The magic, enjoyment and love of gardening.

Tis the season to start your garden! Gardening is such an amazing and magical thing. There is nothing like working so closely with Mother Earth. The smell of the dirt, the feel of earth under your feet and within your hands....the beauty of what comes forth from the fertility of earth...simply stunning. After all, we can spring a wide variety of life and growth from the earth.


One doesn't pursue the path of witchcraft for long before understanding the relationship that we have with Mother Earth and feeling the need to be part of it. That need is sometimes exactly what draws someone to learn more about Wicca, Witchcraft, and other pagan paths. For many of us, the feelings of our hands in the Earth, and the nurturing of plants for sustenance, beauty, and use in magick is paramount to our craft. For me, gardening was and is more than a passion....it's practically a driving need, keeping me connected to the Earth in a way I cannot truly explain. It's just something that I do and allows me to feel connected and close to her and all she stands for.

Plants are used in magick in such diverse and infinite ways, and it stems back to having been since the beginning of time. Flowers always adorned ancient altars, and sticks/leaves thrown into a fire were the first form of incense. The shaman or village wise woman used herbs and plants to heal-concocting brews and potions which were used and ingested to open the mind and spirit for rituals and divination. Even now, we use many of those same plants for the same purposes as well as for health benefits. Many modern life saving medicines come from plants, fresh fruits and vegetables - all of which are a vital part of staying healthy.

Let's explore a bit into a witch's relationship with the plant kingdom. There is such a wide variety of gardens you can decide upon and grow including Goddess Gardens, Fairy Gardens, Water Gardens, growing herbs and flowers for magickal use. You can grow a garden in any environment - city, country, lots of land, very limited space, urban, rural and non-urban environments....it doesn't matter. All that does is the want, need and a compelling feeling to do so. This is how it starts, by wanting to and feeling an urge to do so. You can grow a bounty of vegetables and herbs for the witch's kitchen. Try to 'grow green' (organic and environmentally friendly), but I know that isn't possible or practical for everyone. Also, plants that grow well in hotter climates may not grow so well in areas that experience winters. Each plant has it's own needs and will have a completely different growing season, depending on your city/state. Plus, certain plants may not be available at all in Mexico, New Zealand or certain countries. I am by no means a gardening expert. What I learn comes from trial and error but it all stems from doing and having tried.  Everyone will fumble along while learning and that process has been, can be and will be enjoyable. Eventually, you will become comfortable with it and will learn to understand the plant and it's needs.
A common activity at Ostara (the Spring Equinox Sabbat-also known as the Vernal Equinox Sabbat, Festival of Trees, Alban Eilir and the Rite of Eostre) is blessing the seeds to be planted the coming years crops, plus doing spells/rituals for fertility and abundance through the growing season. Ostara is celebrated on the first day of Spring. For those of you who haven't tried their hand at magical gardening, this is a great way to start. It really is an incredibly enjoyable activity plus it really gets you siked for the coming season.

If you are interested, let's start with something simple like Basil. Since Basil is very easy to grow and has so many uses, both magical and mundane, that is what I will use as an example. Basil is typically used in magic for prosperity, wealth and as love magic. It is often sprinkled on the floor or windowsills for protection. Basil is hearty and tolerates a variety of soil and moisture conditions, but to thrive needs 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day. A window, corner of the patio or a spot outside in the south facing direction of your home would be a good place to start. When watering basil, water the soil, not the leaves. Keep the soil moist, but not damp. If not sure about what moist means, you can let the soil dry but once you notice it's dry to the touch, water it. Don't saturate it to the point of drowning it, but give it a good drink.

What you will need:

•A medium size pot - the plain terra cotta ones are perfect for this. If you are growing this in the house, you will need a drainage dish underneath the pot. Terra cotta pots also lend themselves to all sorts of decorating. They can be painted with symbols such as suns, moon, pentagrams, or the triple moon, and a hot glue gun can be used to attach crystals, gemstones or other shells to the outside of the pot. Decorate it to your taste.
•Potting soil - I recommend Miracle-Gro Organics, available in small bags at most any nursery, Lowe's or a big box store like Walmart or Target. This brand also includes a time release fertilizer that lasts for three months, so one less thing to worry about.
•A handful of rocks or coarse gravel or a coffee filter.
•Basil seeds - widely available at nurseries or anywhere that sells plants and seeds

Place the coffe filter in the bottom of your pot and put the rocks or gravel on top of it. This insures proper drainage for your plant. Fill the pot with soil. The night before you plan to plant the seeds, put them in a small dish outside under the moonlight. If there is any sort of breeze, put a piece of clear plastic, glass lid, or a screen over them in the dish.

Just before you plant, hold the seeds in your left hand, and say the following words:

Seeds so blessed by the pale moonlight,
Come forth now in the sun so bright!
Lord and Lady hear my call,
Make these plants grow strong and tall.
Basil so sweet, strong and bold,

Bring blessings now to my abode.
I set this spell three times three
As I will it, so mote it be!

Scatter the seeds over the soil in your pot, and lightly cover them. Water immediately and set in your sunny spot. Your seeds should sprout in 8-14 days.

Hope this helps give you a great understanding of the power and feeling of gardening. Blessed be!

Blessed Beltane to All!

Blessed Beltane to All!

