The Giving-tree Spell

In Celtic lore, certain kinds of trees were called wishing trees. Taoists refer to them as money trees; either way, they can be “giving” trees (see below).

Gather together

    * a plain white piece of paper

    * a pen

    * 1 stick of jasmine or rose incense

Write your wishes for prosperity and luck on the paper. Specificity is key and you should include the details of what you are asking for. If you need more money to buy a new laptop, write that down. It can be more than one wish. Now, fold your wish paper into a square as small as possible and bury the paper in soil at the bottom of a giving tree. Choose from the list of magical trees below, or trust your intuition in arboreal matters.

    Light the incense stick, place it by the buried paper and pray aloud:

    “Tree of plenty; I ask you to give

    More abundance and money so I can live,

    I ask for ______ [fill in blank] as it will truly help me.

    With harm to none, so mote it be.

Repeat the spell twice and your wish will be put into effect.

Giving Trees

    * Willow for healing broken hearts

    * Apple for divination and spellwork

    * Cherry for romance

    * Oak for strength and lust

    * Peach for love magic

    * Olive for peace

    * Aspen for sensitivity

    * Eucalyptus for purification

Lammas Day: A Ritual of Gratitude for the Changing Seasons

Essential elements for this ritual are sheaves of grain (such as wheat or barley), a cauldron, water, one floating candle, one candle for each person present, and essential oils of rose, lavender, or other summer flowers.

Your Lammas Day ritual should be held on August first, the beginning of the harvest season in the ancient cycle of the year. To create the sacred space of the ritual, arrange the sheaves of grain in the four directions around a cauldron. Fill the cauldron three-quarters full with water, then add essential oils of the flowers of summer. Cast your circle in the usual manner. 

At this point, the leader of the ritual should light the candles and then hand them to each person and guide the participants to form a circle around the cauldron. Now the floating candle should be lit and placed in the cauldron by the leader, who says:

    O Ancient Lugh of days long past,

    be here with us now

    in this place between worlds,

    on this Lammas Day.

Rap three times on the cauldron and say:

    Harvest is here and the seasons do change,

    this is the height of the year.

    The bounty of summer sustains us

    in spirit, in soul, and in body.

Now the group circles five times around the cauldron. All present should then speak their gratitude for the gifts of the season and the riches of the summer’s bounty. Storytelling, singing, and dancing should all be a part of this rite; when the tales have been told and the songs have been sung, the leader determines when the rite is done by putting out the candles and proclaiming:

    This rite is done!

Close the circle.

You can create your own variations on this Lammas Day celebration, incorporating your own views on the summer season and how you show appreciation to nature and spirit. One lovely way to celebrate Lammas Day, anciently named Lughnasa in Celtic cultures, is to have a feast that begins and ends with gratitude and blessings for the food and wine, with a place set and food set aside for the great godly guest, Lugh.

Midsummer Day

Essential elements for a Celtic-inspired Midsummer ritual are a wooden wheel, fallen branches and firewood, multicolored candles, multicolored ribbons, food and drink, and flowers for garlands. This ritual should be performed outside, ideally on a hill or mountaintop, at dusk. Call the local fire department to verify the fire laws in your area. You will likely need a special permit to light a bonfire, and certain areas may be restricted. Always clear the grass and brush away from your fire area, and make sure to dig a shallow pit into the ground. Circle the pit with rocks to help mark the edge of the fire pit as well as to contain the accidental spread of fire. Have a fire extinguisher, a pail of sand, and water bottles nearby in case the fire gets out of control. One person not directly involved in the ritual should be on hand to watch the fire at all times. Make sure the fire pit is far enough away from surrounding trees and other landscape features to allow for a group to dance around it.

Lay the wooden wheel down in the circle of stones, and arrange the fallen branches and firewood around the edge of it. The wheel represents the turning of the year, and the sun on its daily and yearly cycle. Tie the colored ribbons on the nearest tree. While these preparations are being made, the priestess to lead the ritual should meditate in the area where the ritual will be held, connecting to the goddess. The gathered celebrants should weave garlands of flowers while the sun slowly sets. Just before the sun vanishes completely, the priestess should direct the gathered celebrants to ready their candles, or more ideally, torches. The priest lights them, declaring:

The fire festival is begun.

Under this longest day of the sun. 

Let us go forth and make merry. 

The god and goddess are here!

All say:

Blessed be!

The priest leads the celebrants into the circle where the priestess waits, and directs them to throw their torches and candles in the bonfire. The priestess raises her arms and invokes the Goddess:

Great Earth Mother and Lady of the Forest, 

Be with us here and now!

On this night the Goddess reigns supreme. 

On this, our night of our midsummer!

All say:

Blessed be!

All should dance in the direction of the sun (clockwise) around the fire, raise their arms, and clap and shout for joy for as long as they want. When people begin to tire, it is time for the feast. The priest directs the blessing of the food:

Blessed Lady of the Forest,

And old god and animals, spirits of the wild, 

Bless this food and drink,

That it may strengthen us in your ways.

All say:

Blessed be!

Everyone should share in the refreshments and eat, drink, and make merry. Another round of dance and song is in order. When the bonfire has turned to ash, the priestess declares the ritual to be over and says:

Our revelry this day is done, dear one. 

Gods of the old and spirits of nature,

We thank you for your blessings this night. 

This rite is done.

All say:

Blessed be!

Make certain the fire has completely gone out before you leave the ritual site. Soak the ashes with water and clean up the site. Always leave a natural area cleaner than you found it. 

Planetary Protection Charms

Planting three red flowers in the new moon will keep trespassers off property and allow the land to return to a wild well-being. I suggest penstemon, wild roses, geraniums or nasturtiums.

To heal and guard an ailing or endangered tree, an old Celtic custom involves tying a red ribbon around the trunk and chanting:

Red for the sap-blood inside this spirit-tree,
Every Full Moon,
I will retie a cord of magic around thee.
So mote it be!