The Northern Witch' s Blog

“I´ll try to explain and show how to create magickal intentions from idea to written material.

An example : I need some positive energy to regain my strength from practicing many rituals last month. So I will write something like :

-“Dear Universe and Goddess of the Crones, Hecate, please aid me in regaining strength. By hard work and meditation I´ll build up my strength. By the Air that I breathe, The Fire that burns in my heart, the Water that runs in my blood, and the Earth that I walk upon, as I will it, So Mote It Be.”-

First I´ll light a candle in my sacred space. Then I´ll burn my note and light incense/use aromatherapy to clear the space for new workings. The whole process took less than 15 minutes to plan, arrange and simply enjoy.”

Yes, and it was my last words in my post What I love about witchcraft a week ago.

To me magickal intentions are both specific wishes/questions asked to the Universe. I cannot myself create everything I want and need, not even as a witch. But what I can is this, I can try to pull in some positive energy by asking politely for help to do something. The help consists of my confidence from having grounded my wish by writing exactly what I felt in the moment.

I work hard to write, to keep this blog running and to live a meaningful life with witchcraft on a daily basis. And I meditate by reading during a daily tea ritual and by always having a book nearby. There I manifested my wish.

Has it been better since ? Yes and no. Yes, meaning that I love to sit and write about something I love. witchcraft. No, meaning I´ve been somewhat touchy this week. Autumn is here now. I can feel it all over my body, but especially in my shoulders and my hands.

It annoys me, not the pain itself, but the reaction from my body. Achy, shaky, a few pain killers of the kind that leaves you happy without the brain fog. And a natural cream for my sore shoulders. The shifts between all day rain and sunny afternoons, with the cold lurking before the idea of lighting a bonfire, are tough for the body to conquer.

Mentally, I´m quite fine, thank you, but nevertheless I´m careful not to overspend my energy. In a few weeks I will have terminated my weekly schedule with psychiatric care for this time in my life. It has been a little more than two years now, and it is time to move on.

When I write an intention to a spell/ritual, or when I make one in my mind in my daily practice, I almost always ask for guidance, for mental aid so to speak, to something I´m prepared to actually work with. If you don´t want to do the job, don´t make the intention at all.

I keep it simple and direct, and then I add something polite and beautiful to me. In rituals it always results in a feeling of affirmation, because I will know that I´m already working with the intention.

That has a self-reinforcing effect on me.

There are as many ways of making intentions as there are people in this world. Therefore there are no strict guidelines whatsoever. This is my way of showing you one way of doing it.

What about questions ? How to ask and how to write ? As simple as possible. As specific as possible. As good as it gets. It´s all up to you, dear reader.

It all depends on what you want vs. what you need. Ask for help with needs, not wants. Wants are selfish, one-dimensional desire. Needs are necessary to exist.

I ask for the little extras that are the reasons for us being able to thrive as a family. The little extras are not necessarily money, but can as well be a little more peace in the daily life, a little less anxiety on a day with that on the agenda, and a little less stress when the everyday is too much.

In reality, I ask for simple things that can easily be accomplished even on a budget. But I like to do it a little witchy, and I write intentions for many purposes, when I work with magickal intentions. The magick about it is simple, a lit candle and some incense/aromatherapy.

This way of working has helped me face many of my inner fears and I´ve learned to handle everyday matters with enough seriousness and at the same time humor.

Today´s post is one of the shorter ones, only 1,001 words. It´s not a good writing day because of my hands, which are my essential tools when writing. But it hurts too much to keep on without medication, so I decided to write a minimum of 1,001 words.

If I can manage that, then the pain has not yet conquered me. It always makes me think when I´m in pain. Today I think about intentions for the Full Moon tomorrow morning. I´m not able to celebrate it this time, but I can still make intentions for the Full Moon.

And here they are :

1. Keep on writing, whatever situation I´m in.
2. Be ready to face a quick decision and do less if necessary, but still do it right.
3. It´s alright to have a bad day. It won´t last, as won´t a happy one, is my new mantra.

I don´t burn the note, since it is online. But I send them out in the Universe with the wish to quickly regain strength and to write once again.

I didn´t ask for any guidance/aid this times, because I felt I was strong enough as will power behind intentions, and my dominant hand will always be the most powerful athame, I´ll ever own.

Have a great weekend, see you on Monday about blog writing.

To me writing advice is a whole world of possibilities. Either it works or it does not. I read a lot and I write a lot. That way I learn to write better. But the best advice, which I prefer, is for the reader to decide.

Vocabulary and grammar should be tools to sharpen and enhance whenever possible. And the most important part of it, to actually sit down and do the writing, in an absolute necessity. I know I need to be extra careful, since I´m writing in a language different from my native language.

So I try to sit between four and six hours a day to write, rewrite and make notes. I´m now able to write between 1,000 and 2.500 words a day. On top of that, I also study the art of writing and witchcraft, and I have therefore a somewhat busy schedule, but I believe it is healthy to have something to do, when you are early retired.

At the moment, I´m trying to establish a more disciplined way of writing with more structure and writing exercises to try out some of the advice that I find useful.

Useful advice to me is clearly stated sentences about certain techniques like dialogue in a novel, the concept of stream of consciousness and how to outline your work, whether that would be the dream novel or a blog post like this.

Recently I bought Stephen King´s On Writing, and I will definitely recommend it to others. It is an interesting view into a writer´s mind, and it is filled with good advice and creative methods to enhance your writing skills.

This month I´m reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway. They were two very different writers, but it is also two books impossible to put away. I have inherited some of the big library from my parents´ home. I love to read as often as possible, and I also use our local public library.

I have a never ending hunger for knowing things. I like to learn new tricks and skills, and I simply enjoy to read and to get inspired to write myself. I write for the love of writing. This warm, calming and reassuring feeling that you know that you are on to something. That feeling that feels good in the mind, the body and the soul.

Character development is a new field for me to research. It is the ability to watch, to note down and to rewrite. What you see with me is what you get. Without raw honesty, this blog would not be me. And this ability to write of mine would not be shown.

It is easy to tell a story when writing.

