What Does It Mean To Walk With The Goddess?

Merrie Meet

So what does it mean to walk with The Goddess?

Recently I realised that despite being a fully functioning member of the pagan faith I have never taken the time to sit and clearly identify (or put into words) exactly what that means to me!

That being said, I feel that today is an ideal time to spend some in quiet contemplation of this aspect of myself.

After spending many years as a committed agnostic I decided that there had to be a higher force guiding me through this life, and yes, although I teach people (through my work as a coach) that they are responsible for their own actions, I feel that there still has to be someone, some presence, looking after all the other things that I experience. These things range through the seasons, the rivers, the trees so why should that not be the Great Mother?

I have no wish to upset anyone who happens to have chosen Christianity as their way, but having had some bad experiences with “The Church” I know that is not the way for me.

So, as a preparation for this post I decided to do the following exercise and once you have read it, maybe you could do it for yourself!

First of all ask what makes me happy?

My answer is - many things! For example, being alive, being healthy, my wife, my friends, my children, the cats, walking along a cliff looking at the sea, Listening to music, working on my various radio shows, driving, eating in nice restaurants, coffee, children, teaching and playing guitar and keyboards, walking by a stream or through a wood, taking photographs and being creative.

What makes me content?

Being surrounded by family and friends, when I am helping other people, listening to the sea, being quiet, seeing my family enjoying themselves, having a good home, food on the table, being in the sunshine.

What is being content?

What does it mean, it means that at specific times because there is really no other time at all everything in my world is as it should be, it is all going well, I have everything I need right here, I am complete in this very moment.

What is contentment?

This is probably different for every person but since I am doing this for me in this very public manner I will concentrate on what contentment actually means to me.

Contentment is a state of being, it is a peaceful state, it is a state of calm, sometimes stillness, often involving clarity of thought.

It can be a time when I am truly at my creative best, it can be euphoric. Conversely I can be content having just completed a cycle ride or sitting with a pint of beer. So to truly define contentment is not a simple one or two word answer. It can come with the satisfaction of a job well done, thanks have a client.

What are my priorities right now?

High on my list of priorities are:-

seeing my radio channels becoming successful
seeing my video channels working correctly and broadcasting live and pre-recorded content.
generating sufficient revenue via Moonshadow Media to enable all the presenters to be paid a salary or a show fee.

What are my hopes?

That the end of the destruction of the rain forests will come
That the wars between civilised countries come to an end
That the Earth is given a chance to regenerate itself
That the human race decides it is time we began to seriously look at (and do something about) the damage we are causing to our planet
That an affordable solution to mass transport is found and put into effect as soon as possible
That my health continues to be good

What are my dreams?

Number one on my list has to be World Peace!
An end to poverty
An end to violence and war
That people begin to realise that life is precious and not something to be taken lightly
That a cure for cancer is found in my lifetime
That society accepts paganism as a trim and acceptable alternative to Christianity and recognises that the people who practice Wicca, Judaism, Hindi all have the same rights to religious freedoms and beliefs

What is my relationship with the Divine Feminine?

My first answer to this has to be a question because before I can begin to answer what my relationship is I have to be clear about what the Divine feminine actually is!

The Divine Feminine is many things, it is all things that are female, it is nurture, it is creativity, it is Love.

It is intuition and it is the intimate.

It is a known fact that all women are at their most powerful, their most intuitive during the time of their menstrual bleeding. Research and historical fact has shown that groups of women who are living / working in close proximity will find that their natural cycles will, over time, become aligned. This is no accident, women are designed to be this way!

It has been suggested that PMS is the result of women moving away from their natural, taking time out to celebrate this special gift. Linked with the lunar cycles many mature Indian people called the time of the female cycle “moon time“ and it was accepted practice for all women to celebrate this time together. 

It is also a time for women to pass on ancient wisdom is and lessons to other younger women.

Women are the givers of life and are seen in various faiths as the embodiment of God.

To return to the original question my involvement and relationship with the Feminine Divine is based in a belief that men and women are two halves of the whole.  However, I believe that it goes much further than that, in every man there is a part that is female and in every woman a part that is male.

Unfortunately, in the modern world we have pushed that part of us into the background and now there is no way that the majority of men would allow themselves to cry in public or, to smell flowers, just for the hell of it!

Women are less affected by this stereo-typing, although many would not be prepared to change a tyre by the roadside or to change the washer in a tap.

