Lore: According to legend, Orchis was the son a Satyr and nymph. During a celebration for Bacchanalians he attempted to rape a priestess. Eventually, he was put to death by Bacchanalians. His father prayed to the Gods to give pity on him. Orchis was then given eternal life as this root, which led to the belief that Orchid roots provide a practitioner with the lusty sexuality of the satyr.
Magical and Ritual Uses:
The tuber can be dried and carved into an amulet or talisman for love and romance.
The powdered root is considered to be an aphrodisiac.
Orchids are ideal for Handfastings.
The gift of an orchid puts romantic energy in motion. (It’s been used in the feast or cup for the Great Rite to embody the deities for fertility)
News:
Elderly relatives accused of being WITCHES by their children so they can burn them alive and claim their inheritance
Juma Kalume Musunye’s six grandchildren beat her until she fell to the ground crying, and then doused her in petrol, claiming she had used witchcraft to paralyse their mother’s hands.
‘They wanted to kill me,’ said the 65-year-old widow who lives on Kenya’s coast, where the Mijikenda people traditionally blame witches for illness and misfortune. Read more: dailymail.co.uk
Celebrate the magic of Samhain in Salem.
Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa
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References:
Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac
Llewellyn’s 2016 Moon Sign Book: Conseious Living by the cycles of the moon
Catherine Yronwode: Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic
Paul Beyerl: A Compendium of Herbal Magick
Scott Cunningham: Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of magical herbs
Lore: Cinnamon was burned to purify temples in ancient China. It also promotes health, vigor and libido.
Magical and Ritual Uses:
For Love: Add to oils, powders, and mojo bags.
Cleansing Incense: Mix with Frankincense, Myrrh, Camphor, and Sandalwood, burn every day for 14 days to purify your home. The insencse can also be used to smudge the body or gifts received from unknown parties or the dead.
To Draw money: Place three Cinnamon sticks with Fast Luck oil in a green bag, add Nutmeg with money drawing oils. Place in an amulet for good fortune
When burned as an Incense: Aids in healing, concentration, high spiritual vibrations, stimulates psychic powers, and enhances protective vibrations.
News
Summer solstice events and pagan sites around Britain
The summer solstice festival continues until June 21 on the campsite set closest to Stonehenge, and visitors can enjoy free access to the sacred site to celebrate the summer solstice from tonight at 7pm until 8am tomorrow (sunrise will be at 4.45am). Offerings include various food stands, a real ale bar and cider festival, as well as fire twisters and musical entertainment by night. Read full story – telegraph.co.uk
On the Summer Solstice, it’s not just neo-pagans like me who should be reconnecting with the natural world We have a deep and undeniable relationship with nature – from the fact that our bodies naturally wake up when they see sunlight, to our tendency and need to live beside water, to the spooky fact that the menstrual cycle is the same length as the lunar month. Read full story – independent.co.uk
French woman accused of murdering daughter on beach blames witchcraft
A French woman who left her baby daughter to drown on a beach blamed “witchcraft” when she went on trial for murder on Monday.
Fabienne Kabou, 39, who was described as having “remarkable intelligence … but subject to irrational beliefs”, travelled to Berck-sur-Mer with her only child, Adélaïde, in November 2013. Read full story - theguardian
Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa
References:
Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac
Llewellyn’s 2016 Moon Sign Book: Conseious Living by the cycles of the moon
Catherine Yronwode: Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic
Paul Beyerl: A Compendium of Herbal Magick
Scott Cunningham: Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of magical herbs
Lilies are associated with a fertility goddesses in some Mediterranean religions. In some Christian lore the white lily is associated with Mary and a symbol of purity. It is also believed the lily came from the tears of Eve when she was banished from the Garden of Eden.
Magical and Ritual Uses:
A fresh lily can be worn to break love spells.
Plant lilies in the garden for protection against ghosts and evil.
Protects against the evil eye and unwanted visitors.
