Embracing your Shadow Exercise

We Witches are adept at embracing our shadows. We innately understand there is no division in our human nature. We are complex and yet divine in our whole being. Part of our soul's journey is to no longer deny those aspects of ourselves they we label negative. As an artful exercise to encourage and integrate your shadow self, spread on the floor a roll of paper large enough for you to lie on. You will need a friend to assist you. Lying on your back, have your partner trace the outline of your silhouette with a black marker. Stand up and then draw a vertical line down the center of your shadow body. Choose crayons, pastels, or colored markers and, working through the seven chakras, draw some aspect of yourself that is hidden or unacknowledged on the left side and then a complementary or balancing quality that you own on the right-hand side. Create a rainbow bridge phrase or affirmation to connect these two polarities bringing them into harmony creating unity and embracing your shadow.
I found this to be an enlightening and fun project. Take this exercise a step further and fill the paper with the qualities you possess both positive and negative. Draw magickal symbols, affirmation, personal mantras, etc. When complete hang this somewhere like the back of your closet or bedroom door. If you have a sacred space hang it there. This will remind you of your shadow self and the qualities you would like to work on and improve.

Smudgless Magick, Can it be done?

Sacred Space. It is the space where we reside. It is a place where we sit and meditate and our personal corner in the magickal world. It is a place where we invite deity. It is the place where we find comfort and where we shut out the mundane. It is where we come home to at the end of the day or at the end of a journey and find peace.
When I say, "We are going to clear our sacred space", I bet you all reach for the smudge stick.
There are people, like my daughter, who do not take too kindly to smoke. For those who have allergies and asthma, or are ex-smokers, or wish to avoid second hand smoke, the whole smudging ritual is awkward and can be dangerous.
While this is an accepted practice, what about those who are allergic to sage? Ever notice the person who immediately starts to cough when the smudge stick is lit? The kids who walk into a room after it's been smudged and start coughing? This could be from the smoke and it could also be from the sage. Then why do we continue to use smudge sticks and incense?
For many, it's the smell, it's the accepted practice, and it's how they were taught. Smoke purifies.
While it does purify, it can also send someone home sick or to the hospital. And with people constantly worrying about the effects of smoke on themselves and their children, perhaps we should start looking at alternatives. I agree that scented smoke smells wonderful and magickal. Whether it is sage, frankincense, or your favorite incense blend, the smell of scented smoke is wonderfully calming and can put you into a magickal state of mind quite quickly.
But smoke is not the only way to spread scent around. Ever here of Aromatherapy? Yes, I am sure you have :)
Aromatherapy does not rely on smoke to spread the scent around. It relies on oils delivered in a number of ways to fill the air, and yourself, with calming, relaxing scents. The same can be done with ritual scents that place us in a magickal frame of mind.
The most popular way is scented candles. You can either make your own or purchase them.
Another popular method and my personal favorite is an oil diffuser. These are small candle heated or electric warmers that heat water and I find them to be much more powerful then even the best made candle. To use one you simply add your chosen oil blend to the water and the diffuser gently heats the oil and diffuses it into the air. An oil diffuser should only be used if you are going to be around to blow the candle out once the oil has evaporated. If not you may end up with a ruined diffuser as well as a serious fire hazard.

