Spring Greens )O(

Merry meet all,

I am so done with mundane society. I desperately want to move to Middle Earth and be an elf- and I want there to be no Sauron ruling the world there either. I’m ready to go, all packed. Oh I wish I could. Don’t we all? Instead, I am stuck in this mortal realm. But is it really that bad? My rent increased but not to an astronomical height thankfully. There is hope yet despite wars, starvation, crime, drugs, poverty, weapons blasting buildings, desperation, environmental degradation, pollution, climate change. I have to believe there is yet hope. The odds seem stacked against us but if we lose hope, then the bad guys win.

I find joy in my sweet cat, watching birds visit the bird feeder, and in knowing spring will soon grace us with her return. The Crone will eventually give way to the Maiden. The earth will turn green again and be full of fertile energy. Yes spring equinox surprises us next month. It almost seems hard to believe. I hate it that my tired feet suffer over hard packed snow too. I miss my garden so much. Feeding the birds and helping my herb seedlings I have been growing all winter comforts me.

Today I bought a bag of soil for starting seeds and a large white bucket. I plan to begin my onion seeds soon as well as other herbs. My seed starting project with the ziplock bags is going well. The mint seeds, the marshmallow seeds have taken off so far and one purple basil seed germinated. The other seeds are germinating much slower. I like to start seeds in ziplock bags that way because I can know for sure then what the germination rate is. I can’t wait for spring. I am sure I am not the only one.

The interior of my apartment looks like a smaller Middle Earth. I am sure I belong there. Alas, spring equinox begins in March on the 21st. We can move our clocks ahead one hour in March. March means spring and I can’t wait. I know March is also the cruelest month weather wise and so is April but after that, the world gets green. 

I have been thinking hard about where I will grow my onions and potatoes this summer. I can grow the potatoes in grow bags. I have to buy another grow bag because then I can get a bigger harvest. I am not sure yet where I will grow my onions. I have time yet to decide that. This is the time when most gardeners who are serious about gardening decide those sorts of things though. I wish I had the room for growing a hundred potatoes and onions. I would be stocked all winter. I have only a small space. I am growing garlic too. I decided that I want to grow purple onions in between the rows where the garlic is growing in the box. I have yet to decide where I might grow the white onions though. Then there is the matter of growing root veggies successfully. Only too often I get the greens of the root veggie but not the root I want. But now, thanks to a hurricane ironically, a large branch has fallen off the nearby tree in my garden. So now my garden gets more light which it needs. As for the soil itself, I have successfully created compost. I also plan to really dig the soil and add the right nutrients in the right amounts. I also want to grow the onions in containers as the rest of the space is claimed by herbs. So, it is probably understandable that I am really thinking about where to grow the white onions. 

I want to grow carrots in the white bucket and a turnip. It can be done, I have seen it on YouTube videos. The bucket is food safe. I’m planning on starting the carrot seeds indoors and when the temperatures are warm enough, moving the white bucket outdoors. I need to get a lot of soil though. I think I can even get it at the dollar store. I do not have any fertilizer though. I can always work in the fertilizer though when I mix up the soil and water it. I can also add the ground up eggshells to the soil. The bucket is big and deep. I will need a lot. Canadian Tire, the local hardware store, did not have the large bags of soil I wanted. I can use that for the onions and my other starts. Yeah it is easy to add a fertilizer to soil. I am sure carrots are forgiving about the quality of soil they will grow in. They need nitrogen to grow the greens then they need less nitrogen to grow the root and more phosphorus later to grow the root. I plan to also cover the topsoil with shavings (for guinea pig cages) to keep the soil moist to ensure the carrots grow their very best. I can’t wait to get started. Carrots don’t like to be disturbed. I don’t see the point of thinning. I want to arrange the seeds in a way where I have control over how many sprout. I will arrange then in a clock face pattern. Thinning seeds, to me, is wasting seeds. I don’t have the money for that- basically throwing seeds away. So yeah I am excited to grow plants again! C’mon, spring!

I want to grow catnip for Penny of course. Last year, I had nettle not catnip. This year, well I should just start the seeds in a ziplock baggie. That usually tells me which seeds will germinate and which ones won’t. Of course, the flip side of this is that I have to keep the catnip away from Penny. I will start the seeds in May then. That way I don’t have a long wait to keep her away from eating it. I bought purple top white globe seeds and sweet pea seeds. I also bought ashwagandha seeds and St.John’s wort seeds. I can’t wait to start those seeds either. 

Yup I look forward to spring’s return. It feels so long ago. Time is speeding up and where it leads us to, I do not know. I had special handouts from Herbal Academy about herbs laminated at the local print centre. I plan to have a more special handouts/notes laminated. It makes it easier to refer to them and they are protected from stains too. I want to keep them in the kitchen, not just my binder to refer to. 

I have plenty to look forward to this spring! I am eager to get started. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

 

 

 

Aliens monitoring Earth or not?

