I’m so excited, because I am enrolled in the Demonology course at the CAPRI’s Parapsychological Education Center. “This course delves into the intriguing field of Demonology and Religious Parapsychology, offering a comprehensive understanding of demonic entities, exorcism practices and the relationship between religion and the paranormal.” Wow. Plenty to love about this course. I received a 10% discount because I bought a ticket to attend the Paranormal Symposium. With a course syllabus like that, it is easy to see why I would be interested … and a little scared.
Demons? The fact that this course is being offered implies a little that they exist. I don’t want to think that they exist because demons are naturally evil. And I don’t believe that they exist. No one can say for sure. What I do know is that I will know more once I complete this course than I do now. I can’t wait but I have to wait till mid-October. I want to take the Parapsychology course as well. The Parapsychology course costs a little more but it is still affordable. I want to do both, hm, on top of my herbal studies and my writing, at least I won’t be suffering from boredom, far from it.
I have to write a case study about one of the following paranormal cases: The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel, The Smurl haunting, the Enfield Poltergeist, or the Ammons Haunting. I would love to say these are all true cases but I can’t. I would love to say they may all have truth to them. It is hard for me to say. They all sound intriguing so I think I will have a hard time picking one out of those choices. I believe in the case of Anneliese Michel though. I read about that. That poor girl, she suffered from something. I am on the fence about the Ammons Haunting. I don’t believe the kid walked up the hospital wall because in the video, his mother or a relative is helping him up the wall. Now if he did it on his own and he looked way more creepy while he did it. I know there was lead and asbestos in the house which can lead to health complications and cause hallucinations. I am on the fence about the Enfield haunting and the Smurl haunting. It is so hard for me to say which is true and which is not. I have never been to those locations.
On the other hand, I have had more than my own share of legitimate paranormal encounters/ experiences. I try not to judge too harshly. I keep an open mind. So I really do look forward to taking these courses. It helps a lot that my herb course is for 2 years. I can achieve a lot of other stuff in the interim.
I am so happy that I found the Paranormal Phenomena Research & Investigation group. I feel better since I have been alone so long being a medium. It has come with challenges. I am up for meeting those challenges. I just don’t feel so alone now. It is a huge relief and they share my passions. It is a win-win!
October is shaping up already to be a lot of fun! And right now, it is only mid-September. I would love to hear about your own paranormal or Samhain plans! Let me know in the comments below!
Hello my dear readers! I have been so busy the last two days. I decided that since it’s spring, I needed to spruce up my kitchen. The bookcase was so much work to put together but it was so worth it! I am here to tell you how I created my beautiful spring bookcase. So sit back, have a cup of tea and read on…
I found the bookcase I liked on IKEA. The one catch was that the shelves aren’t wooden. I found a way around that. I might buy green placemats at the Black Market if they have them. The shelves are white steel, Epoxy/polyester powder coating. The bookcase is also made of wood. I got my Mom’s help to assemble the bookcase. We then realized I couldn’t paint the bookcase after it was assembled. Ok. So I had to paint the wood before we put it all together. I already had the perfect shade of moss green paint ready to go. So after she left, I set about preparing to paint. I gathered paint brushes, patience, the paint, a drop cloth and black garbage bags. The bookcase is an open shelf unit.
It is still freezing outside. But I had to entertain a cat and paint a bookcase. Anyone who has a pet cat or dog knows how hard that can be. I barricaded myself in my bedroom with the bookcase and the paint supplies and got to work. First I cut up an old bedsheet, and 5 or 6 black garbage bags. I taped the garbage bags to the bedroom furniture and to the office chair to avoid paint stains. I put down the drop cloth. The drop cloth was so aggravating. The shelving sections kept sliding on the cloth. There was some paint on the floor by the time I was done. I did my best to avoid a big mess. The back door was open all day to let Penny see out the screen window. Eventually I finished and let the shelving units dry. I had taped a small section on the shelving units so I could turn them around and avoid paint on my hands which happened anyway. The next morning, I had to clean up my apartment which resembled a war zone because Mom was coming over to finish assembling it.
