Pagan Zen Pick-Me-Up

The ancient pagan art of aromatherapy owes its newfound popularity to its remarkable capacity to heal the mind and alter the emotions. To enhance your spiritual health, combine the following essential oils in a dark colored bottle with a sealable cap:

Six drops lavender oil, four drops frankincense, six drops vanilla oil, and two ounces almond oil

Light your way to a healthier outlook by burning this Pagan Zen combination in an oil lamp or, for a quick pick-me-up, dab them onto light bulbs in your home or office. A soothing, meditative smell will soon develop you.

Misty Moon Potion

If you are dreaming of true abundance, with the understanding that health is more important than wealth, you want to feel your best. You can bring this about with this potent potion:

• 3 drops vanilla oil

• 3 drops lavender

• 3 drops orange blossom essence

• 4 ounces pure distilled water

Pour all these into a colored glass spray bottle and shake well three times. Fifteen minutes before you retire, spray lightly on your linens, towel, and pillow case. Keep a dream journal on your nightstand so you can record details of the dreams of abundant health that will soon manifest.

Rejuvenation Invocation: The Water of Life

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 water-catcher. Bring it inside and place on your altar beside a lit candle. Speak:

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.

Moon Stone: Personal Power Crystal Blessing

You can perform a blessing on a single stone and keep it with you at all times. I keep an amethyst crystal chunk on my nightstand and another one that is a candleholder in my office. As a Pisces, I want my birthstone energy with me for strength, stability, and a love connection with the universe.

Choose a crystal to become your touchstone. Begin charging your crystal on your altar during a full moon. Light a white candle for purification and then place your hands on the stone. Chant thrice:

Goddess of Night, moon of this night,
Fill my stone with your white light.
Instill this stone with your magic and might;

Surround it with your loving sight. 
So mote it be.

Perform this spell three nights in a row. Then you can begin to draw energy from your personal moon stone. Your sanctified stone will be a source of strength, wisdom, and love you can turn to whenever you are down and in need of a boost. And, best of all, you can take it with you.

Hedgewitch Tinctures

Teas brewed from a single herb are commonly called “simples.” I love that phrase of olden times. Experience has taught me that these simples often have the most intensity, since the very singleness of the herb gives it potency. A simple made from one of the following herbs enhances mental clarity, even clairvoyance. This will jumpstart you on your path toward any creative pursuit. Here is a recipe for a very inspired tea:

Boil one pint of spring water. Place into your favorite crockery teapot a half-ounce of any ONE of the following herbs: rosemary, mugwort, yarrow or thyme.

Steep for ten minutes and strain with a nonmetallic strainer, like cheesecloth or an inexpensive bamboo strainer. Sweeten with a little honey; I recommend clover honey because you get the added benefits of clover’s lucky powers. Sip this brew while relaxing, and be inspired!

Handmade Healing Amulets: Growing Good Health

You will experience years of enjoyment from tending your garden, as Voltaire taught us in his masterpiece, Candide. You can share that pleasure with your friends and those you love with gifts from your garden. Your good intentions will be returned many times over. I keep a stock of small muslin drawstring bags for creating amulets. If you are a crafty witch, you can make the bags, sewing by hand, and stuff the dried herbs inside.

For courage and heart: mullein or borage

For good cheer: nettle or yarrow

For fellow witches: ivy, broomstraw, maidenhair fern

For safe travels: comfrey

For fertility: cyclamen or mistletoe

For protection from deceit: snapdragon

For good health: rue

For success: woodruff

For strength: mugwort

For youthful looks: an acorn

Amulets should be kept on your person at all times: in a pocket, in your purse or book bag, or on a string around your neck.

Gratitude Spell

In your pantry and backyard, you have much that you need to attract whatever you want more of into your life—love, money, a new home, a new job, increased creativity. The jar of cinnamon on your shelf is filled with sheer potential, and not just for baking cookies or dessert. Cinnamon is a spice of abundance.

To engender greater and long-lasting positive change, perform this spell:

Take seven green votive candles, seven cinnamon sticks, and seven flat green leaves from a plant in your garden; ivy or nasturtium are excellent choices. On your kitchen table, arrange the candles in a circle, placing them on the leaves. Anoint each candle with a dab of cinnamon oil, which works swiftly, as it is ruled by Mercury—the god of speed, swift change, and fast communication whom operates in the element of air. Place the sticks in the center. At 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. for seven days, light a candle. Then incant aloud:

Luck be quick, luck be kind.
And by lucky seven, good fortune will be mine. 
As above, so below,
The wisdom of the gods shall freely flow.
To perfect possibility, in gratitude I go.

