~Mountain Magic~ What is it? Is it, an it? There are many forms of Mountain magic. It is commonly thought of as Mountain Folklore. And there are many Mountain superstitions that have been passed down through the ages, from the Mountain Folk. Mountain superstitions are a big part of some families living in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee.
There are a TON of superstitions to read through at this site :
http://www.angelfire.com/tn2/ScottCoTnMemories/superstitions.html
I love reading superstitions, and I must say there are quite a few on this list, that have been passed down to me, from my family generations. To name a few.
3. If your nose starts itching company is coming
7. Petting a calico is considered good luck. Better luck if it is a stray and you give it a home. ( I remember as a child, on my Grandmothers farm, we had a stray calico show up one day. It let me pet it, my Grandmother let me keep it, saying she was good luck. We had many generations of kittens from her :) )
#8 too. Even though, I think it does not ring true if a bat enters the home. I think bats are good omens. Yes, I've had a bat or two fly into my home a time or two. lol
No hats on the bed. There are just so many that I was constantly told growing up...crickets in the house is good luck. Don't get up on the opposite side of the bed you get in. Don't leave the house from a different door than you entered...It's bad luck to close a knife you did not open, and also if giving a knife as a gift, also add a nickle or dime, so as not to *cut* the friendship/relationship.
There are many many more Mountain folklores that are fun to explore.
Mountain Medicine is another. In this website there are a lot of Granny Witch remedies for the common cold and ailments.
http://www.angelfire.com/nb/appalachianpagan/Folklore/mountainmedicine.html
Mountains are influential in Feng Shui as well. I like working with Feng Shui in my home, to help balance the chi and let it flow as naturally as possible. Our outside surroundings, can also have big impacts and influences on us. In this article, it talks about the influence, different shaped mountains can have on our daily lives.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Interpreting-Mountains-in-Feng-Shui-Theory&id=6426123
For me there is nothing that gets my inner witch stirring than when the water element meets the Earth element of the Mountains, with the Sun shining down warming one with the element of Fire, and having a nice soft breeze run through my hair...It is one place where All the elements can meet together, and for me this is a recharging experience.
With every Mountain comes different superstitions, and different stories that have been past down the ages. From the wee people, to the sheep eaters, from so called mummies that have been found, but then lost, or stolen. It just depends on where you are. Of course there are always talk and legends of the lost gold people have lost, or the ones that went missing. Ghosts of people past.
We spent a long weekend on the mountain this weekend for Spring Break. We have all been recharged, and ready to finish out the last of the school year now, getting ready for summer. It was still chilly this time of year, up there. But the spring birds, are definitely starting to flutter. We watched Blue Birds fighting, magpies flying, Hawks, Eagles, seen a lot of deer and chipmunks. While it is always good to get up there and recharge, it is still nice to be home, to our own nice, warm beds too.
Magickal Mountain Magicks to you. What is in your surroundings, that effect your feng shui?
Blessings )0(
As you might have guessed by now, I love taking pictures. I take pictures, of just about everything. I also like adding magic to my everday life, so I try to find magic, somewhere everyday. What spells magic better than a rainbow? I cannot look at a rainbow, even today without some child like wonder. It excites me, makes me smile, and who can be in a bad mood, when looking at a rainbow?
Growing up in the midwest, of course I seen rainbows. Once in awhile, after the rain, but they were a rare phenomenon. Always delightful, but rare. Since I have moved out west, I have seen SO MANY beautiful rainbows, it delights my inner child. Growing up back east, I remember MAYBE seeing a rainbow...IF the rain stopped and the sun came out. But living out west, where the rains are fewer, and come in short sporatic bursts, there is practically a rainbow after EVERY rain...I. LOVE. THAT.!!! I don't always get their pictures, but it's not for lack of trying ;-)
The rainbow has been a phenomenon in history and cultures since practically the beginning of time. We may now, scientifically understand what makes a rainbow happen, but the mythology around rainbows is extensive to just about every culture.
