Wicca/Paganism

[DoctorShoe]

Bright blessings to all!

Wiccan here. Just wondering if there are any more of us around. :) I don't have a coven, and there doesn't seem to be too much opportunity for it in Ireland, even in the medium sized cities.

DP is not a Wiccan. I'm a hospital doctor. We enjoy Dr. Who and Star Trek. I was raised Catholic.

I have had a lovely Beltane. Didn't get to celebrate quite as soon as I'd have liked, due to work, but it was beautiful.

My sick orchid is budding, my Book of Shadows is growing... Thinking about a nice walk in the woods tomorrow afternoon.

Would love to hear from others. :) I have so many questions.

Awww Brownies!! Anyone used divining rods to find things?

Cute I want a brownie, I'm sure my kids would find it fun too (and they would teach the brownie to share by eating the sweets ). When things go missing in our house we just joke that a ghost must have hide it for fun and to play a game so we ask out loud for them to return it. The kids do the asking out loud but they know we are just joking and we will have a clean and find it or buy a new one later if not. Sometime we call this ghost 'Casper'. On some level I think its just us asking the universe for a little help

I have looked at the candle website posted above and they look great. I like the little bucket candle idea. I looked up hawthorn as I liked the write up about the candle spell and found out tomorrow is the Celtic tree calander month of hawthorn. The hawthorn is said to be the tree of the Welsh goddess Olwen which is also my Mums name. I love how everything is connected and random at the same time

The dream catcher's went down well but lots of question form my 6yo about how the dreams get drawn to the dream catcher and why do they get stuck and how do we then get rid of the bad dreams

The brownie sounds sweet.

I cast the odd little charm.

At least it makes me feel better while I look!

Anyone have any favourite oils or herbs, and why?

I love lavender and rosemary. Both so soothing. And versatile and enlightening. I like how versatile cinquefoil is. I've recently discovered rose geranium oil, and the scent is just divine.

I was blown away by a visit to Gozo where we spent time at the Gijantia goddes temples, - 6000 years old some of the oldes free standing structures on Earth. I have a few keepsakes from there which are amongst my most treasured.

aboutmalta.com/gozo/ggantija.html

Typos- too early!! sorry..

doctor- mine are jasmine and rose. Expensive though. I also love geranium. I have a large flowering jasmine. I also have a yew in my front garden and lots of pots of sempervivum ( witch's leeks) near my from door, said to bring protection. A huge rosemary plant- I find the fragrance very cleansing, oh and lavender too. I also have a huge money plant in my conservatory which has brought good things in that direction!

I like most herbs, dried and fresh, I use them a lot in cooking, spells and to fragrance the home.

Hello all

I would say I am non religious, but with pagan leanings. I've been reading and learning on and off for a few years.

I've not heard of a Brownie before, but as a ex catholic, I have heard of St Anthony, which sounds very similar.

A Brownie is a type of house elf in the Celtic fringes( there was a house elf in Harry Potter-Dobby)
Brownies in the Girl guide organisation are also named after the elf.

Weird, propel, I just saw a group of girl guides yesterday, which isn't too common round these parts.

I remember St. Anthony too, but not sure I'd be in his favour these days.

I have a lovely sock full of herbs and things atm. Clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and a little soil.

I bring it to work I a busy day and I feel it helps out.

Love your sock doctor- how did you choose the ingredients? And why soil? What a nice idea, I imaging your bag smells lovely.

Quite a coincidence about the Brownies.

To the OP - there are loads of Wiccans in Ireland, the Alexandrian branch being the most common. THIS EVENT might be of interest to you, and you can get to meet some like minded people. If you can't make it to the event, you could still try contacting the organisers to see if they know of anyone in your area.

Thanks, worldgonecrazy. I might look into that. I suppose I haven't looked too hard, and am very happy solo, but it's lovely to know I have the option. Nowhere near Dublin, though.

Propels, I can't remember which is which, but the ingredients correspond to healing, luck, friendship, strength and happiness. All helpful in a day's work at the hospital.

The sock is a variant of little charm bags I've read about.

I also keep a sock my grandmother knit for me by my circle. To quote SpongeBob, "love in every stitch".

