More From my Book Of Shadows

Blood on the Moon

To honor the deceased. Excellent for Samhain, Veteran’s Day, and Memorial Day or for any time you experience the passing over of a loved one.

Purple candle, Athame , Frankincense, Myrrh, lavender , Cypress/Cedar or Sandalwood, anise/licorice oil, salt Myrrh Incense or Nag Champra or Patchouli, wand, cauldron, pictures of loved ones or a list of their names

Mix 2 drops@ of Frankincense, Myrrh, lavender, cypress/cedar/sandalwood, anise star/licorice and simmer in cauldron. Create sacred space and anoint the candle with some of the simmering cauldron. Place your photos and list on your altar. Light the incense and candle. Pick up your wand and intone:

The circle around the pearly moon
Pulls the spirits from their tombs
We invite you to our circle of love
From here on earth to heaven above
Place your list of loved ones under the candle if you so have one.

Grands and parents, sisters and brothers
Gone before we invite you to hover
Be our guardians and our guides
As we honor you tonight

With Athame:

Warrior knights, soldiers and braves
For our freedom your lives you gave
We honor you for your sacrifice
And pray you have found your paradise

We honor you and hold you near
Join us now, the veil is sheer
Open your heart and receive us well
Blood on the moon we cast this spell

Welcome loved ones, friends and guests
Touch our hearts as you do best
Blessings and prayers we offer you
And thank you for these moments few

Blessed be and Merry Meet
As I will it, so mote it be

To Protect the Home

2 White candles
1Black Candle
Sandalwood or Frankincense incense
Wand

Intone while lighting the white candle:

Here I light this candle
Which symbolizes my need
My home will be a fortress
As I secure its safety

The angel’s influence now takes sway
To bless my home in every way
Protect it through the day’s sunlight
Protect it through the dark of night
(Light black candle)

Energy white, energy bright
Strengthening my charm tonight
Powerful protection, my energy
As my spell is woven lovingly
(Light white candle)

With Wand:
May this spell protect from harm
And keep the house from all alarm
Working through the day or night
Angels guard us, hidden from sight
Safe from harm our powers keep
This no trouble can permeate
The walls angel energies penetrate

The walls make an aura all their own
And my spell sets the tone
A mighty shield shall it be
Keeping my home danger free
Robbers and murderers and harm that be
This charm will keep far from my family and me

Now my charm is done at last
And my spell is now cast
Merry meet and Blessed Be
As I will it so mote it be.


Stop Gossip Spell

If you are doing this charm on the spot all you need is paper and pen. Simply tear up the charm when you are finished. Otherwise:

1 Black candle
Pen and Paper
Bowl or cauldron

Write the Gossip’s name on one side of the paper seven times. On the other draw a smiley face. Light the candle .While intoning the charm make small x’s on his lips

This mouth I bind this very day
Binds fast the evil this mouth will say
Never more causing stress and alarm
Never more to cause harm

Truth and justice enters here
A quality most hold so dear
To counteract the many lies
In the mind where slander resides

Destroy the Gossip Face and throw it away. This can be done by burning or by drowning.


No More Delinquents

Paper Poppet
Incense (your choice)
4 Red Candles dressed in Myrrh

If known, write the name of the delinquent on the poppet. Surround the poppet with the red candles. Light a candle deosil after each verse

These candles I light do symbolize
The troubled soul thus inscribed
God give them strength to change
And become better each day

Here is love to guide their life
And keep the young one from strife
Hoping one day they will lead
A life of serving other’s needs

Understanding comes their way
Beginning now, this very day
For this child cannot manipulate
Nor will they be led astray

Now give me patience with this child
Because I can teach them to be mild
I can in straight paths this child lead
And guide them care for humanity

Child, grace and courage has come to your side to resist negativity in your life. For good you live and strive and a good name you take pride. Only that which is right stays forever in sight. A leader you will be for all humanity. Doing what’s right for the entire world to see.

Blessed Be and Merry Meet
As I will it, so mote it be.


St Francis Spell

1 Blue Candle
Catnip
Eucalyptus Oil
Frankincense
St. Francis Medal or Holy Card
Paper and Pen

Anoint candle and light along with incense. Hold the medal or holy card in your palms. Write the name of your pet on a piece of paper or on the back of the holy card. Hold card in your hands and intone:

We don’t mean to cause alarm
Just keep our pets safe from harm
This Saint will bless all animals and pets
From every wind and storm be warned
Humble Francis will protect from hate and neglect
This spell shelters from the young and the old
Safe and sound, all pets will be found
This is my will, so mote it be.

Midas Touch

1 Green, gold and orange candle
Midas oil (Jasmine, Patchouli, Mint, Opium, Orange oil)
Opium or Musk incense
Green Bead and cord or ribbon.

Anoint candles with Midas Oil. Do the same with the bead and cord. Light candle and incense and pass bead on cord through incense smoke deosil

For the wealth we have and the wealth to come
To guard it well, grant me this wisdom
Protect us always from those who dare
To take all we have without care
Good Lord above hear and answer my plea
An it harm none, so mote it be.

Wear the talisman when you play the lottery, pay bills, or work.

Wisdom’s Fire

White candle
Honey Suckle oil
Opium Incense
Lavender and Sage herb
Simmer Cauldron
Bottled water
Wand

Anoint Candle with oils, rubbing from the wick to the base. Mix the oils and herbs with a couple of teaspoons of water in simmer cauldron and set to heat. Light the candle and incense. With wand intone:

The Golden wisdom of the law of three be with me
Make me as wise as Solomon and Moses
With these herbs in my cauldron
I infuse these waters with wisdom
Give me grace, purity, and knowledge divine
Rise now in heart and mind
So mote it be.
Use the potion to cleanse a work space, or a sacred space.

Gargoyles at the Gate

4 Blue Candles
Witch Hazel
Frankincense
4 Gargoyle images (pictures or statues)
Athame

Anoint the candles and light the candles and the incense. Place each gargoyle in a corner of your home. Wave incense into the four corners. With your athame before your altar intone:

Positions at the towers and gates
Gargoyles watch in earnest haste
For Protection of the house and grounds
And all things of sight and sound
Keep us safe from danger and harm
Watch over us in every storm
Jump from the roof tops if in need
To frighten away all evil deeds
So Mote it Be!
Keep the Gargoyles in their places and refresh each year by reciting the charge to the image.


All Patched Up

1 Pink Candle
Friendship Oil (Rose, Cedar, Lavender oil)
Patchouli Incense
Turquoise Bead
White cord thread or ribbon
Paper and Pen

Anoint candle with friendship oil. Light the candle and the incense. Visualize you and your friend reconciling. String the bead and pass it deosil 3x in smoke. Do the same with the piece of paper with the friend’s name on it. Carry both in your pocket until reconciliation.

A turquoise stone to find
Harmony and peace; leave differences behind
Disagreements and hurt taken out of our hearts
Our true friendships shall not part
Let pink burn bright throughout this night
To reconcile this troublesome fight.
So Mote it Be!

For Strength

1 Red Candle
Dragon’s Blood oil
Pinch of salt
Dragon charm or picture or red bead and thread.

Anoint the candle and the charm or bead and intone

With the crimson of this cord
Ancient powers or strength are born
Herbs will stir beneath the form
Creating energies with talismans worn
Boost the body with greatest power
As if Mars is in tune with a full moon hour
Place the strength upon my feet
And all my powers now complete.
So mote it be.

Respect

1 Yellow Candle
Patchouli and Dragon’s Blood
Spicy Incense
Paper and Pen
Gold tone Bead
Brown Bead
Red String
Bowl

Anoint candle. Light Candle and incense. On paper, list 9 characteristics of respect. String beads. Anoint palms in oil and hold the paper in your anointed palms. Burn the paper and take the ashes and rub it in the talisman and pass talisman deosil through the smoke. Carry your talisman in your mojo or tie around ankle or wrist.



To Pay Karmic Debt
After you have been through a rough patch

1 Pink and 1 white candle
Opium oil
Fave Incense
Sage
Water
Check (or a piece of paper)
Simmer Cauldron

Anoint and light candle and incense. Put a bit of water and sage and opium oil in the simmer cauldron and heat. Fill out your check:

Date: Date of Ritual
Pay to the Order of: Karmic Debt
Amount: All
Amount: Live, Learn, Love, and Grow
Memo: Truth and Peace
Signature

Burn Check and add ashes to cauldron. Stir cauldron while intoning:

Karmic Debt is a wonderful thing
Through this process, my soul takes wings
This check is now due
I can start anew
To live learn love and grow
Till truth and peace is all I know
So mote it be.

Sprinkle potion around the room

Witch Charms

5 white candles (Tea Lights, birthday candles)
Low John Oil (Cinnamon, eucalyptus, and sandalwood oil)
Salt
Sandalwood Incense
Amulet ( Star, medal, cross etc.)
Piece of cord
Small cup or bowl

Anoint amulet with oil. With salt draw a pentangle placing a candle at each point. Light incense. Pass amulet deosil through the incense and then lay it in the center of the pentangle. Light each candle, intoning at each candle, moving deosil:

On this day of the year
Witches have no fear
Love, beauty, passion and energy
And our brethren far and near
By blessings of God an amulet is born
That protects from evil each time it is worn
A magical charm that wards off all alarm
So mote it be and none it harm.


World Peace

Oneof the ways that you can bring world peace is to work to have peace in your corner of the world. If you can bring peace to yourself and to the people around you, yu can encourage peace around the world.

