Time to manifest intentions from New Moon

Today I´m busy planning my solitary ritual for the Waxing Quarter Moon on Tuesday July 9th.

I have looked on my intentions from the New Moon ritual on July 2nd. And I´ve been busy learning about making a both readable and profitable blog. Oh yes, everybody needs some money from time to time, and I´m no different from that. Living on a budget is to be creative in many ways to make ends meet.

Now it´s time to put some effort into trying to realize and manifest my wishes. It is hard work, however, since there is so much new knowledge to take in.

Therefore I´m going to celebrate another of the Moon´s 8 phases, the Waxing or First Quarter Moon. It is on the 7th day of this new moon cycle, and here I´ll work with my goals of creating a great blog and a small extra income.

I will need to create a ritual concerning my personal growth, some money drawing and development of new talents, such as getting organized with all the behind-the-scenes work that sometimes is a bit too mundane for my taste, but that´s life as it is.

So in order to meet new challenges I´m going solitude this time. It will be the first real-life tryout for me, because I´m on one way a solitary witch, but on most occasions my husband or my neighbours participates in my rituals.

Since I´m also a cottage witch, I´ll use herbs and crystals in my ritual. I keep my herbs in the kitchen cabinet, and I use whatever is available. To me the most important “herb” and “crystal” is the seed of inspiration and the glimpse of a possible future, so even though you live on a budget, it is possible to work with witchcraft.

As it is my 3rd year as a witch, I´ve gathered a nice collection of dried herbs, and my husband grows sage, thyme and rosemary for me in our garden. I´ve also a nice collection of crystals, but less can still do and you can use some pebbles, if the money flow is low. What ever speaks to you is a good choice.

I´m also busy learning to run a blog. And there is a whole world of possibilities out there, it´s just about getting started and try and try and try along the way.

My goals are long-term, and there will be days, when everything is too much. But then again, with a positive outlook, there are always words to be written.

It´s a passion to me to write. I like the sound of the fingers dancing over the keyboard. I like to share my knowledge and my ideas. And I like to try to write something that I personally would read again,

I use music both in writing and in witchcraft. It depends on many aspects. In writing I need some action, some speed, some happiness. And in witchcraft I look for music that calms, that soothes, that relaxes.

To manifest intentions is to work both mentally and physically. There will be no results without working for them. It takes quite a lot of self-discipline and faith.

But to manifest is to act upon wishes, aspirations and hopes.

And the best tool for that is yourself, your drive, your enthusiasm. It is about doing, not talking. And it is about reflection upon your true passions.

A quiet evening ritual

Incense smoke from orange flowers, lit gold candles and beautiful calming music in my ears…

Just a small, quiet evening ritual in order to cultivate my intentions from the New Moon ritual 4 days ago. It´s getting closer to Waxing Quarter Moon on Tuesday July 9th, where I plan to make a solitude ritual.

It´s time to work on my intentions so that they hopefully can be transformed into reality.

So I´ve been spending the day doing mundane things and learning more about how to keep a blog interesting and inspiring. Taking it easy, though, since I´m not in a hurry.

It takes time to learn and to incorporate it into a daily practice. It demands patience to research witchcraft and to keep on writing each day. And it can be a lonely place to be, when everything is new, and you don´t know where to begin.

But it is worth the efforts, especially if you take the necessary time to take care of yourself. Some lit candles, perhaps scented, a little bit of incense, a nice cup of tea or whatever your favourite drink may be, and some music, bells, drums or silence.

And you are winning that day. Celebrate the small victories and claim your day. Then even the worst of days seems tolerable.

This little evening ritual was made during the time it took to gather the ingredients and light candles and incense.

Have a nice evening, dear reader, and remember to seize the day. So Mote It Be !

Orange flower incense and golden candles to attract prosperity

Book of Shadows

First of all, let me point out that there are as many ways of creating and working with a Book of Shadows as there are magickal people. Therefore, I do recommend that your make your Book of Shadows suitable for you and nobody else, since it is you who are going to work with it.

