Friday, August 31, 2012

Once In a Blue Moon....

Hi and Merry Meet,
Today is the blue moon. I hope you all enjoy the special blessings that come on this day!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Crossing Over Ritual and Spell

Hi and Merry Meet,
Yesterday was a sad day for us here. Today I thought I'd post the ritual I did for my rabbit as he crossed over.

Supplies:
1 dark blue spell candle
the moon card from a tarot deck
sage
an apple
a votive candle/ tea light candle

Part one- the ritual- to help prepare for a crossing

Casting the circle- starting in the North

"Element of Earth in the North I call to my circle. Ground me and help me to be strong in this difficult time. Hail and welcome Earth."

Facing East

" Element of Air in the East I call to my circle. Give me clarity and and an open mind to see what I need to do in this difficult time. Hail and welcome Wind."

Facing South

"Element of Fire in the South I call to my circle. Burn away my doubts and warm my memories of happy times while I face this difficult time. Hail and welcome Fire."

Facing West

"Element of Water in the West I call to my circle. Help my tears to wash away my sadness and let my emotions be guided by what is best for my pet in this difficult time. Hail and welcome Water."

Face North again to complete the circle. "The circle is cast so mote it be"

Standing in the center of the circle envoke the goddess
"Lady Badb in your crone state you help many to cross over. Please join me in my circle tonight to help me know what is best for my pet. Guide me in this time and help me to remember that in all things there is life, death and rebirth. Hail and welcome Lady Babd."

Light the sage at this time and sit to meditate on the moon card. Let the goddess tell you what you need to know about helping your pet to cross over. Give an offering of an apple or apple juice after you mediate.
Thank the goddess.
"Lady Badb, thank you for your insight and guidance tonight. Crossing over is as much a part of life as any other aspect. Hail and fair well."

Open the circle

Facing West
"Element of Water in the West. Thank you for your blessings. Hail and fair well."

Facing South
"Element of Fire in the South. Thank you for your blessings. Hail and fair well."

Facing East
"Element of Air in the East. Thank you for your blessings. Hail and fair well."

Facing North
"Element of Earth in the North. Thank you for your blessings. Hail and fair well."
With arms raised over head- "The circle is open but not unbroken."

-This is what I did the night we found out that we were going to have to put our rabbit down. I chose Lady Badb as the goddess to use since she is a crone and maiden goddess. She is also a guide to the underworld. Apples were traditionally used as offerings to her.

Before we went to the vet and I did my spell, this was part of the work I did before he crossed. I took one pink lady apple and cut it in half. I sliced one half into five parts. One slice for each of us in the house- 3 rabbits and two people. The whole half I took outside and buried in my garden. This apple was part of Nes' last meal. All of us were connected by eating the apple. When he crossed I told him to find the lady with the other half of his apple. She would help him cross and guide him.

Here is the spell that I used when we drove to the vet for the appointment yesterday.
I anointed the blue candle and lit it as we left. I placed the holder on top of the Moon card that I had reflected on in my ritual. We left that to burn while we were gone. Dark blue is one of the colors associated with Lady Badb. I asked her to help him cross in a peaceful loving way and help him be whole again.

When we got home, I lit a red votive candle for Nes. I will let it burn out. It burned all night and is still going strong today. I chose this red one because it was cranberry flavored and the Lady Badb is a goddess of late fall/early winter. This berry makes me think of fall so I chose it for that reason. Also, Nes really loved things that smell odd. This candle has a great smell, but he loved stinky things- feet were among his favorite.

While I am very sad today, I know he is whole and happy. He came to me in my dreams last night hopping around and bouncing like he did when he was much younger. It made me happy to see him like that. He hopped off with a cloaked lady and I can only guess that she was the Lady Babd. While it was hard to face, I know in the end we did what was best for him.
Blessed be,
Autumn

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Good-bye Sweet Boy

Hi and Merry Meet,
We have to say good-bye to our sweet bunny today. May the goddess guide him to happiness and wholeness in the summerland. He will be missed here.

Blessed be,
Autumn

Monday, August 27, 2012

Blue Moon Ritual

Hi and Merry Meet,
I did get a vet appointment for today. The sectary was new and a bit rude. She wanted to know why I thought this was an emergency. I wouldn't have called for an appointment if I thought nothing was wrong. The fact that he can't function like he should is kind of a big deal to me. Really? Sometimes people are just clueless. Anyway, on the bright side, they said I can bring him in later to get checked out. I'm happy about that. I'm so worried about my bunny. :(

One of the things I have to do this week is get ready for the blue moon that is going to happen on Friday! Last time there was one I did a ritual with a blue christmas ball. I filled it with something major that I wanted to change in my life. It was really fun and the ball has been hanging in my witchy room since then. I can look at it often and be reminded of what I wanted to change. This time I have been invited to a mulit-coven ritual. I was really excited when they said that we are going to use blue christmas balls to fill with a big change that we want in our lives. On this blue moon, I am supposed to smash the ball that I filled last time so that I can see how the magick manifested in my life. I don't know if I should take the one I made last time to this group. I don't know if anyone has one to smash too. I might take it and if we don't then, I can do it in a personal ritual at home.