1 blue candle
Peace oil (Sandalwood, Musk, Rose, Gardenia)
Sandalwood incense
Salt
Lavender leaves
Simmer cauldron
Pounded Lavender leaves
Bowl
Alcohol
Bottle

Anoint the candle with the peace oils. Mix left over oils, salt, lavender leaves and pass the cauldron through the incense smoke. Once the incense is burned down and the ashes are cooled, add it to the cauldron. Heat the potion in the simmer bowl for thirty minutes, then cool and decant into bottle. The oil is placed on the altar and lasts for a year. After you fill the bottle, intone over the opening:

Angels all around us, where ever we may be
In our small towns and great countries
Around the world please hear our call
To guide and heal us one and all
Protect us from each other’s harm
Reverse and rid bad energy til it’s all gone
Bring peace and love to every kind
All around our world will be
Happiness, peace and harmony
Heal us from our heart within
So we will judge no other friend
Forgive us our sins and protect our hearts
From fears we have within us all
Religion and politics and whatever we believe
From each hurt protect and heal
May we receive blessings be
Until we again merry meet

So Mote it be

Thanks For Giving

To honor God for the first harvest by making a harvest basket totem. Can be done to celebrate Thanksgiving or the new moon of November.

1 White candle
Musk and Lavender oil
Small basket
Chalice
Wine
Fruit, Cheese, Meat, Bread, Cookies
Plastic fruit and veggies
Silk Flowers
Slips of paper with at least six blessings

Anoint candle and light. Arrange the little basket with the plastic fruit and veggies and flowers. Intone over the basket and your small ritual meal and chalice with wine. Place the blessings with the fruit arrangement.

Little basket full of good
Sent by God, our blessed food
Grown from the ground with care and love
Watched by the spirits from above
Gathered from the bountiful harvest
From the fields and the forest
To Mighty God that be
With thanks we offer this bounty
This is my will, so mote it be.

Libate and drink the wine from the chalice.


Blind Justice

For truthful testimony in court. Don’t use if you intend to lie.

1 Gold Candle
1 Gray Candle
1Purple Candle
Rose, Vanilla, and Musk oil
Myrrh Incense
Purple bead and cord

Anoint the candles and light. Light incense. String the bead and pass deosil intoning:

A winged courier now takes flight
Aid me in my legal plight
Shame the devil, truth be told
Habeas Corpus in this court
Grant me favor of legal support
Release the magik and be just
Hear my plea and statement of trust
As I will it, so it must be

Christian Craft

As of October 2008, I will have been writing this blog for three years. I have received very little in the way of notice but that is okay, a little bit is better than nothing. What I have been doing is searching for ways to define myself as a Christian, a Catholic and a witch and how this comes together for me and why it seems that all those things go together and compliment and enrich me more than any other form of religious and spiritual practice.

I meet people who say they would never be a witch, who declare witchcraft evil but they unknowingly practice Craft every day. I know some witches, or people who say they are witches who never work the Craft, though they say they are witches which seems to defeat the purpose of your occult education.

I pray every day and I work Craft every day. I do spells and mix potions and perform bindings and protections. I work blessings and cleansings and do divinations and work on my BOS every single day. I read something pertaining to my practice every day. I read the Bible or some other devotional, non-Craft work every day. Christianity and Craft are more than simply who I say I am, they are who I am. They are what I do and believe and embrace.

And I sometimes think that is very radical to people who say, for whatever reason, you cannot be both. The thing is, I can. Jesus told us that all things are possible if asked for in my name. God told us to take care of the earth and use all of the plants and seeds and herbs. We read constant references to the four directions, the elements, the angels and of dreams and prophesies and there is no reason why we must lay down that magikal heritage that God and Jesus Christ gave us from the moment we were created.

I can write a lot of complicated, syncretic stuff on this blog to parallel and compare what witches do with things that happened in the Bible, but the fact is, I don't have to. When I became a Christian, I was ordained in a heavenly priesthood, a bloodline of heirs to the Kingdom of God through my sisterhood with Jesus Christ. This makes me the priestess of my own heart and my own practice. That is the only authority I need. As God wills it, so mote it be.

Thus Endeth the Lesson
Brightest Blessings Be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk
Christian Wicce

Posting on this blog

I understand that there are a lot of people who disagree with what I write and the comments I make. That's cool, it doesn't make a difference to me. I do however request that you reveal your name and return address/blog so that I can address your comments. To do anything less is the mark of a coward.

So, while I appreciate your remarks on anything in this blog, I do not appreciate your cowardice.

Wiki and Christian Wicca/Witchcraft

I have mixed feelings about Wiki. I think it has wonderful potential to disseminate information but at the same time, I am careful about its content. I think, however that anyone who is following a Christian Witch path will be interested in the entry for Christian Wicca. Who ever the contributors are, they are fairly thorough in their research and careful in their discussion. The article isn't quite "Wiki-ized" but it is a wonderful start. I would love to hear from other Christain Witches who have seen the entry and get their take on it.

Harry Potter and the Craft

Merry Meet!

I remember when the Potter books came out and everyone was in such a dither about them. I resisted reading them for some years after the first book in the series came out. It wasn't because of the subject matter, it was because I had heard excited whispers about the books being well written and exciting and literate, as apposed to the silly, underdeveloped offerings that are today's young reader's fare (that is also the way I would categorize much of adult reading, by the way). Being a teacher, I feared that they might be endlessly cute and silly but what I discovered when I first read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was that the book was literate and serious and very engrossing.

And then it seemed that is when I heard about the criticism that many in the Fundamentalist Christian community were protesting the book because they felt that the Potter books were promoting witchcraft. I had seen this sort of thing before with rock music, videos, even cartoons so no, it doesn't surprise me that some Christians are against the Potter books. I even saw a web site that said Harry Potter was a symbol of the Anti-Christ, Hermione was the Whore of Babylon and Voldemort (get this) was a Christ figure and Malfoy was a faithful believer. It made me wonder what edition of Harry Potter they were reading. They even cast Nearly Headless Nick as the Holy Spirit.

But, on some levels they are right. While we do not fly on brooms, nor do we play Quiddich and there is no Hogwarts Express, there is a lot of classical alchemy, mythology and lore hidden in the books if you care to investigate. But the students of Hogwarts are not practicing witchcraft as religion, they are using magic as a part of every day life, it simply is to them. It would be great to be able to wave my wand and have my house cleaned, or at least conjure up a great little house elf, or to cook food with a flick of my wand, or to apparate and have an extra hour of sleep before going to school in the morning. But fantasy witchcraft is not what we do.

I love the Potter books. I love them not just because of the magic that is in them, I love the message they teach and that is that good can triumph over evil and that the love of your friends is greater than the love of one's own life and that sometimes good is harder than evil.

I believe that someday, all people of faith will be like Harry Potter and his friends and we will have to stand up against an evil that will be interested in erradicating all religion; not just Christianity or Judiaism, or Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism. This evil will be after all people, even the Pagan and the Wiccan. We will then have to stand together to survive. And that, I think is the true story of the Potter books, love one another, help one another, honor one another, and protect one another.

It is a shame that some people can't see that.

Brightest Blessings Be

Another year, Another Samhain passed

After the trick or treaters had gone in for the evening and as The Old Goat, which I lovingly call my boyfriend, and I prepared for Samhain Sabat in his small back garden around his large fire cauldron, I let so many sad things go and said good bye at last to old friends who had gone over. For the first Samhain in a long time I felt as though I had actually reached the goals and purposes of Samhain.

And then our friends, some of them Crafty like ourselves and some just spiritually open minded came together and we ate and drank to the season and to each other. We stayed up late into the night watching horror movies (the old kind, in black and white, made by Universal) and after, my lover and I made love and celebrated life and love in a time of death and remembrance. Being that he is a Christo-Pagan and of a celtic/norse turn, he thinks that this is what part of the orginal Samhain celebration was about. Life in the midst of death.

So as we get ready to move toward Yule and we remember the three Magi who came to see Christ the Lord, don't forget along the way to be thankful for the life, regardless how humble, you have now.

Candle Magik

Merry Meet,

The topic this evening is candle magik. Candle magik is an ancient practice and it survives in most cultures in one form or anoher. Even people who would never consciously practice magik, do so when they light candles on a birthday cake and then blow them out. How many of you, when you were married, lit a unity candle? How many of you have had the misfortune of lighting a candle at the shrine of a terrible event, like 9-11? How many of you light candles at church or at home in front of an icon or statue?

Candle magik is one of the easiest ways to send out a spell. You can make the ritual of preparing the candle as elaborate or as simple as you want. White candles are good universal candles for all needs but some people find it useful to correspond the color of the candle with the specific need of the person for whom the spell is being worked. Spices, herbs and oils can be rubbed onto the surface of the candle and the candle can be inscribed with a pin or a knife or, if you are very strict, a boline. The thing that you have to remember is that you have to have a clear intent...what do you expect the spell to do? Then, you have to visualize it happening. And as you work the spell, you have to ask for the help of your sacred spirit. Because the candle is only a representation of your spell, the sacred spirit is the one who makes or empowers the spell, through you. You should allow the candle to burn itself safely out.

Here is a hint....tea lights are great candles and they only last for about four hours but if you are doing a spell and it must be completed quickly, use a birthday candle. You can buy them cheaply at the grocery store in various colors and they burn down in no time at all.

How do you anoint a candle? If you do not have a lot of expensive oils on hand, a good olive oil will do the trick. Just dip your finger in it and rub it on the candle. If the spell is to draw something to you, you rub the oil from the wick end to the bottom. If you want to cast it away from you, like a protection spell or a health spell to someone far away, you anoint bottom to wick. It's that simple.

