#march challenges

[jtargaryen18]

Question for you...

I don’t know about you but things have been pretty bleak lately. So a challenge.

You had no idea your roommate gave the key to your apartment to the sexy stranger she met on the flight from _______. Who’s the stranger, where are they from, and how does it go down? 😱💕📝

[ovaettrgrimoire]

march week 1 / wednesday

-- January 2022 Update --  Correspondence Activity: Using the list of local flora that you made previously, determine their application in herbalism. Garden Activity: Are you interested in having a garden this year? Would an indoor or outdoor garden better suit your means/interests? What are some of the plants you’d be interested in growing? Find an almanac, plan a growing schedule. Nothing has to be set in stone yet, but figure out what works this year so you can apply it to future years.  [ Correspondences of North Texas Flora - 3 parts ]

FLOWERS:

- Balloon Vine / Flower

Beauty, invasive species so could use in magic to correspond with never giving up, letting beauty creep into your life, letting positivity grow into your life like the Balloon Vine grows on native plants

- Red Trumpet Vine Flowers

Another fast growing species that is Air and Mercury related, as well as Fire related for it’s high heat tolerance. They reign in and shout out SUMMER without being stopped. They grow up poles and need nothing to root themselves down, airborne roots etc. It’s paradise wherever they bloom. 

- Abelia “Edward Goucher”

Not commonly on correspondence lists, but I think these flowers are associated with the beauty of the natural world and the way we can paint meaningful things even if they have no “true meaning”, we can make meaning out of anything. We see a beautiful creature and relate to it’s need to exist just to BE. Use this flower when you want to find inner beauty and strength to keep going no matter what. 

- Prickly Pear Cacti & their flowers

The fruit can be eaten and used in smoothies, etc. The fruit can also work as an offering to deities who govern over the Summer, Sun, and any hot months. They appreciate the hard work of the Earth to provide fruit even among it’s harshest climates. The Prickly Pear Cactus is proof that even in all terrain, harsher and harsher, that beauty can overcome and exist in spite of the difficulties around it. Ingest the fruit with this mantra in mind. 

SHRUBBERY / GRASS

- Alkali Sacaton

Commonly seen everywhere, this grass is heat tolerant and often is a way to handle overbearing water in an area as they soak up a lot. Use their energy to harmonize yourself in balance with the world around you and the EARTH around you, you’re grounded with this grass helping. 

- Prairie Parsley

Mercury, Air, and Gemini are imbued within this Parsley’s yellow blooms in the field. Use them as a means to quicken your spellwork in Late Winter / Early Summer.  Medicinal teas can be made from it’s root that help with flushing out negativity.

TREES:

- Cedar Elm

The “Elven Tree” and commonly used for coffins previously. These trees are seen in folklore at the crossroads of where the Mortal Realm leads into the Land of the Faerie. 

- Live Oak

Heart, attracting love, protection, and aids in sharpening psychic abilities. Carrying it can attract love, but also protect from lightning strikes, supposedly. 

- Eldarica Pine

Evergreen, Mars, Air, Fire, the Emerald, Rebirth, abundances, health ,fertility, fortune and love. Black. Kenaz rune. Windmill plume. Blume (dragon’s blood.) Purifies ritual spaces and new homes. Helps “stay the course.” ---

Garden Activity 

This year is our third year doing a garden with my mother outdoors. We are working on an outdoor garden and plan to grow herbs separate in their own area, and to move the hot peppers to a nicer area save for the ones who really like the Sun. We plan to grow plenty of herbs for Witchcraft and Cooking uses, and fruit and vegetables. I hope that my Strawberry Plant comes back this year, from it’s current dormancy. It is still alive despite the cold, so with Freyja’s blessings I am taking it into the next year’s season with me.  Let’s hope for an abundant year. I am going to work on my making my new bindrunes for the garden tonight inspired by this journal post! 

-O

[ovaettrgrimoire]

march challenge / week 1 / day 1 (2021)

Journal Activity: Where do your interests lie with regards to herbalism? What are you hoping to get out of researching herbalism? Write down a few goals that you have for your learning about herbalism.

Research Activity: Find some reliable sources that you can use to reference during your journey into herbalism. What authors should you avoid? What authors are reliable? What websites can be used?

Journal activity:

I am VERY interested in herbalism and the ways we can best benefit from our earthly friends that share the bounty of their growth with us.  I try to form a healthy connection and relationship with any plant I care for, and in turn they give me a lot of stuff I don’t always know what to do with...other than cook with, and use it to empower food. That’s about as far as I get. I want to know more about how they can help us in the spell department because I feel connected to the Earth but I need to do more research. I recently bought access to a Herbalism course on udemy, so I am planning on going on a “herbalism learning trip” staycation on the week of my birthday along with a bunch of other events I’m attending. But I’m ready to finally get into the herbalism of my craft more. I typically worked with the bones of our earth before, the crystals, and dried herbs and flowers for offerings  I am hoping to get some health remedies out of herbalism and just have a more beneficial relationship full of understanding and honouring the entirety of what bounty my plants give me. I’d like to gain more understandings of how i can strategically use cuttings for ingestion and home remedies. I want to make my own tea mixes too to use for meditation, focus, and self-love purposes as well as make my own tinctures, potions, and whatnot. I want to make the most of every herb I work with. I also wouldnt mind learning more about making my own smoking mixtures too. And I want to complete that basics class I bought access to! It was only 25 dollars with a sale so I can’t let it get away from me lol.

