Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion by Llewellyn (chrome ebook reader TXT) 📗

magical intention to a can of soup you’re heating, or add a few herbs to prepared pasta sauce, even if you’re not up to making it from scratch. Do the same thing with what you’re drinking, too. It’s easy to stir a little healing into a mug of tea or a little extra love into a mug of cocoa or spiced cider—try honey, cinnamon, or nutmeg. You can also try cooking large portions of freezable foods when you feel better or have a bit more time. You can then pull them out on the days when time and energy have completely run out—homemade food without the homemade fuss.

If your time and energy are limited, it may be a bad time to attempt lots of major magical work. Instead, focus on building your magical and ritual work around those things you need to do anyway. Including a simple energy cleansing ritual in your bathing routine doesn’t add time and can help you feel better. You can pick soaps or additions that help you keep your goals in mind—rosemary for healing from illness, rose for blessing yourself, even products that include coffee or citrus to help you wake up in the morning. Some people find it helpful to offer the work of tending their home or their children to a particular deity associated with those things; others do the same thing with tending a pet or a garden. Say a blessing before each meal. Add a short cleansing ritual to your dish washing. Experiment with other practices, like a daily devotion, but don’t be rigid. If you can’t keep it up, look for alternatives that fit your current needs better. This is an area where ideas and help from others can be especially helpful.

While each of these by itself is a small and fairly simple step, added together, they can provide many options to keep your personal path vibrant during a time when changes in your life mean longer rituals or activities may not be practical. Follow a few of these tips and you’ll see that you can indeed live a busy, but magical life.

Jenett Silver is priestess of a small coven in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A librarian and general geek, she’s also deeply familiar with the challenges of competing demands, chronic health issues that can’t be ignored, and all the other things that go into a complex life. You can find more of her writing on the web on her blog at http://gleewood.org/threshold.

Illustrator: Bri Hermanson

Starting a New Moon Group

Gail Wood

In ancient times, the Hebrew tribes waited patiently on hilltops for darkness to change. Once the new moon showed her first tiny sliver of light, they lit signal fires, sounded trumpets and ran to the villages telling all that the light of the moon had returned. In observance of this new moon, women were exempted from work and household responsibilities. This is a minor Jewish holiday called Rosh Chodesh, meaning “head of the month.”

The velvety dark sky shimmers

And opens its arms

To welcome Her

A tiny sliver of light.

Sharp, silver crescent

Herald of beginnings

Emerging from darkness.

New moon, bright moon.

Inspire, renew, and delight.

Hail and welcome!

Today, Judaism follows a lunar calendar and the beginning of the month is announced in observances and synagogues. Women formed Rosh Chodesh groups and gathered together during the Rosh Chodesh. These groups had many purposes, including to study and learn. Many of these groups focus on Shekinah (the feminine force of God) and the role of womanhood in religious and contemporary life. These groups had a great resurgence in the 1970s and many still exist today. Each group is different and individual. One group’s older women may guide the younger women in discovery on various topics such as sexuality, body issues, and spiritual topics. Other groups may gather to share their lives and pursue topics of interest and projects.

From ancient times to the present, from ancient Hebrew tradition to modern Pagan womanhood, the new moon is celebrated as a time to start new things, learn new things, and begin the cycle of life anew. In a busy world, a new moon group can provide women with a space of time to share their lives and explore new things. It’s a wonderful time to bring old issues to a close and to open the door to new opportunities.

Starting a group and maintaining its momentum takes some planning and a time commitment; with that commitment come great rewards in sisterhood, community, and a deep understanding of Spirit. Every good, sustainable plan starts with an idea, a spark of inspiration, followed by ongoing commitment and adaptability. What follows are some ideas and advice on starting and sustaining a new moon group. There is only one unchanging rule: it should be fun and it should matter to you.

The Idea

Inspired by the new moon, you begin with a fresh idea to start a group, to gather together when the moon is new. Begin by thinking about your purpose. Is it to learn, to create sisterhood, or to deepen your understanding of spiritual things? It could be all of these or some other reason. Having a clear, mutual understanding of your purpose helps keep the group centered and focused when the weather gets bad, when life intervenes, and when the group goes through its growing pains. My advice is to stay clear and focused, to start small, and to be practical and flexible.

You might want to establish a name for your group. A name can be very simple such as The New Moon Group or another name rooted in your mutual vision or idea. A name helps to develop the group mind. A local group in my area is named the Merry Elementals. Their commitment is to learn together, honor the elemental energy, and not take themselves too seriously. Their gatherings and their group mind reflect their deep understanding of air, water, earth, fire, and spirit and they are, indeed, merry.