Tag Archives: cold

Seedlings vs. the Frost

Merry meet all,

I never thought I would thank a hurricane for cutting off a tree branch but I have. A tulip blossomed in my garden – FINALLY! The chopped off tree branch means that my garden gets more light at last. So now I get a tulip that has never grown a flower for years. The tulip is beautiful, and I plan to plant more bulbs this fall. I get more light now so why not? 

I may see more flowers but we still have frost. I am just itching to put my plants out but that would kill them and put them in shock. It is so cold out I can’t even have the windows open. The days are sunny but the wind is icy cold. 

Nevertheless, I am excited now to see what the advantage of better and more sunlight means for my garden this summer. I will probably see an increase in flowers and vegetables growing better. The tulip is a good sign! I have yet another reason to look forward to summer, if this frost ever leaves. I can’t wait to put my long suffering plants out. My mugwort plants are so big now. One long stem is growing bent over but when I plant it in the garden, I will help the stem grow straight. My mugworts are almost three feet high. I grew them from seed and that tells you how long I have waited for the frost free days to arrive. 

I have a new issue of Willow and Sage magazine. I want to make the marshmallow root lotion bars recipe. I have some cool Celtic molds for making the lotion bars in a cool shape. I also have skulls, witch hats and other molds to use. That will look great. The witch’s flying ointment is still steeping. The oil is a dark colour. That will turn out great. My squash is flowering and growing male flowers without being pollinated by a bee. I feel so bad for my squash vine but it is not warm enough to out. This is the problem. It really needs to warm up. I have a frost cloth but I doubt that will help. I suspect the frost is truly overstaying its welcome. 

For years my garden has been a shade garden. That is changing now, and I am very happy about that. The first week of June will be safe enough to set my plants out. I have grown all my seed starts from seed, nurtured them, watered them, fertilized them and weeded out the weak plants. Soon nature will take it from there when they get in my garden. I can’t wait. I added dandelion greens and chives from the garden to my breakfast this morning! That is one of the perks of living here, going out to my garden to get herbs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penny keeps an eye on Gilbert, the tenant’s new cat. He is an outdoor cat and usually is on a leash. He is so cute. Penny gets excited when she sees a cat in the yard, seeing as she deems it her territory. The outdoor cats don’t give a fig. They drive her crazy roaming about in the yard, because to them, it is her turf. I love seeing her act up when cats are nearby. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

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Pumpkin Magic )O(

Merry meet all,

Today I want to post about my favourite orange cucurbit, pumpkins! Pumpkins are everywhere. Pumpkins are famous for fairy tale magic. Autumn colored leaves blanket my garden, as squirrels and bluejays gather nuts and seeds to store for the long winter ahead. Samhain is almost here. Now let’s gather our own Magick!

10 Ways to Use Pumpkins in Witchcraft

Long before Cinderella’s fairy godmother sent her bewitched pumpkin carriage careening towards a royal party under a reckless magic spell, this mythical fruit vined its way into the legend of witchcraft.

Here are a few ideas to bring this classic spell ingredient into your magical practice.

10 Ways to Use Pumpkins in Witchcraft

Dry roast the seeds and toss them in a mojo bag for prosperity.    The fertile abundance of seeds inside a pumpkin perfect for success mojo bags.

Use your jack-o-lantern to chase away negative energy.  Did you know jack-o-lanterns were originally carved to chase away demons?  In the spirit of this tradition, burn a charcoal disk with protection herbs like rosemary to turn away negative energy at the doorstop.

Bury your kid’s spent pumpkin in the garden to “fertilize” a wishing spell.    Never know what to do with your kid’s jack-o-lantern once Halloween is over?  The pumpkin’s magical lore makes it “ripe” for wishing magic.  Have your child write a goal for the springtime on a piece of (natural) paper, and bury it in the garden to bless his/her endeavors.   Kids move so quickly from one phase to the next, seeing their “wish” come up in the spring will remind them of how far they walked since the beginning of the school year!

