Update on everything that's Brewing...again

Merry Meet all,
Well, the California winter season is in fill swing with all the rain we've had this past week and the cold temperatures for our area. And I've caught the fever, no...I'm not sick or anything, I've caught the fever to restart the Cauldron again. But this time it's just going to be on the web, with a great full time job with benefits, it's really hard to leave that right now with a wonderful new home. Plus with the economy, I don't really have the funds to do a full brick and mortar store at this time. But I've been working on new formulary in my downtime as well as still receiving requests and inquiries about the shop. So I figured, what the hell....I can do the webstore out of the house with a few local events as time permits. So Willow's Crystal Cauldron will live again...at least in cyberspace.

Today is our Annual meeting for Coven of the HarvestMoon, and I'm going to talk to the gang about their thoughts to holding a few public rituals in 2010. So keep tuned to my blog, facebook and my space pages as well as the The Crystal Cauldron yahoogroup e-mail list. More exciting news for 2010 is coming. To everyone, have a Blessed Yule and a Wonderful New Year.

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow
willowharvestmoon@gmail.com

Pennyroyal

I have a lovely plant of Pennyroyal growing in my herb garden, but what I do with it? What are the magickal properties of pennyroyal?~Chelsea

Pennyroyal, another staple for your magickal cabinet. Sacred to Demeter, it was used as an initiatory herb for new devotees during the Elusian Mysteries in Ancient Greece. It aids in understanding reincarnation and rebirth. It's energy helps to direct a positive path towards the rebirth cycle of life. Worn in the shoe, Pennyroyal aids in preventing weariness during travel and helps ease seasickness. Utilize in incenses and sachets for business dealings. Pennyroyal is a peaceful herb. Keep around to quell arguments between couples and friends.

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow
willowharvestmoon@gmail.com

Basil-not just for caprese salad

Hey Willow,

My herb garden is loving the summer heat, and my Basil is out of control! I'm familiar with it's culinary uses, and I know it's a "money" herb, but that's about it....what can I do with it magically?
-A.S.

First off, bring me some so I can make pesto. Basil is a great herb and should be a staple in any Witch's magickal cabinet. Basil's magickal properties include fertility, consecration, purification, love and protection as well as prosperity. The scent of basil will bring harmony to a relationship. I've also recommended to couples to keep the love in your life, sprinkle some basil under your bed or mattress. Basil can be added to water used for purifying your home before unpacking and moving in. It's a wonderful house-warming gift for home blessing and protection. Basil brings courage and strength to a person and keeps their outlook positive even when facing adversity. Basil steeped in a tea aids in astral travel. It's also great for use before ritual in your magickal bath, especially before an initiation ceremony. I always include basil in my prosperity bags.

Remember when working with any herb, energize it and ask for that particular energy you would like to draw from it before using it magickally.

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow
willowharvestmoon@gmail.com

Handfastings

What are the traditions of a handfasting? Faerylight

Handfastings are traditionally a year and day marriage or a trial marriage. Some people come together for just that year and a day, for a lifetime, for eternity or as long as love shall last. Timing is really up to your schedule and personal choice but I always like a handfasting in June, the HoneyMoon month. It's traditional, as a MayDay or around the Beltane Sabbat, many feel it is exclusively reserved for the Lord and Lady's Divine Union alone but as I said, it is your choice. I feel a full or waxing moon is the best energies to work with for a ceremony.
The traditions within a handfasting ceremony can include the blessings of rings. I do this by anointing the rings with orange blossom oil (very traditional scent), charging them with energy and placing them on my wand within my wand box until it's time to give them back to the couple. The lighting of a unity candle or creation of a sand jar are symbolic of the joining of the couple or a family. The very common aspects of the tying of the cords and the jumping of the broom and the sword are staples in any handfasting ritual I perform. The cords, sometimes made by the couples' own hand or supplied by me, is weaved during the new moon before the handfasting date. I choose the new moon energies to insure a fresh start to the couples' new and happy life together. The jumping of the broom and sword represent the home and hearth as well as protecting the spirit of the union.
I love, love, love performing handfastings. It is wonderful to have a front row and center part in the union and joining of two people who are full of love and joy for one another. I have been honored and blessed to have performed 3 handfastings already this year and it seems a few more a croping up on my calendar as well. Always a Priestess, never a Bridesmaid. LOL