Ugh. I made myself some coffee and tidied up the apartment. I touched up the shelving units and checked them over. They looked great. I washed the floor, threw away the garbage, and cleared an area to work in. We assembled the bookcase. We enjoyed tea and lemon bread as we worked. Penny stayed out of my way as we assembled and I painted the bookcase, which I really appreciated. She returned home. Now I was ready for the final and most fun step: decorating it!
I gathered the artificial moss, butterfly and insect stickers, hot glue gun and glue sticks, the pinecones I found outside, bird feathers, the birdhouse I painted and decorated, acorns, white glue, paint brushes, etc. I used the hot glue gun to adhere the moss to the bookcase. The colour of the shelving unit is perfect for the moss, which is why I selected it. Here is a sneak preview of how it looks:
I have finished gluing the moss to the bookcase shelving units. It was the most time consuming part of the project. I am currently preparing the pinecones for the bookcase. I soak them in a solution of vinegar and water for half an hour then bake them to kill the mites and pests for a few hours. This is done to avoid having an infestation in your home. I also clean my paintbrushes when I am done using them. These extra steps go a long way in taking care of your crafting tools.
I hung a hook from the bookcase. I hung the birdhouse up on the hook. The birdhouse is now accepting winged/ feathered occupants. I will glue the pinecones to the moss once they are dry. I use the timer on my phone to keep track of how long something is in the oven. Cellphones are so useful!
I still have to add the leaves and the fairy lights. I am so happy with it all so far.
I love it and I think it looks great! I installed a paper towel holder under the kitchen sink, have stocked the new beautiful bookcase with the books and what I had stored there before. I love how it looks. I still have a lot of moss to glue on and more pinecones, acorns, feathers, butterflies and the birds. I love how it looks. I would love to hear how you are all celebrating Spring!
Production or should I say, construction of my dreamy winter coat has been postponed. The lining material has strangely vanished. I can’t explain it. Besides, I want a new colour for the lining material. The red I chose is in my opinion, the wrong colour. Since I have to live with the shade of brown for the rest of my life, I am purchasing a tan or camel colour at the end of the month. The ling material that I have now is too red, more like a wine or a burgundy color. I can’t wait to get back to work on it.
Imbolc is here! Imbolc is the first of the three spring Sabbats. It doesn’t look like spring today. The sky is dark and overcast, and rain batters the houses and streets. Spring is a while yet in coming. mbolc is a pagan holiday celebrated from February 1 through sundown February 2. Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.
Imbolc, or Imbolg, is one of the lesser-known festivals of the ancient Celts, but it was one of the four most important festivals in the Celtic calendar. For this ancient society, the year revolved around two main points; on the one hand, since the Celts were an agricultural society, everything was based around the harvest.
On the other hand, they also had an in-depth knowledge about the alignment of the sun and stars, which history suggests had great significance for them. So their calendar was neatly divided up into four quarters, with a festival to celebrate reaching each one. The year started with Samhain at the end of October, when the harvest was in full swing, to prepare for the onset of winter.
In Celtic philosophy, light must always follow dark, so this is why their year began on such a somber note. Bealtaine at the beginning of May marked the coming of summer, the beginning of sowing crops, and the light half of the year, and was the biggest and happiest celebration. In between were Lughnasa in August, marking the beginning of the harvest, and Imbolc in February, to celebrate the beginning of spring.
What was Imbolc about?
Simply put, Imbolc was a celebration of the end of winter and the impending light half of the year.
The hardest part of the year was over; adverse weather, cold temperatures, food rationing, and of course, no warfare (an integral part of Celtic society) would soon be a thing of the past.
Farmers were getting ready to go back to work, preparing animals for breeding, warriors were picking up their weapons again, and the political and social aspects of life that had been put on hold for winter were also beginning again.
The name Imbolc originates from ‘i mbolg’, which translates as ‘in the belly’. This refers to livestock breeding season, particularly the pregnancy of ewes, which was one of the focal points of the celebration.