Boil your cauldron.  If your kitchen-witchy, make a batch of crock pot pumpkin soup
Be sure to include plenty of “heart-warming” magical spices like chili powder or cumin.  Stir it clockwise four times and bless it for strong ties between family and friends.  Then serve it to everyone!

Leave it as an offering to the woodland spirits.  Samhain is a time to honor those who came before you. Once you’re finished with your pumpkin, take it to woods and leave it as an offering to your ancestors.   It also makes great deer food!

Use it in a group Samhain ritual.  Hollow out and carve a large pumpkin with symbols sacred to your tradition.  Light a candle inside, go around the circle and talk about your year together as a group or coven.  Discuss any remaining tensions, write them down and then agree to let them go with the start of the new Wheel of the Year.  Place a candle inside the pumpkin lantern, and one by one, burn the paper.  Watch it go up in smoke and let go. 

Save the stems.  The stem dries out and cures pretty quickly.  Leave it with your magical cabinet to boost wishing spells or prosperity spells during the next Wheel of the Year.

Draw out your inner beauty.  Mix 1/4 cup pumpkin puree with a splash of apple cider vinegar and an egg.  Use it as a mask to bring out the “enchanting” side of your inner beauty.

Place a pumpkin near your creative work space for inspiration and brainstorming.  Pumpkins connote fanciful thinking and fairy tales.  Use this energy in your work space to break out of box thinking and reach deeper.

Make a bird feeder to connect with the spirit of fire and air.  Invite winter-friendly birds near your home by making a bird feeder out a your pumpkin.  When you notice a bird near it, say a blessing and send him off with to carry a wish or prayer skyward!

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Blessed be, Spiderwitch

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Autumnal garden activities )O(

Merry meet all,

Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox. It surprised us all  here in Halifax. The leaves are showing those famous fiery colors. The elderberries ripen on the stems, the queen Anne’s lace, goldenrod and burdock slowly go to seed. The sky is overcast here, and everyone is scrambling to get ready for hurricane Fiona. 

I was out in my rain soaked garden this morning. Slugs clung to leaves while wasps sipped pollen. This is a bittersweet time for me. The squash and tomatoes are setting fruit late this season, I am not sure why. It could be because we had a heatwave this summer. You would think that heatwave would have been beneficial for sun loving tomatoes but no. The tomatoes are growing now. Ah well. 

I have to put my garden to sleep for the cold winter ahead and I am sharing how I plan to do that in this post today. My witch hazel flowers late in the year. I love my witch hazel. I plan to buy a huge bag of soil and arrange the soil around the trunk, then I will add a big bag of worm castings into the soil to leave nutrients for the witch hazel. I might even buy some wood chips to act as mulch. I am trying to think of what else I can leave there as a nutrient rich compostable mulch for the roots to feed on all winter. I would have to remember to remove the wood chips because the lungwort blooms wonderfully under the witch hazel in the spring. 

The leaves cascade to the earth every autumn. I usually just keep the leaves there all over my garden all winter. They act as a natural mulch/ blanket that protects my garden during the harsh winter. I rake them away in the spring. I may sprinkle worm castings, bonemeal, eggshells and coffee grounds all over my garden. 

The leaves of the plants, the vines, flowers and whatever I don’t harvest naturally dies back. This is the most free natural compost ever. I have a wooden compost box. I will store the faded dead leaves, branches, stems in the box. Most of the foliage I leave where it is to act as a natural compost and soil nutrients all winter. I spread the soil I used to grow the potatoes over my garden. The soil was amazing! The soil was loose, loamy, obviously nutrient rich and dark black. I loved it and I am sure the garden did too. The rain washes away the soil so it was nice to add rich soil to the garden. 

