Skyclad Under A Full Moon

Most witches follow the lunar cycle and use different phases for different spells. But did you know you can do the same thing with the sun?Different times during the day have different correspondences, just like different moon phases do.

Sunrise

New beginnings, Changes, Renewal, Resurrection, Health, Cleansing

Morning

Growth, Courage, Expansion, Positivity, Harmony, Prosperity

Midday/Noon

Energy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Health, Protection

Afternoon/Evening

Communication, Clarity, Travel, Exploration, Professional matters

Sunset

Release, Acceptance, Truth, Removal of negative energies, Completion

One of my fondest childhood memories involves the making of dandelion honey, called miel de pissenlit in French, or « cramaillotte » - plucking flowers on a sunny afternoon with my parents and sisters, filling our basket with yellow fluff smelling of pollen, and coming back home to pour everything in a giant copper pot. The whole house smelled of warmth, summer, and liquid sunshine for days. Miel de pissenlit, is gold in a jar. The subtle flavor proves excellent as a stomach disorder remedy and to cure sore throats in the winter. It is a deeply generous and comforting substance, soothing as honey, and with pretty much the same applications.

Dandelion honey makes great offering for land spirits, faes, ancestors, and solar gods alike. In Ireland, dandelion flowers were said to be sacred to Brighid, called breanan Brìde or « the little notched of Brìde ». Here I invoked Her to bless the produce at each and every step of the process, imbuing it with healing qualities. Some jars will be gifted to friends, some will be kept for us, but I made sure to save a full jar just for Her, pouring the honey over some yarrow and juniper.

You will need :

- 500-800 dandelion flowers

- 2,5L of clear water

- 3 oranges

- 2 lemons

- 2,5kg of granulated sugar

Recipe :

1. Fetch a dandelion field sheltered from cars, dogs and children. You want to pick the right time, when the flowers are most open, to pluck your dandelions : between 11am-2pm is best. Keep only the flower heads.

2. Come quickly home, before your flowers start closing. You will need to proceed to the leaf removal : remove the flower petals and leave the green flower crown behind to keep only the yellow part of your flower. Gently brush aside any insect that may be caught still in your harvest. This step is the more tedious, yet the more important : removing the green part ensures the good taste of your honey, with no bitterness.

3. Cast your flowers in a cooker (traditionally, a big copper pot or basin you can heat over fire is in order, but we make do with modern means !). The secret is to not pre-wash your flowers to keep all their pollen in, hence why you wanna be cautious with the place you pick them from. Cover them with the water and the juices from the oranges and lemons. Boil for 45-60min, checking your water and flowers level, and adding more water if necessary. Turn off the heat, and cover for the night to let your flowers infuse. The longer you live it, the better. Aim for at least 12h.

4. The day after, proceed to filter the flowers. You can do that by hand, pressing the petals delicately to draw all juice out, or by putting them in a muslin cloth. You should be left with a clear yellow juice.

5. Add your sugar, and put to a boil. Once your honey starts producing consistent bubbles and foaming, the cooking time varies greatly. Count at least 45min up to 2,5h for your honey to set. The quantity will reduce, leaving you with anything from 1/2 to 2/3 of your initial quantity. You can test the cristallisation of your honey by dropping a bit in a cold dish and holding it vertically above your sink or counter : if your honey runs like water, it is still too liquid. If it sits and moves down slowly, like pearls dripping, it is the right consistency.

6. Bottle in clean, sterilized jars that you will put upside down to cool off : the heat of the produce will kill all bacterias from the lid. It should produce a faint « pop » sound once it’s sealed.

7. Store your honey in a cool, dark place, and keep in the fridge once open. The shelf life depends on the conservation area : in a cellar, it will be OK for a good year. In a cupboard, about 6 months.

So as most of you probably know, I’m a crochet artist. Everything that I create (weather it’s a crocheted item or not) has a bit of my magic imbued in it, but sometimes I want to enchant an item I’m making with a specific intent. Here’s my personal list of stitch correspondences.. these are just what energy I get from the stitch personally, so feel free to make your own correspondences up for them! Crocheting or knitting is so great because the stitches can have intentions, and you can use colour magic or the correspondences of the fiber content to amplify or add to the energy of your creation!

 I use US terms, and I’ve tried to order them by how complicated the stitch is.

Chain stitch - If i’m doing a foundation chain of a multiple of 9 chains, I’ll use the 9 knot chant/spell to sort of kickstart the spell’s energy and to have it act as a battery to charge the spell:

By knot of ONE, the spell’s begun

By knot of TWO, it cometh true

By knot of THREE, so mote it be

By knot of FOUR, this power I store

By knot of FIVE, the spell’s alive

By knot of SIX, this spell I fix

By knot of SEVEN, events I’ll leaven

By knot of EIGHT, it will be Fate

By knot of NINE, what’s done is mine

If it’s just part of the pattern, I use it as an energy mover. It just keeps the energy moving from one stitch to the next, while keeping it strong.

