Wind is Elemental

The forecast is for a VERY windy weekend here in Massachusetts. The wind chills tonight are supposed to drive the temperature down around 16 degrees below zero! So, today, I am thinking about the wind and the element of Air. I thought that I would write about the magickal correspondences of this element and of it's cardinal direction, East.

Having several animal totems that are birds, Air is one of my favorite elements to work with. I love to work with feathers and incense, both representative of this Eastern element. East is the direction of the sunrise, which signifies new beginnings. The dawn of a new day is ripe with possibilities, no matter what happened to you yesterday. You can harness some of this energy, if you like. Spend some time, perhaps a week or a month, getting up in time to watch the sunrise everyday. You can actually see the world around you come alive with the light! I find this inspires hope within me, and that in turn, inspires new ideas and plans. Air is the home of Creativity! Some other correspondences of the East and Air are listed below. Keep in mind that this is just a partial list, and will vary among traditions, and from book to book:

• Magickal tool is the Wand or Athame
• Color = yellow
• Some animals are daytime birds, eagle,wolf, deer, cats, butterflies and other winged beings
• Plants include ash, aspen and birch trees, and clover, dandelion and wildflowers.
• Stones are adventurine, mica, jasper, pumice
• Tarot suit= swords
• Instrument= flute
• Body system= respiratory

These are just a few of the correspondences of the element of Air. Messages can come to us thru the wind. What do you hear?

Making a Collage for Abundance!

My post about the Lunar cycles yesterday got me thinking that maybe it's time to do a new collage. Making a pretty art collage is a wonderful thing. However, what I'm talking about is using the process of making a collage as manifestation magick. The process of making the collage really brings what you want and need into focus. Once I make a collage, I usually hang it up on the wall and forget about it. You know, when you walk past something every day, after a while you just don't see it anymore? I can't tell you how many times I have walked past a collage I did, stopped to look at it and realized that EVERYTHING in that collage manifested one way or another! I just love it! I thought that I would share the process with you. Anyone can do this! You don't even need to be a witch to do this work! :0)

1. Decide what you want your collage to be about. I have done collages about improving my health, finances, buying a house, my business, etc. Now as you clip phrases and pictures, you may find that what you thought you wanted to do your collage about isn't at all what is actually happening. Just go with it, and see where you end up!
2. You should get a piece of poster board and a big stack of old magazines and catalogs. These can be on any subject at all. Women's magazines and those on business are really good to use for collage. I also like nature magazines.
3. Start by going thru the magazines, clipping out pictures, words, and phrases that resonate with you. Clip everything you want. don't worry about it not being perfect for what you had in mind. You'll go thru them again later.
4. Once you're done clipping, go back thru what you've cut out and choose the images that you want to put on your collage. Sometimes it can be hard to decide what really works. At this point, you may notice that there's a different theme coming thru than what you were planning on doing your collage about. Just go with it! Trust that this alternate theme is what you really need to do your collage about.
5. Take your poster board and make it as large or small as you would like. I have even cut them into large shapes, such as hearts or a house. Most of the time, I leave them rectangular and use about 1/2 of a poster sheet.
6. Take your clippings and start positioning them about the poster board. At this point, I usually have a few large images to use for the background, which I will paste other images on top of. Once you have a general idea of where things will go, start pasting them to the board.
7. After you've pasted on everything you want, you can add other elements such as beads, glitter glue pens, flowers or any other embellishments you like. You can also leave it plain. Personally, I know that my collages aren't finished until I use at least three different colors of glitter glue pens on them! But then, I am a glitter critter.

And that's all there is to it! You have just made manifestation magick! The process of weeding thru the images and phrases helps to sort of what you really want, and then creating art with them puts your needs out to the Universe! The only caution I have about this is to keep your collage fairly general, around a theme. We can never know how the things we need will manifest. What you need/want may come about in very unexpected ways. You don't want to put so many particulars in your collage that it will either never happen, or it may take years for the right alignment of aspects to happen in order for it to manifest. That said, have fun with the process! This is supposed to be allot of fun and interesting. I have found it's also very powerful magick! Enjoy and let me know what you create!

New Moon

For those who like to keep track of the Lunar comings and goings, today is January's New Moon!

I found a cool moon calculator to add to my blog. Check it out midway down the left side column. This way you can keep track of where the Moon is at!