Because the festival was so associated with this, it’s timing often varied – it could be anywhere from mid-January to mid- February depending on the weather and the animals’ behaviour.
It also appeared to have a more spiritual significance for the Celts too, as it’s no coincidence that more than a few megalithic monuments around Ireland are perfectly aligned with the rising sun around the dates of Imbolc and Samhain.
Imbolc was celebrated all across Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, with each region having slightly different variations in name and customs. Wales also had a remarkably similar version of the festival known as Gwyl Fair y Canhwyllau.
After the onset of Christianity in Ireland, the festival was tied in with a celebration of Saint Bridget, and transformed from a pagan one into a Christian one.
Christians used Brigid as the focal point of their celebrations to smooth the transition, as Imbolc had previously been associated with a goddess of a very similar name, Brighid. Essentially, Bridget and Brighid were the same person! As with all Celtic festivals, Imbolc involved a host of unique customs and rituals to welcome the spring, say farewell to the winter, ward against evil and promote health and wellbeing.
Imbolc was similar to Samhain and Bealtaine in that fire played an integral part of the celebrations, although not on the same scale. While at Samhain bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits and at Bealtaine they served to offer protection and growth, at Imbolc they were symbolic of the sun’s return.
Rather than a huge central bonfire at the centre of the festivities, Imbolc was more about the home and each home’s hearth. Every home in the community would have their own fire burning right through the night, and during medieval times when homes consisted of actual wood and stone buildings rather than the wattle and daub huts of the Celts, all of the fires in the house were lit for the night. If for some reason that was not possible, it was sufficient to have candles lit in every room instead.
The Celts were always concerned about the weather (something that has lasted up until the present day with modern Irish people!), so Imbolc was an important time to read omens and attempt to predict the weather for the summer. An unusual but widely popular omen was if the weather was especially bad on the day of Imbolc, which meant a great summer was on the way. This is because one of the more malicious creatures in Irish folklore, the Cailleach, would spend the day of Imbolc collecting firewood for herself if winter was to last a while longer.
To do this, she would obviously need a bright and dry day to collect her wood, so if Imbolc was wet and windy, that meant the Cailleach had gone to sleep and winter would soon be over.
Visiting wells was another important custom for Imbolc, particularly holy wells. Visitors would walk around the well in the same direction as the sun traversed the sky at that point on the land, praying for health and wealth for the year.
Offerings were left at the well once this was done; usually coins or ‘clooties’ (pieces of cloth). Special foods were also part of the festivities, usually consisting of bannock – a flatbread cut into wedges – as well as dairy products and meat.
The early Celtic version of Imbolc was not all that different from the festival in early medieval times when Christianity was taking hold in Ireland. One of the goddesses the Celts worshipped at this festival was Bhrigid, the daughter of Dagda (the chief Celtic deity) and one of the Tuatha De Dannan, the first inhabitants of Ireland.
She is associated with many things, most significantly poetry and fertility, but such activities as healing, smithing, arts, and crafts, tending to livestock and serpents also make the cut. She is credited with creating a whistle for people to call to one another through the night.
Some legends claim that while one half of her face was beautiful, the other was horribly ugly. She is thought by many to be the Celtic equivalent of the Roman goddess Minerva and the Greek goddess Athena.
Saint Bridget, on the other hand, was not a mythical goddess but a real woman, born in Dundalk, County Louth, around the 5th century AD.
During her lifetime she became a nun, founded numerous monasteries and performed her fair share of miracles, becoming one of the foremost advocates of Christianity in Ireland. After her death, she was made one of Ireland’s patron saints (and the only female patron saint), along with Patrick and Columba. So it was a natural progression for Imbolc, the pagan festival worshipping the goddess Bhrigid, to become the Christian festival in honour of Saint Bridget. February 2nd was chosen as the permanent day of celebration.
For the Celts, Bhrigid represented the all-important light half of the year, so her presence was much revered during the festival.
