Ex Penna

Latin for "You cannot strip the clothes from a naked man." **

This is my approach to living in the style popularly called "out of the broom closet."  I live in a small rural village hedged in farmland and populated by upper-middle-class types with SUV's and tidy flower gardens.  My back yard meets that of the local church.  For months our house was a regular stop on Saturday mornings for Jehovah's Witnesses.

In contrast, this wild witch type has shameless outdoor rituals and spellwork, wears talismans as jewelry, and is generally found in swishy Bohemian clothes and long skirts in direct violation of the Abercrombie and Fitch dress code of the area.  An appalling gris-gris hangs above the door and an elaborate wooden sign advertises my magical wares for sale even before you knock.  My two herb garden beds spill out with both the planted and un-planted (i.e. wild things--weeds *with* a name) varieties.  My husband's vegetable garden is a raised bed of fecund nature so obscene, it should wear a bra.

In short, we do our own thing and it shows.  And you know what?  I've never been harassed.  Sure, people have asked questions, some silly, some insulting (if I felt like seeing it that way), most just curious.  I've had the odd encounter with angry people who don't agree with what we do or think we're making some grievous error by raising our children to follow in our footsteps.  But it's never been anything I can't handle, nothing that cannot be diffused with the simple truth that we each live our own lives according to our own beliefs.  I'm never the subject of hateful gossip (at least none that has reached me or affected my life negatively) and I've never had my life, work, or family threatened because we practice witchcraft.  I don't go out of my way to be "witchy", I just act like myself.  And no one talks behind my back because I tell them to their face.

How about some stories?

Once while working a day job as a cashier, a customer approached me and angrily glared at the pentacle around my neck.  "That's a sign of Satan!"  he spat, completely unprovoked.  I paused a moment and then replied cheerfully, "Not where I come from."  Having nothing to say, he paid for his things and left. 

Another incident happened when I worked an old revenge spell and had to allow its remains--whole onions carved with initials and stabbed with rusty nails--to wither in the sun.  Because my children were small then (and because a spell is best forgotten about after cast), I found a quiet unused place for it to sit: on the jutting air conditioner facing the back of our property.  This seemed perfect until the next time the local rev. mowed his lawn (and right about this point in the story is when both you and I recall that we share a property line with a church) and I noticed him wearing a funny expression as he passed close by.  After that--and indeed up until the time he moved away about a year later--he wouldn't look me in the eye. 

On a positive note, when meeting with a representative from a local newspaper about running an ad for my spellcasting classes, I started out discrete.  My main interest was in learning the process, costs, etc. and the exact details could be worked out afterward.  By the time the "afterward" part of the conversation came up, I began to wonder how this nice lady with whom I'd been enjoying a friendly yet professional chat would react to the news.  So I laid it out straight and simple:  "I'm a witch and I'm offering public classes to teach others."  She smiled without hesitation and told me how her daughter would be excited to hear about that.  We launched back into conversation and, in the end, she and the graphics design team made me a stellar ad!

If this is your thing, do it--do it nine times!

Being upfront about my beliefs has always been a good choice for me.  Only when there is secrecy will there be rumor. It's no fun to whisper about what that person next door might be doing if you can see him/her plainly standing in the backyard.  Even if that person is chanting from a big book and tossing things in a pot, the excitement of discovery is missing.  You can't use my "secret" against me if it's not a secret.  Better to move on to juicier gossip.

Diffusing arguments are just as simple.  When I'm confronted, I can honestly say that what I do is my business (both figuratively and literally) and if they wish to get involved with questions or comments, they may not like what they hear even though they'll understand it.  I'm not in the business of pleasing people or changing their minds and that's just another form of liberation from argument.  They are without meaning.  The only thing I care to do is express myself and be a willing ear for others expressing themselves.  Anything more is essentially unimportant since anger and argument never changes opinions.  If anything, it solidifies them. 

