MagickalEnchantments

P.S. As you can see in the pictures below I also invested in some new bottles for my creations. I love these new colored bottles!

Here are some pictures of some of my new additions:

Butterly Car Charm

Blue Moon for Men

Sacred Oak for men



Grief and Sorrow Oil




Jealousy Oil

My Witchlet and I picked the winner of the Custom Spirituality Kit winner on New Years Day. I am sorry it took me a bit to post the winner, however without further ado.
Blessed Be,
Kat

Greetings to all. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I have to say that I am relieved to be able to get back to normal. The stress of the holidays is so draining!
I first want to remind everyone that you have less then a week to enter my latest giveaway for the Custom Spirituality Kit. Please remember that to be eligible you have to be a follower of my blog, you have to blog or tweet about the giveaway as well as telling me why this is a good giveaway for you.
With that said, I would like to tell you about my new items that I am sooo excited about as well as the work I recently did on my besom. I recently participated in a trade with a wonderful ETSY seller. Her shop is called EarthWrappedJewelry. I am in the middle of creating for her a Custom Spirituality Kit and in return she created some lovely items for me.
The 1st item is a beautiful Natural Quartz Druzy Geode Necklace.

This natural druzy geode slice is one of Mother Nature's finest. Light, white & yellow agate, with tiny quartz crystals. Mineral deposits are also visible. This druzy geode has lots of sparkle. Weaved with .999 Fine Silver wire on a Sterling Silver frame and comes on an 20" silver chain.




My second item is a Quartz Crystal Weaved Pendant with Amethyst Accents.
A large Quartz Crystal 45mm X 9mm x 7mm has been weaved with .999 fine silver. Small Amethyst rondelles have been added and really accent this crystal.


My third item is a Rainbow Moonstone Sterling Silver Pendant.
This beautiful Rainbow Moonstone has been weaved with a basket of fine silver. Stone is 10mm.


She also wire wrapped a lovely silver ring with an aqua marine bead. You can see this in the pics below.
The craftsmanship in EarthWrappedJewelry's items is unparallel. Each item is enchanting and magickal. They are all lovely additions to my metaphysical jewelry collection.
If you would like to check out her other wares please visit the link below.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthWrappedJewelry

I also decided that my trusty Besom needed a makeover. I have been thinking about it since I posted that blog about the use of besoms and how we Witches tend to neglect them at times. I have been guilty of that but no more! I put a lot of thought into this and finally decided to get to work. Once I decided what I wanted to do I got to work.

I am pleased to offer to my blessed followers a new giveaway. I wanted to give away something really special for the new year to one of you. I decided to start off the new year with my biggest giveaway yet.

And the winner of the Winter Solstice Swag is a new follower by the name of:
Talullahsworld!
Many thanks to all who entered and I will have another giveaway soon so stay tuned...:)
Magickal Blessings to all for a magickal Yule.
The Celtic Witch

Note~Picture shown in a new item I added to my store yesterday. It is a trio bracelet set of amethyst and metallic beads. Really cute if you would like to check it out.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/magickalenchantments

Juniper and spice, and everything nice. That is what you will be getting with my latest giveaway.
My Witchlet and I had a busy weekend creating. Saturday was a rainy day here in New England so we spent the day drying apples, oranges and lemons. We sprinkled the apple slices with a blend of cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon before baking. We put them on wire racks on top of a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven for two hours. They came out perfect and my house smelled fabulous all day!
We also strung cranberries and wired them into hearts and circle shapes for ornaments.

