Any Witches here? Part 20

[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..
This is the 18th thread- anyone looking for a deep dive into juicy magical topics may like to browse previous threads.....
It is a long list!!
Part 1 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3241689-Any-witches-here?pg=1
Part 2
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3338025-Any-Witches-Here-Part-2?pg=1
Part 3
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3366411-Any-Witches-Here-Part-3?pg=1
Part 4
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3404406-Any-Witches-Here-Part-4-Edited-by-MNHQ?pg=1
Part5
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3437092-Any-Witches-Here-Part-5?pg=1
Part 6 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3482023-Any-Witches-Here-Part-6?pg=1
Part 7 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3520269-Any-Witches-Here-Part-7?pg=1
Part 8 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/a3568622-Any-Witches-Here-Part-8?pg=1
Part 9 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3637696-Any-Witches-Here-Part-9?pg=1
Part 10
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3726266-Any-Witches-Here-Part-10
Part 11
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3850635-Any-Witches-Here-Part-11
Part 12
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3997761-Any-Witches-Here-Part-12
Part 13 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4116107-Any-Witches-here-Part-13
Part 14www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4213962-Any-Witches-Here-Part-14
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4328830-Any-Witches-Here-Part-15?msgid=113505801
www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4435233-Any-Witches-Here-Part-16?page=40&reply=118807589

www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4598225-any-witches-here-part-17?page=40&reply=122990208

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4717929-any-witches-here-part-18?page=1

Hello All, may I please join this group? I'm becoming very interested in the Pagan/wiccan way of life and am really just still learning what I can. I have ordered the book Goddess of the British Isles to start me off. There's so much to learn my head is a bit boggles with it all. My daughter and I have had an horrendous year with one thing and another. She started to become interested in witchcraft and has an alter set up her room. We are planning an Autumn Equinox bonfire where we are going to burn her GCSE stuff (don't ask!) and give gratitude but also try to move on from the upsets if the year. I hope I've come to the right thread on here. Please kick me off if not! I'd love to hear what other rituals people are doing. We are going to visit Glastonbury for Samhain which I'm really excited about!

HelloTheordinary and welcome. Grab a bean bag and help yourself to something from our magic kettle, it pours the beverage of your choice.😋
Dip in and out of here whenever suits, the same goes for our past threads, there's a mine of information there.

Don't worry about learning how to "get witchcraft right" just follow your instincts and take your time. See what you find most interesting and explore that. If anything feels wrong, drop it and find something else. We are very self reliant and each of us follows our own Path.

Glastonbury at Samhain with an impressionable teen and you not knowing much about Paganism. Hmm... If you do go, be very careful, stick to very public places, run a mile from anyone who claims to be knowledgeable in magic or spirituality, do not go or pay for one-to-one anything and keep your commonsense head on and wits about you at all times and dont accept food or drink from anyone but a bar or cafe etc. .
Don't get me wrong, lovely times can be had, but you will both stand out alongside others as vulnerable naive newbies and some people will home in on that.
Don't be scared, but do be aware. It's not all crystals, love and light. It's not comparable to anywhere else that I know of. Stick together at all times.

There are lots of other safer ways to celebrate your first Samhain, do be aware that many public rituals are not much more than theatre in reality, but are usually fairly small events.

Above all, enjoy your first steps on your Path.

A warm welcome @Theordinary!

Thank you for the lovely welcome @BlankTimes Don't worry I'll be with my very sceptical husband and DS too. We'll be very much observing from the peripheries 😁 We're staying nearby for a week so thought we'd check it out. I'm guessing Glastonbury Samhain is pretty full on then? I bet parking will be a nightmare! I have my practical head on always! I was interested in maybe visiting the Goddess Temple there though, have you been?
I've just bought myself a couple of books to learn a bit more. I'm in no hurry though. From what I've learned so far it's very grounded in nature and that really appeals to me. I think I've probably always been a Pagan deep down. Christianity just never seemed to be quite right for me. Well, what is has become anyway.

Thank you @MistyMoonlight i think I've found a lovely place here 😊

You are very welcome Theordinary.
Great news to hear you and dd will not be on your own 😀

Ages since I've been, I have a wonderful photo of my dd aged about 6 with her dad in the healing courtyard, standing outside The Goddess and the Green Man. If you go in there, I think that's where the Goddess Temple is now, (or is it at the White Well) do look out for Starchild in the far corner, I would love a front door like theirs.

Do allow plenty time to see the Chalice Well and all the plants they cultivate there, the healing pools and either take a bottle or two or buy them there so you can take some of the red spring water home with you.