When magical folks live an open life it's the same as what everyone else is doing with their lives, whether those lives are filled with their love of horses or Hummel figurines.  It's okay that they're proud, okay that others know, and okay that they declare this devotion in decorative ways throughout their home, work, and play.  Take, for example, religion and spirituality in this country.  It's so diverse that it takes on the same nature as any other personal interest.

"Are you coming for the birthday party at Debbie's?" 

"I can't, I have mass...

"...it's my son's bar mitzvah...

"...we don't celebrate birthdays...

"...I'm hosting the sabbat ritual...

"...I'll be volunteering at a soup kitchen that day...

"...it's the full moon and I've got spells to cast...

"...I'll be out of town for a conference...

"...that's our family game night...


None of these responses is any different--they're the variations of human lives and nothing more.  The general reply after saying any of them would be "Bummer.  Sorry you can't make it."  And that's about it.  When people ask if I believe in magic, whether they ask with curiosity or incredulity, my answer is simply "yes."  I choose to respond to what is asked and not what is implied.  I've talked with ministers and laypersons of many faiths as openly as if we were discussing recipes.  In various conversations I've shown my reasoning for curses without apology, related stories of spells perfected and those gone awry, and talked taboo magic with fairness.  I listen, compare and contrast, but especially respond with the understanding that our differences are essentially meaningless.  I have never turned these incidents into a scene, nor has the other party.

Pictured: Sybil Leek not giving a damn

We can look to celebrity witches (authors, musicians, public speakers, shop owners, activists, etc.) to understand this a little better.  They are not open about their practice only because they are famous--they were open before you ever heard their name--instead they are behaving just as they would in their private lives, but now with a larger audience.  They're doing their own thing, secure in their skin and their minds.  You don't need to be famous to be bold.  In fact, displaying your witchiness is as easy as not pretending to "be normal."  Take a look at some of your favorite witches and learn to power of self-acceptance. You have nothing to prove and nothing to apologize for.

Witches have just as much right to be themselves in public and in private as do anyone else.  If we want to keep it as personal information closely guarded, that is the individual's choice.  But to allow projections of the reactions of the populous from expressing our happiness is to burn our blankets lest we fall asleep and have a nightmare. There simply isn't enough reason to make ourselves miserable.

Know your rights and how to express them.  Stand on your own feet in your own space.  Live with pride and honesty and you can suffer no offense.  




**For those who wish to share this wisdom, here's the pronunciation:
[NEM-oh POH-test NOO-doh WESS-tee-MEN-tah det-rah-HAIR-ay]



Images from:
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/features/snapshotsofthepast/9323684._Burley_Witch__left_us_spellbound___/
http://everymagicalday.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/protection-symbols/
http://blog.hanneketravels.net/category/england

Iron is strength.  It is the power of deep places in the earth which the secret creatures like snakes and worms are born to know but humans have only discovered through our inquisitive nature.  It is the nobility of refinement, the bravery to face trials and come back transformed.  It's the balance of fire and water and the experience of a master to know how to apply them.

Iron's use in magic is a long one.  In every culture where iron has been dug, forged, and worked, it has been used in magic.  And why not?  Iron weapons defended the innocent, iron locks prevented theft, iron nails built the houses that kept people safe and warm, iron cauldrons fed us and even kept us strong by adding the mineral to our diet, iron shoes guarded the hooves the the all-important horses and helped make journeys from home ever longer.  Soon the workable metal was shaped into talismans in its own right--images of eyes and genitals, sacred symbols of Gods and Goddesses, and powerful animals.  It was the magic of master craftsmen but available every day to everyone.  How much of modern magic can claim that?

Though steel has replaced much of iron's old uses, rust is considered "dirty" and not the sharing of iron's power, and horseshoes are rarely found discarded along the roadside, iron's magic has not diminished.  Modern withes use iron in spells granting physical and spiritual protection, purification, prosperity, and luck.  Horseshoes and horseshoe nails are not only used in magic to bring good fortune, but even finding one is an omen of luck to come.  Iron coffin nails are protective, as are square cut nails.  Iron swords and knives are the traditional means of dispatching unwanted spirits, malicious magic-users, and destructive fairies.