Each day, at the strike of 7 o’clock, perform your ritual.

Later, you can count your blessings; there will be at least seven.

Pool of Plenty: Intention Setting Spell

After any magical work involving employment, you should immerse yourself in the waters of prosperity with a money bath. This particular ritual is most effective if practiced on Thursday night during a new or full moon. Pour pine, mint or green apple essential oil into running bathwater and bathe by the light of a single green candle. Immerse yourself completely and, as you rise, close your eyes and meditate on your truest desires. What does personal prosperity mean to you? What do you really need and what do you really want? Focus on the candle flame while whispering:

The lean times are past and possibilities are vast. 
Here and now, my intention is set.
New luck will be mine and all needs will be met. 
With harm to none and plenty for all, so mote it be. 
With thanks to the goddess who provides all.

Invocation for New Employment

Here is a great way get a new job. Light a gold candle and place it in a special place beside a crystal chunk of shiny gold pyrite. Repeat this incantation eight times while holding the gold in your right hand and holding a vision of yourself at the desired job:

To see what the future holds, 
I must be bold.
I see the perfect job for me;
I see a place of plenty.
Upon my heart’s desire I am set; 
My new boss will never regret. 
This job will come to me now; 
Harm to none, I vow.
With harm to none, so mote it be.

Lucky Charm

Another lucky charm for solvency is to take seven tiny turquoise stones and put them on your windowsill during a full moon for seven hours. Then pick up the stones, and while holding them in the palm of your hand, speak this wish-spell:

Luck be quick, luck be kind.
And by lucky seven, good luck will be mine.

Carry these lucky stones with you in a bright blue bag and be on the lookout for blessings to shower down upon you. You might receive a gift, win free services, or literally find money in your path.

Bay Leaf Money Magic

Harvest several leaves from your neighborhood Bay laurel tree—or just from the space rack in your cupboard—and place them inside a clear bowl on your altar overnight. In the morning, remove the leaves and let them dry in your kitchen window. Touch the water to your fingertips and touch your purse, wallet and anywhere you keep money. If you handle money at your workplace, bottle some of the bay leaf water in a tiny jar and do the same. Once the soaked leaves have dried, place in your wallet, purse and pockets, and it will attract money to you and yours. (It also repels thieves and loss of wealth.) You can also put some bay leaves in your desk at home or work to enhance prosperity for your employer, or before asking for a raise. Thursdays are the ideal day for this but try this anytime the need arises!

Prosperity herbs and plants: bay leaf, bayberry, basil, chamomile, cloves, cinnamon, honeysuckle, Irish moss, mint, strawberry leaves, Tonka beans

Keep Your Moon Goddess Close

Whether you’re passionate about writing code, cooking, growing plants, painting, or writing music, you can stay in touch with your favorite goddess by using a special tool that will draw her to you with the sweet-smelling smoke of sage.

Sage is hardy and sun-loving, so keep a pot of it on the windowsill. There are very simple steps to take to create a sage wand to use when you need inspiration. First, you will want to create a tight braid of materials. This braid will consist of a long fennel stalk, a twisted bundle of sage, long sticks of incense (I prefer cinnamon), and purple (for power) and gold (for money) string or thread. Before your prayers to the goddess, simply light one end of your wand and gently wave it around your head to clear your environment. Your mind will be cleared in the process, freeing the way for abundant ideas. A little sage smoke goes a long way, so you will not want to burn the entire wand at once. Keep a cup of water or a small bowl of earth on hand to extinguish your wand when you are done. Always express gratitude to the goddess for all she does for all of us.

Green Magic - Basil Abundance Ritual

Take a few sprigs of basil before you cook and put them in a green bowl on your kitchen altar. Boil water as for tea and pour over the herb in the bowl. Now chant this medieval-inspired charm:

With bounteous hand and healthful balm, 
Blessed basil, most verdurous herb
Bring me health and heart and calm. 
Abundance I shall see by every deed and verb. 
And so it is.

Breathe in the steam from the basil bowl and fill your lungs with the smell of prosperity. Repeat the spell once more; leave the basil bowl on your altar for 24 hours. Not only will your thinking be greatly clarified, but you will begin to see signs of your wealth increasing in one week. With basil flourishing in your herb pots, you have a ready source bursting with positive money energy.

