Book Review: Seasons of Moon and Flame by Danielle Dulsky

Seasons of Moon and Flame: The Wild Dreamer’s Epic Journey of Becoming by Danielle Duslky; photo by Mia Arsenault

I just had the pleasure of reading another of Danielle Dulsky’s amazing tomes, Seasons of Moon & Flame The Wild Dreamer’s Epic Journey of Becoming. (Please order through your local bookshop if you can!)

I adored the journey I took through her last book, The Holy Wild, and this one is no different.

First off, here is how the book is set up: each part of the book focuses on one of the elemental/seasonal hags, grannies who will show you how to dig deep into who you are. Within each part, we explore different concepts of being by the changing of the moon. We receive stories from these beloved hags, stories that speak to the deepest truths of the resistance we have to embodying our truest selves. And of overcoming those resistances.

There are rituals and spells to guide you through each moon in each season, simple, yet still steeped in the mysteries of the self. Of discovering what is most important to us, of manifesting those things, and of learning how to let go what doesn’t serve us in order to stay grounded in our true self.

What I really adored about this book is a constant reminder of those who came before us, and those who will come after us. Being ourselves in the moment, the manifestation of our ancestors, and the fact that what we do now will lead to the future world our grandchildren (of course not just of our own flesh) will inherit.

Danielle provides writing prompts in each part. They are set up so that we write out our self-observations, and experiences in a storytelling fashion. This allows us to see the weave of ourselves, our lives.
I’m looking forward to digging into these stories and accompanying spells/practices to explore deeply into my own ideals, my own self-made obstacles, as well as dismantling them, and the ones society has put before us all.

All in all, this is another wonderfully meaty book to help us connect into ourselves, and our own magick. A magick that connects us to our ancestors, and our descendants. A magick to be used to change the world to a place we desire it to be, wild, free, and full of wonder.

November

Happy November, witches!

Just a few things to keep you up to date!

I just released my newsletter, which has info on holiday shopping/shipping, as well as some gift ideas! If you’re not signed up, check out the letter here!

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“Spying Fox” by Mia Arsenault © 2018 Click to view in the shop

I’ve been painting a lot lately, which has been fantastic! I mentioned to a good friend of mine, who I studied music with in college, that it’s been so interesting getting into another creative art where I am so aware of all my thought processes that go into creating something. How I’ve never really done that with music and performance as I’ve been doing that for so long, it’s just ingrained in the whole now unconscious way in which I work with it. It’s pretty cool 🙂

There has also been a lot of magick-making these last few months which has been so refreshing for me. It’s actually been a while since I’ve done some planned and more intense magick. I’ve said before that I am constantly putting magick into all that I do, it’s just part of who I am, however, this focus into it and the things that I am working on have been really good for me. I feel like it has refilled my well a lot, in fact! Huzzah for making magick!

So that’s all for now, loves. Just a quick little update on where I’m at. I have plans to get this blog going again, with both content for the shop and spirituality.

I hope you are doing so very well, and taking the best care of yourself and those you love.

Mia

❤

#30DaysMagicalRoots Challenge Day 30

The Forest Witch © 2017

Day 30: Make a Commitment to Yourself
What practice are you going to continue past this month? Take a few minutes today to write about your journey over the last 30 days and see how this challenge has affected your spiritual practice. Are there things you want to keep from this challenge? How have your thoughts changed about yourself and your Craft?

Although it took well over a month, I have really enjoyed getting back to performing some sort of spiritually or witchy nourishing thing each day. It’s funny, because as I look back over the 30 days of things to do, the first ones are the most important to me: grounding & centering/breath-work. I think those have always been important for how I handle myself not only in spiritual situations, but just everyday situations as well.

I always think that I’m not doing enough, and it turns out that actively thinking about all the things that I do do… well, it’s enough. Being spiritual doesn’t have to be a big dramatic thing every day. That’s what creating a ritual is for. Even spellcraft doesn’t have to be dramatic, mine usually never is. It’s quiet words spoken over candles, incense, herbs, and crystals deep in the night, and soft music in the background.