For a thorough examination of what a Book of Shadows or a grimoire is, I would like to recommend The Witch of Lupine Hollow ( https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/483574078733958147/), where there is a link to her site), who has inspired me to work more focused with my Book of Shadows, so it is integrated in my daily work with witchcraft.

My choice is a mix between handwritten and printed material. I have multiple Book of Shadows and ritual books, because I work both online and offline. I have handwritten notes, rituals, spells and a lot more than that. But in order to keep myself on the right path for practical work with a Book of Shadows, I´ve also by necessity and to be able to get in touch with like-minded people a Book of Shadows on my laptop, on my cellphone and on Pinterest. Then I have a Ritual Book of the Year, where I record all my ritual workings and ritual books for sabbats and spells.

So you see, I have a pretty busy schedule when working with my Book of Shadows.

My Book of Shadows is structured like this (for my Book of Shadows on Pinterest click : https://www.pinterest.dk/thenorthernwitch/ ) :

  • 1-8 The Book Of Shadows (ideas for a Book of Shadows, index for my online boards and my physical ring binders, history of witchcraft, shadow work and ethical rules). It also includes good examples of work sheets, ideas for colouring pages and links to nice resources online.
  • 9-23 Traditions And The Old Ways (old traditions and inspiration)
  • 24-31 Mythology And Folklore (the deity world and different beliefs
  • 32-35 Spirituality (spiritual guidance, angels and the fairy world)
  • 36-51 Divination 1 (different kinds of divination)
  • 52-57 Divination 2 The Tarot (Tarot and divination)
  • 58 Divination 3 Lenormand (Lenormand and divination)
  • 59-78 The Northern Witch´s Den (the daily cottage witch)
  • 79-97 Correspondences (correspondences, familiars and spirit animals, symbols and sigils)
  • 98-107 Sabbats (the Wheel of the Year)
  • 108-115 The Moon (all about the Moon)
  • 116- 120 Spellcasting (the art and magick of casting spells)
  • 121-133 Rituals (rituals and practical stuff)
  • 134-135 Witchy Tips (good ideas and a collection of advice)
  • 136-142 Creative Magick (affordable witchy art and inspiration)
  • 143-144 The Grey (between white and dark is the shadows, I´m a grey witch)

I develop it on an ongoing basis, because as with everything else in witchcraft, in my opinion, it is an evolving process that never stops. We are never too old or too young to learn something new or something old.

My Book of Shadows or grimores

My Book of Shadows is my life line to my daily magickal practice. I use it to plan rituals and spells, to record my personal journey in witchcraft and my Tarot spreads and for many, many other purposes.

I keep it close to my ritual altar, because it and my understanding of what magick and witchcraft can be are the basic tools in any of my magickal workings.

In a future post I´ll return to the subject of magickal tools. There are as many possibilities as there are creative ideas. It is easy to buy, but it is also both magickal and fun to try to make your own tools. And it´s up to you what you need, as long as you remember that the most important tools in any kind of witchcraft is yourself and your intentions with your magickal workings.

Becoming a Crone…

Maiden, Mother, Crone. 3 stages in a woman´s life. Corresponding for the male readers it is the Boy, the Man and the Elder (www.TheOrganicWitch.com).

I´m now 10 days from my 50th birthday. So I´ve passed the gates for a maiden and a mother (3 cats and a dog). And now I´m about to enter the stage of the Crone. The elder, wise woman, who know a couple of things that most people have lost their connection to in this hectic modern world of today.

Becoming a Crone is not an easy path at all. Nothing else in my life has been easy, however, so I´m well prepared for this. This time I´m going to enjoy every step of the way.

Because I feel free, grateful and happy. All my fears have been reduced to tangible things to handle in due time and not a moment before that.

I still have many fears, but my work with witchcraft has been a channel of release from the past. Now I dare to face even my most terrifying inner fear, because when I face it, it becomes a little bit easier to handle the consequences of it.

Living in the moment is the only answer.

And one key to being able to actually live in the present moment is to realize that not all gold that shines is worth the work.

