Any Witches Here? Part 16

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans? Or anyone who is interested in a magical path or feels some magical stirrings.

A place for support, learning, swapping ideas and magical inspiration.

@EmmaH2022 an all over body scrub - what a lovely idea! It would be a nice treat too.

I love the idea of the body scrub too.
I find showers very therapeutic, one of the reasons I like to use fragrance too- it cleanses the aura, can remove negative energy.
Cleansing with water is used in many rituals and religions all over the world to wash away energies or spiritually cleanse, whether it is washing feet, ritual hand cleansing or baptism.
I feel better this morning after a long deep sleep.
And feeling OK about the issue I had yesterday- if felt good to iron things out with a woman who had a sensible approach- and we decided that the issue wasn't important enough to impact out friendship, and agreeing to disagree was actually OK.
I have a busy working day here, a Gestalt therapy session later, a day for open widows, incence and music to soothe as I work.
Have a magical day friends.

Good morning everyone
i like the body scrub idea too. I rarely buy myself things like that but I think I will call into one of the little shops in town that I would normally only walk past and treat myself to something that smells lovely.

I have acquired a lovely old singer sewing machine last week. I haven’t done any sewing before but this has inspired me to learn. I have managed to get to grips with setting it up , filling the Bobbin and sewing in a straight line ( just about).
I asked around if there were any classes locally and a very generous lady has messaged me and offered to show me. I know it sounds pathetic but I haven’t responded yet as i am really shy when it comes to meeting new people even though I would like to. I need a swift kick up the rear I think !

sorry to hear of all the family troubles. I can relate. I have a brother who ( now it’s been mentioned) is similarly passive aggressive, a less than joyous relationship with my mother and a son with difficulties. By moving house recently I have created a little distance from it all and I’m determined to have a more peaceful time from here on in.

The garden birds have been fed and I’m off to pour some tea so I can drink it whilst I watch them flitting back and forth. It’s one of the new daily pleasures I have made time for recently.

wishing you all a peaceful day.

@Elasticatedwaist think of all the lovely things you can make once you have had your sewing tutorial. I have a sewing machine that I inherited from my grandmother, my mum is slowly teaching me the basics. Don't be shy about getting help from the local lady, you may make a new friend.

And just be aware that old sewing machines had character and it is perfectly normal to have to learn to play nice with each other, so try not to get too frustrated if it take a moment to learn.

Sewing machines, spinning wheels etc they all have their own personality and if you are not prepared for it even if you are seasoned it is easy to let frustration get the better of you and give up. I promise it will be worth hanging on in there if you can accept it is part of the process. Because once you learn to play nice with each other, you have opened the door to so many wonderful adventures.

Which reminds me tour de fleece started, I wanted to play along this year, might see if i can find the drop spindle so i can wedge 5 mins in somewhere.

Oh an you can add pockets to nearly everything...

Good morning sisters! I've just been reading and catching up, it's been a mad few weeks again.

Sending you all love and support, Elphame that sounds so frustrating, I hope it's a short term stay?

Speakout your witchy weather vane makes me smile, mine is a blacksmith but fell in the 2020 storms - I keep debating replacing it with something more pagan. But people don't look up or around them much!

I'm working lots and trying to keep some sense of balance, but have a stand at a pagan fair in Bury St Edmunds this coming Sunday which will be lovely - have a friend on the table next to me and hoping to find some more kindred spirits!

Have a magical Tuesday, sisters x

Well the breathing and gin didn't work! My blood pressure is out of control - it measured 190/127 at the hospital yesterday. I have to monitor it for a week but I think drugs are now inevitable. I have managed to control it for the last couple of years using hawthorn etc but it seems that my mother is too much for herbal remedies...

Love the idea of a witchy weathervane but I had to take mine down as the creaking was driving me mad!

Good luck with the stand on Sunday @hilariousnamehere

@HillsBesideTheSea I have never mastered my spinning wheel so it's a drop spindle for me too.

@Elasticatedwaist Go for it - I learned to sew on my grandmother's old Singer. It was a treadle that had been (badly) converted to electricity. So many burnt fingers on the unprotected light bulb but it was more reliable than my fancy new one that I swear hates me.

Oh @Elphame that's stressful! Hope you can keep an eye and keep it under control ok.

Thank you for good wishes!

And I'm entertainingly delighted by the fact I'm not the only one who argued with sewing machines - fabric is not my medium for craft or magic but I wish it was 😂

Elphame Sorry to hear about the BP issues and fingers crossed it is temporary.