So give candle magik a try and until we meet again,
Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

On Writing this Christian Witch Blog

Merry Meet,

I keep writing these blogs in the hope there are people reading it, and not just to criticize, but to try to puzzle out this work we do in the Craft. I don't mind people contributing to my blog, but I do mind when someone steals one of my entries to make fun of it or to discount my work.

I mention this because just for the sake of interest, I googled my magickal name and found there was a dot com called The Hull Pagans from Hull, England. They had lifted my article on Ostara and then proceded to criticize me. Not on my own blog, but on theirs, so they would not have to be open for any discussion from me. For those of you on the Hull Pagans bulletin board, remember that as ye reap, so shall ye sow, the cruelty you give, the cruelty you'll know. As I will it, mote it be so. This is especially for you, Librarian. Thou shalt not steal.

Brightest Blessings Be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Which Witch is Which: Multiple Traditions in the Christian Craft Community

Merry Meet

One of the things that is interesting about the notion of Christian Witchery is the various incarnations of the Craft within the community. This is both a good thing and a bad thing . It is a good thing in that we have multiple experiences that enrich our practice, but it can be troublesome because of the way we define not only witchcraft, but Christianity. The way we define Christianity is the cause of much strife, not only in the way Christians deal with the utside world, but deal with eachother. We, myself included, become egocentric.

See, I traveled through many Christian congregations before I became a Roman Catholic. And then from Roman Catholic, I moved into the Christian Witch practice of my faith. I am known by many names: Catholic Crafter, Christian Santero, Catholic Brujeria, but I love the designation a Wiccan gave to me and my practice and what I call this Blog: Christian Wicce.

So how do we resolve this conundrum? How do we bring together the various Christian Craft disciplines? We might start by doing what Jesus told us to do: Love one another and judge not, because we, historically, have demonstrated that we neither love one another (The Crusades, The Inquisition, The Burning Times, The Holocaust) and we severly judge one another (see the list above).

The next thing we have to do is understand we who practice Craft and Chrisitianity come from our own individual experiences with both Christian Faith and the Craft. Some of us are cradle Christians who wandered into Wicca maybe and shifted back. Some are Wiccans who may have become Christians or have learned to blend the two religions. Some of us may not have grown up with much of a religious upbringing and have wandered in and out of churches, temples, mosques and covens looking for the perfect place for us.

I propose that we sit down and write a set of Christian Witch notions. I like that word better than rules or commandments, but just a set of ideas that loosely define what this means to be a Christian Witch.

Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Celebrating the Summer Solstice and Celebrating our Fathers

June the 21^st was the summer solstice, but June is also the month that we celebrate Father's Day. There are many ways to celebrate our Fathers and there are many men we may wish to celebrate beyond our biological fathers. We should, of course, celebrate our relationship with our God above all others. But, Father's Day is a wonderful day to celebrate not only the our birth fathers or the men who raised us, but also a chance to acknowledge our spiritual fathers and that can include our teachers, like Scott Cunningham and Raven Grimassi and Gerald Gardner Raymond Buckland.

I don't know what I would have done without Scott Cunningham. As a Christian Witch out there trying to find my way through the Craft often through a forest of Christian unfriendly books and writings, Scott taught that the Craft can be more than the art of pagans and Wiccans but can be accessible to any person of spirit who wishes to work the Craft and embrace the natural world around them. He wrote primarily for his own pagan faith, but he made his Craft open to anyone who wanted to learn.

Father Gardner was also a Craft teacher for me though he was less concerned with the possibility of a Christian Witch than some writers. If he had not written down his knowledge and his scholarship in his Book of Shadows and his other books, there would be little in the way of Craft as religion today.

Then there is Raymond Buckland who gave us so much more than the Big Blue Book, but acknowledged the need of people to study and initiate on their own because of the lack of a local Craft Community and the differing disciplines that were arising out of the world wide Craft community.

Celebrating the Witch in Me

I am
Healer
Advisor
Thinker
Fortune Teller
Spell Caster
Petitioner to God
Scryer
Believer
Faerie Seer
Talisman Maker
Student
Master
Moon Phaser
Crystal Gazer
Witch

Why would people fear?
They fear the words they hear.
Witch, Crone, Hag
Warlock, Sorcerer
Whore of the devil
Evil Necromancer
Notice, these words are not on my list
Only theirs
except
Witch
I am

Witch in the Workplace

OK, you are at work in one of this little cubicles or you are a teacher in the classroom, or some other profession is it okay to display a small altar (a framed picture of the elements or a pentacle or just a candle with a symbol on it)?

Some people would say that it is inappropriate to display anything of a religious or spiritual matter in the workplace. This may be to protect people's rights to practice the religion of their choice or it may be a way to keep down "witnessing" or proselytizing. Others do it for professional reasons. At the same times, these businesses may not even permit family photos or other objects that present a cluttered workspace.

Generally, however, I recommend that witches play it low key. If you are allowed some personal objects in the work space, you may want to just have a small picture or a small potted plant or simply wear something that represents the sacred for you and would have no meaning to the casual observer.

The truth of the matter is that while the mundane world may not be actively burning us at the stake right now, there are other ways we can be persecuted. And remember, one of the ways of the witch is know, to do and to keep silent.

Love and the Craft

Well, I fooled around and fell in love. A few of my circle sisters have met this wonderful man and they introduced me to him. He is a Christo-Pagan, which means he honors the old gods as well the Christian God. He is 45 and I never thought I would meet someone I could care about after all of this time.

So what do you do, if you are Craft and fall in love? If you are both Craft, you begin practicing majik together, first small then greater as you get closer. But what if you are meeting someone who is not Craft, what if you are dating someone who is not Craft? What then? What if you are Crafting and one is one sort of Craft discipline and the other is another?

Honesty is always the best policy. It hurts, but sometimes knowing right away if the person has some objection to your practicing Craft is the best thing to happen. If you are both Crafters but one is one certain discipline and the other is another, find some commonalities....do the ubiquitous venn diagram and find out what is alike, what is the difference, and how there might be wonderful blending and how there can be some compromise. But above all, discussion and sharing, communication is the thing that we need the most and that is doubly true in our intimate relationships.

May love and wonder fill your lives together and may all good things come from the glory of your love.

Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Beltaine: The Month of the Mothers: Mary and Earth

Merry Meet!

Ah spring in all her glory gowning mother earth in her billion shades of green. The coming of the season of planting flowers and herbs and vegetables. It is also the time to celebrate the feminine in the earth, being our Mother Earth, our birth Mother, important women in our lives, or Mary the mother of Jesus or any female goddess that is a part of your spiritual or magikal tradition.

I never paid much mind to the spring before I bacme involved with Craft in my life. Now I mark my calender for full moons, for planting times, for harvest times and for the celebrations. I now bless the coming of warmer days and nights, where I can sit in the sun during the day and sit in the gazebo during the night and watch the night things creep and listen for frogs and crickets and just be a part of the night in the warm temperatures that I can't truly be in the winter time.

But particularly for me, May first is the day I crown the Blessed Virgin with her crown of flowers and contemplate her gentleness and her compassion for all of us. I think that I shall write more outside this summer so I can quietly libate my Mothers, Mary and Earth and thank them for the love and tenderness they give me now and in the time when I go back to the both of them in my death.

Thank your sacred spirit for the mothers in your life,

Bright Blessing Be,
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Ostara

Merry Meet,

Ah, that strange, wonderful, mixed up time for the Christian. Ostara or Easter, is the feast of spring and the growing time and the celebration of fertility and Mother Earth. When Christianity came into play, the pagan holiday was replaced by Easter. The resurrection of Christ is the only date that we as Christians celebrate with any certainty. Jesus was tried and crucufied in the days leading up to and through the Jewish passover, which is a moveable feast, coming late in March and early in April. This year, it is in April. Ostara and Easter became intertwined closely more so than even Christmas. We celebrate in the Christian religion with Sunday School or Mass, palm crosses, candles, and joy and we also celebrate with the visitation of the Easter Bunny, or the fertility hare, with gifts of eggs, which are symbols of fertility, and chocolate, a food which is supposed to induce desire and a wish to reproduce.

For the Christian Wicce, we celebrate the season of not only the Savior's resurrection, but the redemption of our old parents, Adam and Eve. The old blood libel against Eve as the weak vessel who succombed to the temptation of the Devil and Adam as being less of a man and being beguiled by an evil and vain woman are redeemed by the love, generosity and sacrifice of Mary, the Mother of God and her Son, Jesus, the living God. Mary is the new Eve, following the instructions of the Lord and Jesus is the new Adam, without the stain of sin, serving God the Father.

It is ironic, perhaps, that in the beginning, there was Adam, and from a rib, was made Eve. And yet it is the reverse, Mary is the perfect being, sinless and Jesus comes from her womb. The cycle is complete, we are all reunited, humanity and God, part of each other and inheritors to the heavens.

So, this Ostara I celebrate not only Jesus and his life, but the redemption of our old parents and I celebrate the new year of growth and warmth and healing.

Brightest Blessings be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Coming of Age: Croning

Merry Meet!

I turn 40 for my birthday. Forty. I have mixed feelings about that. There is a part of me that is glad that I am turning forty. Less is expected of me in many ways. In someways more is expected of me. I am no longer young, but I am not old. I have different priorities. At thirty, I wanted to find romantic love, but now I want to just love people around me and I want to love myself more. I want to be still, no more of that hoping around and hair pulling. I am far more interested in my interior world.

I want to devote myself to my personal studies and get ready to go to that next step, that next level in the world of the Craft. I am Croning this summer. It is a bitter sweet prospect. My dear friend who has made the journey to the Summerland was to have croned me. I am still being croned, but I will miss my friend.

