A Witches Goddess

A witch’s primary power (deity) is her or his Goddess.

She is known by many names, derived from many cultures, and all are aspects of the One.

The Moon in its waxing and waning, in its phases of full, new, and dark, is how witches dance with the birth, life, and death of their undertakings and their experiences.

Through ritual and observance, we align ourselves with our Goddess in Her ancient, but perennial, robes of the maiden, mother, and crone.

A priestess will “draw down the Moon,” a process of invocation, within herself to awaken and empower that within each of us that is essential of the Goddess.

She is also the Earth and is known by Her ancient names of Dana, Demeter, Isis, Inanna, Gaia, Brigid, Aphrodite, and Cerridwen, as well as the many others known by individuals and cultures alike.

She is a warrior-goddess, known by such names as Ishtar, Brigantia, Artemis, and Nemesis.

She is Goddess of the dark places, the Underworld, the unconscious, the Fates, and, especially, sorcery and Witchcraft.

She is Persephone, Hecate, Isis, Tiamat, Morgan le-fey, Cerridwr en, Diana, and Aradia

She is Goddess of the stars and space and sea and, therefore, She is Binah, Astarte, Mari, Asherah, and Arianrhod.

She is Goddess of wisdom, learning, and the arts. She is Sophia, Shekinah, Binah, Isis, and Vivienne.

She is the path of the incarnate priestess and witch who is Her representative in our world, and She dwells in seed within all that is female.

She is the sister, lover, mother, ally, and enemy to all that is male, a necessary interplay for the ways of life and death.

Her invocation within priestess and woman makes an inevitable difference to both self and society.

The reverence, passion, and honor given freely to Her by Her priests assures witches of easy alliances irrespective of sexual distinction.

There has been a historically trackable wave of imbalance since the ideology of one male,

omnipotent God became the politically expedient and suppressive tactic,

predominantly over the last sixteen thousand years, principally since the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E.,

when heresy became the “in” crime and the subsequent subjugation of women, culture, learning, freedom, wisdom, and honor was expedient.

The glory of conquest, greed, ownership, power for power’s sake, bigotry, and aggression became the accepted paradigm.

A semblance of rebalancing has begun in the late twentieth century, but there is much to redress.

The Charge of the Goddess

Charges are declarations of the powers of the gods or goddesses involved in the ritual, and are in
themselves empowering and a way of linking the practitioner’s own divine spark with that represented
by the Divinity. They are similar to creeds in Christian religious service.

The Charge of the Goddess is a powerful way of focusing on cosmic energies. The Goddess is
considered to be both ‘transcendent’, or above and beyond the created universe (like the traditional
the idea of God on a cloud, looking down and judging creation!), and also ‘imminent’, or manifest within
every natural object, be it a flower, stone, animal, or person. The two concepts are complementary rather
than contradictory.

Some practitioners feel that charges are an attempt to formalize energies that are beyond definition
within a more conventional spiritual framework and that they are therefore artificial and restricting. If
you have not used them before, I suggest you try working through the meditation given later in this
chapter, to see if it is right for you.

The first and most popular version of the Charge of the Goddess was created by Gerald Gardener’s
High Priestess Doreen Valiente, herself one of the most influential people in formal magical
traditions. Her version of the statement of the unifying principles of the Goddess is widely quoted and
often memorized and sometimes adopted as a focus for trance work. (See page 300 for books
describing her work.)

However, some practitioners, both solitary and those in less formal groups, create their own charges
and may alter them as their confidence and experience of magick increase. You can create your own
charge at the beginning of some rituals, or use an existing one, even if you do not acknowledge the
Goddess as central to your personal spirituality.

You may view the divine force as a more abstract source of light and wisdom, but even so it can be
helpful to personify it as a female (anima) and at the same time male (animus) form. Though the
Valiente charge includes names of deities of both male and female forms, unless these mean
something to you, you may want to exclude them or use names to which you personally relate.
You can refer back to the beginning of this chapter, where I listed a number of gods and goddess
forms, common to magick and drawn from different cultures, that emphasize specific strengths or
qualities of the Divinity.

However, your own list overflows to all who seek and call in need; finally, she is Cailleach, the Veiled One, wise woman,
healer and bringer of dreams, who in the winter of life transforms the old and outworn into new life to
be born with the Maiden in the spring.

‘When the Moon is full, you can call on me, goddess, mother, sister, friend, daughter, and grandmother
of all ages and all places, in joy, for I bring love and plenty. You may also bring me your hopes with
the waxing moon and your sorrows on the wane, for I am with you in all states and stages, when you
call and when you are silent, when you turn to me as an eager child and when you weep solitary tears
in your pillow when your dreams have dissolved into ashes.

‘I hold the key to the mysteries of existence and the universe, but these I will share with all who come
with a willing heart and an open mind. For they are not hidden from you but are all around you in every
season. I am in the Moon as she passes through the sky, in the fertile Earth and the mighty waters, for
I am them as I am part of you, and you of me, and you too are of the same divine fabric as the Moon
and the fertile Earth and the waters, the stars, the sunshine, and the life-giving rain.

‘I do not ask sacrifice or worship, for I come to you in love as a gentle mother, with compassion,
understanding, and forgiveness of those things in your heart that you fear to look on in yourself. I am
fierce, defending my young and my green places and creatures from all who would do them harm, but
I would rather teach than avenge, restore and regenerate.

‘I am the great healer of sorrow, pain, loss and doubt. Through me and through my herbs, oils, crystals
and sacred waters, you can spread my healing wisdom.

As I give life, so in death all return to me to be transformed, renewed and born again. I was with you
in the beginning and will be with you in the end.

‘If you work with honour, love, humility and for the highest good, then you may realise your own
divinity and spread light and fertility throughout the Earth. For what you give, will I restore to you
threefold and more, time without time and forevermore.’

We are of the circle and we are the circle. May the circle be uncast but never broken.
If you are working in a group, you can each recite different parts of the charge, but best of all, through
meditation, alone or as a group, you can work to create your own. If you are a solitary practitioner,
you can read or recite your charge into a candle flame or in a wild, open place, and feel the energies
resounding beyond and within you. You can also use it before divination or as an introduction to a
ceremony for healing or greater understanding.

Meditation can last from five minutes to half an hour or more. In these initial stages, allow your own
psyche to guide you as to when the experience is done. If other members of the group are still
working, this is not a sign that their experience was more profound. Sit quietly or lie down, enjoying
the silence and allowing the images of your meditation to develop quite spontaneously.
If you are working with a group, remain in the circle and pass round a bowl or chalice of pure water.
If you are working indoors with candlelight, arrange the candles so they reflect on the water. As each
person gazes into the water, they can contribute a series of images about what the Goddess represents
to them, which will be stimulated by the meditation. You do not need to use a bowl of water, but it is
a way of directing inner images externally to find expression. Some people prefer to pass round a
crystal ball or a large piece of uncut crystal. A crystal is helpful if you find it difficult to retrieve
images from meditation or if you find meditation unproductive, as the living energies provide a direct
route to your unconscious wisdom.

After your meditation, if you are working alone, surround a clear bowl of water with white candles
and, looking into it, begin to speak. You may like to record your words on cassette to make them
easier to recall. If you do not consciously try to formulate poetic expressions, profound poetry and
rich images will emerge almost from another place. This is the deep pool of collective wisdom
speaking.

