Cauldroneers
Prompts 2. Sunday 26th November 2017 - The 2nd prompt will be... Cleanse,
Consecrate and Charge as well as write a Book Blessing and/or
Dedication. & About me.. Signs, Elements, Correspondences,
Stones etc.
Ok so
Prompt 2 is going to be a 3 parter (at least) some of you may have done
this/these prompts already but for you and others I hope it might inspire...
P2A:
Cleansing, Consecrating & Charging - What and why:
This is
usually done all that the same time, and in different ways. Some people
like to cast a circle, hold a full blown ritual; only do this on certain days
or night of the moon phases etc. I'm going to touch on some of this here
- but if you don't know what this is or how to do it you might want to research
a little more in depth and then figure out what's right for you..
But here's an outline...
Tip -
Please be mindful of your item, I know in this case we are talking about your
book which doesn't want to get wet, you don't want to set it on fire, ruin it
with damp dirty earth, oils may stain it, the sun may bleach the cover..
and this goes for other items.. Eg. Not all crystals are good with
water, sun exposure and such forth.
Cleansing.
Why: In
short you would do this is to get rid of all energies your item has picked up
from people who have touched it before; lets say the maker was unwell and
rushing to get it made on time and thus in a distressed mood, the shop that
purchased it put it out on display for many people of all kinds of moods,
energies and walks of life to touch and examine before the shop owner
then sold it online as part of her failing business liquidation sale, bundled
up and manhandled throughout the delivery system only for it to end up in
the hands of Mr delivery man who is going through a divorce and not looking
forward to an afternoon in court and finally it just arrived but you and your
partner just had a huge fight and now he's holding the item! (Yes this is a
little extreme but I hope you understand my point, and I know not all energies
are particularly bad ones!) - All those unwanted energies.. You want rid
of them as this item is to be to be yours, hold your energies (or perhaps
you're repurposing an item eg. a letter opener is now an athame) and for your
item to all round work for you.
What: This
is the act in which we clean the item (book) while this is meant as more of a
metaphysical cleaning/cleansing by all means feel free to
literally physically clean if the item is dirty or just magickally which is
what the term cleansing actually means. There are a number of ways in
which Pagans and/or Witches like to do this: From passing it through
the smoke of a (often sage) smudge wand, burying it in earth or salt,
leaving it under the full moon for a day and a night, holy water blessing etc..
The list goes on (feel free to look into this and find what works for
you!)
Consecrating.
Why: To
consecrate is like the ritual part, now you have cleansed it from it's past
energies it's now time bless the item. Doing this gives your item its
purpose and for it to know it's purpose and also for you to know it's
purpose and this, at least for me, binds you and the item together. You
may also wish to dedicate the item to a certain god(esse), pantheon,
spirit, saint, ancestor.. etc..
What: This
is super easy to do but very powerful.. It can also be done in a number
of way and this may include saying a prayer over it, dedicating it to a
certain god(esse), anointing it, naming it, telling it what it's purpose is,
what it is for, what your intentions are with that item etc.
Charging.
Why: Now
we've taken the energies away and given it a purpose it's now time to imbue new
energies into the item. (And no not by charging we don't mean plugging it
into the mains, although if you went with a digital BoS.. then yes
literally! lol) - Charging actually means giving it its own power/energy and building
upon that. Charging an item with the energy you wish the item to behold
such as a 'healing' crystal, 'knowledgeable' book, 'lucky' charm, 'psychic'
cards etc..
What: There's
a number of ways items can be charge but most common is under a new or full
moon, another option may be music or a sound like from a bell or a singing
bowl, Oils, Meditating with the item, sleep with it under your
pillow etc.
* Charging
is a recurring act it can be done in one or multiple ways. It can be
done once a month, week, before and/or after every time you use it..
Maybe only on the Sabbats (Pagan Holidays).
