The Season of Albun Eluid & the Fall Equinox

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

ea’n Fo’mhair known as the autumn equinox, Albun Eluid, Harvest Home and more recently as Mabon, falls somewhere between September 21st-23rd. The equinox finds us again with the longitude of the Sun is 0° and 180° and directly above the equator creating a day equal in both light and dark. Once the sun crests the days from here until spring shall grow shorter.

While the first harvest focused on the gathering of grains and grasses, this second harvest is busy with the gathering of ripening fruits, nuts and vegetables. Between Lughnasadh and through the season of Mabon grapes, plums, apples and blackberries are dried in our dehydrator or made into pies, sauces, cordials, shrubs, cider and ritual/table wines. Melons are finally getting ripe, peas have reached the end, green beans are eaten fresh and canned, cucumbers and small zucchini into pickles, tomatoes are dried or canned into a variety of dishes, beets, onions, garlic, early squash, carrots, artichokes-the list goes on. The race is on to gather walnuts and hazelnuts before the crows, chipmunks and squirrels. Rose hips that were starting to turn at Lughnasadh are now fully ripe with gorgeous vibrant red colors and ready to be harvested and added fresh to honey or dried for later spell working. Final herbs are harvested and gathered in bunches to hang dry for later cooking, medicine or spellcrafts.

The energy is a bit frenzied as we all watch for the perfect moment our foods reach their peak and then hurry to process making sure there is no waste.

Our Mea’n Fo’mhair altars reflect the hard-won abundance we have sown and harvested. Gorgeous red, orange and yellow leaves lay the foundation for colorful indian corn, bright red and green apples, nuts, purple wine grapes, textured gourds and luscious orange pumpkins. Red and orange candles flank our Lord and Lady while grape vines ring the harvest sickle and bouquets of sunflowers, seedpods, bittersweet, beautyberry, zinnia, dahlia, chrysanthemum, pot marigold and nicotiana adorn our sacred space.

Our pantries are filled with hanging herbs while jars of pickles, dried fruit, honeyed rosehips, dilly green beans, carrots, jeweled fruit jams, Dads famous pepper jelly, Grandma HeBert’s mustard pickles, elderberry cordial, raspberry shrub, blackberry and apple wines, as well as lemon verbena, conserve all vie for space on the crowded shelves. Our dehydrator is working overtime to preserve the last berries and herbs too delicate to hang.

The turning tides also find us with open hearts of thanksgiving for the abundance we are harvesting and processing. We call on the god and goddess of Mabon that we may share with them our abundance through libations poured and vegetables harvested, while also calling forth the blessings of plenty during winter scarceness. The frenzied days turn to twilight skies and lengthening shadows signal an important shift as we ride the double helix of what we have manifested and what is to come. We will feed our bodies with fruitful and nutritious sustenance while our souls are nourished with the vibrant colors of yellow, orange, purple and red turning foliage.

Mabon offerings @ Rosethorn Manor

The waning sun bows its head and we traverse the liminal thread of the double spiral of fate-seeking that still deep place we have long yearned for and travel towards in the coming season of Samhain. With the volumes of work to get the harvest in during the time of the shortening days, it can be a challenge to maintain our internal/external balance. Mabon is as beautiful, rich and decadent as the colors we are surrounded by and we find ourselves being filled with wonder and gratitude for the gifts of the lady and lord that will sustain us in the dark days ahead.

How do you nourish yourself or maintain your balance in the Mabon Season?

Lughnasadh

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

ughnasadh also known as Lammas, Lúnasa, Lùnastal, Luanistyn take place on August 1st or thereabout and find us celebrating the first of three harvest rites. While the timing is not necessarily technically middle of summer-in the PNW it is the middle of our hot and sunny season of the year and it is now that food stuffs are becoming ready for harvest and processing.

At this time in the PNW roses are still blooming and fragrant, yet the abundant hips are starting to turn a bright red signaling that there are changes coming. Wheat and oats have ripened and are ready to be cut. Grass hay and alfalfa have been baled and put up in our barns and fill the air with their fresh mown scent. Vines have climbed high reaching towards the sun’s rays with hop flowers being readied for tea or beer and grapes sweetening in their ever-tightening skins to be eaten fresh or made into wine and jellies. The puddles have long since dried and the water levels are getting lower in ponds and rivers which find little tree frogs, salamanders, bees, jackets and wasps crowding around watering holes and fish barrels.

