Intention Setting

Well hello there beautiful! I wanted to get into a subject that is very controversial in the Wiccan community but I really think it needs to be addressed, especially for the newcomers to this path. Ever since I started dabbling into Wicca I’ve noticed there have been all kinds of goodies available online to our community that help aid spell, ritual, and divination work. I’ve also noticed that a lot of these items only come with a couple materials, or only come as themselves without any type of documentation or instructions on how to use or empower it. I want to say strongly that no matter what item you buy online, no matter how much it states that it has been empowered by some mystical 5th generation witch, when it comes to you doing a specific spell for you - that witch has not made that personal connection with your intention. They do not know exactly how much you desire this outcome. They could cast a small spell to bring the new owner of this item what they wish for the highest good of all, but no magical intention will be as strong as you manifesting it for yourself. When it comes to wanting something in life, no one is going to want it as badly as you do, so when someone says something will bring you all that you desire if you “make this purchase” it is generally left up to you to manifest that magic. I have seen countless people angry about a spell not working, or that they purchased a little spell pack that had herbs and a candle, etc. They “preformed” the spell without manifesting any desire or intention setting and expected it to work - only to realize that it didn’t. Then, in turn, the seller ends up getting burned for promoting “faulty” products. 

When you are a seller in the Wiccan community, it is your obligation to provide your buyers with the necessary steps for them to complete their spell. It takes a long time to learn about all of the different correspondences, and most of all, how to set a proper intention. We were all new to this path at some point and had to learn with trial and error, but I think if you have the knowledge you should be willing to share it. I wanted to share some steps with you on how to set a proper intention when casting a spell. I hope it helps aid your work, and remember to always keep the highest good of all in mind. 

Intention Setting:

First off, what I like to do is cleanse myself physically. I do this by taking a nice relaxing bath or shower. I even go to the extent of filling a small muslin bag with coarse sea salt and cleansing herbs. I wash my whole body with this, and just take the time to relax and let my mind go for a small amount of time. Its so important to prep yourself before setting an intention. Its also especially important to be in the right state of mind. If you want to manifest something when you’re upset, or angry - don’t. You will only regret it later, and you could end up hurting someone. The last thing you want to do is hurt another or yourself. 

Next, I like to dress in something comfortable and cool. I don’t want to be wearing anything constricting or uncomfortable - because when setting an intention your mind needs to be completely focused. 

After dressing, its good to always preform a light meditation of some kind. Grounding and centering is honestly one of my favorite meditations. There’s so many different ways you can do it, and after you will feel absolutely incredible. I do want to press though that it does take quite some time to master meditation - don’t give up the first few tries just because your mind tends to wander.

You also can cleanse your area if you like with some kind of smudging tool or spray. I offer a special cleansing crystal essence spray in my store if you are interested. Some people can’t stand the smell of white sage, so its often a better solution to try and purchase some kind of spray, but whatever works best for you is whats most important.

After, you are ready to begin your spell. You can get all your items together, make sure not to leave anything behind, and then cast your sacred space. Once circle casting (I’ve written a blog post about different types of circle casting as well so please be sure to take the time to read it if you need some suggestions! http://wildwood-creations.blogspot.com ), be sure to let your mind go. Try to stare at a candle flame - that always helps me. It will let your inhibitions go, and you will be ready to set your intention.

Once you’re in a calm, relaxed state of mind, start focusing on your desire as if it already has been achieved. For instance, if you want to become pregnant - focus on having a big pregnant tummy, watching the little one move inside of you, your loved ones touching your tummy, seeing a beautiful new nursery - think of all of the things that would happen if it came to pass. This is the most important part of intention setting. Once you’ve thought hard about all of those wonderful things that can come along with your desire - thank the universe, state that you want it for the highest good of all, and so mote it be. 

