Friday, September 21, 2012

A Witches Ring, A Magickal Tool of the Trade

I once had a Witches Ring of Sterling Silver with a beautiful amethyst setting. This ring was gorgeous, it had a very old world look to it and I quickly made it my Witches Ring. Well, one day my Witches Ring disappeared. Gone. Disappeared without a trace! My Witches heart was broken.
I looked everywhere for this ring to no avail, and let me tell you that 5 years later I still miss that ring! Crazy I know but the reason I tell you this is that in addition to blessing and charging your ring, make sure to also enchant it with some special words on how it will only be worn by you until the time you deem appropriate to pass it on. I had not taken this important precaution with my own ring and I paid for it. I have decided that the time has come for me to find a replacement for my Witches Ring. My hunt begins for the perfect magickal tool to wear as a daily reminder of who I am, what I stand for and to empower me with it’s magick.
Wish me luck!
       
A Witches Ring is a special magickal tool a Witch wears to empower both herself and her magick. You could have a Witches Ring that is worn daily or one that is worn during spells and rituals. A Witches Ring can be created to aid with empowerment, protection, divination, meditation, astral travel, love, or any intent you wish to create it for. Silver jewelry represents the Goddess while gold represents the God. When choosing a Witches Ring you should choose a ring that appeals to your magickal sense, it is also helpful if the piece itself has a special crystal or symbol geared towards the intent you are choosing it for. A Witches Ring of Amethyst and Silver for example would be perfect for protection, healing, meditation and gaining wisdom however when charging and blessing your ring you could instill your ring with whatever intent you choose.  
Another nice choice for a Witches Ring would be what is known as a “Poison Ring”. Poison Rings originated in the Far East and India and replaced the practice of wearing keepsakes and other items in pouches around the neck. The wearing of vessel rings was so practical that it spread to other parts of Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean before reaching Western Europe in the middle ages.  During the Renaissance poison rings became popular among the European aristocracy. Like lockets they were given as love tokens and used to store images of loved ones, locks of hair and other cherished keepsakes. Perhaps the most morbid use of poison rings arose during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Jewelers started making coffin shaped locket rings
complete with skeletons and images of Death. Called funeral rings, they were given to mourners as a memento of the departed.
Poison Rings have little compartments making them a really nice choice for a Witches Ring. They come in a variety of styles with magickal symbols, crystals, and talismans on the top. The compartment is perfect for placing small magickal objects like miniature spell scrolls, herbs, crystals and herbal blends.

A Witches Ring is a special magickal tool for every Witch, it carries her energy, love, power and magick within its sacred circle. Only the Witch herself should ever wear her special rings however you do not have to be a Witch to create a special ring for yourself. I have included instructions on how to empower your ring making it easy for both the novice and the experienced craft practitioner to create one.

To Enchant a Witches Ring
Choose a ring that appeals to you. To perform the enchantment you will need the following:
Ring of your choosing
Red Votive or Spell Candle
Moon Water
Chalice
Rose Water
Vessel to hold Rose Water
Sea Salt
Vessel to hold Sea Salt
Empowering Incense
Fire Proof Vessel to hold Incense
Empowering Herbal Blend
Vessel to hold Herbal Blend
(At The Organic Brew I offer an Empowering Incense and Empowering Herbal Blend for Witches called “Aradia’s Empowerment” which would be perfect for this type of ritual)
Clean soft cloth
Personal Fragrance or Essential Oil


Cast your circle according to your magickal tradition. Set up your spell items in the middle of your circle. Light your spell candle and incense. Ground and center yourself and prepare yourself mentally for magickal workings.
Now take a cloth soaked in Rose Water and clean the ring making sure to get in all crevices, a q-tip would be perfect for this.
Dry your ring with a clean soft white cloth.
Now you will consecrate your ring to the four elements.
Place your ring in the sea salt making sure to cover the whole piece and say:
“I consecrate thee by the power of Earth”
Pass your ring through the incense smoke three times saying:
“I consecrate thee by the power of Air”
Pass your ring right above the flame of your candle and say:
“I consecrate thee by the power of Fire”
Place your ring in the moon water so it is completely submerged and say:
“I consecrate thee by the power of Water”
Dry your ring with the white cloth.
Take your personal fragrance and anoint your ring.
Hold your ring so that it rests in the palms of both hands and raise them to the moon and say:
I dedicate, consecrate, and enchant this ring to be a ring of Witchery unto me with the powers of the Goddess three, the Lady of all Witchery, and as my word so mote it be.”
Or:
“Simple circlet round
In thee magick to be bound
Sun and Moon enchant this ring
More than just a pretty thing
Lend your energy to me
For good of all, so mote it be.
Wrap the ring in a cloth of purple if possible. If you do not have a purple cloth use white. Allow your ring to charge in the light of the full moon for three consecutive nights, three hours each evening. This should be done the day before, the day of, and the day after the full moon.
Wear the ring whenever you are in a ritual setting, when you feel the need for protection or make it a ring to be worn daily! On the night of each Full Moon thereafter, anoint the ring with your chosen fragrance and raise it to the Moon asking for blessings in the name of the Goddess. You now have your own magickal Witches Ring! Enjoy your new magickal tool and make sure to treat it with care. None should wear your ring but you alone.
Please note that Witches Rings can be enchanted for a variety of intents like romance, marriage proposal, business success, protection, self confidence and so much more.
You can use the above steps and just alter the ingredients to suit your intent.
For example if you are going to enchant a ring for protection, use a protective herbal blend, a protective incense and change the chant accordingly. Instead of using Rose Water I would use Moon Water instilled with protective oils like clove. If possible choose a ring that has a stone that will also aid with your magickal intent, for protection perhaps a stone of onyx or obsidian. Then use a protective chant to empower the ring. When not wearing this special piece keep it wrapped in a clean soft cloth.
I hope you have enjoyed this latest addition to The Organic Brew’s Blog! Wishing everyone a magickal evening.
Kat
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Thursday, September 6, 2012

