Saturday 28 May 2016

Biddy Early by Starlitenergies

Biddy Early (1798 – 1874)

Biddy Early was a famous Irish seer and healer, a cunning woman of the nineteenth century, often identified as Biddy 'The Healer', 'The Wise Woman' or 'The Witch'. Much of what is known about her has been passed down from oral tradition and blended into myth and folklore, as such, there is much “poetic licence” used to recount her life. However, in real life she does seem to have had some genuine powers of healing and clairvoyance, for she was widely consulted for her cures and council. Many believed she was of the sidhe (fairies).

Born Bridget Ellen Connors in lower Faha near Kilanena in 1798, Biddy was the daughter of a small land farmer, John Thomas Connors and his wife Ellen Early. Biddy is described as being small in statue and pretty, a woman who kept her good looks throughout her life. While married four times, she always used her mother's maiden name, believing that her gifts were inherited through the female line. Her mother taught her all about herbs and how to make potions, just as her own mother had taught her.

At the age of 16 when her parents died, Biddy was evicted from their home and forced to work as a serving girl in the nearby towns of Feakle and Ennis. In 1817 she met and married widower Pat Mally, a middle-aged man from Gurteenreagh, who died a short time later. After the death of her first husband, she married his son, her “stepson”, John Mally with whom she had a son called Paddy. Her son Paddy died when he was just 8 years old, of the fever (typhus), a common sickness in those times. After which Biddy started to use her healing powers, giving out herbal cures tied-up in small sachets, and liquid potions in small bottles with strict instructions for how they should be used.

Biddy’s powers of clairvoyance are credited to a mysterious dark bottle. How this “magic” bottle came into her possession, has since become part of her myth and legend. Some believe her late husband Pat Mally gave it to her before he died, or her son before he died; others believe it came to her from the “sidhe” (fairies). There are some stories that say she was away with the sidhe, and went to live among them for a time as a child. As a little girl it was said she could see and talk to the sidhe in their own language, which was different from Gaelic and that they taught her how to use her gifts.

She was instructed that by looking into the bottle with one eye and keeping the other eye open, she would be able to see what ailed people and view the future. In exchange for this ability, she was never to charge money for her services, or she would lose the power. She could accept gifts, but was to give away whatever was left over from her own needs. She must never allow others to look into the bottle, or else they would either die or go mad. By using the bottle, Biddy always knew when a person was about to visit her, and whether they had gone to a doctor or a priest first. If they had, then she usually refused to treat them unless she was in a good mood.

In 1840, her second husband died of a liver ailment, most likely due to an excess consumption of alcohol. Biddy quickly married again, her third husband was Tom Flannery from Carrowroe in County Clare. She and Tom moved into a cottage on Dromore Hill in Kilbarron, overlooking Kilbarron Lake that locally became known as Biddy Early's Lake. By this time Biddy’s reputation as a healer and seer had spread, for it was here that she created her most powerful cures, and hundreds of people came to seek her out. It is said the road to her house was always full of those travelling to see her.

Biddy also brought relief to animals, and treated them with great care. In her time, the death of an animal could bring particular hardship to people living in a mainly rural farming community. Animals were relied upon for everyday living, and to lose one could lead to eviction if farming chores were not completed. Many of the stories about Biddy include tales of her healing a family’s most important horse or cow. She also helped many people restore their wells, often the only source of clean water, to solve problems that women ran into while churning butter. Water and butter were also vital to a peasant’s everyday life.

During the nineteenth century, superstitious belief in fairies and all things apparently supernatural was very strong, and when something happened that appeared to be miraculous, without the aid of the church, it was commonly and easily attributed to witchcraft and the devil. As such the local church viewed Biddy with suspicion, and all the local clergy were totally opposed to her. As her fame spread they even tried to warn off people who went to visit her. One story of the churches opposition occurred in 1865. While visiting friends in Ennis, Biddy was charged with Witchcraft under the 1586 statute; however the case was dismissed due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Many of the local people stood their ground against the clergy, maintaining she did nothing but good works.

In 1868, her third husband Tom died, but Biddy now seventy years old, still only looked fifty, and a year later married her fourth husband Thomas Meaney. However he too got sick and died within the year. Many believed her husbands all died from alcohol abuse, as there was so much whiskey and other strong liquors brought to her in payment. Her husbands did not need to work as she herself provided everything through her healing work. After her last husband died, Biddy’s own health slowly deteriorated, she died in April 1874 with a rosary around her neck and her mysterious dark bottle wrapped in a red shawl beside her.

Before her death and despite their differences, Biddy had befriended one of the local priests and asked him not to let her bottle fall into the wrong hands when she died. According to her wishes, the priest took the bottle and hurled it into Kilbarron Lake. Since then, such was the belief in Biddy’s legend, many attempts to trawl the lake in search of the bottle have been made, but to this day it has never been found.

Facts and Fiction

That Biddy Early was a real person is beyond doubt, but living in an age and area when education was minimal (except of the genteel and priestly classes), most of the folk that knew her were illiterate, so no reliable record of her life was written down. However, such was her reputation; stories about her life were passed on by local oral tradition. Some 20 years after her death, Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory was the first to seek out people who had known her and record their stories in her study of folklore: Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland (1920).

Selected extracts from Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland (1920).

Daniel Curtin:
There was one Dillane in Kinvara, Sir William knew him well, and he went to her one time for a cure. And Father Andrew came to the house and was mad with him for going, and says he, “You take the cure out of the hands of God”. And Mrs. Dillane said, “Your Reverence, none of us can do that”. “Well”, says Father Andrew, “then I'll see what the devil can do and I'll send my horse tomorrow that has a sore in his leg this long time, and try will she be able to cure him”.

So next day he sent a man with his horse, and when he got to Biddy Early's house she came out, and she told him every word that Father Andrew had said, and she cured the sore. So after that, he left the people alone; but before it, he'd be dressed in a frieze coat and a riding whip in his hand driving away the people from going to her.

Mr. McCabe:
Biddy Early? Not far from this she lived, above at Feakle. I got cured by her myself one time. Look at this thumb, I got it hurt one time, and I went out into the field after and was ploughing all the day, I was that greedy for work. And when I went in I had to lie on the bed with the pain of it, and it swelled and the arm with it, to the size of a horse's thigh. I stopped two or three days in the bed with the pain of it, and then my wife went to see Biddy Early and told her about it, and she came home and the next day it burst, and you never seen anything like all the stuff that came away from it. A good bit after I went to her myself, where it wasn't quite healed, and she said, “You'd have lost it altogether if your wife hadn't been so quick to come”. She brought me into a small room, and said holy words and sprinkled holy water and told me to believe. The priests were against her, but they were wrong. How could that be evil doing that was all charity and kindness and healing?

