Lammas – The Northern Witch' s Blog

Weekly witchcraft

This month´s writing challenge is to write about witchcraft on a weekly basis, with the big rituals as a recurring theme. My goal is to write between 1600 to 2500 words once a week. I need to survive my current writer´s block by challenging myself to write anyway.

Why write that way, when the title of this blog is daily witchcraft ? I wish to be able to write fewer but longer posts so that I may use my time more effectively. I want more time to study some practical things about how to maintain a website and how to create the big rituals on a day-to-day basis, as I plan to prepare my rituals on the very same day, as it is meant to be experienced. Normally, I prepare a big ritual 2-3 days before the actual date, but I would like to know if it fits in my daily routines also to plan it on the spot so to speak.

The practical and often technical aspects of maintaining a website is yet to become a favourite kind of work. I prefer that things are simple and easy to implement, so I´ll take the necessary time to learn about hosting a website and how to begin to earn a little extra money. My goals here are long-term, because I´m in no hurry at all. After all, my primary interest in this blog is the content and in sharing my knowledge about witchcraft. And in order to be able to write longer posts on a regular basis, I need to work hard with my writing skills and experiment with what works best for me and hopefully my readers too.

How to do just that ? Well, by writing at least 500 words a day, it´s a start. To write without editing the first draft, before it is written. And to write on different pieces of work at the same time to keep my interest alert and to defeat my great ability to procrastination. Concerning the website part of the deal, well, there is only one way to do it. To sit in the chair and read, read and read. To make useful notes and to decide where to buy what is necessary, not what looks smart, but just isn´t the solution to my needs.

So my plan for today´s post is a minimum of 1000 words, 2 days work. And if can manage that for a week, then I´ll have a post of 2500 words to present. Sounds like a fair challenge to try out.

Lammas Sabbat

The Lammas Sabbat is a harvest festival that I celebrate to say thank you to the Earth Mother and the Universe for all my blessings. Yesterday I called upon the elements again to attend and guard my ritual with a comfortable feeling even though my anxiety was frowning at me. I have had a few bad days lately, so I had to plan the ritual on the same day. And it was successful. While I was planning the ritual, I kept my anxiety at distance, so that my inner turmoil was preoccupied with something more useful and positive.

I made a mini ritual, where I ate an apple and recited a prayer for Lammas, and I made a Tarot spread about what I have harvested in terms of experiences with witchcraft, what I need to let go of and what to focus on the rest of the year. I got Pentacles and Cups, one pip card and the rest court cards, also the shadow card. In my interpretation it is about what I already hold (my ability to write something worth reading) and I need to let my anxiety go. It is the key to my writer´s block that I´ve been thinking too much on being afraid of having an anxiety attack and on fear of not being a good enough writer to keep a blog running. My focus for the rest of the year will naturally be both witchcraft and this blog, but it will be in matter of content rather than formalities and technicalities. That part must be studied, but in my pace only.

I chose an orange altar cloth to symbolize the colour of harvest, and I used rose incense, and eucalyptus, rose and sandalwood essential oils. I also used crystals corresponding to Lammas (amber, aventurine, citrine, clear quartz, obsidian, tiger´s eye and tourmaline). As decoration I used my big herb knife and 2 wheat dolls as seen on the picture below.

New Moon in Leo

I said a New Moon prayer after I had written down my intentions for this Moon cycle that I´ll be celebrating in all its phases this month. I used rhodochrosite and moonstone crystals and rosemary essential oil for my New Moon spell. My intentions (which I will let you follow during the month) are :

Grow blog slowly (why be in a hurry and make more mistakes than necessary)
Master my anxiety (control it, so it does not control me)
Celebrate my life experience (becoming a Crone also means to take life both seriously and humorously)
Study witchcraft more (make a daily study plan)
Be more creative (take more time to e.g. draw on my Book of Shadows pages)
Release more negativity (make releasing a greater part in my ritual workings)

After a couple of minutes of concentrated meditation I closed the circle. It was a bad day yesterday with many side effects of necessary prescription medicine, but I felt a lot better after the ritual. It really helped me through the day to go about and plan on the spot what to work with magickally. That´s what I truly love about witchcraft. No matter how bad a mood I may be in before a ritual, I´m always feeling as reborn when it is done. But I only work with witchcraft, when I´m feeling well and able to defy my ailments. I will rather cancel than perform something less than satisfying.

