Tag Archives: Nature

October 2, 2023 · 12:03 pm

Samhain Celebrations

Samhain is almost here. The energy of autumn crackles in the air. Today’s post is from another fellow Witch and she shares many ways to celebrate Samhain. Dust off your cauldrons!

Write a Samhain Journal Entry

Take a few minutes from your day and write down the changes you would like to see moving forward. What things are you ready to let go of and what goals are you ready to really tackle?

Many consider this the Witches New Year and it’s a perfect time for planning new beginnings.

Make a Witchy Bucket List

Make a list of all of the things you would like to accomplish in your spiritual practice in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Perhaps you want to learn more about herbs, kitchen magick, start a Grimoire/BOS, or begin connecting with a deity. Maybe all of those things!

Write them down and check them off throughout the year as you accomplish them. I don’t know about you but checking things off a list always makes me feel accomplished.

Have a Nature Walk

A wonderful way to celebrate Samhain, and any other Sabbat really. Take a few minutes from your day, go outside, and connect with nature.

Autumn is such a glorious season. As you are walking clear your mind and really take in your surroundings,the trees, the colours, the scents of fall, the way the air feels on your face. And during your walk give thanks to mother earth for all that she does for us.

Do a Meditation to Honour Your Ancestors

A meditation doesn’t need to be an hour long. Even if you can only spare 10 minutes from your day for this you will feel good that you took the time to make it happen. 

Sit somewhere quiet and take these few minutes to remember your loved ones who have passed on, think of happy memories, their smile, their favourite things and let them know they are in your heart and with you always.

Honouring those who have passed on is an integral part of Samhain and shouldn’t be forgotten.

Do a Quick Tarot Reading for Yourself

Even just a little three card reading can be beneficial to see a glimmer of what may be in store this year and give you a bit to think about in terms of you path and the directions and changes you will make moving forward.

Celebrate Samhain & Halloween with Decorations!

Embrace the symbols and colours of the season.

Surround yourself with pumpkins, skulls, ghosty things, and maybe carve a pumpkin. Decorating is a hugely fun part of the holiday, and a fun activity to do with the little ones if you happen to have any running around.

Bake a Halloween Treat Symbolizing New Beginnings

There is always some baking going on in my house for Samhain and Halloween. No reason not to infuse a little magick into your  treats this year.

Enjoying some special goodies is also a staple part of the season. Most holidays have food involved and Samhain is no different.

Light Candles for Your Loved Ones

Light candles for your loved ones as a sign of remembrance. 

You can place them in the window to help guide them on their journey this night where the veil is thinned and spirits roam.

Light a Candle for Yourself

Light a candle and recite affirmations for yourself.

Things you would like to see yourself accomplish in the coming weeks and months. Candle work is a mini fire ritual on its own, no huge bonfire required.

Have a Ritual Bath

A peaceful bath with some candles, maybe some oils and salts, to release negativity is a timely activity to perform on Samhain.

Releasing any negative energies that you have built up in order to enter this new year feeling cleansed and refreshed.

Cleanse Your Space

We don’t want to forget about our homes as well!

Simply burning appropriate herbs and walking through each room of your house will do the trick. Walk throughout your home slowly, focusing your energies and visualizing any negativity lifting away out into the aether.

It’s Not Halloween Without Costumes!

We usually have a party at our place and costumes are required lol. Alas, this year there will be no gathering of friends but that’s no excuse to not really have some fun and get into costume!

And it’ll be fun for the trick or treaters, if trick or treating is still happening in your area. And if not, just get dressed up and have a photoshoot, because let’s be honest that is always a good time!

Tell Ghost Stories

Samhain is steeped in lore about ghosts, ghouls, demons, and the like. All of these otherworldly creatures are said to walk the earth during Samhain when the veil between worlds is at it’s thinnest.

Embrace the spookier side of the season, make a hot bevvy and tell some stories. If you’re brave enough that is!

And you can check out this article from Reader’s Digest to get you started: The 13 Most Haunted Places in the World.

Watch a Scary Movie

What would this season be without some good jump scares. ‘Halloween’ anyone?

Charge Your Crystals

This Samhain is also a Full Moon. Take advantage of that energy and set your crystals outside to charge.

Charging your crystals under a Full Moon is a powerful way to re-invigorate their energies, and doing so under a Samhain Full Moon will be doubly so.

Host a Dumb Supper

During your evening meal leave a place setting empty for your loved ones who have passed and eat your meal in silence. 

If you don’t want to do the silent part you can still leave out the empty place setting. This literally takes no extra time out of your day.

