Author: A Solitary Pagan
Problems with the Climate
Are you troubled about traipsing through the chill of the night? Do you get singed in the sun or think an icy downpour is a downer? Witchcarft is a spiritual tradition that includes many practices that bring the practitioner into direct contact with nature. It seeks to harmonize the Witch with life as it is happening in this very moment. To be a person of magical power, one embraces the entire arr...
Weather Magick
Witches were once believed to be able to raise the wind at their pleasure. In a confession made at Auldearn in Nairnshire in the year 1662, certain women accused of sorcery said, “When we raise the wind, we take a rag of cloth and wet it in water, and we take a beetle and knock the rag on a stone, and we say thrice over”: I knock this rag upon this stane,To raise the wind in the devil’s name.It sh...
Weather Lore
The local Wise Woman or Cunning Man would have a pretty good grasp on predicting the weather. So would local farmers, if they paid attention to their landscape, which, given it was their livelihood. Get to know the weather patterns in your area, and make notes so that you can compare year upon year. Build up your own little system, as well as research meteorology. Here is some weather lore that ap...
Visualization in Witchcraft
Proficiency in visualization is most important to all occult training. The receptacle of the imagination is integral to the processes of creation. Change through intent begins with inspiration, passing through the realm of the imagination, This can be manipulated by the emotions of enthusiasm, desire, empathy, and compatibility and is transformed into a manifest outcome according to the proficienc...
Pentacle Tarot
The Ace of Pentacles means new opportunities, growth, and happiness. If reversed, it can show feeling stuck or having empty success. The King stands for being practical and making ideas real. Reversed, it can mean being unable to act or acting dishonestly. The Queen brings stability and helps plans come true. If reversed, it can mean neglect or delays. The Knight, or Prince, is about being respons...
Tarot Cards ( Breaking in a New Deck)
If you want, you can dedicate your new cards with a little ritual using incense. Try lighting some incense—Frankincense works great—and sprinkle a bit of an herb like rue, betony, cinquefoil, burdock, elder, lavender, marigold, mugwort, or wormwood. When you’re done, you can burn the herb with the incense, drop it into a candle flame, or just tuck it into the box where you keep your cards wrapped ...
Symbols Of Magick
While you can use any object for rituals, many practitioners prefer to create a dedicated set of symbols for ritual use. These are often called ritual tokens or charms. It is helpful to keep them in a special box or pouch, separate from your other magickal items. Storing them this way keeps them organized, protected, and energetically focused on their purpose. This also prevents them from being lo...
Ostara Blessing
Ostara Blessings to all. Today is the Spring Equinox when night and day are both at equal length. If you go out late afternoon you might just catch the rising Moon in the sky at exactly the same time the Sun is about to set. Early in the next morning you can also see the Moon in daylight just as the Sun is rising. In between these two events is a period of complete balance between day and night, S...
The Spring Equinox / Ostara, Explained
The Time of The Spring Equinox is From sunset on or about 20th March for three days Its Focus is The triumph of light over darkness, resurrection, new beginnings and opportunities; spring cleaning and casting out what is no longer of worth; fertility and conception, the winds of change. At the spring equinox, the Sun rises precisely in the East and sets precisely in the West, giving exactly ...
Earth-Centered Spirituality
A long time ago in the ancient days of our ancestors, when human communities were more a less tribal and before the introduction of any religion, there were earth-centered practices. Unlike religion, which surfaced much later, there were no dogmatic regulations, ceremonies or human make-believe figureheads as all that existed was nature. The first spiritual impulses were born of a people who lived...
How to Write your own Spells
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using other peoples’ spells — and in fact there is an entire industry devoted to publishing books full of them — there are times when you may wish to use your own. It may be that you can’t find what you’re looking for in a book, or you might just feel a need to use original material. Whatever your reasons, it’s not as hard as you may think to write your ...
The Art of Spellcasting
Perhaps the most recognizable trait of a Witch is their power to perform spells. A spell refers to the method used to bring about a magical effect. This could involve spoken words, a special chant or rhyme, a ceremonial act, or any mix of these elements. Throughout history, spells have been performed in a variety of ways. For example, by carving runes or symbols onto objects to imbue them with mys...