Activity: I'm
assuming you got your book, as prompted last Sunday, or at least something you
can use for now like a workbook or mock book you can dedicate to
these prompts. - Or even not a book at all, try it with a thrifted item
or one you feel disconnected from. But if you did get your book then
assuming you haven't already why not go ahead and do The Three C's and go
Cleanse, Consecrate and Charge your book(s). - If you already have, no
harm in charging it again.. (as said *)
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P2B:
Book Blessing and/or Dedication:
Most
Books (Book of Shadows, Book of Angels, Grimoire, Witches Journal, Book of
Mirrors, Book of Light, Book of Blessings, Book of...) start with a Book
Blessing and/or Dedication(s).
Book
Blessing:
This may
be something you want to do as part of your Consecrating of the book! Or
after as a whole separate ritual / working / act.. Book
Blessing in this case is literally the written word usually on one of the
first page of your book you will write this. Now you can simply use the
generic one off of the internet - nothing wrong with that. But if you're
like me and are creative and love to create your own and personalise things
then absolutely go ahead and do as I did and write your own - sorry not
going to share mine!! But, writing tips, you can write it so it may or
may not rhyme, be based upon the generic one (shared below), could include your
intention of the book, could be addressed to the Elements, Deity, Divine,
God(esse) etc... A common found Book Blessing on the internet is..
"Elements,
protect this book,
From
wandering eyes and prying look,
And fill
it with Thine ancient power,
In this
right and ready hour"
...it
doesn't have to be as short. It can be whatever you like, and if you
like you can also incorporate your dedication to state what this book
is for, who it is for etc. For example I have addressed mine to The
Divine and not the Elements and I have also asked for assistance in
filling the book with knowledge so as I may continue help myself and
others. - There really isn't a right or wrong way (unless you're a strictly
X religion follower eg. A strict by the book Wiccan then maybe there's a set
way, for me I'm Eclectic Wiccan and do what feels right to me as long as I'm
harming none!)
Dedication:
If you
didn't do the dedication as part of your book blessing you may want to do
this on the next page. You may wish to have more than one
dedication say a book dedication, your personal dedication to your
craft, your dedication to your god(esses). This may or may not
include a prayer.
You may
also wish to follow this up on the next few pages with the written word of your
faith or practice. For me while I am not stricly by the book Wiccan I did
include the full version of the Wiccan Rede, printed out and stuck in my book
on 2 pages (Had I wrote it by hand it would have been more like 6 pages lol)
and then also the 13 Goals of The Witch. But if you're a Christian then
maybe the 10 commandments or some other religion / faith feel free to add
anything like that that resonates with you or you wish to honour.
Activity:
Yes, you guessed it.. If you haven't already.. Then go research
book blessings and add this to your book. Note, it's your book it doesn't
have to be the first page or the first few pages.. It can also be a
tip-in, hidden/concealed or inscribed into your book s inside front cover
- have fun with it.. Add art (free hand, traced, stamped as mentioned in
my mini-series), add symbol or symbolism (I'll touch on that later), add a
personal Sigel (again I'll be touching on that soon too) or simply do as I have
and not decorate the page while you wait for inspiration to come.. No
rush!
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P2C:
About Me (you):
For me my
book is a reference book I want to include all the things I need to know -
including some of the stuff I do know, since Fibromyalgia brain fog likes to
creep in sadly. So one of the things I wanted to start with after my Book
Blessing / Dedication is an 'About Me' section.
I want
this to include given traits like my star sign (zodiac and meaning, Chinese
zodiac, element, Chinese element, tree, stones, number, season/sabbatical,
astral chart from when I was born along side any other 'about me given things'.
Study
Activity:
Studying
ourself/yourself - my main tip here isn't to just go grab the first information
you seen on one website and keep that as the undeniable
it's written on the internet so it must be 100% accurate truth -
STOP.. shop around (so to speak). That said I do recommend this
website to get you started: https://www.myspiritualprofile.com/ -
for me it's accurate. On a separate notebook/piece of paper you may
wish to write down all your correspondences. Ie, what day of the week you
were born on, under what planet, birthstone, birth sign, element, season
etc.. And once you've wrote all that down do your research and if it
still seems pretty accurate about you then delve in and find out more about
your number and what does it mean, what are the properties of your birthstone,
tree, element.. What are the traits of your star sign etc etc.. - Note
you don't have to just write the ones from the website but also write your own,
if you've had a favourite colour all your life, a lucky number, a tree you're
fond of or a stone you carry.. Write that!!
