Full Moon Goals

I hope everyone enjoyed the Strawberry Moon a couple nights ago! As is my way, I'm a couple days late with this post, but since the project spreads out over a month I don't think it's that bad.

My beloved friend Rhia over at The Faolan Girl started a full moon goals project and I thought I would follow suit. 

The project: Make a list of goals to achieve on the full moon and in the weeks leading up to the next one.

My list of goals:

Get my education back in gear. The library technology program I was in went on hiatus at the end of fall semester, and thanks to miscommunication between my school and the one online that I was trying to transfer my credits over to, I wasn't able to continue in the spring. And I still have a bachelor's degree about half-done that I need to get out of the way before I can achieve my dream of going to grad school for my Masters in Library and Information Science. 

I've already sent my new school my unofficial transcript and a request to transfer into their Library Tech program, and contacted the college I was working on my BA at about completing my courseload.

Start taking ballet in a studio again. I still do body conditioning and some dancing at home, but there's no substitute for taking studio classes three times a week. I feel about ballet the way some people do about yoga: it grounds me, feeds my spirit, and while when I was younger I used to be more focused on the end results (pointework and triple pirouettes) now I can just enjoy the journey as I work toward those results.

Keep studying Swedish. This is something I actually think of as an unofficial devotion to Odin (along with my library studies), so it's really important to me to keep up with it.

Keep my house tidy. I am admittedly not the tidiest of girls, or at least I haven't been in the past! Lately I've been doing an above-average job of keeping my home clean and organized after my big overhaul in May, and it feels so. much. better. I like to think of it as a devotion to Frigga, and isn't there some trope about witches being generally tidy people? It only took me until I was in my twenties to figure that one out...

Get to know my new tarot deck. This one might be the most fun! I just bought the Night Sun tarot because I've been feeling a little distant from my other decks, and I am really looking forward to getting to know it. 

I think that's enough for one month, don't you? I'm looking forward to seeing where I am with these by July's full moon.

Quick and Dirty Magic: Wish Jar

It's been....a minute since I wrote in here last, to say the least. I just haven't really felt like writing, or that I had any content interesting enough to write about. But even if I wasn't writing,  I was thinking about this little blog and the things I might like to write in here.

What I think of as "quick and dirty" magic is a huge part of my life. I do love ceremony, but as much as I love crafting and performing an entire ritual, everyday life and even sometimes the specific outcome I want from a spell don't allow for a lot of ceremony. Magic is dependent on lifestyle and what you have on hand, most of the time.

On hand almost everywhere, when you think about it.

Lately I've been craving a more minimalist lifestyle, so from Valborg/Beltane until now I've been completely overhauling my loft and getting rid of things that don't make me happy any longer, or that no longer serve. There might actually be a longer post in that: purging belongings is cathartic, and the KonMari method that I've been using is supposed to be particularly effective. No storage area or personal belonging goes untouched, including your wallet.

While going through my wallet, I noticed something: I feel like I can never have enough silver change, but that I almost always have too many pennies. They clutter up my wallet, roll around on the floor of my car, and turn up in practically every single drawer or box in the house. And even though they have monetary value (okay, not a lot) I've gotten used to thinking of them just as an annoyance: money that's never going to be of any actual value to me. Then I started thinking like a witch.

My wish jar

I thought for a minute about what these tiny "annoyances" could symbolize: wealth and prosperity, ubiquitousness, returning to sender (seriously, no matter how many I ever dumped out of my purse and converted to quarters and dimes, I had tons of pennies again in a matter of days. They're right up there with cockroaches for sheer tenacity), and then of course I hit on it...wishes! Every fountain or pond I walk past is always glittering with coins on the bottom. 

I took a small glass jar from my cabinet, and marked it with Fehu, the rune for wealth, and Gebo, for gifts and generosity. The coins themselves can be thrown into the jar with any intent at all, as long as you're attracting something to you (this probably would not be great as a banishing technique) but those particular runes were the first ones that came to mind for me. I set it on my altar, so that it's constantly charging. Now that it was marked with my enchantment, I had the beginnings of my wish jar. Now what?

Once it's made, take any little loose change you're not going to use and put it in the jar, along with your intent. The point isn't to spend these coins, so don't worry about actual monetary value. Add to the jar you like, and when it's full, release your wish. Take your wish jar to a fountain, pond, or other body of water (I happen to live by a beach, so that's where I'm taking mine!) and cast your coins, and your wishes, into the water. 

There might be a couple of steps involve, but ultimately this spell is so simple and everyday that I think it qualifies as quick and dirty magic! 

Do you have any "quick and dirty" spells you like to use often?

Welcome!

So you found your way here, did you? Skål! And let me welcome you to my new blog.

image from Tumblr

I always love reading people's introductions and first posts (it's like starting a story), so let me tell you a bit about what you can expect from my little online "home":

I am a practicing Norse pagan. Not really Asatru; not really Wiccan although like many American teenagers, Wicca is where I started and it still influences my path to some degree. I feel "Norse pagan" is the term that best represents me: a witch who happens to work closely, almost exclusively, with some of the deities from the Norse pantheon. My magical practice is spans from extremely thoughftully crafted rituals and elaborate spells (usually for holidays) to quick-and-dirty, "I don't have much time but I'm going to light a candle and draw some sigils on the bottom of my boots" spells.  Reading and talking about magic (all different kinds, from all over the world) really interests me, and I hope to chat with all different witches about their practices, not just my own.

You can also expect to see some personal and lifestyle posts from time to time. I love gothic fashion in many of its incarnations, especially dark mori/strega fashion. I also love metal and try to go to shows a few times a year, so prepare for the occasional concert post!

I also have a husband, and some chunky cats. They're a big part of my life, if not always my magic, and they might show up here from time to time.

Last of all, my hopes for this blog: I really want to use writing this as an excuse to get out and have more adventures! For me, the most important word in witchcraft is "craft", and I don't just mean spells. It's important to me that my practice is something I really do and feel. So, I urge you to get out into the world every so often and find something to get excited about! Where do you think the first witches got it all from?

After all, as Tolkien says, "You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." And that's not a bad thing at all.