New Moon Ritual - Sowing Seeds of Change

Nature is the ultimate creator. At a nearby gardening store or hardware store, get an assortment of seed packets to plant newness into your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, try nasturtiums which are extremely hardy, grow quickly and spread, beautifying any area. They re-seed themselves, which is a lovely bonus.

On a new moon morning, draw a square in your yard with a “found in nature” wand- a fallen branch. Apartment dwellers can use a planter on the deck or a big pot for this ritual. Each corner of the square needs a candle and a special stone. I get my stones at new age bookstores, which often have the shiny tumbled versions for as little as one dollar.

Mark the corners as follows:

Green candle and peridot or jade for creativity, prosperity and growth

Orange candle and jasper or onyx for clear thinking and highest consciousness

Blue candle and turquoise or celestine for serenity, kindness and a happy heart

White candle and quartz or limestone for purification and safety

Repeat this chant as you light each candle:

Greatest Gaia, I turn to you to help me renew.

Under this new moon and in this old earth.

Blessings to you; blessings to me. Blessed be.

Put the seeds under the soil with your fingers and tamp them down gently with your wand, the branch, which you should also stick in the ground at this time. Water your new moon garden and affirmative change will begin in your life that very day. 

Witchy gardening tip

Rainwater Renewal Spell

I advise any witchy gardener to have a rain barrel to make the most of stormy weather; you can water your pots of herbs and garden during sunnier days and dry spells. On the first day of the rainfall, place a blue glass bowl outside as a watercatcher. Bring it inside and place on your altar beside a lit candle. Speak aloud:

Water of life, gift from the sky

We bathe in newfound energy, making spirits fly!

Dip your fingers in the water and touch your forehead. Meditate upon the healing work you and your garden can do, thanks to the nurturing rainfall. Pour the water into the ground of your garden, speaking the spell one last time. 

Solstice Blessings to You (and some fun ideas for celebrating this holy day)

Sacred Grove Solstice Spell - June 21

Celebrating the season of the sun is best done outdoors in the glory of nature’s full bloom. If you have a forest nearby or a favorite grove of trees, plan to picnic and share this rite of passage with your spiritual circle. Covens often have a favorite spot.  All the better if a great oak is growing there, the tree most sacred to Druids. Gather the tribe and bring brightly colored ribbons and indelible markers. Form the circle by holding hands, then point to east, south, north and west chanting:

We hold the wisdom of the sun,

We see the beauty of our earth.

To the universe that gives us life, we return the gift.

Deepest peace to all,

And we are all one.

Blessed be.

Each member of the circle should speak their wish for the world, themselves or loved ones and write it on a ribbon. One by one, tie your ribbon to a tree. Each flutter of the wind will spread your well-wishes.

Summer Solstice Pudding

Inspired by a traditional recipe from North Yorkshire, known as “The Garden of England,” this summer pudding brings forth the taste of the season, simply sublime.

 Gather:

1 pound fresh mixed berries- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries

1 cup diced fresh peaches, plums, nectarines

10 slices crustless bread (or 15 biscuits or shortbreads)

¼ cup sugar

1 lemon

Combine the berries, fruits, sugar in a saucepan and gently boil for three minutes. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Line a big bowl with the bread overlapping to form a crust. Pour in the fruit mix. Add one last bread slice on top and place a saucer on top with a weight on it to press down. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving, turn the dish upside down and the pudding will slip out in a half-circle shape. Top with fresh whipped cream and a few berries and mint leaves as garnish. This cool treat could not be easier.

 Each spoonful is filled with the sweetness of summer. Savor this with your loved ones.

Wish Upon a Waxing Moon

This spell will sanctify your garden space. When the moon is waxing, growing larger toward the phase of fullness, gather green and purple candles and anoint them with sandalwood and rose oil, respectively. To create a simple outdoor altar, Place the candles on a large flat rock or your garden wall.  Place a small potted ivy vine on the altar along with a cup of water. Burn sandalwood incense in the northern side of your outdoor altar. Now close your eyes and meditate upon your hopes and dreams of growth - personal, business, spiritual, for loved ones. When the incense has almost completely burned, take the ivy and plant it in the optimal spot in your garden, where it can thrive and spread, creating beauty as it vines on a wall or fence. Use the cup to water the plant. Now bow and pray:

As this living thing expands,

So shall the power of this magic space grow.

Oh, goddess of the Earth, I dedicate my magic to you.

