Create a Healing Altar: Crafting Well-Being

Creating a healing altar will safeguard your physical health and that of your loved ones. Your altar is your sacred workspace. It is charged with your personal power. Set up your healing altar facing north, the direction associated with the energy of manifestation. North is also the direction of the hour of midnight, the “witching hour,” and an altar set up facing north at midnight promises potent magic.

To ensure healthful beginnings, find a pure white square of fabric to drape over your altar to make a tabula rasa, or altar equivalent to a blank slate. Take two green candles and place them in green glass holders or votive glasses and position them in the two farthest corners of the altar. Place your incense burner in the center between the two candles and light the incense. Sandalwood, cinnamon, camphor, and frankincense are all powerful purification incenses that are perfect for the creation of a healing altar. Burn one or all of these purification essences to consecrate the space. Adorn your altar with objects that symbolize healing energy to you. You may perhaps choose a candleholder carved from a chunk of amethyst crystal, which contains healing properties; an abalone shell with the iridescent magic of the oceans; a sweet-smelling bundle of sage; a small citrus plant bursting with the restorative power of vitamins; or a bowl of curative salts from the sea.

These symbolic items, and any others that you select, will energize your altar with the magic that lives inside you. It is also important that the altar be pleasing to your eye and makes you feel good when you look at it so that you want to spend time there each and every day. After you have been performing rituals there for a while, a positive healing energy field will radiate from your altar.

DIY Ambrosial Brews: Healing Herbal Teas

Become An Alchemist: Lunar Libation

No matter what sign or moon  phase,  witch’s brews can improve your life. Tea conjures a very powerful alchemy because when you drink it, you take the magic inside. For an ambrosial brew with the power to calm any storm, add a sliver of ginger root and a pinch each of chamomile and peppermint to a cup of hot black tea. Before you drink, pray:

            This day I pray for calm, for health,

            And the wisdom to see the beauty of each waking moment.

            Blessings abound.

            So mote it be.

Herbal teas can also nourish the soul and heal the body:

Blueberry leaf tea reduces mood swings, evens glucose levels, and helps varicose veins.

Nettle raises the energy level, boosts the immune system, and is packed with iron and vitamins.

Fennel awakens and uplifts, freshens the breath, and aids colon health.

Echinacea lends an increased and consistent sense of well-being, and prevents colds and flu.

Ginger root calms and cheers while aiding digestion, nausea, and circulation.

Dandelion root grounds and centers, provides many minerals and nutrients, and cleanses the liver of toxins. 

Ions and Eons of Contentment: Salt Lamp Spell

Your entry way is where things cross the threshold into your realm. Energy management starts right at the front door. One way to keep a constant vigil on this is by having a Himalayan salt lamp in front room. Salt is one of Mother Nature’s greatest protectors as it cleanses your environment of ill-omens and bad spirits. These lovely blocks of rosy-hued salt produce negative ions when warm; the very thing that makes a beach day by the ocean so cheering are those ions. A simple DIY way to have your negative ions and enjoy them, too, is to buy a batch of rock salt chunks at your nearby new age store or even a gourmet shop. Making sure you are nearby an electrical socket, take a metal or wire bowl and place a small light bulb in the bottom center of the basket, Genltly stack the rock salt over the bulb and plug it into the socket.  The rock salt crystals will have the glow of an early morning sun. You’ll immediately enjoy the gentle soft pink glow of light and as the rocks warm up, your mood will begin to lift. As a double benefit, the salt will constantly cleanse the energy in your home and keep it light and bright. 

To consecrate your new energy management center, hold one of the rocks and speak this spell:

 I  hold this salt, beauty of the green earth and the ocean,

I hold this wish for a happy and peaceful home to come soon.

May all be merry and bright far and near.

 May all find contentment who enter hear. Blessed be!

Celebrating Abundance: A Thanksgiving Ritual

This day of giving thanks denotes the high point of the year; the crops are in their fullness, weather is warm and the countryside is bursting forth with the beauty of life. Pagans know we have the heavens above to thank for this and the gods of nature must be acknowledged for their generosity with a gathering of the tribe and a feast, ideally in the great outdoors.  Ask  invitees to bring harvest-themed offerings for the altar: gourds, pumpkins, bundles of wheat stalks and corn, fresh pickings from their garden and food to share in thanksgiving made from the same- pies, tomato salads, cucumber pickles, green beans, corn pudding, watermelon, lemon cakes, berry cucumber, apple cider and beer brewed from wheat, hops and barley. This celebration of the reapings from the summer season should reflect what you grown with your own hands. Fill your cauldron or a big beautiful colored glass bowl half-full with freshly-drawn water. Get packets of tiny votive candles for floating in the water. At the feast table, make sure to have a place-setting for the godly guest Lugh who watched over the plantings to ensure this bounty. Place loaves of home baked bread by his plate.

