Tides of Change, Dark Moon Rites

This is a summary of some of the astrological events geared to begin happening on July 12th. With so much going on, including eclipses, all those other planets like Saturn and Pluto in retrograde, and Uranus now in Taurus (where it will be for some time), I feel it's an excellent time to dig up and pulverize some long-buried shit, and either retask, compost, or plain toss it out. Hence my focus on serious banishing, renewal, shadow-magick and empowering rites. The waerwitch rises again!

MOON UPDATE

Thursday 12.7.2018
The moon is in her New Moon phase 0% of full in the sign of Cancer and is 29 days old.
Moon Rise ~04.13am~ Moon Sets ~20.39pm (BST)

Welcome to the second eclipse season of 2018! Fasten your seat belt and get ready for transformation! You will be challenged to summon and utilize your passion, determination, drive and integrity over the coming weeks. The typical intensity and power of the eclipse season will linger for four weeks instead of the usual two.

The Moon is travelling through Cancer today. Beware of mood swings. Cook some soul food. Cuddle up with someone. The restlessness of the Gemini Moon gives way to an instinctive need for peace and quiet when the moon enters Cancer today. Feelings of belonging and safety are what motivate us under this influence. This Moon position has much healing potential.

Although insular by nature, our feelings run deep, making it an ideal time to get in touch with what motivates us. Talk about an ideal time to “flush” things out. Quite literally. This is perfect for relaxation efforts, floating down a lazy river, spiritual cleansing/baths, detox, purging, napping, putting gentle finishing/creative touches on ongoing projects or even cleaning and feathering your nest.

The overriding issue today is clearly the New Moon Solar Eclipse in Cancer. It is important to understand that we are not unfamiliar with this combination of energies that comes with it. The fact that we have this at the same time as a New Moon/ Solar Eclipse intensifies it considerably. This could well be a pivot point culturally and/or personally. Be mindful of the fact that everyone’s emotions are heightened.

Pay special attention to your New Moon ritual as whatever seed you plant for a new beginning at this New Moon will have far more strength pushing its growth forward. You have a clear view of what has been building over the past 6 months. Whatever began then is now fully illuminated in all its power or darkness. Open your eyes to look deeply!

The energies at the time of the eclipse especially great for making any kind of commitment. Anything to do with love or money will be especially well-supported by the Sun, Moon and planets. This is the last day before the New Moon tonight so get your head into New Moon mode!

This can be a time of releasing something we’ve been holding onto too tightly or giving away our personal power, likely through relationships or events. This can feel uncomfortable or can be disruptive, but leads to greater self-awareness. Outside forces can remind us of our need to take charge of our lives, but shortcuts to gaining control will not work out for us. A tricky or buried issue comes to a head. Matters of power and competition can surface for handling. We may feel on edge, volatile, and/or defensive. There can be an inner drama taking place now, or a feeling that external circumstances are undermining our feeling of powerfulness. We may experience a battle within ourselves between light and dark forces, or we can meet this through others.

Purging and releasing is especially useful with a Solar Eclipse and we’re beginning fresh related to domestic issues, family, personal popularity, the public, women’s interests, safety, security, food, support, our past/roots/heritage, and emotional issues.

We need to pay particular attention to our instincts, our deepest needs, and our feelings; and to recognize the importance of our family and our personal circle of friends and the security, sense of belonging, and safety we derive from them. Do your best to vault over apparent obstacles in your path. Themes such as: --- death-rebirth; regeneration; spiritual willpower; research and in-depth studies; mysteries and the unknown; catharsis; repressed feelings and phobias --- are greatly intensified during the next four weeks. The atmosphere continues growing more deep and gritty. This can be ugly and forebode manipulative control, abuse, obsession, malefic shadow interplay or paranoia. But, it can also be fearless, strongly protective and focused.

What's interesting about this New Moon is it kick starts a deep and growling hunger for something. That hunger grows as we traverse the next two weeks. Jupiter now runs direct so there is a kick in the pants to move forward into our own futures but we are also learning. That learning is led by the guide for this lunation, the Page of Wands. This Page's presence suggests we are learning about the element of fire. Creativity. Passion. Self-assertion. Anger. Initiative. War. Inspiration and what “lights” our wick metaphorically. We find out more about what motivates us. What makes us angry. How we respond to that and in turn what makes us feel more alive and invigorated. But it is a growing desire or hunger that leads us down that path beginning right here under this Moon.

As we make our way towards the eclipse, the contrast between light and dark becomes acute. Unwanted shadow material is ejected from the psyche, landing at the feet of others. Our inner darkness can be a powerful transformative energy that turns fear to fuel and chaos to order. But it can also descend into name-calling, bullying, manipulation and power games where nothing and no-one seems trustworthy.

Resolve to be a light in the world in the face of all the darkness. Refuse to demonise those who are different. Don’t reject the parts of yourself that you find uncomfortable. Own your shadow to build deeper and more authentic relationships with others. Remember, creation and destruction are born from the same divine spark. Dispel your fears with kindness.