For those who do not know what croning is, it is when a female witch has reached spiritual and chronological maturity and can be considered one of the wise ones. Men are eldered. It is a happy celebration, acknowledging the wealth of wisdom, experience and work the witch has done in his and her lifetime.

That does not mean that I will stop growing as a person or a witch, it just means that I have reached the highest level attainable in my spiritual practices. So in August think of me as I go through my croning and bright blessings be.

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

How do you define Witch? Part Two

Merry Meet

After much thought I came up with this. It is by no means complete but it is a jumping off place. Maybe this is the way it should be, always evolving as we grow. We are never the person we were from one year to the next, so perhaps this truth should also apply to being a witch and how we see ourselves as witches.

A witch is someone who has a personal relationship with their sacred spirit, who acknowledges, embraces, and loves the energy endowed to them by their sacred spirit. A witch is someone who seeks not only to serve themselves but help others explore, embrace, and cherish the sacred for themselves.

A witch studies and enriches themselves and emerse themselves in multiple traditions and disciplines so they have a wealth of wisdom from which to draw protective, healing and intuitive powers to help others from diverse paths find their own notion of the sacred.

A witch serves their sacred spirit through their Craft and from their sacred spirit comes their Craft. A witch, above all things is a believer.

So throw away all those stereotypes of the witch. Accept and love yourself and your sacred spirit and your witch self.

I am a witch

And I love the peson I am.


Brightest Blessings Be,
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

How do you define Witch?

I was reading Judika Illes book, The Element Encyclopedia of the Magical World A-Z, and she begins her book with a question "How do you define the word witch?" And I had to really think about it. How do I define the word that I and others would apply when describing myself? To tell you the truth, I had more ideas about what a witch is not:

1. I do not cast spells to control people.
2. I do not worship the devil.
3. I do not sacrifice animals or people to the afforementioned devil.
4. I do not play quiddich
5. I am not a hag (though I might soon be a crone)
6. I have a black cat but he is not my familiar spirit or daemon (which is not the same as
the devil)
7. I am not Wiccan (but not all Wiccans are witches)
8. I am not one of the Charmed Ones

But If I am none of these things, what am I? What is a witch anyway? You tell me, and I'll think about it and try to answer that question the next time I blog.

Coming soon: More good books, more spells and more lore!!!!

Bright Blessings Be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Coming out of the Broom Closet: Don't ask, don't spell

Merry Meet!

I have had conversations with many witches of diverse traditions. I have also met many gay folk. Many gay folk who practice the Craft and they all say the same thing: I was easier for me to come out of the sexual closet than the broom closet. I thought to myself why that is, and with hopes that I don't offend any gay folk, this is what I have come up with.

Gay folk are looked at as misguided folks who may be sinners but have done nothing that God cannot forgive, but tell your family that you are a witch and images of grotesque blasphemies rise up in the minds of your family. They assume you have done something to commit the unforgivable sin and that is "Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit".

And this simply comes from a place of ignorance. They believe all those scary stories that have been told since the Middle Ages that we sacrifice children and have sex with the devil and attend black masses. The thing is, a true witch would find that distasteful to do something to insult another religion, the second thing is that the activities themselves would have very little meaning to a true witch, as their religious beliefs do not acknowledge the importance to such things as the black mass, as these are simply parodies of a Christian activity. And no witch would harm a child, it is against the rede and the legends of child sacrifice exist as a part of testimony only after torture by the Inquisition.

For me, I believe that I will likely be in the broom closet all of my life. It doesn't bother me, it simply is this way. The Craft does not require me to convert, in fact the Craft is esoteric, but it is sad that the reason I can't be more up front about my practice is that people refuse to accept the diversity of the world.

Brightest Blessings Be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Imbolc for the Christian Crafter

Merry Meet


Imbolc lands during an auspicious time for the Christian Crafter, especially one who is Catholic. This year, Imbolc lands just before the Lenten season, the time of sacrifice in preparation for the Easter Holiday when we Christian Crafters celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The theme should be familiar for Wiccan and Pagan folk, as they celebrated the death and resurrection of their god at Yule.

Imbolc for our Pagan and Wiccan friends is the celebration of the first signs of spring. It is the milk festival, when the lambs are born and begin to suckle. It is also called Brigantia, the Feast of Brede, or Bridget. This is a feast to bring honor to the earth goddess of the Celts or Druids. The Irish have since Christianized Bridget, but this is not the way I celebrate Imbolc. For me, Imbolc is the waiting time, when I mark not only my Christian fsting, but my Wicce fasting, to purify myself and prepare for Ostara, where I shed the old self and prepare for the new growing season of spring. It is during this time that I get ready to plant my herbs and my flowers and I clean my home and my sacred space and get ready for a summer of preparing new potions, new ingredients, and getting ready for another year of healing, creativity and rest. I may also be reading books I have bought through the winter and did not have time to read and study and I may be buying more books. I will be also adding to my Book of Shadows.

Imbolc is my signal to begin the process of getting rid of things I no longer need. I may be giving away books, if I haven't marked them up badly, which is something I do when I study, I can't help it. I may be cataloging things and making note of things that I need and what I don't need anymore.

I will be fasting. I will cut back on heavy, greasy food, drinking more water, definitely passing up meat on Friday and giving up something like chocolate, which is full of fat anyway, and spending more time in meditation and contemplation.

Imbolc is a time of purification, so I may be purifying tools, old and new, rededicating old tools and dedicating new ones. I may be on the search for new statues for my altar or a new incense burner or new cauldron.

So whatever you do in your Imbolc practices, dedicate them to your Sacred Spirit and prepare for the most festive of seasons.

Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Happy News Years....Next Holiday: Imbolc

Merry Meet!

Hello. I have just a bit of time to say hello to anyone who may be checking out my blog. For the coming year I will be working on my blog more and getting more from my book of shadows on line and do some more with the holidays.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Years.....

Brightest Blessings Be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Christmas and Yule

Merry Meet!

It's that wonderful time of the year again, the winter season and holiday season. My Wiccan and Pagan friends are celebrating Yule, reinacting the death and resurrection of their god and the ritual joining of god and goddess. As a Christian Wicce, I too celebrate Yule. During my Yule celebration, I remember the the three Magi, the wonderful astronomers and astrologers who sought the baby Jesus. I include astrologer because they not only navigated by the star, but they knew the quality of the person who was born under that star. I also take time to thank God for the wonderful teachers that I have had, either people I have met, or people who have taught me through their writings. I have a Yule log and I light candles and play holiday music and I burn my regrets and my hopes and dreams and wishes. I usually treat myself with some new magical tool or even a new Book of Shadows or a new book to read. It is also the time I give thanks for the opportunity to work and to be generous and show love and compassion to my fellow man.

So, on this wonderous Yule, thank your own Sacred Spirit for what ever blessings they have bestowed on you and give love and compassion now and the whole year through.

Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Experiencing Resistance: How to deal with rejection, even inside the Wiccan/Pagan Community

Merry Meet!

Every human organization has its down side and this is also true about the Craft. As a Christian Wicce, I have experienced many different problems with other disciplines who close their door and knowledge to me because I am a Christian Crafter. Because of this, I have always looked at any human organized group with a sort of healthy skepticism. I have a feeling this is why I love and cherish my solitary practice.

Just as I have experienced resistance and prejudice for my Catholicism, so have I experienced problems with some members of the Crafting community. While I don't take it personally, because I know there are some Crafters who look down on solitaries and gay witches as well, I see this as a sad state of affairs because because there is so much we can learn from each other.

I remember I went to a Metaphysical Fair years ago in the central part of the state while I was in college. This was just when I was Craft curious and searching. I was having a wonderful time, buying celtic crafts and music and incense and candles and broomstick skirts and blouses. I was talking to a lady who was selling tarot decks and I was looking to buy an inexpensive set with a guide book. I bought them and started toward a booth that caught my eye. This lady was selling beautiful pewter cups, swords and athames and crystal balls.

Everything at her stand was very beautiful and somewhat expensive and beyond the Crystal Ball, I really hadn't a clue how one would use a chalice or an athame. The propriatress was a gothic Stevie Nicks type in a black corset tied with red silk ribbon and leather boots. She came over to the place where I was standing. I could feel her looking at my Celtic style Crucifix. I knew I was in trouble. I said hi.

"I'm Lady Midnight Gloomy Gus," (that was not her real name, I don't remember what she said her name was, but I am a big fan of Dickens, who gave his characters names that sort of described who they were.) "I belong to the celebrated Temple of the Insufferably Doomed. To what magikal tradition do you belong and what is your magikal name?" I was a bit taken aback, as you can imagine.

"I don't have a magikal name. I study with my friend, Celeste, over there," I answered, nodding my head toward Celeste, who was juggling wax candles to amuse a small group of kids while she taught them about spiritual concentration and balance. She was always good about a teachable moment.

"What discipline?" she asked. Now, Celeste had been the one to call me a Christian Witch or Wicce, so, I said : "Christian Witch," You know how you have just committed a faux pas and you know you have offended someone? This lady certainly had that look on her face. Sort of a face that I would recognize later as the look Malfoy gives Hermione just before he calls her a mudblood.

On the way home, as I fingered the holes of the wooden flute I had bought, I told my friend Celeste about the woman. She shook her head and rolled her eyes a bit as I told her about the single blemish on my day.

