Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

The Moon is regarded as the most important heavenly body in magick. This is because over hundreds of years witches have developed a special relationship with the moon. Witchcraft had to be hidden because of persecution, so it was done under the cover of darkness. The moon was the largest body in the sky and the place where the witches of old drew their power. This is why so much of magick involves the moon.

The Moon is representative of women’s health, the home, children, reincarnation, sleep and emotional healing. Because of the phases of the moon, the heavenly body is associated with the triple goddess. The maiden, mother and crone phases of the Goddess are represented in the Moon. For the most part, when you are honoring the Moon you are honoring the Goddess herself.

The Moon is involved in ritual in a variety of ways. One of the most prominent that you’ll notice as you being to explore this path is the timing of rituals with the phases of the moon. When the moon is waxing (building up toward a full moon) you should do rituals that have to do with gaining power, growing wealth or focusing energy outward. This can include love, wealth, success, friendship, courage and health. The waning moon phase is perfect for magick that is focused inward, involves removing something from your life or deals with the depths of your soul. This is the perfect time to do banishing work and ridding yourself of negativity.

The full moon also has it’s own special brand of magic. The full moon is a time of power and lasts approximately three days. This is an excellent time for divination and protection magick. If you need some extra power to a particular form of magick, like if you’re trying to find a new job, this is also a good time to do it. The new moon is another important magickal period of time. The new moon is a good time for doing new ventures and magick dealing with new beginnings, as well as love, romance and health.

You can begin to honor the Moon by getting in touch with the moon’s phases. A great way to do this is to start a moon journal. This will help you track the phases of the moon, as well as how they are effecting you. Write down the phase of the moon and how you are feeling. As you begin to track the moon’s cycle, you may being to notice patterns in the way that you react to the phases. This can help you plan future rituals, as well as develop a deeper understanding of yourself.

The following ritual is perfect for the full moon, and can be used to get in touch with the power of the Goddess.

You’ll need a white candle, a red candle and a black candle, as well as your regular ritual elements. If you want, you can include reminders of a moon Goddess on your altar. The moon goddess has been represented through time and cultures by Diana, Innana, Artemis and Heng O.

Ground and center yourself, and then cast your circle. Invite the elements as you normally do and then prepare yourself for your Moon ritual. Start out by calling the Triple Goddess with the following chant (lighting the respective candles as you go).

Three Candles do I Light
In Honor of Thee, O Goddess this sacred Night
White for Maiden pure as Snow
Red for the Mother full within, and
Black for the Crone, old and wise

Next, you need to complete the charge of the Goddess. This invites the Moon Goddess into your space and fills you with her power. Repeat the following while concentrating on the Moon, or if you are inside concentrate on the triple Goddess candles.

I am the Goddess of three Moons,
I am mistress of the Night
I am the richness of the Earth
I am the Moon and the Seas
I am all that way and is and ever shall be
Nor has any mortal ever seen that which lies beyond my veil
for I am indeed mistress of mysteries and the keeper of the keys
I am Queen of all living things, for I am Goddess of Nature
I smile and the radiance of the Moon is everywhere
Gather in secret if you must
by do not tarry too long behind closed doors,
for it is in the richness of the earth and the boundlessness
of the sky that my true temple is to be found;
And the Moon, the sun and stars will keep your secrets.
I am all these things and more.
Hear my words my children and worship and be glad
Look for me within these things but above all,
within your own soul, for it is there I am.
I have been with you in the beginning
and I shall be with you at the end;
I am the womb of new beginnings,
as yet unimagined and unknown.

At this time it is appropriate to complete any spells you have that need the power of the full moon. Or you can simply meditate on the moon’s power for as long as you feel comfortable doing so. End the ritual and close the circle as you normally would.

Keep in mind that when it comes to the Moon, any magick that you do is in worship and honor of it and the Goddess. If you’d prefer to create your own ritual to honor the moon, make sure to use white or silver on your altar in the form of an altar cloth or candle. You can also use mirrored surfaces or water on your altar to honor the moon. Above all, you should try to get outdoors and get under the moon so you can honor it in person.

Brightest Blessings,

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

Dear Friends,

Over the next several posts, I want to take time to look at each of the heavenly bodies and ways that you can bring a little astrological knowledge into your magickal practice. Although I know many astrologers who want nothing to do with paganism, and many pagans who don’t delve into astrology, I believe that the two are deeply entwined. The sun and planets are creations of the God and Goddess, just as we are, and it’s important to recognize their place in our lives.

The first on our list is the most important body, the Sun. The Sun is the brightest star in our sky and it gives the Earth and its people energy and light. It represents life force. In the astrological chart it represents the energy that guides your personality and your actions. It can also represent your father’s tole in your life.

The Sun is often associated with the God. As the consort of the Moon/Goddess, he represents strength, energy, career and other “outward” influences in your life. The Sun makes plants grow and warms you skin. But it’s power should not be underestimated. The same force that provides warmth can also start fires, cause drought and burn your skin.

Honoring the Sun is important in your day to day life, and there are several different ways that you can use the Sun in your magickal practice. As you probably know, Sunday is the day of the Sun so any magick concerning the Sun or using the Sun’s power should be done on this day.

There are certain types of magick that are associated with the Sun and Sunday in particular. All magick having to do with power are appropriate for this day as is spells and rituals having to do with prosperity, health and growth. The Sun also rules over leadership, money, performing arts, self confidence and new ventures. All of these types of magick and rituals are perfect focusing the power of the Sun and honoring the Sun God.

