Navratri Durga Puja

Durga Puja

Items Needed:

• picture/statue/idol of Durga
• lamp or candle
• incense
• a bell
• water (preferably holy water or blessed water)
• jasmine flowers
• sweets or fruits (coconut, banana, other dried fruits) as offerings
• sandal paste or sandalwood oil
• optional offering of cooked rice or sweet milk

1. Make sure your house and sacred space is cleansed.
2. Take a ritual, cleansing bath before performing Puja
3. Sit in your sacred space with all the needed items before you
4. Set up an altar space to Durga if you do not already have one.
5. Sit at your Durga altar and contemplate the Durga statue
6. Chant “Om” three times
7. Light the lamp or candle and say “I light this lamp/candle to honor Ma Durga, the one who is
8. Light the incense and say “I light this incense as an offering to Ma Durga”,  as you waft it over the altar, the statue of Durga and yourself cleansing the space and yourself.
9. Ring the bell three times as you say “I ring this bell to invoke Ma Durga, may she enter my home and my heart”
10. Invoke and invite Ganesh (this is done in every puja to any deity) by chanting 9 times “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha”

10. Now chant 9 times “Om hreem doom Durgaye namaha” to invoke Durga. Then and chant the following: Ya Devi sarva bhuteshu Matri rupena samsthita Ya Devi Sarva bhuteshu Shakti rupena samsthita. Ya Devi sarva rupena samsthita. Namestasyai Namestasyai Namestasyai Namoh. Which translates as "The goddess who is omnipresent as the personification of universal mother. The goddess who is omnipresent as the embodiment of power. The goddess who is omnipresent as the symbol of peace. I bow to her, I bow to her, I bow to her."
11. Dip your hands in the water, as if you are washing your hands. This is symbolic of being cleansed and forgiven of sins. Then make a gesture of offering of the water to Durga for bath. You can sprinkle a little on the idol you have, especially on the head, hands and feet.
12. Annoint your forehead and the forehead of Durga with the sandal paste or sandalwood oil
13. Make the offering of sweets, dried fruits and flowers.
14. At this time sit in mediation to Durga. Reflect on her attributes, and how you can bring them into your life. You can chant her mantra 108 times using a mala to keep count. You can meditate on yantra, sing songs, or read scriptures on Durga.
15. After meditation bring your hands in prayer (anjali mudra) at the heart and say “Thank you Ma Durga for your blessings of strength, courage and protection. Please return to your abode. Be merciful and return to me again.”
16. Bow three times in prostration as you chant “Namaste”
17. Leave the candles and incense to burn as long as you can.
18. Each morning and evening light just the candle. You can perform the whole puja everyday, on the third day or at the end of Navratri on the 9th day. As this is a pagan practice of performing Puja you don't need to feel bound by the way it is celebrated in Hinduism. Do what feels right for you, and make it your own, as long as you feel connected to Durga and honor her.

Because Ma Durga is seen as the great mother, you should honor and respect the women in your life. Do something nice for them during Navratri, as well as any women that you come across. Find ways in your life to bring the attributes of Durga into yourself, such as courage, strength, and justice. Go through your day with the Shakti energy of Durga within you.

You can also celebrate by wearing red to symbolize the colors of Durga. It is also tradition to burn a diya or lamp for the full 9 days. I dont do this, because the thought of leaving a fire burning for nine days straight terrifies me. I do light the candle and let it burn whenever I'm home to watch and attend to it. Each time I light the candle I chant Ma Durga's mantra 108 times in meditation.

This is in no way meant to be a full Puja as practiced in Hinduism, this is my pagan version.

Witches Bottle

Witches Bottles are a magickal tool that have been found to date back all the way to the early 1500s. Widely used from the 1500-1700s, these tools were used mostly for protection. Witches Bottles were used to protect the witch, residents, and homes against any kind of negative energy attack such as spells and evil spirits. The bottles draw the energy into the bottle and keep it stuck there, instead of letting the energy strike its intended target.

Witches Bottles usually contained a personal item of the intended target such as blood, nail clippings, semen, or urine. This symbolized the intended target in the bottle, drawing the energy there instead of to the person or witch. Other items added were known as "nasties" such as broken glass, rusty nails, razor blades, etc that the energy would become stuck on, thus being contained in the bottle.

The longer the bottle remained hidden, the longer the bottle could continue to draw the negative energy and spirits into it and keep it contained. Witches went through great lengths to hide the bottles on their properties. Some were buried, or placed in hard to find places, others were even built into the structures of the houses such as in the walls or under the home's hearth.

Today Witches Bottles can be created for a number of different reasons, such as love or money drawing. You can place in the bottle anything that is symbolic to you that matches your intention for the bottle. Just as their are many paths in the Craft, so are there a multitude of ways you can create your bottle to meet your intention.

Here is the details of Witches Bottle for protection that I did today.