Merry meet all,

I can’t wait for spring. I mean like I really can’t wait for spring. I know I am not the only one. Anyone who has to deal with cold temperatures and snow shares in my pining for spring. I can’t do much foraging as everything green is buried under snow. I am so happy that winter is temporary. 

I am starting seeds in ziploc bags. A few marshmallow root seeds have germinated! I planted them and put the germinated seeds under my grow light. Marshmallow is a lovely herb and I look forward to watching her grow and helping the herb grow as beautiful as it can be.

Today’s post is about aliens. I am fascinated with aliens and I believe that they exist. I hope you enjoy it!

Alien mothership lurking in our solar system could be watching us with tiny probes, Pentagon official suggests

News

published March 25, 2023

Could an alien mothership be hovering around the solar system, sending out tiny probes to explore planets? According to a Harvard scientist and a Pentagon official, it’s possible. 

In a draft paper, the pair said it is feasible an extraterrestrial spaceship could be in our galactic neighborhood, exploring the region by the means of “dandelion seeds” — small spacecraft that can gather and send back information, similar to the way humans send out spacecraft to explore planets.

Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University, and Sean M. Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) — established in July 2022 by the Department of Defense (DoD) to detect and study “objects of interest” — released the draft, Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, on March 7. It is not an official Pentagon document but was carried out in partnership with the DoD. It has not been peer-reviewed.

Loeb is known for his research into ‘Oumuamua — an interstellar visitor from beyond the solar system. Astronomers first detected the cigar-shaped object in 2017 and originally thought it was a comet. However, its elongated shape, its lack of coma (the cloud of gases that envelope a comet), and the fact that it was accelerating away from the sun raised questions about the comet theory. Loeb suggested instead that ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship. 

Six months before ‘Oumuamua’s close approach to Earth, a small interstellar meteor measuring around 3 feet (1 meter) wide smashed into Earth. This meteor, IM2, was not related to ‘Oumuamua, but it got Loeb thinking. 

 

The interloper ‘Oumuamua continues to puzzle astronomers and astrophysicists. (Image credit: Bjorn Bakstad via Getty Images)

That coincidence inspired him “to consider the possibility that an artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions,” Loeb told Live Science in an email. “These ‘dandelion seeds’… could be separated from the parent craft by the tidal gravitational force of the sun or by a maneuvering capability.”

In the draft paper, Loeb and Kirkpatrick looked at Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs, the government’s preferred term for UFOs) confined by known physics. The authors suggest the dandelion seed probes could reach Earth for exploration without being detected by astronomers as they would likely be too small to reflect enough sunlight for survey telescopes to detect.

“Equipped with a large surface-to-mass ratio of a parachute, technological ‘dandelion seeds’ could slow down in the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid burnup and then pursue their objectives wherever they land,” they wrote.

Aliens would likely want to explore rocky planets with an atmosphere in the solar system, the authors propose. From a distance, Venus, Earth and Mars would all look appealing, with Earth being of greatest interest once aliens found signatures of liquid water. The alien civilization that created the probes would not need to be on the mothership. It would be unlikely that it could even communicate with the probes. 

The alien civilization may not even exist anymore. Most stars in the galaxy formed billions of years before the sun. A habitable planet with intelligent life could have been sending out probes long before Earth formed. Searching for “resembles checking our mailbox for any packages that may have accumulated over time there, even if the senders are not alive anymore,” Loeb said.

Since first suggesting ‘Oumuamua was an alien spaceship, Loeb has faced criticism from the scientific community. One Perspective article published in Nature Astronomy in 2019 said the idea ‘Oumuamua was sent to Earth on purpose was “provocative” and “baseless.”

In 2021, a letter published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics dismissed the idea on logistical impracticalities of interstellar travel: “Given the likely cosmological timescales required to traverse between stars, we conclude that it is unlikely that ‘Oumuamua has been sent by an extraterrestrial civilisation and more likely that it is just an unusually shaped rock, which has happened to wander into the solar system.”

Another study, published on March 22, 2023, explains ‘Oumuamua’s strange movements as the likely result of hydrogen off-gassing — again refuting the alien spacecraft theory. 

Still, the Pentagon has taken a renewed interest in studying unidentified objects over U.S. airspace in the previous year. Since the AARO’s founding last summer, the office has opened more than 360 new investigations into alleged UAP encounters reported by U.S. military personnel. About half of these have been explained as “balloons or balloon-like entities,” while the other half lack sufficient data to conclusively resolve.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Mar. 27 to correct a typo. A previous version of the story said most stars in the solar system are older than the sun; the text now reads “most stars in the galaxy.” The sun is the only star in our solar system.

This article was originally posted on Live Science.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Credit given to: https://www.space.com/alien-mothership-lurking-in-solar-system-pentagon-official-suggests

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Paranormal Dining

Merry meet all,

I am sad to announce that my friend Scott Lee Bower has passed away. He died from a serious heart complication this week. His friends and I are saddened by his passing. I posted about him on this blog and I will repost it for everyone to see again. He was a genuine person and he loved the paranormal. Scott will be missed. 