To be happy and content with what you already have. To only wish for what you truly need, not every whim and desire. And to be grateful just to be alive.

Another is to take good care of your health and your dreams. Always with a positive outlook, which will boost every confidence.

Becoming a Crone is fun, though. I still feel young, I´ve learned to live with my mental wounds and my physical back disorder, gained by an exiting, ever flexible life, and hard work around the golden calf.

So, oh yes, I´ve been there. I once thought I was not good enough. I did all the right things, I was told to do. But did it get me further than where I am today, did it make me happier, did I hit the golden jackpot ?

No. It frustrated me, it haunted me, it laughed at me.

Today, I think different, money is a means of survival in a modern world, but not my one and only desire. And people around me need to be free spirited, since I´m a free-thinker, a heretic, a pagan, a witch. And I´m proud of it.

I despise any kind of constraints, limits and expectations that come from bigotry, hatred and fake news.

So sometimes my pen is sharpened, although in person I´m quite easy-going.

Becoming a Crone is also followed by a wealth of knowledge that I look forward in sharing with you. Tomorrow I will therefore show you my interpretation of a Book of Shadows, which to me is essential in order to keep track of journals, inspirational material and spells and rituals etc.

Akasha – the fifth element

When speaking of the fifth element, I think of Akasha as the glue that fits all the pieces together in this big puzzle called life. I believe there are natural forces beyond human touch, and nature is my “church”.

And we are a part of them, even though only infinity knows how to rule them together with the Universe.

But getting closer than that is impossible to me. We are not supposed to know everything all the time. Thank the gods and goddesses for that.

The keywords for Akasha are :

  • Center, universal directions, the pentagram, to walk the path
  • Consciousness and mystery, space and source of all energy
  • Binding the elements together (balance)
  • The human aura, new paths and harmony
  • Inner life, infinity, the inner voice, clairrecognizance
  • Animal spirits : the sphinx,the white buffalo and mythological creatures
  • Western Zodiac : the Major Arcana
  • Divination : all or no Zodiacs
  • Divination : all kinds or no kinds
  • Crown Chakra, Third Eye Chakra
  • The upper part of the pentagram
  • Out of time, the Wheel of the Year, path activities
  • Pentacle, cord
The Pentagram and the Elements and Akasha

The element of Earth

Gigantic forces are at play when volcanoes erupt and earth quakes shatter our world as we used to know it. At the same time, it is gently sustaining our physical needs.

The keywords for that are :

  • North, soil/salt, to be silent
  • Perseverance and stability, practicality and reason
  • Prosperity, foundations and renewal
  • Responsibility, growth and nutrition
  • Health, restoring energy, tasting and clairsentience
  • Manifestation, authority, creativity
  • Animal spirits : the wolf, the stag and the buffalo
  • Western zodiac : Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
  • Divination : Tarot suit of Pentacles
  • Root Chakra
  • Lower right on pentagram
  • Midnight, night, grounding activities
  • Pentacle, crystals, boline, herbs
A bowl of salt resonates with the element of Earth

The element of Water

Soaring, all-destructive waves during a tsunami or a cooling feeling all over the body after a bath in the sea. Water knows no borders when first pressured to the breaking point. But Water also carries all our hopes and fears, and it heals when least expected, as tears releases our emotions from falling apart when we feel sad about some kind of loss.

For Water, the keywords are :

  • West, bowl of water, to dare
  • Emotions and dreams, fertility and compassion
  • Attunement to change
  • Empathy, purification and balance
  • Relationships, trust, peace
  • Sensitivity, the unconscious, taste and clairsentience
  • Cycle of life, death and rebirth
  • Animal spirits : the salmon, the bear and the dolphin
  • Western Zodiac : Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio
  • Divination : Tarot suit of Cups
  • Sacral Chakra
  • Upper right on pentagram
  • Evening, sunset, twilight, reflective activities
  • Chalice, cauldron, mirror, cups
A cauldron with water is connected to the element of Water

The element of Fire

Raging, roaring flames around a piece of wood in a bonfire or the enigma of life energy arising after a devastating fire in the forests. That is the element of Fire, dear reader.