Now, why would you want to keep track of the Moon cycles? Well, if you were so inclined, you can align yourself with the cycles of the Moon to help you with your gardening, spellwork, personal spiritual work, among other things. The Lunar cycles are strong, so why not pay attention to that energy and run WITH it, instead of AGAINST it?

The Moon can help us work with our "darker" personal energies. Now this might sound dire, but it's not all bad! We can take advantage of these cycles to look inward, and do the corresponding work. If you have patterns in your life that repeat themselves, and you would really rather that they not, you can use the waning phase of the Moon to address this. Similarly, if you want to create abundance, love, and prosperity in your life, then doing work when the moon is in waxing mode will help that along.

When the Moon is full, we can feel that energy at it's most influential. Doing divination work on the full Moon will help illuminate your issues right now. When the Moon is new, as it is today, it's a great time to start planning a new venture. you might want to wait a day or two before doing any magickal works associated with it, though.

Some general lunar magickal correspondences are love, dreams, sleep, fertility, peace:

• Metal: silver


• Stone: moonstone


• Herbs: Lotus, Camphor, Dulse, Poppy, Myrrh, Sandalwood (to name a few)


• Goddess: Athena, Aphrodite (among many others depending on pantheon)


• Animal: Owl (again, there are many)

These are just a few of the many correspondences for the Moon. All the monthly moons have names, attributed to them in Native American traditions. This moon is called the Wolf Moon. This name can be different depending on what text you are referencing. Even if you aren't ready to get something new started right now, you might want to plan for next month's new moon, or even this month's full moon.

Comfort

Bbbrrrr... baby, it's cold outside! A balmy 8 degreess out there! It's our first really cold day, which is kind of ridiculous considering it's the middle of January. I woke up late, cranked up the pellet stove, and fed the cats. You can blame the inventor of the electric mattress pad for my late waking hour (8 a.m.). I finally crawled out from my baking bed and got my day started. The hazards of working from home. This picture is of me standing on the ice in the middle of the lake where I live, last January. This is what it should be like now.
I got thinking about the things that bring me comfort in January. I would have to include my morning coffee, my cat-kids, my family, the pellet stove, and my books. I also feel warm and comfy with something roasting in the oven, watching the birds at my feeders, or buried under blankets and cats in my recliner reading or watching TV. After freezing our butts off in this house last Winter, the pellet stove is a very welcome addition.

Even thought I know that it's just wrong for New England, I like the fact that there's no snow and that the lake where I live isn't frozen yet. I had a really hard time emotionally last year when the lake froze over. I think that part of it was that it was so cold in the house, seeing the frozen lake made it feel even colder!
I know that these aren't earth-shattering revelations, but it's what is on my mind today. what kinds of things bring you comfort, or make you uncomfortable during the Winter?

From my Library ~ Some Books on Aromatherapy

Yesterday I posted a bit about some essential oils that are good for fighting sinus problems. I thought that today I would suggest some books for further reading about aromatherapy.

This list is taken from my own library of reference books. There are links to some of them down the left column of my blog, under the My library section. Most of these can also be ordered from your local independent bookstore. Any of these books would be worthy additions to your library.

• 500 Formulas for Aromatherapy by Carol & David Schiller: This is one of the first books I bought on the subject. it was first published in 1994. It's very straight-forward and set up with recipes to make blends for most any ailment. It's only 128 pages, but I find myself turning to this book quite often for a quick fix.
• Aromatherapy- A Lifetime guide to Healing with Essential Oils by Valerie Gennari Cooksley: 1996, This comprehensive guide covers aromatherapy for all your body's systems, and is very thorough about how to use oils (and what not to do), there's a reference guide to individual oils, as well as a chapter on how to blend oils. it's a large volume at 400 pages.
• The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood: First published in the UK in 1990, this book is one of many that Valerie Worwood has written on the subject of aromatherapy. I think that I turn to this book more than any other I have on the subject. I consider this a bible on the subject. She has recipes for many problems, and chapters on sports, occupational health, beauty, domestic animals, and toxic-free environmental uses. She uses a "core" group of essential oils, all of which are easy to find and not very expensive. That's one of the things that appeals to me about this author.
• The Fragrant Mind - Aromatherapy for Personality, Mind, Mood and Emotion by Valerie Ann Worwood, 1996: this book is an in-depth look at using aromatherapy for psychological issues. I'll just quote from the back cover, " Worwood introduces her Aroma Genera system of personality types and advises readers on which oils and methods can prevent stress, depression, moodiness and insomnia, and which can promote self-esteem, confidence, and well-being ~ all without synthetic drugs or chemicals". This is a very, very interesting way to approach using essential oils.
• The Fragrant Heavens - The spiritual dimension of fragrance and aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood, 1999: I just bought this book a few months ago and am finding that Worwood again amazes me! In this book, she connects the dots between the energy in plants (much like as in Plant Spirit Medicine) and healing the spiritual self with aromatherapy. there are chapters on using oils to clear negativity, angelic vibrations, prayer,and distance healing, among others. A very different look at an alternative healing modality.
• Magical Aromatherapy by Scott Cunningham, 1989: Prolific Wiccan author Cunningham gives us a great reference book for using aromatherapy and oils in our daily magickal life. With a nice guide to the individual oils, I find myself turning again and again to the Tables section where he lists oils for the seasons, lunar cycles, elements, zodiac, etc. At about 200 pages, this little book is definitely worth having in your library, even if you already own his other books on Incense and Oils.