I still have to harvest the celery, lemon basil, raspberry leaves, mint, tomatoes, healthy disease free witch hazel leaves and beans. The red flowers of the scarlet runner beans are growing so well now. The pollinators are busy. The beans also grow overnight it seems. The leaves I keep on the soil are a nice refuge for hardworking insects too. I’m letting the purple coneflower go to seed. The bees love purple coneflowers. The nasturtiums are still blooming, and I watched as a wasp visited one fiery nasturtium bloom this morning. The wasps built a nest on the inside of the shed door. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I harvested the beautiful Chinese lanterns in the photo above. I am amazed at how rich the colours are. I’m waiting and hoping the calendula blossoms soon. I have no idea why it takes so long. I harvested and pressed the lovely yellow heliopsis and I have pressed many other flowers. I want to make a Samhain/ autumn candle lantern like I did with the  Summer Solstice lantern. I want to paint the jar a rich deep Burgundy colour so the autumn colors really pop out. Yup I think it will be gorgeous. 

Pressed purple coneflower

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still have to harvest the elecampane roots, seeds and flowers. The stalk is turning brown. I will harvest in October. 

I have recipes to make elderberry mead, hawthorn cordial, elderberry syrup, cranberry sauce . They are perfect for guarding the health of your immune system all winter. Winter is known for the time when colds, flus and illnesses spread. Those recipes are sure to boost your immune system! Elecampane has inula in the roots. I can’t wait to harvest elecampane and feel like a true herbalist. I have harvested mullein root, and I want to harvest dandelion and burdock after a cold snap. The winter squash has a flower now. I don’t understand why it waited till now but plants follow their own calendar, not the calendar we impose on them. 

Elecampane

 

What to Forage in Fall: 30+ Edible and Medicinal Plants and Mushrooms

I’ve included the recipes here for your own convenience. I hope you try them and let me know in the comments below how it went. I am available here if you have any questions on how to make herbal remedies to guard your health and your family’s health this coming fall season. Now is the time to stock up on ginger, onions, elderberries ( remember: they are not edible raw!), echinacea tinctures, etc. But more on that later! Blessed Mabon to everyone! Or, if you prefer, Happy Autumn Equinox! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

How To Clear The Garden In The Fall – What To Do With Your Plants & Soil!

How to Make Elderberry Mead

https://theherbalacademy.com/homemade-bug-bite-salve/

https://theherbalacademy.com/homemade-fire-cider/

https://theherbalacademy.com/herbal-cough-syrup/

https://theherbalacademy.com/foraging-goldenrod/

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Filed under gardening, organic, Paranormal and Witchy Fiction, Samhain, seeds

Celebrate the Blood Moon of Samhain

Merry meet all,

Tomorrow night is the Full Moon of Samhain, known as the Blood Moon. That is a great time for magickal workings. Clean up the altar, dust off your cauldrons and broomsticks!! Or, if you are anything like me, create a new besom. As I sit and type, the colourful leaves trickle to the cold earth. The overcast sky frequently brightens as the sun pushes through the clouds. The air is cool. My garden is dying down for the long cold winter. 

I saved a lot of nasturtium seeds yesterday morning. It involved me getting into odd almost yogic contortions to collect the seeds. I have a ton of poppy seeds from my Mom. Now is a good time for saving and storing seeds- and roots! Herbs such as dandelion, burdock, mullein and coltsfoot are rich with medicinal properties. Most of them are biennial. 

Here is a link that tells you more about the amazing herb, mullein:

When to harvest mullein flowers, leaves, and roots

So get out there and harvest your heart out. Now is the time, now is the hour! 

Blood Moon

The Blood Moon of October is also known as Harvest Moon, which occurs in September, and Hunter’s Moon. Samhain is the Final Harvest Sabbat, so the names for the full moon make sense. Here are the correspondences to aid you in your shellwork on this magical upcoming Full Moon. 

“October Full Moon Correspondences

The Hunter Full Moon spiritual meaning can be a potent time for magic and rituals, as well as a beautiful time of inward growth and reflection. Here are some correspondences and intentions to help get you started!

