Been Busy: A Picture Blog Post

 I've been super busy for the past while and thought I'd post a fun picture update.

Here is a protection and healing altar for my girlfriend. You can read about the healing and protection grid I did on my new website HERE

 This is a gift I was recently given by my dear Aunty Flanna who uses it for divination. This table has a specific style set up for it using the 4 elements as well as 4 aspects - Death or Change, Time, Chance, and Love. It was part of a Collection of  New Divination Tools from her.

 I've been using the table also to do my Wheel of the Year readings as there are 8 sections. It works perfect.

 My new Sekhmet Matron Deity Altar featuring 2 figurines that I received also from my Aunty Flanna.

 A healing altar for a dear friend of mine. It is still in place and if you would like to send love, light, reiki, prayers too it I would appreciate it.

 A travel altar for my girlfriend who is currently in the lower 48 to visit her godson and his family.

 Just a little glimpse at my library in my newest bookcase.

Some books on tarot and oracle decks.

Books of shadows.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse at my life and what I've been up to.

Much love

HedgeWife

A Short History of the Sacred Circle in Two Forms

The Wheel of the Year, The Mayan Calendar, the May-pole dance, the Earth itself – all of these things represent a circle or sphere in sacred form.

All cultures have a form of sacred circle in their mystical, religious and metaphysical teachings. Native Americans have Sacred Circle Wisdom also known as The Great Hoop or The Web of Life. The Mayan calendar is the oldest known record of time and is based on sacred numbers and sacred space. Other cultures use the space for sacred circle dance, the lineage of which can be traced through Shakers, Sufism, traditional witchcraft, heathenism, and other forms of paganism.

Two Forms of Sacred Circle
There are two main types of magic circles used.  Those formed by ceremonial magicians are designed to protect the magician from the forces that he or she raises.  The Ceremonial magician would choose his Spirit to summon, and align all aspects of the ritual with the desired energy. Using a pentacle to help focus the ritual’s energy, the magician would invoke the spirit, and seek to compel it to do his or her bidding. To do this the magician would create the Sacred Circle (usually three circles, 9, 10, and 11 feet in diameter) which he or she would stand outside. This was for the Magician’s protection from the spirit that would be contained within the space. The magician would stand inside a Triangle to magnify his or her own power. Modern Ceremonial magic and its use of the sacred circle can be traced back to the 16th century in most texts, while others say that it goes back much further.

Sacred Circles formed by witches and wiccans, are mainly used to create sacred space in which to meet and commune with Deity. Many witches refer to the sacred circle as “a place between worlds.” It is a space that is between the world of the mundane, where the focus is on the physical, and the “other world” or astral plane, where the focus is on the spiritual. Unlike the Ceremonial circle, witches stand inside their circle. However, like the Ceremonial circle, the witches’ circle is also meant to contain – not a spirit but the spiritual and magical power raised by the practitioners.

“Having a Circle”
The Sacred Circle of the Witches does not have a clear historical beginning. References to circles can be found in many ancient texts and among various religions. The use of the term circle can also refer to a meeting, wherein magical practitioners would come together in a circle of bodies, standing to meet on various magical aspects, events, sabbats, etc. This form of sacred space, created merely out of the presence of witches, has very little written history at all but can be guessed to go back to the dawn of man since, when humans gather around a fire for community and sacred blessing of light, it is in the shape of a circle.

Bibliography
The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism by Raymond Buckland
Comparative Religion by Rev. Don Lewis-Highcorrell
First Degree by Rev. Don Lewis Highcorrell

**Essay on Lesson 6 of First Degree through Witch School

My Spring Altar

I thought I would share with you all my Spring Altar

 Lace altar cloth I thought gave it a lightness that Spring brings to mind. The flowers in the bowl on the left are wild flowers and roses that my husband has gathered for me in the past and I have dried.
Fairies called out to me for this altar so they have a few items added. There is of course a picture of a blue fairy resting on and surrounded by bubbles or crystal spheres. The other fairy item is the wand on the right side of the altar - it is actually a pencil that came with my fairy journal and I thought it made the perfect want for me as I am a writer.
Other items on the altar include a small blue, glass chalice; butterflies, which you can read more about in my post on Found Objects; stones including Amethyst, Fuchsite, and Rhodochrosite; a photo of a statue of a woman that reminds me of the Goddess in her maiden form; behind the photo is a ceramic candle holder in the shape of a Doric column holding a lavender candle; and a crystal grid seen below.