Who owns the power? This is a time when you may be called upon to stand up to a situation or person who pressures you to dance to their tune instead of your own. This is a chance to assert and empower yourself in new ways, putting into practice the inner strength you've developed in the last 6 months. The trick is to face the situation or person while rooted in inner honesty and authenticity, rather than trying to annihilate the enemy using overkill. Strive to negotiate (or struggle) together using just enough force to establish a workable balance of power, without either of you being nuked in the process.

Also, be open to the possibility that your "opponent" might be holding up a mirror, which is showing you something about yourself that you may not want to acknowledge. That doesn't necessarily make your opponent right and you wrong, but there might be something for you to learn from the situation. If you are in a situation that doesn't involve an "opponent" as such, there may still be an aspect of your environment that is holding up a difficult mirror, requiring you to find a more centred and authentic point of inner power. It is by finding new balance within this kind of dynamic, whatever the circumstances, that transformation can be found.

There is a tremendous opportunity to lay a fresh foundation through which to explore your inner depths over the coming weeks. This can especially be developed over the next 2 weeks, as the Moon waxes. Hasty approaches must be avoided, therefore particular consideration should be given toward love matters. Increased irritability, precipitance, nervousness and obstinacy might appear in your mind's focus. A dangerous period occurs – take care in everyday life – even particular concerning traffic. The waste of energy leads to mental exhaustion and is finally culminating in a lack of self-love or regarding love relationship it might turn to a tragedy or aspects of a tragic love with emotional outburst.

This is a very active time with some intense, exciting, complex and wild energy. Stay loose, stay flexible, stay open. Have a Plan B for anything important you need to do over the next several weeks. And don't be surprised if you need to make it up as you go along to some extent.

Because the Cancer New Moon/ Solar Eclipse is tonight / early tomorrow please wait to do your Full Moon Rituals on Friday. Happy Eclipse and New Moon blessings!

Cosmic Extras

Top 3 affirmations:
• 1. ‘I love my family and my family love me.’
• 2. ‘I am safe and all is well’ – Louise Hay’s famous affirmation works well here.
• 3. ‘I love my home!’ (Remember, affirmations manifest. Feel the feeling of loving your home so you move towards it – even if you don’t totally love your present home.)

Correspondences for Thursdays are:
○ Colors: Blue, Green, Purple, Rich Royal Colors.
○ Planet: Jupiter.
○ Element: Earth.
○ Metal: Tin.
○ Number: 4.
○ Spells: Strength, devotion, and commitment.
○ Deities: Juno, Jupiter, Thor, Zeus.
○ Essential Oil to use: Patchouli.
○ Incenses: Cinnamon, Clove, Jupiter Oil, Musk, Nutmeg, ○ ○ ○ Oakmoss, Patchouli, Sage.
○ Mantra: Om. Chant it out loud or silently.
○ Chakra: The Third Eye chakra, aka Ajna.
○ Angel: Gabriel, the family archangel.
○ Goddess: Diana, Goddess of witches.
○ Cosmic Ray: The 4thray which is green
○ Gemstones & Crystals: Aventurine, Amethyst, Brown Jasper, Green Lodestone, Green Tourmaline, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Peridot, Tin, Turquoise.
○ Herbs & Plants: Anise, Borage, Cinquefoil, Clove, Dandelion, Dill, Fig, Honeysuckle, Hyssop, Maple, Meadowsweet, Mint, Nutmeg, Oak, Patchouli, Sage, Star Anise.
○ Energies & Associations: Abundance, Career, Employment, Energetic Increase, Expansion, Generosity, Growth, Happiness, Healing, Harvesting, Honest Leadership, Honor, Leadership, Legal Matters, Loyalty, Luck, Male Fertility, Material Opportunities, Money, Optimism, Power, Prosperity, Protection, Riches, Wealth.

Source: The Heart Of The Shamanic Witch

"a Slytherin after the opera".

Class in Session: A Beneficience of Oils

I felt incredible this morning after waking up.

My bed smelled of potent and spicy galangal and vetiver, pine and cinnamon, and no-nonsense, "greet the world with an unashamed leap" sulfur. And my body and energy felt . . . clean. Clean and golden.

Which was the whole point, of course. Yesterday, July 11th, I wanted to make into a preparatory day for today --- which is not only the Dark Moon in Cancer at 7-something p.m., but a Solar eclipse! Jupiter also came out of retrograde yesterday, having been bass-ackwards since March 19th, which explains how I've felt hogtied with this house business and travel plans, and all the rest. It's like I finally feel good things coming, and old shadows falling by the wayside. And tomorrow? It's a fresh sliver of waxing moon --- and Friday the 13th!!

With my focus on road opening at the moment, I want to make this whole chunk of celestial cycling into one great ritual --- a traditional nine-day intensive of transformation. That includes the banishing work I didn't do every day of this past waning moon period! But the important thing is, I have acknowledged it and worked on it magickally, even if for a mere couple of days. (In living, rather than ritual, I have a feeling I've done a lot more as well, toward getting back to my soul's calling and true essence.) By doing a cleansing and banishing of old garbage, I'll be going in fresh for opening myself to the new phase.

That's the idea, anyway.

Stinky underworld ingredients and powerful resins combined with both cooling and fiery transformative essences in this golden Cleansing and Banishing annointing oil

And what better way to spark off a cleansing than with a deliciously piquant-scented, potent potion?

