These January Nights

What is worth a glance in January is so small, so fleeting, or so grand and impossible, that I seem to either rush by without notice, or stop and stare - and not so much in between.  The white that blankets us here in The Valley can bless an individual plant with an icy, crystalline dress, and at the same time turn a meadow into a vast sort of nothingness.  The endless hills to the north can blend, dull and white, into the low clouds or they can sparkle like evergreen-dotted fairytale castles in the sky when the sun breaks through to shine upon them. The views each day swing wildly from breathtaking to bland.

So too, are the first days-melting-into-weeks of the year. We've finished off or frozen the holiday leftovers and the decorations have come down, leaving everything a little more stark and uninspiring than the opulence of last month.  Yet there is still an excitement about starting a new year - a fresh calendar with 365 open spots for us to fill up with plans and dreams and celebrations.  There is hope for a year sprinkled with achievements and adventure.

I'm not quite ready to give up every last ornament and source of illumination. I need a small amount of festivity.  I like a bit of flickering light on these dark, cold January nights. I've kept back a tiny tree in a bottle - the most miniature Winter vignette.  And there are fir boughs here and there. Soon they will be picked clean for incense making and dreamy oil infusions. There are so many candles too, dancing shapes and shadows up the walls and on to the ceiling.

There is much to do during the day. Aside from the occasional date with the snow shovel, the daily offerings to the birds, and my local coffee shop to haunt, I've got plenty of year-end work to keep me head-down at the office.

The evenings are a different story. The days are lengthening, but the night still has its rule. It offers much time for cooking satisfying meals and gathering up blankets, books, and cats for a good long settling-in. There has been altar work too, and endless, steamy baths.

The rattles have made an appearance during meditation and a perfect little bell, gifted to me by a dear friend, is rung each night. There is so much quiet this time of year (however needed, appreciated) that to invite some moments of sound seems to me to encourage Winter along - not showing it the door just yet, but to let it know that while we are resting, we are also beginning to stir.

What stirs you on deep Winter evenings?  Are you venturing out, or staying in?  Does the new calendar send you bounding into the year ready to take anything on, or do you linger yet around the fire, letting your plans and dreams form as you gaze into your tea cup?

These January nights won't last for long - we are half through them already. I hope the remaining eves give you much pleasure or time for planning - whatever this first month of the year inspires.

Little Witcheries

In my previous post I spoke of the little witcheries that have, over the years, crept into my everyday life.  How it becomes habitual to speak to the garden, chant over the bowl I'm stirring, and draw symbols on doors or mow them into my lawn.  I thought I'd jot a few down here, just for fun, and perhaps you'll find some inspiration or an idea you'd like to try in your own home.

Some habits started out as superstitions or little eccentricities that I've picked up from my family. Throwing spilled salt over your left shoulder, tea and chicken noodle soup as cure-alls, foretelling weather by the color of the sky, and certain seasonal 'tells' that let us know it's time to plant or bring in the last of the harvest before the frost.  Always have a sugar pot out - even if no one uses sugar - just to keep the home sweet.  Always take your shoes off at the door.  Plant red geraniums at the front of the house.  A cut potato pulls out slivers and bee stingers.  Don't ever run out of vinegar. Some of these traditions were explained to me and some of them were just activities I noticed as I grew up around a strange mix of British and Eastern European customs, all tempered with a modern Southern Baptist attitude.

Here are some of the habits/witcheries I practice:

Doors

I keep a broom behind the front door.  It serves as my gatekeeper.  When it is standing bristles-down, it is welcoming and functional.  When it stands bristles-up, it is protective and does a great job keeping away unwanted company as well as door-to-door salespeople and proselytizers.

Leave your crap at the door.  That means your dirty shoes and your bad attitude.  If the little gargoyle behind the door doesn't take care if it, the broom sure will.  The only person who's ever broken through my wards is my father, gods bless him (or hit him over the head,) and that's on me.  He's got a special kind of bad attitude and I'm not as 100 percent immune to it as I'd like to think.

I draw symbols on my doors, inside and out.  When I'm cleaning, the symbols are drawn on the doors with an oil after they are washed.  When I'm running in or out and want to place something on the door quickly, I use my saliva.  I use runes or other symbols that resonate with me, or sigils I've created for a certain purpose.