"Aslinn," she said, as she explained her take on this situation. "The Craft comunity is split into two groups. One group is very militant and very public and confrontational. They are primarily men and women who are angry and have come into the Wicca/Pagan religion as angry former Christians. They want to be the direct opposite of their families. The usual Lord and Lady of Darkness are the witches the newspapers and TV reporters want to interview. They dress like Dracula and Vampira 24/7/365. They tend to do what they claim to hate about Christianity, they hate anyone who is not like them," she said. "Then you have us. We're the hippy dippy witchies, the fluffy bunny witches. We are more tolerant but not any less passionate about our beliefs. But we acknowledge magik exists in all religions. We may look side ways at your pentacle and your cross and your Marian devotions but we also know that we can rely on you to help us with a magikal problem and you kow how to use most any herb. You are a part of what I call the universal coven and your Craft is just as important as anyone elses." she finished finally.

From then on I was never self conscious with my Craft and I offer no explanations or apologies. I always strive to be better as a person in and out of the realm of the Craft. I believe there will be hard times ahead and we will all be in trouble, regardless of what you believe in. Someday it will be against the law to practice any form of religion, whether you are Christian or Pagan, Wiccan or Jew, Muslim or Buddhist or a little mix of everything and we will all have to stand together with whatever magikal or spiritual tools we have and fight a monster that would have no God before him at all. Let us all be Brothers and Sisters, in and out of the Craft and may we all stand together.

And to all I say,

Bright Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Update on Patrick Stewart

The federal branch of the Department of Veteran's Affairs has decided that it is up the the State Department of Veteran's Affairs to decide whether or not to honor Sgt Stewart with a Wiccan Star. So far the Nevada State DVA has made statements suggesting that this would rectified and Sgt Stewart would have the appropriate religious emblem placed on his memorial.

Three Cheers and a Blessed Be

I'll keep you posted...
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

More Books for your Perusal

Merry Meet!

Hello, here are some additions to the book lists I have been posting for you. Of course, these books are just suggested reading but I encourage all of you whether you are just starting your magical education or are an experienced witch, these books can only enhance your knowledge and help you develop a wider range of knowledge. Remember, you can only grow through study and practice. If you are practicing without studying, you can get yourself into real trouble.

The first books I am going to tell you about this evening are a pair in a series. They are written by Ashleen O'Gaea and they are entitled Celebrating the Seasons of life: Samhain to Ostara and Celebrating the Seasons of life: Beltaine to Mabon . Both of these books are designed to help you understand where these holidays come from, the symbols used in the celebrations and even suggestions as to how to celebrate them and how develop your own rituals. They are both published by New Page Books and they were both $14.99.

The next book I want to suggest leans a little on the Christian side, but can still be useful to anyone and it is called The Magic Shield by Francis Melville. It is chock full of interesting anecdotes and it is very well illustrated with lovely old woodcut prints. It is a small book but is a bit pricey at $19.99 and is published by Barron's.

The next couple of books have loads of general info, but is very educational to read. The Giant Book of Magic by Cassandra Eason is an interesting book to read though it is a bit static to read and a little under organized. The section on Gypsy magic and lore was great. Published by Magpie Books in London. It was 4.95 on sale but was probably regularly priced at 12.00. Check your local Borders Books, they may have it discounted as well.

The next book was Witchcraft and Practical Magic by Susan Greenwood and Raje Airey. It is full of the history of magic and has all sorts of chapters on gems. metals, dreams, meditation, tools and the like. Fantastic book, very well illustrated, again, was on sale for 4.55 and published by Hermes House. Regular price 10.39.

A couple of good all purpose spell books is The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Spells and Magic edited by Nancy Bailey, is a small, very fun to read book full of arcana that really encourages the witch to understand old notions about spells and casting and how to write your spells and rituals. It is published by Sterling Publishers and sells for 9.95. The second book is The Spells Bible written by Ann-Marie Gallagher. She breaks down spells by season, by the optimal day and by purpose. Well organized little book, full of great information. Published by Walking Stick Press,
for 19.95

Here are a couple of books all witches should have. It is not because they are great books of magic, but because they are great books chronicling the Burning Times. Just as there are Jewish Scholars who study the Holocaust and have a copy of Mein Kampf on their shelves, so should witches have these books on their shelves. The first is The Malleus Malficarum by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger at 14.95 and The Compendium Malficarum by Francesco Maria Guazzo at 11.95. Both books are published by Dover Publications. Get them, own them, read them and know them. They may save our Craft community someday.

The next book in my book shelf I recommend for you is Magic in the Middle Ages by Richard Kieckhefer. It is very good history, if a little scholarly, published by Cambridge University Press. I bought it used for 5.00 at a flea market but I think it would sell new for about 15.00. May be out of print so you may want try your local library or if you live near a college campus, browse the bookstore sale bins and library book sales.

I'll quit for now. Keep checking in for new book lists.

Bright Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Warriors and Today's War and the Witchcrafter

Merry Meet!

Veteran's day has come and gone and we have had on our minds the present war in Iraq and past wars in the Gulf, Vietnam, Korea, in Japan, and Europe and America and those who are serving and have served in these wars and those who died in these conflicts. There are some differing views about whether it is ethical for a person who practices the Craft to be involved with war. I have no arguement with either side. I understand that not all wars are worthy wars, but I also accept that some of us, whether we are crafters or not, to prove themselves on the field of battle.

Crafters who go into the military believe they fulfilling an act of soldiery, to become warriors of the craft and fulfill their spiritual and physical training through a contest of the wills to do so and earn the degree of warrior priest of the various Craft, Wiccan, or Pagan discplines. It does hurt my heart, however when I hear Wiccans say that they are wrong to desire the chance to be warriors and do what they feel is right. After all, if it were not the will of the fates, or God or gods and goddesses of that warrior's faith system, then they would not be allowed to do so.

So On this Weekend, when we honor the living and the dead who have fought for our freedom, and our flag, I honor also all Crafters in uniform, particularly Patrick Stewart, a faithful Wiccan who gave his life and now the government refuses to honor him with the symbol of his faith, the Pentacle Star, on his headstone. This post is dedicated you Patrick.

Brightest Blessings Be,

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

In Memory of Celeste

My circle sister was a woman named Celeste. Celeste was an energetic
and open minded friend when I first knew her. I met her in a women's studies class and though I did not care that much for the class, I became close friends with her. She had crisp black hair and bright green eyes and a full mouth that screamed Celtic. She had an incredible sense of humor and when you talked to her, you knew she heard you.
I had returned to college after my husband died nearly ten years ago. Our instructor did not show up to class one night and I decided to go to the local watering hole to drink a couple of Guinness to wash away the week. I asked if anyone would like to come and Celeste said that she could use a couple of brews herself. She was delightful and philosophical and newly divorced. Beyond knowing that she was studying anthropology, I knew very little about her.

It never dawned on me that Celeste was a Wiccan until I invited her to Mass one Sunday Morning. She smiled and turned me down. Later I saw her and apologized, I had meant no harm and offered the visit as a friendly gesture. She said it was okay. And then I asked her if she had a religion and she said that she was a Wiccan.

I knew some things about the Craft and the occult and I asked what I hoped were thoughtful questions. I told her I was recently widowed and that I wasn't sure where my life was headed. We came to no quick conclusions that day but over the years and between the miles Celeste became my ex-officio mentor as I embarked on my study of the Craft.

You know how you know someone all of your life and you know they are gay or whatever and when they come out to you, you aren't that surprised that they are gay. Well, Celeste was the first one to come out and say "Aslinn, you are a witch!" And her revelation was so disturbing to me that I wouldn't speak to her for a long time. I was afraid fo what being a witch meant. Did it mean I wasn't a Christian? Was I going to hell? She contacted me first and came over to my place and discussed with me what that meant.

She told me that Craft could be practiced as a religion, as she did, or you could practice Craft as a spiritual practice, reflecting your own religious practice or tradition. "Imagine,"she said, "a Christian Witch."

Now I can see that some of you out there are wiggling around in your chairs and looking uncomfortable because perhaps you are Christians and you have doubts about the reality of Celeste's faith. Maybe you even mourn her for not being a Christian. Maybe you are afraid of what I just said, Christian Witch, and now you think you are in the presence of the devil.
I am no priest nor judge of souls. No one can judge another man's soul. All I can say is whether a person has goodness in their heart. And Celeste did have that goodness in her heart. I believe Celeste is in the Summerland she believed in and dreamed of and spoke of all of her life. She lived her life in circle of seasons and her life has come full.

Will we see her again? I say yes becuse heaven is a place of understanding and unversality and when we get ther we will be surprised to see who is standing next to us. Even if this is not a part of your belief system, do not judge Celeste or those who called her friend, sister, priestess and Crone. For Celeste walked a lightfooted path, trying not to harm flora or fauna or fellow man and serve the spirit she called divine, fulfilling her calling as a leader, healer and a teacher. She lives on in all of us and we are all better for having known her. As she always closed her letters, I give to you her sweetest words:

Brightest Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Celebrations in November

Merry Meet!

Though there is no Wiccan counterpart to the Sabats I celebrate in November, I do like to appoint a day about mid month when I do a cerimony or two to celebrate a couple of things that are important in my life. On that special sabat, I take time to remember the warriors, Wicce or not, who are serving our country here or abroad, particularly during this time of war. I don't like the thought of men and women in harm's way, particularly for this war, which is so unneccesary, but I do like to honor them and celebrate their warrior ways and their bravery and I like to celebrate those who have died in all of the wars for whether we like it or not, it was for us they died so that we could be free in America and over the years, freedom has come to mean so much us, particularly those of us in the Craft.

