Can you imagine a world without witches,

A world with all people the same?

Where the only known dragons are hiding in books,

And children are terribly tame?

A world without magic would be sad indeed.

I cannot imagine the pain

Of having a world where there's no Santa Claus,

Where wizards are searched for in vain.

Can you imagine a world without spells,

That science and businesses run?

And think of the sadness a unicorn feels

When he no longer plays in the sun.

Can you imagine a world without witches,

No elves and no magical pools?

And can you imagine how dull it would be

If all that we had were the schools?

I cannot imagine a world without witches,

A world with no magical wand.

A world without beauty, or even a dream,

Or a wood sprite of whom to be fond.

They say I should grow up and be more mature,

Like a normal adult ought to do.

But I'd rather, at night, go to dance with a witch,

And I'll bet that you feel that way, too.

Can you Imagine?
By Robert F. Potts

I am a Witch!

I am at One with the Earth, The Universe and the Divine!

Let this day be free from Strife and Fear;

Let Only Joy and Love come near;

With Blessings given and received

I walk in Peace in Word and Deed.

~Ann Moura~
image found here

Cauldron Spirit

Many Witches pour a bit of ordinary surgical spirit [rubbing alcohol] into their cast-iron cauldrons and light it by carefully dropping in a lit match.

is often done as part of a healing ritual, invocations to the elemental spirit of Fire, scrying, divination, Sabbat fire festivals and various working rituals.

The sight of the cauldron blazing with flames can be very magical and mesmerizing, and when the alcohol has been steeped in aromatic herbs, a sweet but gentle, incense like fragrance is produced.

To make an herbal ~ Cauldron Spirit~, put into a glass bottle a small bunch of any of all of the following:

fresh lavender flowers and leaves, fresh mint leaves, fresh rosemary flowers and leaves, or fresh thyme flowers and leaves.

Fill the bottle to the top with the alcohol; cap it tightly, and then give it a good shake.

Keep it in a cool dry place for thirteen days, shaking it twice daily [every sunrise and every moonrise].

Strain through a double thickness of muslin into a clear bottle, cap tightly, and store away from heat or flame.

Cauldron Spirit will keep indefinitely.

~ Kitchen Witchery Magick Potions

Gerina Dunwich

Seven Sacred Herbs of the Celts

~ Nuts and Cones: Sacred to the Druids; very magical, especially in fertility magic. Small cones or acorns were sometimes used on the tips of wands used by the Celts.

~ Willow: A Druid sacred tree; one of the seven sacred trees of the Irish. The willow is a Moon tree sacred to the Goddess. Its grooves were considered so magical that priests, priestesses and artisans sat among the trees to gain eloquence, inspiration, skills, and prophecies.

~ St. John's Worth: A Druid sacred herb. The Celts passed it through the smoke of the summer solstice fire, and then wore it into battle for invincibility. The people of Scotland wore it as a charm against Faery influence.

~ Mint: A Druid sacred herb. Burning mint cleanses the area.

~ Juniper: A druid sacred tree. Its berries were used with thyme in incenses.

~ Thyme: A Druid sacred herb. Repels negativity and depression.

~ Elder: A Druid sacred tree. Sacred to the Celtic White Lady and the Summer Solstice. The Druids used it both to bless and curse. Elder wands drive out evil and negativity. Standing under and elder tree at Midsummer, like standing in a ring of Faery Mushrooms, will help you see the Little People.

Compiled by Barbara Morris

image of Brigid found here

a three minute ritual

This one was worth saving here.

The Sorceress

John Williams Waterhouse

Library Protection Charm

Fan a bit of your favorite incense smoke
over your books and bookshelves
and repeat the charm three times.

Sheshat, Mistress of the House of Books, hear my call,
Guard and protect these magickal tomes, one and all.
If borrowed, may the book always return safely to me,
I bind this charm with the powers of earth, air, flame and sea.

from: Cottage Witchery
by: Ellen Dugan

say goodbye to Winter

In a glass bowl, place fresh snow or ice cubes. Light a red, orange or yellow candle, place in a holder behind the bowl so you can see the candle behind the snow or ice.

As the season turns,
and the sun shines,
I hail the light that returns to the land.
Darkness ebbs, light again flows,
and day by day the land will grow warm.
Welcome again, Bright Sun.
May your beams caress the land
and transform ice to water,
snow to rain,
cold to warmth,
and winter to spring again.

Allow the snow or ice to melt until it is water. Watch the reflection of the candle on the water and think about the warmth of the sun. Feel the energy of the snow as it melts, the energy of the flame as it emits light and heat. Observe the communication between the two.

When you are finished, pour the water outside at the base of a tree.


adapted from a Solstice ritual by Ann Murphy-Hiscock
The Way of the Green Witch
photo found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50994135@N00/3276588737

the Language of Stones

The strangest landscape begins to look familiar. I can walk this country in my sleep: signs of divination, the Maze of Emergence, the ritual dreams for saving the soul of the world. The sounds are as intimate as breath. My lips move over the syllables like a blind woman’s fingers over the face of her first-born. Insects hum at the forest’s edge & the sun stops overhead. Smoke rises from a ring of river stones & the ashes are thrown downwind. The smell of sage & cedar will be on my skin forever. Everything becomes sacred. Bits of thread flutter from the bushes, as if marking a trail.

I am learning to speak the language of stones. Like rivers over rock, life flowing in the bones, a fire in the wind, an ocean over sand. I am traveling home, where I first began, knowing for the first time, where I once began. Full circle.

Language of Stones
words & music © by Geoff Bartley 1990 & 1994