I do enjoy more formal ritual, but I have to finally admit to myself that I enjoy it much more if I’m with people (how I miss the Cov <3). So this whole process has really just let me see that I already am doing what I need to do to keep my foundations strong. That I have a lot of power within me, and can work with the power inherent in everything else just as easily. With many thanks, of course.

Thanks so much to Plentiful Earth for this wonderful challenge! ❤

#30DaysMagicalRoots Challenge Day 26

Day 26: Craft a Sigil
Craft a sigil that represents the path you are on or the path you want to follow. This is a deeply personal creation so put some thought into it. (Recommended Resource: Practical Sigil Magic by Frater U.D.)

This is my most important sigil, and yes, it is also my shop’s logo! Of course it is, what kind of witch would I be if everything wasn’t meaningful and full of intent? 😉

When I was designing it, I was tempted to go the usual route of runes, or simple symbols incorporated into the sigil. However, as I am always pulled to do, I decided to go with what appealed to me the most, the thing that resonated with me the most, and of course, not necessarily the easiest thing to recreate off hand.

To me, this sigil looks very Elven, which evokes a sense of magick, especially magick in everything. The flowing lines in themselves represent something that begins as a small point, a small idea, at the bottom, and grows upwards. Like a seed rooting down, supported by the earth’s nutrients, waters, and the plants that grew and died to provide new life.

The small plant in the center has three leaves. For me, that initially represents an idea growing stronger. The two leaves that always pop out first for any seedling to provide a wide and strong foundation for receiving the sun’s rays. The third leaf, a sign of growing and reaching higher towards full potential.

The surrounding lines/vines also represent the flow and protection of magick, the things that nourish the plant in the center, physically, spiritually. Then near the top of the vines, they create a crescent moon shape. The moon has always been important in my own practice, the energy that I’ve pulled down and worked with, that has been woven through my life and actions. I love the imagery of the magick of the vines flowing up through the moon and up into the expanse above. That my magick flows out into the universe, nourished by it, and supplying nourishment for others.

 

So while I do very much enjoy sigils made with bits of established symbols, and the idea of sharing magick and symbolism with my fellow witches, I think this sigil for me is so very personal, incredibly representative of my own energy, my own views, and sends that energy out, of wanting to connect and create happiness and growth in the world.

 

Just go do this challenge already! You can find it at Plentiful Earth ❤

#30DaysMagicalRoots Challenge Days 10 & 11

Day 10: Herb/Plant/Tree
Choose a plant ally to connect with. Or let one choose you! More information on being chosen by a plant here: 6 Signs a Plant Wants to Make Magic with You.

This one doesn’t even take any thinking at all, though I have many favourite trees and plants, my ally has always been Willow. As a kid, they were my favourite trees to climb, and I was fortunate enough to have had many around. I have sat in their wooded arms to cry, to sing, to reflect on many a thing, to cast spells. Not to mention the Disney movie Pochahontas really solidified that love of Willow trees, who wouldn’t want a badass, tells it how it is but in a sweet kind of way, grandmother Willow?

Day 11: Write a spell and perform it

This spell plays right into my love of the Willow tree, and is quite simple.

Materials:
-a leaf (can be of your own tree/plant ally, or something that fits your purpose)
-a tall place, preferably over running water, but anywhere high is just fine

Instructions:
1. Find a fallen leaf from your chosen plant/tree. Thank the spirit of the leaf. Bring it with you to a high place, I love the bridges over the Saugeen river here.

2. Stand with the leaf in your hands, looking at it and focusing your intent into it. Ask the spirit the leaf comes from to help your intent to manifest. You can also ask for any worry to be taken with the leaf when you let it float away.

3. Once you feel your intent is fully imbued into the leaf, let it float down and away from you. Since I have the river below, I can watch my leaf, my wish, be carried away downstream, taken to where it needs to go to do its work. It’s also a fantastic imagery of it being taken into the Astral where the magick can set itself to work once I can no longer physically see the leaf.