I also take time to thank God for all he has given to me. This can work for my Pagan and Wiccan friends, too, they can just thank their goddess or god of their choice. For this celebration, I set up my family shield. This is just a little something that I put together and made of posterboard cut into the shape of a shield and I glued pictures of my family, living and dead, symbols of our family, like shamrocks or feathers or bits and pieces that are important to me. I also display a cornucopia, celebrating the wealth which has been bestowed on me and my family. I set out orange and red and green and yellow candles to represent the passing or the seasons and wealth and I make lists of those I wish to honor, my accomplishments and things I have managed to do, and my goals and dreams. I have cakes and ale and I intone protections for my friends and family, especially if they travel and I intone blessings for the soldiers, living and dead and those who are at war for their protection. I play happy music, usually celtic or Native American and I thank God for all I have. It isn't an official Sabat from the wheel of the year, but it suits me and I invite everyone to do their own thanks for giving sabat.


Bright Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

A wonderful book came to me

Bright Blessings Be!

As I have traveled through my life and through my studies, I have found that I have met great people of faith, of Wiccan and Pagan and Christian, practicing Craft or just curious about the Craft. From time to time I have met resistance and not just from Christian friends who have noticed that my library leans heavily on the occult, but from Craft friends who say I cannot practice Craft and be Christian. One of these friends who expressed doubts, but does not hesitate to call me when she needs advice, called me about a month ago and said that I should get this little book called The Hex and Spell Craft of the Pennsylvania Dutch. I meant to get it, but then Celeste, my circle leader died and I started a temp job and I completely forgot about it when I saw it on Amazon.com. I went on and ahead and ordered it and when it came in, I immediately devoured it. For a long time I wanted to find a book that very closely resembled or explained what I did as a witch, and though I still lean heavily on the Wiccan side of things like ritual and symbol, this book explained so much about what I believed in as a Christian and a worker of the Craft.

The book also delved into the magical practices of my Appalachian culture, and there are tons of magical spells and rituals in my culture that I have been collecting for years. This sort of magic is loosely referred to as Pow Wow and mixes some Native American Practices with Appalachian, sort of a non-Catholic, Protestant Appalachian Hoo Doo. It is mostly cures and herbs and prayers but there are also some spells and castings and other magical rituals one would be accustomed to.

This form of magic is practiced by the plain people, the Mennonites, Amish and the Lutheran brethren and there are some who say that they look at the hexes and the spellcraft with embarrassment because they are condemned as superstitious. This is not true because witches are not superstitious and they are not given to practicing superstition. They are practical people who wish to be of help and are in tune with the world of nature.

While I needed no book to vindicate me and my beliefs and practices, I feel as though a friend has been taught that there is a wide world of magics and an even wider world of witches tan she has ever imagined.

Merry Meet, Merry Met, Merry Meet Again.....

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Halloween, another year and the turn of the cyclical wheel of the year

Bright Blessings Be

It has been a year since I started this blog and since then I have met wonderful people and read wonderful books and had great experiences, both happy and sad. The magik I have practiced and the spells I have cast and the spells I have shared with my friends have been extraordinarily successful for me and I have been very happy with my travels. For these things I give thanks.

Of my regrets, I have regretted that I have had only a small bit of time to devote to my Wicce studies and my Wicce activities, like this blog. I regret my angers and my lack of patience and my ignorances which may have hurt others. I regret my lack of self confidence and my fears. And I now let these things go and look forward to the future.

Of my goals, I want to continue to study, I want to continue to write, both my blog and my BOS. to read my books and write more spells. I resolve to practice my Wicce ways more fully and live with confidence and hope and without fear. I resolve to teach more of my discipline of my earthly knowledge and teach more of my Wicce ways.

As I will all of these things, So mote all of these things be.

Merry Meet, Merry Met, Merry Meet Again.

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Some Lore and Arcana from the Book of Shadows of Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Merry Meet!

Hope this is helpful to you. Don't hesitate to add information to this blog.

Herbs and Oils

Anointing Oils- Jasmine, frankincense, rosemary, rose, myrrh, lily of the valley and lavender.

Purification- mint, dragon’s blood, thyme, myrrh, lavender, parsley, lemon verbena, basil, anise, salt.

Protection- mustard, marigold, eucalyptus, basil, anise, witch hazel, vanilla, sandalwood, pepper, parsley, cinnamon, lilac, rosemary, rose, frankincense sage.

Blessings- Cypress, rosemary, frankincense

Spirituality- Sandalwood, and frankincense

Exorcisms- Sandalwood, pepper, basil, cloves, myrrh, frankincense.

Money- mint, allspice, patchouli, cloves, jasmine, opium, orange, mustard, ginger, anise.

Love- ginger, basil, heather, catnip, musk, gardenia, apple, vanilla, opium , orange, licorice, lemon verbena, thyme, jasmine, honeysuckle, patchouli, cloves, lavender.

Peace- Gardenia, lavender.

Healing- Sandalwood, cinnamon, thyme, opium scent, lavender, sage, eucalyptus, gardenia, mint.

Sleep- opium and lavender and chamomile.

Happiness- catnip and lavender.

Inspiration- cloves, rosemary, lily of the valley

Wisdom- cloves, rosemary, lily of the valley and sage.

Spirituality- Sandalwood, gardenia, myrrh, frankincense

Magik Tools- Myrrh

Transformation- Myrrh

Clairvoyance- honeysuckle, lilac, rose, lemon grass, cinnamon, thyme, nutmeg

Beauty- catnip, rose, rosemary

Releasing love- rose

Banishing- lilac, cedar, patchouli, cloves and rose.

Courage- musk, dragon’s blood, allspice, rosemary

Will power- rosemary

Negative energy( repel) – rosemary

Gossip (stop)- cloves

Fertility- Opium, mustard and patchouli

Gravedust (substitute) – patchouli

Forgiveness- sandalwood, cypress, cedar

Prosperity- basil, chamomile, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage

Meditation- chamomile

Calm- chamomile

Cat Magik- Catnip

Longevity- Sage

Nightmares (prevent) Anise, lavender, chamomile, opium

Success- Ginger, and cinnamon

Lust- licorice, lemon grass

Legal matters- Marigold

Divination- Orange

Wishes- Sandalwood

Mental powers- vanilla

Rejuvenation- vanilla

Solace for lost love- witch hazel, lavender

Remembrance- evergreen

Magik- Vanilla

Forgetfulness- opium

Power- ginger, dragon’s blood

Friendship- rose

Dedication- myrrh

Mental Health- lavender

Preservation- Myrrh

Highmeadow’s Oil- Chamomile, heather and gardenia

Wolf’s song oil- opium, frankincense

Wolf’s Bane- Sage

Solomon Oil- cloves

Holy Oil- Lily of the Valley and or rose

Helping hand- patchouli

Peace oil- Chamomile and lavender

Mandrake oil- ginger or dragon’s blood

Lotus oil- Chinese sandalwood, Arabian musk, rose

Fertility oil- Patchouli

Witchoil- frankincense, rose, lilac, gardenia, honeysuckle, cinnamon, orange, sandalwood, vanilla. (also Wicca oil)

Midas oil- Jasmine, patchouli, mint, orange and opium.

Tranquility oil- chamomile

Forgiveness Oil- Cedar, cypress, or sandalwood.

Joy- Lavender.

Friendship oil- Rose, cedar and lavender

John the Conqueror- Cinnamon, eucalyptus, sandalwood

Moonlight oil- Lily of the Valley, lavender, and dragon’s blood.

White Solstice oil- musk and lavender

Just Judge Oil- Rose musk and vanilla.




Candles and Colors

Red- Aries/Scorpio- Tuesday- South- Willpower, energy, love, career, power, strength, passion, courage, fire, fertility, & Archangel Michael

Green- Taurus- Thursday- Healing, good luck, environment, dispelling jealousy

Yellow- Gemini/Virgo-Sunday- East- inspiration, property, change luck, mental powers, learning, memory, sudden change, charm, visions, new home, confidence, attraction, & Archangel Raphael.

Silver- Cancer- moon magik, encourage, remove negativity, protection, quick money, gambling.

Orange- Leo- property, seal a spell, selling things, good luck, success, energy, attraction, new home, stimulation, justice.

Pink- Libra-love, friendship, spiritual awakening, harmony, fidelity, honor, emotional healing and home blessing.

Purple- Sagittarius- Wednesday- independence, power, sobriety, peace, divination, wisdom, spiritual growth, abstinence, success.

Black- Capricorn- Saturday- sobriety, bindings, protection, abstinence, repelling.

Blue- Aquarius- Friday-West- protection, success, creativity, wisdom, home, truth, sleep, hope, friends, peace, healing, calm, patience, confidence, & Archangel Raphael.

Mauve- Pisces

Grey- Glamories

Light Blue- Remembrance

White- Monday- truth, purity, protection, home purification, peace, moon magik, happiness.

Gold- God- good friends, success, devotion, home blessings.

Brown- North- animal shamanism, home, friendship, locate, lost objects, herbalism, & Archangel Uriel

In an emergency and you don't have the colors you need, white candles can be a substitute.


Celtic Astrology

Dec 23- Jan 1 (June 25-Jul 4) Apple Tree- Thin, charming, pleasant, flirty, adventurous, sensitive, loving, generous, scientific, philosophic, imaginative.

Jan 2-Jan 11 (July5- July 14) Fir Tree- taste, dignity, sophistication, loves beauty, moody, stubborn, modest, ambitious, talented, industrious, reliable.

Jan 12- Jan 24 (July 15-July 25) Elm Tree- pleasant shape- tasteful clothes, modest demands, unforgiving, cheerful, loves to lead, practical, noble minded, generous, humorous.