As pagans, we have specific rites on special days as a way of bringing everyone together to raise energy that we may realign our frequency and sense of purpose to the season’s activities both internally and externally. However, the sabbat days we celebrate together are not the beginning and ending for us, but kick off an entire season of nurturing, maintenance, gratitude and harvest.

In the season of Lugh or Lammas, we honor deity and adorn our altars with sunflowers, red hollyhocks, elfwort, heather, roses, poppies, indian corn, blueberries, blackberries, squash blossoms, nasturtiums, topaz, carnelian, yellow gold and red candles. Ripened cereals of oats and wheat along with the first foodstuffs of corn, green beans, artichokes, crab apples, eggplant, early squash, a few grapes, mulberries, plums, pears and apples are added and generate gratitude in our hearts for the cyclic relationship we enjoy with our Earth Mother. Grasses and grains are fashioned into a Grain Goddess with plenty of seeds to save for next year’s sowing. Flours of wheat and corn are made into fresh loaves of bread and an anatomically correct John Barleycorn is added to our altar.

At this time we call to the Goddess of Abundance of the God of the Green. We give offerings of gratitude, enlivening our hearts and rejoicing in the abundance all around us. We acknowledge the strong life-giving sun while recognizing the change in shortened days require a shift of duties and focus. A noble and brave man is chosen to sacrifice himself for a time as John Barleycorn so that our cycles of give and take may continue. We use this time to clear out our physical and spiritual storehouses of that which no longer feeds or nourish us, so that we may make room for the strongest and most nutritious energy sources to sustain us during the fallow time of the year. At this time we have walked between the worlds and have gathered the required energies to move forward with the harvesting tasks at hand. We drink and pay homage to the old gods and call upon their continued favor for our crops that we have the energy to continue our journey.

Each area around the world has smells that speak of the seasons and for us in the summer season, it is bilberry/blueberries, blackberries and apples. It would not be summer in the PNW without the sweet pungent smells of those fruits baking in the sun. Blackberries, blueberries and apples are so nutritious and are eaten fresh, made into pies, syrup and wine. Can’t get enough of the blackberries! The lavendar has dried and been stripped of their stalks to be added to spell-workings and Full Moon Shortbread. The beauty and abundance is all around and fills my heart with gratitude. Though I will admit that all of the hard hot days of work see me longing for the cool crisp autumn nights and I relish the casual relaxed evenings with my family, the bbq’s, cool down swim time and midnight desserts. We ponder the work/life balance, knowing the necessary hard work in the next weeks leading up to Mabon and continuing into Samhain will end with a cozy firelit evening to rest and contemplate further the journey of our souls.

How do you celebrate the summer harvest and what smells signal summer for you?

Bright Lughnasadh Blessings to you and yours!

Tarot Tuesday

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

the TOWER

“After a great blow, or crisis, after the first shock and then after the nerves have stopped screaming and twitching, you settle down to the new condition of things and feel that all possibility of change has been used up. You adjust yourself, and are sure that the new equilibrium is for eternity. . . But if anything is certain it is that no story is ever over.”
― Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men

celticT he Tower-change is a coming-blessed or be damned. The Tower is a difficult card representing turmoil in our lives, there are no two ways about it. We are trucking along thinking everything is going okay and ‘bam’ the Tower shows up, usually at the most inopportune times. The Tower is generally known to mean danger or crisis is on its way as well as unforeseen change. The Tower arrives to challenge the narrow structure that defines our lives or our security based on false beliefs about ourselves and our world. It is a situation or occurrence sent to wake us up because up to this point nothing else has worked.

The major arcana cards are always an indication that our spirit is trying to speak with us…..the Tower is telling us that Spirits knocking has gone unheeded and will be ignored no more.

The Tower has always brought to mind the old stories of alchemists in the tower working furiously at magic, attempting to challenge currently held beliefs regarding the scientific order of things in the Universe as well as dabbling with otherworld energies for the wrong reasons. The overstepping due to ignorance or ignoring the warning signs cause the Tower to explode sending everyone overboard. Inner and outer realities collide with real-world consequences……what inner red flags have you been ignoring regarding what is right for your soul?

