A New Year

How was your Samhain? If you were lucky, like my friend Deborah Blake, you had snow on the ground for ritual. I know it's not exactly the weather we want for the biggest ritual of the season, but if the weather cooperates, I don't think there's anything quite so peaceful as a dark sky full of stars above and a blanket of snow beneath... and stillness all around. It's like the polar opposite of a raging thunderstorm for me.

For my Samhain, I had neither. What I did manage to do was finally get my altar the way I wanted it. Well except for the lack of candles. I can not believe with all the candles I have in this house - and in my ritual cabinet - I didn't have a single Yellow or Gold. :: shakes head in disbelief ::: But otherwise, I finally have a permanent altar. I've warned hubby NOTHING gets put on it.

So tomorrow when I go on a Quilt Shop Hop I'm going to buy the candle colors I need - at least two sets. I want to have a set I can use for a temporary altar. Hubby is gone 3 weeks at a time and home 3 weeks. It's part of his job as a river boat captain we've lived with for years. When he's gone, I can get up in the morning and visit the bedroom altar. But when he's home, he likes to sleep in at least til 8 and I'm an early riser. So I'm putting together a altar box I can keep in the living room and use a TV tray in front of the big East facing picture window.

As the holiday candles hit the shelves, now is the time to pick up the Gold and Silver candles in particular. With Halloween behind us, now is also the time to pick up the black and orange ones going on clearance. Learning from my own lesson, it's one of the things I'll stress in The Organized Witch.

As soon as I have those candles in place, I'll post a pic of my altar. I'd love to hear about yours. Is it traditional or is it more eclectic with things that mean something to you personally?

The Organized Witch - the Basic Tools

One of the things I'll be focusing on is preparing Ritual Caskets. If you don't already know, Ritual Caskets are baskets/boxes/containers that hold all of the basics for a specific ritual or ceremony.

We will discuss the contents for each Ritual Casket as we go along. You might find some information for materials you hadn't been aware of. To create Ritual Caskets, I'm suggesting those plastic shoe boxes you find at discount stores for under $1. Most are clear and have a snap-on lid. You're also going to want to create labels for them. You can use your printer and rubber stamps and get as artistic as you want. Make them yours!

The neat thing about Ritual Caskets is they are portable. You won't have to go through your entire supply cabinet to pull out what you need. If you're doing a Full Moon, pull out the casket already filled with those supplies.

The other thing you'll learn as we go is that some things you'll need in your caskets are only available at specific times of year. Unless you have access to a candle shop, for example, have you ever tried finding a black candle in July? What if you plan to do a banishing spell? Do you have everything you need?

Beginning with Yule preparation, we'll start talking about each Ritual Casket two weeks ahead of time. We'll discuss the contents, possible suppliers and Ritual content. This will give you plenty of time to shop for supplies. If you have a supplier you work with and recommend, please share them here. I'm looking for suppliers to share but want to provide quality to my readers.

Remember the 'Harm None' creed. Please don't post negative comments about someone or place. If someone posts a recommendation and you've had problems with, please email me off-list - LdyRainLyte@yahoo.com so I might follow-up in private.

The Organized Witch - Intro

Merry Meet everyone!

With this post we begin the journey into what I hope will be my first non-fiction book and my first on the Craft. The concept of the book is to take us through the wheel, beginning with Samhain. We will travel through the Sabbats, Esbats and various other rituals in a creatively organized fashion.

The idea came to me when participating in a group that helped us pre-plan for non-pagan holidays, mainly Christmas. I was amazed at how much smoother the holidays ran when I wasn't stressing out over not having everything I needed when the time came. Imagine being prepared for Ritual ahead of time!

We know we are more receptive to what the Goddess and God have to share if we are relaxed and open. 'Relaxed and Open' do not describe the witch who suddenly realizes she doesn't have the proper candle color or enough essential oil fragrance required for Ritual.

Add stress to this if you are in a 'blended' family. A family situation where you are still committed to 'traditional' holidays and all their trappings, while trying to practice your own beliefs. Now you are trying to make sure you have everything in place for those AND yours.

I am a strong believer in planning ahead. In fact, the original working title for this book was to be 'A Year and A Day: The Practical Practicioner's Guide to Practical Practice'. Quite a mouthful, huh? :-) So as we walk through this project together, I'm receptive to a title I hope the publisher will let me keep when the time comes. For now, let's just call it, 'The Organized Witch'.

Along the way I hope to bring in guest bloggers. Some names you will know and others I look forward to introducing to you. These will be extras just for you taking this journey with me. Please thank them by commenting on their posts and visiting their websites. If you buy their books, that will be an added bonus for them.

I hope you find a nugget or two in this process - or a whole cauldron full of good stuff that will help you on your Magikal Journey.