If you're heading through Wiltshire on the way home, Avebury is worth a look and it's free (except parking) as opposed to Stonehenge which is pricey and restricted to visit.

www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=7

@BlankTimes We actually went to Glastonbury last October but we were there the week before samhain that time. We went to the Challice Well and loved it. I'd love to go back again to get some more water. I use the bottles still to water my plants so maybe I should take them back with us to save some money. My DH really wants to go to the Avebury stones. I didn't know much about them before but I'm quite keen now too.

Miss you guys, fell off the thread and off Mumsnet due to family stuff and a recent death, and then came back on for distraction this evening and found myself arguing about the validity of pet grief with a bunch of posters who seem to think pets are replaceable and not comparable to human relationships - not the case for me and my fluffy familiars!

One day I will learn that this thread is my favourite part of mumsnet and stay away from the arguments 😂

Sorry I am so consistently intermittent, life is a lot right now but I keep hoping it'll calm down!

Theordinary, that's great news, ancient places are a huge interest for me, as I said, the Megalithic Portal is a fantastic resource for all sorts of info and covers sites worldwide. Northern Earth is well worth a look for its wide and different approach to ancient places, lore etc.
https://northernearth.co.uk/

hilariousnamehere and everyone in general, never worry about not appearing here, we love to see everyone when they can pop in to say hi as a desire.

There's nothing worse than being expected to attend an event regularly so you only go because you feel you should and don't really want to.

Our Witches Kitchen is open 24/7 and we welcome your presence whenever you want to drop in.

We practise what we call The Eights which is at 8am and 8pm daily. We light a candle and either send peace and calm to whoever joins in and if anyone's in need, they can draw on our collective strength* *particularly at those times for support, no communication necessary.

Edited the phone's creative "a client places" to my original wording "ancient places"

@BlankTimes thanks for the link, I'm going to have a look. We've got some ancient stones about 30 mins from where I live in the South East. They hold Pagan rituals around the Wheel of the Year. I might pop along one day. I really love the idea of The Eights.
Hello @hilariousnamehere .Sorry to hear you've lost your pet. We lost our 7 year old cat suddenly in the summer. We were all heartbroken too. We're actually planning to visit the grave on the Autumn Equinox. It was my DD's idea. It was just something she wanted to do so we're going to leave some flowers or something on the grave like we did when we buried her. They really are part of the family and you miss them so much. Even now my daughter forgets she's not here anymore.

@hilariousnamehere , I am sorry about your pet. They are a part of your family and a loss hurts.

I have also not been on because I have been trying to only post when I have positive things or energies to add. I felt I was often too negative when on here. Then I thought about it some more and realised that, actually, of all the people on MN, you all are the most supportive and capable of handling when others have difficulties.

Start with the good things: DD2 has had a good start to secondary school, my tomato plants are bending with the weight of the best crop I have ever had, I finally managed to grow basil properly and DS has advanced so much in his swimming that I can start teaching him strokes.

But as far as school goes, it's fallen apart with DD1. The school completely breached our trust and hers after which we discovered she was miserable there and had been soldiering on. So we have removed her because we can't send her somewhere we don't trust.

I already have DS home and learning happily for other reasons. This is an enormous plan change that I wasn't expecting. Though I should have really. DH never got on with school so why shouldn't a proportion of his kids be the same?

I guess I would like to ask for some positivity and support in my direction.

@BlankTimes thank you!

Oh no @ISaySteadyOn and @Theordinary that'll teach me to post late at night 🙈 my kitties are very much alive and well thank goodness!

Family death I mentioned was my uncle last week but was waffling about pet loss because I'd just posted on a different thread. sorry loves but thank you - and sorry for your loss @Theordinary , I still grieve for my little childhood pup and he died almost twenty years ago! They really are part of the family.

Just made me realise that this thread is always supportive and never argumentative even when we have different opinions and that seems so rare online these days!

Have a magical day and here's a photo of my fluffy familiars as tax for being incoherent 😂

I'm sorry about your uncle then.

Sorry for the loss of your uncle. Gorgeous cats. They look very chill 😍

@ISaySteadyOn , I've just read your last post. Just wanted to add some solidarity and send some positive thoughts your way. My children have both struggled so much with school (I'm on another group on here) My daughter couldn't attend for the last few months of year 11 and completed bombed her GCSEs... my son is so anxious every day and although he goes into school I worry about him constantly. Both Neurodiverse but wonderful human beings. Life is stressful at times. I think this is a nice place for support. Sending you some positive energy x

Any chance you could PM me about the other group? We keep trying and, honestly, it's a good thing I am a SAHM so can accommodate them. We're an ND family which can sometimes be especially hard.