Add Some Samhain Pages to Your BOS or Grimoire

If you keep a Book of Shadows or Grimoire add some info in there on Samhain.

If you already have pages on the Sabbat there is always something new you can add in. Some facts you maybe didn’t know or a new ritual perhaps. Be creative!

Keeping one of these is a wonderful outlet for both your practice and your creative spirit.

Create a Space to Honour Your Ancestors or Loved Ones

You can add these things to your altar if you have one but if not, you can simply set up a little space for them somewhere in your home.

You can put pictures, flowers, foods, and some of their favourite things. A simple and wonderful way to show remembrance.

Let Your Hair Down and Dance 

Dance has long been associated with celebration and life.

Crank up your favourite seasonal tunes and let yourself go. Dancing is a wonderful way to release energies from the body and can have you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Just what the new year called for.

Make Moon Water

Fill a glass jar with water and focus your intentions on what the water will be used for, take your time with this process so that your focus is clear. Leave the jar outside over night to soak up those awesome Full Moon energies.

Celebrate Life

While this can be a somber day when we are missing our loved ones, it is also a day that should be filled with life and celebration. 

This can mean anything that you feel is celebrating and honouring life. Indulge in your favourite foods, read a book, dance around your house, have sex…whatever it may be cherish the moments and really LIVE.

There you have it! 

These ideas, especially some of them, should be fairly easy to incorporate into your day if you are crunched for time.

Pick one or two that really call out to you and do them with vigour. Really enjoy the moments, take them in, and savour them.

You can of course do as many of them as you wish or spend more time on any of them if you have it. Take a long luxurious bath, do an hour-long meditation, perform a lengthier ritual, or dedicate your whole day and do 15 different things lol. You do what resonates with you and what your schedule will allow.

If you feel you got the most out of your day and are happy with how you celebrated, that is what truly matters.

You can also check out my full post on Samhain Celebrations and Correspondences for some more ideas and inspiration if you wish.

Your turn! Tell me your Samhain wishes!

Do you normally celebrate Samhain,  Halloween, or both? How will you be celebrating this year? I always love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment or drop me a line. There are lots of ways for us to connect

And if you enjoyed the post, remember you can SUBSCRIBE, receive your Mini Autumn Grimoire Bundle for FREE, and be the first to know about new content and exclusive freebies!

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

Credit to: https://www.thewholesomewitch.com/ways-celebrate-samhain-halloween/

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September 18, 2023 · 2:16 pm

Nature Allies

Merry meet all,

Hurricane Lee has blown and busted his way out of Nova Scotia. I am so relieved. The sun’s shining on my garden which is feebly picking itself up off the ground. Yes my garden is battered but my limp tomato plants have endured. My garden has endured a hurricane before and to my amazement, keeps going. I visited my garden and sent my plants healing energy. I fertilized a few plants this morning – peppers, tomatoes, beans, flowers. 

 Samhain is the next turn in the eternal Wheel of the Year. We are coming now to the time of the thinning of the veil. Or is it already thinning? Hear me out. I just endured yet another hurricane. There are a lot of natural disasters popping up and wreaking havoc in various parts of the world. The Goddess is pissed. Sorry for my language there but I just don’t know how else to say it. We have behaved badly and she is giving us a spanking. Perhaps the veil which in my opinion, is shredded and the dead are traveling closer to punish us. I actually believe this is possible. We are at the end. Like the Tower card in the tarot, the long end is coming. 

We ask too much of the earth. Everything we desire comes with a price. Unfortunately, those who expect the earth to keep providing and providing have zero intentions of ever giving up any thanks or acknowledgement for the blessings and gifts and instant gratification they have been given. They won’t stop there and that is the problem. I don’t believe the solution is to mess up another planet because we never learned our lessons here on Earth. The mandatory action is that we learn here – and get such a lesson as to get so scared we won’t repeat it ever again. So the lesson has to be severe and hard and relentless. It has to shake people into action, scare them, give them a vision of how bad it could get so we can then make it better. I would like to think we take that route but no, sadly it won’t happen. We will not revert to the 18th century way of living but if we are not more careful, then it may be apocalyptic, just like in the movies. I always wonder why more post-apocalypse movies aren’t being made. Many people choose to turn a blind eye. It is not in their backyard, so it’s not their problem. Wait till it creeps up on them. 

The actions we take now and the decisions we make can help though. It isn’t all gloom and doom. We can all take actions now, large and small, and perhaps ensure a bright future for ourselves and those we love. I leave offerings when I harvest/ forage from nature. I use only what I need. I have talked about this before on a post in the past but I do love to honour the nature spirits. I also forage and harvest sustainably and practice organic gardening methods. I use no pesticides and maybe my garden has tons of insects visiting it but it all somehow works out. 

