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From our inbox to you from: Patti Wigington & Making Magic in Your Garden
Making Magic in Your Garden
By Patti Wigington
 

The garden can be one of the most magical places in your life. As spring approaches, let’s look at how to plan, create, and grow your magical garden, as well as ways to create specialty gardens, herb plots, and more!
Garden Folklore and Magic

The very act of planting, of beginning new life from seed, is a ritual and a magical act in itself. To cultivate something in the black soil, see it sprout and then bloom, is to watch a magical working unfold before our very eyes. The plant cycle is intrinsically tied to so many earth-based belief systems that it should come as no surprise that the magic of the garden is one well worth looking into.
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Plant a Magical Moon Garden

 

A lot of people don’t realize you can grow plants and flowers that bloom at night. Cultivating a moon garden is a great way to get in touch with nature, and it provides a beautiful and fragrant backdrop for your moonlight rituals in the summer. If you plant these lovelies close to your house, you can open the windows and take advantage of their aromas as you sleep.
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As spring arrives, our gardens begin to bud and eventually bloom. For hundreds of years, the plants that we grow have been used in magic. Flowers in particular are often connected with a variety of magical uses. Now that spring is here, keep an eye out for some of these flowers around you, and consider the different magical applications they might have. 

Magical Flower Correspondences

 

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SGC: From our inbox to you; “Creating Space in the Body by Madisyn Taylor”

Creating Space in the Body
by Madisyn Taylor

As we move deeper into meditation, the state of our mind expands thus allowing us to create more space within our body.

Our minds and bodies are interconnected, and the condition of one affects the condition of the other. This is why meditation is such a powerful tool for healing the body, as powerful as physical therapies. When our minds are cluttered with thoughts, information, and plans, our bodies respond by trying to take action. When the body has a clear directive from the mind, it knows what to do, but a cluttered, unfocused mind creates a confused, tense body. Our muscles tighten up, our breath shortens, and we find ourselves feeling constricted without necessarily knowing why.

When we sit down to meditate, we let our bodies know that it is okay to be still and rest. This is a clear directive from the mind, and the body knows exactly how to respond. Thus, at the very beginning, we have created a sense of clarity for the body and the mind. As we move deeper into meditation, the state of our mind reveals itself, and we have the opportunity to consciously decide to settle it. A meditation teacher pointed out that if you put a cow in a small pen, she acts up and pushes against the boundaries, whereas if you provide her with a large, open space, she will peacefully graze in one spot. In the same way, our thoughts settle down peacefully if we provide them with enough space, and our bodies follow suit.

When we settle down to examine and experience our consciousness, we discover that there are no hard, definable edges. It is a vast, open space in which our thoughts can come and go without making waves, as long as we let them by neither attaching to them nor repressing them. As we see our thoughts come and go, we begin to breathe deeper and more easily, finding that our body is more open to the breath as it relaxes along with the mind. In this way, the space we recognize through meditation creates space in our bodies, allowing for a feeling of lightness and rightness with the world.
SGC Admin Bits and Pieces, Inspirations..., Pagan/Wiccan

SGC: From our inbox to you; “Celebrating the Sabbat, March 20 By Patti Wigington”

 

 

 
Celebrating the Sabbat, March 20
By Patti Wigington

Spring has finally arrived! March has roared in like a lion, and if we’re really lucky, it will roll out like a lamb. Meanwhile, on or around March 20th, we have Ostara to celebrate. It’s the time of the vernal equinox if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and it’s a true marker that Spring has come.            There are many different ways you can celebrate this Sabbat, depending on your tradition.

May your Sabbat be a magical one!
Rituals to Celebrate the Spring Equinox

Depending on your particular tradition, there are many different ways you can celebrate Ostara, but typically it is observed as a time to mark the coming of Spring and the fertility of the land. By watching agricultural changes — such as the ground becoming warmer, and the emergence of plants from the ground — you’ll know exactly how you should welcome the season. Here are a few rituals you may want to think about trying — and remember, any of them can be adapted for either a solitary practitioner or a small group, with just a little planning ahead.