Today’s post is about an investigation led at the most famous Five Fishermen restaurant. I have been there and I can attest that the restaurant is genuinely haunted. Read on if you dare!

Paranormal investigators reach out to spirits at haunted Halifax eatery

On a chilly Saturday night in October, a group of paranormal investigators gathered at a historic Halifax building long rumoured to be haunted.

What is now a popular restaurant in Halifax’s downtown core was once a mortuary, processing bodies from both the sinking of the Titanic and the Halifax Explosion.

The persistent stories of strange happenings at the Five Fishermen at 1740 Argyle Street have attracted the attention of Paranormal Investigations Nova Scotia (PINS.)

Desperate for answers, the group decided to gather their equipment and spend a long night at the restaurant in the hopes of solving the mystery behind the reports of flickering lights and unknown footsteps.

“Hoping to try and communicate with a spirit of some sort, somebody that has, you know, been trapped here, someone who has personal possessions here,” says Darcy O’Neil of PINS.

The group doesn’t have to wait long.

Cameras are quick to catch a motion sensor going off on its own. Suspecting a malfunction, the team discusses the problem while a white mist moves across their video screen.

No one on the team can explain it and the mist is only the beginning.

The team sets up a ghost box, a digital audio recorder with a built-in radio set on a reverse frequency.

Where a person’s ears would only pick up static, investigators say other voices sometimes emerge from the white noise.

The team also sets up a laser grid in an effort to spot any shadows passing by.

The investigators say the quickest way to determine whether a ghost is present is to simply ask.

“Is there a female here?” they ask.

The silence is deafening as they wait for an answer in a dining room where a mysterious man has been spotted several times in a mirror.

“If there’s a male here, what’s your name?”

Suddenly, through the static on the ghost box, the words “it’s Drake” seem to fill the air.

“That was a male voice that just came through,” says O’Neil.

A man named William Leonard Drake died in the Halifax Explosion. The body of the 24-year-old was prepared for burial in the building.

“I thoroughly believe that we are haunted,” says the restaurant’s general manager, Heather Brown. “I don’t believe that any of the spirits here are here to hurt us. I think they’re more or less just here to say this is our space.”

The embalming process in the old funeral home took place in what is now a private dining room.

A basic security system catches some action in the room as balls of light, or orbs, dance around the space. The orbs are invisible to the naked eye but can be seen plain as day on the infrared video.

Upstairs in the woman’s washroom, where a little girl has been spotted and a woman heard weeping, the team brings so-called trigger objects – items chosen to elicit a response.

There is no obvious response, but some women in the group report feeling numb.

The investigators try the same method in the wine cage.

“Is there anyone here who wants to communicate with me?” asks one investigator.

The light of the flashlight comes on, seemingly on its own.

“Are you a female? Turn it on for yes.”

Again, the flashlight lights up on its own.

“Are you a young child?”

The light turns on once more.

The team begins to pick up more activity. Radios and motion sensors continue to go off for no apparent reason.

And so it goes, until well after midnight.

As the investigators pack up and leave, they conclude the evening has generated more questions than answers. They vow to return.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Suzette Belliveau

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/paranormal-investigators-reach-out-to-spirits-at-haunted-halifax-eatery-1.2081831

In other news:

There are 29 days till Spring Equinox! I can’t wait. I mean I have a few herb seedlings growing under my grow light. I am literally counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds till I can be in my garden again. I am just chomping at the bit for spring. 

I put some seeds on damp paper towel and put the paper towels in ziplock baggies. I used mountain arnica seeds, mint, elecampane, purple basil and marshmallow root. I can’t wait to grow those herbs! Starting seeds that way is a great way to see which seeds will grow the strongest and what the germination rate is. I love starting seeds that way. 

The next turn in the Wheel of the Year is Ostara. Ostara is the second Spring sabbat. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch

 

The Outer Realm of the Paranormal

Merry meet all,

I have really enjoyed listening to the podcast The Outer Realm hosted by Michelle DesRochers and Amelia Pisano. I can’t get enough of their podcast. I am even a convert to Folgers Coffee. I have subscribed to their podcast and I am quickly becoming a loyal listener. The podcast is so amazing that I can’t imagine missing a single podcast. 

I love podcasts, more than movies. They provide entertainment in a way that movies don’t and the podcasts are in line with my passions and interests. I have learned a lot since listening to her podcast. Yes I do love podcasts and I love her podcast – it is all about the paranormal: ETs, alien encounters and some other topics. The other topics have ranged from ghosts, animal empaths and historical horror novels like Dracula.

Michele and Amelia are intelligent, down to earth and compassionate. They are super nice and they are great listeners. Maybe I can be on their podcast some day. I would love that. 