Here’s a perfect Sun ritual for raising your personal power. This ritual is perfect to do when you are experiencing a challenging time in your life when you know that you’ll need extra power and strength.

The following spell requires a yellow candle as well as an appropriate incense associated with the Sun or power. Myrrh and cedar are good options, but you can use anything that you have on hand. Ground and center yourself, and cast your circle. Make sure to include a candle representing the God if you don’t regularly use one. Use white or yellow to present the God.

Light your yellow spell candle and feel the energy from the Earth pulsing up from the ground. Recognize that this energy has come from the Sun. The Sun shines down on the Earth, and the Earth stores that energy for you to use and distribute throughout your life. Picture yourself being enveloped in warm, golden light and feel your strength grow like the flame on the yellow candle.

Once you feel like you’ve gathered up the energy of the Sun, being chanting the following words:

Burning flame,
Cooling wind,
Summon courage from within,
I call on all my strength and love,
Send me power from above.

Keep repeating the above chant until you feel the Sun’s power rising from within you out into the world. Release it and know that your confidence, power and courage have risen. Close the ritual as you normally would.

You can also use the Sun’s power by performing a ritual to honor one of the many Sun gods from mythologies around the world. Pick the God that speaks the most to you. For example, if you are drawn to the Egyptian pantheon, you could create a ritual that honors and reverse the God Ra.

Research the Sun God you are interested in, based on the pantheon that you are drawn to and then place images of him on your altar. There are many rituals that have been created for specific Gods and you can find a bit about them by searching online.

Here is a short list of some of the most famous Sun Gods where you can begin your research process:

Apollo – The Greco-Roman Sun God is said to have ridden a chariot of fire across the sky each day to move the sun from sunrise to sunset.

Freyr – The Norse God of the Sun. Legends say that he was the Sun of the God of the Sea and a Giantess.

Garuda – The Hindu diety that is associated with the Sun. Garuda is the king of the birds and is the charger of the God Vishnu.

Lugh – The Celtic Sun God. His name means “the shining one” in Gaelic and he carried a long spear on his travels.

No matter which version of the Sun god you choose, it’s important to honor this part of your spirituality.

Brightest Blessings,

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

Dear Friends,

Joining with others in your pagan practice is an important step in your spiritual practice. Group work in a coven isn’t for everyone, but if you crave some connection with local witches you should know that coven work isn’t without it’s drama and difficulties. Anytime you get a group of people together, even if they are like-minded individuals, there are bound to be troubles.

The first thing you can do to avoid coven troubles is to not start one yourself. Starting a coven and running one successfully is a massive undertaking. A lot of people start their own group thinking that things will be easy to run. People start their own groups for a variety of reasons. Some are drawn to the power. Running a coven can definitely give you a position of power. There are people who are attracted to the influence they can hold over other people. Of course, these motivations aren’t entirely pure but they do occur on occasion.

The other main reason that people start their own coven is because they like to play hostess. Some people are naturally good at entertaining and want their home to be “the place to be.” A coven should not be founded on the desire to be around friends. Covens are for serious group magickal work. They aren’t party time or play time. You can start an informal gathering for that type of interaction.

But whatever a person’s reasons for starting a coven or other type of spiritual group, more often than not they don’t have the experience, wisdom or patience to successfully run a group of people. This results in coven growing pains or fractures, which normally lead to the end of the coven. And then the cycle starts all over again.

While this isn’t fair to the seekers, or the people who started the group to begin with, it does happen. I urge you strongly to avoid starting your own group until you’ve had many years of experience under your belt and are firmly rooted in your pagan path. If you try to do it too soon, you’ll end up in a situation where your students end up knowing more than you do and the coven will begin to become stagnant. Only start teaching when you truly, truly have something to give.

However, many of you may already be members of groups that are showing cracks or are on the verge of collapse. For the benefit of your spiritual walk, I offer these tips on preventing and weathering coven growing pains.

The first rule of coven work is to be kind and courteous to your fellow members. Many groups seem to have someone who thinks that they “know it all.” They use a condescending tone and correct others on their perceived mistakes. This makes for an uncomfortable coven that no one wants to take part in. Keep yourself out of this position by remaining friendly to all members of your coven. If you think that someone is understanding a concept incorrectly, or has missed the mark in some way, gently guide them toward the right answer in a way that is respectful and mindful of their self-esteem.

In a similar vein, avoid any polarization within a group. Once you get more than four or five people together, there are small camps that sometimes develop. They talk behind one another’s back and create drama in the group environment. This is unhealthy to the life of the coven, and you should avoid taking sides in this silly mind games.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t legitimate grievances in a coven environment. If you do encounter a problem with one of your other group members, you should be open and honest with that person. Talk with them about the trouble with an open heart and mind so you can resolve the problem as quickly as possible. If you find that your issue can’t be fixed by yourselves, have your leader mediate it. Normally it’s very small incidences that get blown out of proportion that lead to the break down of a coven. Nip them in the bud when you encounter them, and don’t try to get other people on your side.

Help your coven grow by growing your own knowledge base. Don’t expect other people to hand you your spiritual education just because you attended a few meetings. Do research and reading apart from your meetings so you’ll have something to contribute to the group.

Being part of a group can be a wonderful part of your spiritual growth, and if you have the opportunity to join an existing group, you should definitely try one out. The experiences you have in a group setting can enrich your magickal life. Despite the sometimes rocky path, being part of one is definitely well worth it.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne