Ink & Amethyst

Ok, so I know that highlighting a flower AND an “herb” might be excessive for one month, but my reasoning behind this is that not all flowers are considered herbs, and I really wanted to utilize some of my books on the Victorian era language of flowers. And though Rose can certainly be used in herbalism, it’s also one of the most prolific flowers in the Victorian era AND it’s also the Birth Flower for June. You know me -two birds- one stone!

So let’s dive in with a little about where we think the Rose came from.

There are several ancient Greek and Roman myths that suggest not only the origin of the Rose but also how certain colors, particularly the Red Rose, came about. Most of these stories involve the Greek goddess Aphrodite (the Roman goddess Venus).

There is a Myth where when Venus/Aphrodite emerged from the ocean, the foam at her feet turned into white Roses. Then another of the same story, but instead of the foam turning into Roses, Aphrodite herself created a white Rose to hold at her chest to show her power over all things of love and beauty.

There are a few myths about how the white Rose of Aphrodite turned red. One is about an account with her lover Adonis. The story tells about Adonis, the God of the Hunt, not heeding a warning from Aphrodite about being cautious around certain animals. One such animal was a boar who was actually Ares, the Olympic God of war and Aphrodites’ former lover, in disguise due to being jealous of her love for Adonis. He kills Adonis and as Aphrodite is running to her lovers body she cuts herself and her blood spilled on her white Rose turning it red.

The second story is another story of jealousy (man these Gods & Goddesses were moody!), called “The Jealousy of Cybele”, where Cybele (the goddess of Mother Earth) was so jealous of Aphrodite’s beauty, she created a Red Rose to compete with Aphrodite.

The last story is about Dionysus (God of wine and the grape harvest) spilling wine on Aphrodite’s rose turning it red.

Between these ancient myths and through the help of other historical resources, and with fossil evidence, it’s been determined that Roses in one form or another have been around for more than 35 MILLION years! Wow! Though, we think they didn’t become cultivated in gardens until about 5000 years ago in Asia, specifically in China and then the Middle East.

There are estimated to be around 300 original species of Roses, and another 10,000 or more in hybrids! The species common to Victorian era were the Gallica, Alba, Musk, Damask, and the Moss/Cabbage Roses.

It became custom to give Roses for different occasions, with different colors symbolizing various emotions or sentiments. This is what we know as the Victorian Language of Flowers or “Floriography”. Though most of the history we have about this flower language comes from this Era in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, there seems to be symbolism around the Rose in many cultures around the world. Most of the symbolism is about love and romance.

Below is a quick color key of how those in the Victorian Era used Roses for communication. This is the part that most intrigues me!

Of course the color meanings of Roses and other flowers has evolved throughout the decades into completely new meanings. I mean, we hopefully aren’t still sending out yellow Roses to our cheating exe’s, right? Some such representations that are dated have been replaced with more modern sentiments such as friendship, gratitude, and congratulations.

The last information I have about the Rose is that it’s the main Birth flower for June, with the second flower being Honeysuckle.

If it’s your birthday this month…Happy Birthday!

I actually couldn’t find much on how birth flowers were chosen, but I do know some pretty special people born in June, so it makes sense to me that such a regal and well-loved flower would represent the month these amazing people were born in!

References:

A Victorian Flower Dictionary – Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Floriography – Jessica Roux

https://web.extension.illinois.edu

https://www.verdissimo.com

https://rosaholics.com

With summer in full swing I keep seeing the color Orange everywhere. From painted toes to bathing suits, this fun vibrant color is the perfect representation for Summertime.

This is why I’ve chosen Orange Calcite for our highlighted crystal this month. Plus, it has some good energetic properties we might find useful during our summer months while we are out traveling and exploring. At the very least, maybe it can help boost our confidence and self esteem while putting on our swim gear and enjoying some uninhibited time poolside!

If you don’t already have a piece of Orange Calcite in your collection, we do have a handful of pocket sized tumbles in the shop that are perfect for carrying around in your purse, pocket, bra, or wherever you choose to wear crystals.

I hope you are having a sunny and happy summer so far, with lots of cold beverage and air conditioning in-between!

Chamomile is a pretty common herb, and it’s likely you have used it before, if not regularly. But I bet there is a lot about Chamomile that you didn’t know. At least I didn’t!

I started out with an entirely different herb to highlight this month, but as I was doing some Midsummer altar prep I found that Chamomile was one of the recommended and popular plants used for the Solstice. I figured it would be a great way to incorporate into two places at once! Since we will be working with Chamomile this month, we can use any left overs to put on the altar when we are done. Anytime we can reduce waste and get more than one use of something is really important in my spiritual practice, as I work a lot with Mother Gaia (momma earth), and its beneficial to her as well.

