Friend of the Wren

AKA Candlemas/Brigantia --- Known as the Feast of Light/Pan

-focus on new beginnings and the future --- take thing we dream, pour heart and soul into it and begin to shape reality

-2021 Dates

-Secular Calendar Date is 2/2 (many witches publicly celebrate on this date and save magickal workings for the Sun transitions)

-2/27 Snow Moon

- celebration of the Goddesss recovering from the birth of the Sun God at Yule

-during one of the coldest months, but when forces of new life are coming

-Midpoint of Aquarius --- in a place of transition, dreams and visions

-Focus --- rejuvination, renewal

-Altar Decorations/Symbols - Brigid’s Cross, Candle Wheels, Dish of Snow, Evergreens, Grain Dollies, Ploughs, Sun Wheels, White Flowers

- Colors/Candles - Brown, Green, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

-Crystals/Stones - Amethyst, Bloodstone, Garnet, Onyx, Ruby, Turquoise

-Herbs/Flowers - Acorns, Angelica, Basil, Bay, Blackberry, Chamomile, Crocus, Jasmine, Lavender, Rosemary

-Insense/Oils - Angelica, Basil, Bay, Chamomile, Frankincense, Jasmine, Lavender, Myrrh, Rosemary

-Customs/Celebrations/Activies

-Practice Rejuvenating Self-Care (bubble baths, warm tea, creative journaling)

-Weave your own Brigid's Cross (http://www.crystalwind.ca/find-your-way/neopagan-path/tools-of-the-craft/how-to-make-a-brigids-cross)

-Protect the household from fire and lightening by hanging near entryways

-Light up your home for a few moments at sunset (Turn on lamps or light candles in each room) in honor of the Sun's rebirth

- Walk in the snow for a few moments and remember the warmth of summer

-Thorough Spring Cleaning to prepare for blessings from Brigid ---be sure to clean any fireplaces very well. Magickally purify the home using a birch branch to symbolically sweep the floors

-Finish spring cleaning the night before Imbolc, on that night also place a small dish of butter on a windowsill and light a candle/fire in honor of the Goddess.

-Hunt for signs of spring

-Try pendulum divination

-Make your own candles

-Enjoy a Milk Bath

-Create a charm for protection

-Shadow work and journaling

-Recipes

-Make your own Butter (heavy whipping cream, pinch of salt, glass jar with lid --- let cream set out overnight (no more than 24 hours), pour into 2/3 of jar, shake for 20-30 minutes, add herbs/honey (can also be made in a stand mixer) --- 1 qt of cream will yield 1 pound of butter and 2c buttermilk.

Focussing on her Argive (Argos/Argolis/Argolid) cult and significance there.

little early evidence for worship of Zeus - only as husband of Hera (Zeus Heraios)

very much a temple deity - statues a focus of worship (unlike eg Zeus) (her temples were some of the largest ever built btw)

temple dedications of miniature houses (maybe models of her earlier temples) and ships

votives of metal and terracotta shields re; ancient role in nurturing warriors (and protector of Argolid warriors abroad)

depended upon for prosperity, progeny and military victory = crucial to the welfare of the community, most fundamental needs of her people

unyielding character in Homer's epic = awareness and reflection of nurturing and bloodthirsty great goddess of their region

etymologically associated with the concept of the hero from early times

votives and offerings were similar at tombs as at the Heraion

festival (Heraia): procession led by shield-bearing youths, girls in white dresses, women's dances, ritual presentation of a robe (peplos), footrace by young men in arms. Shield = prize

adopted leukolemos "white-armed" epithet from Iliad

Make sure you understand the basics of magick : Most of us, sharing our spells and rituals on Tumblr, do not include the basics of magick in every single post. 

Do your own research outside of Tumblr : If you find a “witch tip” and it doesn’t give much explanation on why you’re suppose to use a certain herb, crystal, moon phase, tool etc., then do your own research and find out why. A lot of times witches share spells and they don’t give a detailed description of everything you need because they assume you already know why you need these things or why they’re being used in a particular spell or ritual.

Don’t assume magick is the only thing they’re doing : When you see a spell to help someone find employment, don’t assume that a spell is all the witch is doing and don’t assume this spell is all you have to do. Most witches understand that magick works with the mundane. Much like if you see an anti depression spell (or tea or something along those lines) don’t assume they are advocating for replacing medicine with magick. You’ll usually find that they’re suggesting using magick in conjunction with medicine. 

Ask for clarification if you need it : Most witches on Tumblr are kind and helpful. If you have a question about a spell, ritual, recipe or whatever don’t be shy about asking the witch who shared it for clarification. I’ve found that witches on Tumblr are eager to help and don’t mind answering politely asked questions.

