Month: March 2022

Where Passion Meets the Mundane

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello, hello my darlings! It’s that time again. We’ve got a New Moon a couple days away, and this one is sitting in Aries. As the ruler of ambition, passion, action, and desire, Aries wants us to make a move! What better time than April Fool’s to firmly plant some seeds? That’s right, this New Moon comes to us on April 1st, but don’t be taken in by the lighthearted nature of the day. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac year, and much like the Fool of the tarot, it starts us on a long term journey. If you don’t know what I mean, go check out my other blog series called Tarot Tuesday.

Being a New Moon, this is a perfect time for bringing in fresh energy and I know I’m ready to focus on something that makes me feel passionate, something that gives me energy and sparks my inner fire. Aries is a fire sign after all! If you’ve been lacking in the motivation department, maybe it’s time to channel the stubborn, hard headedness of this ram as the moon prepares to fill with light and opportunity. If you want to harness this drive, some stones you can include on your altar are Bloodstone, Topaz, and Jasper. If, like me, you enjoy burning herbs, some Aries herbs to add to your cauldron on Friday are Basil and Eucalyptus. If you’re more of a beast master or mistress, try putting a tiger or ram likeness on your altar to honor Aries and welcome their energy into your life. Keeping it simple is always nice, though so if you just want some colors to add, Aries’ colors are blood red and black. Or, for the gardeners among you, add some geraniums or daffodils. Dogwood branches or Alder branches are a good representation as well, if they’re available to you.

Now I know I’m getting heavy into this Aries energy, it’s coming in hot this month in my opinion. That doesn’t mean we should forget the lady of the hour; the Moon. Mugwort and Cinnamon are good moon herbs for awakening psychic gifts and bringing in abundance, respectively. New Moon stones are Selenite for cleansing, Clear Quartz for grounding, Labradorite, the magic gem, Tiger’s Eye for manifesting, and Tiger Iron for commitment to choices, and her colors are violet and purple, the colors of a moonless night. What else is out thriving on moonless nights, animal lovers? Owls and bats, soaring through the darkness with precision and focus.

When it comes to jump starting ambition, I have some specific desires this month. My health has been very unstable for the last few months, and now that I’m finally starting to feel myself again, I want to maintain my vessel. If you know me, you know I’m a thick lady. That’s thick with a capital T and three C’s. Thiccck. I move my body regularly, I try to feed it good nourishing meals, and overall I do my best to love and appreciate every single cell that works so hard to keep me alive and mobile. With my health being so low these past few months, though, my routine has become much more sedentary as I tried to heal. I want to get back to my movement. I want to have a clean and healthy space in which to live and not only that, but to thrive! So this month, I’ll be doing a lot of mundane magic, which we don’t hear much about in the aesthetic world of witchcraft. As always, this is what my process looks like, but everyone’s craft is different and there is no wrong way to practice. Do what feels good!

Let’s talk about what mundane magic looks like. Instead of a step by step, I’m going to go through how I intend to cleanse my space and what that means to me.

1. Start a simmer pot. You know me, I need good smells for good magic! Since my health problems were respiratory based, I don’t particularly want to burn herbs this month. If you’ve never made a simmer pot before, it’s a fun and easy way to incorporate your herbs. Get a pot and fill it about halfway with water. I’ll be adding lemon slices for cleansing, Rose Petals for self-love, Basil, and Eucalyptus essential oil. The last two are for protection and channeling that Aries determination. If you don’t want to clean a pot, you can also use an essential oil diffuser to get the same effect! Turn that puppy on low and give it the occasional stir to help the scents permeate your home. Changing the quality of the air in my home is refreshing and invigorating to me.

2. Once the simmer pot is going, I’m going to clean up my altar. It’s pretty cluttered at the moment with herbs, tools and stones, as well as wax and ashes. I like to think a messy altar means I’m doing the work, but we’re starting a fresh cycle here. So I’ll remove everything, scrape up the wax, dust and wipe everything down with moon water, clockwise cleaning for manifesting, darlings. My deities will appreciate fresh candles and clean candlesticks too, I’m sure as well as refreshing offerings and organizing all my ingredients and tools. I’ll be adding Bloodstone, Labradorite, and Tiger Iron, as well as Rose Quartz for self-love, a reminder of why I move my body and care for my space. I’m building a discipline. That’s what stays on days when the motivation wanes.