I just bought a fascinating magazine titled Ghosts and Hauntings: Spectres, Spooks & Restless Spirits. The magazine was produced by Fortean Times: The World of Strange phenomena. I have to finish reading the book The Witch’s Guide to the Paranormal. I started reading it and I haven’t finished it but I will soon. I want to actually write the book on ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. I will likely do a lot of research for my book. I have started writing it and I am really excited. I have been blogging on the paranormal for years. I have completed under a thousand posts. It is my passion and life. I am quite excited and it feels good to be writing something new. I also want to read a book I bought titled Deathbed Visions. I bet that will be a good book! The book was written by Sir William Barrett. 

I doubt I will self-publish the book. I can get the book traditionally published, I am sure and I can’t afford to cover the costs involved with self-publishing. Maybe this is the right time for to write this book on ghosts and clairvoyance. I had to have a bit of life experience before I could write it. I mean, the paranormal is my life and I hope that readers can feel my passion as they read. 

I bought a small bird house and a bottle of brown acrylic paint from Dollarama today. I plan to paint the birdhouse brown and make it a bat house. The green and white bookcase that I assembled where I store most of my paranormal books is for horror titles. A bat house will be a welcome spooky addition to the bookcase. It will hang from a hook and the bats are welcome to inhabit the little house and hang out there. 

Tonight I listened to Lights out Podcast. I am now listening to The Paranormal 60 hosted by Dave Schrader. His guest is discussing the phenomena about black eyed kids. I have never seen a black eyed kid myself but many people have claimed to have seen them. They sound eerie and unsettling. I am not exactly holding my breath waiting for an encounter with them. 

There is so much to learn about the paranormal and all the strange beings that come with it. Aliens, angels, demons, skin walkers, black eyed kids, grey aliens, wendigos, Bigfoot, etc. I think it is important to maintain a balanced, open mind about it. There is way more talk about the paranormal than ever before. I know we have the benefit of unprecedented ease of global communication. I think that is part of it but I also think that something like a portal opened. Now, this portal is open and it was done in such a way that some beings crossed over. Whatever has opened the portal or inter dimensional portal doesn’t want to seal it and doesn’t care about the human race. It could have been aliens, a person or something. Now that something has opened like a portal, a portly? lol, I don’t think there is any closing it. It’s like a Pandora’s box. 

We may see weirder things in the future, which scares me. The earth is suffering from the fact that her resources are being so wantonly wasted, climate change, war, crime and poverty. These are just a handful of the issues we are facing today. On a paranormal level, it may become common to see black eyed kids, aliens and other cryptid creatures. The future is so uncertain and fascinating at the same time. We can at least have an open mind and still protect ourselves- or you just may have an experience yourself!

Blessings, Spiderwitch

Links: 

https://www.youtube.com/@TheParanormal60

https://www.youtube.com/@Michelle-TheOuterRealmRadio

 

Winter Woes

Merry meet all,

A powerful snowstorm blew in at the Atlantic provinces here, creating record amounts of snow. Over three thousand people lost power which thankfully I was exempt from. The Cape Breton provinces received the most snow, a total of 150 centimetres in some areas. The amount of snow was unreal. It is really bad and I just hope that things get better.

Imbolc is here, along with the record-breaking snowfall. I cooked Guiness Stew, a new recipe. Beer broth took some adjusting too, but it is delicious. I encourage you all to try steak soaked in beer broth at least once or several times in your life- with more Guiness and rustic bread. Let the stew steep as that really draws out the flavours.

I worry for those in Cape Breton in regards to the storm. They need food and are not able to get to work. Now the climate change deniers can look me in the eye and tell me that climate change isn’t real. It is. The polar ice caps are melting. We received a winter’s worth of snow in a weekend. That is not normal. I keep filling the bird feeder. As soon as I do, they are right there at the feeder, pecking for seeds, the poor things. I have to stock up on more seed. I refuse to see them starve. 

I hope that the long black boards can finally be adhered to my altar this weekend. The weather must cooperate. It will just be such a game changer and I can’t wait to have my altar off the floor. It will make such a difference in here, because I will be able to store stuff underneath the altar and no longer need to kneel on the floor. I wear a lot of black and my cat has white fur- need I say more? 

I bought a set of queen-sized black linen bed sheets to match the black blanket I bought from Killstar. I swear I sleep better with darker sheets. I also got some white magazine holders and have now happily arranged papers and magazines. It looks so much more organized and coordinated. I am on a mission to get more organized, even if it takes the rest of my life. I am making progress though. 

Imbolc may be the first of the three spring Sabbats but spring is a long way off here yet. Imbolc occurs on February 2nd is the second Sabbat of the Wiccan year. Seeds stir under the soil and animals slowly emerge from their long hibernation. Imbolc is the cross-quarter day between Winter Solstice and the spring equinox. Candlemas is also celebrated on February 2nd. The God returns and strengthens his power. The Goddess gave birth to the God at Yule and returns her maiden role for spring. 

