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Making a Book of Shadows
Materials:
3-Ring Binder (1/2"- 5" your choice)
1/2 Yard of material
Tacky Glue
Scissors
Decorations such as ribbon, rhinestones, charms, etc.
Take the binder and center it on the material for fit.
Take one end of the material and glue and tuck it under the metal binder spine.
Measure the opposite end of the material, then cut and do the same under the
other end of the binder spine. (NOTE: You may wish to spot-glue the material to
the inner and outer sides of the binder to keep the material in place. However,
this is optional for if you get a good and tight glue and tuck under the binder
spine, this is not necessary.)
Cut the material that is extended from the top and the bottom of the binder to
1/2" - 3/4" from the ends.
On the corners, cut a slit on the material so you can fold and glue each half
individually around the binder and tuck the ends. (This is sort of like wrapping
a present.)
Glue and tuck any "corner-ears" that may have formed, and flatten nicely.
Let the binder dry 3-4 hours, then decorate to your desire. (NOTE: use ribbon to
cover any seams you may have.)
Now the hard part, decide what information you want to include in your B.O.S.
Tutorial on binding a more traditonal way
Materials:
1- Four foot dowel or stick (1 inch in diameter.)
Ball of twine
scissors
Straw, twigs, or herbs for the bristles.
Take the straw, and allow it to soak overnight in warm, lightly salted water.
(the water softens the straws to make them pliable, and the salt soaks out
former energies.)
When you are ready to make your besom, remove the straws from the water and
allow them to dry a bit, but not so much that they lose the suppleness you will
need to turn them into your besom.
Find a work area where you can lay out the length of your dowel, and begin
lining the straws along side the dowel.
Starting about three inches from the bottom, lay the straws, moving backward,
along the length of the dowel.
Begin binding these to the dowel with twine.
You will need to tie them very securely.
You can add as many layers of straw as you wish, depending on how full you would
like your besom to be.
When the straw is secured, bend the top straws down over the twine ties.
When they are all gently pulled over, tie off the straws again a few inches
below the original tie.
Leave the besom overnight to allow the straw to dry.
The dowel part of the broom can be stained, painted, or decorated with pagan
symbols, your craft name, or any other embellishments you choose.
Dedicate your finished broom in your circle as you would any other ritual tool.
An Easy Way To Make Your Own Runes
Materials:
Self Hardening Clay (Can also use Fimo or Sculpy clay which can be dried in the
oven quicker.)
Inscribing Instrument
Form a small amount of clay into a ball.
Flatten into a thin disk approximately 1/8 inch in thickness (Can also be
square, or any shape you feel comfortable with.)
Inscribe your rune designs into clay.
Allow to air dry (Or cool, if baked in oven.)
Store in a pouch or box until ready to be used.
An Easy Way To Make Your Own Magick Mirror
Materials:
1 small mirror 1/2"-12" diameter (any shape)
1 piece of glass, cardboard, or wood. (This needs to have at least an inch
larger diameter than your mirror.) (If using glass, you can get large round
glass ornaments at any craft store, they already have a hole poked in them for hanging.)
Super glue and Tacky glue (BE CAREFUL USING SUPER GLUE! IT WILL STICK TO YOUR SKIN, AND CAN EVEN BURN YOU!)
Cord or wire (for hanging the mirror)
Plate holder (optional if you don't want to hang your mirror. This is what I
use.)
Cording to go around the outside (to frame it- Optional.)
Decorations such as paint, rhinestones, sea-shells, rocks, feathers, etc.
Clean your mirror and glass front and back.
Center the mirror on top of the glass, or cardboard etc.
Glue it down using Super glue, and let it dry.
Glue cording around the outside of your glass or cardboard for decoration using
Tacky glue if you desire.
Now you can decorate around the mirror. (Do not put anything on the actual
mirror, this must stay clean for spell work.)
Attach hanging cord (poke hole in cardboard if necessary.)
Make sure all materials are dry before using your mirror.
SOLAR & LUNAR CALENDAR
Clear a level portion of your yard or garden, in an area where you can see the sun rise and set. As well as the moon.
Make your solar circle no smaller than 6 feet (but it can be as large as you have room for) The lunar circle will be one foot inside or out side the solar circle. Whichever you prefer. You can use stones, fence posts, perennial plants, or trees to mark your calendar.
On each solstice and equinox get up before sunrise. Go out to your circle and watch the sunrise. Mark where the sun rises with a stake or a stone. Then dig a hole there and "plant" your marker. Tag or mark it with the date. Then at sunset do the same thing.
Each New and Full Moon Mark the lunar circle. The NM to the west.(where it sets) The FM to the east (where it rises). This will not give you a full circle. But you can take your compass and mark due north and south.
