Magical Oils
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#Magic #TLBWB #HighPriest #Witchcraft #Wizard #Witch #Imbolc #BookOfShadows #WheelOfTheYear #MagicalHerbs #MagicalOils #Incense #Pentacle #MagicCircle #MagicSpell #Grimoire
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Imbolc
Imbolc is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring. It is held on 1 February, which is about halfway between the Yule (Winter Solstice) and the Ostara (Spring Equinox). Imbolc is mentioned in early Irish literature, and there is evidence suggesting it was also an important date in ancient times. It is believed that Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the Goddess Brigid.
The festivities on the feast of Brigid did not begin to be recorded in detail until the early modern era. In recent centuries it was marked by the making of Brigid’s crosses and a doll-like figure of Brigid would be paraded from House-To-House by girls. Brigid was said to visit one’s home on the eve of the festival. To receive her blessings, people would make a bed for Brigid and leave her food and drink, and items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless. Brigid was also evoked to protect homes and livestock. Special feasts were had, holy wells were visited, and it was a time for divination.
It has also been argued that originally the timing of the festival was more fluid and based on seasonal changes. It is associated with the onset of the lambing season he beginning of preparations for the spring sowing, and the blooming of blackthorn. Holy Wells were visited, spring or small pool of water revered either in a pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guardian spirit. They often have local legends associated with them as they were during some of the other Gaelic festivals. Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking sunwise clockwise was considered the “Prosperous Course”, turning from east to west in the direction of the sun, around the well. They would then leave offerings, typically coins. Water from the well was used to bless the home, family members, livestock, and fields. In Celtic regions, strips of cloth are often tied to trees at holy wells, known as clootie wells.
Imbolc is the traditional time for initiations. Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is “Reborn” into a new role. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites is called an initiate.
Brigid so loved as a pagan Goddess that her worship was woven. She is a Goddess of healing, poetry and smith craft. She is a Goddess of Fire, of the Sun and of the Hearth. Bridget brings fertility to the land and its people and is closely connected to midwives and new-born babies. She is the Triple Goddess, but at Imbolc she is in her Maiden aspect.
Other Ways to Imbolc
You don’t have to create an altar to celebrate Imbolc, although it can be a fun way to get your craft on. Other fun ways are to plant seeds, bake a cake light candles. As I’ve already mentioned, you can celebrate however you want. However, consider incorporating these symbols that are attributed to Imbolc:
- A Bridig Cross.
- The snowdrop.
- The swan.
- The flame.
- The serpent.
- Sheep.
- Imbolc colors are white, silver and green.
- Herbs of Imbolc are blackberry, coltsfoot, ginger.
- Trees of Imbolc are rowan and willow.
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The Lost Bearded White Brother
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#Magic #TLBWB #HighPriest #Witchcraft #Wizard #Witch #Samhain #BookOfShadows #WheelOfTheYear #MagicalHerbs #MagicalOils #Incense #Pentacle #MagicCircle #MagicSpell #Grimoires
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Samhain
Samhain is a Witchcraft religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. In modern times, Samhain is usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1 to welcome in the harvest and usher in “The Dark Half Of The Year”. Celebrants believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and denizens of the Otherworld.
Samhain is one of the major festivals of the Wheel of the Year, for many Witchcraft the most important festival of all. It is the third and final harvest festival of nuts and berries and a fire festival. All the harvest is in, all is complete, it is the end of the cycle of birth and growth, it is the point of death. The seeds of the harvest have fallen deep into the dark earth, they are unseen, dormant, and thus apparently lifeless.
Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the Mabon and the Yule. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered. After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with High Priest to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth.
The God, as Sun King is sacrificed back to the land with the seed until the Yule, and the Goddess, now as Crone, mourns Him until His rebirth at Yule. He travels the Underworld learning its wisdom. This is the time of the descent into darkness, of pre-conception, out of which new life, new ideas, will eventually emerge. Traditionally the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest now. Boundaries dissolve and all is laid bare. It is time to honour and offer hospitality to, our ancestors.
At Samhain the dark half of the year commences. It is a truly magical time. Death is always followed by rebirth and while this is the end of the old year, it is the beginning of the new year. For the Celts the day did not begin at dawn, it began at sunset, it began with darkness. Light is always born out of darkness, they are inseparable, interdependent, and necessary. Darkness is fertile with “All Potential”. With the beginning of this dark phase comes the opportunity to rest and reflect on the past and to dream of new beginnings. The seed now hidden in the earth will germinate in its season. Look for the seeds in yourself.
Honouring The Ancestors
Honouring your ancestors is a very special thing to do at this time and can be done in many simple ways. Think about all those departed souls from your life, both family and friends, children may wish to remember pets even, place photographs of them on your altar. Offer them your hospitality, welcome their presence into your home. At your Samhain festival, consider laying an extra place for them to join you at the table, cook and eat their favourite dishes, talk about them, remember them, bring them closer. You and your children can make an offering for departed pets by leaving some dog food outside on Halloween night, many night creatures appreciate this offering. Be careful what you put outside, we used to put out bread and milk.
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The Lost Bearded White Brother
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Magical Oils
Magical Oils plants in the form of oil and incense were elements of religious and therapeutic practices in early cultures worldwide. In addition, anointment with perfumes and fragrant oils was an almost universal practice. In some folk magic traditions, Witchcraft Magical Oils can be used for both anointing people and objects, such as candles. In some magical systems, such as various forms of Witchcraft, candle dressing oils are also used to anoint the skin, so many oils are blended in a way that is skin-safe. This way, they can be used for dressing candles and charms, but also can be worn on your body.
Using an eyedropper, add the Magical Oils in the recipes. Be sure to follow the recommended proportions. Swish the Magical Oils into the base oil by swirling in a clockwise direction. Finally, consecrate your oils if your tradition requires it. Make sure you store your oil blends in a place away from heat and moisture. Keep them in dark-colored glass bottles, and be sure to label them for use. Write the date on the label, and use within six months.
There are a number of ways you can use your oils in a ritual setting. They are often rubbed on candles for use in spellwork, this blends the powerful energies of the oil with the magical symbolism of the candle’s color and the energy of the flame itself.
Magical Oils are used to anoint the body. If you are blending an oil to use for this purpose, be sure that you’re not including any ingredients that are irritating to the skin. Oils applied to the body bring the wearer the energies of the oil. Finally, crystals, amulets, talismans and other charms may be anointed with the Magical Oils of your choice. This is a great way to turn a simple mundane item into an item of magical power and energy.
A good place to start is with 8 ounces oil per 8 tablespoons herb or flower. Remember a little oil goes a long way. You can use Mineral Oil or some other neutral carrier oil to absorb the scent and properties of the herb. It is helpful to visualize the purpose for which you are making the oil throughout the process or you can say a little chant pertaining to that certain oil while making it to add more of your energy and power to it. It is important that you cap the jars tightly or you will have moldy mixtures. Remember the darker the bottle, the better your oil will keep. Add tincture of benzoin to preserve your oils.
Pour your oil into your mortar. Add your herb a little at a time, pressing it into the oil with your pestle. After you have combined it well, pour it into a bottle. Store the bottle in a dark, consecrated place for three days. On the fourth day check oil to see if it has absorbed enough of the scent.
You can repeat this process of scenting your oil until its as strong as you desire. When the scent is right for you it is ready for use in your spellwork. Strain with cheesecloth, store in tightly capped dark glass bottles with a little tincture of benzoin to preserve.
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The Lost Bearded White Brother