On Imbolc Eve, it was claimed that she would visit the most virtuous homes and bless everyone who slept in them, so people would leave pieces of clothing, food, or other tokens outside the entrance for her to bless, or to entice her into the home, It was Bhrigid’s role as a fertility goddess that was most important here, but for the medieval people of Ireland, her healing powers and general protective sense were as important as well as her fertility.
The majority of Imbolc traditions regarding Bhrigid or Bridget come from this time. While the tradition of leaving small tributes to Bridget on the doorstep continued for several centuries, several others sprang up too.
Celtic Inspired Torc Pendant – Celts believed the ancient Torc provided the wearer with a mystical form of protection
Ashes from the fire that was left to burn all night long would be smoothed out and left to see if a mark from Bridget appeared, to confirm that she had visited the house. Sometimes a makeshift bed would even be made up next to the fire, in case the saint wanted to rest a while.
This tradition was particularly popular in the Isle of Man and Scotland, where there were several short rhymes to go along with the tradition, acting as a call to the Saint to come and visit – generally, they were some variation on the phrase ‘Bridget, come in to our home, your bed is ready’. In some areas across Ireland and Scotland, women played a very important part in the festivities. They would make a doll figure from rushes known as a ‘Brideog’, dress it in white and with flowers, and carry it in a procession while singing hymns and poems in honour of Bridget.
At every home they passed, they would receive more pieces of cloth or small bits of food for the Brideog. Once the procession was finished, they would place the Brideog in a seat of honour and have a feast with all of the food, before placing it in a bed for the night while they began celebrations.
The most well-known tradition, however, and one that is still practiced today, is making a Saint Bridget’s cross and hanging it in the home. These crosses were a unique symbol of the transition from Paganism to Christianity. Before, bunches of rushes were tied together and hung at the entrance to homes to welcome Bhrigid. One of the stories of Bridget’s lifetime, however, recounts how she wove a cross from rushes and placed it above a dying man’s bed.
He roused from his delirium to ask what she was doing, and on hearing what it meant, he asked to be baptised before his death.
Since then, the cross has been a symbol for Bridget, and was also a familiar symbol for the Celts, making it the perfect transition symbol for Imbolc. The cross is distinctive, with a square in the middle and each point of the cross placed at a corner of the square. Somewhere between then and now, placing a cross in your kitchen came to mean that your house would be protected from fire.
Imbolc today
Unlike Samhain, which transformed into the much loved night of Halloween, Imbolc is one Celtic festival that hasn’t quite survived through history.
Although Christians still celebrate St. Bridget’s Day in Ireland and children still learn how to make crosses at the start of February, little else remains of the ancient Celtic spring festival. However, Saint Bridget’s cross, made from rushes and hung around the home just as the Celts would have done, is as good a reminder as any to the festival’s ancient and mythological origins.
Tomorrow is October 1st. I have a new rolling cart to store my multiple jars of herbs. By. herbs, I mean of course seeds, bark, leaves, flowers. I had to assemble the cart and that was a nightmare. Are you all getting ready for Samhain? I am! I am also preparing for the Materia Medica course I am taking at the Herbal Academy in addition to the Introductory Herbal course I am already taking. That does involve getting more organized, which is why I bought the cart.
I ordered seeds from a company on Etsy. They are as follows; German chamomile, black swan poppy, Scott bonnet pepper, black cumin, purple echinacea, halloween calendula, Howdenpumpkin, borage, sunflower, black tar poppy, chef’s pick parsley, Larkspur, anise, purple echinacea, purple salsify, Vietnamese cilantro, and foxglove blend. Next spring, I will be having fun planting all that! I gathered the Chinese lanterns, burdock seeds, mullein seeds, and I will soon gather the nasturtium seeds from my garden. I gathered mullein in an empty field and it also grows on the nature trail. A witch hazel grows on the trail too!
A materia medica means healing materials. It basically means a book about herbal profiles. The profiles are called monographs. I plan to have the most amazing material media by the time I am done studying. The material media course teaches you how to complete a herbal profile. I have access to the Herbarium. I can download any herb monograph I choose to. I ordered a herb journal – titled My Herbology journal, A Green Witch Journal from Amazon. I also ordered a paper making screen deckle and mold!
