Any witches here?

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans?

I was raised as a witch- my grandmother was born in 1890 and taught me how to scry, knotwork, many magical activities. She was a dresser of the dead and a lay midwife ( before the NHS).
I now practice my craft with enthusiasm.
A little tricky as my extended family are not supportive.

queenrollo

How thoughtful!

Loving this thread. It's so inspirational.

Morning witchy friends.

Dull and overcast here- feels like autumn.
Mercury is still in a tantrum- interest rate rise, I have ongoing internet problems, OH just been asked to work at the other end of the country for a month.
That will be stressful- for me and him!
Seeing if he can come to a compromise of one week away and one week working near home.
Need to do a big photo session for all my stuff to update images for new regulations- a pain.

Still I was at my 7am yoga class this morning which was lovely.

Morning all - dull and overcast but getting uncomfortably humid as the temperature rises. Both dogs ( my own and the one I'm minding for a week) have found their way into my wildlife pool. Both are blissfully happy, wet and muddy and leaving footprints all over my floors.

The cat has been AWOL for 24 hours now and I'm starting to get a bit worried about him.

That's a nuisance about the OH having to work away speakout. I had several years of that when my children were small and I hated it.

Not much planned witchywise today. I need to finish the clean up from Lammas though and maybe pick some herbs for drying. I harvested my belladonna plants yesterday as the berries were ripe and I was afraid the dogs would eat them - they don't taste particularly nasty. I've put the harvested foliage and berries in the greenhouse to dry without the risk of the dogs getting in it.

I was also eyeing up the rowan trees - the berries are ripe already. I hate the stickiness of making charms from them but I do need to do it at some point!

Morning!

My house is still a post-Lammas mess too, but this heat is making me very lethargic.

I have two dogs. They're definitely not familiars - over-familiar if anything .

I think I'm going to slowly focus on restoring order, & move very slowly. I don't like to wish my life away, but I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

Having a clearing and cleaning day today, so warm and muggy though.
I have been burning white sage incense on the patio, I like to use incense in an inside/outside way, so I leave the patio doors open and burn the incense just outside.

Sometimes burning it inside is just too strong, especially with windows closed, I love the way the incense is wafted inside on the odd gentle breeze rather than being a constant fragrance.
I lived in SE Asia for a time, burning incense outside was a common thing, so doing the same thing here feels a little exotic!!

Afternoon everyone. 😊
I've been following this thread since the beginning, with great interest. I think I've found my people!
In my journal yesterday my last comment was that I wanted to do more with my 'witchy' side, and that I'd like a sign to show me if I was on the right path.
We live near the sea, been in this house for over 20 years and love it.
This morning I was sorting the bins out (SO glamorous!) and something in the undergrowth caught my eye...
It was a hagstone!!!
It's clearly been there for ages, it was well entrenched into the moss but I'd never noticed it before.
I'm taking it as a sign!!

Ooh....and I pulled a single tarot card this morning (do that most days) and got Tne World. Another sign, would you wise witches say? 😊

freakydeaky wow !

A hagstone- and not near the beach presumably, what a find, and yes I would take it as a great sign of your energies awakening.

The world is a great card to pick, you have everything at your feet!

Thank you speakout, that's what I'm hoping!

It definitely feels like it's time, I've been dancing around all this stuff for years (I'm a crone now) but never had the courage to 100% go for it.

I'd appreciate some advice, wise ones. When I found the hagstone I instinctively picked it up. I felt so full of gratitude and possibility as I was holding it.

I put it in the corner of my front doorstep as a protection for our home.

Later on, as I was doing my daily meditation I suddenly wondered if I should have left it in the side alley where it's obviously been for many years, doing its protection thing there, presumably!

Any thoughts, please?

I would see the hagstone as a gift, and meant to be found.

Yes it may well have been protecting you for years, but it can continue to protect you if you keep inside or out.
Personally I would have brought it inside for a few days to sense its energy and to imbue it with some of mine too, then found a place.

If what you did felt right then it was exactly the right thing for you.

Thank you speakout, that makes perfect sense!

I need to start trusting my instincts more...

I need to start trusting my instincts more...

Absolutely! It's all in there- just listen, and don't let others tell you what is right or wrong when it comes to your magical path.

If it feels right it is right!

