HedgeWitch (23 page)

Querent who requests weak tea:
Tentative individual, plagued with worries, problems, accidents and unfortunate circumstances. Possible health (body or mind) problems.

Querent who requests whiskey in tea:
High stress; however, some readers pour a cup of tea for “the spirits” and add whiskey as an offering. This tea is never drunk, but sits steaming on the table until the reading is completed. Tea is poured outside on the ground at the end of the reading.

Querent who breaks or cracks teacup:
Desperately desires to escape current circumstances.

Tea-Leaf Symbol Key

Acorn:
Good fortune; growth

Arrow up:
Success; action

Arrow down:
Working within; don't miss a good opportunity

Bag, box:
Constraint

Ball, circle:
Movement; protection from negative influences

Beetle:
Change

Bell:
Good news; happiness

Birds flying:
Information arriving

Butterfly:
Freedom; new, exciting experiences

Candle:
Transformation; clarity

Cat:
Mystery

Chain:
Business success or success in a current goal

Clouds:
Happiness; success ahead

Crescent:
Spirituality

Cross, equal arm:
Gateway to prosperity and happiness; protection

Diamond:
Gift; partnership; marriage of like ideas

Door:
Opportunity; looking for good fortune or a needed change

Dots:
Busy time ahead; pathway to success

Egg:
Birth, beginnings; new project

Eye:
Wisdom; healing; knowledge

Fan:
Beauty; flirting

Fire:
Lust; passion; zeal

Flowers:
Gifts; nature spirits

Frog, toad:
Good fortune; money

Glass:
Social opportunities; parties

Hand:
Your desires are unfolding as you think about them

Hat:
Change

Heart:
Love; harmony

Hourglass:
Patience

Kite:
Wishes; hopes

Knot:
Problems; blocks; scattered thoughts

Leaves:
Success (usually by the end of the season)

Lightning:
Sudden event; power; bold thoughts

Lines, straight:
Travel

Lines, wavy:
Career luck

Mask:
Secrets; hidden opportunities

Mountain:
Stability; treasure within

Rectangle:
Business luck

Ring:
Proposal

Shell:
Treasure; travel over water

Shoe:
Move of house or job

Snake, single:
Gossip

Snake, double:
Healing or the root of the matter

Spade, shovel:
Growth and achievement

Spiral:
Power

Star:
Wishes granted, good timing to make decisions

Sun:
New beginning; personal success

Table:
Family happiness and abundance

Tree:
Unity and growth

Umbrella:
Protection; new buildings; renovation

Wings:
Guardian; spirituality

Empowering Your Tea for Creative Potential

1. Clearly state your intention as the water begins to boil. Be sure to use primal language (remember, primal language uses the least amount of words, yet clearly gets your point across in a positive way); for example: “I want ideas to make my work creative, interesting, and useful to myself as well as others.”

2. Prepare tea as indicated in the general instructions.

3. Position empowered crystals (optional) around cup.

4. Decorate tea-leaf-reading area to match your desired intention. For example, if you are making Halloween or Yule cards for gift giving, place some of your supplies in the tea-leaf-reading area.

5. Breathe deeply several times, relax, and sink comfortably into your chair, feet flat on the floor. Hold your hands over the teacup. Form a triangle with index fingers and thumbs touching. Breathe softly into the triangle formed by your fingers, your breath just touching the surface of the liquid. As you breathe on the tea, visualize white light entering the liquid. Now visualize spirals of energy leaving the palms of your hands and entering the liquid as you intone an affirmation of power. For example: “My work will be creative, interesting, and useful to myself and others.”

6. If you desire, light incense that matches your purpose. Pass the incense over the cup three times. Rub a light blue candle with a bit of the same brand of dry tea you are using. Light candle and repeat your affirmation. Pass light of candle over your cup three times. Scatter a bit of the dry tea around the candle holder.

7. Read the tea leaves, then set the cup out to dry. The following day, place the dry tea, a bit of the cold candle wax, and one of the crystals in a gris-gris bag. Carry with you as long as you work on your current project. Burn bag when work is successfully completed.

HedgeWitch Candle Magick

Grungy Candles for Attraction

Country prim (as it is now called) fits right in with HedgeWitch magick, and grungy candles, a representation of this type of candle art design, are very easy to make. These primitive candles are perfect for attraction magick due to the wide variety of herbs, spices, and scents you can choose to create just the right magickal formula! Grungy candles take about two hours to make (from the initial wax melting to completion), and you can use dollar-store tapers, pillar candles, or highly scented votives to begin, or you can dip candles you have poured yourself. Grungy candles employ a technique called “overdipping,” where you dip the cool candle into the hot wax several times, building up a beautiful shell around the original candle. With grungy candles, the shell contains clumps of herbs and spices, making the surface bumpy and misshapen. Therefore, no matter what the candles look like, they are perfect country prim!

Supplies Needed

A double boiler:
This is a double pot: the bottom pot holds water that boils and heats the contents of the second pot that sits atop the bottom pot. Warning: The water must
never
boil dry during your candlemaking process. You must use a dedicated double boiler for making candles, as you cannot melt wax directly on the stove: a flash fire may occur. Also, once you heat the wax, the pot can't be used for future food preparation.

