Unintentional Ritual Objects

I remember many years ago, when I first started down this path, I collected many objects to use in ritual practice, candles, cauldrons, crystals, etc. Some of these items have fallen by the wayside, some of them have been used for years, but what strikes me today is that some of my most valuble are the ones I never intended to be ritual items at all.

Now I'd like to say I'm not a sentimental person... but that is a lie. My jewellery box still holds a blue plastic ring given to me by a boy when I was 8. However, what I'm talking about here goes deeper than that. It's fair to say that objects and places hold a certain type of energy when they are used for ritual practice... sometimes this happens without us even being aware of it. 

For me this hit home whilst stood in a camping shop looking at boots. I need a new pair, but it wasn't until that moment I realised why I really didn't want a new pair.

I bought my current pair of boots in 2009, and without realising it they've been the only consistant peice of ritual wear I've ever owned. I wore them to my first pagan gathering, my first group ritual, my first camp, to conduct my first ritual, to explore the spiritual landscape both locally and everywhere I went. I wore them the first time I met my husband, the first time my kids saw the summit of a mountain, the first time I saw the aurora. Yet here they were at the end of their practical life.

Now, yes, I will buy new boots. The old ones however will remain with the rest of the useless things I hold too dear to throw away or rehome. The situation however got me thinking. How thankful we should be that magic can find a home in the most unlikely of places, and how wonderful it is that we can so naturally place it there.

Happy Lughnasadh everyone. It is the start of the season of thanksgiving and harvest, sometimes we make stores for the dark days without even being aware of it, and recieve that energy back without even noticing, for that alone we are fortunate.

Treatments and Readings: The Vault, 1st April 2017

On the 1st April I'll be heading to The Vault, Creative Well-Being Centre, as they've got an MBS Fair going on. I'll have a therapy room there where I'll be offering taster sessions and treatments. These are great ways to experience reiki, or get a tarot reading at a low price. Each appointment last 20 minutes, and will be priced at £12 each. I expect these appointments to go fast.

You will be able to choose from a tarot reading, either general or focusing on a specific part of your life, or a Meditative Reiki treatment, using exclusive meditations.

In order to make things easier on the day I am offering you guys the chance to book in advance, this will allow you to plan your day in advance, and I'm giving you a 10% discount on the pay-on-the-day price.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer please book your appointment using the payment button below. Your appointment will be confirmed via email and will be between 10:40am and 15:20pm.

Please note, once booked appointments are none refundable if you cancel within 48 hours of the event.

Hedge-Witchery Radio

You may have noticed sound is now wafting out of this blog, and www.hedge-witchery.co. Fear not you are suffering auditory hallucinations, this is Hedge-Witchery Radio. There's not a huge amount of content on there yet, but we're working on it, so please keep tuning in. 

We're open to suggestions with regards to content and what you'd like to hear, and if you run a business we're looking for people to sponsor us in exchange for advertising (£5-£20 per month, comment or contact me for further details).

Although we're an online station, we're sorting out apps to ensure you can listen in anywhere, the android app is available for free now, and the apple app is coming very soon.

Stronger

One day I will be strong again,

but that day is not today.

I will sit in silence loud with worries,

as the hours slip away.

One day I will visit those,

who took my joy away.

I will not forgot,

My memories will not sway.

Though revenge may not be honourable,

one day my heart will call.

It will not forget this pain,

it will need to see them fall.

A list of names has been taken,

it has been watered with my tears.

For now I'm lost in anguish,

more than any soul should bear.

I am broken and I am helpless,

on others I must rely.

Many days and many nights,

doing nothing more than cry.

One day the anger will change,

and it will become resolve.

The pain will heal itself,

thoughts that are puzzles will be solved.

I know that I will grow,

like poppies on waste land.

Your down fall will come,

it will come by my hand.

One day I will be stronger,

and that day is not today.

When I'm stronger than I've ever been,

you'll think it's gone away.

You'll think I'll have forgotten,

or that time has dulled my will.

These scars will never fade,

memories haunt me still.

One day I will be stronger,

stronger than I've ever been before,

When I reach that day,

I will knock upon your door.

Magical Alphabet: F is for Frige

Sometimes spelled Frig, she is an Anglo-Saxon goddess. We know very little about her as there aren't any original written sources we can look at for information, although various archaeologists believe to have discovered statues depicting her.

Historians have drawn comparisons between her and the Norse goddess Freya, and the Roman goddess Venus. Looking at this along with other clues they believe she was a deity linked with sexuality and fertility.

Traces of her remain very much in our everyday modern lives. "Friday" comes from the Old English for "Frige day". There are also a collection of place names, particularly around Hampshire, that are linked to her.

The Truth About St. Patrick

Ok, so every year it seems my social media is bombarded with angry Pagans decrying the celebration of St. Patrick's Day because he is being celebrated for driving all the Snakes out of Ireland... and "snakes" means "pagans": WRONG!!!

Seriously, it's bullsh*t, stop repeating it.

Firstly St Patrick did not rock up in Ireland to drive out Paganism and replace it with Christianity. There were already Christians in Ireland when he got there, quite a lot of them. There is a whole host of historical figures that were associated with spreading Christianity in Ireland, from Finnian of Clonard, who trained The Twelve Apostles of Ireland, through Palladius and then onto the subject of this article himself.

The misconceptions about St. Patrick aren't contained to the Pagan community, even the church themselves are thought to have fudged the dates placing Patrick in Ireland 30 years earlier than he actually arrived. This is believed to be because they grew to prefer him as a figure to Palladius, and  it allowed them pass credit for a lot of the work Palladius did to Patrick.

It is believed Palladius was sent to Ireland to stop Pelagianism - (a believe system within Christianity that believes people can earn salvation by their own efforts, rather than just by the grace of God) - from establishing among the Christian community.

Secondly snakes were much more commonly associated with the Devil or evil, than they were with Pagainism. They could have been used as a symbol of many things, from original sin through to the afore mentioned  Phelagians (the theory I favor).

So when you see cartoons of St. Patrick driving snakes out of Irelands, what you're actually seeing is Palladius stopping Pelagians entering Ireland... or at least keeping them quiet when they got there.

St. Patrick was born in Roman Britian, and despite having a Decon for a father and a priest for a  grandfather, he didn't find faith himself until he was kidnapped by Irish pirates at 16 and lived as a slave for 6 years. Upon escaping he returned to England and continued to study Christianity, eventually returning to Ireland as a missionary.