DoTERRA

I was so excited to learn that many of the people in my community were learning about and thinking of using Essential Oils. Until I looked in to where most of them where getting them. Doterra printed DoTERRA is a company that you can become a independent contractor with and sell there products. When I looked into this company the first thing I noticed was the price They were sure charging ALOT for there oils. Now I know maybe better then many that to get a real essential oil and one of good quality that you must pay for what you are getting. However this company was charging way more then is the normal amount. The second thing that I noticed was that they told people to put there product right on there skin with no warnings on the site about the dangers of this. This fact told me that they were not selling you real undiluted essential oils. You will never buy a essential oil that is safe to put right on your skin many can even burn you, they must be mixed with a carrier oil such as coconut or olive oil. You can buy a suitably good quality carrier oil at your local supermarket. But the highest grade cold pressed organic oil you can find. The next thing I noticed from the DoTERRA site was them telling you that you can put their oils into a humidifier to disperse it into the air. This I really did not understand a essential oil is just that a oil and you put water in to humidifiers and so it stands to reason that the water and the oil would not mix. the oil would flout on the top of the water and not get dispensed into you house with the humidifier.  If you want a trust worthy place to get your Essential Oils at a fair price try Mountain Rose Herbs. at mountainroseherbs.com They are located in Oregon and most of there products are organic. they also tell you the source for all of them.  I have done research on this company over and over again and have known about them for many years and full heartily trust them with there products further more they are environmentally responsible and give you a note with every oil purchased with careful instructions. there is also a page on there site that you can learn about the dangers on many oils.  So to sum up this post Don't buy from DoTERRA and do buy from Mountain Rose Herbs.

May 2012

today the first of may is Beltane also known as may day. 

Traditional may day wine:

1 cup sweet woodruff
2 bottles rose' wine
4 dozen rose petal ice cubes
1 quart strawberries
1 quart chopped peaches
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white rum
2 bottles champagne
1 bottle white wine
1 liter lemon-lime soda

Two weeks before serving: clean woodruff and pack into one bottle of wine. Cork and let sit.
The day before serving: make four dozen ice cubes by placing rose petals in the compartments before adding water. Freeze until solid.
Hull and wash the strawberries. Slice. Mix peaches and strawberries. Add sugar and rum. Marinate overnight.
An hour before serving: Strain woodruff out of wine and discard leaves. Mix champagne, all remaining wine, lemon-lime soda, and fruit in a large bowl. Stir.
Add ice cubes 15 minutes before serving. Serves 20.

Beltane is a fire festival marking the return of the green man and the coming of summer. 

Celebrate fertility, like the soil that is growing crops. but a word of caution this is not a good day to get married.

March

The full moon this month is on the 8th which falls on a Thursday this year. This month we also have the first day of spring or the spring equinox.

St. Patricks day is this month but unless you are catholic or Irish you probably wont celebrate it a whole lot. When St. Patricks day comes round it does remind me of the celts and that if you traveled to Iraland you would find that many of the people still belive in elves, lepracons and fairys so i thought it would be the perfect time to present a new link to you describing all the differant types of fea. click here <-------- to see this great site.

March is a great month even though there is often times a lot of wind I keep my spirits high by remembering that spring is coming soon. very soon in fact the first day of spring is the 20th this month. This means that planting time is just around the corner. if you haven't already, get your seeds out and figure out what needs to be planted when. 

There are not really any special traditions that take place at Ostara. Ostara is when light and darkness are in balance but the light is growing stronger. Ostara was not originally a part of the Celtic year, and all of its associations were given to Beltaine until recent times. Because it was named for the Teutonic Goddess of Spring and New Life, Eostre, it is assumed that it was brought to prominence in the Celtic world by the Saxons.

If you follow Celtic tree months then the 17th of march is the end of Celtic Ash tree month and the 18th is the start of Alder tree month. 

February

Imbolc Is the main pagan festival this month and it is on the first or second. It is the first festival of the warming up of the earth waking from a winters nap. We celebrate life on this festival as we pay close attention to the earth it is slowly showing changes of spring. It is time to start thinking about what you will plant, and to dig the bulbs out of the root cellar. Imbolc is a time of magical energy related to the feminine aspect of the goddess, of new beginnings, and of fire.  Brighid's snake emerges from the womb of the Earth Mother to test the weather, (the origin of Ground Hog Day), and in many places the first Crocus flowers began to spring forth from the frozen earth.

