A Spell to Combat the Winter Blues

The weekend that ends Daylight Savings time is always a difficult weekend for me.

This evening the sun was well on its way to sinking below the horizon when the clock read 5:05pm.

I felt like the day had escaped me completely. It was time to get into pajamas and go to bed. That's dramatic, I know, but nightfall triggers the idea that the day is over for me.

By 6pm, there was no sun, and the inky darkness was closing in fast. My mood sank with the sun, as it always does with the time change.

To combat the winter blues, I went to my trusted friend for advice; My BOS, and turned up this little gem of a spell that I've used many times. Maybe it will help some of you as well.

Needed:

• Anointing Oil
• Sunflower oil is choice, but olive oil or vegetable will work just as well.
• Candle
• Choose a color that symbolizes sun or brightness. I use yellow, orange or gold - but white has worked wonderfully for me in the past.
• A piece of citrus 
• Orange, tangerine, clementine - or another fruit if those are not available to you. Pick a fruit that you can envision growing under sunny skies.
• Awl, needle, screwdriver - something sharp.

Use your sharp object and inscribe words like "sun", "light", and "happy" on the candle. One word is enough, but infuse the candle with thoughts of happy, sunny days as your inscribe it.

Lightly anoint the candle with the oil, infusing the candle and oil with thoughts of the sunny skies the sunflowers, the olives or the corn, safflower or soybeans grew under. (depending on the oil you're using)

Place the candle in a holder on your altar. Place your fruit before the candle. Light the candle and say:

Dark winter's night

Soon to be overtaken by the light

Under fair skies with sun

My mind does run.

Take a bite of the fruit and visualize the days with long sunlight that helped the fruit grow. Imagine the warmth, the breeze - anything associated with how the fruit might have grown. 

Swallow the bite and repeat.

Focus on the flame, visualize it growing as bright as the sun.

When the fruit is half gone, visualize positive scenes, the bounty of things growing in your yard; acknowledge that their time of rest in the winter will provide them with strength for the long days of growing to come.

By the time you finish the fruit, you should feel uplifted and positive. 

Let the candle burn down naturally if you have the time, stopping periodically to focus on the flame and its symbolism of growing light to come.

Repeat as often as necessary. I've performed this as often as three times a week in the darkest parts of the winter, and it does help me to focus on the necessity of the winter, and to remind myself that after every dark winter comes the bright green of spring.

I hope it helps you, too. 

How To Make a Double-Sided Book of Shadows

***I TAKE NO CREDIT FOR THESE INSTRUCTIONS***

Have you longingly eyed the double-sided, flip and turn BOS seen a certain movie?

Books of all sort are my weakness. The last time we moved almost nine years ago, the moving company gave me two estimates: one estimate if they packed and  moved my books, and one if they didn't - and the price difference was staggering, if that gives you a clue to my life-long love affair with books.

But - my love for books doesn't stop at reading, acquiring and admiring - it also covers creating and binding them. Bookbinding was first taught to me by . . . (you guessed it) a book. Yes - a book taught me to bind my first book. From there, I've taken classes and attended workshops, bought more instructional books and made several dozen over the last ten years or so. I've had to scale back because of my hands, but I AM going to try this one!

The original source for this photo is from HERE.

To Print - or NOT to Print?

Some people insist that your BOS must be handwritten, or it somehow isn't a valid.

Ridiculous. Just . . . ridiculous. This is on par with saying that no cookbook is worthy unless it has been hand-written and handed down through the generations.

If someone has been lucky enough to have been handed down a generations-old BOS or grimoire, that is something worthy of high esteem; but most don't have that opportunity.

I say print from the computer as you like. You will hand write things in, on and around those printed objects as you use the BOS. It's inevitable. Those pages will begin to vibe with your essence soon enough.

I suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis, and while I have a BOS that is primarily hand-written, it has taken YEARS - and it is interspersed with lots of snippets that I've printed from the internet. I dare anyone to tell me that my BOS is somehow less because I've decorated it with printed things - and if they try, they had better come to the table with proof.

I say this over and over and OVER - but it's true: The power is in the witch, not her tools.

So - with that preamble out of the way, I give you this beauty to begin preparing for Yule.

This comes from Lapulia Book of Shadows, where you can download the full size page for printing.

As far as I can discern, they allow and encourage people to use their pre-made pages for their personal use. Please - don't put these in anything you are intending to sell. They have been very generous and have created a very beautiful set of pages for our use.

**** I take ZERO credit for the artwork or the recipe. This page is presented as I found it at La Pulia Studio.****

The After-Samhain planning . . .

It has been a long while since I've made it back to this blog. I never meant to leave it so long, but life can be quite . . . playful, we'll say.