Jan 25-Feb 3 (Jul 26-Aug 4) Cypress Tree- strong, adaptable, content, optimistic, hates loneliness, faithful, quick tempered, unruly, pedantic, careless.

Feb 4-Feb 8 (May 1- May 14/ Aug 5- Aug 13) Poplar Tree- decorative, unconfident, courageous when they have to be, needs good will, pleasant surroundings, choosy, artistic, organized, and philosophical.

Feb 9- Feb 18 (Aug 14- Aug 23) Cedar Tree- of rare beauty, adaptable, enjoys good health, not shy, a bit snobby, self confident, determined, impatient, impressive, talented, industrious, and optimistic.

Feb 19-Feb 28 (Aug 24- Sept 2) Pine Tree- loves good company, robust, comfortable, active, natural, standoffish, falls in and out of love, gives up

Mar 1- Mar 10 ( Sept 3-Sept 12) Weeping Willow- beautiful, melancholy, attractive, empathetic, loves beauty and travel, big dreamer, restless, honest, demanding, good intuition.

Mar 11- Mar 20 (Sept 13- Sept 22) Lime Tree- accepts what life dishes out, loyal, jealous, hates fighting, stress and work, dislikes laziness in others, soft, relenting, makes sacrifices, talented.

March 21- Oak Tree- robust, courageous, strong, unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, stable, a person of action.

Mar 22- Mar 31 (Sept24- Oct 3)- Hazelnut Tree- charming, undemanding, understanding, makes an impression, agent for change, popular, moody, and excellent sense of judgment.

April 1-April 10 (Oct 4-Oct 13)- Rowan Tree- full of charm, cheerful, gifted, loves attention, life, motion, unrest, and complications, both independent and dependent, artistic, passionate.

April 11-April 20 (Oct 14- Oct 23)- Maple Tree- no ordinary person, imaginative, shy, reserved, ambitious, proud, confident, loves new experiences, nervous, complex, good memory.

April 21-April 30 (Oct 24- Nov 11)- Walnut Tree- unrelenting, strange, full of opposites, egoistic, aggressive, noble, looking for the next horizon, unexpected reaction, spontaneous, limited, ambitious, inflexible, difficult, admired, jealous.

May 15- May 24 (Nov 12- Nov 21)- Chestnut Tree- beautiful, modest, seeks justice, vivacious, diplomatic, irritable, sensitive, low confidence, loves only once.

May 25-June 3 (Nov 22- Dec 1)- Ash Tree- attractive, vivacious, demanding, hates criticism, ambitious, intelligent, egotistical, reliable, trustworthy, faithful, prudent, and serious in love.

June 4- June 13 (Dec 2- Dec 11) Hornbeam Tree- cool beauty, takes care, good taste, makes life comfortable, reasonable, disciplined, kind, cautious, and conscientious.

June 14- June 23 (Dec 12- Dec 21) Fig Tree- strong, willful, independent, doesn’t argue, loves life, family, children, animals, social occasions. Humorous, lazy but talented.

June 24- Birch Tree- vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, nothing in excess, hates vulgarity, loves nature, imaginative, but unambitious, calm and content.

September 23- Olive Tree- warmth, kindness, reasonable, balanced, loves the sun, avoids aggression, calm, just, tolerant, cheerful, free of jealousy, loves to read, and being in the company of intellectuals.

Dec 22- Beech Tree- good taste, concerned with appearance, materialistic, organized, economical, leader, no risks, friend for life, and avid health nut.


More to come. Bright Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

Some bits and pieces from the Book of Shadows of Aslinn Dhan

Merry Meet!

I'm sharing some more goodies from my Book of Shadows. Hope you have as much success with them as I have.

All of these rituals and spells are written with the Christian Wicce in mind, but feel free to change them to fit your own discipline needs.


A Cleansing Ritual

Note: In the old days a witch would do her magical work in front of her fire or at a fire outside. From this fire she would light any candles or cook any potion or burn any amulet or talisman as prescribed. To accommodate urban dwellings without access to a fire or an outdoor space, a sacred fire is simply a large candle dedicated to be the witches' fire source.

To be done at the start of any ritual or casting

To cleanse the Space, all objects should be out and ready to be used in your work. With your broom, you should sweep the area of your sacred space and with holy water all should be anointed intoning: “Blessed be this holy space”. You should set up for your ritual and light your Sacred Fire intoning: “This is the Fire of knowledge, truth and hope and inspiration. May it burn brightly for the intention of my Craft.” Meditate and pray in your sacred space. This might be a short prayer, focusing on the person or intention of the work ahead or a reading from the Bible or Prayer Book or the praying of your Rosary or if you are Pagan, to salute your dieties and meditate on the intentions of your workings

Calling the Corners

With your athame, turn in your sacred space and intone:

North, South, East, and West
I call upon your guardian best
Earth, Fire, Water and Wind
To this circle I invoke within:

Uriel, Servant of the Earth, Angel of the North, Aid to Healers, Hear Me!
Michael, Bringer of Fire, Angel of the South, Aid to the Defenseless, Hear Me!
Raphael, Bearer of Water, Angel of the East, Aid to the Seeker, Hear Me!
Gabriel, Master of the Wind, Angel of the West, Aid to the Intuitive, Hear Me!

I charge your powers; create a shield, a spirit wall you may build.
Protect this time, protect this space, protect this ritual in its place.


You may now continue with any ritual or other work.





Binding Spells

Binding spells are cast to protect the witch or the seeker of the spell and to protect the object of the spell from harm. This is very good for the timid or the physically small and it is pretty simple and there are many types.

Binding Spell One

Materials

Athame, Bowl, White and Black Candle, paper and pen, wand, incense, sacred fire, salt, and water

Perform cleansing and the calling of the corners to begin each spell.

Pour some of your water into a bowl and bless it with the sign of the cross. Using salt, cast your protective circle and light the white candle from your sacred fire. Place the candle in the center of your circle and with your wand intone:

Angels of the four corners, hear my cry.
Carry my words to your Master and mine.
Within this space stands one who believes
Protect me and give me the strength I need.

Write the name of the one who is harassing you. Roll it like scroll or fold it and lay it in your sacred space. Intone:

On this paper is the name of who is vexing me. Bind them from harassing others, and me, from harming others or me. The harm they inflict comes back to them. By the power of three make it be. May their heart grow heavy with regret but may they make amends. St. Michael the Archangel, I ask your help in this matter.

Burn or otherwise destroy the paper. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Take up your wand and say


___________ I admonish you from harming yourself and others. Your hurtful ways harm not only others but yourself. Angels of the four corners, protect him from harm and protect others from being harmed by him.

Announce: Blessed Be!

Angels of the four corners carry the sentiment of this spell to God in heaven. May all of the elements of this spell enlighten me to help me to withstand evil and encourage those around me to put aside their evil ways that are harmful to themselves and to others. May all we do come back to us seven times.

Perform closing ritual.

Binding Spell Two

This is a quickie spell for when you don’t have time for a full-fledged ritual casting.

Write the name of the person who is harassing you on a piece of paper. Put it in a bottle bound with black thread. Fill with salt and protective herbs. Seal the bottle and bury the spell.

Binding Spell Three

Make a poppet of black cloth, fill it with earth and piece of paper with the person’s name ( I would add salt) intone with wand:

Creature of earth thou art
Now creature of flesh and blood you be.
I name you __________
No more shall you do me harm or say evil against me
Nor will you interfere in my life or the lives of my loved ones.
By the power of God it must be (make the sign of the cross over the poppet)
(With black thread)
I bind your feet from bringing you to do me harm.
I bind your hands from doing me harm.
I bind your mouth from speaking to do me harm
I have bound this person from doing harm and by the powers of God I fix this spell and set it free.
T’will give no harm to return to me.

Bury the poppet or some other appropriate conclusion.

Close the ritual.

There are ways to simplify these rituals. If you cannot bury the object in dirt, you can crush or drown the object in water. If you are unable or uncomfortable with poppets, you can write the name on a piece of paper and destroy it that way. Some witches even prefer to eat their spells. Use what you are comfortable with.

Here is a word spell which requires no materials:

With the fingers of your wand hand, circle the first two fingers of your opposite hand. Intone:

I bind you________ from harming others and from harming yourself. Repeat the spell 3 times. End with :

As I will it so mote it be.

An Unbinding Ritual

A binding is when a witch feels harassed or in danger of harm and the witch performs a binding spell to keep the harasser from harming the witch, himself or others. If a witch feels they may be bound in a binding and cannot work the Craft successfully, the witch may be under a binding. Before performing an unbinding ceremony, the witch must examine her conscience.

1. Have I broken any of God’s commands?
2. Have I intentionally worked the Craft for evil or greed?
3. Have I been uncharitable?
4. Have I worked a spell against someone who is innocent?
5. Have I carelessly worked a spell or ritual?

If your answers are yes, go to confession, and do an act of penance. If you have gained from an evil worked through the Craft, donate a cash gift equal to the gain to charity. If possible, ask for forgiveness of the person harmed by your spell. If you are unable to that, do some act of good in their name. If you carelessly worked a ritual, refrain from the Craft for a moon cycle. During this moon, study your rituals and meditate on your calling to the Craft.

If you answered no truthfully to the questions, then do this unbinding ritual:

Begin with cleansing and calling the corners.
Materials

Wand, athame, bottled water, salt, rose oil, lilac, dragon’s blood, gardenia, vanilla, and a broom

Begin with the Lord’s Prayer and the Shepard’s Prayer. If you are a Pagan or Wiccan, you may address the deities of your choice. With the salt, draw a protective circle around your altar stone. Place a few drops of the oils in the cauldron and begin cooking it together.

