The Arthurian Tarot

I find with tarot cards and oracle cards that you might be gifted them or purchase them and then they sit in the cupboard for months untouched, then all of a sudden you are drawn to use them.  This is what happened with the Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews (their website is hallowquest.org.uk ).  I purchased them probably a couple of years ago on a visit to Glastonbury, I bought them because of my love of all things Arthurian, they then got put in the cupboard and stayed there until they demanded to be used last week.

Presented in a nice little box the cards themselves are on the smaller playing card size measuring 12 x 7 cm and come with a small booklet of meanings.

The artwork is done by Miranda Gray (her website is mirandagray.co.uk ) and the images are lovely depicting beautiful landscapes and wonderful Arthurian characters.

The booklet says:

"Our inspiration for this pack is the quest for the Hallows, or 'holy things'.  These are the regalia of Sovereignty, the Goddess of the Land - she who grants the kingship.  These ancient treasures of the land of Britain may still be sought, not as museum artefacts but as spiritual empowerments that align us to our soul's vocation".

The cards are divided into the Greater Powers (the Major Arcana) and the Lesser Powers (Minor Arcana).  the Greater Powers cards show major characters and influences from Arthurian times.  Each Greater Power also has an animal as its magical protector.  The Greater Powers have been given Arthurian names but their Major Arcana equivalents are given as well.    The Lesser Powers cards are represented by landscapes, all based on real places within Britain.   The ten cards all represent castles, the court cards show protagonists of the quest and represent the other worldly courts of the four Hallows.  The four suits are arranged around the Hallows (or Aces) - Sword, Spear, Grail and Stone.  The four suits also represent the four seasons.

They are lovely cards, especially if you like the Arthurian legends.

Tansy
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OPENING 1ST MAY 2012 - OUR ON LINE SCHOOL OF NATURAL WITCHERY

www.kitchenwitchhearth.com

Hearth & Home

The hearth and home is very important to a Kitchen Witch.

A lot of my herbal and oil work is done in the kitchen, and most of my magical workings are done at my dining room table right in front of the fireplace.

We have written about being a Kitchen Witch on this blog before what-is-kitchen-witch
and about having a kitchen-altar and even about kitchen-witch-cleaning but what about the core, the actual hearth of the home?

I like to regularly call upon the Goddesses of the hearth and home to bring their energy to my house and family. I keep a candle holder surrounded by 13 small hag stones with a red candle in upon the fireplace in my dining room.  Every so often I light the candle and call upon the Goddesses Brighid, Hestia and Vesta to bring their good energy and blessings.

I light the candle and stand in front of the fireplace with my arms outstretched (it's OK the neighbours can't see me) and call upon them.

I use a chant from an Ellen Dugan book, it goes something like this:

Goddesses of the Home and the Sacred Hearth Flame
Brighid, Hestia and Vesta I call your names
A candle for fire, a ring of stones becomes your hearth
Bless us with warmth and security from this witches art

I say this three times, then finish with:

An harm to none, so mote it be!

It is very empowering and you can feel the change in the atmosphere of the house once it is done.

I leave the candle to burn for a couple of hours (as long as I am in the room) and when I feel the time is right I extinguish the flame and thank deity.

Tansy
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Come and meet the team!

We launch our new online School of Natural Witchcraft on 1st May, however on Saturday 5th May we will also be holding a Meet and Greet in our forum chat room to celebrate our opening and to give everyone a chance to meet our Leadership Team and ask any questions - this is open to School members AND non School members.

Our forum www.kitchenwitchhearth.com is free to join and the chat room is within that free forum so everyone will have access to the Meet and Greet chat, all you need to do is join our forum.

Saturday 5th May 2012

5.00pm UK/12 noon Canada & CST/1pm EST/10am PST

www.kitchenwitchhearth.com

Our School of Natural Witchcraft:

Our Forest of Beginnings includes 21 lessons covering:

Introduction & what is a witch
Energy
Meditation
Grounding and centering
Wheel of the Year
Esbats
Shielding
Deity
Elements
Spell Writing
Ritual
Magical Tools
Record Keeping
Candle magic
Affirmations
Animal magic
The Fae
Divination
Healing
Crystals
Herbs, flora & fauna
Elementals

If you then want to move onwards, we also have the Forest of Mystery, also containing 21 lessons covering different subjects, and following on from that the Forest of Wisdom!

Our school also includes branch lessons where you can study a particular subject such as tarot, runes or psychic development.

Each lesson is taken at your own pace, you will have a dedicated tutor to help with any questions or queries you have as well as supporting you on your journey.  We also provide on line journals for you to document each step of the way.

There is no initial registration fee, charges are £10 per month payable via paypal (approx $15.96) - this fee covers all your lessons, branch classes, journals, tutor support, personal homework review and on line rituals and topic chats.

Witches image by Paul Kidby

Hang the washing out...

