Protection Spell

From the Greek Magical Papyrus- 2nd Century BC

“Taking Sulfur and Seed of Nile Rushes, burn as Incense to the Moon and say, “I call on You, Lady Isis, whom Agathos Daimon permitted to rule in the entire Black Land [i.e., Egypt]. Your name is LOU LOULOU BATHARTHAR THARE’SIBATH ATHERNEKLE’SICH ATHERNEBOUNI E’ICHOMO’ CHOMO’THI Isis Sothis, SOUE’RI, Boubastis, EURELIBAT CHAMARI NEBOUTOS OUE’RI AIE’ E’OA O’AI. Protect me, Great and Marvelous Names of the God (add the usual [i.e., the protection you seek]); for I am the One Established in Pelusium, SERPHOUTH MOUISRO’ STROMMO’ MOLO’TH MOLONTHE’R PHON Thoth. Protect me, Great and Marvelous Names of the Great God! (add the usual) “ASO’ EIO’ NISAO’TH. Lady Isis, Nemesis, Adrasteia, Many-named, Many-formed, glorify me, as I have glorified the Name of Your Son Horus! (add the usual)” [PGM VII.490-504][Source: translations by Hans Dieter Betz (ed.), “The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation Including the Demotic Spells,” Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1986, hermetic.com |+|]

Thor

A perfectly rainy day

Study session by Dawn

Today is the most perfect day and the gods include days like today to give us time to relax, recoup, talk, tell stories, maintain and strengthen family bonds.

Yes it is raining but not hard, the ground is soaking up the moisture like a sponge to take care of all the vegetation coming to life as the god gets stronger every day. We need days like this so we will be able to produce everything we need to get through the cold winter that is 6 months away.

The temperature is very tolerable as long as you are wearing a sweat shirt or light jacket, so if you really need to you can get out side and work or walk or whatever else you need to do

But here is a suggestion, especially with the virus thing going on, get the family together and cook a meal, something warm and hearty, a soup/stew would be an excellent idea. have the kids help show them how to mix the ingredients, cut the vegetables, cut up the meat. Make them part of the process, help them learn what it means to fix a meal, set the table do the dishes.

Then when that’s done get out a card game or a puzzle something that everyone can enjoy and participate in, and instead of looking at this day as a rainy cool inconvenience look at this day as a chance to family. tell stories about the family so the children can learn about their ancestors, tell jokes laugh and have fun. Families dont have good fun together today as much as they had in the past. The kids are going to remember days like this a lot more than days in which you HAVE to go out and work in the rain or HAVE to go to the grocery or HAVE to ……

And later in the afternoon as everyone is winding down, take a nap, turn on an old movie and just relax. The gods knew that the people needed to rest from time to time, and made days like this so that we would have to rest and may I dare say it FAMILY.

I hope you all as my family have a most perfect day today

Dawn 

The Cosmic Witch Part 9

Written for Coven life

By Priestess Hypatia

30/01/2020

 

The 4th Pentacle of mercury- Seal of Solomon

 

Continuing from the previous post of aligning with Universal Powers for effective magickal practices…….

In this post I will be discussing the ^7th of the Sacred Seven (in no particular order) that I have been mentioning in the previous posts.

Here I will be talking about the final planet of the sacred seven and not in that order, the planet Mercury. Ruling over Gemini and Virgo it is the planet that influences the intellect and of communication and therefore the element of air.

Mercury the planet is androgynous and neutral, it is neither masculine nor feminine, neither positive nor negative, taking on the qualities of whatever aspects it comes into contact with.

The Planet

Distance from Sun: 57.91 million km

Orbital period: 88 days

Length of day: 58d 15h 30m

Mass: 3.285 × 10^23 kg (0.055 M⊕)

Surface area: 74.8 million km²

Wikipedia

The God

In the Ancient Roman World Mercury was the equivalent of the Greek God Hermes. The swift-footed messenger God traversed between the upper and lower worlds and his origins can be traced back as far as 13^th– 15^th Century BCE.

The many associations of Mercury include that of fertility, communication that include writing, messengers, trade, luck, and thievery. He was the patron saint of merchants, business people that were involved in all types of trade. The staff of Hermes, the Kerykeion is recognized as a symbol of trade and commerce and not that of medicine.

As the God of Medicine Aesculapius and His Rod is attributed to the arts of health and healing.

In the ancient Egyptian world he was connected to Thoth that is also connected with communication and responsible for writing the Emerald Tablet.

Planetary Magick Correspondences

Day- Wednesday

Colour– Purple, yellow and sometimes Orange

Element– Air

Gem stone– Opal, aventurine, moss agate, fluorite, and sodalite

Herbs– Almond, Anise, Clover, Dandelion, Dill, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemongrass, Lilac, Mace, Peppermint, Rosemary, Vervain

Number(s): 8, 64, 260, 2080

Archangel: Raphael

Metal: Mercury (toxic), safe replacement used in modern magick is Aluminum, sometimes also Zinc is mentioned

Olympic spirit (ruler): Ophiel

Importance in Alchemy– Spells, ritual and charms

Astrology

Due to Mercury’s speedy elliptical orbit, Mercury often appears to be going backwards, with frequent retrograde motions of about 3-4 every year. The good news is that these retrogrades are short lived, the bad news is that when they are in that motion they can at times wreak havoc in your life. Caution in signing contracts, breakdown in communication, avoid surgery, avoid travel, heightened anger, frustration, anxiety and of course the list of all your insecurities goes on. Now the majority of the time such retrogrades go unnoticed, that is until something happens in your life, then there is always Mercury retrograde if it does.

Spell Against Mercury Retrograde

If you are familiar with spell work you can try this to draw the positive aspects of Mercury during its retrograde. It encourages harmony, balance, protection and healing is such tumultuous times.

Spell work-

1. Purple candle
2. Anointed with frankincense
3. Surround with your choice of crystals and herbs from the magickal correspondences above
4. Light the candle and say:

‘My mind is a fortress, backwards Mercury, shall cause no deceit, nor damage. The light and stones shall save me’.

5. When the candle has burned all the way down, and extinguished itself, take the stones, place them in a mojo bag, and carry with you as long as Mercury stays in retrograde.

Orphic Hymn

Below is a beautiful hymn or prayer to the great God Mercury- Hermes. Use this if you want to invoke the energy of Mercury- Hermes, use the planetary magickal correspondences for extra guidance and remember as with any spell work to understand, observe and respect the energies that you are working and drawing from and with.

Invocation/ Prayer to Mercury- Hermes

The Fumigation from Frankincense.
“Hermes, draw near, and to my pray’r incline, angel of Jove [Zeus], and Maia’s son divine;
Studious of contests, ruler of mankind, with heart almighty, and a prudent mind.
Celestial messenger, of various skill, whose pow’rful arts could watchful Argus kill:
With winged feet, ’tis thine thro’ air to course, O friend of man, and prophet of discourse:
Great life-supporter, to rejoice is thine, in arts gymnastic, and in fraud divine:
With pow’r endu’d all language to explain, of care the loos’ner, and the source of gain.
Whose hand contains of blameless peace the rod, Corucian, blessed, profitable God;
Of various speech, whose aid in works we find, and in necessities to mortals kind:
Dire weapon of the tongue, which men revere, be present, Hermes, and thy suppliant hear;
Assist my works, conclude my life with peace, give graceful speech, and me memory’s increase.”

Orphic Hymn- #27

The Cosmic Witch Part 8

Written for Coven life

By Priestess Hypatia

23/12/2019

Saturn

“A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.” ~ Buddha

 

Continuing from the previous post of aligning with Universal Powers for effective magickal practices…….

In this post I will be discussing the 6^th of the Sacred Seven (in no particular order) that I have been mentioning in the previous posts. Here I will be talking about the planet that is connected to your 6^th chakra and spiritual evolution. Saturn is the highest planet in the hierarchy of planets (of those known to the ancients) and thus the closest to the Gods and thus associated with immortality and longevity.