Diana Goddess

Diana is a goddess in Roman and Hellenistic religion, primarily considered a patroness of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon.

She is equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, and absorbed much of Artemis’ mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona, and a twin brother, Apollo, though she had an independent origin in Italy.

Diana by Renato Torres (Portalegre), is one of the best and most representative tapestries of the European and Portuguese tapestries of the 20th century.

Diana is considered a virgin goddess and protector of childbirth. Historically, Diana made up a triad with two other Roman deities:

Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god.

Diana is revered in modern neopagan religions including Roman neopaganism, Stregheria, and Wicca.

In the ancient, medieval, and modern periods, Diana has been considered a triple deity, merged with a goddess of the moon (Luna/Selene) and the underworld (usually Hecate).

A Goddess Meditation

You can use this to create your personal or group Charge of the Goddess.
Find a quiet, safe place for meditation where you will not be disturbed and can fall asleep without
coming to any harm, if you naturally drift from a meditative to a sleep state. Choose a time when you
are not too tired and before you begin, have a bath to which a few drops of sandalwood or ylang ylang
oil are added for heightened psychic awareness.
For the meditation, use a focus, for example a bubbling fountain or water feature, fragrant herbs or
flowers, such as lavender or roses, or a scented candle of jasmine, apple blossom, lilac or neroli. (You
can easily make a water feature by setting up a very small electric pump in a deep container in which
you place crystals, greenery, perhaps a tiny statue and some plants.) You can work either alone or as a
group, sitting in a circle round the focus, so that you can see it without moving your neck or head.
Experiment until you get the height of the table and the distances right. For group work, you can light
a circle of candles.
If you are working indoors, and there is no natural harmonious sound, such as the water, you may like
to play softly a CD of rainforest or ocean sounds, birdsong or dolphin calls.
* Light incense sticks of frankincense or myrrh.
* Sit either cross-legged on the floor on a rug or blanket with your hands supporting your knees, in the
lotus position if you are skilled in yoga, or on a chair with both feet flat on the floor. If you wish,
support your back with a pillow and have arm rests on the chair for your elbows. Relax your arms and
hands, with palms uppermost. It is important to be comfortable and not to be distracted by worrying
about keeping in a particular ‘approved’ position.
* Visualise yourself surrounded by a circle of warm, protective light or, if you are using a candle,
gaze into the flame.
* Take a slow, deep breath through your nose, inhaling the light. Hold it for a count of ‘One and two
and three’ and slowly exhale darkness through your mouth.
* Let the circle of light expand and enfold you so that you are bathed in the light. You may find it
easier at this point to close your eyes and to see the light with your inner vision.
* Within the sphere of light, allow the goddess form to build up quite naturally. It may be a familiar
figure or a composite of many different female power icons of beauty, wisdom and grace. She may be
old, young, wise or challenging, according to the qualities you are attracting to meet your as yet,
perhaps, unformulated needs. In different meditations you may see different goddesses and so adapt
the charge accordingly to emphasise particular strengths and qualities they evoke.
* Let words flow about the Goddess and her relationship with the world, nature and the cosmos.
* Do not attempt to hold or recall them, but allow them to ebb, form again and disperse, like waves or
ripples on a pond.
* You may experience colours, lights and fragrances unconnected with the stimuli: sounds of wild
animals or the wind through the trees, a sensation of warmth or coolness.
* When you are aware of the sounds of the world beginning to return and the light fading, gradually
move away from the goddess form, letting the image fade.
* Reconnect with your breathing and allow gentle pink or purple light to radiate within you, leaving
you calm and in a deep pool of inner silence. If you have closed your eyes, open them slowly,
blinking and stretching slowly, like a cat uncurling after sleep.

Luna Goddess

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin Lūna).

She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun, Sol, conceived of as a god.

Luna is also sometimes represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess (diva triformis), along with Proserpina and Hecate.

Luna is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses.

In Roman art, Luna attributes are the crescent moon plus the two-yoke chariot (biga).

In the Carmen Saeculare, performed in 17 BC, Horace invokes her as the “two-horned queen of the stars” (siderum regina bicornis), bidding her to listen to the girls singing as Apollo listens to the boys.

Varro categorized Luna and Sol among the visible gods, as distinguished from invisible gods such as Neptune, and deified mortals such as Hercules.

She was one of the deities Macrobius proposed as the secret tutelary of Rome.

In Imperial cult, Sol and Luna can represent the extent of Roman rule over the world, with the aim of guaranteeing peace.

Luna’s Greek counterpart was Selene. In Roman art and literature, myths of Selene are adapted under the name of Luna.

The myth of Endymion, for instance, was a popular subject for Roman wall painting.

A goddess chooses her God wisely

She enhances her intuition and spiritual discernment using her previous experiences to know what not to accept.

She picks a God who has been disciplined in himself to heal the fragmented parts of his soul.
She allows him to show how he will lead and surrender to her

A goddess doesn’t settle for a man who only wants to please only one of her senses but all of them.

A goddess picks a god of integrity and strength. Built with gentle love and compassion.

A goddess picks a god that knows how to honor his legacy and his name by not making a mockery out of her or his love

A man who went from boy to a god by leaving behind all of his lower desires that cloud his intuition, mind and heart.

So sis. In order to pick a god you have to have initiated self as a goddess by healing and leaving behind the lower desires that cloud your intuition, mind, and heart.

Its time for the real divine unions to unite. We done went through enough to know better.

A god picks a goddess who isn’t blinded by her illusion from trauma.
He picks a goddess that is able to be connected to her emotions she is able to control them when shifting.
He picks a goddess that is able to love fearlessly
A goddess who knows how to multiple his seeds.

He picks a goddess of inner integrity and inner knowing of her power

He picks a goddess who uplifts his spirits and places him on thrones in her mind.
He picks a goddess that respects and surrenders to him
A goddess who doesn’t make a mockery out of their love.
.
They don’t waste time on exchanges that add nothing but turmoil to their life.

A Witch’s God

The witch’s God has been denied!

In His many masks He has been debased, despised, and relegated to a power of evil by a subjective regime that reviles passion and individuality.

You see, our God’s presence in earlier cultures were such a threat to the wiles of the church, simply because of His potency, that they had to formulate their devil in His likeness in an attempt to staunch His influence and deride His people.

He is the Lord of the Dance, and His ways are wild and bountiful.

He is Lord of the Hunt; King Stag; the Green Man, Lord of the Forests; King of the Land, and Lord of the Underworld; Warrior, Enchanter, and Wild Thing-not concepts of God that the missionaries of the church wished to see revered in the hearts of the people they sought to convert and conquer!

To different cultures, He was known as the bull, the stag, the lion, the bear, the eagle, and the ram.

He is named Dionysis, Osiris, Dumuzi, Heme, Apollo, Cu Chulainn, Aengus Og, Yeheshuah, Baphomet, Cernunnos, Llugh, Lucifer, Zeus, Baal, Shamash, Shaitan, Odin, Thor, and Pan.

He is Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Gwydion, Galahad, and most definitely, Robin Hood! Many of the planets are allotted one of His many names.

Most of the days of the week are named for Him.

He is known as the Lord of Life and the Lord of Death is both the good guy and the bad guy, defender, and destroyer.

What is life but all these things? Even in Christian legends, Jesus is known as “first star of the evening.” Lucifer is considered the Morning Star; but that’s Venus! It’s all one light! Venus is also the Goddess, whether as Stellar Mans or Mari Lucifer.

As Dion Fortune wrote, “All Gods are one God, all Goddesses are one Goddess and there is but one initiator.” So, it is so.

He is the consort, brother, son, ally, and enemy of women, and He is the archetype of all men.

Sometimes I figure that’s why so many seem so lost-it is powerful for the spirit to recognize oneself in the archetype of the divine.


The images presented to humanity by monotheists can never be identified with the ever sorrowful, lustless mother/virgin, the ever-meek, ever-so-perfect, sacrificial lamb, despite that, at the source, these two are Goddess and God!

Lammas: Honoring the God Lugh

If your celebrations focus more on the god Lugh, observe the Sabbat from an artisan’s point of view. Place symbols of your craft or skill on the altar—a notebook, your special paints for artists, a pen for writers, other tools of your creativity.

Creed of the Green Witch

I Acknowledge the Unity of the Divine, symbolized by the Divine Androgyne, aspected as fe­ male and male, Goddess and God, form and energy, lunar and solar powers, honored during the Wheel of the Year at Esbats, Sabbats, and sacred days.

I Acknowledge the immanence of the Divine, whose Spirit resides in all things and worlds creating a unity of All in Oneness and kinship through the Goddess and the God.

I Acknowledge that the Elementals Earth, Air, Fire, and Water are extensions of the Goddess and the God, both external and indwelling kith and kin, connecting all through Spirit.

I Acknowledge the immortality of the individual spirit, comforted by the God in Underworld, re­freshed by the Goddess in Summerland, choosing incarnation by form, place, and soul purpose.

I Acknowledge that the God lovingly demonstrates the life cycle in His yearly passage through the Sabbats. He is born as the Oak King of the Goddess as Mother at Yule; cleansed and carried by the Crone into the arms of the Mother at Imbolc to be nourished by the milk of Her love. At Ostara, the Goddess transforms as Maiden and joins the God that They may walk as the Lady and the Lord ofthe Wild Wood to awaken the Earth from the sleep of herself and Crone of Winter.

The God and Goddess unite at Beltane to bring renewal to the Earth, and at their Lithe. wedding, the God shows His face of wisdom and age, turning from Oak King to Holly King as He begets Himself of the Goddess. At Lughnassadh, the God enters into the Goddess aspected as Mother Earth, filling Her abundance with the life essence of His solar energy. He enriches the vines and barley, corn with the essence of His Spirit at Mabon.

He enters into Underworld. leaving the Goddess alone as Mother-to-be and Crone through Autumn and Winter, while He leads the Wild Hunt as the Horned Hunter, gathering the dead to His realm. He rules Under­ world as the Lord of Shadows, where He offers rest, solace, and release of burdens to spirits at the end of each incarnation. At Samhain, the God passes His Spirit through the Goddess, making thin the veil between the worlds by their union of shadow and light, turning the Tomb the Crone into the Womb of the Mother.

At Yule the God as Sage offers His blessing and farewell to the children of the world, then turns His face to join them as the Infant Oak King reborn. Through the Wheel of the Year is the path of perfect love and perfect trust in the Di­vine demonstrated, that we may walk with the Goddess and the God in the bond of love.

I Acknowledge the three great Mysteries: the Ancient God as Father and Son; the Maiden Goddess as Mother and Crone; and the Union of Tomb and Womb for the eternal cycle of life Immortal.

Green Correspondence

A list of correspondences you can find in nature and in the supermarket,

♡ WOODS

  • APPLE — life, longevity, fertility, fairies, the otherworld, afterlife, creativity, love, healing, harmony
  • ASH — water, strength, intellect, willpower, protection, justice, balance, harmony, skill, travel, weather, wisdom
  • BIRCH — cleansing, protection, purification, associated with children
  • CEDAR — healing, spirituality, purification, protection, prosperity, harmony
  • ELDER — protection, prosperity, healing
  • HAWTHORNE — fertility, harmony, happiness, the otherworld, fairies, protection
  • HAZEL — luck, fertility, protection, wishes
  • HONEYSUCKLE — psychic awareness, harmony, healing, prosperity, happiness
  • MAPLE — love, prosperity, life and health, abundance
  • OAK — defense, thunder, strength, courage, healing, longevity, protection, good fortune, fertility
  • PINE — cleansing, purification, healing, clarity of mind, prosperity, protection from evil
  • POPLAR — prosperity, communication, exorcism, purification
  • ROWAN — improving psychic powers, divination, healing, protection from evil, peace, creativity, success, change, transformation
  • WILLOW — moon, water, love, tranquility, harmony, protection, healing
  • WITCH HAZEL — protection, healing, peace
  • YEW — death, spirits, the otherworld

♡ FLOWERS

  • CARNATION — protection, strength, energy, luck, healing
  • DAFFODIL — love, fertility, luck
  • DAISY — love, hope, innocence, associated with children
  • GARDENIA — love, harmony, healing, peace
  • GERANIUM — protection, fertility, love, healing, courage
  • HYACINTH — love, happiness, protection
  • IRIS — purification, blessing, wisdom, peace, harmony, love
  • JASMINE — moon, feminine energy, love, meditation, spirituality, harmony, prosperity
  • LAVENDER — relaxation, sleep, peace, harmony, tranquility, love, purification, healing
  • LILAC — protection, banishing negative energy
  • LILY — protection, death and afterlife, rebirth, cycles
  • LILY OF THE VALLEY — concentration, mental ability, happiness
  • PANSY — divination, communication, happiness, love
  • POPPY — tranquility, fertility, prosperity, love, sleep, invisibility
  • ROSE — healing, divination, tranquility, harmony, love, psychic ability, spirituality, protection
  • SNAPDRAGON — protection, illusion, deception, reflect negative energy
  • SUNFLOWER — sun, happiness, success, health, abundance
  • TULIP — prosperity, abundance, protection, love, happiness
  • VIOLET — peace, hope, harmony, protection, luck, love, sleep, tranquility, fertility, abundance

♡ HERBS

  • ALLSPICE — prosperity, increasing energy, love, healing, luck
  • ANGELICA —protection, purification
  • BASIL — prosperity, success, peace, protection, happiness, purification, tranquility, love
  • BAY — success, wisdom, divination, making a wish
  • CHAMOMILE — prosperity, peace, healing, harmony, happiness
  • CALENDULA — happiness, prosperity, love, psychic powers, harmony
  • CINNAMON — energy (booster), money, success, action, healing, protection, love, prosperity, purification
  • CARAWAY — anti-theft, health, mental abilities, protection, fidelity
  • CLOVE — protection, purification, mental abilities, healing
  • COMFREY — health, healing, protection, travel, prosperity
  • DILL — good fortune, tranquility, prosperity, lust, protection
  • GINGER — energy (booster), kick-starter for love, finances, success
  • MAJORAM — happiness, protection, love, joy, family
  • MINT — prosperity, joy, fertility, purification, love, success
  • MUGWORT — prophetic dreams, divination, relaxation, tranquility, protection, banishing, consecration
  • NUTMEG —psychic abilities, happiness, love, money, health
  • OREGANO — love, courage, action
  • PARSLEY — power, strength, lust, purification, prosperity
  • ROSEMARY —protection, improving memory, wisdom, health, healing
  • SAGE —purification, protection, anxiety, wisdom, health, long life
  • VERBENA —divination, protection, inspiration, abundance, love, peace, tranquility, healing, prosperity, artistic skill, reversal of negativity
  • YARROW — courage, healing, love

