The Horn and Cauldron #5 – Imbolc 101

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Today, we will go over history and traditions of Imbolc. We go over different correspondences and both the history and traditions of Imbolc, plus a look into Brigid the saint and member of Irish folklore.

What is Imbolc?

Imbolc is a festival that celebrates the beginning of spring, and the goddess Brigid. It’s a time to celebrate new beginnings, letting go of the past, and preparing for the year ahead.

-History-

Also called Saint Brigid’s Day, Imbolc takes place on Feb 1st, about halfway between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Spring Equinox (Ostara). Not to be confused by Candlemas—that’s typically celebrated on Feb 2nd.

Etymologists think that the word Imbolc comes from old words meaning budding, ewe’s milk, and to wash/cleanse oneself, since these are all tied to spring.

People have been celebrating Imbolc since the Neolithic period (10,000- 4,500 BC), thanks to evidence of passage tombs throughout Europe, and even in Northern Africa.

Passage tombs were not all burial chambers and are made up of huge rocks arranged in such a way that the sun shines through the entrance (or passage) on a specific point of year into the inner chamber. Some had sub-chambers in specific layouts, and art carved into the stones.

Fires, feasting, visiting holy wells, and divination were common ways to celebrate.

-Brigid-

Brigid, Brigit, or Brig appears in Irish folklore as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She represents Spring, fertility, livestock, arts/crafts, poetry, and high things (physically, mentally, and spiritually).

Sometime before the early middle ages, Brigid was syncretized into Saint Brigid. Saint Brigid is associated with perpetual sacred flames and holy wells.

-Traditions-

It was said that Brigid would visit families on Imbolc eve, and families would symbolically invite her into their home. They would commonly make a bed for her and set a place at the table and prepare a plate of food for her. People would set out strips of cloth outside for her to bless with protective and healing powers.

Brideóg dolls symbolizing Brigid were commonly made and decorated with cloth, ribbons, flowers, shells, and bead. Brigid’s Crosses were very popular to make and would be placed above the door for protection.

Other activities you can do to celebrate:

Weather divination—Groundhog Day!

Make or bless candles for the coming year.

Choosing and blessing seeds.

Thawing ice and using it as holy water (do not drink!).

-Correspondences-

Animals: Robin, burrowing animals, sheep, lamb

Colors: White, pink, red, light bue

Stones/Crystals: Bloodstone, Garnet, Ruby, Turquoise

Herbs: Angelica, Bay, Basil, Iris, Daffodil, Heather, Violets, any white or yellow flowers

Foods: Dairy, seeds, nuts,  muffins, bread, peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, and dried fruit. Traditional drinks are Milk, herbal teas, and spiced wine.

Incense: a combination of flowery and woodsy: cedar & rose or pine & chamomile

Deities: Arachne, Athena, Brighid, Branwen, Gaea, Februa Inanna, Lucina, Vesta, Cupid/Eros

The Horn and Cauldron #4 – Spellcrafting 101

Greetings heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

Today, we will go over the basics of creating and casting a spell. We go over types of spells, sigils, how to do your research, setting intentions, hexing, casting your spell, and post-spell aftercare.

What is spellcrafting?

Spellcrafting is the art of creating your own spell from start to finish. There are lots of ways to craft a spell, and no one way is the right way.

What type of spell do you want to cast?

Words:

Many spells are written down and/or recited later. These spells can be long or short, and do not have to rhyme—unless you want them to! When Julie was a Baby Witch, she thought all spells had to rhyme or be written in Latin. Do what you think feels magickal and comfortable.

Symbols & Sigils:

Some spells incorporate symbols or sigils as part of them, and some spells are all about the sigil. If you find a symbol or sigil out there that you like, go ahead and use it! Runes, and Tarot or Oracle card symbolism great examples of sigils and symbols you did not make yourself that are commonly used for spells.

If you prefer, you can make your own sigils, and there’s a lot of ways to do it. A popular way is to write out the intention of your spell, then cross out any duplicate letters. Now arrange the letters in such a way where they create an image that makes you feel like it’s serving the purpose of your spell.

Physical spells:

Jar spells are super common right now and are easy to do. Put all your stuff in the jar, seal it, then place the jar in a place where you can see it to remind you of the magick inside. Be careful of how you dispose of a jar spell.

