Oak Tree Spells

Oak Leaf Protection Spell


While burning a fire, take an oak leaf and using a twig with a burnt end write the name of
that which you wish to protect. Think of the oak tree from which the leaf came from
sending out protection vibes into the earth by means of it’s roots to protect that which you
wrote. Place the leaf in the fire to allow the energy to also be released into the air.


Protection Charm Blessing 
During the full moon or whatever time you think may be best take the charm and hang it
from the branches of an oak tree. The tree will help in charging and blessing it for
protection.


To feel strong or gain courage 
Place your hands on the bark of an oak tree. Ask the tree to aid you in making you as strong as him/her. Visualize the tree lending you courage and strength. Say allowed: “This tree takes no breaks from the beating winds


"This tree takes no breaks from the hard rains
This tree takes no breaks from the dry droughts
This tree takes no breaks from the harsh weathers
As the tree stands strong during the storm so do I
So mote it be!”


To release anger or sadness 
Talking to an oak tree can bring a great peace to anyone who tries it. Oak trees have been
known as great trees of wisdom and while it may seem silly the tree will listen and help
you to rid yourself of unwanted emotions.


Tree Meditation 
Sit on the ground with your back against the tree. Close your eyes and connect yourself with the earth. You should be able to feel the tree you lean on in a new way. You should be able to feel it’s roots sinking into the depths of the earth and the branches and leaves reaching for the blue sky. Now focus only on the tree. Merge yourself with the tree. Feel yourself sinking into the tree where you back was leaning on it. You are now inside the tree and no longer just sitting beside it. Reach out with your mind and “touch” the tree; feel what it feels and see what it see

Serenity Sunday

A witch's ladder is an old and effective charm that can be used for protection, to create a peaceful environment in your home, to increase passion and love in the bedroom or just about anything your spell book can conjure. A witch's ladder, while not looking anything at all like a ladder, is not only a powerful charm, it is also a beautiful and decorative addition to any home.


Items needed:


~ 3 cords of equal length, each 3 feet long (Traditionally, these cords are red, black, and white for the three aspects for the Goddess, however you may substitute any color for its magickal correspondence.)
~ 9 feathers (local craft stores should carry feathers)
~ Ring on which to tie cords to anchor them while braiding (Optional)


Assembling materials: 


Cast circle or create sacred space. Light a candle in a color corresponding to your magickal working. (Blue for peace, etc.) Burn incense which corresponds to your purpose. Have a small bowl of salt and a small bowl of water at your workspace.


If using a ring, tie one end of each of the three cords side by side to the ring. (You could even use a belt buckle or hanger). Anchor this ring to a doorknob, handle, or chair back. If not using a ring, tie one end of the cords together loosely. Begin to braid, saying this or a similar rhyme:


Yarn of red, black, and white
Work your magick spell this night.


As you braid, work all nine feathers (all one color or a combination of colors, depending on your magickal intent) into the ladder, one at a time, as evenly spaced as possible. As you insert the feathers, begin this or a similar chant:


With this feather and this string,
Protection (or peace, etc) this charm will bring.


When all nine feathers have been tied onto the cord, and the length is braided, tie the ends of the cords together to make a circle (after removing the braid from the ring). Consecrate the ladder by passing it through the incense smoke and candle flame, asperge it with salt and water, saying:


In the names of the Goddesses
And the God
By Air, Earth, Fire, and Water
I consecrate this charm
Of feathers nine and cord of three
As I will, so mote it be!


Hang the witches ladder high in your house where it will not be seen by others, but where you can see it everyday.


Adapted from Pauline Campanelli's 
Ancient Ways and Wheel of the Year




My List:

1.) My kids

2.) Fellow tarot people

3.) Sunshine! 

4.) Iced herbal tea

5.) Great friends

6.) The interwebs

7.) Feather mattresses

8.) Bratwurst

9.) Relaxing music

10.) Organic potting soil

"What Is?" Wednesday

A Witches Bottle

Spell bottles (also known as "Witches Bottles), have been in use in England and the United States since at least the 1600's. Spell bottles were originally created to destroy the power of an evil magician or witch thought to have cast a spell against the bottle's creator. They were often ceramic vessels, filled with hair, nails, and even the victim's urine. They were also walled up into new homes as magical guardians. Spell bottles of this type continued to be used well into the 19th century.