It does take some time to really achieve the proper mental state to set intention but it will definitely come with practice. I have done many success and prosperity spells in my past, and they have all worked wonderfully. Just be patient with yourself, and trust that you can manifest whatever you desire in this world. You can do it, and I believe in you. I hope this has been helpful, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Updates for May

Hello everyone! Goodness have I been super busy lately! I ended up adding a Terms & Ethics page for my readings, got my garden going, I've made candles, herbal sets, and all kinds of goodies I've added to the store and have sold already! I am very happy with how everything is coming together, and your continued support is greatly appreciated. If you would like to have a reading with me, please go to my Reading store that's located on my Facebook page

Http://Facebook.com/WildwoodCreationsHome

There, I have a few kinds of readings available, but I mostly offer custom readings for clients. I like to make my own spreads to help you manifest your goals and target specific things that may be important to you. Please take the short time to read through my Terms & Ethics page before purchasing a reading to make sure I am the right reader for you. Blessed be beautiful souls!

Hello beautiful souls! I figured I would give an update about my store. I am switching platforms because it has recently come to my attention that the platform I was using was having technical difficulties and clients were unable to purchase items. I am currently switching to a much smoother platform, and I hope that you will be ordering from me soon! I also was able to add black salt to my store and at a very reasonable price! Please don't hesitate to go check that out as well.

Check out what's new in the store!

I also want to say thank you so much for being patient with the transition. I will have it done as soon as I possibly can. Blessed be and I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Different Ways to Cast a Circle

Well hello there beautiful souls! I really enjoyed writing the last article I wrote about asking for help from Gods and Goddesses you haven’t yet made a connection with so much to the point that I would like to write another. I asked some of my closest friends as well as people on my Wildwood Creations Facebook page what they would like some information on, and I was asked about how to carve out sacred space for ritual and spell work. I think this is a wonderful topic to discuss because there are so many different ways to go about casting a circle. There is the more physical approach where you can go about using a wand, athame, or your finger to carve out sacred space or you can do it by using your mind. I’ve tried both approaches and I’ve noticed what works best for me is using my mind. Some people prefer to do it physically, and there’s nothing wrong with either approach but I’d like to go over the details of both so that you can try them and see which one works best for you.

First, we will go with the more common of the two, and that is carving out space physically. To do this, you would get your ritual items set up in a certain way, get all of your tools together, and make absolutely sure that you will not need anything from outside the circle during the ritual. For people that have colored candles that they can put in each corner of their circle that mark North, East, South, and West, that’s wonderful but it is not required. As long as you know where those directions are, you are all set. Also, I have heard people cutting open a door to leave and come back, but I think the most respectful way to carve out sacred space is to have everything you need with you, so that you can stay in that moment while you preform spell work (even if its tissues cause you have a runny nose, lol, make sure you have it on you!). Once you have your tools in place, you have done your physical cleansing (such as taking a ritual preparation bath or shower) and you are now to the point where you would like to begin; you would start with your wand/athame/finger, and starting at the North end of the circle you would mentally conjure up a beam of light from the end of your tool (athame/wand/etc.) and you would slowly walk in a circle in the center of your space, envisioning that light carving out space around you to complete your circle. Some people use a line marker such as ribbon or sea salt so they know where the edge of the circle is, and they just mark the circle before they start casting it. That definitely helps when you’re creating space in the physical realm and I highly suggest it, especially if you’re new to creating space. Once your circle has been created this area is now sacred. You would light any candles in your sacred space and burn any loose herbs or incense as well. After you have prepared those tools, you would now call the corners. Calling upon the Guardians allows you to consecrate your sacred space. Simply casting the circle just carves out that specific area you want to create ritual in, but you must cleanse and protect that space as well. To do this, you would start by saying “Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, South, East, and West - I call upon you to guard and protect me and my space. Come forward and be one with me. Guardian of the South, lend me your passion. Guardian of the North, lend me your stability. Guardian of the Guardian of the West, lend me your intuition, and Guardian of the East, lend me your intelligence.” Now this can be changed any way you like as long as you call upon each of the Guardians. They are there to help you with your ritual work, and to make sure nothing negative can enter your circle. Just make sure that whatever work you are about to preform you have your heart and soul into it. No intention can truly be set without the passion and desire for the outcome. That’s another reason why I want to write an article about intention setting but thats for another time. Once you’ve called upon the Guardians you can proceed with any ritual work you have planned. It can be as simple or elaborate as you like, and can have as many tools or correspondences as well. Just make sure that when you cast the circle you are in the right state of mind beforehand. Casting when you are upset, or emotionally distraught is not good whatsoever because you might end up doing something you will severely regret. Only cast when you are in the right state of mind. To achieve this, its always a great idea to start with a light meditation. Grounding and centering is a wonderful way to rid your body of any pent up negative energies that have accumulated over time. You can also smudge yourself with many different kinds of loose herbs depending on what your intentions are for the work you’re about to create. 