Saturn is associated with time and is timeless.

So what does this mean?

In Mythology:

In Greek antiquity Cronus was the counterpart of the Roman Saturn. Cronus was the titan son of Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (earth). The word Cronus in Greek actually describes time therefore he was the personification of time itself and ruled the cosmos during the Golden Age. Later the Romans adopted him into their religion and renamed him Saturn.

Saturn helps us realize that we are beyond time, that we are one with the universe, originating from the very energy that created us. We are all STARDUST. This energy was created during chaos, and yes the Greeks also had a God by this name that personified the chaotic birth of the Universe.

3^rd Eye

This planet assists in unlocking our sacred place in the universe and by meditating on your 6^th Chakra you can learn to melt away the complicated world around you. The 6^th Chakra is connected to what they call your 3^rd eye. This is the place where the human body meets the celestial spirit, it is the Anja (in Hindu).

The 3^rd eye is actually our Penal Gland in in our anatomical structure, so once again the ancients knew what they were talking about. Shaped as a pine cone- hence its name derivative, this gland is responsible for secreting melatonin which plays a role in the body’s internal clock or what medical science calls the circadian rhythm, one that regulates our relaxation and sleep.

This chakra is also called the brow chakra as it is located between your brows on your forehead and is considered to be the ‘seat of your soul’.

In Ancient Egypt

The eye of Ra or Horus is actually a representation of the penal gland, not only in a spiritual sense but also in a pictorial depiction.

Below is a picture comparing the 2 with rather uncanny similarities.

http://www.ourwonderlife.com/de-calcify-the-pineal-gland-our-eye-of-horus/

 

The penal gland is where we perceive or see all things as energy around us. This is a place where you gain your multi-dimensional vision.

Meditation

The colour of this Chakra is Indigo. Each Chakra also has a sound, this is the sound of the universe- the sound of OM, the symbol is.

Below is a short meditation on YouTube that you can try to assist you in connecting to this Chakra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab9LTtBZjeM

You can meditate on the above- sounding the OM loud or within and using the colour for visualization.

Saturn correspondences

Ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius

Astrologically Saturn is associated with the principles of limitation, restrictions, boundaries, practicality and reality, crystallizing and structures.

Governs ambition, career, authority and hierarchy, and conforming social structures.

Peoples sense of duty, discipline and responsibility, and their physical and emotional endurance during hardships.

Day- Saturday

Herbs- Bindweed, Bistort, Bluebell, Comfrey, Enchanter’s Nightshade, Foxglove, Hellebore, Holly, Indigo, Juniper, Mandrake, Monkshood, Mullein, Pine, Rue, Solomon’s Seal, Witch Hazel, Wolfsbane, Yew.

Minerals- Jet, Obsidian, Onyx, Sapphire, Smoky Quartz, Tourmaline,

Color- Black
Number- 3
Elements- Water and earth
Incense- Myrrh
Animals- Goat, crocodile
Angel- Tzaphqiel

Who were the Maenads?

Written By Priestess Hypatia

For Coven Life

19/12/2019

Priestess of Bacchus, John Collier (taken from Wikimedia commons), 1886

In Thebes the birth place of Dionysus, the God of wine, the Maenads were born. They were known as the Priestesses who were part of the Dionysus cult and performed ecstatic dance. Roaming the mountains of Thebes, trancing and dancing in fawn skin dresses and panther throws, snake crowns and barefoot. Snakes in ancient times were used as healers.

The list of Maenads is long in history, these women that maintained the Dionysian cult with ecstatic ceremonies were distinct to the Hellenic world. A religious cult unlike no other, the women maintained a frenzied state of ecstasy. Extended periods of dancing (usually to the point of absolute and utter exhaustion) and drinking wine, the Maenads participated in orgiastic celebrations dancing naked through the forests of Thrace.

Dedicated to the God of debauch and fertility the Dionysian followers such as the Maenads experienced states of sexual drunken pleasure that allowed them to become closer to their God.