Imbolc is an old Irish word for the birthing of the first lambs of the season, and is often times translated as “ewe’s milk.” The Celts revered the Goddess Brighid for her talents with poetry, healing and smithcraft. 

We will discuss Imbolc more in the upcoming posts. 

Merry Imbolc

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

Inspirations in spring

Merry meet all,

Imbolc is approaching! I can feel the first stirrings of spring because I have been hit with a huge creativity urge. I have planned out painting the bathroom walls -with a resident cat here, painting the bathroom tub area which desperately needs to be done because my landlord sure ain’t going to do it and painting these wooden legs to go on my altar. 

I plan to get the bathroom immaculately clean. It really needs to be done and not just because I am going to paint in there, although that is a huge part of it. Spring cleaning is a big part of spring and a wonderful way to welcome the long-awaited return of spring. I certainly plan to spring clean. My apartment really needs it and I love a fresh clean home. 

The bathroom renovation will be a ton of work.  I am sure it will be beautiful when I am all done. I plan to add more plants and amethyst crystals too. I want the big chunks of amethyst and not just the small ones. I googled witchy bathrooms online and I love what I saw. Of course, those images are all doctored to make it look that great but that is a good place to start to get inspired. 

I want to add a new nightstand and two new dressers to the bedroom. I plan to assemble the bookcases at my Mom’s place and paint them there. I have already made some changes in the bedroom. I installed two hooks on the side of the green bookcase and hung two witch brooms and my stand. That got them off the floor. I swept the area and now the black lap desk rests underneath the bookcase, giving the area an uncluttered look. 

I own a lovely black chest that holds my witchy supplies for spells. I touched it up with black paint and now the wooden chest looks brand new. I sorted through the items in the chest, tossed what no longer serves me and I kept what is still beautiful to me and useful. Now I have a clean wooden chest and I am one step closer to something that has long been an aspiration of mine: to get my altar off the floor. 

Tomorrow I am painting the wooden table legs (for my altar) with primer then I paint them black on Wednesday. My Mom will help me attach them to the altar. I will remove everything from the altar, clean and refresh it, and we will attach the table legs. I want to paint them black the same color as the altar with green vines. It will look great. I am so excited about this project. I currently hate having my altar on the floor. It makes it so awkward for me. Having it up off the floor elevates it to new levels, for sure!

Then I will sage it and dress the altar for Imbolc which is fast approaching. So first I will paint the altar table legs, then paint the bathroom walls then paint the bathtub in the bathroom. I will do just one project at a time. My Mom said I could borrow all her painting supplies, which saves me a ton of money. She is also sharing the paint for the bathroom walls with me, again which saves me money. 

I do believe I have a drop cloth in storage in the broom closet. Painting is a pain in the butt with a cat here in my apartment so I plan to move her litter box to the kitchen to avoid her being in my way. I don’t want to have a lot of cat hair in the paint or stuck to the walls. It will be hard enough to do all this. 

Change is in the air… but that is part of spring. I might add hooks and paint them white to match the bathroom walls above the trim. I will then arrange vines and fairy lights around the large bathroom mirror to soften the harsh perfectly square mirror frame. I have no idea why I didn’t think of that before. I can get ivy vines from outside. it grows abundantly on the maple tree in the front yard. That will be very handy. Ivy symbolizes resurrection, healing and is good for binding lovers together. Well I don’t have a love life but I like the other symbolism. 

I have plenty to keep me occupied for the next few weeks! In other news, I am still working on edits for my novella. I ordered these cool prints from Stamprints and I want to add them to the book I bound myself. They are so cool. I think I will wait until I fill the book with poems and then add them. I have a lot of those leaves to add too. I bought a bottle of Mod Podge glue. I am waiting a long time, way too long, for a witch broom to come in the mail. I am unsure why the order is taking such a snail’s age to arrive. I am still waiting for the new issue of Witches and Pagans magazine to arrive in the mail. 

I am so happy because my article that was printed in the Plant Healer Quarterly magazine is also published in a book. Here are some links : https://www.amazon.ca/Materia-Medica-IV-Botany-Herbalists/dp/B0CNKPZP38/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QWPLBNXQOA9&keywords=Materia+Medica+IV%3A+Botany+For+Herbalists.&qid=1705955453&sprefix=materia+medica+iv+botany+for+herbalists+%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1

The paperback copy can be found on Amazon at the above link. I am honoured and happy to be included. Now, turning over to the more horror side of things, the editor of the Horror Zine, Jeani Rector, has been voted the best magazine/ Ezine editor in the Critters Annual Readers Poll 2023. She published my short story and my poetry. I am happy to be published in a publication that was accorded that honour. The Horror Zine, her zine, was also voted the Best Fiction magazine/ Ezine by the same poll for 2023. 