Lady of the Silver Moon Charm

Put a silver coin at full moon in a bowl of water. 

Look up at the moon and soak in the light. 

Whisper the following spell three times:

Lovely lady of the moon, bring to me health and wealth. 
Fill my pockets with silver and gold,
As much as my purse can hold.
Blessings to all; blessings to me.
Blessed be.

In a Pinch Prosperity Spell

Cinnamon, which you probably have a plentitude of in your kitchen cabinet, is a major source of prosperity and can even bring it about in a hurry. Thursdays are named for Jupiter, or Jove, originally Thor of Norse mythology, who represents joviality, expansion, and all things abundant. Here is a Jupiterian Thursday spell that will bring excellent opportunities your way.

Gather both cinnamon sticks and the powdered kind and place on your altar. On a Thursday, light incense, preferably cinnamon, and walk through your house, wafting the delightfully sweet smoke in

every room. Light two altar candles, one brown and one green. Gather flowers, preferably yellow ones, such as daisies and adorn your altar with them. Stand in front of your natural altar and consider the wonderful, full life you are going to enjoy. Pour the cinnamon spice and sticks into a bowl and pray aloud:

This humble spice I offer to the gods who provide all. I am grateful for all I receive, no matter how small. 
Now, I find I am in need,
Blessings shall come now with great speed.
As above, so below,
The wisdom of the world shall freely flow. 
To perfect possibility, I surrender.
And so it is. Blessed be to all.

Attraction Action – A Group Rite

Here is a beautifully simple way to attract money to you and your circle. Be sure to pass on some of the good fortune that has shone on you in order to keep the flow of abundance in circulation. This ritual is most effective performed at midnight on a full moon. Ask the participants to bring a green candle with their name scratched into the wax. Find the biggest green candle you can get and light it at the stroke of midnight.

Ask each ritualist to step forward and recite their name, lighting their candle from the large one. Pray aloud:

Holy Moon on this bright night! 
Now is the time for fortune to shine. 
Mother Moon, lend us your power 
In this midnight hour.
Full moon bright, full moon’s light,
Grant to us, our wish tonight.
Let abundance flow from this rite. 
With harm to none, so mote it be.

Allow the candles to burn out on their own.

As they flicker under the full moon, gather the circle in a comfortable spot and talk about what you want to manifest in your lives. The more specifics in the discussion, the better. This rite bears repeating every once in a while to renew the power.

Mint Money Bags (Moon in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn)

Rather than chasing money or possessions, you can simply draw them toward you with wisdom from days gone by. A tiny green pouch filled with the herbs chamomile and mint, three cinnamon sticks, one silver dollar and a green stone—peridot or a smooth mossy-colored pebble of jade—would be perfect. The untrained eye might perceive this as a bag of weeds and rocks but any kitchen witch knows this is a powerful tool for creating powerful change into your life and attracting good fortune.

Prepare your attraction pouch during a waxing moon; the strongest power would be when the sun or moon is in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn. Hold the pouch over frankincense incense and as the smoke blesses the bag, you speak:

The moon is a silver coin; this I know.
I carry lunar magic with me everywhere I go. 
Blessings upon thee and me as my abundance grows.

Carry this power pouch with you as you go about your way—to work, to the store, on your daily walks, to social events. Soon, blessings will shower down upon you. You might even receive a gift or literally find money in your path.

Prosperity Altar: Using the Laws of Attraction

The full moon is the time for fomenting your intentions and seeing them to fruition. You can increase your prosperity by remembering one of the most basic principles of prosperity: by giving, so shall you receive. To create a prosperity altar, consecrate the area with sea salt. Cover a low table with green and gold altar cloths or scarves and place matching candles on it. Each day, “recharge” your altar with an altar gift such as flowers, jade or other green crystals, golden flowers, scented amber resin, and coin-shaped pebbles.

Moons of Manifestation

You can fill your coffers and reduce your stress by mind. When the moon is waxing, growing from a new moon state towards full, this is a time to sow seeds and plant crops, and cast spells for attracting things into your life. Use this lunar waxing time to attract the new into your life. When the moon is waning, gradually getting smaller from a full moon state back into a new moon, this is a time to harvest crops, cut your hair, and shed that which you no longer want in your life.

The Supernatural Spectrum – Candle Color Magic

For a peaceful home, burn blue candles on Thursday. 

