Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

The gift of scent is a powerful perception. We often associate scent with our memories, and smelling a distinct fragrance can often trigger powerful emotions. Scent is a powerful tool that can be used for magickal purposes, and can easily be used in your home all of the time.

There are certain scents that have a profound effect on our senses. Some scents are calming. Others can be invigorating. Some fragrances can work as powerful aphrodisiacs, while others can provide healing. There is almost no limit to what the power of scent can do and the benefits that you can gain from it.

Take a moment and think back to times when you may have been ill or suffering from allergies. During these times, our sinus passages can become blocked and we can lose our sense of smell. While it may be difficult to realize it at the time since you are focusing on being sick, losing the ability to smell can cause a person to become a bit unbalanced and make them feel awkward. As humans, we were given the gift of scent for a reason. Certain smells can signify danger. Others help to stimulate our appetite. A person suffering from dehydration can actually seek out water just by scent alone. Scent is extremely important to us, and something that many people take for granted.

It is very easy to use scent in your home to continuously enjoy a wonderfully magickal feeling. The number of different ways that you can utilize scent in your home make it easy for everyone to find a method that works best for them. You can use aromatherapy, using essential oils for fragrance, incense, candles, reed diffusers, and more. Each uses a different method for releasing fragrance, so you can pick and choose which method will work best for each situation.

For instance, I personally keep a reed diffuser in my bedroom that is filled with a relaxing blend of essential oils such as lavender and rose. Using a reed diffuser, the scent is continuously released into the room, helping it to remain a calm and peaceful environment. In my home office, I will use a variety of different incense that helps to stimulate creativity and provide me with wisdom to accomplish my tasks, such as Desert Sage or Cinnamon. Using these scents helps me to maintain a truly magickal feeling, as it helps keep my mind, body and spirit grounded so that I can fully function at my absolute potential.

If you’ve ever tried to perform a spell with a mind that is clouded and distracted, you understand how important a clear, grounded mind is. Any spell, or for that matter anything that you do in life, will never work well if not done by a person that is grounded and calm. Though it may sound crazy to some, having pleasing and calming scents that permeate your home can help to keep you in that grounded and calm state of mind.

Of course, you can also use scents in a variety of other ways besides keeping your self calm and peaceful. Certain scents, such as citrus, can be extremely invigorating and energizing. Other scents can be used to create an environment that is sexually arousing. There are no limitations to the feelings that scent can provoke, which make them a powerful source of magick themselves.

I like to recommend that people experiment with a variety of different scents and sources of those scents to find those which will work best for each individual. Be prepared though, there are some fragrances that you will find very displeasing, so before you saturate your room with a strong essential oil, make sure it is one that you like that won’t be too overwhelming or hard to get rid of. I guarantee that in no time at all though, you too will be enjoying a wonderfully fragrant home full of beautiful scents that are pleasing to all of your senses.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Many times when I have the opportunity to speak with other witches, I discover that they are under the impression that magick only occurs when they are performing a ritual or a spell. Imagine their surprise when I begin to explain to them that magick can happen at anytime, we just have to open ourselves up to it. One example I like to use when sharing this information is the “magickal pager.”

Say you are driving home from work one day. You always take the same route, it is just something that you naturally do. It’s the route with less traffic and takes the least amount of time, and you’ve taken this route for so long it’s just second nature. While you are driving, you are thinking about companionship. You’re a single person, you spend a lot of time home alone, and you’re beginning to become a little down at how empty your house seems.

Suddenly, you get this strange urge to turn at the next stop light. If you turn there, it will take you off your normal route home which is something you never do. The urge is very strong however, so you figure what the heck. It’s not like you have someone at home waiting for you so what’s the big deal if you are a few minutes later arriving home? You take the turn and as you are driving along, your eyes wander to a sign posted in a front yard. The sign says “Free Puppies to Good Home.” Without thinking you turn in, and before you know it you are leaving with a puppy that will be your constant, loyal companion for many years to come. No more will you be spending those lonely nights at home.

Perhaps you are sitting at home after a long day of work thinking about how you really just aren’t cut out for your job. Unfortunately, jobs are sparse in your area and it seems like there are no other options in sight. Suddenly, your mind fills with the image of an old friend, someone you haven’t spoken to in months or even years. Without thinking, you head to your desk and pull out your phone book and give your old friend a call. Shortly into your conversation, your friend starts telling you that they started their own business which is proving to be very successful and they think you would be a perfect addition to their team. It’s a great paying job and something you would love doing, and even better, it puts you back in touch with your old friend.

Believe it or not, this is magick occurring. Your “magickal pager” is being set off by your thoughts. In the first scenario, you were thinking about being lonely. In the second, you were thinking about how much you disliked your job and wanted a new one. Just as in spell or ritual work, your thoughts were sending your intentions out into the universe, and the universe was responding. Your “pager” started going off, sending you in the direction that you needed to go.

Magick can happen at any time and any place. The key is being open to the “pages” that it sends you. We can often become so wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we ignore the signs that are right in front of our faces. Sometimes we simply aren’t listening because we are of the misconception that magick can only occur when we are focusing on making it happen. Once we realize that is not the case, it is amazing the magick that can happen in our lives, even when we least expect it.

I urge you all to open yourselves up to the power of the universe, and always keep an ear open to what the universe is trying to tell you. Trust in yourself and your abilities to hear what you are being told. Don’t ignore your pager when it goes off, and you’ll be amazed at the positive changes that your life will discover.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Many people are unaware of just how powerful positive thinking is, and how much of an impact negative thinking can have on your life and your magick. While it can be pretty annoying when things are going rough to hear people keep telling you “think positive” it is in fact something that can have a profound affect on you, particularly in your magick.

