October typically marks the end of the outdoor growing season here in the mountains of NC. My indoor garden of houseplants provides a refuge during the winter months.

Houseplants are shown to enhance your mood and creating a soothing living space. An article published in The Journal of Physiological Anthropology 2015 34:21 sites how active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress and help with loneliness and depression.

Houseplants help purify the air in our homes by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen and trapping and absorbing many pollutants. Many of these chemical compounds, are released into our air through a process called “off-gassing,” and come from everyday items present in our homes and offices.

An indoor garden can be your refuge from the outside world and a source of great joy. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, when you introduce plants into your home you will start to notice improvements to your health and happiness. This blog will discuss some of my favorite easy to grow houseplants and their magical uses. 

I first met aloe as a young child. My great-grandmother had a large plant she kept in her bedroom to treat the radiation burns she received from undergoing colon cancer treatment in the late 1950’s. The leaves were harvested, split open and laid upon the burns on her back and abdomen. She said the medicine from the plant was the only thing she had ever used that brought her relief.

Aloe Vera
Aloe, Burn Plant, Medicine Plant, Chinese Aloe, Indian Aloe, True Aloe, Barbados Aloe, Burn Aloe, First Aid Plant.

Aloe, the most used form of which is known as A. vera barbadensis, is a succulent native to the south-west Arabian Peninsula. There are more than 500 Aloe species, 130 of which are native to Africa. The word ‘Aloe’ in Sanskrit means Goddess

Aloe was used by the Ancient Chinese and Egyptian people to heal wounds, reduce fever and treat burns. Ancient Egyptians believed that it promoted immortality and used it to embalm their dead. The first known written records of aloe come from ancient clay tablets found in Sumeria dating back to 2200 BC. Medical text from 1550 BC, the Ebers papyrus, refers to aloe and it’s pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-90 CE) and naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) both write of it healing benefits. During the 1100s Hildegard von Bingen was known to use aloe to help her migraines. She also prescribed the gel for gastric infections and ulcers

Deities – Aphrodite, Venus
Zodiac – Cancer
Planet – The Moon
Element – Water
Crystals -Obsidian, citrine and amethyst

Magically Aloe vera offers protection, good luck, and absorbs negative energies from the environment. In Mesopotamia and throughout the Middle East, leaves are hung over doorways to ward off evil spirits. A plant growing in the kitchen prevents accidents, particularly burns. A plant on a windowsill at the front of your house dispels negative energy and attracts good luck. For protection, break off the end of a leaf and dab the gel over windowsills and doorways. For healing spells anoint a green candle with the gel. For protection against the evil eye add gel to cleansing baths and spell jars.

How to Harvest Aloe Gel
You will need a leaf a foot long or several smaller leaves, a sharp paring knife, a cutting board, several small bowls, a blender, a jar for storage.
Start by cutting the leaves from the plant and propping them upright for a few minutes in a bowl to drain the aloe gel from the cut site. Then lay the leaf on a flat surface and cut into strips about an inch wide. Carefully remove the skin by sliding the knife underneath it and removing the block of gel. Cut gel block into small chunks and use a blender to make a puree. It will froth while blending. Gel can be stored for about a week in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the fridge.

Aloe and Lavender Healing Gel
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
10 drops lavender essential oil
Mix well and store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The gel will last for about a week in the fridge. Use for treating burns and skin irritations.

If you have pets please research the toxicity of the plant to animals.

DREAM ON!

By Pamela Shook 

One of the most frequent questions I get as a reader is “How can I get in touch with my guides?” or “How can I learn to trust my intuition?” The short answer is that it takes time, practice and experimenting with different tools and techniques. But one of the richest and most natural avenues to tapping into higher guidance is learning to interpret your dreams. 

Some cultures begin each morning sharing dreams and helping each other interpret them over breakfast, so they learn early how to remember their dreams, take them seriously, and work with them. Our culture values logic and teaches us to ignore intuition, so we have to work harder to tap into the magic and trust the messages. 

However, your subconscious mind is still loyally working for you to create these amazing little movies — four or five per night — whether you remember them or not!  Some dreams involve astral travel, visitations, or time travel, most dreams are created to help us process and resolve issues in our daily lives. 

 And while some dream symbols are pretty universal, we each have a unique dream language as individual as our fingerprint. Decoding your own dream language is key to growing both your intuition and creativity, solving problems, and generating inspiration when you feel stuck. You can even learn to program a dream specific to an issue you want to address, dream lucidly while awake, and do spell work to manifest the inspiration found in your dreams.  