News:
Honey Moon on the Solstice: It hasn’t happened since 1948 It’s rare, all right. A full Moon last landed smack on the Solstice in the 1940s. It’s the kind of thing that would have inspired the Mayans to shove a few extra in-laws from their pyramids – the sort of coincidence that would have made the Stonehenge folks haul additional stones into position. But that’s what’s actually happening this Monday, June 20. Read full story – hudsonvalleyalmanacweekly
Solstice: Don’t expect much sun as Druids and Pagans head to Stonehenge to mark first day of summer While isolated showers should fade away during this evening, much of the UK will then be dry overnight with clear spells.
Northern Ireland and western Scotland will experience outbreaks of light rain later today.
And the south-east of England will also hold onto a lot of cloud, some areas thick enough to give a few spots of rain. Read full story – metro.co.uk
Summer solstice 2016: Everything you need to know about the longest day of the year Summer heat has been in full swing across much of the country the last few weeks, but not until Monday’s summer solstice can we officially — or at least, astronomically — say goodbye to spring.
The 2016 solstice occurs at 6:34 p.m. Eastern Time on June 20, marking the first day of astronomical summer and the longest day of the year in Earth’s northern hemisphere. Read full story – washingtonpost.com
Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa
References:
Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac
Llewellyn’s 2016 Moon Sign Book: Conseious Living by the cycles of the moon
Scott Cunningham: Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of magical herbs
Thyme is a perennial shrub, and a member of the mint family. With over a hundred varieties, the most common being garden and lemon Thyme.
The Greeks used Thyme “to make a burnt offering.” In the Middle Ages, Europeans placed it under pillows to promote sleep and ward off nightmares. Women would also give the leaves to knights to bring courage. Thyme was also placed on coffins and burned as incense during funerals to send one into the next life.
Planet: Venus (Beauty, Fidelity, Friendships, Good Fortune, Love, Money, youth)
Magical and Ritual Uses:
To stop nightmares or have prophetic dreams: Place beneath your pillow, or burn on charcoal and take in the aroma. (it is also great for meditation)
For Money: Plant THYME in the garden. Fold a dollar bill around THYME leaves, then fold again to make a packet, tie it up, and bury it on a full moon at the middle of a crossroads.
Growing various types of THYME: Encourages the devas to be lively.
To see Fairies: Carry in an amulet or sachet.
Money-Protection: Combine THYME, MINT, and BAYBERRY.
For purification: Burn prior to a ritual to cleanse the area. In spring, make a cleansing bath composed of MARJORAM and THYME to ensure all the sorrows and ills of the past are removed.
THYME is also carried and smelled to give courage and energy.
For good health: Thyme is burned or worn in an amulet. It is excellent in healing spells.
It is also used to communicate with friends and relatives who have passed. THYME can be most useful on SAMHAIN.
Entertainment
The Conjuring 2: Movie Review Between the fantastic talent of and chemistry between Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, and the vision of James Wan, The Conjuring 2 demonstrates incredible potential for the emerging franchise. Real full story – cinemablend.com
News
First shamanism museum opens in Seoul South Korea’s first shamanism museum, located at Geumseongdang Shrine, opened its doors in Eunpyeong-gu, northwestern Seoul last week.
The shrine, close in style to the traditional Korean house, or hanok, was founded to appease the spirit of Prince Geumseong (1426-1457), who was ordered a lethal dose of poison upon charges of trying to reinstate the deposed King Danjong. Read full story - asiaone.com
Ryan Murphy revealed the set up for the next installment of “American Horror Story” during a Friday night event for Emmy voters. Coven will be a massive witch-off: Salem versus voodoo.