I've fallen in love with natural and scented oils lately, which is a dangerous thing, because pure, high-quality essential oils are expennn-sive. Or can be, so that I'm able to buy only Helichrysum ($20), Frankincense ($12) and Myrrh ($11) one week, as I did yesterday, and have to leave others for another week after making another meagre paycheck. Fortunately, while I don't have a distilling mechanism (yet), I can mix new scents with the essential oils I already have . . . and I can also make scented infused oils by taking a carrier oil (or two) and adding dried or wilted herbs.

Ever since harvesting the wonderful, resinous herbs from Frank's garden on the 4th, I've been planning to make infused oils. Oh, to capture the acrid, thujonic slice of Russian Sage, or the sweet exotic warmth of Curry Plant's aroma, in an oil! Severus Snape would sneer at the idea of perfumery and mere floral scent-play for its own sake, but I have a feeling he would most definitely not turn up a hooked nose at the power certain scents wield over a human mind, and their potential in magic. This, of course, is my main interest as well, since I am a more practical rather than romantic creature (at least for me, the two must go hand in hand). The idea of being able to influence someone's mind by scent, to cast a scent-based spell if you will, is entirely too enticing.

Before getting into rituals, I spent the evening blending the first three of what I hope will be a number of scented, infused oils, using those herbs I gathered: in this case, Perovskia (one of my faves), Curry Plant (a brand new treat to me), and Golden Santolina (love it).

But first, the base! Or, carrier. You want a long-lasting oil, especially if you're as frugal and preserver-minded as I am: With a Geology degree and a family lineage back to 1066, heck, I think in terms of centuries! Indeed, some rare perfumes are tracked down 80 or so years later. I used what I had --- I'd bought a bottle of Sweet Almond Oil to experiment with, and it has a shelf life of at least a year; Jojoba is up to five years, but it's quite pricey, too. But I also have some virgin Coconut Oil, with a range of up to four years (fractionated Coconut lasts indefinitely, or so they say).

So, I mixed a big dollop of Coconut into Sweet Almond, in a ratio of about 1:2 or 1:3, to extend the oils' life. But, it just means I'll have to infuse more and longer to cover the scent of Coconut! Then, in went the herbs. I capped them and stuck them beneath my skylight, to infuse in the sun. I plan to let them steep for at least two weeks, then press them out and add fresh herbs, going for as strong a scent as possible. It's what you do when you haven't got a distillation setup!

Afterward, late into the night, I got into my magick.

Earlier that day I'd picked up a few candles (chime candles: black, purple, green) and herbs at Clary Sage Herbarium, the latter being Frankincense, Ashwagandha and Bocopa (those names --- how I love them!).

For this Banishing Oil, I didn't have time to do a rhyme for each ingredient, so I just tried to be present in intention with each. Also irksome is the fact that my pestles are packed! So I had to grind my ingredients with a silver spoon in a heating Bunsen pan. In went tiny pinches of this and that, according to planetary influences --- especially Jupiter coming out of retrograde --- and instinct. I poured the powder into a tiny phial, then added appropriate essential oils. Finally, I topped it off with a base of Sweet Almond oil. Then, mix!

My idea was to cleanse myself and banish ill resonances and negative vibrations from my aura in preparation for a greater act of "road opening" or life-obstacle remover. That is, work starting from inside yourself, outward into the larger world.

So I lit my pilot Brigid candle, centered, sitting skyclad (appropriate for this all-over annointing, and besides, Snape robes in this heat?), then took the new black candle and inscribed a cleansing and banishing, planetary glyph on it. As the candle burned, I annointed myself with the golden, sulfurous oil from the feet up, legs, chakras, arms and hands, and features like eyes, appealing all the while to Hekate in a kind of self purification. By the time I'd finished my rite, I felt peaceful, rather empowered, and certainly smelling good --- in a kind of Jovian storm, solar brimstone sort of way!

After magick like that, and so late, I typically go right to bed. I feel this allows it to "marinate" and work overnight. I definitely felt it the next morning! Even knowing I had to work the coming evening, I felt refreshed and strong. I have a mind to do this type of spell more often!

The candle as of then was only half burnt, due to time, so the magick will carry on later.

Banishing Oil in use during candle spell, for a full-body and aura cleansing, banishing old ties and blockages in chakras, meridians, hands and feet

Banishing, Cleansing, Empowering Oil

Ingredients:
• Opoponax, few grains, crushed
• Galangal, pinch, mashed (as possible)
• Frankincense, one drop, crushed
• Sulfur (brimstone powder), pinch
• Asafoetida, powder, pinch
• 3 drops Vetiver essential oil
• 2 drops Cinnamon e.o.
• 1 drop Pine e.o.
• 1 drop Camphor e.o.
• Carrier oil, Sweet Almond

Directions:
Grind or mash dry ingredients together, ideally with mortar and pestle (I would, but mine is packed, so I mashed them in a metal flame-tray with a silver spoon). Add to (very, i.e. 1-2 dram) small phial. Add drops of essential oils. Fill partway up with carrier oil. Turn phial round and round to mix ingredients. Cap.
Again ideally, let sit to mature for awhile. This, however, was used on the spot.

