The Magickal Cottage

Lady Sarina’s Magickal Parlor.

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 So now that we are calm and cleansed from the last two posts, we can set up some protection with a magickal cup of tea. I am crazy about chai tea. The chai tea latte from Starbucks can get my motor running when my energy is dragging. I know, it’s probably the sugar combined with the caffeine that revs me up but every once in awhile I treat myself.  It just so happens that the cinnamon and cloves that are often found in chai tea carry a protection energy vibe. 

Many protective plants have spines and spikes that hint of their ability to protect. If you look at a whole clove you will notice that it has little spikes all over it. If you have ever tried pushing those little suckers into the peel of an orange to make one of those pomanders, you understand their ability to inflict pain from the way they hurt your finger tips!

It’s perfectly fine to go buy your favorite chai tea blend to use in this spell. If the tea doesn’t contain either cinnamon or cloves then you should add some to the tea as it brews. As before, assemble all your tea making supplies. If you feel like it, you can light a red or black candle and burn some cinnamon or copal incense. Ground and center yourself. Smell that yummy spicey tea as the aroma drifts up from the cup you have poured. Take one sip  and saver it a moment. Then repeat the following words:

As I sip this spicy brew,

I know I have protection true!

Cinnamon and cloves lend your power

to serve me in this magickal hour!

Negativity flees from here;

I ‘m safe and secure with nothing to fear!

And so by the power of three times three,

As I will it, so shall it be!

Know that you are safe and protected…… and enjoy the rest of your tea!

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Have you ever been in a place or with a certain person and later felt you were low on energy, achy or even not “clean” in some way? The next time you are feeling “off,” stop and think about where you have been or who you may have been with. Maybe you need a good cleansing. Cleansing magick can be useful in many ways. Not only can you use it to restore your energy, it can be used before a ritual so that the circle energy doesn’t contain any “hitchhikers” who may have hitched a ride on you!

Now, we don’t need to go being paranoid about all this and go OCD on the cleansing. But cleaning does have its place. So many times I have had people ask me to remove a hex or curse from them. They are convinced that someone is out to get them. So I go along with it and ask them to do a good cleansing. First I tell them to clean their home from top to bottom, organize, and throw things away that they will never use again. Right there is where I generally lose them! That is not what they wanted to hear. They wanted me to light some candles and say some words and “fix” things. I would be willing to bet that most people who are feeling hexed have something going on in their environment. I’m not saying hexes or curses don’t exist, but it is more common to have stagnant energy in your home that is messing with your mojo. If you want to add more oomph to your energy, then a good cleansing will set you up for success.

So let’s get to brewing some magickal cleansing tea! There are many herbs used for cleansing, but remember we need something that can be ingested. It would also be nice if the herbs were to make a pleasant tasting tea. I know Love Potion #9 tasted like turpentine, but there is no reason why your tea can’t taste great. There are many lists online and in books of magickal herbs and their properties. I am going to let you research all the possible herbs you might use to make a magicklly cleansing tea. Be creative and come up with your own formulas. I will, however, share my cleansing tea recipe and the spell to go with it.

Lemon and Lavender Magickal Cleansing Tea

Lemon and lavender have long been considered to be very purifying and cleansing. Lavender’s latin root word is the same as the Spanish word, “lavar” which means “to wash”. Consider also, all the cleaning products that have that “lemon fresh scent”. Fortunately, both lemon and lavender can be eaten.
Supplies:
Tea Making supplies from the post in part 1
5 ~ 4-5”sprigs of lavender
1 sliced lemon
After preparing the teapot, add the lemon slices and lavender sprigs. Cover them with boiling water. Allow the tea to brew for about 3-5 minutes. Say the following three times as you focus on the teapot:

Lemon and lavender, cleansing brew
Create a potion to make me clean as new!
Take away the negative, cast it to the Light
Bring about a sense that all is right!
So say I, and it turn out well,
This teapot energy will work my cleansing spell!

Now, pour your tea and smell that lovely lemon lavender aroma. How clean and fresh it smells! Picture that energy permeating your energy field to wash all the negativity away. Take a sip and cleanse away! If you wish to send cleansing to another person, picture them shrunk down and see them standing in your cupped hands. Inhale the cleansing and blow it on the “mini person” in your hands. Know they have been cleansed. Sit back and enjoy the rest of your tea.

Do you have a friend that has been going through some drama? Invite them over for a cleansing tea party. It is best to let them know the purpose of what you are about to do. People do have free will, after all.

You can use this same brew in cleaning your home. Wipe down the counters and use it to mop floors. Don’t forget to recycle the lavender and lemon to your garden or compost heap.

So there you have it! My Lemon Lavender Cleansing Teapot Spell!

Next time: Part 3 ~ Teapot Magick for Protection

Blessings,
Lady Sarina

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~“To bind the spell every time, Let the spell be spoke in rhyme.”