And my keywords are as follows :

  • South, candle, to will
  • Passion and courage, willpower and strength
  • Determined transformation
  • Confidence, empowerment and banishing negativity
  • Illumination, destruction and desire
  • Cleansing, healing. sight and clairvoyance
  • Realistic dreams
  • Animal spirits : the phoenix, the dragon and the lion
  • Western Zodiac : Aries, Leo and Sagittarius
  • Divination : Tarot suit of Wands
  • Heart Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra
  • Lower left on pentagram
  • Midday, noon, transformative activities
  • Wand, censer, sword, altar candle
Candles symbolize the element of Fire

The element of Air

This is my interpretation of this intangible element. Its powers are mighty, it can either refresh your thoughts on a cloudy day or tear your world apart as you knew it when a storm is hurling around all corners of it.

The following keywords is my way of working with elemental magick and the best possible tool is a compass. Because Air like the other elements is associated with the cardinal directions, and if you learn to use a compass (diy on e.g. Pinterest) you can always find your corners when casting your magickal circle, if you do use the circle in your workings) :

  • East, smoke, to know
  • Intellect and wisdom, communication and inspiration
  • Needs, not wants
  • Thinking, concentration and imagination
  • Intuition, knowledge and memory
  • New beginnings, clarity, hearing and clairaudience
  • Messages from the Universe, sky, Sun and Moon, fairies
  • Animal spirits : the eagle, the raven and the butterfly
  • Western Zodiac : Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
  • Divination : Tarot suit of Swords
  • Throat Chakra
  • Upper left on pentagram
  • Dawn, morning, sunrise, outside activities
  • Athame, incense, bell, broom, feather

As I´m writing, the weather has not changed for the better. So I´ll put on an extra shirt and some socks, and then I´ll serve a pot of fresh coffee to my husband and offer my little wise dog a treat, because it is his 9th birthday today. Happy birthday, little dog.

Tomorrow I´ll continue working with the elements, this time Fire, where there is a split second between fury and rebirth, Water, which has both awesome powers and soothing qualities, and Earth, where the distance between disruption and the feeling of being grounded is very short. And last, but not least, I´ll bind the elements together with the fifth element, Akasha or Spirit.

Feathers symbolize the element of Air

Working with the elements

Today, the weather is arguing with itself about whether it should be like summer or like a touch of autumn. As the Wheel of the Year turns, we also turn ourselves.

I´m a bit tired, but still happy and full of inner peace. I feel rich, because I´m pretty okay, both in the mundane world and here with you, dear reader. It is a major success to me, because I´m still recovering from the roller coaster of life. Everybody gets hurt, everybody gets inner scars. With a positive outlook it can be turned into something beautiful and useful.

Life experience does not have to be counted in physical years alone. What matters is what the experience means to you in your daily life. And how you act on it.

My physical, mental and spiritual health is very important to me. As a Crone, feeling grounded is alfa and omega. Because if that part is okay, then the rest of me is too.

And I prefer at any time kindness as my way of greeting the world and Mother Earth.

Today and the next couple of days, you will get to know my interpretation of the elements and spirit. I believe in four elements and in spirit or Akasha, as I prefer to call it.

Feeling grounded resonates of Earth. But today I´m going to focus on the element of Air.

I began this post by mentioning the typical Danish summer weather. Sometimes beautiful. Sometimes unpredictable. It´s a bit windy today as well, and I´m pondering about making a spell including a little bit of weather magic.

On my Pinterest profile ( https://www.pinterest.dk/thenorthernwitch/ ) , go to the board The Northern Witch´s Den, section 59, Weather Magick. There you´ll find some related pins from like-minded people.

Perhaps catching the wind in a rope, which has very old roots…

But since I´m a witch living in a mundane world, there are certain to do´s so I´ll be back with some reflections on the element of Air, which to me is mighty power, fiery rage, sweet cooling breeze and dry hazy summer days. And corresponding to the East (Northern Hemisphere), where the Sun rises in the morning.