Hills that sounds fab!

Elasticated how nice to be able to feed the birds. In theory I'd like to learn to sew but in practice I think I would be dreadful. My late father owned an old Singer sewing machine and I wish I had asked him to teach me. The machine would have a place in the home I dream of, but sadly we gave it away, I think it will be used as a prop in plays as I am fairly sure it didn't work.

speakout glad you feel better after a good night's sleep.

I just feel very tired generally.

But at lunchtime, I made a note of some pagan prayers. I'm hoping to do a quick morning and evening prayer. It may expand into more than just a quick thing...it's the actual ritual I need at the moment.

I also like fragrance but prefer them to be in a spray, so have to work out how to get my favourite fragrance oil into a more useful format.

EmmaH2022 I am interested to know more about your pagan prayers. I haven't heard of that before. Is is a ritual- do you have a set format or pray/worship a deity?
I too prefer spray smudges, I'm not fond of the smell of burning sage anyway, there are alternative herbs to use, but I stick to a small pump aerosol.
Elphame sorry to hear of your hypertension, and your present situation is not helping I'm sure!! Medication can help sometimes, my OH has been taking medication for high blood pressure for a year, it is now under control and he has no side effects.
I too learned to sew as a child on an old Singer machine with a treadle- it was trial and error- my mother didn't sew, but I managed to find an old instruction leaflet and taught myself. I thought the machine was awesome, the iron work legs and decorative cast iron flourishes were beautiful. I remember drawers with brass fittings, and a hidden compartment for spools, I loved the smell of those drawers, oil, cotton, wood, I would inhale lungfuls!

speakout nothing as yet, I thought it might do me good to have something. I have just been looking up pagan prayers and made a note of some that I liked.

In the past, I have prayed to Hecate - just had a picture on a card though there are lovely figurines available. I think I would like to pray to others now.

To be honest, I have often thought that I only pray when times are hard but I would really benefit from a daily pattern. I have no good habits. Also, trapped in an urban place, I need my mind to go somewhere else, if that makes sense.

A spray smudge sounds good. I only tried burning sage once and it was awful. I have sage incense though.

I want to change my routine to be an earlier person. I'm so tired, today might be a day I actually manage to get to sleep early.

i am seeing a healer at the weekend. I don't often fork out for this sort of thing but something is wrong and I need the help.

A question, wise ladies - do any of you have any favourite remedies for an itchy throat? I have hefty antihistamines for night but the pollen is high today and I am uncomfortably itchy and sneezy. Going to get a new jar of local honey on my way back from meeting, but if there's anything else you'd recommend I would love to know!

hilarious my herby book suggests gargling with comfrey and sage, or agrimony and liquorice, but adds honey to both!

I use a saline spray in my nose when I come off the Tube, sometimes clearing the sinuses helps the throat too.

Doing more work sorting the flat into a better space tonight. Long day of work so not sure how much I'll do. Think I might use a bookshelf as an altar space. I don't have that many visitors these days but I have a folding screen that could go in front of the bookshelf. It might seem odd - at the moment it's used as an extra layer of shade in my west facing flat - but I doubt anyone will ask why it's there.

I wish I was the sort of person who could make "stuff" look good. Some people definitely have that skill.

Got totally distracted looking at altar things on Etsy. Goodness knows how big my altar would be if I had unlimited space!

I have a simple daily practice - I wouldn't call it prayer though. More a time of acknowledgement and communion with the other side.

@EmmaH2022 The screen sounds perfect. For years I denied I had any altar or shrine space but obviously that was entirely untrue. They just sort of sprung up around me without any conscious intent. I have in theory plenty of space but however much you have it is never enough! Learning to make do with what you have is a definite life skill!

Elphame I love how you phrased that, I suppose I'm just using the word "prayer" as a short cut...but then I am asking for help so maybe it is the right word.

Do you mind if I ask how long you spend on that?

@hilariousnamehere YES! jelly cubes, mix up and drink warm. Coates the throat soothing it and removing itchy. Sugar or sugar free jelly can be used. otherwise you can get glycerol base cough elixars from pharmacists (boots used to do one) which will also coat the throat in a similar manner. Always used to use the jelly for ds who regularly got tonsilitious as he couldn't have any cough sweets etc to help. He swears by it to this day.

hilariousnamehere I hope your throat is feeling better- I think the pollen is affecting many people, my DS has irritated eyes at the moment- antihistamines seem to help him.
I have been musing over the use of the word prayer, it's an interestinng one isn't it. I think for me it conjours up ideas of religion and worship. We were forced to pray every morning at school for many years.