The Witch’s Garden…..and Sacred Space

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

“If such a consciousness truly is set loose in the world, nothing will be the same. It will free us to be in a sacred body, on a sacred planet, in sacred communion with all of it. It will infect the universe with holiness. We will discover the Divine deep within the earth and the cells of our bodies, and we will love her there with all our hearts and all our souls and all our minds.” Sue Monk Kid

Raised beds and stone circle @ Rosethorn Manor

I The Witches Garden

step into my witches garden full of intoxicating scents and sights that fill my soul. T’ween dusky dark and evening dew……these two magical times of day see the garden wrapping around its witch in a hug and beckoning me to commune and engage in the magic that surrounds. I am embraced and enchanted by the scents of spring roses, heady lilacs and early blooming wisteria. The freshness in the season of Beltane is a spring tonic for the soul that chases away the cobwebs of winter.

Earth magic is one of the oldest, easiest and most general forms of magic

Lovers Beltane Bouquet @ Rosethorn Manor

practiced, for we are but star seeds enrobed in earth. The earth is our bodies and the blood of the ancestors sing in our veins, informing our DNA, our frequency and the very core of our magic.

For a Witch, the land is sacred and we have many rites and rituals that honor her and express our gratitude. For me and mine, our land is also representative of our relationship with deity. We have lived and worked this land at Rosethornridge for over 20 years. Our land sits smack dab in the middle of older forests and new replants and is acreage that was originally logged and left. She was very sad and a bit crestfallen when we purchased her and took up residency.

Through the years we have worked very hard to bring back balance and harmony to our little neck of the woods. Intense practices of planning, organic farming, permaculture and forest scaping our space have created a haven for people, animals and nature spirits alike. We have built beds for flowers, shrubs and trees that nourish the soul, heal and feed the body, while aiding in our spiritual practice. Natural places have been incorporated to keep the wild mystery of the old ways alive. There are places to work and spaces play, perches to rest with a glass of sweet tea and contemplate the greater mysteries.

Every working on our place is created with intention as it is representative of my family’s relationship with deity, the trinity of the God, the Goddess and us. The blood, sweat, tears, love, joy and thoughts throughout the changing seasonal sabbats are our conversations with deity.

Butterfly & Delphinum @ Rosethorn Manor

The consistent and intentional cultivation of our space also intensifies our magical workings since herbs, flowers, roots, seeds, buds, leaves and other offerings of nature have been recipients of our attentions over many weeks, months or even years. Each plant has been welcomed to Rosethornridge, sown into the earth and nurtured through the love and attention it receives. When we dig roots for dark moon magic or gather roses and lavender for a lovers enchantment we have now, in turn, become recipients of the energies of the Earth. By creating sacred space and offering our gratitude through mindful intention, we have formed a bond and aligned ourselves with the plant energies long before they are ever harvested.

As with all worthwhile endeavors it has been a process to be sure. After many years of mindful intention, a frequency is now present that allows the spirit energy of God & Goddess to be made manifest on the earthly plane, independent of its residents. We endeavor to continue our symbiotic relationship with the land as an expression of our spiritual lives and practice. How does your garden grow, we would love to hear from you.

Blessed Be & Happy Cultivating!

Beltane Blessings

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

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celticT

he wheel turns once again and we find ourselves at Beltane. Beltane, also known as May Day falls on May 1st. Though really what we are saying is May Day kicks off the Season of Beltane, with the thinning of the veil most prominent around May 5th. There is a quickening of spring energy that pushes animals and people to pair up, bees have awoken and are starting to pollinate the spring flowers and trees. We look for the sign of burgeoning spring in the apple blossoms to know when to plant our carrots, beans, peas and cabbages. There is so much creative energy spurring a frenzy of activity and we are holding hopes of creative and fertile abundance to manifest in our lives. This is still also a liminal period where a profusion of starting buds and blooms can be killed off by late frosts and still need to be safeguarded. The Sacred Marriage is the focus of Beltane where we celebrate the fiery and passionate union of the God and Goddess that energize the earth and put the fertile fire of creativity into our bellies.

