Not all spellcraft has to be elaborate, not every spell needs ingredients or even tools. Sometimes all you need is your own intent and the power in your being. It doesn’t even have to be obvious.

I am not 100% thrilled with this little ditty. It needs some tweaking. But, most of it fell into my head and then I wrote the rest to fit. It would be something to be muttered under your breath, uttered solely in the mind, or sung aloud while you plant your seeds and plants this year.

Little seeds here in my hand (little seedling in my hand)
May you grow and bless the land
May the sun, its firey light
Help you reach your proper height
May the breeze, the fragrant air
Grace you with beauty fair
May the water of the rain
Help you, your potential gain
May the soil, the sacred earth
Grant you growth and grant you birth

- Copyright Mama Kelly 2009

May whatever you plant this Spring – in the earth or in your life – BLOOM!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:chant, garden, seeds, spell, spring

There is so much I should be doing today.  As with every weekend (I work Sunday-Thursday) I have cooking to do, cleaning to tackle, homework, and blogwork.  But, frankly, I don’t want to do any of it.

This has not been a fun week.  No major events, just a lot of chaos, errands, yelling about homework, and upset feelings. I slept poorly last night, more poorly than usual, probably as a result of the anxiety related to our site having gone offline again.  I do not know what occurred but it was apparently a server glitch as a call to our domain host this morning (and a few keystrokes on their end) and everything was well again.  Something for which I am very very grateful.

The day is warm and the breeze is blowing through the upstairs open windows and sitting here with my laptop I am experiencing more peace than I have lately.   A voice within me whispers to grab on to this feeling and go with it.  But odds are I will get up off my ever enlarging butt and get something accomplished as that will make me feel good too.

Later I am taking Miss Artistic out to the pediatrician and then both girls out to pick up their new eyeglasses.  After our health related errands we will do the food shopping together – which means I have company as well as helping hands.  Tonight will be a leftover night and tomorrow I will do an even smaller version of my once a week cooking tomorrow (before the girls’ Tae Kwon Do belt testing) as it seems that every week we are eating less of what I make which means we can make do with less.

Perhaps I will do something I haven’t done in a while and pull out one of my tarot decks and do a reading for myself as I get ready to do a reading for our contest winner after I announce the winner on Sunday.  Hmmm now that sounds like a plan my friends.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly

It has been a hectic week. Monday was school, Tuesday was Tae Kwon Do (for the girls not me), and last night was a doctor’s appointment for Miss Artistic. Upon coming home last night it was revealed that the “little bit” of homework Miss Artistic still had left to do was significantly more than a little and it took her and I together an hour and a half to get it done. I was wound pretty tight when I went to bed and slept rather restlessly. So today is a grumpy mama kind of day. But, on the bright side today is my Friday.

The one blessing in the loss of both overtime and side-projects at my job is that (when life and health cooperate) I actually get a two day weekend again. It is as good for my stress and sanity levels to not have to be at my workplace for 2 full days a week as it is bad for my wallet. But I am hoping to make the most of my time off and tackle some more clutter control as well as even (perhaps) start my 2008 taxes.

Granted I still have the usual cooking, and homework to do as well. But, as the company I had planned for this weekend has fallen through and I am hopeful that I will also find some time to sit and write some thoughtful posts for the week ahead. In the meantime I leave you with a collection of links to peruse as you plan your own celebrations for the Spring Equinox.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

StornWing’s solitary Ostara rite

Josquin’s group ritual for Ostara

A Rebirthing rite for Ostara

Ostara ritual – from Llewellyn.com

Group Ostara ritual from MoonPath CUUPS

Solitary rite for Ostara – bless & plant seeds

another collection of Ostara rituals can be found here

What’s going on on 2Witches?

Earring Giveaway
Tarot reading giveaway
Mama Kelly is selling books here at 2 Witches and on Amazon

Written by Mama KellyTags:Ostara, spring, spring equinox

New Moon Earrings

*

Golden Sun Earrings

*

One of our regular readers Lady Amaranth has generously offered earrings from her Etsy store, Eternal Stardust Jewelry. The contest will run from today through Ostara and not one, but two winners will be chosen.  Both earrings share the stone Tiger’s Eye in their design.  Tiger’s Eye is thought to bring protection and good luck to it’s wearer and is also associated with prosperity and clarity of mind.

You can only win once (if your name comes up twice an alternate will be chosen for the second pair) but we are going to run this contest a little differently than we have in the past. Instead of using the handy dandy little scripted box that we’ve used for the past few giveaways this one will be purely based on your comments and the random number generator over at random.org.

You will have the option to earn up to three entries, to maximize your chances of winning, but only the first entry is required to be entered in the contest. Please do not leave any comments on this post other than your entries.  Be aware that winning comments will be checked to be certain that they actually kept up their end of the bargain so to speak.

Entries will only be accepted through 11:59 PM on Friday, March 20, 2009, the winner will be chosen on the morning of Saturday, March 21, 2009, and the winner will be announced later that same day.