It might still be cold outside but you can almost feel the love in the air as valentines day draws near. Herbs of Imbolc: Angelica, Basil, Bay Laurel, Blackberry, Celandine, Coltsfoot, Heather, Iris, Myrrh, Tansy, Violets, and all white or yellow flowers. Foods of Imbolc: Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Poppyseed Cakes, muffins, scones, and breads, all dairy products, Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Raisins, Spiced Wines and Herbal Teas. Colors of Imbolc: White, Pink, Red, Yellow, lt. Green, Brown.

January

New years is on January first as everyone knows but i bet you never thought of it as having any special meaning.

The start of a new year on your calender no matter which one you go by can be very special indeed. Start your new year off with a clean and cleansed house to make way for a great year. Make a resolution for the new year and post it where you can see it everyday until you make it come true or so that it reminds you everyday. For example my resolution this year is to not have scroungy lazy days. A lazy day is one thing but even a lazy day gets lazier when you don't get up and get ready. so I have challenged myself to get up every morning one hour before my children and get myself ready to face the day. by doing this I find that I manage to keep the house at least as clean as it was when I woke up without any real effort. The other part of my resolution is to make more time for my children, time spent even at the grocery store can be a interactive and learning time spent with a child. 

Some people this year might be paranoid or just worried about the many apocalyptic predictions out there.  From Nostradamus to the Mayan calender, I am telling you there is nothing to worry about. I don't put much faith in Nostradamus nobody has ever stopped a tragedy form happening because they read his works and knew what it meant. No people only look at what he wrote after something has happened and say that the recent event could have been what he was trying to say but i find fault in all of his writings and don't see as how a single one ever came true. 

As for the Mayan calender it ends on the winter solstice in December this year. It does not say that the world ends its just that was as far as they wrote out the calender. 

Many argue that the Mayan were a highly advanced group of people and that they could have read the stars and made this prediction. Well guess what I can read the stars as well and as for them being highly advanced they where no more advanced then many great ancient civilizations, look in to some ancient civilizations and you will see there were many many of them that were doing great things but not all of them preformed human sacrifice. the Mayan were not as far advanced as one might at first believe if you look at other groups of people most notably the Egyptians.

Wheel of the year

Imbolc, Imbolg, Brigantia, Candlemas  February 1

A celebration of the waning of winter and the first signs of Spring. At this time you can see the buds swelling on the trees and almost smell the blossoms they will soon become. The ice thins and streams start to run. One becomes aware that the afternoons are lasting a little longer. In some places there are snowdrops and crocuses already. This is often celebrated as the first of three Sabbats of the growing light.

It can be a time for getting in touch with the wonder and excitement of childhood. At this time, many dig out the seed catalogues and start dreaming of the garden they hope to grow this year...whether that is the garden in their backyard or balcony, an internal garden...the place inside that offers refuge and inspiration, or a creative project that has nothing at all to do with plants.

Ostara, Vernal Equinox  March 19-22 (the day the Sun enters Aries)

This is the day popularly celebrated as the beginning of Spring. Of course, depending on where one lives, Ostara may find you still shovelling snow, or the cherry blossoms may have come and gone already. It is generally a time of the first delicate and cheerful flowers...daffodils, forsythia, fruit-tree blossoms. It is a time when many animals are having their young...hence the symbolism of bunnies and chicks popular at this time...indeed those bunnies were often used as a fitting symbol of fertility at this time of first planting.

On this day light and dark are of equal length. It is a time of balance, so many pagans turn their thoughts to the things within them selves that they wish to balance: male and female, logic and intuition, will and surrender, acceptance and motivation to change. It is a time to celebrate growing things and to ask for blessings for the projects we launch after a winter of planning.

Beltane, Mayday  May 1

This is the last of the Spring fertility festivals, and Spring is well established. Flowers are in all stages of blooming, being pollinated, and involuting to form fruit. The year is in its adolescence, and this is a time for love and union.

Looking around at Nature's exuberant abundance, most pagans turn their thoughts to love magic at this time...pulling love in, expanding their capacity to love, and learning to love themselves. It is a time of union, and rites may involve physical union or work for greater harmony among the parts of a whole.

Midsummer, Summer Solstice  June 19-22 (the day the Sun enters Cancer)

This is the longest day of the year... the time when the sun reaches its peak in the sky. It is no coincidence, I'm sure, that we celebrate Father's Day at this time. It is a time of dry grasses and wonderful long evenings when everyone sits in the cooling air outdoors. Fruits are forming all around us, promising a rich harvest . This year's young animals are growing strong and expanding their boundaries. It is a time for travel and visits.

This is the time when many witches start collecting their herbs for the year. We celebrate the power of the Sun and our own power. We celebrate seeing the projects we launched in the Spring gather momentum and grow without our constant vigilance. We push our limits and expand them.