However, some of us have accepted that it is fine for men to regain contact with their feminine traits as much as it is equally acceptable for women to follow some traditionally male roles.  

So this puts me firmly in the “I am happy to display my feminine, softer side to anyone! I will cry, I will smell flowers, I will wash dishes et cetera et cetera et cetera.“ group.

I have the greatest of respect for women, I admire their caring, nurturing traits. I respect their strengths and weaknesses, I am completely at my ease in their company and I hope that they find a similar sense of peacefulness during our mutual interactions.

Blessed Be!

ooooOOOOoooo

If this post has raised any questions please drop them into an email addressed 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.

Image © Delphine Bowden
Reproduced with Kind Permission

150121 The January Meet (The Latest Show on Cauldron FM)

The January Meet is the newest show from Cauldron FM and features, great music plus a new section called The Crystal Of The Month with our brand new presenter Emms Lowe of Saltwater Gaia.

Follow this link to listen The January Meet

FREE YOUR MIND!

I have written this for those of my friends and family and anyone else who does not know exactly what a Pagan is, or who may have grown up with some misconceptions about who or what we are.

Pagans and the rest of the world aren't all that different.

We do not eat children!

We do not fly on broom sticks (although it would save us a fortune on fuel prices!)

We do not worship a devil nor do we believe or acknowledge a Satan (that is a Christian ideology).

Catholics light a candle and pray. So do Pagans. Catholics also have celebratory feasts on marked religious days. So do Pagans. We have 4 main Sabbats and we celebrate the full moon cycle, which we call Esbats. It is at these times that we celebrate the marked change of the seasons, the cycle of life and death (which we call The Wheel of the Year) and "Pray" for the things we wish to have enter our lives, we honour those who have passed on before us, and those with whom we know going through struggle.

Some Christians dance and sing at church during prayer. So do Pagans!

We enjoy a vast richness of artwork that denotes our history through the ages.

We make beautiful crafts. Create beautiful music, and we enjoy and learn from the diversity and practices of other cultures and pantheons.

Pagans honour the sun that breathes energy into all living things, and the rain that nourishes them. We acknowledge the gentle summer breeze, and use the natural resources around us to heal feed ourselves and our families. Many of today's religions and their rituals came from Paganism.

The five-star encircled Pentacle means as much to us as your crucifix does to Christian believers.  It has always been counted as very protective.

In medieval times a Pentacle was used as a protection against demons, and it is worn, visualized or placed around the house by modern-day Wiccans to protect. It is a portrayal of the 4 magickal elements under Spirit:

EARTH: (lower left hand corner) represents stability and physical endurance.

FIRE: (lower right hand corner) represents courage and daring.

WATER: (upper left hand corner) represents emotions and intuition.

AIR: (upper right hand corner) represents intelligence and the arts.

SPIRIT: (at the topmost point) represents the ONE and the Divine.

This, while encircled, is a magickal "diagram" of the Universe; the circle symbolizes completeness, or the All, and the 5 points are the components of this. All are equal and in balance. "As above, so below"- as with the universe so with people. The whole person, made up (ideally) of all components in balance. You can see it makes the shape of a person, reinforcing the idea of both this balance inside ourselves AND the Law "as above so below";

Magick to us is what miracles are to others. Christians pray to a God, who was once a living man on earth. Pagans pray to a Goddess, who many of you also call "Mother Nature"

Christians offer fellowship. So do Pagans, and not only to those who have the same religious practices and beliefs as we have. We believe that "God" has no religion and that we are ALL children of the Universe.  We also believe that we should treat others with the utmost love, kindness and compassion.

So please, before making any negative connotations about Witches, and before passing judgement, know what a witch is first, and know the person second before you judge.

We are not always pot-smoking hippies who light candles and dance naked under the light of the full moon (although some of us may be!). We are Nurses, we are midwives, we are lawyers, teachers, doctors, musicians, archeologists, law enforcement officers, military personnel, bankers, estate and insurance agents, we are someone's brother or sister, someone's child or parent. Someone's best friend!

Most of my friends know what I am and that I have always been, and just quietly sweep my posts or comments under the rug.

Thank you for your acceptance.

Thank you for not trying to stuff your beliefs down my throat.

Thank you for not following the flock that says "You're going to Hell".... after all it is MY salvation, and I have found it in my own spiritual path, just as you have with yours.