We had a query on the Kitchen Witch forum today about eco friendly and non toxic fabric conditioners, so I have put together a list to share with you all on our ideas for washing clothes:


Washing Powder:


2 parts of soap flakes - grated soap
1 part washing soda crystals
Mix together and store in an airtight container, use 1 tablespoon per wash.


or


2 cups grated castile soap
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda crystals
Mix together and store in an airtight jar.  Use 1/8 cup per load.


Fabric Conditioner:


Add a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water in your washing machine and let it dissolve prior to adding your clothes.  The baking soda acts as a water softener and helps makes clothes super soft.


You can also make a slight variation on the baking soda idea. Just take equal quantities of bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and water and combine and store in a large bottle. As needed, you can then replace your normal fabric softener with ¼ cup of your home made fabric conditioner to your wash. Be careful though as these ingredients together can foam!


Some people toss tennis balls or other rubber balls into the dryer with clothes.  Although the heat of the dryer can cause the rubber to off-gas onto your clothing.  You can purchase plastic ball type things that are made especially for this purpose.


Adding a cup of vinegar to the wash water can also soften clothes.


To help with static tightly scrunch a piece of foil to form a ball and put it in your tumble dryer.  Be careful as it may snag delicate clothing though.


Mix 1 cup of Glycerin and 1 gallon of water. Add 1/2 cup of this mixture to the wash or rinse cycle to soften clothing. 


Try hair conditioner - dilute approx. 3:1. (water - 3, conditioner - 1).


Homemade softener:
2c white vinegar
4c water
Mix ingredients and store in a plastic or glass container.  To use: Shake the mixture and add 1/4c to the final rinse in your washing machine. If you have hard water, use 1/3c.


Try adding 1/4 cup of borax to your wash cycle.


Homemade dryer sheets: Dilute a teaspoon of natural hair conditioner and then pour it on an old (clean) sock. Alternatively, soak the fabric with vinegar. Regardless of your liquid of choice, use as you would any other dryer sheet and simply reapply the solution for each new load.


For fragrant fresh laundry, try putting some dried organic flowers in an old sock or cloth drawstring bag and tossing that in your dryer with each load. Add some essential oils to an old clean rag or sock and put that in your dryer for naturally-scented laundry.

Tansy
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Complete Idiot's Guide to Akashic Records

Having recently had my Akashic Records read by the lovely and talented Trish at The Peaceful Healing Tree I was hooked, totally amazed and absolutely fascinated by the whole thing.      (Blog entry (here) )


By chance I came into possession of the Complete Idiot's Guide to the Akashic Record: Tap into the timeless wisdom of the universe by Dr Synthia Andrews & Colin Andrews, not the most catchy title and to be honest it almost put me off.


However, having now read the book I can honestly say it was an excellent book.  Extremely well written in an easy to understand format.  With lots of hints, tips and references to do further research on history and places that they mention.  All the information you need to know about what the Akashic Records are.


The official blurb for the book:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Akashic leads readers on a journey into their personal past, present, and future, learning the fundamentals of the Akasha - a Hindu word variously translated as sky or space-and how to use the Record to explore their hidden past, heal old wounds, live an authentic life in the present and affect the future. 

•Explores cutting edge aspects of Body/Mind/Spirit-universal consciousness, synchronicity, energy fields, and more 

•How to decode the Akashic Record through meditation, visualization, and lucid dreaming techniques that anyone can learn 


If you are interested in having your records read, I urge you to take a look at The Peaceful Healing Tree  website it is an unbelievable experience, if you want a decent reference source to read to help you understand all about the Records then I can highly recommend this book.


Tansy
x

*Opening our on line doors 1st May to the 

Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery*

www.kitchenwitchhearth.com

Ostara craft ideas

Some Ostara themed crafts to keep the little witchlets occupied this weekend (and the big witchlets too!):




Thread Eggs


Decorate a tree with these happy eggs in no time.

What You Need:
Small oval balloons
Scissors
Embroidery floss or sewing thread
Liquid starch or fabric stiffener

Instructions:
1. Inflate small oval balloons and tie the necks tightly.
2. Soak 12- to 24-inch lengths of embroidery floss or regular sewing thread (use one colour or a variety of colours) in liquid starch or fabric stiffener. Soak each piece of floss separately and pull the wet thread between your thumb and forefinger to remove excess liquid.
3. Wrap the wet threads around the balloon one at a time. The thread will stick to the balloon without any additional glue or fastener. Cover the balloon by criss crossing the threads any way you choose. Use less thread for an open, lacy egg, or wrap additional thread for an egg that looks more solid.
4. Tie a piece of dry thread around the neck of the thread-wrapped balloon and hang it until the thread is dry and hard to the touch. Burst the balloon with a pin and pull the balloon out of the top of the Thread Egg. Place Thread Eggs in a basket or bowl, or attach loops of floss so you can hang several on a tree branch to create an egg tree.



Homemade Easter Egg Dyes

You can use your favorite egg-dying tricks here as well: Like crayons for a batik effect or rubber bands for a tie-dye effect. If you like a glossy egg, you can rub the dyed eggs with vegetable oil when they are dry.