No, it is not. It is difficult, there needs to be an idea that is too intriguing to let go. Something that keeps showing up when inspiration has kicked in. And then there needs to be a writer with skills to write and with the core of writing in mind : What do you want to write about and why.

I have written four lines today about a day in a forest. Maybe inspiration came when we were walking the little wise old dog in a nearby forest. Nevertheless, I wrote them and let them be. For now, I´m feeling okay with them being on hold. Next time I look on them, maybe there will be some description, some character traits and some backstory.

It is easier to tell than show a story. Yes, and that´s because we have different expectations to different matters in life. It all depends on who´s reading. I try to write with a reader´s view, my own, I do not, however, write for anybody else´s point of view.

I can only use myself and my two hands. Sorry, dear reader, but with osteoarthritis you learn to use that keyboard. I would love to write in hand, but that is only possible with notes and occasionally ritual work sheets.

But with age I´m getting better to watch and to write what I see, what I hear, what I smell, what I taste, what I touch. And of course to try to both tell and show you that the sixth sense may be something that once evoked soon becomes invoked as well in your daily life, both in writing and in witchcraft.

I hope that I today will succeed in showing you how I use what I call good writing advice. I´m trying my best to write with atmosphere, and therefore tend to do other things than writing during a writing session. Right now, I need a cup of chai tea and to read a chapter in one of my books, so I sit and balance with the book in one hand and the other hand writing, until the book rests peacefully next to me.

To read while you write is another possibility to try out. It demands concentration, a good playlist of music suitable for both your reading and your writing, and the ability to pick up where you left. There are multiple ways of writing, but I always need to be comfortable when writing in sessions.

I have my late mother´s desk and space enough to walk around between writing and reading. I have my charm bag for this blog and a lit candle. There is a growing playlist in my ears, and there is a feeling of adventure. Life is an adventure, and with writing and witchcraft it is a never ending story of life lived to its fullest.

When I listen to writing advice, I listen to those who themselves have tried this and that in life. I can only grow experience by keeping on writing and trying to learn from my mistakes. But I like to learn both from people of my own age, the older and the younger. To me age is irrelevant. Experience is what matters.

Most of my life I have experienced life in the corner, but my writing desk stands in the middle of the room. To me it matters to have space around me, to be able to get up now and then to stay in touch with the rest of the world.

When I write, I´m in a world apart. I close an invisible door to the outside world and concentrate on doing my best and at the same time enjoy the process of writing. I write to loud music and like to incorporate a sense of rhythm and deep point of view in what I write.

I have a red chair next to my desk. I like to sit and read here as well as in my witch´s den. The little old wise dog often lies here and wags his tail whenever our eyes meet. Or he sleeps on the couch during the afternoon hours that have become my best writing time ever.

I would like my husband to sit down there too and listen to me reading my next adventure for him. When I´m ready for that, I will have rewritten my first draft. I got an idea today, now I´ll let it evolve by itself and leave it for tomorrow to decide if there is more to it than what I first thought.

When I´m looking for writing advice, I look for good expressions and the twists and turns you can do with language. I´m not so much into writing theory, but occasionally I read something about it. It can´t harm to know a few basics and to learn from the best of writers, is my thought.

Other than that, I use my intuition and the critique I get to keep writing and try to do it better every time. It is also an endless search for something impossible. The perfect work, what is it, and when do you know it is so perfect ? When you can´t help but push the publish button.

I do not consciously try to attain perfection, but I look for a certain rhythm and music in my writing. It has to mean something to me. Otherwise I will only waste everybody´s time. And there is only one way to really get to know what readers want, to try and write something they´ll like as much as I do.

But I will not change my voice, only evolve it. So I do not write for anybody particular ? No, I have yet to find out where my writing is to take me. As it is right now I focus on building this blog and on getting some direction in my writing.

I also have several ideas in the drawer that need to be adjusted and rewritten. I have to carefully plan my days depending on how my level of chronic pain is responding to the present moment. And there are only twenty-four hours a day, so sometimes it is easier to write about doing things than actually doing them. Then procrastination can be exciting to try to avoid.

An example of that is my promise of making new pages for the blog last week. Well, it didn´t happen, simply because the weather has been taking a hard toll on my behalf with several pain days indeed. But it will happen, when I get to it on a good day sometime soon.

If only the day had more hours, then I would have the time to write what I need to tell and show. No, good ideas take time to evolve and resolve into writing worth reading. To walk with the little wise old dog is a big inspiration on a daily basis as are the commentaries of my husband. He is my toughest critic, and usually he is right.

As the afternoon has shifted into twilight, so has the rain triggered the pain in my fingers, not throbbing, not cutting, but irritating just below the level of consciousness. Yet I continue to write. Nothing is going to stop me doing that ever. Not even pain.

But without pain killers, natural and prescribed medicine, for the moment, I don´t need any kind of brain fog when writing. I don´t drink and drive either. But I do smoke, yes, I´m the old weird lady with the dog and the cats, wearing my favorite secondhand clothes, and I do inhale, too. I also drink oceans of coffee and Coca Cola.

Everybody has their bad habits, these are mine today. In my younger years I tried this and that, well, I´m still here, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you sooner or later grow out of bad habits, if you are strong enough.

On strictly regulated occasions I get myself a couple of small drinks. But I have never experienced the writer´s enthusiasm when drinking alcohol, so I do not recommend it around you while writing.

My best writing advice so far came from a good friend who told me he thought I have a distinct writing voice that can be recognized wherever I write. And in whatever language I choose to write, English as well as Danish.

Ever since I´ve been trying to acknowledge that voice myself, by being busy doing business about it instead of just talking about how wonderful a journey that would be, if I only dared to actually sit down and write something…

That includes research in the field of writing advice and reading reality. While the former is a tough but necessary companion, the latter is the result of countless hours, but counted words, and my love for writing. My reading reality is that I´m capable enough to try out this new mode of inspiration.

And this ability I´ll show you more of in my next blog post about writing (How it is to run a blog in 2019) on Monday 16 2019. Thank you for your time, dear reader.

My love for witchcraft has been with me all along, I guess. Magick interests me. Magick with a k that is, for I want to distinguish it from ordinary magic like e.g. showing off card tricks. Magick interests me, because it has yet to disappoint me.

