Lughnasadh - 1st August 2011

Merry Meet everyone, Lughnasadh (Lammas) has come around again. Right here in England the weather is changeable, but the best of the Sun does shine through occasionally, warming the ground and improving the harvest for this Summer. Personally, I am eagerly awaiting the Autumn months when nature changes into the most gorgeous colours.

I thought I might post some background information on the festival of Lughnasdh. This festival is also known as Lammas and it celebrates the first harvest of the year. The days are waning and Autumn is coming, so we begin to see the plants of Spring withering now, their fruits are dropping and getting ready to seed for the coming year.

Bread can be baked from the first grains of the harvest, a feast can be lain from the Summer fruits and vegetables of the harvest. From the old celtic religion, the feast would honour the foster Mother of Lugh, who died from exhaustion after planting the crops.

This is also the time to give thanks to the Sun God and the harvest, as he is now ageing and it was his loving rays of light that brought life to our harvest.

With the colder months approaching, don't forget to store your Summer harvest for the Winter. You can do this by preserving fruits and vegetables in cans or freezing.

To celebrate Lughnasadh, here are some tips to enjoy the festival:

• Have a family picnic with Summer food
• Purify and ready your home for the Winter months by cleaning, wash the curtains, clean the fireplace or clean out your cupboards.
• Bake fresh Lammas loaves with your family
• Work on your Book of Shadows
• Do some work in your garden
• Have a day to yourself, take a long bath with some essential oils and meditate on what you have achieved since last Winter. But also think about what you want to achieve in the future months.

I will be posting a new section on Wiccan recipes soon, so look out for the recipe for Lammas bread. Blessings to you all and have a lovely Lughnasadh!

Blessing Moon - 15/07/2011

Happy full moon everyone, Blessing Moon tonight. The full moon of July is known to represent work, tolerance and learning. The spells to do during this time, may relate to your work life, personal relationships or concentration.

There are many activities to do, to fully appreciate Blessing Moon. For each Wiccan it is different, I have listed some possible activities below.

• Set up a Summer altar, you can simply decorate it with Summer colours/fruits or pictures.
• Perform a ritual, thanking your chosen Divine for the fortune that has recently come your way, whether it be a new job, a good harvest or a successful cooking experiment.
• Be creative, choose now to create your own potions, spells or add to your Book of Shadows. As now is the perfect time for any magic!

Blessings to you all!

Dark Moon - 01/06/2011

Dark Moon is here, watch for the Goddess tonight. You may not see her in the sky, but she is there and still ominous in her presence. If you can avoid it, do not perform magic tonight. As the energies from the moon are not there and your spell may not work. Blessed Be.

Different types of magic

There are many different types of magic, which exist in different traditions, religions and beliefs. Some are listed below:

Sympathetic - In this type of magic, a Witch would act out what they want to happen; based on the belief that 'a like will produce a like'. An example of this would be if a farmer wanted their crops to grow tall, then they would arrange a dance and leap high into the air, this would make their crops grow tall.

Divination - Seeing or predicting the future, using your Inner mind.

Thaumaturgy - Invoking Supernatural powers

Extrasensory Perception (ESP) - The power to perceive things which are not normally seen or felt.

Theurgy - Performed by Witches to bring the Divine into their dilemmas, rituals or meditation.


Ceremonial/Ritual - A practice or meditation which calls on the Elements and the Divine for a specific reason.


Alchemy - The ability to turn stone into precious metals, metals into gold. This is considered both a magic and science.


Necromancy - Conjuring up the dead for prophesying. It is performed along with the use of evil spirits to produce supernatural effects in the world.

Covens and types of Witches

Covens are a group of people that come together to practice the art of Wicca, to participate in ritual and festivals. Each coven generally has a High Priest and Priestess, these people are responsible for the well fare of the Coven, teaching the ways of Wicca and organising events for the Coven to come together.

The Priest and Priestess are Witches that have gained enough wisdom deemed adequate to run a Coven. Traditionally, they have come from another Coven and have broken away after having permission from their teachers to leave. To become an official member of a Coven, depending on the traditions of that Coven, you may be required to take an Initiation/Dedication. A traditional Coven is not meant for everyone, many people may not feel comfortable practising with other people and they may prefer to practice in solitude. 