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day so we grabbed our collecting bag and headed to the park. Our collection bag is one of those green bags you buy for the market so you do not use the plastic bags. I have tons of those so we turned one into our collection bag. In this bag we have two pairs of scissors, a marker, two small glass jars with tops, and paper lunch sacks. This bag is great and having the separate bags allows us to collect and label our goodies.
We collected juniper, pine, pine cones, berries, grapevine twists, and acorns. We were at the park for about 3 hours and we had a wonderful time my Witchlet and I. It was a peaceful day and we even saw a little baby chipmunk with his little cheeks fat with nuts.
After our collecting we went for lunch at Burger King, Bella's choice, not mine..:)
Of course driving home I felt this tickling on my neck and pulled a lovely bug off of myself. It is amazing that I didn't get into an accident with the screaming and checking myself while driving for other members of the bugs family that were in my mind making a home in my scalp! Luckily it was only a 3 minute drive to Burger King where I almost stripped naked in the parking lot checking for bugs.
When we got home we soaked our acorns and pine cones in hot soapy water and scrubbed them clean. I also cleaned off the pine and juniper with lukewarm water.
Once our goodies were dry we created these lovely Winter Solstice Swags.
I created three, one for my shop, one for me, and one for the winner of this giveaway.
Your Winter Solstice Swag is made up of Pine and Juniper for it's base. I then added three cinnamon sticks, acorns, and pine cones. At the top is a spiced dried apple slice with a dried lemon slice and a lovely metallic bead in the center. I added a green crescent moon, a green star, and a gold star, which I glued on in different places on the swag. At the very top is a bow of green ribbon with a lovely green lamp work bead in the center.
The total piece measures about 10 inches long give or take.
This piece smells lovely and would make a lovely addition to your holiday decor.

Here are the magickal meanings of the objects in your Winter Solstice Swag:
Acorn:
Plenty, prosperity, good luck, birth, patience, and fruitfulness.

Cinnamon:
The masculine principle, power, love, spirituality, success, wealth, and healing. Associated with the Sun, and the element of fire.

Clove:
Strength, courage, and protection. Associated with Jupiter and Uranus, and the element of fire. Used in magical works for cleansing, protection, to bring prosperity, and to keep away negative forces.

Juniper:
Courage, protection, purity, and confidence. Associated with the planet Mercury.

Lemon:
Harvest, passion, discretion, luck, uplifting, energy clearing, and pride. Associated with the Sun. Said to bring protective spirits.

Pine:
Honesty, strength, fertility, generosity, silence, hope, solitude, and immortality. Pines cones were carried to increase fertility and for longevity. Pine needles have been burned as an incense to purify and cleanse. Branches were placed over beds to keep sickness away. Associated with the planet Mars and the element of air.
Pine Cone have been powerful, and ancient, symbols of Eternal Life

Apple:
Love, fertility, divination, luxury, knowledge, and romance. The apple has been associated with sexuality in most cultures.
Celtic: Fruit of knowledge, prophecy, and magic. The Silver Bough. The ancient Celts believed the apple had strong magic powers. It is also associated with the Other world. In many Celtic myths, people who travel to the Isles of Women and enter the Land of promise are met by a beautiful woman who carries an apple branch and promises to grant them their heart's desire. The apple was used to symbolize the goal of a quest.

To be eligible to win this enchanting Winter Solstice Swag you must:
1. Be a follower of my blog.
2. Comment on this post.
3. Tweet or blog about this giveaway and leave me the link to wear you have done so.
4. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.

Thanks to all and good luck!

Last night I grabbed one of my old Magical Almanacs to read. I love my Magical Almanacs and I have them going back to 1999. They are filled with information on various areas of the craft and I never lack for reading material.

The article that I opened up to was one about brooms and how we Witches often overlook how effective they are in magic. I am also guilty of this and tend to save my broom for magical house cleanings and for clearing my sacred space. Shame on me however, I should know better. A broom is so much more than that. After all, we Witches are known for having magickal brooms so why aren't we using them more?

The broom itself functions as a symbol of the sacred marriage of the God and Goddess, a rite that has been symbolically reenacted each spring by followers of earth religions for thousands of years. The pole portion represents the phallus of the God, and the bristles symbolize the mound of Venus that guards the opening to the Goddesses reproductive organs. When both parts are united in a completed broom they form a potent magical symbol of wholeness and creative potential.

This sexual imagery makes the broom the perfect choice for a magical tool to use in fertility rites of all sorts. It is also used at the conclusion of many Pagan marriages (called Handfastings) as the couple "jumps the broom" after exchanging their final vows.

In the distant past women would ride their brooms hobbyhorse style over newly tilled fields to encourage growth, and through barns and pasture lands to encourage the reproduction of animals.

Because brooms represent the totality of the deity-both male and female aspects- they have been used as talismans of protection. They have been placed under beds, across entryways and windows, at the entrances to sacred space, and they have stood guard at hearth sides.