She was a decent looking woman, no different from any other woman of the country. The boy she was married to at the time was lying drunk in the bed. There were side-cars and common cars and gentry and country people at the door, just like Gort market, and dinner for all that came, and everyone would bring her something, but she didn't care what it was. Rich farmers would bring her the whole side of a pig. Myself, I brought a bottle of whiskey and a shilling's worth of bread, and a quarter of sugar and a quarter pound of tea. She was very rich, for there wasn't a farmer but would give her the grass for a couple of bullocks or a filly. She had the full of a field of fillies if they'd all been gathered together. She left no children, and there's no doubt at all that the reason of her being able to do cures was that she was away seven years. She didn't tell me about it but she spoke of it to others.

When I was coming away I met a party of country people on a cart from Limerick, and they asked where was her house, and I told them: “Go on to the cross, and turn to the left, and follow the straight road till you come to the little humpy bridge, and soon after that you'll come to the house”. But the priests would be mad if they knew that I told anyone the way. She died about twelve year ago; I didn't go to the wake my-self, or the funeral, but I heard that her death was natural.

Bartley Coen:
No, she wasn't away herself. It is said it was from a son of her own she got the knowledge, a little chap that was astray. And one day when he was lying sick in the bed he said: “There's such and such a woman has a hen down in the pot, and if I had the soup of the hen, I think it would cure me”. So the mother went to the house, and when she got there, sure enough, there was a hen in the pot on the fire. But she was ashamed to tell what she came for, and she let on to have only come for a visit, and so she sat down. But presently in the heat of the talking she told what the little chap had said. “Well”, says the woman, “take the soup and welcome, and the hen too if it will do him any good”. So she brought them with her, and when the boy saw the soup, “It can t cure me”, says he, “for no earthly thing can do that. But since I see how kind and how willing you are, and did your best for me, I'll leave you a way of living”. And so he did, and taught her all she knew. That's what's said at any rate.

Bartley Coen:
There was a neighbour of my own, Andrew Dennehy. I was knocked up by him one night to go to the house, because he said they were calling to him. But when they got there, there was nothing to be found. But some see these things, and some can't. It's against our creed to believe in them. And the priests won't let on that they believe in them themselves, but they are more in dread of going about at night than any of us. They were against Biddy Early too. There was a man I knew living near the sea, and he set out to go to her one time.

On his way he went into his brother-in-law's house, and the priest came in there, and bid him not to go on. “Well, Father”, says he, “cure me yourself if you won't let me go to her to be cured”. And when the priest wouldn't do that (for the priests can do many cures if they like to), he went on to her. And the minute he came in, “Well”, says she, “you made a great fight for me on the way”. For though it's against our creed to believe it, she could hear any earthly thing that was said in every part, miles off. But she had two red eyes, and some used to say, “If she can cure so much, why can't she cure her own eyes”?

Mr. Fahy:
Well, that's what's believed, that it's from her son Biddy Early got it. After his death always lamenting for him she was, till he came back, and gave her the gift of curing. She had no red eyes, but was a fresh clean-looking woman, sure any one might have red eyes when they'd got a cold. She wouldn't refuse even a person that would come from the very bottom of the black North.

I was with Biddy Early myself one time, and got a cure from her for my little girl that was sick. A bottle of whiskey I brought her, and the first thing she did was to open it and to give me a glass out of it. “For”, says she, “you'll maybe want it my poor man”. “But I had plenty of courage in those days”. The priests were against her; often Father Boyle would speak of her in his sermons. They can all do those cures themselves, but that's a thing it's not right to be talking about.

The Little Girl now living in Biddy Early's House:
The people do be full of stories of all the cures she did. Once after we came to live here a carload of people came, and asked was Biddy Early here, and my mother said she was dead. When she told the priest he said she had a right to shake a bottle and say she was her, and get something from them. It was by the bottle she did all, to shake it, and she'd see everything when she looked in it. Sometimes she'd give a bottle of some cure to people that came, but if she'd say to them, “You'll never bring it home”, break it they should on the way home, with all the care they'd take of it.

She was as good, and better to the poor as to the rich. Any poor person passing the road, she'd call in and give a cup of tea or a glass of whiskey to, and bread and what they wanted. She had a big chest within in that room, and it full of pounds of tea and bottles of wine and of whiskey and of claret, and all things in the world. One time she called in a man that was passing and gave him a glass of whiskey, and then she said to him, “The road you were going home by, don't go by it”. So he asked why not, and she took the bottle - a long shaped bottle it was - and looked into it, holding it up, and then she bid him look through it, and he'd see what would happen him. But her husband said, “Don't show it to him, it might give him a fright he wouldn't get over”. So she only said, “Well, go home by another road”. And so he did and got home safe, for in the bottle she had seen a party of men that wouldn't have let him pass alive.

The Blacksmith I met near Tulla:
I know you to be a respectable lady and an honourable one because I know your brothers, meeting them as I do at the fair of Scariff. No fair it would be if they weren't there. I knew Biddy Early well, a nice fresh-looking woman she was. It's to her the people used to be flocking, to the door and even to the window, and if they'd come late in the day, they'd have no chance of getting to her, they'd have to take lodgings for the night in the town.

She was a great woman. If any of the men that came into the house had a drop too much drink taken, she'd turn them out if they said an unruly word. And if any of them were fighting or disputing or going to law, she'd say, “Be at one, and ye can rule the world”. The priests were against her and used to be taking the cloaks and the baskets from the country people to keep them back from going to her. I never went to her myself - for you should know that no ill or harm ever comes to a blacksmith.

An Old Midwife:
Tell me now is there anything wrong about you or your son that you went to that house? I went there but once myself, when my little girl that was married was bad, after her second baby being born. I went to the house and told her about it, and she took the bottle and shook it and looked in it, and then she turned and said something to himself (her husband) that I didn't hear - and she just waved her hand to me like that, and bid me go home, for she would take nothing from me. But himself came out and told that what she was after seeing in the bottle was my little girl, and the coffin standing beside her. So I went home, and sure enough on the tenth day after, she was dead.