We can also firm up our relationships with our chosen deities. Leave them offerings and pray to them more often. Include them a lot more in our daily actions. Be more grateful. This may help and it’s even better that we practice it consistently. Also, being positive helps. Be paws-itive! Pets can help hugely with this. Animals are amazing healers and are all about unconditional love. I love animals. Plants and animals are our friends, and the nature spirits are also our allies. We need to trust them again and be true to our word. 

The Fae are not our friends but they are not our enemies either. If they are returning, it is naive of us to assume it is for our benefit. They were driven into the hills and mounds and they probably remember that. That is why I try so hard to leave an offering, express gratitude and respect to them. I respect my elders and I can respect them too. I clean garbage up from the ground when I am waiting for a bus at the bus stop. I built a small fairy house and arranged the faeries in and around it. They probably appreciate that. 

The earth is not a trash can. Yet that is exactly how thousands of people treat earth. It is time to wake up. It is time to remember our mother and respect her. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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August 30, 2023 · 11:04 am

Horror Novels

Merry meet all,

I feel fall in the air.  The leaves are turning (already? gulp), the air feels crisp and I am just waiting for pumpkins to hit the shelves. The asters have bloomed which is a good sign of fall coming. The bees are busy gathering all the pollen they can. 

I have started chard and beans from seed in small pots. There is still time to grow them and if the frost hits, I can grow them indoors with the grow light kit. I switched the beige table cloth on my kitchen table to my black spiderweb lace tablecloth. I also dressed my altar for Mabon. Much as I am resisting fall, I’m embracing it as well. It is inevitable. I am just angsty for my garden. I’m also working on a corn doll for Mabon. I even made a broom from herb twig stems. A few herbs are soaking in a bowl of water to let the bugs escape. I plan to use them with the corn doll. I will post pictures later when I am finished the corn doll. 

I am also hoping to get elecampane to sprout from seed. I put a few seeds on a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag. Last night, I did a full moon ritual. It felt so good. it has been a long time since I did a full moon Rit and now I plan to get way back into my magic craft. 

Speaking of magic, as I gaze out my window, a spider has caught a big bug in his web. The spider twirled the bug around and around and hangs on tight despite the breeze hitting the web. The poor bug doesn’t stand a chance. It is amazing to witness and yet it repulses me. This is the fascinating twin nature of Mother Nature: life and death twined into one. Every August, there are suddenly so many spiders. The hard part is that the bug is still alive. That is what is hardest for me. I can understand something suffering then dying quick. But this bug in the cocoon at that spider’s mercy is still alive. I can tell by the way it’s upper legs twitch. It has to endure all that. For a reason unknown to me, spiders love to weave their webs at my bedroom/ office window. I am fascinated by spiders though. I know most people don’t feel the way I do. They would likely have a harder time living here. I live near a nature trail where there are lots and lots of industrious insects. The spider tugged his unwilling prey away. I have had enough of that. 

I stored herbs in jars last night. I dried them in my dehydrator all day yesterday and that was when I understood why I bought the dehydrator. It was so easy, so simple and cut out so much drying time. I plan to use my dehydrator a lot more often. I usually dry herbs on a screen or on my air drying rack but that took out all the work for me I usually do. Yup I have officially upgraded to a dehydrator. I love it. I dried lovage, Thai basil, mugwort, goldenrod, lemon balm, red clover, dandelion leaves, chamomile and St. John’s Wort. 

Samhain is sixty two days away! It is time to prepare. I can’t believe that time of year is here. Curl up with a few good horror books. I can’t get enough of it. I have had the privilege lately of reading some damn good horror fiction. The first novel on my list is The Twisted Ones by Kingfisher. I could not put this book down. The suspense killed me, the characters were amazing and the scary creatures were original. If I saw those creatures staring into my window at night and I was alone in the country, I would freak out too. Next on the list is The Devil Takes you home by Gabino Iglesias. Read. This. Book. I had a hard time muscling my way past a few gruesome scenes in the book but it kept me riveted till the end. I cried for Mario. The situation he ended up in was so tragic and I found his predicament very believable. This novel is terrifying. Read it with the lights on! The next novel on my list is My Heart is a Chainsaw. I am not sure if this classifies as horror. I wasn’t that scared. My Heart is a Chainsaw is a brilliant character driven novel. If you want to get deep into the heart and mind of the main character and the mystery in the town, then this is the novel for you. 

Those novels will definitely get you in the mood for a spooky Samhain. The next novel I plan to read is Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling, and that is another damn good horror book. I plan to keep writing and working on my own projects too. 