This is definitely an oil I want to make in a larger batch!

New Tool ~ Worthy of a Wizard

Last weekend was one of several large wholesale gem and bead expos in our city, at least one of which I usually go to on an annual basis and often spend a bit too much money . . . or, as much as I comfortably can, depending on the year. Or on what I see: Some years, not much strikes my fancy, while other years, I get all sorts of inspirations.

A witch can certainly find lots of tools, adornments and other goodies. Crystals by the pound and of all kinds. Beads, wiring, pendants. Spheres of quartz and other stones. Bits of bone, shells, fossils, antique tokens, and imported goods from places like Africa and Tibet. Elements for homemade tools like wands; ingredients for potions.

In addition to beads, and a smoky quartz sphere of a nice small size (because carrying a four-inch crystal ball about gets quite heavy quickly), I found this nautical medal. When it was still there the second day, I bought it. The design, featuring navigational and celestial devices along with a quill, appeals to my love of astrolabes and other "tools of the old masters".

Using a length of chain and a few beads, I made a pendulum. My pendulums like to run off and hide, be it in one of my many purses and totes, or in some box, so I can never have too many. This one especially, less bulky than a typical crystal-bob pendulum (of which I also got a fancy one), is well-suited to tucking into a wallet, pocket or side-zip . . . with a style worthy of a fine mage, to boot!

Because sometimes I feel like expressing the side of my magickal nature more akin to the alchemist, astronomer or warlock than the neopagan; the part of me that would rather retch than wear an overly romantic witch-name like 'Silver Whisper Moonshadow', and prefers simply
Sev.

Opening Roads II: Recipes and Traditions

"Getting the memory from Slughorn now seemed not only possible, but positively easy . . . The potion seemed to be illuminating his path a few steps ahead. . . ."

Love, life, health, sex, money . . . luck. JK Rowling didn't invent these keenest desires of material existence any more than the Sumerians invented cuss-words (although, if reputable sources are to be believed, they did invent writing and the wheel). Nor did she first invent magics to invoke and secure such blessings. Indeed, its charming universality and adherence to familiar tropes is one rather large factor in Harry Potter's popularity.

Besides straight-up spells for luck, the universe of real magick has its own versions of these "light my path" type potions in the vein of Felix Felicis, for bringing good fortune and a literally easy way forward. One bears a Spanish rather than a Latin name: Abre Camino, or "Open the Walkway" --- Road Opener.

A Road Opener brand online. Keys are a common ingredient in this type of potion and/or spell

I first got Road Opener recommended to me in, what, 2011?, for my own book. It didn't follow through, but then again, not only was I not a hoodoo expert at the time, but you gotta follow through, too. Even if you can't fully see the way ahead, like Harry couldn't beforehand, it still helps to have a good goal and a few action steps.

Now, with more hoodoo kenning under my belt, and the timing right, I'm poised to make my own Road Opener potions, probably ones a lot nicer-smelling and more effective than the one I smelt --- and didn't buy, as a result --- in the shop.

A typical Road Opener candle sort of like the one I purchased. Ideally, the oil and candle are used together in a spell, often with a prayer

When is it beneficial to use Road Opener? Obviously, it won't magically mend a popped tire. It works more like the lucky potion, actually, especially when it comes to liberating your magic, creative juices, and next curve of life's path. Even magick experts, brilliant practitioners, find themselves unable to practice their magick effectively. They feel blocked and restrained despite their vast experience in spellcraft, potions, hoodoo, or plain career. Nor need you be into magic or the occult. The symptoms of feeling stymied and inhibited, of having a blocked energy field, are intense and, though of a slightly different nature, evident in your job, money, love life and success in general. As a creative, I know this feeling of being unproductive and "stuck", no matter how hard I try. Of not getting optimal or even good results, or even knowing what goal I should aim at. It stinks!

What causes a "blocked" condition? According to one Shadow, the worst offenders seem to be:

• You've exhausted your magickal reserves. Technically a person's magickal energy is inexhaustible, but if you work too hard, try too many spells or just get burned out, your aura may hoard energy until you feel strong from within again. You may need a break. This can cause “writer’s block” and other stuck conditions.
• You can be blocked from outside sources in a magickal/spiritual manner by another, by means of curse, binding, the "evil eye" or glance of malice, also called Ojo Malo/Malochio, or energy theft.
• Psychic vampires exist, people who are never satisfied, or can never be "cured" of their issues no matter how you try to help them, and they won't take steps to fix their own troubles because it's easier to leech conpassion from others. These people can drain your productive energy quickly, making you feel ineffective.
• Your own bad deeds may be the reason behind the blockage. Here, a personal cleansing and recognition of the ill-doing is recommended. In traditional hoodoo, this can be done with Hyssop baths and reciting Psalm 51st, prior to Road Opener work.

As a partial empath, I've felt drained simply by other people's energy fields pressing on mine, mainly when they're discordant with my own. Even if the person isn't a psychic leech, their energy can still suck, especially for us introverts. Passive-aggressive, insecure, needy, drama-inducing, image-focused, sex-obsessed, even hyper-buoyant
 . . . heck, I get like Snape: Get that crap outta my face. I loathe strong emotions. And being stuck living with discordant energy is awful. How about moving repeatedly? Constantly afraid of not having enough for rent or food?
  Uh, yeah?
That's a block waiting to happen. Situations like this can put you in survival mode and deplete power. Been there, ready to be done with that.

