Practical Magic

I saw this movie a few days ago and practically fell in love with it! In case you haven't seen the movie I won't give all of it away. But this is what I will say about it:

Basically its about 2 sisters who come to terms with themselves about being witches.

It seems witches run in their family since back in those old Salem days. When their parents both die the sisters go live with their aunts (masterfully played by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest).

First of all I have to say that the house that they lived in was absolutely gorgeous and I found out later that the house was built specifically for the movie but then it was torn day afterwards!

I LOVED the way that house looked and that is one of the main reasons why I like this movie. They also had a greenhouse where they grew herbs and they were always making some kind of magic potion in that gorgeous kitchen!

Unfortunately there were some parts of the movie that I didn't like and mainly it was the fact that they were taunted and a little ostracized for being witches - particularly their children as well - but when a town member needed a spell guess who it was that she went to!

I also like the line from the movie that said that you can't dabble in witchcraft and then look your nose down at it - which I agree with 100%.

There is also a cute spell that one of the characters casts as a child where she writes down quantities that she wants in her perfect man - quantities that she makes so unusual and rare that she believes that the spell couldn't possibly come true - but guess what? It does!

I think I enjoyed the scenery in this movie more than I did the movie! The witches lived on this property that was close to the water and the town looked so quaint! One could almost say that it looked picture perfect!

I have decided that this movie is definitely a keeper for my library!

What Part Of Being A Witch Appeals Most To You?

Here's an interesting question that was posted elsewhere and I thought that it would be qood to put here.

What part of being a Witch appeals most to you?

Here is the answer that I gave:

Like I posted before I am a new member and I have started to read the posts from the beginning and this question caught my eye.

The part that appeals to me most is the fact that it wasn't what I expected. I thought being a witch meant all spells and magick and I have come to find out that it is not really like that. I have found that you have to work on yourself first, have the right state of mind and spirituality and such before you can attempt to do
things "outside" yourself.

I also like the fact that I am constantly finding out new things and finding new uses for things. I'm appreciating nature more and have just come to realize that everything is related in one way or another.

A "Crafty" Witch?

I don't know how old the art of knitting is but I'm guessing that it is pretty old!

I, myself both knit and crochet and I find these very relaxing things to do! I can't make anything intricate yet but I'm well on my way as long as I remember to be patient and enjoy the journey along the way!

I was reading someone else's blog and they had posted about their latest knitting project and they even posted a picture of their completed work online which gave me the idea to do the same!

Of course you're going to have to give me some time for this - LOL!

But I think that knitting and crocheting are great ways to relax and I do enjoy it so!

I'm Back In My Garden Again!

Yes, I'm back in my garden again this year! As you can see, here is a copy of one of my planted beans that I took last year but what is so good about this is that this looks just like the bean plant that is growing in my garden now! I guess this really does make me a "green" witch afer all! - LOL!

I have come to find out that while I am on my journey of witchcraft and being a witch, I am finding out other things about myself as well!

I enjoy gardening and I enjoy cooking and while I love working on my computer I also have come to appreciate what nature has to offer! I love seeing the "green" that is surrounding me at this time of the year and it provides a nice moment of relaxation when I'm drinking my tea!

I think that we should all learn to relax more! Stress is really something! There have been times that I have been so stressed that I actually believe that I have made myself ill!

This path that I am following is showing me a more spiritual side of myself - one that I should and am getting more in touch with. It's like I'm being told that there is more to witchcraft than just doing spells and I am getting that message quite clear! In fact I haven't done a spell in a while - how about that? But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to in the future - it's just that in my journey I have found that there is more to being a witch than just doing spells! For me, I think that it has a lot to do with knowing one's self and not trying to impress others - just know yourself and be true to yourself!

I initially started this blog because I wanted to give those who are interested and/or new to becoming a witch and witchcraft an insight into one's journey into such but I am finding that I am learning new and more things everyday! I know that the most important lesson that I have learned so far is that it is not ALL about just doing spells!

