Creating A Home Fit For A Wytch (29/03/19)

Merrie Meet

Welcome to this latest blog post about creating a home that is Fit For A Wytch

A special way of adding magick to your home is to set up an altar. Be as discreet or as elaborate as you like and your lifestyle allows.

Find a table top surface, a shelf or a bookcase, etc. where you can position your altar. Preferably, it should be out of reach of pets and small children (unless you actually want to make it a pets or childrens’ altar).

I would suggest that you create an altar that will represent the four elements: earth, air, fire, water.  However you could set up an altar to honour your gods and goddesses, or create a meditation space by adding stones, crystals, seashells, feathers, and herbs to the altar.

You could also place pictures of angels, deities, ancestors, etc. on you altar along with candles, incense burners, oil diffusers, and more. The choices are endless!

Growing native plants around your home invites mother nature to take up residence. The positive energies will translate to positive energy inside your home, as well.

But, don’t worry if you don’t have a garden. You could grow plants in pots on a balcony, a patio, or even in a sunny window! Herbs will do well in pots, and so do many flowers.

What magical home would be complete without a garden?

It is about putting in the time and effort, and eventually you will learn what grows well in your climate and what does not?

You can buy or grow plants that are native to your area then you will have plants that are accustomed to the land where you live and therefore easy to grow.  Such plants will also attract and supply food or shelter for essential wildlife such as bees, butterflies, rabbits, birds and the like.

Wytch like Decorating Ideas

This is the fun part!

Depending on the objects themselves and where you put them, the following elements will draw in abundance, health, love, peace, success, etc.

Add Fire & Air

The best decorating ideas centre around the four elements.

By hanging wind chimes in your doorways and around your house, you are adding gentle, whimsical sounds and thus you are invoking the air element.

One of my favourite suggestions for enchanting a home is to use candles. 

Generally we have candles burning in most rooms every day.  As you light them you can see your home’s ambiance change from the mundane to the truly magickal!

By doing this simple action you are calling on the element of fire.

Add Earth & Water

Houseplants draw in the earth energy.

African violets, succulents, and ivies are often favourites but i would invite you to experiment with different houseplants to find what you like best.

Be careful which plants you use though because some are toxic to pets and children. Place plants all around your home to bring in these earthy, healing energies.

Rose quartz, amethyst, and selenite are great for the home. Small water fountains and vessels of water honour the water element in your magickal home.

Cleansing Your Magickal Home

A spiritual home cleansing removes any negative energy that has either 

invaded or built up over time.

I think that the most powerful way to cleanse a home of negative energy is to perform a smudging ritual using some of the most powerful herbs such as: white sage, rosemary, and palo santo.

Research how to carry out a smudging ritual and then cleanse your home.  

Make sure that you open the windows or doors to allow the negative energy to escape. This is crucial!

To create a sacred space means to cleanse and prepare an area for divine connection, much like the “sanctuary” in a church.

You can make your entire home into sacred space. The first step in making your home a magical home is to envision it as one big magical circle.

There is plenty of information about that will help you to learn how to make a magical home with cleansing, protection, gardening, and other wytch styling and decorating ideas.

Magickal Protection

And finally a word about Magickal Protection. 

We all know that our homes protect us from the outside world and they also provide us with privacy. But when we make our homes magical that is not quite enough, we also need to think about spiritual protection.

If you have never energetically cleansed your home, this will be your first step to making your home magical. This is also something to repeat once a month (preferably on the new or waning moon) or whenever you feel the need.

After following you cleansing you need to establish a magickal barrier by

blessing the doorways, windows and entrances into your home.  Using olive oil, essential oils or any kind of oil, draw a protective symbol on each window and door, such as a pentacle, a cross, or runic symbols.  The same blessing can also be carried out with the use of moon water

You can then add other protective elements if you so wish, such as herb bags; salt in the windows and thresholds; dreamcatchers; iron horseshoes above doorways and lastly you could use a sprinkling of red brick dust over the thresholds.