3. When I’m satisfied with my altar space, I’m going to do something I despise. I’m going to dust. SIGH. I probably only dust the whole house once or twice a year. I’m sure that had something to do with my recent respiratory issues, and it’s been a hot minute since I’ve attended to the “magic sprinkles” as I like to call them. So I’ll don a mask, remove all the abandoned cobwebs from the corners (only the abandoned ones, mind you), and wipe down all my knick-knacks and surfaces. Don’t forget to dust your plants too, if you have them! Even though I can’t stand this chore, I am kind of excited to see all my belongings cared for and tended to as I intend to care for myself.

4. To follow that up, I’ll move into plant care. Making sure they’re all watered and removing dead leaves. Check to see if any of them need repotted or a rotation in the sunlight. This is a normal weekly chore for me, but I feel like it’s important to note here that after doing something I really don’t enjoy, it’s important to spend time doing something that brings you a sense of lightness.

5. Finally I’ll do my remaining normal chores; clean and refresh bathrooms, take care of any dirty dishes in the sink, take out the garbage, follow up on the never-ending chore of laundry, and vacuum. These can feel really boring and daunting, especially after doing several other chores, so if you struggle like me, try taking a few minutes before starting them to rest and meditate. Think about the impact these dirty spaces have on your daily life. How often are you in the bathroom? How often do you see the sink of dishes? How often do you step on a weird crunchy on the ground? You are doing these chores to care for yourself. You deserve a clean floor to lay on and flail around on without wondering what’s down there. You deserve a welcoming bathroom where you want to relax and take a hot shower or bath. Clean dishes help maintain your internal health both physically and psychologically, and you deserve to be healthy in all areas of your life. Tell that inner voice to shut up, you DO deserve it! Mindfulness and intention are the keys to mundane magic.

It’s important to note that you know what you need. If you don’t have the energy or capacity to do all of these things, you certainly don’t have to. This is just how I intend to jump back into a healthy routine after being so unhealthy. Take care of you and do what feels good for you.

This will be a long day for me, that’s true. But when I’m finished I will make some tea, sit down in my clean home, and know that I have worked hard for myself. I know that I will feel good. I will feel deserving of the hard work I put in, and the weekend will be spent in a clean space that I have cultivated for my own betterment. I hope that whatever you manifest this month, whatever drives you, and sparks your fire, that you know you are deserving of all things that are good, my darlings. Because you are!

A Short and Sweet Verdict

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello my darlings! Welcome back to Tarot Tuesday. Today we’ll be diving deep into the Justice card. While the word justice generally evokes a feeling of legality and courtrooms, this card can be applied to any level of confrontation, as the core of Justice is about searching for the truth in an objective and unbiased way.

If you’re seeking justice for a wrongdoing and the Justice card arrives upright in your reading, it’s a positive sign that justice will be served. Beware that if you haven’t acted in alignment with your morals and the overall good of all involved, you will be called out and forced to face the consequences of your actions. However, if you’ve stayed aligned with your Highest Self, you have nothing to worry about. A verdict will be passed down soon and there will be no appeals or second chances. You must accept the decision made and move forward. It can also mean that you are at the crossroads of an important decision that may have long term effects. If you can’t stand by your decision and effect the consequences, continue sifting through your morals and your alignment until you fine the place where you can confidently stand by your choice with integrity. Nothing is as clear cut as we think. Confront your beliefs in what is fair and ethical as you explore new territories that challenge your belief system.

The reversal of the Justice card is just as it sounds. You know that you’ve done something immoral, and you’re deciding to either cover it up and hope no one finds out, or to own up to the mistake and responsibly try to resolve the problem. Whatever you choose will bring consequences, so listen to your conscience and do not try to blame others. You must accept your place in what has happened. The appearance of Justice reversed can also mean the opposite. Your inner critic could be coming down too hard on you for inconsequential mistakes, micromanaging your every decision. If this resonates, start addressing the critiques from a place of forgiveness and self-acceptance. Deciphering which meaning is intended is up to you, so take some time to sit in your feelings and assess the objective truth of what is taking place. If you’re making an important decision that will impact more than just yourself, make sure you have all of the information necessary, and that you aren’t harboring bias that could sway you. These will complicate your ability to find the truth and slow the delivery of justice.