Here is the link to the website: https://thehorrorzine.com/

The Spring issue is now available on Amazon so go get a copy right now!!! Cozy up with these awesome publications I am in to keep you busy this winter. It will be spring before we know it. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

My Dark Avenger- Dante the Doll

My new doll

Merry meet all,

I was gifted a new pair of winter boots. I am so happy and so are my feet. Living in Atlantic Canada, you need a comfortable truly insulating pair of winter boots.  I love them. I recently made myself a new doll. I made the doll, my dark avenger, because I am so tired of the pain and toxicity I encounter. It has been so bad it has changed me. But not for the worse, but rather for the better. It does no good to be naive but it doesn’t have to turn you into someone bitter or hateful, either. 

I love my doll and I have named him Dante. He is all black with two buttons for eyes and a black button for the nose. He has a red mouth, a grey and red cape, and I stuffed with specific herbs. The herbs are meant to protect me. The herbs are sage, wormwood, nettle, pine needles, High John the Conqueror, mandrake, oak bark and Devil’s Claw Root. I stirred the herbs in a bowl with a wooden spoon, empowering the herbs with protective energy to protect me. He smells good! His hair is made from purple yarn. Dante is a dashing little fellow. I created him with care. Dante sports a necklace of skulls and pentacles and he bears a protection rune on the front, on his chest. I want to add horns and a tail to Dante too. 

I just love how Dante turned out. He looks great and he makes me feel good each time I hold him or look at him. Dante will always watch over me and guard me. That is the intention I put into him. I found a pattern to make a poppet doll and just enlarged the pattern. Then I sewed him together with care and love. I like to take pride in the things I do. They turn out better and last longer. My other doll, Minerva will get to know Dante too. 

I am tired of the pain and hate and toxicity. I received a flash of inspiration and next thing I knew, since I am happiest when I am creative, I was sewing myself a doll. I am tired of being a sponge for all that. No one needs that. Ever since Covid, everything has gone to pot. I hope the world gets better. The doll will now protect me. He is my little friend who will make sure no one ever hurts me again. This does not mean I won’t have my moments or that I won’t ever encounter anything negative ever again, like I am not a god. I am human but it sure feels good now to have Dante around. 

Penny is a sweet munchkin. She probably tries to protect me too. She is always available for a cuddle, whether I am happy or sad. So let’s love our little avengers- dolls, cats or a dog, whatever you have near you that loves you. We know the world could use a lot more love. Let’s choose love!

Imbolc approaches! 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

Happy 2024

Merry meet all,

Happy New Year! Happy 2024!!!

I am so excited to welcome in 2024. Are you as excited as I am? I hung up my beautiful calendar, the Hedgewitch Botanical, for 2024. The first botanical it mentions is Sitka spruce, which grows on the nature trail. I have foraged Sitka spruce and made a tincture and oil from it. Sitka spruce is lovely. This is what was said about Sikta spruce on the calendar page: 

Sitka spruce withstands the chill breath of winter’s reign, offering peace and protection to all who shelter near. Hang a branch above your door to attract benevolent spirits, or burn it in incense to cleanse your sacred space.” That sums it up. The Natives love Sitka spruce and used the wood well for a variety of purposes. 

I have challenges to meet and new opportunities to embrace. That is part of the fun of a new year: everything is new and while I never make resolutions because I won’t keep them, I do attempt to make new plans and projects that I can keep. For instance, I am still working on my novella edits with Stephanie Ellis, I am still writing on this blog and I still have the goal of achieving 1000 blog posts. I have new projects and plans. I am still studying at the Herbal Academy. I plan to continue to write horror fiction, love my cat, drink coffee, do baking, feed the birds suet and create, love, conjure and hope. 

To make my studies easier on me, I decided to buy a huge- like super huge binder to hold all the printed pages and the pdfs. It didn’t take long for the binder to fill up. The spine of the binder is 5 inches. It has a capacity of holding up to 1270 pages. There are 14 units in the entire Advanced Herbalism course, each with a set of lessons. I don’t expect to make the binder hold all 14 units but it is nice to have all the lessons and papers in one place, one binder as opposed to several small ones. 

Now on to my new goals for 2024: 

I want to finish editing the novella. We are almost done the first round of edits, then I will find a beta reader and get their comments, then I will go through the second round of edits with Stephanie Ellis then on to a publisher. I want to write more horror stories. I want to write a dark book of poetry. The Writing Poetry in the Dark workbook is on order at my local fave bookstore and should arrive soon. Once it does, I shall get writing! I will paste each poem as a completed draft or, as complete as I can make it, because we all know that a poem is never truly finished. I want to write the rough drafts in another beautiful blank hardcover journal I have. I would love it if I could get my novella published. 