If joining a Coven is not for you, there are many different types of Witches that practice in Solitude, these people tend to be Eclectic and they prefer to teach themselves about The Craft. There are more specific types of Witches such as, Hedge Witches, these Witches practice their magic in the Kitchen more than anything else, they are known as healers and Herbalists. There are many more types of witches, please feel free to research into it. I would call myself an Eclectic Witch and I prefer to practice in Solitude.

Candle magic

Candle magic is a simple and traditional technique. It has been around for many years, an early example of it would be in the Lascaux caves when the caves would go in so deep that carrying a flame was necessary, it was thought that the flames would create a liminal boundary between the living and the dead. Candle magic is a very powerful form of Sympathetic magic (For a list of different types of magic click here).

Candle magic is good for drawing positive energy and focussing your inner mind. You can request for something or ask the God/Goddess a question. However, like any other form of magic, whatever you do will return to you three fold, always keep to the Wiccan Rede. Be very careful with the words you use, as your request may come true in a very unconventional way. Some Candle magic is performed over a couple of days, while others can be performed during a specific moon phase. It is a good idea to place your candle on an alter, to keep it safe and out of the way.

A candle can be blessed and consecrated. It is also important, that you pick the colour of your candle wisely. As each colour has a specific meaning. Below is a list of different colours and their meanings:

Green - Growth, health, fertility and love

Yellow - Intellect, inspiration, creativity and confidence

Red - Strength, fertility, passion, attraction and power

White - Balance, cleansing, purity, healing and truth

Black - Protection, new beginnings, hex-breaking and healing

Pink - Devotion, faith, friendship, peace and the purest form of love

Gold - Protection, wealth, masculinity and luck

Lavender - Mother spirit, selflessness, understanding and calming

Blue - Truth, peace, wisdom and protection

Purple - Power, wisdom, psychic powers, confidence and divination

Brown - Balance, home, prosperity, learning and concentration.

I find that the white candle is the most effective during any ritual, I generally use that colour all the time because it is untainted and pure. Note: If you can avoid it, don't use a scented candle, because I find it distracts your senses when meditating.

The Pentagram

The Pentagram is an ancient Wiccan symbol that has been seen throughout history, it has been labelled as an evil sign. But in the Wiccan religion it has several meanings and uses, for the most, it has been used for protection against negative energies; many Witches wear one for this purpose.


The points represent Spirit, Water, Air, Earth and Fire. Some Wicca practices draw a pentagram in the air to cast a circle which helps invoke the elements. Then when releasing the circle, the pentagram is drawn in the opposite to release the elements.


Drawing pentagrams on your doors and window sills is not uncommon in Wicca, to keep out the bad spirits and negative energies.


The Pentacle is the five pointed star within a circle, it symbolises the balance of the Elements. And is used on the Altar, at times it can be used to represent Earth. 

Full moon - May 17th

The Full Moon of May is known as the Flower Moon, it reminds us that all blossoms will be fading from this point and onwards. This is part of Life's natural cycle. During this time, the faded flowers teach us to take only what we need and store away things for later. The Goddess is in her phase of Mother at this time, so she is at her most powerful. Now is a good time to perform any rituals or magic, as your results are likely to be successful.

Phases of the Moon

In Wicca, the phases of the moon represent a different aspect of the Goddess, Witches use these phases to time their rituals and magic as they will be most attuned at this time. As you all know, the moon has a large role to play in the nature of our Earth. It influences the tides and even us, as we are mostly made up of water. For that reason, there will be monthly fluctuations in energies and concentration. Below I have listed different phases of the moon and the Goddess they relate to.

New Moon - The first moon of the cycle relates to the Goddess in her maiden aspect, this is the time for her to learn new skills. So for us we should start fresh and rejuvenate. You can cast any spells related to health, self-improvement, beauty and luck.


Waxing Moon - This is the period of time between the New Moon and Full Moon. Some believe it symbolizes the Goddess in the form of lover, this is the time for her to be assertive and adventurous. The spells you can cast should are centred around growth, whether it relates to fertility, healing, friendship or courage.


Full Moon - Magic and nature is at its most powerful during a Full Moon, the Goddess is in the form of Mother at this time, so the Goddess is at her most compassionate, nurturing and creative. The spells to cast should be related to fertility, love, romance, psychic abilities and artistic projects.


