Apple candleholders are perfect for Lammas, Mabon and even Samhain. They are a wonderful way to decorate your altar for the Sabbats. They are very easy to make. I have made these on several occasions with Olivia and she has always had fun helping so this is definitely a good activity for a child.


You need: apples, some lemon juice and candles. You can use votive candles or tapered but if you use tapered, make sure they are not too tall. I usually go with 2-4"


What to do:

• Rinse and dry apples
• Stand the apple up on its bottom, and use a knife or a corer to make a hole in the top where the stem is located - go about half way down and make sure to widen the hold so it's the same width as your candle
  
• Pour some lemon juice into the hole and allow it to sit for ten minutes - the lemon juice can help prevent the apple from browning and softening too quickly
• After 10 minutes, pour out the lemon juice, dry out the hole, and insert a sprig of fresh herb - I've used rosemary and basil
• Add the candle. You can drip some wax inside the apple before inserting the candle to make sure the candle stays secure
  

The next Sabbat coming up, is Lughnasadh, also known as 'Lammas' and falls on Saturday, August 1st this year.

This Celtic harvest festival takes its name from the Irish God Lugh, one of the chief Gods of the Tuatha De Danann, giving us Lughnasadh in Ireland, Lunasdál in Scotland, and Laa Luanys in the Isle of Man.

Lughnasadh falls midway between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. It is a cross-quarter holiday, which is the first in the trilogy of harvest festivals; Lughnasadh, Mabon and finally Samhain. It is at the time of Lughnasadh when the days suddenly seem to shorten and the nights grow longer.

I will have some fun crafts and recipes for Lammas posted in the days to come!

Years ago, when I was still in the Coven we made scrying mirrors. Our little group had pretty crafty members. Many people prefer to use black mirrors but we decided to go with regular mirrors. We even made the bags to keep the mirrors in. Here is mine:


I liked the idea of using seashells, to represent the Ocean - since Water is emotion, I thought it would be perfect for finding answers and inner truth.

There are a few ways to scry, I prefer to simply gaze into the mirror to experience visions of the future or of the unknown. When using a black mirror, leave the mirror on a table and look at it from an angle because you don't want to see your reflection. You can also steam the mirror up in an area such as bathroom. The messages you see may appear random and not really develop as a script or art design. It's possible these messages may come from the consciousness of the scryer.

Another way to scry, which I don't prefer, (must be years of that whole 'Bloody Mary' thing) stand in a dark room with a flashlight (or a candle - just be careful!) a few inches below your face and stare into the mirror for a few minutes. You should see your features change then change again. Some believe this reflects who you are in a parallel or past life. When you're done scrying, if you use a candle, take a look at the wax droppings for further information linked to what you saw in your mirror images.

I have a wedding blog - Weddings, Showers and More - and I featured this Fairy gown in that blog back in February and every now and then I get a comment regarding this beautiful gown.

Recently, I got a comment from the actual creator of the gown, Charlotta Sisco and I am excited to say, she does custom gowns and the price (I think) is really good!

You can see her past creations here: GALLERY

She did not ask me to blog about her site or promote her work, I just wanted to pass this along. I saw a few gowns that I absolutely LOVE - they'd be perfect to wear to the Fairie Festival at Spoutwood Farm. We've missed this event the last 2 years but I plan on being there next year!

July's Full Moon falls on Tuesday, July 7th and is known several names - Blessing Moon, Thunder Moon and Meadow Moon, just to name a few.

The July 2009 Full Moon distinguishes itself from other 2009 Full Moons, because it’s the smallest, farthest full moon of the year.

Farthest and closest full moons recur in regular cycles. The closest full moon comes 7 lunar months – full moons – after the farthest full moon. And the farthest full moon comes 7 lunar months – full moons – after the closest full moon.

For the next 7 lunar months, the full moon will come progressively closer to Earth. Seven full moons after tomorrow’s July full moon, the closest full moon of the cycle will fall on January 30, 2010. On that date, the full moon will be closer than 222,000 miles. Then 7 full moons after the January 30, 2010 full moon, it’ll be the farthest full moon again on August 24, 2010!

Correspondences:

• Colors: Green, silver, blue-gray
• Gemstones: Moonstone, white agate, opals or pearls
• Trees: Ash and oak
• Gods: Juno, Venus, Cerridwen, Athena, Nephthys, Lugh
• Herbs: Mugwort, hyssop, lemon balm
• Element: Water