HedgeWitch (24 page)

HedgeWitch Painted Herb Candles

You will need:
a double boiler; one pillar candle; two to three votives with color that matches pillar; herbals to decorate the pillar—choose herbs, flowers, leaves, etc. that are very thin; an old paintbrush.

Instructions:
Melt votive candles in double boiler. Do not let the wax go over 170 degrees. With this type of project, we really just need the wax to melt to liquid. Choose whether you wish to apply your herbals randomly or if you would like an overall pattern or special design. If you choose to make a design, try arranging your herbals on white paper first. When you are ready to apply the herbals to the pillar, dip paintbrush into hot wax. Dab hot wax onto pillar where you wish to place your first herbal. Quickly place herbal onto hot wax area. Immediately dip the paintbrush into the hot wax again, and apply a thin coat of wax gently over the herbal. Continue adding herbs and flowers until your design is completed. Apply one last thin coat of wax over entire candle. Allow to completely cool. For gift giving, tie a ribbon or raffia around the candle. If the wick is long enough, you can add beads and other baubles to create a striking gift. Empower candle at sunrise or noon for ultimate fire power!

Hand-Dipped HedgeWitch Taper Candles

You will need:
a double boiler that is six inches taller than the length of the candle desired; candle thermometer; two or more pounds of wax, depending on the desired length of candle; scent and fragrance; candle wicking; chopstick or thin dowel rod cut to eleven or twelve inches; steel nut (for weight); powdered herbs; wooden stirring spoon.

Instructions:
Melt wax to 170 degrees. Add scent and color per manufacturer's instructions. Add
¼
to
½
teaspoon of powdered herb to wax. Stir. (The herbs often will settle; this is okay. In these herbal candles, we are infusing the wax with the power of the herb.) Cut wicking to the desired length of candle plus three inches. Fasten steel nut to one end of the wick. Tie the other end of the wick in the center of the chopstick or dowel rod. Dip the wick into the hot wax while holding the chopstick. With smooth motion, pull the wick straight up and out of the hot wax. Count to five in an easy cadence. Dip again. Count to five. Dip again. Repeat this procedure until you reach the desired thickness of candle. If outer wax begins to bubble, your wax is either too cold or too hot. If you leave the candle in the hot wax too long during dipping, you will melt off the previous layers. When finished, hang candle to cool. Candles should not touch each other when hanging and should hang free (not touching anything). Candle suppliers sell special spinning racks, or you can improvise.

HedgeWitch Dipping Charm

Try this easy magickal charm when dipping candles. Remember to state your purpose clearly in primal language as you learned in Section 1 before you begin.

(Dip candle)
One—the magick's begun

(Dip candle)
Two—my wish comes true

(Dip candle)
Three—I attract it
(meaning your desire)
to me

(Dip candle)
Four—I open the door
(meaning you welcome and accept your desire)

(Dip candle)
Five—the thing
(what you asked for)
is mine!

Keep repeating chant until you reach the desired thickness of candle.

Holiday Heat-Gun Tissue-Paper Candles

Tissue-paper candles bring a whole new level to creating fast magickal gifts for the busy HedgeWitch. In just fifteen minutes (or less) you can create unusual designer candles suitable for sharing or using yourself! The trick to these types of candles is to just barely heat the surface of the candle around the edges of the tissue paper without burning the tissue with the heat gun and seriously melting the candle or seriously burning your hands. Therefore, this isn't a project for young children.

You will need:
pillar candles in colors of your choice; tissue paper in colors that match your intent, or you can also use tissue papers with designs such as leaves, pumpkins, flowers, etc.; heat gun (I use an embossing gun); candle gloss (optional—can be obtained at your local craft store or craft candle supplier)

Instructions:
Tear tissue paper in various small shapes. Lay one piece of torn tissue on candle. Heat edges of tissue just enough to where you see the wax glisten (this will take only a few seconds). Move around the edges of the tissue evenly with the heat gun. If the wax begins to drip, wipe drip off lightly and quickly before it solidifies. Once all the edges are adhered, heat center of tissue lightly, just enough to allow the tissue to begin sinking into the wax. Apply the next piece of tissue in the same manner. When you are satisfied with the design, set the candle aside to cool completely. For a professionally finished look, spray candles with candle gloss. Tie ribbon or raffia around candle for a gift-giving finishing touch! Empower cooled candles with tuning forks or bells.

How these candles burn:
In my experience, the outer tissue forms a shell and the center of the candle burns down completely. However, every candle is different, and to be safe,
I would burn them in a fire-safe cauldron.

The HedgeWitch Magickal Garden

One of the easiest ways to connect to Spirit through nature is to dive into the wonders of your own enchanted garden! From planning in February (in the Northern Hemisphere) to planting after the first major frost, to growing and harvesting, your magickal garden will provide thousands of hours of peace and enjoyment. Even if you have never gardened in your life, there is nothing so difficult that you can't accomplish it, if you only try! If you can't work outside, try building your own rock garden inside, using potted plants and herbs. Begin small, and watch your garden grow! Here are some magickal tips to help bring you an amazing connection to nature.

Planning:
Start small, and build. What type of environment suits you best—an Oriental feel? Celtic? Victorian? Walk your property. Your focal point sets the stage for the future of your garden, as well as your outside life. Choose one small area to change first. Close your eyes and visualize what you might like to have. Use primal language (see Section 1) to formulate what you desire. Look through magazines, garden catalogs, and books. Take several trips to various local greenhouses. Ask questions! In designing my garden, I chose two focal points: a meditative statue of Buddha for the general yard and toads for prosperity in my raised-bed herb garden. Even though we had a dry year, my garden and yard flourished! I even built a toad habitat, and the week after I did so, I received a large check in the mail I wasn't expecting. By providing for nature, nature provides for you!

Watch the path of the sun:
Different areas of your property will have different access to light throughout the year. By learning the light, you will know what will suit your plants best and where you can change their placement, if necessary, later on.

Plant tags:
Plants from the greenhouse normally come with a tag that explains light, temperature, and water requirements. Seed packets also carry this information. However, I found that these mini write-ups aren't always accurate, and the only way you will know this is your experience through the growing season. When trying a new plant in your garden, why not put it in a pot first and see how the plant behaves in its prospective placement? If it does well, transplant it where you originally placed it, but if not, move the plant rather than throw it out. A plant can lose quite a lot of leaves and still be revitalized in a different location. For example, I bought patchouli and Chinese sunflowers last year and put them in pots rather than directly into the ground. I'm glad I did! The patchouli tag said it took full sunlight. The Chinese sunflowers said they required indirect lighting. In both cases, this wasn't how the plants reacted. The patchouli did horribly in full sunlight, but when I moved it to partial shade, it grew beautifully. The Chinese sunflowers did well at first and then began to die. I cut out all the dead foliage and moved these plants to a more lighted area. They did beautifully and bloomed into October.

Your Garden Matches Your Life

Working in your garden provides an easy, open pathway to Spirit. Yes, at first your mind is full of the other parts of your life, but as you work the soil and study and care for the plants, everyday problems slip away and your energy naturally starts to vibrate with that of the earth. By caring for your garden, you are also caring for your life. If something is wrong in your garden (not enough water, a particular weed, a bug infestation), this often equates to what is going on in your own life. By correcting the problem in your garden, you will naturally move to correct the difficulty in your life outside of your garden. You and your garden are actually vibrating together and are really companions throughout the seasons. Here are a few intuitive tips that might help you when problems occur in your garden:

Overwatering:
You are overindulging yourself or someone else in a particular area of your life.

Underwatering:
You are being too stingy with yourself or someone closely related to you.

