An Bradán Feasa is the Salmon of Knowledge – of the hazel tree, wisdom, divination and prophecy. Last night I dreamed of salmon – both young minnows swimming downstream to the ocean and mature salmon returning upstream to the place of their birth. Dreaming of salmon means that my time will be full of activities I love and enjoy and that I will also have much good luck. The young minnows are my plans, dreams and goals swimming out to make their fortune in the sea. The mature salmon are the fruits of my labours showing that I will succeed in my endeavours and not be taken to the underworld of the sea by disappointment, bitterness, or failure. By my dream taking the form of salmon I know that it relates to my intellectual and spiritual pursuits, my religion, my writing and my artwork. I take this as a sign that I am on the right path and that I still have a long ways to go, but it will be well worth it. I have so many projects on the go right now I can’t even tell you – mostly because if I think of them all at once my head might explode!
Archive for May, 2009
Dreaming of An Bradán Feasa
Posted in Paganism, Witchcraft & Magic with tags divination, dreaming, dreams, foretelling, salmon on May 30, 2009 by SarahEvening Walk in the Woods
Posted in Folk Magic, Herbalism, Paganism, Witchcraft & Magic with tags British Columbia, forest, Herbalism, hiking, native plants, Wigglian Way, woods on May 29, 2009 by SarahTonight the ever lovely Sparrow was over to record a new episode of the Wigglian Way with Mojo – I hid upstairs for a while working on a native plant identification booklet for my workshop at The Gathering this year, but got restless on such a warm evening with a beautiful sunset, so I decided to go for a walk while they were coincidentally recording the living in harmony with nature and wildcrafting segment… A walk in the woods of Forest Grove is a beautiful thing, there are streams and springs everywhere coming down the mountain, some full of baby salmon like the stream I crossed on my walk tonight. I visited the site of the spirit of Burnaby Mountain, large male ferns have grown over top of the site since I was last there – the site was barren except for grass before I performed the ritual – curious no? I will have to return there at Midsummer to collect the roots of the ferns as in folk magic they are known as St. John’s Hand, a protective amulet against almost anything. They are to be dried by a Midsummer’s Eve bonfire.
Tonight I was inspired by the forest. I wish to host an overnight women’s mysteries, to perform rituals in the forest and experience mysteries and perform workings. Time to gather the witches…

A Witch’s House
Posted in Brewing, Cooking, Paganism, Witchcraft & Magic with tags charms, magic, witch's cottage, witch's house, witchcraft on May 28, 2009 by SarahAccording to The Witch’s Handbook by Malcolm Bird, it is very important that a witch select the perfect home and decorate it accordingly – the handbook of course has detailed instructions for a witch to follow. My new house I moved into a couple months ago is perfect for me and my witch hubby. We are still settling in, but most of the work is done – painting, decorating, and the porch garden. Take a photographic tour of my witchy home if you dare…

I hope you enjoyed your tour, perhaps you’ll stay for tea and maybe a tea leaf reading?
Magical Oils & Gardening
Posted in Botanica Products, Folk Magic, Gardening, Herbalism, Witchcraft & Magic with tags container gardening, Forest Grove Botanica, Gardening, Herbalism, magical oils on May 26, 2009 by Sarah
Today I bottled my magical oils that have been soaking up the sun for a couple weeks – so many potions! There is something very satisfyingly witchy about making my own magical oils and powders. I also drew these labels by hand too, of course. Let’s see I have love potion oils for all the sexes – “Come to Me” oils for men, women, men who love men, and women who love women – these are a mixture of fragrant essential oils and herbs. I also concocted a fidelity or “Stay With Me” oil to keep a partner for straying and to receive lasting love – this one can be used by men or women. My other oils include a money drawing oil, a divination oil, an ancestor oil for communing with the dead, and a cascarilla oil to prevent spirit possession/hag riding and to protect from evil spirits. Ooo and I also made some more Cherry Blossom Water and put it in the cute bubble bottles. I’ve also packed up some of my dry herbs to sell in the Botanica, bleeding heart, periwinkle, and fiddleheads, they just need labels.

The porch garden is looking good! Only my zucchini plants died, which is probably best because I don’t really like zucchini – maybe it knew… So far we have four different kinds of hot peppers, sunflowers, onions, potatoes, three kinds of tomatoes (Roma, Kootenai, and yellow cherry), butter lettuce, purple carrots, mint, catnip, thyme, oregano, smoky fennel, calendula, black nightshade, bittersweet nightshade, a Rowan tree, a baby Indian Plum shrub, two blue huckleberry shrubs, and some yellow clover as a ground cover/nurse plant.
I want a lot more herbs and flowers, but it may have to wait for next year, we’ll see! I’ve been keeping an eye on plants in the forest I want to transplant in the winter – some elder shrubs, ferns, baby huckleberry bushes, and maybe some thimble berries… I love wild plants and would love having them in my porch garden even more as they’ll attract the local wildlife – bees and butterflies for pollination and birds to eat the evil bugs. Squirrels are not welcome! I have netting up to keep out the evil squirrels. My mother has been sending me her canning recipes, so once I have a harvest I will be borrowing a friend’s pressure canner and making all kinds of yummy things with the fruits of my gardening labour and also wild berries jellies and preserves. Salmonberry season is in a week or two folks! Late this year as we had such a cold winter, but worth the wait!
(click on garden images to enlarge)
Witchery
Posted in Folk Magic, Paganism, Witchcraft & Magic with tags candle magic, Folk Magic, Hoodoo, magic, magical oils, witchcraft on May 24, 2009 by Sarah
Busy dark moon. Some concoctions are out sitting under the absent moon. Others are lined up on the windowsills to soak up sunshine – oils for love, oils divination, oils for communication with spirits…
Tonight is a working night, some work for justice, two local affairs.



































