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 There’s a New Moon just around the corner–Monday, September 2^nd, to be exact. It interestingly falls on Labor Day, or “do not Labor Day,” as I’ve always referred to it. This will fall in line with back-to-school or continuing education for some, ushering in the start of fall for others, and the final stretch seeing us through until the end of 2024 for all. So what does all this mean, exactly?

Getting Organized with Virgo

 Well for starters, the sun has astrologically shifted to Virgo, which makes it the perfect time to get all your ducks in a row and get organized. Finish up those outstanding projects on your to-do list, for Pete’s Sake! Please note that I am saying this as much to myself, as to all of you. I’m personally making up a point to tie-up summer lingering loose ends that need some completion. I’m nearly there, and even if I don’t get everything done that I want to by Labor Day, I’m confident I’ll meet my goals by the end of the month.

A Tale of Stewart Farrar

Forget those other claimants (Alex and Simon come to mind): in the mid- to late nineties, the real King of the Witches was Stewart Farrar.

(FAHRer, he pronounced it, with the first A as in arrow. His namesake ancestor was a farrier, he used to say: a blacksmith who specializes in shoeing horses.)

A novelist and Fleet Street journalist by trade, he become, late in life, an occult celebrity whose books nourished the worldwide burgeoning interest in modern witchery. Along with his wife Janet and brother-husband Gavin—that I have never heard so much as even one arch comment about this arrangement makes me proud of my sometimes-snarky community—he toured the pagan communities of the English-speaking world, and never once failed to charm.

As per this story.

Stewart and the Cigar

In the middle of the ritual, Janet fainted.

"What you do comes back to you threefold” resembles the Buddhist principle of karma. The Threefold Law is a directive to always think of the consequences of personal actions, including rites, ceremonies, and spells you perform. Negativity comes back to you three times over, so attention to attitudes and thoughts is absolutely essential. The flip side of this law is that positive energy also comes back to you threefold. Kindness, love, and generosity also comes back to you threefold. Kindness, love, and generosity are all magnified. This is also a reason to do ritual work for long-distance healing and for global issues such as peace, the environment, and world hunger. Send good works and helpful intentions out to others and you yourself will benefit.

In his book, The Meaning of Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner states, “An ye harm none, do as ye will.” This statement encourages the individual freedom to do as you see fit so long as it does not affect anyone negatively. While you pursue your own interest, that is, think of how what you do affects others. This applies to all aspects of life, but especially with ritual and spell work because you are working with energies that have wide-ranging powers. This rule requires real attention and a high degree of consciousness in terms of assessing the repercussions of any action in regard to all the possible physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological consequences as a result of all ritual work.

A friend's publisher asked him to write them a Wicca 101 book.

Thank Goddess, he told them that the last thing that the world needs is yet another book on Wicca 101, but that he would be willing to write them one on Wicca 501.

Great, they said, write it.

Well, good on him, and good on them, and luck to the maker and the made. Pardon me, though, if I remain a little skeptical.

Wicca, at heart, is a fairly simple system. This is one of its great advantages, and helps explain its rapid spread across the world. But of course, this very simplicity is also its greatest problem.

The problem with Wicca 501 is that there is no Wicca 501.

What would Wicca 501 look like? Well, I'll tell you, but—if you're thinking psychic techniques and harnessing the power of the subconscious mind—it may not be what you're expecting.

It’s true that frankincense is the most famous incense resin, it is almost automatic when you say “frankincense” to want to immediately say “and myrrh”.  In antiquity the two were in nearly equal demand.  Although used more for the making of perfumes, myrrh was frequently burned in the same manner as frankincense.  While frankincense is a fairly simple scent to work with, myrrh presents far more complications.  Frankincense is a sweet, bright scent.  Myrrh is a complex, dark scent that can easily overpower other scents.  If you’ve ever been to one of my workshops you know that I am an advocate of spending time with individual incense ingredients.  Sometimes by listening to your ingredients they will tell you things that they’ve told to no other person.  Myrrh has a lot to say and is worth devoting the time.