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| Egg and sugar, butter and cream, lemon and salt, garlic and flour. These tools of the kitchen cover everything from love to peace, fertility and hexes, divination and banishment... and a silver fork (even one bent into the beautiful shape of a heart) offers protection in the home that can't be beat. Stuck in the house means reacquainting with my domestic skills, with the magics of the kitchen. |
Spring is supposed to be a healing time, a time of rebirth and renewal. Right now, it's just a time of fear and uncertainty and anxiety. I wished better for my generation. Spring is supposed to be a time go be out with friends gathering up the poplar buds and plucking the last of the sweet violets, instead we're just stuck inside trying to respect the new restrictions in this new world. I plan to sneak out and walk around the yard a bit, gods know I need the fresh air. The violets need picking and syruping, the hyacinths need drying and the cherry blossoms need gazing-at. The wild greenwood walks and here I am stuck inside watching the procession of spring from behind the walls. Floralia comes. The Feast of Rabbits comes; May's Eve and St. Johns, Midsummer and First Fruits... it's all so close, I hope we can all go out and enjoy it when it does...
On this Lightyear, this Spring Equinox, I planned for the magical days ahead. I started planning for this particularly social time in the witching world. I'd like to hope I'll get the time-off in summer to attend the Symposium but as this quarantine stretches out, I will loose vacation days and opportunities later. It's all so nebulous our lives right now, that's why I look forward to the divination that permeates the great holy days of witches; May's Eve, St. John's and Midsummer... In American folklore May is all about divination; this is a contribution of our various Western European ancestors. There are many May's Eve and May Day Charms, ones that include wells and mirrors, fires and eggs, handkerchiefs and even snails in corn-starch.
“On the first day of May, put a diamond ring in a glass of water. Place this glass where the sun will shine into the center of the ring, and when you look into the center you will see there the face of the man you will marry.”
“If a person looks into a well on the first day of May at noon, he will see his sweetheart.”
“ To keep off all sickness during the summer, get wet in the first rain of May..”
“If you look down a well on May first, you will see the face of the one you are to marry reflected in the water.”
-The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore
“A basket tastefully arranged with flowers, was left by the lore-sick swain at the door of his lady-love.”
“A Piece of wild radish worn on Walpurgis Night enables the wearer to see ghosts and witches”
“Hares found on May morning are witches and should be stoned.”
“Draw crosses on you doors before May Day eve and the witches can do no harm.”
-CL Daniels, Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore and Occult Sciences of the World
“Hold a mirror over a well on May first, and you will see the image of your future husband or wife."
"If you wash your face in dew before sunrise on May Day, you will become very beautiful."
-(Alabama)- Current Superstitions, Collected from the Oral Tradition of English Speaking Folk
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| Key and Bible divination has always been curious to me... I've never used it or seen it used but it's well known as one of the three old-world divinations of the Salem Girls (aside from Venus Glase and the Sieve and Shear), nevertheless I've been exploring it with a sister in the circle. The triad of these gifts captured the imaginations of colonials, made them weary of this wicked world. Stuck in the home means lots of time with the family bibles and family clock-key. I have all the eggs and fostoria glasses I need but I've never quite figured out how sieve and shears is supposed to work... |
But, I along with seemingly the rest of the known world am in a state of self-isolation. Seattle's taking a hard hit with this pandemic, every day is a new damage report. I'm heartbroken for Italy. I'm heartbroken for the elderly. I'm shocked by the callousness of leaders and depressed to know that the future is more bleak. I've seen it deep in the cards- this doesn't go the way we want or think it will. We have to get ready for years of hell. That's life though, it always has been. There are waves of peace and comfort followed inevitably by waves of chaotic fear and uncertainty. I encourage you all to fall deep into your spirituality as we wait for the virus (both biological and political) to pass. It will take time, and it wont be fair, but life always balances itself slightly, ever so rightly. Be patient.
The one benefit is all the time on our hands to get creative. I've been relentlessly baking, drawing, writing chapbooks and brainstorming ideas of new books for me and friends. I've been contemplating reaching out to local witches when the quarantine passes to gather for healing circles (carefully sterile ones at that), or just for some resonating time. I need to harmonize over the craft right now. I've had some inquires about the chapbooks; they're not for sale, no profit to be made- most are for my rebel-witch circle, the rest will be distributed randomly in cafe's I frequent and given away for May Day Basket. May Day Basket will be a give away of chapbooks (each themed around either Love Fortunes or Hex Magic) for May's Eve to some of you fine folk.
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| When in quarantine, bake bread. Supply yourself, fool. |
Stay healthy, stay calm, pray and think conscientiously about your actions going forward, lives depend on our thoughtfulness. Use this time to create, to sew, to garden, to work great art, to write and to cook. Bake breads and crack eggs, spend time in your thoughts. I wish you the best.