Slip stitch - Great for glamours where the purpose is to go unnoticed. Also an energy mover, but lets the intent change freely from stitch to stitch. Single Crochet - A nice tight, simple stitch. I use it in items that I want to be protective but gentle to the wearer/user, nurturing love, close relationships.

Half double Crochet - A tight-ish, soft stitch. Warmth, protection, ease of manifestation.

Double Crochet - A looser, faster stitch. Good for freedom, moving energy away from yourself, and letting go.  Treble - Sort of an amplified version of the double. Spontaneity, letting go, luck.

Front post stitches - Brings the energy of whatever stitch you use to the forefront. Lets it be directed by you and seen by the world. Good for glamour spells where you want to bring attention to yourself. ex: front post treble will let the world see how spontaneous and forward moving you are.

Back post stitches - Lets the energy of whatever stitch you use run in the background. Good for glamours where you don’t want attention brought to yourself. Ex: Back post single would be great for bringing you protection, and strengthening relationships when you don’t want a lot of attention (from outsiders) brought to something so personal as a close relationship.

Stitches ‘together’ ( i.e. 2 treble together, 3 dc together) - Great for bringing people closer together (i,e, 2 together would be two people,) tightening bonds, bringing an end quicker.

Spike stitch/long stitch - Lets your energy reach farther. Good for spells where the subject is farther away (physically, emotionally or mentally) or if you’re having trouble reaching out to others.  Also good for divination or astral work to ‘see’ farther. Great for cursing as well when you use nice long, pointy spikes.

Moss stitch - (aka linen, granite, or woven stitch)  This is my favourite for warding. It’s a very tight stitch with no holes. Great for protection, keeping warmth in and not letting anything get through.

Granny stitch - Familiarity (great for when you’re traveling) comfort, familial relationships (particularly maternal), fast manifestation.

Ripple or Wave stitch - Sea/ocean magic, adaptability and riding the waves, energy flow, peace/calm.

Shell stitch - Opening up to others, manifestation, sea/ocean magic, adaptability (riding the waves, so to speak)

Picot - When used as an edging, it’s good for bringing about a good ending. It can be used to tie up all the loose ends if you’re in a situation of uncertainty. Good for curses where you want to make some bumps in somebody’s road.

Crab stitch - Sturdy, but also is a definite ending. Good for banishing and burning bridges. Can also be good for past life work since it’s worked backwards. Also good in cursing as so many hate doing this stitch.

Corner to Corner - Order, logic. Can be great to make a giant sigil project with! Just make your sigil simple enough to crochet as pixels in your C2C throw/blanket/square.

Puff stitch -  Self love, being gentle to yourself and other, slowing down a hectic life.

Popcorn stitch - Bringing fun and flavour into your life, great for brining a group of people closer together, 

Crocodile stitch - Protection, psychic ability/astral work, cloaking/camouflage spells, bringing softness into your life.

Broomstick lace - Cleansing, banishing, warding. Basically all the things you can do with a besom, you can do with this stitch. Use your besom as the broomstick for added oomph! I also like to use this as a ward that filters out unwanted energy and transforms it into good energy.

Serpentine stitch - Entangling lives (i.e. if you want serendipity on your side) moving effortlessly through difficult situations, curse magic to complicate someone’s life

Brynhildr:

She is a shieldmaiden and also the daughter of Budli. Her name means Bright Battle

Eir:

She is a Goddess and or a Valkyrie, she is associated with medical skills. Her name means Peace, Clemency, Help, or Mercy

Geiravör:

Her name means Spear Goddess

Geirdriful:

Her name means Spear Finger

Geirönul:

Her name means the one charging forth with the spear

Geirskögul:

They are two separate or an individual Valkyrie, the name means Spear Skögul and Skögul: Shaker or High Towering.

Göll:

The name means Tumult, or Noise Battle.

Göndul:

The name means Wand Wielder.

Gunnr:

The name means War or Battle.

Herfjötur:

The name means Host Fetter or Fetter of the Army.

Herja:

The name means Devastate

Hlaðguðr svanhvít:

She is the sister of the Valkyrie Hervör alvitr, her name means Swan White.

Hildr:

She has the power to revive the dead on the battlefields, and use it to maintain the everlasting battle between Hedin and Högni, her name means Battle.

Hjalmprimul:

Her name means Helmey Clatterer, or Female Warrior.