Next, I’d like to go over how to cast a circle in the mental realm. I personally like this way better because I am a very imaginative being and my mind can create the perfect place for me to create ritual. Now, I know a lot of people that may be new to this might be saying “Oh my, but how is she supposed to carve space out without an athame, and candles, and all of those goodies?” I want to say now, that it is wonderful to have an altar, and metaphysical tools. I have plenty myself, and often create crystal essence sprays, salves, powders etc. to help aid my work. However, there’s just something different about creating magic from the mental realm. I think its more emotive and I believe more passion and intention is created with this process. Others may feel entirely different though, it all depends on the person and the way they like to create their space. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks or what you think someone else would like. Its your space, your individual time to set intention. You decide what works for you, and the best way to do that is try different ways. For starters, I like to prepare by taking a ritual preparation shower and just cleanse myself with sea salt and herbs that have been tied inside either an organza bag or a washcloth. This helps get me into that frame of mind and makes me feel as if my body is completely cleansed. Once that is done, I will go about getting together the tools that I would like to have during my ritual if there are any. I definitely love to have incense burning, it helps me get into that magical state of mind while preforming spell work. I also might have a crystal that a hold during this process. If I have previously created a mojo bag or poppet of some kind I will have that with me as well. Then, I just get a comfortable pillow to sit upon, and place myself in a space I find most comfortable. I like to be near my altar while creating space. I find it comforting, but it can be done anywhere. Outside, or inside. As long as you're in a place you won’t be disturbed, you should be all set to cast your circle. Once I get my incense going, and I’ve done a light meditation to calm and free my mind (which I highly recommend if you’re going to be doing any mental work), I start by sitting, facing North. You, however, can always sit in any direction you choose especially if you want to attract certain elements from each of the directions such as passion from the south, for increasing your connection to your intuition - you would face west, if you wanted to work on the physical realm such as enhancing your business you would face North, and so on. Its just another thing I have found helpful along the way. Once you are comfortably seated, you will have to close your eyes. Picture a place that you would love to cast your circle in. A natural place would be best. Some place in the woods, by the ocean, anywhere you feel most comfortable being. Picture yourself sitting there, with your eyes closed, and what you would do is imagine yourself casting the circle by starting from the North corner. You would circle slowly around using any tool you’d like and picture a light beam coming from the end of your tool carving out sacred space around you. Maybe it leaves a burn mark where you have carved your space. Let your imagination run free, (also this is a wonderful way to build up your intuition and mental abilities as well) and go with what feels right for you. Once that circle is complete, you would call upon the Guardians of the Watchtowers. You could imagine in each corner the particular element conjuring itself such as a small flame floating in the south, wind blowing towards the east, a crystal floating in the north end, and water as well in the west. There are so many different ways to do this though. You can actually picture cloaked beings standing at each direction guarding over your circle. The possibilities are endless when it comes to casting your circle in your mind. Once this is completed, you can work on creating your spell or ritual. 

