rules schmules...or, black is the color of my true love's hair

i was reading about spells of reversal recently and came across the idea that when it comes to 2-color candles, black must always burn first, lest the spell caster 'end by cursing themselves'. i can certainly see the logic in this. and while i agree tradition has its place, i believe and know that the most potent magik occurs when the practitioner has developed their own sense of things.

for example, in this image, you have two versions of a candle. one will burn black then lavender, the other, lavender then black. suppose i want to remove the energetic crap from my space prior to meditation or workings dealing with the highest chakra? well, i'd grab the candle with the black top. now if i'm looking for a a bit of alignment with my crown chakra, before getting into some deep delicious workings, i'd go for the lavender-then-black candle.

negativity is simply another side of the coin when you take away the connotations, no light without dark.....for me, black is the deepest earth, the womb, the place from which we all arrive and to which we all return....and with that, the black at the bottom of my candle can represent a greater energetic range.

that's what altars, and friends, are for

after sitting with a friend tonight, a friend going through quite a lot right now, i realized i'd forgotten to give her one of the hand-dipped candles i've been making lately. i thought the twisty, almost spirally blueness of it could help ease her woes to some extent. ever the impatient aries, i almost took it over to her....about 2 seconds after (i'm getting better!) i decided against adding yet another task to her plate and lit the candle with her in mind.

'fusion brews are on the way....

a spell to call a lost weed/plant

last year, having already encountered many of my familiar friends, including red clover, plantain, and of course, dandelion, i found myself lamenting to a good friend about my unsuccessful attempts to locate stinging nettle in the wilds of my hometown woods. her seemingly simple suggestion to 'call her' made me smile. soon after, i took her advice, and along with another friend, called her. we used her common and botanical names, (urtica dioica) not being sure which she prefers....towards the end of last summer, i noticed a few odd sprouts in a container of soil. they looked familiar....they WERE familiar.....nettle!

and now, after an especially wintery winter (for those of us living below the mason-dixon line anyway) ...look who's back in abundant glory!



#1 in our SPELL A DAY series
(more on our inspiration for this project in another post! in the meantime, see noah scalin's skull-a-day blog)

to call a lost weed/plant:

supplies:
your voice
common & botanical names of the weed/plant
paper (optional)
a writing instrument(optional)
a green candle, white is also fine (optional)
something sharp and pointy (a straightened paperclip?)(optional)

steps 1-3 & 6 are optional:
1. inscribe the names of the weed/plant into the candle
2. light the candle and set in a safe place
3. write down the names of the weed/plant
4. be sure to see the plant as clearly as you can in your mind's eye
5. call the names of the weed/plant out loud. yes, for real. make up a song!
6. bury the name paper in soil (your yard or a park)
7. give thanks!