Tonight´s ritual

The candles are snuffed. The room is darkening, and my cats are now playing and sitting in the windowsill. Listening to whatever cats may listen to, but looking so philosophical as only cats can do.

The ritual is long gone, but my last reflections for the day will contain a quote that I read some time ago (author unknown to me at present moment). which ever since has been and is a daily inspiration to me, my family and my friends. So here we go, enjoy :

“Happiness is the new rich. Inner peace is the new success. Health is the new wealth. Kindness is the new cool”.

Beautiful words in a world of stress and everyday its own trouble. To me happiness is to live in the present moment, since the past is already gone, and we can´t promise each other a tomorrow. Inner peace is a state of calm and a relaxed breath. Health is wealth, because without it we would soon acknowledge how precious life is. And kindness is a necessary tool in order to be able to live with other people and everything else on Earth.

I have these feelings right now. After a ritual I feel as reborn. I´m completely relaxed, and I feel an inner peace that is difficult to express in words alone.

I hope that you have enjoyed this guided tour around a New Moon ritual. And in order to share some of the experience, I have this picture for you. See you for more tomorrow. For today, I´m grateful. For this life I´m grateful. Let tomorrow begin, where this night ends. So Mote It Be.

My cat Milo

Meditation time…

Now, as we are getting closer to the time, when my New Moon ritual kicks off, I’m preparing for it by meditating on what I need to release in order to be able to work from intention to reality with this new projekt, my new blog.

Soon, I’ll take my ritual bath and dress for the ritual. Then I use to light all the candles on my daily and ritual altars. And simply sit for a couple of minutes before inviting my husband inside my “den”, my room for magick.

Below, you see pictures of my personal notes and my daily altar, when it is fully set up for ritual. I like to keep things simple and easy to handle during ritual.

Therefore, I prefer small and short rituals, where the intensity often is much more tangible than many long rituals with complicated setups and a lot of reading.

I’ll return in a few hours to tell you how everything went. But already I’m feeling happy and relaxed, because I’m about to begin something I love, practicing magick. So, now I draw the curtains, take a last look to see, if I have missed something, and make my salt blend for my ritual bath.

Preparing New Moon ritual

As promised yesterday, I´ll take you by the hand for a closer look on how I prepare myself and my altars, when I´m having a ritual. Tonight it is New Moon in Cancer, and with both my Sun sign and my Moon sign in Cancer, Rising in Leo, I believe it´s going to be a magickal experience.

On the pictures today, you can see my work station and my altars being prepared for the ritual. I will also show you my personal notes that I´ll be using during the ritual in the next post that will be written just before the ritual begins.

I´ve carved the following inscription on the candles for my ritual altar : Blog Success and Prosperity, Health and Love. These are my intentions for this New Moon. As well as are my written intentions of letting go of the past. They will will be burned while I read a prayer of release.

I´ll do a Tarot reading as well, and I will ask the Universe to aid me in my intentions of making this a pagan blog with the sole purpose of sharing my knowledge and hopefully learning even more in time.

As you can see, I use crystals and essential oils for my ritual as well as sage and orange flower incense in order to attract a pleasant atmosphere and prosperity for my blog and my profile on Pinterest (The Northern Witch).

As I´ve been writing this, I´m mentally preparing myself for tonight´s ritual. I always use at least half an hour to clear my thoughts and think of my intentions for my magickal workings. Then I take a ritual bath where I use bath salt (dried sage leaves, lemon or eucalyptus oil and Himalaya salt mixed together with mortar and pestle) to get me in the right mood for having a ritual.

But this is it for now, the mundane world also needs to be taken care of, and I need to prepare my notes for the ritual and think of the content of the next post. I will be back in a few hours.

First day on a witch´s blog…

Good evening, dear reader. Tonight I´m going to present myself as a witch. My name is Henriette Pedersen, and I´m nearly 50 years old. I live in a small town in the Southern part of Denmark with my husband, a funny little dog and 3 philosophical cats.