Spells that you burn are fun and can really feel powerful. They really break down into two avenues: candle spells and burning other things. If you choose to burn anything for a spell, take the proper precautions! Fires can spread easily.

Candle spells are a lot like jar spells, but the candle helps to power the spell. The candles are typically carved to express your intention, then can be dressed and rolled in herbs. The candle is then burned each time you need the power of the spell or can be burned all in one go.

Other types of burning spells call for burning a piece of paper with your spell or a symbol written on it. These are most commonly for releasing or removing things from your life.

Amulets and jewelry are another fun way to make a physical spell that you can carry with you! The simplest form of amulet is to put items in a small cloth bag that fit your spell’s intention. You can also use lockets, or create your own jewelry. Keep in mind, that you will need to “charge” the item from time to time.

Kitchen witchery is another type of physical spell. You can craft your meal to include magickally-inclined herbs and imbue it with your intention. You can even use runes or sigils to add extra power! Just be careful that anything you add is edible and safe to eat.

Research

Now that you’ve got an idea of the ways you can cast a spell, start your research! Look at spells other people have done for ideas.

Research correspondences for your spell’s purpose. Look and see what’s recommended, then narrow down to what you have access to, then narrow down further to what you want to use. You’d be surprised what you already have or can easily get!  Don’t forget to look up amplifiers or items that are complimentary for your spell. (Clear quartz is a great amplifier, and hot peppers are a good way to speed up a spell).

Figure out a good time to cast the spell. Phases of the moon, or times of day can boost your spellwork. Most importantly, find a time that you can be uninterrupted.

Intentions

Set clear intentions and speak in affirmations. Use “I am”, or “guide me to.” Be specific about what you want to accomplish with your spell.

A word about hexing:

Hexes, curses, or shadow work are often discouraged by modern practitioners. We feel that to have the light you must also have the dark. That is, if you wish to hex, curse, or otherwise or cast shadow magick, that is your choice alone, and should be done only with full understanding of the consequences of your actions. Any spell can backfire but hexing and shadow work can backfire spectacularly because of the charged nature of what you’re doing. Much like running headlong into a situation when you’re upset, performing magick while you’re angry may cloud your judgement and give deleterious results. We all know someone who deserves a good hexing, but just be sure that you’re not doing it in the moment just because you’re upset. (Don’t drive angry!)

Casting the spell

Now that you’re ready to put it together, write out your spell and gather the items you need to cast the spell.

Set aside plenty of time to get into the right headspace—Julie finds it helpful to have extra time beforehand to meditate so that her mind is clear.

Do your spell with confidence!

Post-Spell Aftercare

Eat something if didn’t during your spellwork. A small, but balanced meal or snack will suffice. Julie likes to give offerings during her spellwork, which means she gets a little snack.  Magick can take a lot out of you, and this will help you recover. You may even want to take a nap!

You may experience a “magickal hangover”—this is totally normal! You’ve just expended a lot of energy in a very focused way, and it can take a bit of time for your energy reserves to refill. On the flip side, you may feel extra energized, if so embrace it! But don’t overdo it by doing another spell right away. Magickal work is a lot like weightlifting—you usually want to let that muscle group it recover before working it again.

A good way to channel and revel in the magickal space post-spell is to write down the spell you just cast in your Book of Shadows. Write down any observations you have about the spell, and how you feel. Continue to update the results in your Book of Shadows as time goes on, and your spell materializes.

The Horn and Cauldron #3 – 10 Tips for a Magical New Year

Greetings heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

10 Tips for a Magical New Year. Join us as we go over 10 useful tips for both the newest practitioners and the seasoned vets to make your 2021 a magical year. We discuss things from Meditation to Intentions and even address the current magical space on the internet and social media. We give you tips and tricks on keeping your magical space and practice clean, organized, and safe. In a world with so much information we are here to more than just teach but to learn as well, so join us for our 10 Tips for a Magical New Year and let us know what you think.

10 Tips for a Magickal New Year

1.       Meditate often.

a.       We all know meditation is an important component of a healthy lifestyle.
b.       Meditation is important because you want to reach a state of gnosis (mind focused on one thing) when working magick.
c.       Having a scattered mind can negatively affect your practice and spells.
d.       Many different ways to meditate—we’ll talk about it in a future episode.
e.       Start small, and work your way up. Try for one minute, and increase from there.