Entry #1 (mandatory)

Visit Eternal Stardust Jewelry, then come back here and in comments share which item is your favorite … or …. what you would pick if you were to request a custom item from her shop. Do not forget to use a valid email address in the comments form so we can reach you if you win.

Entry #2 (optional)

Send a message via twitter to those in your network. Just cut and paste:

I entered a cool jewelry giveaway hosted by @mamakelly & @LadyRose. Two winners will be chosen. http://tinyurl.com/dneymj **

Then come back and leave a second comment that indicates that you have sent your tweet, including your twitter ID.  This allows us to verify your entry as well as allows you to perhaps gain some new followers among our readers.

Entry #3 (optional)

Write a post talking about something about our site that you enjoy besides this or other giveaways, though if you want to mention those as well please feel free.  Other than that all we ask is that at least once in the post you link to us by linking the words “pagan blog” to our main link http://2witches.com/blog.

Then come back and leave a third and final comment which includes a link to the aforementioned post.  These posts will be left live in the comments not only to allow us to verify its content but to encourage other contestants to click and follow when they are done with their own entry.

I hope that you enjoy this giveaway, I have been beside myself with anticipation for more than a week waiting to post it.  I wanted to wait until the New Moon so that the beginning and ending dates of this giveaway would be appropriate to the earrings being offered.  May the weeks ahead be filled, for each of you (whether you enter or not), with new beginnings, new growth, and more blessings than you can count.  Good luck to all of you and let the fun begin!

Mama Kelly

PS  Don’t forget there’s still time to enter the Tarot reading giveaway.

* Pictures were taken using a cell phone camera.

** make sure you are using the shorturl link http://tinyurl.com/dneymj as the original link I used malfunctioned

Written by Mama KellyTags:contest, giveaway, prizes

An interesting and informative video from a woman who is apparently quite the prolific Youtube videographer. She has over 130 videos in her collection and I look forward to perusing more of them when I have the time (free time? what’s free time?).

In it she gives a brief overview of 4 Thieves vinegar a concoction whose oral history dates back to the plague. She also shares a collection of recipes for both the vinegar and four thieves oil for your own use. As with any herbal remedy it is your responsibility to research the herbs that you are putting into your body. Be aware that herbal remedies need to be treated with the same care and respect that you would give to any prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Side effects, allergies, and contraindications are always possible.

Be well!
Be blessed

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:herbal remedies, herbalism, herbs

When I was a new Witch I was part of a Pagan Study Group through which I met a man, “K” who was a friend, a lover, and working partner for the next couple of years.

Through him I met “C/E” who showed me the books she used as reference and made me a mix tape (yes my youngling readers an actual cassette tape) of both traditionally Pagan and just Pagan-friendly songs.  This song was one of them.

At the time I had no idea who sang it I only knew that it spoke to the wonder and awe I felt as a new follower of the Craft.

It serves not only as a hymn of worship but as a reminder that the night is sacred – that WE are sacred.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Oh lady of the glowing moon
Oh Lady of the night
I know thee by
a thousand names
Oh mistress of the night
And like a songbird in her hand
She has my heart in thrall
Setting me free to fly the sky
The mother of us all

Diana moves with strength and will
To bend the arrow’s bow
Sending it true into the heart
Of all I see and do
For she is every
woman born
The mother of all life
We must remember who we are
We must take back the night

The Best of Pagan Song

also available through Dancing Tree Music

here

Written by Mama KellyTags:pagan song

It is only a few weeks until the Spring Equinox and like many of you my thoughts are turning to the changes, the growth, I want to see manifest in my life. But, just like with gardening I can’t expect to just go outside throw down some seeds and expect a glorious harvest come summer and fall. The first step with any garden is preparing the soil.

Granted, my own garden this year will be potting soil in containers, but in times past (as in in the times of my ancestors) I would’ve found myself outside digging and tilling and plowing. I would’ve spent hours turning hard packed unusable soil into a field ready for planting. Traditionally the dark moon is a period of quiet reflection, a time of releasing that which no longer serves to make room for the new to grow in your life. This time of year I tend to compare it to the work of clearing rocks and stumps from a plot of land, preparing it to be plowed. Back breaking work? Most certainly. Absolutely necessary? Definitely!

What needs to be removed from your life? What is getting in the way of the new beginnings you desire? These are not the more easily removed weeds – a yank and they’re gone, these are the more deeply embedded bad habits, challenging circumstances, old unhealed wounds. These are the things that we may need to dig deep before we are able to pull them free.

What work do you need to do in preparation for Ostara? What can you do to give your own seeds the best chance at taking root and growing strong?

Just some food for thought.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:Ostara, spring

Tonight I am grateful for being able to get Miss Artistic $193 worth of much needed new clothing (and $18 worth of costume jewelry)  for nothing out of pocket.  I had $30 in coupons/rebates and $40 in gift cards and maximized them by focusing on items that were 50% off of already reduced prices.  The one exception was a pair of capris (only 25% off) that I knew she would need come Spring and since she liked them I didn’t want to take a chance on coming back later and not finding her size.  I even have a couple of dollars left on one of the gift cards to use “next time.”

