Fear the copper pennies!

I may be delusional, but I think Autumn may have more than a two week shelf life out here this year. The evening is chilled enough for me to think that a long sleeve is a good idea and that strange 'cold clarity' that comes with that chill is slowly rising out of a mirage stricken pavement.

My ancestor working beads came in and I quickly went to work making ancestor connection talismans. The first one goes to my witchling who is actively learning to walk in a 'crooked' manner. The rest go out from Odd soon to seek others ready to do the work. Samhain feels thick this year. I know that sounds like a paradox, but I think I have pin pointed the feeling upon review of the situation. It's plain old 'I'm addicted to fear and if I can't have real fear I'll make some.' Really there are loads of people who make their weather and cry about the rain. That's all this is. It's like grow up class got skipped or something.

I have been at least observant of the pagan online community for quite some time *shudder* and every single year as the equinox rolls through there is this crazy voice decrying how evil we are for praying over candy in spite of the fact that they pray over candy as well. Quite frankly, I am nauseated to boredom on this subject but I dare not take my eyes off of fanatics lest they do the standard desperate we are right and if we are not we will crash the plane in spite thing. True story. . . it happens.

So my solution to all this insanity is to pray over the candy. EVERY BLASTED SINGLE BAG OF IT I COME ACROSS!  Yesssssssss! Even and ESPECIALLY the candy corn because I'm a bitchy faced witch right now. If the fanatics are going to bang the fear mongering drum as loud as they possibly can with out-right bullshit and lies, then I will pray for the safety and preservation of common sense within the innocents they attack. We have seen this behavior in other aspects as well. Remember the Texas Gov's The Response??? Or how about the renaming of the States (my favorite was Throw Jezebel From a Wall State: New Jersey) and reclaiming the District of Columbia as the District of Christ because if it isn't properly Christian  ( in their fanatic eyes) it must be of absolute profane evil. . . like the rest of the world doesn't exist or something like that. . . really children??? . . stop throwing sand in the sand box or you'll get sand in your eyes too.

So here goes:

Holy Mother, 
Divine hand of Providence, I pray that you bless those who receive these sweets be endowed with your grace, protection from the profane, an open eye of wisdom so true discernment may happen, a will to call the hypocrites out on the harmful bullshit as bullshit, and stand firm in their assessment with resolve to move forward toward love. 

Ho O'pono pono Amene


Yes I know. . . it's not the Maleficent I originally intended ( lucky everyone). I actually talked myself out of the Victor style praying tree. . . but there's always next year. Pray I do not alter the magic. Yes go ahead, fear the copper pennies you find in the candy display bins if you want, but if you are smart, you'll pick it up and make a wish.

Magic Chore Whoring and the paradox of war water

Calendula oil, four thieves vinegar,  gardenia oil, rose water.
From left to right.

As I have been making my way through the Elements and working with their Guardians, I have found Magic Chore Whore list shifting. Now that the sizzle, bubble and hiss part of the transition from fire to water has subsided into a nice warm simmer, I have settled into brewing some of my favorite items which include things like war water, rose water, four thieves vinegar, and new on the list: gardenia and calendula oil. Well, no war water brewing is necessary right now. I have a nice jar of starter sitting in the fridge so it's the other things that I am preoccupied with. I am also preoccupied with the idea of where am I gonna get fresh Jacaranda flowers from this season. I have dried and I will use it if I have to but I prefer the fresh blossom for brewing. ( yes, I have plans to plant my own frakking Jacaranda tree so this won't be a question any more.)


Yes I know, and yes I did hear the gasp when I mentioned war water. War water most popularly used as a cursing item, is not exactly what you think it is, or even when I thought it was when I first ran across it several years ago. I did a bunch of asking around and reading on the subject and became very frustrated that all seemed to be finding was curse mentions. I was relieved of my frustrations after an email conversation with the lovely Judika Illes. My first contact with war water was in a vision during my training of a ritual to invoke the blessings and protection of Krom into soldiers who were being deployed to war. I saw the ritual very clearly being performed by Krom himself on a soldier he favored. This person is not known to me, but I was very honored to be 'there' to witness the blessing. What Judika said about the war water was that the formula predates Hoo Doo and was used by a people who viewed Aries/ Mars as more than a blood thirsty hostile God. He was a father, he was an excellent provider and even better protector. I am sure there were as many aspects to this divine persona as humans tend to have multiplied up to the level of divinity. When I first ran into the war water use outside the cursing arena, I did indeed scratch my head while Krom looked at me with a twinkle in his eye that begged me to go on a digging expedition. Anyway, this is me digressing. . .


Krom and Aries/ Mars are in no way related to each other. Different Gods, different personalities and energies. They do share attributes such as protection and providence for their devotees. It makes sense now to me that Krom would show me that there is more to war water than scratching on the surface would reveal. He also made it very clear that there is a difference in formula depending on what you have in mind for this brew, but the starter brew is always the same: one really rusty nail in a jar of water to create a muddy red base: iron water. That spoke to me on another level. In my tradition, we hold iron in high regard. Our bodies carry enough iron to create a nail, an iron pentacle meditation/ trance working is used to clear and balance our mind body spirit relationships. Iron in my mind's eye is completely relevant to the human condition. Without it, we become ill and die. It made no sense to me when I began doing homework on it that it was solely for cursing. I had learned and had kept closely in my head the adage: curse and cure often times grow on the same vine. It had to be true with this as well. So off to play in the wicked garden I went.


Years later, I still use war water blessings. I use it on my thresholds to protect my family and guests. During troublesome times I have snuck it into my washer while laundry is going ( a few drops in the water will do it) I also use it around the perimeter of my house at the quarters to not just protect my household but I ask for the blessings of providence. To date, I have yet to use it as a curse materia, but I have used it in many other things including my bath water.

war water starter is best stored in refrigerator.
If it grows mold, just throw the whole thing away
and start from scratch.

War water starter


1 iron nail
sterilized jar with tight lid
water


place the nail in the jar, add water, replace lid, put in fridge and wait. It will take time to get a nice red muddy water and it's important to occasionally shake the jar. 


Blessings add ins:
once you have a nice muddy base it's time to mix your water in a separate jar.  
3 TBS war water/ cup of water.
patchouli
oak moss
1 balm of gilead pod
3 drops pine essential oil
3 drops of patchouli ess. oil
3 drop of cinnamon ess. oil


shake it up and ask of the Gods to bless it however you see fit. You can use this right off the bat, but aging it increases potency.


Now back to my water themed magic chore whoring!

Chasing stars

It used to be called star metal. A gift from the heavens sought after in ages past for tools, weapons, and even spiritual connection to the larger universe our planet spins within. These days it is still sought out but  by a different type of explorer: the scientist, spiritual seeker, the profiteer. It's value however has remained. Meteorites contain the otherworldly resonance that can only come from the outer dark; a place where a soul can go into darkness and find their light.

I originally obtained my meteorite to use in an oil I create devoted to the Star Goddess. I soon learned for myself what the vender was talking about when she said "special care." On the physical plane, if you leave a meteorite out with no finger oil contact it tends to tarnish and oxidize. That means that daily contact with finger oils is a requirement. I found myself sticking it in my pocket and carrying it around with me as a fetish of sorts when it's not steeping in oil to brew. I discovered other things as I went along in my journey with a meteorite in my pocket. I found myself learning to quickly move from one foot to the other. In my tradition and in many others, being a witch with shamanic tendencies requires that you straddle two worlds, a foot in each and weight carefully balanced over them.

I also discovered that there are very potent protection qualities that reside within this chunk of cosmos drenched metal. I was concerned, at first, that it may be a problem for the fae that I work with. We have all heard the faery/ iron lore. Those fears were put to rest by one of my fae friends and he added that he's never had any issues with my iron knife, why would he have an issue with a star piece? There was also a conversation about where the lore came from. He spoke a bit about repulsion and attraction in logical terms then took a left turn somewhere while he was talking about the paradox of being repulsed and attracted at the same time. Yes, being attracted to something because it repells you??? He further explained that the dynamic comes about be cause star metal reminds them of home and at the same time they are reminded that home no longer exists for them. The anger and resentment that it stirs up is the cause for them being pushed away, of course adding more resentment to the brew. I am not entirely certain of who "them" is when he talks like that, but I am almost certain that I wouldn't want to meet them in a brightly lit area much less a dark alley. All of this lead to another question: so if this object attracts both light and dark beings, how is it considered a protective talisman? He shrugged his shoulders and asked why stars shine and why everyone wants to see what's in the light? I guess it was just his way of saying it's just it's nature. I'll either sort that out or just leave it for what it is: a mystery.

Meteorites still have an avid bunch of seekers for whatever their reasoning is, but I have found my little  star piece to be a potent connection to the Universe at large out there and to God Herself. It's a piece of unfolding mystery in manners I did not expect it to be when I first conceived to chase after stars. If you have the opportunity to obtain a meteorite, do so. Make sure to ask questions like: where was it found and what is it composed of. The answers to those questions may be helpful in learning how to work with the star piece. You can purchase meteorites at some observatories where you will probably get very scientific and accurate physical accounting of your piece or you can go to a gem show and talk with the vender about it. I have found that the venders at gem shows can be very knowledgeable about the stones and other objects they put up for sale. Sometimes you will get extra tips from seekers who gather at the gem shows. If you are very lucky and spend time out of doors on the other side of mankind's hedge, you may find one for yourself.

If you find yourself with a star piece starring at the night sky, know you are in good company, spiritually and physically. You are, after all, carrying a part of the universe in your pocket. The Universe and all the unfolding mysteries within it are suddenly much closer and very possible to experience.