Death

I had the most interesting dream after talking to my brother on the phone. You see he is currently in the hospital for pneumonia but he is on the mend - thank goodness!

That night I had a dream that we were both outside amongst the scenery but that there were bears in the area. Since we weren't too far from home I was secure in the knowledge that we could get home safely if we were to see one of the bears. The next thing you know we did see a bear coming towards us and I was ready for us to run to the safety of our home. But something happened and as I was running home I looked back to check on my brother and had found that he had went in another direction to help a woman who was being chased by a bear. My brother got between the woman and the bear and saved her life but unfortunately he had lost his life fighting with the bear in order to save the woman.

When I saw him getting between the woman and the bear I knew that something bad was going to happen because even though we were outside I still knew that his health wasn't 100%. I ran towards my brother screaming NO! and the next thing I knew there was my brother lying dead on the ground alongside the bear that he killed in order to save the woman!

Now this had been some dream and it was very vivid in its detail! I mean the colors were real but oddly enough there wasn't a lot of sound! It was like the mute button was on!

When I finally got to my brother and saw him lying there I was beyond being distraught! Even though I knew he had saved the woman and that he didn't die in vain, I still didn't want him to be dead!

I woke up from that dream and it upset me so much! I knew the chances of it actually happening that way were slim but like I said the dream was so vivid and felt so real! I still couldn't get that picture out of my mind seeing my brother running to get between the woman and the bear and knowing that the outcome would not be good!

Like I said the dream upset me so much and I did think about it alot after I woke up. But upon deeper reflection a lot of other thoughts came into my mind as well. I have never been comfortable with the idea of death even though I know that there is a deeper meaning to it.

This same day as I was outside I noticed that a cat had died on someone else's sidewalk and again I thought of my dream and realized that there was a connection here. My own cat had died some months ago and I was still mourning about that but seeing that cat's body made me realize that death is a part of life.

I still have my uncomfortable feelings about death but I know that there is a deeper meaning there.

I decided to blog about this incident because I know that there may be others out there who feel the same way that I do when they are faced with the death of a loved one or those who are affected by death of any kind. Sometimes words can't help but in time one can heal.



As far as dream interpretation goes, I'm sure that this dream shows just how much I love my brother and how I know he would probably give his life to help another who was in serious danger.

It's still a very sad dream for me and I hope I don't have another one like it again!



Update! November 2010!

I'm sad to say that my brother died earlier this year during the middle of July! I'm wondering if this dream that I had was some sort of fortelling message? - even though it took over a year to actually come true?

Angelwitch1012003?

I was looking at my screenname and it reminded me that I have been on my path since 2003, now almost 6 years! Wow! That is a lot of time!

Of course my first year involved learning as much as I could about "The Craft" and I am still finding out that I am still learning and will continue to learn all my life!

So much of it is so fascinating!

I have still continued to enjoy the path of hedgewitch (with a little "green" and "kitchen" witch thrown in).

Right now we are definitely in the midst of the winter season and I know that this is a good time for reflection and to prepare myself for the spring season coming.

Here you see a picture that I took just outside my door.

I have been laying low for the past few weeks because of the cold winter weather. Right now in the Philadelphia area the temperatures are quite cold and we are still recovering from all the ice that has built up everywhere! Even my neighbors are lying low and if they don't have to go out they don't! But we're expecting some warmer weather Sunday - temps in the 40's - so hopefully that will melt the ice outside that has grown so thick!

Mind you in some ways I am quite enjoying this weather. Since I work from home I haven't had to go out if I didn't want to unless it was for something like grocery shopping. And of course this will be a good time to start getting my income tax forms ready and ready to mail out.

I have my hot chocolate and tea to drink as I look out my window and view the gorgeous scenery around me that I am blessed to have and delight in the fact that I live in an area that does have a change of seasons - I don't think that I would have it any other way - in fact, I know that I wouldn't - LOL!

