Completed Beltane Spell - Can't Wait!!

Ok, I have completed my Beltane ritual/spell and am ready to go for tomorrow! Here’s what I’ve come up with - hope you find it useful. 

I mentioned earlier in the week that I really like the tradition of lighting the home fires with a flame carried from the Beltane bonfire so I have bought a large candle to light in the afternoon. (I would have lit it in the morning but I’ll be out!) I will then use this to light the candles later when I am ready for my Beltane spell. 

On my Beltane altar I have my red and white braided wand, my chalice with a moonstone covered with rose petals (these will be placed side by side according to the spell below), red and white candles and roses that I will get fresh cut in the morning. 

I will be starting the actual Beltane ritual with some meditation before my altar so will light my candles. As I mentioned before, my aim is for the balance of feminine and masculine energies within me and to create a feeling of constructive emotions.  I will be focusing on the feelings that I’ve had lately and particularly those that have held me back or weakened me in some way. Then I’ll be seeking to create balance in these situations and looking for where I could have addressed these problems a little better. It’s not just wisdom with hindsight I promise, I intend to bring this balance into future similar situations!

When I feel I  am ready, I will say:

My need is for balance

To keep my path straight

To nurture my talents

And assist in my fate

The God and the Goddess

Placed side by side

Equally, they bless

Their example, my guide

To reach equilibrium

Requires that I listen

To both sides of my being

I am whole, no division

Then, I will take the candles outside (weather permitting of course) where I will enjoy some Cornish honey mead that I friend back for me last week! 

Bright Beltane blessings to you, may summer start with joy and happiness!!

Fran xx

Beltane Love Spell for Maria

Maria asked for a Beltane based love spell and I have put something simple together - hope this helps you!

I am basing it on fire, Beltane being a fire festival, and also because this works well with igniting the flame of passion! This can be used in an existing relationship but is very relevant to new love as the Beltane energies lend themselves to new connections, this being a fertility festival too ;)

All you will need is 3 red candles and 3 white candles. Carve your initial into the white candles and the object of your desire's into the red ones. Place them in an crescent shape with the white candles all to the left, the red to the right. 

God and Goddess unite at this time

An alliance of love and the truly divine

Light 1 white candle and 1 red, the ones furthest apart. 

This spirit of passion blesses us all

We give of our hearts when we hear love's true call

Light the second red and white candles.

Joined by the fire

Joined in our ardour

Joined we rise higher

May our hearts be as one. 

Light the final candles and then take a few moments for meditation and to imagine and create the feelings of love you aim for. Then blow out the candles, watching the smoke rise and take your prayers skywards and thank the divine as you do this. 

Blessings!

Fran xx

Chinese Love Horoscope

My friend Harriet has been working on a blog providing a daily Chinese horoscope service and Chinese love horoscope  - and she's always really helpful when I've asked her about such matters so I can recommend her. 

So maybe now I've linked to her blog, she'll give witchcraft more of a try! Oh, and stop calling me Witchypoo (based on my Twitter name of Witchy_Fran) 

My very own Triple Moon!

I tweeted this earlier, but I woke up last night and looked at my window to find that the reflection had split the (nearly full) moon into three! I was a little bit freaked and a little bit delighted. 

As was pointed out on Twitter, it must be a sign :))))

Beltane Diary - Day 4, Wording for my Beltane spell

Ok, I'm not completely finished with the wording as yet, so consider this a work in progress! I also have not yet completed how I shall arrange the ritual in general so this will come later on. Just thought I'd get what I've done so far on, and please feel free to let me know your thoughts! 

Given that I want to bring about the balance between masculine and feminine, here is the spell so far:

My need is for balance

To keep my path straight

To nurture my talents

And assist in my fate

The God and the Goddess

Placed side by side

Equally, they bless

Their example, my guide

To reach equilibrium

Requires that I listen

To both sides of my being

I am whole, no division

More tomorrow!

Don't forget we still have a Beltane sale on over at Destiny Charms so you are very welcome to drop by and take a look :)

Beltane Diary - Day 3. How to actually represent masculine and feminine?

