AUGUST

Named for Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, August means “regal, dignified, or grand.” It calls to mind the celebrations of late summer and golden fields of tall, nodding stalks of grain. It also begins the bounty of autumn. 

To draw the power of August into your spellcasting, use its correspondences. It's herbs include angelica, bay, chamomile, fennel, marigold, St. john's wort and sunflower. Add grains such as barley, corn, rye, or wheat. For stones use carnelian and jasper. Burn heliotrope or frankincense. General colors are yellow, gold, and deep green. 

Most deities associated with August have a certain dignity. Diana, goddess of woods and hunting, has a temple holiday on August 13. Thoth, god of writing and the moon, oversees several feasts. Then there is Lugh, a trickster and Jack-of-all-trades. Lugh celebrates this month with games and competitions. With those associations, what kind of spellcraft can you work in August? Try rituals about gathering, harvesting, or preserving. Spells for health and vitality get a boost from the strong solar energy. On a more personal note, turn to appreciation and friendship, the natural counterpoint to the love and fertility focus of spring and summer. - Hope Elliot 8.1.14

The PAGAN WAY

The Order of Avalon

HERB OF THE DAY

Skullcap

Scullcap is a plant that is derived from the mint family and is easily grown.Since it is a perennial,Scullcap, reproduces year after year and can grow to a height of three feet. It grows well in damp places and meadows.This wonderful herb got it's name from the helmet shaped flower that grows on it. At one time Scullcap was also known as madweed or mad-dog scullcap; it was thought to be a cure for rabies.
Witches use Scullcap for many things. It is believed to be helpful for meditation and for helping with dreams and visions. Sprinkling around the home will help to keep a tranquil aura and promote a peace and love effect. This herb is also often used in love spells and charms. Scullcap is also often used in self initiation rites and for dedicating oneself to the old ways. Scullcap is used in hand fastening ceremonies as a bonding herb for the couple. It is believed to promote fidelity in a commited relationship. Many people also use it in mojo bags and carry it to attract money.

This little perennial holds many wonderful properties inside. Here are just a few of the vitamins and minerals found in Scullcap: calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, beta-carotene, B-vitamins and Vitamin C. It is thought to be a powerful antioxidant. It's most common use is for headaches and is wonderful at relieving stress. Other uses have been for pms,improve circulation and has been given to alcoholics who suffer from withdrawl symptoms. Some modern herbalists use Scullcap to prevent epileptic seizures. The parts of the skullcap plant used for medicinal purposes are the leaves.A good cup of scullcap tea will help if you suffer from pain or insomnia.

A closely related herb, Chinese skullcap, has anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antihistamine properties. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat tumors. It is now being tested in hopes to find treatment or help for combating bladder, liver, and other types of cancers. The Chinese laboratories have found an element present in scullcap that may be used in treating hepatitis B.

There is caution when using this herb as with anything else you would consume or rub on your skin. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a physician before using. An overdose of this medicinal herb can cause giddiness, stupor, confusion, and twitching.



 Adriana Lima

WITCHES COVE: a story

Odess Moondragon HP, 10-21-05
By the way, I'm 69, soon to be 70 (insert scream here) and Mom will be 97 on 11-1.Witches Cove

She then takes your hand and leads you over to the big cauldron and motions for you to look into the deep pool of darkness to see what you need to see or need to know. After you have done this, She turns you around to walk back to where you were sitting, but as
you do so, you notice that the forest has opened up once again and that everyone is leaving. The hounds are sitting at the edge of the woo

ds waiting for their Mistress. Hecate smiles at you, and assures you silently that everything will be all right. You then realize that She has always been with you.

She turns to leave and as She does so, She lifts up her arm and the Owl flies down to once again perch on Her arm. After She has gone, you sit and think of all that you have learned this very magickal night. You hear the howling of the hounds, and this awakens you from your meditation.

After a few minutes have passed, Hecate approaches, and as She does so, her face keeps changing from maiden, to the mother, and to the crone, because there are many faces of Hecate, as She is the three and the one. As She stands before you, her face stops changing and rests the way you see Her. You look deep into her eyes and you see the key that unlocks the door to the mysteries. As you look deep within, you realize that it is the reflection of your own eyes that you see with the key and that you yourself hold the key to unlock those mysteries. You realize that it is you who has to look within your own soul for the answers.

As you feel comforted at that, you notice movement from the corner of your eye that someone is coming out from within the forest. The trees seem to part on their own. You watch as an old woman walks out from the forest with an owl perched on her arm. You are drawn to her eyes, which seem to be deep dark pools of wisdom. She walks with a cane made from a Yew tree with a crystal sitting on top of it, and feathers are hanging down the side. You know from the power that resonates from this woman that She is Hecate. She lifts her arms, and the Owl leaves her to fly over to you. Listen to the words of wisdom of what the owl has to share with you.

The breeze really picks up now, and as you watch, out from the forest comes friends and family you have known from other lifetimes, and in this lifetime, but have passed over, and they come into your circle. Sit and wait to see if any of them come to talk with you, giving you a chance to clear things up, or to say the words that remained unspoken when they passed over. If nothing is said, do not worry. They are there to let you know that you are never really alone.

Now sit in silence and see yourself sitting in a sacred circle out in the woods.There is a briskness in the air. In the middle of your circle is a fire burning and you can smell the burning of the wood and the heat from the fire. 

A cauldron sits hanging over the fire with a bubbling brew in it. The sweet scent of sage fills your nostrils. Everything is still.....nothing moves. All you hear are 

the creatures of the night.

Suddenly, the energy shifts, and you feel as if someone is there. The air begins to stir, you feel a slight breeze across your face. The dried leaves on the trees begin to rustle and then the wooded forest seems to open on its own accord. Out walks three hounds. They seem wild, but something tells you not to be afraid on them. The hounds walk into your circle, and although they sit, they are forever watchful. Each one is looking in a different direction.

Owls are sacred to Hecate and screech their loudest in November and then are silent until February. They are messengers to Hecate and She has given them the gift of prophecy, hence their reputation for wisdom, the crone wisdom of the Goddess.



When performing a Samhain ritual, many Witches invoke Hecate, as Samhain is a time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest. The living and the dead co-mingle, and we can talk to departed souls and learn the mysteries of Hecate's kingdom. For this is Her festival, just as the dead are her realm.

Hecate is the Greek goddess of black magic and the keeper of the keys to the underworld

. Often called the goddess of SHADES (ghosts), Hecate appears entwined with snakes and is associated with pain and suffering. In some representations, Hecate has three heads and can look in all directions at the same time. She is feared not only for her powers as a witch but because she could also cause sickness, infertility, and insanity. A minor goddess, Hecate has been called the mistress of "everything dark and uncanny."

At night, especially during the new moon, Hecate leaves the infernal regions and roams the earth with an army of dead souls and a pack of hounds of hell. The sound of howling dogs is a warning that Hecate is nearby. During the daylight hours and when the moon is full, Hecate is confined to the depths of the underworld, where she plans her future exploits. - 

Odess Moondragon 

Hecate

from the CELTIC TRADITION

Circle, symbol of
Samhain
from Witches Cove
 

Symbolism related to Samhain:


Third Harvest, wisdom of the Crone, death of the God, reflection on our place in the Wheel of the Year, New Year, reincarnation, the dark mysteries, Rebirth after Death.



Symbols of Samhain:
Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms

For Witches, Halloween is one of the four High Holidays. Because it is the most important holiday of the year, it is sometimes called 'The Great Sabbat.' With such an important holiday, Witches often hold two distinct celebrations. First, a large Halloween party for non-Craft friends, usually held on the previous weekend; then a second, a Coven or Solitary ritual held on Halloween night itself, late enough so as not to be interrupted by trick-or-treaters. If the rituals are performed properly, there is often the feeling of invisible friends taking part in the rites. 

Wearing costumes and 'trick-or-treating' is a Celtic tradition However, there are some important differences between the old and the modern version. The custom was not just for children, but was actively indulged in by adults as well. The 'treat' required was usually one of spirits (the liquid variety).

In ancient times, roving bands would sing seasonal carols from house to house, making the tradition very similar to Yuletide wassailing. In fact, the custom known as 'caroling', now connected exclusively with mid-winter, was once practiced at all the major holidays.

Bobbing for apples might represent the Pagan 'baptism' rite called a 'seining'. The water-filled tub a Cauldron of sorts. The participant in this folk game was usually blindfolded with their hands tied behind their back which makes you think of a traditional Craft initiation ceremony.

Perhaps the most famous icon of the holiday is the jack-o'lantern. Clearly it was used as a lantern by people who traveled the road at night, the scary face meant to frighten away spirits or faeries who might otherwise lead one astray. Set on porches and in windows, they cast the same spell of protection over the household. I prefer the American pumpkin over the traditional Old World carved turnip! Of course a turnip would be easier to carry than a pumpkin but I think I would prefer the greater light a pumpkin would give off!

Some fun things to do at All Hallows Eve is to divine for your true love! Girls can place hazel nuts along the front of the fireplace, each one to represent someone she would like to have as a boyfriend. She can then divine her future husband by chanting, 'If you love me, pop and fly; if you hate me, burn and die."

Several methods used the apple, that most popular of Halloween fruits. You should 

slice an apple through from side to side (to reveal the five-pointed star within) and then eat it by candlelight before a mirror. Your future spouse will then appear over your shoulder. (Some of these suggestions require a good imagination)

Or, peel an apple, making sure the peeling comes off in one long strand, reciting, "I pare this apple round and round again; My sweetheart's name to flourish on the plain: I fling the unbroken paring o'er my head, My sweetheart's letter on the ground to read."

 A night of glowing jack-o'lanterns, bobbing for apples, tricks or treats, and dressing in costume. A night of ghost stories and seances, tarot card readings and scrying with mirrors. A night of power, when the veil that separates our world from the Otherworld is at its thinnest. A 'spirit night', as they say in Wales. - Odess Moondragon HP