To overcome fear, burn red candles on Sunday.

For inner peace, burn silver candles on Monday.

For self confidence, burn red candles on Sunday.

For kindness and compassion, burn pink candles on Friday. 

For physical well-being, burn green candles on Friday.

To overcome regret or guilt, burn white candles on Saturday. 

For mental clarity, burn yellow candles on Wednesday.

To let go of anger, burn orange candles on Tuesday. 

For success at work, burn green candles on Friday.

The Charmed Life: Thriving Thursdays

We all need to give ourselves a health and happiness boost. This spell aimed at abetting menial and emotional well-being is best performed when the hardy spirit of Thor is in ascendance. On any Thursday, take a blue candle, dress it with cedar or bergamot oil, and say nine times:

Fears and woes — I take respite;
Worries and cares — you’re out of sight. 
Stronger and happier, I will grow each day; 
My soul has found its way.

If you do this for several weeks, your friends will notice as your health blooms and you simply beam with a bright, jolly and renewed sense of self and well-being.

Thursday’s Prosperity Incantation

This spell is truly marvelous for getting a new or better-paying job. You will get the best results on a new moon or full moon Thursday night but any “Thor’s Day” will do.

To prepare yourself, begin by pouring a few drops of green apple or verbena essential oil into a hot vessel of water. Breathe in the steam deeply ten times, inhaling and exhaling deeply for cleansing. Light a single green candle. As you close your eyes, meditate on your true desires. What does personal prosperity mean to you? What do you really need? What do you most desire?

When you are clear about your answers, focus on the candle flame while intoning:

Here and how, my intention is set.
New luck will be mine and all needs will be met. 
With harm to none and plenty for all, blessed be.

After your cleansing breath meditation, perform this tried and true prosperity ritual to seal deals and bring about the new gainful employment and fiscal abundance your way.

Light a yellow-gold candle and light cinnamon incense with the candle. Place a piece of amethyst crystal by the candle and incense and repeat this incantation eight times while envisioning yourself with perfect abundance at the perfect job:

I see the perfect place for me; I see a place of plenty. 
Upon my heart’s desire, I am set.
Prosperity comes to me now.

Place the vessel of water on your alter and let it cool. At midnight, pour the prosperity potion on the roots of a nearby tree.

The Writing is On the Wall - Wednesday Waning Moon Magic

In the days of yore, people often made their own inks, thus imbuing them with a deeply personal energy. They simply went to the side of the road and gathered blackberries or pokeberries from the vines that grew there. Often a bird flying overhead will supply a gift of volunteer vines best cultivated by a fence where they can climb, making berry-picking easier. When it comes to matters of the heart, contracts, legacy letters and any document of real importance that you feel the need to make your mark upon, an artfully made ink can help you write unforgettable love letters and very memorable memorandums. This spell is best performed during the waning moon.

Gather the following for your ink recipe: a vial or small sealable bottle, dark red ink, 1/8th cup crushed berry juice, nine drops of burgundy wine, apple essential oil, and paper.

Mix the juice, wine and red ink in a small metal bowl. Carefully pour it into the vial and add one drop of the apple essence. Seal the bottle and shake gently.

Incant aloud:

By my hand, this spell is wrought.
With this ink, I will author my own destiny 
And have the happy life and love, I sought. 
So mote it be.

Now write the fate you envision for yourself in the near and far future using the enchantment ink and a feather for a pen. Let dry and seal it in an envelope and keep on your altar until the new moon phase. Then, by the light of a red candle, open the letter to yourself and read aloud. After, burn the paper using the candle and scatter the ashes in your garden. By the next new moon, you will begin to reap the positive plans you invoked.

Green Thumb Thursday Spell

On a Thursday, as the moon waxes, light green and purple candles anointed with pure lotus or sandalwood oil. Place a small ivy or fern on your altar, along with a glass of fresh water containing a pearl or piece of jade. Burn a stick of sandalwood incense in a pot of soil placed at the altar’s north quadrant and meditate on your hopes and dreams.

When the incense has burned down, place the plant in the larger container, then bow and pray:

As this living thing expands, so shall the power of this magic space grow. 
Oh, Goddess, I dedicate my magic to you. Harm to none and only good work from this holy place.
Blessed be.

Bury the jewel in the soil and use the water from the glass to water the plant. Keep your plant “familiar” with you. You will grow in health and power together. I also encourage you to continually revitalize your altar by adorning it with sacred objects—an iridescent feather, an egg-shaped pebble from the side of the road, a rosy pomegranate, or any other sacred object you find will make a perfect altar gift.