Your choice of candles:
Pillars, votives, or tapers that can be dipped in the double boiler. Be sure your candles aren't bigger than your pot!

Wax or candy thermometer

2 to 4 pounds of candle wax:
You can actually melt down already colored and scented brown candles, depending upon the diameter of your chosen pot.

Brown candle dye:
If you can't get candle dye, do not use crayons: melt a variety of colored candles in shades of red, orange, green, and blue to create the brown color you desire.

Your choice of candle scent:
If your candle is already highly scented, you don't need to use an additional scent unless you want to.

1 pound of good, strong ground coffee

Powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves:
At least
½
cup of each.

Baker's parchment paper

Spray candle gloss (optional)

Good needle-nosed pliers:
You will use these for dipping the candle by firmly holding the wick with the pliers.

Directions

Fill the bottom pot with water (not so much that it will boil over and not so little that it will boil dry). Fill the top pot with the cold, broken wax. Insert the candy thermometer. Melt the wax on medium heat (the boiling water will eventually melt the wax) until you reach a temperature of 170 degrees. This part of the process takes the most time and must be constantly monitored due to danger of flash fire. (Granted, I've made thousands of candles and never had a flash fire, but you must be cognizant of what
could
happen at all times. Do not walk away from the melting pot. If someone calls, knocks at the door, or you must leave the area,
turn off the heat
. You can always turn it back on again. This is not a project you can walk away from!) Once the wax has reached about 170 degrees, add your color and scent as directed on the package. Either turn the heat down or off—your choice. The trick is to maintain that 170-degree temperature
and
keep the pot from boiling dry.

While your wax is melting, mix the ground coffee and spices together in a bowl. Set out the candles you wish to dip. Cover your working area with parchment paper. Bless your ingredients, and with primal language, state the purpose for your finished candles. Just as when you make cookies, place parchment paper on a separate table where your finished candles will cool. Pour ½ to ¾ cup of the coffee and spice mix in the center of the parchment. Spread it out a bit with your fingers (not too thin).

To Dip Candles:

Firmly hold the wick with the pliers and immerse the entire candle in wax (this is where the importance of the pot size and amount of wax is evident). The wax must cover the dipped candle. Raise the candle above the wax and let it drip a bit, then move over to your working area. Roll warm candle in the coffee and spice mix. Never put your fingers in the hot wax, as serious burns can occur. If the candle slips out of the pliers' grip, fish it out with an old spoon. Once rolled in the coffee and spice mix, set the candle aside (still on the working area). Do the next candle in the same manner. When you have dipped all your candles once, check your temperature and then dip them all again and roll them in the coffee and spice mixture. Repeat this procedure—dip, roll, and cool—five to sixteen times, depending on how thick you want your grungy shell. Renew the coffee and spice mixture as necessary. If the wax becomes too cool or too hot, the shell will begin to bubble and crack, which you really don't want, so watch that temperature carefully. If you've done this and they
still
crack and bubble, it could be that your thermometer is off. Atmospheric conditions can also cause this phenomenon. The cracks and bubbles won't hurt the finished product, it just looks better if they aren't there. Also, the more dips, the more possibility of bubbles and cracking.

When you are finished dipping all the candles, turn off the heat.
Do not
pour the remaining wax down the drain; this will completely block your plumbing! Either allow the remainder to cool in the pot to use at a later date, or pour the wax outside on the ground. Place your dipped candles on the cooling paper. Allow to dry undisturbed at least twenty-four hours. Do not touch the candles while they are drying, as you could smear off the dipped shell or crack the shell. After twenty-four hours, spray the candles with manufacturer's candle gloss (available at most craft stores) for a lovely sheen.

Magickal Uses of Grungy Candles

The recipe given here corresponds to attraction energies. The coffee and cinnamon are for movement, and the nutmeg and cloves represent good fortune and an excellent harvest of any project. The traditional brown “grungy” color invites the element of earth, prosperity, stability, abundance, treasure, and miracles. These candles make wonderful gifts throughout the harvest and winter season, especially if you use apple, vanilla, or pine-scented candles. Seven tapers bound together with a checkered ribbon and a magickal good fortune tag designed by yourself would be a welcome gift! Burn one a day for seven days by a rooster statue to encourage prosperity and good fortune.

Herb Candle Variation:
Clear Wax Dip

For striking candle designs, omit the brown dye, leaving the dipping wax clear. Dip the candle once, then carefully press dried herbs and flowers into the wax. Dip again. Wait sixty seconds. Dip again. Wait sixty seconds. Dip a third time, and set aside to dry.

Caution:
Too many dried herbs can turn your burning candle into a fireball! To burn a candle packed with dried herbs, use
only
a fire-safe cauldron.

Tip for Magickal Gardeners:

During the height of your growing season, harvest flowers and petals just after the morning dew has dried. Press petals and leaves between paper towels inside heavy books. When dry (this can take several days or weeks, depending upon your choice), use these pressed florals on candles or in scrapbooking projects. You can heat-laminate dried florals if they are not too thick. I made several bookmarks for prosperity one year using dried marigold and sunflower petals, a bit of glitter, and a heat-laminating machine.