Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

As you begin to research herbs and plants for your magickal learning, you’ll no doubt encounter the practice of aromatherapy. Although this practice has been co-opted by the New Age movement, aromatherapy has magickal purposes as well. As you use specially blended oils to consecrate candles, tools and yourself, the scents of the oils trigger your aura and your spirit to become in line with the magick you are about to produce.

Aromatherapy is essentially the therapeutic use of the essential oils of plants. When used correctly, it can help enhance your magick, relieve stress, restore balance to your life and contribute to your rejuvenation and regeneration of the individual. It has its roots in Egypt, India and Mesopotamia.

Essential oils are the pure substances that are distilled from flowers, herbs, trees, fruits and roots. They have their own specific properties and the essential oils can be blended to bring about certain types of magick. For example, I frequently use Prosperity Oil, Money Oil, Energy Oil, and many other blends to consecrate my tools and add to my incense blends.

According to science, aromatherapy works in four different ways: pharmacological, physiological, psychological and holistic. The pharmacological response measures the effects of the chemical changes that take place in the blood stream when you inhale the fragrance. The physiological effects are measured on the body, and oils are either sedating, tonic or stimulating. The psychological response is completely individual. If you have good memories associated with vanilla (perhaps your grandmother’s baking comes to mind?) the scent will relax you. The holistic response is a total body response that happens to your physical body and your aura as well.

I use essential oils in create special oil blends for my magick. Before I make the oil blends, I make sure to cleanse your body energetically. Aromatherapy works better when your aura is clean. This also applies to the process of making the oil. Essential oils are a life force, and your psychic energy is imprinted upon them as you work with them.

Once you make a special oil blend, you can use it in several different ways. I’ve already mentioned the use of them in consecration, but their magickal energies can be released through several avenues. You can try an aromatic bath with your oil blend. Just fill a tub with slightly lukewarm water. After filling, add just 3 to 5 drops of your oil blend as you enter. As you soak in the energy, breathe deeply and massage the skin.

You can have a “mini” bath by using a footbath. In this case, you’ll want the water as hot as possible and you can add oils after you add your feet.

Oil blends can be inhaled directly for energy, calming or divination. Add 1 to 3 drops of your oil blend to a cotton ball, or a pot of steaming water. Take three deep inhalations per minute. This will change your vibration and infuse your spirit with the properties of the oil blend.

Aromatherapy is indeed magickal. Just as with other items, making your own oil blends will have more magickal power for you then store bought ones.

Here are some of my favorites:
Anointing Oil:
5 drops Sandalwood
3 drops Cedarwood
1 drop Orange
1 drop Lemon
Money Drawing Oil:
Bayberry Root
Bayberry Oil (usually only available as a synthetic)
Pyrite Chips
Top with carrier oil (e.g. almond oil)
Energy Oil:
4 drops Orange
2 drops Lime
1 drop Cardamon
1/4 oz. Base Oil
Wear to increase your energy.
Prosperity Oil:
5 drops Clove oil
4 drops Patchouli oil
5 drops Frankincense oil
A bit of Hyssop
1 star anise
1/2 oz. Carrier Oil

Brightest Blessing,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Since we discussed the Triple Goddess in the last message, I thought it was best that we pay due to her consort, the Horned God. The Pentacle which we wear and use so proudly in Wicca is a representation of their Union’the three upper most points are the three aspects of the Triple Goddess, and the two lower points represent the Horned God.

The Horned God is a symbol of male energy in the form of the divine. He reigns over the woodlands, the hunt and animals. He provides strength and is the Lord of Life, Death and the Underworld. He provides the Sun to the Goddess? moon. He alternates with her in ruling over the fertility cycle of birth, death and rebirth. He is reborn every Winter Solstice, unites with the Goddess in marriage and Beltane and dies in the Autumn in order to bring fertility to the land.

The Horned God is a Wiccan Deity, but does not belong soley to Wicca. He has appeared throughout mythologies all over the world. He is:

- Cernunnos, The Celtic God of fertility, animals and the underworld.