How to Petition the Gods for Help


We ask great things of deity; keep my children safe, make me healthy, grant me prosperity…
Have any of us ever considered what these requests entail? Is it as easy as a finger snap for them?
Somehow I think not.
There may be strands of karma that have to be unraveled, perhaps other deities, spirits, and elementals are petitioned for aid. Our karma follows us through lifetimes, while we make choices everyday on what path we follow, we often make poor choices that screw’s up our path and takes us down roads we really did not want to travel nor are we equipped to handle. Getting back on track is not always an easy feat and I am sure it takes some work to get us there. Both on our part, our spirit guides and deity.

And above all, why help us? What makes our request more important then someone else’s? Are we more deserving then others? Why should they spend time getting us out of a mess we very well may have put ourselves in, in the 1st place.
I think a big part is how we approach deity and petition them for help.
Entice them, show them your respect, let them know you are grateful for any and all help they choose to bestow. However, do not grovel, do not beg! Speak with confidence, not cockiness, show them respect, and make sure you pronounce their names correctly!

There are many options when asking for help from the Gods.
Do we call on someone who we have a long established relationship with? Will we have better luck calling on a God or Goddess who is known to aid with a certain issue we are having?
My answer to that is both. I have a long standing relationship with my patron Goddess and God; to them I always give thanks, their candles hold a place of honor on my altar at all times. I also realize that there may be times when I may need to ask another Goddess for help. That does not take away from my patron Goddess in anyway. When choosing another Goddess to work with, I keep the feelings of my patron Goddess in mind. I will not call on a Goddess whom she is known to have a long standing feud with, that would just be silly on my part. Why would I expect good results from that?
You want all the energy running through your sacred space to be cohesive, flowing nicely with all concentration on your intended outcome, not age old feuds and power battles. None of us wants to be caught in the middle of that!

How do we show gratitude because gratitude should indeed be shown.
For one, any deity I choose to work with always has a candle on my altar dedicated to them alone. Candles are not shared or re-used for another deity. I am all about recycling however this is not the place for that. I decorate the candle with images and symbols associated with that deity, spirit or elemental. Take your time, if you are not a crafter there are many online shops you can purchase lovely pagan candles from and of course you can always contact me at The Organic Brew for a custom created candle.

Our gifts and offerings should also be thoughtful. Research the deity whom you are calling on. What animal, herb, crystal or planet are they associated with?
For example if I was going to petition Rhiannon who is a Welsh Goddess known for her powers over dreams, fertility, overcoming enemies, and moon magick, I would decorate my altar with images of horses, moonstones, jasmine flowers and wear a piece of silver jewelry with a moonstone. I would choose an altar cloth that was white and add traces of Celtic knots or other Irish/Welsh artistry.  I personally would write my own invocation to Rhiannon making sure to add parts of her known journey into my writing. I do realize that writing an invocation is not for everyone so I am sure you would not have any trouble finding one online or in a pagan book.
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When leaving an offering for deity, don’t just throw a cake on a plate with a “Here you go” type attitude. Present your offering like you are presenting it to a Goddess.
Put an offering of food on a special plate. If you have made something hold it up and show it with reverence, tell them how hard you worked on it and how you hope they like it.

Another area I want to touch upon is sacred space. When calling on the Gods, spirits, elementals or anyone from the spirit world, make sure your sacred space is clean. It should look like you are expecting company. You do not want a cluttered mess. Clean up the dust, vacuum, sweep, air out your home; don’t leave dirty dishes lying around. Act like someone special is coming because someone special is! Make sure your home is Goddess worthy. And by this I do not mean that you need a rich house for the Goddess to show up, by no means should you go out and spend $200.00 on an altar because you do not think the old trunk from that garage sale is good enough. WRONG, that old trunk is perfect, as long as it is clean. That’s all. Clean out the clutter, light some appropriate incense, clean yourself up and you are ready.

Finally, make clear what you are willing to do on your end if they choose to help you. This is a two way street, do not expect deity to go out of their way for you and receive nothing in return.
Think long and hard about what you feel would be an acceptable offering and make sure you keep your word! Don’t you dare promise to do something that you have no intention on doing. Be clear on what your promise is, when you will make good on it and do it. Do it exactly when and how you said you would, the last thing you want to do is piss off a Goddess or God. They do not owe you anything and they do not have to help you. Do not make them regret coming to your aid. They tend to take our words very literally so be careful what promises you make.

If you pay attention to your actions then you should have positive results. I believe it goes back to the age old “treat others how you yourself wish to be treated”.

Katherine Cotoia