Meaning : I believe that magick does work from my own experiences. Practicing witchcraft makes me feel at home mentally, physically and spiritually, and it is as my world becomes a better place with magick in it every day.

The magick itself is unpretentious. It is what you believe it is, it will work, if it was meant to work. It will not work, if it was not meant to work. That is my approach to witchcraft. And it all comes down to whatever intention I put behind my magickal workings.

I believe that magick exists, whereas I don´t believe in coincidences of any kind. Chance to me has nothing to do with luck or the lack of it. Chance happens while you are pre-occupied with life, and there is always the what-if question in rear view.

But we never get to check out for real what this what-if could have been. We´re not meant to know everything all the time, and thank the Universe for that. Therefore, I live in accordance with the rhythms of nature and the phases of the Moon, as much as the mundane world of today will allow me to.

What I love about witchcraft is that is has room for the ups and downs in life. I take my mundane issues with me into witchcraft to be able to seek an alternative balance to gain renewed strength from, but I never plan my life from witchcraft. To me it is guidance and a refuge, not a wishing well.

It is also an enriching and comfortable way of life. It gives me happiness, inner peace, well-being and kindness to my inner child. I´m not winning in the lottery, however, because to ask for that kind of money is not necessary at all in order to have a good life.

It is also very self-indulgent and unrealistic, and that is not my kind of style. Self-care is another matter, and there I´m not compromising myself. I know that I have to take good care of myself due to so awesome mundane issues as osteoarthritis, bipolar disorder and anxiety.

Witchcraft has a healing effect on me, and that is reflected in my surroundings, by cause of me feeling good about myself after having worked with magick. It calms me down, it soothes my anxiety, and it makes me happy and content.

What I also love about witchcraft is that it in its essence has few demands and rather many possible solutions. The demands in my view are to be serious but never to forget the funny and intriguing parts of it. And the number of solutions depends on what you ask for and how you use the advice.

At the moment, I have a period where writing has captured my heart as well as my mind. So there is no witchcraft around me, while I´m writing ? Of course there is. I have my charm for my blog´s success and a lit candle at my writing desk. I sit and drink some relaxing chai tea and listen to the pouring rain outside.

I plan to celebrate the Autumn Equinox and the Sabbat of Mabon on September 23 2019. Here I give my thanks for all that I have been able to harvest from my efforts this year, and I celebrate the equilibrium of nature as an inspiration to gain a better balance in my life.

The best part working with witchcraft as an eclectic, cottage witch is that you get to choose from a broad variety of sources. There is no written agenda, except for my ritual worksheets and notes, and there is freedom to choose from what you already have instead of buying yourself poor.

The eclectic witch is this fall busy studying aromatherapy, meditation and ideas to create a magickal atmosphere in my daily life. Research is my king of studying. The cottage witch is busy planning for my biggest Sabbat of the Wheel of the Year, Samhain on October 31 2019. Rituals are my kind of practicing.

I enjoy the almost indescribable feeling of wholeness, when I have worked with witchcraft. It is a sacred moment filled with inner peace and positiveness. It puts all the mundane issues in proportion, so that I get a free space, so to speak, where there is balance and “silence” in my life.

With silence I mean the quiet feeling of content and happiness over simple everyday things. I prefer, as you know by now, dear reader, to live a simple and easy-going life without too many mundane surprises to handle in a world conquered by stress and hastiness.

So to speak of a love to witchcraft is to speak about being at a better place with it than without it. It is no cure of whatsoever ailment you may suffer from, but it soothes, it refreshes, and it brings forth that volatile feeling of being happy in the present moment.

And that to me is worth mentioning, since the opposite, stress, anxiety and unrest, unfortunately has become everyday issues in the world as a whole today. I can´t strong enough recommend to learn to listen to your body, your mind and your soul.

Ask yourself what you truly want in life and then go for the little successes. The big ones are going to show up, if they are meant to do that. If not, something else is probably going to happen. One thing you can be sure of, however, is that you only get this one chance to live your life at its fullest.

Therefore it is important to keep living in the present moment without looking either too long back or too long forward. Plans are only worth something, as long as you have a reasonable relationship with the fact that you are actually living in the present moment all the time.

There needs to be some free space in every plan. Nobody can plan themselves out of everything all the time. But today it is necessary to plan, to keep checking up on the picky details of everything ??? Yes, to some degree. The rest is for you to decide, not everybody else around you.

I say that with the knowledge that I´m in a position that allows me not to plan as much as when I was earning my own living. But it is also a hard and severe position, because you have been found unable to work on any conditions. It means living the rest of your life on a budget. It means a lot. It means business.

But I´ve also learned the hard way that not every plan will save your bum in times of trouble. Sometimes, it is necessary to skip the plan A and go to plan whatsoever, because life doesn´t care for any plans. “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans”, as John Lennon once said.

Witchcraft is there for me to let go and relax. It is her I find my inner freedom and inspiration to live well spiritually with disorders and physical pain as the antagonists of my life story. It is my refuge from the world, when everything goes star crazy or I have had a couple of tough days.

When I have a good day, I turn to witchcraft out of love for the beauty of following the cycles of nature. When I have a bad day, I turn to witchcraft in search of spiritual healing with a feeling of awe. And as often I can, I turn to witchcraft due to my previous experiences with it.

To me it is easy to love witchcraft, it is as if it has always been there, a sort of safe haven to retreat to when the world once again seems arguing with itself without reason. Here it is allowed to be a free-thinker, and I love to meet kindred spirits from all over the world.

It tells me to be alert and attentive to pagan and alternative communities. There are – thank you Universe – interesting and inspiring people out there. So I also love witchcraft, when I´m writing with people, there is always room for a Blessed Be or a So Mote It Be.

So it is that today I write about my love to witchcraft instead of practicing anything but lighting my candle for this blog. I had many rituals last month, and I´m still trying to regain a little bit more energy. Things take time, at times.

Writing about why I love witchcraft is also a kind of magickal working to me. Then I´m able to mix two of my passions and to do it as a stream of consciousness where I physically have been doing the chores alone while writing in between. My husband has come down with the flu. So I made him a calming cup of tea.