So I'm laying low and also giving thoughts to my garden and how I'm going to vow to start it as soon as possible!

I Had Another "Experience" With The Rain Today!

I don't know what it is with me and the rain but it happened again today! I was out raking leaves. Even though the leaves were wet from the last rainfall I wanted to get them raked by the curb so that my local area would pick them up later this week! The weather was cold but as long as I was moving around it wasn't so bad! The weather report talked about rain so I wanted to get as much leaves raked as possible! Since I have an older tree in the front of my house there were a lot of leaves to rake so I got to it. I finished about 3/4 of the raking that needed to be done and since it was getting dark I decided to stop for the day.

No sooner had I gotten inside and was getting myself comfortable that I started to hear the rain on the window sill! It's like the rain was saying "we'll give you some time and wait until you are through" - kind of scary huh?

But this isn't the first time that this kind of thing has happened to me! There have been other occassions when the rain "has waited for me to be safely inside before it started! And just when I thought that I could control when it rained - I couldn't! It was like the rain was telling me that they were giving me a gift and not to abuse it! So mostly I try not to control it and let mother nature take its course and that's when it usually happens to me!

It was a nice feeling to have done the raking and then be inside the house as it started to rain!

Onions And Garlic

As I was preparing my turkey earlier this morning I got to thinking about the onions and garlic that I was going to add to the turkey and came to realize just how many things that onions and garlic can be used for!

I mean it can be used for a lot of things when I'm cooking and I use them in my stews and soups and salads!

I also want to be able to grow them in my garden but so far I have only successfully managed to grow garlic chives (but don't worry, I'm going to try again next year!)

It also reminded me that I am also a kitchen (as well as green) witch and I felt exactly like this when I was preparing my turkey! All the spices and other ingredients that I was adding to the turkey, chopping and cutting and peeling in my nice warm kitchen on a gorgeous (though chilly) sunny day!

All I need now is a warm, open hearth!

I Live In The United States But.............................

I have this interest in other areas outside of the United States too.

For instance I was at a message forum where they asked people where they are from and someone posted that they were from Scotland but they didn't like the particular area that they live in and they told people that it rains all the time and not to visit there because they wouldn't like it......

I guess its because of all the romantic movies that I watch but when I hear the name Scotland I just think of green, green and more green (same thing when I think of Ireland too) - meaning that I have seen some gorgeous landscape pictures of Scotland.

I think that another part of it is that Scotland like many other areas has a rich and old history as far as witches and witchcraft is concerned - no where is that more relevent than in England and of course Salem, Massachusetts!

It's also kind of like I seem to know these areas - like maybe I lived there in a past life or something? Why would places and objects seem so familiar to me when I have never been physically acquainted with them before?

I love seeing programs about areas other than where I live but it also helps to make me appreciate where I live too!

It's also curious because I see that a lot of other fellow witches - both male and female - are from England and the surrounding areas.

Mabon

I can't help but notice the chill in the air (or rather I should say the chill in the house!) We're coming close (Monday) to the first day of Autumn which is also when Mabon starts - which is my favorite time of year! I just didn't think that it would come so fast!

Mabon is that time of year when we harvest what we have sown and it is also the time to prepare one's self for the winter and winter months to come! I like this time of year because it is a lot cooler than it is during the summertime and the holidays are quickly approaching.

I haven't been able to harvest anything from my garden yet but there is something growing there!

Here is a link to the blog posts that I have made about Mabon so far.

Rain, Rain, DON'T Go Away!

I just don't know what it is about me and the rain! I was reading a post on someone else's blog about how they were having rain and it was just a "bummer" for them. I kinda feel the exact opposite way!

Just had some heavy rain a few days ago and for me it felt oddly comforting! The sound of the rain was so comforting and I felt all nice and cozy inside my house with the heat going but I also had a view out of my kitchen window to see how it looked outside! It was like the trees were welcoming the rain. Even though the skies were darker there was still some activity going on outside. I could see lights from other houses and I was just imagining the activity that was probably going on. Just because its raining outside doesn't mean that there isn't any activity going on inside!