Several herbs that I need for the course grow on the nature trail. Goldenrod, burdock, mullein, asters, raspberry, elderberry, chokeberry, coltsfoot, queen Anne’s lace, black elderberry, staghorn sumac, creeping juniper, perennial sow thistle, red clover, and thistle all grow on the trail. I may have already mentioned this. I have an app on my phone that helps me identify plants. If you want to forage in the wild, bring gloves to protect you, a charged cellphone that has an app for identifying plants, wear something to protect you from bug bites and poisonous plants, a water bottle to stay hydrated, and scissors. It helps to carry a big plastic bag or cloth bag to hold the herbs you gather. Don’t consume anything if you are not sure. You could make yourself sick. I want to gather goldenrod next summer to dye a piece of fabric yellow. I just want to try it. !!!
I still have to dehydrate the elderberries. I brewed a jar of elderberry, rhubarb and blueberry am. I should added cinnamon and clove. I am making a jar of elderberry tincture. The berries were dried and I added vodka. I labeled the jar and also lined the top of the jar with natural waxed paper. The metal can’t contaminate the mixture. I can’t wait to try it. But I do want to caution: elderberries contain cyanide, so please if you make a remedy using elderberries, use black or purple berries – not green, and be careful. I will make the tincture last a long time. I don’t plan to consume it every day. The berries are not cooked for making a tincture. Some cyanide could still be present in the berries. Everything in moderation.
I gathered herbs for my first lesson in the materia medica course. They were lemon balm, goldenrod, thyme, lavender, mint and chamomile. It grows in the garden and on the nature trail.I need to study the herbs for the courses. (What a hardship, eh?) There are so many herbs to learn about and I live in the right environment. Fall is here. Many of the plants are winding down for the long cold rest. The nature trial is now full of the thistles, queen Anne’s lace, burdock, goldenrod all going to seed. The queen Anne’s lace seedbeds resemble bird’s nests.
I have to collect the raspberries from my garden. The tomatoes are still ripening. The pumpkin patch is growing! I have tried for 11 years to grow a pumpkin patch and now I have! Hopefully the frost will hold off! I pickled my own cucumbers. The flavour is truly divine. I stored two jars of applesauce in the freezer too. I am well stocked. I have to puree the pumpkin. So much to do, so little time.
I am enjoying my studies at the Herbal Academy. Well obviously right? I decorate my binder with butterfly stickers, protect the notes and printouts in sheet protectors, and do my best to keep it organized. I want to be a herbalist and work in a trade that involves herbs. It will be a long road but an interesting one!!
The link to the Herbal Academy- in case you want to study there!!
As Witches, we celebrate the Winter solstice. Let’s decorate for the Winter solstice and celebrate with a joyful heart! It can be done in the midst of this covid craze.
Let’s get started!
Save all of your orange peels! I baked my first ever Yuletide bread. I had saved all of my orange peels. I made candied orange peel (mmm) with the saved peels. You can grind them in your blender to use in simmering potpourri and incense. It releases the most delicious scent ever. I will include a link on how to make delicious candied orange peel. It’s easy to do. I will also include links on how to make Yuletide bread.
Go out for a long nature walk. Gather pine needles and pinecones. Bring them in and clean them up. You can even burn them a little in the oven on low heat to kill the mites or germs. You can then paint them, roll them in glitter, and glue ribbons on them to make a garland. Pine needles have that famous earthy minty scent we all love.
Star anise Store dry star anise in a dry jar. That prevents the anise from molding. Star anise smells like licorice. Cinnamon sticks correspond with fire and in my opinion, earth related matters. Nutmeg, clove and allspice also correspond to Winter Solstice. Allspice draws money toward you.