In Greco-Roman mythology, the rainbow was considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven.
In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours.
In Hindu religion, the rainbow is called Indradhanush, meaning "the bow (Sanskrit and Hindi: dhanush is bow) of Indra, the god of lightning, thunder and rain". Another Indian mythology says the rainbow is the bow of Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu. It is called Rangdhonu in Bengali, dhonu (dhanush) meaning bow. Likewise, in mythology of Arabian Peninsula, the rainbow, called Qaus Quzaħ in Arabic, is the war bow of the god Quzaħ.
In Armenian mythology the rainbow is a belt of Tir, a Sun god.
In Norse Mythology, a rainbow called the Bifröst Bridge connects the realms of Ásgard and Midgard, homes of the gods and humans, respectively
The Irish leprechaun's
secret hiding place for his pot of gold is usually said to be at the
end of the rainbow.
Another ancient portrayal of the rainbow is given in the Epic of Gilgamesh: the rainbow is the "jewelled necklace of the Great Mother Ishtar"
that she lifts into the sky as a promise that she "will never forget
these days of the great flood" that destroyed her children. (The Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet Eleven)
Then Ishtar arrived. She lifted up the necklace of great jewels that
her father, Anu, had created to please her and said, "Heavenly gods, as
surely as this jewelled necklace hangs upon my neck, I will never forget
these days of the great flood. Let all of the gods except Enlil come to
the offering. Enlil may not come, for without reason he brought forth
the flood that destroyed my people."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_in_culture
It is said that the Unicorns horn makes rainbows, and that Unicorns breathe rainbows.
The seven colors of the rainbow are: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo & Violet. A powerful sheilding tool I learned many moons ago consists of surrounding yourself in the 7 layers of the rainbow, encircling oneself with the magickal colors and aspects of the rainbow. Starting with Violet first, and working your way out. This filters out all the bad things, through the 7 layers and when the good finally gets to you, it is only the good things that you need. You can also turn this sheild outwards as well, to radiate the colors and meanings from your aura to surround yourself and those around you, in the radiant energies of the rainbow.
My favorite episodes of the 'Smurfs' when I was a kid, were the ones when the rainbow brought the flying pegasus/unicorn to the smurf village...How I wanted to ride on that pegasus down through the rainbow, so MUCH! lol I still think of those, whenever I see a rainbow...
But regardless, if you see a rainbow this spring, or summer after a spring shower, or summer Thunderstorm....think of the magick, and if nothing else, just bask in it's glory and surround yourself with its healing energies and colors.
)0( ~ Blessed Be & Much Rainbow Magicks to you! )0(
I do not know where else to put this particular post. It isn't about magic, gardens, witchs or paganims, it is about COMMENTING to the blog, and MY LACK of being able too!
Most definitely I am new to this blogging world. I am loving it so far, I love to ramble at the fingertips, and this is a great place to do it. But I also like, communicating with others about things too...
I have had a couple of lovely comments, where I would really like to be able to reply to the commenters, so they do not think I am simply ignoring them....because I'm not! I just can't comment, on my *own* blog..? WHY?!! I am logged in when I try to comment, then it has me choose an ID...then when I hit send, it just dissappears out into cyber-space someplace never to be seen or heard from again. WHY...won't it just post, under the persons comment, I am trying to reply too? Is there a setting, I am missing for this someplace??
I had comments set, where anyone and everyone could comment, because, lets face it, I wanted some feedback. Since then, I have had TONS OF SPAM comments as well...I was expecting, some trolling, or people just wanting to be mean. But these are like *bot* spams...I do not think they are real people at all..at least trolls and mean people, are REAL people...LOL
So, I just wanted to do a shout out...to any and all who may be reading...that if you comment on the blog, and I never reply....it isn't for lack of trying! I am/have been trying, I just haven't figured out, exactly HOW to get it accomplished....( any thoughts or advice on this would be highly welcome...just, if you don't hear back from me, don't think I am being rude, in not thanking you...thanks in advance, for ANY help that you may have, or tricks of the trade ).