Take everything with a grain of salt : Sometimes things come of as preachy, gate keeping, authoritarian etc. If someone is “preaching” to you or you feel like what they’re saying isn’t sitting well with your beliefs, that’s okay. Don’t take everything as absolute and don’t let people bully you into thinking or believing a certain way. As nice as most of us witches on Tumblr are, there’s always a few rotten fruit laying around. 

Don’t be afraid to explore the community : Talk to different people. Ask 5 different witches the same question and if how much their answers vary. To truly get an understanding of just how unique every witches path is. 

If I forget any please comment and I’ll add it. Also if you think I should add anything to any of the definitions or change anything because I got it wrong I will. 

Green Witch- nature-based, earth-oriented, herbal remedies, based on the use of herbs and plants in magic, very natural and earth-based 

Secular Witch- practices witchcraft without aid from gods

Kitchen Witch- food crafting, crafty, hearth and home, home-based, practical, crystals, plants, flowers, gnomes, fairies, the elements, use magic incorporated with cooking and baking, can conjure items for spell or ritual use

Hedge Witch- spirit work, other world travels, eath based, shamanistic, spirits, astral travel, healing, birds, veil between worlds 

Sea Witch- water-based, beach dwellers, uses the ocean in their magic practices, utilizing the natural objects in the sea such as salt water, shells, driftwood, etc. 

Faerie Witch- fae work, typically nature-oriented

Solitary Witch- practices alone

Techno/Tech Witch- technology-based, electronic-oriented 

Pop Culture Witch- pop-culture based, fiction oriented 

Eclectic Witch- take bits from many places

Urban Witch- modernized, city-oriented 

Hereditary Witch- family tradition, passed down practice 

Fire Witch- focuses on the fire element, does a lot of work involving candles, burning, etc.

Crystal Witch- works with stones, crystals, gemstones for healing and other spells, deals with chakras

Lunar Witch- attunes to/ honors the moon cycles and phases, likes to work at night under the moon-energy 

Forest Witch- works best surrounded by trees, is familiar with local plants and animals a herbal healing

Music Witch- magic is deeply rooted in music, has a certain connection with sound and uses that to enhance rituals

Nocturnal Witch- embraces darker energies, likes nighttime and its mysteries, works mostly after midnight 

Storm Witch- combines its energy with that of the weather, collects the elements such as rainwater/snow for spells

Astronomy Witch- magic aligns with stars and planets, practices astrology recognizes placements and their significances 

Deviation Witch- works with various forms of divination, such as tarot reading, palmistry, tea leaf reading, etc.

Love Witch- self love spells, glammor or beauty spells, charms beauty items or clothing items, works with sexual attraction spells, or spells about beauty, love or friendship, all the different kinds of love

 I am about halfway through Phoebe Wyss’ “Inside the Cosmic Mind” which has so far been a stimulating read and there’s some fantastic information in here on the fundamentals of astrology. However, when I reached the section of her book on polarity, I was pretty disappointed to see the duo qualities being referred to as “Male” and “Female.” Referring to the polarities as such will not hold up well as humanity evolves; our perception and practice of astrology should evolve with it. Additionally, it stigmatizes their meanings when in reality there’s evidence that the polarities have flexibility and fluidity. I do not mean to come off too critical, I am relieved that she does however mention in the book just a page before the Male VS Female diagram that a lot ancient civilizations had the polarities flipped when applied to masculine and feminine deities, “the moon was seen as male in Egypt and Babylon, and female by Greeks and Romans.” [105, Wyss] Though she acknowledges this, the takeaway I would like to emphasize is the power and connotation in our jargon and terminology. Humans have become exceptionally skilled at expressing what they mean through language that there is a subtextual definition when we call the polarities “Male” and “Female.” The core of their meaning is lost when they are literally gendered. We get harmful comparisons such as “rational vs emotional” [106] (two things that are really of their own and cannot be compared to each other), and most likely I would not even need to mention which traits were applied to each gender as the societal connotations are so ingrained.  Most astrologers know for certain that the purpose of the polarities is not to gender things, but rather to observe dualism. I can acknowledge that male vs female has dualistic nature as this is something humankind has measured as polar, but my focus is that we cannot use these as core terms to describe what polarity means. 

So how should we define polarity?

 Polarity should be defined with terms of flexibility because that’s what duality is. Polarity is describing two halves of the same circle, so when terms are flipped (as observed in ancient civilizations) their meanings do not change or look out of place. Hence why the traditional planets have both feminine and masculine rulers which describe the two halves of the same circle. “Masculine” and “feminine” have more flexibility than “male” and “female” because despite the literal definition of these terms being associated with genders, we are progressing into a future where there is a broadness and fluidness to what it means to be “feminine” and “masculine.” There is an ongoing reverse mitosis with these terms as we come to realize every individual, idea, or existence possesses both as a circle. 

