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A Cauldron of Soil Spell )O(

Merry meet all,

The invasion has begun! It is inescapable. Penny has run out of play room too! Oh my what am I to do? Did I get your attention? Ok I’m referring to the invasion of seedlings that have taken over my home, Goodness there are so many plant pots in here. Burn a candle and light some incense! Play relaxing music. 

This post is about how to create your own soil mixes for your own tender seedlings. You DO have young green seedlings in your apartment right? lol

Well let’s get started. I like mixing up the soil.

Ever notice that plant pots are round in shape? I like to think of the planters and plant pots as cauldrons. They have a lot more to do with cauldrons than you think. This may just change the way you garden from now on. Grab a cup of tea and join me. 

I mentioned the benefits of purchasing and using good quality soil in the last post, right? There is a good reason for that. It helps your plants get off to their best start, off to the races running. or, in this case, growing. Let’s take it a step further. 

Set down newspaper on the counter or wherever you choose to work in your home. Put the plant pot or seedling plant pot on the newspaper. Be willing to get your hands dirty. I love getting my hands right into the soil but that’s just me. Place a pitcher full of cold water nearby. Open the bag of soil. Next tip: I put a cloth grocery bag (plastic bags are banned here). It keeps the bag from spilling or making a mess. Just don’t forget about it but you won’t, will you?

Mix the soil into the plant pot. As you do this, envision that you are filling the pot with the energy of the Goddess. (Use a round pot for this.) You will see why now. The pot is round, so is a cauldron. The pot is deep ( well, most of them are). So is a cauldron. The cauldron is the deep earthy womb of the Goddess. The pot is too once it is full of soil. Once it is full of soil, meditate and reflect on the earthy goodness of the soil from the Goddess and the pot too. Mix that soil up in your hands. Smell it, feel it, cradle it in your hands. Visualize the energy traveling from your hands to the soil. Feel the energy traveling from the soil to you. I always do feel the energy of the soil. That is why I never wear gardening gloves. I love feeling the connection.

Stir the soil with a wooden spoon or your own eager hands. Loosen up any clumps and remove rocks. If you want, depending on what stage of growing your seedlings you are at, you can add fertilizer. Mix in bonemeal, bloodmeal, worm castings, coffee grounds or ground eggshells. Be sure to stir thoroughly. As you do, mix well and visualize. Direct the energy of your intention into the soil. 

If you choose, you can put the seedling into the plant pot THEN fill it with the soil. After that, when you have centered the seedling into the pot, and placed it in deeper than it was before in the starter pot, add the soil. Be sure to visualize, direct the energy and feel the soil in your hands. Grow with love and you will get love. The DNA of the future plant is contained within the seed. So planting a seed truly is an act of magic! 

Once the seed is planted, in a matter of days a cotyledon emerges, a tiny sprout. That sprout can grow into an oak tree, parsley or a pumpkin. Don’t crowd your seedlings – their tender roots need room to grow. I watched my Mother transplant over three dozen cherry tomato plant seedlings. Some of the starter pots contained up to five seedlings! They are all growing in their own pots now, much less crowded. 

A plant is a living being with feelings. Treat the plant like that and you will be rewarded many times over with a plant happy to grow and bloom and/ or bear fruit or seeds! If it is thirsty, water it. If it droops, place it in more light. If it is crowded or rootbound, repot it. I can sense when a plant is thirsty. You can also use your hair dryer to blow for a few seconds on your plants. That signals to them that they should grow strong stems. If it is warm enough where you live, leave the window open. The wind that wafts in will help them grow! 

I hope this post inspires you to get growing your own plants! Let me know in the comments below. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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Seeds of hope

 

Merry meet all,

I’m busy sprouting seeds. I have sprouted way too many seeds but this does mean that I get a better harvest come autumn. !! I have sprouted brandywine tomato, Scotch Bonnett peppers, kale, leeks, german chamomile, lavender, cucumber and purple echinacea. I can’t wait to grow them in my garden! I have too many starter seeds here. The more, the merrier. 

Tomorrow I plan to sign up for the Botanical artwork class at the Herbal Academy. I’m buying the sketchbook for the course too. I want to get the apothecary labels for bottles and jars too. I can’t print in color. I want to order rue and yarrow seeds. Yarrow is good for our health and rue is witchy and guards the home!! 

I also want to grow lemon basil, and start growing the witchy seeds I ordered months ago. Black cumin, howden pumpkin and vietnamese cilantro are just a few. It sounds so tasty! I have a few big starter pots sporting my tender seedlings. I don’t have enough starter pots for the seeds. I have successfully pre-germinated chamomile seeds on a damp paper towel in an old pet food bowl. It worked!! There are so many tiny chamomile seedlings I can’t even count them all. They will grow into the beautiful daisy like apple scented herb we all know and love. It is too exciting!

I sterilized a pot from the garden and washed it well. I use bleach to kill any possible insects/ insect eggs that may have hibernated in the pot over winter. Then once clean, I filled the pot with soil. The pot was 12 inches in diameter. I put pre-germinated parsley seeds, and added sage seeds, basil, dill, radish and carrot. Mmm I can just taste it. The pot sits on my kitchen counter. I just can’t wait for the seeds to germinate and fill the pot with their earthy goodness. I may move the pot out once the warm weather arrives. But for now, the pot is indoors. It is too cold yet. I want to plant  potatoes in a grow bag. I can start that in mid-April. I have to grow the tubers at my Mom’s to protect them from ravenous raccooons. The masked thieves just bite a potato then toss it. It’s wasted. Nope not this year. I will be ready for those bandits. 

I want to start nasturtium seeds early this year. If I wait till later in the summer, they will take forever to get growing. The time to start seeds is now. I have lovely scarlet runner beans in air dried brown pods. I plan to grow those this year too along with green beans and purple beans. The purple beans turn green when cooked! 

