Quickening Moon

February's full moon is known as the Quickening Moon. It represents the last few weeks of winter, and the coming of spring. It is a great time to make plans for the future, and contemplate the past. Spring represents new beginnings, with the new shoots of green coming up from the earth, and from the pregnant animals ready to give birth. At this point in the winter, we are longing to feel the warmth of spring again.

Magic done during this time should include personal achievements and advancements. For your spells at this full moon, the color correspondences are purple and blue, and crystals you can use are amethyst and jasper. Since Imbolc is Brighid's day and February is a celebration of her, you may pray to her on this Quickening Full Moon.

Enjoy your Quickening Moon tonight!

Blessings )O(


Photo courtesy of Squidoo

Celtic Tree Month of Ash Begins Today

The ash tree was one of the sacred Druid trees. On the Celtic calendar, the month of Ash begins on Feb. 18 and goes through March 17. This is a great time to do magic that is associated with the inner self, ocean rituals, prophetic dreams and spiritual journeys.

The Ash tree represented growth, expansion, and higher perspective, to the Celts. Ash was often used for making both mundane and magical tools like wands, brooms or spears.In ancient Celtic Ireland, the Ash tree was so sacred, that people refused to cut them down even when wood was scarce. The ash also gives its name to the letter N in the ogham alphabet. Together with the oak and thorn trees, the ash is part of a magical trilogy of sacred trees to the Druids. It is also said that if you place Ash berries in a cradle, it protects the child from being taken away by mischevious Faeries.

To celebrate the Celtic tree month of Ash, do a ritual or meditation to the Ash full moon which falls on Feb 28.

Blessings )O(



Photo courtesy of Woodland Trust

Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt

The Goddess Artemis comes to us from the Greeks. She is the Goddess of the hunt and was also known as a Mother Goddess. Her worship dates back to ancient Turkey in Ephesus where there was a great temple dedicated to her that later became one of the ancient wonders of the world. Unfortunately, the only thing that remains from the great temple, is one of the 121 columns that stood there.

Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and was also the twin sister of Apollo. She was seen as the Goddess of the hunt, fertility, virginity and childbrith, and was depicted carrying a bow and arrow. There is much discussion, that leads one to believe that the Goddess Artemis was the same Goddess as Cybele, a Mother Goddess of ancient Turkey. Cybele was known as Mother to all creatures and Lady of the Beasts.

Artemis was seen as the Great Huntress and keeper of the animals. She always had her sacred stags at her side as her hunting companions. In ancient Athens, girls approaching marriageable age, were sent to the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron to serve the Goddess for one year. During this time the girls in servitude were known as "little she bears". This is because of the connection the Goddess Artemis has to bears. She was known in some cultures as the Great Bear Goddess.

If you would like to pray to the Goddess Artemis, here is a little invocation, which I got from the book The Goddess Path by Patricia Monaghan:

Maiden Goddess, holy one,
protector of the hills and forests,
protectors of mother's in labor,
protector of the buds of infancy,
triple Goddess, I invoke you:

Bless the trees around my home,
the ones that shade me,
the ones that screen the wind,
the ones that perfume the air.
May they protect me as you do.

How will I thank you?
When I eat meat, I will thank you.
When I eat fruit, I will thank you.
When I drink clear water, I will thank you.

Your trees will never lack for offerings,
as long as I live and breathe,
maiden Goddess, triple one,
my protector,
as long as I live and breathe.

For more information on Artemis, check out Wikipedia

Blessings )O(

How to Make Your Own Candle Magic Oils

We have discussed candle magic before, and one of the steps associated with candle magic is dressing your candle. This involves rubbing oil on your candle while infusing it with the magical energies you desire. You can purchase magically charged oils from a supplier, or you can make your own. Its very simple and fun to make your own oils.