The first step is keeping a dream journal. It can be a cheap spiral notebook, binder, or a lovely leather-bound journal—your call.  Keep it by your bed with a pen so you can write down dreams first thing.  If you wait even a few minutes, most details will fade. 

There are numerous ways to use Tarot to promote dream recall and to create spells to work with your dreams.  The most universal card for dreaming is The Moon (Luna).  So as you begin to work with dream recall, start with placing the Moon on your altar as you ask for a dream. 

Pamela Shook reads at the shop on Fridays and Sundays, drawing from over thirty years’ experience as a Tarot reader, Reiki Master, and Alchemical Hypnotherapist. In addition to more traditional readings, appointments over thirty minutes can include Reiki or Dream Work consultations. For further information, text 704-534-0687. To book an in-person reading, call the shop at 828-424-7868. 

The process of anything in life requires focus, intention, and follow through. Magic is no different and requires belief. When making the store bath salts there are steps to ensure that the product is safe and does the intended purpose.

We use the best ethically sourced Epsom Salts, Dead Sea Salts, natural dyes, herbs, and essential oils. We create each bath salt with the magical intention in mind every step of the process. We make sure to cleanse and clean the workspace thoroughly. We light a white cleansing candle and ARC cleansing herbal smoke mixture, wipe all surfaces down with earth safe cleaner, put on our gloves and tie our hair back. We make sure the environment is calm and clear. Once we have the space ready, we gather the list of needed bath salts. From this list we set out our salt mix, oil blends, natural coloring, and herbs. We use plastic bags and containers in hopes the customer will reuse these items after cleaning them for other things. We take deep a breath and then center on the magic of the bath salt being made at hand. Say we are making our popular Money Bath salt. We place the bath salt mixture in our mixing bowl, thinking about money coming to those who are using the salt. Seeing money flowing into the mixing bowl. We mix clockwise until the salt, oil, and coloring is mixed. The colors can sometimes flux depending on the available ingredients. We mix and mix until we feel the magical goal has been placed into the salt itself. Then we bag or bottle and label. Once we move onto the next bath salt, we cleanse the area if needed, and clean the mixing bowl and spoon readying it for the next magical bath salt and intention. We play music in the workspace that enriches and fills the air with song. We place our deepest intentions into that salt for the customer to conjure the best benefits. Always wishing for the highest outcome to any who use the bath salts.

How to use the bath salts is up to the person. You can use them for yourself, with another person, or as a gift to someone who needs a little magical help. If you are unsure of allergies, we always suggest testing a small amount in a bowl and placing a finger or hand in to see. Make sure to read the ingredients and know what you should avoid if you have sensitive skin.

As the saying goes the bath is your cauldron, you are the ingredients, boil, boil, toil, toil, make the magic happen!

Hail and Blessings,

Beth

Acorns have many magical associations, including creativity, divination, fertility, longevity, prosperity, and protection. Acorns are easy to collect this time of year for those who live near oak trees as a free magical material.

Staff Acorn Magic

Simple faery acorn offering

Find a cap from an acorn on the ground? Pretty easy come fall they seem to be everywhere. Pick it up, wipe it off and make a faery wish basket!

Take the tiny acorn cap fill it with fresh dirt, a bit of moss, tiny stones if you find them, bug wings anything from the ground around you ethically sourced of course!

Tuck it all into the tiny cap, close your eyes, feel nature surround you, then whisper a wish into the cap, place it by the hollow of a tree or a place that seems where fae folks would frequent.

Turn and walk away don't look back and say thank you fae for hearing your wish.

The best time to do this is first thing in the morning when the dew is on the ground and the sun is sneaking through the trees. Or at dusk when the peepers start peeping and the bats make loops in the setting sun.

Wish magick for any age the young or young at heart. Remember to stay grounded, protected, and keep your shields up.

When the wish comes true go back to where you left the acorn wish basket and speak thanks. Leave a shiny tiny thing or yummy, sweet, ethically always no harm to nature.

Blessings and may your tiny wishes become big true!

Blessings from Beth

Acorn spell work for a long-term goal

This time of year, anywhere that mature oaks are growing, acorns tend to be plentiful. Acorns have been associated with fertility, prosperity, protection, and even longevity.

