Burt's Bees Owned by Clorox???

If you like Burt's Bees products, and originally they were wonderful, you may want to read this article over at Moonmaid Botanicals.

http://moonmaidbotanicals.blogspot.com/2015/07/in-memory-of-burt-shavitz.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MoonmaidBotanicals%2FcynthiaJohnston+%28MoonMaid+Botanicals%2FCynthia+Johnston%29

Blessings Nine!

Pomona's Magick

Today is the Feast of Pomona, a Roman goddess of fruit trees, especially apples, and abundant fruitfulness. She was considered to be a guardian of people, homes, gardens and orchards. Her name is from the Latin "pomum" - apple.

Of course apples have long been a symbol of many goddesses and their worship. It is appropriate at this time of year that we honor Pomona and the magick of apples, therefore I offer the following magickal suggestions.

Take apples, peel a few strips only of the apple skin, remove core and split in half reserving the strips of peel and core.  Place in a baking pan, flat side up, add a bit of butter, sprinkle with cinnamon, cloves and/or a little maple syrup. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes or until soft.  While cooking and eating, ask a blessing from Pomona for good health, protection and abundance. Be sure to save a slice to be presented as offering.

Take the reserved peel and wrap it around a sprig of thyme or oregano, perhaps even both, and a cinnamon stick. Using a knitting needle or awl, gently pierce the rolled peel in three places and stick cloves into each hole. Bake in a warm oven of 250 degrees for an hour or so to dry the peel and herb. Once dried, the peel can be added to an autumn pot pourri, used as offerings or in charms. Keep nearby when performing any divinatory or oracle workings.

Apples - sacred to many goddesses and a symbol of women's magick; enhances loving energies, love magick, wisdom and protection.
Thyme - cleanses and disperses stagnant energies while attracting new and positive energies. Also assists in opening the third eye.
Cinnamon - enhances magick, aids magickal focus and connecting to other realms.
Cloves - purifies, repels negativity and hostility, elevtes spiritual vibrations.
Oregano - brings joy, protective, good for wards.
Maple syrup - a sweetener - sweeteners sweeten people and situations; maple's magick brings protective, sheltering energy, as well as encourages good health, longevity and balance.

Don't forget to bury an apple or two outside your home, offerings for both Pomona and your ancestors.

copyright 2010 E A Kaufman - from the forthcoming, A Book of Artes & Charms.


Blessings nine!

The Merry Month of May Begins!

To view the May and June Goddess Celebrations calendar, click on this link from last year:

http://witchofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-blessings.html
The dates for the Dark of the Moon and Full Moon will be different, of course. This year, the Dark Moon is on May 3  at 2:51 AM EDT and the Full Moon shines gloriously on May 17 at 7:08 AM EDT.


May begins with the great celebration of The Greening of the Goddesses and Beltane. My celebration last evening, was solitary and quiet, but very meaningful. The hedge was alive and stirring. 


Earlier, Sunday afternoon, I had a great longing to be out of doors, which I indulged with a visit to a local nursery. I picked up some herbs, including a nice stevia plant and a large oregano - a favorite herb! It is already very hot here in South Florida and I was sweating and blotting as I roamed about - oh the fifties, the sweat years of a woman's life! The heat felt good though, just what I seemed to need, I allowed the heat and sun to soak deeply into my bones. Listening to the fountains and looking at the water plants, I have begun planning an indoor water garden once again. We then went off to the garden department at Home Depot, where I picked up a sweet little Rabbit's Foot Fern and a little planter of mixed plants while looking at more fountain/pond materials. All plants are resting comfortably, including the oregano which is hanging close to my head!


While this celebration was quiet, the month ahead will be busy. Homage to Bona Dea and the Dark of the Moon on the 3rd, the Star Goddess on the 6th, Artemis on the 9th and the Rumanian Festival of the Fates on the 11th - that is one I never skip! All will keep me busy in the temple and at the hedge here at the Toadstool. On the Full Moon of the 17th, all over the world, devotees of Hekate will join together in The Rite of Her Sacred Fires for the second year. (http://sacredfires.co.uk/?p=297) Raven and I will celebrate that together and make whatever other magicks we can throughout the month, as time allows. Then... the Vestalia in June which I celebrate each year for nine days. You can read about my previous Vestalia celebrations here:  http://witchofstitches.blogspot.com/2010/06/vestalia.html   and here:
http://witchofstitches.blogspot.com/2009/06/vestalia-june-7th-15th.html


And just in case you think my needle has been idle, be at ease, that needle and my fingers have been flying. I am stitching a Hekate's Wheel on that lovely cognac colored linen I mentioned in a previous post, with black thread, which I will finish with a buttonhole stitch and little fringe around the edges. It will look lovely on our altar during the Sacred Fires Rite. Four projects have made it - finally!!! - to Cross Stitch Cupboard for framing. They have been lying in the basket of forgotten, finished needlework projects - well, at least it is a basket of finished projects! I continue with several dozen other WIPs (Queen of Perpetual Projects, that's me!) as well as making a scarf for my mother's friend and some collage and painting projects. Must not forget my Classics Challenge, I don't think I'll make the Master's Degree after all. I have finished three of my books and am half-way through the forth. Lizzie is busy.


