Thursday, October 31, 2013

Samhain Blessings


Oh, ye Dead! Oh, ye Dead! whom we know by the light you give
From your cold gleaming eyes,
Tho' you move like men who live,
Why leave you thus your graves,
in far off seas and waves,
Where the worm and the seabird only know your bed.
 
It is true, It is true, We are shadows cold and wan;
And the fair, and the brave whom we loved on earth are gone,
But still thus ev'n in death,
So sweet the living breath
Of the fields and the flow'rs in our youth we wander'd o'er,
That ere, condemn'd, we go,
To freeze 'mid Hecla's snow,
We would taste it awhile, and think we live once more!
 To haunt this spot, where all
Those eyes that wept your fall,
And the hearts that wailed you like your own, lie dead!
 
 
May you feel the breath and fill the steps of your Ancestors. Blessings to you all this Samhain!
 
Laurel
 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Late Autumn Garden

 
 
 

 
 
 

Some Samhain Crafts & Reading

royalty free photo

The dark half of the year will soon be upon! So, here is some crafting ideas and reading resources on how you can celebrate and observe the season. 
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Sláinte!

Laurel




Tuesday, October 22, 2013

And the Winner of the 2013 Samhain Giveaway is...



...Kat!

Congrats Kat, your name was randomly selected and I will be sending you your goodies ASAP.

Thanks to everyone who participated and I hope you will all join me again for the next giveaway. :)

Laurel

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Samhain Giveaway Now Closed

The Samhain Giveaway is now closed. I will randomly draw a winner soon and will post the results within the next few days. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

2013 Samhain Giveaway

Samhain is almost here, so it is time for a giveaway! This is what is up for grabs for the 2013 Samhain giveaway...



  • Ancestor Jar Candle
  • Witchy Flask
  • Ancestor Charm Bottle
  •  Barm Brack Kit
  • Samhain Herbal Blend
  • Tech Duinn Incense
  • Dark Daughter Incense
  • Immrama Incense
  • Ancestral Graveyard Dirt
  • Dark Arts Wortcunning Powder

Ancestor Jar Candle



This is a hand poured black beeswax candle in a pretty mason jar containing wormwood from my garden, Ancestral graveyard dirt, and scented with sandalwood essential oil. Tied around it is a black ribbon with a pretty skeleton key.

Witchy Flask


A stainless steal flask for your spirited drinks when out on a haunt on a chilly Samhain eve!

 Ancestor Bottle Charm

 

I made this wee charm bottle for connecting with Ancestors and can either be carried on your person or left on an Ancestral shrine/altar. Inside the corked bottle is Ancestral graveyard dirt, dandelion root, mullein seeds, periwinkle flowers, bittersweet nightshade berries, tansy flowers, and poppy seeds. The bottle was sealed with black beeswax and has a little skull tied to it with black string.



I purchased this adorable barm brack kit from From Home Spun Ireland, which comes with a recipe, charms to go inside your cake, a pack of Barry's Tea, and a little pouch that say Oíche Shamhna on it. Samhain barm brack {an Irish fruit bread} charms would be baked inside the bread, which were used to predict what to expect in the year ahead. To find out more head on over to the Home Spun Ireland listing.

Samhain Herbal Blend

 
Use this intoxicating herbal blend to scent your Samhain festivities as a simmer potpourri, as an offering, or in your Samhain spellwork. This blend contains dried local apples, mugwort, cedar and wormwood from my garden, along with patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver.


 
Tech Duinn, or the House of Donn is one of the places in Irish lore where the deceased go to. This loose incense has a combination of plant materials that are appropriate as a burnt offering to the Beloved and Mighty Dead, including sweet smelling sandalwood. The winner will receive 1/2 ounce in a baggie.
 
 
 
This loose incense is a mixture that I created to give as a burnt offering to the Irish Goddess Macha, and has various plant materials associated with divination, sorcery and battles. The most notable smell is the heady scent of wormwood. The winner will receive 1/2 ounce in a baggie.
 
 
 Named for the immrama, or the voyages to the Otherworlds found in Irish mythology, this incense has been crafted for travel, both in this world and the spirit realms. Burn for protection whether journeying by spirit, land, sky, or sea. It contains mugwort, often used in dream work and spirit travel, as well as plants traditionally associated with safe travels in Gaelic lore, yarrow, comfrey and birch. {partial ingredient list}. The winner will receive 1/2 ounce in a baggie.
 
 

A 1/2 cup of sifted graveyard dirt that came from the graves of some of my Ancestors in a small Northern Ontario village cemetery. For Ancestor & Chthonic Deity rituals, or workings involving divination, protection and hexing.
 
 
 
This is a nourishing offering powder for plants that are entheogens, or associated with death, divination, cursing, ancestors, chthonic deities, and spirit travel.

Use as an offering to plants that you harvest from in the wild, plants in your garden or houseplants. To use sprinkle on top of the soil at the base of the plant and then water, use as a fertilizer tea, or work in the soil before planting seeds, transplanting or repotting.
 
The winner will receive 1 ounce in a baggie.
 
How to Enter the Giveaway
 
For those who are interested in entering, all you need to do is share a spooky story {this could be something that happened to you, someone you know, a legend from your area, or a favourite piece of folklore}. All entries must be submitted to the comment section of this post; you can either just type it out there or link to a video or blog entry that is posted elsewhere. Previously some folks were having issues posting in my comment section, so I will accept entries that are emailed to me {unfetteredwood at yahoo dot ca} and I will post them in the comment section, along with listing who the name of the person it is for.  The winner will be drawn at random right after the closing date. Below you will see the vitals:
  1. Only one entry per person.
  2. Entrants must be 18 years or older.
  3. The giveaway is open for all countries.
  4. To enter you are not obligated to purchase anything from me or to subscribe to any of my social media haunts.
  5. All entries must be submitted by Sunday October 20th at 3pm EST.
  6. The winner will need to provide a mailing address to receive their pretties. The information provided will not be used for any other purpose than to receive their winnings. The information will not be given to anyone else, or sold to a third party.

 
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Good luck to all of you who enter!
 
Sláinte!
 
Laurel