I don't have a fav as I use all types of herbs and spices and have a cupboard full

I grow lavender, mint, Rosemary, ivy, holly, basil and corriander.

I wear a quartz and rose quartz necklace when I go out to help with friendships and social confidance. My kids had amber teething necklaces and my Ds has a Nordic rune dogtag necklace for strenth.

I use a lot of neroli oil. I suffer badly with anxiety and am prone to depression, and i find it is amazing at calming my emotions (and smells divine). I make my own toiletries, so use it a lot in that, along with rose geranium and frankincense, which is quite brilliant for your skin. I use a lot of frankincense in incense blends too - it's really good for meditation. I have a little herb garden and make simple remedies, and love collecting whatever is seasonal (and free) for remedies, wine and cooking from around the village.

I'm working on redesigning my garden at the moment, and am thinking medieval apothecary! I had been wondering about incorporating a permanent circle, but i so rarely practice ritual these days i'm not sure it's worth it (and the dogs would only poo in it anyway). I may try and incorporate a maze into my patio though!

Maybe a Mandala instead of a circle or maze? Just an idea.

I am drawn to parsley, mint and coriander for the eating of but love smelling all the herbs in herb gardens. Flower wise am drawn to oils of vanilla, rose, bergamot, orange, lavender and may Chang. I use tea tree for anything medicinal and take St. Johns Wort daily to help keep me happy

Velvet have you tried St.Johns Wort tincture for anxiety and depression? Can't be taken with some medications though

velvet- sorry to hear about your anxiety.

I am have mercurial thought processes- the flip side of this is that I can be prone to anxiety.
I find Valerian and Hop extract useful, but I also practice mindfulness and I exercise; all exercise is good for anxiety, but particulary yoga.

What is mecurial thought please?

Fast thought processes, quick to change, slightly frenetic, jumps from one thought or idea to another-very energetic, unable to settle.
Can make for disordered turbulent and restless and relentless thought- hence anxiety.

However the flip side of that is that mercurial ( or Hermes, I love Greek archetypes) ways of thinking can lead to great ideas, solutions, inventive thought, like quicksilver, creativity, if we control the aniety we can be very quick and able to adapt to new situations.

I have learned to make peace with my type of thinking- I have suffered anxiety in the past, but I accept my way of being and know how to avoid the destructive side of things.
My yoga and mindfulness allows me to harness the good aspects without inflicting the potential dangers upon me.

I do get very stressed and I had PND with my first child that turned into depression that I'm still taking tablets for but I now have delt with the issues around this and I'm on a very low dose. I'm just bringing to find my feet again and make plans for my future.

I have two children under 6 and a disabled husband that I care for and little to no family help. The last five years have been very chaotic but things are leveling out now. The best thing about being broken and putting yourself back together is seeing the strength i never thought i had and the opportunity to change things that don't work for me anymore. Believing in renewly helps a lot

*re-new

Propel - a mandala is inspired. I even draw them (good therapy) but hadn't thought to use one in the garden - thank you. I have some that incorporate a maze, but they look a bit brain-like!

I have looked at taking St John's Wort but the advice re safety when breastfeeding is a bit inconclusive - it is probably fine but because i'm so anxious (duh) i'm very risk adverse. It is something i will certainly try once bfing is done with. I had several years on tricyclic ad's and beta blockers, and while they worked i put on a lot of weight, and don't want to go back there again if i can help it.

I do practice yoga and mindfulness meditation - they are at the centre of everything i do. They give me a far better quality of life than i'd otherwise have, but it is a work in progress.

I have a lot of changes happening this year so it is a good time to ditch those aspects and behaviours that aren't working any more. I have also started practicing lovingkindness meditation, and that is proving to be a very good way of being kind to yourself, while putting out some positive energy into the world.

This thread is giving me the motivation to do more of the things that bring me peace, so thanks for that. Thinking about ritual, like i said it is something i've moved away from over the years - i like the simplicity of meditation and the depth of connection you can achieve through yoga, and saw a lot of ceremonial practice as a bit unnecessary? I think a lot of what you are saying though is making sense in terms of the power of imagery, archetypes, objects and their associations. I'm thinking i may revisit it.