Suitably enough, the weather has accompanied me with the sound of several strong cloudbursts throughout the day. For the first time this fall I´m wearing socks, longing for that Indian summer that hopefully will show up anytime soon, please, thank you, weather gods and goddesses.

It was as if the bad weather inspired me today. When I walked the old little wise dog in a less severe shower this afternoon, I had trouble concentrating enough behind the keyboard, but after that it has been like the words just came from out of nowhere and allowed me to focus on the direction of my thoughts.

To produce something worth reading, preferably more than once, is one thing. To make it magickal is a totally different story. It needs to be shown with the same passion as I feel it. And I need to practice both my writing and my work with witchcraft.

What I love about life would probably have been a better synopsis question for today´s post. Because I´m writing about my life, a story yet to be told but shimmering through here and there. A life filled with love, laughter, life changing experiences and writing about witchcraft.

But also a very troubled life from time to time. As everybody else in the world today. Just another voice among billions, it may well be so, but at least it´s mine and I´m proud to name myself both a witch and a writer without blushing at all.

So what I truly love about witchcraft is that it always is at hand, close up and in the present moment. Magick is not to buy for money, the same goes for love, friendship and common implied rules about treating others like you treat yourself. To be able to give before receiving.

Thus challenged for today, I´ll summarize what is to be expected in my next blog post about witchcraft on Friday September 13 2019 (Magickal Intentions). I´ll try to explain and show how to create magickal intentions from idea to written material.

An example : I need some positive energy to regain my strength from practicing many rituals last month. So I will write something like :

-“Dear Universe and Goddess of the Crones, Hecate, please aid me in regaining strength. By hard work and meditation I´ll build up my strength. By the Air that I breathe, the Fire that burns in my heart, the Water that runs in my blood, and the Earth that I walk upon, as I will it, So Mote It Be.”-

First I´ll light a candle in my sacred space. Then I´ll burn my note and light incense/use aromatherapy to clear the space for new workings. The whole process took less than 15 minutes to plan, arrange and simply enjoy.

Blog review, new title and new agendas

It came to me during this week. I need to do something about my blog that is a big risk. I need to change the name of my blog as soon as possible, because I can see from my writing that I write about more than witchcraft on a daily basis.

So the proper title for my blog is from Monday going to be “Daily witchcraft in a writer´s life”.

The risk of changing a name could be oh so many things. Well, I believe that my readers are tough enough for that. The same goes for the new agendas that I have planned for this blog during the month of September.

I want to continue to write about the process of writing, of building a blog and of witchcraft on a daily basis. But I want it to be more clearly stated in the titles and in the future content.

So my writing challenge next month is to produce 1-2 weekly blog posts about writing and building a blog on Mondays  and 1 weekly post about daily witchcraft on Fridays.

My challenge is also to listen to advice but take life a bit less seriously and try to write my own voice. It is a chaotic, wild goose chase, riding along in a roller coaster without brakes and clutch. It is my life in a nutshell and I´m proud of it.

I´ve been told to keep on writing, because there is something about them words. I´ve been told to try to trust my stream of consciousness, because there is something important going on. I´ve been told to break free from my anxiety and write as if I was born for just that.

So here it goes, from now on it is point of no return.

There will be new pages to discover, new daring entries into my world of witchcraft and of writing, and new stories to tell. Oh, did I forget, not to break the rule of showing not telling ? Well, I believe there are rules and then there is reality to me.

I´ll try my best to write my best possible English, but I may resonate a bit Danish from time to time. That is the biggest challenge in writing in a language different from that of one´s native. There will inevitably be some misspells and some minor grammar inconsistencies.

This is my way of introducing myself to you, dear reader, as a writer with a passion for witchcraft as well as for writing. I´ll try to show you how my daily life entangles with writing and witchcraft.

This is also my way of writing without strings attached. To actually sit down and use that keyboard, today to the thundering thrust of a fast beating set of drums and to the crying, howling, tearing riffs from a bass guitar.

Regarding new agendas I need to make a switch from the big rituals for a time and only refer to them when celebrating the Sabbats. They are filled with mystery and magick, but they also tend to demand rather lot of energy.

And my energy needs to be recharged by switching to my passion for writing. There is magick in writing too.

Today it is like riding a happy-go-lucky roller coaster with no other goal than trying my absolute best to make this post both worth reading and memorable.

The words flows from my heart and mind and my fingers dance across the keyboard. There is a mild late summer breeze cooling my body on one of the last lazy summer days. I have a cup of fresh brewed steaming hot coffee on my desk, my little wise dog and my husband sleeps on the couch next to me.

I have ear plugs in my ears, following the embracing rhythms of music as different as blues, classic rock and fast modern beats, and there is only me, the keyboard and the screen. I have put away my notes, and I´m just letting the mix between the words and the music that evokes them flow from my fingers.

This is a good, good day.

I have also made another decision. I do not intend to use any kind of money on this blog before I´m ready for just that. It needs to be put aside for a while, and I need to just write and just read. My goal/challenge about writing at least 500 words at a time needs to be raised to 1,000 words at a time.

Because today is going to make the whole difference. Today I also skipped a planned New Moon ritual and decided to write my New Moon intentions at my daily meditation tea ritual. Oops, did I just mix between the tenses on purpose ?

Well, a story to me tends to gain its own momentum, as the thoughts and ideas become visible on the screen or on the crazy amount of paper I use when writing. Whether that writing is for this or that. I love to write free style.

I have the world in my hands for a brief moment. So I kissed the muse and I like it.

The Northern Witch goes free style

So now the screen is white as ice, the letters on the keyboard concentrated and alert, the music is set and I need a break ???

Do I really know how to do this ? Do I really dare to write free style and about what ? Do I really want such writing to be for others to read ? Do I really have stories to tell ?

Yes, I do, yes we can, dear reader…

After a good long break outside and inside I feel like writing this free style project. Not necessarily a certain goal but writing something with a good feeling in it. Why do I want to be a writer ? Because that is what I can, write and write well too.

Because it is my passion, because it feels right, because I can´t help myself for doing it, I´m a writing addict.

I´ve always been writing something. There are so many things to be inspired from. There are so many conflicting archetypes to write about. There is so much crazy going on in this world that needs words to be truly understood.