An orange candle seems to work best for road opening and obstacle-removing spells, preferrably dressed with the oil

If you're strong in will and mind, being more stubborn than the obstacles or energy blockages may work. But willpower is what often breaks first, and there is the constant lack of overall energy. If you feel unable to break those blockages and clear away obstacles, there are two main ways to deal with it using magick, according to Shadow:

• Using products such as Abre Camino and/or Road openers. Abre Camino originates from Santeria, and Espiritsismo of Spanish and Latino people, whereas Road opener is a Hoodoo product. The names mean the same, and both function the same, but they may have considerably different formulas, herbs, and spells.
• Making a petition to “Road Opener” spirits such as PaPa Legba, of Voodoo Loa, New Orleans Voodoo Loa, or Santerian Ellegua. Analogous to Hecate and other "gatekeeper" crossroads divinities.

There are also products one can use for removing life-path obstacles:

• Abre camino oil.
 The main and key ingredient of a Road Opener formula --- and the only one needed --- is Abre camino herb (Trichilia Havanensis) used in Spain and Latin America mostly, or Palo Abre Camino (Eupatorium villosum) used by Santeria and Palo practitioners. Mind that the second is endangered species in the States, though it can be found in somewhat greater amount in California.
  Any other herb added is purely the practitioner's choice, but can be picked from a list of Hoodoo Road opening herbs.

• Pa’ Legba oil.
  Oil dedicated to this Road opener Loa, or spirit, will honor the Loa and open roads for you, blasting away the obstacles and leaving clear way for luck and success to come to you. Combine Legba herbs that have Purification, Clearing/Cleansing and Road Opening properties. Here is a list of some of Legba associated herbs that You might use for this oil:

Hoodoo Road Opener Oil

Lemongrass
Lemon
Citronella
Five fingers grass
Mint
Salt
Camphor

Other ingredients may include Sage, Frankincense, Vetivert, Patchouli, Sandalwood, or anything else that can charge, empower or break obstacles. Other common ingredient in Hoodoo Road Openers are mastery herbs such as High John or Master of the Woods. Another good addition is broom straws, from a new broom.

Powders and Incense

• Try this incense :
Palo Abre Camino
Camphor
Lemon
  This has a very fresh and nice smell, easy to make, and is a true Abre Camino type of incense. Burn on charcoal since it's not self combustible, unless you add it to a base of saltpeter (I've seen this for sale at Moonshadow).

Powders --- dry potions, for sprinkling on floors, objects, pathways, for use in charm pouches, and more --- should contain either Abre Camino or Abre Camino Palo with salt, while other ingredients are added much as in oils or incense. It's best if three or nine ingredients are used, these being powerful numbers.

Spirits

Several good Road Opener spirits to work with, tradition depending, are:
• Papa Legba
• Maximon
• Pomba Gira
• Hekate
• Ogun

It's always a good idea to research the various methods and preferences for working with each of these entities.

Traditional Hoodoo utilizes the Psalms of the Bible in magick, and also heavily favors the use of candles. Orange or purple candles dressed with Road Opener and/or Van Van oil, another powerful blend, seem to work best for Road Opening, combined with prayers and intentions for the removal of obstacles in life. It's best if these magicks are done for nine consecutive nights.

Even a nonreligious person can use Hoodoo, with faith being in the greater spirit force uniting all rather than a single god. I should think use of the Psalms is easier for either the devout or mystic mages, and less easy for newly-minted witches who may still have trouble with the words and dogma of Hebraic faiths. In this case, prayers to the Lord are made for deliverance, guidance and to cleanse one's way, remove obstacles, and lead one on the right path. Pray in your own words, along with praying Psalm 23 or these suggested below.

Here are some Psalms associated with road opening:

Psalms 16:11: Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalms 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalms 25:4: Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.
25:10: All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
119:35: Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The source of these Psalm suggestions is the Luckymojo website.


Road Opener prayer
in English and Spanish, for a three-color Road Opener candle (orange, green, gold):

"I invoke the sublime influence of the eternal father to obtain success in all the subjects of my life and to smooth all difficulties that are in my was. I invoke the aid of the holy spirit, so that my house prospers and my company and my person receive a message of good luck, sent by the divine providence. Oh great hidden power, I implore your supreme majesty so that you separate me from danger, at the precise moment, that my way is illuminated by the light of fortune. I shall receive the infinite blessing of the sky. I believe in God all powerful Father, Amen!"
   3 COLORES ABRE CAMINO - NARANJA / VERDE / ORO (Abrir la ruta de acceso al dinero, salud, éxito, amor y mucho más!)
   Oracion:
"Yo invoco la sublime influencia del Padre Eterno para obtener éxito y adelanto en todos los asuntos de mi vida, y para allanar todas las dificultades que hayan en mi camino. Invoco la ayuda del Espíritu Santo, para que la buena Estrella alumbre mi camino y me espante la mala sombra que me siga. Invoco al Dios de las Alturas para que mi casa prospere, y que mi empresa y mi persona reciban un mensaje de buena suerte enviado por la Divina Providencia. ¡Oh Gran Poder Oculto! Imploro tu suprema majestad para que me apartes del peligro en el momento preciso, y para que mi Camino se vea iluminado por el Faro de la Fortuna. Yo recibiré las infinitas bendiciones del Cielo. Creo en Dios Padre Todopoderoso. Amén."