Setting up your Ostara Altar: Try these tips to set up your altar for the Spring Equinox.
Ostara Altar Photo Gallery: Be sure to check out some of our readers’ photos of their Ostara altars – and find some inspiration!
Ostara Ritual for Solitaries: This simple ritual is designed with the solo practitioner in mind.
The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Chocolate Rabbit: This fairly ridiculous Ostara rite for kids is silly fun for the whole family.
Ostara Rebirthing Ritual: Celebrate the season of rebirth and renewal with this rite.
Ostara Labyrinth Meditation: This meditation ritual will help you with some problem solving during the Ostara season.
Earth Meditation: As the earth begins to warm back up, use this meditation to help get yourself grounded.
Celebrating Ostara with Kids: Got little Pagans? Here are some great ways to include them in your Ostara celebrations!
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Ostara Customs and Traditions
Interested in learning about some of the traditions behind the celebrations of March? Learn why St. Patrick hated snakes, and why the Easter bunny brings eggs for us to eat!
Ostara History: The vernal equinox has a long magical history. Here’s how it’s been celebrated through time.
Deities of Ostara: Meet some of the gods and goddesses associated with the spring equinox.
Spring Equinox Celebrations Around the World: Pagans aren’t the only ones celebrating this time of year – here’s what the rest of the world is doing!
Who was Eostre?: Was Eostre really an ancient goddess of spring?
Matronalia, March 1: The Romans celebrated an early version of Mother’s Day at the beginning of March.
Easter Eggs: Pagan or Not?: Are Easter Eggs secretly Pagan?
Can You Really Balance an Egg on the Equinox? Have you ever heard about balancing an egg on the equinox? Let’s look at the science behind the rumor.
Beware the Ides of March!: The Ides of March were an unlucky day for a certain Roman emperor.
St. Patrick and the Snakes: There’s a lot of speculation on whether or not the snakes were a metaphor for Pagans – did St. Patrick really drive them out of Ireland?
Pagans and Lent: Should Pagans give things up for Lent, just because their Christian friends and family members are?
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Ostara Crafts & Recipes

As Ostara rolls in, you can decorate your home (and keep your kids entertained) with a number of easy craft projects. Start celebrating a bit early with a St. Patrick’s Day Snake Wreath or a basket of naturally-dyed eggs. If you’re thinking about planning a feast, be sure to check out these recipe ideas!
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DailyOm on “Taking Counsel in a Circle” By Madisyn Taylor

Taking Counsel in a Circle

by Madisyn TaylorImage result for free glitter graphics healing circle

The use of a talking stick during counsel assures every voice is heard fully without interruption.

When we sit in a circle together and share our thoughts and feelings, we participate in a powerful, unifying practice whose origins stem from the very beginning of human time. All early cultures practiced some form of this ritual, which gives each individual in the group a voice, and at the same time reveals the one voice, and the ultimate unity, of the group. This profound and simple way of talking and listening has experienced a modern rebirth in counseling, social work, and spirituality.

Most circles benefit from the presence of a leader who opens the circle by calling in angels, spirit guides, and ancestors – beings of light who will be present with those taking counsel. The leader may announce a theme for the circle, or one may simply evolve from the unstructured expressions of each participant. The circle continues for as long as feels right, at which point the leader may summarize what has been said, perhaps leading everyone in a moment of silence before the circle disbands. One of the most powerful components of this work is the talking stick, which can be any object – a crystal, a flower, or a candle – that is passed around the circle from person to person. The person holding the object speaks until he has fully expressed his feelings, and no one else interjects, interrupts, or even responds until they are holding the stick. This enables people who have a hard time speaking out to express long-buried feelings and points of view. This is powerful because in a community it is often what is not said or acknowledged that causes the most pain and suffering.

The circle, which contains no hard edges or angles, is the ideal container for these difficult truths. As we hear the many perspectives the subject at hand inspires, we begin to see that our individual truth is just one of many. Our own hard edges begin to soften as the circle flows from one person to the next, and each wave of words cleanses us of one more layer of mental and emotional armor, freeing us to be closer to the people around us. Try using counsel during your next family meeting, school class, or any setting where you feel a centering communication method is needed.
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DailyOm on Co-operation by Madisyn Taylor

Cooperation

by Madisyn Taylor

Image result for free glitter graphics shaking hands

Cooperation is allowed to flow more easily when we let go of the necessity to be right all the time.
Cooperation seems simple: working together toward a common goal for the benefit of all involved. But amazingly it can be quite challenging, even when we have so many successful examples all around us. Human society is based upon the concept of cooperation, but finding a balance to ensure the good of all members of society is difficult. In nature, symbiotic relationships form between unlikely allies: a bee and a flower, a bird and a rhinoceros, small fish and sharks. Yet nature also shows us instances of constant competition in which only the strongest survive. Given the choice, it seems most people would choose the more peaceful path of cooperation. Intellectually, we know that together we can create something greater than what one could do alone, but cooperation still seems to be one of the greatest challenges people face. We don’t always agree on how goals can be reached. Our priorities may be different, or our methods, but in the end, cooperation offers the best chance for success.So how can we learn to cooperate with each other? We can gain greater perspective by trying to understand one another’s point of view, perhaps even putting ourselves in their place. We can search for commonalities as well as differences, and look for the good in different approaches. There is always more than one way of doing things, and some approaches are better suited for certain situations than others. All this is easier when we let go of the necessity to be right and to call others wrong. More important, we must believe that there is a solution that benefits all involved, not just one side.

The results of cooperation can be as simple as effortlessly getting everyone in your household to their appointments to large-scale social shifts to changing minds and hearts or policies that affect the future.