“The witches of Salem, the smart ones, got out very early and they were none of the ones who were burned,” Murphy explained. “They all gravitated toward New Orleans, where they now live, and every generation has a great witch who has the most powers of them all, and that’s called the Supreme. Ms. Jessica Lange is the Supreme.” Read full story – au.ibtimes.com
Books:
Out of the Broom Closet, into the Rave: ‘Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music’ Paganism and popular music share a love of physicality. Rooting this scholarly anthology not in beliefs constructed by modern society referring to nature, but arising rather from earth’s own manifestations by cultural contexts, co-editor Donna Weston introduces 13 contributions to the study of Pagans and music now. (The capitalization is significant: convention prefers a “P” for modern followers and a “p” for pre-Christian adherents.) Read full story – popmatters.com
News:
Witchcraft-accused force-fed human excreta PARSA, AUG 07 – A single woman in Bishrampur-1 in the district was allegedly thrashed and force-fed human excreta on the charge of practising witchcraft , police said.
According to police, Devmati Chaurasiya, Lalchuni Chaurasiya and the latter’s son Manjaya, who beat 65-year-old Saraswoti Devi Chaurasiya on Tuesday evening, are arrested for necessary investigation.
However, local resident Bijaya Chaurasiya, who was also reportedly involved in the incident, is at large. Read full story – ekantipur.com
My Mother the Witch what if your mother were a witch? Do you think she would have done things a bit differently from other mothers? Based on my experience, you would be right…
My mother Maggie, as she likes to be called, has referred to herself as a witch for a couple of decades now — at least since she was in her early 70s. That was around the time she started adding 8,000 years to the date: She would date her letters to me 9989 instead of 1989 and 9992 instead of 1992, to signal that she was reckoning time from the estimated beginning of Goddess worship. Nowadays, at 92 years young, she talks about the Goddess often, keeps an altar with a Goddess statue from Malta, and regularly wears a large pentacle around her neck. Read full story – huffingtonpost.com
Slippery Spells: Gay-Inclusive Curriculum Leads To Witchcraft Says South Carolina Teacher A South Carolina teacher is making the rounds on the anti-gay circuit for his wild claims about homosexuality in the classroom. Last week the infamous Fox News contributor and American Family Association radio host Sandy Rios — who last week compared the love two gay men feel to the “love” kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro felt for the women he kept captive as slaves in his home — talked with Ira Thomas, a South Carolina teacher.
Thomas told Rios that a gay-inclusive curriculum is harmful to children, and said “it’s like teaching people about how to use crack.” Read full story -thenewcivilrightsmovement.com
During the school year, Lizarda Urena, the mother of two students, prayed out loud on the steps of the school as students walked in.
Urena said she had a calling in 2011 to fight school violence with prayer, so she started praying on the steps of the auditorium between 7 and 7:15 a.m. as students filtered in. Read full story -wcvb.com
Woman charged in Globe crash threatened voodoo hex, police say BOSTON —A police report says an Everett woman accused of being drunk when her car rammed a newspaper delivery truck on a Boston highway, sending it plummeting 40 feet to the ramp below, threatened to put a voodoo hex on the arresting officer.
Police say 25-year-old Vivencia Bellegarde struck the Boston Globe truck on Interstate 93 at about 3:15 a.m. Monday. The driver, Paul Healy Jr. of Brockton, was listed in fair condition at a hospital on Tuesday. Read full story -wcvb.com
Paranormal:
Couple says app lets the iPhone communicate with ghosts INDIANAPOLIS STAR – Those thumps and bumps in the night, or the item that mysteriously falls from a shelf, are more than coincidence and may be signs the spirit world is trying to communicate. At least that’s what a Greenwood, Ind., couple is banking on.
Ghost hunters Roger Pingleton and Jill Beitz, founders of StreamSide Software, have developed an iPhone app they say gives the dead a voice.
In developing the Spirit Story Box app (99 cents to download at the Apple app store; there is no Android version), Pingleton said his goal was to improve on other paranormal apps for the iPhone. Read full story – KSDK.com
The Bedfordshire pair, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of their two daughters, say they have been persecuted for their beliefs and claim social services accused them of ‘devil worship’.