Hills I've never heard of using jelly for a sore throat, thank you for the tip! DS2 suffers with sore throats so I'll remember that one (although hopefully, now he's had his tonsils removed he won't get them so often).

I hope some of these remedies help Hilariousnamehere. Hayfever is such a pain and can spoil the summer. I get it, but not too badly, and I'm normally ok if I take an antihistamine. My DM really suffered though, her eyes get so red and sore.

EmmaH2022 a screen for your alter sounds like a great idea. I find that having plants can really transform a space. I've got some on macrame hangers which I've hooked to the ceiling, they look great and don't take up any space. I like the feeling of being surrounded by nature indoors and they make my room feel calmer. I hope it goes well with the healer at the weekend, what sort of healing are you having? I occasionally see a reiki healer when I'm feeling out of sorts and it does help.

I don't pray as such, but I do talk to my guides most days, normally last thing at night just before I go to sleep. I express gratitude for the things I have in my life, ask for healing energy to go out to the world and anyone I know who needs it, and I'll ask for help with the answers to any problems I'm having. Doing this helps me feel more grounded and safe and 'looked after' somehow if that makes sense?

Awake early this morning (the dog decided that 5.30 was breakfast time!) so I'm enjoying a coffee in bed. I'll get up soon and start work early. Looking forward to a Vinyasa flow yoga class tonight.

Blessings to you all as you go about your days.

I love the idea of a screen too EmmaH2022, sounds a great idea. I have large forest scenes in my kitchen and always feel uplifted when I walk in.
Interesting to hear of you communication with your guides VioletCharlotte I love how we all have a different swing on things.
I use deity to invoke, work with as archetypes, channel energy. I work with animals too- in a Shamanistic way.
I don't use gratitude as such, to me that feels a little too much thanking someone or something. I am aware that I am very fortunate to have good things around me, and I do meditate and consciously think of the amazing things in my life- clean air, clean water, my health and lots more. A combination of luck and fortitude, the universe is full of abundance but hardships too.
I have just finished cleaning my kitchen, OH gone to work, and three others ( five if you include the cats) are still asleep- I am enjoying some alone time with a second coffee. I will hold fire for my breakfast in case DD wants to go out for brunch.
I am mulling over the idea of connecting with myself, quite an abstract concept but I am keen to get to grips with the idea and perhaps use some tools to
focus on the idea.
Just off to meditate for a while and enjoy the peace.

good morning

Must get on with work so will post properly later

Just wondered if anyone else was sad to hear the news about the Georgia Guidestones - I am. Not nice to wake up to that.

I read about that too EmmaH2022.

There are some terrifying things going on in the US at the moment.

I had not heard about it, and had to go looking. I have been paying attention the the chaotic mess that is UK politics and governance. It is literally like watching a damn about to burst slowly, painfully and destructfully bursting is restraints. Where even if the damn release is a carthetic cleansing, the clean up is going to be hard and drawn out with the potential for long term consequences.

I think a long day walking in the hills is the answer. Unfortunately yet again i find myself time poor, restful sleep poor and energy poor.

There are also many points that have been raised on the thread which would benefit from some pondering on, but i am also currently brain space poor.

HillsBesideTheSea I think a day walking in the hills sounds a wise idea. We can get very bogged down by current events, and can feel the world is falling apart.
Focus on what you can change, taking steps to increase your own well being is crucial. If we have a safe boat we can weather stormy seas.
I think societies and people can adapt- not without casualties of course, but even a momentous thing like covid is becoming resigned to history.
I remember the miners strike and the three day week in 1974, we had only three days electricity for a week.
I first bought a house in the 80s, when interest rates were 16%.
Times will change and we will move on, hopefully towards a more equitable society in the long term, but there will be skirmishes and setbacks along the way.

Violet I'm seeing a spiritual healer but I think she does some reiki as well. I have only seen her a couple of times. I hope she can help. She definitely helped the last times.

I was very low but what has happened to the Guidestones has made me feel extra low. I don't really think I will ever revisit the US but I did really want to see those.

speakout your ways of working sound interesting.

I need to find ways to help myself. If anyone is reading, good energy to talk to mum later would be very welcome! That's one chore after work. After that, I'm just going to do as I please as I need to shake off the deep blues!