Thank you for taking the time to read this in order to understand what Pagans really are. And thank you for loving me even though I do not attend your Mass, pray your Prayers or Obey your God. Spirituality is universal, and the Universe knows what each of us hold in our hearts

(Based on an original article first published by Krystal Garcia – with thanks.)

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

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” 

We have both a page and a group on Facebook and they are

CauldronFM

CauldronFM – the sound of magick

We have been adding the Cauldron FM radio broadcasts onto our podcast site.  To listen please follow the 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.

Image reproduced courtesy of
Delphine Bowden

Blessed Be!

Turning Your Workspace Wytchy

Turning Your Workspace Wytchy

©2018 wytchwynd photography

Merrie Meet

This post is primarily aimed at the new wytch, but it can apply equally well to experienced practitioners of The Craft.

Here we will be looking at a few steps you can take to allow your practice to flow into other areas of your life so that you don’t have to leave your Magick behind you if you move into a different area of your home or need to go to a different location for work.

The reality is that your Magick should be with you wherever you go because your magickal practice is an extension of who you are.  It is a living thing, you create it with your dreams, hopes and intentions as you interact with the Universe and the spaces you occupy.

If you can create spells at your altar for financial abundance or a new partner, then why should that magick be left on the altar when it could be as effective in the space where you are working?

There are many ways that you can allow your magick to be wherever you are working or what your job happens to be!

All that it takes is intention and a few small changes and you can bring magick to your work, irrespective of whatever you do for a living.

I use magick in my workspace because it helps me be happy especially when things get stressful because I can use my magick to help me become more grounded and centred plus it helps me keep smiling.  As I grow, my magick often helps me perform at a higher level than usual which has to be a good thing.

So now let us consider some ways that a workspace can be turned into something of a wytch’s retreat.

a)     try to pick a spot where there is as much natural light as possible

b)     try to include as many of the magickal elements as you can – earth air water fire and spirit

c)      decide on the intention that you want to bring to the space – because your intention should determine which items you use.

Think about what you want to improve in your work environment such as:-

Increased responsibility

More positive relationships

Career improvements

From your list select one or two items and check in with yourself once or twice a month to see how things are improving.    You can always adjust and change these as you feel. 

Remember that you are always in a state of growth and flux so everything should grow and change around you.

Always be mindful of the fact that some of your colleagues might be a little unsettled by magickal items in the work place but there are things that you can comfortably used everyday without drawing attention to yourself

You can bring crystals into your work space without causing anyone concern, they can sit on your desk, they are good to look at and very easy to integrate into your workaday life.

If you don’t feel comfortable having crystals on your desk, you could wear such things as Crystal Pendants, bracelets earrings and even key chains

Pot Pourri can be useful if you want to bring herbs into your workspace, or you could change to drinking herbal teas in the office.  If you are not in an office setting you could carry herbs around in a small cloth bag or even a sachet – if your car is your workspace your magickal herbs can be great air fresheners

If you want to use essential oils then an inexpensive diffuser is a great tool but if a diffuser is not practical simply dab a few drops of your essential oil (diluted in a carrier oil) on your inner wrists.

Finally we all find that sometimes things at work can turn a bit negative, so using the following tools will help bring things back into balance

Pot plants – keep the air and the energy clean

Meditation cushion – this can be used at times during the day or for a gratitude practice

Herbal Pot Pourri – you can use sage for its extra cleansing powers

Thieves Oil – in your diffuser will help clear negativity quickly

An Amethyst crystal – to help combat negativity

A water fountain – improves air quality by adding negative ions to the air plus the sound of trickling water helps with stress and anxiety.

So in conclusion these ideas will give you a starting point to help you bring your Magick into the workspace, however it may be best to begin slowly and remember it is up to you to determine how you bring your Magick into the workplace so that it is aligned with your own personal needs.

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

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” 

We have both a page and a group on Facebook and they are

CauldronFM

CauldronFM – the sound of magick

We have been adding the Cauldron FM radio broadcasts onto our podcast site.  To listen please follow the 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.

Image reproduced courtesy of
Delphine Bowden

A Very Blessed Samhain

Merrie Meet

Samhain is a festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the start of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.

In A Mother's Womb!

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery”.