John Curtin:
I was with Biddy Early one time for my brother. She was out away in Ennis when we got to the house, and her husband that she called Tommy. And the kitchen was full of people waiting for her to come in. So then she came, and the day was rainy, and she was wet, and she went over to the fire, and began to take off her clothes, and to dry them, and then she said to her husband: “Tommy, get the bottle and give them all a drop”.

So he got the bottle and gave a drink to everyone. But my brother was in behind the door, and he missed him and when he came back to the fire she said: “You have missed out the man that has the best heart of them all, and there he is behind the door”. And when my brother came out she said, “Give us a verse of a song”, and he said, “I'm no songster”, but she said, “I know well that you are, and a good dancer as well”. She cured him and his wife after.

Mrs. Crone:
I was myself digging potatoes out in that field beyond, and a woman passed by the road, but I heard her say nothing, but a pain came on my head and I fell down, and I had to go to my bed for three weeks. My mother went then to Biddy Early. Did you ever hear of her? And she looked in the blue bottle she had, and she said my name. And she saw me standing before her, and knew all about me and said, “Your daughter was digging potatoes with her husband in the field, and a woman passed by and she said, ‘It is as good herself is with a spade as the man’”, for I was a young woman at the time. She gave my mother a bottle for me, and I took three drinks of it in the bed, and then I got up as well as I was before.

Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory
I think as time goes on Biddy’s fame will grow and some of the myths that always hang in the air will gather round her, for I think the first thing I was told of her was “There used surely to be enchanters in the old time, magicians and freemasons. Old Biddy Early's power came from the same thing”.

Starlitenergies













Sources:
Books
The Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley.
An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present - By Doreen Valiente
Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft - By Raven Grimassi
Witchcraft for Tomorrow - By Doreen Valiente

Websites
www.themystica.com/themystica.html
www.spiraltree.demon.co.uk/index.htm
www.mystical.co.uk 

Wednesday 25 May 2016

Summer thoughts...by Tansy

Summer thoughts...by Tansy Firedragon (Rachel Patterson)

As we ride the wave of energetic and passionate energy that Beltane created and head to the summer solstice – go with the flow and let your creativity and excitement for life run wild.

The sun is strong (hopefully, this is the UK after all…) allow it to ignite your passion, desire and sensuality, let it fire up your potential.  The gardens are full of blooming flowers, buzzing bees and packed with fruits and vegetables, summer is in full swing so break open the beer and chuck a kebab on the BBQ.

And of course on midsummer’s eve don’t forget to watch out for the Fae…

Make the most of the sunshine and the energy that it brings because after the summer solstice the daylight begins to wane.

Traditionally a good time to have a handfasting so if you want to ‘tie the knot’ better ask the question…

Fire magic is good to work with at this time of the year but also water so any workings to do with creativity, passion, love, balance, protection and energy but also healing, purification, emotions and intuition.  And of course faerie and dragon magic.  It is a good time to look inward to see what you need to work with or create to find your own inner balance and peace. 

Build a solstice fire to sit around and celebrate all the good things in your life then once the fire has died down and the ashes are left use some of them to create a protection pouch.

When the weather is warm and the skies are clear take a blanket outside (and maybe some provisions) to lay and watch the stars once it gets dark, don’t forget to make a wish on a bright star.

This time of the year is also perfect for re-dedicating yourself to your path, your faith and to your deities.

Start a new routine (if you don’t do it already) of saluting the sun.  As pagans we often work with the energies of the moon and sometimes the sun gets a bit forgotten.  Each morning when you wake turn to face the East and salute the sun, welcome it into your life and ask for the energetic and passionate energies that it brings to bless your day.

Make a sun wheel using plants and flowers from your garden shaped into a wreath then write your wishes on slips of paper and tie them onto the wreath, you can get your friends to join in with this activity.  Keep passing the wreath around until everyone has added a wish then at the end of the day you can put the wreath on the fire to burn and release all the wishes.

Mandalas are fun to create at any time of the year but when there are plenty of fallen petals and flowers in the garden you have lots of free materials to work with.   Collect flowers, petals, leaves and even any early seeds and use them to create a sunshiney mandala pattern.  As you create the mandala add your hopes, dreams and wishes into it.

And any chance you get, even on trips to the supermarket…wear flowers in your hair!

If you want to work with deities that are associated with these summer months you could investigate Adonis, Aine, Gaia, Aphrodite, Venus, Ceres, Dea Dia, Juno, Apollo, Mater Matua, Neptune, Pales, Vitula, Amaterasu, Aten, Hestia, Horus, Huitzilopochtli, Lugh, Sulis, Sol, Freya, Aditi, Beiwe, Vesta, Flora, Ra, Yemaya, Astarte, Hathor, Ishtar and Habondia.

Totem animal energies that are particularly associated with this time of the year are bear, salamander, eagle, lion, wren, robin, horse, cattle, satyr, dragon, butterfly, frog, toad, peacock and the Faerie world.

Veggies that are in season during June/July are globe artichokes, asparagus, aubergine, beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, chard, courgettes, cucumber, fennel, French beans, garlic, kohl rabi, lettuce, onions, pak choi, peas, potatoes, radish, rocket, runner beans, sorrel, spinach, tomatoes, turnips and watercress.

If you fancy a bit of foraging (please make sure you have identified the plants correctly before eating!) you might find broom buds, chickweed, fat hen, hogweed shoots, marsh samphire, nettles, sorrel, horseradish, wild rocket, wild fennel, elderflowers and mushrooms.

If you like working with the energy of crystals then any of the yellow, gold or sunshine coloured crystals will work well and topaz, agate, alexandrite, fluorite, moonstone, pearl, emerald, quartz, garnet, amber and jade.  If you want to give your crystals a sun energy boost leave them out in the sunshine on the summer solstice, I do this with all my yellow, orange and red crystals.  Be careful though as some of the more delicate crystals may fade if left out in direct sunlight for too long.

Making a loose incense or an essential oil blend to help you connect with the sunshine and the abundance of nature, you could use some of the following; St John’s Wort, basil, parsley, mint, thyme, violet, oak, dragon’s blood, fern, vervain, daisy, honeysuckle, myrrh, bay, cinnamon, chamomile, mugwort, rosemary, rose, sunflower and lavender.