4. Thank the spirit of the plant/tree for helping with your purpose.

 

If you’d like to follow along with Plentiful Earth’s #30DaysMagicalRoots challenge, don’t fret about being late! I think the most important part is that you can do this at any time, and reconnect with your magical self, or build that foundation of small daily practices. ❤

#30DaysMagicalRoots Day 4: Intention

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen my post today about setting my intention for the day of do all the things. And I did! It was very busy with bagging all the teas for the craft fair next week, weeding a large part of the garden, and helping my tomato plants that were blown over.  The thunderstorm energy really helped give that extra boost to get. shit. done.

Day 4 INTENTIONS
Set your intention for this challenge. What do you hope to get out of it? Our intentions are so important when it comes to magic. You must have a clear vision in order to proceed with the action. (Make one or two concrete goals: for example, “I’d like to create a simple daily magical routine for myself” or “I’d like to try three new magical techniques before the end of the month.”)

So the day’s intention was set and met, I would say! But now for the intention for this challenge…

What do I hope to get out of it? I think to live a more magickal life via simple daily practice, even just grounding/centering. Not only this, but to also continue to do the personal work to align myself better to my ideals, which will allow my magick to flow much more easily into the physical world. These things don’t have to be huge and all-time consuming, they just have to be.

I think I also want to set daily intentions. Simple though, of course, but getting myself in the right frame of mind for what the day holds.

If you’re following along with the challenge, what is your intention for the month?

YouTube Pagan Challenge – Week 10

I chat about moon phases and how that affects my practice.

 

❤

Dark Moon Tea

Take a walk in the starlit sky, there’s no moonlight to illuminate your path this night. The scent of earth and crushed berries will guide you to your place of power.

Honeybush tea provides a sweet and fruity base, complimenting elderberries, and a hint of raspberry. Mugwort adds a subtle earthy herbiness to the blend, ensuring you know that this is a cup from the wild, dark wood, meant for midnight rituals among the trees.

You can find my Dark Moon tea here, and more magickal teas here.

 

Also!! I have created a separate listing for samples as having to issue refunds for shipping overages just takes up way too much time! You can find the listing here. In the listing, you will find a list of all teas I offer as samples, then once you know what you want, order the number you want, and leave a note to seller at checkout of which blends you’d like sent your way! Pretty simple, and much more efficient!
Efficiency is very important. *nods*

Taking Time for Paris

I’m taking a few moments this morning for some prayers, though I’ll likely be talking to my Gods all day long about this atrocious attack.

I think now’s a good time for all of us to pray to our Gods, or work some magick, to wipe the extremist ISIL fucks from the face of our planet.

My thoughts and love are with you, Paris. ❤

Reading for the Week – Sept 21-27

Beginning of the Week
IX Bows – Dedication
This week seems to be all about action, doing what you’ve set out to with all the fiery bows!
This particular card tells us to make sure we continue honing our skills, because most skills will never be completely mastered, there are always new ways, new hidden mysteries to be discovered about our chosen skills. While on the outside, it may seem like we effortlessly perform our chosen skill, we know ourselves how much time, how much frustration, and how long the road has been to come to this point, and how much farther we will always have to go.

Mid Week
VII Bows – Clearance
A very appropriate card as the Autumnal Equinox falls mid week. It is time to let go of what no longer serves you. Harvest what you can of it, and burn the rest away. We cannot move forward very far, or with much motivation to continue moving forward when we have to worry about carrying so much that we tire quickly and abandon the future.
Let it go.

End of Week
Queen Bows – Hare
There is the potential to work powerful magick come the weekend (making perfect sense as it is the full moon, as well as a lunar eclipse… and look at that beautiful moon in the card!). Nurture your potential, ensure that you are bringing peace into your life, as that will spread and touch those around you, allowing for it to weave a cozy blanket of love, peace and warmth for the coming months as the weather turns cold (in the Northern hemisphere), and we do more inner work as well as spend time with family and friends for the holidays.

It seems the cards are very in tune with the changing of the seasons and the final harvests to come. I hope your week is lovely, dear gentle readers! And remember, if you are interested in a reading, please visit my Etsy shop, The Forest Witch.