Samhain Herbs.... Mugwort, Devil's Nettle and Thistle!

Merry Meet Everyone!

This is an entire post that relates to herbs that can be used for our Samhain celebrations and rituals. The herbs that I have chosen are EASY to get hold of, and can even be found living wild, locally :)

Some of you may know that Dandelion can be used as a form of communing with the spirit realm by observing the steam simmering from a cauldron of water and the same can be said for the first of the herbs in todays' post.... the Thistle.





The Thistle, quite frankly, can be found EVERYWHERE and it's flowers hold magical powers that you can harness for your workings. In Relation to Samhain, as mentioned before, it can be used to commune with the spirit world. Simply take the flower (or leaf) and drop it into water that has boiled and is simmering. You may then ask your questions to the spirits and watch the shapes that are created in the steam, thereby giving you answers :)

On a more detailed note, Thistle is a masculine herb that relates to the Planet Mars and also the element of Fire - He has many properties, but mainly can be carried or worn as an amulet for Protection, Joy, Energy and Vitality!

Next up is one of my favourite herbs, Mugwort.




Mugwort has HUGE ties to Samhain because of it's divinatory attributes, and can be used in a number different ways to that effect.

Firstly, make an infusion out of it (for those that don't know, an infusion is steeping the herb in hot water!) This infusion can be drank as a tea, and will increase your psychic abilities - so drink it before divination!
You can also use this infusion to cleanse your divinatory tools (such as scrying mirrors, crystal balls etc)




Further to this, you can place Mugwort next to your bed to assist in Astral projection and also for prophetic dreams :) - I will also be creating a post on making Mugwort Incense soon which you can also use for divination. Mugwort is a feminine herb, and she relates to the Planet Venus, and the element of Earth.

Finally (for today) is the third herb on my list, Yarrow. Yarrow, or Devil's Nettle, is another feminine herb that relates to both Venus and the element of water, and the reason that I have chosen to associate it with this time of year is (again) it's ties to divination. Similarly to Mugwort, Yarrow can be made into an infusion that should be drank before divination to assist in your workings.

It is said, that if you hold Yarrow in your hands, you will deminish fear, and increase your courage, however when Devil's Nettle is worn, it acts as a protection Amulet. Devils' Nettle is also a herb that is used for attraction - Make Yarrow Charms to attract Friends, Loved Ones or a new Lover?!




Lastly, Yarrow is perfect for exorcising negativity, and you can use it to remove negativity and evil from a person, place or thing!

So that concludes todays post, and hopefully it has given a little bit more of an insight to herbs that can be harnessed for their magical properties at Samhain, and the time around it! If anyone has anything further top these that they would like to add, then please feel free to comment!

Until next time, Blessed Be x

Divination Tea for Samhain

Merry meet everyone.

Today is just a quick tutorial... With Samhain looking ever closer i thought I would show you how I make me Samhain tea. Samhain is an awesome time to perform divination, particularly for the year ahead....

YOU WILL NEED:
Coffee Maker (or a mug and muslin!)
Hot Water
1 Tsp Thyme
1 Tsp Yarrow
1 Tsp Mugwort
1 Cinnamon Stick
about 4 Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
Book of Shadows

OK, this couldn't be simpler - stick all of the herbs in your coffee maker, pour in hot water and steep for a minimum of 5 minutes!

When you have done this, just strain it, and drink before divination!! This drink can be a bit bitter, so you can add a touch of honey to sweeten if you would like :)

let me know what you think and until next time, Blessed Be x

Witchy Haul October 2013

Merry Meet everyone

I thought I would just do a quick post to show you some of the things that I have collected over the last few weeks; all of which I thought were lovely little witchy bargains! I think that these just go to show that you don’t have to spend a fortune shopping at pagan stores to collect the tools of your craft – for some reason Pagan stores do seem to charge a lot, don’t they?

NOTE: all of the prices below indicate the price AFTER p&p :-)

Herbs: Rose Petals and Lavender buds. £7.95 (www.healthysupplies.co.uk)

Ok let’s kick this off with my most expensive finds (which actually weren’t hat expensive!). usually I either grow my herbs or I buy them from supermarkets however both Lavender and Rose tend to be a little more elusive and you have to look further afield. Now make no mistake, that you can pick up both of these items cheaper from other sources like eBay – but you have to be sensible about what you want. With Samhain just around the corner, I wanted to make edible goodies (posts to follow!) and I’m not sure that I trust random sellers on eBay retailing herbs that are food standard…



Now, the reason that I thought these were worthy of this post, is because of the quantity – for £7.95 including postage, you get 50g of each herb – whereas most other places sell 25g for the same amount of money… and to be safe in the knowledge that these can be eaten as opposed to solely for spell-work, I think they qualify as a bargain!

Bat tea light holder. £2.50 (www.wilko.com)

Now at some point in the future I intend to make a few videos (I always think that listening to someone speak is more personal) and at which point I will link to a YouTube poster (Joey Morris). I was watching one of her haul videos and she has bought one of these little beauties – I instantly fell in love)






At this time of year, various shops and supermarkets start to stock Halloween decorations, and although most of the time my opinion is that it is commercialised rubbish, occasionally something jumps out at me. This was one of those times… this is a simple bat silhouette tea light holder which I thought would be lovely for my Samhain altar – best of all it was £2.50 from Wilkinson – whereas a candle holder from a pagan store would cost in excess of £10
:-) What do you think?

Orange Tea lights. £1 (Sainsburys)

Whilst on the subject of shops and supermarket’s stocking Halloween decorations, I stumbled across these whilst in Sainsbury’s the other day.