They are due to appear in court for the custody of the children in September after they were taken into foster care around 18 months ago. Read full story bedfordshire-news.co.uk
Mbozi man killed, wife injured over witchcraft THREE people, including an old man who was butchered by unidentified people on suspicion of witchcraft at Lumbila Village, Mbozi District in Mbeya Region, died in spearate incidents over the weekend.
Mbeya Regional Police Commander (RPC), Diwani Athumani, said that the old man, Msawile Halinga (70) was stabbed to deathe by unidentified people, saying the suspects also wounded his wife Esther Mgala Mgala (60). “The deceased’s wife was taken to Mbozi District Hospital for medical treatment after she sustained multiple wounds on her body,” said the RFC. Read full story dailynews.co.tz
His victims have been the elderly or people suspected of practising sorcery and police said he killed them “after being paid”. They added that he about to wipe out a family when he was nabbed.
But it is not clear why the suspect has been held without charge since July 18 or if police have sought court permission to continue holding him. Read full story from StandardDigital
Mysterious pentagram etched into remote Kazakhstan field explained A mysterious pentagram discovered by satellites etched into a remote corner of northern Kazakhstan, baffling and mystifying viewers around the world has been explained — and it couldn’t be further from the Gates of Hell.
The massive 1,200 feet in diameter pentagram just 12 miles west of the city of Lisakovsk has been identified as the remnants of a former Soviet-era summer camp whose grounds are said to have never been completed. Read full story nydailynews.com
Paranormal:
Ghostly reputation makes house a tough sale WILKES-BARRE – For sale: Two-story single family home on South Welles Street, complete with washer, dryer, kitchen appliances – and ghosts.
Stacey Evans and her husband, Matt, are trying to sell her mother’s house, but they’re afraid its long-standing reputation as haunted might hinder the sale.
Enter investigators from nonprofit, Luzerne County based Deadline Paranormal to find out for sure.
On Sunday evening the house at 46 S. Welles St. swarmed with human activity as investigators placed cameras, recorders and assorted other electronic devices throughout both floors and the basement in order to check for paranormal activity. Read full story citizensvoice.com
Even in the Bible Belt, pagan symbols dot Birmingham
Those of you who read my column regularly know that I never post political or religious pieces. However, a recent Fox News story regarding Pagan and Wiccan holidays at the University of Missouri prompted a whirlwind of religious debate across the nation.Fox News stereotyped Pagans and Wiccans as “Compulsive Dungeons and Dragons players” or “middle-aged, twice-divorced older women living in a rural area working as midwives”, and said that the bad part about Wicca was “well, witchcraft”. Negative stereotypes aside, Fox News also mentioned that there were relatively few Wiccans and Pagans in the United States (There are ~1 million).
I decided to research Wicca culture in the Magic City. What I found was that Pagans do live in Birmingham, and their influence is all around us, whether we realize it or not. Read full story studentmedia.uab.edu
Theological Meaning of Wicca
Unlike many of the world’s religions, Wicca is a religion whose theological meaning cannot be found within the pages of one sacred text, nor can it be determined by studying a specific body of work. The theology of Wicca is not determined by one head leader speaking for a body of believers. Instead, Wiccan theology is best explained by examining its principles. Read full story opposingviews.com
Native American:
A Photographer Remembers Wounded Knee, 40 Years Later
Forty years ago, a caravan of more than 50 cars full of demonstrators pulled into Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. That day marked the beginning of a 71-day occupation led by members of the Oglala Lakota tribe and followers of the American Indian Movement, attempting to address long-standing grievances — not only with the U.S. government but also with tribal leaders.