Oh, and Good, Happy Tuesday morning...it's starting out dreary here, but looks like the sun is trying to peak its head in...
Blessings, & Thank-You...if you have read through this little rant ;-) )0(
I like knowing the magickal aspects to the flowers in my garden. That way I know what I have on hand to be able to use for specific purposes. I do try to acquire certain plants for certain purposes, but sometimes, we have flowers, just to have pretty flowers in the yard. But every flower can have a magickal purpose. If you don't know or can't find a specific magickal quality to a plant you may have, use the color of the flowers for that specific purpose.
In the picture above is the Mallow plant. It took me some time to figure out what this little gem was. It came up, on its own in my yard, and I babied it to get it to grow abundantly because I just loved the flowers. I have them in pink, and white. They sort of reminded me of hollyhock flowers, but they do not grow as tall, and the leaves are much smaller.
Mallow: Magickal properties: Mallow is Feminine ruled by the Moon, and the element of water. Ruling over Love, protection and exorcism.
If your love has left you, gather a bouquet of Mallow and place in a vase outside your door
(or in a window). This will cause him or her to think of you, and after that they may
return. Mallow is also carried to attract love.
To make an effective protective magical ointment, steep Mallow leaves and stems in
vegetable shortening, then strain. This ointment rubbed onto the skin casts out demons as
well as protects against the harmful effects
of black magic.
In this picture there is both Moon Flowers and Morning Glory's. Two of my favorite garden flowers. Morning Glory's are a great addition to the Witch's Garden as it adds extra protection and privacy. Many gardeners do not like morning glory's in their gardens and consider them to be a nusance weed. ( I actually had a lady stop and look at my garden one time, and this is what she told me. She does have a lovely garden in town, all nice and neat and not a weed to be found.) But as a Garden Witch, I do love some of the weeds in my garden ;-) Some of my most magickal plants, are considered to be nusance weeds, and the Morning Glory is one of those. The Wild Morning Glory, also known as Binderweed has the same properties as the garden variety Morning Glory. I have both of these in my garden. The Binderweed has a flower that starts out white, and turns to pink as it ages.
The Magickal properties of the Morning Glory and Binder weed are: Ruled by Saturn, and the element of Water. The magickal properties are Power, Protection, Love bindings, Banishings, Happiness and Peace.
Use the flowers of the Morning Glory in workings for happiness and peace. You can also use the vines and flowers to stuff a magickal banishing poppet. I have also taken the binder weed and used them in freezer spells for banishings. I prefer using actual binder weed to bind or banish, but have also used the Morning Glory to the same effectiveness.
The Moonflower is a cousin to the Morning Glory and a favorite to the Witch's Garden, especially for the night blooming flowers, or Goddess inspired Gardens. Blooming white, for one night, their fragrance is one of a lemony scent. Ruled by the Moon, it is feminine. Great for protection, love, happiness and good for breaking spells that have been sent to harm you. Vining Moonflowers and Morning Glory's together is a great way to secure a privacy hedge to a secret sacred Garden Space.
Mallow, Morning Glory, and the Moonflower are all faery favorites, and they will delight when you grow them in the gardens for them.
I love the Dahlia growing in the gardens for their large colorful blooms. In the language of flowers the Dahlia represents Dignity, Forever, and good taste. It is also associated with the 14th wedding anniversary. It is a good one to use the petals in spells associated with your higher development and self worth. It is also one I like to use for its color correspondences. I grow them in purple and pink mostly. Although the Dahlia can come in a variety of colors.
