Any Wiccan mums here?

[Disenchanted3]

I'm so glad that someone else just wander through too!

I just put that on and DD was bopping away in her buggy!

this is a very beautiful version

Blessed be

I've never joined a coven or online group or anything, just wandered through like you ladies. I've always felt that this was the right path for me since I was ooh about 12 I think (a long time ago!) and although I rarely do specific 'spells' as such, I use visualisations and journaling every day as a way of helping myself manifest what I would like. I use herbs a lot and old remedies etc. (I've also trained as a reflexologist and Reiki master, and my mum is an aromatherapist so that comes into it a lot).
Regarding a rosemary sachet, yes that would work brilliantly, just cut a square of muslin, put some cleaned rosemary leaves in, tie it up with string or ribbon and pop it wherever you want it. Rosemary is good for perking yourself up and for mental focus, so good for a morning bath. Also anti-bacterial and not very popular with moths so a good one for your wardrobe too.

I'm envious of those of you with supportive DHs, mine thinks it's fine for me to believe whatever I want (and so, I guess, is passively supportive) but is an atheist himself so thinks it's all a load of old cobblers. We live next door to a church though and it does make me smile that if the vicar knew there were a couple of heathens next door he'd probably have us burned ha ha! (Actually, he's a lovely chap and I do pop into church occasionally - I like sacred spaces, whatever denomination, and there's the most amazing, huge old yew tree which feels very welcoming to me.)

Snow, should I dry the rosemary first or put it in fresh? I wonder what else I could put in. My lavender plant has a few heads, so I could use a bit of that. Would be nice to have in the car, I think.

I knwo exactly what you mean about sacred spaces! I like going into churches and the suchlike. It's the peace and feeling of strong belief, even if it isn't your own belief. I think respect for other religions is important (afterall, who knows who is right!!!) so I do like to visit churches occassionally. I think it's important for my son to learn CHristian values and stories too, as I was raised as a Catholic and feel it is the right thing to do.

Wow Chillo, you sound alot like me,

My son is in a Catholic school and he loves the stories and sentements behind it. I believe he can make up his mind when he is old enough as to which 'path' he wants to choose religion wise.

Wicca to me isn't just a religion though, its just a way of being, you are the deity theres no-one telling you to 'go here on this day' and 'do this 4 times a week', its just you.

Well said, Dis. I like to think of it as a way of being, and a way of appreciating the natural too.

Likewise Dis and Chillo, I was raised CofE and don't disbelieve in any of it now, just found that my path chose me, in a way, rather than me consciously deciding what to believe or which path to follow. Best way if you ask me - no-one likes having religion or beliefs forced upon them. I hope my DCs grow up to respect my beliefs, and others', (including their atheist father!) and then decide what they want to believe when they're old enough.

Regarding the rosemary etc, Chillo, probably worth drying it if you can be bothered! Lavender in there too would be lovely. Putting it in the car's a great idea.

Ooh my Amazon order turned up today, my book is called 'The Hedge Witch's Way' by Rae Beth. Anyone read it? Am going to dive in as soon as I get a chance...!

I have heard of it but never read it. Let me know what it's like please.

Hi All

I am a lapsed pagan / wiccan and healer. I do tarot and crystals and Reiki and and and... I won't bore you with all of it!

Dh is very much a 'theoretcial' pagan, very supportive to me. I've gone off on a tangent into mediumship recently, and a lot of weird stuff has been going on, and he has been great.

And any clue as to why my lovely old rosemary bush is dying?
No obvious damage but it's dying bit by bit...

Hi Dino, possibly a very straightforward suggestion this but could it be that your lovely old rosemary bush is rather old?! They don't live forever. Perhaps it's just had its day. Might be worth taking some cuttings so that its children can continue the line, as it were.
Otherwise I'd give it a damn good drink and some general fertiliser if I were you!

Mine is looking a bit manky at the ends. I presumed it was the colder weather coming.
I have some tomato plant food. I wonder if that'll help?
Dippy, please do bore us with it! I'm interested!

I 've bought a tarot book but I seriously doubt I'm blessed with the intuition to read them properly!

I love to get reading though (hint hint dippy)

I'm very excited. It's our 5th wedding anniversary on 30 October (the 31st was a Sunday and we couldn't arrange the ceremony for that date where we wanted to get married).
We're going to Edinburgh and I've just found out about the Samhain parade/festival that they have on 31st! Samhain
Has anyone been to one?

Give it a go, Dis, you never know! I'd love to get into Tarot reading too.

I haven't heard of that, Iklboo, but I shall have a look later.

I've been reading tarot since I was 12, Dis, (I'm 35 on Saturday!) and to be honest if I were to give advice I'd say it's best to just get used to the cards so they feel like they're your friends, and then just practice on willing victims volunteers!

Say whatever occurs to you - obviously you'll be referring to the books etc for the 'traditional' meanings but it's how you apply them to your volunteer's life / situation that really makes a reading valuable, and that's where your intuition comes in. Often the weirdest things pop into your head and you think "I can't say that, that's rude / bonkers / really personal" but when you do, those are often the bits that make people go "Wow, how the f* did you know that?!"
Give it a go! It's not an exact science, and it's meant to be fun!

Dis that's the fab thing about tarot, tarot is very forgiving and provided the person you are reading for understands that you are a beginner and you are going to be looking the cards up in a little book, it's fine. Just pick a deck, buy it and jump in! You will be amazed at the results!

Psychic Knight website is excellent - run by the lovely Michelle Knight. Amazing lady and fantastic at tarot.

Ok so I will bore you guys a bit...