2.       Set goals and intentions.

a.       Broadly, and for individual workings.
i.      What do you want to accomplish this year—magickal or mundane?
1.       How can magick help you accomplish that?
b.       Set clear intentions for each working, and speak in affirmations.
i.      Visualize and invoke what you want to attract.
1.       Good: I am protected from other’s bad energy [or] protect me from other’s bad energy (invoking)
2.       Not as good: I will be protected from other’s bad energy
c.       Be realistic!
i.      Want to do a full ritual for each full moon or sabbat? Takes planning, research, & time. Gotta be willing to follow-through on that.
ii.      Don’t do a protection spell that has intentions to never have bad things happen to you again. Unrealistic.

3.       Set up or clean out your sacred space.

a.       Can have even if you’re in the broom closet!
b.       Your sacred space is as extravagant as you want.
i.      Essentially, it’s a place to put your magickal artifacts, or things that you love that help you feel witchy.
ii.      Jon altar
iii.      Julie altar
iv.      Minimalistic/generic altar space for beginner
c.       Start the new year fresh by giving your altar a deep clean and dusting.

4.       Organize your supplies.

a.       Don’t just shove things in a drawer or a box.
i.      Give care to the tools and things you use.
b.       Keep things in the same place, so can find them.
c.       Label things as necessary: carnelian or red agate?

5.       You don’t need to label your practice.

a.       Magick and witchcraft have many different subsets.
b.       Lots of posts out there proclaim being a forest witch, kitchen witch, lunar witch, plant witch etc
c.       Don’t feel like you need to squeeze yourself into the “X witch” type. You can be a forest witch who lives in the city, or a sea witch who also does lunar magick.
d.       If you choose a path, you can change it anytime you want.

6.       Don’t believe everything you read.

a.       Famous Abraham Lincoln quote “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
b.       Many people will come across as, or tell you that they’re an expert. Take that with a grain of salt.
i.      Most of the information out there—in the witchy space especially is a collection of an individual’s experiences. Just because that worked for them, doesn’t mean that the same thing will work as well (or at all for you).
ii.      Use your best judgement.
1.       Common sense has a place in magick, especially when dealing with fire or ingesting something.
a.       Putting stuff in candles (herbs, offerings)
b.       Crystals (drinking crystal water, ingesting selenite)
c.       Moon or rain water (drinking, spoiled?)
iii.      Not everything is a sign. Some things just happen.
1.       Find a grey feather on the ground? Could be a sign indicating peace is coming your way. Could be that you’re near a nest of pigeons.
2.       Look for synchronicities. If you find a feather on the ground after each magickal session, that could be a sign.
3.       Bad things happening in your life are not a sign that someone’s hexed you. Sometimes bad things happen.

7.       Learn more about your craft.

a.       Research is key. Read up on things you’re curious about or resonate with.
i.      Library, kindle books, physical books, websites, blogs, social media posts, friends, podcasts, YouTube all have info.
b.       Deities, spirits, entities.
i.      Research the entity before you call upon them. Your goal should be to know as much as you can about them.
1.       General disposition, likes, dislikes, preferred offerings, risks, rewards of working with them, other’s personal experiences.
c.       Interested in doing a spell, but don’t know where to start?
i.      Start by looking up correspondences for the intent of the spell (protection)
1.       Herbs: Bay, Blackberry, Cactus, Carnation, Cinnamon, Clover, Dragon’s blood, Ivy, Oak, Sea Salt.
2.       Stones: Carnelian, Quartz, Jade, Labradorite, Onyx, Pearl, Ruby in Zoisite, Turquoise.
3.       Colors: black, light blue, white.
4.       Phases of the moon: full
5.       Animals: Cat, Dog, Dolphin, Dragon, Raven, Seal.
6.       Other Items: symbols, runes, found items, small toys, pictures, etc
7.       Look and see whats recommended, then narrow down to what you have access to, then narrow down further to what you want to use. You’d be surprised how much you already have in your house, or can easily get!
ii.      Then look up spells that other people have done.
iii.      Write your own spell by using the research you’ve done.
1.       Can be simple or complex.
2.       Can be poetry or plain words.
3.       Can be long or short.
iv.      Don’t be afraid to think outside the cauldron!
1.       Protection tacos dinner ritual! Wear a color associated with protection, while you make tacos that have cumin, garlic, lettuce, lime, onion on them. Leave some out as an offering next to a figurine of a protection animal, and watch a movie about knights.