Now you have a few books to start with for your own aromatherapy collection. I have others, but the ones I listed here are my favorites! What scent will you be wearing today?

Aromatherapy to the Rescue!

Pure essential oils should always be part of your medicine chest. Today, I want to tell you about two oils which are good for sinus problems, Eucalyptus and Peppermint.

Both my husband, Tim and I have been fighting a cold/sinus thing since last Friday. Tim has been sicker than I have been so far. Yesterday, the cold started to settle in his sinuses after two days in the sneezing phase. To bring some quick relief, I put a drop of essential oil under his nose(right in the middle, it may sting a little if your nose is raw) and rubbed another drop into each of his temples, well back from his eyes. This helps to relieve the stuffy nose and the drops along the temple help to relieve the sinus headache and pressure. I use a cotton swab to apply the oil. If you use your finger, do NOT touch your eyes! You'll regret it! You can also add a few drops to a bowl of hot steaming water, lean over the bowl, and toss a towel over your head and the bowl to make a tent. The vapors should clear your head as you breathe deeply.

A few cautions for using Peppermint and Eucalyptus essential oils:

Don't use excessively. where a little is good, alot is NOT better. Both oils can irritate mucous membranes and skin. Avoid use during pregnancy and breast feeding. Do not take if using homeopathic remedies, as they can antidote your remedy.

Store your oils away from light, heat, flower essences and tinctures. I store all my oils together, away from everything else I use, and not in the bathroom.

While you can use either peppermint or eucalyptus, blending them both together is even better. You could also add rosemary, thyme and/or geranium oils, too. These added to either peppermint or eucalyptus are wonderful for healing. Make sure that you buy real essential oils, and not fragrance oils. These oils aren't very expensive(for essential oils), and you can find them at any food co-op. I have even seen decent oils at big-box drugstores. I like a product called "31 Herbal Oil", which is what it sounds like. It's a blend of 31 different essential oils. It's expensive, hard to find, but well worth it! It's made by SwissJust company. I saw it somewhere on-line not too long ago for about $50, for 1.7oz bottle. It's a good thing that a little goes a long way, and it lasts for years.

there are alot of great aromatherapy books out there. I'll post more about those later. To see a few listings, just click on one of the book covers in my section on the left labeled "My Library". To find out more about aromatherapy on the web, check out this site: http://www.aromaweb.com/default.asp

Bombs & Bake Sales

Normally, I won't put political stuff in my blog. I want this format to be for learning and sharing about herbs, magick and the good things in life. However, I have this stuck in my head and need to get it out. This afternoon there was a television show called "Future Weapons", on the Discovery Channel. The premise is that there is this Ex-Navy Seal guy who goes around the world to show the audience about some "cool"new and devastating weapons being produced. Now, I have little patience for the whole idea, but some of it is interesting from a technical aspect. However, when they started talking R&D costs to develop and use some of these weapons, I just got pissed! One weapon costs $2 billion to develop. Another one fires missiles that cost $40,000 each. Apparently these were used to take out a convoy of 19 tanks on the northern Iraqi border at some point. Woo-Hoo. That's $760,000 for one skirmish.

This got me thinking of that classic bumper sticker:
It'll be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.

Yes, I'm a product of the Sixties, and I still think that all the citizens of the US deserve housing, food and a decent education. Silly me!I support our soldiers, and wish them safe home, but I will never support a war. Ok, I'm done. (I will return to sweetness and light tomorrow!)