What exactly is Beltane? Beltane is one of eight Solar sabbats and is celebrated on May 1, or Mayday, with many of the festivities taking place the night before on May Eve. Beltane follows Imbolc and Ostara as the last of the spring fertility festivals. As Samhain is about honoring 'Death,' Beltane is about honoring 'Life.' It is the time when the sun is fully released from his bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again. In modern Wicca, traditions from both the Gaelic Bealtaine and the Germanic May Day festival, like bonfires and the Maypole, are incorporated, and primarily focus on fertility.

The name Beltane means 'fire of Bel'. Belinos was one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast is part of Beltane celebration. In old Celtic traditions, Beltane was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where couples could be unwed for one night and share with any willing partner. This was called going 'a-maying'. Children born from Beltane unions were thought to be especially blessed. Other celebrations often included maypole dancing, jumping over fires to ensure fertility, circling the fire three times (sun-wise) for good luck in the coming year just to name a few. Gatherings with friends/family/townspeople would include feasting, music, drinking, and gathering flowers. Animals such as cattle and sheep were run between the fires of Beltane to insure their fertility in the coming year. Flowers were an extremely important symbol of Beltane, as they signaled the victory of summer over winter and the blossoming of nature and the bounty it will bring.

Modern popular celebrations of Beltane still do include the maypole, plus such grain foods as oatmeal, bread and cakes are typically included in the feast, as well as fresh greens, edible flowers, and spring fruits accompany them. If you aren't planning a formal Beltane feast, try taking a walk in the woods, any wooded area or even your local park to celebrate the Sun God. Pick wildflowers or boughs with blossoms to use on your altar. They can also be made into flower wreaths and garlands, which are typical decorations for this holiday, especially when tied with ribbons and streamers. Planting seeds in a garden or flower pot is a lovely activity for Beltane, especially herbs that may be used in later rituals. May morning is traditionally a magical time for collecting wild water from dew, flowing streams, and springs, which is stored and used in future spells and rituals, especially those for beauty and love.

Colors used on the altar at Beltane are red and white (for the God and Goddess), green, yellow, pink and blue. Symbols include the Maypole, baskets, strings of beads, ribbons and flowers. Herbs include cinquefoil (five finger grass), honeysuckle, St. John's wort, rose, rosemary, and lilac. Incense used at Beltane includes frankincense, lilac and rose. Stones appropriate for Beltane are emerald, green aventurine, sapphire, rose quartz, and carnelian.

Take a walk outside, open your mind to the beauty of the season. Celebrate the season and the moment. May you all have a wonderful and blessed Beltane. Brightest blessings to all.

Announcement-I'm mobile

Merry Meet and hello to all. I have completely forgot to announce that I am mobile in my sites so please feel free to check me out via your cell phones. Have a wonderful day and Blessed Be to all.

Check out Readings from the Realm and feel free to send me questions, if you should have any. I am off 2/4, 2/5 and 2/6/12 but feel free to send requests in all the same for services. I will get back to you on Tuesday, 2/7/12.

http://m.readingsfromtherealm.vpweb.com/#/About-Us.html

What happens in Heaven when we pray.

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.


I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally, at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.

"How is it that there is no work going on here? I asked."

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? "I asked.

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord."

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy, and if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness.. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day."

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."

"If your parents are still alive and still married.... you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."

"Ok," I said. "What now? How can I start?"

The Angel said, "If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all."

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are..........

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.

"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it."

If you have read this far, and are thankful for all that you have been blessed with, how can you not send it on or share it?

I thank God for everything, especially all my family and friends.

Just be yourself.
Everyone else is taken.--

Truey...hooey? Something to believe in and think about.

Pam’s Story
In a recent email, I read about a woman named Pam, who knows the pain of considering abortion. More than 24 years ago, she and her husband Bob were serving as missionaries to the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. She went into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant.

Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted. Pam said the doctors didn't think of it as a life, they thought of it as a mass of fetal tissue.

While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, we’ll name him Timothy and we’ll make him a preacher.

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football. Pam’s son is Tim Tebow.

The University of Florida’s star quarterback became the first sophomore in history to win college football’s highest award, the Heisman Trophy. His current role as quarterback of the Denver Broncos has provided an incredible platform for Christian witness. As a result, he is being called The Mile-High Messiah.

Tim’s notoriety and the family’s inspiring story have given Pam numerous opportunities to speak on behalf of women’s centers across the country. Pam Tebow believes that every little baby you save matters. I pray her tribe will increase!
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always!



Dr. Gerald B. (Jerry) Kieschnick
President Emeritus, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Presidential Ambassador for Mission Advancement, Concordia University Texas

Baby Squirrel gets help.....

Here is a cute video about the obstacles of a baby squirrel and how he gets help from an unlikely source. Check it out, you just might enjoy it.


http://www.godvine.com/Baby-Squirrel-Gets-Help-from-an-Unlikely-Place-217.html

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone. Here we are in a new year and off to a new start. Have you looked over 2011 and found any aspects that you would like to change in 2012? What about new declarations? Some people want a new career and will look for a job change, some will go to school and finish up a degree or something left unfinished, some will start families and others will make some type of life changing decision like to get married, divorced, take a trip, move....the posibilities are endless. Some may start a diet or even just start to eat healthier.


Whatever your goal for 2012, here's to you! May it be a wonderful and prosperious year for all.
Brightest blessings!