So there we have a few ideas about how you can make your home fit for a wytch to inhabit.  I hope that you have fun and that you will live in peace, happiness and prosperity.

Love, Light and

Blessed Be!

Merlin 

Physical Signs of a Wytch (22/03/19)

This piece has been adapted from an article that I found on the web.

There are a number of physical signs that can point towards you being a wytch!

Having read the title of this post you are probably wondering whether you could be a witch (but by definition that you are reading this blog you already know that there is a good chance that you are already).

Many times people have said that there are no physical signs that someone is a wytch. But in the light of research into DNA it has been determined that physical DNA carries memories of past lives and this can have been passed down via the ancestral bloodline or via personal karmic memory.

Wytches come in many different shapes sizes and belong to different cultures.  They certainly are not (as the media would have us believe) all inhabiting beautiful female forms such as the sisters from “Charmed” or other popular television series.

You may have just one of the following traits and be linked to the magickal world (or the otherworldly) but if you have multiple traits that does not follow that you are more Magickal than another person.

So here is a list of some of the most common wytch marks found today.

Being Clumsy

The trait of being clumsy is not a clear indicator that someone is a wytch, but it does indicate the presence of magick.

Wytches typically spend most of their time in between this world and the next, sometimes half in the physical and half in the magical.  So because of this situation they are likely to have their heads in the clouds or be seen as “flighty” and this often leads to being clumsy.  Do you drop things regularly, do you trip over your own feet or are you described as “having your head in the clouds”?  These are powerful indicators that you are likely to be a wytch.

Your Hands Tell The Story

Did you know that your hands tell the story of your life? Just look at the lines on your palms and finger-pads because they tell a lot about your life.

Your palms may show may show signs of your being a wytch, take a careful look.

If there are three or more vertical lines under the little finger on the palm of your hand, you carry what is called the “Samaritan Sign” and this indicates that you are a healer.  Wytches often have the ability to heal and they often carry this sign on their palms.

If a wytch has the gift of clairvoyance it will be indicated by a cross in the middle of the index finger. This gift is one of being able to “see” clearly and many wytches have this ability.

Other palm signs of a natural wytch can be a circle on the “bottom palm” which is opposite your thumb is an indication of clairvoyance while a small circle under the middle and ring fingers is a sign of strong intuition.

All of these hand signs tell the story that you are most likely a natural wytch.

The Eyes Have It!

It is often claimed that the eyes are “the windows to the soul” and every wytch will have one of two types of eyes.  Some may even be blessed with both types.

There are the very deep “old soul” eyes and there are also large and penetrating eyes.  Because wytches return to the earth plane often they are “old souls” who probably date back many many centuries.

If you look a wytch in the eye it is highly likely that you will be “sucked in” and you can virtually see their wisdom as you are drawn deeper within. 

A lot of wytches have large and penetrating eyes, which is a trait of the indigo and crystal children – these being souls that have incarnated here from other dimensions.

So as I have indicated deep and / or large eyes are often the most popular indicators that someone is a wytch.  Every wytch will have one or other type of eyes, while some may even have them both

Tattoos

Tattoos have very ancient origins in the Celtic culture they were seen as a mark of royaly lineage and a map to the otherworld.  They have been found on the skin of at least 2 ancient Egyptian mummies.  These marks on the skin are believed to be significant indicators of the magickal knowledge and skills held by the female mummy.  It is believed that if you bear tattoos with deep meanings then you are emulating this past life tradition.  Tattoos are often considered as talismans to a wytch.

History tells us that in Colonial America and in Europe people who were accused of being wytches were examined for birth marks or extra nipples.  It was a widely held belief among Witch Hunters that such marks were where the wytches suckled their familiar spirits. 

Actually, wytch marks tell a story of the past life of that wytch.  If you carry such a mark it was probably given to you during an initiation.  However it may be a sign of either torture or execution (after being accused of being a wytch).