I have to get going but I will post soon. Till then, keep writing and stay spooky!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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July 7, 2023 · 4:15 pm

Summer Offerings

Merry meet all,

Oh the heat! Halifax is literally a hot cauldron- and I am planted in it! There is no escaping it. What a heatwave. 

I just harvested some St. John’s wort from a fenced in wildflower patch. I was so happy to have found it. As soon as I saw the sunny flowers, I knew it was true St. John’s Wort. I went back to my Mom’s place, I returned and cut some stems and flowers. I had to reach in to cut the flowers and it was a bit awkward but I managed. When I pulled my left arm out, and I eased the flowers through the bars of the fence, I noticed my left arm was bloodstained.  Before that, I squished the flower petals in my fingers. The flowers released a red juice on my right hand.  I have no idea how my left arm was wounded. I barely even felt it. I may have been bitten by an insect. 

I returned with an offering to make nice with the spirits there who clearly don’t know me. I hope they accepted the offering of oats. Most people don’t understand the reciprocal relationship I have with nature spirits. They have been very generous with me. I usually leave offerings at the nature trail where I live. I am staying at my Mom’s right now. They love it when someone leaves an offering. It is a way of showing respect and caring. 

I noticed that two white onions had long green stems! I cut them each in half and noticed they wanted to keep growing. I looked at the red onions ( though they are coloured purple), and one of them showed a green tip. I cheered up because that means it will grow into a big lovely red onion bulb. I couldn’t ask for more. 

I hope my garden survives the heatwave. I bought a big green pepper plant, a tomato plant, and red onion starts. I was hoping to grow potatoes. It is too late in the year to start now. I can grow other things though. I am using straw as a mulch this year. I think it is working.! I hope it keeps away the slugs. Today I added fertilizer, mycorrhizae, and sand to the soil in a burgundy coloured rectangle shaped planter. I mixed it all well then watered the soil then I added carrots seeds. I will have to thin them out later. I hope this works. The carrots are small. The planter is not very deep so that works out. I am determined to grow carrots. I did it once- indoors! Outside, the carrots are exposed to all the elements- and hopefully not pests. It’s a challenge but worth it. I also noticed that my bean seeds have germinated or are starting to! I want to wait to add in a support thing because I don’t want to hurt the roots. Once the vines reach a few inches, I will then add the supports to help the vines grow upwards. 

With luck and some effort, I should hopefully get to harvest celeriac, tomatoes, peppers, kale, red onions, the white onions I planted, and of course, the herbs. I also planted a pumpkin seedling, celery, and onion starts in the grow cloth bag. I added straw mulch to the bag. The veggie seedlings are getting plenty of sun too. I sprinkled in fertilizer today. I also finally was able to add soil to my compost pile. I hope that makes a difference. I now have a proper compost pail. 

I made lotion bars with marshmallow root and a few other herbs. They turned out beautifully. I strained the remaining marshmallow root herbal oil into an amber coloured glass jar, labeled it and left it on the kitchen table. I had bought an extra amber coloured jar. I now realize I didn’t need it. I had strained the oil from the herbs for the witches flying ointment. I just haven’t made the actual ointment yet. I shall do that soon. 

Homemade marshmallow root lotion bars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah my work is never done. It is so hard to move in this infernal heat. We had a ton of rain but my poor garden probably still needs water. I am staying hydrated too. 

Have fun, drink lots of water and enjoy summer!

Spiderwitch 

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June 5, 2023 · 5:24 pm

Summer Fires

Merry meet all,

The wildfire crisis may be under control in Nova Scotia. Rain has hopefully quenched many of the forest fires. It’s been raining a lot! That helps the firemen who are working constantly around the clock so people may return safely to their homes. I donated a big bag of items to help people to the SPCA a few days ago. Let us hope all goes well for those who yearn to be safe and warm in their homes soon. 

In other news, I was hit by a huge urge to craft again. I didn’t get the Herbal Academy Intermediate level textbooks. Instead, I crafted my own. I had some davy board remaining from my last project months ago. I cut out the front, back and spines of the book and measured. I filed through the pages of the lessons I would need. I rummaged for a glue supply and unearthed my toolbox containing my arts supplies. It didn’t take long to make the book, it is just tedious as I pay close attention to detail. I found an old green altar cloth for a book cover and I happened to have artsy print paper to adhere to the insides of the book. I originally wanted to make one big book but there was so much paper I had to make two. I did and I think it was a much better decision. I decided on Units 1 to 5 for one book and Units 5-10 for the second book. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first book turned out great. The papers are glued in and I can flip through the pages with ease. I tucked in the certificate and my herb bookmark. I glued a butterfly circled by green leaves to the front cover. I worked on the 2nd book today. I glued the decorative papers in. The spine and the pages didn’t adhere to the covers. I was almost out of glue so I added way more glue – white glue, not from a hot glue gun, and tried again. Now the pages stick to the spine as they should. I am waiting for that to dry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered a Celtic dragon trim to sew onto the cloak. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I promise to post pics once it is done! The dragon trim is blue, silver and black. It will look beautiful. 