Right, I’m on the way to completing my Beltane spell plans! As mentioned previously, the central them for me this year is balance between masculine and feminine. To me this means to allow my emotions to flow freely but to only let them drive me forwards, not to lock me in place. To see beauty in the world around me but also recognise what needs to be fixed. To actively build momentum in my life but also to allow myself to sit back and enjoy it once in a while! 

Therefore, I have brought symbols of masculine and feminine into my plans but I want them to be more than just representations. I want to incorporate them on a much deeper level. This was easier with the wand that will be making for masculinity because of the need to braid the ribbon myself - there’s a personal touch because of the creativity involved. 

But with the femininity I’ve had to think harder. Simply placing a chalice on the altar didn’t seem to feel balanced at all. I am therefore placing inside a little gift of a moonstone (a very feminine and intuitive gemstone). I will have water in my chalice on the day and then on top of this I will cover with rose petals. 

More later!

Beltane Fact of the Day

I've just Tweeted my Beltane fact of the day which is an old Irish Beltane tradition. Home fires were extinguished and only relit using a flame from the Beltane bonfire - which was called 'new fire'. 

I think this is SOOOO lovely that I really want to think of a way to incorporate the essence of this tradition in my own Beltane spell. I'll obviously let you know if I manage it! 

Beltane Diary - Day 2, Masculine and Feminine Balance

I mentioned in my Beltane diary yesterday that I was going to focus on the balance between male and  female, this being a festival of fertility. I’ve been thinking some more about this and realised that I have actually been spending my time with mostly women lately and that my approach to decisions and life in general had been highly influenced - which is not to say that my friends are not lovely, wise people! More that there has an imbalance and one that I think I want to address at Beltane. 

This is not to say, incidentally, that I believe in the opposites theory for men and women. They are by no means poles apart. But I do feel that, whether the reasons be nature or nurture, certain qualities tend to be found more with one gender than the other. 

Ergo I have found that emotional responses have been coming through very strongly for me lately. Instinct has led the way! Absolutely fine, but I have to confess that some calm, measured rationalising would not have been a bad thing on some days. 

Therefore, I’m going to bring in some balance between the masculine and the feminine within me and during this process stop the feeling of being pulled in one direction. The aim will be more about wholeness, about getting everything to work in a complementary fashion, rather than about separating male and female and then attempting to slot them both together again! 

Meditation is going to be a big part of this and I already was planning on using a chalice (for femininity) and the branch/wand (for masculinity) but now I need to focus more on the deeper elements of what this truly means. Do you have any methods that you use? Want to share them? :)

Beltane Diary - Day 1

Hello!

As ever I have been thinking over my Beltane sabbat plans far too late but hey, I like to be spontaneous! I have, however, given some thought to what I want to do. Beltane (to most known as May Day) is well known for being a fertility festival but I currently have no need of the literal interpretation of this! Therefore, I'd like to honour the masculine and feminine and to think about how I channel both energies in my life and how they both enrich my life and drive me forwards. 

So here are some of the things I plan to include:

• A "maypole" for my altar. I'm currently looking for a suitable branch to use, which should ideally be oak or hazel. I shall then wrap red and white ribbons around it. (This represents masculinity).
  

• Again, for the fertility aspect of the festival, I'm using a triple moon chalice and hope to put rain water in it on the day. (This represents femininity).
  

• Roses. I'm going to use some fresh cut roses for decoration but also am using rose petals for my spell ritual. If I have the time to make a flower basket when I am done, I shall give it away as a gift. 
  

• Fire is an important element of Beltane so red and white candles are to be a central feature.
  

For my spell, I will be looking at the balance of male and female and aiming for a sense of completeness. 

Don't forget to check out the Beltane sale over at Destiny Charms!

More tomorrow!

Fran xx

Beltane Rituals Article Link

In case you want to read my Beltane Rituals article, which has now been published, on its original site, here is the link!