That is a good start to spring! Beginning a plant from seed saves you tons of money later. It can be expensive to buy lots of transplants. There is a time and place to transplants though. I do it too but later in the season when the perennials have filled the garden. I know what to plant and where I can plant. Put your intention into the seed starting! Happy planting!

 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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I stand with the Ukraine )O(

Merry meet all,

The world has gone mad! Like the Covid pandemic was not bad enough, Ukraine is under merciless fire from Russia. I can’t believe what is going on. I feel so bad for the Ukraine. They never hurt anyone. Now their homes are bombed, no heat, no love. It is awful. It breaks my heart. I found out that not everyone in Russia agrees with the cruel attacks on the Ukraine. Celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenneger and Baryshikov spoke out and expressed their feelings and opinions about the senseless attack. 

Yet there is hope. I found an interesting article on Twitter about local pagans making sure no one goes starving!!! 

Cape Breton pagans launch new programs to combat food insecurity

Candice Hannah, a founding member of the Circle of the Raven Society, shows off the group’s food pantry with Joe Townsend. (Christian Roach / CBC)

A small pagan society in North Sydney, N.S., is expanding community outreach and food insecurity programs with a new location for free meals and the addition of a community garden.

The Circle of the Raven Society is a non-profit organization started by Candice Hannah and her daughter, Briana Berardinelli, almost two years ago. They formed the group after seeing how many people in the community needed help.

The pair started out in Millville, N.S., giving away a free meal to anyone who needed one. Originally, the pair paid out of pocket for all the food but they soon began to sell small items from a trailer in their yard to help with the cost.

“We’ve moved from a tiny little trailer into a giant Addams Family building now where we’re currently located in North Sydney,” said Berardinelli, adding that the hard work has always been worth it.

“Any personal stories that we’ve heard just keeps pushing us to continue doing this, because we’re seeing just how many people that we can help.”

The group has grown and now gives away about 100 free meals on the last Sunday of every month from their location on Commercial Street. They also sell crafts and books and run a free clothes market.

The society offers free clothing in its store on Commercial Street in North Sydney. (Christian Roach / CBC)

Expanding to Glace Bay

In the short term they hope to feed more people by expanding to Glace Bay.

Member Mary Dillon will be giving away 30 free meals from her home in Glace Bay starting March 27, while other members continue to offer free meals in North Sydney.

Dillon said she loves being a part of the group and wants it to grow so they can help more people.

“We’d love to get as much places as possible for people to have food, for people to come, get readings, be able to connect with people who understand them, that aren’t going to look down on them,” she said.

Briana Berardinelli is a founder of the Circle of the Raven Society. (Christian Roach / CBC)

New community garden coming

Although the society has only six official members, the Facebook page has over 700 followers. The group has made community connections with the Ally Centre, NSCC and Cape Breton University to spread the word about the free meals.

They’ve also partnered with other community groups like Community Cares to install a red food pantry behind their building — the home of the new community garden that’s expected to be ready this summer.

“We want to be able to fill it up with an array of fruits and vegetables or herbs, anything that can really go a long way for people who need it and it will be easily accessible.”

Berardinelli said she still can’t explain the feeling she gets helping others.

“It just fills my heart just seeing how many people that we’ve helped, even just in this amount of time in the last two years,” said Berardinelli.

“I can only imagine just how much more we’re going to grow and how many more people will be able to help.”

That warms my heart. I love this story of people trying hard to help others. It proves we don’t need a war. No one wants war. When willl it end? 

I am almost done sewing the wool coat. I am so excited and brimming with anticipation. I promise to post pics when it is done! 

Ostara is upon us. It is still snowing. March is the cruelest month of winter. Spring battles with winter for supremacy. The other day was so warm and today I saw a skiff of snow on the ground. 

Well we can warm our hearts and stand together for the Ukraine against the cruel and needless war. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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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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Merry Imbolc

Merry meet all,

Imbolc is almost here! I can’t wait for spring. When I step outdoors, I am hit with a bone chilling blast of cold air. I do have to leave the house sometimes. I don’t have to like the cold. Spring is a long way off but we can now anticipate its ‘return. 

I recently introduced even more order into my apartment. I went to an office supplies store, Staples, and bought two black plastic stackable crates. From the way they were placed on the shelf and that there were just two crates waiting for me, I knew they were meant for me. I grabbed them and carried them through the store. I bought purple hanging file folders- black and purple, of course! I now have my files all organized and I gave the two dozen now empty binders to my Mom. She appreciated the binders very much and I am glad because now the binders have a new good purpose. 

The best thing to come out of this lockdown and Covid was the reorganizing of my home. It is in way more order than it ever was before. I do believe the last section here is the broom closet. I have more space down there but it is far from perfect. I plan to donate a lot of stuff to Value Village where I work. I also bought a cool black wire box decorated with flowers to store my manuscript in. I have to get busy editing my ghost story now that I am under contract. But with my home in way more order, I am sure that won’t be a problem. 

Clutter is a sign of excess. It is good to round up all the ‘clutter’ and then donate it. Donating items to a thrift shop prevents the items from ending up in landfill. That is one great thing about Value Village;- all that stuff would be in landfill otherwise. 

I bought a white candle in a beautiful white marble candle holder. The flame glows nicely and is burning steadily.  I may be speaking for myself here but I will miss the dark half of the year. Now we turn to the lighter half of the year. But I revel, I thrive in the darker half of the year. I do miss my garden. With Imbolc creeping up on us, we can now turn our attention to starting seeds indoors and such. 

Once I see sprouts in my garden poke through the soil, I will be missing my garden. It’s all I will care about. I wish you all a merry magickal Imbolc. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

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