and open to Her Wisdom."
8th Day of the 1st Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Kore
Lunar Tree Cycle of Beith/Birch
19th Day of the Celtic Tree
Month of Beith/Birch
8th Day of the Cycle of Imbolgen -
Days of Reclaiming
Moon Phase: waxing Crescent
Moon rises: 11:01AM EST
Moon sets: 11:59PM EST
Moon in the Cardinal Fire Sign
of Aries
Blodeuwedd's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The potency
of dreams enacted.
Sun in Capricorn
Sunrise: 7:43AM EST
Sunset: 5:13PM EST
Solar Question for the Day: "Which
old desires do you need to
relinquish?"
Samhain (Calan Gaeaf) Quarter
of the Year
January 11th, 2010
Tiu's Day - Mars Day, the Day of Activity and Physicality, Passion, and Desire. There are Major magickal energies today for rites/spells regarding Competition and Personal Advocacy.
Rites and Rituals -
A ritual is a series of thoughts, words, and actions performed to bring about a specific result. A series of Rites can go to make up a Ritual. Rites and Rituals are not confined to Witchcraft or magickal working, although these are the contexts to which we tend to relate these terms. To clarify: your 'Ritual of getting up' could be broken down like this: 'the Rite of Waking', and then 'the Rite of visiting the bathroom', the Rite of making a cup of tea or coffee', and so on. In the Craft we use the term Rites to define pieces of magickal working such as creating the Sacred Space, raising power, working a spell, and so on. These Rites can then be placed together to form a Ritual for a specific purpose, which could be the working of magick, the celebration of a life event, or maybe a festival.
Magick and Spells -
Magick is often defined as the ability to create change through the application of will. A spell is defined by the dictionary as a magickal formula, but in the Craft we consider it to be more of a process, as magick is not just the doing or saying of things in a certain order. Many Witches do not use the word 'spell' to describe their magickal working as it tends to conjure up somewhat simplistic images from fiction and mythology rather than expression the true process of harnessing and focusing internal and external energies to create change.
Incantations and Chants -
Many people expect a 'spell' to be, or at least to include, a few rhyming lines which are repeated or even chanted to make something happen. This would be an incantation, and some Witches do use them as a part of their magickal process. But it is not necessary to have poetic ability to make magick work.
Chants are verses or songs, usually chanted Witches working in a group. They are most often used in the Craft as technique for raising power, that is the harnessing and focusing of energies of the group. Some Solitary Witches also use chants, but often within their heads rather then out loud.
Charms, Talismans, Totems, Etc...
These are objects which are magickally charged so that they may be placed where the magick is desired to work or which may be carried on the person. The definitions between them are often blurred but frequently Talismans are paper or parchment with symbols to represent the magickal intent, whereas Charms are frequently jewelery, stones or other objects. Totems are usually a group of objects which are kept together, often in a Totem Bag, which represent a grouping of things or people. A Totem Bag may contain objects to represent each of your family members with the intent of bonding the family together. You may also come across other terms used to describe these kinds of magickal artifacts, such as Amulet - usually a charm, which is worn with a protective intent. Sometimes you will have to assess
the meaning of a term by the intent and the purpose for which it is intended.
Words of Power -
From time to time you may hear, or read about 'words of power', and some people do believe that there are, out there somewhere, special words which if said in a special way will create magickal effects. This belief is more appropriate to the realm of the Ritual Magician than that of the Witch. It is true that resonances and vibrations, which are found in many things, can be utilized to help make change. However, their magical 'power' comes from the way in which the practitioner can bring those energies into balance with the elements both within and without.
Having said that, it is worth remembering that all words can have the power to make change, depending on how you say them and who you say them to! This is why in the Craft we tend emphasize the need to think before you speak or, for that matter, act.
~~~ these little bits of information come from Kate West's book "The Real Witches' Book of Spells and Rituals" ~~~
We frequently feel hesitant to make up 'our own words and actions'. But often they work best. Think about it - if you voice you own subconscious thoughts aloud then your energies will be more aligned with what you are trying to change. In a recent book I read by Jodie Picoult ("Salem Falls") there are found teenage girls who experimenting with magick on their own. One of the ways they would 'purify' themselves for casting a quick spell was to drink salt water.. Think about it - while often we are encouraged to take a 'cleansing ritual bath' before doing magickal workings, don't you think drinking a little salt water can achieve the same results?? And a little chant they came up one time while trailing a ring of cinnamon around themselves was: "Set me apart from the world of man. Set me apart from the world of Spirit. Hold me between the two, so I might work my magick" So experiment yourself and see what you can come up on the spur of the moment for the change you wish to make.
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