After one full turn of the wheel you have a ritual circle, a meditation circle or just a lovely sculpture in your yard or garden.
If you use fence posts you can decorate them with ribbons, flowers, whatever. To go with the seasons.
Wand of Air
Cut an 18 inch Lilac branch. Slowly shave only the bark off, no wood.
Make sure the branch is green. Holding the wand with your thumbs, light
incense under it, and let the smoke touch it. As the incense burns, chant:
"Spirit of Air, maker of wind. Bless this wand to channel your strength through."
Wand of Fire
Cut an 18 inch Cherry branch. Slowly shave only the bark off, no wood.
Make sure the branch is green (red). Resting the wand on your thumbs, light
a candle under it,
Push wand in and out of the flames while chanting:
"Spirit of Fire, maker of destruction. Bless this wand to channel your strength through."
Wand of Earth
Cut an 18 inch Dog Wood (or Oak) branch. Slowly shave only the bark off, no wood.
Make sure the branch is green. Resting the wand on your thumbs, slowly
sprinkle dirt/earth over it while chanting:
"Spirit of Earth, maker of Mountain. Bless this wand to channel your strength through."
Wand of Water
Cut an 18 inch Willow (or Drift Wood) branch. Slowly shave only the bark off,
no wood(Don't shave drift wood).
Make sure the branch is green (Not necessary for drift wood). Resting the
wand on your thumbs, slowly sprinkle water over it
while chanting:
"Spirit of Water, maker of sea. Bless this wand to channel your strength through."
The first of the PectiWita tools is the staff. If you want to compare it to the tools of other traditions, it is the Sword and the Magick Wand both rolled into one. Obviously for the Highlander, traveling over the mountainous regions, it is a useful, if not essential, piece of everyday equipment. It can even be used as a weapon, or defense or offense. But for the PectiWitan it is more than that. It can be used to mark and to consecrate a ritual Circle. It can be used to direct energy/power into that circle, or for the working of magick. Like the Wiccan's Athame, the PectiWitan's Staff is his or her personal tool; the one which is most used, thereby absorbing most of the individual's energies. The Gaelic for "a magickal staff" is 'an luirgean' or 'an lorg ohn'.
The Staff is usually of chest height, though I have seen those that are the same height as the owner. It is made of hard wood. Oak and yew are popular, as are walnut and ash. Thickness of the shaft should be simply what is comfortable to hold. - probably about one-and-one-half inches in diameter, tapering down to roughly half that. The staff need not be absolutely straight, from end to end. I have seen some with bends in them, some with twists, but the bottom one-third of it should be straight as possible.
You should cut the staff in the waxing phase of the moon (after the new moon and before the full) and let it dry out thoroughly and slowly, at room temperature. Do not try to hurry things along by fast-drying it. You may strip off the bark or leave it on, whichever you prefer. You could take off all of it except for a strip to act as a handgrip near the top. Alternatively, you may want to bind leather, or fur, around the staff for a handgrip.
The Staff may be left natural or stained/varnished/oiled. You can even paint it, if you wish, though I have seen few that have been more than slightly "touched up" with paint. Yet most Staffs that I have seen have at least been slightly decorated, with a name carved or burned into the wood; with feathers or fur attached; with carvings or the embellishment of natural aberations. Some PectiWitans actually name the Staff, and this name is carved or burned into it. When it comes to any form of writing, on this or any of the other tools, the PectiWitan Runes are used or, occassionally, the Pictish glyphs, though these latter are not easy to work on wood.
Cherokee Dream Pillow
The following mixture is stuffed into a small pillow that is placed under your regular pillow or
next to your head while you sleep. It is said to bring good and prophetic dreams. Unless otherwise
stated, all flowers are dried.
2 ounces lavender flowers
2 ounces sage
1 ounce ground orris root
2 ounces deer's tongue herb
1 ounce cedar shavings
2 ounces coltsfoot herb
2 ounces sweet fern
1 ounce violets
Making perfume paper is extremely easy with the essential oils. To infuse a whole box of paper & envelopes, cut into small pieces a paper tissue, a cotton handkerchief, blotting paper, or gauze-you only need half a dozen or so pieces about an inch square-put a drop of essential oil on each piece, & place them in different places between the sheets of paper or envelopes.
Seal the box tightly, or if you don't have a box put them in a plastic bag & seal, & leave for at least twenty-four hours. Which essential oil or blend of oils you use is entirely up to you. Try lemon oil on lemon-or cream-colored paper, orange oil on peach-colored paper, lavender on lavender paper, & so forth. PERFUMED INKS: Just add to the bottle 10 drops of essential oil for each 1 teaspoon of ink.