The Rose is a garden favorite of just about any gardener, as well as the Fae. Roses come in many different types, colors, varieties and sizes. The Rose is a powerful flower that has many magickal uses, especially with matters of the Heart. All parts of the Rose can be used. The flowers, the petals, the leaves. It is feminine and associated with the elements of Fire & Water both. Its ruling powers are : Healing, Love, Love divination, Protection, Psychic Powers and Ultimate love.
There are many magickal uses for the Rose. To name a few : It is the ultimate in Love Wishes. It will aid in bringing true and lasting love and to help in mending spats between two lovers already in a relationship. Combine Rose Hips and Catnip into a Love Satchet and hang it by or near the bedroom to keep passion alive. Sleeping with the flower will protect your dreams. Bathing in the petals while thinking of a new love, will help bring them to you. To discover their romantic future,women used to take three green rose leaves and name each for one of their lovers.The one that stayed green the longest answered the question of "Which One?" Rose petals sprinkled around the house calm personal stress and household upheavals.
Hollyhocks are a must in my Garden. My grandmother always grew them, and my Garden just doesn't feel complete without them.The Magickal uses of hollyhock: Dried pods bursting with seed
is taken as a token of a filled purse. They are used as a symbol or a source
to increase success in the material world, and to increase the flow of money, or
to acquire new possessions. Faeries love hollyhocks and so dried flowers are
mixed in the incense mixture that is burnt to attract the Fae. Hollyhocks are usually planted near Garden entrances to help protect the sacredness of the Garden. They also help in protecting the fruits of the garden from our feathered friends. Hummingbirds love hollyhocks as well.
Hibiscus, such an exotic Beauty. I love this flower! It has many magickal qualities. Such as an aphrodisiac, attracting love or lust, divination, clairvoyance, astral travel and an all around love magick plant. It is associated with the zodiac sign Scorpio, is feminine in gender and it's ruling planet is Venus while it's element is Water.
I cannot say that I grow this one in my Garden, but in my INDOOR Garden ;-) My growing zone will not let me grow these beauties outside. And while this tree bloomed beautifully the first summer, and I tried my best to pollinate it as the flowers dropped off it has not bloomed again since that first summer. This will be the 3rd summer I have had it. It is a braided tree trunk, and I am hoping it will sprout more flowers this year.
This is what I call my 'Pink Poppy'. After it blooms, it pods up with thousands of tiny black seeds like a poppy does. But it gives off huge pink blooms, that almost remind me of a carnation. Maybe it is a form of wild carnation? I am not entirely sure, so I use the associations of poppy with it, as well as the pink in color. Poppy's are ruled by the Moon, no matter their color. Wild poppy's have a variety of definitions in the language of flowers. Orange symbolizes vanity, while red can stand for comfort. White poppies whispers for a restful sleep. Pink poppy's in my definition of them stand for friendship and comfort. Poppy seeds can also be used in spells for Healing.
This is my purple milk jug! I found it at a yardsale a few years ago, and just HAD to have it. Brought it home, spray painted it purple ( one of my favorite colors that cheer me up) and planted flowers in it. In this arrangement there are Moss Roses, purple Petunias and a Pink geranium.
Moss Rose is another one of those I just have to have in my garden every year, because my Grandmother always did. It is a favored sun loving flower of old garden variety roses. I just like it. I can not find much magickal information on it, other than using it akin to the rose, or the moss family, and it's colored associations. Moss Roses come in a wide variety of colors.
Petunias- Are a cheery flower that screams spring to me. A delight all summer long, and I have even managed to bring them indoors to hybernate for the winter, to come out of it in the spring before. They are used in spells for comfort, cheer and power.
Geraniums are another summer flower I can not do without. This one I associate with my Mother, along with Roses. My Mother had a gorgeous Rose Garden of many colors and varieties, but she also always had big tubs of Geraniums going too. I have a geranium that is about 6 years old now, that I keep inside year round. But I always have to get some geraniums for the outdoor gardens as well. I have started many other geraniums, off the one I keep inside. They are quite easy to propogate. Just cut off a stem, at a knob, and stick in water. It will root, and you can replant and have another geranium! Geraniums are good for courage, and can be color cordinated as well. Red for protection and lust, Pink for Love and Friendship, Coral for energy, and White for fertility.