My other dream goal that I want to achieve is to graduate with flying colours from the Herbal Academy. I know that won’t happen in 2024. It is nonetheless my big goal, a huge important goal for me. I want to make my dreams a reality. So, to recap, get my writing published and graduate from the Herbal Academy. I can do it. I won’t do it all at once nor in one day but I will eventually achieve it all. I will take small steps to get there. I don’t want to graduate from the Academy, I am having too good a time studying there. I am going to be very sad when I do eventually graduate. I have till 2025 to finish the course and read and conjure potions…

On a more personal note, I want to work on myself. I want to improve on myself, and not overreact to things, to learn and grow as a person. I would love to hear what your new year goals and dreams are! Let me know. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

 

 

 

 

Winter Solstice Baking and Decorations )O(

Merry meet all,

I am not happy that the weather became so miserable. I worried about losing power which never happened. I postponed the holiday baking. However, I did have some success with presents. 

I assembled a fire starter kit and coffee for my brother and lip balm for my mother. I placed moss, a pinecone I painted white, a bit of birch bark and matches in a glass jar. I put the moss in first followed by the pinecone, then the matches secured with string and a white candle. If he ever loses power, he is prepared for any event or disaster. I also poured instant coffee into a jar with a cinnamon stick and 2 star anise. I had no gift box or packaging so I improvised. 

I used a brown paper bag to store the gifts but first I painted it! I traced a tree from a cookie cutter onto the bag and outlined it in black and green. Then I painted the tree I traced on green. I painted the rest of the bag white. I had to be careful because brown paper bags are delicate when they are wet. I hole punched the bag and wound twine through the holes and tied them. I placed the fire starter kit and the coffee in the bag. I baked the pumpkin bread in a bundt pan. 

I made a small tin of peppermint and sweet orange lip balm for my Mom. In fact it smelled so good I made a tiny pot of it for myself. I am sure she will enjoy it. I can’t wait to wrap it. 

I baked a loaf of pumpkin bread and I added crushed walnut. I have to make the frosting for it. I want to use orange food colouring to frost the bread and add cinnamon and orange zest to the frosting. I plan to make peppermint bark, gingerbread, gingerbread cookies, and yuletide bread. My family will love me for such delicious treats. Or their bodies will hate me. It is the time for feasting though. 

Gingerbread was a tradition of my grandparents. I want to make a loaf because they are gone now and I know it was what they would have baked this holiday season. I can remember being at the cottage during the holidays and they would bake it fresh. Tomorrow nothing will stop me. I want to use up a lot of ingredients and such festive baking is surely the answer to that. I have a lot of dried orange peel in my icebox which is perfect for this. I’m going to bake the yuletide bread in the bundt pan too. I have to candy the lemon peel and orange peel. I have the ‘cranberry and raisin’ raisins for that recipe too. I think it will be delicious. 

I bought a beautiful festive bag from the dollar store which will hold the sweets and gifts. Penny is celebrating Christmas dinner with us of course. She will be part of all the fun. Of course. Penny is family! I tidied up her litter box tonight. Penny loves to lounge on the red tree skirt which definitely doesn’t look pagan but very christmasy but oh well- I do my best. 

I’m celebrating the Solstice solo. Well I am not really alone. I have the company of cats and the spirits here. I have some organic locally sourced hamburger meat. I plan to cook an awesome meatloaf and have an amazing meal and perform a ritual. It is the Christmas dinner with my family I am really preparing for. 

I also saved the best news for last (but not least): I am so happy to share that Wicked Shadow Press published my horror flash fiction story, Winter Solstice Spell in their upcoming anthology, Yule Cat Codex! 

The Yule Cat Codex by Wicked Shadow Press featuring my flash fiction story and many others

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I foraged for wintry goodies from the nature trail. I foraged eastern white pine, common juniper and Sikta Spruce. I cleaned, trimmed and am now drying the herbs in brown paper bags. If the weather is better tomorrow, I will dry the herbs in my dehydrator. I did create a smudge stick with the juniper, pine and I have to add rosemary. 

I still want to make some decorations out of salt dough. I was inspired by a video I watched. I never lost power today but I did no baking. I could have been so much more ahead. I am having dinner with my family on the 24th. Everything will be perfect.

The best part of baking and making gifts is wrapping them. I don’t have a lot of gifts to give but it feels good. I did already gift my mother the iron tonic syrup. I am sure she will love the minty sweet lip balm. Either way, I can’t wait to wrap it all and package the baked goods but tomorrow I plan to do some last minute shopping. Then it will be bake, bake, bake and create, create, create!

Of course though, I look forward to that. I am a diehard kitchen witch with a rep to maintain.  I can’t wait to begin! 

Don’t let the Yule lads get the best of you! I watched the version of A Christmas Carol with George C Scott the other night. I am so in the mood for the Solstice! I enjoyed the movie so much! It was the best version ever. 

It is almost time for me to strain the Pear Liquor. I can’t wait to enjoy it on the Solstice. I need a pretty jar. I can’t wait to try it. 

https://www.milkglasshome.com/pear-liqueur-recipe/?fbclid=IwAR0OHTTUT4bydi42jwOGnEBdRfEdHJJLArMMjfMypQn-S7epB8P8DDvql40

In other news, I  created a herbal vision board. 