The preceding is a witches’ chant from the Wiccan Rede that speaks of the need to speak a spell in rhyme. I try to do this when I create a spell mainly because I enjoy writing in this fashion. Many people will argue (and I agree) that it is the intent of the magician that is most important, and rhyming words will not make or break a spell. A rhyme can help in remembering the words in certain chants and rituals and this can allow the spell caster to speak the words with more of a flow. Today, however, I felt Spirit telling me of another reason to create my spells with rhyming words; and that is to build power.
I chose to work my spell in the morning and my crow and raven friends were out in the yard in full force. As I began smudging the area for the circle one large black bird came very close to me and very noisily commented on what I was doing. Ted Andrews in his book, Animal Speak, speaks of the crow and raven as representing (among other things) the power of the word. Even if a person is speaking to Spirit in silence they are still using words to form their thoughts. Sound itself is energy, so it stands to reason that that the spoken word should carry some power. We have all experienced the power of a word spoken to hurt as well as words spoken to comfort and heal. Such power there! The crow and raven also represent magick. No wonder my feathered friend was getting so excited!
I believe that casting a circle is not only to protect the witch from evil or negativity. Actually, I ask Spirit to do that before I even begin any casting. What I like to think the circle is also doing is containing the energy of the spell and allowing it to grow until I am finished and ready to release it into the universe to manifest in the physical realm. I used to cast a circle just for protection, but now I feel its purpose is also to contain.
So, this morning I cast the circle as I said the following three times:
Cast a circle ‘round we go,
Not too fast and not too slow.
Contain the energy sure and true,
To grow the power of all I do.
Three times around the wheel I go,
And as above now, so below!

An important part of spell casting is raising the energy. This can be done through drumming, dancing, playing an instrument and, you guessed it, singing or chanting. By repeating those rhyming words over and over in multiples of three the energy builds. Say those words with rhythm and feeling and the power really grows! Don’t dismiss raising the power as unimportant. Spells have a lot more punch when the power is raised, and how better than through the power of the word? Even nonsense words can build power. “Heckedy, Peckedy” , “Bubble, Bubble,” (sorry!) have a rhythm to them that is mesmerizing. Today I was dealing with a person who was driving people crazy with hateful words and I started with “Mumbly, Jumbly, North to South, Only kind words can leave your mouth.” I normally don’t interfere in people’s behavior this way. I allow the universe to play things out most of the time, but this person was threatening the happiness of a loved one, and a protection spell alone wouldn’t have been appropriate in this case. Besides, I stipulated that no harm should come to anyone. I always put that in as a safety net.

I don’t consider myself Wiccan per se, but there is a lot in the Wiccan Rede that is useful, and it is written in rhyme. This is a case where the rhyme helps to remember the content of the rede. Perhaps the most meaningful verse in the rede is the following:
Eight words the wiccan rede fulfill: An’ it harm none. Do what ye will.

Those rhyming words help us to remember that harming others is not part of the path that most of us have chosen to follow. Chanting a prayer in rhyme to the Lord and Lady each morning and evening brings comfort to me as I send protection and healing energy to my loved ones. The Word is, indeed, powerful to do harm or to do good along this path on Earth.

Blessings,
Lady Sarina

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The Natural Pagan Lifestyle.