Kitchen

The kitchen is a very magical place for me.  Aside from cooking, I spend a good amount of time in there processing herbs and creating products for my home and practice.  I have a small kitchen altar that houses an offeratory plate, as well as a candle that is always lit when I'm working.

While adding ingredients to a meal or an herbal product, I take time to acknowledge where those ingredients came from and call on any wisdom or symbolism they might offer.  Sarah Lawless recently posted a great list of kitchen staples and their magical uses on her blog - it is definitely worth the read.  Do yourself a favour too - pop these two books on your cookbook shelf:

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs - Scott Cunningham
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic - Catherine Yronwode

I'm a firm believer in thinking for yourself and putting your own thoughts into plant symbolism and correspondences, yet I also find these books invaluable as far as listing traditional and folkloric uses of herbs, spices and roots.

I'm also sure to keep the kitchen clean and organized.  When I'm cooking, all my ingredients are close at hand so that, rather than using my energy hopping around the kitchen trying to find items, I can focus on what I'm creating.  Depending on what I'm making, I might speak prayers, chants or even sing over the creation.

Let's be honest for a moment.  I don't operate like this at every meal, every single day.  Sometimes I do run into the kitchen, slap together a sandwich, and run back to the office.  But taking the time to be aware of what I'm creating - especially if I'm putting it in my body, or offering it to neighbours or family, is important to me.  I don't want to be thinking of the drama happening at work, while making a batch of cookies to brighten up someone's day.

Garden/Yard

Not everyone is blessed with a little piece of earth to muck about in.  Apartment dwellers may only have a small balcony or merely a window sill to attempt to grow something on.  There are several herbs that will grow indoors and houseplants or flowers that can brighten a small space.  I may mow a rune into my lawn before I start the real grass-cutting, but if you don't have a lawn, you can simply trace symbols into the earth of your houseplant.

I chat with my gardens. I offer libations (they prefer whisky or dark rum - go figure.)  I give a foolish amount of thanks when harvesting.  And while I'm sure the neighbours fully believe I'm crazy, I have no problem whispering secrets and blessings to the plants - and even the compost bin.

Seeds aren't the only things I put in the gardens.  I tuck in petitions for things I'd like to bring to me. Each spring I bury the corn dolly I created several months earlier when the corn harvest began.  And at hallowtide I bury the plate of offerings that was left out for the passing spirits.



There are more practices than I can write about in one post, that find their way into my everyday life or seasonal celebrations.  This is just a snippet of what happens in and around my household.  I have a friend who passed on the habit of placing garlic in the window sills and changing them out every new moon.  My grandmother always had a kitchen-witch floating high above her sink, but I've found that I'm more attracted to witch-balls hanging in the kitchen.  So many little fascinations.

Small things, really.  Many of them developed into habits that I found meaningful for some reason or other.  Little witcheries and random supersitions and a handful of charms I've decided I don't want to live without.

We knock on wood around here, acknowledge our ancestors, and never come to another's home empty-handed.




Should you like to delve a little deeper into folklore and the practices, superstitions and witcheries of common folk, do check out:

New World Witchery - Resources
Starr Casas - Old Style Conjure Hoodoo Rootwork

And for a look into how one witch runs her household:
Kris Bradley's book - Mrs. B's Guide to Household Witchery

Pictures are via Creative Commons
Broom - link
The Love Potion - link

Holy Hibernation Batman!

This was the view out the window of my car a few days ago.  It may explain why I've been hiding for the first 10 days of this year.  Although the snow has mostly melted (and turned to ice) I'm still having a hard time getting motivated and getting out of the house. 

I'm a natural hibernator you see.  While others rush out into the snow to ski and board and snowshoe and skate, I curl up on the couch in front of my electric fireplace and read books and make plans about how I'm going to be very productive...tomorrow.  (Naturally - as I'm typing this - it's beginning to snow again.)

Although I don't try to force myself to feel jovial about the Winter months - I do make an effort to find ways to incorporate some activity and projects to offset my hibernation tendencies.