When all guests have arrived, everyone should add a food offering to the plate of the god and light a candle to float in the cauldron.  Cut a slice of the loaf of bread for Lugh and begin the ceremony with this prayer of thanks:

Oh, ancient Lugh of the fields and farms,

We invite you here with open arms,

In this place between worlds, in flowering fields of hay.

You have brought the blessings we receive this ThanksgivingDay.

Begin the feast and before the dessert course, everyone should go around the table and speak to their gratitude for the gifts of the year

Blessing Bowl Ritual

While a bowl is not a tool in and of itself, you can utilize bowls in your spellwork often and anytime you are inspired to do so. Three simple ingredients, a red rose, a pink candle and water can bestow a powerful blessing. The rose signifies beauty, potential, the sunny seasons, love for yourself and others. The candle stands for the element of fire, the yellow flame of the rising sun in the east, harmony, higher intention and the light of the soul. Water represents its own element, flow, the direction of the west, emotions and cleansing. This ritual can be performed alone or with a group in which you pass the bowl around.

Float the rose in a clear bowl of water and light a pink candle beside the bowl. With your left hand, gently stir the water in the bowl and say:

These waters cleanse my soul and being,

Now, with a clear mind and heart, I am seeing,

I am love; my heart is a big as sky and earth.

From the east to the west, love universal gives life its worth.

Blessings to all, so mote it be.

Keep the blessing bowl on your kitchen altar for three days and three nights, Dry the red rose and keep it on your nightstand or desk where it will always fill your heart with love,

Manifesting the Positive In Your Life

Sowing the Seeds of Change

Nature is the ultimate creator. Get an array of seed packets, and plant newness in your life. If your thumb is not the greenest, I suggest nasturtiums, which will grow in any soil and seem to thrive on neglect.

On a new-moon day, draw a square in your yard or planter with a natural wand—a willow branch or an oak stick, for example—and mark each corner with a candle and a stone:

-orange candle and stone for higher intelligence (onyx or jasper),

-green candle and stone for creativity and growth (jade, peridot, or malachite),

-blue candle and stone for serenity and goodness (lapis lazuli, turquoise, or celestite),

-white candle and stone for purification (Herkimer diamond, quartz, or limestone).

Repeat this chant as you light each candle:

“Great Gaia, I turn to you to help me renew,

Under this new moon and in this old earth. Blessed be.”

Poke the seeds under the soil with your fingers and tramp them down with your wand. Gently water your new-moon garden, and affirmative change will begin that very day.

Crystals and Gems for Pain Relief: Pretty and Pretty Darn Effective!

Pain Relief Prisms

When you feel pain somewhere in your body, it is a small voice that needs to be listened to. It could be old energy that needs to be released or a blockage or imbalance. I was in a hit-and-run auto accident where I was hit by a drunk driver who plowed through a red light and totaled my car, and very nearly me. As I hit the brake, my foot and ankle were shattered, rather like a porcelain teacup thrown with great force. The doctors wanted to amputate my leg, but I managed to talk them out of it. I had to learn to walk again, but I can walk and even dance and run again after lots of physical therapy and healing. But nowadays whenever I hit the brake too hard, I feel pain because my body remembers. The tissue and bones old the memory imprint of that awful day and the terrible trauma.

Crystals have very mild and serene ways of tranquilizing negative energy and releasing the pain. In my case, I ever so gently rub the crystal across my ankle. (Carnelian works well because it is said to be good for healing bones, but quartz can also serve the purpose.) The stone feels cool and calming as the pain dissipates. I can also visualize the pain going into the crystal, and the crystal forming a prism that contains the pain. At first, this was very frightening for me, but I found that rose quartz helped me deal with my fear. I placed the rose quartz over the heart area, the solar plexus, and as the crystal touched upon the heart chakra, I felt the fear dissolving while the pain gradually lessened. Turquoise and carnelian are also good for this.

I once had a copper bracelet set with onyx, coral, and turquoise from a Cherokee reservation that was so effective at treating wrist pain that it finally disintegrated from overuse. Copper is unmatched for dealing with edema, the swelling and inflammation that can be caused by arthritis, repetitive stress injuries, sports-related soreness, and many other issues.

Malachite has a lot of the mineral copper in it, so a pendant, ring, or bracelet with malachite can be a great agent for pain reduction. Iron-rich magnetite is another pain absorber.

The Wonder of Wands: Think Gandalf, Not Harry Potter!

