By Silvered Water & Dappled Shores...

Dearest friend,

In my last letter to you, my family and I had just begun our long journey across country. The drive proved to be far more event-filled than hoped for. Within the first hour, we were forced to detour a few hours in order to cross a nearby gorge as the nearest bridge was under construction -with no way across and no signs or notice. This necessitated a truly impressive Y turn by my husband with our rather large tiny traveling house (35 feet long!) The necessary detour took us down a winding dirt road through the mountains with far steeper climbs than we were hoping to have to make.

Dirt roads in the desert are deceptive, especially the ones that aren’t currently washed out. They can look solid but the smallest bit of weight can cause you to begin sinking into the dirt and sand. Now, picture that with the combined weight of a tiny house and large truck. Picture that with a steep upward climb, the tires of the house sinking into the soft dirt, causing the truck to lose traction just as quickly as it gains it.

But, our truck is a good truck, a trusty truck, a much beloved and so very praised for her efforts truck. And with a family of witches within her, chanting and pulling with her, we made it over far too many hills and finally found ourselves through that particular mountain pass.

The next few days were filled with breakdowns. A heater that wouldn’t work no matter how much the fluffy snow and below-freezing temperatures taunted us. (Mind you, the week before we left, the temperatures had been 90+. Suddenly finding ourselves a few thousand feet higher in elevation and a few hundred miles further north left no time to acclimate.) The drive train breaking mid-turn in a busy intersection in Nowhere Texas. A break that kept seizing and demanded replacement.

(Moving in a Z from the upper left to lower right.) After a stressful start to our trip, my family and I stopped for a couple of days in Kansas at a tiny city park. The kids fished in the lake (1st pic) and I got reacquainted with some long-missed plant friends (2nd pic.) Of course, the monsterman did his best to play in every puddle he could find -even after being told to stop and being half undressed because he was soaking wet (3rd pic.) The journey finally over (for now!) my family and I are now parked beside a new lake (4th pic) in Wisconsin. Here's hoping this trip will be smooth!

But the drive smoothed out afterward, with a definitive turn of events that only made the importance of this trip so very much more prominent. My family and I finally arrived at our destination the day before yesterday. Although we are still working on getting the house set up and reorganized after the drive, already, everything is different.

We are staying on my husband’s family’s land. A lake filled with fish. Hundreds of acres of forest I can wander through, wildcrafting and foraging to my heart’s content. And my stepson returned to live with us once more, making seven children now.

I am thankful that, as much as everything is clearly changing, old cycles achieving firm closure, new cycles whispering from the peripheral, the pace so far is gentle. I am slowly getting caught up on all the things that get delayed by a week-long drive with six kids, a dog, and all the stress that comes with such. And all the while, I can only remain watchful of that peripheral, of the things that linger just on the edges.

We live in potent times, friend. There is so very much stirring right now...

Introduction to Spellcraft starts in 2 weeks!

This is my largest and most intensive course, with 8 weekly lessons that not only dig into magickal theory but help you to see the ways in which you can more frequently -and more effectively- apply magick throughout your life.

This isn’t just another collection of bullshit candle spells and affirmations but a get-your-hands-dirty straight witchcraft approach to seizing your power and making changes in your life for no other reason than because you want those changes.

We’ll look at...

the importance of language and how it defines the parameters of our thoughts and, thus, what we’re capable of achieving with our magick.
how to more effectively focus your spells and how to plan your magick for the long term in order to achieve those Big Goals.
a variety of ways to harness the power of the Moon to boost your spells.

But, rather than just throw a bunch of info at you and hope it sticks, Introduction to Spellcraft is a hands-on course packed with exercises to hone your abilities, encourage innovation in spellwork, and get you actively casting spells each week.

Although you can go through this course on your own, this is a lot of information, so you’ll have access to unlimited email support along with live weekly chats with others taking the course. The chats are possibly the best part about the course as we all share our experiences and the results of our spells. There is such a strong feeling of community and friendship knowing that there are other witches you can talk to, each week, who are going through the same material and working the same exercises as you.

I hope you’ll be able to join, friend! Due to the size and intensity of this course, Introduction to Spellcraft is only available during set runs to allow for the weekly text chats. This course will not be offered again this year.

To Silver Water...

For this month’s Full Moon letter, I wanted to share with you one of the exercises from an Introduction to Spellcraft. This is from Lesson 2: Going with the Flow.

Silvering Water

As much as the importance of exact timing was stressed earlier, there is a way to capture the power of the Full Moon to use for future spells. This is especially recommended when, astrologically, a Full Moon will carry a lot of extra heft to it. This is through silvering water.

Silvering water is a simple process, with two means of achievement. Silver has strong associations with the Moon so water that has been silvered is water that has been imbued with the energy of the Full Moon.

The traditional way to silver water is to go out to a natural water source, such as a river or lake, with a bowl. Hold the bowl with your hands or perch it in the crook of a stang and “catch” the Moon’s reflection on the water into that bowl. Alternately, fill a bowl with water, go outside, and hold the bowl so that the Moon’s reflection catches in the bowl. It is not enough for the light to touch it, you must catch the reflection. See it and feel that lunar energy flowing and oozing its way into the water, rendering it something alive and potent.

Transfer your silvered water to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and be sure to label it (Silvered Water, Full Moon, 5/17/19.) Don’t ever let direct sunlight touch the water or its power will be lost.

This water can be applied to candles prior to spells, onto charm bags, charmed objects, spirit houses, and yourself to tap into that specific energy of that specific Full Moon, adding a strong boost to magick. A few drops are all you need.

Tonight’s Full Moon comes at the end of such an intense week, I’m almost afraid of what more it could hold! Occurring in Scorpio, that intensity really doesn’t come as a surprise but it does make it the perfect opportunity to silver water using the methods outlined above. If you’d like to learn more ways to work with the Moon and apply its energy in your spellwork, definitely sign up for Introduction to Spellcraft. Lesson 1 goes out on June 3 -just after the Dark Moon and in time for the New Moon.

Until next time,
Althaea

Althaea Sebastiani is a spirit-led witch of over two decades of practice. Her witchcraft is heavily land-based, focused on building a relationship with the spirits of the land wherever her travels take her.

When not writing or cavorting with spirits, Althaea spends her time wrangling six half-feral children with her husband, wandering about the West in a tiny traveling home, and living off-grid in the wilderness.

Learn more about Althaea here.

With an emphasis on common sense, practicality, and a no-excuses approach to witchcraft, this book will help you to look at your spiritual protection needs for your home more objectively and to devise an immediate pant of action using materials you already have on hand.

Available on Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and all other major ebook retailers.