♡ FRUITS

  • APPLE — health, longevity, love
  • CHERRY — love
  • PEAR — health, properity, love
  • ORANGE — joy, health, purification
  • LEMON — purification, protection, health
  • LIME — happiness, purification, healing
  • GRAPE — properity, fertility
  • KIWI — fertility, love
  • BANANA — fertility, strength
  • MANGO — spirituality, happiness
  • PEACH — spirituality, fertility, love, harmony
  • PINEAPPLE — prosperity, luck, protection
  • PLUM — love, tranquility
  • MELONS — love, peace
  • STRAWBERRY — love, peace, happiness, luck
  • RASPBERRY — strength, courage, healing
  • BLUEBERRY — tranquility, peace, protection, prosperity
  • BLACKBERRY — prosperity, protection, abundance
  • CRANBERRY — protection, healing

♡ VEGGIES

  • GARLIC — healing, protection, banishing, purification
  • ONION — protection, exorcism, healing, prosperity
  • LETTUCE — fertility, peace, harmony, love, protection
  • CARROTS — fertility, health
  • PEAS — love, abundance
  • CUCUMBER — fertility, healing, harmony
  • POTATOES — fertility, protection, abundance
  • CELERY — love, tranquility, concentration
  • SQUASH — abundance, harmony
  • MUSHROOM — strength, courage, healing, protection
  • LEEK — protection, harmony
  • CAULIFLOWER — protection, prosperity
  • BROCCOLI — protection, abundance
  • BEANS — love, family, protection
  • CABBAGE — protection, prosperity
  • TOMATO — protection, love

Collecting Herbs for Magical Workings

Plants and herbs are a common ingredient in many forms of magic. Whether you are making incense, stuffing a sachet, or brewing a folk remedy, if you practice long enough, you’re eventually going to have a use for them. When that’s the case, you’ll want to use the best possible ingredient.While store bought herbs will do in a pinch, I prefer to harvest my own. This way: you can be confident of freshness, you can establish a relationship with the donor plant, and you can harvest with intent, contributing to the power of the destined spell. Your spell work begins with the gathering of components, so treat the activity with the focus it deserves.

Your Toolkit

The first thing you will need is a cutting tool. Some traditions recommend the use of a sickle-shaped tool with a white handle, called the Boline. Here’s an example of what one looks like:

Personally, I don’t recommend the use of a Boline. Here’s why:

  • They tend to tear the plant instead of cutting it. The jagged edges this leaves behind are more prone to infection, and susceptible to insect attack.
  • They’re conspicuous, and the layman may mistake it for a weapon. Enjoy explaining to a cop that it is a “special knife for witchcraft”.
  • They require considerable care to keep sharp

If your beliefs don’t specifically demand the Boline, I instead recommend a pair of garden pruning shears with white handles. They are affordable, inconspicuous, and designed to do as little damage as possible to the plant.Once you’ve chosen your knife, you should consecrate it. It should never be used for any purpose other than the harvesting of plants. When it isn’t in use, store it near your altar.Next, you’ll need something to carry your herbs in. I use a large linen hip bag with an over the shoulder strap. You’ll also need some twine or string to divide the herbs you’ve collected, and a “harvest journal” so you can take note of the location of plants you find.Finally, you need an offering to thank them for their gift. In magic, there is nothing without sacrifice. In the store, you pay with money. In nature, you can pay with fertilizer. I generally carry around a re-purposed water or soda bottle filled with fertilizer mix.

Finding Your Herbs

Some of us are lucky to live close to forests or natural fields on public land, but for many it can be a challenge to source wild herbs.If you live in a city, find out if there are any nature trails or reserves in your area, then check what their policies are. You can also search for vacant lots, or neighbors with a green thumb. Make sure to ask before helping yourself! Sometimes you can find areas beneath power lines where herbs and flowers are allowed to grow freely. Taking plants from those areas is usually allowed.You should try to avoid harvesting near a road (where the plants will have taken in a lot of pollution), from very small plants, or plants that appear to be sick. You don’t want to eat a sick plant, and you don’t want to kill a plant by taking from it. A good rule of thumb is to never take more than 25% of the plant’s total growth.

Asking Permission

Before you cut the plant, you should take some time to connect with it. Examine it to see if it is healthy. Take your time identifying it. Feel the plant’s energy and let it get to know you. Once you’ve determined that the plant is a good candidate, you should ask its permission to take it.This process is intuitive. Some believe you should ask aloud, others that you can ask silently, communicating with the plant by focusing your intent. Let the plant know what you want to use it for, and invite it to participate with you. Then, wait a few minutes and listen for a response.You should get an impression on whether or not it is okay. This could come in the form of a sensation, such as an inviting warmth, or a chill that turns you away. It could just be a sense of satisfaction. Trust yourself and go with what you sense is right. If you feel unsure or anxious, find another plant.

Harvesting

Using your sharp implement, make a clean, angular cut near a joint. This will make it easier for the plant to heal and regrow. You will want to choose a portion of the plant that is not the oldest (dark and woody), and not the youngest (the lightest with the most budding leaves). A good middle-aged branch is best. Be sure to never take more than 25% of the total plant growth.While you are harvesting the plant, you should focus yourself on the intent of the spell you’re collecting it for. If you’re gathering chamomile for a healing tea, visualize yourself getting well. If you’re casting a money spell, see yourself getting that big cheque! If the goal is a love spell, see yourself with your ideal partner.No specific goal? If you’re harvesting for general purposes or to replenish your stock, you can focus on the properties of the plant, and enforce your intention that it should lend strength to your work.Tie the plants that you have collected into a bundle so that they wont get lost in your other herbs when you put them in your carrying bag.

Giving Thanks

Having taken from the plant, you should give thanks for the gift. Tell it that you’re grateful, and assure it that it wont be misused. Then, provide payment!Pour the fertilizer you brought at the roots of the plant. If you stumbled upon the plant accidentally and don’t have your fertilizer with you, make some other form of offering. Traditionally, a small coin at the base of the plant can show your willingness to give. Don’t litter! The scrap of paper or cloth in your pocket is probably not a suitable offering.Before you go, spend a moment tending to the plant. Clear debris from around it, untangle it from choking weeds and pluck off any dead matter. Practice respect by leaving it in better condition than it was when you found it!

Storing and Preparing for Use

To use the herbs fresh, simply wash them in cool water and pat them dry. They can be kept lively for a few days by putting them in a vase of water and keeping them in a cool area (if your fridge isn’t too cold, that’ll do nicely).If you wont be using them within a few days, or want to put them in a sachet, tea or incense, you will probably need to dry them.Tie a string around the base of a bunch of the washed, dried herbs and suspend them upside down in a warm place with good ventilation. To avoid collecting dust, I like to tie brown paper bags over them. Check them once a week, and take them down when they are dry and brittle, but before they turn to powder beneath your thumb. The length of time they’ll take to dry will vary widely based on your climate and the thickness of the plant.When they’re dry, keep them in a labeled, airtight container for up to six months.

