#needfire

[brookepricer]

Daily Spell: October 28th

A Needfire Spell

You’ll Need:

A large bonfire

An offering

In some parts of the ancient Celtic world, people believed that a special fire called the Needfire could bring about magical results. Only to be used in times of great need, the Needfire helped to protect families from the plague and pestilence, starvation and exposure, or even marauding tribes. Sometimes it was a place to make offerings - seeds to ensure abundant crop, or a bit of bone from livestock to make sure your herds were saved through the winter period your needs may not be quite this drastic, but you can still use the Needfire to request the things you require most. Whatever offering you should you make should be something that holds value to you, not just plucked at random. Home-cooked food or produce you grew yourself is always a good choice. Do this spell after the sun sets.

Stand before the fire, holding your offering, and say “My family needs [ITEM] to help us through this season. My family requires [ITEM] and no more and no less. I present this offering, consigning to it's to this fire, in hopes that our needs will be met.”

Drop your offering into the flames, and let the fire go out on its own. Repeat as needed for the next seven nights.

-

“Daily Spellbook for the Good Witch: Quick, Simple, and Practical Magic for Every Day of the Year,” by Patti Wigington 

[broomsick]

Building a fragrant needfire as an offering

Or, how to combine witchcraft and paganism in a beautiful little craft. (As detailed in Arin Murphy-Hiscock’s The House Witch)

You will need:

A cauldron or fireproof dish strong enough to withstand intense heat. Nothing ceramic or glass!

A heatproof trivet, pad, or flat stone on which to place the cauldron securely.

Rubbing alcohol or any high-percentage alcohol available in liquor stores, such as vodka or brandy.

Epsom salts

Your choice of herbs and resins blend

A long-handled match

A large bag of sand or earth to pour over the fire of you need to douse it immediately

A heavy lid, to smother the flame if it goes out of control

A fire extinguisher as a backup

The steps!

1. Measure out equal parts of Epsom salts and alcohol. Place the salts in the bottom of the cauldron and pour the alcohol over them.

2. Pour the herbal mixture into the cauldron. Place the cauldron on the heatproof trivet or stone

3. Light the long-handled match and touch it to the mixture. It will burst into silent flame, the tops of the flames leaping above the cauldron. The fire will burn until the alcohol has been consumed. Throughout the fire, but more so when the flames begin to die away, you will hear tiny pops and sizzles as the salt cracks in the heat and the herbs and resins are consumed by the flames.

4. Do not even think about adding more alcohol into the cauldron while the flames are burning! Keep the alcohol/salt proportion equal until you are confident about handling the resulting fire; then and only then may you tweak the proportions. Never pour a large amount of alcohol over the salts; the resulting flames can be several feet high and can cause major damage to you or your house. Be safe and use common sense.

5. The fire will die away within a few minutes, but keep your sand, lid, and fire extinguisher handy in case you need them to put out the fire.

Watch your sleeves and hair, and keep the cauldron away from anything flammable, such as curtains.

Notes:

- The Epsom salts serve to soak up some of the alcohol and keep the fire burning in a more stable fashion!

- Instead of adding herbs directly into the salt, you can steep your selected herbs or flowers in the alcohol you plan to use. Steep them for at least 2 weeks, then strain and bottle the alcohol. Label it clearly and do not use it for any other purpose.

- Apart from making a lovely and fragrant offering, this sort of needfire is a wonderful way to scry, to cleanse a room or simply to meditate!

[dduane]

Tomorrow we have a dark moon on the winter solstice! Do I remember right that that's a significant occurrence in the Middle Kingdoms?

Um, yes, well, it's ... not seen as ideal. :/  …Per the story in which it appears:

“’The day after tomorrow, the Moon is dark,’ She said, ‘and that day, about noontime, it eclipses the Sun as well. And that night of new Moon is Opening Night....’      Sirronde’s dream-calm began to give way to nervous foreboding. On Opening Night, the longest night of the year, the boundaries between worlds grew thin, and unquiet spirits walked abroad. Moondark, the most perilous time of any month, would make matters worse, lending the evil things strength. But an eclipse as well—this would be a day of triple dark, and on such a day all the powers of darkness are given into the Shadow’s hand. The Goddess’s old enemy would have the strength to do what It had tried again and again to do—destroy Her world, and the creations It hated most: humankind...”