Also, for those who'd rather take a European or Celtic approach, there is this prayer:

SCOTS-IRISH PRAYER FOR THE ROAD

God before me
God behind me
I on Thy path, O God
Thou, O God, in my steps.
In the twistings of the road.
In the currents of the river.
Be with me by day.
Be with me by night.
Be with me by day and by night.

So why the emphasis and research on Road Opening for me at the moment?

Sometimes, the only explanation for an act of magick is, "the time is right," but one witch said well that the time is always right for magick. Thus, I think it's more a matter of what kind. My magickal progress over the course of this lovely past year at Grandma's House, the current planetary configuration, and several other winds of change, seem to indicate the time is right for Road Opening --- for removing whatever barriers remain so that I may, at last, bring some of my great talents out into the world. Possibly, coupled with going physically further out into the world, via travel.

No matter which road I end up on, I think the most important thing is that it be my road, and that wherever I go, I am committed first and foremost to my Magistery and to being happy. All else will follow.

Class in Session: Enfleurage, First Attempt

One of the joys of living where I currently do has been the abundance of flowers that grow both on the property and nearby. I've enjoyed working with them more closely than in past years for potions and magick, and they've given my soul a bit of revivification. Earlier this year, it was a profusion of scented purple beauty, Lilac and Wisteria. Now, a vine of Confederate Jasmine is scrambling up the side of the house, covering it with dark green foliage and little white flowers of incredible fragrance.

With my new interest in the powers of scent and essential oil blends, never mind the price of Jasmine oil, I thought I might try to catch some of the scent. But how? Flowers macerated in alcohol don't stay nice for long, and even if I had a distiller, steam distillation is too gnarly and harsh a procedure for Jasmine.

 I decided to attempt a new technique: Enfleurage.
 Enfleurage is the oldest known method of capturing a scent, harkening from humankind's earliest fascination with the bewitching fragrances of flowers and subsequent efforts to create ointments and oils to use on the body, in sacred temples, and elsewhere.
 Here's how it's done.

(Information gathered from the full story at http://www.puregreenmag.com/pure-green-blog/enfleurage, courtesy of Hollie Poscai. Hollie's experience was with Lilacs, but her account is informative and useful. I agree with her, by the way: One of my favourite tricks was to gather a bunch of Lilacs, tell my mom, "Close your eyes and smell!", and then hold them under her waiting nose. Her response was invariably happy.)

"Because I am my mother's daughter, I have inherited the same love of these beautiful spring flowers. Not only for their symbolism --- harbingers of spring and symbolic of early love --- but for their beauty and especially for their intoxicating scent.
 This year, as a bunch that a friend cut for me sat in my dining room, I wondered why I had not come across more commercial perfumes or oils which captured their fragrance, and looked into if it were possible to extract their scent myself.
 I discovered that it could be done at home using the oldest form of scent preservation, called enfleurage.
 Enfleurage is typically used with delicate flowers, such as lilacs, whose scent cannot be preserved very well by other methods such as distillation or tincturing. I did a little research and was ready to try it myself. . . ."

As a do-it-yourselfer or DIYer in modern speak, Hollie prepared her own lard as a base:

"I had my butcher put the suet through his meat grinder, so that it would be in tiny pieces, making it easier to heat and melt. I placed it in a pot over low heat, and it immediately began to melt into a clear oily liquid. Once it had all melted down, I removed any impurities first with a slotted spoon, then put it all through a fine strainer, and then poured it twice through cheesecloth. It is important that your fat is as pure and scent-free as possible.
 I then poured it into a glass casserole dish and allowed it to harden overnight. Before it was completely solid, I scored the surface in a diamond pattern, which is beneficial in allowing the fragrance to absorb throughout the fat."

Finding enough Lilacs, such tiny flowers, to fill a pan two inches deep, multiple times, was not easy --- especially since you don't want to take too much from one bush. Housing and commercial developments had also ravaged the local wild Lilac trees. Finally she had enough, of several varieties:

"When I got home, I placed wax paper down on my kitchen table and got to work removing the blooms from the stems, and placing them on the wax paper. I was careful to make sure that there was no greenery --- leaves, stamen, stems --- with my blooms, as they can cause rot and fungal diseases and spoil your scent. I also discarded any dried or wilted flowers. This step was easy, took no time at all, and provided beautiful visuals.

 Once all the blooms had been separated, I then evenly placed them on top of the fat until there was about two inches of them in height. I took another glass casserole dish that fit uniformly into my first one and pressed it on top of the flowers and the fat. While pressing down, I sealed both dishes together with electrical tape, making sure that I left no gaps for the scent to escape. I left this in a cool, dark area for 48 hours. 