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow
willowharvestmoon@gmail.com

Fix on the commenting

Just a quick post..I seem to have had the wrong setting regarding comments on the blog, I fixed that. So comment away, but if you have a question you would like posted to the blog and answered, please e-mail it to me at willowharvestmoon@gmail.com or you can use willow972@yahoo.com as well. I want to give the questions their own attention as a blog entry.
Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow
willowharvestmoon@gmail.com

Lammas Weekend Wrap up

Good morning and Brightest Blessings,
Lammas is a weird time in Southern California. It's not the typical Indian Summer that you picture it to bring but more so it seems to get hotter and hotter and the height of Summer seems to last till Mabon and beyond sometimes. Last evenings ritual was enchanting, timely and reflective. Lillian Morgan is an enchantress when she does ritual. Her ritual voice transforms and takes you to that magickal place where you experience your connective web to all things. My favorite part was during the story of the Dragonfly. When the story came to the part about the warm winds and the Corn Maidens, I felt the breeze turn from cooler to warmer as the Corn Maidens blessed our circle with their presence and touched our shoulders with their warm and tender love. And for just a moment, I felt that familiar Indian Summer grace our sacred space.

The timeliness of this celebration brings us to the astrological aspects of this ritual, the second decan of Leo-Generosity. Krickett lead us in a reflective list that the Great Spirit provides us and we see the generosity of the Universe. We need to remember there are so many wonderful things in the world that we take for granted all too often. What are your generous blessings to be thankful for? Do you raise a toast to the Gods, the Great Spirit, Mother Earth, the Universal Force, to your family and your friends in honor of the gifts they bring to you life everyday?

So post it on your My Space, Facebook, send a text or tell them in person-I am thankful for you.

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow

Lammas Blog

Blessed Lammas everyone. Our coven is celebrating the sabbat this evening at Lillian Morgan's abode. She's planned a wonderful Native American ritual for us. I'll write a post ritual wrap up tomorrow. So, I started this blog to be a Q & A but it seems there are some issues with posting to my blog. After I finish this blog, I will check that issue out. But I received my first blog question. from K Sage..so here it is.

What foods and decorations are standards for Lammas and why? K Sage

Lammas is the first of three of the harvest sabbats. It is the time to view the first fruits of your labors, your plantings and goals in your magickal garden and see how your goals are shaping up. There is still time to make adjustments before the height of the harvest at Mabon. It is the time of the sacrificial God, his blood is spilled so that we may reap our bounty and we offer up our first harvest as a sacrifice to him. Appropriate food and decorations associated with Lammas include
breads, grains, potatoes, summer squash, cider, blackberry pies and jellies, berries, apples, roasted lamb as well as corn dollies, sunflowers, grains, a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables.

Blessed Be from the Tree,
Willow

Happy Tuesday

Great class session last night with some of the advanced students. We did an hour long discussion about chakras and then a wonderful hour long meditation on each chakra with breaks in between to write down or draw a visualization from the meditation. Advanced is tightly scheduled for the next few months so that these students can get thru to their 1st degree initiation by Astrological Samhain on October 6th. But after a few more weeks of Monday classes, everyone will move to Saturday mornings to work as a group to finish out this advanced class.

Ask Away

Brightest Blessing to everyone,
Just wanted to officially post my first blog on Ask Willow. I get lots of questions via e-mail, at classes and rituals about all sort of things pertaining to Wicca and Magick. I've always wanted to have a Q&A website for sharing these queries as I know most of us all have had the same questions in our minds at one point or another while in the course of our studies or while in the company of like-minded folks. So the floor is yours, questions help everyone to learn and grow in their studies, their spirituality, their success and in their lives. Please send your questions to willowharvestmoon@gmail.com and I will post replies and answers and the comments listed will also aid in open discussion and various points of view.

BB,
Willow