Don’t forget your sun hat and sun screen, remember to dance, celebrate and enjoy as many ice creams as you can.


Tansy













Originally published in The Mystik Way magazine

Saturday 21 May 2016

Eliphas Levi by Starlitenergies

Eliphas Levi (1810 – 1875)

Eliphas Levi is the pseudonym of Alphonse Louis Constant, a French occultist and author whose works greatly influenced the growing numbers of esoteric and magical Orders of the 19th century, most particularly groups such as the S.R.I.A. (Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia), the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society. Interestingly the infamous Aleister Crowley was born the same year Levi died and later claimed to be his reincarnation.

Constant was born in Paris on the 08th February 1810 and was the only son of a shoemaker. He was an intelligent young man and quick to learn but his father did not have the funds to privately educate him. Determined his son should have a decent education, he sent Constant to the seminary of Saint Nichols du Chardonnet and later to Saint Sulpice to be educated and trained as a priest. While he was there he became intrigued by a lesson received from his headmaster, who during the course of the lesson explained his belief that animal magnetism was a vital energy of the human body controlled by the “Devil”. This sparked his curiosity and surreptitiously he began to study all that he could find out about magic and the occult.

Early in the 1830’s Constant became acquainted with an old couple called 'Ganneau' who practiced witchcraft. Ganneau believed himself a prophet and a reincarnation of Louis XVII, while he also believed his wife was the reincarnation of Marie Antoinette. Constant joined Ganneau and became one of his followers delving deeper into the mysteries of magic and the occult. Continuing to pursue his career in the church, he was ordained a deacon in December 1835, but did not become a priest.

Constant wrote a number of minor religious works: Des Moeurs et des Doctrines du Rationalisme en France (Of the Moral Customs and Doctrines of Rationalism in France, in 1839), L'Evangile du Peuple (The Gospel of the People in 1840), La Mère de Dieu (The Mother of God in 1844) and Le Testament de la Liberté (The Testament of Liberty published in 1848), the same year Napoleon III in a revolutionary coup overthrew King Louis Philippe and became president of the Second Republic. Thrown out of the church and excommunicated due to his left-wing political views, Constant’s writings led on to him serving three short jail sentences.

In 1846 when he was 36 years old, Constant met and married Noemie Cadiot who was 18 years his junior. Together they had one child but sadly it died in early childhood. After the loss of the child the marriage deteriorated, they separated in 1853 and their marriage was annulled in 1865. In the meantime, Constant was earning a meagre living writing as a journalist and by giving lessons in occult studies. He took on the pen name 'Magus Eliphas Levi', which he arrived at by translating his given names ‘Alphonse Louis’ into Hebrew.

After his wife had left him, Levi made his first trip to England in May 1854, hoping to increase his fortunes by giving private lessons on occult subjects. So far Levi had not written anything on the subject, but his reputation as a leading French Magus had preceded him, he also came furnished with letters of introduction to some of London’s high society and England’s more prominent personages. One such was the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton 1803-1873 - the 1st Baron Lytton of Knebworth) and they formed a firm and lasting friendship.

Bulwer-Lytton was regarded as a leading authority on magic and occultism in England, his interests extended to the study of clairvoyance, magic, astrology and mesmerism, he was also the president of a local Rosicrucian group seeking esoteric wisdom from psychic and spiritual enlightenment. It was Bulwer-Lytton who encouraged Levi to write a treatise on magic. As a result he later wrote: Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie in 1855. This was later translated into English by Arthur Edward Waite of the Golden Dawn as Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual. The opening lines of the introduction to the book leaves the reader with little doubt as to its theme of Occult Mysticism:

Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of the Assyrian or Egyptian sphinx, in the monstrous or marvellous paintings which interpret to the faithful of India the inspired pages of the Vedas, in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practised at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same and everywhere carefully concealed”.

It was during this trip to London in 1854 that Levi first tried necromancy. Unable to speak but a smattering of English, his ability to give lessons proved to be disappointing and he failed to make any money teaching. Instead and much to his dismay, he was expected to perform ‘miracles’ and give practical demonstrations of ceremonial magic. One titled lady, a friend of Bulwer-Lytton who claimed to be an adept, asked him to conjure the spirit of ‘Apollonius of Tyana’ a famous magician of ancient times. Levi confessed that he had never before attempted such a conjuration and until then had purposely avoided any such activity. However after much persuasion and due preparation he consented to make the attempt.

During three week of preparation including dieting and fasting, Levi meditated on Apollonius and imagined conversations with him. The Ritual of Conjuration was performed in a specially prepared ‘Temple’ in which only he took part and consisted of 12 hours of incantations, after which the floor began to shake and a ghostly apparition appeared. Levi admitted to feeling extremely cold and frightened and when the apparition touched his ritual sword, his arm went suddenly numb. He dropped the sword and fainted. He claimed later that his sword arm was sore and numb for days after the incident. Levi was inclined to treat his experience as a subjective experiment, but observed that it had been sufficient to demonstrate the effectiveness of magical ceremonies. He also condemned their use as dangerous on moral and health grounds outside the hands of an experienced adept. An account of the ceremony he performed can be found in Arthur Edward Waite’s translation of his work: Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual.

Levi returned to Paris in August 1854, penniless and without a home. He was help and provided room and board by an old friend Adolphe Desbarolles. Desbarolles later achieved some prominence as the author of Les Mysteres de la Main, an important 19th century work on palmistry. While Levi’s trip to England had been less than financially rewarding, it did much to enhance his reputation. Back in France his exploits again preceded him, and soon he was attracting students to study the Cabala under his private tuition.

In May 1861, Levi made another trip to England and so as not to repeat the conditions of his last trip, he brought with him one of his pupils Count Alexander Branicki with whom he was welcomed to stay with Baron Bulwer-Lytton at his estate in Knebworth. During this visit Levi met with Kenneth Mackenzie, a leading member of the S.R.I.A. (Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia) and the author of the influential “Royal Masonic Encyclopedia”. Mackenzie had also been popularly theorized as the author and originator of the controversial “Cipher Manuscripts” upon which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded. Later Mackenzie published an account of their meeting, in which Levi stated that he had studied the symbolism of Tarot cards for over 26 years. Levi never produced a complete treatise on Tarot cards, but his references to the cards throughout his writings, continued to fascinate, influence and inspire many generations of occultists after his death.