----

Research activity: 

Well websites I have used before is Witchipedia, (https://witchipedia.com/) they have a nice herbal grimoire there. I have joined their herbalism group on facebook called  my original book I started with was Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham. I think for beginner witches he is not a terrible author. I have seen people and agree with their words of suggesting further reading beyond him though as he simplifies it enough to make it available to the masses which is good, but I am not a wiccan so it does not service me entirely. I am not sure if he conflates witchcraft = wicca (which isnt true) but I downloaded a free pdf of it so we’ll see? I’m gonna be digging into it again so I’ll give more thoughts on him later using my 2021 more mature witch eyes. so here’s to that. Other books I have benefited from were The Green Witch by Arin-Murphy Hiscock. Its a great primer for a lot of Green lifestyle stuff and I really love their books, including the Self-care for Witches book too that is another of their series i received as a gift from my mother. I hope they come out with a Moon magic book someday maybe.  But yeah, I am looking more into gathering stuff to get serious on the research side of herbalism and the studies, and actually doing it and making potions and tinctures and teas. I downloaded another PDF called “ Healing Herbal Teas: Learn to Blend 101 Specially Formulated Teas for Stress Management, Common Ailments, Seasonal Health, and Immune Support” so we will see what this holds in it regarding herbalism and the uses of herbs.  Another good place for source for material and things is https://www.alchemy-works.com/

[a-bookish-wildling]

GC: March Week 5 - Catch Up

Lily of the Valley

Folk names: Fairy Cups, Jacob's Ladder, May Lily, Our Lady's Tears (there are many) Planet: Mercury (and associated with Gemini) Element: Air Mythology: Goddess Maia (May; “Grandmother of Magic”)

Folklore: The flowers are said to ring when fairies sing and to form ladders fairies use to reach reeds from which they weave their cradles. Blooms on the grave of someone who was executed for a crime they did not commit.

Correspondences: mental powers, happiness, peace and tranquility, the return of happiness, humility, purity and sweetness.  

Other attributes: repels negativity. Draws fairy folk. Use in magickal workings to stop harassment. Married couples should plant Lily of the Valley in their first garden to promote longevity of the marriage. Noted in ceremonial magick.  A great oil for aiding divination by soaking the flowers in almond or olive oil. Make a number of macerations in the same oil to get a good buildup of scent.

Medicinal:  Less poisonous substitution for foxglove. It was believed to strengthen memory, restore speech and was used as a liquor smeared on the forehead and the back of the neck, to make one have good common sense.

Culinary: Somewhat TOXIC. Do Not Ingest.

[a-bookish-wildling]

GC: March Week 4: Herbal Activity - Violets

Violets (Sweet Violet)

Folk name: Hearts Ease, Wild Pansy Folk lore: Picking the first violet in Spring will grant your most desired wish. Planet: Venus or Jupiter Element: Water

Correspondences: love (mix with lavender; place a violet in shoe to draw love), healing, serenity, inspiration, creativity and imagination, night magick, sunset and twilight (have on altar while do magick during these times), luck and fortune, repel evil (medieval).

Medicinal: eases headaches (chaplets), clears cloudy eyes (medieval), aids digestion (medieval, with wine and honey), salves ease itchy skin conditions like eczema; pain reliever (16th century) -  contains salicylic acid, an ingredient in aspirin.

Culinary: add to salad, decorate cakes, can be candied by painting with egg white and sprinkling with sugar or dipping in melted syrup, violet syrup, liquor and wine (Vinum Violatum). Contains Vitamins A and C.

Other attributes: Spring / vernal equinox, causes feelings to flow, associated with funerals and death - because symbolic of innocence placed on children's graves, faithfulness, burn dried flowers as incense to promote sleep and good dreams, symbolic of Virgin Mary’s humility - originally white flowers they turned purple to reflect Mary’s mourning of Christ; also, once strong, they bowed their heads at Christ’s persecution. To dream of violets indicates advancement in life.

“A Nosegay” English Ballad, 1584

“Violet is for faithfulness Which in me shall abide Hoping likewise that from your heart You will not let it slide.”

Shakespeare: 

Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell: It fell upon a little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound, And maidens call it love-in-idleness. A Midsummer Night's Dream (2.1.169-72)

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine: There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight. A Midsummer Night's Dream (2.1.255-60)

[danimarie6389]

March Week 4 Thursday I picked cinnamon today. The fact that cinnamon is so versitile is no surprise, but I am definitely excited to put some intent behind my use. I made a beauty spell that I can incorporate into my makeup routine. It's basically the idea of creating a sigil to draw with foundation and then releasing the intent when you blend.

[danimarie6389]

March Week 4 Wenesday Oh I really like having all the correspondences for reference, but I think the herbal and crystal ones will end up being my most used. And I made a simple sigil for travel. This is a good way to build up a code book I think, which is one of my goals.

[danimarie6389]

March Week 4 Tuesday

My first time scrying!! I used a black mirror that I made. I tried to stay in trance for about 15 mins, which is a lot for me. I didn't see any clear pictures, but I did get some smoke and ripples (like in water) that appeared clearly in the mirror. As far as other images. A few things appeared in my head and there was a change in temperature, but I think that had more to do with my nervousness/excitement. It was fun though. I will definitely do this more.