The sweeping action of the broom itself, its ability to cleanse any area through which it is taken and to take whatever debris it collects to someplace else, is so obvious that the magical potency of this simple action is to often overlooked.

In the article I read last night which was written by Edain McCoy, she tells us about a well-to-do Irish lass named Alice who owned a magic broom that got her into big trouble.

A seventeenth century Irish widow named Dame Alice Kyteler knew the secret of the broom, and was apparently adept at using it to good effect until she was caught in the act and condemned to death for practicing Witchcraft.

Alice loved her children and was willing to use magic to help them succeed. She would take her broom out into the streets of her native Kilkenny late at night and begin a methodical sweeping action that was aimed toward her home. While doing this she would chant a magical rhyme in which she bid all the wealth in town to come to her eldest son William who lived with her.

No one knows just how long the very prosperous Alice had been working at this spell when she was discovered by a neighbor and reported as a Witch, but we do know that she was able to escape her persecutors and flee to England with most of her considerable wealth in tact.

Do you think she used her broom to escape her persecutors? I like to think so..:)

With the economy the way it is, I expect all of you to grab your besoms this evening when the moon is high and start your methodical sweep to bless your home with prosperity. You know that I will be out there!

So my fellow Witches, grab your brooms and start using them like they want to be used...:)

Brightest Blessings,

The Celtic Witch

Note, I would also like to add that especially at the holiday season our homes get bogged down with stress and negative energy. This is supposed to be the season of good will.

A good way to cleanse your home of negativity is to grab your broom and starting at your front door move in a clock wise motion through your home sweeping out all negativity. Be sure to get under beds and all closets and corners. While you sweep you can chant something like this or use your own words:

"Sweep, Sweep,

With this broom.

All bad out of this room.

Sweep, Sweep,

All good in.

The bad to never return again."

Be sure your magickal broom never actually touches the floor. Keep in mind that this is a spiritual cleaning and should be done after your regular cleaning for maximum effect.

Yesterday was the Rhode Island Pagan Pride Day and I stopped in for a bit intending to treat myself with a little something. Last year I was a vendor however this year I did not participate as a vendor but I didnt want to miss out on the day.
It was a beautiful day weather wise, the sky was blue, there was a nice breeze, and the energy floating around the event was wonderful. I got their early when they 1st opened at 10 am. Last year they gave away goody bags with samples but apparently there weren't any this year..:(.
While going through the stands I came across a Tarot deck that I have been wanting since its recent release. The Tarot of The Sweet Twilight. I purchased this from The Silver Willow which can be found in Rehoboth, MA. Their website is www.thesilverwillow.com. They have a wonderful assortment of Pagan items and the owners are warm and friendly.
The Sweet Twilight is a beautiful deck from Lo Scarabeo featuring the artwork of Christina Benintende. This deck is like no other I have owned or seen. The images on each card are enchanting. They invite you into a world full of mystery and beauty. While some of the images do have the key symbols, others do not making it a perfect deck for the intuitive reader.
The box that the deck comes in has the following poem by W.B.Yeats:
Out-worn heart, in a time out-worn,
Come clear of the nets of wrong and right:
Laugh heart again in the great twilight,
Sigh, heart, again in the dew of the morn.