(from Sirronde's World 3: Parting Gifts)

…But then none of the known Middle Kingdoms cultures seem to care much for winter...and being generally so pre-industrially rural and agrarian a group of societies, maybe this makes some sense. The period around the Winter Solstice — when the thought of coming food scarcity may already in places be starting to bite, and weather conditions (especially in the high South) can become cruelly cold —is particularly fraught. The appendix at the end of The Door Into Shadow that deals with calendar issues says:

“Both Arlen and Darthen use a 360-day year of four 90-day “seasons” that correspond to our spring, summer, autumn and winter… The First of each season is always a major holiday, tied to solstice or equinox—Opening Night for Winter, Maiden’s Day for Spring, Midyear’s Day for Summer, and the Harvest Festival (either Lion’s Day or Eagle’s Day) for Fall. The five remaining days are intercalated and belong to no season. They are placed between the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter, and during these cold days at the bottom of the year, the Dreadnights as they’re called, no enterprise is begun, no childnaming or marriage celebrated. They are the Shadow’s nights, and unlucky.”

The winter solstice in the Kingdoms, therefore, is more noted than celebrated: something to be got through, got past, got over with. Some rural places do have old traditions of kindling needfire-lit bonfires on that night—not so much as a festival event as a gesture of defiance. Generally, though, that period is seen as one best spent sitting by the fire with friends and/or family (and others who may need your fireside, having none of their own), eating and drinking and recouping one’s energies—a fallow time during which everyone waits for the tiny slow-coming changes in the length of day that show the year to be on the turn. And babies born at this time—despite not being able to be named until the Dreadnights are over—are said to be lucky and a good sign, because “they bring the Light with them...”

(Meanwhile. the above very handsome Dragon’s-eye “view” of a solar eclipse seen from Earth orbit was making the rounds some years back as an image taken from the ISS. It’s not, though. It was created in that fabulous tool Terragen by a DeviantArt-based digital artist who goes by a4size-ska.)

[lokabrenna13]

Good morning! This week's rune is Nauthiz!

Nauthiz means "need fire" and is the rune of need/necessity, resistance, friction, and innovation. Necessity, as the old cliche reminds us, is often the mother of invention. The next seven days could prove difficult. Some of you may experience more resistance than usual to what you want to do, and some may be experiencing greater hardship. However, opportunities to find creative solutions to problems you are facing will surface as well. Now would also be good time reflect on what you need and what is truly important to you right now.

#runepull #runeart #runes #runedivination #divination #northerntraditionpagan #pagan #northerntradition #nauthiz #needfire #resistance #necessity #friction #runeoftheweek #norsepagan #futhark #elderfuthark #runevideo

[chalkrevelations]

LP II

Ludi Plebeii Day 2, moving outward a little bit, and this second day is generally focused on both Quirinus, as a god of civic-ness and by extension city-ness, based on his place in Rome's early Archaic Triad and associations with the deified Romulus, and on Athena as Polias, the mens of the city, intellectual/artistic/political gestalt, the "weaver of the networks that bind us together, protector of the social institutions that form the keystone of civilized life, and both of them with a particular expression informed by the history and people here, in my city. Local cultus is local.

Busier out there this morning than yesterday, including some people who I think were hanging around before church services started in a nearby storefront. I ended up setting up at one of the small tables with chairs that the city set up in the grassy areas out there, to make sure I wasn't constantly shifting to stay out of people's way. A lot of city-ness going on.

Omen was ingwaz again, for needs from Quirinus - the stored seeds, from the god of the city's storehouses and storefronts (with his association with Consus, the god of the seedbin) - having your things in order, your stores laid by, and taking care of them to preserve them. Naudhiz for the blessing, and that naudhiz, the needfire, can be kind of challenging, but when it turns up on the blessing spot in a ritual omen like this, I tend to see it as an assurance that what's needed will be there - if we do the work requested, it will be enough. Needs from Athena is othala, ancestral ground, the ground that's yours, because you've worked it and tended it and you know it, with raidho for the blessings - ordered and orderly movement, working in common to move toward a goal, and I feel like the ancestral ground in that othala is conceptual, the ideas and ideals where our roots are planted, which will be the foundation for movement forward. Who else is part of your forest - where we learn more everyday about how the trees are interconnected - and how do you work together?

Shadow rune, the place we're standing now, was uruz, the ability to shape and transform, to purify and bring into being. Also, maybe a little bit of literal meaning to it to - the aurochs, the Bull of our city, saying, even if you're not in your usual place, where my physical representation is, I'm still here. It's all my place.

So. Day two down.

Meanwhile, there also were some signs out there left over from yesterday's Ceasefire protest:

Things like this are some of the reasons I love my city.

[hazelwest1980]

#longday #needfire #needwine #mustache #einsteinbaglescup #keepsbugsout #gonnaroasthotdogs #omnom #memorialdayweekend https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx6D6hZpbzq/?igshid=1xuh66kzswm52

[breelandwalker]

as a closet witch, how can i celebrate yule without being caught or snitched on? at decemember i would have to go to my relative's house and none of them are witches and are hard catholics, Its very important that I dont get caught but I would love to celebrate

This is my first yule too! (i started this month!! very new baby witch) I managed to persuade one of them to buy some scented candles (because that's what all i could manage to get them to buy it for me since i'm a broke student) but that's all I could manage if im being honest

i could eat breakfast with them, would that count as a feast? while i light the sun candle, should I shorten the things I should say while lighting it?

I genuinely want to welcome the sun and celebrate because I feel very safe while it's present and I want to thank it for the warmth it generously gives! And i thought yule would be a good time to get to know the sun more and repay it's kindness! (also, if i am referring to the sun incorrectly, please correct me!! I wanna be as resectful as i can)

[Also I'm very sorry if this isn't the types of asks you would like to recieve!! please delete if you wish not to answer ^^]

Oh, we're about to get REAL sneaky on this answer.

Before reading, please note - I do not recommend mixing religious practices willy-nilly or appropriating Christian rites for non-Christian witchcraft. But sometimes a witch has to be stealthy and here's how I managed a similar situation in my younger days.

I became a witch in my early twenties, while I was still living at room with progressive-but-highly-religious family members. There were occasions when I was expected to go to church. I was expected to say grace at family meals, celebrate religious holidays, pray about my problems, accept faith-based advice, and not be averse to Christian-themed gifts or the Christian radio station constantly playing in the house. For all my moms knew, I was still a Good Christian Girl.

I was NOT.

I hid books about witchcraft in with my fantasy novels. I decorated the top of a short bookcase with knickknacks for an altar. I used cheap candles and craft supplies for magical purposes. I bought herbs from a natural food store, started a potted garden, and talked (a lot) about my interest in herbal medicine. I took notes about witchcraft in the back of the notebook I used for notes about botany. And I did all my pagan stuff offsite or when I was home alone.

Keep in mind, this was purely to keep the peace in my home. I couldn't move out and I knew my mother would have a full-sized bird with all the trimmings if she found out I was doing pagan stuff under her roof. (As it turned out, it was a series of medium-sized birds. But that's another story.) I was lying, yes, but I was doing so out of self-preservation.

And that's exactly what I recommend you do.

Go along with what you're expected to do, to the extent that you are comfortable with. Use the mundane objects available to you to practice your craft silently and in secret. There's no need for fancy accoutrements, elaborate rituals, or spoken prayer. All of that takes a backseat to your physical safety and mental and emotional wellbeing.