What is a hagstone?

It's a stone that's had a hole worn into it by being tossed about in water. Seen as a very strong protective amulet.

Oh ! Thank you.

Hello everyone, may I take a deep, nervous breath and join you? Today I signed up to Mumsnet and this is my first ever post. I have lurked on Mumsnet ever since my first child was born and I would read past threads, desperately seeking threads that reassured me I wasn't the only woman who found motherhood a tough, and often, dark time. That was five years ago, and I have continued to lurk, never joining in. But this thread has pulled me in.

I feel like I'm going through a phase of rapid growth this past year or so. The only way I can describe it is it is as if the whole universe is an enormous, multi-instrumented orchestra, playing something that is both complex, yet harmonious. And it's like I'm suddenly picking out the individual parts, bit by bit, and realising how they all fit together. It's as if I'm beginning to hear and see the patterns, not just the discordant sounds. All of the patterns and cycles and energies that weave and connect from the very grandest level of the stars and the planets down to the earth-bound seasons, further down still to the human life span and all the way down to atoms and frequencies and light waves. All connected somehow. I'm thinking that witchcraft is the equivalent of playing a musical instrument and in some small way manipulating those patterns and sounds. Even if it's just the 'magic of the mundane' such as capturing all the outdoor energy in the washing on the line or creating a sensory response with herbs and incense. I think the power lies in our intentions.

I'm so sorry for rambling and for the pretentious analogy, it's just hard to put into words! No more long posts, I promise! I guess I just wonder if any of this resonates with anyone else?

FitzsFool welcome- and great you have made the leap out of the broom closet!

I know exactly what you are saying- you put it so eloquently. My day speaks to me, things I notice, lots of little signs that trigger thoughts and make sense, witchcraft makes things more simple and yet more complex too!

And yes to laundry- I see my laundry as energy catchers, having a fine old blow about in the wind and capturing the sun, when we wrap ourselves in a clean towel or climb between clean sheets we are enveloped in that outdoor energy.

When I have a shower I also cleanse my spirit and my aura.

I am sorry you had some dark times with early motherhood, I did too, and I don't think it is that unusual.
But dark times hold power too, however uncomfortable they are, and if we take from them what we can we can use that deeper understanding to enhance our lives and make our joys stand brighter.

Welcome to the thread!

A lovely new very short video from one of my favourite youtube witches.

This one is perfect for a feel good peaceful bedtime.

That video is lovely, speakout, thank you!

The hole in a hagstone is actually made by a little mollusc called a piddock. They drill into the stone to anchor a home for themselves.
I have a small selection of hagstones, they find their own special places/uses. I've also been compelled over time to send some of my own on to friends - and they have contacted me afterward with a story as to why it was a perfect gift at a perfect time.

FitzsFool That analogy is perfect. Music is a big part of my life I often use musical analogy to explain things.
I too have had some dark times during early motherhood. My youngest is 5 and I am just rebuilding myself after a very intense few years. I am also physically moving towards crone now, and still being mother to one quite young is sometimes emotionally conflicting.

FitzsFool Love that analogy.

Well the cat finally showed up starving at 3am. No idea where he's been for the last 36 hours though. Bit of a disturbed night as I had to get up to feed him and he then decided that he'd sleep on my bed. He's not a big cat but he takes up a lot of room and fidgets a lot!

Today has been a day for making essential oil from the rosemary prunings. In retrospect a cooler day might have been better as my kitchen is now like an oven.

Elphame so glad your cat made it home.

Thank you speakout I was wondering if I'd ever see him again. He's gone AWOL before but usually comes back within a day. This was the longest he's been off.

I know he hates dogs and we have a guest dog at the moment as well as our own so I was afraid this was the last straw and he'd moved out!

Elphame I know how worrying it can be.

My cat bolted on a super windy day one morning not long after we had moved house a couple of years ago. I am guessing she was unsettled by the move and freaked out by the wind.

She was found by a kind person, injured and lying by the roadside two miles away. Presumably hit by a car.
That kind person took her to a local vet.
My cat was home but quite unwell for a good while. Plenty of healing spells, and seeking other vet advice whether to amputate.
Happy to report that she made a total recovery, all four limbs working well, scaling 6 foot high fences.

She tends not to travel too far now, and I keep her indoors on windy days.