April’s showers continue into May, though gentler and a bit warmer. This winter has seen a lot of snow in the mountains and the colder temperatures have kept snow longer in the foothills surrounding our home. However the grass grows lush, rich and green for the horses, sheep, deer and elk. The surge of new life can be seen in the prevailing apple blossoms and spring bulbs while the rabbits chase each other around our stone circle in their frenzied mating dance.

Beltane is a rite that takes as much preparation as Samhain and has a special importance as it is the brightening of life when the veil is the thinnest. We honor deity by adorning our altars with pink and green candles, early rose buds, honeysuckle, apple blossoms, hawthorn, lilacs and ivy. Stones of malachite and rose quartz along with a drinking horn bring the beauty and frequency we are aligning ourselves with for the season. Ivy wreaths have been wrapped with pink, purple and green ribbons. The bonfires have been laid ready for lighting and the ribbons have been attached to the oiled maypole awaiting the dance. Offerings of milk, honey, cinnamon and woodruff have been left out in a beautiful bowl on our sun dial.

Sacred woods of apple, willow, birch, hawthorn, oak, ash, elder, holly & hazel have been gathered and bundled for the ritual need fire. Each and every wood has a purpose and frequency that when combined have a power all its own to bestow great blessings upon its maker. This wood is of course all chosen with specific intent and gathered in a sacred way with many offerings. As pagans we work diligently to listen and read the signs around us, not taking what has not been offered and always giving something back.

In the PNW, May is an extremely beautiful but contrary month for us in regards to weather. For that reason we always start our rituals indoors and set our sacred ring. We move outdoors to leave an offering to the Outsiders as well as a libation to our Maypole, the symbolic phallus of the Lord of the Rite. We circle the pole and dance the ring, reveling in the bawdy joy and sensuality of the season. With ribbons unfurled and wrapped around the pole in song and dance the ritual hieros gamos plays out and the piercing of the veil commences with the drifting down of the virginal ivy crown. The doorway has been ritually and energetically opened so that the welcome presence of the Lord and Lady is made manifest in our earthly realm. The energy by now is running very high and there is a tangible quality of connection and vibrancy among covenors, especially among mated pairs. Some of the energies are kept under wraps until festivities later in the evening, since we have children who are in attendance. After we have danced the Maypole and planted our fairy charmed tree (all between the raindrops on many occasions) we light our three ritual needfires and head back in to expand upon our rite of celebrating the magical union of polarities both externally and internally. We call forth fertility, passion, joy, a new birth, good-fortune and creativity as we jump through the purifying and blessed powers of the balefire (remember to be careful what you wish for). Sometimes we might have a lovely handfasting ceremony to add to the festivities. Once our rite is closed and the feast is had, children are put to bed or head home. Couples depart and participate in the Great Rite among the gardens or orchard or possibly on a spicy ride home. There is nothing like riding high on the energy that has been raised in circle and grounding it in the promise of future manifestations for our family, kin, Mother Earth and our fellow beings.

Another small project we like to do during the season of Beltane is to place the red eggs that have been planted on Ostara with nasturtium sees calling forth blessings for our beloved kin and tribe as well as those whom there is no love lost and those who are searching seed.
balefirejump We do this on the first family ritual of the month along with a mini Maypole that has been kissed by all the ladies is planted in the pot. It is later watered with holy water and the blessed alchemy of the Great Rite. We then set the pot out of doors to enjoy the light of the sun & moon and await the growth of each of the blessings we have called upon.

How do you celebrate the Season of Bel?

Blessed be in this season of Beltane!

Mini Maypole wand & Ostara Eggs @ Rosethorn Manor

House Wine-Part II

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

t Rosethorn Manor-we work hard and we play hard. While I admit, I do on occasion love the punch of brisk and sweet southern tea on a roasting day, I normally cannot consume things so sweet.

In our house my husband, son and I all three have different tastes when it comes to tea….kind of like the three bears, which is why the second house wine in line is Herbal Sun Tea (this is actually a tisane, however for the sake of common generality we will use them interchangeably). There are certain flavors this pagan girl craves in the summer heat and it is mint and lemon and nothing better fills that craving as fresh herbs from the garden. This spring we have been especially lucky to have my four favorite tea herbs of sweet mint, lavendar, lemon balm and sage already showing growth and ready to use.