Because the use of words is a powerful tool to handle, it is necessary to be critical both in reading and in writing. In a time of worse fake news than ever it is absolutely necessary to be able to distinguish plausible from ridiculous.

But on the other hand, I´m not afraid to raise my voice and speak my thoughts about both the big overwhelming issues and the everyday experiences in a world gone crazy a long time ago.

So therefore, at times, my pen is sharpened slightly more than average.

That happens especially when I´m caught with surprise or disbelief. When I fail to understand quite a few humans whose “reality” often is displayed openly in one reality show after another. Sorry to speak so frankly, but it is getting more boring and more tarred with the same brush than entertaining.

Or when I don´t manage to handle the way our powerful leaders dance around the golden calf rather than exercising humility towards their position. Where there is a democracy, they are elected by the people, and the prime project is to be of service to the people, who they are said to represent.

They are not, however, supposed to tend to their own wants before anything else. And they should try to live the life of ordinary people on the same conditions, because there are way too many of them that does not show what they tell.

There are far too many serious matters that need to be properly addressed in the world today to it to be fair to keep playing along as if they do not know that we, the people, already know their whereabouts and their self-overestimated behaviours.

Therefore it is more than ever important to keep writing, to keep speaking your mind and to keep up the spirit. People need to meet across borders, inner and outer walls, and lack of trust. We learn from above not to trust anybody, because those in charge are few to be trusted.

Lack of trust is difficult to the point of no return with me. Have I first lost my personal respect for something or someone, it is my definite decision to close my door permanently. When I say no, I mean it literally.

But it takes some moment of surprise and considerable range of disbelief, before I´m ready to rock the boat in my writing. I have seen my part of life and of how different people act according to what they say. I know my psychology well.

Most of the time I´m more contained with what the present moment has in store for me and my loved ones. This is where life is lived to its fullest every day, and nothing else matters. This is also my primary point of view for writing.

I prefer the simple life, where you get what you need, not necessarily everything you want. I´ve tried many different ways of life, but it is first in my grown-up years that I have realized that the Zen and the Tao directions fit well with my expectation to life as it is now.

So does witchcraft and many, many other traditions and beliefs. My beliefs consist of many paths not yet taken, because I can only research one part at a time. My path therefore is a mix of genres, of tenses and ways of life.

It evolves both from the inside and from the influence from others around me in my daily life. I think of my grand father on my mother´s side. He was a typographer and could both with a machine and by his own hands set up pages for the local news paper. Today it is all about web design.

He taught me to read and write before I even went to school. And he told me about life, taught me to never give up and how to deal with any problems. Head on, get it done and get over it. Go to the top chair and let the natural order of any hierarchy follow gravity downwards.

Tell the person in that chair that with the chair follows responsibility, humility and respect. Can you not live up to those simple rules, then you are not fit for the task representing that chair. How to get the person in that chair to respond with positivity is either chance or knowledge of their own medicine, law. Or both.

I know, I´ve already been there for quite a few years now. But the victory is a bittersweet one, because the price for all that is a life with early retirement and absolute no trust left for any kind of system that either yells or laughs at the same people it is put into this world to defend and care for.

To remind me of always to be on the lookout for new surprises and disbeliefs. To remind me to write with a positive outlook at all times. And to remind me of my promise to myself about not compromising myself.

These are 5 New Moon intentions for me to work with in the new Moon cycle :

• To develop my blog with care and to show my readers what I want and need to do with it.
• To develop my writing by learning from other writers and to write from the bottom of my heart and soul.
• To develop my passion for witchcraft into a daily way of life that makes room for diversity and everyday mundane life which is the absolute basis for anything I do.
• To work less with the big rituals and concentrate on establishing a reasonable daily practice.
• To keep up the learning process preparing for my fourth year as a witch

What to expect in September 2019

• Monday September 2 2019 : What I love about writing
• Friday September 6 2019 : What I love about witchcraft
• Monday September 9 2019 : Good writing advice I like to use
• Friday September 13 2019 : Magickal intentions
• Monday September 16 2019 : How it is to run a blog in 2019
• Friday September 20 2019 : Living after the phases of the Moon and the Sabbats
• Monday September 23 2019 : Today´s stream of consciousness and Mabon Sabbat/Autumn Equinox ritual
• Friday September 27 2019 : Writing as a witch
• Monday September 30 2019 : A session from first person point of view and what to expect in October 2019

This is a rough plan for September 2019. There may very well be more post during the weeks depending on my well-being and writing abilities. If so, I´ll update this post accordingly, so there all the time is something written to rely on.

My plans also include to keep my deadlines. It has been some troubled weeks this month, because my anxiety and my osteoarthritis have been nagging me more often than I had expected. Therefore some of the posts in August was published later than planned.

But as it is for now, it is getting better day by day.

It is also getting easier to plan and create blog content. I`m learning to make content both planned and on the spot. It was a good and reasonable decision to change blog name, blog content and blog looks. The latter have to wait until I´m good and ready for working with the technicalities.

During the next week I´ll be trying to create pages for blog writing, writing in general and witchcraft. I´ll also try to make some technical improvements on the blog, if I can manage it myself. I need to have a really good day both mentally, physically and spiritually before working with any kind of modern technology.

And this, dear reader, is approximately 2500 words delivered on time on a Friday in 2019. This is as good as it gets today, and I hope it was worth reading and showed what I´m about to do with this blog and why.

Show, not tell. Yes, it is necessary to write for all the senses in a reader. Sometimes some telling is appropriate too, I believe, however.

The picture today shows my philosophical feline Ozzy at a favourite place close to me when I´m writing. I did it. I wrote more than 2,000 words today. I have had a great time behind the keyboard today, because everything just felt right.

May your weekend be filled with sun and joy of life, dear reader. May you be blessed with bliss in your everyday life. May any problems be easily solved. May we merry part for now and merry meet on Monday evening around 11 p.m. CET. So Mote It Be.

Waning Quarter Moon Ritual

I chose to make an intention for the Dark Moon coming up here just before New Moon next week. It was about releasing anxiety about writing, banishing of negativity from past experiences, and letting go of unnecessary doubt. It just felt right to do that.