I personally think that both ways are wonderful and each of them have different benefits. I’m a very intuitive person, so I really love to use my mind to carve sacred space. Its very exhausting work though, I must admit. Either though can bring wonderful things into your life. Just make sure before you complete your spell you say “For the good of all, and may harm come to none. So mote it be.” That will protect your loved ones and anyone else from being harmed by the spell you cast, even if you don’t think it will, I suggest you say it regardless. I hope this has been an insightful read for you, and thank you so much for taking the time out to go over different ways on casting a circle. Blessed be beautiful souls!

Asking for Help from Goddesses & Gods Without Developing a Relationship First - Tisk Tisk

So today I had the pleasure of reading a very thought-provoking article that has resonated quite deeply with me. I know that a lot of younger people in the craft as well as people who may be new to it might not understand the level of respect that's necessary, and because of that people tend to make mistakes or underestimate how much work is required before summoning deities for help. There have been countless times I have been scrolling in the Witchy groups on Facebook that I belong to and have seen posts such as "Which Goddess do I need to summon to find my true love?" or "Which God do I need to call upon for my business to thrive?" I have to say, I never truly encountered the questions or ever gave feedback to them because I know we are all new to our paths at one point or another, but a blogger by the name of Amor et Mortem (which I will post the link below) really got me interested in giving my two cents about this particular subject as well as some insight. I've always been pretty introverted when it comes to my beliefs, but this particular subject is something that really needs to be shined upon more, especially with such limited knowledge and resources when it comes to the Wiccan and/or Witchy paths. From my personal perspective, when I started dabbling into Wicca and really gave thought to getting more in depth; I was extremely overwhelmed by all of the knowledge/books/websites/groups/blogs/videos etc. that were out there. There are a lot of opinions too, which tend to collide with others. Certain forms of belief tend to not resonate with others or could be completely opposite, so when I started I figured the best possible way to generate my own set of ethics was to read, read, read as much as possible about absolutely everything having to do with Wicca. I read book after book, and on many occasions I have seen one Witch have a completely different view on something that another Witch ended up having. Its hard when you're trying to learn about an actual belief system when there's no real set type of official forms of belief. I know we have the Rede and don't get me wrong, I believe whole-heartedly in it, and all that it has to offer, but when we look at other forms of religious paths we can see that there is one particular central aspect of each of those religions, say for instance, the Christian Bible. This is partially due because Wicca is a newer path, and I think a lot of people tend to get misconstrued that it is the oldest religion in the history of time. Paganism itself is the oldest religion. I think that because we lack a general type of system, we tend to be more free with our path and in a way, that's what I absolutely love about Wicca. Its ability to adapt and for you to be free with who you are, what you believe, what you do, as long as the Rede is abided by (at least in my opinion). We can be eclectic solitaries or be the high priestess of a very traditional Gardnerian coven. The thing that hinders Wicca is the fact that there isn't enough knowledge on particular forms of spiritual connection/deity connection. There's a lot of beginners books on herbal correspondences and essential oils, how to create your own spells, and the moon cycles, planets, what they can do for us, how they can aid us, when is the best time to cast, etc. The thing that I think should be one of the most important lessons when it comes to Wicca is how to really, truly, build a long-lasting heartfelt relationship with deity. When most Wiccans first start out they tend to start building a relationship with Goddess as a whole. No particular Goddess from any pantheon, simply Goddess. Same thing with God, however over time you might feel particularly called to a certain type of God or Goddess. You might feel there are signposts, for instance, the two Ravens from Zeus. You might start seeing two ravens around on a repetitive basis and feel there's something deeper there. You might have a dream where a certain Goddess comes to you in your sleep, such as Hecate. Maybe during a meditation you might be approached by Athena. There are many ways that a particular God or Goddess will try and reach out to you, and the deeper your spirituality goes the more likely you are to develop a relationship with deity. I know that it can be tempting when suffering a type of crisis where you need help and you feel the push to call upon a certain deity that you've quickly researched to try and fix whatever is troubling you, but that is really not the way to approach that situation at all. Most likely, you won't be heard, or even sadly, ignored. You haven't formed a relationship, so there's no possible reason, no matter what spell is cast, no matter what you do in that particular moment for that deity to aid your troubles. I know it can sound harsh, but because of this, I wanted to talk about why its not helpful, and I also want to give some ways that you can start forming a long-lasting and meaningful relationship with deity.