 After 48 hours I removed the old blooms, collected more lilacs and repeated this part of the process again. If this weren't a project that I undertook on a whim, I would have repeated this step another 2-3 times, but I started late in the season and the lilacs were already on their way out. The more times that you refresh the blooms the stronger the scent will be."

The scented fat can be used as is, which is known as a pomade. Or you can process it further to extract the scent, as thus:

"When I unsealed the two glass containers after another 48 hours, I removed all the spent blooms and started chopping up the fragrant fat. Using a bamboo skewer, I pushed the fat into bottles with wire-and-ball stoppers, about halfway up each vessel. I poured 70% rubbing alcohol in the bottles all the way to the brim. I quickly sealed them, and wrapped electrical tape around the top for added measure.

 I then placed them in my cool basement, away from light. They will sit there for 3 months as the alcohol takes on the fragrance of the fat. When they are ready to be opened, I will then strain out the fat and add a fixative, such as cedarwood oil, to stabilize and keep the scent from evaporating. At that point, I can re-bottle it for personal use. Waiting without opening the bottles for a preview whiff will be the hardest part."

I learned that this is one way of making an absolute, one of the priciest types of scent essentials. As a further step, the alcohol would be either evaporated or frozen, and the raw, pure droplets of essential oil stuff separated out. Tedious! Hence, the price tag of Rose or Jasmine at $30 a bottle, on the cheap end. Many pounds of floral material may result in only a tiny amount of scented extract!

A final word from Hollie:

"Enfleurage is not a quick process, but it's also not difficult. I always find the most intimidating part of taking on DIY projects is actually getting up the nerve to start, and this one was no different. You can use this method with many different flowers, and I am looking forward to further experimentation, as well as seeing how my first batch turns out! I love the idea of being able to smell fresh lilacs that I cut myself year round."

Thank you, Hollie, for this helpful information!

This year, I didn't get a wild hair up in to try this when it counted, and our neighborhood Lilacs are long since officially toast; but I thought perhaps I could try it with our Jasmine vine. I didn't have lard, but I did have some coconut oil in a jar. I reasoned that if I started small anyway, I wouldn't waste a lot of resources if something went amiss. So I gathered some Jasmine blooms and went about sorting them, placing them one by one in a layer of coconut oil. . . .

These really are beautiful little flowers, incredibly fragrant, which unfurl in a particular pattern. They wilt almost as soon as you look at them, unfortunately --- one of the challenges of working with them! They're also sticky.

My setup isn't too good, just a couple of glass bowls. And the coconut oil is almost too gooey, especially with our thermometer climbing to the high 90s lately. It really is tedious work; thankfully this test batch is small.

A final word, too, on the coconut oil: It smells! It smells coconutty, that is, besides its awkward texture. I may have to give up and go with lard, for both solidity and lack of extra scent. With a more robust or acrid herb, like Perovskia, I don't think I'll mind, but Jasmine has a delicate, exquisite scent. One I want free of Waikiki overtones, as it were.

Above: Pressed flowers in an oily salad-bowl sandwich.

Update, July 17th:

Experiment scrapped. Stock of spent removed flowers began to mold, and a dead moth fell into the enfleurage (pressing) chamber

¿What could be done better?

• Forget being a veg-head and use lard. See if both the smell (or lack of) and melting point are more amenable to success.
• Get a better glass layering ensemble.
• Seal the glass assembly. Tape may work. Not only will it keep scent in, it will keep bugs out!
• Try using more flowers, and more iterations of them. If you can get enough.
• No matter how tedious if gets, be grateful it's not disembowling horned toads and Snape isn't there breathing down your neck after drinking three cups of black coffee. It could always be worse.

How to Protect Potion Ingredients

I had a lovely July 4th by being out-of town, staying on a farm in the near hills and collecting herbs. I ended up with a good number of resinous herbs, especially, and St. John's Wort. My plan is to make infused oils to capture those incredible scents!

Before putting herbs in oil, however, they must first be wilted or dried to keep water from turning the oil rancid. I put my herbs all over the floor of the auxiliary room in my loft, not having time to prep either tinctures or oils when I returned.

A couple days later, the sugar ants found them!

Our house has a serious problem with sugar ants. I realized I had to, a) go on a freakout ant squashing spree, which I hate doing, and b) get the herbs off the floor to dry.

Slytherin ingenuity to the rescue!

The solution was pretty easy. I hung a running clothesline across the auxiliary room ceiling, then placed a few herbs in each one of several grocery bags. For some wisteria and Confederate jasmine I gathered that night, I rigged up a hanging open pan. I made sure none of the hanging items touched. Finally, I dressed the clothesline with stinky organic bug repellent --- those ants hate that stuff.

Why the fuss? I wasn't afraid of the ants eating up my herbs. Mostly, they were hiding under the bags on which the herbs lay drying, and probably munching harmlessly on aphid-urine to boot. No, it's more that, once drawn to my room, those ants tend to find their way into everything else --- water bottles, potions, fig newtons . . . Gahh!!!

As James Potter says of Snape, "It's more the fact he exists, if you know what I mean. . . ."

Well, James, a lot of us would say the same about you, actually. We'd rather fuck Snape, and don't mind his greasy hair and curses.

