House Protection Salt and Water Blessing

House Protection

This is a house protection blessing I wrote some time ago that I thought I would share with you for anyone that might find it useful.

It is a good use of full moon water if you managed to make any at the last full moon as this will be very powerful protective water.

Use this blessing anytime you feel your house needs protection from any outside  negative influences, it can be used when you first move into a house, when you are leaving it or at anytime you feel it necessary.

It is best done when the moon is full or waxing but may be performed whenever it is needed.

Assemble:

Salt and spring or blessed water

4 white and one blue candle

Piece of turquoise

Tambourine, bells etc

Incense

Casting A Circle

Choose a central room in which to carry out the ritual- often the living room.

Place candles at the four quarters of your circle.

Choose a place to put your altar or workspace, this may be on a small table or a cloth on the floor

Light the incense.

Cast your circle within which you will work

As you do so, say

I cast this circle in love and light, filling it with positive energy

Visualize the house within a protective circle.  The circle will completely envelop the house placing it inside a protective bubble.

Call upon, greet and invite ancestors, any specific gods/goddesses/ angels and all harmonious spirits and energies to be present in the house as they please.

Releasing Stuck energy

Use the tambourine or anything else that makes a noise, you can simply clap your hands if preferable, and go to all four corners of the room and make a noise to get rid of any stuck energy that may be there, do this in every room that you think necessary and any doors or windows that you feel may have a negative energy lurking.

Calling the Quarters

To protect the house at every point of the compass and to invoke the spirits of each quarter, light each candle in turn starting with the east.

Light the east candle and say

May the element of air bless this space with light, love and air and grant me protection in everything I do and anywhere I go.

Light the south candle and say

May the element of fire bless this space with light, love and air and grant me protection in everything I do and anywhere I go.

Light the west candle and say

May the element of water bless this space with light, love and air and grant me protection in everything I do and anywhere I go.

Light the north candle and say

May the element of north bless this space with light, love and air and grant me protection in everything I do and anywhere I go.

Salt and Water blessing

Move back to your workspace and light the blue candle

Place three pinches of salt in the water and say

Water be healing and salt be pure

Keep me safe and protected sure

Bad energy please flee from me

Send it back so none need flee

Take the salt and water and sprinkle at the edges of rooms or outside the house, in particular doorways and window frames and anywhere where protection is needed the most.

Completing the ceremony

Finish your house protection by thanking the ancestors, deities and all beings for being present and for continuing to protect you and your family.

Thank the spirits of the east south west and north.

Close the circle and say

May the circle be open yet unbroken

May the love of the goddess be ever in your heart

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.

Blessed be

The magical circle is closed and the protective bubble remains around your house to keep the protective magic working.

AstarteAlison 

Making healing protective full moon water

Moon Water

When our moon is at her fullest, her beautiful light shines down on us and the power that she has over us and all living creatures that inhabit this earth with us is at it’s greatest. Studies have shown that accident rates are higher at the time of the full moon and a recent study showed that the full moon even affected our quality and quantity of sleep. Making moon water at full moon means that you can harness the wonderful power of the moon to use throughout the month.  So rather than only having a couple of days to soak up the moon’s fabulous energy, you can make this moon water and then enjoy this amazing energy all month.

First of all find a metal or glass bowl.  A nice blue or purple bowl would be good for this moon water exercise.  You then need to fill your container with water. If you can get hold of natural spring water perfect, if not just use tap water, filtered if possible. You now need to find somewhere either in your garden or on a windowsill where it will be bathed in moonlight at some point during the night.  I usually stand for a while in a place where I can see the full moon and imagine the full moon energy coursing through my body and down into the earth so that I am full of energy yet fully grounded. You then need to add your intent to your moon water. Hold your hands over the bowl and picture the moon’s energy entering the water molecules, the spectacular white light shining down and into the very core of each drop of water.

You may like to add a blessing to strengthen your intent such as “Blessed moon lend your strength and courage to the water I make this night. May it be filled with your ever lasting love and healing power, blessed be”

If you have a favourite crystal you can add this to the water, this will increase the water’s power. If you want the water for emotional healing for example, then adding rose quartz to the water would be perfect. Similarly if you want to use the water for protection then you may like to add a little sea salt to the water, which again will increase its natural powers. If you are protecting your home you could use carnelian and if protecting either yourself or your home from negative energy then haematite is a good one to pick. There are of course lots of crystals for different situations so think about what you would like your moon water to do and choose accordingly. If you simply want to harness the power of the moon and have a multi purpose water then the water on it’s own will be plenty powerful.

You probably want to cover your bowl with a layer of thin cling film if it is outside otherwise you end up with little flies in it by morning, which is not ideal! Obviously it is ideal to make this moon water on a clear night when you can see the moon’s rays shining down into your bowl. This however is not necessary, for even when it is cloudy, our moon’s brilliance is still there it’s just that we can’t see her. I have had some brilliant results on rainy stormy nights when all that wild energy has gone into my moon water.

If possible get up before the sun rises to retrieve your moon water.  Pour the moon water into a suitable container to then  use as you require. A thermos flask or a glass container kept in the dark is an ideal container to use. The water can be used in any healing or blessing work that you feel would benefit from the moon’s amazing energy. You can use the moon water to cleanse your crystals, this will leave them with a wonderful full moon energy. You can drink the water a little every day to keep you topped up with that full moon energy all month. Moon water is very healing so if you or someone close to you is ill it can help in the recovery process.

Moon water that you have added sea salt to is wonderful as a protective water. Take your water and sprinkle around the border of your house to protect it. Dab the water on your forehead for protection of yourself against any unwanted energy.

Full moon Blessings, Alison

Full Moon names for September: harvest moon, barley moon, corn moon

The moon closest to the autumnal equinox or Mabon is often called the Harvest Moon due to its obvious connection with this harvest celebration. Mabon is the celebration of the harvesting of the grain and the point on the wheel of the year when day and night are in perfect balance.

The September equinox moon is particularly special due to it’s timing co-inciding with this point of balance. Usually the moon rises about 50 minutes later than the time of the sunset. However when a full moon occurs close to the autumnal equinox, the moon rises only about 30 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. This is because the elliptic, or orbital path, makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter than normal rising time between sunset and moonrise.

Because there is relatively little time of darkness between sunset and moonrise this was perfect for the farmers so a lot of harvesting of the crops was achieved around the time of the full harvest moon. The corn moon and barley moon were other popular names for this September moon that were also based around the harvest theme.

In China the moon nearest the autumn equinox is called the kindly moon or Chrysanthemum moon. In China, Taiwan and Vietnam the equinox/ Mabon is celebrated with the Moon festival also known as Mooncake festival or Zhongqui Festival.  This festival honours Chang’e the lunar Goddess and it commemorates the only day in the year that she can visit her husband Houyi who lives on the sun. Because of this it is seen as a celebration of the balance of yin and yang. The mooncake festival is a time of giving gratitude and being with family and friends. In Japan, people gather at lakes or in special moon- viewing pavilions and eat "moon-viewing noodles": thick white noodles in broth with an egg yolk floating on top.  This moon is seen as a moon of peace and family re-union similar to thanksgiving traditions, hence the term ‘Kindly moon’

The September equinox full moon is all about balance. Day and night are of equal length and we are at the beginning of autumn, balancing on the edge before we tip into that time when the nights become longer than the days. Try and take some time during the Mabon full moon to think about anything in your life that is out of balance. How can you change that? Maybe there is something that you need to let go of during the waning moon weeks that follow?

Below is a list of full moon names from around the world.

Mabon harvest moon blessings to you, Alison

Soaproot (Pomo).

Corn Moon (Pueblo).

Harvest moon (Hopi).

Singing Moon (Celtic).

Leaf fall Moon (Kiowa).

Ripe Moon (San Juan).

Maize Moon (Natchez).

Acorns Moon (Wishram).

Rice Moon (Anishnaabe).

Hay Cutting Moon (Yuchi).

Mulberry Moon (Choctaw).

Deer Paw Moon (Omaha).

Snow Goose Moon (Cree).

Freshness Moon (Mohawk).

Harvest Moon (Pagan).

Little Chestnut Moon (Creek).

Corn Maker Moon (Abernaki).

Drying Grass Moon (Arapaho).

Yellow Leaf Moon (Assiniboine).

Drying Grass Moon (Cheyenne).

Autumn Moon (Passamaquoddy).

Barley Moon (Medieval English).

Moon when the calves grow hair (Dakota).

 

Mabon blessings Sunshine Harvest by Ruth Calder Murphy

Mabon, the Autumnal equinox brings a lot of changes with it. We see nature changing all around us and we re-act to that often by changing emotionally within ourselves. This is a beautiful poem written by the very talented Ruth Calder Murphy reminding us to keep the sunshine in our hearts throughout the colder, darker days of winter. However much the temperature drops and however short the days are after we pass the autumn equinox we must always remember that those warm sunny days will return again and before we know it we will be celebrating Beltane! I love the last line of this wonderful poem, I will harvest the sunshine and breathe summer into winter dreams. That is going to be one of my goals this Mabon, I am going to harvest lots of sunshine and keep it in my heart for when I need it most!

Mabon blessings to you, Alison

Sunburst by Ruth Calder Murphy

On the fire-flame
I inhale
light
and warmth
and the energy of
the Sunshine Times
Dew-drenched dawn,
rainbow-wrapped,
swallows like nectar
and swells
warm in my heart.
I will hold it there
as the days shrink
and the nights freeze.
I will harvest the sunshine
and breathe Summer
into Winter dreams.
Sunshine Harvest by Ruth Calder Murphy

More of Ruth's wonderful poetry and fabulous artwork can be found on her website http://www.ruthmathews.net/ruth.htm

Chinese Equinox Celebrations-Mooncake festival.

Chinese Equinox Celebrations-Mooncake festival.

In China, Taiwan and Vietnam the equinox/ Mabon is celebrated with the Moon festival also known as Mooncake festival or Zhongqui Festival. This festival honours Chang’e the lunar Goddess and it commemorates the only day in the year that she can visit her husband Houyi who lives on the sun. Because of this it is seen as a celebration of the balance of yin and yang. Traditions associated with the Mooncake festival include eating mooncakes(not surprisingly!) lighting lanterns, matchmaking, and Fire Dragon Dances. Farmers celebrate the end of the fall harvesting season on this date in the same way as we celebrate the harvest at Mabon.

Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity, and family reunion. The festival is also therefore known as ‘ the day of re-union’. It has been compared to the Chinese equivalent of the American tradition of thanksgiving. At the Mooncake festival the moon is supposed to be the brightest and fullest.

Traditional mooncakes

I searched around for mooncake recipes for you but a lot of them were very complicated using ingredients that I think would be very hard to find like lotus paste so I have gone for these two. The first one is nice and easy and the children will enjoy making. The second is maybe a bit more challenging but will probably be a bit more authentic.

Enjoy making these and sharing with family and friends at Mabon. As you make them think of the energy of the bright Mabon moon being stirred into the mixture. You can then share that wonderful Mabon moon energy with family and friends at your Mabon feast. Blessings, Alison

Easy Mooncakes

Easy mooncakes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup salted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

 1 cup strawberry (or your favorite) jam (traditionally red bean paste is used so if you want a more authentic version, you can use a can of red bean paste instead of the jam).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the butter, sugar and 1 egg yolk and stir.

Mix in the flour.

Form the dough into one large ball and wrap it in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate dough for half an hour.

Unwrap the chilled dough and form small balls in the palms of your hand.

Make a hole with your thumb  in the center of each mooncake and fill with about half a teaspoon of jam.

Brush each cake with the other beaten egg yolk and place on a cookie sheet.  (We didn't have a brush to do this, so skipped the brushing step)

Bake for about 20 minutes or just until the outside edges are slightly brown.

Recipe from http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/easy_chinese_mooncakes.htm 

Sweet Potato Mooncakes

You will need a special mould to make these look like the ones in the picture but I'm sure you could just fashion them into simple rolls or triangle shapes with the filling in the middle, time to get creative!

ingredients:

filling

5 lbs sweet potatoes
1.5 stick butter, at room temperature
400 grams granulated sugar
1 tbsp freshly ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp kosher salt

dough

600 grams brown sugar
2 c water
130 grams oil
1850 grams ap flour
12 egg yolks
3 tbsp freshly grated ginger

directions:

sweet potato filling

1. roast sweet potatoes until they are tender and can be easily pierced
with knife.
2. peel and discard skins and mash potatoes.
3. mix together butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. add to
mashed sweet potatoes. let cool.

dough

1. combine brown sugar and water in a pot and cook over medium heat
until sugar dissolves. cool and transfer to standing mixer with whisk
attachment.
2. add oil and ginger, and egg yolks.
3. slowly add flour. At some point, the dough will be too stiff for the whisk
attachment. replace with a paddle attachment and continue to add the
rest of the flour.
4. transfer dough to a worktable, for rolling.

assembly

1. form filling into balls. the size will depend on the size of your
mooncake mold.
2. take a bit of dough and roll out until it forms a sheet about 1/8 inch
thick.
3. Enrobe the filling with the dough. pinch the seams to seal. Place on
silpat-lined baking sheets.

baking

1. pre-heat oven to 350.
2. spray mooncakes with some water, then apply an eggwash for a glossy
sheen afterwards
3. bake for 15 mins.
4. spray mooncakes again. Turn down oven to 300 and bake until crust is
golden.

Diep from Good Girl Dinette http://www.theravenouscouple.com/2012/09/banh-trung-thu-moon-cakes.html

Correspondances and Symbols for Mabon/Autumn Equinox

Correspondances and Symbols for Mabon/Autumn Equinox

Colours:                           Red,orange,gold. Use these wonderful colour as an autumnal display around your home to welcome in the new season.

Symbols:                           Acorns. Acorns are a perfect symbol for Maborn by representing the seed of life and being associated with fertility. Apples associated with strength and the renewal of life. Cornucopias, Fallen leaves, red fruits.

Animals:                           Wolves, eagle, blackbird, owl, salmon, stag. The stag, blackbird, owl eagle and salmon are the animals that helped Mabon find his way out of his ‘captivity’ in the womb of his mother and out into the light.

Mythical beings:                  Minataur, Cyclops

Herbs:                           Myrrh, basil, fennel, hops, marigold.

Hop flowers are abundant in September as they grow over the hedgerows so this is the time to gather them. You can hang them up to dry as part of your Mabon decorations. Once they are dried, mixed with lavender flowers they make a wonderful cure for insomnia sown into a cotton pillow.

Plants and Trees:         Ivy, Morning glory, Autumn glory, sedum, Sycamore, Birch, Dogwood, Hazel. Marigold.

The marigold with it’s lovely orange/yellow flowers will take your from summer into autumn with ease. The petals can be gathered and dried for use as a fabulous herb tea for building up the immune system during those winter months.

Hazel is the ninth tree of the Celtic Ogham and is linked to inner wisdom so is perfect for this Mabon time of looking inward. Hazel will help us tap into our intuition and find inspired solutions to problems that may be bothering us.

Incense/oils                  Frankinsense, myrrh, patchouli

Mabon Incense
By Scott Cunningham

2 parts Frankincense


1 part Sandalwood


1 part Cypress


1 part Juniper


1 part Pine


2 part Oakmoss


1 pinch pulverized Oak Leaf

Gemstones                  Yellow agate, carnelian, yellow topaz, lapis lazuli.

A stabilising stone, Carnelian restores vitality and motivation, and stimulates creativity.  It gives courage, promotes positive life choices, dispels apathy and motivates for success.  Carnelian is useful for overcoming abuse of any kind.  It helps in trusting yourself and your perceptions.  It overcomes negative conditioning and encourages steadfastness. 