There are a variety of ways this metal can be worked into your magic no matter what kinds of spells you prefer.  Whole iron is posted above the front door, added to mojo bags, wound in colored thread and lucky images, made into jewelry, or driven into a specific place to exert its influence.  "Iron shot" (also called magnetic sand or fine iron filings) are the powder formula of iron.  Added to herbal powders it's used for drawing, sprinkled over lodestones, it feeds and activates them.  Rust is the liquid formula of iron.  "War Water" is a well-known potion often made exclusively of rust water.  Special protection is gained from forge water, the water used by smith's to cool hot iron after it's been worked.  A replica of this can be made at home by heating a piece of iron red hot, using tongs to drop it in water, and then sprinkling the cooled water.  Healing and blessing baths are easily made by hanging a cloth bag of iron nails under the spigot as the bathtub fills so the water flows over them.

Iron talismans are fairly easy to find for a modern witch, but don't forget that any piece of iron contains the power of all.  That is why rust continues to be used and why even saying the word "iron" can put evil to flight.  If I may shamelessly plug my shop a moment, Quill's Occult Supply now carries cut iron nails ready to add their magic to your work! 

If you'd like to go that one (or more) step further, check out these links about simple, ancient methods of smelting your own raw iron ore and pouring liquid iron in a makeshift furnace:

Smelting Video by the Blacksmiths of Colonial Williamsburg 

Start-to-Finish Video of Historically-Correct Ancient Viking Smelting Methods

Iron Crucible Instructions Using Household Items

And here's a great article about the magic of iron and horseshoes

When things are going well, I have time to read the cards every day.  When things are going poorly, I need to read the cards every day!  Only in the fair, busy days in between do I not get in some tarot time.  But every time I sit down to the deck, I learn.  I learn about the cards, the people and events they represent, and about myself and my little place in the world.

To disclose some semi-secret but important information to you, I am not very good at giving advice.  When people tell me their woes, I'm much better at sympathizing and saying generally reassuring things than I am at drawing them a diagram out of their predicament.  But put a deck of cards in my hands and suddenly I know just what to do.

For myself it's a similar issue--I read when I'm faced with a tough decision.  Or when someone is acting oddly.  Or when I need to know what to say or what to focus on.  There so much that tarot can express that it's a handy tool for nearly any situation in which you may find yourself.

Despite all of this, I don't often use "daily spreads."  Maybe it's because I just haven't found one that really works for me or maybe I find the whole concept of gaining insight on perfectly identical subjects every day (issues with relationships today...how I'll handle money today...unexpected surprises today...) very dry and limiting, but I just can't bear to use a daily spread three times in a row.  Instead I like to ask more specific questions based on what is actively firing in my brain that day.  Here are the ways that I use tarot every day and the spreads that keep me imminently informed.

• Here's my own "Three Cross" spread for asking a specific question.  Unlike many regular spreads this can be used both to give more information on a situation and also to answer "yes or no" questions.

The base cards are read together.  If you're seeing a yes or no answer, two or more upright is a yes, two or more reversed is a no.  If you use a deck which doesn't reverse, go with your first reaction to each card.  If you respond to the negative aspects of the card first, count it as a reversal.  Read the card meanings for more information as to why this response was given.

The fourth card crosses the first three--it is what binds them together.  This card will give more information on your question itself (especially any aspects of it you may have overlooked) or the kind of emotions/people that are creating the situation.  It's a simple and free-form spread that I use when I'm in a hurry or just want some straight facts without frills and distracting details.  It's also the spread I use when a client asks an additional question that wasn't answered in their paid spread.  With this I can do a quick shuffle, lay the cards, and give them all the information they came for with very little extra effort.

