My chat this week is all about working with the magic that Mother Nature provides us with, a bit of Witchcraft into the Wilds. Magical energy found within stones, shells, feathers, bones, leaves and thorns.
Each natural item you find or collect out in the wilds will have its own unique energy and that energy can be utilised for spell working or meditation. Tap into and connect with that energy, find out what the item is happy to offer you. Each one will have particular energies whether it is wisdom, knowledge, healing, protection, the list is endless. No two twigs, no two pebbles, not two seed heads will be the same. It is a case of making that connection with the spirit of the item to find out.
Every space whether it is your back garden, your living room, the city park or the middle of a field it all has its own unique energy and history.
Lots of plants have thorns on them; roses, brambles and blackthorn spring to mind and these thorns can be used for magic. Think about what a thorn does, they are protection for the plant, they guard it against predators and they are sharp and defensive. They can pierce, they can cut and they can draw blood.
Folk lore says that blackthorn thorns were always used to curse but folklore says a lot of things that we have since twisted around to our advantage but if that is the choice you make…thorns (any type) are very good for cursing and hexing spell work, rose thorns work especially well in affairs of a broken heart.
But thorns also have a positive side and can be used in spell workings for protection and to dispel negative energy.
Long thorns such as those of the blackthorn can be used instead of pins to stick into poppets and also used to carve symbols into candles.
Use thorns dipped in ink to write magical petitions or ‘fix’ magical workings.
Use thorns in magic to ‘pierce’ negative bubbles and break bad cycles that you have gotten into.
I only pick leaves from plants if they are herbs or the plant is in my garden and needs trimming or cutting back other than that I only collect leaves if they have fallen from the plant. If you are stuck then you could pick a leaf from the plant or tree but please ask permission first.
I use leaves from all sorts of plants and trees but as an example the blackberry is packed full of magical properties but it is a bit squishy to use in spell work. So, I collect and dry leaves from plants such as raspberries, blackberries and strawberries because they are easier to use in incense blends and magic pouches than the fruit.
If a leaf is big enough it can be used to write wishes and petitions on that can be sent away on the winds, buried in the earth, dropped into running water or burnt in the fire.
If you don’t want to write on a leaf or you are out and about and don’t have a pen with you, select a leaf and hold it in both hands then lift it up to your face and whisper your wish into it, fold it over and then allow the wind to take it away.
Bigger leaves make excellent wrappings for charms or spells that need to be buried or burnt adding in the magical properties of the tree or plant to your spell work.
Leaves can also be melted onto candles not only to make them look pretty but also to bring their magic.
Look at a leaf, each one has a map, the thread of veins reaching out from the stem to the ends of the leaf and these pathways can be used as a guide for meditation, taking you on a journey.
And each leaf carries the magic of the tree and each tree has specific properties, either ask the tree what energy it can lend to you or look up tree correspondences.
Nature itself provides dead animals and birds and man in his motor car supplies a lot too. Picking up road kill may sound a bit yucky and is not for everyone or the feint hearted but I think of it as honouring the animal, that it’s skin and bones will be put to some good use after it has passed away.
The bones themselves are a good way of connecting with the spirit of the animal and working with those energies. Animal bones can also be carried in medicine bags to utilise their particular energies.
You can wear the bones to take on the attributes and power of the animal that they belonged to.
Feathers, animal skins or bones can also be used in shape shifting.
Ritual tools can also be made from animal bones – rattles for instance, or tie bones to your staff or wand for an added energy boost.
Don’t waste the bones from your Sunday dinner either; chicken bones especially make really good divination sets. And the bones can be used in your magical work.
Antlers that have been naturally shed also make wonderful magical tools.
Also don’t forget about insects, they have bones they just wear them on the outside. Watch for dead insects that can be used in magical workings. Please make sure they are dead first…
Talk
To watch the replay click the link below
Information from Witchcraft into the Wilds by Rachel Patterson
Originally posted on Beneath the Moon, Patheos Pagan - 26.7.20
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