Justice is a card that demands self-awareness and the ability to detach yourself from the situation emotionally. You must dig deep into your own truths to find the good that serves everyone, not just yourself. This can be a difficult journey, especially if you’re trapped in a victim mindset. Self-pity won’t serve you or anyone else in this situation. Quiet your emotions and try to look at what is happening from an objective viewpoint. Often the hardest journeys are the most rewarding, my darlings. Do the work, take the time, and consider everyone’s perspective as valid as you search for the universal truth of a situation, and you’ll find justice.

Big Wheel Keep On Turnin’

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello, hello again, my darlings! I hope everyone had a lovely Ostara and is thriving in the growth of the earth! What a perfect time to talk about the next card in the Major Arcana! The Wheel of Fortune is up today. No, not the game show, this card is all about the constancy of change. We all know it. Most of us don’t like it, but you can’t fight change. It will happen whether you’re ready or not.

Now upright, the Wheel of Fortune represents good luck and karmic destiny. You are feeling the abundance in your life or will be feeling it very soon! Opportunities you never fathomed are presenting themselves to you, and you can choose to take an entirely new direction with your life. In the same vein, if things have been going well lately, they may be about to return to “normal” soon as the wheel turns. As long as you go with the flow, the outside factors influencing the situation will resolve themselves. Stay open to the idea that the Universe has your back and will take care of whatever is happening. You may not want the good times to end, but change is the only constant in this world. Fighting it will only cause strife.

Reversed, the Wheel of Fortune speaks to just the opposite; bad luck and resisting change are either on their way to you or are already here. You may be feeling helpless or you could be stuck in a bit of a victim mindset right now, but remember that changing your destiny starts with accepting where you are now. You had a role in getting here, and while sometimes things are out of your control, that doesn’t mean that everything is out of your hands. If you’re feeling that this change was forced on you, it makes sense that you would be resistant to it, but accepting the inevitability of change can make the transition smoother and save you from unnecessary distress. There are a couple positives to this reversal, though! One being that, if bad luck and change have been plaguing you for a while, the wheel is about to turn, so this may be coming to an end soon. The second positive aspect could be that you are finally breaking a negative cycle that has followed you through life! Sometimes this can happen naturally and gently after a time of introspection and soul searching. Other times, specifically if other cards of upheaval are present in the reading, such as the Tower, it can mean that you need to hit the absolute bottom before you are able to accept and release to the change that is staring you down.

We’re all familiar with the phrase “life is full of ups and downs”, right? That’s the embodiment of this card. Sometimes, we are on top of the world, others we feel like a bug crushed beneath the boot of life. Either way, the wheel keeps on turning. We can’t be on the top all the time, but neither can we be on the bottom all the time. Nothing is forever, and we can either fight change or flow with it. Which one will you choose, my darlings? Let me know down below, and I’ll see you next week!

Leprechaun

A story by MasterLibrarian on .

Fae Friday happens to fall the day after St. Patrick’s Day this week, so I wanted to take some time to highlight the Pagan stars of the show: Leprechauns. (St. Patrick gets enough attention.) These little guys originated from (you guessed it) Ireland! Unlike most Fae who prefer to hang out in troops, Leprechauns are considered solitary Fae who would much rather spend their time working on a handsome pair of shoes than dancing the night away at a faery revelry (Bane, 2013). That’s not to say that they don’t appreciate their Fae brethren. After all, without all that frolicking, how would Leprechauns keep adding to those giant stashes of gold they’re so famously hoarding at the end of a rainbow? You see, a Leprechaun’s main occupation is cobbling (Logan, 2014). The more shoes that get worn out from all that dancing, the more these craftsmen stand to make. They’re also no strangers to partying on their own terms, often drinking and feasting when their work is all done (Bane, 2013). They are Irish, after all.