I look forward to performing readings with this lovely and truly one of a kind deck.
I also purchased some new crystals. Two beautiful large chunks of rose quartz, a selenite tower, and two crystals to add to my Witchlets crystal collection. For her I purchased a lovely midnight blue goldstone in a heart shape and a pretty bunny carved from soapstone. She loved them both.
I came to see that my best purchase was my Selenite tower. Although I have a large collection of crystals I have never owned Selenite before. This crystal resonates with energy and is said to help one connect with their higher self and to become aware of our own divinity. It has many uses for healing and magick however the one I learned quickly was it's ability to aid with dream recall. I am someone that has trouble remembering my dreams and only once in a while will one stick with me till the morning. I am also a very deep sleeper and once I fall asleep I sleep like a rock till the morning. Last night I placed my selenite on my headboard shelf right above my pillow. Let me tell you, I awoke last night about 3 times from dreams! How I wish I had thought to place my journal next to me! I was to tired to get up and get it and of course I didn't remember them this morning. I look forward to working more with this crystal. It is said that Selenite was a healing tool in Atlantis. It can be used to scry into the past, present and future. Past life regression are also assisted with selenite. It increases sensitivity, greater insight, psychic development, mental clarity, and removes blockages. It is said to be perfect for accessing ancient knowledge. How did I only now purchase this wonderful crystal? Perhaps I was not ready for its power and now I am.
I also purchased Llewellyn's 2010 Witches Spell a Day Almanac, The Llewellyn's Sabbats Almanac for 2010, and The Witches Almanac for 2010. The Witches Almanac is based right here in Newport Rhode Island. Nice bunch of guys running that table. I can’t wait to start receiving their newsletter. Go check out their site at www.thewitchesalmanac.com.
I try to purchase these almanacs every year as they are full of wonderful stories, recipes, crafts, and lore. The Sabbats Almanac is a great almanac with crafts, lore, and recipes for each Sabbat. A definite addition to every Witches book supply. I personally love books and can’t get my hands on enough of them, especially older additions of anything related to the old ways.
I would also like to give a shout out to a local seller right here in my hometown of Johnston, R.I. Here name is Liz and she creates some wonderfully organic items. Liz is a certified herbalist and is friendly and more than happy to answer questions with her wealth of herbal knowledge. Check her out at www.mywickedgarden.com
So, those were my treasures from Pagan Pride day.
Wishing everyone a great week.
The Celtic Witch

The winner of the Floral Spice Giveaway is Bridgett! Bridgett writes a lovely Holistic Blog if you would like to check out her writings..

I have a wonderful old book called "Circle Round, Raising Children in Goddess Traditions"
The Authors goal for this book is to support families building their own spiritual tradition, by bringing you celebrations, explanations, activities, and the experiences of other families. The author’s definition of families being loving people who join together in the hard and important work of raising children. Children and families need love and support. The goal of this book is to offer these things.

I thought I would share this short story that can be used as a Samhain Guided Meditation for yourself, your children or perhaps as a guided family meditation or story.
So grab a cup of tea and sit for a spell...