All four of these herbs, along with chamomile, make a healing sun brew that can be consumed all summer. I have the particular challenge of dealing with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and the combination of these herbs go a long way in helping deal with the symptoms while also aligning my body with the healing energies of earth and sun. This particular tea is good for all women whether you have female ailments or just want a healthy healing concoction for your lovely bodies.

Tisane herbs from the gardens of Rosethorn Manor

Lemon balm has a refreshingly bright lemon flavor and is a feminine herb known for its association with the Melissa-Priestess of Bees. It works to balance the hormones and boost circulation as well as acting as an anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal; it reduces cancer cell size, lifts depression and aids in menstrual discomfort. Its sedative properties reduce anxiety and stress and gives the tea a soft smooth quality.

Sage has a sharp pungent flavor (so I go easy on this in the tea and adjust the flavor accordingly). It is related to the rosemary plant and has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant properties. It is beneficial for bones, brain, skin and the immune system.

Lavender is an amazing all round feminine super herb that I use in every area of my life cooking, cleaning, healing and spell working. Definitely one of my herbal totems and allies. As a tea it reduces stress and anxiety, aid in sleep and relaxation while still keeping the mind present, it reduces the pain of cramps and calms the overall system working as an antibiotic, antiseptic, disinfectant, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. A wonderful ally with endless uses.

Mint, in general, is a cooling herb that tastes amazing and is known to help reduce testosterone. Spearmint, in particular, is known to decrease androgen levels and reduce the levels of free testosterone in the blood, which is especially important if you have PCOS. Mint is a digestive and anti-oxidant and serves to lift depression as well as combat some cancers and clear the mind.

Chamomile has antipeptic, antispasmodic, antipyretic, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-allergenic and serves to soothe the body inside and out as well as aid in sleep.

I also like to add stinging nettle when in season and fennel seed which is wonderful for the female systems. I used to use hops from our vine outside the front door, however, I have learned that hops contain high levels of phytoestrogens which are not good for me. For most women it can be a lovely addition to their tea blend, however, if you have PCOS, make sure to check your hormone panel to see if you are high or low in your estrogen.

Feminine Balancing Herbal Sun Tisane recipe
1 large handful of Chamomile or 6 Chamomile tea bags (while I grow chamomile I really love the flavor of Celestial Seasonings Honey Chamomile)
3-4 sprigs Lavendar

1 large handful of Lemon Balm

House Wine II Herbal Tisane

1 large handful of Mint -though flavor-wise I go easy on the Spearmint as its pretty strong
1-2 large springs of culinary Sage

Place all the herbal darlings into a 1 gallon glass jug or sun tea pitcher (not plastic) and place out in the sun for the day.

I do sweeten with honey at times, however, I do this last because it will start to ferment on the occasion you forget it. When it’s really hot out I will leave the tea out overnight to bathe in the full moon when she is out and just generally cool down before placing in the fridge. Though you will want to have two pitchers because as soon as one is made it will be drank and another needs to be brewing.

Blessed (Bee) and Enjoy the Season of Sun Tea Brewing!

House Wine-Part I

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

Preferred House Wines of the Witches of Rosethorn Manor

othing quite quenches the taste buds on a hot day than iced tea. People all over the world have some form of tea obsession. At Rosethorn Manor, the house wine-nectar of the Goddess is tea. We drink it year round for slaking our thirst, warming up, cooling off, comfort and healing. Opinions in our house are split between the herbal sun tea and southern sweet tea (ask any southerner or my son and the world just isn’t right without some sweet tea).

We grew up drinking iced tea in the summer with crushed mint from my Grandma’s garden and I just couldn’t get enough of it. However, it had very little if any sugar in it. Sugar just wasn’t something my sis and I had much of growing up and I never really developed a taste for it.

Fast forward into the future 20 years….I’m in college the second time around…….and along comes a Virginia Boy. Well, this Virginia Boy and I become fast friends and he waxes on about his Mamma’s southern sweet tea…he can’t find it anywhere up here in the north, people have tried and nobody, but nobody can make tea like a southerner he tells me. Well, having spent time in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, I can attest to the fact that this Virginia Boy is correct, our tea is not made so sweet~as that is known as hummingbird water up here in the Pacific Northwest. BUT…this boy has thrown down the gauntlet and I am not known for walking away from a challenge (and I’m just plain tired of hearing him whine about tea). Off I go, bound and determined to conjure this homesick boy some Southern Sweet Tea. Now mind you…..this witch can cook and this witch can conjure, so this witch is pretty darned good at figuring recipes out.