Woden’s Moon – Wednesday Wonder Invocation

Woden is also known as Odin, whom superhero fans now know from the wildly popular Thor movies, is at the top of the Nordic pantheon of the gods. He wields mighty power and is also associated with Mercury, with rulership of communication and keen intelligence. Woden even appears in olden Persian mythology, wherein he is credited with creating the moon on a Wednesday. Remember to offer thanks to the generous deity for gifting us our lovely lunar disk. Place dill and rosemary, two herbs for all-around mental strength and clarity, in your burning bowl. Light a yellow candle and use this to light the herbs. Patchouli incense adds power to this ritual; light this to power up your mental faculties and walk around your personal space to imbue this scent of smartness all around your work area. This will open your mind and abet your ability to create, whether your intention is to write a letter, a speech, prepare for a job interview or any project where you need to give your best. Once you feel focused, speak this spell:

I call upon you, great Woden
On this, your day
By my hand,
And with your blessing,
The fire of my mind Burns bright,
Burns long,
Burns eternal.
Deep gratitude
On this day
Under this moon 
Which you have given, 
Blessings to all.

Lavender Love Moonday Spell

To prepare for the week, you must first establish a self-care zone filled with loving energy not only toward yourself but others in your life. You only have room for the very best energy, so banish anything that can get in the way of the flow of positive energy. Try this herbal energy magic:

Steep lavender in hot water. Once the infusion has cooled to room temperature, dip your fingertips in the herbal tincture and anoint your temples and base of your throat, then sprinkle tiny droplets in your bedroom while intoning:

All is love and love is all
All is new here now, I say. 
Make way, be gone, goodbye

All here is new, say I. 
So mote it be!

Use the remainder of the lavender infusion to wash your front steps or stoop, the entry to your home, thereby clearing and cleansing the threshold of your home.

You will notice that every time you enter your home, it feels lighter and brighter thanks to the energetic de-cluttering.

Goddess Invocation - 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 a wildflower mix or poppies 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 a 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 Selene, 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.

Sunday Spell for Welcoming Benevolent Spirits

We can all use more angels in our lives. Some angels take human form such as helpful friends or a thoughtful co-worker who are always there when you need them. Still others hover above in the ether and can be summoned with the right spell. Use this incantation when you need a guiding hand or angelic assistance. What you need: wind chimes, sage.

A Lovely Night for a Moon Dance - Saturn Day Night Fever

Here is a pagan party plan which is wonderful for weekend evenings. You can add many embellishments such as important astrological or lunar happenings, but you should gather your friends or coven and celebrate life any Saturday night of your choosing. If the weather is warm enough, have the festivities outside. Otherwise, make sure to choose an indoor space with enough room for dancing, drumming and major merriment. Ask each of your guests to bring cake, cookies and sweets of their choice along with their favorite beer, wine, mead, cider or ale and sitting cushions. Place the offerings on a center table altar and light candles of all colors. Once everyone is seated and settled, the host or designated circle leader chants:

Gods of Nature, bless these cakes. 
That we may never suffer hunger. 
Goddess of the harvest,
Bless this ale,
That we may never suffer thirst. Blessed be.

The eldest and the youngest should serve the food and drink to all in the circle. Lastly, they serve each other and the leader chants the blessing again. Let the feasting begin!

Gloom Away: Lunar Levity

I don’t know about you, but I occasionally wake up on the wrong side of the bed. The best way to avoid that is to brew up this lovely aromatic spray and use it to scent your bedroom before you retire. When your linens and personal space smell sweet, your dreams are guaranteed to be the same. This custom recipe works wonders on you or anyone in your environment who might need a lift. Combine the following essential oils:

• two drops peppermint 

• two drops bergamot 

• two drops lavender

• four drops rose

• four drops neroli
  

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

Gloom and doom be gone.
Welcome, sweet spirits, into this house, 

With harm to none. So mote it be.

A Happy (and Hoppy) Household Blessing

When you or a friend move into a new home, place a wreath or bundle of dried hops and eucalyptus on the front door. Walk through the door, light your favorite incense and a brown candle, and lie down in the center of the front room. Whisper:

House of my body, I accept your shelter. 
House of my spirit, I receive your blessings. 
Home to my heart, I am open to joy.
And so it is. And so it shall be.