February | 2016 | Hag o' The Hills

2016-02-29 21.35.28

There are times in life we experience inequality, we face those on a power trip, or those who simply try to bring us down. I created this spell for one such situation in my life.

For the spell you will need:

1 dinner candle and holder

9 pins (I used sewing needles)

lighter

offerings

***

Take a dinner candle in a colour of your choice. I picked a dark blue to suit my purpose.

Call upon whatever energies/deities you want assistance from. I chose to work with the elements and my ancestors.

Lay out offerings, feed your spirits, your deities etc. Tell them what you need help with.

Hold the candle and take a deep breath, breath out over the candle, breathing your own energy into it.

Warm the side of your candle with a flame to make the wax more malleable.

Take the first pin, insert it near the top of the candle and say:

“A pin to prick your conscience, you will see with compassion”

Take the second pin, doing the same, say:

“A pin to prick your conscience, you will act in fairness”

Third pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, you will see my worth”

Fourth pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, to see all my hard work”

Fifth pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, you will feel empathy”

Sixth pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, to move things my way”

Seventh pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, to see sense in what I say”

Eighth pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, to have the balls to fight for me”

Ninth pin:

“A pin to prick your conscience, now you must do right by me!”

Burn your candle over the coming days (you may choose to burn over 9 days for each pin if you have the time. If it’s an urgent situation allow the candle to burn fully.)

Thank the spirits/deities/energies involved.

Slàinte!

Last night I met up with my local pagan moot to celebrate Imbolc. Braving the harsh wind and rain from Storm Henry, we gathered and huddled inside the building clutching steaming cups of tea and coffee.

We gathered around the altar, gazing into the candle representing Bride’s hearth fire, with Bride in her bed overlooking our circle. A motley crew of pagans; among our party was a heathen, two animist folk witches, a green witch and a kemetic witch. Yet despite our different paths and beliefs we met common ground and came together to celebrate the season. We all took turns talking about what this time of year meant for us. For me it is as though I were a bear, slowly coming out of a spiritual hibernation. Winter makes me retreat, hermit-like and I store my energy inwards to help me focus on the mundane tasks at hand.

Bride in her bed

But as soon as Imbolc approaches I feel the need to go forth like a seedling bursting through the cold, damp soil towards the promise of the sun. The inner fires within me burn and rise, and I feel the aching need to get back into my craft and socialise, as well as plot and plan projects over springtime. Bride has come, and She renews us, giving us the vitality needed to break out of the lackluster winter darkness.

Moot Imbolc Altar

We cleansed ourselves with incense and blessed water with purifying herbs, using a bird’s foot as an aspergillum. We each lit a candle from the central hearth fire, and later snuffed it out to be relit, taking Bride’s fire into our homes. The moot co-ordinator Ffyona guided us through a seasonal meditation and I felt myself relaxing, sinker deeper and deeper into it, the imagery filling my senses. When it was done I felt like I’d woken up from a nice long nap. Using the energy we’d gathered, and the light from Bride’s hearth flame we sent out healing to loved ones and took some of the healing within us too.

Then after all the energy work, we laughed and chatted and feasted together 🙂

Although we were a small gathering this time round, I can attest to the success of our moot as I was one of the co-founders. The moot is now running in its fifth year and going strong.

A moot is only successful when it’s members contribute. So please folks, support your moots and gatherings. They are run by hard working volunteers with busy lives, so although showing up to moots is great, perhaps you can also offer to lend a hand? If you have a skill, or a talent, put it to use 🙂 Moot co-ordinators don’t want to be running the show 24/7, the point of a moot is to create a safe community for members to get to know others of a like mind and for celebration, but also as a place of learning. We all have something we can contribute to the community.

My Imbolc celebration has turned into a two day event. This evening I relit my hearth flame from the candle I used at the moot to welcome Bride into the home, an offering of milk was placed on my altar and then I made some Bride’s crosses out of pipe cleaners.