I called upon three Crone Goddesses, Hecate, Cerridwen and Kali to help speed my message to the Universe. And when laying the Tarot spread about shadow work I felt inspired to do something about exactly that as one of my goals for the week to come.

After reading my intention aloud, I burned the paper in a fireproof container and poured water over it and it is to be poured out around a tree tomorrow morning. The spell should work through the night as well, because I truly needed to let go of quite a few attachments that had become unavoidable lately.

And I prefer to do that in the night where everybody else is sleeping and the only sound is the fridge and the TV in the background with an episode of Midsummer Murders. Then it feels okay to do shadow work, if I have had a pleasant day before that night. I had a good day today.

So I´ll finish the night with some writing on shadow aspects of me. That is a private journal for my eyes only. As are my writing on journal prompts. Unless I happen to write something extraordinary good. Then I´ll use it to write here on this blog. Or perhaps even write the book of my life.

The idea with a Waning Quarter Moon ritual is also to celebrate what has been achieved during the Moon´s phases from New to Full Moon. It is to re-assess ideas, to search for something to work for in the next cycle and to release anything that no longer serves me.

We celebrated my work with my 6 New Moon intentions with a bonfire in the garden after the ritual. And here we also released many feelings and past hardship. It comes around a couple of times of year, and then it is best to act on it by this way of showing that life goes on whatever shows up on the path.

My 6 New Moon intentions were to grow my blog slowly, to master my anxiety, to celebrate my life experience, to study witchcraft more, to be more creative and to release more negativity. I have reached my goals for this period of time, and now it is time to set new intentions on the New Moon ritual next Friday.

These intentions will most probably concern my passion for writing, because there is so much going on in me about how I would like to be able to write. The witchcraft part of me is also struggling to be heard in the midst of this. I still need to learn more about magickal oils so that I can use what I already have in rituals.

Daily Tea Meditation Ritual

Clear and clean your sacred space. Make a cup/pot of your favourite tea. Pick your special cup and whatever comes in handy and significant to the intention of the meditation ritual.

To me it is to relax and to heal with a good book close by, some calming music and an inspiring atmosphere from incense/oil burners.

I always bring a notebook and a pen, just in case inspiration strikes for some writing. I also include a small decorative altar cloth, scented candles, crystals  and my aromatherapy blend/fragrance for the intention behind, be it physical, mental or spiritual.

Make sure to be undisturbed, turn off the cell phone (unless you are going to use it to listen to inspirational music) and the TV. Set an egg timer for 20 minutes, if you need to, more if it appeals to you and you have the time for it.

And sit/lie down as comfortable as you can. This is your time, dear reader, make good use of it. Calm your breath and meditate upon what comes into your mind or what you have planned for the day. Remember to write down good ideas and thoughts.

The goal of this is to relax the mind, the body and the soul. We live in stressful times, so every attempt to regain energy is of great importance. And 20 minutes at a time is not much time, but it is enough to calm down and do some well-deserved grounding.

I have the time to meditate for up to an hour, because I´m early retired due to both physical and mental ailments. And I do it as often as possible, because it especially relieves my anxiety. But I often use meditation for concentration purposes as well.

At first, it took me quite some to time to calm my breathing enough to be able to concentrate only on the purpose of the meditation ritual, which to me is to relax and read on a daily basis. But after some attempts, I quickly got up to first 5 minutes, then 10 and so on.

Today I only need to get my grip together and just go in my witch´s den and actually do some meditation and reading. Therefore, my plan this week has been to go in there, no matter how bad or good my day may be. And it has been a thrill.

Beginning Sunday afternoon it has become a new daily witchy ritual to me. I finished a book and I got things written down that I would not have done, had it not been for the daily tea meditation ritual. Day by day I picked what I found relevant to the ritual.

Then suddenly, without warning, there it was, my essential oil jasmine. I´ve been looking for it for a couple of months, now it felt as the Universe had put it there for some reason. It brings me to my plan to make my own aromatherapy blends for anxiety and menopause.

Shopping trip with a special person and aromatherapy

Tuesday I went with my sweet neighbour to a shopping center in a bigger town with more people than were I live my daily life. We had a great time, sharing thoughts and going shopping for the both the pleasure of that and for practical reasons.

I have all the essential oils, but I needed new bottles for the blends and a measuring syringe to measure the carrier oil correctly. Wednesday my fingers would not cooperate, so my husband helped me in the process of making aromatherapy blends for my menopause and anxiety problems.

My aromatherapy blends for menopause and anxiety, with 35 ml sweet almond oil as carrier oil , because it is also highly usable for massage purposes, are (remember to shake the bottle before use) :

• Menopause : 2 drops clary sage (anti-stress), 2 drops geranium (to soothe symptoms), 3 drops rose (for general well-being) per 10-15 ml carrier oil,
• Anxiety : 2 drops bergamot (balance emotions), 2 drops rose (for confidence), 2 drops ylang ylang (to calm down) per 10-15 ml carrier oil.

After trying the blends myself by inhalation I had only a few minor anxiety attacks and no irritating menopause symptoms on the first day. And as you can see on the picture below, it also ended up with a daily tea meditation ritual after making the blends. The intention that day was to read about writing.

Now I only need to apply the blends to pillows, handkerchiefs and oil burners and use them on a daily basis. I like to use my knowledge and to DIY. So this opportunity was also suitable to conquer my creative block that has been nagging me for quite some time.

I can highly recommend the use of essentials oils, with care however, because they are strong and need to be diluted in either oil or water before use. I prefer to use demineralised water when diluting oils for e.g. room sprays and oil burners, and sweet almond or grape seed oil when making blends for my ailments.

But I also strongly recommend regular contact with your general practitioner concerning any health issue, as I see essential oils as a supplement only to correct prescription medicine and only when the condition is under some sort of control. Your health is too important to take risks.

When I make aromatherapy blends I always try to compose a mind stimulating and calming atmosphere in the blends. In other words, I try to infuse my blends with  positivity, because I need it to be become able to live a peaceful life. And I only use small portions of essential oils, because they can be expensive at times.

