Book of Shadows

Now for those who don't know a witches Book of Shadows or B.O.S. is where all spells, potions, information, and just about anything else pertaining to her/his practice is kept. It is a nice way to keep all your information in one place so it can be referenced later. Covens often have a cumilative one for when they meet to do magic.

I am trying to find a good blank book for my personal Book of Shadows in which I will write all of my own spells, potions, chants, and other stuff. I have just finished designing one especially for all the information that I have gained through the internet.

Here is a picture of it:

Anyway...I was wondering if any of you have a special Book of Shadows. So do you?

Power Outage

I'm sure all of you have heard about the power outages that have been riddling the East Coast in the wake of the "Hurricane". Of course, by the time it got up north, it became a tropical storm. We were one of the many without power for a short period.

It really makes one realize everything we take for granted. Having water, computers, tv, and the ability to cook food at our fingertips is a luxury which our Mother Earth costs dearly for. I also learned that having these things taken away leaves you with some much more than we realize. Without an Ipod touch, internet, or tv to distract me I went out in nature, read, and spent time with family. How is it that we missed everything that we always have? Before this power outage I watched a show about how technology is making us lose touch with nature and therefore ourselves. I saw city and town kids learning life lessons like loving each other, listening to the silence, and living off the land. I agreed with what was said on the program heartily and it stuck with me for a long while. We are part of nature.
Then the lights flickered and went out soon after as if telling me to listen to the silence myself. I did and I took solace in this silence. I finished the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and then started to read Frankenstein. Now the lights are back on and I will resume my life of noise and confusion. Unless of course I stop, turn off the lights, and stop this constant buzzing around and within me.
The candlelight is mightier than the light bulbs. The book is better than the movie. Living life through life is better than living life through machines. Is it not cells that make us human or electricity? Perhaps man is both machine and organic matter. A strange combination of electrical impulses and desires buzzing through us and calm peaceful silence quietly flowing like a stream. A stream of electricity and a stream of water seems like such a deadly mixture to bring life to such beings. I digress. Life is infinitely mysterious and all I can say now is that I believe humans have made themselves into that of a Frankenstein Monster; half organic matter and half electricity induced life.

I highly recommend seeing this show called Mother Nature's Child and Reading Siddhartha and Frankenstein.

Here is the link to the shows website:   http://www.mothernaturesmovie.com/category/broadcasts/     

Herbal Hair Rinses

I have often used many different recipes for herbal hair rinses. There are many different herbal treatments for different hair types. My hair was feeling especially oily yesterday and I created a tincture which did an amazing job. My hair felt soft, smelled good, and was not oily anymore.

Here is the recipe:

a handful strawberry leaves (good for getting oil out)
a handful mint leaves (good for getting volume)
some lemon juice (puts hightlights in light hair. This can be left out if you don't have light hair.)
some apple cider vinegar (gets oil and other chemicals out)
pour boling water over herbs and cover. Let it sit for more than 20 minutes. Use after it has cooled enough by pouring it over your hair or sumerging your hair in it.

Now I'll name a hair type and list herbs which work well for it.

Normal: rosemary, thyme, blackberry leaf, lavender, mint, elderberries, vinegar.

Dry: borax, chamomile oil, cider vinegar.

Oily: strawberry leaves, mint leaves, rosemary leaves, lemon.

Itchy/dandruff: catnip, nettle tops, birch leaves, cider vinegar, chamomile oil.

Brunettes/dark hair: sage, cinnamon, coffee, nettle.

Blonde: chamomile, rubarb, lemon, caledula petals.

Red: Hibiscus, red wine, water used to boil beets.

These are links you may find helpful:

http://www.herbcompanion.com/body-care/body-and-soul-herbal-hair-rinses.aspx?page=2
http://everygreenherb.com/hairRinses.html

 

Incense Making

Note from Witchy: Hello my dears! It is my pleasure to introduce you to Ula who sent me this wonderful little article she wrote about incense making. Enjoy!