- Herne The Hunter, a specter of Britain.
- Pan the Greek god of the woodlands,
- Janus the Roman god of good beings.
- Tammuz and Damuzi, the son, lover and consorts to Ishtar and Inanna.

- Osiris, the Egyptian Lord of the underworld.
- Dionysus, the Greek god of vegetation and vine.
- The Green Man, the lord of vegetation and the woodlands.
No matter what form he takes in your Wiccan practice, he is as equally important as the Goddess. He contributes the male part of the male-female polarity. During rites in a coven, the High Priest personifies him. In fact, the use of an antlered headdress or a horned helmet by High Priests is what may have contributed to the misconception that Witches were cavorting with Satan.

The concept of Satan is a perversion of what the Horned God represents. The horns on his head represent the domain over the woodlands and his association with the bull and the ram. The two horns also symbolize the cycle of birth and death, creation and destruction, separation and return. Just like nature, the Horned God contains both powers within him. He is both the God of Life and the God of Death. Nature requires balance and the Horned God shows that balance.

He is sometimes depicted as half man and half animal, such as the Horned God seen as Pan or Cernunnous. This represents the natural union between man and nature, something our modern world has sadly forgotten.

Some may fear the Horned God, because he is the primal and active force within all things. We humans try to deny our primal aspects, and origins from the wild. He is a God who is unfettered by civilization. He is driven by his primal instincts and calls us to either do the same, or at least acknowledge that we have them. He is both the hunter and the hunted, with his death he is slain so others can live. He starts the natural cycle and allows the harvest to take place.

Honoring the Horned God is as simple as acknowledging our connection with nature. We also honor him when we learn that life is full of balance. He is brought into our lives through our courage, our passion and our will. Adding a small picture or figure of his visage to your altar is always a good complement to a representation of the Goddess. Remember that in magick, just as in nature, balance is the key.

Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

I had an embarrassing question at one of my Wicca classes last week. It wasn’t embarrassing for the student; it was embarrassing for me because I realized that I hadn’t yet explained to this poor young lady who and what the Triple Goddess is. If you’ve been wondering that yourself, hopefully today’s message will enlighten you.

The Triple Goddess is a conception of the Great Goddess that helps us to understand her in all of her forms. She is split into three aspects – Maiden, Mother and Crone. These aspects relate directly to the phases of the moon. The Maiden represents the Waxing Moon’slim and full of promise. The Mother is the Full Moon, bursting with new life. The Crone is the Waning Moon’regal as she fades into darkness. The Moon, of course, has another phase’the dark moon, which some identify with a Dark or Unseen Goddess. Personally, I see this phase of the moon as the extension of the Crone into the Afterlife.

The Gardnerian witches most definitely focused on a Moon Goddess, and spread the concept of the Triple Goddess that permeates Wicca today. However, this does not mean that every Goddess is a Triple Goddess. The Triple Goddess example can be used a template for our understanding of the Deity and ourselves. The Goddess reminds us that despite our differences, we are part of a whole. We are connected, just as the different phases of Goddess are part of the same Deity.

The three aspects of the Triple Goddess have separate correspondences. The Maiden Goddess is associated with childhood, adolescence, purity, virginity, new beginnings, independence and courage.

The Mother Goddess is motherhood (obviously), fertility, growth, protection and sexuality. Many of us do not associate our mothers with sexuality, but how do you think mothers become mothers in the first place?

The Crone represents old age, wisdom, change, transformation, death, rebirth and banishing.

There is one thing I want to clear up that I have heard countless well meaning but misinformed intermediate Wiccans repeat over and over again. I know a lot of people see the three parts of the Goddess and make the connection between that and the Trinity used in Christianity. This then leads to some kind of convoluted logic that eventually results in a declaration that this is yet another things that the Christians ‘stole’ from Paganism. And then that leads to a rant about the burning times, religious persecution and the like.