Therefore, I have bought a collection of 20 common essential oils so that I only have to buy supplementary oils on the rare occasion that I´m not content with what I already have. I plan to renew my collection every second year. And to renew my aromatherapy blends, as long as they are helpful to me.

Reflections on this week´s reading about writing

My writing adventure this week has been truly ecclectic, since I have begun my writer´s notebook with lists of overused words, such as very, and because I´ve been studying different perspectives on core issues like first, second and third person point of view (and my point of view here).

Now I need to write myself and leave the advice to grow in my mind. I am inspired by many an author, so to choose to read A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway and to buy On Writing by Stephen King is to love to learn to write better each time with hard work and many hours ahead of me writing.

Writing and reading are true passion to me. I have a natural gift to easily pick my words, and I like the feeling of a well written book in my hands. If not reading books, then there is always another blog post somewhere in the Universe that speaks to me. And if not writing here, then there is always the note book.

Or a hastily scribbled sentence on a random piece of paper, the ever-recurring yearly and so mundane diary/calendar, and all sorts of big, medium and small books/binders. I always find my way to write, despite regular attacks of writer´s block anxiety. I need more organization, however.

I need to do physical writing exercises with as many journal prompts as possible. The more I write, the more I learn. And I continue not to edit my first draft before it is written in full length. But I need to discipline myself on writing. I write when inspired, often in the late hours, where everybody else is at sleep.

So my plan for next week´s New Moon ritual is to write down my intentions about writing that I would like to work with during the next couple of months. And to make good use of all my notes and actually get some writing done that is worth reading by others than myself.

I really need to let go of some steam, some irrelevant anxiety and some feelings of self-doubt, knowing that not only have I a natural gift for writing, I also have all the necessary facilities for me to actually do something I love to do, write. Therefore, a bonfire in the garden after a ritual is necessary for me to release old energy.

So there is only one way forward, and that is practice, practice, practice. To sit day every day and write for the sake of it. No more fear from the infamous writer´s block ? I prefer to call it controlled fear now, because I believe it has to tickle a bit in my guts when writing.

There has to some incentive for spending so many hours contemplating what to write next and how to get pass the inner doubts of not being good enough. And that incentive is the feeling of wholeness after having written something good.  

Conclusions after a long week

It has been a busy week. But I managed to achieve all of my goals. What about that something extra that I referred to in last week´s post ? Well, it is as good as it gets. It is my inspiration at this moment right before publishing that I truly can contemplate on what I have learned this week.

I have learned to trust my inner gut feeling and to control my anxiety with strong will and some aromatherapy. I have discovered that fear of writing is to master, if you only keep on trying to write that little extra that makes the whole difference.

And I have been taught by many a good writer during the week that writing is a tough discipline where you never get to old to learn new perspectives. Last, but not least, I have found that I need to write at least one blog post a week, reserving the maybe-posts for my thoughts during the week.

So this has also been a tough week with many thoughts and ideas about writing, whereas the witchcraft part of it has been my daily tea meditation ritual. I did plan the ritual on the day this time, which to me is a victory of today. Today began tired, it ends with joy and contentment.

I have actually managed two weeks in a row to write 2,500 words worth reading more than once. It speaks of time worth the efforts. Hard work does pay off. I feel free and happy, because now I´m no longer afraid of writing. I just sit down and do it. Instead of talking about doing it.

I´m also proud that I have begun a writer´s notebook. Now there is no excuse to not write down ideas and thoughts when they arise rather than wishing I had done it. All the reading this week has awoken something deep inside me. The need to write and the love of doing it.

My passion about witchcraft remains intact, and it was fun and creative to make my own aromatherapy blends and to feel on my own person that it has a noticeable effect. It is definitely something to try more of in the future. And speaking of that, the Tarot cards today showed me it is time for change.

Besides a New Moon ritual, a Black Moon it is, when there are two New Moons in a calendar month, next week´s post will contain what to expect for September 2019 on this blog. And, of course, my interest in writing will be a recurring theme.

As for now, my writing for the remains of the day will be of a private character, because I need to do some shadow work before bedtime. Blessed Be, dear reader, may your week be joyful and full of positivity. May your days be blessed with the absence of problems and sorrows. So Mote It Be.

Having a blog for a whole month now is still something completely new to me. I´m just beginning my journey as a writer as well. So at the same time, I´m my own editor and my own webmaster.

Therefore, there will inevitably be some mistakes along the way. I´m not in a hurry, however. The purpose of this blog is not to earn money alone, nor is it only about witchcraft.

There have to be some space for me as a real person as well. It may well be that I thereby do not meet the demands of today about how to run a blog.

I need to be allowed to learn in my own pace, I need to write blog post without pictures as well as the beautiful ones. I want to learn this process step by step, not rushing in without thinking about what I really want for this blog.

Today it is a rainy day, both on the weather front and inside of me. Just one of those days, where I have to write even though I´m not comfortable physically.

As I have worked with blog posts every day during this last month, I´ve learned that it will be good to try to write less, but longer posts that are more trimmed for the sake of you, dear reader.

So to be expected in August 2019 are the following posts :

• August 2 : Weekly Witchcraft, Lammas Sabbat and New Moon Ritual
• August 9 : Waxing Quarter Moon Ritual
• August 16 : Full Moon Ritual
• August 23 : Waning Quarter Moon Ritual
• August 30 : New Moon Ritual and what to expect in September 2019

I want to learn as long as I live. And with both witchcraft and this blog, I´m achieving just that.

It is so rewarding and life-affirming to try something new and choose the road not taken. And I need to be hungry as a writer, before I can write something worth reading.

So in order to achieve that I´ve decided only to write once a week for the next month. It is also, because I´m having my 81 years old father on a 5 day long visit the coming week, and I would like some offline time with him.

And because I need to study this blogging something. There are so many new things to learn, and to be as thorough as possible I need to prepare myself a little bit by achieving new knowledge and trying to make it work in the real world out here, where there is a thin line between subtlety and re-write, re-write, re-write.

Besides, studying how to blog, I´m also in a writer´s block situation. I need some inspiration from other sources. And I need my daily practice with witchcraft.

So for the rest of today, I´ll be preparing my Lammas Sabbat and my New Moon ritual for tomorrow night.