• Understanding the motives and behavior of others can be a difficult, though important, task to which we're called all the time.  In these situations I use the spread called "What's He Like?"* to peek into a person's current state.  It often tells me just what I need to know about how to deal with them while also helping me sympathize with their side of the story.

This has helped me decide about potential coven members/students and also know how to approach problems with family and friends.  Be prepared to read both side of the cards here--what goes on inside a person's head can be very complex (and even be full of lies and self-deception) and come out in their actions in unpredictable ways.  But this spread can be a quick and fun way to get that inner grasp on others, making you a more effective leader, parent, employer/employee, spouse, whathaveyou.

• And finally, I get a lot of use from simply posting cards.  This is when you use one card (or more, if desired) to represent the ideal outcome of your current situation and place it in a prominent location--such as an altar, nightstand, or other place you reserve for special items--where you will see it every day.  If you want to get creative with posting (especially when using a card to represent a long-term goal or a new outlook you wish to have for your life), make a copy of your chosen card and post it around the house, decoupage it on a piece of furniture, frame it, paint the image on a canvas, print a blank of the card (this site is a great choice) to color, or even get a tattoo of it.  All these are ways to invest in your card while also posting it.

Tarot is a dynamic tool that can answer our questions, bring us closer to others, realize our potential, and help us to better our lives.  There are no rules for using it properly, nor for how often to use it.  Make it part of your every day and it will aid you just as often!

Feel free to comment and share how you use tarot every day!




*I recall getting this spread layout from Aeclectic.com years ago, but where it was before that, I have no idea. If anyone knows the original creator, please contact me so I can give due credit.

Color image from :   http://tarot-tarotreading.blogspot.com/
The diagrams are my own

March has barely begun and I'm dreaming of the warm weather.  Not really for myself, however.  I don't mind winter weather or winter grey.  I like the snow and the ice, even when it's on the ground in front of me.  Just last week I slipped while shoveling and landed flat on my back on the pavement, shovel still in hand, while cars drove by and admired my form.  lol  But that's not the winter's fault; it's just that thing that sometimes happens to people when they think they're being bright by shoveling wet snow and cooking dinner at the same time.

But I do think about the warm weather for you.  Or, at any rate, those of you who loved my dried wild herbs so much that my supply is all gone!  When the weather is fine I'll be back out the the woods and fields near my home, hopping across moss-covered stones in creek-beds, wading through briars and underbrush, kneeling by a deer path, seeking out the very best of what the land is offering.

And maybe I will find something new!  Isn't that a crazy thing to hope?  I don't buys shoes or purses and I can't see the excitement in going to the mall unless there is something I'm particularly wanting to find, but I love the treasure-hunt feeling of walking in the woods and not knowing what may be there today that wasn't there before.  And that is one of the wonderful things about owning a shop: I do for myself as I do for you, and vice versa.  When I'm gathering herbs to sell, I'm also learning more about those herbs, their habits, their preferences, colors, and variations.  When I find something I've never seen before, I identify it and learn its name, it's habits and all that, bringing it into the brood with the others and selling it to those who need its virtues.  

But winter still has a little more time left before any of that.  Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring and the whittling away of snow has not been replaced with fresh cover, so though we may not have too long to wait, we do yet have time to plan and dream.


Image from:  http://uknowispeaksense.wordpress.com

If you were feeling slightly cheated after reading my last post "Spells to Become a Mermaid" and finding no such spells, here is my remedy.

What follows is an abbreviated collection of popular mermaid spells.  I am not claiming that they are functional, only that they do follow the standard pattern of traditional spells.  I have left them as I found them with the exception of some minor organizational, grammatical, punctuation, and spelling changes.  In each case where these amendments were made they did not impair the original style.  If you'd like to see the sites I found them on, check the links at the end of this post. 

Most of them can be found posted across the internet on any site discussing mermaid magic.  Because of this, unfortunately, none of the spells had a listed author.  If you know who wrote any of these spells, please let me know so I may properly credit their creator!