Make the plans you already have and the things you're already doing into celebrations and devotional acts. Caroling is singing up the sun. Putting up lights is keeping the needfires burning through the solstice. Christmas breakfast with family absolutely counts as a feast. When everyone bows their heads for silent prayer, no one will know whether you're praying to the same god they are.

Honor the sun by scattering seeds for the birds and small animals to eat. Make dried-orange garlands - they're traditional for this time of year. Use that scented candle for color or scent magic, or for devotional purposes. (And you don't need to say anything out loud when lighting it. You can just think it to yourself.) Watch the sunrise on the winter solstice and wave. Make plans for how you too will rise and shine in the new year.

The nice thing about being pagan is that the gods meet us where we are. The world is our church and while there are sacred places that are worth visiting, we also carry our temples inside ourselves. Our hearts, our hands, our minds, and our voices are our altars, and on these tables, we offer the best of ourselves in honor of those we venerate.

Whatever you offer to your chosen gods, offer it sincerely, and whatever deeds you do in their honor, do them well and with all of your heart. It doesn't matter how small that might seem to you, because right now, that is everything you can give. In the future, maybe you can do more, be more open, celebrate in new ways. But for now, your task is to learn and grow, quietly, until that time comes.

I hope this helps and I hope you have a merry and meaningful Yule! Good luck, witchling, and welcome!

[slippery-minghus]

got another card in the mail from my dad >_>

this one didn't have any money in it like the one for christmas (which i donated). on one hand, i'm kinda impressed that he got the card in the mail before my birthday (one whole day) but on the other i'm pretty sure it's his wife's handwriting on the envelope so he doesn't get any points for that.

i didn't read the card, and only even opened it to be sure there wasn't anything in it. since there wasn't anything in it, i'm kinda bummed i can't just mark it Return to Sender, but it's okay. i feel like it affects my level of control if i can't slap him back in the face with these pathetic attempts to reach me (if he really wanted to make amends, he could have found a way). but really, it doesn't matter. letting them bounce right off me is just as much of a self protecting effort, and it doesn't give him the satisfaction of knowing what i've done with what he sent. he can stand on his side of the burned bridge and yell all he wants. there's satisfaction in not even acknowledging him.

so, i built a needfire in my cauldron and burned the portion of the envelop with the return address and the date from the post office (because pathetic effort). it was a beautiful little fire, and the edges of the paper burned white. i hope he keeps yelling across that burned bridge until he loses his voice

[lokahjarta]

how did it happen, that the god fell in love?

when the earth was all raw and new,

he saw His smile.

And that was it.

His world lit up

at Him, this hiccup in the cosmic infrastructure

and He had him sleeping on the blacktop

and crying in the rain, lonesome old cowboy.

The one man He couldn't see beyond,

Wouldn't look past

His future, his destiny, his desire

Could he believe the sound of His laughter

could grip him at his Eldritch roots?

Could lay him flat with just one look?

They say to keep your enemies close

but that's not what the god was doing

when he drew in his adversary,

held him close,

kissed him

and became Each Other.

They say you keep your enemies close,

but that's not what the god was doing

when he huddled with his lover,

needfire at the bare bones

held him, knowing it was his ending,

and mixed their blood

and became Him.

how the god fell in love was this; easily

readily

he yielded like it would break him not to

how could he do anything else? he saw his smile.

and that was it.

[the-ethereal-serpent]

