Today we have a New Moon in Aquarius.

The New Moon begins a new cycle. It is the seed of the beginning lunar cycle and we can use the energy of a New Moon to begin a new cycle for ourselves. The three days after the New Moon are the most powerful times to work spells for growth and beginnings which should manifest at the Full Moon.

As Jim Maynard, author of the popular Pocket Astrologer says, the chart of the New Moon is the key to influences we will experience in the coming lunar month.

Aquarius is ruled by Uranus. While the Moon is in Aquarius, public affairs become more important as there is an increased interest in social welfare. People are very friendly, but in a superficial manner. Uranus brings the desire for freedom and a love for the innovative and unconventional. People are now operating from intellectual rather than emotional motivations. Searching for expression of personal thoughts and uniqueness, they may demand freedom to come and go without restrictions. Aquarius rules the ankles, the circulation, the electrical forces in the body and the nervous system.

Today's New Moon also ushers in the Chinese New Year.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

Conventional wisdom says that it is best to perform any spells designed to take unwanted things away from you during the waning moon. This is the time to do your magick if you want to banish evil influences, lessen or remove obstacles and illness, neutralize enemies, and to remove harm. For truly banishing something for good, a dark moon - or a Black Moon - is best of all. Tonight is a dark moon in Aquarius.

When the moon is in Aquarius, public affairs become important as we take an increased interest in social welfare. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus and this influence brings the desire for freedom and a love for the innovative and unconventional. People are operating from intellectual rather than emotional motivations.

Tonight, I am going to perform some candle magick To sever the ties that bind. The purpose of this ritual is to release myself from my lost love. I have been struggling to let go of a love that was very important to me and that is now truly lost. Tonight, on this Black Moon, at midnight when a witch's power is at its strongest, I will release this love with hope that I - and he - can finally achieve some peace.

The spell I'm using is from Marie Bruce's book Candle Burning Rituals. It's a simple spell, performed with black candles. What I like best about it is its compassionate tone:

I sever the ties that bound us together,

In mind, body, spirit and heart.

I sever the ties that bound us together,

For we must part.

I wish you well, I know the pain will heal,

But sever the ties and break our seal.

A time when desire for freedom and intellectual motivations rule seems most auspicious for one who needs to move on from a painful emotional entanglement. I will hold my pink quartz heart and wear my pink quartz ring - for self love - as I perform the ritual. And for good measure, I'm going to burn a photo of the two of us as a physical representation of a final, complete parting.

I've added the complete spell to the Grimoire.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 4:26 PM | Comments (0)

Give us a tour, some images, or detailed descriptions of your sacred space(s). Be it a small table in your room, a small trip through the woods, etc. Show us where a spiritual place is for you.

The closest thing to sacred I have ever come is sitting by the sea, listening to the sound of the waves on the rocks, the wind blowing around it all. When I'm sitting on a beach with nothing but me and the elements I feel at peace, powerful and humbled at once, and content.

Thank you to Witches Weekly for the Q&A.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:32 PM | Comments (0)

Or - The Witchy Woman's Breakup Album

Fallen by Evanescence

My playlist:

Going Under, Evanescence
Uninvited, Alanis Morrissette
A Pain That I'm Used To, Depeche Mode
Are You Happy Now?, Michelle Branch
Taking Over Me, Evanescence
My Immortal, Evanescence
Can't Get You Out Of My Head, Kylie Minogue
Precious, Depeche Mode
My Last Breath, Evanescence
It's Been A While, Staind
Criminal, Fiona Apple
Whisper, Evanescence
Harder To Breathe, Maroon 5
Just Like A Pill, Pink
Don't Bring Me Down, Electric Light Orchestra
Bring Me To Life, Evanescence

My favorite:

Going Under

Now I will tell you what I've done for you
50 thousand tears I've cried
Screaming deceiving and bleeding for you
And you still won't hear me
Don't want your hand this time I'll save myself
Maybe I'll wake up for once
Not tormented daily defeatd by you
Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom
I'm dying again

I'm going under
Drowing in you
I'm falling forever
I've got to break through
I'm going under

Blurring and stiring the truth and the lies
So I don't know what's real and what's not
Always confusing the thoughts in my head
So I can't trust myself anymore
I'm dying again

I'm going under
Drowning in you
I'm falling forever
I've got to break through

so go on and scream
Scream at me I'm so far away
I won't be broken again
I've got to breathe I can't keep going under

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 2:13 PM | Comments (0)

Better than fortune cookies. Yummy Italian chocolate with hazelnuts and pralines and fortunes in five languages: Baci.