Foods:                           Wheat bread, blackberries, squashes, pumpkin, apples, wine, cider, apple juice, pomegranates, apples

Goddesses;                   Ceres (Roman), Demeter (Greek), Harmonia (Greek), Ma’at (Egyptian), Modron (Welsh), Nikkal (Canaanite), Pomona (Greek), Persephone (Greek), Prosperpina (Roman), Rennutet (Egyptian)

Gods:                            Bacchus (Roman), Dionysus (Greek), The Great Horned God (European), Hauran (Canaanite), Hermes (Greek), Iacchus (Greek), Mabon (Welsh), Shai (Egyptian), Vertumnus (Roman), Yerikh (Canaanite)

        

20 Ways to celebrate Mabon/Autumn Equinox for all the family

Hold a Mabon feast. Invite family and friends round and enjoy food and drink that is in season at the moment. Bread made from wheat is traditional now compared to the cornbread at Lammas. Apples are ripening now along with blackberries, cranberries (original name crane-berries - named for the cranes in the marshes where cranberries grow), and fen-berries (the American cranberries English cousin) Apple juice, cider and blackberry wine are ideal drinks to accompany the feast. Squashes and pumpkins are of course ideal vegetables to have at this Mabon feast.

Practise a ‘cup of gratitude’. Fill a wine glass of chalice with a drink of your choosing. The drink is blessed and then passed around all the visitors at your gathering. As each person takes the cup they speak about what they are grateful for and then they take a small mouthful of the liquid or pour an amount into a smaller cup to drink, before passing on to the next person to give their blessing.

Follow the Chinese custom and make a mooncake to honour the lunar Goddess.  I shall be searching for a recipe for you to try!

Make Mabon hot apple cider.  Again recipe to follow! As detailed in my previous post apples are seen as sacred fruit.  Slice an apple in half and you will see the obvious sign of the pentacle, apples bring happiness and love.

Making a shaker from natual seeds and gourds at Mabon is a lovely activity that all the family can join in. Rattles or shakers are great at purifying a space and warding off negativity, they are also brilliant at raising energy. Children will love to help make the shaker and help decorate the outside with colourful ribbons.

Collect milkweed pods that you can use to attract the faeries and also save to use as a lovely Yule decoration.

Decorate your home with wheat sheaves and red and golden ribbons. Place seasonal fruits, squashes and pumpkins to add to your wonderful Mabon harvest display.

Leave an apple on the grave of an ancestor just as our ancestors did before us. Cut an

apple in half to show your children the pentacle inside. This is a reminder that all life is renewed in some way.

Bake cored apples filled with butter and cinnamon. This simple desert is a wonderful use of the sacred apple.

Go blackberry picking, this is a wonderful activity for all the family- just watch out for those thorns!

With the blackberries you have picked you can then have lots of fun making blackberry and apple crumble!

Make some homemade blackberry jam from those left over blackberries!

Make your own corn dolly or corn spirit.

Plant some winter bulbs, sending your hopes and intentions down into the bulbs that they may flower with all your hopes, dreams and happiness.

Spend some time in reflection and meditation. As the earth is slowing down and the fields lying in fallow so should you. Allow yourself a little down time now and then. Perhaps take a little time to look at your life and any changes that you would like to make in the future.

Collect autumn leaves and make a beautiful collage out of their gorgeous different shapes sizes and colours. Children will enjoy taking part in this activity so it can be a lovely family occasion.

Clear the garden and cut back any flowers and shrubs that need it. Give thanks to the nature spirits that are around.

Space clear your home. As this is a season for withdrawing and reflecting it is important that you let go of all that clutter in your home as well as your mind that you no longer need. So have a good clear out, your local charity shop will be very grateful! Cleanse your space with some white sage or frankinsence. You will be spending more time indoors now so it is important that your space feels clear and the energy flows.

Go for a walk in your local park and find some leaves to kick and jump up and down in! Remember how this used to make you feel so happy when you were a child and take yourself back to that happy carefree feeling. Children may like to join in this activity too and encourage you! Keep this joy in your heart whenever you may feel a little down in the shorter darker days of the winter.

Watch the sun going down on the eve of the equinox. Say goodbye to any birds who may soon be migrating and any animals that may soon be entering into hibernation. Wish them well and good luck that they survive the winter to return again in the spring.