I saw ghosts as a child, no one believed me and told me it was wrong to lie etc etc. I thought I was going loopy. I 'knew' things without knowing how I knew, silly stuff like waht car a complete stranger drove, what number the dice would fall on and things like that. I had a horrible time, terrified every night, poltergeist activity and so on, simply because I was a troubled pre-teen with lots of psychic energy swirling around.

I shut my gift down utterly and rejected it as I grew up.

In my early twenties I had a pagan boyfriend and that seemed to spark things off again... I saw dryads and goblins (I kid you not - and no I didn't do ANY drugs!) and the spirit of a monk at a local wood. (The area is well known for similar sightings, but I didn't know that at the time)

Still this was all obviously bonkers and I still felt that something was wrong with me.

However as I got older I felt more of a pull towards tarot, divination and Reiki. I decided to go for it. I took Reiki attunements, did an Indian head massage course and the more I did, the more my gift 'returned' and the more my relatives who have passed over 'popped in' to visit me. I've always felt this, but I kind of assumed that I was just imagining it to be honest.

Last year I went to a psychic fair and saw a tarot reader / medium who repeated word for word a conversation I had had with a deceased relative, this confirmed to me that I wasn't imagining it, I was 'talking' with my loved ones who had passed over. Now I never feel alone and I know I am loved and supported on both sides of life.

I have now found out that my great grandmother read tea leaves and used playing cards to do tarot. My grandmother was into dream interpretation and was visited by a number of spirits near the end of her life. Seems to me that the gift runs in the family and there's nothing wrong with me at all!

The pagan / wiccan part of me comes from a feeling of connection with the earth and vague memories of a past life (yes I know it's a cliche, I wasn't burnt at the stake but I believe I died while being tortured due to accusations of witchcraft).

I am still a bit about it all...

I am very careful who I tell, most of my friends have no idea!

Dino, your story echoes mine so much - have to run now and pick DS up from nursery so no time to post properly but it's lovely to hear someone's story that's so like mine.

And no, I don't tell many people in real life either, it's nice to be able to do it anonymously yet with like minded souls!

PS no, there's nothing wrong with you, or me, or any of us. On the contrary, I think there's everything right with us! If only the rest of the world saw it that way instead of thinking it's all a bonkers load of cobblers eh?

Wow DippyDino, that's amazing. You have a wonderful gift.

Yes, snowtiger, you're right. If you think about it, any religion could be seen as bonkers.

Ha ha, that made me smile Chillo, you're right, all belief systems are bonkers to those who don't believe them, aren't they?

Dino, I'll qualify what I posted yesterday - never been lucky enough to have any encounters with little people of any sort, but like you, as a child I was always talking to people my parents couldn't see, and was very intuitive. I apparently also had a gift for changing the weather!! I have vague memories of going into a little huddle and doing what I can only describe as visualisation, and lo and behold, the weather would change. Wish I still had the gift now, but my family still call me the Weather Witch!

I was going to say my interest started properly when I was 12 and received some tarot cards for Christmas, but thinking about it, it was always there - hence my parents giving me nicknames that involved the word 'witchy' quite a lot! And for them to buy me tarot cards for Christmas at the age of 12, it must have been pretty much accepted that that was my way by then - it's not the kind of thing I imagine many parents buy their 12 year old for christmas is it.

Life gets in the way though, doesn't it, and although I've always read tarot, done healing work (such as Reiki) and so on, I never seem to have the time to 'practice' properly.

I did a one day course with Gordon Smith, the medium, a few years ago, and found myself receiving some weirdly accurate information and images - but then life took over again with marriage and children, and every now and then I find myself thinking "I'll join a spiritualist circle and see if I do have mediumistic gifts to develop" but the amount of childcare organisation that would take always puts me off! In the meantime, I follow my own witchy way, say my magical prayers of asking and gratitude to the God & Goddess each morning, and that sees me through.

I have a feeling that in later life, when my children are grown up, my psychic / witchy / spiritual life will take over much more, and play a much greater role in my life and work. I'm really looking forward to it!

It's lovely hearing your story Dino, would others share theirs? It's great hearing how everyone's interest was sparked or how we all found our paths!

Dino - I too have a very strong feeling of connection with the earth. When I'm feeling stressed or upset I need to be around trees, plants etc. If I can't get out of the house for some reason I visualise them until I feel calmer.
I love to touch trees and rub their bark. I get a sense of a 'pulse' running through the trunk and feel amazingly calm and happy. Luckily DH doesn't think I'm a total fruitcake. He's admitted himself that he wants to be by the sea when he is feeling stressed.
I also have had episodes of knowing when something is going to happen - who has sent DH a text (that'll be X cancelling her driving lesson, that's your dad etc), I damn near had a tantrum with my nana refusing to go into Manchester town centre on the day of the Woolworth's fire (we would have been in it if we'd gone), refused to go to Chester Zoo one day - we found out later a bear had escaped

I can't tell you how happy I am about this thread

lol at 'barkrubbing', Iklboo!

Snowtiger I have checked with Dh, the rosemary bush is 15years old... I think it may be feeling rather geriatric. I will give it some lovin' and maybe take a cutting if I can...

Thanks for listening / taking time to read my story, makes me feel quite proud! It's like I've 'come out' or something! (In a limited internet type way...)

Wow Dippy your gift sounds wonderful!

I wemt into an antiques shop yesterday and found myself asking if she had a crystal ball - she said no but she had seen an add in the 'loot'

When I got home I did a searcha dn there was one! 3 miles from me, with a full set of tarot cards and books for a tenner!

Am collecting them Sunday. Am very happy

Iklboo are you in Manchester too?