Hunter Moon Spiritual Meaning And Intentions

  • Balance
  • Gratitude
  • Transitions
  • Divination work (Tarot, Scrying, Runes, Oujia, Pendulum boards, Celtic Oghams, etc)
  • Psychic messages
  • Afterlife
  • Shadow work
  • Harvesting
  • Dreamwork
  • Psychopomps (Greek – a spirit, human, or being who guides souls that have recently crossed over. They help them transition into the afterlife from the mortal realm. I listed a few examples below)
    • Ancestors or loved ones
    • Hecate
    • Hermes (Greek)
    • Anubis (Egyptian)
    • Aurora Borealis (Inuits)
    • Cuckoos
    • Shiva (Hindu)
    • Azrael (Islam)
    • Shaman
    • Anito (Filipino)
    • Arch Angel
    • Grim Reaper
    • Sparrows

Colors

  • Ruby Red
  • Dark Purple
  • Black
  • Burnt Orange
  • Silver
  • Deep Navy Blue
  • Gold

Crystals

  • Amethyst
  • Black Tourmaline
  • Quartz
  • Obsidian
  • Moonstone
  • Bloodstone
  • Carnelian”

 

Embrace The Season

The veil thins in October take some time to contemplate the natural cycle of life. Observe how Nature dies externally each season to rest and prepare for the light and growth of next Spring.

Visit a local cemetery. Bring fresh flowers to place on graves you connect with or who might need a bit of love. Read each headstone and imagine who they were and what they cared about in life.

Since the veil thins the closer we get to Samhain or Halloween it increases the opportunity to spot Fae! Learn more about how to incorporate Fae mythology origins or different types of Fae into your spiritual practice.

The October and the harvest season is traditionally a time for protection magic as well. You’ll see this rooted in the history of pumpkin and turnip carving to guard the home and people from sinister or evil spirits. Draw or design your pumpkins with sigils, bind runes, symbols, or spiritual meanings you’re drawn to like sacred geometry or the pentagram.

You could also spend more time researching spiritual paths or topics you’d like to learn more about like candle color meanings, magical elements, or types of witches.

Embrace all things October: Halloween or Samhain decorations, pumpkin spice everything, cozy blankets, bonfires, or whatever your heart and spirit connect to! Have fun, be free of judgment, and celebrate this wonderful season.

Deep Meditation

October is an amazing season to meditate beneath the moon. Place a picnic blanket in your yard and put on some headphones.

Play some relaxing music that will help quiet your mind or binaural beats that will help you align with your goals and intentions. You could also try playing some positive affirmation songs to help with manifestation.

You can do this on a balcony as well, or even just sitting next to a window and soaking in the moonlight.

Honor and Connect With Your Ancestors

Go through old photo albums and find ways to display or chronicle family photos. Connect with places like Ancestry.com to discover more in-depth information on your family’s history.

Do you have anything that has been passed down to you that you can add to your household decor or place on your altar? Speak to your family elders to hear stories and learn more about your heritage. Contemplate how you can connect with traditions your ancestors celebrated.

Credit given to the site: https://www.thepeculiarbrunette.com/octobers-blood-or-harvest-full-moon-meaning-and-how-to-celebrate/. 

Books Featuring Witches

31 Things To Do Between Now and Samhain

Here are more awesome Halloween posts for your reading enjoyment. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Halloween Haunts: Short Halloween Treats by Galadriel Faye

Halloween Haunts: GIMME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT: THE JOYS AND TERRORS OF A POST-PANDEMIC HALLOWEEN by Clay McLeod Chapman

Halloween Haunts: How To Make a Spooky Zig Zaggy Mini Halloween Journal by Michele Brittany

Halloween Haunts: Masks by David Sharp

Halloween Haunts: Bad Blood Begets Worse Blood by Catt Colborn

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The magic of death )O(

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Merry meet all,

The moon is waxing and is in its second quarter phase, growing to a full moon. The full moon shines on April 4th. I plan to do a powerful full moon rite that night. That is a good time to cleanse your crystals. Use white and silver candles and a white or deep blue altar cloth. 