I really need more space in my apartment. I’m giving two bookcases to my Mom. That will free up a lot of space. I bought the bookcase again just like the one I have in my kitchen. I have to assemble and paint it. I just put myself through this and I am going through it again. It is for a good and noble cause. I really need more space. Another plus is that if I should ever need one of those bookcases again, well they will be in the family. If someone on Kijiji had them, there would be no way to get them back. 

I will update when I can about the bookcases. Summer Solstice occurs on the 21st of June. I have been working on the garden. I planted a bean seedling, a cherry tomato plant, a kale plant and a dill plant. I scattered eggshells around them to protect from slugs. I also planted chamomile, lavender and a rosemary in the garden. I shall enjoy watching them blossom this summer. 

The summer solstice is known as Litha or Midsummer. Litha celebrates the arrival of summer! Well, we all do – although I won’t be lighting a bonfire in my backyard to honour the occasion. A wildfire ban here in N.S. is in effect and the fine for lighting a fire is $25,000.00. I don’t have that kinda cash kicking around – I wish- so I shall respect the ban. We shall see how things go. 

During Litha, a battle between the dark and the light occurs. The Oak King and the Holly King fight for control. The sun is highest in the sky at the time of the solstice. It is a great time for celebration, feasts and enjoying nature’s bounty. My garden has blossomed beautifully. The elecampane leaves are already big, hinting at the sunny flowers sure to grow soon. The comfrey should flower soon. My hasp plants have green buds which will soon be lovely blue haskap berries, the strawberry plants are in flower and a bee balm plant will flower soon. As much as I understand that we need rain to put out the fire, it would be nice to have some sun too. 

I wish you all a memorable summer solstice!

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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May 12, 2023 · 12:33 pm

Gardening Rituals

Merry meet all,

The last two days I worked on my garden. I consider this to be an annual ritual. Working with soil is so therapeutic. 

I bought eight bags of soil and once at home, carried them to the backyard where my garden is. I let my cat get some nature telly at the back door. I usually buy some beer and treats. I enjoy the beer when I am done the ritual. 

I distributed the soil all over the garden. I had to toss out the lawn chair as it broke from the snow and cold. I tidied up the plant supports. I raked away most of the leaves. I do keep some leaves in the soil after the long winter. The leaves are like mulch or compost. I loved working on my garden. The wind was strong and cold but the sun warmed my back. I pulled out weeds and made sure that the perennials that come up every year received soil at their bases. The raspberry canes, lemon balm, sage, purple sage, mint, tiger lilies, Asiatic lilies, lovage, rhubarb, woodruff, hostess, ferns, lungwort, chives, and hasps are growing nicely. Seeing my garden emerge after a long winter cheers me up so much. 

I transplanted the raspberry canes to a new spot. I had to move them or they would take over the vegetable and herb patch. I am sure they are not happy with me. I gave them new soil and water. They will grow new roots and can grow as much as they want in their new spot. I made sure they still receive a lot of sunlight. 

I made my offering of milk, honey, fennel seeds and I sprinkled beer on the soil in the two patches of my garden. I have a shade spot and a big sun spot. I make offerings at each spot. This means the nature spirits will help me to grow the best garden ever! 

lungwort

I am growing mugwort indoors. The plants have grown three feet or more. I keep an eye out for frost warnings. I plan to move them out soon. I know mugwort is invasive but I want to grow it in the soil in the back of my vegetable, herb and flower patch. I am tired of growing it from seed every single spring. I don’t think it will do too much damage. Mugwort can grow up to six feet so it has to placed in the back of the garden. 

My other seedlings that are still growing under the grow light are doing well. They are growing so well, a little too well. I just stepped outside and it is so cold – the wind is so cold. There are no more frost warnings but the wind is cold. I will wait, I just keep the plants at the back door. The cold wind blows in when my cat gets nature telly. The light and the temperature is different in the kitchen. I could also put them out during the day and bring them in at night but that means they bring in bugs as well. 