Waning Moon - As the moon is disappearing in the sky, this is the time for removing things from your life. The Goddess is in the form of Grandmother, this is the time for her to retreat and collect up her knowledge. The spells to cast during this time can relate to banishing bad relationships, bad habits and addictions.


Dark Moon - When the Moon is invisible in the sky, the Goddess is in the aspect of Wise Woman, at this time she is all wise and presides over death. It is thought that no magic should be performed during a Dark Moon, as the energies that you require to be attuned are not there. This doesn't have to be true, but I do believe that feeling the Moon's power does influence the workings of your magic.

The God and Goddess

In Wicca the divine is both male and female. The God and Goddess appear to everyone in the form that an individual wishes to see them in. In history, there have been many stories of different God and Goddesses from all kinds of cultures. It is easy to think that they are each different deities, but they are actually the same Divine with a different face. It is difficult to list all the God and Goddesses from each culture, but I will list a few that are popular in the Wiccan religion.

The God - The male side to the Divine has often been depicted as the Great Hunter, God of the Forest and Lord of the Animals. He represents life, death and rebirth. This is seen in the cycle of the Seasons. To honour the God, there are yearly festivals for the harvest and Seasons. Below are a list of popular Gods:

Cernunnos - 'The Horned God', he is often depicted with horns or antlers, he is associated with particular animals such as the stag and ram-horned serpent. He has been described as a peaceful God of nature and fruitfulness, but also as the Lord of Wild things. He has Celtic origin and has been referenced to in some form since the earliest times of the Upper Palaeolithic; the first evidence of this is seen in Lascaux Cave in France. Throughout history, there has been reference to the 'Horned one', for example on an archaeological site called Star Carr in England; large amounts of antlers were uncovered, it was thought that the site was used for Seasonal Festivals and the people wore the antlers on their heads. Cernunnos can also go by the name of Herne the hunter, although Herne has his own story, if you are interested in learning more about the Gods please feel free to research.

The Goddess - The triple Goddess or Mother Goddess is a universal deity with a strong Lunar depiction, at different phases of the moon, she is called the maiden, mother and grandmother. She represents nature, fertility, the powers of healing and death. The Goddess has been present since our earliest ancestors, an example would be the 'Venus figurines', their shape and fertility was emphasized because it was essential to the life of the people. The Goddess has an overwhelming number of forms, as does the God throughout human history. She has appeared in the Greek legends as Aphrodite and Persephone. In the Celtic religion, she can be known as The Morrighan and Cerridwen.

Studying both sides to the divine is essential for you to fully understand Wiccan Worship, it may also help you to pick a specific face of the Divine to worship. I find that if you pick one image of the God and Goddess, it makes it easier to picture the Divine in your mind. For example you may choose Cernunnos and Cerridwen. It is your choice entirely, and you may decide to worship a particular face of the Divine for each season or Sabbat.

The Art of Magic and becoming a Witch

Witches believe in the practice of magic, it is a real force that can make changes to your life by the force of will. To continue down the path of Wicca, you must understand that it involves the development of magic and psychic powers but also the wisdom to use them. It requires you to understand that magic is not to be used mildly, but with respect and understanding.

If Wicca is indeed the path you have chosen, then studying all you can about the Craft is essential before you can become a 'Witch'. The basics you need to know are as follows:

The Gods and Goddesses, Sabbats, Candle magic, Divination, knowledge on the Elements, Herbalism, creating an alter, communing with nature, Environmental awareness and Spiritual awareness.

Only after you have learnt about these things, can you fully understand the art of Wicca. After you feel you know all you can know, you may then perform the Self-Initiation to officially enter into the Craft as a Witch. I will post about Self-Initiation in a later post.

Rules behind Wicca

The Wiccan Rede

With Wicca there is a rule that all Witches must strive to follow, and by which they measure their actions. It has the following key phrase:

An it harm none, do what though will


This means you should do what you feel is right for you, but in doing so, you must not harm others. At times, doing what is right can still hurt others, in that case, if you are willing to accept the consequences you are required to make a moral judgement.
The Wiccan Rede can come in a much more poetic and lengthier form, but I find that, that one phrase is enough to remind me of the Witch's Rule.

The law of three-fold return


When practising magic, every Witch must be aware of the consequences their magic will have upon themselves and the surroundings. The following term is generally applied to this warning:

Whatever you do, be it good or ill, will be returned to you threefold


Every Witch must have this in mind before they practice any magic.