Lammas, Lughnassadh  August 1

This is the first of the three harvest festivals. Some of the early grains are available, as are many berries and some vegetables. The days are still warm and long, and we'd like to be lazy, but it is the time to start canning and preserving. The tops of the maples may be showing a tinge of red.

This is a time to express our gratitude for the harvest that is starting...to acknowledge the riches the year is bringing us and pray for continued abundance. We start to see the rewards of the projects we began in the Spring, and work to maximise them. The days are starting to get shorter, and we look ahead to the winter.

Autumn Equinox, Mabon September 19-22 (the day the Sun enters Libra)

Reflecting the first half of the year, this is the middle harvest festival and the time when light and dark are again in balance. The leaves are turning and some are falling, crunching underfoot. The rest of the grains are coming in, as are the apples. In the cooler days, baking and preserving continue with a little more enthusiasm. It's cool enough to pull one's knitting out of the closet to make warm garments for the winter ahead.

As we watch the smoke of autumn bonfires rise, this is a time to again express gratitude for the harvest, often mixed with prayers for the Winter that we must now acknowledge is on its way. It is a time to gather seeds and put them away for the next Spring. We also gather the roots of those herbs whose potency is underground. It is again a time of balance, but one where we are looking ahead to a time of darkness, rest, and gestation.

Samhain, Hallowmas, All Hallow's Eve  October 31

The last of the harvest festivals, it is the time of nuts, squashes, and pumpkins (of course). It is the time to cull herds for the winter and cure the meat. It is the witch's New Year. Because it is held to be the time when the veil between this world and the spirit world is thinnest, it is a time when many cultures honour their dead. On this night witches, and many who don't consider themselves witches, put out food for their ancestors, and try to contact loved ones who have gone before. The masks and costumes children don at this time may hark back to times when people would honour their ancestors (or perhaps even the animals slaughtered at this time) by wearing their masks.

This is a time for looking back at one's roots and seeing how one has grown. It is a time for seeking guidance, either by contacting one's ancestors and spirit teachers or through divination. We are entering a cold time when we may be restricted indoors, and many people do some psychic and physical cleaning to make this experience more palatable. It is a time to drink deeply of the wisdom of the nurturing darkness.

Midwinter's Night, Yule, Winter Solstice  December 19-22 (the day the Sun enters Capricorn)

On this longest night of the year, darkness reaches its depths, and the year turns to begin its journey back into light. Halfway through the winter season, it is a time to splurge a little and eat richly, celebrating the sweet return of the Sun. In many cultures it is celebrated as a rebirth of hope, the birth of a Son or the Sun. It is a time when families pull closer together to keep each other warm through the second half of winter. The world outside is cold, dark, and damp, and everyone makes an effort to make the indoors cheery with candles or sparkling electric lights and decorations that celebrate their own interpretation of this time. Many bring an aromatic tree into the home, and hang bright fruits on it to emulate the rich harvest they pray for the next year.

It is a time to look without fear into the dark and reap its wisdom before it is dissipated by the coming light; and it is a time to celebrate this returning light with love and renewed hope. It is a time to share the gifts of the previous year and to open the way for more in the year to come by sharing love, light, and nourishment with those less fortunate.

A Kitchen Witch

A Kitchen Witch can be defined as a Witch who does spells using food, herbs, crafts and kitchen utensils. This type of Witch does not normaly cast a Circle while doing these spells. Using the energy or power from within.  When mixing the ingredients together and preparing food, a Witch concentrates on her own energies and the properties of the food. Using her energy and enhancing it with the food, she imprints her purpose onto the food. This spell is 'activated' when the food is eaten. As the personal energy of the Witch is used, emotions are especially easy to impart. Healing and a sense of wellbeing can be very easy things to accomplish through Kitchen Witchery. Sadly, if a Kitchen Witch feels frustrated with a particular dish or ingredient, these feelings can be transferred to the finished product. This is why a Kitchen Witch, or a good cook, will never cook an unfamiliar dish for a special occasion.

The kitchen can be the most important place in a home  In the kitchen the Witchen as I like to call myself will do a majority of her spells, whether it be just to give the lemonade extra refreshing power or to help heal a sick friend with a cake. Bunches of protective and helpful herbs used for those reasons will often be seen hanging in the kitchen Cookbooks, mundane and Magickal will also be fairly standard.

Fruits and vegetables have special powers,  There are many lists in existence, which describe their powers Recipes are often handed down through families or from teacher to student. As they are highly personal, it is always an honor to receive a recipe from a Kitchen Witch.