Core terms of polarity

-Active VS Passive -Positive VS Negative -Light VS Dark -Sun VS Moon -Day VS Night -Extraversion VS Introversion -Outward VS Inward -Future VS Present -Conscious VS Subsconcious -Objective VS Subjective -Above VS Below

Terms needing re-evaluation

To re-evaluate means to literally see new value in something and that’s the biggest takeaway I want from the terms below which are often associated as dual principles.

-Right-brained VS Left-brained - This is not a real thing. One side of your brain isn’t working more if you’re “logical” or analytical than the other side of your brain associated with being “emotional” and intuitive. 

-Logic VS Emotion (and other synonyms of these two) - These are not opposites and perpetuate stereotypes. We often associate cold, calculated robotic-ness to the masculine air signs which is just not reality in the slightest to these archetype’s experience. These stereotypes are heavily inflicted onto the Moon-in-air sign placements. People who do not openly and excessively express emotion almost always have a vast emotional world inward; in other words, not cold and not a robot. Logic implies intellectuality and therefore comparing to emotion implies ignorance and denseness. A better comparison might be science VS philosophy as one implies fact and the other implies experience, but ultimately the clearer, unstigmatized, and more primitive versions of these is Objective VS Subjective or Conscious VS Subsconcious.

I cleaned up a scan of the sigil to use as [my Facebook] cover photo back in June. Glad to see others find my cleaned up version useful, but I also wanted to make sure credit to the origin doesn’t get lost 😄

This challenge is something you can do just once or you can make it a regular part of your weekly routine! It is based on a Monday-Friday work week so if you have a different schedule you may want to rearrange the challenge.

Sunday: What can I do to prepare for the upcoming week?

Monday: How can I energize my mind, body, and soul today?

Tuesday: How can I challenge myself to improve today?

Wednesday: How can I reach my full potential today?

Thursday: How can I ensure my work is high quality?

Friday: How can I accomplish my goals today?

Whatever religious or spiritual tradition they identify with, most witches agree that there is something sacred about the natural world. We draw our power from the earth beneath our feet, the sky over our heads, and the air in our lungs.

And yet, many of us live in societies that are actively contributing to the destruction of the natural world. Most developed nations have a linear economy, which means resources are extracted and then sent on a one-way trip to consumers who will use them and then throw them away. This leads to overflowing landfills, air and water pollution, and quickly disappearing resources. The World Economic Forum predicts that, if our habits don’t change, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. And I dearly hope that by now we’re all familiar with the reality of climate change and its devastating impact on global ecosystems.

I’m not trying to scare you, but I do want to point out the hypocrisy of drawing power from the Earth in our magic while simultaneously contributing to her destruction. If we truly want to consider ourselves spiritual allies of the planet, we need to make an effort to live our lives — and practice our magic — in ways that are less harmful to her.

You don’t have to become an environmentalist or switch to a zero waste lifestyle, but we can all make little changes for a more sustainable life. There’s lots of information out there about how to live a more Earth-friendly lifestyle, so in this post I’ll be focusing on how to apply that same philosophy to your witchcraft.

Steps to a more Earth-Friendly Practice:

Limiting your consumption will automatically lower your negative impact on the planet. Follow my previous guidelines for avoiding consumerism to start shrinking your carbon footprint.

Avoid plastic as much as possible. According to the WEF, 70% of our plastic ends up in a landfill or in the world’s waterways, and according to Julia Watkins, author of Simply Living Well, only 9% of household plastics get recycled. Plastic (unlike glass and metal) cannot be recycled indefinitely — it can only be recycled a handful of times before it becomes too degraded to be repurposed any further. There really is no way to make plastic safer for the planet, so it’s best to just avoid it altogether. Look for tools made of metal, wood, or glass instead of plastics, and try to order things shipped in paper and cardboard when possible.

Create spells that won’t leave leftovers. One of the big contributing factors to our current environmental crisis is that we just produce too much waste. You can avoid this in your magical practice by crafting spells that won’t leave you throwing away a big ball of candle wax, herbs, and paper. Kitchen magic is a no-brainer for this, since kitchen spells are meant to be eaten. If you want to do a candle spell, use small candles that will burn up completely — I find larger candles are more likely to leave leftover wax. Making magical bath salts is another great option for leftover-free spells — just make sure everything you include is safe to go down the drain and won’t contribute to water pollution!

Forage for your own spell materials. One of the best ways to avoid plastic packaging and cut down on emissions from shipping is to use materials from your backyard! Learn about the plants, animals, and minerals native to your area, and take regular nature walks where you can gather what you need. Remember to only take as much as you need and to be careful never to damage the plants you harvest from. Make sure to carefully disinfect any animals bits you pick up — you can do this by burying them in salt for a full moon cycle and/or setting them in the sun/under a UV light for several days. If you find a dead animal and want to strip and clean its bones for use in ritual, this is a much more involved process and will require special research, equipment, and lots of time. And, of course, never eat anything you have foraged unless you happen to have an advanced degree in botany.