Japanese beetles and other chewing bugs:
These are a major pain, and some years, of course, in some areas will be worse than others. Let's say you've taken appropriate gardening steps to solve this problem, but for some reason, those darned beetles left your garden alone but went after your marigolds. Japanese beetles and other chewing predators (deer, rabbits, bugs) indicate that you have allowed negative thoughts to chew away at your personal harmony. Release the negativity, as explained in Section 2 of this book (such as the Rite of Wind), as you take appropriate action to remove the beetles from your marigolds.

Slugs:
Lure them into the sun with a mixture of beer and grape juice—and at the same time, consider where in your life you've been lazy and negative.

Weeds:
Your schedule is way too busy, and you've allowed things that mean nothing to take up your valuable time. Think about what you can release, and be sure to give yourself time to peacefully meditate and commune in your garden.

Creeping vines:
You've allowed one particular negative issue or fear to infiltrate your entire lifestyle. Release this issue and make active, aggressive changes to bring harmony into focus.

Fungus and root rot:
You are ignoring your real feelings. Get in touch with them!

White flies and aphids:
You can actually use a DustBuster to suck these babies up, or try the soap-spray recipes given on pages 248–249. In life, however, the appearance of these nasty critters may mean that your thoughts are scattered and rather than accomplishing one thing, you are destroying many good things in your life.

What is that bug?
Not all bugs in the garden are bad ones! If you see a new, unusual bug in your garden, take a picture of it and research the critter on the Net or visit a local greenhouse and ask. Good bugs such as mud wasps and ladybugs actually help to keep your garden healthy. A new bug in the garden means a new opportunity is coming to call. If the bug is helpful to your garden, consider this a good omen. For example, late in the growing season I found amazing, fat caterpillars on my parsley. At first, I was alarmed, but after researching them, I discovered that these caterpillars would turn into beautiful swallowtail butterflies and they don't eat enough to destroy a parsley crop. Not long after, I received a terrific opportunity in my life.

Forgetting to fertilize:
There is something in your life you are refusing to do, and because of this refusal you are not allowing new and fresh opportunities to help you grow. Get out there and fertilize!

Never say: “I don't have any luck with…” and name the plant
. Granted, you have to be aware of the particular environment a plant needs to survive. You can't put a jungle plant outside in the desert without some sort of dramatic hothouse, but in regards to plants native to your environment, there is always a way to raise it, and in doing so, you bring a special measure of Spirit into your life. When I was a little girl, my grandmother had the most beautiful Boston ferns on her porch every year. When I first tried to raise them, they died; so, for years, I passed by these plants longingly at the nursery but never purchased them, fearing that once again I would waste my money. Once I developed the HedgeWitch guide and worked through the material myself, I decided I would be daring and try once again. I bought two beautiful ferns and re-potted them immediately, using organic soil and fish fertilizer, then I blessed them and put them on the back porch. Each week I monitored their progress, moving them on various occasions to different locations on the porch until they seemed happy and settled. By fall, I had the most gorgeous ferns! I learned that people are like plants—we need to change our environment when necessary to that which is most conducive to our personal growth. Now and then, we need a bit of fertilizer (new information) to boost our productivity!

When you are troubled, work in your garden:
Connecting with nature can be one of the most healing activities you will ever try. By concentrating on growth, maintenance, and harvest (depending upon the time of year), you are allowing your mind, body, and spirit to commune directly with Spirit. Sometimes it will take at least thirty minutes for you to get into the swing of nature, but that's okay. Keep at it until your troubles melt away and you are totally concentrated on the garden task at hand. When you are finished for the day, you will find a renewed sense of healing and purpose.

Remove dead and diseased leaves:
Just like in your own life, there are times when your garden plants will need what I call a magickal haircut. Many times a plant isn't dead, even though it looks like it is past all saving. Remove dead, dying, or diseased leaves, apply a remedy if necessary (for example, an organic bug killer), give it a little water and fertilizer, and move the plant to a better location, if necessary. Our lives need to be maintained the same way, especially if we remember that change can always be made to our advantage. Dead-heading flowers, or taking off the dead blooms, encourages new growth in the plant. Dead-heading in our lives can be very advantageous, too. Learn to release so that new growth can take place.