Litha Correspondences

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Food & Drink

Honey

Fresh vegetables

Lemons

Oranges

Summer fruits

Summer squash

Pumpernickel bread

Ale

Carrot drinks

Mead

Strawberries

Honey cakes

Whipped cream

Red wine

Cheese dishes

Mangoes

Rose ice cream

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Colours

Blue

Green

Gold

Yellow

Red

Orange

White

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Crystals

Lapis lazuli

Diamond

Tiger’s eye

Emerald

Jade

Amber

Citrine

Onyx

Topaz

Gaspeite

Cinnabar

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Plants & Herbs

Apple

Anise

Mugwort

Chamomile

Rose

Oak blossoms

Lily

Cinquefoil

Lavender

Fennel

Elder

Carnation

Mistletoe

Hemp

Thyme

Larkspur

Nettle

Wisteria

Vervain

St. John’s wort

Heartsease

Rue

Fern

Wormwood

Pine

Heather

Yarrow

Oak

Honey suckle

Holly trees

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Incense & Oils

Heliotrope

Saffron

Orange

Frankincense

Myrrh

Wisteria

Cinnamon

Mint

Rose

Lemon

Lavender

Sandalwood

Pine

Saint John's Wort

Peony

Vervain

Mugwort

Chamomile

Chickweed

Chicory

Sun flower

Lily

Thyme

Hemp

Fennel

Nettle

Wisteria

Rue

Fern

Heather

Oak

Yarrow

Holly

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Animals & Mythical Beings

Bees

Butterflies

Wren

Robin

Horses

Cattle

Caterpillars

Satyrs

Faeries

Firebird

Dragon

Thunderbird

Phoenix

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Goddesses

Mother Earth

Mother Nature

Venus

Aphrodite

Yemaya

Astarte

Freya

Hathor

Ishtar

Green Forest Mother

Great One of the Stars

Goddess of the Wells

All Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the Sea

Pregnant and lusty Goddesses

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Gods

Father Sun/Sky

Oak King

Holly King

Hur

Ra

Gods at peak power and strength

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Rituals & Magicks

Nature spirit/fey communion

Planet healing

Divination

Love & protection magicks

The battle between Oak King, God of the waxing year & Holly King, God of the waning year (can be a ritual play)

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Tools, Symbols & Decorations

The Sun

Oak, birch & fir branches

Sun flowers

Lilies

Red/maize/yellow or gold flower

Love amulets

Seashells

Summer fruits & flowers

Feather/flower door wreath

Sun wheel

Fire

Circles of stone

Sun dials and swords/blades

Vird feathers

Witches’ ladder

Swords and spears

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Customs

Bonfires

Processions

All night vigil

Singing

Feasting

Celebrating with others

Cutting divining rods, dowsing rods & wands

Herb gathering

Handfastings

Weddings

Gathering of mistletoe in oak groves

Needfires

Leaping between two fires

Mistletoe (without berries, use as a protection amulet)

Women walking naked through gardens

to ensure continued fertility

Enjoying the seasonal fruits & vegetables

Honor the Mother’s fullness, richness and abundance

Put garlands of St. John’s Wort placed over doors/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection.

☽⦁──────── ⦁☀️⦁ ────────⦁☾

Article Sources :

http://www.flyingthehedge.com/2016/06/litha-correspondences.html?m=1 https://paganpages.org/emagazine/2014/06/01/litha-correspondences-4/ https://sacredwicca.com/litha https://thecommongrackleblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/30/litha-correspondences/ https://exemplore.com/paganism/Seven-Crystals-for-Litha

[north-of-annwn]

Hey what does it mean when a rune you pull is cracked or broken? The rune sack was sitting in the same place for 2 weeks straight and the Nauthiz I pull broke in half?

What does it mean to you? How would you assess your needfire lately? What do you think it’s trying to tell you? 

💙 Fynn

Website || Venmo || Ko-Fi

[mickiemueller]

It’s that time of the year again, I’m taking pre-orders for Yuletide flamecasks! A flamecask is a wax charm that is filled with magically charged herbs and oils to be released by melting or burning with intention. I'm making 30 packs of these wax igniting charms in the next few days. These will ship on December 16th Priority Mail in plenty time for your Winter Solstice if you live in the continental U.S. Each of these flamecasks is hand made right in my kitchen and contains the nine traditional sacred woods of the needfire; birch, rowan, ash, alder, willow, hawthorn, oak, holly, and hazel. I've also added pine, bay, juniper rowan berries, and oils to these special handmade additions to your special Yule/ Winter Solstice bonfire. I also dust the stars with a hint of sparkle using food grade non toxic shimmer. If you don't do a bonfire these little charms are also suitable to use in a wax melt warmer. https://www.instagram.com/p/B58r2eUnRx8/?igshid=1jg9000dfzpwo

