Cottage Witchery (20 page)

The next step is deciding what sort of earthy and natural things you'd like to tuck into the charm bag to promote that prosperity you've been working for. Keep it simple and rummage around the house or in the yard for your supplies. This will also help to link the magick right back to your home. Add any of these items to your charm bag:

* A gold or silver coin (a gold dollar coin or silver dime works great)

* An acorn or an oak leaf

* Mint leaves

* A few whole cloves

* A cinnamon stick

* Tumbled stones (such as a quartz crystal for power, a malachite for cash, or an aventurine for good luck)

All of these natural items correspond with prosperity, wealth, and abundance, so choose your items and tuck them into the charm bag. Tie it closed and enchant the bag by saying this prosperity charm.

Gold and silver coins, crystals, and herbs of power,

Lord and Lady, bless my magick in this hour.

Bring success my way, as I will, so mote it be,

May this earthy charm bag promote prosperity.

Close the charm by saying:

By the strength of hearth and home this charm is sung,

As I will, so mote it be, and let it harm none.

Keep the charm bag with you, in your pocket or purse, for a month. You may re-charge the items or return them to nature. Give the coins to someone less fortunate than yourself.

If I were asked to name the chief benefit of a house,

I should say: the house shelters daydreaming.

Gaston Bachelard

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it;

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Everyday Inspiration:
Creating a Dream Board

Here is a dreamy idea for creating abundance and fulfilling dreams in your home.
A dream board is a simple project that requires you to make a huge childlike mess with old magazines, catalogs, and scrapbooking supplies. It is a lot of fun.

You can do this in a couple of ways. Either fill up an old bulletin board with snippets of photos, quotes, and phrases of things that please you, or create a scrapbook page that you can hang up for inspiration, to remind you of the positive abundance and change you are pulling into your life.

For example, when I started this book, I was smack dab in the middle of another manuscript, which just wasn't going where I wanted it to. I spent a good four months in frustration trying to get it up and moving, all to no avail. Then one day I was thumbing through a gardening magazine, trying to find some inspiration, when I came across a wonderful photo of a cottage surrounded by gardens. The photo spread had a romantic, old-fashioned, magickal look about it. I sighed over the photos for a time, and then tore out my favorite picture.

I went back to my computer for one more shot at the stalled book project and tacked the picture to my bulletin board that hangs behind my computer. I said a quick prayer to the Goddess, asking her to send me some insight and inspiration so I could get that manuscript moving. I prayed for success and for prosperity, and for enthusiasm on the stalled topic, so I could create a fun and clever manuscript that my editors would be enthusiastic about. Confident in my prayers, I smiled and told myself to be a professional and get back to work. So did I just whip out the rest of that troublesome manuscript? Nope, something else happened instead. Something magickal . . .

Those romantic, cottage-filled pictures kept popping up in my mind. I found myself just sitting at the bulletin board and daydreaming about the idea of a Witch's cottage. Before you knew it, I had opened a new file on my desktop and started working out a rough outline. I blinked at it, then saved it under “cottage” and told myself to get back to work—thinking that if I put the cottage ideas down, I could then put it aside.
Wrong.

Hello, synchronicity! Every time I turned around, the word “cottage” jumped out at me. I started dreaming about chapter ideas for a book about a Witch's house. The little notebook I always carry with me became full of quotes, thoughts, and ideas for a book about home magick. I started a folder filled with ideas and kept adding to that bulletin board.

I eventually got so distracted by the rapid-fire ideas for a cottage book that while driving the car I would use traffic lights as stop signs. My kids threatened to make me pull over so they could drive. (Jeez, that only happened once. There weren't any oncoming cars or anything. Can't a person claim artistic distraction?)

Finally I gave in. I had asked for inspiration, after all. Why didn't I just follow this tug at my heart and see where it led me? A few days later, I tucked the stalled manuscript away in a folder and loaded that bulletin board with more cottagey photos, snippets of hearth and home quotes, and illustrations that made me smile. Then I put together a more defined outline for
Cottage Witchery
and called my editor. What do you know? She liked the idea.

I was off and running. A few months later, I turned in a proposal and it was contracted quickly. So, yeah, I absolutely believe in the power of creating a magickal dream board for success. If I didn't, you wouldn't be reading this book right now.

Here's what you will need:

* A bulletin board and push pins, or a blank, heavyweight scrapbook page and page protector

* Glue stick

* Scissors

* Scraps of decorative papers

* Old magazines, catalogs, and photos of whatever you're dreaming about

This is the fun part. Remember when you were a kid and they turned you loose in school to make a collage? Well, here you go. Be prepared to make a huge mess. But honestly, that's half the fun. If you are into scrapbooking, drag out those supplies and stickers and see what you can craft.

