Wort Craft

Just Picking the Autumn Berries...

2010-09-23T11:03:00.004+01:00

Hello my dearies...my it has been a long time since I sat and had a nice cuppa and a little chat with you...
Are you all keeping well...no autumnal ague's?
These misty days do play havoc with the hair but it is lovely to be able to pick the precious gifts of nature...
This year has been a very good one for the Hawthorn berries...we've picked quite a few and there are still plenty left on all of the trees to feed the birds...
We do have to pay them for their song now don't we dearies!

Sadly not so good for the Rowan berries...there were a lot on the trees last week...but you know what it's like...those little songbirds do love those juicy berries and of course...they're a lot quicker than us at spotting the most deliciously ripe berries...and snaffled most of them while I sat with a brew and a slice of cake!

Never mind though...that's all part of the world of nature...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've only managed to pick enough rowan for two necklaces this year...which is a little sad...but still...it's better than none...anyway, hope the birds enjoyed them...
I'll remember to leave my brew next time and pick them sooner!

This lot of berries are all ready for drying...and sorting...and storing...ready for future mixes...aren't the colours of nature a beauty to behold?
Makes you just want to sit and stroke them...
Or paint them...

Oh well...that's about it my pretties...hope you're all enjoying the autumn...
See you again soon...
Mind how you go...

Mother Goddess Incense

2010-09-02T16:49:00.004+01:00

As we can see from ancient sites of worship...be they cave paintings or sacred sites...The Goddess has always been worshipped.

Our primal desire to revere her seems to have always been with us.

What could be more natural to the ancient people, than the whole process of life...which sadly now...in our "civilised" lives, is far removed from its natural source.
Birth is our most sacred and magickal act...it is in itself...a divine gift.

The Mother Goddess is our most sacred Mother...she is always with us...and has always been so...even if...like most children...we choose not to listen to her knowledge.
I have created this incense in honour of The Great Mother...in all of her aspects...She gives and she can also take away...

She has been called by many names...we each see her in our own way...in all lands across her beautiful Earth...and it has always been so.

She is a constant presence in our lives...she is our Mother and we are her children...without her body for nourishment we would cease to exist on this land...we walk upon her with heavy feet sometimes...but she always forgives us...in time...

This is a complex incense, containing many botanicals associated with all Goddesses...it could, therefore, be used for any "earth" Goddess rituals...or in any work which requires a Goddess incense.

I have created this incense with the image of the ancient Mother Goddess within my heart...I have blended her sacred plants together...and given thanks for her bounty to all of her children...

I hope that when you inhale this mixture... you can feel her blessings.

After blending, the incense is charged and empowered...so it may be used straight away.

This incense contains 20 different herbal ingredients.

This bag of incense is packed by volume and measures 3 inches x 3 inches.

May you feel the warmth of the Goddess within you.

Taking Time To Smell The Roses...

2010-04-15T09:24:00.004+01:00

Hello there my dearies...oh my...I have been neglecting you over here...
You know what it's like...you get brewing away and stirring the old cauldron...and life just wafts by without you realising...

So...how have you all been?
Have you all got over the nasty ague that's been going round?

The Spring weather seems to have arrived at last...some of the pretty little herbs are poking their heads up and saying hello...
It makes this old heart thankful when I can be stroking my little ones...and breathing in their essence...the oxlip are doing particularly well this year...even though the naughty flopsy bunnies had a nibble!

I'm still working in the stillroom...lots of lovely vapours to keep me happy...but I do have trouble taking pictures of everything...and then fall behind...and forget...and neglect...

Also...because I like to do everything by these gnarly old hands...and not use those new-fangled contraptions...it takes me a long time to chop and mix and brew...
But then I am making things for magickal use...which in itself is special...so why rush eh...my pretties?

I think this world is too fast nowadays anyway...no one takes the time to stop and smell the life around them...and it is life...we may neglect our sense of smell...in favour of our other senses...but just imagine the world without it...
Putting your head deep within the bosom of a full-blown rose...and sensing nothing...

Oh my...the thought just gives me the shudders...

I've closed the website down for a while...as I need to do lots of new pretties for it...but I'll let you know when I re-open...and that doesn't mean that I'm trying to sell my wares to you either my dearies...I don't brew things just for the sake of selling them you know...I make things because I am completely addicted to herbs...in every form...and have a terrible need to be constantly close to them...so it gives me a good reason...if I pretend to make them for other folks...

And anyway...just watching things grow and flower and give their all...just for our pleasure...why...that's reward enough for this old gypsy...and always will be...

Well now my dear readers...I'd best be going...those rabbits is breeding well too this year...and I wouldn't want to lose all of my blossoms...

See you again soon...mind how you go...