So this is what I found out about Chamomile- (I’ll post a list of references at the end of this post, in case you’re interested in the books and tools I used, and to give proper shout outs to the people/places I’ve learned from.

Chamomile is known as one of the nine sacred herbs of the Celts/Anglo Saxons. This comes from a text from the Lacnunga, a tenth century Anglo-Saxon herbal charm passed down from a Myth where the God Woden (known now as the Norse God Odin) used these nine sacred herbs to fight a dragon.

It’s a pretty cool story, and it goes further in depth and varies slightly in different old texts as it’s been passed down throughout centuries.

Chamomile is revered for both it’s medicinal and magical properties across many cultures, and can be found in rituals and medicines for many things, including sleep and meditation, and for warding off nightmares. It is especially useful if you’re trying to get yourself calmed and centered.

The dried flowers of Chamomile contain many terpenoids and flavonoids contributing to its medicinal properties. Chamomile preparations are commonly used for many ailments such as hay fever, inflammation, muscle spasms, menstrual disorders, insomnia, ulcers, wounds, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatic pain, and hemorrhoids.

Essential oils of chamomile are used often in cosmetics and aromatherapy due to it’s great antiseptic properties.

Chamomile is a great protection herb for both home and self. You can put it into a sachet to carry with you when you think you might be in physical or energetic danger. I often use it in my protection charm bags along with a mix of protective stones and sigils. Other than drinking it as a sleepy time tea, this is probably my personal most common way of using this herb.

If you grow your own Chamomile, be sure to talk to it. Set your magical intentions when you water the plant to infuse it for your spells and manifestation rituals later on. I do this with all the herbs I grow for magic use, but Chamomile seems particularly responsive to this energy exchange.

Below is a list of ways to use Chamomile both magically and medicinally. Be sure to do your own research and use caution (or even consult a physician) before taking any herbal remedies.

I hope this gives you some ideas for using Chamomile whether you are someone who practices magick or you’re more interested for it’s health benefits.

Let me know which one’s you try, or what your current favorite ways to use Chamomile are. Herbalism itself is a sort of dying art, and I find that many things related to magick or folk medicine have been kept in families from generation to generation, and some of the best recipes and rituals are those that haven’t made it into books. They’re oral traditions that nobody has taken the time to write down yet!

I’m going to close with a little thank you to Chamomile.

Chamomile, we thank you for your healing energies. For your gentle nature, and for the magick you hold in every cell. We are grateful for your medicines and to Mother Earth for birthing and nurturing you.

Blessed Be!

References:

The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook – Karen Harrison

Plant Witchery – Juliet Diaz

Folk Magic And Healing / An Unusual History of Everyday Plants – Fez Inkwright

The Nine Herbs Charm – http://www.mimisbrunnr.info

The Nine Herbs Charm – http://www.spitafieldslife.com

June 21st is International Yoga Day so I figured it would be a great time to talk a little bit about this wonderful system of Health and Spirituality.

Most of us Westerners practice Yoga for it’s physical health benefits, which are certainly plentiful. Some of these benefits can include:

-An increase in flexibility

-An improvement in respiration

-An increase in muscle strength and tone

-An increase in energy and vitality

-Improved circulation

-Improved balance

-Improved metabolism

-Weight loss or maintenance

While these advantages are wonderful and have helped many, the true purpose of Yoga runs much deeper than it’s physical benefits. The original concept of Yoga was actually rooted in spiritual practice.

The origin of Yoga

Yoga’s origins can be traced to more than 5000 years ago in northern India. The word Yoga can be found in ancient sacred texts called the Rig Veda. The Vedas are a set of four sacred ancient Sanskrit texts. The Rig Veda is the first amongst the Vedas and is a collection containing over a thousand hymns and mantras in ten chapters known as mandalas.

Yoga was developed and refined by the Rishis (wise sages) who would document their beliefs and practices in a large work of writings called the Upanishads, which contained over 200 scriptures. Yoga is a part of the six schools of philosophy in Hinduism, and also plays a major part in Buddhism and its meditation practices.

So now we know where Yoga came from, but what is it?

Yoga is a Sanskrit word that translates to “yoke” or “union”. It means to draw together, to bind together, or to unite. The idea is to create a union of the mind, body, soul, and universal consciousness. This process of uniting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of ourselves is what allows those who practice Yoga to experience deep states of freedom, peace and self-realization or what we might know as a form of enlightenment.

Breaking it down a bit-

It’s impossible to go over the full embodiment of Yoga without writing a whole book about it. So I’m just going to outline some terminologies of the practice so that you can get a general idea of how it breaks down.