If this board is geared toward starting a family, or adopting a new member into yours, then fill it full of baby pictures and quotes about children, home, and family. If you're waiting to adopt, then try adding photos of children from all over the world to those family-oriented snippets and quotes.

Perhaps you want to inspire yourself to try for a promotion or land that “dream job.” Well, what images and words make you dream of your perfect job or career? Let's say you want to save up for a vacation. Well, then, find a picture of the location you wish to go and make that your theme. Start a savings account and keep that board in a spot where you'll be reminded to keep saving up for that dream vacation. Are you looking to remodel the kitchen or redo the bathroom in your house? Pick up a few home improvement magazines and pull out the photos and ideas that really appeal to you. Add a few paint chips and make the board into a wish list/renovation idea board. The possibilities are endless.

Once you have all the components arranged, hold the board or page in your hands and enchant it for success, using this charm:

Snippets of paper, photos, scissors, and glue,

Following your heart's dream is easy to do,

I enchant this dream board for luck and success,

As I work toward my goals, I will be blessed.

Filled with happy images that I am pulling my way,

Prosperity and success are the order of the day.

Hang up your dream board someplace in your home where you'll see it and be inspired every day. Start taking steps toward fulfilling those dreams and see where this positive path leads you.

When you have too much month for your paycheck,

then what you need to do is realize that
there is abundance all around you and
focus on the abundance and not your lack . . .
as night follows day, abundance will come to you.

Sidney Madwed

Backyard Magick

Do you know what the best part about working prosperity magick for hearth and home with natural supplies is? It rarely costs you anything. There is a plethora of plants and trees out there that are aligned with prosperity, abundance, and wealth. You can find them growing all around you! Go take a walk and see what magickal plant materials nature has to offer. Look for these trees: ash, cedar, elder, oak, pine, and the poplar. See if you can pick up a fallen twig, leaf, pinecone, or acorn to work with.

An oak tree planted in the yard is a type of marker. This denotes a magickal property; the oak tree is well liked by nature spirits and faeries. Associated with many sky gods, including Jupiter, Zeus, and Thor, this tree also symbolizes the Oak King, the god of the waxing year. The noble oak is also one of the trees sacred to the hearth goddess Brigid. It has the elemental association of the element of fire, and working with the foliage or fruit (the acorns) will bring success, distinction, wealth, and prosperity to your home.

an oak spell for prosperity and abundance

Gather the following:

* Three acorns or oak leaves

* A small piece of paper

* A green ink pen or marker

* A tealight

* A tealight holder

* Matches or a lighter

Work this spell on a Thursday for prosperity or a Sunday for wealth and success. As before, those moon phases that are the most opportune are the waxing moon and the full moon. Gather three fallen acorns or three oak leaves. Take a small piece of paper with your name and address written on it with the green pen. Fold the slip of paper into thirds and tuck it in the bottom of the tealight candle's metal cup. Replace the candle into its cup and place it inside the candleholder. Arrange these items on your natural magick workspace or your hearthstone setup. Light the candle and repeat the following charm three times:

The oak tree is full of strength, magick, and power,

Brigid, hear my call in this enchanted hour.

Bring my house prosperity with the charm I rhyme,

This spell will create abundance, come rain or shine.

By all the magick of leaf and tree,

As I do will it, so shall it be.

After the tealight candle burns out, the slip of paper will be covered in wax and sealed in the bottom of the cup. The spell is safely sealed; you may dispose of the metal cup. Return the leaves and acorns to nature as an offering.

a honeysuckle flower fascination

The flowering honeysuckle vine or shrub brings prosperity when grown on your property, making it a great plant to incorporate into any prosperity spell. For this flower fascination, you are creating a representation of each of the four elements. The plants represent the element of earth. The scent of the flowers symbolizes air. The candle flames are for fire and the water in the vase obviously takes care of the element of water.

For starters, I would tuck the honeysuckle stems and leaves in a vase of fresh water. Alternatively, if you gathered a honeysuckle blossom or two, then float it in a glass or small bowl of water. Circle the four candles with loose honeysuckle leaves. Flower folklore tells us that this is a way to attract money to your home. Light one of the candles at the end of each line of the charm.

Work a flower fascination with the elements four,

Green candles in a ring call prosperity to our door.

A sweet and charming scent has the honeysuckle bloom,