Ecoregional Druidry: Adapting and Localizing Symbolism

The Druid's Garden

To follow up from two posts a month or so ago on ecoregional druidry and the wheel of the year and celebrating rituals, observances, and activities, I want to continue thinking about how druids can adapt basic practices of druidry to their local ecosystems. This is particularly important for those of us in diverse ecosystems around the world: part of nature spirituality is being with nature as she is in your region. Thus far in this series, we’ve explored a druid’s wheel of the year that is seasonally-focused on a local ecosystem as well as the different ways we might celebrate this wheel of the year with rituals, observances, and activities. Also tied to these spiritual practices are symbolism associated with the elements and directions; framing symbolism that weaves its way into our practices in a variety of different contexts. And so, in this post, we’ll delve into thinking…

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Crystal Towers

By Sonia Acone

Crystal towers are usually 6-sided crystals that converge to a point on one end and are flat on the other end. They can often be confused with obelisks, which are 4-sided. Towers are designed to stand up with the point facing up. Energy is directed upward towards the point and outward. Crystal towers are also wonderful Generator crystals and can be used in grid layouts as the central stone.

You can also use a tower to amplify your intentions when using a grid, by touching the point of the tower to each of the crystals in your crystal grid, even if the central stone is not a tower. This will magnify the energy spreading throughout your crystal grid.

Towers can also be used just as you would a wand, as they generate power at the tip. Write down a wish or intention. Touch the tip of the tower to the written words as you say them out loud, raise the tip up towards the sky and back down to the written words.

Use your crystal tower during meditation, distance healing or even on yourself to increase enthusiasm, relieve pain and to connect to other like-minded people.

Sage Ash

Witchery Wednesday

One of the signs that you might be a little witchy is that you tend to save everything. It’s not hoarding if it’s useful, right? And when it comes to spellwork, everything can be useful. If your pockets are currently full of bits of stray string and your shelves full of glass jars (that may or may not actually contain cobwebs on purpose) then you know what we’re talking about. But here’s something you’re probably not saving that you should be.

Burning white sage, whether as a smudge stick or loose, is almost a witchy right of passage. Some people will insist that you should discard of any loose sage or sage ash that is “used up” after burning so as to avoid “contamination”. But we disagree. Sage ash is incredibly useful, and should not be wasted.

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How to do it? If you are using a smudge stick, roll…

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Cave Trolls

Awakening

As Autumn Approaches…

Good Witches Homestead

As autumn approaches, it brings with it shorter days and cooler nights. This makes it the perfect time to experiment with warming essential oils, such as cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, and black pepper. One of my favorite combinations contains cassia (cinnamon), clove, and sweet orange essential oils. It just smells like autumn to me! You can diffuse this blend or add a few drops of each oil to an oil burner and let the scent fill your home. You can also mix these oils into a water-based spray. When doing this, I like to add some Moss Agate chips or small tumbled stones to the bottle. Moss Agate is a stone of rebirth and is great to use during seasonal changes.

Autumn also means the start of the school year for those with school-aged children, or for those who recently returned to school as students or teachers. This can usher…

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Muses

Eleven Traits of Witches and Wizards

The Mystique and Lore of Sapphire’s

Good Witches Homestead

Amulets, Talismans, and Religious Beliefs

Sapphires figure prominently in numerous beliefs and traditions, both past and present. For centuries, sapphires have been used for alchemy, magic, healing rituals, and astrological prognostication.

Early priests and scholars believed that precious gemstones, including sapphires, had specific “virtues” that could be used to benefit man if their powers were properly harnessed. According to legend, Helen of Troy (c. 12th century B.C.) owned a large star sapphire, which was believed to hold the key to her desirability. The famous “seal” of King Solomon (c. 1000-931 B.C.) was legendary, not only because it was an inscribed sapphire, but also because it apparently gave him power over spirits in the air, earth, and underworld.

During the Hellenistic period (400-100 B.C.) when gemstones were associated with specific deities or occult powers, sapphires were routinely inscribed with the head of Jupiter (Zeus), the god of the sky. During this…

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Larimar: The Atlantis Stone

Good Witches Homestead

Larimar or blue pectolite is an extremely rare gemstone. It has been found only in one location: a mountainous, relatively inaccessible area in the province of Barahona in the Dominican Republic. The first mention of the stone is in a request to mine Larimar in 1916, however, it wasn’t until 1974 that the stone really made an appearance.

About Larimar

In 1974, Norman Rilling, a member of the U.S. Peace Corps, and Miguel Méndez, a Dominican found pieces of Larimar on the seashore. The word Larimar was created by Mendez, who combined his daughter’s name Larissa with the Spanish word for sea, Mar.

Before Mendez and Rilling, local inhabitants of the region and their ancestors had long been aware of the stone. Early theories suggested Larimar was produced by the Sea, later by the earth’s volcanic movements. Island legends said that the stones could be collected easily on the beach, but…

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