Today, the sun is blindingly bright here in Southwest Ohio, giving a false sense of warmth outside. But, it's still very chilly, whatever the sun might try to make us believe.

If you haven't already, be sure to make notes in your BOS of your Samhain ritual and any spellworking. Be sure to note your feelings, what worked, and what didn't. You will need them for next year.

Now that Samhain is behind us, we have the prospect of an entire year to plan for - and many new joys to welcome with it.

It's time to get started!

If you haven't done so already, this is the time to scout about for things to fill up your cabinets from things you'll find outside:

• Oak leaves
• Acorns
• Ivy
• Pine Cones (if there are any left lying around by this time)
• Fallen bark (useful for altars and many other things)
• Fallen tree limbs (handle replacements, primarily, and smaller pieces are useful for wands, if they feel right to you, or are from a desired tree)

In addition to the gifts from the earth, now is a good time to scout the after-Halloween sales and the beginnings of the winter baking sales;

• Black candles (candles of all sorts, actually)
• Cookie cutters (moon, star, cauldron, etc. Unusual shapes you won't easily find the rest of the year)
• Apples (I dry the slices)
• Seeds - apple and pumpkin (very potent symbols for the altar and in spells)
• Cinnamon - powdered and in stick form. Stick is best for me, as I just grate what I want when I want it.
• Cloves, Nutmeg - Once again, I prefer whole, but I also stay stocked on powdered for the days I find myself short on time or arm-muscle to use the zester to powder them.
• Sage, Sometimes you can find huge bags of sage leaves near Thanksgiving - these are invaluable for smudging and incense making.
• Craft Stores, before and after Halloween can be a boon to your cupboard stocking. Look for unusual items that may be incorporated in future rituals or Altar decorations such as feathers, representational faux gemstones (for color magic) jars, bottles and corks to name just a few things.

While some might find it odd to get many of your ritual and altar supplies from a local grocery or craft store, I say that it is sometimes necessary, and it is quite useful. Yes, you could buy your cinnamon sticks from an online witch retailer for $9.99 for a bundle of four sticks, or you can buy the same bundle at the grocery store for $5.99, and save the $4.00 difference to throw back into the Witch Kitty to buy something else. 

I am no authority, but I'm pretty sure the Goddess isn't going to mind that you procured your cinnamon sticks from Kroger rather than the Mystical and Magical Brass Badger's online witch shop. 

(I really hope there is no online store called the Mystical and Magical Brass Badger . . . I mean no harm if there is!)

It is also time to begin preparing for Yule.

I know - you're thinking you just made it through Samhain - whew! You need a breather, right?

Nope.

Start looking for these things in the stores, and especially when they're on sale:

• Oils - peppermint, bayberry, juniper, neroli, cedar fir and pine.
• You'll probably only find the peppermint in higher grade, and the others will likely be for scent only, but they can still be quite useful to you. Much of my heightened sense comes from the scents I use around me. You decide for yourself.
• Candles 
• At Christmastime, I can find gold and silver candles that are harder to find the rest of the year.
• Red, Green, Blue and and White candles - this is the time to stock up!
• Bags of pine cones (for those with no access to find them naturally)
• Real Mistletoe (Hard to find in stores, but I can usually find it where they sell live trees)
• Unusual Altar items
• Looking for the perfect chalice? You'll find stunningly beautiful, single stemware this time of year - and usually on sale!
• Candle holders - same as the stemware - unusual, beautiful, and on sale!
• Nuts - useful year round for the altar and in spells. Walnut shells are particularly useful if you boil them to make the dark, sepia tinted type of ink.

There are hundreds of items to be on the lookout for - these lists will hopefully whet your imagination. The upcoming Christmas season provides a bonanza of things - typically on sale - that you can use all year long. 

One last word: Don't buy these things that I've mentioned unless - A) You know you need them and will be using them, B) You find them at a good price, and C) You have the funds for them. 

Never buy things off of lists unless you have a plan for it. In my early years, I DID buy things that were on lists I saw - these people knew what they were talking about, right? I'd need these things, right? 

Nope. Maybe 50% of it covered things I'd actually need through the year. Some things are pretty universal - the candles, the nature items from outdoors . . . but juniper berries or cedar oil? You might never need or want those. Get them if you will use them. If you aren't sure, let your checkbook make the choice for you. Some things I've bought without knowing if I'd use them - but I made sure I used them - because I had them. 

You also need to remember you don't have to buy much of anything - ever. Any candle will do if you need it to. Most of the "herbs" I used in the early years were what I had in my kitchen cabinet - and I had good results. Never buy the froo-froo if you don't have the money - and don't let anyone tell you that you *NEED* this or that, or something won't work. 

The real power is always in the witch - not the things she uses.

Now . . . to prepare the Yule ritual, incense and oils, if you haven't already. That will be in the next post!