Leprechaun
Picture via https://eatsleepbreathetravel.com/traditional-irish-folklore-part-1-legend-leprechaun/?cn-reloaded=1

Though Leprechaun’s don’t really like humans, they don’t exactly leave us alone either. They can be helpful sometimes by lending their cobbling skills in exchange for some human coin. But it’s much more likely for a person to be caught up in some Leprechaun’s deception instead. They are notorious tricksters who love to play pranks on silly humans trying to steal their gold (Bane, 2013). A human might be “lucky” enough to catch a Leprechaun, but it is almost certain that some clever sleight of hand will leave the human stranded while their green-clad friend makes off with the goods. I think my favorite story came from a Joseph Jacobs’ tale (1892). A man named Tom manages to capture a Leprechaun and convinces the Fae to take him to his hidden treasure. The Leprechaun leads Tom to a field of boliauns and tells the man to dig under a certain bush. Tom doesn’t have a shovel on him at the time, so her marks the boliaun with a red garter and releases the Leprechaun. When Tom returns with a spade, every bush in the field now holds an identical red garter, ensuring that the Leprechaun’s gold would be safe from Tom’s greed.

If you ever hear the tap tap tapping of a tiny hammer on a shoe, you can assume that there is a Leprechaun near at hand. Maybe you have the cunning to outsmart them and get their gold. Or maybe you’ll wind up like so many before you with no riches, a bruised ego, and a great tale to tell.

Activity

I have a simple assignment this week. When you’re reveling in the full moon tonight or celebrating Ostara in a few days, don’t forget your Fae friends. Nourish your relationship with them by leaving a nice offering of something sweet. I plan to leave some honey tonight when I visit my Faerie circle. They are also partial to music, so you can give them the gift of song by singing your favorite tune outside, playing an instrument, or hanging bells in your garden or from a tree. Your present will be much appreciated!

For more ideas on how to celebrate Ostara, visit my friend Calista Moon’s post under the Sabbat tab!

References

Bane, T. (2013). Encyclopedia of fairies in world folklore and mythology. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.

Jacobs, J. (1892). The Field of Boliauns. https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cft/cft06.htm

Logan, H. (2014, September 2). Traditional Irish folklore part 1: The legend of the Leprechaun. Eat Sleep Breathe Travel. https://eatsleepbreathetravel.com/traditional-irish-folklore-part-1-legend-leprechaun/?cn-reloaded=1

A Spring Story for Ostara

A story by Calista Moon on .

Happy Ostara, my darlings! Spring is here! With intermittent cold spells and buckets of rain to soak the earth, the planet is revived! Like I said in my Worm Moon blog, this is my favorite time of year, so I’ll do my best to keep this shorter than normal. I could talk about the Spring Equinox for hours! This Sabbat covers several days, from roughly March 19th to March 23rd every year. Globally the first day of Spring is considered to be March 20th, which also happens to be my birthday! So I’m going to indulge myself and share a spring myth that most people know bits and pieces of.

Now, there are a lot of myths in a lot of pantheons and cultures regarding the changing of the seasons, but lately the story of Hades and Persephone has been growing in popularity, at least in America. If you’ve heard of the web comic Lore Olympus, or the musical Hadestown, you’ll also know that the tale of Persephone’s abduction has been incredibly romanticized. I want to talk about the basics of this myth today and I will do my best to keep it simple. The Greek pantheon is my personal focus. I’ve been obsessed with Persephone since I was a little girl, so the names are familiar to me, but I’ll do my best to break it down for you in an easy to understand way.

Let’s start with our characters for this tale. We have Persephone, the Goddess of Grain and Vegetation, and her devoted mother Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture and the Harvest. Another big player, of course, is Hades, King of the Underworld, God of the Dead and Riches, as well as his brother Zeus, King of the Gods and God of the Sky, Lightning, Thunder, Law, and Justice. In addition we have an appearance by Helios, the personification of the Sun, and Hecate, the Goddess of Boundaries, Crossroads, Witchcraft, and Ghosts. An important note about Hecate is that she is often depicted carrying a pair of torches and a key. These will come into play later, I promise.

So what’s the base myth? Upon seeing her beauty, Hades was so taken by Persephone that he went to his brother, Zeus, who also happened to be Persephone’s father, and asked for Zeus’ blessing in taking Persephone for his wife. Zeus knew that Demeter was incredibly protective of Persephone and would be hard pressed to allow Hades to take her to the Underworld, so he granted Hades permission to abduct Persephone without Demeter’s knowledge. Overjoyed, Hades came up from the Underworld through a giant crack in the earth and swept up Persephone as she was gathering flowers.