“Praying Knees”

If you are a sufferer of “Praying Knees” then you could be victim to a bone malformation or a problem with the skin over the knees. If your knees look bruised and / or damaged it is very likely you were a priest, priestess or a religious devotee in a former life.

Wytches often held very spiritual or religious positions in past lives and the souls cannot help but seek similar realms or divinity in later incarnations.

However, it is possible that knee issues can be from gardening or kneeling in ritual positions – in which case you probably already know that you are a wytch.

Could I Be A Wytch If I Show Any Of These Signs?

Absolutely!

However there are often both mental and spiritual signs to back up the physical ones.

Do you have an undying love for nature?

Do you seek out alternative healing methods?

Are you drawn to the metaphysical (crystals, herbs, angels, etc), astral project naturally?

Do you see or sense spirits?

Do you rebel against the “norms” of society?

Fortunately for those who display the physical signs of being a wytch, there are not as many wytch hunters around now as there used to be!

However, even if there were, they would not be looking at REAL wytch birthmarks, they would be looking for something else entirely!

ooooOOOOoooo

If this post has raised any questions please drop an email to cauldronfm@mail.com

We have both a page and a group on Facebook and they are CauldronFM and CauldronFM – the sound of magick respectively.

Most of the radio shows from Cauldron FM are now located on our podcast host site.  So if you would like to give them a listen please follow this link

https://anchor.fm/cauldron-fm---the-sound-of-magick

So now I will wish you the best things that life can give and say

Love, Light and Blessed Be!

Merlin.

©Delphine Bowden

The Show has been published !!!!! (15/03/19)

Merrie Meet

The long awaited podcast "Walking The Path Of A Wytch" is now published and ready to listen to via this link.

I truly hope that you find it interesting

Love, Light and Blessed Be

Merlin

The Podcast and more

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Merrie Meet

Well the podcast is almost ready but owing to "life" getting in the way it is still further delayed.  I really apologise for this so in the meantime here is re-working of a post from a few years ago to keep you going this week......

This post is all about

Creating a Book of Shadows

The first step to creating a Book of Shadows is to really understand what it is, what it means and why do we have it.

So let me begin by defining what my understanding is! 

A Book of Shadows is a means of storing any relevant information that is useful to you as you follow your personal journey into and through Magick whatever route that takes.  

Personally I tend to ensure that mine is added to regularly and it has become a valuable reference tool for my ongoing workings.  Some people say that the book should be entirely hand written, others say it can be a mixture of both hand and electronic writings and a third section are more than happy with it all kept in an electronic format.

So don’t let anyone tell you that their way is the only correct way to create and keep a Book of Shadows.  There is NO right or wrong way – see what way is best for you.

A word of caution – if you choose to make all the entries in your own handwriting please ensure that your writing is legible enough that you will be able to read your notes during a ritual or spellworking etc.

Getting Organised.

To re-iterate what I said earlier – there is no hard and fast way to do this but here are some guidelines to assist you in formulating your ideas.

Starting with a ring binder is probably one of the most convenient ways – mine is in a simple purple coloured 2-ring variety – but you could also use an A4 or A5 notebook. 

However way you choose to keep your book it should contain a title page and this should include your name because remember you are creating a Magickal object and it should be treated as such.  A lot of witches simply write

The Book of Shadows of…………………. (your name). 

My own is inscribed with the words Merlin’s Book of Shadows and a Pentagram.

Once you have made the decision about your title page then you are probably going to be faced with the same dilemma as most of us – “what do I include and in what order?” 

Tabbed pages, a table of contents at the front and an index at the back work well – remember that it will keep growing and these will often need to be updated.  It is useful to keep a record of the sources where you find new spells, rituals etc. as you can then refer back to them for any updates or further pieces that you wish to add into you Book of Shadows.

Suggestions about the things you can include in your Book of Shadows.

Almost every Book of Shadows includes the following sections but remember yours is personal to you and you can design the layout as you will.

If you are a member of a Coven or follow a particular tradition then a section that details “the rules” is extremely useful.  The items included serve to remind you about what is or is not acceptable behaviour.