My journey as a witch has been life long, but it was not until about 3 years ago that I felt that it was the right path for me. I´ve always searched for an alternative way of life, because I do not believe in any sort of conformity whatsoever. And there has been many occasions where I felt that I almost got it.

Now, witchcraft is in everything I do. I have the possibility to do so, because I´m early retired because of stuff like arthritis, bipolar disorder and anxiety. All very mundane things to consider on a daily basis too, but possible, if you take good care of yourself with the right prescription medicine, cognitive therapy and a positive attitude towards concentration on getting better every day.

At Samhain 2016 I found my inner witch and dedicated myself with a small simple ritual consisting of holding a pentagram and gazing into the flames of 2 lit candles. I was alone, my husband was asleep, and there was only me to experience what this new something felt like.

2 weeks earlier my world was tumbled over by a major incident that hit me straight in the heart. My beautiful classic car, 31 years old, was stolen and burnt to ashes. Luckily, no people got hurt that night.

Life was chaotic with many, many hours trying to get back in the saddle. In witchcraft I found inner healing, inner peace, inner happiness.

Because magick is everywhere, if you only dare to believe it.

In the beginning, I was very insecure about what witchcraft was to me. Today, there are many ways to learn about witchcraft. But as well as I encourage thorough research with a critical outlook, I also recommend that your own path truly is yours. Don´t be afraid to write your own spells and perform your own rituals. Do immerse yourself in whatever niche that speaks to you.

The common ground, however, is the wealth of positivity that witchcraft can generate, if we do know how to communicate together, dare to share the joy and pure life force, will respect the old ways and keep silent about the most beautiful moment of all in witchcraft, in my opinion, the personal experience that cannot be reborn quite in the same way as we felt it, when it happened.

I call myself an eclectic, cottage with, because I do quite a lot of research in many different directions, I do not follow any other path than my own, and I do use herbs and crystals in my magick workings.

Tomorrow is a New Moon, and it´s time for new intentions, new beginnings, new projects etc. I´m going to take you by the hand and show your how my day before a ritual is.

Right up to the part where I draw the curtains into my witch´s den, where I perform the bigger rituals with all the good stuff put on the altars, only lit candles, only a cellphone, because I often use music in my workings…

So I hope you begin to feel at home here. That´s my intention for the atmosphere on this blog.

See you tomorrow, now a long day behind the laptop, dancing with technology and practical matters is about to be ended with some reflection on tomorrow´s New Moon ritual.

Blessed Be.

My permanent decorative altar

Invitation – follow the daily life of a witch

Good morning, dear reader.

Today I give you the opportunity to follow me in my daily practice as a witch. To me witchcraft is sacred knowledge that must be handled with great care.

By that I mean with passion and with common sense. Witchcraft is also to dare to actually try it out. It takes time, so patience and thorough research will get you very far. And sometimes witchcraft needs to be silent, because learning and sharing is not the same as telling everything.

If I told you every single detail about my life as a witch, you would be bored and disappointed. Bored, because my path and your path are unique, and disappointed, because it would be my experience only.

My intention here is to give you my version of what being a witch can be. To me it is a way of life, from early morning to late evening. In my home there is witchcraft everywhere.

One of my small morning rituals is to walk or sit in my den to gather my thoughts and take a deep breath before any chores, creative or witchcraft related purposes.

Just for a couple of minutes, and even the worst of days have begun with a positive outlook. If you know how to do it, dare to do it, will your Craft and keep silent about your inner experience. Do go and tell that it makes you happy, calm and relaxed. But please allow yourself the pleasure of having unique experiences of that special moment that cannot be described, but only be experienced in person.

As you have read these lines, I´ve also worked with the Four Powers of the Magus. On my Pinterest profile The Northern Witch ( https://www.pinterest.dk/thenorthernwitch/ ) you will find a related pin in Board 1-8 The Book of Shadows, section 4 Harm Ye None.

Above you see my daily altar, where I meditate, use my Tarot cards, perfom my rituals/other decorative purposes etc.

I will be back with more in a couple of hours, life isn´t waiting, and there are chores to be done, so Blessed Be for now and thank you for being here.

The Northern Witch.