Tips ’n’ Tricks: Magical Marcasite Scrying Ring

Did you know that lovely marcasite is really hematite? Thank heavens it has made a fashion comeback of late and is commonly available in inexpensive jewelry. This powerful seer stone can be used for a quick scrying. Look at your marcasite ring and then close your eyes and see what flashes into your mind.

Pearls for Patience

In this fast-paced world, we are so accustomed to instant gratification (thanks, high-speed internet and same-day deliveries). We are multitasking ourselves to death. Slow down and enjoy your life. It is worth it, I assure you. Here is a quick way to simply relax and enjoy the little things in life: wear a pearl. Pearl earrings and necklaces are the best, as they calm and clear the mind.

Earring Elegance

You can wear one gold earring and one silver earring to rid yourself of the discomfort of a headache. Earrings were once worn to guard ears from potential disease and from hearing bad news. They were also believed to strengthen weak eyes, especially if set with emeralds. Earrings help to balance both hemispheres of the brain and can stabilize the throat chakra. The earlobes are sensory centers of the body and usually benefit from the stimulation of a gem or crystal. Jade and tiger’s-eye are great for reviving and refreshing. You will generally feel quite good with these two earring choices. Sapphires will bring you greater wisdom. However, lapis lazuli and opal can be overstimulating as earrings, so watch carefully and see how your body reacts to them. Some people feel light-headed with these two stones placed so high on the body. Malachite can be too spiritually stimulating when set in earrings; don’t wear them unless you want to be in a soulful or dreamy reverie. Go for garnet, as garnet earrings will enhance your popularity. Here is a tip that might soon cause a stampede to the jewelry shop: rose quartz is wonderful for the skin and can even slow aging!

Tranquility Touchstones: Crystal Cairns

I am sure you will come to find this to be true: certain crystals can be true touchstones in your life and bring multitudinous benefits, both emotional and spiritual. Find spots in your home or office where you can incorporate them each and every day. Whether it is a shrine, your nightstand, or stacked in a corner on your desk, a sort of crystal cairn. This can be your special corner of the world where you renew and connect with your spiritual center.

Picking up and holding your touchstones can be one of the most soul-nourishing small acts of self-care you can do.

The following is a table of different crystals and what their presence will bring you:

• Inspiration: Amazonite, aventurine, carnelian, chrysolite, chrysoprase, citrine, green tourmaline, malachite, yellow fluorite

• Intuition: amethyst, azurite, celestite, lapis lazuli, moonstone, selenite, smoky quartz, sodalite, star sapphire, yellow calcite

• Love: amethyst, magnetite, rhodochrosite, rose quartz, twinned rock crystals

• Abundance: bloodstone, carnelian, citrine, dendritic agate, diamond, garnet, hawk’s-eye, moss agate, peridot, ruby, tigers-eye, topaz, yellow sapphire

• Protection: amber, apache tear, chalcedony, citrine, green calcite, jade, jet, smoky quartz

• Self-belief: azurite, chalcedony, chrysocolla, green tourmaline, hematite, rutilated quartz, tiger’s-eye

• Serenity: amber, aventurine, blue jade, dioptase, Herkimer diamond, jasper, kunzite, moonstone, onyx, peridot, quartz, rhodonite

• Confidence: carnelian, obsidian, quartz, selenite, sodalite, topaz

• Positive Energy: agate, aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, chalcedony, citrine, dioptase, emerald, garnet, orange calcite, ruby, topaz

• Deep wisdom: emerald, fluorite, Herkimer diamond, moldavite, serpentine, yellow calcite

Crystal Power

                                 

• Citrine for stronger communication skills

• Lace agate for happiness with your job

• Lapis lazuli for mental brilliance

• Moonstone for self-love and self-expression

• Red coral for good health and physical strength

• Rose quartz or opal to make you appealing to others 

• Turquoise for calmness and protection from the earth

Wonderful Wands

 

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. Start 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.

Soul-Soothing Salt Lamps

Your entryway 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 your 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; these ions are the very thing that makes a beach day by the ocean so cheering. 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. Take a metal or wire bowl and center a small light bulb in the bottom of the bowl. Then stack the rock salt over it. You’ll immediately enjoy the 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.

Gratitude to Mother Nature

Stones, crystals, and gems are regarded as the purest forms of the earth’s generosity. Whenever you get a new crystal, receive a piece of jewelry with a stone or gem, or decorate your home or garden with rocks and pebbles, show gratitude for these gifts from nature. Simply say, “Thank you, Mother Nature, for this gift.” Your gratitude will be rewarded tenfold, and you will enjoy a shower of crystals and gems in your life from our benefactress Mother Earth, who enjoys getting credit for her good works!

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!

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.

Energy Management: House Blessings (All Moon Phases)

This magic tool was born centuries ago from the practical magic of sweeping the ritual area clean before casting a spell. With focus and intention, you can dispel negative influences and bad spirits from the area and prepare a place for ritual work. In bygone days, pagan marriages and Beltane trysts took place with a leap over the broom, an old tradition of hand-fasting, the classic witch wedding. Over the centuries, this rich history combined to capture the imagination as the archetypal symbol of witches.

Your broom is an essential tool for energy management. Obtain a handmade brook from a craft fair or your favorite metaphysical five and dime. This should not be a machine-made plastic one from the supermarket, although I did get a long cinnamon-infused rush broom from Trader Joe's that I use in my witch's kitchen. A broom made of wood and woven of natural straw will be imbued with the inherent energies of those natural materials.

This is very important - do not use your ritual broom from housekeeping. Like me, you may view every inch of your home as sacred space, but you will need to keep your regular housekeeping implements from those you use for magical workings!

In general, it is not advisable to use your ritual knife for deboning a chicken, for example, as this risks a confusing blending of the mundane and magical energies. If you treat your ritual tools with the utmost respect, they will serve you very well. Over time, they will be inculcated with magic through exclusive use in your ritual workings. The Wiccan tradition holds brooms in high regard, and some witches have an impressive collection of brooms, each one named to distinguish their roles as "familiars," or kindred spirits. Kitchen witches often have the most extensive bevy of brooms of anyone.

Chamomile Calm

I hope you have a patch of chamomile growing in your witch’s garden. This lovely, aromatic herb will reward you many times over by “volunteering” to grow in every crack and crevice once you’ve given it a start. The delicious tea from this plant will inspire sweet dreams, calm your nerves, soothe and tone your skin, and ease a tummy ache. A symbol of energy and patience, sacred to the Saxons, and treasured by both Egyptians and Romans, this most loyal of garden herbs is “The flower of equilibrium.”

While brewing this mildest of teas, chant this medieval charm:

With bounteous hand and the healthful balm,

Oh scentful chamomile, most verdrous herb,

Bring me health and heart.

Drink in the scented steam and look for increased insight the rest of the day.