And, of course, my DC are amazing people who I love to bits. So there's that positive.

Good evening all, just thought I'd share a picture of my sunset and moonrise walk with Madame Terrier tonight. We wandered amongst some ancient stones and just marvelled at mother nature in our own ways.

Lovely pics MistyMoonlight.
I have been putting Nature's autumn bounty to good use. Plum cake made,apples stewed and frozen,an elderberry glycerate underway and an elderberry and blackberry syrup also on the go.
Tomorrow i will start a cherry bark tincture by stripping and drying the green bark from some cherry branches in the garden. This,combined with the glycerate,will make a soothing cough syrup.
Elderberries are fiddly wee buggers to work with. My witchy fingers are stained purple.

Elderberries - I read somewhere if you put the bunches in the freezer, they are easy to strig.

I have purple fingers too @Hedjwitch, I've been picking elderberries for the sheep and horses to give them a boost. I should dry them, and rosehips really to feed throughout winter, but they do love a feast of fresh pickings

Welcome, @Theordinary, I'm new here too and it's lovely to see new people continuing to join! How lovely for your daughter to have a supportive parent! I'm sure it will be a special experience to discover and learn together.

Beautiful pictures @MistyMoonlight, that looks like a lovely spot for walking! Very reflective and atmospheric.

@Hedjwitch you've been hard at work by the sounds of it! It seems like you're very skilled

Did anyone catch Ronald Hutton's lecture on modern paganism on Wednesday? If not, I'd highly recommend it - he did an admirable job of outlining the different branches of modern pagan belief systems as well as a rather moving rendition of the Charge of the Goddess and some excellent dispelling of myths and misconceptions about the faith and its practice. I would especially recommend it to anyone reading this thread who is curious about paganism but knows little about it/is struggling to wade through the literature and find their way around the different belief systems. The lectures are available for free on Gresham College's website (I think they also have a YouTube channel). This was the first of a series that he's giving on modern paganism throughout this academic year, and I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of them!

I've been to my first group ritual this week and really enjoyed it! It was facilitated by a Wiccan coven who were brilliant and there was a great turnout - about 50 people which I wasn't expecting. Really looking forward to Mabon this weekend, I think it's actually my favourite sabbat. This is my favourite time of year when the leaves are starting to change, the weather is getting cooler but still not fully cold and there still plenty of mild, sunny days. The nights are drawing in so it's getting darker and cosier and there's an introspective, even slightly melancholic/nostalgic atmosphere in the air (at least for me anyway). Only natural I suppose as the veil is thinning and the balance is tipping towards the darker half of the year. Just my musings again! Hope you all have a great weekend and a wonderful Mabon 🍂 🍎 🍁

Just flying by for a quick visit,
Life has been busy this week, some good things, some not so good, all requiring my time and energy. I have been reading all the posts here daily it has been a good grounding spot for me, but I have been too scattered or pushed for time to post.
Off again out this morning after a disturbed sleep, hopefully I will find some calm this afternoon.
Sending support to all my sisters.

Mabon weekend blessings, all. I think this is a lovely Sabbat and a lovely liminal time of year - my late mum loved it, too.

I’m at a therapy training weekend so not much opportunity to be outside. There have been some evening strolls, though.

Mabon blessings all!

Finally catching up after quite an absence. For those who remember - the car keys were found a week later by a stranger, so happy ending ☺️
Life has been hectic, esp work, I inherited two more "departments" (I say departments, but really they are unstaffed so I'm supposed to make it work on my own, alongside the three others I already have). Not complaining, I wanted it and accepted gladly, but anxious I will fail just because of the lack of time. Said that, last week I went for a sound healing meditation and the lady always pulls an oracle card for us at the end - mine was Priorities, and all about learning to say No. so fitting. I'll see how it goes but will have to reassess and choose my path.
On Thursday we took DS to the local farm where an Astronomical group organised a guided Harvest moon walk. I really enjoyed it - very peaceful and grounding, and the weather was lovely.

@ISaySteadyOn I said it before but I will say it again - any parent devoting their time to educate their children at home is a superhuman in my eyes. It's a mammoth task and you are doing such an amazing job doing what's right for all your DC. Lots of support xx

Just remembered, I forgot to buy pumpkin/squash for the first pumpkin soup of my favourite season, so will need to venture out again. As of last year I decided Mabon is the right time for the first one, and breaking the "tradition" after one year wouldn't do 😅