Harm to none and only good work from this holy space.

This ivy is now a botanical “familiar” and as it flourishes, so will you. I encourage you to continually revitalize your outdoor altar by adorning it with sacred objects that have meaning to you: iridescent feathers, a lovely rock from a nearby creek, a bright red pomegranate, a perfect white rose or anything you find from nature that will make a perfect offering. 

Planting Protection: Green Ways to Improve the Air You Breathe

Plants provide a haven, even in a small studio apartment. They improved the air we breathe and lending their seasonal beauty. This is a great idea for at home and at work. Not only are they pretty to look at, they are improving the air you breathe. These air-purifying plants look great, produce oxygen, and can even absorb contaminants like formaldehyde and benzene, which are commonly off-gassed from furniture and mattresses. Here are the plants to purify the air in your home 24/7:  bamboo, weeping figs, rubber tree, spider plant, Peace lily, snake plants. Houseplants need their leaves dusted so you can do this with a banana peel. The dust clings to the peel and the leaves are nourished by the peel. Go bananas!

Mint   - Refresh Your Mental Powers

Another useful herb is mint, which comes from the Latin “menthe,” which literally means thought. Mint is so easily grown that a little bunch in the backyard can go on to become a scentful, attractive groundcover. It is also called the flower of eternal refreshment. Woven into a laurel, it bestows brilliance, artistic inspiration and prophetic ability. As a tea, it accomplishes miracles of calming the stomach and the mind at the same time.

Sage Wisdom: Fill Your Home With Inspiration

Every kitchen witch should grow a pot of sage or a big patch in your garden. Sage is a must to have on hand for clearing energy. It also increases psychic potential. Most kitchen witches are highly imaginative and very inventive folk. Whether your passion is growing an artful garden, throwing pots, cookery or music, you can stay in better touch with your personal muse. Call her to you anytime, day or night, by your own design. This is especially important if you are feeling uninspired or struggling with a bout of writer’s block

Head out to your garden or the sunny spot on the deck where your hardiest sage grows. Take three large and extra long sticks of your favorite incense and bind strands of sage around the incense with purple thread. Tie it off and you have a sage wand. Before any creative endeavor, you can light this wand and wave it around your workspace, filling the area with inspiration. Close your eyes and meditate upon the work you will begin. You have cleared your space, invited the muse and your work will be superb, worthy of notice from the gods and goddesses. 

Grow Your Own Medicine Tree

One of Mother Nature’s most effective healers is aloe. When I lived in colder areas that frost and snow, I grew aloe in a wide pot with good drainage and placed it in the sunniest spot in the kitchen where it thrived with very little water. I am truly fortunate to live where it never gets below freezing so I have a towering aloe in the left garden corner that is growing to tree-like proportion. When anyone in the household gets a burn, a bug bite, a rash, a scratch, an itch or sunburn, I march back and grab a stem and apply the juice liberally. We use it as a medicine and as a beauty application for facials, hair gel, skin massage and feel so blessed that all this heavenly healing is utterly free of cost. Aloe propagates through baby plants sprouting off the sides which you can repot into little clay containers and give as kitchen witchery gifts to your circle to share the healing energy as well as protection and luck, a deterrent to loneliness and abets success. Grow in the home to provide protection from household accidents. Burn on the night of a full moon to bring a new lover by the new moon.

Lavender is Love

Lavender is blessedly easy to grow as it is a shrubby plant of Mediterranean origins. It is prized for the lovely scent and is a very powerful healing plant with many other properties, even for making tea, tisanes, infusing into honey and many more practical uses. It can even prosper in dry and drought areas so make sure kitchen garden has at least one of the hardy varieties so you can dry bundles to use in your spellwork as well as in your recipes.

Lavender Self-Blessing Ritual

The time you take to restore yourself is precious. Morning is the optimal time to perform a self blessing which will help you maintain both your physical health and provide an emotional boost each and every day. Take a bundle of dried lavender grown in your kitchen garden or from a purveyor of organic herbs and place it into a muslin sack. Knead the lavender three times and breathe in the calming scent. Beginning at the top of your head, your crown chakra, pass the pouch all the way down to your feet gently touching your other sacred chakras: throat, solar plexus, stomach and pelvis. Holding the lavender bag over your heart, speak aloud:

Gone are sorrows, illness and woe;

Here wisdom and health flows.

My heart is whole, joy fills my soul.

Blessed be me.