My Crystal Ball

2010-02-25T11:38:00.003Z

Well my Dearies...I have been a bad little witchling haven't I ?!
Leaving you all alone with no one to play with...shame on me!

So...how have you all been?
No collywobbles I hope...

I'm still fixing my brews and potions...seems this weather is taking its toll on all my little friends...some have had the terrible Ague...(and you all thought that was a thing of the past eh?)

But I've not had much time for my Dearies and Darlings...and I promise to make it all up to you soon...
(Now my lovelies...don't you be looking like that...I am speaking the truth...even if my old fingers are crossed behind my back)

I see that I have gained a few more followers...well isn't that nice...although...why you follow this Old Birdy is a mystery...but my crystal ball never fibs...and I can spy you all in it...lurking in the mist...now don't you be going all shy on me...come out and say how-do.

I'm still messing around on the old websitey thingy...so sorry if any one's tried to visit...I will open it up again soon...I'm such an old fuss-pot that I can't abide it open if it's got the collywobbles and isn't playing nicely.

So there you are my lovelies...not much to tell you this time...
Just thought I'd let you know that I am still here in my "still room"...brewing away...
Maybe I should stop inhaling the fumes though...I think they're giving me the vapours!

See you again soon my Dears...mind how you go...

Meditation Incense

2010-02-01T15:49:00.003Z

This Incense has been created as a meditation aid.

The ingredients chosen work on the higher levels of our awareness...helping us to open our inner being and find our calm within.

Meditation...especially in an overly hectic world...is always a good idea....
But in reality is much harder to practice than we would like.

Anything which will aid us in calming and centering ourselves for the purpose of meditation...even if only for a few minutes...has to be a positive thing.

Perfume works on our most primitive levels...it can transport us to other times and places...long forgotten...yet brought to mind with one intake of breath.

This is how it can work in meditation...

By ritually calming ourselves and creating a space, enhanced by a perfume which we equate with meditation and relaxation...we are already tuning ourselves in to the higher psychic levels of our conciousness...which in turn gives us that break from "reality" and an easier journey into the meditative state.

Simple really...

After blending, the incense is charged and empowered...so it may be used straight away.

This incense contains 9 different herbal ingredients.

This bag of incense is packed by volume and measures 3 inches x 3 inches.

I'm a bit slow with sorting out the old website my Dears...because I'm a fussy old fuss pot...but I have been making some new batches of my lovelies and when I've taken their mugshots...I'll open up the site again...
Sorry about the wait my pretties...
See you again soon...mind how you go...

Imbolg Incense

2010-01-23T20:15:00.004Z

As one of the major, or Great, Sabbats...Imbolg is celebrated at the beginning of February.
We are still in the midst of Winter...but spring is not too far away.

Imbolg is a celebration of the stiring and awakening of the Earth from her deep slumber during the winter months.
It is seen as the "Quickening"...the time when the infant is first felt moving within the mother's womb.

Imbolg is known by many names...Imbolc, , Oimelc , Candlemas (which is the Christianised version of this Pagan Festival), but all have the same meaning...that of the renewal of life...when the first signs of growth in the world outside are visible...the first tentative buds on the trees...the first early flowers brave enough to show their faces after their long sleep.

Imbolg is also a time of celebrating the Goddess Bride (Bre-ed), who is the Celtic Goddess of Fire...and is worshipped at this time of year with bonfires and candles.

The incense which I have created for the Sabbat of Imbolg contains all of the traditional herbs and resins associated with this festival and also The Goddess Bride...so it can be used as an offering for both at the same time.

All of my herbal incenses are hand blended from various botanicals, oils and plant resins.

I use no animal products in any of my incense...many stick and cone incenses contain animal faeces and blood...which are then "masked" by the use of perfumes.

I make all of my incense in very small batches, because I enjoy creating them, and do not want to "mass produce" things...as I think this would take the Magick away from them.

All of my incenses are created from my own recipes...I have been pagan for over forty years and have gained a large collection of ingredients over this time...many grown or gathered on our small holding...where no pesticides are ever used.

After blending, the incense is charged and empowered...so it may be used straight away.

This incense contains 11 different herbal ingredients.

This bag of incense is packed by volume and measures 3 inches x 3 inches.

Hecate Incense

2010-01-14T12:14:00.009Z

The Goddess Hecate is well known as a "Witches Goddess"
She is a classical Triple Goddess,her associations being linked with the darker aspects...of the Moon...of the Underworld...and of Magick.

Hecate is also known as the Goddess of crossroads...these can be true directional crossroads...where you must make a decision on which road to take on your journey...or more personal crossroads...where you must choose which path to take in your life.