After his trip to England in 1861, Levi published: La Clef des Grands Mystères (The Key to the Great Mysteries), a sequel to his earlier work. Other magical works followed and include: Fables et Symboles (Stories and Images) in 1862 and La Science des Esprits (The Science of Spirits) in 1865. He also wrote Le Grand Arcane, ou l'Occultisme Dévoilé (The Great Secret, or Occultism Unveiled) in 1868, but published posthumously in 1898. Initially Levi’s writings and beliefs were thought to be highly imaginative for he believed in the existence of a universal “secret doctrine of magic” that had prevailed throughout history and was evident everywhere in the world. He also expanded on the theory of “Astral Light” based on his belief in animal magnetism.

Until his death on the 31st May 1875, Levi continued to earn a comfortable living from his writings and giving occult lessons. Through a growing interest in Spiritualism and the popular rise of esoteric groups such as the S.R.I.A. (Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia), the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophical Society, Levi’s writings soon gained a respectable following. Levi’s magic had a deep impact on the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and greatly influenced such people as S.L. MacGregor Mathers who wrote most of the orders rituals, Arthur Edward Waite who adopted the Baphomet sigil as the devil card in his Rider Waite Tarot Deck, and of course Aleister Crowley with his associations with ‘The Beast’.

Eliphas Levi today is remembered as one of the key founders of the twentieth century revival of magic and contemporary witchcraft.


Starlitenergies














Book Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft - by Rosemary Ellen Guiley.
Man Myth & Magic - Edited by Richard Cavendish

Just a few website sources heehee:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliphas_Levi
http://www.templarhistory.com/levi.html
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/l/levi_eliphas.html
http://www.twistedtree.org.uk/baphomet.htm

Wednesday 18 May 2016

Magical Trees - Oak

Magical Trees - Oak written by one of our students Gypsy Willowmoon

English Oak:
Scientific name: Quercus Robur
Common names: Pedunculate Oak
Family: Fagaceae
UK Province: Native

Oaks are a symbol of great strength and endurance. In England the Oak has assumed the status of national emblem.

These magnificent trees grow to well over 30metres and can live for 1,000 years or more. Flowering begins in late spring, with the fruits or acorns ripening in time for autumn. Acorns grow in clusters of 5 normally, and are a rich food source for lots of birds and small mammals, particularly the Jay and squirrels, who cache away the acorns to eat them later. Acorns are not produced until the tree is at least 40yrs old. Peak acorn fecundity usually occurs around 80-120 yrs.

Being deciduous (a tree that shed's its leaves annually) Oaks leave their distinctive lobed and wavy leaves in the winter.

The Oak has been a prized source of timber since prehistoric times. It is said that an Oak tree hid Charles II from the roundheads at Boscobel.

English Oak is arguably the best known and loved of British native trees. It is the most common tree species in the UK, especially in Southern and Central British deciduous woods. As common Oaks mature they form broad and spreading crowns, with sturdy branches beneath. Their open canopy enables light to penetrate through to the woodland floor, allowing bluebell and primroses to grow below.

In England the Oak has for centuries been a national symbol of strength and survival. It has played an important part in our culture. Couples were wed under ancient Oaks in Oliver Cromwell's time.
The festival Yule log was traditionally cut from Oak.

It features on the 1987 £ coin and is the inspiration for the emblem of many environmentally focused organisations, including The Woodland Trust.

Traditionally the leaves bark and acorns were believed to heal many medical ailments including diarrhoea, inflammation and kidney stones.

Historically humans also collected acorns and processed them into flour for bread making! I can't imagine that that tasted very nice!   Their smooth and silvery brown bark becomes rugged and deeply fissured with age. Oak tree growth is particularly rapid in youth but gradually slows at around 120 yrs. Oaks even shorten with age in order to expand their life span.

Leaves around 10 cm long with 4-5 deep lobes with smooth edges. Leaf burst occurs mid May (although the leaves did burst in March this year) the leaves have almost no stem and grow in bunches.
Flowers - are long yellow hanging catkins which distribute pollen into the air.

Fruits - Acorn are commonly 2-2.5 cms long, borne on lengthy stalks and held tightly by cupules (the cup shaped base) 
As it ripens the green acorn takes on a more autumnal brown colour, loosens from the cupule and falls.

Most acorns never get the chance to germinate, as they are a rich food source, eaten by many wild creatures, Jays, mice and squirrels.

They need to germinate and root quickly to prevent drying out or becoming victims of the harvest.

Following successful germination a new sapling will appear the following spring.

Oaks have distinctive lobed leaves with short leaf stalks (petioles) leaf lobes are rounded.   

They are native to the northern hemisphere existing in cool regions right through to tropical climates. They provide a habitat rich in biodiversity, they support more life forms than any other native trees. They host hundreds of species of insect, supply many British birds with an important food source. In autumn mammals such as badgers and deer take advantage of the falling acorns. Flower and leaf buds of English Oak and Sessile Oak are the food plants of Caterpillars of purple hairstreak butterflies. The soft leaves of the English Oaks break down with ease in autumn and form a rich leaf mould beneath the tree, supporting invertebrates, such as the stag beetle and numerous fungi, like the Oak bug milk cap. Holes and crevices in the bark are nesting spots for the Pied flycatcher or Marsh tit. Several British bat species may also roost in old woodpecker holes or under loose bark, as well as feeding on the rich supply of insects in the tree canopy.

Tannin found in the bark has been used to tan leather since Roman times.
Toxicity:
Tannic acid in the leaves is poisonous to horses if consumed in excess, damaging the kidneys.

Acorns are poisonous to horses and cattle, though pigs can eat them safely in moderation.

The Oak Processionary Moth is a non native pest that has been found in London and Berkshire not only does it damage the foliage of the trees it increases the Oaks susceptibility to other diseases, It is a risk to human health  - The moths hairs are toxic and can lead to itching and respiratory problems  if inhaled.