Circle round, close your eyes and imagine...
It is late at night on Halloween, and you are very excited. All evening long you've been out, dressed up in costumes, collecting candy and apples and other treats from the houses in your neighborhood. Now you are quiet. It is time to go to sleep, but you can feel the magick in the air.
"Do we have to go to sleep?" you say.
"Tonight is a night for magick dreams," say the old ones.
"Set out an apple for Grandfather Deer, and maybe he will take you someplace."
You choose your best apple and set it out on the windowsill for Grandfather Deer. Then you lie down and close your eyes.
Now the room is filled with an earthy, animal smell. Open your eyes, and before you stands the glowing spirit of Grandfather Deer, the oldest and wisest stag in the forest, with many branching antlers he wears proudly on his head.
“Hop on my back, and I will take you someplace" he says.
You climb on his back, and hold tight to his antlers. He moves so swiftly and smoothly, you feel like you are flying, out of the house, over the tops of the trees, out past the streets and the cars, out into the spirit world of swirling color.
At last you come to a sandy beach by the shore of a dark ocean. You are not afraid, even though you can’t see much in the dark.
Get down off my back," Grandfather Deer says. "I cannot take you any farther. Now you must go on by boat."
You slide down off Grandfather Deer's back, and thank him. A boat glides across the water and you hear the crunch of sand under the keel as it reaches the beach.
"Do you wish to ride in my boat?" says a voice. You can’t see anyone, but you know the voice is magic because it sounds different to everyone who hears it. Some hear a woman’s voice, some hear a mans. Some hear a child or an animal or a bird.
What do you hear?
"Do you wish to visit the Shining Isle across the Sunless Sea?" the voice says.
"Yes," you say.
"Then you must pay me something."
"But I don’t have any money, I’m only a kid," you say. And you left all your candy at home.
"I like stories better than money or candy," says the voice. "Tell me a story about something you have done that was hard for you to do."
What story do you tell?
"Climb into the boat," says the voice.
You climb aboard, and the boat slips away from shore. It moves silently over the dark water.
In the distance, something shines. Slowly it grows bigger and brighter. You begin to smell something very sweet on the air, something that reminds you of fruit and flowers.
Now you see the shining thing is an island in the distance that grows bigger as you approach. On the shore are beautiful trees and flowers that shine with a light of their own.
"Who lives on that island?" you ask.
"The beloved dead, and the unborn," says the voice.
"Am I dead?" you ask.
"No. Tonight is Halloween, the only night of the year when the living can visit this island."
The boat reaches the shore, and the sand scrapes under its keel.
"Thank you, thank you!" you say, jumping off and wading through shallow water to the shore.
You step up onto the shore of a magick land that looks different to every person who comes here. You see the most beautiful place you can imagine, and just the sort of place you like best, whether it’s a valley or mountains, or a beautiful garden or a beach or a warm house. Someone is there to greet you, an ancestor, someone who loves you very much.
Who is it?
Is it someone you know and miss and remember, or someone you have never met before? Or is it someone you have met in a dream?
You play for along time, and at last, when you get hungry and thirsty and tired, an old, old woman appears. She is so old her face is covered with wrinkles, but her eyes are so bright they glow like two big round moons. At her feet is a big, round iron pot, a cauldron, and she is stirring something in it with a big wooden spoon, around and around and around.
You go close to the cauldron and look inside. At first it seems dark, but then you notice thousands of tiny, glowing lights, like little stars. Around and around and around they swirl, until you get a little dizzy watching them.
"Those are the souls of the dead," the old woman says. "And they are also the souls of the unborn. In my cauldron, I brew them back into life. Would you like to taste my brew?"
She holds out her spoon and puts one drop of her brew on your tongue. It tastes like the best thing in the world you can imagine. Just one drop is enough to leave you perfectly satisfied. You look into her eyes again and realize she is the Goddess.
"Remember this taste," she tells you, "whenever you are afraid or have to do something hard. It will give you strength and courage. But now it is time to go."
Sadly you say goodbye to the Goddess, to your ancestor, to everyone you have met here on the Shining Isle. You walk slowly back to the shore. A whole year will pass before you can visit here again, but you will remember your ancestor, and maybe in your dreams you will meet again.
At the shore the boat waits for you. You step inside and feel the scraping of the keel on the sand as it pushes off across the dark, dark waters of the Sunless Sea.
On the opposite shore Grandfather Deer waits. You smell his warm, animal smell and the rich smell of the moist earth. Now the boat reaches the shore again, and you thank the magic person who has guided the boat for you. You jump out, splashing through shallow water. and hop onto Grandfather Deer’s back.
Again you fly through the swirling colors of the spirit world, back over the treetops and the streets, to your own house again. You thank Grandfather Deer as you slide down from his back and feed him his special apple. Then you curl up to sleep, warm and safe in your own bed.~

Last night I made my 1st attempt at making a wire wrapped ring. I have been wanting to make one for so long and have not got around to it. However yesterday I tucked a piece of Labradorite in my head scarf so it rested right at the crown of my head and had a very creative day.
If you have never tried using crystals in this way, give it a try. I also tuck them into my bun or ponytail when I am not wearing a head scarf, which I usually am. If there are no crystals hiding in my hair, chances are they are tucked into my bra. I use crystals on a daily basis for many different types of needs from headaches, to prosperity, to anxiety, to creativity. You name it and there is a crystal that can aid you with it. I am lucky enough to have a very large supply of different types of crystal at my home as I have been collecting them for years.
ok, On to the ring..:)
I would love to hear your thoughts on this piece. Next time I am going to make the band a bit wider. I used Peridot as it is a wonderful crystal for healing, prosperity, and calming anger and anxiety. It is a lovely crystal that has a lovely hue to it.
I added a silver spiral goddess charm to the center. She is decorated on both sides so no matter which way she turns she looks lovely. She is around a size 7 1/2.

I also would like to say Greetings to my new followers! Thank you for taking the time to read and follow my blog! Best of luck to everyone who entered the Floral Spice Giveaway, I will be picking a winner this week! Also, the winner is picked at random. All names are placed into a bowl and my youngest usually picks the winner.
Thanks for all your blogs and tweets, much appreciated!
Brightest Blessings to all!