I know that essential oils can be quite expensive. They usually start at around $6.00 and can go up to $80.00-$100.00 for a small bottle. However, you will only be using a very small amount in a diffuser, anywhere from 5-10 drops.
But when you think about it how much use do you get out of a $5.00 smudge stick?
Now lets talk about the cleansing issue. Smoke clears the space, it also cleanses the individual coming into the circle.
One traditional practice is to anoint members with scented oils. Look at a variety of old myths and legends, and you will read about washing with scented water, placing oils on a person's forehead, or sprinkling someone with scented water to cleanse and bless them. Many of these practices are still used today.
There are many ways to produce scented water, from allowing water to sit with flower petals in it overnight to adding some oil for scent. You can put water in a bowl with flowers and petals and dip your fingers into the water and anoint yourself and members of your circle. In some circles the priestess will take a small handmade broom and flick the water on the members as they enter the circle. In some the high priest will draw a pentacle on the foreheads of the members with a finger that has been dipped in the scented water.
Finally, there is the actual cleansing and grounding of sacred space. From clearing a circle to a house cleansing, the sage smudge can be dropped from the list in favor of a favorite mixture that is applied dry and then swept away in 24 hours.
A basic mixture to use is equal parts sea salt, pine needles, rosemary, and sage. Crush or grind the sage leaves, rosemary, and pine needles into a powder form or as close to that as you can get. This is a cleansing and purifying blend that can take the place of your smudge stick. Then add your salt and sprinkle it around your sacred space or for a full house cleaning, around your home. After 24 hours simply vacuum or sweep it up.
You can change this recipe to suit any magickal intent, for example if you want to add some romance to your boudoir, use rose petals, jasmine, and sea salt!
The point is that anything can be cleansed without the use of smoke.
Because of my extensive collection of essential oils I can create any blend to use in my oil burner. If you would like me to create a custom blend for you to use at home or in your magickal space I would be happy to do so. I enjoy custom orders and would love to create the perfect magickal scent for you.
You can reach my through my online shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrganicBrew
On the left you will see a "contact" button as well as a "request custom order" button. Your choice, either way you can contact me to talk about a custom order for you.

To Gain a Loved Ones Attention

To turn the eyes of love of a mate who is looking at others or cheating on you, find a picture of the person who has caught your loved one's attention. Or, if this is impossible, write the person's name on a piece of flower shaped paper. Place the photo or paper in a shallow bowl and stir it clockwise, saying:
Gather your flowers while you may.
Time brings only sorrow.
For the flowers of the day,
Will just be weeds tomorrow.
Place the paper or picture in with your compost or weed pile. Soon your partners facination with this new bloom will end, and its true rotten nature revealed.

To help a lover stay true try this Fidelity Powder from The Organic Brew!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53841144/fidelity-casting-powder

Fidelity Casting Powder is a magickal blend that has been in use for centuries. Simply sprinkle this powerful blend in the shoes, clothing, and in the vehicle of the one you are trying to keep honest. You could sprinkle some in the wallet or pretty much anyplace that the person will have frequent contact with. A small pinch in each area is all that is needed to work.
This powder can also be used in spell work by sprinkling around your altar and candles as well as being added to mojo bags.
Fidelity Powder is a blend of herbs, botanicals, barks, roots, resins, and essential oils.
This bottle of Fidelity Casting Powder comes in a lovely glass corked bottle that has been sealed with black wax.
It has a lovely Celtic knot parchment paper label. The bottle measures 3 inches in length.

An Offering to the Sea

August is vacation month and many of us spend time by the sea reflecting on her great mystery. The sea celebrates the union of Earth and sky. Her magickal moon dance of ebb and flow in step with wax and wane, inhale and exhale, is the very breath of spirit. We can sit by her side and witness the wheel turning, our own cyclic nature, and the power to transform our lives. To honor her mystery, rise when the Sun rises. Have an abalone shell to use as your altar. As you walk the beach, gather small objects such as a seed pod, a bird's feather, a perfectly round stone that looks like the Full moon, a twig in the shape of a rune, wild sweet peas, or sparkling sea glass. Give each object a purpose or symbolic meaning as you place it in your abalone shell. When you have reached a spot on the beach that feels right to you cast a circle with driftwood. Sit down and place your sea altar before you. Raise your face to the warm Sun and greet the Gods and Goddesses of the sea. Ask them to accept your offerings for their blessing of positive change and transformation.

I was lucky enough to spend my vacation week this year by the enchanting sea shore in New England. While there I collected many treasures from the sea. With these treasures I created a lovely Sea Globe.
Bring the magick of the sea into your home with an enchanting Sea Globe by The Organic Brew!
This adorable Sea Globe contains genuine New England Beach Sand, Pink Aruba Beach Sand, Genuine Sea Stones, Genuine Sea Glass, and tiny sea shells from the islands.