Acute Oak Decline (AOD) and Chronic Oak Decline (COD) are serious conditions affecting Britain's Oaks, several contributing factors are linked to the disease. Key symptoms include: canopy thinning, branch dieback and black weeping patches on stems and lesions underlying the bleed spots.    
Source woodlandtrust.org.uk and treesforlife.org.uk

The Oak is held in high regard across most cultures in Europe. To the Greeks, Romans, Celts, Slavs and Teutonic tribes the Oak was one of the foremost venerated trees and in each case associated with the supreme God in their pantheon. Oak being sacred to Zeus, Jupiter, Dagda, Perun and Thor, each of these goods also had dominion over rain, thunder and lightning. Druids frequently worshipped and practised their rites in Oak groves, mistletoe probably the Druids most potent and magical plant, frequently grew on Oak, and its presence was believed to indicate the hand of God having placed it there during a lightning strike.

Ancient kings presented themselves as the personifications of these Gods, taking on the responsibility not only for success in battle but also fertility of the land, which relied on rainfall.

They wore crowns of Oak leaves, as a symbol of the God they represented as kings on earth. 

Royalty has had a long association with Oak trees too, ancient kings adorned themselves with crowns made of Oak leaves, and Roman emperors were presented with crowns of Oak leaves during victory parades.

Oak leaves have continued to be icons of military prowess to the present day.

Oak leaves connection to rain fall also survived in more recent folklore in a variety of similar rhymes about which trees leaves appeared first.

Such as the Irish saying:

If the Oak before the Ash,
Then we'll only have a splash.
If the Ash before the Oak,
Then we'll surely have a soak.

St. Columbus was said to have a fondness and respect for the Oak tree and was said to be reluctant to fell them.

Many parishes used to contain what became known as Gospel Oak, a prominent tree at which part of the Gospel was read during the Beating of the Bounds ceremonies at Rogantide in spring.

In Somerset stand the two very ancient Oaks of Gog and Magog (named after the last male and female giants) which are reputed to be the remnants of the Oak lined processional route up to the nearby Glastonbury Tor.

The major Oak in Sherwood Forest is purported to be the tree where Robin Hood and his merry men hatched their plots and is now a popular tourist attraction, although this particular tree probably doesn't predate the 16th Century.

Children would wear Oak leaves or better still Oak apples as part of a custom which officially lasted until 1859 but in fact continued until well into the twentieth century.

Source mythsencyclopedia.com
Source bbc.co.uk/nature

Forests play a prominent role in many folktales and legends. In these dark mysterious place heroes can lose their way, face unexpected challenges and stumble upon hidden secrets.
Part of the age old magic of forests lies in the ideas that people have about trees.

In myths and legends around the world they appear as ladders between worlds, as sources of life and as physical forms of supernatural beings. With its roots buried deep in the earth, and its trunk above ground, its branches stretching towards the sky, a tree serves as a symbolic, living link between this world and those of the supernatural beings.

In many myths a tree is a vital part of the structure of the universe. Gods and their messengers travel from world to world by climbing up and down trees.

The Norse believed that a tree runs like an axis, or pole, through this world and realms above and below it. They called their tree Yggdrasill. It was a great Ash tree that nourished Gods, humans and animals connecting all living things and all phases of existence.
In traditional societies of Latvia, Lithuania and Northern Germany, The World Tree was thought to be a distant Oak, Birch or Apple tree with Iron roots, copper branches and silver leaves. The spirits of the dead lived in this tree.

Greek folktales of Goblins in the underworld who try to cut the roots of the tree that is holding up the earth and sky.

Norse legends contain a similar image with an evil serpent forever gnawing at Yggdrasills roots.

The mythology of early India, presented in texts called the Upanishads, Includes a cosmic tree called Asvattha. It is the living universe, an aspect of Brahman, the world spirit. This cosmic tree reverses the usual order. Its roots are in the sky, and its branches grow downward to cover the earth.

The Greek Gods Zeus and Hera were known as The Oak God and The oak Goddess.

Zeus; oracle in Dodona, Epirus, was considered to be the oldest in Greece. The oracle was founded when a black dove flew from Thebes in Egypt and settled in an Oak tree at Dodona. The tree became the centre of the temple and priests would divine Gods assertions and judgements in the rustling of the Oaks leaves.  The oracle at Dodona was visited by notable heroes of Greek mythology including Jason when searching for The Golden Fleece. In Homers Odyssey, Odysseus consults the Oaken oracle to ask if he should return to Ithaca as himself or in disguise.

The Oak was also sacred to Thor, Donar's Oak Old Germans Thor's Oak, was a sacred tree to Germanic Pagans near Hesse, Germany. In the 18th Century, The Donars Oak was cut down by Anglo -Saxon Christian missionary St. Boniface. Wood from the tree was then used to build a church and the site dedicated to St Peter.

Pliny the Elder, describes the Druids of Gaul performing all their religious ceremonies in Oak groves. Druids would consume acorns in a way of divining the future. Oak trees with mistletoe were considered the most powerful in the forest. The mistletoe was cut from the Oak by a white cloaked Priest with Golden sickle, and two white bulls would be sacrificed. The religious ceremony culminated with the rendering of an elixir that was said to cure infertility and to be an antidote to all poisons. Wearing Oak leaves was a sign of special social status amongst the Celts.

Those born under the astrological sign of the Oak (June 10 - July 7th) Have a special gift of strength. They are protective people and often become a champion for those who have no voice. The Oak is the crusader and the spokesperson for the underdog, nurturing, generous and helpful.

The live Oak was often called “King Oak" by the Celts and also considered sacred to the Druids as I mentioned earlier, they believe the Oak is connected with great strength, money, success, fertility and even good fortune.

To carry an acorn in your pocket for an important interview or meeting, will bring you good luck.

Sessile Oak (Quercus Petraea)
About 450 species of Oak have been described worldwide, of which 25 are native to Europe, but only Sessile and Pendunculate Oaks have such a broad distribution, and they are the sole species native to North and West of the continent. In the past, large areas of Europe were covered by temperate deciduous forests in which these two Oaks predominated, but only a small proportion of these forests remain today, the majority converted to agriculture.
Sessile Oaks predominate in the North and West of Scotland.
Sessile Oaks do NOT produce acorns.


Source Treesforlife.org

Saturday 14 May 2016

Cleavers by Unity
Galium aparine

Other names: Goosegrass, Clives, Catchweed, Bedstraw, Little Sweethearts, Sticky-Willy, Hayriff, Mutton Chops, Sticky buds, Grip grass.