While these are by far not all of the flowers in my garden, they are a few, and a good place to start. Please check back often as the summer progress's as I will be adding more flowers to the magickal gardens and their correspondences. Blessed Be & Happy Gardening!
)0(
With the return of Spring, so comes the return of our Feathered friends in the garden. I enjoy watching them as much as I enjoy watching the flowers grow and bloom. Hummingbirds are one of my favorites. I love watching them feed from the feeders, as well as from the plants themselves. Trying to capture a hummingbird via digital camera, can be an almost impossible task, but I never give up. LOL This year I will be adding more hummingbird feeders. I only had one out last year, thinking that would be enough what with the different flowers in the garden, but it wasn't. They were all fighting over it. There was one couple of hummingbirds, that had came first, and it was THEIR feeder, and the male would chase the rest of them off. So this year, since they can't share, I will be adding more.
Is the hummingbird one of your totems? In this link it tells of the ways Hummingbirds can come into our lives as one of our totem animals as we need them.
http://www.hummingbirdworld.com/h/totem.htm
One year we had to save a hummingbird. It had gotten too close to the windows and knocked himself out. My sister was visiting from back east then. We were both very sad, the poor thing looked to be dead or dying. We scooped him up and brought him inside, wondering what to do with him. He had apparently only just knocked himself out, because it wasn't long before he was up and humming all over the house :-/ My brother-in-law managed to capture him safely in his hat, and return him to the outdoors where he flew off immediately into the sky. But later came back again to get some of the sweet nectar from the feeder.
Another one of my favorite Garden friends are these brightly colored wild canary's. They love the sunflower seeds, and will always be out there singing away in the summer time. Here is a link to the canary totem. While, I do not feel that the canary is a part of my totem, I do like to see them in the gardens.
http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/canary.htm
Canary brings beautiful song and voice to a persons life where they are in their totem.
The Owl is another powerful totem to have. We have had this Grey Horned Owl living by our house for a few years now. My son is always out looking for him, and he often times sits in the tree behind our house hooting away. Especially in the evenings.
I am always out trying to capture him on film. The owl symbolizes different things to different people. In Native cultures around where we live, they do not like owls at all. My son has a friend who is terrified of Owls, and says that it means death to someone in his family if they see them. While I know that the Owl can and does symbolize the darker sides of the spirit worlds to some, I like to look at him for the wisdom that he brings.
Here is a link to the Owl totem:
http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/owl.htm
Our grey horned owl is indeed the harbinger of Spring and a protector of our home~
Wow! Where did this week go? The first week of Spring and it has just flown by. I know I have bitched about the time change enough, but it sure has sped things up. I can't seem to get anything done in a timely manner. Every day it seems its time for dinner, and the breakfast dishes, are barely done.
On an good note this week, Mercury went direct! whoo! I gotta say this. The third day after Mercury went direct it was the spring equinox...and my fridge, that had stopped working during the RX...STARTED working again! ON the equinox! *Happy Dance* Now mind you, I realize, there must be something more going on with the darn thing, but for now, it is freezing my ice! That is really all that matters. Everything else is still in the spare fridge, because, lets face it, we don't know how long it is going to last, and still have a new one coming. But for now, I am saving a few steps not having to fill my ice cube trays up, and for that, I am thankful~ lol~
The first half of March in the Wild West was absolutely gorgeous! No complaints here what so ever, and Spring Fever has been hitting hard. But since the equinox, we have had a change for the worse. Yesterday we had 90mph Winds, Rain, Snow, then Sunshine. Today it is dreary. And I have been seeing all over the web, where people are wondering. WHERE THE HECK IS SPRING?