Now, I need to think about what major change I want in my life. It was suggested that it be a big thing- job, house, car, etc. I have a lot of thinking to do. There are a few major changes I'd like to make but I want to pick the one that is a bigger issue. I think if I can get an extra boost from the blue moon's energy it might help me to think that the problem is not so big. Last time the thing I wrote down and added to the ball was pretty big and slowly things have changed on that. It's still a big issue for me, but I can see growth and that is really all I wanted to see. I think this time around I will have a better idea of what things I need to add to the ball to make this working more successful.

Here's what I have to do to get ready:
 take one blue christmas ball (glass is better so you can smash it)
write down what you want to achieve
add things that will inspire the magick (if it's house- a picture of a house, car- same...)
meditate and put them in the ball
 close the ball up and get ready for ritual

That's how I did mine last time. I'm not sure how the group one will do it, but I'm excited to see!
Blessed be,
Autumn

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Letting Go

Hi and Merry Meet,
My sweet rabbit is not doing well. I am making a vet appointment for him for tomorrow but I fear that the outcome will be for an appointment to put him down. I know I have to do what is best for him and I have to trust in the Goddess that this is right. Maybe the vet will surprise me and just say he needs some meds. Last time he got sick he has a massive ear infection that caused some nerve damage.

Rabbits are tricky little critters. Since they are prey animals they don't show you that they are sick, hurt, or wounded until it is very serious. My sweet boy had just finished his meds for that ear infection before we went on vacation. My high priestess was the one watching him and the two girls. I knew he would be in good hands with her. Since we have come home, he is just weaker and weaker. I can't watch him like this so we are going tomorrow...  the vet that we go to is closed on Sundays. Yesterday he was dong ok, but by last night he looked weak. He is now dragging his back end and is only able to stand up on all four feet for a few seconds before he tips over. He can't seem to use his back feet to balance. One of them he is using to push himself forward to get to the food bowl. The one he seems to have lost all control over. It's so heartbreaking to me. Until I can get him to the vet I'm doing my best to keep him comfortable. The vet opens at 8, and yes we will be there then! Our vet is amazing. She is allergic to rabbits, but her specialty is rabbits. When our last boy rabbit died unexpectedly she sent us a sympathy card. They are so sweet there and make our rabbits feel safe. That's a big deal to us.

Today's tarot card that I pulled was death. While I know that this dose not always mean a physical death, I think I need to let go and face the fact that my little rabbit is about 90 in human years. We will do what is best for him. I don't want to think about making that call, but I need to focus on him and his needs. He has been with us for 8 years. While he is not my familiar, he really loves magick. He gets excited when he knows I'm working. After I'm done working he will rub his chin all over my hands and fingers (same as a cat rubbing up on you). I've been giving him reiki treatments since we've been home. He seems to like them. I've given him baths to help wash off the grim and matted fur that he is getting on his back end. I know he's not well since he didn't fight me when I tried to dry him with the hairdryer.

We'll see what the vet has to say. :(
Blessed be,
Autumn

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Stone With A Message

Hi and Merry Meet,
I saw this stone today and it just called to me. I just love it's simple message. Now I need to do just that.
Blessed be,
Autumn


Friday, August 17, 2012

Dark Moon Ritual

Hi and Merry Meet,
Our vacation finished on a great note. Husband loved kayaking and the view of the cliffs from the water were breathtaking. Our last few days of hiking were relaxing that I feel ready to tackle all the issues that have come up at my job.

Last night I did a dark of the moon ritual. I haven't done one in a few years and it felt great. When I was having lots of problems with my moon time I just felt like the dark crone would be better to work with than the bright shiny mother moon energy. I worked with the dark of the moon for most of  my first year of the craft. I only worked with the full moon maybe twice before my problems started. Another witch who had moon time trouble had said she worked the dark of the moon to still celebrate the goddess but in a different form from the one most people know/work with. For myself, I liked the idea since I wasn't getting my moon or it was sporadic at best. And that was on birth control. After a year of switching kinds my doctor found one that worked like it should. After that first year and my moon time problems working out I started to work with the full moon again.  Then I joined a circle and we as a group celebrate the full moons and the Sabbats together.

Over vacation I started reading about dark moon rituals again and thought about why haven't I done one? Dark of the moon is a lot of shadow work. You are stripped down to what you need to focus on. You take a journey into yourself. The side of you you don't always want to face is the side of you you examen. You can look at your ugly behaviors and start to change them. You find beauty in the dark space of you you didn't know where there. It is very powerful and makes you stronger.

Last night's ritual was no exception. I learned some new things about me and I have a new focus to work on for this month. Since the moon was in leo I'm going to need to have the heart of a lion and the strength of a pride. Moving forward can be scary and hard, but I can do this and I will be better for it.

This photo was from our trip to the cliffs by kayak. Have a great Friday!
Blessed be,
Autumn