As members of a respected cult in Hellenic society the Maenads were actually celebrated for their sexual promiscuity, a welcoming change from the ever virtuous virgin Goddesses. Their sexuality gave them power and position more so than many other women in the Hellenic world.

Dancing Maenad. Detail from an ancient Greek Paestum red figure skyphos, made by Python, ca. 330-320 BC. British Museum, London.

Children’s Blessings

The blessing below may have to be printed out for easier reading.

 

Egyptian Gods – The Complete List

The gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt were an integral part of the people’s everyday lives. It is not surprising then that there were over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Some of these deities’ names are well known: Isis, Osiris, Horus, Amun, Ra, Hathor, Bastet, Thoth, Anubis, and Ptah while many others less so. The more famous gods became state deities while others were associated with a specific region or, in some cases, a ritual or role. The goddess Qebhet, for example, is a little known deity who offered cool water to the souls of the dead as they awaited judgment in the afterlife, and Seshat was the goddess of written words and specific measurements overshadowed by Thoth, the better known god of writing and patron of scribes.

Ancient Egyptian culture grew out of an understanding of these deities and the vital role they played in the immortal journey of every human being. Historian Margaret Bunson writes: “The numerous gods of Egypt were the focal points of the nation’s cultic rites and personal religious practices. They also played a part in the great mortuary rituals and in the Egyptian belief in posthumous eternal bliss (98).”

The gods evolved from an animistic belief system to one which was highly anthropomorphic and imbued with magic. Heka was the god of magic and medicine but was also the primordial force, pre-dating all the other gods, who enabled the act of creation and sustained both mortal and divine life. The central value of the Egyptian culture was ma’at – harmony and balance – represented by the goddess of the same name and her white ostrich feather, and it was Heka who empowered Ma’at just as he did all the other deities. Heka was the manifestation of heka (magic) which should be understood to be natural laws which today would be considered supernatural but, to the Egyptians, were simply how the world and the universe functioned. The gods provided people with all good gifts but it was heka which allowed them to do so.

To read the rest of this informative article on Ancient Egyptian Pantheon

The Cosmic Witch Part 3

Written by Hypatia

For Coven Life

03/ 08/ 2019

The Sun

Continuing from the previous post of aligning with Universal Powers for effective magickal practices…….

In this post I will be discussing the first of the Sacred Seven that I have been mentioning in the previous posts, the Sun.

You might be surprised to know that the Sun is considered a star, in antiquity however it was considered a planet.

The Sun is by far the largest object in the solar system. It contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar System (Jupiter contains most of the rest).

Ahhhhhh the giver of life and the bringer of energy. It’s no wonder throughout time the Sun has been worshiped by everything, including all our planets, asteroids and everything and everyone here on earth.

Have you seen the way the sunflower turns to hail the sun, or the way plants and trees grow to the light, animals do it too? We as humans are unable to live without this beautiful ball of energy literally. Our entire world and celestial sphere is dependent on this energy.

The Sun is attributed to the element of Fire, the aspect of creation that propagated all of existence. It comes under many names, there is not one culture on earth during humanities existence that has not perceived its power and strength and therefore dedicated an appropriate God head to this Star.

A list of endless solar deities listed in Wikipedia alone, in the link provided below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_deities

 

Element– Fire

Colour– Gold

Solar Mineral– Gold

Crystals– Amber, citrine, tiger’s eye, yellow topaz

Plants & herbs–  Sunflower, calendula, marigold, orange, citron, saffron, pine, rosemary, heliotrope, bay laurel, daisy, walnut, acorn, maize, wheat, hops, cloves, cinnamon- and the list goes on…….

Day- SunDay

Holidays– Winter and Summer Solstice

Zodiac– Leo, Sagittarius, Aries,

Magick– Prosperity, wealth, wealth, growth, confidence, clarity, commonality, abundance, truth, harmony, partnerships.

Chakra– Heart

 

Sun Meditation

Having a love affair with the Sun is really quite magickal.