 The snow has extended its rude visit. Spring feels far away. I left bird seed for the poor birds who must be having a hard time finding sustenance. My familiars have plenty of food. Penny keeps me on my toes or witch shoes. Speaking of witch shoes, I have vowed to always wear something witchy every day of the year. I put my jeans away, which zap the magic out of me. I plan to buy more witchy attire in the near future. I feel better in my witchy gear. I want to be my true authentic self. I like being authentic and feel better about it. I just bought myself a beautiful pleather coat on sale. I have a pair of black granny boots now that lace up and zipper. I will be rocking it hard core once this cursed snow all mets. I think winter is trying to stick around forever. 

I also can’t wait to get to have a copy of the upcoming Bast devotional anthology, of which I contributed to. I just adopted a cat named Penny. She is a Norwegian Forest Cat and she is so sweet. Bast is the goddess of all cats. I bought a beautiful magickal black cat t-shirt with a gorgeous print on the shirt and made an altar cloth from it. It is in honor of Penny. The altar cloth is in the photo above. 

For those of you who wish to communicate with your loved ones who have passed on and aren’t sure how to, then other than reading my blogs, consider reading the book The Witches Book of the Dead by Christian Day. I like him and I like his book. The book tells you in real detail what to do. It is all too much for me to write here. The book is wonderful and will instruct you how to do a ritual to convene with the dead. I see nothing wrong with that. When my grandfather passed, it was an emotional time. But I sensed he was at peace. If I wanted to, I could call on him-respectfully. But the book is a goddess send for those who are serious. 

As most of you know, I’m a Witch. I am also a reluctant magnet for the dead. I have been giving things some thought here and decided to write this note. This note is a request for help. I have been thinking a lot over and I couldn’t conclude things by myself. Ok…

I have had a few experiences that were freaky and that I can’t understand. I hear about people being contacted by their relatives that have passed on. OK all fine and good. When my aunt passed, I sensed a presence behind me that night. When my pets have passed on, they have visited me. When my grandfather passed, I sensed he was at peace. When my father passed, even though the caller was 10000s of miles away and I never knew him, I knew what the caller would tell my mother who was on the phone with him. Yes he had passed away and I hope that that troubled soul found peace. I have sensed presences at the Five Fishermen Restaurant and at the Citadel Hill Ghost Tour. That tour was scary. I don’t know if you would like to be exploring a tunnel at night with someone’s cell phone light the only light to guide your way and your spine doing the terrified mambo the entire time.

Now. That is all good. OK. But I have had a few freakin terrifying experiences and I wonder why they happened. I would not try to attract that to me. No way. I would not try to do it with intent. But I mean, it was like something out of Poltergeist. The nightmare I experienced during sleep paralysis and please tell me, this was only a result of paralysis during sleep and just a fear from the experience.But the thing’ was downright EVIL. So I think what I am asking is if it was a dream or was something evil trying to overpower me or contact me via a nightmare? I was approached by a nasty spirit one night at home after watching a movie. Maybe it is because I can sense energies that they are drawn to me like a moth to a flame? I have completed psychic training but when it comes to somethings, it is not enough. I saw a dark shadow person in my apt, a ghost cat, and I feel the hairs on my neck go up at night in the bathroom. A tenant here told me she sensed something in her room here too.

I do cleanse my house, I do keep good energy, I do smudge and sage and I believed that I had setup enough adequate shields and protections here. But I think if something wants to, it will find a way in. Of course, the next logical step is to perform a banishing and cleansing. I also like to steep sage tea in a teapot and pour it all around the perimeter of the property, something I am behind in doing. Well I don’t want sage from Israel, I want locally grown sage. I plan to get some soon at the market. 

Not to mention that seeing the dead probably robs you of a chance at a happy relationship. With a living potential partner. I have my familiars. They love me if I feed them.

The top magickal tool to protect  yourself with is sage. I just recently picked up some sage. It is good to have around to protect yourself. 

Blessings

Lady Spiderwitch )O(

 

 

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