Use Them!

Record any observations you make while working with the herb along with it’s location in your harvest journal. If the plant is particularly fragrant or effective, write it down so you know to go back! If it doesn’t work well for you, make note of that, too.

Green Witchery and Mother Earth

The green witch is a naturalist. She or he harkens back to the old days of healing magick with herbs, spices, and such. The green witch has studied labouriously all their witchy lives to know their flowers, herbs, woods, leaves, spices and how they are to be gathered and used. Just like the healers in medieval times. But not only that, the green witch has always “worshipped” Mother Earth and has always been keen to preserve her and to show the utmost respect and kindness to her. Many are the green witches whom are intent upon not only being in communication with Mother Earth but also to bring others into this way of thinking. No, I certainly do not mean that green witches go about trying to bring others into witchcraft per se, but he or she will try their best to influence others to be kind to Mother Earth, probably more so than the average witch. The green witch is a student, a healer, and a teacher all in one. I can’t say it any better than this:The green witch can show us all a way to maintain Mother Earth more effectively. It is now a time of desperation, in a sense; still, it is a time of pushing forward with all the green ways we can. I would like to think it is not too late, even though the melting ice at the Poles and horrific hurricanes, cyclones, fires and floods can surely make us think differently. But I have never known a witch to say never. And here is where I would like to try to be a service to all, if I can. Whenever possible, I wish to share my knowledge with you via ideas or recipes or whatever I learn in order to help you treat Mother Earth more respectfully and, to save you money in the doing of it. Below, I have listed my favourite recipes for earth-friendly household cleaners. You may already have ones of your own and that is good! Carry on, if you do. This is mainly for those who do not know where to begin as I always try to write to.Window and Mirror CleanerOne half cup of white vinegarOne half cup of plain tap waterTwo teaspoons of boraxTwo or three drops of washing up liquidMix thoroughly to dissolve Borax. Add washing up liquid after. Pour into an old window cleaner spray bottle [you can buy a new one if you please, but I much prefer to use a repurposed spray bottle I already have].The most effective way to get the cleanest windows and mirrors ever is to spray, then wipe clean with bunched up newspaper. You’re killing three birds with one stone – repurposing a plastic bottle what might otherwise end up in our tips or oceans, creating an environmentally friendly household cleanser that is most effective, and you’re not binning an old newspaper…at least, not straightaway.**Ingredient amounts can be halved or doubled as you need.Household Spray CleanerOne Half cup white vinegarOne half cup plain tap waterTwo tablespoons of boraxTwo teaspoons of bicarb of sodaSeveral drops of either Lavender oil or Peppermint oil.Mix the white vinegar and plain tap water, then add the bicarb only one teaspoon at a time. Make sure you are mixing in a large bowl as once you add the bicarb it will fizz up and over the edges of small bowls. Mix continuously with a wooden spoon to slow fizzing and to mix the bicarb sufficiently. After the first teaspoon full has settled, add the second one, and continue mixing entire time to keep fizzing down. Once the bicarb is sufficiently mixed in, add the two tablespoons of borax. Mix well til dissolved. Once you have the mixture dissolved as best you can [do try to get all dissolved to prevent clogging of spray head], add several drops of either Lavender oil or Peppermint oil. Both have anti-bacterial properties. Funnel into a repurposed household cleaner bottle. This is a perfectly safe cleanser to use on any surface, countertops, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, cupboards, appliances. Do not use inside of microwaves. No kind of household cleaner is good to clean microwaves with. There is a better, cheaper, and easier method:How to Clean Your MicrowaveOne cup of plain tap waterOne LemonCut the lemon in half and squeeze juice into water. If there is room in the cup without overflow, toss in the halves if you wish! Sit cup in your microwave and set for five minutes. Carefully remove the cup of water because it will be boiling. Using a clean sponge or clean dampened cloth, wipe down the inside of your microwave. Old food and grease will come off a treat! And, this is safer because you are not putting chemicals inside your microwave which may linger and get into your food.Vegetable and Fruit CleanerOne half cup of white vinegarOne half cup of plain tap waterTwo teaspoons of bicarb20 drops of Grapeseed ExtractMix the white vinegar and plain tap water, then add the bicarb only one teaspoon at a time. Make sure you are mixing in a large bowl as once you add the bicarb it will fizz up and over the edges of small bowls. Mix continuously with a wooden spoon to slow fizzing and to mix the bicarb sufficiently. After the first teaspoon full has settled, add the second one, and continue mixing entire time to keep fizzing down. Once the bicarb is sufficiently mixed in, add the twenty drops of grapeseed extract. It is crucial to add this ingredient as it helps to kill any and all bacteria left on your fruit and veg after normal cleaning. Pour into a clean spray bottle never used for harsh household cleaners. Here is a good time to purchase a new spray bottle but take care to always use it and not buy a new one each time.**melon fruits must still be cleaned properly before cutting because although the inside is protected from pesticides and bacteria, the outer rind is not. You can use this to clean it with before you cut it open as the knife can and will drag pesticides and bacteria into the fruit if you don’t. The easiest way to clean small berries such as blueberries is to place them in a bowl and pour some of the cleaner over them, allow it to sit about five minutes and then pour into a colander / sieve and rinse thoroughly.

Center and Ground

This is an essential magical technique that ties
especially well into self-care. It’s a practice that can
calm agitated personal energy, replenish low personal
energy, and create a sense of belonging, connection,
and reassurance.
Center and Ground
This is the first thing you should do before engaging in any
kind of magical work, to ensure that you don’t drain your
personal energy during the working.
What to Do:
1. Close your eyes and take three slow breaths.
2. Visualize a light in the core of your body. What you
consider your body’s core is up to you; some people
locate it around the heart, others, the solar plexus or
lower in the abdomen. What’s important is that it makes
sense to you as the location of your core.
3. Visualize a tendril of light growing down from your core
toward the ground. See it reach down through the
surface, deep into the earth’s core. Visualize your tendril
of energy meeting the energy of the earth. Draw some of
the earth’s energy up that tendril as if it were a straw,
bringing it up into your body. Let the energy of the earth
fill you.
4. If you are tired or low on energy, you can use this earth
energy to replenish or rebalance yourself.
5. If you are jumpy or buzzing with extra energy that’s
making you jittery or flighty, then once you have
connected your energy to that of the earth, visualize
some of your personal energy bleeding off to be
absorbed by the earth.
This process can be easier to visualize if you imagine
the energy of the earth to be a different color from your
personal energy.
Circles
A magic circle is an energy barrier created to
delineate a sacred space in which to worship, a
container created to protect what is inside or to keep
unwanted energy out, and provides a way to collect
focused energy while it is raised before that energy is
released toward a goal. You might not always need a
circle, but how to cast one is a good technique to know
because the circle can also function as a personal
shield to ward off negative energy.

Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling

It is no great problem in ethnology or anthropology as to how gypsies- became fortune-tellers.We may find a very curious illustration of it in the wren.This is apparently as humble, modest, prosaic little fowl as exists, and as far from mystery and wickedness as an old hen.But the ornithologists of the olden time, and the myth-makers, and the gypsies who lurked and lived in the forest, knew better.They saw how this bright-eyed, strange little creature in her elvish way slipped in and out of hollow trees and wood shade into sunlight, and anon was gone, no man knew whither, and so they knew that it was an uncanny creature, and told wonderful tales of its deeds in human form, and today it is called by gypsies in Germany, as in England, the witch-bird, or more briefly, chorihani,  “the witch.”Just so the gypsies themselves, with their glittering Indian eyes, slipping like the wren in and out of the shadow of the Unknown, and anon away and invisible won for themselves the name which now they wear.Wherever Shamanism, or the sorcery which is based on exorcising or commanding spirits, exists, its professors from leading strange lives, or from solitude or wandering, become strange and wild-looking.When men have this appearance people associate with it mysterious power.This is the case in Tartary, Africa, among the Eskimo, Lapps, or Red Indians, with all of whom the sorcerer, voodoo or medallion, has the eye of the ” fascinator,” glittering and cold as that of a serpent.So the gypsies, from the mere fact of being wanderers and out-of-doors livers in wild places, became wild-looking, and when asked if theydid not associate with the devils who dwell in the desert places, admitted the soft impeach merit, and being further questioned as to whether their friends the devils, fairies, elves, and goblins had not taught them how to tell the future, they pleaded guilty, and found that it paid well, went to work in their small way to improve their ” science,” and particularly their pecuniary resources.It was an easy calling; it required no property or properties, neither capital nor capitol, shiners nor shrines, where unto work the oracle.And as I believe that a company of children left entirely to themselves would form and grow up with a language which in a very few years would be spoken fluently, so I am certain that the shades of night, and fear, pain, and lightning and mystery would produce in the same time conceptions of dreaded beings, resulting first in demonology and then in the fancied art of driving devils away.For out of my own childhood experiences and memories I retain with absolute accuracy material enough to declare that without any aid fromother people the youthful mind forms for itself strange and seemingly supernatural phenomena.A tree or bush waving in the night breeze by moonlight is perhaps mistaken for a great man, the mere repetition of the sight or of its memory makes it a personal reality.Once when I was a child powerful doses of quinine caused a peculiar throb in my ear which I for some time Believed was the sound of somebody continually walking upstairs.Very young children sometimes imagine invisible playmates or companions talk with them, and actually believe that the unseen talk to them in return.I myself knew a small boy who had, as he sincerely believed, such a companion, whom I called Bill, and when he could not understand his lessons he consulted the mysterious William, who explained them to him.There are children who, by the voluntary or involuntary exercise of1visual perception or volitional eye-memory,2 reproduce or create images that they imagine to be real, and this faculty is much more commoner than is supposed.In fact, I believe that where it exists in most remarkable degrees the adults to whom the children describe their visions dismiss them as ” fancies ” or falsehoods.Even in the very extraordinary cases recorded by Professor Hale, in which little children formed for themselves spontaneously a language in which they- conversed fluently, neither their parents nor anybody else appears to have taken the least interest in the matter.However, the fact being that babes can form for themselves supernatural conceptions and embryo mythologies, and as they always do attribute to strange or terrible-looking persons power which the latter do not possess, it is easy, without going further, to understand why a wild Indian gypsy, with eyes like a demon when excited, and unearthly-looking at his calmest, should have been supposed to be a sorcerer by credulous child-like villagers.All of this I believe might have taken place, or really did take place, in the very dawn of man’s existence as a rational creature—that as soon as ” the frontal convolution of the brain which monkeys do not possess,” had begun with the “genial tubercle,”‘ essential to language, to develop itself, then also certain other convolutions and tubercules, not as yet discovered, but which ad interim I will call ” the ghost-making,” began to act.” Genial,” they certainly were not—little joy and much sorrow has man got out of his spectro-facient apparatus—perhaps if it and talk are correlative he might as well, many a time, have been better off if he were dumb.

Gypsy

Gypsy is based on the word Egyptian and refers to Little Egypt or lesser Egypt. The people who came from this area on the outskirts of Egypt were highly skilled in natural magick and were especially gifted in their ability to divine the future. A cast of turbulent wanderers, the Gypsies travelled through Europe during the Middle Ages.

By the early 16th century, the Gypsies had spread across Europe. They were extremely clannish and did not marry or socialize outside of their bloodline. They lived, travelled, and worked in family groups called cumpanias.

The Gypsies were vagabonds, travelling in ornate horsedrawn wagons or caravans know as vardos. Living off the land, the Gypsies subsisted off their magickal and divinatory talents.

Famous for their powerful love potions, protection charms, and psychic abilities, the Gypsies were often the targets of Christian persecution.

Even though the Gypsies all but disappeared, their legacy of magick survived. Today, through historical and magickal text, it is possible to learn about the Gypsies’ way of life, and legendary magickal ways.

Gypsies

Gypsies Nomadic, are people who probably emerged out of northern India around the 10th century and spread throughout Europe, the British Isles and eventually America.

Gypsy tradition has little in the way of its own religious beliefs but is steeped in magic and superstition.

From their earliest known appearance in Europe in the 15th century, Gypsies have been renowned practitioners of magical arts, and they undoubtedly influenced folk magic wherever they went.

During the Renaissance, they were associated with witches and witchcraft, and many were persecuted and executed as such.

In addition, Gypsies were met with hostility and suspicion from populations wherever they went, which added to their persecution, banishment and deportation.

In England, it became unlawful to be a Gypsy in 1530; the law was not repealed until 1784.

The first record of Gypsies in Europe is in 1417 in Germany, although it is quite likely that they arrived in Europe much earlier.

They came as Christian penitents and claimed to be exiles from a land called “Little Egypt.” Europeans called them “Egyptians,” which became corrupted as “Gypsies.”

Their language, Romany, is related to Sanskrit, and many of their customs have similarities to Hindu customs.

The Gypsies also absorbed the religious and folk customs of the lands through which they traveled, and many of their practices contain
strong Christian and pagan elements.

Very little is known about early Gypsy practices; most of the present knowledge comes from observations and records from the 19th century on.

It is not known what led the Gypsies to leave India.

Various legends exist as to their origins and why they were condemned to wander the earth: They were Egyptians scattered by Yahweh (Jehovah, or God); they were survivors of Atlantis, left without a homeland; they had refused to help the Virgin Mary during her flight to Egypt; they had forged three nails for Christ’s cross of crucifixion. Voltaire proposed that they were descendants of the priests of Isis and followers of Astarte.

The Gypsies’ lack of religious creed is explained by an interesting Turkish legend:

When religions were distributed to the peoples of the earth a long time ago, they were written down to preserve them.

Rather than write in books or on wood or metal, the Gypsies recorded their religion on a cabbage.

A donkey came along and ate the cabbage.

The Gypsy universe is populated with various deities and spirits. Del is both God and “everything which is above”—the sky, heavens and heavenly bodies.

Pharaun is a god said to have once been a great pharaoh in the Gypsies’ long-lost “Little Egypt.”

Beng is the Devil, the source of all evil.

Like Christians, Gypsies believe the Devil is ugly, with a tail and a reptilian appearance, and has the power to shape-shift.

Legends exist of pacts with Beng.

Moon worship and fire worship are extensive among Gypsies; they apparently have not worshiped the Sun to any significant degree.

The Moon is personified by the god Alako, defender of Gypsies and taker of their souls after death.

Alako originally was Dundra, a son of God sent to earth to teach humans law, who ascended to the Moon when he was finished and became a god (compare to Aradia).