There's always plenty to do inside (at least for me) when its raining outside. This last rain spell I spent some time doing my income taxes - along with a nice hot cup of tea with honey and lemon!

Even when I'm out in the rain and the time and my mind are just right it almost feels as though the rain and I are one - sounds kind of silly doesn't it? But I think that is what is accomplished when you relax your mind and let go of any stress and anxiety that you are carrying. You feel peaceful and serene!

What I Did (So Far) On This Halloween Day!

You know its been so long since I just took a day to enjoy the day! And that is what I did today on this Halloween Day! I had tea and "Halloween" cupcakes for breakfast! I have been watching horror movies all morning and enjoying every "scary" minute of it! Most of the shows I was watching were compiliations of "The Scariest Movie Moments" but I also watched some old black and white horror movies too. I think that I like those the best because they just seem so more better well-made.

I don't know what it is about me and the gypsy "lifestyle". One of the reasons why I like the original version of "The Wolf Man" is because of the beginning scenes where they were in a gypsy village. My chosen path is that of a hedgewitch which is a witch dating back to the old days and modern day witches using the "old" methods and ways - so its like being a gypsy and a hedgewitch could be quite similar. I even like one of the old episodes of "Charmed" where they go back in time to save one of their relatives.

I also like watching some of the more documentary-type shows that came on today. I like seeing places like Romania and Transylvania (I'm even thinking of taking a trip to some of those places). There were shows on talking about modern day and past vampires and witches and other related subcultures.

I took a break from all of that Halloween-watching to do something on my computer and the thought occurred to me that I could add what I was doing this Halloween Day so far.

I could hear some children and some older teens outside. They don't go door to door anymore which is a shame but I'm sure that safety is the reason behind that. Fortunately there are a lot of Halloween-related activities that they can take part in in my area but it was good hearing them outside.

Its been a long time since I just enjoyed a day - especially a holiday - where I just took time out and was leisurly. I did enjoy it and it is a good reminder that I have to enjoy it more often.

"Treasures" Of The Natural Kind!

I'm working on my patience! I have come to find out that the more patient I am the more that favorable things happen and ironically the more I get done! With that being said....

I was raking leaves yesterday! Now the fact that I actually got able to get out and rake leaves is a good thing in and of itself because I have been having financial concerns that took up the majority of my brain waves. I was feeling bad about them and worrying about them which I know only adds weight to the problem and makes the problem far more worse! So I started to think about all the things that I have to be grateful for and believe there are a lot of things that I have to be grateful for! And so I went out and raked leaves! I was doing this because my area provides pickups for leaves. I was also doing to get outside and be outside - its always advised to be a part of nature as much as you can. Another reason why I was doing it is because the more work I do outside the house the more it looks like someone is taking care of the outside of the house.

So I'm raking leaves and taking my time because I know that I don't have to do it all in one day because I have a few days before the scheduled leaf pickup. I'm taking my time and remembering all the things that I am grateful for.

Like I said before I found out and I am learning that the more patient and less stressed I am the more that the world opens up to me. And this was true while I was raking up the leaves. You see there were branches that I have to break up because they fell during some past storms and while I was doing that I found some great branches that I can use elsewhere!

I always wanted a "natural" wand and now I have several pieces to choose from. I also saved some of the stronger branches because I'm going to use them in my garden to help hold some of my plantings. Being outside also gave me time to reflect on all the possibliities that I have for arranging things the way I want them to. I already have a birdbath and I was also thinking about adding a birdfeeder or a small bird house.

Plus I have a lot of other ideas too! I was going to add a cute picture here but Blogger is acting "wonky" and it won't let me upload any pictures so I saved the picture and hopefully I'll be able to post it soon!