These bottles are apparently of English origin, although one made from a glass wine bottle dated at 1740-1750 was found in Pennsylvania in 1976. Over the centuries these  protective devices have found their way from England to the United States with the colonists. Spell bottles of the type described above are rarely if ever made today. However, other forms are still in use. These consist of a container, usually glass, filled with various objects of magical potency.

Spell bottles are made for a variety of purposes, and are used in numerous ways. Some are buried or otherwise hidden, while others are placed in windows of the home or in other prominent spots. All are concentrations of energy, created and empowered for specific magical purposes.


The Witches' Bottle is a very powerful means of protecting your space. It is buried on your property (if you are an apartment dweller, you might try burying it in a potted plant at your door) in order to attract all negative things to it where it traps them. If you move, by all means, then dig it up and either destroy it or bring it to your new home.


Some Modern Spell Bottle Examples:

Witches Bottle For Protection 


Gather rosemary, needles, pins and red wine. Fill a small jar with the first three, saying while you work:


Pins, needles, rosemary and wine;
In this witches bottle mine.
Guard against harm and enmity;
This is my will, so mote it be!


Visualize these doing just that. When the jar is full, pour in the red wine. Then cap or cork the jar and drip wax from a red or black candle to seal. Bury it at the farthest corner of your property or put it in an inconspicuous spot in your house. Draw the banishing pentagram in the dirt above it. The witches bottle destroys negativity and evil; the pins and needles impale evil, the wine drowns it, and the rosemary sends it away from your property.


(Optional ingredients
Glass jar with metal lid, Sea Salt, 3 bent rusty nails ,pins, needles, razor blades, cactus spines, rose thorns, broken glass, 1 egg, herbs such as: Frankincense, Sage, Basil, Mint, Mistletoe, Yarrow, Rowan berries,Rue, Sandalwood, Myrrh, Garlic, Rosemary, Sealing Wax,3 drops of your blood,Urine instead of wine.)



Pet Protection Spell Bottle


What you need:                        

~ 1 bay leaf                              ~1 tablespoon of dill seeds

~1 tablespoon of fennel seeds     ~1 carnelian stone       

~1 cup of soil                            ~1 cup of salt
~1 white taper candle                 ~ 1 bottle
~ 1 stick pin




Put half a cup of dirt into the bottom of the bottle. Add half a cup of salt on top of that (to make layers). Next add the bay leaf and the dill and fennel seeds. Put half a cup of salt on top of this and half a cup of dirt on top of the salt. Drop the carnelian stone on top of everything.


Use a stick pin to carve the word "Protect __pets name here__" in the taper candle stick. Fit candle into the top of the bottle. If the taper is too big wedge it in (by circling it) until it stays securely by itself.
Burn the candle when convenient. You don't have to burn it all down at once, but eventually the candle will burn itself out (you could maybe burn it once a week or so). When the candle will not stay lit any longer, put the spell bottle near the place your pet spends most of his or her time.




Discovery News: Witches bottle found from the 17th century.

Hestia

Hestia was a goddess of hearth and fire,  Greek script lacks capital letters to distinguish names from objects so Hestia meant literally the "hearth" the center of the home kitchen and the keeper of the flame. Hestia's consecrated hearth could be found in the center of each and every temple honoring one of the other many differing Greek gods and goddesses..as well as being found in each and every home in Greece. Hestia was the first-born of the Olympian goddesses and her power extended over altars, hearths,therefore all prayers and sacrifices began or ended with praying and sacrificing to Hestia. 


She was the guardian of the innermost things, placed her higher in importance than any other deity that was  honored at each celebration. Her sacrifices were sweet wine and food burned in the flames of the fireplace. From every cooked meal the household they laid a portion of that meal on the hearth or burned it in the flames as a sacrifice. Her sacrifices also were first fruits, water, oil, and year-old cows.

~Gems and stones: gold, silver, brass, garnet, amethyst


~Herbs: basil, bay, oregano, marjoram, mint, sage, spearmint, rosemary, thyme, savory, fennel, coriander, parsley, dill, anise, hyssop.


~Colors: lavender, gold, rose, silver, black

Although we may not celebrate her as the ancient Greeks once did, here are a few ways that we can honor and invite Hestia into our homes...Create an altar to Hestia in your kitchen or where ever you consider the "heart" of your home. Place a few items that correspond to Hestia in this area... a few dried herbs maybe a small statue with a few stones. Try lighting a white candle and invoke Hestia by asking her to keep the home fires burning and ask for her blessing and protection of your home and loved ones who dwell within.