With your wand intone:

Beleaguered am I and I call upon my personal angel, __________and ask him to cast his protection around me. Wave your wand around your head in a halo motion.

Strengthen me to wield the Craft in the name of social concern. Unbind me and remove all hindrances to my service to God from whom comes all my strengths and knowledge. By the power of three let this evil flee from me!

With your athame, make the sign of the cross to the four corners. (or the sign of the pentangle)

I cut the bindings surrounding me and ask God and all of the angels to protect the one who has done me disservice. Protect him and guide him that he may turn his Craft to the service of God.

Say Prayer to St. Michael, submitting the name of your personal angel guarding you. Bless yourself and your sacred space with the potion. Spend some time in your sacred space and meditate.

Close ritual

Banishment Spell

Materials

Oils: Rose and Patchouli
Herbs: Cloves and Salt
Candle: Silver
Sacred Fire
Pen and Paper
Wand and Anthame
Bottled Water
Cauldron

Cleanse sacred space and call the corners.

Write down your concerns or the object of your banishment.

With your wand raised, intone

I am on my path but there is an obstacle in my way called _______Remove it!

Place three drops of rose in cauldron with water

I have envisioned my goal but this obstacle_______is in my way. Remove it!

Place three drops of patchouli in cauldron.
I see myself climbing over this obstacle __________and overpowering it. It is removed.

Place cloves in cauldron

I light this candle to guide me over the obstacle _______ so I do not stumble over it. It is removed.

Jesus said if I had faith I would move mountains. I trust in you Lord Jesus. It is removed!

Closing ritual and destruction of the obstacle. Use the potion for seven days as an aromatic or as an ointment for the pressure points.


There are three spells in this next grouping which can be worked together. Witches are often asked for spells for love. Witches know that love spells and potions are dangerous. In place of love spells and potions, the witch can prescribe spells for confidence, for beauty and courage. These qualities in and of themselves are conduits to attraction and love.

Spell for Courage

Materials

Oils: Rose and Dragon’s Blood
Candles: Blue and silver
Paper and Pen
Caldron and Wand

Cleanse sacred space and call the corners, draw your salt ring. Write the name of the person for whom you are working and place it in the center of your salt circle. With wand in hand intone:

Courage of soldiers, Priests and Believers, Courage of Lovers, Witches and Seers embolden _________ strength of heart to do what is right and give no harm. Make them eloquent of speech, compassionate and true to attract the one they wish to woo. Help them to plant the seed of heart’s love to grow. This is what I ask and by the power of three make it so

Light the candles

May this flame burn like the love in __________’s heart.

Mix oils

May this potion remind ___________of their courage

Close the spell or continue with the next.

Spell for Confidence
Materials

Oil: Lemon Verbena, Orange
Candle: Yellow
Pen and Paper
Wand

Light the candle. With wand in hand intone:

I must speak before crowds, give me eloquence. I must present my best inspiration, give me vision. I must speak to one I care for; untie my tongue with the feelings of my heart. Give ____________ the power of confidence. Give _____________faith in himself as a creature of God. Give__________understanding of all circumstances helping and hindering his intended goal.

By the power of three, let it be, let it be!

Close Spell or continue with the next.

Beauty Spell
Materials

Oil: Rose and Cloves (if you are performing this spell with courage and confidence, you need only cloves) Catnip, Orange and Green Candles Pen and Paper Sacred Fire and Wand.

With wand raised, intone:

All people have the spark of beauty. With this candle let it strike the flame of recognition of beauty within myself and others. (light the candles) ______seeks beauty within themselves, make them see their own personal beauty without and within and may those they love see their beauty and appreciate and love it. Write their name on a piece of paper if it hasn’t already been done and place it in salt circle)

With wand raised intone:

Help this person recognize their own self worth for all things of value has its own intrinsic beauty. So it must be.

Combine your herbs and oils to the cauldron and with wand intone:

Rose of beauty, Cloves of purity, catnip of playful charm and grace combine your essences and make beautiful _______’s face.

Blessed Be!

Close spell.


Banish Lonliness Spell

Materials
1 Yellow Candle
High Meadows Oil
Frankincense
Sage
Picture of Wolf
Cauldron
Bottled Water
Wand
Athame
Mirror

Cleanse sacred space and call the corners. Light sacred fire and draw sacred circle. Annoint candle with High Meadows oil. Light Candle
With wand intone:

See my candle dispelling shadows. I am free from being lonely. Comfort me with golden glow as through this world I go.

Light Incense. With Athame

The lonely witch draws moonlight
Calling the children of the night
Lovely music of the wind
And of the lonely wolf within
A magical tune will sing with delight
And reflect a dancing light
Each time a wolf makes a friend
And put loneliness to an end.
So it mote be.

Close ritual.


Use these workings in good health and to positive purpose.

Blessings Be

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

To the Summerlands

Merry Meet

I wrote about my trip to see my circle sisters and have my third degree initiation. Our leader was a lovely woman I met some years ago after my husband died and she was the one who saw Craft in me when I did not see it in myself. I sent my beloved sister off on her journey to the Summerlands this weekend. She had traveled to NorthCarolina to do her Croning by her beloved mentor and officiate over a Wiccaning and a Handfasting for a couple who had been through real traumas in their life and had now found balance with themselves and each other and the Craft and had planned to raise their daughter in the Pagan way. As she was heading to their lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains, a deer ran out into the road and she swerved to avoid it. Hikers found her down an imbankment. She was paralyzed and put into a Halo and given steriods to keep her going until a couple of us from the group could be with ther and the Priest and Priestess of the coven where she had gotten her Wiccan education. They knew me as a Christian Wicce but opened their circle for me so I could help my sister and teacher go to the heaven she believed in all her adult life. As a final gift she was Croned by her mentor in the hospital room. Nurses looked at us sideways in our cerimonial clothes and our wands and staffs and athames. The clergy, a little Baptist minister asked if she would like to talk to someone about Jesus and one of my Wiccan sisters said, very politely, "No, our sister has a Christian here to tell her about Jesus if she so desires, "and pointed at me in my yellow robes with a black celtic cross on the chest.

At four this morning, she entered the Summerland. I will miss her and I pray she sends all of us Blessings be from the place of rest and plenty.

Blessings Be to all of you,

Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk

A History of Witchcraft

Merry Meet

From The Book of Shadows of Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk, Christian Wicce


A History of the Craft

There are arguments among occultists and historians and anthropologists as to the age of the art of witchcraft. Witches believe the craft is at least 24,000 years old. Historians and anthropologists say witchcraft is only 3000 to 4000 years old. This seems to be a willingness of occult practitioners to attach themselves to ancient, primitive, shamanistic practices that are found throughout Europe leaving evidence of their presence through Paleolithic, archeological sites. Though some elements of their practices in antiquity can be found in the Craft, the Craft, as we know it today, is overwhelmingly identified by the celto-nordic spiritual practices of the last 5,000 years, intermixed with other primitive practices.

As communities became more developed and stable, serious studies of herbs, drugs, and diets as well as more complicated religious disciplines grew. Knowledge and wisdom were thought to be gifts of the gods and goddesses. These gods and goddesses took interest in different aspects of human life. Those with wisdom learned how to communicate with the gods and goddesses and learn how to work cure with potions and herbs and prayers and spells and rituals. Communication with the gods could be as simple as prayer and as complex as ritual possession. All religions practice a form of ritual possession, even Christianity in its more primitive forms invites the Holy Spirit to possess and speak through them with the holy and secret language or unknown tongues.

As travel became easier, people of different cultures and spiritual practices shared knowledge and wisdom and spread their religious practices. These practices and wisdoms became integrated until the knowledge and practice became universally accepted. Once they were universally accepted, they became absolute knowledge and wisdom.

During this period of development, there were no doctors, as we understand the word. People who understood common ailments understood through long periods of observation, study of the flora and fauna around them. They also knew that to call upon the gods would build confidence in their patients. The early healer knew that herbs and ointments and tonics and rubs were only part of the solution. A person was body and soul and illness affected both.

The wise ones kept their art secret, revealing only to their students. These students would eventually, through oral tradition and eventually through writing, preserve this knowledge. How the Craft became dominated by women no one really knows for sure, but one can suppose it came about because of three things: Women were more spiritual and the responsibility of keeping religious practice in the home fell to women. The religion also included female deities, and finally women were the regular hearthside nurses who took care of the sick and injured and women in labor.

Next time: Midwifery

Blessings be, Aslinn Dhan

Casting a circle

Merry Meet

When I was with my friends during my initiation ceremony, we were sitting around doing what we called speed spelling. That was when we talked about the special needs of someone we knew and we wrote spells together, each of us writing our own spell for each dilemma. We started this years ago and we have just absolutely increased our Book of Shadows by leaps and bounds. The lady I consider the leader of our group, if we have such a person started us on a writing round for a circle blessing and this is what we came up with:

Turning out and turning in
We call upon the four winds
Northern winds for earthly wisdom
Eastern winds of inspiration
Give hope and Art to every nation

Southern winds of warrior might
Western winds bringing sweet comfort.
Protect those who need us day and night
And heal our sisters and brothers.

May we in unity be
Pagan, Wiccan and Christian Wicce three
And establish peace in the world where we live
Combine our powers and protect neighbor and friend

Help us accept those who give us pain
Let magik happen and wisdom reign
The more we are different, the more we are the same
Blessed winds on all of us blow
So we will it mote it be so.


Blessings be
Aslinn Dhan Dragonhawk