Negative thinking, or what I like to call “stinking thinking” can transcend itself in to your magick if you are not careful. It can also affect how things work in your life because your emotions strongly influence the energies that are attracted to you. If you are continuously negative, positive energies can have a very difficult time getting through that negative energy to you which can leave you in a very miserable state. This stinking thinking will also present itself in any magick that you undertake, resulting in a serious lack of success.

One of the most important factors in successful magick is your mind. If your mind is not in the right place, your magick won’t be either. Magick is causing a change or event to occur by your will. It is a very powerful practice that takes our concentration and our complete focus. If our “focus” is full of negative energy, how well do you think our magick is going to turn out?

Imagine a child being told to clean their room by their parents. The child doesn’t really want to, but their parents have informed them that if they clean their room, they can go outside and play. They don’t want to clean their room, but they want the end result of getting what they want, which is to play. So they rush through the job focusing only on the end result. The room is not actually cleaned properly, it is more of a “clean on the surface” type job. Toys and clothes are shoved into closets and beds, trash is hidden away. The room isn’t actually clean because the underlying mess is still there, it is now just hidden away.

When we are filled with negativity when performing our magick, we are the child with the messy room. We are performing magick because we want the end result, whatever that may be. In many cases, we are performing our magick to get rid of the negativity we are experiencing. But in our efforts to get to the end, to “go outside and play” we allow that negative thinking and energy to impact our work. We rush through, not really getting to the root of the problem, only focusing on what it is we want.

We often let the stinking thinking get the best of us. While we are preparing to perform our magick, we’re thinking “Well this probably won’t work anyway but let’s give it a shot.” And even if we are not thinking that way and do truly believe it will work, the negativity that is surrounding us will consume our work and prevent positive results from occurring.

Don’t get me wrong. I am only human myself and can totally understand that sometimes thinking positive is hard! When the chips are down and it seems like nothing can go right, it is hard to see the good among the bad. It is hard to focus on the positive, when everything around you seems negative. But, I am here to tell you it can be done and it is essential to making life better. In every situation in life, there is the proverbial silver lining. We must open our eyes to that silver lining, and see it for what it is.

Magick is a very powerful thing but it is not a band-aid that can fix all of your problems. While it can certainly help, you must be in the right frame of mind for it to work. Remaining positive isn’t always easy, but I’m sure you can all agree that you feel much better when not riddled with negativity. Do not let stinking thinking get the best of you. Cast that negativity out and be positive. Not only will it make you a much happier person, but it will provide you with far better results from everything in your life.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Last week I talked about our chakras, and how important they are to providing a smooth, positive energy flow through our body. In many circumstances when a person is feeling ill or extremely fatigued, there is blockage occurring to the chakras. To prevent this from occurring, there are several ways that you can stimulate your chakra points and cleanse them from blockage and negative energy.

My own favored method of keeping my chakra points clear is to use crystals and gemstones. Your chakras are stimulated by energy vibrations, such as those that resonate from within stones and crystals. Using crystals that are strategically placed over the chakra points along the body, you can use these vibrations to free your chakras of blockage and restore a smooth energy flow.

There are certain gemstones and crystals that work best on specific chakra points. The following is a list of the different chakra points and what stones you can use on these areas.

The Crown Chakra: Clear Quartz, Diamond, Zircon

The Brow Chakra: Amethyst, Florite, Labradorite, Kunzite

The Throat Chakra: Lapis Lazuli, Azurite, Sodalite

The Heart Chakra: Rose Quartz, Jade, Aventurine, Watermelon Tourmaline

The Navel Chakra: Turquoise, Agate, Light Amber, Light Citrine

The Sacral Chakra: Carnelian, Yellow Jasper, Citrine, Tiger’s Eye

The Root Chakra: Garnet, Ruby, Obsidian, Hematite

To use these stones to stimulate and balance your chakras, lie on a flat comfortable surface. Place the correlating stone on the chakra point and relax. Breathe deeply, and envision negative energy and blockages fleeing your body. Envision a smooth energy flow running between the chakra points. Open yourself up to feel the resonating vibrations from the stones, which are helping to restore positive balance. You can also put on some calm and relaxing music, and musical notes can also resonate within your body and help to further provide positive energy.

There are also other ways that you can stimulate and cleanse your chakras that you may prefer to use over the above method, or combine with the above method for optimal results. Certain scents are connected with each of your chakra points, so burning incense or candles with these scents can also help to improve energy flow between the chakras. Many people find that bathing in sea salts with candles representing the elements or colors of the chakras help to maintain energy flow.

Yoga is an absolutely wonderful exercise that stimulates and opens chakras and offers the practitioner a variety of other health benefits as well. There are certain yoga movements that specifically target chakra cleansing which can be extremely beneficial to the rest of your body that you may also consider looking into. If you’ve never experienced the benefits of yoga, I highly recommend purchasing a book on the practice, taking a class or finding a yoga video that you can use in the comfort of your own home.

Some people choose to wear jewelry with the stones that are used to resonate with each of the chakras. This is a good practice and can provide some benefits, but is not nearly as efficient as placing the stones directly on your chakra points. If you choose to wear such a piece of jewelry, I suggest that you still make sure and practice some other method of chakra cleansing as well.

Ideally, to keep your energy flows moving sufficiently, I would recommend performing a chakra stimulation and cleansing at least once a week. In our modern society with many of the pollutants and day to day stresses that we face, our senses can become dulled quite quickly and energy flows blocked as well. If nothing else, I encourage you to at least perform such exercises monthly, so that energy flows do not become to badly blocked. However, I have almost no doubt that once you perform your first chakra cleansing and discover how great it makes you feel, you will be performing these exercises as often as possible.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”