Much of their purported magical qualities likely spring from their long life--the average length of an oak tree is 200 years, with some living to be over 400. Oaks are often struck by lightning due to frequently being the tallest tree in a stand or grove, yet they routinely survive such events. This attribute is probably the reason that magical folklore has adopted using acorns for protection from storms and lightning.

Acorns make a splendid tool for magical work, especially when it comes to spell work for a long-term goal that requires extra planning, like buying a home, a pregnancy, or really any major project. Sometimes the most effective magical work are those spells performed and then are somewhat forgotten about while the magic does the work.

What you need:

Acorns of any variety

A bowl of water

A place to plant - either outside or in a pot filled with soil

You can make this spell as elaborate or as simple as you wish. Candles, incense, bells (and whistles!) can all be added, but the most important aspect is your intent.

The first thing you must do is to collect some acorns. To determine whether an acorn is viable and healthy, place the acorns in a bowl of water. Those that float are not viable and can be returned to the outside so they can be food for wildlife. Collect the acorns that sunk and are resting on the bottom of the bowl.

The germination period for an acorn can range anywhere from 30-60 days depending on the variety of acorn. Most require stratification, a process that needs cool temperatures and a moist environment. Acorns added to a moist mixture of sand and peat moss in a baggie, then placed in a refrigerator will do the trick, if you opt to go this route.

The simpler route is to either plant them in a container or in the ground. They should be buried 1/2" - 1" deep. Keep in mind that most small wildlife--squirrels, chipmunks, moles and voles--find acorns to be a delightful meal, so picking a spot that might protect your germinating acorn from roving critters is key.

Now for the magical part. First, whether you are planting outside or in a container, focus on the area and envision it as being a safe and welcoming space for germination and growth. You can draw a sigil of protection or a pentacle on the container or draw one in the soil both before and after planting.

Next, collect your acorns while holding in your mind the purpose of your magical work--a new home, a child, a new career--whatever your purpose. After you have collected your acorns, place them in the bowl of water.

You can charge the water prior to placing the acorns in it with the intent to purify and clarify if you desire, but it is not necessary. As you place the acorns in the water imagine those acorns most suited to the task as sinking to the bottom of the bowl. Remove any floating acorns, and then collect those that sunk.

How many acorns you plant is up to you. Most gardeners will tell you to plant a few more seeds than you really want. I would suggest planting 2-3 acorns.

As you place your acorns in the soil, envision the purpose of your magical work. Cover the acorn with soil, envisioning it as safe and protected. The acorn becomes the physical embodiment of your spell, drawing energy and nutrition from the soil around it to ultimately sprout and manifest your desire.

If you choose, you can lightly draw a pentacle with your finger in the soil. If you used a container to plant in, place it outside where it will be undisturbed. and now forget about until the spring!

Star B.

Magical Oils?

“How do I work with your magical oils?” is a question we are frequently asked at the shop. Truthfully the only firm rule is they are not meant to be ingested. You can use Magical Oils to dress candles, magical tools, talismans, stones and charms. Magical Oils can be worn on your body, poured into your bath or diffused into your environment. We have compiled a list of the staff’s favorite oils and uses for your consideration.

• Add a few drops of oils to the top of a jar candle or anoint a ritual or taper candle. To bring something to you anoint from the top to middle and then the bottom to middle. To let go of something anoint from the middle to top and the middle to bottom. Staff favorites Road Opener, Money Drawing, Uncrossing.
• Add to bath water, creams, lotions, and shampoos. Staff favorites Enchantress, Lovers, Finding Self Love.
• Anoint power points of the body. Staff Favorites Guardian, Healing, Grounding.
• Add to a floor wash. Use on a cloth to wipe windowsills and doorknobs. Staff Favorites Protection, Communication, Banishing.
• Use on a cloth to rub oil onto altar and altar tools. Staff favorites Altar oil, High Priestess, Full Moon.
• Bless a statue. Staff favorites Hekate, Lilith, Aphrodite, Oshun.
• Place a few drops of oil into a dish or bowl as an offering to ancestors, spirits, gods, guides. Staff favorites Ancestral offering, The Fates, Raven.
• Dab a few drops with your finger on tarot cards, runes, pendulums and other divination tools. Staff favorites Divination, Truth Serum, Oil of Mimir, Rune Caster's Oil.

All our Magical Oil are hand blended in the shop by Star and Violet as an intention-based tool for your magical practices.