While I know they are only coloured tea lights, what attracted me was that they aren’t scented. Usually, when you manage to find coloured tea lights, they are “appropriately” flavoured… in this case though, just plain orange – 12 for £1, AWESOME.

God and Goddess Travel Stones. £3.50 (www.devonianmists.com)

Recently, I have been assembling my travel altar – or at least that’s what I am calling it (see below) – although to be fair, it is just a small portable altar, be it outside or on the go… I’m undecided. What I did know though, was that I wanted small God and Goddess representations; and after hours of trawling through the internet for inspiration, I found these on eBay. They are so simple, but a perfect size and nice and cheap too… I think they are so sweet!











Part two coming tomorrow :-) what do you think guys?

Location:Mount Pleasant,Tadley,United Kingdom

Mabon dawns as the year ends...

Merry Meet All, 

With Mabon on our doorstep (for those in the Northern Hemisphere) The Moonshine Witch Chronicles will take a turn for the autumnal.... 

....Check back over the next few days for posts on Mabon related activities for the upcoming holiday.

Blessed Be, 

Moonshine )O(

x 

To Give You An Idea....

So... Just to kick this off; this is a post from the old Blog - hopefully it will give you an idea of whether you want to stay!! ;)

Making Mabon Smudge Sticks!

Merry Meet Everyone!

Well I had hoped that I was going to receive a delivery today for my witch cupboard, which was going to be the topic for discussion on today's post! Alas, it hasn't turned up (Cheers, Postal Service!) but never fear, as prepared as I am, I have a back-up plan for today!

Next week is Mabon; So i've had a look around the garden for herbs that I can use in part of my celebration! This year, I have decided that I am going to make smudge sticks and (good as I am) I've stuck it all up on my blog so that you can see and try yourself! What's more it's easy (PHEW!)

Similar to Lughnassadh (Lammas), Mabon is all about the harvest of the year - so for me, there is nothing more perfect for these celebrations in collecting your own herbs that you have grown or from your neighbourhood. Obviously, if that isn't possible (you may not have a garden!) then buying them is perfectly acceptable too! I'm not going to explain Mabon in too much depth (that's another post!) but try to bear in mind the reason behind the celebration.

So anyway, my garden doesn't boast a huge array of herbs, however, I do have Elf's Leaf (Lavender) and Dew of the Sea (Rosemary). As always, I will add a 'factfile' of information on the herbs that I am using at the bottom of the page - See yesterday's post for Lavender information!

OK... so firstly, I should explain that I am using fresh ingredients from my garden, so if this is to be ready for next week's celebration, I need to make it now, to give it time to dry out! But WHY use smudge sticks?!
Well, in its most simple form, smudging clears a space (or an object) of negative energy - think of it like a cleanser! It is similar to an incense in that they smell nice - but furthermore, they're actually disspelling negativity for you! Feel free to cleanse yourself, a room, and object - the possibilities are endless! 

So let's get to it!

YOU WILL NEED:

• Freshly harvested Herbs
• String
• Book of Shadows

Firstly, As shown in my picture - you need to collect your materials... do your research and find out if they are toxic if burnt first though!! These are my bunches of Elf Leaf and dew of the Sea!

Next, you need to wrap a length of string around one end of the combined bunch - try to put all the woody ends together as it holds (and burns) better.

As I have in my picture, you need to wrap the string every-so-often along the bunch.

When you reach the end. Wrap it around again and finally tie it off at the bottom of the smudge stick!

See - I told you it was easy! Now all you need to do is hang it somewhere that isn't humid so that it can dry out - this can take anywhere from a few days to a week! Be careful to wrap the smudge stick tight enough to stop it from falling apart - but not so tight as it cuts the flesh of the herbs! Make sure that you record it all in your book of shadows so that you can look back for future use!

Also, When you light the smudge, the idea is to let it smoulder (it's the smoke that you want after all!) but it's probably better to use a candle to light it, as they can take a while!

So that's it for today! - Tomorrow I should (finally) receive my order, so no doubt there will be another post to look forward to! So until then.... Blessed Be, and Happy crafting!

ROSEMARY (DEW OF THE SEA)

• Magically, Dew of the Sea is used for Purification and Protection (see above!!)
• Spells dealing with Youth, Love, Lust, Sleep and to increase Intellect.
• Medicinally, Tea can be made from dry flowering tops to improve circulation and ais digestion - however caution **** - Rosemary can be toxic, so if taking it internally, always do so professionally!

Blessed Be

The Diary of a Witch - Reborn

Welcome... to friends, old and new. 

So, some of you may have received a rather cryptic message directing you here; or perhaps others have stumbled upon my (new) humble abode. 

For those that don't know; a few years ago a ran The Diary of a Witch (www.moonshinewitch.blogspot.com) which was relatively popular. the aim of which was to reach out to others in the Pagan/Wiccan communities and to share stories, but moreover to make friends. 

If the blog was popular, it was nothing in comparison to my Facebook page which took off. 

For one reason or another (all personal, and also dull - none of which i will bore you with now) I stopped writing the blog, and truth be know I miss it terribly. Thus, I went back to it, only to find that I no longer remember my password (my brain is filled with herbs and candles; no room for passwords!). Maybe I should see it as a blessing in disguise... that time in my life brings back memories that I would rather forget. 

Thus, like a Phoenix from the ashes, The Moonshine Witch Chronicles have been born.

I look forward to blogging the monthly, weekly - heck, even daily chronicles of this witch and I hope you join me for the ride. so, please, make yourself known - and get comfortable, because The Moonshine Witch has returned. 

Blessed Be my friends, 

Moonshine )O(