Blessings

Fran xx

Free Spells Poll

Thank you to everyone who voted in my latest poll on what types of free spells you'd be interested in. Top choice has been general life changes followed by love spells. I will get straight on it after I've worked on my Beltane diary :)

Blessings and gratitude xxx

My Beltane Rituals Article

I've written an article on some simple Beltane rituals and traditions and thought I may as well post it here too! Hope you enjoy it :)

For witches, Wiccans and Pagans alike, the important festive time of Beltane is approaching! Here are some traditional Beltane rituals you might like to try for this special day. 

• Maypole dancing - more associated with May Day for most people but a Beltane ritual all the same! The maypole is a large staff of about 20 feet placed in the ground with long ribbons attached. The merry-makers would then dance with a ribbon in their hand, men going in one direction and women in the other. As they wove in and out of one another the ribbons would cover the pole in an intricate pattern. It’s a ritual related to fertility (which originates from the Germanic tradition) and in the UK it is also associated with Morris dancers, who’s dancing is also associated with fertility rites. 
  

• You can also use your own representation of the may pole such as a branch (fallen not cut) from an Oak or Hazel tree. 
  

• Washing your face in morning dew - tradition has it that it keeps you beautiful all year. So get up early!
  

• Bonfire or fire of some kind - Beltane is to many a fire festival and one version of the origin of the name is ‘bale fires’ which is due to some of the agricultural work at that time of year. It is also connected to the Celtic God Bel, who was honoured on this day. It is part of many Wiccan practices to jump over a small bonfire or a candle flame. Don’t catch on fire though!
  

• Flowers, particularly hawthorn - baskets of flowers were made to make the most of the colourful array of nature’s gifts. So as part of your Beltane ritual, make a basket of flowers to give away as a gift. 
  

• Incense and herbs - angelica, frankincense, hawthorn, lilac and rose are associated to Beltane rituals.
  

• A chalice for fertility - this symbolises the womb. You can also include a dagger for male symbolism. Dip the dagger into the chalice as part of your Beltane ritual or altar work. 
  

• Colours  - white, dark green, red are used to symbolise both the fertility rites and also, because of the return of the sun to the earth, both spring and summer seasons are associated. 
  

• Red and white ribbons to braided around a wand to place on your altar. 
  

• Lastly, binding is also symbolically very important as this is a time for marriage. You can also use your Beltane ritual to bind your desires to you but bear in mind you will be stuck with them so choose wisely! 
  

A New Book Based on the Pendle Hill Witches...

...which I haven't read yet but promise I will and I'll review it here! I'm really interested in this book - Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt - because:

1) It's based on the Pendle Hill Witches, which is somewhere I've visited and loved. I wrote a bit about it here. 

2) It's based in Tudor England and, for obvious reasons, it's a period of history I'm fascinated by (maybe I was burnt at the stake in a previous life!)

3) I like all things "Witchy". 

5 Facts About Beltane - The Fire Festival

I'm doing some Beltane facts on Twitter at the moment and today I put on it that it was a Celtic fire festival. This prompted a comment from someone who was curious about this. I thought I'd add a few little extra points just to clarify! So here are 5 facts about Beltane - the Fire Festival! 

1) The Beltane fire festival is held on August 30th in Edinburgh every year. It's an absolutely huge event! Admittedly though, the organisers state that the celebrations are not entirely traditional. 

2) There are differences in the way the Celts celebrated Beltane and the ways the Germanic people did. For the latter it was more about the fertility rites (something we've adopted more in today's rituals) and for the Celts it was around livestock. I have read about tales of cattle being brought out to pasture for the first time and they were, en route, passed briefly through bonfires to cleanse them and their energies. 

3) For some households, Beltane was a time to burn bedding and unwanted items from winter. A sort of spring clean!

4) The meaning of Beltane can vary depending on your source of information but 'brightest fires' is one and fires of Bel is another I have encountered. Bel was a Celtic deity. 

5) The fire is also symbolic at this time as we are welcoming the return of the sun to the earth and, hopefully, being blessed with a glorious summer! 

We have a Beltane sale going on at Destiny Charms right now and you'd be very welcome to come and see us there :)

Blessings

Fran xx

My Top 10 Ingredients For Spells In Spring

With Beltane just around the corner and the weather seeming to take a turn for the considerably better (fingers crossed it stays that way!) I am switching over to some different ingredients and herbs for this season. Obviously I will always be led by the nature and purpose of the spell itself but thought I would share with you my top 10 spring spell ingredients and what I'm keeping to hand at the moment. 