As you read these spells, please try to see them with the same optimism with which they were written.  There's a lot of modern ideas in here about just what makes a mermaid, what they do, and how they look (and there's certainly a hefty dose of admiration for the Australian TV show "H2O: Just Add Water") but there's also that same thrill that brought us all to magic in the beginning.  They are each easily workable and worth a try, if you're so inclined.  When you make them work be sure to send me a postcard from the island of your choice!



Elemental Witches Mermaid Incantation

...or a vampire or a werewolf.  Or to fly on a broomstick.  Or to live forever.  "You do have them, don't you?  Witches do that sort of thing, right?  'Cause I really, really need it." 



I think I've been asked for all these things and more.  Some experienced folks roll their eyes at these questions and change the subject, some launch into lectures on the use of true magic, and others sharpen their cynicism with snarky comments to shut down newbies who "still believe in that Hollywood stuff."

But it's not really the notion that it's "Hollywood stuff" that irks (especially since these are human dreams that predate and extend far beyond movies and media).  It's the idea that the person standing in front of you is so new and fresh that everything is possible to those who know how.  And they desperately hope you're one who knows how.  Is that so bad?  Is that something to squash?

I say no.  But, then again, I may have come to this a little differently than most.  Let me tell you about my first experience with the plausible impossible...

It was when Gigi was a baby and we lived in what could arguably be called the most social community we've ever been a part of.  We were a young family with lots of neighbors in a small area.  I always hung laundry with the lady who's backyard connected to ours.  My husband worked on cars with the guy across the road.  And there were kids everywhere.  A new mom with a newly toddling daughter was just too much fun to keep the kids away.  Going swimming in the creek, riding bike, climbing trees, and playing toys with Gigi was all the rage.  I had many summertime pre-teen visitors before I knew it, especially after they found out I was a witch.

That was the most exciting news ever, evidently, and word spread like wildfire.  Soon, I was barraged with questions and new faces popped in my door regularly.  With parents permission, they flipped through my books and even borrowed one or two.  They wanted to see my wand, know what everything on the altar did, and if witches have Christmas.  I didn't mind.  It was kind of cute.  So long as no parents got angry that their kids were asking me questions that I truthfully answered, all was well. 

On my wall was a fascinating object to these girls: my broom.  It hung over our large front window, it's unvarnished handle cradled in two black padded hooks.  I thought it looked rather pretty up there, but to the girls, it was a sure sign that I kept it up out of harm's way when I wasn't flying it through the air.

One day one of the girls asked the question directly.  I joked and said that it's much too cold at night for flying.  They persisted: did I, could I, actually fly it?  I asked simply "If I could fly on a broomstick, why would I own a car?"  They went silent and then the topic changed.  I left it at that.  I didn't want to kill the fun of the topic.  After all, who hasn't dreamed of flying away?  Isn't flying the ultimate freedom?  I didn't want to take that away so harshly.

Later we decided to go for a swim and after changing into suits we all met on the grassy hill before the creek side.  With Gigi wobbling along, I fell behind the giggling crowd of girls.  One girl fell behind with me.  She bit her lip and kept glancing at me like she wanted to say something but lacked the nerve.  Finally she leaned in and asked quietly, so the others couldn't hear, "Can't you...just...fly it a little?" My heart almost broke.  She was 12 and so willing to believe.  If I'd said I could manage about 5 feet off the ground, she'd have been there the next day to learn how.  How could I explain the truly impressive work of magic if I now flattened her hopes by telling her that the kind of magic she understood wasn't real? 


I saw in her the girl Gigi would one day become.  Do I tell her the version of life that was handed down to me by my mother, that life is full of pain and tough breaks?  Or should I tell her what I desperately wanted to believe myself, that life is endless possibility and you can accomplish anything your heart desires?  While she looked at me with big almost pleading eyes, I weighed my options.  In the end, I decided to tell her the truth, my way:

"I don't know how to fly it.  Maybe it can be done, but there are lots of things I haven't learned yet and that's one of them."