Planetry ruler: Moon/ Saturn
Element : Water/ Fire
Gender: Female
Festival : Ostara

Magical uses: Relationships, Commitment, Protection, Tenacity, Binding
Medical actions: Diuretic, alterative, anti-inflammatory, tonic, astringent

Cleavers are a common roadside annual plant that climbs over everything in it's path and sticks to them with it's sticky leaves and seeds. I have lots of this growing in my garden at the moment, so I thought I'd find out more about it.

It is one of the earliest Spring tonic plants and sometimes even appears before the end of the year in sheltered spots. The generic name 'Galium' is believed to come from the Greek word 'Gala' which means 'milk' This is thought to refer to cleavers ability to curdle milk. The specific name 'aparine' is thought to come from the Greek word ' aparo' meaning 'to sieze', which refers to the plants ability to stick to anything, including clothes, dogs, cats etc. Cleavers quite happily rampages all through woodland, grass verges, other plants . It will choke out other plants if your not careful.

Cleavers is a valuable healing plant and one of the best tonic's for clearing the lymphatic system, making it a good remedy for swollen glands, adenoid problems, tonsilitis and earache. It is diuretic and is cool and soothing which makes it good for irritation of the urinary tract including cystitis.

Cleavers can be eaten fresh in salads, added to smoothies, soups and juices and cooked like spinach and eaten as a vegetable. It is best used fresh as it loses some of it's effectiveness when dried. It can also be drank as a tea and used in tinctures and poultices. As an ointment is works well for dry chapped skin conditions and is said to aid the healing of sunburn, minor burns and scalds. For a poultice the fresh plant can be picked, crushed and put straight on to blisters and sores. The seeds can be dried, roasted and ground to make a caffiene -free coffee like drink.

During the middle ages Cleavers was used as a strewing herb, and the juice was used to treat poisonous spider bites. The juice has also been used for many years to stop bleeding and to treat wounds and ulcers. A red dye can be made from the roots. The ancient Greeks used to make a makeshift sieve for filtering milk with cleavers.

Magically Cleavers is associated with renewal at Spring time and can be drank or added to food at the Ostara rites.

Because it clings to fabric so well it would be useful for working binding spells and whenever a situation needs bringing together, a relationship or some other kind of commitment needs some help.

Cleavers tea

Pour 1/2 pint of boiling water over a handful of fresh cleavers. Infuse for 10-15 minutes, strain and drink.

Cleavers soup

3 handfuls young cleavers leaves
2 handfuls mixed leaves (e.g. ribwort, plantain, nettle, dandelion, yarrow, clover, daisies)
Herbs for seasoning (e.g. lovage, thyme, marjoram, lemon balm, peppermint, dill, parsley. chives)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 potato, diced into small pieces
750 ml vegetable stock


Wash the leaves, weeds and herbs and chop them coarsely. Chop the onion and garlic and fry in a little oil until golden. Add the potatoe, cleavers, mixed leaves and herbs. Pour in the stock and cook for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, then liquidize until the soup is smooth.



Unity















Sources : Herbcraft Anna Franklin & Susan Lavender
Hedgerow medicine - Julie Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal
Holistic Herbal - David Hoffman
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of magical herbs - Scott Cunningham
A Kitchen Witch's World of magical plants and herbs - Rachel Patterson
The hedgerow handbook - Adele Nozedar

Wednesday 11 May 2016

The Dark Ones by Thia

The Dark Ones by Thia

Oh, how I love the Dark Ones…well not really Tezcatlipoca, his worship is pretty grim as you will soon see.

Let us then begin with the archetype of the Dark Gods – the Horned One.

The Horned God

The Horned God is not necessarily a Dark God, but he needs to be addressed as part of the Masculine aspect. The Horned God is an archetype that has shown up in many religions and beliefs. One of the primary ones is an amalgamation of Cernunnos from the Celts, Pan/Faun from the Greeks and Romans and Herne the Hunter from the British Isles. In modern times he is also represented by Baphomet per Eliphas Levi. To those who have not done much digging around, he may also be seen as the devil.

I prefer to approach the Horned God from the psychology perspective. He is the masculine that is untamed. He represents the male part that is not compliant with polite society. He is the base instinct to hunt, kill, mate, and protect. He is not refined, he does not bother with reason and conscience, he is survival and desire.
When we work with the Horned One we allow ourselves to break free of the restraints that society places on us. We run wild and free and embrace our animalistic side. We are bold and don’t let fear hold us back.

Erebus

Erebus is darkness. He is a primordial deity, the son of Chaos and the brother of night (Nyx). From his union with Nyx they conceived, Aether (light) and Hemera (Day), Hypnos (sleep), Moirai (the fates) Gera (old age), and Thanatos (death). Erebus is the Netherlands where you pass after death prior to entering the Underworld. There isn’t a whole lot written about Erebus, so I did a meditation to check in with him.

Meditation
I am Erebus. I am the darkness behind the darkness. I am what allows darkness to exist. I am the nothingness, the absence of all light. You may fear me, but the darkness is just the darkness. What you experience here is what you bring here. There is no fear except what you bring. I can be the comfort of the womb before you were born. I can be the silence in which you find peace. I can be the nothingness that you seek. I was here before death I was here before sleep I will be here after the last light has been extinguished. For I am.

Lucifer

Lucifer gets such a bad wrap. I am going to talk about Lucifer as the bright and morning star. I am discussing him here in Dark Gods because most people these days associate him with the Christian concept of the devil, which is not historically how he is associated. In the Apocrypha Lucifer was considered a version of Venus, the morning star. The star that was the last one visible before the night. He is also considered the brightest star. His name could also refer to the King of Babylon.

Some consider him to represent the intellect and the ego. Because he would not sublimate his ego he was banned from heaven and given rule over the underworld.

Another way of looking at Lucifer is through the lens of spiritual science as developed by Rudolf Steiner. Steiner founded Anthroposophy and was an important figure in metaphysics having been instrumental in the Philosophical Society before leaving to start Anthroposophy. He characterized Lucifer as being the balance to Christ. Needing to have the opposing forces to mediate a balanced path for humanity. But for him, Lucifer represented the intellect, visions and imagination. The dark side of these include delusion, hallucination, psychosis and fantasy.

This view is somewhat aligned with the Anton LaVey’s view that showed up in the 1960s. LaVey holds that Lucifer is a crown prince of hell. He associated him with the East and dubs him the Lord of Air. He is the bringer of light, the morning star, intellectualism, and enlightenment.

This is an interesting contrast to the Cernunnos aspect of the Dark God, which is anything but intellectualized. Yet they both are about rebelling against what we are told to believe and how we are told to act.

