Your Body is a Temple

Two days ago, I purchased My Fitness Dance coach for Wii. I have to say, hooray for Wii. I know I'm probably showing my age when I tell you that my first game system was an attari, then they came out with nintendo and sega and we were pretty hooked, however the only body part that was getting any exercise was your wrists and thumbs. Now we enter the golden age of the Wii which makes you get up off your seat and move. My fitness dance coach focus's more on latin dances as well as a few sporty mini games if you don't feel like dancing. They also tell you what your calorie burning amounts to in food. I do have to admit though my dancing does leave something to be desired think more Caralton Banks not Rickie Martin (those of you who watched The Fresh Prince of Belair  in the 90's will know what I'm talking about). But who cares as I'm having fun and losing weight as well. This has got me thinking about the old Quote "Your Body is a Temple" Their has never been a truer quote as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately with the busy lives we lead its not always possible to take care of ourselves as we deserve. I feel its all about baby steps, self improvement doesn't and  can't be accomplished all at once. By this I mean, if you do one little thing, whether this means cutting out caffeine and alcohol or meditating for 15 minutes a day, you are one step closer to your inner goddess or god. The same can be said for your witchcraft training. Find one thing to become proficient in  such as tarot, and when that is finished move on to the next thing for example herb magick. This will make you a fulfilled and well rounded witch instead of frazzled. Trust me when I say that patience may not be easy but a project finished slowly is worth more than a rushed one.
                                                                                    Blessed Be

Teaching witchlings

I am very excited today, My daughter is coming home from her aunts! On Saturday we painted her room and bought some Moshi Monsters  wall stickers,   It will be a lovely surprise for her. the home coming also means that I can resume her teaching. There are lovely websites geared towards children of pagan parents. I particularly like the Pooka Pages  as they not only have cute little stories of a little witch called Elsie,  and her cat pooka, they also have a little witches book of shadows section, a kitchen witch section and a free e-zine that comes out during the sabbats. When teaching your little witches  it is important to make the lessons fun, as hands on as possible and short. The time spent on daily or weekly lessons depends on the age and temperment of your child. For my girl, lessons last only 10-20 minutes. You should also make sure that the lessons are age centered as well. That's another great thing about Pooka Pages, they give you brillant art projects and lessons. Even the simplest things can be turned into mini lessons such as taking a nature walk, identifying plants and their magickal uses. Use your imagination and it is assured that your child will learn lessons that will last a life time!
                                         brighest blessings,
                                                         B

coming out of the broom closet or not

When I first started on my spiritual path, I was pretty lucky. My family and friends and even my work mates accepted my choice with non- challance. Ok, I did get a bit of a light hearted teasing from my work mates but that was pretty much it. Moving to Ireland from the states was a bit of a culture shock. Add that to the fact that I moved to a very small town and I had to not only close myself into the broom closet but firmly bolt the doors and set the alarm figuratively speaking of course. For me, it wasn't the lack of pride in my spiritual path that made me hide that part of myself  it was more for survival. Anybody who lives in a small town would know what I'm talking about. This choice was confirmed as the right choice a few years ago when I tried to sign my child up for girl scouts. Now in the states, girl scouts are for  all denominations, so I thought nothing about  letting her sit in on a meeting run by the protestant church. Evidently, some people, thought it their business to tell my family that this was not a good idea. Which brings me back to  my original thought, If people are going to react to my child being part of a different  Christian  organisation then how would they feel about learning that her mother is a witch. It really makes me sad that in this day and age, people are not more tolerant of those different from them. If you plan on "outing yourself"  to those around you it might be best to see how this would be perceived by them maybe by bringing up the subject of a "friend's your friend " who's a witch and see what they say. As for me, aside from my husband's family, I plan on staying in that nice cosy closet but perhaps leave the door open a crack to see how it all plays out

                                                                                 Brightest blessings, B

Laughter for body and soul

Back in 1998 when I was just starting out on my pagan path, We were given an assignment to be eligible for the first degree. We had to create and lead a ritual. With the help of my high priest and priestess I created a full moon ritual to induce laughter. From what I remember it went something like this: You do the circle casting, quarter calls, and invoking the goddess and god  in the normal way. For raising energy you do the Hokey pokey (yes, you read correctly, the hokey pokey). When you get to the end of that. Bless the cakes and ale which are twinkies and beer (look up" your  a redneck pagan if..." jokes on the web to understand). then ground and center. This ritual is best when done in a group and is particularly good during the winter months when its dark and depressing.  After all, Laughter really is the best medicine and the Goddess does have a sense of humour.
                                                                                                                               Brightest Blessings, B

Book of Shadows for the new age

I am at present working on typing my book of shadows on the computer.  It really cool because I've also found some nice witchy illustrations to put on the pages as well. I know there are some people who would shudder at the thought of  a typed book of shadows, that it is traditional to have hand written works and Although that is fine for some, particularly those lucky folks that can write in calligraphy and draw amazing illustrations, I believe that a witches BOS is a personal endevor unique to the person who created it. I have resigned myself to the fact that although creative in other areas, I cannot draw- not even one little bit and I'm ok with that but that does not mean that my BOS can't look  artistic. It is important to remember that the power of magick is in the witch not in the supplies they use or the books they read from. Until next time, Blessed be well, Brighid
                                                                                                         

Protecting You Wee Ones

There has been alot of very sad stories gathering media attention as of late about the pain and suffering of children. This kind of information overload has me hugging my daughter extra tighter at night and making sure that she is in my sights a majority of the time. Of course there are the mundane steps that you can take to ensure your little ones safety.  Things such as knowing where they are, talking to them about stranger danger, keeping the lines of communication open  so that they can talk to you when something is wrong, the list goes on... However, I find that a little magickal intervention would not go a miss and if anything might give me a peace of mind . I created this spell  for a bit of added protection for my child feel free to use and change as you see fit:

You will need a black candle, picture of the child, salt, Lavender incense.  You can also anoint and charge the candle with protection oil if you have some available. Rub hands together to get the energy flowing, light candle and incense hold picture in cupped hand and chant three times. While you are chanting visualise a protective egg or bubble made of the brightest protective energy, completely covering the child and that this protective egg is impassable for people who wish to harm your child.

" In this time and in this hour

I call upon the ancient power.

little child I hold so dear

Keep her safe from pain and fear.

Powers that be I ask you please

protect her from danger and disease.

little child who's close to my heart.

Be safe when we are apart.

Blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh

Protection for  (name of child) is what I wish.

So mote it be three fold and free"

Place the photo under or beside candle holder and circle with salt.

Let the candles and incense burn out (Use  candle safety when doing this type of magick.). Please remember that magick is not a substitute for common sense and you  must still work on the mundane plane  to protect your little one.

                                                                                                             Brightest blessings, B

A little About Me

Hi, I'm brighid, I've been a practicing witch for about 14 years and in that time I've studied many aspects of the craft. When I lived in the US I was part of a coven but  I moved to Ireland about 8 years ago. I  am solitary eclectic witch with celtic and egyptian leanings.

 Witchcraft for me is still a learning experience and I believe the Goddess still has more  to teach me. However, I am at the point in my life where I want to pass on to others what I have learned so far and that is what this blog is about. I'll do my best to make this journal as fun and interesting as possible and to post new content as often as I can.

                                                                                                                   Brightest blessings, B