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The Saga of Jason and the Speed Bump
I’m a big fan of using mundane stuff in spellwork, because there are always things around your house that you can finagle into a magical application. If you’re a parent, especially, I guarantee you that there are plenty of kids’ toys that are going to come in very useful at some point. To illustrate this, I’d like to share an epic tale from nigh on twenty years ago, when my twins (who are now college students) were toddlers, and we had a fairly impressive collection of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. At the time, I lived on a one-way street in a residential area, and because it was the connector…
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Simple Spell to Get a Job
I first crafted this working nigh on twenty-five years ago, and have offered it up in various incarnations since then — a number of people have used it in its many forms, and it’s usually pretty darn successful. I truly think the reason it’s successful is because, frankly, it’s EASY. Like, stupid simple. You don’t have to have much magical experience to make this work for you, although obviously understanding why it works is always beneficial. This is a spell to do after you’ve scheduled an interview — which means you still gotta do some real, mundane work, like filling out applications, tidying up your resume, etc. If you can’t be…
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Herbs to Dye For
So I like playing around with herbal dyes, and put together a list of some of the cool stuff that’s out there. People have been using plants to dye fabric, fibers, and even their skin for ages, so it’s a neat thing to start exploring. I thought I’d share some of the nifty ones I’ve found so far. Plant Scientific Name Part Used Color Common Uses St. John’s Wort Hypericum perforatum Flowers Red/yellow The Greeks used St. Johns Wort to dye fabric. Although it’s native to Europe, today it’s all over the United States, and is often considered a weed. Named for St. John the Baptist, because it flowers around…
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Unlocking Key Magic
A while back, I was doing a bit of noodling around for a thing I was working on and it occurred to me I had never written a single thing about using keys in magical workings—which is a bit odd, because I do use them regularly myself. THUS IT WAS TIME. I’ve always been fascinated by keys. Even as a kid, I got excited when I found random ones lying around. I think at one point I had a couple of dozen stashed in a box, just because I thought they were neat. As I got older, and began to discover the transformative power of magic and witchcraft, I realized…
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The Magic of Joe Pye Weed
About two months ago, I bought a little cottage at the bottom of a hill, sitting outside a small village. It’s a super rural area, long-time coal country in the northern foothills of Appalachia, and the biggest excitement around here is when visiting ATV riders go zipping up the road through my holler or my neighbor’s rooster gets loose and refuses to return home. The nearest grocery store is fifteen miles off, and if I want to get super fancy and visit a home improvement store, it’s a good 45 minutes each direction. We have two police officers, a single pizza joint, and a Dollar General, and that’s pretty much…
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Organize Your Own Pagan Event
Let’s face it, at some point nearly all of us have read the listings of public Pagan events and festivals taking place somewhere, and wondered, “Why isn’t there something near ME?” Chances are if there’s nothing happening, it’s because no one has taken the time to organize it yet. And if YOU think it would be a good idea, there’s a very good possibility that other people think it would be a good idea. Obviously, while we’re living in the age of the ‘Rona, there’s not a ton of events being planned, but eventually when things settle down, you might decide you’ve had enough of Netflix and Zoom meetings, and…
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Is it OK to Charge for Spiritual Services?
One issue of spirited debate in the Pagan and Wiccan communities is that of whether or not it’s acceptable to charge for teaching classes or performing other spiritual services – spellwork, divination, and so forth. One school of thought says it’s never okay – after all, knowledge is something that should be shared freely, at no charge to a student, because you can’t put a price on spirituality. This seems to tie in to a popular New Age mentality that any spiritual abilities are a gift, and as a gift, they should be passed along to others freely. Another group argues that of course it’s fine to charge – after…
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Brew a Batch of Vervain Water
Vervain was known in many legends as one of the herbs sacred to the Druids. Although it is often associated with the Summer Solstice, the vervain plant is highly potent in late summer, around the time of Lammas. In Hoodoo and other folk magic traditions, vervain is used to make Van-Van oil – this is simply a blend of vervain and a base oil, simmered and strained. This oil is used to provide magical protection, and clear away evil energies. In many forms of folklore, vervain is associated with workings that decrease lust – however, the scent of vervain is a well-known aphrodisiac. In addition to matters of the libido,…
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The Magic of the Willow Tree
I’ve always loved willow trees — there’s something majestic and powerful about them. Willows are often found on the banks of creeks and rivers, or in other areas where there’s a lot of water. In my last house, we had a low lying area in the back yard that pooled a lot of water when it rained, so we planted a willow there, and it thrived almost immediately, growing from a small sapling to a giant behemoth in just a few short years. Melody Rose over at Dave’s Garden says, Many notable sayings and practices were born around the willow. One of the most common traditions today has its roots…
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The Magic of Mullein
Mullein is one of those herbs I often forget about because I don’t grow it, mostly because it prefers dry soil and I’ve always lived in places that had rich, fertile ground. Recently, however, I moved to the hills of North Appalachia, and while I’ve got a nice dark-soil empty lot available for my planting adventures, behind my house is a steep hillside covered with dry, almost clay-like earth… and all kinds of things are growing wild upon it, including mullein. At first, honestly, I thought it was a random sprig of lamb’s ear, and then its telltale yellow flowers bloomed… yep, it’s mullein. In fact, it’s not just my…
