Last time, in the first of the series What is a Hedge Witch, I covered a lot about what a hedge witch is by definition and briefly touched upon what a hedge witch does. I think, however, that there is more to delve into and so this is Part II of what is becoming The Hedge Witch Series, A Day in the Life of a Hedge Witch.
I will base this day mostly on what used to be typical of mine and what I am aiming to getting back to doing, but I'll make it a bit busier just to give you a better sense of the wide variety activities that could be done. I know point form is not the greatest thing for blogging, but I really cannot think of a better or clearer format for this, I'll refrain from adding bullets too!
Wake up, stretch and make a coffee, stand by the kitchen window, open it a crack (at least) and greet the day with a small prayer, something like:
Good morning Mother Earth,
thank you for another day,
may I percieve all the blessings you have bestown upon me
Sit with coffee and do Morning Pages, which I have mentioned before here, to get all the gookies and negative energy out of one's system.
Have a shower, with a square of cheesecloth filled with lavendar, rosemary and bay, tied off and hung from the shower head, to wash away negativity that might be clinging to the aura and physical self.
Meditate for 15 minutes, set your intentions for the day and say a wee prayer.
Now the rest of the day is filled with regular people stuff, getting kids ready and off to school, going to work, doing housework etc, but the Hedge Witch may be doing a few extras in the midst of it all such as...
a spell and quick ritual for child that is going to camp and requires a pouch:
~grab some herbs from the garden, cupbord or store
~grab three bunches of embroidery thread in the appropriate colours like red for love, green for health and black for protection
~scoop a few stones from the altar
~collect other bits and bobs, a piece of material to wrap it all in, things to consencrate it all with etc
~go to prefered working area, the garden, kitchen, dinig room table, altar and put it all together with prayers and/or chanting ( a chant may go like this: Earth and Air, Fire and Water, Give Protection, To your daughter! Stone and Wind, Flame and River, Protection now, Be delivered!)
Check existing spells and amulets around the house. Does the garlic in the kitchen window for protecting the house need replaced, do the dream catchers need a dusting, any ritual items like stones or tools that need to be buried, sat in moonlight, or soaked in water, anyones existing pouches need rechaged.
Feed the birds and/or local wildlife.
Recycle.
Do some community service, this could be anything from blogging about recent enviromental issues, donating time to the local animal shelter or even picking up garbage as one walks down the street.
Study or read up on something. Learning is an ongoing process, there are always more Gods or Goddesses, plants or herbs, animals or enviromental issues to learn more about.
Prepare for an upcoming Sabbat or Esbat. Most witches celebrate the Sabbats, which are holy days throughout the year, the Spring Equinox and Fall Equinox would be two examples, and Esbats, which are days when the moon is Full or Dark or New. To prepare most witches at least write down a loose outline as to what they will be doing to celebrate. They may also look up new (or even old) chants or spells, pull out boxes of decorations and make sure the right foods are in the house. Do I feel Part III of the series starting to form?
Make dinner. Now I am going to briefly traverse into Kitchen Witch Territory, but Hedgies do this stuff too. Before I start making dinner I light a candle near my stove and ask for blessings and protection upon my home and family. If there is food to stir I always stir desoile, clockwise, and I may add certain herbs not only for their flavours but also for their magickal properties.
We always say grace at dinner to thank the Divine for all our blessings, which I insist the household does but guests are not required to.
Family celebration of a Sabbat, this may include a fancy dinner, presents, making wishes, telling stories or doing crafts.
Children say bedtimes prayers. This is the second religious thing I insist they do, the most popular one goes like this:
Mother of all things, watch over me tonight,
Hold me in your arms, until the morning light.
Blessed be,
Mommy, Daddy, all my family and me!
Conduct a solitary ritual to celebrate a Sabbat or Esbat, my children are not allowed to participate in heavy ritual until they are at least 14 and there is no sacraficing of animals nor humans, no blood involved in any way nor is there any hexing or cursing unless I burn my finger as I try to put a candle out.
Decharge, this consists of emptying all the excessive and negative energy into a bowl or water, a rock or the dirt.
Meditate
Say my own bedtime prayer.
Well thats about it, not much different from anyone else's day really but I hope you enjoyed the read!
Labels: Hedge Witch Series