Mullein Candles & Torches

After collecting the seeds and leaves from my mullein plant I cut down the stalk as part of my on-going garden clean up, and instead of just tossing it onto my compost heap I decided to have a go at making mullein candles/torches. It's been a couple of decades or so since I made them at camp, which were used later in our stay around the firepit as rustic lighting.

The Witch of Forest Grove suggests that mullein torches can be used in necromancy rituals, and this would make sense as according to Maud Grieve in her A Modern Herbal says of mullein:

'Torches' is another name for the plant, and Parkinson tells us:

'Verbascum is called of the Latines Candela regia, and Candelaria, because the elder age used the stalks dipped in suet to burne, whether at funeralls or otherwise.'

My mullein stalk was already dried when I harvested it, and I tried to get as many seeds from it before chopping it up into 5 inch pieces. I decided to go for candles in lieu of a torch so I can use them indoors. I got four in total and they were dipped into approximately 50 gr of melted beeswax {with some pretty essential oil added too}.

Some lovelies for my Ancestor altar this Samhain. If you decide to try this please do let me know how you like them! 

Sláinte!

Laurel

P.S. According to this site mullein candles that are 6 inches long burn for about 50 minutes and have flames that are 2 to 4 inches in height; once lit they are to be burnt to completion. 

The Unfettered Wood Etsy Shop is Now Open

 
I have finally opened up the Unfettered Wood Etsy shop! I only have a few things listed right now but hope to put some more up soon. Below you will see what is in the shop so far:



Wortcunning Powder, Healer's Blend



Wortcunning Powder, Dark Arts Blend



Ancestral Graveyard Dirt



Vintage framed Madonna & Child print


Thank you to those who have been asking and waiting, your patience is appreciated!

Sláinte!

Laurel

Blue Moon Purification

On the night of the blue moon I decided to do a lustration ritual for myself with a prayer that I tweaked from the Carmina Gadelica. To see a particularly lovely adaptation, check out the one on the Gaol Naofa website.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Another Wee Funeral

Sadly I found one of my chipmunk friends dead yesterday. Just like I had previously posted I held a small funerary ritual for her and then wrapped her body in a linen cloth and buried her in our yard. Her cute little face and antics will be missed.

An Afternoon of Wildcrafting

Yesterday I went wildcrafting in one of my favourite spots, spending a couple of hours harvesting to replenish some of my herb supplies. It was a lovely day and I had equally lovely company with me too.

I like to wildcraft with others so I can have an extra set of eyes and ears, but I only go with those I completely trust to keep my spots a secret, so they are not over harvested {I talk a bit about this in my Wildcrafting Etiquette post}. This particular area is especially important to me because this is where I get a good portion of my rowan berries and sweetfern.

Before I got to harvesting I made my way to the spot where I make my offerings to the spirits of the area. After that we also spent some time just enjoying the beauty of the place. Below are some photos of our day.

The offerings.

One of the lovely rowans.

A place that I call Hagstone Rock.

All sorts of pretties, including golden rod.

Even though we came across all sorts of fungi, I didn't harvest any. That will be for the next trip.

Lots of signs of bears down this pathway.

Himalayan balsam {thanks Cathy for letting me know what they are!}

Harvest specimens: yarrow, milkweed pods, rowan berries, tansy, golden rod, staghorn sumac berries, and sweetfern.

Sláinte!

Laurel

A Prayer to Macha for Safety

I have been speaking to a few other Pagans about what type of magical practices we do to keep or make ourselves feel safe, which reminded me of this prayer that I came up with a few years back for this very reason.

The prayer is to the Irish Goddess Macha, who among other things is a sovereignty Goddess. Feel free to use it yourself and change it as you wish. As well, I would love to further this discussion, so also feel free to share any practices or prayers that you like to use to stay safe.

If I Should Face Danger...

May I have the forewarning of a prophetess,

May I be fleet-footed as the swiftest mare,

May I be fearsome as a battle fury,

May I trick my enemies as the cleverest crow.

Whosoever shall try to harm me or

Invade my sovereignty,

May they know the justice of

My Dark Lady

For nine ages.

*********

Sláinte!

Laurel

A Good Start to the First Harvest

mixed grain loaf

Things have been quite busy around here the last few weeks, but thankfully I have had time to celebrate Lughnasadh and have been able to spend a lot of time in our garden.

Just like with the other cross quarter days I observe Lughnasadh over a period of a few weeks instead of just a day or two. While mostly associated with a time to honour Lugh and Tailtiu {and I do honour Them as well}, my main personal focus at this time is Macha.

One of the rituals I like to do around Lughnasadh is a reaping blessing, which as you can see below from my adaptation of a reaping blessing from Carmina Gadelica is traditionally done on a Tuesday. Lughnasadh Eve fell on a Tuesday this year, which is when I originally wanted to do it. Unfortunately the weather was really shoddy that day; stuck indoors, I setup our seasonal altar on Lughnasadh Eve.

Lughnasadh morning I ended up carrying out the reaping blessing the next day, along with a nice harvest.

On Tuesday of the feast at the rise of the sun,
And the back of the bountiful fruits to the east,
I will go forth with my basket under my arm,
And I will pluck up the fruit.
While the harvested fruit is in my grasp,
I will raise mine eye upwards,
I will turn me on my heel quickly,
Rightway as travels the sun
From the airt of the east to the west,
From the airt of the north with motion calm
To the very core of the airt of the south.
I will give thanks to the Hosts of grace
For the growing crops of the ground,
They will give food to ourselves and to the Tribe
According as They disposeth to us.
Macha, Airmid, Flidais and Bride,
Gods, Ancestors, and Nature Spirits kind.

~ adaptation of a Reaping Blessing from Carmina Gadelica

blue jay bush bean harvest

The rest of the day was spent baking bread and making a yummy dinner and offering rituals in the evening.

A few days later I made more offering incense for Macha as the ingredients had become available once again. One of the blends I created is burnt in thanks for the bounty of the fields, blessing of the harvest, and for abundance in general; the other blend is for divination, magical workings, connecting with the dead and for battles. These two blend will be among the incense I will have available in the store.

Once more crops begin to ripen in our garden, we will then have our "big" Lughnasadh feast which will close things up. To see how our garden is doing, you can go check out a recent post over at my other blog.

Sláinte!

Laurel