Fire is considered divine, with the ability to heal, protect, preserve health and punish the evil.

The cult of Bibi concerns worship of a lamia-like goddess who strangles gorgio (non-Gypsy) children by infecting them with cholera, tuberculosis and typhoid fever.

Gypsies also practice phallus worship and an animistic worship of objects, such as anvils. The horse and the bear are regarded as godlike beings.

Gypsies have a strong fear of death and the dead, and numerous taboos govern the way they deal with the dead and dying.

All of a dead person’s possessions, including his animals, are considered polluted and will haunt the living unless they are destroyed or buried with him.

This practice has dwindled since the 19th century, as a result of economic factors and the lessening of the Gypsies’ nomadic life-styles.

A great fear exists that the dead are angry at being dead and will return as vampires to avenge their deaths iron fences sometimes are constructed around graves in order to keep the corpses from escaping.

The Gypsies also seek to appease a vampire god by leaving out rice balls and bowls of milk or animal blood.

The names of the dead are believed to have magical power and are used in oaths and invocations.

The Gypsy witch is almost without exception a woman; she is called a chovihani.

She uses her occult powers according to need, to bless and heal or curse and kill.

Within the Gypsy community, she is not respected for her magical powers per se but for the money she brings in by servicing the gorgio (non-Gypsy) population.

The rise in witchcraft and folk-magic activity in Europe and the British Isles in the 15th and 16th centuries probably was influenced by the spread of the Gypsies.

The chovihani is said either to inherit her ability or acquire it in childhood through intercourse with a water or earth demon while sleeping.

Like gorgio witches, Gypsy witches are said to have an odd or ugly appearance and to possess the evil eye.

Of all the magical arts, the chovihani is best known for divination and fortune-telling, especially by crystal-gazing or reading palms, the Tarot and tea leaves.

The chovihani prescribes a multitude of charms to address virtually any situation; many of them involve blood and urine, two common ingredients in folk magic because of their sympathetic magic properties .

Most illness is ascribed to evil spirits, and the chovihani can heal by exorcising these spirits in a trance possession ritual.

Bird omens are important. The owl is a harbinger of death while the swallow, cuckoo and water-wagtail are signs of good fortune.

Magical rites are performed in conjunction with baptisms, marriages and divorces.

A newborn infant is unclean.

Baptism removes the taboo and protects it from evil.

Baptisms consist of immersion in running water, or tattooing.

Two names are given, one of which is kept secret in order to fool the Devil and evil spirits.

Some baptisms are done within a magic circle.

Baptisms are often repeated for good luck.

In marriage ceremonies, the newlyweds sometimes step over a broomstick and receive Salt, bread and wine.

In divorce, the broomstick ritual is reversed.

Another divorce ritual calls for sacrificing a horse by stabbing it in the heart and letting it bleed to death.

Garden Themes For The Green Witch

A green witch will design her/his garden to what they hope to achieve and the available space they have to do it in. Also, look at your climate and altitude when planning your garden.

You can plant what herbs, flowers, and plants you will use the most, or plants that are specifically associated with the magickal arts. For example, gardenia could be sown for spiritual awareness; rosemary and lily improve willful focus, and so on.

You can also pattern your garden. There are many different symbols, styles, and patterns out there to choose from. An obvious pattern would be a pentagram. Other ideas are runes, hermetic emblems, a symbol honoring your personal god or goddess, even Egyptian hieroglyphs.

There are many different themes that you can use for planting your magickal garden. Here is a list of a few and their descriptions.Fairy Garden:

Work well on a small scale. For a general array of plants, those said to please the Fey you want to attract, include heather, clover, hawthorn, hazel, oak, ash, primrose, roses, straw, strawberries, and thyme. Whatever you plant should be set into a circle, making a beautiful fairy ring! If you want to attract a certain type of fairy, here are some ideas.Water Fairies:make sure to have a bird bath, fountain, or other water source in this garden. Flower and plant choices include: grapes, catnip, chamomile, spearmint, thyme, aster, birch, crocus, daffodil, daisy, foxglove, gardenia, heather, iris, lily, morning glory, mosses, pansy, and willow.Earth Fairies:

Rocks and rich soil help to make this garden. Flora choices include: alfalfa, mushroom, peas, sorrel, vervain, ferns, honeysuckle, ivy, magnolia, oleander, primrose, and tulips.

Air Fairies:Include a gathering of feathers or wind chimes in this garden. Choices for plants include: beans, mulberry, parsley, lemon grass, marjoram, mint, savory, sage, clover, dandelion, lavender, meadowsweet, pansy, and violet.Fire Fairies:Try to include some kind of solar imagery in this garden, perhaps a pot that features a sun in splendor. Choices for greenery include: chives, squash, sloe, basil, dill, garlic, lovage, rosemary, cactus, carnation, hawthorn, juniper, marigold, poppy, snapdragon, sunflowers, and thistle.Meditation Garden:Pattern for this would be like a Mandela, or other peace symbol. You can create this one two different ways. One way would be to use plants and flowers that visually, spiritually, and aromatically motivate or deepen your meditative state. Examples of this kind of flora are: hyacinth, magnolia, lavender, and gardenia, or any others that are you personal favorites. The second way to create this garden would be to make a Zen rock garden. This type is usually made of sand and various sized stones with only a few plants mingling in as the energy flow dictates. These kind are low maintenance, but remember that you can make designs in the sand to resemble ripples, symbols, etc.Dye Garden:If you’re interested in making your homemade dyes for your magickal wardrobe, grow things like dock (black), marigold (yellow and orange), broom (green), wode (indigo/blue), saffron (yellow), madder (yellow-green), zinnia (greenish-grey), and safflower (red).Aromatherapy Garden:This can be done two ways also. First you can create it as a sacred space where the energy of the aromatics lifts your spirits. If you do this, you want flowers and herbs geared towards your own personal needs. The second way would be to plant those herbs and flowers that you would use regularly in making your magickal oils, perfumes, incenses, and potpourris.Goddess/God Garden:For those that follow a specific deity, you can also dedicate your magickal garden to them. Place statues of them in the garden, preferably in the center. Around the statue or other form of resemblance of your deity, plant the herbs and flowers that are sacred to them. This is a good way to help you stay connected to your chosen deity as well as honor them.Moon Garden:A garden is a very different place under the enchantment of the moon. The moon is the mistress of magick, and the ancient rules of gardening fall mostly under her divine sway. The pale, ethereal scents and sounds of a moon garden give a quiet meditative bliss. These gardens unveil their beauty only at night. Flowers to include in a moon garden are: datura, nicotiana, jasmine, gardenia, camellias, white lilies, and pale poppies. These bloom at night and add pale lunar mystery throughout your garden.Sun Garden:A garden of this nature would have plants that represent the Sun and its life giving power. Plants to include in this garden are: sunflowers, marigolds, chrysanthemums, and heliotrope (this one is poisonous and should not be ingested, but planted in the garden, it banishes evil spirits and gloom).Water Garden:Water in a garden is the blood life—without it, you have a desert. Water spirits love to play in a garden that welcomes them. Water gardens bring emotional release, relaxation, meditative joy, deep psychic power, and loving healing. A spring or well is the most powerful water magick in a garden. Nymphs live in springs and wells form special gateways into the other world. If a small creek runs through your garden or if you are living near a pond, the watery powers that gently sweep physically and energetically through your garden are gentle and revitalizing. They take ill or dark energies into their watery embrace and replace them with calm and ease. If none of these watery energy sources are in your garden, then a small fountain, birdbath, or artificial fishpond is recommended. (Remember that certain fish, like koi (carp), are said to bring money.) This water source will be the “feeling heart” of your garden and should be kept up with clean vital water. Your water spot will be a great healing center for emotional and physical problems. Some plants to include in a water garden are: lemon balm, burdock, Solomon’s seal, cress, lotus, asters, water hyacinths, irises, willow trees, and birch trees.Fire Garden:Fire can also be honored in your garden theme. This would represent the Sun (another garden theme already mentioned) that is the basic energy of all living things. You can sow plants that honor Fire and that protect oneself from unwanted fire energy. Energy and power are needed for growth. A representation of Fire can be a fire pit, a lamp, a simple outdoor lantern, or a stone lantern (these are used in Asian gardens to balance the elemental feng-shui—to provide a balance of fire energy with the graceful water spot). Some plants that ward off fire are: St. John’s Wort, snapdragons, mistletoe, and the larch tree. Other plants, trees, and herbs to sow in your Fire Garden are: alder, ash, rowan, pine, oak, hawthorn, carnations, anemones, marigolds, yucca, fireweed, sunflowers, basil, bay, rosemary, peppermint, mullein, garlic, goldenseal, dill, and fennel.Love Garden:Flowers are the most powerful love magick, just ask anyone who courts a lady or the lady that is adored. Who would not want to have a garden that drew love to them. Flowers to include in a Love Garden are: roses (of course!), periwinkle, honeysuckle, columbine, pansies, daffodils, violets, lavender, bachelor’s buttons (for men), peppermint, marjoram, Lovage, ginseng, yarrow, rosemary, catnip, and basil. Some trees you can include are: almond, birch, beech, hawthorn, linden, myrtle, maple, and juniper.Healing Garden:Plants are, of course, the origin of almost all healing medicines. The garden in ancient times (and even today) functioned as Mother Nature’s pharmacy as well as her pantry. Millions of healing plants exist and still more are being found each day. Yet healing has always been an art that has focused on more than just the physical; the energies of the garden also promote healing of the spirit, the heart, and the mind as well as the body. Of course, simply sitting or lying in the garden will help heal you. Prepare a light herbal tea, inhale the perfume from a healing flower or herb, and let Mother Nature fill you with her healing touch. Here are some herbs and plants to include in a Healing Garden: St. John’s Wort, lemon balm, burdock, fennel, garlic, mullein, horehound, peppermint, red carnations, honeysuckle, white carnations, red geraniums, gardenias, rowan tree, ash tree, birch tree, and oak tree.As you can see, there is no limit as to how you can create your garden! There are Lucky Gardens, Ghostly Gardens, Money Gardens, Friendly Gardens, and more