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It is said that the various pagan paths are forms of nature based spirituality. This definition seems to imply to many who are not pagan that paganism is somehow a primitive or childlike way of believing. Pagans are seen as naïve and even silly in the way they live their lives and worship their gods. Then there is the whole witchcraft, “murdering innocent animals and children” idea that has been perpetuated since the burning times. There is so much misinformation out about paganism that focuses on the negative beliefs of the ignorant ones, that it’s almost enough to make a pagan lose heart.
At times, when I feel like I am losing focus on what is truly important in life and succumbing to the often negative mindset of the modern world, it helps to remind myself what being pagan is really all about. Being pagan is feeling a connection to the natural world. Call me a “tree hugger” but I am at my most alive and connected to Spirit when I am in nature. I feel for the pagans that are forced to work inside cubicles all day away from the trees and animals, but I bet there are many of those pagans who bring plants and crystals and other parts of the natural world into their cubicles to feel that natural connection throughout their work day. Lucky is the pagan who lives in the country and grows their own organic food, but the apartment dwelling pagan who grows veggies on their balcony is a hero in my eyes.
Pagans are often the ones seen spearheading environmental programs to save the Earth and it’s creatures from pollution and other forms of destruction. Living the green life is natural for a person who finds spirituality in nature. Adopting animals from an animal shelter or strays off the street is another common practice among pagans. Again, there is that connection to the Earth and all its creatures that is so satisfying to the pagan soul.
I like to follow the seasons and celebrate their change by decorating my home and garden to reflect the change in nature. I also follow the moon signs and phases and try to stay aware of how the moon energy is affecting my world and how I can harness it to improve the way things are going for me and my family. Giving thanks and feeling gratitude to the Lord and Lady is the basis for what I believe, and acting on that gratitude through a connected lifestyle is better than any words I might speak to Them in ritual.
Staying connected to Spirit and the pagan lifestyle on a daily basis is often challenging when life gets busy, as it is known to do. Recently I was rereading the correspondences of the days of the week as they relate to performing magick, and it occurred to me that those same correspondences might be used to focus an intention on those every day activities we have to perform. What positive energy might we bring to our lives if we could use the ability to time activities in the just the right way?
When possible, I will use these daily correspondences to plan the work and activities of my week. So here is what I am thinking I might do:
• On Mondays I will do anything connected to nurturing. That includes tending the garden, cooking and baking (a good day to bake bread for the week), talking to my mom, doing something special for my kids and furrbabies. You get the picture. Monday is connected to the moon which is feminine and mothering. Sprinkling some holy water around the house or working with essential oils would also be great on Monday. Monday could definitely be a good time to do the laundry with the connection to water.
• On Tuesdays, which is ruled by masculine and energetic Mars, I will work out (not just on Tuesday but definitely on this day!), I will tackle jobs that need energy and make war on the dirt and grime (both physical and spiritual) that may have accumulated during the previous week and fortify the protection on my home and family. Burning candles would be great on a Tuesday to beef up the household energy level.
• Wednesday is about the planet Mercury and communication. Networking, communicating, catching up with old friends and clearing out my inbox. Airing out the house, burning incense and even vacuuming and sweeping would be great to work with the air element that can be associated with Mercury.
• Thursday is associated with Jupiter and abundance. I may make this the day I plan menus and go to the supermarket. Being generous in all its forms would be good on a Thursday. Giving the gift of time and working for a charity on Thursday would also be appropriate.
• Friday is all about Venus and beauty. Time to spruce up the house and garden and beautify your surroundings! Plan a romantic dinner for you and your partner or just watch a dreamy movie or listen to some lovely music.
• Saturday is related to Saturn and a good time for discipline and banishing things from your life and environment that you no longer need. Purge and cleanse! If your home needs a major cleansing then Saturday just might be the day for it. Get out the floor wash and smudge sticks and banish away!
• Sunday corresponds to the sun (yeah, I know the sun is not a planet…neither is the moon… they ARE heavenly bodies, though, and they count). I put Sunday last because to me it is at the end of a work week. It is a day for hanging loose and soaking up some rays. Sit quietly (in nature, of course) and contemplate all that life has given you. Be thankful. Life really is good.

This list of days and associations is just a suggestion as what you might do on those days of the week. Feel free to add to the list. I’m sure I will! So that is the plan. And you know what they say about the best laid plans. But, hey, living the natural pagan lifestyle is so rewarding when you remember to stay focused on your connection to Spirit.
I wish you joy in a life dedicated to realizing the magick in all of creation!
Blessings,
Sarina

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Me, the hubby and the cats have all settled in to our new magickal cottage and it’s been a pleasure getting to know the energy of this new place. The house is lovely and the garden is filled with roses in bloom and fresh heirloom tomatoes. I will post pictures of the new magickal garden on the garden page.

The magickal cottage in Texas is named Angels Grove. In my healing business I worked with angels and invited so many in that there was a real angelic feel that people noticed when they entered the house. For some reason I like to name my magickal cottages. I noticed they name houses in England a lot and the idea of naming a house seems like it recognizes the spirit of the place. Houses are alive with energy and so naming a home seems appropriate. I also name my brooms, my car, my garden statues….but that’s another story.

I puzzled over a fitting name for this new magickal cottage and today I gave the place a name. There is an abundance of crows living in the neighborhood and they seem to like to congregate on the slope behind the backyard wall. There is a colony of ground squirrels living there as well and the crows seem to hobnob with the squirrels pleasantly enough. I reviewed online the difference between ravens and crows to make sure these were crows because some of these birds were big dudes. These are crows. The crows seem very interested in me and my activities around the garden. I feel there is a strong elemental presence here and the energy is so strong sometimes it’s almost disturbing. However, I feel it’s a step further along my path to get to know these energies and even learn from them. 

Crows and ravens are both very magickal as totems. They deal with the mysteries of life and the secrets of manifestation. These birds are also symbolic of beneficial magick. The owl can represent any kind of magick but the crow and raven usually deal with helping energies. The crows around me now seem to be very much totems as well as emissaries from the elementals around the cottage. Crow seemed to need to be a part of the new cottage’s name. Since the house is situated at the base of a hill in a low lying area, I figured “hollow” would be appropriate as part of the name as well. So, “Crow Hollow” it is! I’m looking forward to years of new adventures along my magickal path here in this wonderful new magickal cottage!

Blessings! 

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