Red
Red onion skins, use a lot (boil with eggs)
Pomegranate juice

Orange
Yellow onion skins (boil with eggs)

Yellow
Lemon or orange peel (boil with eggs)
Carrot tops (boil with eggs)
Celery seed (boil with eggs)
Ground cumin (boil with eggs)
Ground turmeric (boil with eggs)

Yellow Brown
Dill seeds (boil with eggs)

Brown
Strong coffee
Instant coffee
Black walnut shells (boil with eggs)

Yellow Green
Bright green apple peels (boil with eggs)

Green
Spinach leaves (boil with eggs)


Blue
Canned blueberries and their juice
Red cabbage leaves (boil with eggs)
Purple grape juice

Violet Blue
Violet blossoms
Red onion skins, less amount than you need to make red (boil with eggs)

Lavender
Diluted purple grape juice
Violet blossoms plus squeeze of lemon (boil with eggs)

Pink
Beets, fresh or canned
Cranberries or cranberry juice
Raspberries
Red grape juice


Crystal Ostara Eggs



You'll need:
1 C. all-purpose flour
½ C. salt
¼ C. clean sand
1 C. used coffee grounds
¾ C. warm water
Crystals or gemstones
Non-stick cooking spray
Acrylic paints in your favorite colors


Blend flour, salt, sand and coffee grounds together. Gradually add the water, and knead until you've got a thick, gritty dough. Spray a crystal lightly with non-stick cooking spray, and place it in the center of a small scoop of dough. Shape the dough around the crystal to form an egg shape. Bake the eggs at 350 for about 15 minutes, and allow to cool. Once they've cooled, they should be nice and hard, like a rock. Paint the eggs, and allow paint to dry.


Hide the eggs on Ostara, and let your kids crack them open to reveal the hidden crystals!


Ostara Tree



A fun project to do at Ostara is make and decorate a tree for the Sabbat. It doesn't have to be huge or fancy, but it's nice to have one sitting indoors to remind you of the changing seasons.


You'll need:
Several lightweight branches
Some florist's foam
A flowerpot
Acrylic paints
Spanish moss
Small spring decorations


First, paint the pot with spring designs -- flowers, butterflies, ladybugs, eggs, etc. If you have kids, this is a lot of fun. If you don't mind them getting a bit messy, let them use thumbprints to make designs. Allow the paint to dry.  Cut a chunk of florist's foam to fit into the pot and then insert the branches into the foam so that it forms a tree shape. Hang the decorations -- eggs, ribbons, flowers, etc. -- on the branches. Use salt dough and cookie cutters to make ornaments to hang, if you like.  Use the Spanish moss to cover the florist's foam in the top of the pot. Place your tree on your altar during ritual, or use it as a tabletop decoration.


Note: Try to use branches that have already fallen on the ground, rather than taking them from a live tree. If you must cut from a living tree or bush, make sure you do so in a way that will allow for new growth on the plant. If you have forsythia bushes, they may be blooming right now - their branches are perfect for this project!


Have fun!


Tansy
x




Sources:
paganwiccan.about.com
care2.com

Opening our doors...

Opening our on line doors 1st May 2012:

Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery

Our Forest of Beginnings includes 21 lessons covering:

Introduction & what is a witch
Energy
Meditation
Grounding and centering
Wheel of the Year
Esbats
Shielding
Deity
Elements
Spell Writing
Ritual
Magical Tools
Record Keeping
Candle magic
Affirmations
Animal magic
The Fae
Divination
Healing
Crystals
Herbs, flora & fauna
Elementals

If you then want to move onwards, we also have the Forest of Mystery, also containing 21 lessons covering different subjects, and following on from that the Forest of Wisdom!

Our school also includes branch lessons where you can study a particular subject such as tarot, runes or crystals.

Each lesson is taken at your own pace, you will have a dedicated tutor to help with any questions or queries you have as well as supporting you on your journey. We also provide on line journals for you to document each step of the way.

There is no registration fee, charges are £10 per month payable via paypal (approx $15.89)  - this fee covers all your lessons, branch classes, journals, tutor support, personal homework marking and on line rituals and topic chats.


As our school is on line it is open to anyone in the world!


Our forum itself is free and open now, if you would like to register and have a look at the huge amount of BOS information we have hop on over:


www.kitchenwitchhearth.com

The Enchanted Map

The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid.

One of my lovely friends purchased these oracle cards and when I saw them I was captivated, the artwork is absolutely, hauntingly beautiful, very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland.

The cards all represent parts of your journey through life and I have found them to be insightful and accurate.  The book that accompanies them in packed full of detailed information for each card, beautifully written.

The cards not only offer insights but also provide comforting supportive words and even guidance.

There isn't one card that I don't like, each image captures your inspiration and imagination.

Colette Baron-Reid is an intuitive counsellor, author, speaker, storyteller, recording artist and spiritual intuitive.  She has a website colettebaronreid.com

Tansy

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