Hello! This is Ula here with how to make incense!

Making incense is an easy way to put your energy and intent into what you burn. It also allows you to use an herb without digging out a charcoal disk and grinding it up. I made White Sage incense but you can use any herb/powder you wish.

The key to the incense is making it self igniting. Some use salt peter and some charcoal tabs but I like using Makko, a Japanese incense. It has a pleasant odor and is inexpensive. You just need to mix it 4:1 with four being your dried herb/ powder and one the Makko. I usually make my Sage incense with four tablespoons Sage to one of Makko. Just add distilled water until it's a moist paste that holds together. I then just take pinches and shape them into cones. They need to sit on wax paper for two weeks to dry and then need put in an air tight container.

They are great to smudge in a small space or when you don't want too much smoke. I get about 30 when I use this recipe. They burn nice and even and smell like Sage only. I have also made it Mugwort and Mullein.

Magick Vs. Magic

Note from Witchy: Hey everyone! Sir Zachary send me this awesome little article on how people spell the word magic. I personally use the spelling without the "k".

Hello readers of Witchy Writings. Its Sir Zachary here to talk about Magick and Magic. Why is there a different spelling? Well Magick is actually, through my brief research, an older way of spelling the word that eventually was spelled “Magic.” The reason for this is most likely apart of the evolution of the English language. BUT! The older spelling has come into more recent use by some who take Magick/Magic as a serious matter and practice it in some fashion to separate it from the more commonly thought of Disney kind of magic. It was used even before its recent comings on the internet by some practitioners to separate it from stage Magic/Magick. While during that time it made more sense it seems that in its current use (especially on the internet) is more so to separate it from what normally comes to mind when you mention magic to a person. It is most likely that the reason Magick and magic spellings have become so important to people recently is due to the fact I mentioned before: that this is most prominent on the internet. Especially with the millions upon millions of people who communicate over the internet. Why is this though? I came to the conclusion that it is because on the internet the majority of communication is written/typed out entirely and is non-verbal. So there would come a need that for some people on the internet would use the older spelling of Magic/Magick to make clear the sort of Magick they are talking about and to perhaps be taken more seriously. Now I want to know what you use and maybe tell us why if there is a particular reason. Please leave your answer in the comments.

From,
Sir Zachary

P.S. Go read Iris’s stuff she is awesome.

Herb Drying

I decided to dry some mint and strawberry leaves from the garden. I heard that strawberry leaves are good for acne but don't know a recipe using it. As for the mint, it makes a great tea and is in a book I just bought describing herbs and their uses. Below are pictures of the herbs drying.

Incense

Smoke swirling through the air
Surround me with your care
Into a trance I stare
Free floating everywhere
Onto my skin so bare
Through my hands and hair
Smoke swirling through the air

Questions For My Readers...

What do you think of my blog? What do you think I can do to make it better? What do you think I can do to attract more readers? I really am hoping to make this blog special so give me advice on how to!

Lammas

It's time to break bread in honor of the God and Goddess! It's time to celebrate the first harvest of berries and fruits! What's cooking is your kitchen? Spending time in the kitchen is a great way to do magic! What are your favorite herbs and spices? I love so many of them! I especially love Cinnamon! 

Gobbling Goddess Food

I have been interested in Kitchen Witchery for a long time now. I love herbs and teas. Cooking is something I haven't really tried before, besides boiling water. Still what attracts me most to magic in the home is it's practicality. I'm not always going to have the time to take a long nature walk or do a spell. But we all need to eat eventually so why not make it a magical process! Inspired the other day by this idea, I was set on making eggs in a nest and decided to cut out the middle a little differently. I made the triple goddess sign out of bread! Although the rest of the cooking became a rather sticky situation (meaning that the egg stuck to the pan. Oops!), I found myself very proud of what I will call a fertility-in-the-nest dinner! Below is a photo of the end product of this endeavor.