While I’ve had my fair share of heated debates with Christians, I’ve also had my fair share of debates with Pagans regarding the previously mentioned assumption. In actuality, the Celts viewed many (that’s right, many) of the Goddesses (and Gods too!) in a triple form. However, they weren’t divided into maiden, mother and crone. For example (I knew you’d want one!), The Morrigan was a Triple Goddess whose parts were Badb, Macha and Nemain – which were all goddesses of war and death.

For the record, there are over 400 Celtic deities on record. To suggest that the Celts were a monotheistic religion, worshipping a Triple Moon Goddess which the Christians ripped off is fallacy.

The Triple Goddess that is present in Wiccan theology is a completely Wiccan concept. Pagan cultures didn’t divide their goddesses into the categories of Maiden, Mother and Crone. There are female trios in mythologies from around the world, but they aren’t necessarily triple goddesses. For example, the Three Fates of Greek Mythology are a trio, but not aspects of one goddess. They were three closely related Goddesses nonetheless. For Wiccans, however, our Goddess follows the Moon through the phases. We see her in her three aspects just as we view the Moon in the sky. Each month pay vigil to the transformation that the Goddess makes and think about the transformations you go through as well.

Brightest Blessing,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Dedicating yourself to this path is something that should not be taken lightly. I recommend that you give yourself at least six months, if not a year, to explore what it means to be Pagan and to find out if Wicca and witchcraft are truly for you.

After that point, you can make a dedication to yourself and to growing spiritually in this path. If you are part of a coven, there will normally be some sort of formal dedication. However, if you are choosing solitary path, you’ll need to create your own dedication. The following words can be used as part of your ritual. It is a spell of sorts, one that binds you to your purpose for discovering more about the world around you, yourself and your own magickal energy.

This dedication is appropriate to complete on a Full Moon night. To prepare your altar, place objects that speak to you and represent the four elements. If you’ve selected a specific God and Goddess to focus your practice on you’ll also want to have representations of them on your altar. Finally, you need a white candle and an astral candle representing yourself.

Begin the ritual like you normally would by grounding and centering, inviting the elements and Deities and lighting your white candle. Lastly, light the astral candle, and repeat the following: I am a Pagan and I dedicate Myself to channeling the Spiritual Energy of my Inner Self to help and to heal myself and others . ” I know that I am a part of the Whole of Nature. May I grow in understanding of the Unity of all Nature. May I always walk in balance.

” May I always be mindful of the diversity of Nature as well as its Unity and may I always be tolerant of those whose race, appearance, sex, sexual preference, culture, and other ways differ from my own.

” May I use the Force (psychic power) wisely and never use it for aggression nor for malevolent purposes. May I never direct it to curtail the free will of another.

” May I always be mindful that I create my own reality and that I have the power within me to create positive energy in my life.

” May I always act in honorable ways: being honest with myself and others, keeping my word whenever I have given it, fulfilling all responsibilities and commitments I have taken on to the best of my ability.

” May I always remember that whatever is sent out always returns magnified to the sender. May the Forces of Karma move swiftly to remind me of these spiritual commitments when I have begin to falter from them, and may I use this Karmic feedback to help myself grow and be more attuned to my Inner Pagan Spirit.

” May I always remain strong and committed to my Spiritual ideals in the face of adversity and negative energy. May the Force of my Inner Spirit ground out all malevolence directed my way and transform it into positivity. May my Inner Light shine so strongly that malevolent forces cannot even approach my sphere of existence.

” May I always grow in Inner Wisdom & Understanding. May I see every problem that I face as an opportunity to develop myself spiritually in solving it.

” May I always act out of Love to all other beings on this Planet — to other humans, to plants, to animals, to minerals, to elementals, to spirits, and to other entities.

” May I always be mindful that the Goddess and God in all their forms dwell within me and that this divinity is reflected through my own Inner Self, my Pagan Spirit.

” May I always channel Brightest Blessing from my being. May my Inner Spirit, rather than my ego self, guide all my thoughts, feelings, and actions.

So Mote It Be

At the end of these words, you can enter a meditative state and invite the Deities to meet you on the astral plane. Often times they will give you special messages and guidance on this night of your dedication. Blessed Be and Welcome to this path!

Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”