  Since I cannot wear it she is wearing it for me.  It is two Paisleys in the shape of a heart with a peace sign in the middle.  She is wearing my heart on her skin.

Jehovah's Witness

There was a knock on the door this morning.
 

I opened it to find a young man standing there who said:

"Hello sir, I'm a Jehovah's Witness."

 

I said "Come in and sit down."

 

I offered him coffee and asked  "What do you want to talk about?"

 

He said, "Beats the shit out of me, I've never gotten this far before."

=

Gifts from the Universe from the OM

Gifts from the Universe
Accepting Your Family

Our families help us see where we have come from so that we may more clearly decide where we’d like to go.

Families can contain a fascinating grouping of personalities. Despite the potential for so many to have similar traits, there are many different ways to express them. As people marry into families and have children, even more personalities enter the picture. There may be some people that we would not choose to be related to, but that’s what friends are for. 

If we trust in a universe that has a higher purpose for everything, then we must believe that family members are in our lives for a good reason. These reasons may be easy to see and appreciate with some, but others may offer us a challenge. With those, we can look for something we can learn or perhaps teach. In the modern world where everyone seeks to be individuals, many move far away from their families in an attempt to escape them. But when we’ve successfully built a world around us that requires no one’s help, our families are the people who are still attached to us. We can still choose whether or not to honor the family ties, and how to treat each other, but the fact remains that we are energetically tied to our families. 

Our families help us see where we have come from so that we may more clearly decide where we’d like to go. If we can learn to accept our families for who they are, then we go out into the world armed with the ability to deal with anyone. Some families are better than others at preparing us for the world. What we learn from our families, even if they are simply blank spots on our family trees, becomes the basis of our identities as individuals. Rather than denying our connections, we can choose to accept their presence in our lives. Acceptance does not mean we have to like them; we simply acknowledge that we are connected to them and honor that connection for like it or not, there is a reason. When we can embrace all that they bring into our experience, we may be grateful for all we have learned from them and have to learn, while we experience everything that comes with family fully and completely.

Women and Wolves

Women and Wolves

A healthy woman is much like a wolf, strong life force, life-giving, territorially aware, intuitive and loyal. Yet separation from her wildish nature causes a woman to become meager, anxious, and fearful.

The wild nature carries the medicine for all things. She carries stories, dreams, words and songs. She carries everything a woman needs to be and know. She is the essence of the female soul...

With the wild nature as ally and teacher, we see not through two eyes only, but through the many eyes of intuition. With intuition we are like the starry night, we gaze at the world through a thousand eyes.

It does not mean to lose one's primary socializations. It means quite the opposite. The wild nature has a vast integrity to it. It means to establish territory, to find one's pack, to be in one's body with certainty and pride, to speak and act in one's behalf, to be aware, to draw on the innate feminine powers of intuition, to find what one belongs to, to rise with dignity, to proceed as a powerful being who is friendly but never tame.

The Wild Woman is the one who thunders in the face of injustice. She is the one we leave home to look for and the one we come home to. She is the one who keeps a woman going when she thinks she's done for. She is intuition, far-seer, deep listener, and she is loyal heart. She thrives on fresh site and self-integrity.

She must strut the old pathways, assert her instinctual knowledge, proudly bear the battle scars of her time, write her secrets on walls, refuse to be ashamed, lead the way through and out, be cunning and use her feminine wits.

Where can you find her? She walks in the deserts, cities, woods, oceans, and in the mountain of solitude. She lives in women everywhere; in castles with queens, in the boardrooms, in the penthouse, and on the night bus to Brownsville.

She lives in a faraway place that breaks through to our world. She lives in the past and is summoned by us. She is in the present. She is in the future and walks backward in time to find us now.

Wild woman whispers the words and the ways to us, and we follow. She has been running and stopping and waiting to see if we are catching up. She has many things to show us.

   

Whether you are possessed of a simple heart or the ambitious, whether you are trying to make it to the top or just make it through tomorrow, the wild nature belongs to you.

Don't be a fool. Go back and stand under that one red flower and walk straight ahead for that last hard mile. Go up and knock on the old weathered door. Climb up to the cave. Crawl through the window of a dream. Sift the desert and see what you find. It is the only work we have to do.

Without us, Wild Woman dies. Without Wild Woman, we die. Para Vida, for true life, both must live.

Text summarized from
Women Who Run With Wolves
 Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D.