There are 8 limbs of Yoga that are spiritual, mental and physical practices that build upon each other. These are:

Yama – The moral codes of conduct

Niyama – The physical observances and internal practices

Asana – The proper posture

Pranayama – The proper breathing exercises

Pratyahara – The withdrawal of senses from external distractions

Dharana – The mental concentration and focusing the mind

Dhyana – The meditation and focus on a single point

Samadhi – The end of all mental activity to attain a state of oneness

Then there are six branches of traditional Yoga, they are called:

Raja (the royal path) – which focuses on meditation practices

Karma (the path of action) – which focuses on action and service in daily life

Jnana (the path of knowledge) – which focuses on discriminative wisdom and self inquiry

Bhakti (the path of devotion) – which focuses on devotion to God

Tantra (the path of ecstasy) – which focuses on ritual and initiation

Hatha (the forceful path) – which focuses on the energy and movement of the body

So, as you can probably guess, the branch of Yoga mainly practiced in America today is Hatha Yoga.

How did Yoga get to America?

In the late 1890’s Swami Vivekananda came to America and demonstrated Yoga in the Chicago Worlds Fair. He was well-received and sort of paved a path for other Yogi’s to come into America to teach their practice. One such Yogi was guru Shri Yogendra who founded The Yoga Institute in India and America in 1918, with his revival of Hatha Yoga, where he would work alongside doctors and scientists to seek evidence of Yoga’s health benefits.

There is a LOT more that happened in-between his arrival in America, and today, but for the sake of time, I’m going to leave off here with just saying, it grew from there! The main point I wanted to highlight for International Yoga Day, is that Yoga is much more complex and deeper than being just another form of physical exercise. So if you’re already practicing Yoga for exercise, or are thinking about starting a Yoga practice, I encourage you to really explore the branches of Yoga besides just Hatha. It can be a beautifully powerful system in connecting yourself to a higher consciousness!

References:

Yoga for Dummies – Larry Payne and Georg Feuerstein

http://www.yogabasics.com

artsandculture.google.com

Litha, also known as Midsummer, is the Pagan celebration of the Summer Solstice.

This is the longest day of the year (depending on where you live on the Earth) and is when the North (or South) Pole is at a maximum tilt on it’s axis toward the Sun.

This happens twice yearly, and depending on where you are located, one of these tilts will be the shortest day of the year (called the Winter Solstice/Yule) or the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice / Midsummer). In other words, while us Northern Hemisphere folks are celebrating the longest day of the year, the people on the Southern Hemisphere are celebrating the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year. Crazy right?!

I’m not sure why my little brain never thought about the fact that it isn’t summer everywhere when it’s summer where I live, ha!

In Paganism, and many offshoot practices including Wicca, Litha is one of the Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year. These Sabbats were eight festivals that marked the agricultural and solar divisions of the year. It was basically a way of linking the physical science of the seasons and their affects on the crops and raising food, with the belief in God & Goddess who would reside over and bless their respective seasons.

Goddess, who represented new life and fertility, would reside over the Spring and Summer seasons, looking over crops and the herds of animals grown for sustenance. While in the winter, the God of the hunt and death (aka Horned God) would be called upon to bless the hunters and gatherers when there was no food to be grown in the fields due to the colder climate.

The four Major or Greater Sabbats are markers to break up the year into parts of a cycle that complete what is called The Wheel of the Year.

Those Sabbats are:

Beltane – May Eve (Opposite side of the wheel is Samhain.)

Litha (Midsummer) – The Summer Solstice, longest day of the year. When the shift of power went to the Holly King (Opposite side of the wheel is Yule.)

Lughnasadh (Lammas) – August Eve, a mid-point between Beltane & Samhain. (Opposite side of the wheel is Imbolc.)

Mabon – The Autumn Equinox when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. (Opposite side of the wheel is Ostara.)

Samhain – November Eve. (Opposite side of the wheel is Beltane.)

Yule – The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. When the shift of power goes back to the Oak King (Opposite side of the wheel is Litha/Midsummer.)

Imbolc – February Eve, a mid-point between Samhain & Beltane.(Opposite side of the wheel is Lughnasadh/Lammas.)

Ostara (Candlemas) – The Spring Equinox when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. (Opposite side of the wheel is Mabon.)

Now that you have a brief introduction into the the Sabbats and how they were used, let’s dive into Litha itself, and how it was celebrated, and how you can celebrate too!

As explained at the beginning of this post, Litha is the celebration of Midsummer, which is the longest day of the year. It was believed in Pagan tradition to be the time when the Oak King handed over the reigns to the Holly King. The Holly King would then reign the land and bring about shorter days and eventually the colder months, until the Winter Solstice (Yule) where the Oak King would take back over and bring things into warmth and spring and longer days to complete the cycle of the year.