More About Litha (The Summer Solstice)

Photo by Emma Burne on Unsplash

Merrie Meet & Solstice Blessings

The summer solstice marks the longest day of summer, it is the time at which the Sun (life-giver) is strongest over the powers of darkness.

Litha (Summer Solstice) - (14/06/19)

Merrie Meet

As the wheel continues to turn and we approach the Litha celebrations on or about the 21^st of June, I thought that it might be useful to copy and paste the section from my Book Of Shadows that explains the festival in detail.

Something Of A Confession (31/05/19)

Merrie Meet

I have a confession to make........

Having been away for a few days and being tremendously busy in my day to day, working, life. I have not managed to prepare anything for this week, and so I will have to give you my humblest of apologies and head off back into the shadows to get something sorted for June 7th.

 Don't forget that you can listen to the CauldronFM podcasts by following this link

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

Love, Light and the Brightest of Blessing

Blessed Be

Things That Every Aspiring Wytch Needs (24/05/19)

Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash

Whether you are just starting out on your path into The Craft or are an experienced practitioner, it can be useful to familiarise yourself with some of the basics.  This post contains information about some items for magick that can be found in local shops and people who are among your friends.....

A Simple Meditation Ritual (17/05/19)

Merry Meet - Here Is A Simple Meditation Ritual

A white witch is one of the most spiritual beings, and thrives on learning about spirituality.

Were You Born With Magickal Powers? (03/05/19)

Merrie Meet

I want to begin this week’s post by asking a question – are we born having magickal powers or do we learn them along the way?

About Being A Lazy Wytch (12/04/19)

© wytchwynd photography

Merrie Meet

Thank you for joining me on this week’s blog.  Today I want to explore how you can be a Lazy Wytch, so if it does not take too much effort please read on.

It is likely that you know you really want to devote more time to practicing your craft and to developing your spirituality, but you may have a full time job, long to do lists, and much more going on (including going to school if you are among my younger readers).

There are many of us who fit that description and feel guilty about it…..I know that I sometimes do. 

I often found myself thinking that wytchcraft was not real unless it consisted of many long rituals that were intricate, elaborate and pre-planned and exhausting.  I am pretty sure that this way of thinking affects us all at some point on our journey.

You may also find that like me you start to question how anyone succeeds at being a wytch if they have a family, a job and other significant drains on their time.  If those thoughts are familiar to you then let me ask you a question –

Do you often feel that because you don’t practice your craft you are not really a wytch at all and that you are simply deluding yourself?

OK so you probably answered “yes” to that question but I am here to blow a hole in that thinking…… you already do a lot of daily practices such as taking a walk or having a shower, drinking that morning tea or coffee and probably many more.  So it really is not that you are not able to carry out your wytch practices it is more a matter of how you do them.

So with that knowledge I am sure that you can consider ways you can turn these “mundane” tasks into expressions of your wytchcraft and when you do this then it is real Wytch Craft.

So let me provide you with a few ideas:-

Shower Magick removes anxiety

While you are taking your shower visualise that the energy of the water is washing away your anxiety.  Take some deep breaths (being careful not to inhale the water) and begin to feel your stress and anxiousness running away with the water down the drain and out of your life.

Bring Magick to your kitchen

Cooking or baking can involve craft working in many ways- select your foods based on their correspondences, create a magickal herb garden for cooking use, or you could even create sigils to adorn your baking.

Morning Coffee Productivity Spell

Start by blessing your coffee (or tea) and then stirring it 9 times in a clockwise all the while visualising your desired results (getting work done quickly, completing your to-do list etc) then drink your coffee (or tea), feel the charge of the productivity coursing through you and simply Get Started.

A Magickal Sleep

You can use the moments before you finally settle down to sleep for a relaxing meditation; enchant your pillow; create a quick dream sachet to put inside your pillowcase.  Record your dreams in a dream journal, then go through your dreams to divine any significant meanings.

So in conclusion – I hope that by reading this article you will realise (as I did) that you do not have to beat yourself up about being a Lazy Wytch because you can practice your Craft each and every day in ways that are personal to you and that is the key.

oooOOOooo

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.

©2013 Wytchywnd Photography 

Some Things Moon (05/04/19)

Merrie Meet

Thank you for joining me today on the blog.  

I felt that this week it was important for me to talk and present posts that celebrate the moon in her glory and power.  So I visited my Book of Shadows and extracted the following lunar items to include in this writing.

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