By the way I'm enjoying all the Halloween-ish things going on now including watching the old horror movies (and some new horror movies as well) and I'm thinking of adding some Halloween decorations around the house!

I would also love to hear the Halloween plans of my fellow witches!

The First Day Of Autumn!

I just could not let this day go by and not reflect on this being the first day of Autumn! It is this time that Mabon is also being celebrated!

Mabon is my most favortie of all! I love the fall seasons and the cooler temperatures. But the season is about more than that.

Mabon is the time to harvest all that one has and celebrate that harvest. It is also a time of preparing one's self for the upcoming winter.

There are a lot of things that I have to be grateful about and even though I can't celebrate the beginning of Mabon in the way that I like I will be able to do it in a few days! I even have my grocery list of the Mabon-related things that I want to buy - like nuts, pound cake and even a nice bottle of wine to enjoy quiet times of reflection and meditation!

I Had Another "Experience" With The Rain Today

Sometimes it just feels like nature is saying "I'm going to give you a little break today".

In the past I have wrote about my "strange" experiences with the rain and the same "experience" happened to me today!

I went to my local store which is a few blocks away so I walk there. Now I had seen that it had been raining since early this morning but there was something that I needed to get at the store. So I got my umbrella and started on my way. After all it hasn't rained here in a while and we surely needed the rain so there was nothing really to complain about.

As I stepped outside (with my umbrella) I noticed that while it was wet outside it wasn't raining so I carried my umbrella with me and went on my way! (As a side note here I remember reading about how one should get out and enjoy nature every once in a while and that is what I decided to do as I walked to the store.)

I enjoyed not being rained upon as I walked to the store but I had my umbrella ready and waiting just in case it did start to rain. It didn't! So I walked to the store, took in a lot of nature and walked back home.

About 5 minutes later it started to storm!

Isn't that something! And the very same thing has happened to me many a time!

Now there have been one or two instances of me being out in the rain when it was actually raining but my thoughts were that nature was telling me that even though it gives me a "break" sometimes don't take it too much for granted. It is a gift that I am giving you.

Another tale of manifestation magic?

I have posted many times here on my blog about my financial troubles. I have also posted some inspiring links to other sites that have inspirational messages that I sometimes even use myself.

What I want is to be successful in my career that I have chosen which is that of writing. There are some bills that I have that are of the nomal sort - mortgage, utilities and the like - that I sometimes struggle with. Another bill that I have is that of my mother's nursing home bill. My mother died last year and there was still a balance due on her nursing home bill. I started to pay this undue balance. Besides the fact that the nursing home had a claim on her estate the fact of the matter is that this was a very good nursing home and I'm glad that my mother received the kind of care that she did. The staff was so nice and they treated her with such respect and friendship that I was glad that she was there. There were also a lot of other residents there that helped for the atmosphere.

Well the unpaid balance started at just over $4,000. I was paying about $50 a month towards that balance. About 9 months later after making the monthly payments that balance that was due was cut down to just over $2,000. Imagine my surprise! It was due to my mother's insurance who before this wouldn't pay for the bill at all even though the nursing home submitted the bill to them more than once.

Well I welcomed that decrease in the balance due - more than I could tell you!

Although my finacial obligations were still a struggle I still continued to make the monthly payments and I still continued my sessions of meditation and my sessions of manifesting and my various spells to achieve what is that I wanted which was wealth.

I got behind on the payment for the month and was worrying and fretting about it. Well guess what I got in the mail? It was another billing statement from the nursing home and on it was the balance currently due and it was $0! Again imagine my surprise!

I am thoroughly convinced that my mind and other forms of mental things that I did had something to do with this. I kind of ponder why the results turned out the way that they did because it wasn't exactly what I wanted. But I know that some of you that will read this will tell me that my thoughts are working even though they may not be working in the way that I wanted them to. Not having to pay this monthly bill leaves me with additional money and I think that that is part of the magic that I created.