Bay leaves Write your wishes for the coming year on a bay leaf. You can either burn the bay leaf then to grant the wish faster. Or you can add it to the simmering potpourri. Or you can tie your bay leaf to a pinecone and burn the pinecone. Pinecones in the home bless and protect the home. Slice oranges and apples and add them to the potpourri.
All of these herbs, spices and barks can be enjoyed in a simmering potpourri. You can save the liquid from the potpourri in a labeled jar. You can share and give it as a gift to a loved one. You can let it all air dry and reuse as a potpourri. Put your intention into it and let the magic unfold.
I baked gingerbread cookies. I can’t wait to frost the cookies. It will be fun. It was fun and a lot of work to bake the Yuletide cake. If you are eager to try, I suggest taking 2-3 days to make it. The orange peels need to dry for several hours. I roasted the almonds and chopped them. I also cut the orange peel slices into smaller pieces. I blanched the cranberries and pierced the berries with a sharp knife. As the berries baked in the bread, they were dehydrated. It takes a while but the scent that will waft through your home is amazing. The same can be said for roasting the almonds myself. The store bought bread doesn’t compare. If you bake it now, you will be prepared for Yule! It can be sliced and stored in the freezer if you wrap the slices in wax paper.
I baked the bread in a tube pan. It worked just as well. The Yuletide bread is meant to be a tall bread but the dough still rises in the tube pan. I purchased mine at the dollar store.
For those of you who are like me and enjoy listening to music for the holiday season, I can’t recommend the Blackmore’s Night Christmas tunes enough. Subscribe and click like to get to enjoy the beautiful music as many times as you want. Play while you gift wrap or bake cookies!
The next turn in the Wheel of the Year is Yule! I can’t believe that time of year is almost here. Wow has time flown by that fast? Also, November 16 is Hekate’s night. So tonight consider cooking something special in her honor and maybe leaving it at the crossroads.
Yule is as magickal as the other Sabbats. Yule brings to mind pinecones, glittering tinsel, and keeping warm doing festive celebrations with friends and family. The sun makes its way back to the earth.
Evergreens are a symbol of Yule. Their evergreen color represented life, death and rebirth. These lovely pine scented trees fought back the winter demons and restrained death and destruction.
Holly leaves correspond to the masculine element. Their prickliness warded off negative spirits, protecting the home. The leaves represented hope, and the red berries symbolized potency.
Mistletoe represented the feminine element. The leaves were the embodiment of the female spirit and the white berries and seeds were the masculine element. Druids used this plant and viewed it as sacred.
The Yule tree is also an important pagan symbol. To some, it represented the Tree of Life or the World Tree. The Yule log was burned to protect the home. Ash wood was preferred. This tradition is Scandinavian in origin. It was believed that the faster the Yule log burned, the faster the sun would return to the earth.
Other significant symbols that represent Yule are candles which encourage the light to burn, wreaths which symbolized the Wheel of the Year, and bells that drove away demons. Elves became associated with Yule. The ancients believed that the spirits that assisted in the Sun’s return lived where the Elves lived. Gingerbread is also associated with Yule. It is a specialty bread.
Colors of Yule: Red, Green, White, Silver, Gold Red represents the waning Holly King. Green represents the waxing Oak King. White represents the purity and hope of new Light. Silver represents the Moon. Gold represents the Sun/Son.
Stones of Yule: Rubies, Bloodstones, Garnets, Emeralds, Diamonds
Activities of Yule: Caroling ~ Wassailing the Trees ~ Burning the Yule Log ~ Decorating the Yule Tree ~ Exchanging Gifts ~ Kissing under the Mistletoe
Deities of Yule: Goddesses: The Great Mother and Earth Goddess, Freyja, Gaia, Diana, Bona-Dea, Isis, Demeter Gods: Mabon, The Sun God, The Star (Divine) Child, The Oak King, The Holly King, The Green Man, The Red Man, The Horned One, Odin, Lugh, Apollo, Ra
Please do not steal or copy from this blog. If you do, be prepared to be stomped on by the Fates and karma for your bad character. I can be reached at :
heddyjohannesen @ gmail.com
