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.