Earlier this evening, a sweetie named Brian who works at the market downstairs where I spend way too much of my money buying food stole a kiss for me. The Baci that he handed me had this to say:

We do not so much need the help of friends as the certainty of their help.

Magick works in mysterious ways!

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)

I love wine. LOVE it! I can tell you a fair amount about California wine, but the best advice I received on the whole wine subject was to taste a lot and know what you like. That said, imagine my delight when I began to discover a few wines that have clearly been crafted by some like-minded souls.

My first witchy wine was Les Sorcieres by Clos Des Fees. The wine store on the corner carries it and was having a tasting one day that I happened to stop in (although as I've said before there are no coincidences!) It's a Cote de Roussillon and very good. Roussillon is a town in the Luberon valley of Southern France; Carignan, Muscat and Grenache are the principle grape varieties in wines from this appellation. I served it to some witchy friends, who noticed and appreciated my choice. It was a success!

Since I discovered Les Sorcieres, I've been on the lookout for other witchy wines. Tonight I found another one: Mythique.

Presented in French on the front label, a description has been considerately translated on the back of the bottle:

Twelve years ago, a group of winegrowers in the South of France decided to create a "mythical" wine that would express the best that the Languedoc has to offer. To symbolize the painstaking task of tending vines in an untamed environment, they chose the Owl of Minerva, the goddess who taught men how to master nature.

The 2001 vintage is a careful blend of micro-cuvees from forty-two selected growers, all contribute to the unique personality of this outstanding wine.

Yum, yum! There must be a few French witches who are leading double lives as vintners! Next time you have your coven over for a get together, don't forget to have a couple of bottles of Les Sorcieres and Mythique in your cooler!

For tasting notes on these witchy wines, follow me after the fold.

About Les Sorcieres

35% Carignan, 35% Grenache, 30% Syrah. Grenache and Carignan from old vines of between 40 and 80 years old, and young syrah vines. Mainly limestone-clay soils. Harvest date decided to obtain the best possible fruit while maintaining balanced acidity. Hand-picked grapes, sorted in the vineyard, stored and transported in a refrigerated truck. Pre-fermentary cold maceration, in concrete tanks that contain 150 and 170 hectolitres. Daily pumping-over. Maceration, at controlled temperatures, lasts between 15 and 21 days, obtaining soft extraction. De-vatting after malo-lactic fermentation. Aged for 8 months in concrete tanks on fine lees. Minimal quantities of SO2 added during ageing and at bottling. 2004 is undoubtedly the best vintage of Les Sorcieres that we have ever produced. Highly concentrated for this type of wine, with explosive fruit flavors, delicate tannins and a silky texture. This was delicious as soon as it was bottled and will improve over the next two to three years. Bottled in June 2005.

About Mythique

Val d’Orbieu is an interesting company. It’s not a co-op, but a growers’ association, with 180 growers and 15 co-ops from the South of France. How does it work? Each domaine makes wines as it wishes, calling on help from the association staff if it is needed, and makes use of the pooled marketing resources (this is especially important; it allows small domains to have a presence in the marketplace that they’d otherwise lack). The nice thing about this arrangement is that unlike the co-op system it tends to reward people who do good work. Altogether sales top 20 million cases. La Cuvée Mythique is an interesting wine. As a flagship of Val d’Orbieu, it is made centrally: vignerons who supply grapes for this selected cuvee will typically be visited four times by viticulturalists from the association, and the result is quite impressive.

La Cuvée Mythique 1998?Bit of sweetness to the fruit on the nose, together with a touch of caramel and spice. Rich spicy palate shows chunky, savoury fruit and some complexity. Very good.

La Cuvée Mythique 1999?Deep coloured with an attractive herb-tinged spicy nose. Nice spicy berry fruit on the palate: well structured with good acidity. Nicely made and good concentration. Very good.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 7:15 PM | Comments (2)

When I first learned how to read tarot my teacher told me that there were enough cards in the deck to represent the - shall we say - more challenging side of life and therefore it wasn't necessary to read cards in reversed position. And so whenever I read cards, I simply put them all right side up - easier to read that way anyway!