When the weather is conducive to a walk - I still take my stroll by the river.  The wind-chill has been a bit much lately, but I've was able to get out twice last week.  While walking I make an effort to notice the trees, plants and nature around me and remind myself of the necessity of the plants being able to turn inward and store up new energy for the Spring.  I've also been treated to the sight of eagles & osprey fishing and some very pregnant horses in the field beside the river - another promise of new life.

Making lunch, dinner or coffee dates with friends is another way I ensure that I get out into the world this time of year.  It's a bit too easy to go from work, straight home and bunker in for the night.  Making time to get together with friends is a double-perk.  I get out of the house or office and I get a laugh with a pal.

Being supportive is a great motivator too.  A friend told me yesterday that her daughter is going to be in a public spelling bee.  Without thinking I said "please let me know when it is, and I'll come."  I also attended a choral concert in December and have plans to see a gymnastics competition soon - all because people I know are involved.  Are they activities I'm personally interested in taking part in - not really.  But I can get out and support my friends and their kids and spend a little less time hiding indoors.

Do you find that you tend to hibernate this time of year?  What do you do to get out in the world when you'd rather be inside?

Nature Rocks!

I am a rock-hound. I can't help it. I think it goes hand-in-hand with being an avid gardener. I am forever picking up rocks off the ground, and have them all over the house and yard. I also have a crystal collection that keeps growing.

The above pic is a weathered-board tray that I keep most of my smaller crystals on, along with some assorted tools I use for workings. I always have multi coloured mini-tapers on hand, and the grey and white banded object behind them is my wild turkey feather for smudging.

In the blue and green pouch at the lower part of the picture, is one of my pendulums. In the center, there is also a little Mayan temple I brought back from Mexico, and a Egyptian glass bottle that I now have some protection oil in.

I have my other supplies spread around my little suite, but this tray gets much use, and I'm forever picking out a crystal or two to carry with me throughout the day depending on what energy I am needing, or how I'm feeling.

With my energy being 'funny' this last month or so, I've definitely gravitated toward the more protective and grounding stones. Some of these include:

Hematite
Jet
Red Jasper
Smoky Quartz
Turquoise

Not everyone is a rock person. My one neice picks up every rock she sees. The other one is a tree-hugger (literally,) and picks up flowers that have dropped from their stems, or dandelions and puts them in her hair.

Is there something out there on the earth that you pick up and hold on to? Do you gather items from your yard, walks and trips and bring them into your home? I find it fascinating how we build homes to protect ourselves and then spend our time bringing Nature in!

Cleaning Out the Old

One of the things I like about the days between Christmas and the New Year, is the urge I get to re-organize. (Yes, I'm a Virgo.)

There's nothing that makes me feel better than to go through my place, tidy up and find space for my Christmas gifts, which often leads to completely re-organizing closets, cupboards and arrangements.

I'm not a happy pre-Christmas cleaner. Some people use Yule as a good time to sweep out the old, and make room for the new, but I just can't do it. With all the Yule and Christmas planning, it's all I can do to make sure the house is swept and dusted, and the bathroom cleaned. I don't have time for a cleaning ritual, or a full-home re-organization.

But after Christmas, as the dust settles - literally - I find the time and the inclination to be able to look at things in my home and the clarity of mind to make decisions. Do I really need all these wine bottle openers? Are these items just dust collectors, or do I appreciate them? How can I make better use of this space?

This year, as I move into my new place this week, I am looking forward to the ultimate in re-organization. Although moving is a pain and a hassle, I am glad that I didn't end up trying to set up house before Christmas. Now I can take advantage of the energy I have this time of the year, and channel it into furnishing my new home.

I am planning a blessing ritual for my new living space, and setting up my home altar immediately. Unpacking will be my organization for this year.

I also enjoy things like adding essential oils to my bucket of hot water for cleaning. Lavender for peace, Clove for mental stimulation (not in the bedroom!) and Lemon to lift spirits. Singing a little song or chant while I sweep to get rid of the stale energy and lighten up the atmosphere in the home is fun too.

There are so many things you can do to get ready your home ready for the new year's energy. Linked to the above photos from Martha's site, are eco-friendly cleaning tips and organizational ideas, respectively. And, of course, using your magical know-how to add a little something special to your work always helps!