However, if you are a solitary practitioner or part of an eclectic tradition (one without written rules) it is a good idea to use this section to note what you consider to be the acceptable rules of Magick.  If you don’t create some guidelines it is impossible to know if you have crossed them.

In my personal Book of Shadows I have included a copy of the Wiccan Rede at the start of the book.

Dedication – this can be as intricate or as simple as you wish.  Some people include a copy of their initiation ceremony if they are member of a coven, others will dedicate themselves to a Goddess or God.  Again it is a matter of personal choice how this is worded.  – please email me directly if you would like me to provide you with a copy of my Dedication.

Gods and Goddesses – depending on which tradition you follow there may be a single God or Goddess or there may be a number of them.  A section of myths and legends about your particular Deities can be very useful for reference purposes.  Again if your practice is eclectic this section is an ideal place to keep a record of the different spiritual paths in your blend.

Correspondence Information – I believe that these are some of the most important pages of your Book of Shadows and you will probably need to include sections on – Crystals / Stones; Phases of The Moon; Colours.  You could collate and transfer the information concerning properties and uses onto a chart that you can use for easy reference when needed.

You could also include a section on herbs and their uses and create a similar ready table.  Herbs and plants are probably at the very heart of spell casting because they have been used by people for thousands of years 

Cautionary Note:- many plants and herbs should not be ingested and it is important to research thoroughly before you take anything internally

Sabbats, Esbats and Other Rituals – one of the important “aide memoire” is the Wheel of the Year – it includes the 8 festivals / holidays celebrated by most Pagans and Wiccans.  It is useful to include a page detailing the information about each one and its rituals.  You can if you wish write your own personal ritual for each and include that in this particular section. 

If you choose to celebrate the Full Moon then you could include whatever ritual you use in this section and you might wish to include a section on “Casting A Circle” or “Drawing Down The Moon” 

You could also include any rites that you may have for protection, prosperity, healing or similar.

Divination – a section containing information on Tarot, Astrology, Scrying or any form of divination can be a very useful inclusion in you Book of Shadows.  You could also include information about what you have done and the results you obtained whilst using these processes. Such a record can prove to be valuable reference information. 

Sacred Texts – do you have a poem, chant or an ancient prayer in an old language that moves you to the very Centre of Your Being.  This is an ideal section to keep a record of them

Magickal Recipes – probably of great interest to “Kitchen Witches” but not limited to them could be a section on recipes such as oils, potions and herbal blends as well as food recipes for Sabbats etc.  Remember that throughout the ages the kitchen has been regarded as the centre of the home so the inclusion of this section could be seen by some as vital to any Book of Shadows

Spellcraft – this is a matter of personal choice!  A large number of people prefer to keep their spells in a Grimoire and entirely separate from the Book of Shadows.  If you do choose to keep them in a separate section of your Book of Shadows that is fine but a useful suggestion could be to leave a “notes” space to record your results – when it was performed and the outcome at the very least.

So as that brings this piece into the final stages it is worth making mention of the fact that it is possible to create an online (electronic) Book of Shadows and to keep it as a blog should you so desire or you could use various note taking applications and keep it private.

The choice as they say - is yours!

                                              ooooOOOOoooo

So now as we come to the end of this post it is time for me to take my leave of you but not before I say that if you have liked this and the other posts on this blog, please click the link to follow us. 

If you have any question you can email me at

cauldronfm@mail.com

So now I will wish you the best things that life can give and say

Love, Light and Blessed Be!

Merlin.

A massive apology.............

Merrie Meet

......I had fully intended to share an audio recording with you today that was also scheduled to go out on the podcast.  The title is planned to be Walking The Path Of A Wytch.  However, owing to circumstances beyond my control (that inconvenient thing called "earning a living" got in the way) and I had to go to London for a few days, only arriving back home at midnight last night, thus leaving me no time at all to record and edit the broadcast for this morning.

So I will now be working on the programme over the weekend ready to bring it to you next Friday.

Blessed Be

Merlin