Down the road a couple batches and I am just not getting the recipe correct and it’s making me a little pissy (this was in the day before everything was all over the internet). It was never sweet enough and something was just a little off. I asked this Virginia Boy what was in the recipe and how much of what? He said he didn’t know as he’d never made it, but he knew it when he tasted it. Finally, I broke down and asked if his Mamma could possibly be sweet-talked into parting with her Sweet Tea recipe? The Virginia Boy gets on the horn with his Mamma, who very graciously parts with her recipe. What was the missing ingredient you ask? Baking soda and waaaaay, way more sugar than I was using. The finished product was actually something I couldn’t quite stomach too much of, but it was taste-tested by the Virginia Boy, who said it tasted just like his Mamma’s. I did tease him and reminded him I was a northerner. The Virginia Boy just smiled and told me I must have a southerner’s heart to make southern sweet tea. I will admit the baking soda threw me for a loop, however it does really smooth out the flavors of the tea.

The recipe for this Southern Sweet Tea is as follows:

6-7 tea bags-(Liptan is okay, but Luzianne in the red box is better and trust me, it does make a difference in flavor, I don’t know why)

1 1/2 -2 cups of sugar

Place these in a bowl or 4 cup measure and pour boiling water to the top. Stir the sugar until dissolved. When somewhat cooled add a pinch of baking soda and stir.
Garnish with fresh mint or lemon

Now….in reality, I just cannot make the tea with this much sugar. My husband doesn’t like things so sweet either, however, I have a teenage son who believes the more sugar the better. For years I got away with making it with a lot less sugar, though my son just returned from visiting family in South Carolina and has experienced the difference. Since I can no longer pull the reduced-sugar wool over his eyes, I make it with a combination of sugar and stevia or just stevia. I know southerners are probably rolling their eyes skyward, but as I said-in this house that’s hummingbird water. We still love us some Southern Sweet Tea though.

House Wines @ Rosethorn Manor

To see the second preferred house wine by the Witches of Rosethorn Manor please continue to House Wine Part II

Adventures of the Two of Wands

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Holly & Jacques

2wands

y card for today…. Two of Wands. This card leaves me hopeful. Oftentimes read as a card on the precipice of stagnation due to feeling hemmed in from the steadfast structure and empire we have created for ourselves and those around us. I often see this at times when people are restless and unsure of what to do next because they’ve held so tightly to beliefs about what they should be doing or how they should be doing it both for themselves and perceived by others. Generally, this card has a character with a crystal ball or the Earth the Heart Center which means I am hopeful that today will bring about information where my heart and mind can come to some alignment or agreement about the next steps I need to take on my path.
How do you all read the Two of Wands?

Carbon Footprints and Mindful Consumerism

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Holly & Jacques

Posted: March 28th, 2010 Times Viewed: 2,878

Do you know what your carbon footprint or pollution rate is? If you don’t, you should find out and there are several websites that are helpful in determining this based on your lifestyle. This blog spot came about as a result of conversations with coven members and attendances at past pagan events. As Pagans and Witches we know-or should know, about environmental issues, waste and recycling, the acres of debris choking our oceans and its effects on our sacred lands.

Carbon footprints (or shall we call them troll prints) and pollution go hand in hand. It has been a long standing problem starting in the Industrial Age and has snowballed out of control. From what I have seen it seems that many people see an issue aired on Oprah or in a magazine and get up in arms. For a while that may affect some change, but it’s never consistent or long enough. I’m not saying that every little bit doesn’t help, however if lasting change is going to happen it has to be built on responsible lifestyle choices all of the time, even when these choices are not convenient.

As pagans we recognize the earth is sacred, what we do to her, we in turn do to ourselves. We are quite literally, in every way made up of atoms from the earth and through the elements we are linked to the web and life force of our planet. With this sacred bond also comes the understanding that we are connected to all life on this planet, whether it be elemental, human, or animal, “fur, feather, scale and skin-different without but the same within”. When one is highly attuned to this web we know the joys and beauty of the network as well as the very physical pain that comes with pollution.

