Travel Log 9-1: Fairies Fairies Fairies!

More on my travels through the Celtic pathways.
I have always found it interesting to look at the progression from god and demigod into little winged flitty thing on a t-shirt. Most of the modern concepts for fairies, or the Fey, come from the British Isles and in fact are derivatives of their ancient pagan traditions. The Sidhe were one of the celtic divine pantheons and  were known for living in barrows, or mounded hills. With the christian invasion of the isles followed on the heels of the mass slaughtering of the druids by the roman armies much of the lore related to these places began to devolve into superstitions and they became "fairy mounds" and these mounds began to be populated with all sorts of creatures. Because the majority of the oral tradition was wiped out with the druids, and strongly discouraged by the christians( *cough* inquisition*cough*), these creatures took on more of a mythical and playfull nature than their original forms. As my favorite author Terry Pratchett pointed out in his book Hogfather- old gods do new jobs. The celtic gods and goddesses adapted and found a way to stay connected to the people that they serve in a way that they accept. For example - one of the most revered of the celtic goddesses was Brid. She was found in one form or another throughout the different celtic lands. Currently she is known as Saint Brigid and is considered to be one of the most holy saints in that pantheon.

But to my mind all this begs a question- Considering that the gods are with us in different forms throughout the day you gotta wonder what they think about being portrayed as a six inch tall sex symbol with wings?

In case you've angered the pixies lately here is a spell I picked up that will appease the Fair Folk and is a whole lot of fun to do with kids:

Calming of the Fairies
This spell is for an unruly mob - the fairies.
For this spell you need an offering:
a small piece of cake
a thimble of honey
anything you think a fairy might like.
Place the offering in a clearing in your garden and whisper the following verse:
Little fairies with tiny feet
Play in this garden - but leave it neat
Little fairies with hands so sweet
I leave this offering - for you to eat
Little fairies, if this garden is neat
Ill leave more offerings at your tiny feet.
Continue to leave little fairy treats about once a month. This spell is best done at dusk as fairies are usually asleep in the day and dancing at night.

Travel Log 8-30: Knotts, Scotts, and Old Men in Skirts

Ah the Celts!
I have found many of their varied offspring and mimickers throughout my travels. The Celtic culture found its way into many traditions throughout history. Mainly considered to be the ancient traditions of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales Celtic artwork and artifacts have been found in different countries around the North Sea and the British Channel.
There are interesting points of Celtic belief that have made their way into a lot of neopagan traditions, most notably of which would be the druidic orders and religions. The original druids were wiped out centuries ago, but as early as the 1800's there were druidic reconstructionists trying to recapture the essence of the ancient traditions.

And now that the history Lesson is over here's one of the points I found to be interesting. Celtic knotting was considered to be a magical practice, and still is in many traditions. But it has also been relegated to craft and artwork status and is practiced by countless crafters to help beautify their homes in quilts, hangings, and even clothing without the meanings or intentions of the knot patterns being known. I wonder how many grannies have excellent examples of steamy sex spells worked into their clothing or hanging on their wall? The mind fairly boggles.
Here's a link to a site with some good information on Knotwork in a lot of different traditions as well as some good knot spells:
Sacred Spiral

This is a spell from that site that I personally like:

Throwing Out Poverty

To rid your home of poverty, stand in the middle of your home, in the early morning, holding a black cord in your hands.

Face compass North and say as you tie a square knot:

"I knot you knot."

Face East and say as you tie a square knot:

"I bind you bound."

Face South and say as you tie a square knot:

"All house bound poverty,"

Face West and say as you tie a square knot:

"Tied and gone."

Take the knotted cord and get rid of it, as far away from your home as possible. Upon your return, begin a day's work of cleaning to help remove any residual negative energy.

Travel Log 8-29: The Land of Wax and Oil

Took a stop off into the strange world of candle magic this week.
Candles have long been a mild obsession of mine, ever since i was 10 and my mom gave me $30 and let me loose in a candle store. I LOVE them. I mean love them love them. Would marry them if it was even remotely legal..but i digress. ahem.
What precipitates this is that on my rambles through the information highways and byways I found an awesome site that has some easy to understand and use information on ceromancy. It's an awesome working for that can be adapted to almost any pathway and make your house smell great in the process. Which, I found, gives my little obsession some legitimacy.
Here's the link so you can try some of it out for yourself if you wish:Witchery
I've also found this site to be just a great source of general information!
I'll keep you all posted on the candle spell that The Other(also known as my husband;)) did this week.
Here's a copy of the spell in case you want to try it for yourself:

Money Candle Magic

Timing: daily at the same time
You will need a Green Candle and a White Candle. The Green candle represents the money, and the white candle represents you. Make sure you annoint the candles with oil first, thinking of your desire for money to come to you. Set the candles on your alter or table 9 inches apart. After doing this say:

Money, money come to me
In abundance three times three
May I be enriched in the best of ways
Harming none on its way
This I accept,
so mote it be
Bring me money three times three!

Repeat this for nine days. Each day move the white candle one inch closer to the green candle. When the candles touch, your spell is finished. Make sure you visualize the money pouring in from the universe.

Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

I am a traveler trying to navigate my way through the many and varied Pagan Pathways.
Currently I have been experiencing some navigational issues. I'm sure that with some more exploration they will work themselves out but until then....

I'm lost in astral space...