First of all, I want to stress that forming a relationship with anyone is a process, especially when it comes to deity. It is going to take time, work, love, and most importantly, consistency. If you just call upon Goddess to help you and never bother to give her offerings at your altar, pray to her, and give thanks to her when things go right to acknowledge it is because of her those wonderful things happen, you will get exactly what you are putting out. If all you do is take, you're not going to be heard or helped when you are in a grave situation, and that is a very scary and lonely place to be. You need to cultivate a relationship and to do that there are actually quite a few ways. You can connect with deity through the use of divination such as tarot to hear messages from her, you can leave offerings on your altar such as a pretty flower you come across (and harvest respectfully of course), you can light a candle and incense every day on your altar. There are countless ways to let deity know you are always appreciative and respectful of all that she accumulates for you. Offering your thanks every full moon is a wonderful way as well, and make sure you do what feels right to you. You don't have to spend every single extra moment you have kneeling before your altar, but just taking a few minutes a day or whenever possible is meaningful enough. At first it will be different, but before you know it it will become a part of your being. Every day I light a candle on my main altar for Goddess as a reminder of all that I have become while walking this path. No matter what may be going on at this time, no matter how horrible the situation may be, you will get through it, and it may be hard, it may take time, but don't simply give up on your path because you weren't heard from a deity you decided to recently try to connect with. It could take some time, but anything that is worth it does. Just know that you are not alone, and Goddess is always listening. She won't let you take on too much or whatever you cannot fully handle. <3 I hope this was insightful and helpful to anyone new on the path, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to comment below. Blessed be beautiful souls!

Article by Amor et Mortem: https://amoretmortem.wordpress.com/2016/05/06/our-gods-are-not-vending-machines/

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New Tarot-Inspired Goodies!

Hello lovely souls! I have to admit, I am more that just a little bit excited for today! Not only is it Mother's Day, but I have finally added another type of set to my store! It is a Tarot/Oracle Deck Set! It includes all kinds of amazing goodies to enhance your readings! I have made a Psychic-Enhancing & Energy Clearing crystal essence spray that consists of water that's been bathed in the light of the full moon and also using the direct method I soaked both a crystal quartz and amethyst in the water as well so it could absorb its energies. Along with that, I've added bergamot and frankincense essential oil for their metaphysical properties! It smells wonderful and I think I am going to make myself a batch as well. Also I have added a rather large reading cloth that is double-lined and features two cords so that the cloth can double as a deck holder when reading on the go. I have included a beautiful handmade amethyst pendulum that I put together myself, a crystal quartz raw stone, a palo santo stick with earth-friendly matches and 3 vials. Two vials have black salt and white sage, and the last vial is available so that you can fill it with any goodies you'd like to have with you while reading. All of these goodies come with a beautiful hand-painted triple moon matching latching box.
 I also ended up making a beautiful Tarot deck holder that's double-lined as well. It features the same beautiful shimmery purple and black fabrics I've used in the set and the sides of the actual deck pouch have been double-stitched by hand to enhance the quality and make it a long-lasting reading cloth that you will have for a long time to come!
I am so happy how these came out, and I can't wait to make more. I did buy another box, so as soon as I purchase some more fabric I will be making another set too! It's definitely been a beautiful day, and I hope all of you have a beautiful Mother's Day if you're as blessed as I am with a little one(s). Blessed be sacred souls!