Tonight I am grateful that Princess Nibbles was such a big help when it came to sorting through all of the clothes in the girls’ room (closet, armoire, & drawers).  Granted it all started because she “lost” her Tae Kwon Do uniform top but she accepted responcibility and worked hard for a couple of hours without any complaints.  It was not how I planned or wanted to spend the day, but her cheer was contagious and we got so much accomplished.

Tonight I am grateful for having filled 2 huge bags full of clothes from the girls’ room.  Granted I am not looking forward to the next task which will be sorting all of it into “keep to fit into later” and “donate to charity” piles but I am grateful for having so much clothing to sort through.  I am happy knowing that some of it will go toward clothing someone who might otherwise go without.

Tonight I am glad that while my professor is fond of assigning much in the way of read/responce type of assignments that I am finding myself able to keep up with the work.  It is not that the work is hard, it is simply that it is as once mind-numbing dull and time consuming.  But at this point I am confident that I will be able to maintain my 4.0 GPA as I move (albeit slowly …. very slowly) toward the degree I hope to attain.

Today, as always, I am grateful for food on my table, in my ‘fridge, and in my pantry.  I am grateful to have a job, even one I hate.  I am grateful for medical insurance, even though it costs too much and pays too little, because I don’t know what I’d do without it.  I am grateful that for a total of $80 I was able not only to get eye exams for both of my girls but glasses for each of them.  Miss Artistic not only lost hers but we found that her vision now requires that she wear glasses all the time and Princess Nibbles’ headaches are (more than likely) related to her needing glasses for reading.

May you too be blessed!

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:gratitude

In my perusing of bloglines and twitter I came across a new blog (titled “His Boys Can Swim“) that I am enjoying quite a bit. Now, granted it is a pregnancy blog, a time in life that is behind me as my girls are 14 and 9 and my hysterectomy was 4 years ago. But, I am enjoying this couple and their sense of humor and the vicarious thrill of living through another pregnancy.

“Jane’s” post about turning down her mom’s request to attend the ultrasound make me remember turning my mother down when she wanted to be in the delivery room. Then of course I rubbed salt in the wound and invited Lady Rose instead. Bad Kelly, seriously! But, I had my reasons.

I find the photo diary of Jane’s expanding belly very sweet and the every growing (and itemized) cost of baby page frightening. This is why we need national medical insurance people!

Personally I look forward to reading them for the remainder of this pregnancy and beyond especially as daddy-to-be Tarzan warns us that if his future son is anything like him it should be an exciting ride.

Congratulations to them both and good luck to everybody who enters their fabulous giveaway – 31 people will win!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

PS And speaking of giveaways, the free tarot reading giveaway here at 2Witches is still accepting entries until the end of the month and something tells me you’ll be seeing yet another giveaway before then!

Written by Mama Kelly

I have been having some good luck selling books on Amazon.com and through this blog. Granted I wish I was selling everything I wanted to. I could use the money and the space. But, I am grateful for every extra little bit I am able to make, especially during a week like this one where I am too ill to work all my hours.

But, I am still left with an awful lot of clutter to purge out of my life. With that in mind I joined a local Freecycle group. Now, I will admit upfront that I am hoping that some of the things that are on my wish list (think food dehydrator, canning supplies, etc) may come my way using this vehicle. But, I am also determined to finally let go of some things as well. Like one Kasey the Kinderbot that has been living in a closet for far too long. I could probably sell him – and perhaps whomever I give it to on Freecycle will wind up doing just that – but I’d rather take the chance that he’ll wind up with a kid who will love him to pieces and learn while he plays.

Books I cannot sell I will probably offer some of them (the ones I feel will hold someone’s interest) up on Freecycle before I unload a bunch on the library and get a little deduction on my 2009 taxes. I have some electronic toys that the children have outgrown that I can either sell or give away as well. Hubby is hope full time so it is easy for us to be a part of the Freecycle movement.

Yesterday I hit the hutch portion of our bedroom dresser. I dumped out a lot of over 5 year old half full bottles of perfume that I never even liked to wear originally. Today the plan is to mail out 6 book orders (yay!), sort some clothing (putting together a bag for a friend’s 5 year old daughter), and hit the clearance racks at Fashion Bug with $60 worth of gift cards (thank you “Aunt G”) and coupons as my 14 year old is in desperate need of some new things.

Of course I also have to cook for the week ahead and do homework before the day is done but right now I’m sipping coffee hubby made for me and waiting for some Advil to kick in.

May you all have a blessed day!

Mama Kelly

PS  Miss Artistic tried out for the Spring musical yesterday (this is huge for her as she’s always been too self-conscious to even consider it) so keep your fingers crossed.  Being involved in the play will mean a lot of running around, time and energy we don’t necessarily have but ….. seeing her shining with happiness is worth it!

Written by Mama KellyTags:cleaning, clutter, freecycle