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My yule celebration )O(

Merry meet all,

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

My moon cushion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

A basket of pinecones

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

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

The spot where the coven celebrated the solstice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

Blessed be, Spiderwitch

 

 

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Hiking on the Trail

Merry meet all,

Yesterday I went on an amazing hike at Lunenburg. I took a lot of photos during the trip. I feel great now. It was an hour drive to the hiking trail. The trees were very colorful with rich foliage. I spotted deer in a field. We arrived at the beach. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waves crashed over the shore. I love the sound of the ocean waves rolling back over the rocks. I just love that sound. My guy and I parked and strolled over to the shore. I collected a few rocks. I did not see much shellfish left behind by the seagulls. However, there were lots of rocks. I wanted a new paperweight. We strolled a long, long way along the shoreline. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnacles, seaweed, rocks and driftwood were scattered over the shore. The sky was clear and the sun shone. It was all so beautiful. We then reached a steep hill and decided to hike up the hill. That was cool. The only thing I was not down with were ticks. Yes Nova Scotia is crawling with ticks. We reached the peak but after a refreshing snack, we did not decide to keep hiking. By then, I was thoroughly worn out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to share the photos of the trip with you, my dear readers! See above. Today I went to a mystic moon faire. I wore my new green dress from HolyClothing, a blue witch hat and I carried a broomstick. I saw my Mom on the way. She was such a bitch, and never even said hi to me. She just bitched at me about me having the nerve to wear that outfit in her neighborhood. Uh like… okay. I could not even give a frig of what she thinks of my outfit. I can’t believe her. Whatever. I am what I am. 

I bought a cool black cat print tea cozy, a crown, a wand, incense, a spider charm,  gold and silver candles, and an Edgar Allan Poe teatowel. 

Well Samhain is right around the corner! I intend to fully flaunt my witch hat. Stand tall and proud. Unite, dear Witches. We all need to support each other. I plan to enjoy Samhain as much as I can. I wish October was all year long. I could live with that. 

Blessed Be, Spiderwitch 

 

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Filed under magic, Paranormal and Witchy Fiction, Samhain

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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Filed under Paranormal and Witchy Fiction