Land Blessing Ceremony using the Seven Element (AODA) Framework

Loving the Land (Earth Element card from the Plant Spirit Oracle!)

Last week, I provided an overview of the AODA’s seven-element system. I have worked with this system as my primary magical and energetic practice for almost 15 years and have found it to be an extraordinarily flexible and engaging approach to working with the land, the spirits of nature, and providing blessing and healing to the land. Thus, today’s ritual is a land blessing ceremony, with both solitary practitioner and group variants.

Many traditional land blessing ceremonies include using some form of energy (in our case, the seven elements) to bless and protect a space. This ceremony draws upon the energy of the seven directions for blessing and healing. This ceremony is ideally done walking the perimeter of a piece of land you want to protect. If you aren’t able to walk a perimeter of the space due to…

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The Energies of March 2020

Good Witches Homestead

The cosmic line up for March promises an energetically full month with a positive focus on continuous transformation and the testing of old structures that will not be fit for purpose going forward.

This process might feel intense at times so keep in mind that the intention behind the energy flow is one of ‘making things better’. Even so, it could still feel challenging to be faced with making new choices that appear to threaten carefully constructed comfort zones, so stay positive and remember to be kind to yourself as you negotiate the energies this month.

Full Moon in Virgo

We have powerfully expansive full Moon in Virgo opposite the Sun in Pisces on March 9th.

The energies around this time will provide a sense of optimism and illumination that will be very supportive of transformational change. Piscean energies facilitate inspiration from the spiritual dimensions, while Virgo has the ability…

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March Birthstone: Not just Aquamarine you have another choice!

Good Witches Homestead

Aquamarine, the March birthstone, is a bluish-green stone that gets its name from aqua marinus, the Latin for “seawater”.

This is in reference to the tranquil blue color of the gemstone, which has made it a favorite gem among celebrities, royalty and everyone in between.

The natural deep blue-tinted aquamarines are the rarest and most highly prized.

Chemically, aquamarine is a type of beryl, the same mineral group as morganite and emerald, and is characterized by expansive six-sided crystals that can grow to be as long as a foot. This makes aquamarine an ideal gemstone for producing large carat pieces that, when faceted or polished, make exceptional statements.

Another significant aspect of aquamarine that makes it so valuable is that it is often eye clean (visually flawless), given that there are rarely inclusions that can be seen with the naked eye, and it has fewer fractures than emerald. Moreover…

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The AODA’s Seven Element System: Above, Below, Within, Earth, Air, Fire, Water

The Druid's Garden

The AODA’s Sphere of Protection in a Tree demonstrating the seven-element framework

Perhaps the first thing to think about in any system of spiritual or magical practice is the way in which a practice offers a framework to understand reality. These frameworks vary widely based on the spiritual tradition: some use a complex system of deities to map concepts to reality. Deities often have domains and represent certain aspects of reality (e.g the Horned God Cernunnos of Celtic Mythology can represent fertility, abundance, the land itself, and so forth). Other systems may have songs, stories, and dances to help explain the world. Other systems may recognize different kinds of energies and map them (such as the Jewish Kabbalah or Yggdrasil, the world tree, in Norse tradition, In AODA, our primary framework is a seven-element framework. The seven-element system is a highly adaptable and non-dogmatic framework that you can use…

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Crystal Healing Our Relationship to Wealth & Healing For Being Overwhelmed

By Krista Mitchell

Tiger Eye: Healing Our Relationship to Wealth

“Wealth is many things. We give it a numerical value, but that’s just a number, not a feeling.

What is wealth?

Safety, love, health, friendships, joy… the list goes on!

How did we warp wealth?

By losing touch with its true meaning, its true joy.

Take a moment to connect with me, and as you do my energy can ignite your solar plexus [chakra].

Joy, nourishment, feeling the cool solid structure of a tabletop – all of these things are wealth.

This week, celebrate your wealth in small, simple ways.

Reclaim for yourself the love, light, and beauty of this frequency.