So, what do you think about this?

More Wiccan Than Witch......

That is how my past few days have been. I managed to get a copy of "The Secret" and I have been listening to it more than once. My thoughts are constantly fighting against each other and I have been meditating on a regular basis. I meditate to clear my mind and focus on the things that I do want and not to concentrate (and bring more power to) on the things that I don't want. My meditation sessions (I try to keep them to at least an hour a day) do help me a great deal. It's just that away from the meditation sessions is where my mental battles take over.

Wicca and Witchcraft do dictate that you have to start with yourself first before you try to work on other things. I know that I'm not alone in my mental battles and here are a few tidbits of advice and things that I have seen that may help you if you're going through the same thing:

• Make a list of 5 things that you are grateful for. Doing this helps you appreciate the things that you do have and it also puts you in a better state of mind
  

• Focus on what it is that you do want and don't focus on what you don't want. The more focus you put on something whether it is good or bad will bring more power to it and will make it more likely to manifest
  

• Everytime that you are feeling bad or depressed or angry or any other negative emotion tell yourself that "I want to feel good". When you tell yourself this you'll find things to feel good about and the more you feel good the more those good feelings will manifest

Now I have had a few instances when I believed that this has worked. One time I was at the grocery store shopping and I didn't have a way to get back. While I was shopping I put my focus on having a ride home. I focused to the point of almost making myself sick. But my ride home manifested in me seeing one of my neighbors who offered to drive me home. Now I didn't see them and go over and ask them to drive me home. I saw the wife and we greeted each other and she asked me how I was getting home and I told her that I was going to take the bus and she offered to drive me home because we only live a few doors from each other. Another time I manifested a client - actually it was a client that I already had who bought another order of business cards that I had designed for him. So this stuff does work.

So as you can see I have been more on a spiritual path than a "witchy" one. I'm still doing a hunt for my perfect meditation candle and I still need an incense burner that I'm thinking about making from scratch (as soon as I get some sand). I have a couple of online witch courses that I'm dying to start and I will post about them here. I still have my BOS (Book of Shadows) but I haven't made any recent entries in it.

By the way I find it cute that a lot of us have cats. I sometimes look at my cat and wonder if she knows that she is a witch's cat but I don't think that she even cares as long as I adhere to her wishes.

Also any interesting and related links I will post here. I'm also toying with the idea of posting pictures now that I have my camera phone because I have become jealous of everybody else's pictures.

I also have noticed that a lot of the blogs that I read, the people that have them post the most gorgeous of scenery pictures around their area and that is what I'm going to do too.

It's Ironic Really!

I originally decided to take the path of the witch and learn the art of "The Craft" simply because of that - the craft. But I'm finding that I'm practicing things more of a spiritual nature than the actual practice of witchcraft. Don't get me wrong though because I still have my candles and my Book of Shadows, my incense and my spells but I'm also doing things like meditation, visualizations and for the most part becoming a more better, relaxed and peaceful person.

Originally that was one of the reasons why I chose the witch path as opposed to the Wiccan path because the later involved more of a way of life as opposed to actual witchcraft which is what I wanted to do. There were even some aspects of Wicca that I found relative to the kind of life that I wanted but again I wanted to be in it for the witchcraft.

But I'm learning so many things and a lot of them have to do with the person itself and all about healing those things that are causing one conflict and negative energy. The topic of energy both negative and positive has been popping up everywhere and in different places. This topic is discussed in witch forums, wicca forums, new wave forums, spirituality forums and religious forums and that just means that it is an important aspect of all of these different forums.

So guess what that has made me learn? It has made me learn that its not all about the "casting of spells" and doing the other "witchy" things. I'm learning that it all starts from within me. Tools and spells and chants can help but if I'm not in the right frame of mind or if I'm not grounded and centered and not distracted by distractions then the whole thing is not and will not continue to be right.

I still love doing the "witchy" things but I know that its not all about the "witchy" things.