A perfect way to work with the element of water and earth and an enchanting piece for the Sea Goddess in all of us~!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/53338178/sea-globe

Attracting the Faery Folk

Whether you dwell in the country or the city, you can make your home more appealing to the fairy folk with a few thoughtful steps that can be done in your yard or in outdoor planters on your deck or balcony. Cultivate a few attractive plants such as bluebells, lily of the valley, ferns, cowslips, or rosemary. Within these plantings place a small attractive bowl as a place for the faeries to bathe and frolic. Tie a few tiny silver bells onto the plantings. Add a couple of dried milkweed pods, complete with milkweed down, for the fairies to use as beds. A simple but lovely fairy house can be made from a birdhouse and added into the fairy garden. Remember to leave gifts of shiny glass beads, sequins, or silver charms. The fairies love sparkly gifts just as much as we do. Above all else, remember to speak words of welcome and invitation to them whenever you are near the fairy garden.
Taken from my Witches Spell a Day Almanac and written by Winter Wren.

A lovely item to have in your home to attract the Fae is one of the Organic Brew's enchanting Fairy Grove Magickal Globes! There are two types to choose from, one square and one round. Both are filled with faery favorites and are a lovely addition to any Fairy Lovers Home and Sacred Space.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54040467/fairy-grove-magickal-globe

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54037923/fairy-grove-magickal-globe

Gaining Employment and Beating the Competition Spell

Nothing feels less magickal than having to work for a living, but the fact is that most of us have to go out and labor for our sustenance. This means that at some point we must endure the humiliation of the infamous job interview, a sadistic compulsion on the part of employers  intended to reduce us to sniveling doormats of subservience before they grudgingly allow us to work for them.With all the stiff competition for employment, a little magick can help you project your best image. For this spell you will need one green candle, one orange, and one yellow or gold. You will also need some ground or whole cloves and a small Tigers Eye stone. Your tigers eye will become charged in this spell to turn its most beneficial energies to you and will become a talisman to draw wealth to you while allowing you to project your best image. It may even give you the confidence you need to outshine the competition.
On your altar or other work surface set up the three candles in some semblance of a small circle, placing the green candle nearest you. Spend a moment centering yourself and concentrating your thoughts on your goal. When you are ready to begin, start lighting the candles, starting with the green one and moving clockwise around your circle.
As you light the green candle, focus on its energies of prosperity and abundance, qualities you want drawn to you through the job you hope to secure. Make a statement to affirm this such as:
Fire of green, abundance bright, drawing prosperity by your light.
As you light the orange candle focus on it's qualities of attraction, particularly between forces that are already in sympathy with one another. Make a statement such as:
Simpatico permeates the meeting place, making me seem an interesting face.
As you light the yellow or gold candle, think of its qualities of projecting energy and competence, allowing you to show your best side. As you do this affirm your action with a statement such as:
From deep within my positives come though, debits hold back while credits shine through.
Place the tigers eye in the center of the candles and spend several minutes sensing the energy of the candles filling the stone, programming it to your will. Take the cloves, an herb with energies corresponding to wealth and employment, and make a clockwise circle around the candles. Visualize this as a circle containing all the energies on your altar, helping to filter them into the tigers eye.
Spend some more time focusing on your goal. This is a good time to practice interview scenarios or to focus your energies on a brief chant such as:
Stone of light, earth and fire, send the image that says, "please hire".
Extinguish the candles when you feel ready, or leave them so that you can repeat the spell on another night to give it added strength. When you are done, carry the tigers eye in your right pocket, on the projective side of your body during job interviews.

To enhance this spell, wear "Hire Me" Oil.
"Hire Me" Oil is a magickal blend of essential oils blended into a calendula and vitamin e infused carrier oil created to aid you with gaining employment, raises, and advancements within your chosen industry as well as having an upper hand on the competition.
Wear this oil on job interviews as well as anointing your resumes/job applications and spell candles with this magickal blend. All of my oils are created in sacred space surrounded by and infused with the magickal energy of the chosen intent.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/53882853/hire-me-oil-organic-alchemy-oils

This spell came from my 2000 Llewellyn's Magickal Almanac and was written by the lovely Edain McCoy.