8.       Write it down.

a.       In books, you’ll hear about someone finding a wizard or witches grimoire, and the character then uses those spells… that’s what you’re going to do! 
b.       Get yourself a book of shadows and a grimoire
i.      Grimoire for correspondences, references, templates
ii.      Book of Shadows to write down what you’re actually doing—like a journal.
c.       No need for it to be a pretty book (unless you want one)—it can be hard to want to write in it for fear of messing it up
d.       Use whatever you’re comfortable with: binder with paper, notebook, fancy bound book, notes app in your phone, docs saved in a folder.

9.       Find friends in your space.

a.        Even if you consider yourself a solitary witch, it’s helpful to find friends out there who are receptive to your practice, and that you can talk to.
b.       In the broom closet? That’s fine! You might have a witchy friend IRL that you can talk to.
c.       Don’t underestimate the power of the internet! TikTok, Reddit, IG, TW, FB all have places that you can connect with like-minded witchy people.
d.       Don’t keep a toxic person of group around because that’s all you’ve got, or it’s interesting to keep up with their drama.
i.      It’s like buying a pack of strawberries. They’re just chillin, sitting in your fridge, then one gets moldy. The ones next to the moldy one start to get soft and moldy, and it spreads. Negativity breeds negativity.
ii.      Same goes for deciding to hex people/groups. Don’t keep moldy strawberries in with all the good ones!

10.   Don’t give up.

a.       When hearing what results others have had, it can be easy to feel like your spells aren’t working.
i.      Some spells are slower working than others, or have more subtle results. Some spells backfire, or just don’t work.
b.       Think about your intentions and where your head was when you were doing that spell.
i.      Were you distracted? Doubtful it would work?
c.       Write down the spell in your book of shadows, periodically go back and update that page with your perceived results of the spell.
d.       Keep working at it! Magick is like a muscle: every time you work it, it gets stronger.
i.      Just like a workout, give yourself time to rest.
ii.      Magickal sessions feel intoxicating, but Magick can be very draining.

===== Links =====

Website: https://www.nerdjive.com/
Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorgroveEnterprises

Jon’s Social:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NerdJive
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdJive
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NerdJive
Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/nerdjive

Julie’s Social:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/goddessjuless
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddessjules/

The Horn and Cauldron #2 – Yule 101: A brief look at History, Practices, and Traditions

Greetings heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

                Yule 101: A brief look at History, Practices, and Traditions. We look into early Yule traditions and the histories of pre/post Christian Europe. We dive into the ancient Yule traditions of the Germanic, Pagan, and Anglo-Saxon peoples. Lastly, we explore some of the more modern Yule traditions, from Yule Logs to Wassailing, and all the correspondences in between. So, join us for a brief look at Yule and how to stay sane in these darker months.

Yule 101: A brief look at History, Practices, and Traditions

I.                     Introduction with Jon and Julie
a.       Our Personal history and practices, + 2020 adaptations

II.                   A brief history of Yule pre/post Christian Europe
a.       Early mentions of Yule
b.       The Christianization of Yule Traditions
i.      King Haakon I of Norway

III.                 Other Ancient “Yule” Traditions
a.       Germanic
b.       Pagan
c.       Anglo-Saxon

IV.                A look at Modern Yule Traditions
a.       Log
b.       Goat
c.       Wassailing
d.       Boar
e.       Correspondences

V.                  Outro / Synopsis
a.       Our practices and Staying sane in the darker months.

===== Links =====

Website: https://www.nerdjive.com/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorgroveEnterprises

Jon’s Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NerdJive

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdJive

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NerdJive

Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/nerdjive

Julie’s Social:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/goddessjuless

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddessjules/

The Horn and Cauldron #1 – An introduction to Jon and Julie

Greetings heathens and witches,

Welcome to the Horn and Cauldron podcast…

                Episode 1 is an introduction to Jon and Julie, their practices, histories, and backgrounds. We discuss a bit about our lives and hobbies and talk about the goals of this podcast. We wish to share and educate in all things witchy, heathen, herbalism, naturalism, philosophy, occult, and pagan. We want to build a community of open-minded people who want to share in the practices and knowledge of the old ways and explore and learn together on our journeys.

===== Links =====

Website: https://www.nerdjive.com/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorgroveEnterprises

Jon’s Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NerdJive

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NerdJive

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/NerdJive

Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/nerdjive

Julie’s Social:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/goddessjuless

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goddessjules/