I hope that cold wind goes away soon. It has to warm up so I can put my plants out. I will wait till the first week of June. It’s hard but they would not thrive. Patience is a virtue all gardeners must practice. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(

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April 28, 2023 · 10:17 am

Spring Creations

Merry meet all,

I am inspired by spring’s fresh  green renewal! My garden is coming to life. I have big plans: this month of May, I plan to deep clean and make big changes in the kitchen. The kitchen is, to me, one of the hearts of the home. I am a devoted hardcore kitchen witch and a kitchen witch always keeps a kitchen clean and in good order. I bought a bookcase. The bookcase that stands in my kitchen now has long since expired. I think spring which is about new life and renewal is the perfect time to redo the kitchen. I can’t wait to get the bookcase which has to be assembled first and then painted is the right time for this project. 

I bought artificial moss, artificial flowers and vines, butterfly and insect stickers, a tiny birdhouse, and I plan to make a faerie portal on a stand. I can paint the bookcase. That was good news to me when I read that on the website. My imagination was fired up. There was only one colour choice for me and I bet you can guess it- green! Green is the colour of spring after a winter of rustic browns and faded greys. 

I am going to paint it a deep forest green colour. I plan to paint the birdhouse. I have some wooden dowel rods. I want to glue the birdhouse to the wooden dowel rod. I’m going to glue the moss to the bookcase once it is painted. I also want to add fairy lights.  plan to glue on acorns, pinecones, the butterfly stickers, artificial leaves, and give it a real fairy/ witch bookcase feel and look. It will be amazing. The bookcase arrives on Saturday. 

I can’t wait to be rid of the old bookcase. It is fragile and could fall down any moment. It had too much weight on it. Plus, it’s plain and white and ugly and an eyesore.  The bookcase that arrives on the weekend will be absolutely amazing. I have been collecting a few items to use to decorate the bookcase: feathers, a besom made from lemon balm twigs, a wooden rune, spellite stone, a pinecone, birch bark, a black candle and another ornate thing I don’t have the name for but it looks so mystical. 

I added a kitchen cabinets organizer to the cupboard that stores my mugs, cups and thermos, etc. I could not believe the difference in the cupboard. I love it! Also, the organizer matches the colour of the cupboard and that was definitely an added bonus.! Yup, big changes here!

 

 

 

 

 

I am so inspired that I transformed the covers of my gardening journal. It had boring black covers. I love black and there’s nothing wrong with it. I am a ferociously creative person and it’s in my nature to grab a paintbrush to let my creativity out. I glued red tissue paper to the front and back covers. I painted the red tissue a deep green a few times. I made sure to hide all the red and trimmed the excess tissue from the edges. Then I twined two wires together to form a plant vine. I hot glued it to the front cover and painted it brown to look like an authentic plant vine. I cut the flowers and vines up from the main vines of the fake flowers and glued them to the wire to look they really grew from the wire. I glued on some butterfly stickers. It looks beautiful. The back of the book is now the front of the book. I glued designer papers to the insides of the front and back covers. The print designs are beautiful and match the theme. It’s going to be a gardening journal and should not be plain. I am inspired to write in it now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will keep track of the seeds I plant, the plants that I grow, the zone I live in, what worked, what didn’t, how well the plants grow etc. I hope you like it. I ordered a witchy book full of bewitching recipes. I shall soon add it to the collection of herbal books. I can’t wait to begin my new awesome project of transforming the bookcase. I have to buy green paint and I want to be certain I have the perfect colour of green. I am sure that the staff at the store will help with that. 

I‘m going to deep clean the kitchen too. Don’t you all just love spring. I found a light thin green curtain stored with my other linens. It is perfect to hide the herb jars from light but thin enough to not encourage mold. I found an old dead branch that I’m going to trim to size, scrape off the bark, and paint and hang up at my apothecary. I am just brimming with creative energy! I would love to hear about your own spring inspirations. Beltane is coming!

Enjoy spring!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

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October 24, 2022 · 1:04 pm

Samhain celebrations )O(

Merry meet all,

Today I harvested the remaining scarlet runner beans that the slugs hadn’t devoured. I cut the vines and left the roots in. The roots have good nutrients that will benefit the soil. Who knows? Maybe they will regrow next year. 

Samhain is almost here. Yesterday I baked a cake. I haven’t frosted it yet. I want to share a secret ingredient idea I had with my dear readers. I made candied walnuts. I soaked the walnuts in brandy before drying them and grinding the walnuts to a powder. The powder is a little clumpy. I added it to the blender in small batches and then froze it. I added it in to the cake batter. I can’t wait to see how the cake tastes. Today I am going to frost the cake and I promise to post about that too.

It has rained a lot today. It had better not rain on the most notorious, magickal night of the year, October 31st. I have plans as do the many other millions out there with hopes high in their hearts. Samhain/ Halloween is not just for kids- adults have joined in on the dark revelry. There are many rituals and  fun activities to try. Read on to learn more. 

Samhain is a time to honour the dead and our ancestors. We often perform many rituals in celebration of the season of death. The leaves trickle to the earth, bedecked in fiery heartwarming colours. A special dinner is prepared and enjoyed to celebrate the harvest. 

I love a long nature walk in the fall. I encourage you all to go on a nature walk outdoors. Observe the colours, the brown seedbeds, and the aromas of leaves, the sounds of crisp leaves falling. Gather some nature objects such as pinecones, seedbeds of your favourite flowers, dried leaves to dip in beeswax, acorns, flowers still fresh. An herbal tea can be made and enjoyed from goldenrod, scentless mayweed (wild chamomile) and asters. Dry the herbs then store them in a jar. Use them to adorn your home. 

Set up your altar. I purposely bought a lovely new altar cloth at one of my fave alternate stores, The Black Market. I love going there. The black cloth has a cool astrology circle on it with white stars and the astrological symbols. Use grave rubbings, images of ghosts, images of your ancestors, acorns, oak leaves, squash, root vegetables in a cornucopia. 

Perform a Samhain ceremony. A dumb supper is performed with one single person or the whole family present (more fun that way!). First, gather everyone around. That can be your coven or your family. Go outside, find yard trimmings or dead plants- remember those seed heads? Use them to make a straw man or woman. I go with the Goddess more so I plan to make a straw doll to represent the Goddess. This will go nicely with my Samhain offering of honey, milk and cornmeal. 

You can bring the doll inside and decorate the doll with antlers for the male God or a dress for the Goddess. Offer the straw deity doll bread and cornmeal. (I wish I had some tobacco). Then everyone else partakes of the meal. Just be sure to serve your deity doll first. 

Leave crumbs for the birds. You can return the doll outside to watch over the garden on a pole to stand guard over next year’s seedlings and burn the doll at the Beltane celebration. When you are finished with the meal, take the leftovers outside as an offering for the dead. 

Make an ancestors altar. Collect photographs, mementos, of deceased loved ones and pets. Arrange them on your altar and light candles. Light the candles in their memory and quietly sit and reflect. Pay attention to any messages you receive. Heed your dreams. You can keep the ancestor altar up as long as you want. 

Guide the Spirits. I like to light a white candle and set it at a window. You could use a seven-day candle. When you light the candle say these words: “O little flame that burns so bright, be a beacon on this night. Light the path for all the dead, that they may see now what’s ahead. And lead them to the Summerland and shine until Pan takes their hands. And with Your light, please bring them peace, that they may rest and sleep with ease.” 

Perform a seance. Samhain is the perfect time to hold a tradition. Hold a bonfire. I plan to do this one! Well yes a seance but I just love to sit out on my back step on a chilly yet dry October evening, with a fire raging in my toddler sized cauldron. Did you see what I did there? lol. Use tarot, runes, and or scrying to divine your future or find a future mate!

Invoke your chosen deities. Honour and call on the Gods such as the Crone Goddess and the Horned God of nature. Invite them in to your circle and to aid in your understanding of life, death and rebirth. 

Herbs of Samhain There are many herbs to use to celebrate Samhain. I want to bake a loaf of rosemary bread this Samhain. Rosemary is for remembrance. For more guidance, sage, pine cones, straw, mugwort, mullein, oak leaves, acorns, hazelnuts, allspice, elderberries, catnip (save some for kitty!). For more guidance on this, review my previous posts. I have been harvesting dandelion, burdock and elecampane as much as I can. 

Be sure to leave your carved pumpkin once you are done with it outside. I always toss my spent pumpkins in the garden. Trust me, the crows and other critters will thank you. It is cold for them and they love every bite they can get. It benefits the soil by leaving valuable nutrients in the soil for next year’s spring plantings. 

Happy Samhain! I wish you all a good celebration!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

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October 18, 2022 · 11:30 am

Root, bark & berry )O(

Merry meet all,

I just went out for a walk on the trail shown in the photo above. I love going for walks on the trail. I really feel the Samhain energy in the air. If you look hard at the above photo, you will see what I mean. 

