New Moon Old Magick

Hello dears.  Welcome to Diana’s Bow.

The moon is just now becoming visible in Taurus.  What a wonderful time to plant new things in your garden and in your life!  And what a great time to do anything creative.

Spring Hummer

Because Taurus is such a fertile Earth sign, now is really a fantastic time to sprout all sorts of seeds, transplant seedlings or anything else really, or propagate by cuttings.  The roots will go deep because of the tidal forces of the earth, and that will make for strength and longevity.

Feed your spring craving by buying that houseplant you wanted, and make sure you have green things growing around you, and lots of color in your surroundings as well.  Now is the natural time for us to look for plant growth, I think it is one of those things that is actually in our DNA!  I believe the craving for color is also, since flowers usually indicate fruiting, and that is definitely a survival mechanism.  So if you are in an apartment, feed that need.  Try to have some herbs in your kitchen, if you can.  Add one or two flowering plants in your sitting room.  If you have only one room with one window, and that is facing a brick wall, then you can still have shade plants.  And even shade plants flower!  C’mon!!  You know you want it.  I’ve been in situations where I could only have a postcard of a verdant landscape, but if that is what it takes, do it.  Get some green growing stuff into your consciousness.

The creative side of you may be yammering to get out now, as well.  Your very body may be responding to the moon phase, and now is the time to get out your woodburner, or your carving knives or paint and decorate your wand.

Although in ceremonial magick, there are specific ways in which a wand should be decorated, our work here is more natural and solitary.  In other words, do whatever you want!  As long as you understand that this wand is an extension of your own energies and is creative in nature, then you can do it as it suits you.  I’ve made many a wand, and I’ve used a woodburner to inscribe runes and other symbols.  It is traditional to fill the burnt indentation with a red color, and I’ve used acrylic paint for that.  I’ve sanded certain areas and left others barked.  I’ve drilled here and there and strung silver and copper wire.  I’ve also attached semi-precious stones and crystals, some with elaborate settings, some with wire wrapping.  I’ve carved female figures (cause well, I’m female), and when I was sure the wood was dry, put on staining or varnish.

So, play away.  One of things I firmly believe is that play informs your magick. If you are worried that you are not doing this right, don’t be!  That worry will convey itself into the wand as you work!  Play as much as you can, and meditate before you start so that you can set the right energy.  The more joyful your creative experience, the better.  Remember as well, there are no mistakes in your creativity.  Only opportunities.  If something happens that you don’t expect, figure out how you can use it in your expression.  Most worthwhile creative work has an equal share of planned expression and ‘accidents’.  Use them.

If you are more in need of stealth, your wand can be as plain as you wish.  There is no requirement for decoration, especially if you meditated with the branch or the dowel before cutting.  I’ve heard stories of women whose wand was a wooden mixing spoon because they were so far underground.  Whatever suits you and your life is what is important.  You can always be very minimal, and use a fine-point Sharpie on the end of a plain stick or a wooden chopstick, writing your initials, or some sort of symbol that has meaning for you but no one else.  Or simply drawing a decorative border.  Doodles are good.  They are an active expression of your inner self.

Give your planned symbols some thought.  You will be using the tool (hopefully), and will need to feel comfortable and familiar with whatever you put on it.  If you pick up the wand to use in ritual, and you get held up looking at some sort of symbol from a book that you’ve elaborately marked all over it, thinking “What the heck did I do that for…” then it probably isn’t a symbol you should have used longterm.  Traditional symbols from the Eldar Futhark (runes), from the Angelic Languages and planetary symbols, magickal language symbols from the Atlantean charactars, these are all things that can be found in any number of books on ritual magick, and they can all be used, if you wish.  If you choose to go that way, spend time, even a few days or a week, in meditation and know exactly what symbols you wish to use, and what they mean.  There is a lot of energy behind some of those sigils, and you would wish to be able to use those energies comfortably.

If you are interested in the method of constructing traditional High Ritual wands, then I’d suggest looking at material on the Golden Dawn, especially the book by Israel Regardie.  They are not the only group out there, but they have published a lot of material and can be a good resource.  This is not what we are practicing here, but there is no reason not to know!

Work on and with your wand, decorate it as you please, meditate with it, and just hold it as you walk around your home.  Be familiar!  When next we visit this subject, we will talk about how and when to consecrate the wand to sacred use.

That’s all for now, my dears!  Have a lovely Sunday of planting, play, or creating.  If you, like millions of others, are on the job today, stick a leaf behind your ear!  It’s the first Diana’s Bow of Spring!!

Blessed Be,

Marie Angeli

What a wonderful day to plant bulbs!

Good morning, everyone!  Just a heads’ up, the moon is about to go on into Scorpio.  It is the waning phase, and the Scorpio moon is considered second only to the Cancer moon for fertility, so anything that bulbs or fruits below ground is wonderful to plant now.  Also, Scorpio is known for it’s ability to produce flowers and good strong vines – sort of like Virgo, except with the mega fertility of a water sign.  Go for it!  Garden your socks off today!  Just avoid the temptation to harvest anything you are not going to eat right away – assuming that you HAVE anything to harvest at this early in March…  But the Scorpio moon can also make anything you pick rot pretty quickly.  All that strong water energy will rot your potatoes if you pick them now, so resist the harvest unless you eat it today or tomorrow.

HOWEVER, water magick of all kinds is truly excellent now.

• Pick a leaf if you have access to flowing water, either a stream or the sea.

• You can write your wish on the leaf, and then roll it up and tie it if it is big enough.

• If you can, write the wish in symbols, like a rose for endless love surrounded by a heart.  Or you can use the charm that folks have been using for hundreds of years: your initials + your partner’s initials surrounded by a heart.  What, you mean you didn’t realize that was a magick charm?  Use your imagination!  I’m using a love spell example, but you can wish for whatever you …..wish!

• Write out a rhyme with your wish in it.  Short and sweet.  Example: “Deep sea, endless sea, bring my true love back to me.”

• Chant your rhyme over and over as you hold this leaf.  Chant your energy and your wishes into the leaf.  Imagine the energy of your wish flowing into the veins and fibers of the leaf, filling it up.

Common Sense Alert:  When we do high ritual in our private places, we do so with incense, sound, costumes, noise, or whatever roasts your toast.  The kind of natural magick I’m writing about here, happens quietly and personally.  If you are alone on a beach, you can sing out your chant.  If you are standing on a boardwalk next to a river, surrounded by a million people, you can easily chant your charm silently so they don’t call the Crazy Train to come pick you up!

• When you are ready, let it go!  Toss it into the water and let the water take it away.

• The return flow should bring your wish back to you, or at least that is the tradition.  How do you think all those notes got put in all those bottles anyway, eh?

Please note: if you time your spell to just after the high tide, the natural flow of the tides will help your wish travel.  The return tide will bring you word (remember to Listen), and soon your wish will return to you.

Enjoy your day, lovies!

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli