Tools of the Necromancer

Necromancy is a form of Magick which involves communicating with the spirits of the dead.  It is usually done by means of summoning a spirit for purposes of divination or for locating lost items such as treasure. 

Necromancy is often linked to black magick and evil practise; although this much depends on how Necromancy is used and to what end.  Using Necromancy to trap a spirit into an object or to gain control over a spirit so they can do your bidding would, in my opinion, be evil practise.  Spirits need to be treated with respect and their permission should be sought before you start to work with them; after all, you wouldn't barge into someones room without asking their permission or knocking first!!  

 

Some of the tools linked to the Necromancer are a skull, in most cases this is a resin skull, but some do use a real human skull in their practise. Using a skull helps you to connect with the species that skull represents, such as an owl skull to connect with the owl or a wolf skull to connect with the wolf. 

Christian Day in his book "The Witches Book of the Dead" discusses the use of a human skull in its representation of the dead and is use as a focus for connecting with the otherworld.

Cthonic Deities are also part and parcel of the tools of the Necromancer, usually placed on the altar or shrine to the dead as the god and goddess representations.  One of the most popular deities is Hecate, she can aid in helping you work with the dead and also offer protection too.

The most well known tool of the Necromancer is the Ouija board the history of which dates back to the 19th Century and was made popular during the spiritualist movement.  Many people do not like the Ouija board as bad things are often assoiciated with it and I would stress that if you don't use a form of protection, i.e, casting a protective circle or you use the board flippantly then you are asking for trouble.  In most cases Ouija boards used at parties, where there has been too much drink and someone fancies a bit of fun often end in tears because it is a simple as this, the spirits have not been treated with respect.  The board is just a tool, and is used as a means and way of connection just like automatic writing is.



Scrying is another tool at the Necromancers desposal usually using a crystal ball, a black mirror or water.  Using a crystal ball is much prefered by many than the Ouija board, obviously as it has less of a reputation.  Scrying is best undertaken in low lighting and by candleflame as this gives a gentler and more relaxing light. 

Tarot cards too are also part of the Necromancers tool kit and are probably one of the most popular forms of divination around today.  They are popular with witches, psychic readers as well as a good percentage of the general public who when facing a problem seek the cards for their wisdom and advice.

Finally, herbs too are used in Necromancy usually to heighten the psychic senses.   Witches flying ointments (see my earlier article) come under this category.  Herbs such as Mugwort, Wormwood and Dittany of Crete were used in divination, usually as an incense, but also in soaps and oils too.  Mugwort is well known for aiding with sleep and dreaming and is the herb most often assoicatied with diviantion and communicating with spirit.

To sum up, Necomancy is a form of divination involving calling forth the spirits of the dead.  The tools the Necromancer uses to acheive that end are the pendulm, Tarot, Crystal ball and Ouija board among others.  Necromancy is only dangerous if you do not know what you are doing, or you go into to it without the respect or permission of the spirits you wish to work with.  Necromancy can be safe as long as you know what you are doing, you ensure you are protected and most importantly and above all, treat the dead with respect, build with them a rapport and ask permission too, by doing this you will be building trust and a relationship that if you work it right, can be long lasting.



Mabon Blessings

Mabon or the Autumnal Equinox falls on or around 21st September and is the time of year that day and night are of equal length.  It also marks the second of the three harvest festivals where we give thanks to the Lord and Lady for the bounty of produce that has been given to us.  This is the time of year that the days get cooler and that the leaves on the trees start to turn into glorious reds, golds and oranges.  It is a time of reflection and a time to think about harvesting from the wild hedgerow to make jams, jellies and chutneys. 

This is the time we decorate our altars with the bounty that mother earth has given us, I will be decorating mine with hazel nuts and rowan berries as they grow in plenty where I live.  Good Mabon activities include making wine, elderberry in particular, if the elderberries are ready for picking, havesting and drying herbs, harvesting seeds, walking in the woods and observing the changes and leaving an offering of thanks. This is my prayor of honouring to Mabon.

 

 

Day and night become the same

and now the sun begins to wane

I honor the harvest you have sent this year

into my heart I hold you dear

as the leaves turn colour and fall

I hear the silence and peace of darkness call

 

 



Pagan Blog Project Week 30: O

O is for Odin

I have been quite lapsy daisy of late and I havne't kept up with my pagan blog project since Spring, sometimes life and work get in the way, but with an early finish from work today I thought I would post something.  As a pagan and witch, I gotta admit I know little about the Norse gods and so, I thought I would do a little research and look at Odin.



Odin is chief God of the Norse Patheon of Gods and Goddesses.  He was the son of Bor and Bestia and he was father of Thor by the Goddess Jord.  Odin is the God of War and Death, but he is also God of Poetry and Wisdom too.  He hung from the World Tree, Yggdrasil for nine days peirced by his own spear.  In this time and while hanging from the tree, Odin learned nine songs and eighteen runes.  The Hanged Man card in Tarot decks is often linked with Odin for this reason.



Odin's attributes are the spear which was known never to miss a target, he also had one eye as he had traded his other eye for a drink from the Well of Wisdom where he gained great insight and knowledge.  Odin was finally killed in a great battle by the wolf Fenrir.



Summer Recess and Time Out

I have been away for about ten days visiting family in the Manchester area and it has been nice to have a rest from my day job in home care which I do over three days on 15 hour shifts and from my psychic work which I do also over three days. Being away gave me time to think, being lucky to be able to balance a day job with my spiritual work which I love doing.

 However I have, like many in this year of 2012, been feeling a shift and pulling.  There is definately a trasnsition going on and I feel, for me at any rate it is more spiritual than physical (although I would like to lose some weight when I get the willpower!!)   I had a reading from a couple of psychics this year who were not known to one another and each one told me I will be working more and more with spirit and that my gift will get stronger, however I will feel torn in two directions. I am feeling spirit connecting with me more and I do feel at some point this will come in and affect my day work in that eventually I will have to chose between the two. The day job however, brings in a regular income.

I have decided to therefore extend my holiday/vacation and although I am now back home in Cumbria where I live, I have decided to take a summer recess and have six weeks off until early September, this will give time and rest and recuperate my spritual side, work on products and stock for my Etsy.com store, write up and prepare an online course I will offer next year.

Sometimes we need to rest and take time out so that we can think things through properly and try to see the bigger picture, for me this is accepting that I have a connection with the spirit world and will need to work more closely with them. I can feel this pull from them like a magnet and in order to embrace this, I need time out to prepare, rest. take care of other things so that when I do come back to it, I can give it my full attention without distractions popping in.

I will still pop in to attend and update my blog and facebook/twitter pages, I will also still be running a giveaway too on my blog, infact there is one coming up in a few days so keep a look out for that as it is open to all regardless of location.  Summer Blessings to all of you.

Making way for a Herbal Apothecary

Do you have a room in your home that you have no idea what to do with? No matter how much you tidy it, it will get messy?  We have two in our house, one is the hallway full of boots and wellies and other bits and bobs and the other is the parlour leading off the kitchen, so I decided to put this room to good use and being next to the kitchen would make it ideal.  Plus with the heavy rain, I couldn't really go anywhere, even my dog wouldn't go out!!

So today, mop bucket and homemade rosemary and vinegar cleaning fluid in hand, I got to work and cleaned the parlour down because I have been thinking of using it for  storing dried and hanging fresh herbs for ages.  I mopped down all the walls, ceiling and shelves and then I let the room air for an hour.  Next I got all my dried herbs and put them into jars, labelling them and then harvested some fresh herbs, Catmint and Borage, which has been growing like mad in the garden and hung them to dry.  I must say the couple of hours I have spent has paid off, I now have somewhere to store my herbs and homemade Elderberry wine later in the year too.

After busying myself with all of this tidying up and sorting, I took the flowers off the borage and pressed some of them and the rest infused in an oil, which I will list on my Etsy.com store when it is ready for magickal purposes. Borage is good for lifting the spirit and bringing courage, it is also said to be good for spirit communicatin also.

I also busied myself with making an altar space on my kitchen widowsill which happens to face north too, as I do alot of my herbal preparations in the kitchen, I thought this would make an ideal spot for my working altar.

Next on my list will be to tackle my herb garden, although it is pretty much weed free, it does need cutting back and some of the Calendula can now be harvested too.

My next job now is to go outside to feed and water our 17 hens, there are four adults and 13 youngsters which were a free gift last week from a friend of ours, their food tray is getting low and in order to grow they need to eat

All in all it has been a busy day with a productive result at the end of it, so now that the rain has finally stopped, I shall go and persuade my dog, Toto, to see if he will fianlly go for that long awaited walk!!

Winner of my giveaway

Congratulations to http://www.blogger.com/profile/14133368208464734546 for winning a combined crystal ball, oracle card and pendulum reading as advertised in my Etsy.com store.  Please check out the above link to what Stacey does and the lovely products she also sells on Etsy.com.

Trying out a new Recipe

On Midsummer's Eve, I decided to make a sample of my own version of a vision ointment. It is well known that the witches of the past did use ointments for journeying commonly known as flying ointments containing the baneful herbs, that is solanancaeous herbs containing alkoloids such as atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine.  The essential oils are extracted from these herbs when heated and mixed with a fatty base.  When ingested into the body these herbs are poisenous, however when applied topically to the skin they are absorbed much more slowly. Typical ingredients were thought to be Mandrake, Monkshood, Henbane and Deadly Nightshade, some recipes have variations such as Hemlock and Foxglove.

 It is now known with research that Hemlock, Monkshood and Foxglove are highly toxic and dangerous when added as these can cause paralysis and Blindness.  Furthermore it would be inadvisable to work with the solanancaeous herbs, unless you know what you are doing and have experience with these herbs.  There is a good website where you can obtain ointments like this from and she is a very experienced practitioner who you can find at Witch of Forest Grove Online Shop

Although I do grow some poisenous plants such as Foxglove, I preferred to try something a little more gentle and less risky and more importantly I really didn't have the heart to start harvesting and ruining my beautiful white Foxglove currently in bloom!!

I have a good collection of herbs, many dried myself and so did my research on herbs and barks suitable for an ointment for psychic vision/clairvoyance. 

My first ingredient was Wormwood (also known as Absinth) and is good for enhancing psychic abilities, divination, astral travel and any work involving a connection with the spirit world.

My second choice was Sandalwood a lovely red aromatic bark, normally used as incense, this can be used magickally in divination, trance work, meditation and astral travel.

Basil was my third addition to the brew, Basil is known for divination but also for protection too which is why I added this so as to keep me safe.

My fourth and final addition was Rue, which grows in abundance in my herb garden. Rue is also good for protection and is said  to increase psychic powers and clairvoyance.

I heated these up in a base oil and let them simmer to extract all the properties from the herbs, then I strained the mixture and was left with a clear yellow/blood red oil to which I then added beeswax, when this was to the right consistancy I then poured them into jars, I then added some crushed citrine which is good for psychic vision/clairvoyance and topped them with a spinkling of the herbs and barks I had used in the recipe.  I didn't really do too badly I only thought I made enough for one jar but ended up filling three.  I was pleased with the result and at the next full moon, I will put my product to the test.