A Years Reflection

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The year is almost over and now is the time when I usually go back through my pictures and writing to see where I've been. Often through reflection I can see where I might be headed in the future.

Here are some posts I am very proud to have written and I think deserve a second read.





There's been a lot of talk lately about mental illness. Here's a post written in January on mental illness and psychic ability.

Is Psychic Ability & Mental Illness linked?

Who could forget the gentleman who decided to punish his daughter in a very public way by making a Youtube video and shooting her computer!

Tough Love Parenting

I've often said that I don't meditate enough. As a busy mom with two kids it's hard to find time to myself. However in March I did find a little time to receive this message from my great Granny. Her message of patience is a good one. Sometimes we just have to wait because what we want isn't the right time to manifest.

A message from my ancestors.

Do you like to keep candle magick simple? This candle magick I performed didn't work out as I had envisioned it, but my husband did have a job soon thereafter.

Keep Candle Magick simple

Here's a personal tale of caution. Good intentions sometimes have very bad consequences.

Be careful what you witch for.


Do you like tradition? I don't like to feel boxed in. Tradition is fine and daddy when it uplifts you. However when it is restrictive and discourages growth I feel it is harmful. Which is why I'm eclectic. Here is a message from me encouraging you to break free from those traditions that suppress your nature and personal potential.

Tradition limits creativity & spiritual growth

Sometimes I don't know everything! Shocking I know. So here's a post I made after learning the true meaning of the Ichthys symbol. This post wins the best catchy title award and is one of the most visited posts this year.

Vagina On My Car Please

Here's a personal change of mine. Cernunnos came into my life. At the time when Cernunnos offered to "teach me to hunt", I took it to mean teach me how to be successful. I no longer think that. I think he meant teach me how to love a man in a fatherly way.

Lord of the Hunt

It's not often that I share rituals. Here is a ritual I wrote for a friend and shared here on my blog.

A Year & a Day ritual

It's not often I write poems, however this one I think is one of the best I've ever written.

Celebration of the Stag

We're almost to that moment of truth when we find out if Dec 21st is the most important day in history if if it'll turn into a dud like Y2K. Here's my thoughts on the Mayan calendar and the end of days.

Spiritual & Personal Awakening

The year couldn't be complete without my opinion on telling children about Santa.

No good lie: A discussion of Santa Clause

Reflect on your life this year. What has been your major success and major downfall? If you're a blogger, what is the one blog post you're the most proud of?

PBP: Buy or Make Tools?

Prompt: Who Makes Your Tools?

credit: daillywicca.com

A lot of Pagans perform rituals. Even those who do not, still have at least one tool that belongs to their practice, whether it be a Book of Shadows or a candle....

When it come to the tools of your practice, does it matter who made them or where they come from?
Does something you made yourself have more power? Or can you simply purchase what you need, then cleanse and charge it for your use?

Remember, what works best for you may not be for everyone, so please don't get too 'preachy' on this subject...

~Magickal Graphics~  

I definitely believe the more energy you put into the tool the better that tool will work for you. That doesn't mean you have to craft every single tool you use. It can be as simple as buying a statue that isn't painted, and doing the painting yourself. It doesn't need to be perfectly painted! As a matter of fact, imperfect art is absolutely perfect for my craft. Which is why I set out to make clay art to sell. I've been a bit lax in making more art. That's because I'm a busy homeschooling momma with a toddler. You can see my imperfect art in my Pagan Creation Etsy store. The Isis statue you see in my store is a apart of my current altar. I also have a Cernunnos statue I use on my altar that I made.

My Cernunnos statue. Pic taken while he was still in the mold and drying.

There are some things that you may not be able to craft or just feel like you don't have the talent to do. That's OK too! That's what cleansing and charging is for.

My Book of Shadows is just a simple notebook. Your tools do not have to be fancy or expensive. We are the craft of the wise. It's not wise to spend all your money on an expensive item when it's not necessary. Often the most simplest of tools is what you feel most connected with.