As I'm getting back into the habit of daily readings for myself in an effort to reacquaint myself with the cards, I've considered reading reversals, wondering if this would add more nuance to my readings. For one thing, I already know what all the cards mean - this process is a refresher. For another, to understand what a card means reversed you need to be familiar with what it means to start with - so it's still a refresher.

I'm curious to hear from other readers to find out how you view reversals. Do you read them or not?

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 3:44 PM | Comments (2)

Okay, I realize that I'm writing a lot about tarot lately. It's just that I'm diving back into it after some time away and the way I learned was to do a reading for myself every day. So I've gone back to that practice and well, some interesting questions are coming up.

A good spread for daily readings is the three-card Body, Mind and Spirit spread. One card represents each area of your life for that day. Mind and Spirit are easy - at least for me - because I always see the cards as indicators of the psychological state. But Body? Not so easy for me.

What does it mean, for instance, when the Two of Cups pops up as the Body card? This is a card that I've always read as a friendship or perhaps new relationship. What does that have to do with my body? I'm going to work out with a friend today?

Clearly I need to spend some time thinking about this. But it could end up to be a very intriguing intellectual exercise to figure out what the cards do mean in relationship to the more physical side of daily existence. Any thoughts and comments are surely welcome! You'll probably hear more from me on this subject as I delve further in.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 4:09 PM | Comments (2)

What is your definition of the divine, if you believe in divinity at all? (Do you adhere to a god/goddess, one spirit, many deities, etc)

To quote myself on this topic:

Right now, for me, deities are the energy of the universe manifesting as beings who hold domain over certain aspects of life. I want to embrace an eclectic pantheon of gods and goddesses to support me in my magickal arts. I believe that Ganesh, as the remover of obstacles, has guided me and helped through some difficult periods over the past couple of years. I invoke him a lot. Brigid, as the goddess of creativity, seems to have been guiding me throughout my whole life, as I am a creative person and feel that part of myself to be one of the most important parts of my personality and character. As I get further into my magickal studies, I'm feeling more and more drawn to her.

Brigid has actually taken a more active role in my spiritual life since I wrote this in September. She came to me in a meditation about my magickal name and told me to take hers (I'm using Bride, the Scottish spelling, as a second name). Again more recently, she came to me in meditation and told me that I should study her and be sure to attend ritual at Imbolc.

If deities are embodiments of universal energy and as such are representatives of the divine spirit, then I also believe that the divine can live in other things, be they objects, places or experiences.

Thank you to Witches Weekly for the Q&A.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 10:52 AM | Comments (1)

As those of you who have been following along have doubtless been able to surmise, I lately have been experiencing a less than lovely romantic situation. It had a most unpleasant coda on Sunday - a hurtful and unnecessary phone call that left me stunned, angry and bewildered. I needed to understand it and so I turned where I always do in cases like this - tarot.

However, with the cards laid out in front of me, I was just as confused as before. So I thought I would enlist the help of my reader friends to figure out what this could mean.

I used my favorite spread, The Celtic Cross. Keep in mind that I was taught to read tarot without reversals, so everything is straight up. This is what I got:

The Celtic Cross

1. Strength
2. Nine of Cups
3. Nine of Wands
4. The Lovers
5. Ten of Swords
6. Five of Pentacles
7. Nine of Swords
8. The Hermit
9. Ten of Cups
10. King of Cups

First off, I noticed how many nines there were. Any numerology experts like to venture an opinion on what it means to have so many nines in one reading?

Then I was struck by the seemingly antithetical juxtaposition of those horrible Sword cards with the happier Cup cards. What does that mean?

One important thing to note is that for as long as I have known him, the now-ex-boyfriend always appeared in readings as the King of Cups. He is a Pisces. It followed. I also always took it as an indication of his role as the love in my life. I'm so, so perplexed that this card appeared in the Outcome position. WTF?!

Does this mean that I'm going to end up with him anyway? That he's going to end up happy with his new girlfriend while I am miserable about his betrayal? That there is going to be a new love interest instead?

I'm so, so confused!