1) Daffodils and daffodils petals

2) Hawthorn Leaves

3) Feathers (of many colours)

4) Sprinkles of grass cuttings

5) White mustard seeds

6) Rain water but if possible, I've been leaving it in the sun for half an hour!

7) Seashells

8) Sage and sweetgrass for smudging

9) Blue lace agate

10) Sea salt (lots of cleansing going at the moment)

Any suggestions? What do you feel particularly drawn to at this time of year? 

How to Cast a Circle

Casting a circle around your altar or any space you want to do your spell work is important but not strictly essential. Many witches and Wiccans swear by it and yet others, mainly solitaries, feel comfortable and safe enough in their environment to work without it. In fact I know of one witch who said that she feels fenced in when she casts a circle! However, it is for many an energy generating part of their ritual and the sense of being and belonging in their own space is one they couldn’t do without. 

For my two pennies worth, I find it an enjoyable experience in itself and this boosts my spell casting. I also enjoy the cleansed energies and equate it to the fresh feeling you get after a thunder storm. It feels like you’re working from a totally clean slate. 

Hence, I’ve decided to write a few, simple suggestions on how to cast a circle for those who wish to give it a try!

How to Cast a Circle

• Firstly, how much space do you need? Think this through first! How many people need to be in it? How much room is needed to work? Obviously the amount of space you have in the first place is going to be a factor but don’t underestimate how big a space you need and then wind up feeling cramped. 
  

• To actually cast the circle, you can visualise your space or physically draw it out if this helps you. Whatever makes you feel happiest. You can mark out your circle using your hands, an athame, salt water, a piece of cord, by walking round the edge with a candle - or choose a method that feels personal to you. 
  

• Represent the elements - the earth in the north, air in the east, fire in the south and water in the west. 
  

• To add some ceremony and state your purpose, now you need to officially invoke the powers of the divine. If you have a particular affinity to a God or Goddess then call upon them and perform a ceremony that draw their powers. Otherwise you can invite the all encompassing God and Goddess into your circle and humbly ask that they protect and bless you. 
  

• If you want to say some words to complete the process, than you should choose your own. It will help to make it feel a personal place to you. 
  

• Ensure that you do not step outside your circle until you are done. To leave, you need to cut the circle with either an athame or a cutting motion with your hand. This is showing due respect to the energies around you and acknowledging the realness of their presence. 
  

How Often Should You Cast a Circle

This is a question that gets mixed opinions so there is no right or wrong. I do not cast a circle every time I do spell work as sometimes I just don’t have the time, it’s a quick piece of magik and I don’t want to halt the momentum and sometimes I simply do not wish to feel confined. 

So this is very much down to you. If you feel you need the extra protection, it’s important. If you are performing something with a more ritual feel to it, it will help too. And if you are new to spell casting, it is useful to get you used to working with energies. 

Hope this helps and if you have any questions at all, then please ask away!

Modern Day Witch-Hunts

I posted this link to an article on witch-hunts on Twitter the other day but I did want to comment on a particular point that it brought up so thought I'd post it here too. 

This article talks about witch-hunts from the past and the tragedy of what is happening in the world today and while it does bring up some interesting figures on past persecutions not being as bad as originally thought, I was very much taken by the point that a lot of the prejudices actually come from those around the witches and not those above.

What I mean by this is that it is not always the authorities. The Church and State have had a very bad press by witches, Wiccans and Pagans (rightly so) but it is of course the locals and neighbours who very often were/are the informers. That it is their fear, resentment or just a bullying nature towards anyone who is different that makes them take out their woes on innocent people. 

I guess it's important to realise that prejudice and persecution can come from any source and to be cautious about who you open up to sadly. 

Destiny Charms Beltane Sale!

Destiny Charms now has a Beltane Sale on with 10% off all items in the Beltane section - which you can find here :)

Look forward to seeing you over there!