Imagine Demeter’s heartache when she realized her beloved daughter had disappeared. She enlisted the help of Hecate to search for Persephone, traversing all the crossroads and searching the darkest places with her torches. As the search dragged on, and Demeter’s despair grew, she neglected the earth and crops wilted. Famine spread with Demeter’s attention fixed elsewhere, and anguished cries of the people were raised to the other gods of Olympus. Helios, who towed the sun across the sky, had seen Hades abduct Persephone and eventually told Demeter where she could find her daughter.

Meanwhile, Zeus heard the cries of the people, and saw the barren land that threatened the end of all things. He sent word to the Underworld for Hades to return Persephone at once to restore balance. Hades agreed under the terms that Persephone had eaten nothing while in his care, for that would tie her to his realm. This is where the story diverges in its many retellings. One version says that Hades tricked Persephone into eating six pomegranate seeds, binding her to the Underworld for 6 months out of every year. Another version says that Persephone ate the pomegranate seeds willingly in secret, insuring that she would spend half of the year with the King of the Underworld.

With the knowledge of her future tied to the God of the Dead, she returned to her mother’s arms. Demeter was so overjoyed, that the earth burst forth with new growth and abundance. This is how Persephone became known as the Goddess of Spring. Her six months spent in the Underworld with her husband are when the land is dying and quiet, as Demeter mourns her daughter’s absence during Autumn and Winter. But with her return, comes Demeter’s delight and as such, the planet grows new and lush for six months of Spring and Summer.

There you have it! The myth of Persephone’s abduction. Not quite as romantic as recent retellings would have us think, although I like to think that, if no love existed between the Hades and Persephone at the beginning, perhaps it’s grown with time. And there’s plenty more to Persephone’s tale, of course. After marrying Hades she became known as “dread Persephone”; Queen of the Underworld, Goddess of the Dead, Life, and Destruction, but this particular story is pertinent because Ostara is about celebrating the Spring Equinox. Therefore, if you subscribe to such things as I do, the Queen of the Underworld is returning to us for six months to embrace her mother and tend to her original realm as Goddess of Grain and Vegetation.

I know this has gotten long, so I won’t be going into step by step detail for how to celebrate this Sabbat. However, I do want to reference the Worm Moon blog one more time. I left you with the question “What do you want to grow? What needs weeded out of your life to make room for that growth?” That’s what I want you to think of my dears. What does your life look like on this new path? Connect to the newly awakened earth Connect to the full moon. Steady, hardworking, reliable Virgo’s effect on the Worm Moon is the perfect time to shift into a new stage of your life, plant seeds for yourself, and harness the potential of the earth buzzing beneath our feet as Persephone returns! It’s supposed to rain here this weekend. You bet I’ll be dancing in it and visualizing the success of my spiritual garden! What feels fresh and new to you? How can you welcome the opportunities that are beating down your door? Listen. You’ll hear them! Blessed Ostara!

Growing with the Worm Moon

A story by Calista Moon on .

Oh my darlings, what a lovely time of year! The ground is thawing, the earth is moving, and the wind gets warmer every day! In just a few days’ time, we’ll be seeing the third full moon of 2022. March’s full moon is called the Storm moon, the Seed moon, and the Worm moon. They’re wiggling themselves around in the dirt, those worms, and making the planet ready for sowing the seeds of this year. If we plant our seeds properly, we’ll reap a bountiful harvest later this year, especially since this full moon comes the day before Ostara, the Spring Equinox! But I’ll talk about that in a different post. This one will be long winded enough!

This is my favorite time of year, and not just because my birthday is on the first day of Spring. The way the earth smells, the storms that come to water the ground, potential buzzing in the air. They all come together in such a powerful, yet subtle way to start the cycle of the seasons over again. We have rested through winter and come through ready to start fresh.

The March full moon will be in the steady, organized earth sign of Virgo, and in conjunction with the Spring Equinox, you had best believe this comes with enormous death and rebirth vibes! The Seed moon is already a time of rebirth and fertility, but to align with the rebirth of the entire world in the focused Virgo sign shows change is upon us and new opportunities will shortly be beating down the doors. You may already know what needs to be let go, or be in the process of letting go. Don’t fight it, but welcome the flow of change.