If you would like to stitch a Hekate's Wheel for yourself, the free cross stitch pattern can be found, with two pages of charts of mystical symbols here:     http://crossstitch.about.com/od/freecrossstitchpattern1/ig/Wiccan---Pagan-Symbols/
The Hekate's Wheel is the last design on that first page.

 Earlier this morning, I drew a tarot card from The Tarot of the Crone deck. I chose Temperance... hmmm... how very interesting, I think!  A black-cloaked figure walks on a sliver of a green path under a dark sky illuminated by stars. On one side, a field of fire; on the other, a field of ice. The figure holds her hands out to each side, palms down, drawing up the power and essence of each.

This is a  card about mystical journeying to spiritual illumination. Although things may not be as clear as I would like them to be, in time the answers will come. Patience, balance and discipline - that is what is required and what I have. Really? I am finding the balance that I need in my life. From the companion book, I find more messages from this card: I draw in opposing powers and combine them to create what is needed and desired. Fire does not burn me, ice does not cut me; nor do I put out the fire or melt the ice. I know the hunger of fire and the bite of ice, but neither consumes me. I know the boundaries, but I do not allow them to to pin me in place. The power and passion is living within me, now is the time to use that power in all I do.

I am the one who brings beauty to life. I am the one to walk my path. Temperance is a dynamic process, a moving magick, and it makes a life full of meaning. Interesting, indeed.

I walk in beauty

I walk in power

And I create my path

With every step

And so the journey goes...

Blessings nine!

Magickal Clary Sage

An herbalist friend, Cynthia Johnston of Moonmaid Botanicals, introduced me to this herb and its medicinal properties many years ago. Specializing in women's reproductive cycles and issues, she taught me that clary sage is very effective for women's issues - especially menopause, easing hot flashes, cramping, etc. A note of caution: pregnant women should avoid it as clary sage has other uses that may be harmful during the pregnancy.  

As a licensed esthetician, I use the essential oil in treatments for oily skin in my facial work, and also make an infusion, along with a few other herbs, into which I dip cotton pads and place over the eyes. Clary sage is purported to help eye/vision problems. The tea is also good for digestive upsets. A cloth dipped in a strong infusion or very warm water with a few drops of the essential oil, wrung out and placed over the tummy or sore muscles is very nice. Aromatically, it assists with emotional and psychological tension, easing anxiety and, according to some, helping with depression and high blood pressure. I like to use it in aromatherapy anxiety blends because of this and find it balances and restores so one can relax and release stress.

 I have never had the opportunity to sit and work with the live plant and connect with its spirit which is the best way to know a plant. However, I've had good results with the dried herb and the pure essential oil.

In magick, clary sage is highly protective. Having it growing around one's home is a very good thing for a number of reasons. At the Alchemy Works website, they include a note about this herb - "this plant concentrates heavy metals from the soil and can be planted to clear contaminated areas. It should then be disposed of rather than composted" - naturally, as in magickal workings, one would not want to save what was used to cleanse. What a gift to your land or any land, to grow this herb to assist in cleansing it of toxins. Go talk to your plants, get to know them and ask them to protect your land and home. You should do this with all your plants and trees, build a relationship with them - they will tell you what they can assist you with on an energetic level.  

For protection, hang bouquets of clary sage to dry around the house, place it in sachets with other herbs for protection, placing in appropriate places about the home or office. Carry a small pouch with clary sage and other protective herbs in your handbag and keep one in your car. For ritual work, it is a a potent ingredient when you want to cast a protective boundary. I generally add it to the warding blend I use for my home, placing it on window ledges and on top of door frames. 

In spells, clary sage is an excellent addition to and has long been used in love potions and as an aphrodisiac. In my personal work, I have seen this herb as best used by women who want to attract a man - I suppose, since it is very much a woman's herb. Not all may agree with this assessment, but that is what the herb has taught me. Even an herb, collected, dried and handled respectfully, will maintain its spirit and be able to communicate with you. 