Celebration of the Stag

 Celebration of the Stag

By: SalemWitchChild, Oct. 2007

 Autumn time and we all dance to the chime. 

Fires burn and hearts sublime. 

Goddess sleeps and God now reigns. 

Leaves sing a tune that sustains.

Harvest moon bright and soaring.

Under her light now we're mourning.

For our ancestors we sing a spritely tune,

Gather 'round for the feast of the hunters moon.

The stag is here to lead our games.

"It's Samhain time", the stag exclaims.

Honor ourselves, ancestors, and everyone. 

May all our days be blessed and with light. 

For our God is here this night.

I'm a Proud Witchy Momma

~Magickal Graphics~

Tonight my daughter led a ritual, with our assistance of course. She wrote her own spell, we all set up the alter together, and each one of us spoke our own words. It's also the first time I've used my homemade Cernunnos and Isis statues in a ritual, and I'm very happy with them. I think the deities are too. I would take a picture of the alter but the last time I did that I think I pissed off a spirit. So I'm not doing that again while the candle burns.
It's very rewarding to share my witchy knowledge with the next generation and see my daughter take pride in her witchy work.

What have you accomplished lately?

Our BOS & Isis!

Sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I assure you I'm not sitting on my bum doing nothing. OK I am sitting on my bum but it's for a good cause. After making my Cernunnos out of clay I realized, I really like sculpting! I may not be very good at human features but I do pretty good for my purposes. After all it doesn't have to be perfect, but the energy I put into making it just gives my clay figurines that much more power. I think it's better than going out and buying a Cernunnos and Isis statue. Now I just have to think about what I want to make next. hmm. Suggestions?

Clay Isis. By SalemWitchChild

Here is Isis. Overall I like her, though there are a few things I wish I'd have smoothed over before I allowed her to dry out too much to fix. I made her with an offering cup at the bottom, which as you can see I've yet to take her out of the molded cup because I just finished her today. I'll do that in a couple of days and here's hoping it comes out smoothly! Otherwise I think I owe my MIL some Tupperware. How do you like her?

I've thought about going back and adding the same cup, or maybe one slightly larger, to Cernunnos. We'll see how Isis comes out of the mold first before I go messing around with his design.

I've also been doing my research on Cernunnos. I think most witches and Wiccans have a Book of Shadows. Or at least a journal. I don't specifically call mine a BOS. Instead it's titled "Thoughts, Feelings, and Dreams." I also have poems and other Pagan related information written in here. Yes, a couple spells as well. I'm not a good little witch when it comes to documenting all my witchy stuff. I usually end up writing out rituals on loose paper and burning that paper at the end of the ritual. So for one to make it into my BOS is rare. I also think it's rare for today's modern Pagan to not have his or her rituals on the computer. I guess I'm old fashioned in that I want it on real paper. It doesn't have to be fancy. Mine is just in a normal half sized journal type booklet. I feel more comfortable with a tangible item than typing it all out and saving it on my PC. Probably because like the other day, when my laptop screen bit the dust. I'm using my daughters Netbook for the time being.

Do you keep a written BOS, a computerized BOS, or a little of both? Do you like your own crafted tools better than bought ones?

My Crafty Clay Project

Since Cernunnos came to me this past full moon, I've been researching him and I tackled a crafty clay project. I've never sculpted clay before, and I can't say I'm a great artist. But I think I did pretty good. He is a bit of a bobble head, but I don't suppose that really matters.

I had to change my vision of him over the few days I've been working on him. At first I wanted a smaller version with a base and nature scene in the background. I soon realized I wouldn't get the detail I was after if I made him small. So I opted for a bigger version. Unfortunately he became too big and heavy for the whole scene. So he remains just his head and torso.

So here he is, I'd love to hear what you think about him. My next project may be a bust of Isis.

Cernunnos bust by SalemWitchChild.