Keep a magical garden. Another great way to connect with the planet and shrink your carbon footprint is to grow your own herbs, vegetables, and fruits. You can, of course, grow food for your kitchen if you have space, but even if you live in a tiny apartment you can grow a handful of magical herbs in pots. For a list of common houseplants and their magical associations, check out this post.

Shop for spell materials at a local farmer’s market. Buying local is a great way to avoid the environmental impact of shipping produce, and it allows you to support small farms. Farmer’s markets also typically carry seasonal produce, which can help you align your magical practice with the cycles of nature. Farmer’s markets are a great way to find seasonal fruits and vegetables for kitchen magic, but you can use the produce you find there for other types of spells as well.

Trade paraffin wax candles for beeswax or soy wax. Paraffin, the material used for most cheap candles, is a by-product of crude oil, which is not only highly unsustainable but contains carcinogens (chemicals that may cause cancer). Beeswax is a sustainable alternative, and beeswax candles produce a “clean” burn, meaning it does not negatively affect air quality. Soy wax is a slightly pricier, vegan-friendly sustainable option that also produces a clean burn.

Use undyed, unbleached paper for your written spells. The bleaches and dyes used in most commercially available paper have a toxic effect on the environment. Colored paper cannot be recycled or composted because it will contaminate everything it touches. Use plain, unbleached paper for your written spells, especially if you plan to bury them in the ground or dispose of them outside.

Make sure your essential oils are ethically harvested. Essential oils are tricky — although they are marketed as natural, many of them are produced through unsustainable methods. Because essential oils are concentrated, it may take thousands of pounds of plants to produce a single pound of oil. This can have a devastating impact, especially for endangered plants like white sage or palo santo. Look for ethically-sourced, wild-harvested essential oils — these are oils that are gathered from the wild in ways that don’t hurt the local ecosystem. Mountain Rose Herbs and Eden’s Garden are two brands that are committed to sustainable essential oil production.

Instead of burying a spell in a jar, bury it in a hollowed-out fruit or vegetable. Many traditions call for spells to be buried in the ground. Items like jar spells and witch bottles are traditionally buried on the witch’s property. The problem with this is that plastic and glass bottles do not biodegrade, and will remain in the ground for years. Instead of putting these materials in the ground, bury your spells in a hollowed-out fruit or vegetable. As a bonus, you can choose this item to support your intention. For example, you might use an apple for a love spell or a spicy pepper for protection. Just make sure everything inside the spell is also biodegradable!

Keep a compost pile as an offering to your local land spirits. Compost is an easy way to reduce food waste, and it gives your garden a boost! Even if you don’t have your own garden, you can give your compost to a fiend who does or look into donating it to a community garden. When composting, it’s important to maintain a balance between carbon-rich “brown” ingredients (leaves, undyed paper, cardboard, etc.) and nitrogen-rich “greens” (fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc.) — you want about four times as much brown as green in your compost. Start your compost with a layer of brown — preferably twigs or straw to allow good airflow. Alternate layers of green and brown materials as you add to the pile. Every time you add to your compost, verbally express your gratitude to the land spirits. Your compost should be moist, but not soggy — you’ll know it’s ready when it’s dark and crumbly and smells like soil.

Make your own tea blends with loose herbs and a reusable tea strainer instead of buying teabags. Witches and tea go together like peanut butter and chocolate, but the individual wrappers on teabags create a lot of waste. On top of that, since many of these wrappers are dyed, they may not even be recyclable. Keep your teas earth-friendly by buying dried herbs in bulk and blending your own teas. Making your own blends is not only better for the planet, but also allows you to choose each ingredient for a specific magical intention.

Find ways to use your trash in your craft. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Instead of throwing things away, find ways to use them in your magic! Use food scraps from cooking, like carrot greens and potato peels, in spells. Turn an old shoe box into a travel altar. Add your coffee grounds to spells to ground them and manifest results in the physical world. You get the idea. Be creative!

Research different models for Earth-friendly living, like the zero waste/low waste lifestyle, sustainability, and the solarpunk movement. This will give you more ideas for a sustainable lifestyle, as well as a sustainable magical practice.

The funny thing about Earth-friendly living is that, the more time you spend taking care of the planet, the more connected you feel to it. I encourage you to try some of the ideas on this list — you’ll be amazed by how quickly you develop a deeper relationship with the Earth and all her creatures.

Resources:

Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler

Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins

“By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans, study says” from The Washington Post

A Sustainable Mind podcast