Tag Archives: coven

December 24, 2025 · 4:39 pm

My yule celebration )O(

Merry meet all,

I have been busy preparing for Yule. I was hit by a big creative bug. I sewed myself a lovely moon cushion, dried orange slices which I will soon make into a garland, and crafted lovely gifts for my friends. I created the gifts for my friends with love. 

My moon cushion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I gathered pinecones and cleaned them, then baked them in the oven. I sprinkled sweet orange essential oil, cinnamon and clove bud essential oils onto the pinecones. I arranged them in a basket and set the basket next to our decorations. 

A basket of pinecones

I made two new green felt christmas tree decorations. I traced a christmas tree onto green felt, cut it out, sewed the christmas tree leaving an opening to add the batting, and then sewed it shut. I sewed on a loop at the top to hang the green felt tree at the windows. 
Herbs are for Yule/ Winter Solstice! I have had a great time first foraging for wintry herbs such as juniper, white spruce, balsam fir, northern white cedar and rosemary. I dehydrated oranges. I made smudge sticks with bay leaves, the dried oranges and the foraged herbs. I used the dried oranges to decorate presents. I created a winter lantern with bay leaves, rosemary, lavender, pine and cedar. I glued found twigs to a small glass jar then painted them gold. It looks great! I tucked in fairy lights in the lantern- looks magical! I created herbal tea blends to give as gifts with hibiscus, orange, cinnamon, star anise, juniper, nutmeg, cloves, liquorice root, chamomile, calendula, elderflower, elderberry, echinacea, rooibos. I wish I could keep the tea blends! Dried oranges make great gift ornaments too. So pretty. I sewed tea cozies for two of my friends and added a tea blend. I even sewed tea coasters to go with the tea cozies. Now I want to bake gingerbread cookies. I put love and intention into everything I did. Herbs are great and I may be old school here, but I did not use a blender or a coffee grinder. I ground the cinnamon, juniper berries, star anise, reships with my mortar and pestle. I stir and grind and work in my intention and energy. I can’t wait for my friends to get my gifts.
I planted sprigs of sage, thyme and lavender and mint in a pot to have fresh herbs over the winter. I made a lavender ‘wand’ to help me with stress over the holidays.
I saved tiny sprigs of the above mentioned herbs, put them into a tiny jar with a cork top, then sealed the jar with candle wax. I  brewed a jar of apple cider liquer and I am steeping a batch of elderberry and calendula cold and flu elixir!
This will be the best yule/ winter solstice ever. I wish you all a magical holiday season. Blessings.

The best way that I celebrated the winter solstice was with the druid coven by the ocean. I have not woken at 6 am in a long time, but I did and it was so worth it. There could not have been a better more spiritual way to celebrate Yule, in my opinion. I loved it. Yes it was early in the morning, but who cares? I know it was cold, but that is to be expected. I had a great time. I loved watching the sea birds soar over the ocean, and the big waves crashing over the rocks. The Solstice, the changing of the seasons is old as time. We were carrying on a tradition that was very likely old as time, too. Chanting and drumming at that lookoff spot just felt so good. I’m sure I spotted an eagle!

The spot where the coven celebrated the solstice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind prevented us from enjoying a bonfire, but we perservered.  Afterwards, everyone left and those remaining, including Brian and Karen and a few more friends, we had coffee and a nice chat at Brian’s house. That was the best Solstice celebration I got to enjoy in a long time. Being out in nature to honor one of the earth’s natural changes felt like the best way to honor it. That is the way it should be. 

Now we can all relax and rest during the holidays. I am sure many of you are enjoying a nice, festive dinner with your loved ones. For those who are all alone during this time, you matter. You are important. For anyone who misses their loved ones who may have passed, I know, I am right there with you. I miss my grandparents. Wish they were here. 

I wish you all a magical, memorable Yule time! Blessings and love and light. 

Blessed be, Spiderwitch

 

 

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October 1, 2023 · 11:33 am

October is here!!! )O(

Merry meet all,

October is here! October brings many charms such as pumpkins, gourds, fiery autumn leaves, and that magical chill in the air. I have a busy month ahead of me. Here is my schedule:

Paranormal Symposium – October 7
HWA Annual Blog event – my post October 7
Writers Digest University Horror Writing conference – October 14
Demonology Course – October 16 
Samhain – October 31
On top of that, I have my herbalism course, and taking care of my cat Penny (a full-time job in itself), my writing. I plan to harvest dandelion roots soon and dry them in my dehydrator and brew immunity tonics. I want to take the Intro to Parapsychology course and I hope it’s still open by the time I can afford it. Penny’s going to the groomers this week. She has so many mats in her fur and I want her to look and feel her best. She is my beloved kitty after all. 
There are also a few awesome astrological events this month as well. October is the month with the most magic after all. Here is a link from Spirit nest that describes the astrological events: 

On October 4th, Mercury moves into Libra, providing us with opportunities to be more empathetic and receptive in our social and professional lives.

On October 8th, Venus enters Virgo, and on October 10th, Pluto ends its retrograde in Capricorn. The combined earth energy of these two events grounds us and directs our attention to our priorities. With Pluto’s shift, we are encouraged to approach work with enthusiasm and energy.

On October 12th, Mars enters Scorpio, and for the next six weeks, we can expect to feel a heightened sense of passion and sensuality.

On October 14th, the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra kicks off eclipse season, followed by the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Taurus two weeks later. This marks the end of a two-year cycle of eclipses in the Taurus-Scorpio axis and signifies the end of an intense learning process centred around letting go of control.

I created a calendar that depicted photos of my irascible cat Penny. Today was the calendar’s last day. I have a calendar from Llewellyn but that doesn’t start till January, which makes no sense to me because October 31st is Witches New Year. I printed out a calendar for the month of October from the app on my desktop. I have a lot to keep track of this month. I hope to catch the eclipse near the end of the month. 
I want us all to welcome the newest member to my witch doll coven, Morrigan. I collect witch dolls in October every year. This year, I found her at. Michaels arts and crafts. She is beautiful and will adjust nicely to her new home. She holds a crow or raven in her hands and I knew she was perfect. There are 30 days to Samhain but I already feel the first stirrings of Samhain in the air. I also found a lovely astrology workbook. I find astrology fascinating and I look forward to working with it. 
The Horror Zine published my short story, Skin, for this month. I received a copy of the book in the mail. I am thrilled that my story appears at the front of the book, as that means it will be read by readers sooner. They can find the story easily. I will have to scratch up another story for the editor! Here is the link to the Horror Zine: https://www.thehorrorzine.com/?fbclid=IwAR0zTcB_PFZ1hmnigq8XuqbK0jKceeX05A3Xi8ZtQ2uJlnYHsRlYQBJ3Msc
I also see October as a month to bring projects to completion. I have several projects to finish. October 31st is the Witches New Year so that is the reason for my compulsion to finish projects. I love the feeling of completing projects. I like ticking them off my list. I do have Virgo in my chart and this is clear here. I want to work on my material media, turn up the compost outside, finish the laundry, make my apartment sparkle and be all clean for October, and write more horror stories. Whether I actually accomplish all that, time will tell. 
Until then, be magical and have fun!
Blessings, Spiderwitch 

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