Perhaps
write about your familiar, spirit animal/guide, totem animals (I'll be covering
them at a later date too) or simply leave a space for it if you don't know
right now. Maybe include your name meaning (birth, martial, other
names). Favourite season, element that corresponds best with you (I wrote
a whole blog years ago based on YouTuber TipToeChick's finding your element
series http://ppwwmm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/ww-lesson-finding-my-element.html)
- Just because you're a Fire sign doesn't mean it works for you!! Maybe
have a basics section for your kids, siblings and/or parents - or just
yourself.
Maybe
take time to meditate and take a long look at yourself, your given traits, your
adopted ones. Your hobbies and interests.. Who are you as a person,
how can you apply that to your craft..?
Artsy
Activity:
1. What
type of Pagan/Witch are you? Maybe apply that somehow. - Eg.
You're a kitchen witch, I happen to know that Aliexpress has kitchen tool stamps
which may work nicely. You're a luna witch, get yourself some moon
stickers or sticky notes. You're a hedge witch, grab yourself some green
and brown pencils and draw leaves (Ivy would look nice) as page borders.
You're not a witch at all, well I'm sure you could draw symbols of your
religion/faith or get stamps and embellish away..
2. For me
in this section I wanted to include a photo of myself. (Tip, your
photo should be acid free so as not to ruin your book over time!) Options..
So I could just stick in a photo of myself but I want to take into
consideration that I'll age and I want this book to be a forever book if
possible so in 30, 40, 50 years.. I'll want to have updates. For me
I've decided to use photo corners so I can add and remove 6x4 photos as I deem
fit. Alternatives may be to continuously tape a new photo over the
top of the old one, this could even be done in waterfall format so you can flip
through from newest on top to oldest on the bottom. Just an
idea. Doesn't have to even be you it could be your familiar, your altar,
your favourite items, ancestors etc and these pictures could be added
throughout your book in one of the previous mentioned ways or tip-in as a page
itself, in a secret pocket, envelope, hidden..
4.
Scrapbook or collage style you might want to include some 3D elements like a
pop-up picture, your favourite makeup, glitter, paint, a charm, small flat 3D
objects, hair/fur, I recently bought a wax seal stamp of my zodiac symbol on
it.. etc..
5. Think
about your presentation, it doesn't have to be masses of detail. It
doesn't all have to be cramped on 1,2 or even 3 pages.. Spread out, learn
about yourself.. Leave room or create a pocket so you can add more about
yourself throughout the years.. One thing for sure on this path I'm
always learning and sometimes it's even new things about myself be it a name or
term for something I've always done or believed, be it a hobby or trait, be it
a new correspondence, totem animal, familiar, spirit animal/guide, angel, lost
ancestor, the list is endless and while this whole book is about me and my practice
I'd like to have a section at the front for personal to me things, things that
aren't everyone else.. Well apart from those born on the 20/12/88
but even then I dare say won't have the same name, be born in the same
town, like the same things, correspond with all the same things...
6.
For the very basics of us. You could just write the information in a list
format. Or print out the wording and pictures from the internet...
Though even the goth in me is screaming for something prettier, personalised
and dare I even say.. colourful?
7.There's
absolutely no rush, thus why I suggested a notebook or piece of
paper.. Gather your information together before deciding on your layout /
format.
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Thank you all for the support. For anyone wishing to share, ask for help, talk about BoS / their book and relevant content (or for more information, ideas and unmissable blog posts go to new Fb group https://www.facebook.com/groups/BoSPrompts/ Also as previously mentioned you can go on the website version of this blog over on the left there’s a ‘subscribe by email’ so you don’t miss a single post from me. If you’re on the mobile version scroll right down to the bottom and click ‘view as website’ and that should take you to the website version where you can expand, navigate to the left and subscribe by email :) I will continue to share this on my Patreon *for free* and also on my Twitter and in various facebook groups.. & Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/BookOfShadowsPrompts/
Imogen x
Next
weeks prompts No.3 - The pentacle/pentagram and the 4 Elements..