Now if we’re being honest, I’ve recently started a new job and have had far less time and energy to dedicate to these blogs than I had previously, so I think with change upon us in such a grounded way, it would be smart to let it come to us. At least, that’s what I’ll be doing. And boy, is it coming! This is a time of balance, growth, and renewal, so I plan to do a long meditation this month. This is going to be in tandem with my Ostara celebration. I work with Persephone as one of my deities, and welcoming her back topside for Spring is something I really enjoy doing!

So let’s talk about associations! The Worm moon has a small collection of stones associated with it, among which are Aquamarine, Bloodstone, and Green Aventurine. If you’d like to harness some of that reliable Virgo energy, try adding Amazonite, Green Moss Agate, or Snowflake Obsidian into the mix as well. I know I will be! It should come as no surprise that this time of rebirth is associated with soft pastel colors, light lavenders, pinks, yellows, and greens. Remind you of any large commercial holidays that are just around the corner? Hmm? Easter? A time of rebirth? Coincidence? I think not, my darlings. But let’s bolster it this month. Let’s really bring that growth home with Virgo’s deep greens and hearty browns, like the earth after a storm. We’re ready for change. We’re ready to grow. We’re ready to find ourselves on stable, fruitful ground.

Now if you’ve learned anything about me at all, you know I love burning herbs. The Storm moon’s herbs, aren’t in my cabinet currently, but they include Apple Blossom, High John, and Pennyroyal. Instead of stressing about finding these before the 18th, I’ll be burning the Virgo associated herbs Marjoram and Dill with my usual Rosemary for cleansing and Mugwort to honor the full moon. You can also burn Jasmine or Star Anise in tribute to the full moon for love and harmony respectively. And if you’d like to have flowers on your altar, have all of them. It’s springtime! Adorn yourself and your space! It’s time for a joyous awakening! Fake flowers, little baby buds, trimmings, saplings, and seedlings; whatever you like!

I know that normally I give a step by step of my process for my full moon rituals, but that part will be coming in a post later about Ostara as I am combining my full moon ritual with the Spring Equinox celebration over the course of several days. So today I want you to think about what you want to grow. Relationships? Wealth? Hobbies? Your practice? What do you need to let go of to make space for that growth? What do you want to let go of? Now is the time to organize your priorities and decide where you want to go next. What serves that forward movement? The growth is waiting. Virgo’s calm, collected capability will see you through. All you must do is harness it. I’ll see you in my Ostara blog, my darlings. We’ll talk more about carrying these out then. Blessed be!

A Hermit’s Wisdom

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello again, my darlings! I hope you’re all getting through the Ides of March safely and are ready for Ostara in a few days! I’ll be posting a blog about the Spring Equinox in a few days, but today is Tarot Tuesday, so let’s have a short talk about our next card; The Hermit. He’s a straight to the point kind of guy.

Much like his name implies, The Hermit is all about solitude. Upright, he urges you to take some time for yourself to consider your motivations and get to know yourself in an authentic way. If you’re feeling a little lost, this introspection can help shine some light on the path you walk. It may not show you the end of the road, but sticking to your values can help show you where to step next when you’re feeling uncertain. Remember that the answers you seek can always be found inside you. That is where you will find your own integrity and motivation.

Reversed, The Hermit still speaks to solitary contemplation, but from an isolated or withdrawn perspective. You’re out of balance, either taking too much time alone and shutting out friends and family, or you aren’t taking enough time alone and are struggling to focus on what is important to your innermost self. All life is about balance, and your ability to strike out on your own is just as important as staying connected with others. When we are out of balance in this way, we can feel chaotic and uncertain, or even so lonely at times that it can lead to delusions. Figuring out which way you’re leaning is the first step. The second is taking action to remedy the imbalance.

Trust yourself at this time. You know what you need, whether that is time alone or connection to community. That desire for community is part of the reason we started this webpage! It helps bring us all a little closer to each other, our crafts, and to any passersby that want to join our cyber adventure here. Do what you know is right for you, my darlings!

Âu Cơ

A story by MasterLibrarian on .