Garden of Compassion

In this garden, you place a separate candle for each person who has asked you for magickal help. You use large candles for ongoing work, such as for someone with cancer or a heart condition, or for a child with special needs. You use smaller candles for people who are experiencing temporary challenges such as failed relationships, lost jobs, illnesses, or crossed conditions. Tea lights are good for single wish me-luck lightings, for someone who has a court date, a job interview, or an exam, for example. Candle colors for this garden can relate to each issue, such as white for protection or uncrossing, blue for hope or truth, green for healing or acceptance, brown for balance or grounding, pink for love or happiness, and so on. You might instead choose a candle because it reminds you, in some way, of the person for whom you charge it to work magick. The garden might also contain charms of compassion such as a jade plant, a rose quartz heart, or an image of Kwan Yin, Lady of Compassion. Lotus and sandalwood incense are appropriate choices to burn with the candles. When activating this garden, focus on sending energy to each person as you light his or her candle. To prevent depletion, make sure that when you raise power for this, you gather it from sunlight, storms, moonlight, trees, wind, or other natural sources instead of using your personal power

Hedgewitches Spellwork: The Gardening Tools of Belief

In a recent A & E Biography interview, I was asked what constitutes a “spell.” I wasn’t surprised at the question, because those who have never cast a spell find the process alluring but
(thanks to the negative programming of some religious sects) frightening. Personally, I find
spells fascinating, and I’ve been working them for over twenty years! Spells are nothing more
than tools to focus the mind and support your beliefs in a positive way, to bring your desires
to fruition through the means of quantum physics (energy manipulation). Spellwork focuses
the mind on a specific subject in a specific way, many times using an activity (such as burning
a candle) to bring the two parts of your belief (conscious and subconscious) into alignment.
Words and tools are used together to poise your mind at its most capable point of manifestation. When you cast a spell, you are throwing out your energy net through words and actions
to bring something to you, whether that something is a new car or inner harmony. Choos-
ing your words and your tools carefully and succinctly becomes very important, because it is
not the universe you have to convince that you deserve whatever it is you want, it is yoursel£
Therefore, the tools and words of a spell are mental garden stepping stones that should:
(a) pull in divine energy through positive, uplifting thought and behavior,
and
(b) align your conscious and subconscious beliefs.
If the spell does not do both of these things for you, your desire will not manifest.

Planting by the Moon

To make moon planting really simple, when the moon is a new moon, this is not the time to plant anything.

However, just after you see the first crescent you can start planting as this is when there is a surge of energy through the plants and the sap begins to rise through the stems.

The best zodiac signs to plant during the first quarter is when the moon is in a water sign, such as Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

When the moon is waxing towards the first quarter, that is when the light of the moon is increasing from a new to a full moon, this is the time to plant leafy crops, cereals, grains and other crops and flowers that produce growth above the ground.

You can start to sow seeds, transplant seedlings and graft plants when the moon is waxing.

When the moon is in the first quarter and is moving towards a full moon you can also plant ground crops that have inside seeds such as tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers etc.

It is also the time to plant annuals and flowers that you want to produce showy and fragrant flowers such as roses.

The last two days of the first quarter, just before the full moon is considered an ideal time for grafting fruit trees.

Again the best zodiac signs for sowing and planting your moon garden are during the first quarter when the moon is in a water sign, such as Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

When the moon is a full moon all plants are at their peak.

However, over the next two weeks as the moon loses its light it also loses its energy and the moon is waning to the third quarter.

This is the time to harvest your crops, your herbs, especially medicinal herbs which will be more potent if picked at this time, mushrooms, grapes and of course it is the time to prune.

This is the time to plant crops and flowers that produce growth below the ground such as root crops, tubers and bulbs and for flowers, your biennials and perennials, and the perennials can be divided now too.

Therefore it is time to plant onions, potatoes, carrots, swedes, turnips, beets, parsnips and radishes.

It is also the time to plant trees, fruit trees and saplings towards the end of the waning period and any spraying of fruit trees should be done during this period of the moon phase.

You can also plant strawberries and their runners out now and if you have any vegetables or fruit that will have to be stored for a long period of time, such as apples, potatoes, pumpkins etc. if you pick them now they won’t rot as quickly.

During the last or fourth quarter this is a barren phase for moon gardening where it more prudent to do some tidying up in your garden, pull the weeds, see to the compost heap, spread the manure and turn over the beds.

Now wait for the first crescent of the new moon to plant new seeds.