Well it's coming folks. But it is apparently going to be taking it's sweet time this year. In the mean time, take this time to get the spring cleaning done. Both physically and mentally. That way when the weather does finally break, and its nice outside...There is no worry that you are ready to get out there and enjoy it. Without feeling guilty about needing to be inside getting things done. Or feeling like you are missing out, on the outdoor fun, from being stuck inside having to get all the internal things done first.
Because it is going to fly by quickly. We are already into the 3rd month of 2013. This is a rockin' year. While there seem to be many trials and tribulations on the horizon, this is still the year to take the Broom by the handle and fly with it. While I am anxiously awaiting for the things in these pictures to GREEN UP...I know that it will be here before we know it. And the summer of 2013 is going to be one to remember. Make it so! Blessed Be )0(
It's spring! It's Ostara! It's Spring! Whoo-Hoo!! *Doin' the Happy Dance* Okay so I may be getting a wee bit ahead of the actual calendar, I still wanted to make sure to get an Ostara post out, before the DAY. With two days and counting...St. Patrick's day is a good send off...and this week, looks like it could be a busy one.
After a long, harsh winter full of flu bugs, super flu bugs, and one of the nastier flu seasons I've seen. Spring has FINALLY arrived! Mother Earth is starting to wake up! And I am so excited about it! Here is my Spring/Ostara altar. I will be adding to it, as the season progress's. I don't usually do a traditional (anything) Ostara altar, with eggs, hares, chicks etc. To me, it is too much like Easter decorations to do that. I LIKE looking at other peoples altars with such things on them. The eggs just don't call to me personally; But the Fae, DO call to me this time of year ;-)
I have a small working space for my altar. I like to keep it decorated at all times, for each sabat and season. When I am doing actual ritual work, it changes. I use my cauldron a lot during ritual work or spells. While it will fit on my altar, it is too big to always look *right* for the decorated altar though. So for my seed blessing rituals, and working with the fae, it will change around a bit.
This was last years Ostara ritual altar. In progress. As you can see, it never stays the same, that is what I love about each altar setting. I know there is a *right* way and *wrong* way to set up ones altar. I just don't like to follow the rules that much. So, I do what feels right at the time, and looks good to me. If it works for me, I figure, the Gods & Goddess's, really aren't going to mind that much ;-)
Kind of a close up of some of the stones. The amethyst is hard to see in the picture, but I usually keep it pretty close to the altar. I just love its energy. The plan is to get ALL my crystals out to the Garden altar this first Full Moon in Spring coming up!
Here are some of my crystals, getting ready for the Full Moon in August of last year. They haven't been *Cleansed* since then, so they are ready for a good, spring recharge!
Last Spring equinox we played with the broom a lot, getting it to balance of its own accord. The Son loved it, and got quite a kick out of it. Especially since we got it to stand there, for at least 30 minutes! It was fun, and entertaining ;-) If you haven't tried this, be sure to try it. It's fun, and your kids will definitely think you are full of *magic*. Some of my neighbors did too ;-) *cackle*
Also on another Good note this week. Mercury has gone direct! Whew~! But alas, there are still some stagnant energies to be aware of, as Mercury is still retracing its Mercury Retrograde steps and won't be back to its proper placement where it started at 19 degrees Pisces until April 6th. So while everything feels Fresh, New and cheery, with the beginning of Spring just remember while Aries is getting ready to settle down into its Sun sign, there can be some nervy, electric and volatile energies yet to endure.
Above all else, make sure to get your hands in the dirt this week! Plant some seeds, invite the Fae into your gardens, and home for full fae blessings. Just remember, they like to be catered to, so don't forget the cakes, honey & ale...they love honey and milk, and shiny baubles.
A walk through my gardens this weekend, I seen where the Iris's are starting to pop up, the raspberries are starting to turn green at the ground, and the grass is starting to green up as well. Blade by blade...no, I'm not anxious or anything, I didn't seriously count the 50 blades of green grass, honest. ;-)