The degradation and pollution of our planet is consistently a topic among my pagan friends as we try to solve it for ourselves and see where we are responsible through our life choices for helping or hindering the war on pollution. One of the biggest factors is understanding our personal relationships with deity and how we see ourselves in relation to what is going on around us, how do our actions and waste effect our environment?

Through the years I have come up with many things I do to take responsibility for my family and our carbon/pollution footprint. One of the major ones, of course, is to recycle. However, it is taking it one step further and buying products that use the least amount of packaging and required the least of a footprint to produce. I do not have a lot of landfill waste; however I did look at the contents of my recycled plastic and aluminum. I made lists of the most often consumed item and then chose to can or make those that I could such as the basics, mixes, as well as chili, soup, pizza sauce, root beer, even Irish cream, etc. I save and purchase everything from pastas and nuts to teas and spices in bulk. It all takes time and is a project of organizing your home and pantry to make it work. As a single parent ‘doing it all’ time is something I have very little of it. I don’t necessarily want to be ‘doing’ all of the time, but as I said it’s a lifestyle and a choice that is responsible for less waste. I compost food waste for the garden and shred much of my paper in a shredder to compost so it’s not being burned and wasted.

As a pagan, I go through a lot of candles and incense. I keep all my candles that I use for Sabbats wrapped up and labeled so that they can be used the following year if they don’t burn all the way down, if I need a new altar cloth in the past, I wait till the material is on sale or do without. I make sure to buy quality and have enough now that I shouldn’t need to buy those for a very long time. I take all my incense powder in the bottom of bags and boxes and keep it in an old baby food jar. I use this to make my own incense or add to spell workings. I grow as many of my own vegetables and herbs as I can-of course aided by my compost. I have found that it is important to think about every item I purchase in terms of what it took to make it and what waste it will be in the end. I also made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t bring something into my house if it didn’t have a use. I want beauty and function and if I bring something in, something goes out. Quality over quantity. There has been a movement to try and stop waste by having people ask themselves how much do you need, what do you need versus want? Yet it seems to me when I look around that people will rationalize a want into a need, so it only partially cuts down on waste. I’ve heard people say that everything they have is needed. Is that really true? I read an article wherein a man suggested that people, ‘RETHINK ESSENTIALS’. It makes much more sense to buy only what you need. Anyone can rationalize a want. But ‘rethink essentials, ‘ I think, says it all.

A few years ago I joined thousands of other people and spent 18-months buying no new consumables except food. (I did draw the line at undergarments, but everything else was used). You know, it wasn’t really that hard and it does a good job of pointing out your own impulse buying or the rationale ‘I just have to have that’. I did do without some things, however there was nothing that was really missed in the end. I remember going out with some friends and one forgot the camera at home. What did they do? Went and bought a disposable. How about taking responsibility for the fact that you forgot it and must do without? We see this all the time in the need for the latest gadgets and junk. If one really requires that stuff in his/her life maybe priorities need to be rethought. What is each person willing to do without somewhere else in order to offset that gadget or technology? It is said that one should plan for seven generations ahead of you. When people try to rationalize to me their choices I have to ask why? Would one not feel shame at the lack of responsibility in terms of one’s own relationship with the Earth and Deity and future generations?

As Pagans I think it is time that we rethink our essentials by being mindful of every single item that is brought into our homes and the waste that leaves it. If the Earth is our Mother, then what are we doing? I go to events or pagan gatherings and find myself scratching my head as I look around and see the waste. Being a pagan and a witch means living an integrous and morally responsible life day in and day out. It is doing the work within to know who we are as people, thereby knowing what drives our needs, our wants and our triggers. It is knowing what is going on in the world around us, educating ourselves and having our voice heard by how we spend our dollars.

We must ask ourselves: would we treat our Mothers the way we treat the earth? Would we bring the mess of junk into our mother’s home or discard the junk there or waste her resources with such disrespect? If you were to look around your home and/or property does what you see bring honor to your spirit, honor to the spirit in which you practice, honor to your relationship with Deity? What do you think? How do you help or hinder? What do you do to consume mindfully and take responsibility? I would love to hear what your experience has been or what you have done to lessen your carbon footprint.