Honoring Your Body

Do you honor your physical form?  Accept & appreciate every cell (even the fat cells)?  Are you fully integrated mind, body & spirit?  Or, as many of you, do you look in the mirror & see the ravages of time, the "mistakes" you've made, the injuries inflicted upon your body by others?

This month, with the coming of Spring, is a good time to wrap up our focusing inward activities & prepare our bodies for the activities of the coming months.  Here is a ritual for honoring, healing, appreciating & reintegrating with your physical body.

Honoring Your Body

There are 2 options for this, one with oils & another in the bath.

Option One - Bath Ingredients:

Herbal sachet or a few drops of essential oils to assist in relaxation & cleansing (I particularly like Cunningham's Ritual Bath Sachet found in The Complete Book of Incense Oils & Brews)

Water

A natural & soothing soap, unscented (almond soap, oatmeal soap is nice & can be easily found at most healthfood stores for less than the cost of many commercial soaps)

A fresh washcloth & towel

Your ritual altar candles

Option Two - Oil Ingredients: 

Almond or other mild carrier oil

A few drops of Essential oil to assist in relaxation & cleansing (rose oil is beautiful here, because it is very healing to the soul, but other, less expensive oils, like lavender are also wonderful)

A ceramic container to hold the oils (heat them gently over a candle if you can, see pic below)

A quiet & private space

A cloth that you don't mind getting oily (I actually have a set of sheets & towels set aside for these types of rituals, they have only ever been used in ritual)

The Ritual

Create your sacred space in whatever manner suits you best.  Feel free to bring objects of power & healing with you into the bathroom or other private space where you will be working.  Make sure you are alone, comfortable & will not be disturbed by others, pets, phones, etc.

Draw your bath or prepare your oil, add the herbs or oils.  Spend a few moments settling in, breathe deeply & become as meditative as you can. 

Now, starting with your feet, observe & massage them, with either soap in the bath or your prepared oil.  Think about all that your feet do for you, everywhere they've taken you, the hurts & abuse your feet have been subjected to.  With each stroke, thank your feet for serving you, praise them for their attributes.  Notice scars or calluses.  Apologize if the desire arises.  Bless and thank your feet, they carry you on your path. Offer your unconditional love.

Move to your calves.  See their shape.  Massage the muscles, remembering all these muscles have done throughout your life.  Thank, bless & apologize as needed to these strong, muscular extensions of you.

Systematically, move to your thighs, your pelvis, your abdomen, your chest, your arms, every part of your physical body.  Let your intuition guide you as to how to massage each part.  Spend time meditating on the trials each part of your body has been subjected to, how each part has served your needs, how appreciative you are to have every part.  Pay close attention to areas you have spoken of harshly "my big, fat, a**", "I have my nose."  These areas require and deserve your love & appreciation.  What about areas of chronic pain?  Do you abuse or neglect these areas?  Ask them to carry heavy burdens, either physical or psychological? 

Your pelvic & abdomen area may need significant love.  These areas are often neglected & maligned, especially by women.  Is there an old hurt stored here? 

Each part of you is sacred.  Believe that.  No matter what has happened, by choice or not.  Your body is the physical vehicle through which you express all love and magic, all creativity.  Your body is the physical manifestation of divinity. 

Honor your own divinity, in every possible way.  Promise to take care or your physical body in gratitude for its support of all you do. 

Merge your mind & spirit fully into your physical being.  Feel golden light of love filling each and every cell, weaving together each part of you into a divine whole.  Notice the golden light radiating from your physical self as an aura of divine power and love.

Bask in the love you feel for yourself as long as you need.

You are beautiful!

Wild & Bright Blessings,

~*Rhi*~

    )O(

Natural Spell Candles

Welcome to the Waxing Moon!  Are you as energized as I am?  Wow!

As I woke up & visited FaeryLand (the back yard), this is what I saw:

Kitty Visits the Bird Feeder

She is a regular visitor of late...funny, we never saw her until my husband's familiar (who looks exactly like her!) passed away 6 months ago. 

After wandering in the gardens, it was time to get to work!

It was Spell Candle day at the Hidden Witch's home.  I've been wanting to make intention candles out of soy wax, with as few artificial additions as possible.  After pondering this for a while & researching natural dyes for candles (not gonna happen), I decided to try something different.  Today I created spell candles with colored sand, herbs & oils.

Love & Romance

I've been using Jasmine scented oil lately, because I cannot find Jasmine EO within my price range.  The Rose Absolute was incredibly expensive, but has no rival in the scent department, so I use it for a few special projects.

Visions Candle

I made 8 Spell Candles in all today, with a variety of applications.  The 1st I'll use is a prosperity/fertility candle as I kick-off this Waxing Moon cycle.

Prosperity Candle on the Altar

This afternoon, I'll make bread & butter pickles, a feather shapeshifting mask & will begin on a Plant Spirit costume.

Wild & Bright Samhain Blessings!

*~Rhi~*

A Spell to Kiss & Make Up

Often, I do not create my own spells.  When I do, they are usually more powerful for me than those I find in a book.  But, there a few that are really wonderful.

This is one of my favorites, almost word-for-word out of a great book by Ellen Dugan, How to Enchant a Man.

Sweet Spell for a Bad Day
Use this when you & your love are having a tiff.  It is especially helpful on those days when he/she is driving you bat-shit-mad with their little idiosyncrasies.

• Small, pink, rose-scented candle
• Candle holder
• Few drops of honey
• Matches (or lighter)
• Your altar (Ellen suggests your Love Altar)
• A photo of you & your significant other

Work on a Friday or a waning moon if you can, but anytime you need to sweeten & soothe feelings between you & your love.  

Rub a few drops of honey along the sides of the candle (dress the candle).  Place the candle in it's holder (wash your hands now, they're probably sticky!).  Set the photo in front of the candle.  Imagine the strife between you & your love, focus on the aggravation or anger you're feeling.  Now, ask yourself how important this situation that got you angry really is anyway?  "In the grans scheme of things, will the world stop revolving?"  Once you have worked it through & are beginning to calm down, imagine the problem & negativity fading away.  When you feel calm, light the candle & repeat the spell 3 times:

With this magick spell, while roses scent the air,

Let us settle our feud in a way that's fair.

You're a grumpy guy, and I'm a pissy Witch,

From sour to sweet, our attitudes will switch.

As the candle burns away, we will unify, 

Now let's make up & kiss our troubles goodbye.

Close with these lines:

By scent, flame & honey, this spell is done, 

For the good of all, bringing harm to none.

Allow the candle to burn down & go out (in a safe, monitored place).  Go find your love & give him a kiss.  Someone apologizes; someone accepts graciously.


I usually do this with a white candle in a pink holder.  I dress the candle with rose essential oil & honey & rosemary.  Using your own correspondences & intuition as you build your spells makes them more uniquely yours & therefore more powerful.

If you haven't read any of Ellen's books, I highly recommend them!  She has a wonderfully relaxed style paired with solid magickal teachings.


Wild & Bright Blessings,

~*Rhi*~