Folk Magic Quick Tip: Bedside Kit for Protection and Aids while Sleeping, Dreaming and Walking Between Worlds

Tending to be one of those people that likes to be prepared for just about anything, I have various types of protections, charms, and such scattered throughout both my home and carried on my person. Perhaps on the verge of overkill, but I don't wish to chance things, plus I like to have things within reach. And I am kinda lazy when in bed, not wanting to have to get out unless it is time to get up or if nature calls. So on my beside is a kit of things I might need to keep me safe while either sleeping, dreaming or while walking between worlds. 

This rather innocent-looking vintage tin once belonged to my Granny. She used to keep buttons, spools and other doo-dads for crafting in it. When I look at the image of the girl and the goat, I like to picture her as a witchling-to-be, so thought that it would be a good storage option for supplies of that nature. :) 

                 

Should you wish to do something similar, here's some ideas of what you could put in your own bedisde kit. This is currently what I am keeping in mine:

• Hagstone
• Saining water
• Black silk scarf that belonged to an Ancestor
• Mandrake flying ointment
• Herbal sleep charm
• Skeleton key with three red knots
• Immrama incense
• Antler slice to connect with one of my allies
• String of rowan berries on red thread
• Journal dedicated to dreams and journeys

Each item has a purpose, many of them with more than one function, so one could certainly simplify what they keep at their bedside down to perhaps just two or three items and be just as guarded. 

Good sleep, sweet dreams and safe travels to you all. 

Laurel

A Reddening Ritual {a Deer's Skull}

Just about a year ago I had done a rebirthing of a deer skull under last July's full moon {often called a Buck Moon, which last year also turned out to be the longest blood moon eclipse of this century}. I had wanted to do a post about it in greater detail, meaning to share the three stage process I went through to redden, rebirth, and consecrate and bind the skull to myself for ritual purpose.

A year on, I had been reminded that I wanted to post on this when doing a ritual this past full Buck Moon honouring my lovely deer friend. So, here we are, this is the first post of three in this little series of what I did for this particular skull. The process and ritual I will be sharing is something that I have done not only for animal remains, but also some other sacred items, most recently before this skull, my rowan stang, and don't see why others couldn't do the same should they be adverse to doing this for the remains of an animal.

While this is a practice I started doing before I considered myself a Gaelic polytheist, it has been refined over time to fit my personal practice and cosmology, and below is how I would go about doing it today. Just in case there are folks who are looking for inspiration on how one might do a ritual like this, I am going into quite a bit of depth here. Anyhow, on with it.

Instead of me rattling off what reddening is, and why we do it, I will be lazy and share a really great post that had been done on the In The Chimehours blog back in 2011, who also in this post reddened a very handsome deer skull.

This deerie was found by another in the forest, he was a white-tailed buck, whose antlers had been shed and had not started to grow new ones. So he had died in winter or early spring. I think that he was a younger lad, probably two or three years of age, and how he was found, his death seemed to be a natural one. I believe that while I was initially connecting to him, I saw what the cause was, but obviously can't say for sure. His skull had been exposed to the elements for some while by the time he was found. Not the "prettiest" skull, but he is certainly my favourite. His spirit has turned out to be a most precious ally in my travels when I walk between worlds.

At some point I may go into greater detail on how I've developed and maintain my relationships with spirit allies, especially of those whose remains I am the steward of. For now I will just say that before I started to woo him into working with me, I had made a little shrine to him, and left regular offerings, which I still do today. 

Prior to the actual reddening, I did a small offering and saining ritual on the new moon. The skull was placed on a plate that held the dry ingredients of the reddening paste {pictured and listed below}, surrounded by a rowan berry necklace and candles of the Three Realms.

• Lighting the candles of the Three Realms: Sky {"Blessings of the sky above"}, Sea {"Blessings of the sea about"}, Land {"blessings of the land below"}
• Lighting the hearth candle, a prayer of welcome is said to The Three {Gods, Spirits and Ancestors} and offerings are made: incense {representing Sky} whiskey {representing Sea}, and food {representing Land}. 
• A threefold saining is then performed: juniper smoke {"blessings of Sky"} is moved over the skull, saining water {"blessings of Sea"} is sprinkled over the skull, and sea salt and purifying herbs {"blessings of Land"} is lightly rubbed on the skull 

Below is a list of the dry ingredients that I had used in this reddening paste. Keeping in mind, I was reddening this skull to house an ally I wished to do specific types of spirit work with, the contents of this reddening paste reflects that. Ingredients may vary, depending on what the purpose of the item being reddened is. The dried ingredients I used here are {* potentially or is poison, handle with care}: 

Ancestral graveyard dirt

Staghorn sumac berries

Rowan berries

Ghost fern

Oak leaves

Wormwood*

European mandrake roots*

Bittersweet nightshade berries*

Yew*

Mugwort*

Willow bark

Dandelion root

Mullein

Black nightshade berries*

The wet ingredients for the reddening paste were three beets, each one carved with one of the names of the Three Realms in ogham: Nem {Sky}, Muir {Sea}, and Talam {Land} that were then boiled until they could be mashed; Samhain water, and nine drops of my blood. 

This was then all mixed together in a paste and plastered on the skull, which was left on for about 24 hours until it could crumble off by itself. Before moving onto the next stage, he was left to dry out completely for nine days.

Brewing Wormwood Bitters {Absinthe Inspired} for Ritual Use

{***Please be sure to do your own research, find out if it is safe for you to use plants such as wormwood, and that you use proper dosages. There are several health conditions and situations where wormwood and related plants are not safe for folks to use. And please, for the love of all that is sacred, dilute before using and use responsibly.***}

This morning I started a brew of absinthe-inspired wormwood bitters, which I am looking forward to using to aid in travelling and divination during the upcoming dark half of the year. This is my first time making absinthe, so it is a bit of an experiment. In my own brew I added the following herbs, after giving them a good going over with a stone mortar and pestle:

wormwood

fennel

anise

hyssop

peppermint

lemon balm

coriander seed

dandelion root

I then added in some 80 proof vodka, enough to cover the herbs and then some. Most of the ingredients are traditionally found in absinthe recipes, and many have the delightful associations of what I plan to use it for. I added dandelion root as a extra, for it's association with seeing, ancestor work and the Otherworlds. 

I will brew it for at least a week, shaking it every day, saying a little charm as I do so. While it sits, I will have it covered in black, with a pendant that I wear during some rituals, to inform the brew of its intended use. 

It will then be strained and bottled, and use diluted. Below is the video I got inspiration from to make this, which I encourage people to check out.

Waking from the Dreams of the Long Dark

Winter has seemed so long this year, and while I have been yearning for nature's green, this one has been potent for me. This dark half as with all others has been reflective, but unlike the usual serene and moonlit pond, more often than not it was the dank black of marsh or stormy waters under cracked ice that I was peering into.

A kind of spiritual ambivalence had been hanging over me for the last couple of years, and just after Samhain that cloud had finally lifted. The part of myself that dreams, walks between worlds, and gazes through the eyes of a seer had reawakened. These last few months have been unnerving and tumultuous at times, but it was exactly what I needed.  

Thankfully I have had support and assistance along the way, from some old friends and new. I am very grateful to them, and I am sure they know who they are. 

During this time I have been exploring how I do ritual and folk magic as a Gaelic polytheist, re-visiting some practices that I used to do prior to adopting this spiritual pathway. I have been incorporating and building upon them, some of which I might share here at some point. 

I hope that you all have had the opportunity to reap the gifts of the long dark. Time to shake of the fog of sleep, as summer is a-comin'. 

Beannachtaí,

Laurel