Over those 71 days, Pine Ridge was effectively barricaded from the outside world. Electricity was turned off even though it was winter, and food and medical supplies were halted. Two Native Americans and one FBI agent died before the standoff ended. Read full story npr.org
Paranormal:
Chad Stambaugh Presents New Guide to Paranormal Investigations FRESNO, Calif. – In his new book “Paranormal Investigations: The Proper Procedures and Protocols of Investigation for the Beginner to the Pro” (published by iUniverse) author and retired Marine Chad Stambaugh takes readers into a controversial world: the supernatural.
“Paranormal Investigations” shows both the beginner and the professional when and how to correctly operate the different types of equipment integral to a paranormal investigation: cameras, camcorders, voice recorders, digital video recorders, EMF detectors, dowsing rods, pendulums and more. In addition, Stambaugh details the correct procedures for conducting both public and private investigations, including how to deal with clients, what to look for, how to look for it, and how to document an investigation. Read full story sfgate.com
Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for you to become more sustainable and do something positive for the environment. It’s been the source of inspiration for millions of people taking steps towards a cleaner, safer future. It’s not just about saving energy for one hour, it’s about going Beyond the Hour with lasting, behaviour-changing actions for a sustainable planet.
There are lots of ways you can take action for Earth Hour. Whether you’re a social media fan or a hands-on organiser, you’re sure to find some inspiration right here! Read full story at earthhour.org
Arts & Entertainment:
Documentaries: The Witches of Gambaga and Sweet Crude
Earlier this week I watched two really interesting documentaries that I thought I’d share with you here briefly. The first is Witches of Gambaga by Yaba Badoe (mentioned here at Amy Reads previously as she wrote True Murder and was featured in African Love Stories). This short film (at 55 minutes) talks about the Gambaga witch camp in Northern Ghana where women go for sanctuary who are accused of witchcraft. Read full story from amckiereads.com
News:
Zimbabwe: It’s Time to Destroy Witchcraft
Witchcraft can be defined and described by people depending on their life experiences. Different contextual, cultural experiences and understandings have led to the classification of witches into black, white and red witches with different functions attached to their names.
The Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines the word witch as one who practices black art, or magic or possessing evil supernatural or magical power backed by demons and works in league with the devil or a sorcerer or sorceress.
My life experiences have informed me that witchcraft is an enemy that hates progress with perfect hatred. Witches have an ugly and nasty agenda for people, communities and nations. Therefore witchcraft can supervise personal and also national disasters. Besides this, witchcraft is an evil force that quenches people’s destinies and national destinies. Read full story from allafrica.com
NYC schools ban on dinosaurs, Halloween
NEW YORK — In a bizarre case of political correctness run wild, New York educrats banned references to “dinosaurs,” “birthdays,” “Halloween” and dozens of other topics on city-issued tests.
That is because they fear such topics “could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students.”
Dinosaurs, for example, call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists; birthdays are not celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses; and Halloween suggests paganism. Read full story from myfoxny.com
The Dartmouth Anomaly Research Team investigates strange phenomenon in historic places, like the Yankee Pedlar. They were joined by other investigators from Worcester Paranormal. They are at the 121-year-old Torrington hotel in part because of the recent movie, “The Innkeepers,” which told a fictional story of hauntings at the hotel and was filmed on location at the Torrington landmark. Read full story from courant.com
Religion:
Exorcism victim’s last moments
Four women and a 15-year-old minor accused of the “satanic” murder of an uMlazi teenager, were all released from custody on Thursday after being granted bail at the uMlazi Magistrate’s Court.
Sinethemba Dlamini, 15, was found dead by police on March 10 with her intestines lying next to her at her home in uMlazi.
Fundiswa Faku, 29, Lindela Jalubane, 38, her daughter, Nokubonga Jalubane, 18, Nonhlanhla Mdletshe, 21, and the 15-year-old minor all pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, Magistrate Anesh Sukdeo granted each accused bail of R500 and released the minor into her father’s custody.
He said the accused had satisfied the court by presenting it with exceptional circumstances to be granted bail. Read full story from iolnews.co.za
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