Perfumed Pillows & Sachets:
All you need is a piece of material stitched along three sides, whatever size you choose, some fresh dried herbs or spices, and the oils. It is of course the essential oil contained in the raw product that gives dried herbs & spices their aroma but you can enhance this by leaving the herbs in a plastic bag overnight with the essential oils so they can be absorbed. How many drops of oil you add depends upon the size of the pillow or sachet you are making & the strength of your dried product.
When using the essential oils it is not necessary to use dried herbs-any stuffing will do. For sleep pillows use chamomile, lavender, neroli, marjoram, valerian, nutmeg, or hop. Day pillows can have their fragrance matched to the fragrance you like to use in individual rooms, for example lemon, geranium, or clarysage. Stuff the pillow & sew the fourth side. TO REVIVE: Just add the oil neat on the outer material or, if this is delicate, open a little corner of a seam and drop the oil onto the stuffing.
Making a Pentacle Altar Tile
Materials:
1 ceramic tile, any size/color you want
(I used the 4x4, and you can get these very cheap at home supply stores like HomeBase or Lumberjack, they are bathroom/kitchen tiles actually. They cost between 15 cents and 1 dollar+ apiece and come in different colors/sizes.)
Acrylic paints in assorted colors, 2oz. bottles (These you can get cheap at craft and hobby supply stores, they cost under $2 apiece and you can get them on sale, especiall around the holidays.)
Clear shellac in a spraycan or the brush-on kind (acquire at craft/hobby supply store also.)
small art paintbrush (if using the brush-oh shellac, get a larger paintbrush or one of those sponge brushes with the handle, this type of shellac is thick.)
pencil
round item to trace (I use the bottom of a can.)
something to put your paints in (old egg cartons work great for this or you can get cheap palettes at craft/hobby stores.)
Instructions:
If you want to paint a color background on the tile, do this first and let fully dry, otherwise leave plain. Then trace your pentacle circle on the tile using the can bottom. Draw the rest of your pentacle inside the circle. Using your paints and paintbrush, go over your tracings, using any color you like. You can add designs, element colors, anything you want on your tile, make it your own! While you work visualize energy flowing into your tile, filling it with positive energy and empowering it. When you are done painting, set the tile somewhere where it will not be disturbed so it can dry. After it us dry, paint or spray the clear shellac over it to seal the paints so they won't scratch or chip off. Make sure to spray outside or in a well ventilated area over newspapers. Let dry fully, the thicker you shellac is the longer it will take. Consecrate and bless your tile if you wish and place on your altar, or put away until you are ready to use it. You are done and now have an original altar tile!
This can be done to create all sorts of tiles for many purposes, to give as gifts or just to make your own to use or for decorations, trivets, etc. I have used glitter on some of mine and you can use all sorts of items like shells, beads, stones and crystals, fabric, small mirrors, etc.
Work in a Sacred Space when making Wands. When creating a personal ritual tool such as a Wand, working in Circle helps you to focus your energies and blend them with the particular intent of each Wand. In Sacred Space, You attune yourself with the Creative Powers, touch your Muse, and listen to the Goddess as you work. Art and Magick become entwined as the Wands take form. At the Full Moon, any Wands you have created in that Moon cycle are charged and blessed in Sacred Circle before being used. The Wands are made from natural tree branches, gathered gently and respectfully from a area around where you live, during the New moon. The branches are stripped of bark and allowed to dry for one Mooncycle. Both branches and crystals are cleansed and purified with herbs and the powers of the Moon and Sun. Each Wand is set with a natural crystal point of clear Quartz, Amethyst or Citrine on the projective end, (you do not have to add a crystal, but it is nice if you can) and is wrapped with soft velvet to form a handle on the receptive end in a color appropriate for its magickal intent (this does not have to be done either if you don't want to but I perfer to)
Both crystal and cloth handle are wound 'round with Copper or Silver wire (you can also use leather, which is what I se) in spiraling designs and the branch is then carved with Runes (or other symbols/sigils/magickal alphabets if you wish to make a specially customed wand) appropriate to the magickal intent of the Wand. Each Wand should have a velvet pouch to match its handle, and a card explaining the materials used in its creation. This is used for your book of shadows. Good luck at making your wands and ALWAYS remember to thank the tree for giving you the branch to make your wand.
B. If you know how to weave a friendship bracelet, after empowering the thread, put it on and
again you are ready to go.
Very simple but can be very effective.
Ps. if anyone wants to know how to make a simple friendship bracelet I have instructions for that
as well. It may be a bit difficult to understand without diagrams but you might be able to figure it
out
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