This incense has been created in honour of Hecate...it could be used as a personal offering to The Goddess Herself...or to help you to attune to the darker aspects of your own psyche...and maybe find the hidden light buried within.

As Hecate illuminates the darkness of our unconscious...she can also help us to understand ourselves...and in so doing see the mistakes of our past and learn from them...so that we may move forward...and choose the correct path in the future.

All of my herbal incenses are hand blended from various botanicals, oils and plant resins.

I use no animal products in any of my incense...many stick and cone incenses contain animal faeces and blood...which are then "masked" by the use of perfumes.

I make all of my incense in very small batches, because I enjoy creating them, and do not want to "mass produce" things...as I think this would take the Magick away from them.

All of my incenses are created from my own recipes...I have been pagan for over forty years and have gained a large collection of ingredients over this time...many grown or gathered on our small holding...where no pesticides are ever used.

After blending, the incense is charged and empowered...so it may be used straight away.

This incense contains 18 different herbal ingredients.

This bag of incense is packed by volume and measures 3 inches x 3 inches.

May Hecate's Blessings Burn Brightly Within You.

The Magick Of Scent

2010-01-10T08:49:00.005Z

When I first began to make my own incense...I was like a child in a sweety shop...
I used EVERYTHING that I had, and loved...and threw them all together into my cauldron...
Although they looked very pretty at first...over time they began to resemble mud pies.
This wasn't the worst part though...
The beautiful scent which I had envisioned...was truly awful...
What was going wrong?
Why were they so smelly?

Simple answer...I was being a greedy child.
And like all greedy little children...I had a tummy ache.

Over the years...I have learned that you don't just throw together everything you love into your work...you study...you find which plant is "right" for the work that you are doing...you find the right blend of ingredients, to not only bring about the desired effect, but also one that works on the higher senses.

You learn which perfumes compliment each other...and which clash and fight.

You also learn to not put your own preferences first...and create something that others can also enjoy...this, I think, is a hard task, as by the very fact of being a human, we are all built with our own set of likes and dislikes and something that I find intoxicatingly appealing...others may feel overwhelmed by.

So...I have performed many trials in my blending...some are lovely at first...but then turn rank and horrible...others start off poor but over time develop a beautiful fragrance...some are just divine.

This is what we should all be looking for in our blends.

Like the ladies of the old "still room"...we should take our time...we should listen to our senses...and we should take a lot of heed of our ingredients...and let them be...

Many years ago, I sold my incense through magazine adverts...how things have changed!
I only began to "play" around on the computer a few years ago...and now my world is wide open.

I look forward to meeting you on your journey through the magick of the senses...and hope that we will become like old friends...

True Love Spell Bottle

2010-01-06T11:42:00.001Z

Are You Ready To Find Your True Love?

This "True Love Spell Bottle" contains natural herbal ingredients which have been chosen for their specific attributes and connections with Real Love.

This is not to be taken lightly as your True Love may not necessarily be the person you are thinking of right now...
They are that Special Someone that your heart is yearning for...to make it whole...this is not an easy task...and in this hectic world sometimes we may need a gentle "push" in the right direction.

This is where Magick comes in.

Please do not confuse this as a way of gaining power over an unwilling lover...it will only work on aiding the True Love to enter your life...to try to work a spell against someone's will is using magick for the wrong reasons and will not help you to find your soul mate.

This Spell Bottle is best used, carried close to your heart and is small enough to be worn under clothing.
If this is not practical...a tiny amount can be rubbed onto the skin...or the bottle can be hung over your bed or tucked under your pillow...or anywhere you think that it could draw your True Love to you.

All of the ingredients have been hand blended by myself and are from my own "secret" recipe.
I have been a Pagan and Traditional Witch for over forty years and have gained a vast collection of spells over this time, which I use in my magickal working.

I live on an organic small holding, where many of my ingredients are gathered at the appropriate time, for maximum potency.

After blending, the ingredients are charged and empowered by me, for their required use.
They are then tied with corresponding thread so that they may be worn around the neck...this thread is also part of the Spell Working.

All of my "Spell Bottles" can be worn on the body as they are very small and discreet...They can also be opened and rubbed onto the skin...but please test a small area first, as some people can have an allergic reaction to herbs.

If you have sensitive skin, I would recommend that you keep the bottle closed...or leave it open somewhere close to you...but do not rub onto the skin.

DO NOT rub onto the skin if you are pregnant or breast feeding, and never take this product internally!

All of my products are Vegan and are not tested on animals.

I enjoy Spell Casting and will always try to help if you have a specific request for a spell...however unusual...but I will not work magick against another person for harm.

Please feel free to contact me with any queries or requests.

And Good Luck in finding your Special Someone!

Each glass bottle measures 3/4" high by 5/8" wide (2cm x 1.5cm approx)