I do believe I will enjoy baking and decorating! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings, Spiderwitch 

 

 

The Herbs of Winter Solstice )O(

Merry meet all,

I made a wreath frame! I used the wood from the trees on the nature trail. I am so happy with how it turned out. The best part is, aside from the fact that the wood smells like spruce or pine, is that it is reusable. Winter Solstice is almost here! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used silver fir, silver birch, cedar and witch hazel to make the wreath. I think it is beautiful. I chose those trees because the wood is more pliable.  I cleaned the needles and leaves off of the branches then cleaned the branches. I dried them and then attempted to make the wreath. I pre bent the wood to make it work for the wreath. This is a good tip. That helps it bend when you make the wreath. I also used string, wire and my hot glue gun. Once I had a pieces of wood bent and where I wanted it, then I didn’t need the hot glue gun as much. I want to add 1 more silver fir branch to fill in the gaps then I will add the spruce and herbs. I really enjoyed making the wreath but it had its moments, like getting the wood to cooperate. I think that the silver fir was the easiest to bend. That and cedar, but the cedar tree here is my neighbour’s tree. I can’t use that wood. The wood is even a lovely colour and has a beautiful scent! 

I love how my wreath turned out. Winter Solstice is on its way! I am in the spirit of Yule and I have already decorated my goth tree! I am so happy that I won a contest with Weird Little Worlds press. I can’t wait to receive my prizes! I have no idea what I am getting so that makes it more exciting. 

I want to talk about which herbs are best for the Winter solstice. The natural beautiful herbs can be found in your own home, in your neighbourhood or in a park. Get outdoors! Let’s go for a walk and see what we find. The most common herbs for Yule are cinnamon, frankincense, bay leaves, pine, juniper, cedar, rosemary, oranges, mistletoe, oak, thyme, sage and oregano. Pinecones, spruce needles and hawthorn are good herbs for Yule. I will now discuss how these herbs can be of benefit this holiday season. 

Juniper berries symbolize cleansing and purifying a space. The berries are also good for protection and purification. 

Cinnamon is good for warmth, protection and prosperity. Cinnamon has such a lovely earthy aroma. 

Cloves have a beautiful aroma too. Cloves promote healing and protection – from the Yule lads!

• “Thyme, subtle yet powerful, is a herb that weaves itself into the solstice tapestry with threads of courage and purification. It’s a reminder of the resilience of nature, and its aromatic leaves help to fortify our spirits during the introspective winter months.
• Nutmeg, a fragrant whisper of the tropical lands, brings its mystical warmth to the solstice. It’s a spice that conjures up the magic of the moment, enhancing our connection to the spiritual realm and the inner joy of the festive season.
• Chamomile, known for its calming and soothing effects, becomes a comforting ally during the long nights, offering relaxation and promoting restful sleep. Other herbs such as rosemary, juniper, and frankincense hold their own significance, each contributing to the enchanting tapestry of winter solstice traditions.
• Rosemary,with its needle-like leaves, is a robust herb of the solstice, revered for its ability to strengthen memory and uplift the spirit. It’s a symbol of remembrance during the longest night, reminding us of the evergreen aspects of life, even in the depths of winter.
• Frankincense,with its ancient and wise scent, is a resin that calls to mind the sacred and the divine. It’s used to elevate the mind, opening the inner pathways to meditation and deep contemplation. Its smoke is said to carry our prayers and intentions up to the heavens, making it a powerful addition to winter solstice ceremonies.
• Peppermint, crisp and invigorating, cuts through the winter’s chill. It’s a herb that stimulates the senses and invigorates the soul. A cup of peppermint tea can awaken the mind and body, making it an excellent herb for staying alert and cheerful during the solstice’s introspective moments.
• Pine,with its clean and fresh fragrance, symbolizes resilience and longevity. It’s a reminder of the green that will return to the world. Pine boughs are often strewn across the solstice hearth or used to make wreaths, representing the eternal cycle of growth and rebirth.
• Holly, with its vibrant red berries and deep green leaves, stands as a symbol of everlasting life. It’s a plant that holds a special place in winter solstice lore, representing the enduring nature of life and the hope that shines even in the darkness.
• Mistletoe, a sacred plant of the druids, is revered for its mystical properties and its role in ancient solstice ceremonies. It’s a symbol of peace and love, and hanging it in the home is said to bring good fortune and protection.”

Credit given to https://www.outdoorapothecary.com/winter-solstice-herbs/

I hope this helps you all find creative ways to use these herbs for the Winter Solstice. You can use these herbs in decorating a wreath, a winter solstice simmering potpourri on the stove, you can dehydrate oranges and use them in decorations, and you can make your home smell like Yule! There is no limit, the only limit is in your imagination. 

Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(