It it going to be a strong magickal month, because we are having a Black Moon this August. That is when there are two New Moons in the same calendar month, and it is a powerful time for magick workings. So it will be both demanding and great fun to plan and work the remaining four rituals, the first being the Waxing Quarter Moon ritual next Friday, where I´ll try to manifest and strengthen my New Moon intentions.

In the meantime, I´ll be busy studying both witchcraft and website management. I look forward to write a little bit everyday from Monday and then publish it on Friday after the ritual. Blessed Be. So it is.

Or perhaps a better head line would be The Wheel of the Year, as I follow the changing seasons with Sabbats and the phases of the Moon.

The Sabbats are all special to me, Samhain, however, is my favourite, because it was on the night of Samhain, I almost 3 years ago initiated and dedicated myself as a witch.

98 Yule
99 Imbolc
100 Ostara
101 Beltane
102 Litha
103 Lammas/Lughnasad
104 Mabon
105 Samhain
106 Sabbat Altars
107 Cakes And Ale

Yule : Winter Solstice. The longest night of the year. The shortest day. The beginning of the new year. Celebration of the return of the Sun.

Imbolc : Candlemas. Planning, preparation of seeds to sow, literally. Celebration of light and the promise of Spring.

Ostara : Spring Equinox. Equal day and night. Balance workings. Fertility spells for the garden. Celebration of the beauty of Spring.

Beltane : Walpurgis Eve. Handfasting. Divination. The thinning of the Veil between the worlds. Celebration of the month of love.

Litha : Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. The shortest night. Growth spells. Celebration of the Sun´s farewell.

Lammas/Lughnasad : Before Harvest. Prosperity rituals, cleansing spells and thanking Mother Earth. Celebration of the bounty of the Earth.

Mabon : Fall Equinox. Harvest festival. Equal day and night. Balance workings. To give thanks. And to let go. Celebration of the beauty of Fall.

Samhain : All Hollows Eve. Initiation and self-dedication. “New Years Eve” to me as a witch. The veil between the worlds is thinnest. Shadow work. Divination. Celebration of the Ancestors, the Crone and the witches.

Sabbat Altars : Here I keep track of my altar setups and plan to place photos of them as well.

Cakes And Ale : This is a new place to learn and to be creative. I research traditions, but I also plan to make my own recipes with a modern twist.

The reason I like the Sabbats so much is that they together with the phases of the Moon give me the pleasure of getting to work with a lot of different tools and ideas for altar setup and decorations.

However many tools I use, I always try to keep things simple. There may be quite a few ingredients in my magickal workings, but they all play an important part of my rituals. If not, I do not include them. With herbs, essential oils and flowers I use what I have at hand, because I´m living on a budget and don´t always have the money to buy these often pretty expensive items.

I also like the idea of following the changing seasons and to be in tune with Nature. Especially in this modern world of stress and millions of impressions to handle, I use the ritual part of the Sabbats to follow a more natural rhythm in my daily life around the year.

I have the opportunity to do it on a full time basis, because I´m early retired. But even if you don´t have much time, it´s still possible to have a magickal everyday life. The key is to make the small rituals even more important than the bigger ones and integrate them in everyday activities. It has a lot to do with self-care to e.g. light a candle and some incense before e.g. doing the dishes.

This I will post a series about in November 2019.

In the weekend I´ll be preparing for the Lammas Sabbat. And on August 1 2019 I´ll post before and after the ritual as I did with the New Moon ritual on July 2nd 2019.