This Samhain, I am once again – ok always, flying solo. I am a solitary Witch. I do everything I want to do by myself. I am not all that alone though. I can feel the presence of Spirit on the trail and in my garden. I have harvested a ton of herbs, roots and berries this fall. I leave offerings of cornmeal, coins or gemstones. I like to maintain a positive relationship with the spirits that dwell here. I never see the spirits but I feel them around, peering around the trees, watching me as I stroll down the trail. I recognized a couple of witch hazels. I love witch hazels! The witch hazel is so beautiful in my garden this fall!

I have harvested a lot of dandelion roots, burdock root, elderberries, lemon balm, lavender, sage, goldenrod, asters, wild chamomile, oak leaves for cauldron ash, and leaves for pressing. I plan to dip the leaves in beeswax to preserve them. I made a lovely jar of dark purple elderberry syrup, asters, goldenrod and wild chamomile for tea. I found several red clover buds outside. I can’t stop bringing a nature item home with me. 

I’m leaving an offering of cornmeal, milk and honey on Samhain eve. I like to do this ritual in my garden in the spring and fall. I harvested a few witch hazel seeds from my tree but I plan to scatter them out on the trail. Since we lost an elderberry shrub to Hurricane Fiona, I’m going to propagate the elderberries this winter from a few canes once it goes dormant. 

I like to work in harmony with the nature spirits. I am the only one in the neighborhood who does, but I am pretty sure I am the only witch around here. I am so lucky too because the herbs, roots and berries I need for the Herbal Academy all grow in abundance on the trail. They were there all along and now I finally recognize them. It saves me lots of money. This weekend, I also plan to finally harvest the elecampane root! I can’t wait. 

I hope you all had a wonderful harvest this fall. Let me know all about it. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

 

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July 13, 2022 · 12:27 pm

Herbal Crafts )O(

Merry meet all,

I am enjoying my herbal studies at the Herbal Academy. The flowers I’m pressing are beautiful. I plan to press a good deal more flowers soon. I”m making a flower essence out of the local summery flowers here. That includes borage, mint, lavender petals, red clover, chamomile. Mmmmm I can’t wait. I am steeping the essence outdoors in a glass bowl in my garden. Soon in another hour or two I shall strain the flowers and make the potion with brandy! Sounds good to me. 

There are so many herbs outside in my garden and the nature trail. I sure have my pick of plants. Borage, lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, burdock, goldenrod, clover, and many others. I love living here as it makes my studies at the Academy much easier. The herbs I need grow in abundance around me. This encourages me to be more sustainable in my practice and to be an earth steward! Right now, I am loving the ample sunshine and loving that that will aid my floral essence in my garden. The bowl of flowers must absorb the sunlight. It is crucial to the floral essence being made properly. I plan to strain the flowers with a strainer outdoors. I am sure the glass bowl of flowers soaking in water will have some bugs in it!

I plan to do a bookbinding project of the herbal course material too. I will finish it this coming weekend. I just have to complete some stuff before that. It really is a weekend project. I promise to show photos here once I am done. I already have the supplies and I have bound/ covered the book covers in bookbinding cloth. I am not anywhere near done. I have to sew the folios together and still cover the book covers with more layers. That will give it a nice seamless look. I hope this goes well. I want to decorate the pages with pressed flowers and of course, butterfly stickers. 

There are so many crafts I can do! Flower pressing, flower essences, bookbinding, or making floral handmade paper – I am only limited by my imagination! I am covered in mosquito bites. I’m also waiting for the delivery of a beautiful embroidered leather binder from Etsy. It’s traveling as I type from the UK to Canada. I hope I don’t have to wait too long. I am using the binder for my materia medica. I can’t wait! It’s so beautiful. I think my herb notes deserve to be stored in something truly beautiful. 

On top of the herbal crafts I mentioned above, I am also helping the other plants in my garden grow to their very best. I’m growing veggies too. Celery, tomatoes, squash, parsley, coriander, lovage, basil, mint, pumpkin, potatoes, a carrot or two, beans, root veggies like turnip and radish and beets. I’m also growing chives, shallots, tons of nasturtiums, raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry. The haskap berries are past their season now. The bean vines are so aggressive. I bought two poles to support the scarlet runner bean vines. They are growing a little too well. The elecampane is yet to flower. The flower buds are formed. I am just waiting on pins and needles for it to blossom! 

I bought a big tool chest from Canadian Tire. It doesn’t hold hammers and nails. Instead, the huge chest holds all my craft supplies. I now have more room in my broom closet. It filled up fast. I got the big chest on sale. I just love it. Everything I need is finally in one place and I have a place for everything! I can now enjoy doing more herbal crafts with a lot less stress. I just love the big ‘pirate’ chest. 

I wish you dear readers would let me know what herbal crafts you are doing now. Do let me know in the comments below. 

BB Spiderwitch

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