• The energy of the Sun that is received as rays of light, sends codes through our entire being to recharge and energise our soul.
• Face the Sun and allow its divine energy to illuminate your being through every cell in your body
• Soak in the light by bringing it into your body through your heart space. It is through the heart space that the Suns energy is soaked through to energise the rest of your chakra system. The sun through the heart space is the powerhouse for your chakras and therefore your entire cellular body.
• Envision the interior of your body glowing in a red light
• See your bones, veins, muscles, arteries, venules, your skull, your arms, legs, chest, your entire body and ALL of its organs filled with this energy
• Know that every aspect of your body, that also includes your spirit and your soul is aware of the Sun
• Sit and enjoy this for as long as you dare, continue to breathe rhythmically and enjoy. Do this every morning. Salutations to the Sun every morning is probably one of the most invigorating things you can ever do in your life.
• If there is no Sun, you simply need to imagine this beautiful ball of light, it’s as simple as that!!!

Use the above information including the meditation to make a Sun spell!

May your next Sunday morning be a magickal one.

Orpheus

Written by Hypatia

For Coven Life

23/05/2019

Who was Orpheus?

In the ancient world of Hellenism, Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, psycho pomp, dream Iatromantis (shaman) and prophet who was later associated with the Orphic Mysteries .

His Oracular abilities were translated through his music and poetry, mesmerizing all animate and inanimate beings on this planet and beyond. People, animals, plants, water bodies, rocks, mountains all succumbed to his lullabies produced through his poetry and music. Some of the most beautiful hymns ever created and still used to this day during various Pagan Ceremonies dedicated to the God’s were written by Orpheus. These hymns were also later used in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

The Hymns

There are many versions translated of the Orphic Hymns. As I have been reading Hymns of Orpheus by Thomas Taylor I will include this version.

This hymn is dedicated to the Goddess Nyx (Night).

Each Hymn is performed with a specific fumigation. In other words the burning of. In this case it is the burning of torches. Other Hymns may request the burning or certain resins, spices, herbs, all in the honor and dedication to the Gods.

TO NYX

(The Fumigation with Torches- We can also use candles)

“NIGHT, parent goddess, source of sweet repose,
From whom at first both Gods and men arose,
Hear, blessed Venus, deck’d with starry light,
In sleep’s deep silence dwelling Ebon night!
Dreams and soft case attend thy dusky train,
Pleas’d with the length’ned gloom and feaftful strain.

Dissolving anxious care, the friend of Mirth,
With darkling coursers riding round the earth.
Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play,
Whose drowsy pow’r divides the nat’ral day:
By Fate’s decree you constant send the light
To deepest hell, remote from mortal sight
For dire Necessity which nought withstands,
Invests the world with adamantine bands.
Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant’s pray’r,
Desir’d by all, whom all alike revere,
Blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid
Dispell the fears of Twilight’s dreadful shade.”

So who was the Goddess NYX?

She was the Greek primordial Goddess of the Night.

Nyx is the wife of Chaos and is known by many names, Grandmother Spider, Dawn, Kuan Yin, Earth Mother, Gaia…….

Hers sons where Oneiros (dream), Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death). They are siblings for a reason as they are all one and the same.

It is said that every night we sleep we fall into an ethereal death. This is the land of the ‘Dream Shaman’ a place where the Iatromantis goes to heal and be healed and to commune with the spirit world. This was practiced thought the Orphic and the Eleusinian mysteries.

I have explained the significance of dreaming further in a recent post I did about ‘The dream world of a Witch’.

In the Hymn above, Orpheus compares Venus with Nyx. Venus therefore in the sensible world is the same as Nyx (Night) in the intelligible.

Orpheus also mentions the ‘Fates’ known as Moirai. These are 3 and are known as Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. They were the weaving Goddesses that assigned individual destinies to mortals at birth.

Another Goddess he mentions is Necessity that was known as Ananke

Ananke or Necessity was responsible for splitting the Primordial Egg to create the order of the Universe. This is known as the Orphic Egg

I will try and do further posts of various Orphic Hymns and explain a little bit about each.

I encourage you to use these Hymns during your dedications, they truly are a wonderful way to honor the energies of the Gods.

Blessed Be