Most of all, take care of yourself because if you honor yourself in this way, you can care for your loved ones and your home so much easier.


  

Leopardskin Jasper

Jasper is an extremely varied and versatile stone. The light colors are best for healing and darker colors are more grounding and can be used for protection. Jasper can also be used to further both the development and continuance of business pursuits .. to provide for coordination of activities leading to an increase. It is also reported to give you the courage to speak out and the bravery to achieve personal independence. 

Leopardskin Jasper is an excellent protection stone, providing protection for both travellers and astral travellers. This stone is also a good grounding stone and is especially useful in healing, It instills a feeling of wholeness, serenity and being cared for and aids mental clarity and functioning and balances the heart center. It was widely known as a “nurturing” stone.

It is known to help draw into your life whatever you need for physical healing. When Leopardskin Jasper is  in contact with your skin, the stone's energy flows into your aura, where it captures information about you. This information then rides on the return flow of the stone's energy back to the stone in contact with your skin. In this way, the Leopardskin Jasper learns your needs.

However, these stones do not discriminate between true and artificial needs. An example of an artificial need is a child's "need" to have ice cream for dessert, while his true need might be for an apple. Leopardskin Jasper helps attract whatever will satisfy one's true needs, which are not necessarily the same as desires or wishes.

Jasper (as a whole) is a form of semiprecious chalcedony, or microcrystalline quartz and is usually red, brown or green. Its patterns are usually more irregular and better defined than those of the other chalcedony variety, agate. Another difference between the two is that jaspers are generally opaque, while agates tend to be translucent, or at minimum will contain translucent bands. This distinction stems from the composition of the stones. Jasper contains microscopic "grains" of crystalline quartz and agate has microscopic "fibers" of crystalline quartz.

Jasper derives its colorful patterns from other minerals present, and is often named according to its pattern. It has a dull luster but takes a fine polish, and its hardness and other physical properties are those of quartz. Leopardskin Jasper was once believed to help prevent infection and heal wounds caused in fights or battles. In the modern world it is more commonly used to help heal emotional scars caused by past traumas, abuse or neglect.

Native Americans believe that jasper brings rain. The word for Jasper in some Native American cultures meant "rain-bringer." It was often worn by Shamen to provide protection. Jasper was thought to drive away evil spirits and protect against snake and spider bites. According to Native American beliefs, crystals can communicate while existing on multiple dimensions. They offer us information we cannot reach ourselves, and they promote harmonic symmetry and perfection within the world. You must become friends with the crystal energies you work with so that they can reveal their purpose to you

* The stones that you see (the first photo) on the wooden box are the very same ones I ordered last week, after seeing them in a photo (along side a couple of beautifully made tarot bags, that I ordered as well). My sweetie, Chris took the photo of the stones  just after they arrived yesterday.

Selket

Selket was the goddess of scorpians and magic. She was depicted in the form of a woman with a scorpian on her head. Her roles in Egyptian mythology were many, mostly as a beneficial goddess. She watched over Qebehsenuef one of the four sons of Horus, who in turn protected the intestines of the deceased. Other connections with the afterlife include her epithet, "Lady of the Beautiful Tent" which referred to her as a protector of the embalmer's tent.

In the Afterlife she was said to watch over a dangerous twist in a pathway. She was also credited with guarding the snake, following his imprisonment in the Underworld. Selket was also associated with childbirth and nursing. Contrary to her typical benficial characterization, she was also related to the sun's scorching heat. In the Book of the Dead, she is a protector of the deceased and his teeth are identified with hers.

Magically, Selket was a protector from venomous bites. She was the patroness of magicians who dealt with poisoness bites. Suprisingly though, it was usually who was invoked in spells against scorpion stings. Egypt was a land of snakes and scorpions, so it is only natural that the worship of this goddess spread through Egypt. The people worshiped her for her protection against these dangerous creatures, and revered her for her power and protective qualities.

She guarded all of the people, including the pharaoh, mothers and children. Her followers were priestly doctors, healing the people affected by venom. She extended her protection from life into the land of the dead, not only helping to revive the dead, but to introduce them with the afterlife. She even protected the other gods from the serpent-demon, Apep. Although having no temples, she was worshiped throughout the land of Egypt.