Hervör alvitr:

She is the sister of the Valkyrie Hlaðguðr svanhvít, her name means All Wise, or Strange Creature.

Hjörprimul:

Her name means The Sword Warrioress.

Hlökk:

Her name means Noise, Battle.

Hrist:

Her name means Shake, Quake, The Quaking one.

Hrund:

Her name means Pricker.

Kara:

Her name means The Wild, or Stormy One.

Mist:

Her name means Cloud or Mist.

Ölrun:

Her name means Ale Rune.

Randgrid:

Also spelled Randgrior, her name means Shield Truce, or Shield Destroyer.

Ráðgríðr:

Her name means Council Truce, The Bossy.

Reginleif:

Her name means Power Trace, or Daughter of the Gods.

Rota:

Her name means Sleet and Storm.

Sanngrior:

She was the mentor of the Norse hero Sigurd, her name means Very Violent, Very Cruel.

Sigrun:

Her name means Victory Rune.

Skalmöid:

Her name means Sword Time.

Skeggöld:

Her name means Axe Age.

Skuld:

Her name means Dept or Future.

Sveid:

Her name means Vibration or Noise.

Svipul:

Her name means Changeable.

Tögn:

Her name means Silence.

Trima:

Her name means Fight.

Thrud:

Let’s all just take a long look at the following two images. The top one is how a healthy dog should look. 

Brachycephalic breeds such as in the second image include dogs such as the French Bulldog, American Bulldog, Pug, Pekingese, Shihtzu, Boxers, and more. You may have heard smack about them previously or not at all, or you may be fully on the brachycephalic bandwagon still. I just want to refresh everyone’s memories a bit on why these are such horrible breeds and why they should not be continue to be bred. I have seen, every day for almost 3 weeks straight, dozens of deformed brachycephalic dogs being AI’d, being monitored during pregnancy, and having puppies delivered by C-section. I am sick of seeing this, and so this post is born.

Brachycephalic dogs commonly (and by commonly I mean almost every single brachycephalic dog) suffer from a syndrome called Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome. This syndrome involves the following, to varying degrees:

1. Narrow nostrils and overgrown bones within the nasal cavities (or, in other words, normal sized bones in a horribly shortened face) which obstructs airflow.

2. A trachea (i.e. windpipe) that is too small.

3. Everted laryngeal saccules (stage 1 of laryngeal collapse*) which can obstruct airflow.

4. A soft palate that is too long and obstructs airflow within the larynx.

These deformities translate into the cute, snorting, snoring, wheezing, overheating dogs that we all dote on. However, as if that’s not enough, these dogs can also have a multitude of other problems such as enlarged tonsils, vomiting and acid reflux, *full collapse of the larynx, jaw malformations resulting in dental malformations, skin disease, eye disease, heat intolerance, and inter-vertebral disc disease. They often require corrective surgery at a young age, and even then are not going to be completely healthy.

In other words, they’ve got it real bad. And people are still breeding them even when they are showing clear signs of anatomical and heritable abnormalities.

IMPROVE them.

Breed OUT the brachycephalic issues. Yes, it’s bad. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not good. But it’s a bit arrogant of you to assume ALL these breeds have the problems you listed. Each individual animal is different.

I have a boxer.

His name is Vinny. He’s got a bit of a longer muzzle than some boxers I have seen. And he has NONE of the issues OP listed. None. 

Pug:

English bulldog: (Yes, a purebred English bulldog, from Finland)

Fleetwood Mac Witch: shawls, grave dirt, hexes, spirit work

Loreena McKennitt Witch: knitted sweaters, herbs, bread, cottages

Remember: you are made of the elements. Everything is. You don’t need specific candles, herbs, or incantations to call on the elements. Just your body and mind are enough. Subtly calling on the elements is great for the closeted witches or witches on the go. Here’s how to do it:

🌬Air🌬

Take a deep breath, get filled with air

Feel the air around your skin, is it cold? Harsh? Warm? Soft? Get to know it.

Notice your breath casually, breath calmly.

Visualise the breaths going in being filled with the energy of air.

🔥Fire🔥

Rub your hands together, feel the warmth coming from the friction.

Notice the warmth and the energy in your body.

Visualise the energy rising, getting warmer.

🌊Water🌊

Feel your pulse, the blood streaming through your body.

Notice the water in your mouth, swallow if you want. There’s water everywhere inside you.

You can always drink some water, nobody will suspect anything from that.

Visualise your heart pumping the energy of water through your veins.

🌲Earth🌲

Feel the ground underneath your feet. Stand up and plant your feet firmly in the ground.

Ground, visualise roots growing from your feet and in the earth.

Visualise the energy of earth climbing up into you, nourishing you.