Associated with both the moon and mercury, it has been my experience that it is very helpful in workings that include journey, trance, dream and visionary work, as well as divination. It can enhance psychic abilities. Sprinkle some of the dried herb around the table you lay your tarot cards, runes, bones or stones on. Crush a bit of the herb in your hands and inhale its fragrance. An infusion makes an excellent clearing and enhancing wash for scrying mirrors and  scrying stones. Burn as an incense or use the essential oil in a nebulizer and to anoint the third eye during any of these types of workings to enhance your abilities and the reading.  A drop or two on your pillow before bed can enhance any dreamwork and aid in the recall of those dreams, especially for divination purposes. It tends to make dreams very vivid when one is open to such work, so prepare yourself appropriately.

A note of caution, if you are going to use alcohol or other mood altering or narcotic substances during these workings - or in general - ingesting clary sage along with those substances may cause a stronger reaction. Use common sense and caution.

Sources

Personal experience

Cynthia Johnston - moonmaidbotanicals.com

Natural Magic - John Michael Greer

Alchemy-works.com

Master Book of Herbalism - Paul Beyerl

copyright E A Kaufman 2011

The above post is offered for informational purposes only and is in no way a recommendation to consume or use the herb in any manner, nor is it a guarantee for the spells, lore or other information mentioned.

I Don't Call It Toadstool Condo For Nothing

Last night, close to midnight, Mike called me outside. This is what he found.

Hundreds of those tiny white mushrooms we've seen before along with another type. Both are still unidentified.

I don't call it Toadstool Condo for nothing!

Mushrooms 

Overnight, very  

Whitely, discreetly, 

Very quietly   

Our toes, our noses  

Take hold on the loam,

Acquire the air. 

Nobody sees us,  

Stops us, betrays us; 

The small grains make room.

Soft fists insist on 

Heaving the needles,      

The leafy bedding,  

Even the paving. 

Our hammers, our rams, 

Earless and eyeless, 

Perfectly voiceless,  

Widen the crannies, 

Shoulder through holes.  

We diet on water, 

On crumbs of shadow,

Bland-mannered, asking   

Little or nothing.  

So many of us!  

So many of us!  

We are shelves, we are  

Tables, we are meek,  

We are edible,  

Nudgers and shovers  

In spite of ourselves. 

Our kind multiplies: 

We shall by morning 

Inherit the earth. 

Our foot's in the door. 

- Sylvia Plath - 

Blessings nine!

Seed Thoughts

From December to March,

there are for many of us three gardens -

the garden outdoors,

the garden of pots and bowls in the house,

and the garden of the mind's eye.

Katherine S. White

Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle

... a seed waiting to sprout,

a bulb opening to the light,

a bud straining to unfurl.

And the anticipation nurtures our dream.

Barbara Winkler

On for the rook, One for the crow,

One to die, One to grow.

Traditional

Blessings nine!

In The Garden At Toadstool Condo

We have mushrooms in the garden at Toadstool Condo! Actually, we found them under the hedge along the walkway. They are the tiniest mushrooms I've ever seen in the wild, as you can see. They are pure white, very round and have a tall stalk. This is the mushroom forest - quite pretty. No luck yet identifying them, although I browsed quickly through my mushroom field guide and two other old picture books. And here is Ms. Nips, our resident squirrel. I was watching her as she tried to scare off the ducks and egrets and noticed how much bigger she's grown. Well, then, as she ate a cashew, I could see that the reason for that is she's pregnant! Baby squirrels on the way! Ms. Nips will come up to the walkway, but if we try to get near her she runs away - as it should be. She will wait nearby though for bits of bread, sunflower seeds and nuts. She also likes the duck scratch we put out for our duck families.

Tonight I will be celebrating the Autumn Equinox with a ritual of course. Here is an excerpt from one of the invocations which is adapted from a ritual by Stormwing:

The Wheel of the Year turns on and on,

What will be is, what was will be.

In this moment, between time,

I come to praise the bountiful, aging Goddess.

I give thanks and feel myself as a part of the

Relentless turning Wheel of Life, Death and Rebirth.

O Blessed Demeter, Lady of the Harvest,

Be with me here and witness my Rite.

Grant me strength and understanding

Throughout this season and always!

O Blessed Persephone, Queen of the Underworld,

Be with me here and witness my Rite.

Let me understand the changes, the mysteries

Of Life, Death and Rebirth.

O Great & Blessed Hekate of the Crossroads,

Be with me here and witness my Rite.

Teach me the secrets of Your Mysteries,

The ways of magic and knowing.

The time of change is upon us again,

The Equinox comes, the Wheel turns.

May I see and feel the presence of the Goddess within,

Though without, the Earth begins Her slumber.

May your harvest be abundant! Blessings Nine!