[the-earthen-one]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhëma Ránsdottr (@fjord.haxa)

<Naudir> #needfire #einarselvik #wardruna @wardruna @einar_selvik @lindyfayhella #lindyfayhella #protonorse #music #art #concerts #norse #scandinavia (at The Vogue Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn-Ae3IHWRu/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11hqbmv3y3s54

[lokabrenna13]

Good morning! This week's rune is Nauthiz!

Nauthiz literally means "need fire" and is the rune of need/necessity, resistance, friction, and innovation. Hardship can become an opportunity for growth, depending on the situation, and your approach. You may find yourself in situations that require patience and endurance. This can include major difficulties and obstacles, or you may just be feeling stuck. Some of you will face delays moving forward or resistance to what you are hoping to achieve. Prioritizing will be key here. Nauthiz can also indicate you are facing a difficulty where you need to focus on an innovative, creative solution. So rather than focusing on the problem, look for ways to meet the need.

#runepull #runeart #runes #runedivination #divination #northerntraditionpagan #pagan #northerntradition #nauthiz #needfire #resistance #necessity #friction #runeoftheweek #norsepagan #futhark #elderfuthark #runevideo

[chalkrevelations]

LP II

Day 2 of the Ludi Plebeii, and some of these early days can slide around a little, because I try to coordinate the schedule so the devotionals for the American Triad and Fortuna American happen on Election Day, when it overlaps, but Election Day happened just before we started this year, so I’m sticking to the standard schedule. So today was focused on Quirinus, approached as a god of city-ness, of the places where we live and work together and become a civic body, based on his presence in Rome’s early Archaic Triad and his possible associations with the deified Romulus, as well as Athena as the mens of the city, the intellectual/artististic/political gestalt, the “weaver of the networks that bind us together, protector of the social institutions that form the keystone of civilized life” as I say in the invocation, and both with a particular expression informed by the people and the history here.

SUPER cold out there this AM, and I had to pause a couple of times to stick my hands in my pockets to warm up my fingers - the mittens are fingerless to begin with, in order to let me scroll through the script on my phone, and anyway, I’ve got to pull them off to scatter grits, which are the majority of the offerings for this, both because maize is our “corn” in this part of the country, and because they’re not too messy to scatter and leave on pavement or brick in public spaces. By the time I’d rounded the plaza in the car afterward and passed by my ritual spot again, I could see all the little local sparrows that hang out there down on the ground, pecking away - my own personal sacred “chickens,” so I guess the offerings were acceptable, lol.

Omen today was othala and fehu from Quirinus, further needs and blessings offered, with othala again being that space that’s yours not just because of ancestral ties, but because you’ve essentially put your blood, sweat and tears into it, you’ve worked it, you know it, you understand it, and I think this is pretty obviously the city itself, with a request to put in the necessary work to nurture and nourish it, to build on it in effective ways. Then fehu - our cows, our herds the stuff we own, sure, but also security, the things that sustain and nourish us, and that also, well-husbanded, continue to grow and multiply. So that’s a nice little interdependence there, with potentially fantastic outcomes. From Athena, berkano, the beech tree, rebirth, new growth, starting over after the blaze has cleared out everything, so, yeah. THAT. Not just putting things back together, but maybe in fresh, new ways of doing so. Followed by nauthiz, the needfire, and with it in the blessings spot, I’m seeing it as an assurance of having what’s needed and necessary. In contrast to the physical stuff, this may be an indication of having ONLY what’s necessary at this point, but not to operate within a scarcity mindset and freak out about it.

Mannaz as the shadow - the person, the self, and your place within the networks - all those networks that this particular devotional day is about. We’re here, where we need to be, to do the work. Also, wunjo, joy, reflected back on itself, so that’s also nice.