Feel it replenish your soul.”

Tiger eye is a stone of prosperity, grounding, balance, and protection. Its frequency is that of joy. It says: “Connect with joy, and the rest is easy.” Let this be your mantra this week.

Crystal Healing For Overwhelm

I’m kind’a over feeling overwhelmed!

I tend to take on too much, which is something I’m still working on in my own personal healing process.

Sometimes it’s what my guidance calls “Go time”, where there’s a lot upgrading, downloading, and shifting simultaneously, and it’s a matter of taking it on and getting it done.

And sometimes, a whole barrel of shit just seems to hit all at once! And it’s duck and cover and cope as best you can.

I imagine everyone who’s reading this has experienced all three.

I feel like I’ve experienced all three this year, and it’s only the end of February!

While we can point to the moons, eclipses, stars, or our shadows as the culprits, overwhelm seems to have become a way of life for too many people.

Crystals can’t magically fix this, but they can help provide the energy support we need to ride these times out as best we can.

I’ve got two suggestions here for you: one is a combo you can wear on a daily basis for support, the second is a crystal healing session you can provide for yourself within the comfort of your own home.

Read original article at: Krista Mitchell ~ Crystal Healing For Wealth and Being Overwhelmed.

A Framework for Land Healing

The Druid's Garden

American ginseng in our sanctuary

In the next few months, the forest that I grew up in is going be cut and torn up to put in a septic line. A 40-60 feet path, at minimum, will rip a tear through the heart of it. This is the forest where I grew up, where my parents and I have created a refugia garden, a wildlife sanctuary, and native woodland plant sanctuary. It is just heartbreaking to tend land carefully, only now, to have this awful thing happen that we have failed to stop. This is the forest that taught me so many of these lessons of land healing. The forest had just gotten to a point where it was once again vibrant, where the ramps started to creep back in, and the mature forest trees now stand, growing above the stumps that have rotted away. I feel powerless, knowing…

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Full Moon Shizzle — The Witch & Walnut

Happy Friday and a warm welcome to the weekend! I hope everyone has had a great week thus far. We’ve got a full moon coming up on Sunday. Full moon energy, a magnificent feeling and even when you cannot see her in the sky you can feel her. Of all the lunar phases, the full…Continue…

via Full Moon Shizzle — The Witch & Walnut

February Newsletter – Valentine’s Day is here but don’t panic

Good Witches Homestead

I am sure you will not need reminding that February is the month of Valentine’s Day but how about a few tips about what to buy if you have decided to splurge on a gemstone for your loved one this year.

We have some great ideas for the perfect romantic gemstone gift, plus, a movie about Black Opals, huge diamonds and this month’s birthstone in our newsletter.

Source: February Newsletter – Valentine’s Day is here but don’t panic

There is really no question in people’s minds when it comes to the February birthstone – it is most decidedly amethyst, a gemstone synonymous with purple. This variety of quartz was once highly prized and often valued above ruby and emerald. In fact, amethyst was known in the ancient world as one of the five cardinal gemstones: diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, and amethyst. During the 19^th century, large amethyst deposits were found…

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Illumination, Inspiration, and Imbolc | Coby Michael Ward

Good Witches Homestead

For years I considered Imbolc, just another extra holy day to be observed. It didn’t hold a lot of personal resonance with me, and this can feel true for many individuals when it comes to the pagan holy days or witches’ Sabbats. Simply reading about the day’s history and traditional observances, learning the myth of an associated deity; or making Brigid’s cross every year because that’s just what you do, leaves some wanting for relevance and deeper meaning. Celebrations like Samhain and Beltane are outwardly witchy and their symbolic associations are self-evident. While every day can’t be Samhain, (unfortunately!) additional occult understanding of the Sabbats can be discerned by looking at them holistically. By looking not just at one Sabbat, but three; the Sabbat in question, its predecessor and the one following, we can gain additional insight into the story being played out by the stars. Think of…

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