I used to be an extremely intuitive tarot reader. I learned from my friend Susan Levitt while I was living in San Francisco. Last year, now here in Boston, I took a another tarot class because I thought it would be interesting to learn how to read the cards from a different perspective. Unfortunately, what it did was mess with my ability to read the cards instinctively. I haven't been reading much lately because I find this development disheartening and frustrating.

I am determined to refresh my tarot skills. However, in the mean time, I would so appreciate any insight that anyone who reads tarot can offer. Comments please!

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 1:46 PM | Comments (1)

Today on the calendar it is Epiphany. In Christian tradition it is the climax of the Christmas season, the day after The Twelfth Day of Christmas and Twelfth Night. In Latin tradition it's known as Three Kings Day. It marks the day that the three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, thus the reason why many Central and South Americans open gifts the night before. Some churches even celebrate Christmas on this date. The theological significance of the day is to "reveal" or "to show" Jesus to the world as "a light for revelation."

What significance could this day possibly have for a witch?

Well, we all know another meaning of the word epiphany:

a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery b : a revealing scene or moment

As it is a new calendar year and many of us take this opportunity to resolve ourselves to some improving behavior, why not use this day, Epiphany, to look for signs of the manifestation of meaning, to examine the events of today for intuitive purposes, to make an illuminating discovery?

Today is the First Quarter Moon in Aries. This combination means that we couldn't have a better time for new beginnings and instigating change. The Moon in Aries brings much energy and enthusiasm. The First Quarter brings us to a point in the Waxing Moon when any impediments to growth in consciousness are easily overcome and the necessity for change is made clear.

So today I'm going to spend some time meditating. I'm going to keep my eyes open for signs and look to my dreams for anything noteworthy. I'm going to make it a witch's Epiphany.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:33 AM | Comments (2)

What do you think is the greatest obstacle to your spiritual growth, and how can you overcome it?

For me, the biggest obstacle is myself and my busy life. Too often my time gets taken up with work, relationships, stuff. It takes discipline to make time for meditation, study and spiritual exploration, and lately that has been in short supply.

Although I hate making New Year's Resolutions, I have promised myself that in this new year I will make more time for witchcraft and studies. Partly because I have Witchcraft II coming up in March and I want to be prepared but I also need to nurture my soul and take better care of myself.

The goal is to make the spiritual as reflexive as brushing my teeth!

Thank you to Witches Weekly for the Q&A.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 3:58 PM | Comments (1)

Somewhere recently I read a review of this deck. It was described as influenced by Druidry and Wicca and, although easily recognizable to those who read the Waite Rider deck, possessing distinctively pagan symbolism. I was intrigued and decided to try it.

Death as the Goddess Crone at Samhain

My usual resource for reading materials and supplies - Unicorn Books in Cambridge - didn't carry it. I figured I'd wait until after the holidays and have them order it for me. Lo and behold, it turned up at the Trident Bookstore! Of course I snatched it right up.

I haven't actually started reading with these cards yet. My plan is to spend some time with the book first. It is better than most literature that comes with tarot decks and does a great job of explaining the philosophy that went into the creation of this deck.

A Tarot for Wicca and Druidry

Just as the Tarot can help us to understand so many different spiritual approaches, it also offers an ideal medium for exploring the central ideas of Wicca and Druidry. In addition, it is intimately linked to both past historically and philosophically. And, once we explore these links, we find ourselves arrivng at the common ground that is shared by both paths, and that we have called DruidCraft.

The imagery in this deck, besides being distinctly pagan, is noticeably Scottish - one of the reasons it appealed to me! Many of the people are wearing kilts and plaid and the cards depict a very Old World environment. In some cases, images and symbols are different from the Waite Rider deck and a few of the Major Arcana have been renamed.

Temperance has become The Fferyllt

What excites me most about this deck is the promise of delving deeper into the spirituality of the Craft and my Celtic heritage through tarot. I've read tarot for a while but haven't focused on reading cards much lately. I've resolved to make my study of the Craft a serious focus for this new year. So I'm eager to start reading with these cards.

The book contains a Rite of Blessing and Dedication for the cards (as well as notes on spreads). Now that the moon is Waxing, I'll pick an auspicious day to perform the ceremony and then I'll get to reading.

I'll be sure to keep you posted!

The DruidCraft Tarot by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Art by Bill Worthington

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)