Welcome back to Fae Friday! (Many days late…) This time, we’re traveling to Vietnam to learn all about the Faery Queen they have to thank for creating their people. Âu Cơ, an immortal mountain faery, is at the center of Vietnam’s founding myth along with the dragon god Lạc Long Quân. They both left their respective homes in order to travel the land of Vietnam; Lạc Long Quân left the sea to battle monsters and Âu Cơ left the mountains to heal the people of the land. Their story starts as a typical damsel in distress tale. Âu Cơ was attacked by a bird-like monster and transformed herself into a beautiful white crane to escape. Lạc Long Quân was known as a monster hunter who earned humans’ admiration by slaying many mythological beasts that threatened their land and their lives. Seeing the white crane in peril, Lạc Long Quân killed the giant bird and saved Âu Cơ’s life. She immediately fell in love with her hero, and the two were married. Together, they became the Mother and Father of all the Vietnamese people. Their union led to Âu Cơ giving birth to 100 eggs, each of which hatched into strong, intelligent children (Kalmusky, 2018). (Some legends specify sons, but others say 50 daughters and 50 sons.)

Even though this was a love match between the immortal faery and the sea dragon god, both beings grew homesick for what they left behind. Though they always promised to love and help one another, they decided to separate. Each took 50 of their children with them: Lạc Long Quân went south to the ocean and Âu Cơ traveled north to her mountain home. The children who went south became fisherman and built extensive coastal villages, and those who populated the mountainous jungles learned to cultivate the land (Kalmusky, 2018). The oldest of their children, Hung Vuong, became the ancestral king of Vietnam, and present-day Vietnamese people are known as the grandchildren of the faery and the dragon (Canadian Museum of History, n.d.).

Âu Cơ, Lạc Long Quân, and their Children
Image via POPS Kids video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CI52V3lQTA

Activity

The Vietnamese people find hope within the tale of Âu Cơ and Lạc Long Quân because, even though its population might be separated by different terrain, they are still connected by that one sacred union. This post’s corresponding project is something that can help connect the earth and water elements within your own home, much like the mountain and ocean were connected in this origin story. I got the idea from a Hearth & Vine post by Patti Estep (2020) about making your own simple indoor water feature using river rocks: https://hearthandvine.com/diy-indoor-fountain/.

Indoor Fountain
via https://hearthandvine.com/diy-indoor-fountain

All you need is a medium or large waterproof bowl, some beautiful river rocks of your choosing, and a small water pump to make the fountain flow. The attached post has a recommendation for an inexpensive and efficient pump you can buy on Amazon for less than $10. You simply suction this pump to the bottom of your bowl, arrange your stones around it until only the pump’s outlet is showing, add your water, and then plug it in. Easy peasy!

You can add some extra magic to this feature by using moon water to fill the bowl. Choose the phase of the moon you wish to draw from and allow a jar of water to sit in the moonbeams for a few hours to soak up the lunar power. You can also incorporate water-safe crystals such as rose quartz, amethyst, and aventurine into this fountain for a beautiful witchy touch.

References

Canadian Museum of History. (n.d.). History of Vietnam: Legends and prehistory. https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/cultur/vietnam/vitim02e.html

Estep, P. (2020, February 10). DIY indoor water fountain you can make in minutes. Hearth & Vine. https://hearthandvine.com/diy-indoor-fountain/

Kalmusky, K. (2018, May 25). Âu Cơ the fairy goddess: Mother of Vietnam’s people. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/au-co-the-fairy-goddess-mother-of-vietnams-people/

It Lives In You

A story by Calista Moon on .

Hello again, my darlings! Can you believe we’ve had 2 months of Tarot Tuesdays now? I have to say, writing all these posts has really brought me closer to my own witchcraft practice. It is deeply fulfilling to be sharing my knowledge with you and has certainly helped me flesh out my own grimoire! So let’s keep going, shall we? Today we’re going to talk about Strength in all its forms.

Upright, the 8th card of the Major Arcana speaks about physical, emotional, and psychological endurance and how this is rooted in our belief of our own capabilities. Your strength gives you the confidence to overcome growing fears, doubts, or challenges. You are fueled by your inner strength, personal power, and determination now. Your strong will allows you to control a situation quietly and without excessive outward force. Instead you guide gently knowing you will persevere. If you have been feeling burnt out, stressed, or drained, now is not the time to lash out at obstacles that appear in your path. Take your gut reactions, and channel the raw emotion into a constructive response. Note your instincts, but bring them into balance with your goals. The strength is in you to do so. Reach deep for your resolve.