I see many gorgeous, crystal-encrusted wands for sale in metaphysical five-and-dimes, and I am sure they are super-powered. Bear in mind, though, that it is a wonderful thing indeed to make your own wand. Star with a tree branch that has fallen to the ground on its own. Sand and polish the rough edges, as it is a wand and not a weapon. Then give it a good smudging. Hot-glue a large quartz crystal onto the wand near the handle, and hot-glue on any crystals featuring properties that will complement your magic. Citrine makes an excellent pointer tip for your wand and aligns your self-identity with your spirit. And, after all, isn’t that the point? Here are stones I recommend for harnessing various powers with wands:

-amber for grounding,

-amethyst for balance and intuition,

-aventurine for creative visualization,

-bloodstone for abundance and prosperity,

-calcite for warding off negativity,

-carnelian for opening doors for you and helping you overcome any family problems,

-chalcedony for power over dark spirits,

-citrine for getting motivated and attracting money and success,

-fluorite for communicating with fairies and other unseen beings,

-garnet for protection from gossip,

-geode for getting through periods of extreme difficulty,

-hematite for strength and courage,

-jade for wisdom to interpret or realize powerful dreams,

-jasper for stability,

-lodestone for bringing a lover back into your life,

-mahogany obsidian for feeling sexy and emanating sensuality,

-moss agate for powers of persuasion and healing,

-quartz crystal for divining your dreams,

-rhodochrosite for staying on course with your life’s true purpose,

-rose quartz for love

-turquoise for safety when traveling, and

-watermelon tourmaline for help with planning your best possible future.

Gather the Angels to Help You With Whatever You Need

Calling All Angels

You can access your intuition and prophetic capabilities and also call for angelic assistance with this  ritual. You’ll need these ingredients: one celestite stone and one palmful each of ground cloves, dried sage, and amber incense. If you celestate isn't easily available at your nearest metaphysical shop, a light sky blue stone will substitute. When you are able, do get celestite which offers direction angelic connection and is simply lovely. 

With a mortar and pestle, mix the herbs together. Place the heavenly blue celestite in front of you and say aloud three times:

Calling all angels!
Come and play.
Be with me now
And show me how
To make my way.

Burn the herbs in your fireplace or in a dish while gazing at the celestite and concentrating on a question, such as whether to take a new job or end a relationship. Use this time to cleanse your mind of all concerns, worries, and thoughts, making way for pure insight. Answers will come, and angels always give you a sign that they have visited. It can come in the form of an amazing coincidence, a song on the radio, or some other sweet surprise.

How to Get More Good Luck in Your Life

 Your altar is the heart center of your home, your sanctuary. Yet the world is constantly coming in and bringing mundane energy over your threshold- problems at the workplace, financial woes, bad news from your neighborhood or the world at large. All this negativity wants to get in the way and stay. While you can’t do anything about the stock market crash in China or a coworker’s divorce, do not allow this bad energy to cling to you. That you can do something about with this homekeeping spell. The best times to release any and all bad luck, is on a Friday the 13^th or on any waxing moon. As you know, Friday the 13^th is considered a lucky day on the witch’s calendar. November 13th is coming right up, too!

Get a big black candle and a black crystal, a piece of white paper, a black pen with black ink and a cancellation stamp, readily available at any stationery store. Go into your backyard or a nearby park or woodlands and find a flat rock that has a slightly concave surface. Using the pen, write down on the white paper that which you want to rid yourself and your home of; this is your release request. Place the candle, the black crystal on the rock and light the candle near an open window so the negativity goes outside while the candle burns, intone:

Waxing moon, most wise Cybele,

From me this burden please dispel

Upon this night so clear ad bright

I release ___ to the moon tonight.

Go outside and place the rock altar on the ground and visualize a clear and peaceful home filled with only the positive as the candle burns for 13 minutes. Stamp the paper with the cancel stamp. Snuff the candle, fold the paper away from your body and place it under the rock. Speak your thanks to the moon for assisting you. If you have a truly serious issue at hand, repeat the process for 13 nights and all will be vanquished.

The Scent of Happiness

The minute you walk into someone’s home, you can almost immediately tell how happy a household it is. Much of that is determined by the smell. A home with the fragrance of sugar cookies or a freshly baked pumpkin pie is one you may well want to visit often. Similarly, a space redolent of the bouquet of lilies or tea roses is one where the residents take care to make their home beautiful to both the eye and the other senses. There are lots of small things we can do in regard to “energy maintenance” for our home. To sweeten any mood, this recipe works wonders on you or anyone in your environment that might need a lift. Combine the following essential oils:

Two drops Neroli                    four drops bergamot

Four drops lavender                two drops rosemary

                       

Add the mixture to a quart of distilled water, and spray the air while chanting:

            Gloom and doom begone.

            Bright energies abound!

            Welcome, sweet spirits, into this house.

            With harm to none. So mote it be.