The crystal grid is made up of 8 quartz crystals, 1 Alaskan Jade, 1 green Flourite, 2 green Aventurines, and 1 Citrine in the center. I did not choose these stones with any intent in mind. Instead, they called to me when I began to go through my crystals for my spring altar. The square design just felt right. above the grid you can see the larger quartz crystal point that I used as a wand to activate the crystal grid.

Spring is a time of new beginnings, rebirth, and especially when you're in Alaska, like me, it's a time of sunlight. The days will grow longer until I have almost 24 hour sun.
This is also a signal to start planting. I have a small indoor window garden that I will take pictures when they start sprouting.

Love and Light and Blessed Spring.

G is for Gold

Gold

Gold is Alaska's State Mineral.

It is the metal of the Sun and is therefore associated with the Sun Deities such as Apollo and Ra.
Gold still holds that place in the hierarchy of metals and their magickal properties. Not least because Gold is said to reflect and show the inner beauty of those that wear it.

Physically, Gold is said to stimulate both the skeletal and circulatory systems as well as being extensively used in matters relating to the skin.
Jewelry made from gold is said to bring pain relief, especially from arthritic or inflammation discomfort.

In magic, Gold is most known for its use in Wealth and Abundance magic. Even the color Gold is said to bring these energies into a spell. Gold also is associated with drawing in knowledge, represents power within, and is use in spells that effect authority figures.

Ordination Certification

I received my Ordination Certification Card from the universal Life Church in the mail!

I can take this card to the court house now and set up paperwork as an Ordained Minister so that I can legally do wedding in Alaska. 

Happy Ostara!

Happy Ostara Everyone!

Today is an especially wonderful sabbat for my family as it is the anniversary of the handfasting of Damon and myself.

For some reason we didn't get a really good photo of the blanket and altar set up but  you can see part of it in the background here - offering bowls, flowers, water, etc.

Me holding the chalice of milk

Damon in his rirual robe looking a lil pouty as he hates having his picture taken.

Ostara Correspondences
Incense: Jasmine, Rose
Decorations: Yellow Disk or Wheel, Coloured Egg's, Hare Decorations, Spring Flowers
Colours: Yellow
This marks the Spring Equinox. This is the Pagan "Easter" - or rather, this is the day that Christians borrowed to be their Easter. It is traditionally the day of equilibrium, neither harsh winter nor the merciless summer, and is a time of childish wonder. Painted eggs, baskets of flowers and the like are generally used to decorate the house.
For more information about the Wheel of the Year and how Ostara plays in it check out my essay HERE.

For more information about Eostra Eggs and Egg dying, see my Pagan Blog Project post - E is for Eggs.

F is for Found Objects

Tinker Bell and the Fairies call them Lost Things, the Correllian Tradition calls them Found Objects.

In Lesson 4 of the First Degree program at Witch School, Found Objects are explained:

"Found Objects are lucky in general and are always appropriate for your altar. They are symbolic messages from Spirit, and knowing their meanings is an ancient art. This can be an excellent way of receiving spirit messages, or omens, and you will lean more about it in Lesson XII. This doesn't mean just anything you find, of course, but rather things you happen across in unusual ways or in unusual places or that "speak to" you. Putting found items on the altar helps to strengthen your bond with the altar."

Here are some of the Found Objects I've collected over my years of practicing witchcraft:

These two beautiful butterflies I found in the same month. Both were dead upon finding them and both I nearly stepped on when walking around our old house. I was so amazed at how in-tact they were and have kept them in a jar on my altar to Deity ever since.

I found this Hag Stone on the beach last year. Hag stones or holey/holy stones are said to be gifts from the Fae and if you look through the hole, you can see through the veil between worlds.

There have been many other found things in my life not shown include crow feathers, bits of quartz imbedded in river rock, various beads and fake flowers, etc.

I hope this blog post gives you a new perspective - especially if your a parent whose child has a tendency to show you "junk" that they've found. It could be special to them, or a message from the Divine.