August is a month of many rituals, 5 to be specific, because rituals is so important to me in my daily work with witchcraft. It is here that I truly get to feel the magick close up.

Therefore, the big rituals will be the theme for the coming weeks. Later this fall I´ll post a series on mini rituals suited for working with witchcraft on a daily basis.

A Book of Shadows or a grimoire should never be static and just look nice. It is a personal tool meant for use.

Building it up can take some time, but then one day everything is in the right order, and even the decorative part is done.

What next ?

To work with it every day. But how ?

I am a witch with nearly 3 years of experience. I have a Book of Shadows in 3 ring binders, but nevertheless I´ll never finish it. It is an ongoing process and it is a daily joy to work with it.

Because even with everything on the right spot, I´ll always be curious to see what´s next to learn. Because there is magick everywhere in it, no matter what page I look at. And because now the true fun part has just begun.

Then to work with a Book of Shadows on a daily basis becomes as natural as getting out of bed in the morning.

The fun part of working with a Book of Shadows every day is that it is possible to use correspondences crisscrossing it, it is easy to plan a spell/a ritual, and it is a personal journal to care for.

I am inspired by the way The Witch of Lupine Hollow lists 100 prompts for working with your grimoire on a daily basis.

So at current moment, when I´m not writing on this blog, planning a ritual or living my mundane life as well, I work with the following 7 great ideas from the Witch of Lupine Hollow :

1. Zodiac signs during the year (Spring/Aries, Taurus and Gemini, Summer/Cancer, Leo and Virgo, Fall/Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, and Winter/Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. I write down signs of energy from them in my Book of Shadows.
2. Researching the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess and associated goddesses and see, if and where they are represented in my Book of Shadows.
3. Plans for the new year concerning new ideas and new techniques to study.
4. How the Crone Goddess manifests in my life. I´m becoming a Crone, so this aspect has my keen interest at the moment.
5. Drawing my natal chart with planets, signs and houses.
6. List of music with magickal or spiritual atmosphere.
7. Exploring manifestation of the four elements in my life.

If not researching new ideas and collecting correspondences for my next ritual, then I occasionally decorate my Book of Shadows with drawings, envelopes with herbs, charm bags and amulets.

To me it is as essential a tool as can be. Here I keep my whole world of belief, my everyday joy about magick.

But it would not be so, were if not that I practice twice as much as I work with my Book of Shadows. And it is the mix between chosen guidelines and free practice that I love so much about magick and about witchcraft.

And last, but not least ; What to Expect in August 2019 will tomorrow be combined with my review of the first month with a blog. It has been a long journey, but I got there. And I plan to stay.

I call myself a grey witch, because life is not black and white. The shadows are everywhere. And to fully understand myself and my surroundings I believe that I need to be able to work with both the light and the darker side of things.

To me making a curse is not the intention for anything else but self protection. But I do try to push negative energy back to its sender, where it belongs. That´s typically when I´m doing jar spells with a pinch of hoodoo as well.

These sections of my Book of Shadows are yet to be organized, so that they also are incorporated in my work with witchcraft. I do it little by little, because I only work with this and shadow work in general, when I´m feeling really good.

• 143 Demons And Spirits
• 144 Hoodoo

Demons And Spirits : Although I try not to summon what I cannot dispel, I study demons and spirits. I like to know what I´m dealing with should a situation arise that I was not prepared for. It also makes me feel better with my own inner demons, because I dare to face them, especially when I´ve read about e.g. hellhounds. If the goddess Hecate can live with her dogs, so can I face my inner fears and stand up to them.

I have experienced a couple of times when there suddenly came a sort of cold in the house, and everything just felt wrong. Then I quickly light a candle and say a protection prayer, I toss salt around my house, and I make the atmosphere as positive as possible afterwards. Should I experience it during a ritual, I would immediately close the circle and make a full house cleansing.

Hoodoo : A pinch of a very old tradition is always neat. It spices up the work with witchcraft, and I only use it to strengthen a spell of protection or in shadow work.

I believe there are demons as well as there are angels. To me it is two sides of the same coin, as we as humans both have positive and negative traits. The key is to be able to live a balanced life and to avoid excess.

And I am used to work with spirits, since I do a lot of ancestor work in order to find my own path to walk.

I´m not foreign to the darker aspects of life, which means that I work with my inner demons instead of fighting them. I prefer to be able to handle things rather than living my life on other conditions than my own.

This concludes my series on my Book of Shadows.

Now it is time to something practical. One thing is to have tools, a huge amount of correspondences, texts, and knowledge. If not used to something, why keep it ?

So tomorrow will be a guided tour about how I work with a Book of Shadows on a daily basis.

Today has been too hot, too long and too much. This is an arthritis day, a bipolar day, a day for pain, inner stress and restlessness. No anxiety, thank you so very much, dear Universe, just worn physically and mentally out.

I´ve been busy doing as little as possible, including writing. Sometimes less is more. this is about tips and tricks in witchcraft. This is advice from a becoming Crone.

• 134 Magickal Tips
• 135 Advice

Magickal Tips : My collection of tips for working with witchcraft is simple, it contains my ideas for making the practical part about this special path possible on a strict budget. Will in the future play a much more active role, because I plan to make recurring post about the little tweaks and turns that a witch with time learn to be able to practice even with as little as a lit candle, a bowl of salt, a bowl of water, and a feather found on the ground.

That represents Fire, Earth, Water and Air, the four elements and is enough to call to the elements and cast a magickal circle.

Advice : My advice is always direct, simple and easy to understand. I use what I have at hand. I plan my way through my need for knowledge and practical experience, so I have something to compare my results with.

After all, a solitary witch walks his or her path alone. An ecclectic, solitary witch reads a lot, writes a lot. And an ecclectic, solitary, cottage witch needs some level of organization, and that is what kind of witch I am.

Third, but not least, I practice, practice, practice. If not used to something, what is knowledge then worth in itself ? Isn´t it what you really want to do ? To be a witch is also to discipline yourself and act with respect for what you are dealing with.

And this and no more is what I can empower myself to do today. I´ll light a healing white candle, be as comfortable as possible and turn in for the day.