I know where the ants live, in a nest under the backyard paving stones, but I don't plan to poison them. I just want to ward them from my space. After all, various tyrants have shown us how ineffective plans for total genocidal annihilation tends to be in the end, anyway. Let the ants be ants . . . where they belong.

Seasons of the Mage ~ Garden Joys

While I currently live in the city, and must pay heed to work schedules and such, I try to connect with natural cycles as much as possible, pausing to notice and celebrate the phases of the moon, the growth rhythms of the trees. Whatever artificial patterns we put on our lives, however far we get into our heads, the Universe is supporting our every step just beneath that thin surface.

What choice do you make for your day when you opted out of camping for several days with friends due to tiredness after a long workweek, still want to celebrate Midsummer's lingering blessing, and aren't ready to dive into July 4th yet?

Today, I opted to spend the day with my friend in the Oregon hills countryside, at a farm and house he's tending. It turned out to be the ideal respite. Relaxing and doing little while golden light filtered through the summer foliage, making and eating delicious food like cookies, scones and salad. . . .

First we hiked Mt. Talbert, and he showed me the beautiful places he'd grown up as a child and built boys' forts on the then-wild little forested mountain. We sat for awhile in a natural meadow in the sun, breathing in the peace and looking at flowers.

On the way out to the farm, we stopped at a berry stand and settled on a gift box of marionberries, raspberries, blueberries and cherries. We made squashed berry shortcake with them. Alpacas grazed on the hillside, bees droned over a full garden of flowers, and the two house dogs sniffed under the porch. Quite simply, a perfect summer resting day.

While my friend dozed, I went as invited into the garden. I found it to be full of herbs. More Perovskia than I'd seen in one garden bed. Mints, bee balm, lavender. Some delicious-smelling, woody shrub with powdery white stems and little golden button flowers, which I discovered to be Curry Plant. Hummingbirds and bees hummed everywhere. Behind the shed, foxgloves offered their last magenta blooms to the bees, and tansy ragwort ran unchecked
 . . . as did Saint John's Wort.

My Midsummer herb gathering day --- not to happen in my own garden, which still lay fallow and weedy in my neglect and distraction due to a possible forced move --- had arrived at last.

A cat is never a bad addition to a garden, especially if you're a witch.

♡

Nodding foxgloves in the late afternoon country sunlight

By eating the poisonous tansy ragwort, these black and orange striped caterpillars cleverly rend themselves unpalatable to anyone else. Or rather, it's nature that is clever! By eating certain foods and herbs, we humans can do the same against bugs like mosquitoes.

Curry Plant, a wonderful-smelling new acquaintance that can be used in flavoring dishes

I gathered two full bags of herbs, carefully clipped in even spacing from the plants. Now I have to find space to dry them all! We celebrated the day with wheat-roll sandwiches and a salad for dinner outside, feasting as the sun set behind the hills, and I drank my first hot-pink Shirley Temple soda pop ever. There are things you just have to do, and things you have to try, because doing so makes you happy. (A hot-pink, sugary soda! Oh, Severus! I can see your sneering face! *laughing out loud*)

Perovskia, or Russian Sage, covered with bees

At some point while hanging out in the house, I approached my friend's Tarot deck and did a reading. He is one of the main inspirations that got me to doing Tarot on a regular basis, but I'm not yet in the habit of packing my deck everywhere yet. Figuring this getaway as an ideal time to take stock of things, I pulled just three cards this time
 . . . and what a dilly! It was perfect. How do those cards, when combined with your energy, simply know?

Here is the spread:

1. (left) Where am I now? What am I now?
  Ace of Cups: --- serious creative upwelling, new relationships, fresh love, new beginnings, starting projects

2. (middle) What's holding me back?
  Hierophant --- The System, what you were taught, "you should do/be... etc.", rules, government, customs, old way of doing things

3. (right) What do I need to know to move forward?
  Magician --- competence, readiness, knowledge and skills earned and gained, tools; "I keep saying you have all the tools you need, you dunderhead!"

This spread screams my need to shed all the crappy old inhibitions and past wounds for good, embrace full and shameless Magistery once and for all, and release my powers and gifts to the world. The High Priestess, which I got earlier this year, speaks more of a psychic or inuitive level, whereas the Magician, which I've now gotten twice, points to action on the worldly manifesting level. As for what holds me back, it could be old shame, outdated junk from Mom-Dad-Grandma, or my current lackluster mode of securing income; but it could also be the greater system on top of that, since our government is basically doing no one any favors. Hence . . .

. . . Happy July 3rd, still-loyal-to-British-tyranny day! My friend and I had coffee and homemade scones topped with fresh smashed-berry compote outside on the porch in the dusk.

I lamented having to leave the beautiful farmstead and garden. But after spending a refreshing night there under a heritage quilt, I returned to town not only with a bushel of herbs and a bottle of Geranium essential oil, but peace in my heart.

Sweet

ring ring ring "Operator! Operator! Do you copy? Put me through to Tim and Sev ---"

"No, dammit! We're not coming back! We're staying out here!"

A former denizen of a certain boarding school House? Probably not, but a frame worthy of the most noble lineages.

Thank you