Typically, bon fires were lit to assist the Sun in it’s journey across the sky as it changed course and into shorter days. There were also picnics and gatherings under the sun, in the grass and meadows where celebrations included summer foods, flowers, and music.

When it comes to celebrating Litha yourself, as with anything in magick, look for symbols and things that remind you of the feelings you want to invoke. In this case, what are the things that are particular to this time of year? This might vary from location to location, as different places have different things that grow, different animals that inhabit the lands and so on. So don’t be afraid to change things up if some of the items I’m providing on the following lists don’t work for you. Your practice is YOURS, and it can be mutable and flow as long as it feels good and works for you.

Foods used in Litha celebrations

Fresh herbs like Fennel, Basil, Thyme, Honey, fresh fruits, Elderberries, fresh veggies & greens, iced herbal teas, light wines and mead.

Flowers and Herbs used for Litha altars and decorations

Chamomile, Oak, Elderflower, Fern, Rose, Mugwort, St. John’s Wort, Daisy, Yarrow, Nettle.

Crystals for Litha Altars & Ritual

Citrine, Ruby, Carnelian, Orange Calcite, Sunstone, Emerald, Jade

Dieties associated with Litha

Danu, Aine, Theros, Aestas, Damia, Aphrodite, Epona, Rhiannon, Etain, Horus, Astarte, Freya, Ishtar, Helios, Llew, The Holly King, Lugh, Sunna/Sol, Ra, Zeus, Thor, Amaterasu, Aten, Apollo, Hestia, Juno, Sulis Minerva,

Animals associated with Litha

Robins, Bees, Horses, Butterflies, Fireflies

Magick/Spells/Ritual/Manifestations

Litha is the best time to perform love magick. It’s also a great time for protection rituals.

Celebrating Litha with Kids

When my kids were little, we made Litha all about fairies. It was something fun to do with them during the summertime. We would hand make and add fairy garden items to our houseplants. One year we even made fairy wings and wore them while watching Fern Gully.

Fairies are associated with Litha because in Irish Mythology, the Goddess Danu, who was known as the Celtic Earth Mother Goddess, was celebrated during Midsummer.

This is because Danu was also known as the Universal Mother of Tuatha De Danaan which was a tribe of ancient people in Ireland. They were believed to have invaded Ireland and ruled until being defeated in a war on Midsummer’s day. The myth tells that after they lost the war, they retreated to the hills and eventually became the Faerie folk.  

This is why it’s believed that the Faerie realm is most accessible during Midsummer!

And that about wraps up what I have for you about Litha/Midsummer. However you choose to celebrate (or not) I hope you learned something new and that you have a wonderful Midsummer filled with Love!

References:

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year – Judy Ann Nock

The Witch Book; The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca & Neo Paganism – Raymond Buckland

http://www.learnreligions.com

http://www.pagangrimoire.com

http://www.mabonhouse.co

Hello! I’m Rey!

I’m the owner of Ink & Amethyst, a cute little metaphysical shop located near the Valley of Fire in Overton Nevada.

I’m the self-proclaimed “Village Witch”, after being called it a few times in the shop. It’s a title that fits in more than one way, as I’ve studied and practiced what is widely known today as “witchcraft” almost my entire life. But we will get more into what that means in a future discussion…

I thought and thought and thought some more about how to streamline a newsletter/blog that was fitting for those who love all things mindfulness, and who find themselves identifying more on the “Light Worker” side of the spectrum that is magick and manifestation, but also for those who are old witchy souls like myself. I even thought about separating them for a while, and writing two bi-monthly newsletters and having two blogs, and allllll that crazy jazz. But alas, I just decided that the beautiful thing about where the consciousness of most people lies today, is somewhere on a vast spectrum of all these beautiful modalities, practices and beliefs. So I’ll just leave it up to you to read what you’re called to read, and to leave what doesn’t resonate.

There are many purposes I have for this newsletter/blog-

I hope to create a community of open-minded magic makers where we can learn from each other, share experiences, ritual, stories, tools, and to just have a support system for each other when we have questions, or want to share our experiences. It’s also a great way to be reminded to take that time for ourselves to connect with what makes us a witch, so that we can be manifesting for our highest good.

There may be some information in here that you already know, and some that will be totally new to you. I hope at the very least to give a refresher or new perspective to old ways of practicing, so that you can grow more in your own practice.

If you ever have any questions, just email me and I’ll do my best to answer them! If I don’t know the answer, I’ll at least try to give you some resources to help you find those answers, as I for sure don’t know everything..

Following will be our first official posts for the Month of June! I am going to try posting each topic on it’s own post, to make it easier to link them in the newsletters and better separate the topics for those who only want to learn about certain ones. I hope to do this at least once a month, and if time permits, maybe twice. Thanks for being here, and for learning & practicing alongside me ❤

Blessed Be! Rey

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