Items needed:

• Black candle
• Jar with lid or stopper
• Sage or cleansing incense
• Sea Salt
• Deity representation if you decide to work with one
• "Nasties" - such as pins, broken class, tacks, thorns, rusty or bent nails. Get creative!
• Personal items - urine (you can substitute vinegar for this), hair, nail clippings, saliva, blood, semen
• Protective Herbs - salt, bay leaves, black pepper, cloves, burdock root, lavender, St. John's Wort
• Crystals or stones that can be used for protection if you wish

Cleanse and consecrate your jar using the salt and sage, including the lid and inside of the jar. Start to add in your items such as the herbs, "nasties", and personal items filling the jar about half way. Then finish off with the urine (or whatever you choose to substitute). Place the lid or stopper onto the bottle and give it a good shake to mix all the items. Then seal with wax from the black candle. I also sealed it with the wax from my Archangel Michael candle to add his protective energy.

As you add the items and seal the bottle, call upon any deity or spirit you work with to aid you in making the bottle to protect your home and all who dwell within. I called upon Archangel Michael as he is who I work with when I need protection. Put your energy, intent and focus into making the bottle to protect you and your home.

At this time you can meditate on your intention of your bottle. Feel free to chant any words you wish to, or speak with spirit as you feel called to. Its not necessary to say anything, but if you feel drawn to then you should. You can even come up with a line of a spell for each item you put in, calling upon it's spirit or energy and asking it for protection. Such as "I call upon the spirit of Lavender. Please protect me and my home and all who reside within. So mote it be"

After sealing and meditating on the bottles intention, you can add runes or sigils for protection. If you have your own property bury this at one of the farthest corners from your front door. If you live in a condo or apartment with no yard, you can bury this in a flowerpot and keep near your front door or on a porch. Another option is to keep this hidden within your house somewhere near the front door or hearth.

You can recharge this bottle or make a new one at least once a year. The best time to do this would be during a waning moon phase, at night if you can. Its not that important to wait until a waning moon, as long as your intention is strong and focused.

Witches Besom

A besom, otherwise known as a witch's broom, is made from a bundled of fine twigs or straw that are tied to a larger, sturdier piece of wood. Besoms, like any other type of broom, are used for sweeping clean an area. They are often used to sweep, both physically and energetically, an area to be used for casting a circle.

Of course today the idea of a witch's broom is usually thought of as a method of transportation, with the witch riding into off into a full moon. But the besom is more of a tool than anything else. It can be used to direct energy such as a wand, to cleanse an area of negative energy, or even to sweep something postive into your space such as prosperity.

I like to keep my besom, bristles up, by the front door. This is said to protect those living in the space from any negative energies.

Any type of broom can be used, from the standard broom you pick up at store, to the scented decorative brooms found in craft shops. You can usually find some hand crafted besoms (as mine is) from online shops like etsy, or from occult/metaphysical stores.

Goddess Airmid

I recently discovered the Celtic Goddess Airmid (Airmed), the Goddess of Herbs and Healing and is one of the Tuatha de Danann. Along with her father and brother, she was a healer to the wounded during battle. Airmid and Miach also built and tended to the magical Well of Slaine in Ireland. The well's magical powers were said to heal those wounded in battle.

Airmid and her brother Miach, were strong healers who surpassed their father in the strength of their healing magick. Their father, out of a jealous rage of Miach's healing powers, killed him.  In a deep sorrow over the death of her brother, Airmid buried him and wept uncontrollably over his grave.

The next day Airmid returned to discover that her tears had caused 365 individual herbs to have grown out of Miach's buried body and his grave. Methodically, Airmid gathered each herb, placing them on her cloak. The herbs began to open up to Airmid, speaking to her of their magical abilities, and revealing that when used in a certain sequence, they could bring the dead back to life.

Seeing the knowledge that Airmid had gained, her father over turned the cloak, scattering all of them to the winds. Her father didn't want anyone to gain the knowledge of the use of the herbs, or how they could be used to obtain immortality. It is said that only Airmid knows the use of every herb to this day. Although she knows the abilities of each herb, she was unable to retain the sequence used to revive the dead, and achieve immortality.

Call on Airmid to gain knowledge of working with herbs, or when performing any magick involving herbs. She is also known for healing waters, working with the Fae, and with nature.

The Temple of Apollo

I've recently felt very drawn to Apollo, and have been receiving many signs to connect to him. I never thought I'd be drawn to a Greek God, or anyone in the Greek pantheon. But after researching him more, he is a very great fit for me right now.

Apollo is a Sun God, and is also associated with healing, prophecies, music, poetry and more. The son of Zeus and Leto. Apollo has a twin sister, Artemis, who is known as a goddess of the moon.

Apollo has many female and male lovers. The story that really stuck out to me was his lover, Hyacinth. Hyacinth was a Spartan prince, and Apollo was very much in love with him. But so was the Greek god Zephyrus. While practicing throwing the discus, Zephyrus in a jealous rage redirected the discus that Apollo had thrown. It struck Hyacinth, killing him. Apollo created the flower of the same name in memory of his lover.

Apollo is most recognized by his bow and arrow or the musical instrument the lyre that he often carries. These are symbols of him being known for both archery and music.

You can call upon or honor Apollo through song, listening to music, writing, archery, spending time outdoors in the sunshine, or any kind of healing practice such as Reiki.

Pagan Blog Project

I just discovered and decided to join the 2014 Pagan Blog Project.

I will have to catch up on the first scheduled post assignments in the next couple of days.

I'm Back Witches!

Reclaiming this blog, and I have some cleaning up to do.