Candle Magic

Candle Magick
Author: Gentle Deer Lion Tamer [a WitchVox Sponsor] 
Posted: October 17th. 2010 
Times Viewed: 1,609 

One of the easiest and most powerful magickal techniques utilized by both witches and folk magicians is the utilization of candles in performing a spell. Candles are readily available items, can be found most anywhere and are convenient for use. They come in all shapes and sizes, scented or unscented, and which shape you use is totally up to you and the purpose of the spell.

You can purchase candles sculpted in the shape of the Goddess or God for mystical symbolism, but ordinary taper candles are just as effective. In the world of magick, color is quite important as it creates a certain state of mind in the user and conveys various messages to the subconscious, which can make a spell all the more effective. 

Here is how candle magick is ordinarily done:

Acquire a candle of the appropriate color (see table below for this) . Then, hold the candle in your power hand (if you are right-handed, than that is your power hand) . Take several deep breaths and concentrate on your goal intensely. If you wish to cast a spell for money or employment, for example, think of a job you'd love to have, think of all your bills being paid and of a hefty bank account.

Verbally announce to an appropriate deity (this is variable, and depends on your specific tradition) , or the Mother Goddess (for those of us who are eclectic) that you are soliciting their aid in acquiring a better job or more money.

Be sure to ask only for realistic goals, and be sure that you are not requesting assistance at someone else's expense. Make it a point to state this in your intention. Think of this goal and mentally build up huge amounts of energy until you are literally shaking with this built up intent.

Then, when you feel it has reached its peak, project all of this energy through your power hand and into the candle.

Light the candle and put it someplace where it will burn safely (never leave a burning candle unattended. If you do allow a candle to burn-out, overnight and have pets that could knock the candle over, consider placing it in your bathtub or sink, as no damage can be done if knocked over there. Of course this would not apply to fiberglass tubs or sinks.) . Sit in front of the candle, meditate for a few moments and know that as the flame burns and the candle melts, your intention is being sent into the astral realms, where it will take form and eventually manifest itself in the physical. This can take anywhere from a week to a few months, depending upon the complexity of your request. One thing to remember, as with any spell work you do, including candle magick, do not dwell upon the spell or the results after performing the magick/spell, as this will only drain energies from the spell itself.

Remember this, as well: spellwork to gain something (such as money or a love interest) is best done during the waxing moon, and are most effective just before or on the Full Moon; spellwork to get rid of something, or to banish negativity from your life, should be done during the waning moon or just before or on the New Moon. They will be more effective this way, though in an emergency, you can still do any spell at anytime.

Remember to let the candle burn out all the way; if you don't have the time, then let the candle burn on successive nights until it is completely burnt out.

Remember, DO NOT use the same candle for different purposes. Once it is "programmed" with a specific type of energy, do not use it for another purpose, or "program" it with a different intent. This will only muddle up the energy and confuse the intent.

As you meditate upon the candle, gently move your hand above the flame and concentrate on your goal. You may want to light some incense along with the candle, and I will include a separate list on the proper incense to use in another section. If you can't find a certain color candle (for example, black candles can be hard to find) , then use a white candle. They can be substituted for any color below, since the color white is actually a reflection of all colors. Here is the appropriate table of correspondence below:

* WHITE: Spirituality, purification, protection; all-purpose.
* RED: Energy, protection, sex, defense, aggressive actions.
* BLUE: Love, healing, flexibility, friendship, peace.
* PINK: Love, romance, companionship.
* GREEN: Money, employment, commerce, stability.
* YELLOW: Intellect, education, benevolence, writing, the arts.
* ORANGE: Luck, changing of personal fortune, attraction of influences.
* BROWN: Animal magick, healing of animals, stability.
* PURPLE: Luck, protection from negativity.
* BLACK: Banishment, binding, reversal, removal of negative influences.

(Note: Personally, I do not attach any special powers to colors in the candle magick spells that I perform. This is with petitions for others, as well as for healings, protection and more. I have included the above as a reference and would encourage all who feel drawn, by intuition, to a certain color, by all means use that color of candle for your candle magick work. When I hold a new candle, I feel that is neutral. (That is, after it being cleansed.) So any energy would flow into the candle from my heart and my thoughts as I "power" the candle.) 

Remember the Wiccan Rede when performing this or any other type of magick. Keep your spellwork on positive goals, don't utilize bindings except in self-defense and even then keep your spellwork defensive, not offensive and remember to harm none! Doing so will only build up bad karma, and you will eventually have to pay for hurting or manipulating others.

Specifically, remember this when performing love magick: do not cast a spell to win the love of a specific person; when doing job magick, do not spell to take the job from somebody else. Nasty and manipulative magick like this will only leave you subject to the Law of Threefold Return.