I would like to insert one more comment about Lucifer as viewed from the Christian point of view. If the cosmos require a balance to operate, and Christ is seen as the light, and the virtuous – then by necessity there needs to be the dark and temptation. If we can take out the judgment associated that light is good and dark is bad, then we can see this as light and dark are required. It is the easy road to be seen as the “good” as the light. It is the far more difficult road to be seen as the “bad” as the darkness. It requires much more sacrifice for the greater whole to be the darkness. Does this not in turn show the the one personifying darkness is in fact, the better being? Someone who is willing to spend an eternity being scorned and feared and hated and loathed would have to be pretty great to step into that role. Would they not have to have great love and compassion to play such a role? This perhaps relates also to Judas Iscariot. In the resurrection tale, can he have loved Christ enough that he would spent eternity being damned because he did what had to be done and no other Apostle had the intestinal fortitude to do it? I prefer to see it as having the strength and courage to do what needs to be done and to stand up straight and fearless and take the consequences of your choices. Even if you did not want to take on the task at hand.

Tezcatlipoca

Tezcatlipoca is a key deity in the Aztec religion. He is associated with the night sky, hurricanes, the north, earth, obsidian, discord, enmity, divination, temptation, sorcery, jaguars, strife, change through conflict, and war. His name translates into Smoking Mirror. He is often shown with black and yellow stripes on his face and with his right foot replaced with obsidian, bone or a snake.

According to the Aztec creation myth Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca joined forces to create the world. Before that there was only the sea and the crocodilian earth monster called Cipactli. To attract Cipactli, Tezcatlipoca used his foot as bait, and Cipactli ate it. The two gods then captured her, and distorted her to make the land from her body. After that, they created the people, and people had to offer sacrifices to comfort Cipactli for her sufferings. Because of this, Tezcatlipoca is depicted with a missing foot.

One of the more interesting and harrowing stories about Tezcatlipoca is the celebration of his annual feast held during Toxcatl, the fifth month of the Aztec calendar. The preparations begin a year earlier, when a young man, is chosen by the priests to be the likeness of Tezcatlipoca. For the next year he lives like a god, wearing expensive jewelry and having attendants. He is worshipped literally as the embodiment of the deity. He marries four young women, and spends his last week singing, feasting and dancing. During the feast where he was worshipped as Tezcatlipoca he climbs the stairs to the top of the temple where the priests seize him. He then crushes the clay flutes on which he had played in his brief moment of glory. At that point he is sacrificed and his body eaten. Immediately after he dies a new victim for the next year’s ceremony is chosen.

Working with the Dark Gods

So how can we work with the Dark Gods? Personally, I would not call on this type of energy very often. This is place to go when the outlook is dire. Draw on this energy if you need justice and protection. If you are being hunted, if you are afraid for your life – then use the wisdom, courage and strength of the Dark Gods. Do not do this lightly. Their action will be swift and certain. It is not for the faint of heart.

You can also ask for their help in conquering fear, to bring you courage or to help you bear a burden. The Dark Gods can help balance energy so you can see and hold both sides of a situation. If you need grounding, if you need to understand the base side of being human, turn to the dark ones.

Lastly, the Dark Ones do us all a service. They embody this energy and hold it for us. It is a difficult energy. By their doing this, we do not have to hold that energy, they do it for us. I think it is appropriate to remember that, honor it and thank them for the gift of darkness that they bring us.

Meditation
Enter a meditative state, however you get there. Now focus on the darkness. Feel the pit of your stomach. Move to your first and second chakra and breath in there. Press your consciousness into your masculine side. Feel the power of masculine energy build within you. How does that feel? Take out all the stops. Breath in the fierceness of raw maleness. Can you feel your senses sharpen? What are you thinking about?

Now, take yourself back in time. You are standing on a ledge, outside your cave. You are looking out over a vista. You are still. You smell the air. What do you smell? What is nearby?

You rub leaves and bark on yourself to mask your scent. You reach out and pick up a stick with a sharp point on it. You know where to find a place in the woods where prey go. It is by a stream where they come to drink. You set out. What do you see? What do you hear? How do you move? What smells are present? Now you are by the clearing. You crouch by a bush and wait. What happens next?
Be in that moment as long as you dare. Stay with the meditation. When you are ready, go back to the cave. Breath in the moment. Breath in the lessons. Deepen your breath and find your way back to the here and now. Before you open your eyes, lock in those feelings in your lower chakras. Thank that part of yourself for surfacing and teaching you. When you are ready – open your eyes.




Image is of The Horned God from the Witchcraft Museum, Boscastle.

Monday 9 May 2016

May Crafts from Lela Moon

This month from Lela Moon we have:

Garden pillows
Mother’s day gift (USA) or just for the one you love
Sleep bags


1. Garden Pillows

You will need old pillow cases, old pillows, needle and cotton



Line up two pillow cases with the hole ends together.




Sew along the seam.

Put in the pillows and off you go.




You can add as many as you want to make them however long you want.


2. Mother’s day , I love you gift


You will need a little piece of material, decoration if necessary, paper & pen, glue or needle and thread.

My little bit of material is about two inches wide and four inches long.



Fold material in half



Glue or sew up the two long edges

Decorate the little bag as you wish



Type or write up the little message



A bag of love….

I bet you think this bag is empty
It’s not.
It’s full of love.
It’s a very small bag because there isn’t one large enough to hold
All the love I have to give.
The wonderful thing is - I did not buy this love – I was born with it
And I can give it to anyone I want and I want to give it to you.
It will never run out and I have lots more to give.
I Love you x


---------
Pop it in the bag and give it to your loved one


3. Sleep bag.

You will need material (mine is about 12 x 6 inches) needle and thread, ribbon, muslin material, lavender, hops, camomile and star anise

Take your material wrong side up and sew a hem at the top of both ends



Then fold in half and sew up the two long side to the hem (not over it)





Turn the material the right way round and thread the ribbon through the hem you made at the top



Take the muslin ( mine is about 10 x 5 inches) fold in half and

sew up the two long sides and then fill up with your lavender,

hops and camomile, add star anise if you want to ward off bad dreams.

Then sew up the top.



Put the muslin bag into the material bag and tie up the ribbon.



Pop it under your pillow or in your draws.

enjoy x


Lela Moon