Oils
I have a lot of essential oils. Always try to get pure essential oils and not perfumed ones (mine are all pure except for the carnation one which is slightly perfumed). I use them in amulets and charms, as anointing oils (usually a combination of nine different drops in two teaspoons of jojoba), and in traditional aromatherapy ways (oil burning, in the bath, etc). Below are the oils I have on hand with a brief description of their qualities.
Basil: Promotes harmony and helps stop fighting between loved ones.
Bergamot: Prosperity.
Black Pepper: Energy and enthusiasm.
Camphor: Purification.
Carnation: Uplifting, good for luck spells.
Cinnamon: Good for sex magick.
Clary Sage: Euphoric, great for PMT blues, protective (especially for women). Contraindicated during pregnancy as it can bring on contractions.
Cypress: Masculine energy (especially when combined with patchouli), good for assisting in letting go.
Eucalyptus: Healing and protection.
Frankincense: A wonderful all rounder, very purifying and protective.
Geranium: Love, happiness and protection.
Ginger: Courage, strength (mental and physical).
Jasmine: Sacred to the Moon Goddess and enhances feminine qualities.
Jojoba: As a base for anointing oils.
Lavender: Healing, love, anti-depression.
Lemon: Moon energy, for nurturing, cleansing and strengthening.
Lemongrass: Purification, enhances psychic abilities.
Mandarin: Happiness.
Marjoram: A spring cleaner (especially when combined with thyme).
Myrrh: Purification.
Neroli: Young love, enhances sensuality, and can also be calming when feeling confused.
Nutmeg: To help with divination.
Orange: Sun energy, growth and development.
Palmarosa: Healing and love.
Patchouli: Love and to invoke the Goddess Hecate.
Pennyroyal: Strength and protection (contraindicated during pregnancy).
Peppermint: Transformative properties. Rub a little on your temples and the soles of your feet to help you unwind!
Petitgrain: Protection.
Pine: Exorcism and purification.
Sandalwood: Substitutes for just about anything – healing, love, protection, purification.
Thyme: For ‘spring cleaning’ of the mind and body.
Ylang Ylang: An aphrodisiac and can encourage a sense of interconnectedness with all things.
Obviously a lot of the properties of extracted oils correspond with the originating substance from which they were extracted. Generally, when you use oils for anointing or as additions to amulets and charms you are connecting with earth and water elemental qualities, whereas burning herbs and oils brings in the air and fire elements, so sometimes it can be worth doubling up with an original substance and its extracted oil to give a full-on magickal punch!
Goddesses and Gods
Having been brought up in a monotheistic religion I was overwhelmed when I discovered the plethora of Pagan and Wiccan Goddesses and Gods – let alone those of other cultures and religions that as a Witch I was free to respect, explore and identify with. When I started practising Witchcraft I was drawn to recognizing and acknowledging only the Goddess under many guises (e.g. Kali, Diana, Cerridwen). I guess this was a reaction to being brought up Catholic and forced to recognise only a male God. After a couple of years as a Witch I could no longer ignore the animus in me and I started to invoke the God during ritual, primarily in the form of Pan, Lord of the Forests, and then generally as a constant force connected to the Goddess as her consort, lover and son. I relate to the Jungian concept of every soul being composed of anima (female polarity) and animus (male polarity) to be equally explored by both sexes. I now relate to Goddess energy as being omnipresent – existing constantly in all things in equal intensity; and the God is more dynamic in that he comes and goes and sparks change and movement in the state of things.
I see the Goddess and God having a light and dark side. Both are capable of creation and destruction which I see as essential and positive. Destruction is necessary and ultimately clears the way for future growth. Similarly, the dark side isn’t always ominous and scary, it’s challenging and often there’s more to learn there than in the light.
I do strongly relate to the concept of Gaia, i.e. that planet Earth is a cohesive living entity and we are a part of it as an organism, and our consciousness and our physicality are directly evolved from it (which isn’t to say humans won’t inhabit other planets one day). The closest experience I have had of seeing the Goddess or God was looking down into the mouth of a volcano I climbed in Vanuatu, seeing the molten lava spitting out and knowing that, as a life form, I originated from something like that. I believe that the Life Force itself is sacred and I relate to it in a reverential way as an infinite and impersonal phenomenon. Everything with Life Force is divine, which is how I relate to Elementals, Nature spirits, etc – they represent ways in which humans can understand and interact with the existence of these elements, plants, flowers, etc, beyond the physical plane.
Below are some of my favourite Goddesses and Gods. It’s really up to you to decide which ones you are particularly inspired by and take the time to research why you feel drawn to specific ones – they help you to understand yourself.
Goddesses
The Great Goddess or Great Lady: Maiden/Mother/Crone, reflecting the cycle of life and the seasons, and the waxing/full/waning moon.
* Maiden: Generally considered innocent; not ignorant but inexperienced. She is bound to no-one and can be Virgin but does not have to be celibate. She is associated with Spring, it is a time of exploring potentials, being resourceful and open to everything without fear.
* Mother: As much as it is often denigrated in patriarchal times, a woman’s ability to produce a child is one of the most profound and powerful symbols of femininity. Symbolically the Mother is the provider and carer of Life itself. She is associated with Summer.
* Crone: The Wise Old Woman is exalted as the ultimate symbol of power and feminine authority. Having been Maiden and Mother and integrated these, she is now completely devoted to her own Mystery and able to dispense that wisdom to others, as well as assisting in healing of the body and spirit, child-rearing and insight into the world beyond life.
Cerridwen (Celtic): The Triple Goddess and mainly worshipped as the Death Sow (symbolized by a large white or black pig) and represented by the moon. Thought to possess a sacred Cauldron of Wisdom.
Morrigan (Celtic): The Great Queen of Battle and Death, she is often represented by a large black crow and she holds the secrets of life and death.
Morgan Le Fay (Celtic): The Great Witch and strongest female force in Arthurian mythology and (perhaps not entirely coincidentally) depicted as one of the major ‘baddies’ in most versions of the story.
Brigit (Celtic): Goddess of Fire, Hearth, Virginity and Fertility,