She listened quietly and stayed quiet for a long while after, clearly thinking.  I may have taken my previous stature down a bit in her eyes, but I tried my best to split the difference between pessimism and optimism.  One cannot be cured by the other, only killed.  In between, I believe, is real possibility.

So if you come to me for spells that give you night vision or the ability to talk to animals, I won't laugh or scoff.  I will do my best to help, because you are full of promise and light just in asking.  I could use twenty more students like that!  And, in fairness, there's actual traditional magic for a lot of this "Hollywood stuff."  Whether or not it works is for you to decide.  You may become a beautiful mermaid or you may have to say "There are lots of things I haven't learned yet and that's one of them."

Every living thing is subject to illness.  And whether it be from overexertion, lax care of our system, or simply exposure to more germs than we can fend off, witches get sick too.

I have traditionally looked at illness as a good time to take a break.  I would rest as much as possible, eat what was simple and soothing, and try not to do anything that required effort.  But that was way back before I was a parent, a witch, or a business owner.  Needless to say, things are different now.

Now I resist even admitting that I'm sick.  To admit it is to realize the need to deal with it, to fix it, to recuperate from it.  I need at least three solid days of symptoms so obvious that they cannot be ignored in order to face the truth.  But even after that, I might only permit myself to slow down if I'm in a particularly bad mood or if I can count on my husband to deal with the major items on the to-do list.  Otherwise, it's business as usual.  I won't usually even submit to medicines, be they from the store or from my mortar and pestle. And why?  Cause I'm sick, dammit!  I've got no time for that!  Yeah, I know...it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.

But one thing I won't set aside at this time (unless ill to near-death) is magic.  All contradictions and stubbornness aside, this is an oft-debated issue that I find very simple.  When we're sick, we know we have energy for some things and not others.  We're not so depleted that we can't, for instance, muster the strength to walk upstairs to the bathroom or reach down to change our socks, even if we find something like grocery shopping too draining to face.  Just as the most exhausted parent is yet awake enough to run to the aid of their child if they roll out of bed, we all have what it takes, at all times, and in all states of being, to do what's necessary.

See?

Physical energy is no different than magical energy--sometimes it's up, sometimes down--but never gone or totally inaccessible.  Our abilities, during illness, don't suddenly dry up or go horribly astray to the point that they cannot be trusted.  If it is something important, the energy you need will be present.  Essentially these two forces are the same.  A fit, healthy person has more power at their disposal.  That's why taking good care of one's physical form is a facet of much of magical training.  But an unwell person can still focus their energy when it's needed--you work with what's available to you, no matter your circumstances. It's not fair to say that we should only ever cast when things are going our way.  Not only would that be impossible, it also defeats the very purpose of casting spells in the first place.

While I do believe in following the rhythms set for us by nature and our physical selves, I don't wish to be a slave to it.  Life never stops.  The present is an ever-changing space and we're always being presented with something new.  My family, friends, or customers need me?  I'm there.  Their situation is not going to stop for my fever any more than it's going to stop for my age (which is another tricky asset/liability issue).   This very moment may be the only right time to change course on their problem.  And maybe by pushing through the physical symptoms a caster can bring about a form of enlightenment.  Every now and then we need to remind ourselves of our strength.  We will always have the power to be where we need to be and do what needs done.  It is our will and our will be done.

The next time you find yourself down with a sickness, try some magic.  It doesn't have to be for healing, but definitely something you feel strongly about.  See yourself drop away all the physical stuff and dig into something deeper.  I'm not asking you to sacrifice sanity if you're in massive amounts of pain, have a temperature of 105, or are scheduled for surgery in 20 minutes.  But for anything less, give it a go.  See where it takes you.  The napping, sniffling, and hot ramen can wait a little bit longer. Your magic needs you now.