First you would need to think about your intent, then you can decide what kind of oil to make. Also you can make and store a variety of different magically charged oils to keep on hand. For example a full moon oil, goddess oil, meditation oil, money oil, etc. I make a variety of oils like I just mentioned, and store for when I do magic. Unless there is something in particular you need, these oils will do fine in most cases.

Once you have figured out your intent, now you can start to gather ingredients for your oil.

Ingredients:
Carrier oil (almond oil or fractionated coconut oil will do fine)
Essential oils of choice
1 ounce amber glass bottles (optional: amber glass bottles with dropper)
Plastic droppers
Labels
Small funnel
Directions:
For the sake of this blog, we will make a money oil together, and then I will give you two extra recipes later on in the post. Money oil is something you can always have on hand. The essential oils needed for this recipe are: Patchouli, cedarwood, vetivert and ginger. Take your amber glass bottle and using your plastic dropper, put 7 drops patchouli, 5 drops cedarwood, 4 drops vertivert and 2 drops ginger into the bottle. Now using your small funnel, pour the carrier oil into the bottle until its filled (do not fill up to the very top, leave a little room). Now that your bottle is filled, close the cap, wrap your hand around the bottle, and shake the bottle for 2 minutes. You can use your label and write on there "Money Oil", now you can store the bottle away from the sun for 2 days before using. This gives the oils time to synergize. While your making your oil, make sure to infuse it with the intent you desire, in this case since we are making money oil, visualize money, wealth and prosperity going into the oil. Imagine that every time this oil is used, money will come about.

Now your oil is ready to use! You can use it to anoint your candles when doing candle magic, or you can anoint yourself for extra energy.

Here are some extra recipes for magically charged oils.

Full moon oil
2 drops jasmine
2 drops sandalwood
Carrier oil

Use this oil when doing full moon magic or just to attune to the energies of the full moon. To make this oil extra charged, make it on the full moon and put it outside under the light of the full moon to give it an extra boost.

Protection oil
5 drops petitgrain
5 drops black pepper
Carrier oil

Use this oil as protection before any spell or ritual, or simply use it to protect yourself for negative energies.

For more information on making magical oils, check out this book: The complete book of incense, oils and brews

To get all of your supplies, check out Mountain Rose Herbs.

Enjoy making you magical oils!

Blessings )O(

Imbolc, Fire Festival of Brigid

Imbolc was derived from the ancient Pagan celebration of the transformation of the Goddess from the Crone, to the Maiden . It has been traditionally associated with the onset of lactation of ewes, soon to give birth. This day belongs to the ancient Celtic Goddess Brigid, a fire Goddess of hearth and home, who later became known by the Christians as St Brigid. It was seen as a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring.

There are many different ways to celebrate Imbolc and to pray to Brigid. Many traditions included making candles, different types of breads and cakes or Brigid dolls( Brideog's). I tried my hand at making a Brigid doll, and its very simple and fun to make. On Brigid's day, women of the household or the village would make corn dollies to represent Brigid, adorning them with shells and ribbons and a wand. They would also make a bed for the Brigid doll to lie in. On the eve of Imbolc, Brigid is said to walk the earth . Before going to bed that night, the head of the household will smother the fire, and rake the ashes smooth. In the morning, they look for some kind of mark on the ashes, a sign that Brigid had passed that way in the night .

The next day, the women carry the Brigid dolls through the village , from house to house, where this representation of the Goddess is welcomed. To give your hand a try at making a Brigid doll, check out About.com, the instructions are clear in step by step format. You can pick up corn husks at your local grocery store.

For your altar on Brigid's day, you will want to have a form of fire, with a yellow or orange candle and some yellow or orange stones. The warm colors represent the color of the warmth of the fires burning on Brigid's day. Make sure and bless your Brigid doll with sage and infuse it with
your energies and those of Brigid's.

For more information on Imbolc and Brigid, check out Cauldron Living.

Have a wonderful Imbolc!

Blessings )O(


Photo courtesy of : Belladia Blog