It stands to reason, then, that its reversal shows us being vulnerable to self-doubt and lacking self-confidence. If you’ve been pushing hard to achieve a goal or dedicating yourself to others, you may feel sluggish. Strength reversed invites us to take stock and restore energy levels through withdrawal and others for a short time. You must take care of yourself if you wish to take care of others. If you neglect your own needs, you may find yourself prone to explosive behavior. Perhaps you’ve already lashed out at others and have acted without thinking. Beware your animalistic instincts. They can drive you to do or say something you will come to regret.

Strength is much like bravery. Even when you feel weak or scared, the ability to push ahead is where your real strength lies. The Strength card isn’t about forceful brawn. It’s about endurance and confidence, whether you’re lacking, or full to the brim. Use these qualities constructively and avoid reactive behavior where your primal, raw emotions are involved. While those feelings are valid, they won’t help further you toward your goal. Stay focused and in control of your faculties as best you can, my darlings! Let me know some calming techniques that work for you when you feel the animal aggression rising, and I’ll see you all next week!

Backyard Fairies

A story by MasterLibrarian on .

Happy Fae Friday! I’m doing things a little differently for this post, and instead of having a faery of the week, I’m going to channel my inner children’s librarian and review a beautiful picture book by Phoebe Wahl. I stumbled upon Backyard Fairies when I was looking for books to suit my upcoming story time all about (you guessed it) faeries! I immediately fell in love and wanted to share it with you in case you have a little one in your life you wish to treat to a story. (It counts if the little one is your own inner child.)

This book follows a little girl who believes with all her heart that faeries are all around her: living in magical, natural homes within her woods, playing music and flying through the trees, and even hiding inside her own house. She is constantly on a quest to catch a glimpse of one, and every page shows a magical creature hiding just out of (and sometimes in) plain sight.

p. 8

First and foremost, the thing I love most about this book is the illustrations. I mean, just look at this beautiful scene:

p. 17-18

There are so many distinct types of Fae represented, and they’re each celebrating in their own way during the festivity. There’s dancing, singing, kissing, drinking; you name it. They are portrayed as wild and free, just as faeries should be. They are also shown as living entirely separate lives from us, and I think that’s something important we need to learn. These are not beings who are waiting for us to notice them. They are not clamoring for our attention so their existence can be validated. They live and perish, love and feud, frolic and toil; all of this without our help or knowledge. They only interact with us when they choose to.

Which brings me to my next favorite point about this book. They do choose to play with the little girl in the story, even if she can’t see it at the time. They can be mischievous with their pranks, such as when they braid the hair of the protagonist’s dog when its sleeping. But they can also show their sweet side through actions like making the flower crown for the girl after she is sad for missing their revelries earlier in the night.

And why do they create such a sweet thing for the little girl? Because they like her. They know she believes in them and searches for them. And most importantly, they know she leaves them gifts:

p. 11-12

The surest way to a faery’s heart is to show how much you appreciate them. And how do you show your gratitude and build a strong relationship with these magical creatures? Leave them gifts. Oh, how they looove gifts. Which leads me to this week’s activity:

Activity

Start building your own relationship with the Fae. They are immensely powerful beings and can be very useful in spell work that needs some extra oomph. You can’t just ask them for something the moment you need it; they don’t work that way. That would be like asking a stranger on the street to help you move. The only help they’ll offer you is telling you where you can shove it.

So I recommend you make a connection with them now by leaving them presents. Sweet treats are the best way to go, and they are very fond of fresh berries, milk, and honey. My only suggestion is that you don’t leave anything that can poison local wildlife (e.g., chocolate). You can make these offerings as frequently as you want, and I make mine every full moon, new moon, and Sabbat. Leave these gifts anywhere you feel faeries may gather: in a hollowed-out tree stump in a forest, behind a potted plant in your apartment, or even in your own backyard. (See how I connected that back to the book title?)  

Bonus Activity

Check out more books by Phoebe Wahl. She truly is amazing.

Reference

Wahl, P. (2018). Backyard fairies. Alfred A. Knopf.