Lord Of The Hunt

Tonight while doing a full moon ritual and charging some of my tools, I also asked help in reaping what we've sown. In my spiritual practice I've always included a Lord but his identity remained clouded to me. I've been happy to just keep him a general fatherly energy but otherwise clouded in darkness - until tonight. Tonight he revealed his identity to me. He came forth as Cernunnos, Lord of the Hunt.

Image Source

 Why I kept the Lord a general entity?

Basically because my own father was a dick, and screwed my head up. Going back to little SalemWitchChild at 3 years old, my father decided his own life happiness was more important than his two children. For whatever reason (and there isn't a good enough one ever IMO to abandon your wife and kids) he left without notice. He told my mother he was going to the store and just never returned. Shortly thereafter my mother was penniless and homeless. Now, I don't believe for a second my mother was innocent in all this. I'm pretty sure she was having an affair which is why he left. It still wasn't right that he dodged every attempt to collect child support for 15 more years and kept his distance for fear of having to pay my mother. My only connection to my father during childhood was at my grandparents house. Where every weekend I visited them like clockwork and received a phone call from him. Conversation was painful at best. It always went something like this.

Father: Robin it's your dad.

Me: Hello Father (said as sarcastically as possible)

Father: How are you, is school OK?

Me: Fine (said angrily)

Father: What do you want for your birthday? (Or Christmas, etc...)

Me: Nothing (said in a sullen voice)

Father would then spend the next 10 minutes trying to conjole me into telling him what to buy. As if that could somehow make me love him. Yeah right... Sometimes the conversation stalled, sometimes I angrily hung up on him. Other times I went off on a tirade about how I don't want his money, gifts or anything else and then hung up on him. See how this anger toward males slowly built?

Other male relationships would mess my head up further. As a matter of fact the only man I have ever trusted was my husband, and that trust didn't come easily. So I hope when I say that I kept the masculine deity general, you can see why. 

A few years ago, my father died alone in his semi-truck. You truly reap what you sow in life. Not even his second wife (Illegally married btw. He never divorced my mother) kept him company in death.

Back to Today and Cernunnos, he presented himself as an older man. He had his traditional horns and goat legs of course. I'm willing to try to let him into my heart. I don't believe it will be as easy as it was when I bonded with Isis, but Cernunnos said he'd "teach me to hunt". I took that as meaning to teach me how to be successful in this world. I'm not sure what other lessons he has in store for me, but I have a feeling there will be a lot of challenges.

If your patron God is Cernunnos, what personal stories can you share about him? How has he changed your life?

A favourite God.

Choosing a favorite God is hard for me. Because I'm eclectic I haven't chosen a specific God to work with. I suspect if I spoke with a psychologist he or she would link my lack of faith in a male figure to my non-existent father. He left when I was little and I never had a strong male role model. I've never trusted men in my life other than my husband.

I'm drawn to the Green Man. I'm interested in Ra, and I'm interested in all Gaelic gods. But none have really spoken to me as the "one" for me. So when I want to bring the masculine energy into my work, I fall back on my husbands wording - Father Sky. Its good enough for me. Or I simply say the Lord and Lady.

The Green Man

So why the Green Man? Well, for one, he's green a leafy! As a healer I'm drawn to the color green. It speaks to me. I simply love it. What better deity to represent the male figure? He's the fertile God of Spring growth.









The Sun King: Ra

Because I'm drawn to Egyptian culture and its Pantheon Ra has always had a special place in my heart. He is the sun king. With his ride across the sky he brings light. At sunrise he is known as Khepera, at noon Ra (or Re), and at sunset he is Tem or Temu.








Gaelic Gods: Cernunnos

He is the Horned God. He's another male fertility God. He's the god of the hunt. (Are we seeing a pattern here?) He's connected to the stag and snake. He's just one more strong male figure. I haven't done a lot of research on him, and I've never used him in my magical works. Perhaps he's someone I should bring into my life. Maybe, one day I will.