It can be a challenge and it’s certainly the true that we don’t all have the time, space or ability to make our own. The craft site Etsy can be on solution.

Take a look at this black candle from Witchcrafts. Isn’t it impressive?

You can buy more from Myfanwy’s shop here.

In Pure Spirit

Where do you buy your witch candles? Any tips for readers?

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Carole Smith, the Wiccan, had worked for the TSA for 7 months, was still a probationary employee but was in the top 10% of for catching weapons in the X-ray machine, had caught a $30,000 smuggling attempt herself and was better than some other officers at searching old or special needs travellers due, in part, to her massage therapist training.

Her one-time mentor, Mary Bagnoli, reported Smith because she was scared of witchcraft. Bagnoli claims that Carole Smith had once followed her along the the highway and casting a spell to hex Bagnoli’s car heater.

Oddly, Bagnoli admits she didn’t actually see Smith’s car. She just saw Smith. It’s perhaps understandable that Carole mused with press;

I thought to myself, what, did she see me flying on a broom?

In case you’re wondering how the TSA resolved this tension – don’t bother. They fired Carole Smith.

She first discovered she might be in for trouble when an assistant director at the TSA told her she was being investigated in a threat of workplace violence. The director, Matthew W. Lloyd said in his testimony that he realised straight away there was no real threat of violence. That highway? It was the only way towards her home from the airport. Lloyd acknowledges it was a personality conflict aggreggrated by fear of an unfamiliar religion.

Lloyd wanted to arrange a mediation session between Carole Smith and Bagnoli where Smith could explain what Wicca was about. This made Smith uncomfortable.

“I’m like, ‘No.’ I refused to do that. It’s not up to me to teach her my religion. I mean, would I have to go down and sit with her if I was Jewish?”

It does look as if Lloyd’s done his best. When he got the original complaint he took steps to keep both women on seperate shifts, even on different break schedules, while he investigated. He later admitted to the Judge that he knew nothing of Wicca at the time of the complaint, was not even aware it was a religion and had to investigate it afterwards.

It’s worth noting the TSA’s side of the story. At the hearing, their attorney Cheryl Scott-Johnson argued that;

“There was no discrimination here based on Ms. Smith’s religion. Ms. Smith was removed during her probationary period because of conduct, behavior and her performance. … It’s like almost every person, almost all the supervisors, had problems with Ms. Smith. … She just assumes, or concludes, that it all had to do with her religion. In fact, as brought out in the testimony, she started having problems before anybody even knew she was Wicca.”

The news site MSNBC has a detailed story on this case which is worth a read if you’re interested.

In Pure Spirit

What would you have done? One employee apparrently frightened another and yet was the fear due to small minded misunderstanding?

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Mustaine admits to being fascinated with witchcraft as a young man but now worries that spells he cast back then have come back to haunt him today. The singer says he finds the lyrics in The Conjuring troubling.

In an article in Total Guitar magazine, Mustaine said;

Performance wise, The Conjuring is one of the heaviest songs on the record, but unfortunately it’s got black magic in it and I promised that I wouldn’t play it any more, because there’s a lot of instructions for hexes in that song.

“Although it seems kinda corny, anybody who’s a Wiccan (witch) or a warlock or anything like that will know that all of that stuff is instrumental.

“When I got into black magic I put a couple of spells on people when I was a teenager and it haunted me forever, and I’ve had so much torment. People say, ‘Goddamn, Dave never gets a break, he’s had such a hard life,’ and I just think, ‘No, Dave didn’t – he got into black magic and it ruined his life.’

“Fortunately for me, with all the work and the love of my friends, and not giving up with my guitar playing, I got over it. So I look back now and I think, ‘Hmm, I don’t wanna play The Conjuring’.

The Conjuring is part of Megadeth’s album “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying” tour album from 1986. The curious can listen to the heavy rock track care of the YouTube embed below.

In Pure Spirit

Did you listen? Which dark magic and occult references did you pick up from the song? Do you think Mustaine is right to turn his back on his own music or is he worried over nothing? Has he found salvation in time?

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Summer solstice in Pendle this year will feature the Pendle Witch Camp but not a Shamania Festival.

The Pendle Witch Camp is due to be held in the field adjacent to last year’s event. Last year the events took place at Brown House Farm which is just off Giburn Old Road and this year it will be at Blacko.

The Pendle Witch Camp in 2009 will be significantly quieter than the Shamania festival of 2008. There will be no activities which require Pendle Council granting a license although organisers have not yet suggested they were facing difficulties in obtaining licenses.

There will be neither amplified music nor around-the-clock events but the Witch Camp will feature acoustic music and it is expected many of the attendees of the three day event will remain active throughout the night.

This year the Pendle Witch Camp will run over the weekend of June 19th to the 22nd. Solstice this year will be at 5:45am on the 21st.

Adrian Lord, who will be helping to coordinate the Pendle Witch Camp, also announced that Shamania will enter suspended animation until 2010 at the earliest.

Writing on the Shamania website, he noted; “Having organised 3 Shamania Festivals, each one being slightly bigger and wetter, than its predecessor; I’m looking forward to a year without all the responsibility, and hoping to do some dancing myself.”

In Pure Spirit

Have you been to either Shamania or the Pendle Witch Camp before? What was it like? Would you recommend it?

Do you think Pendle Council may have been reluctant to grant licenses this year?

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Many people would argue that a Valentine’s Day gift is a nice and thoughtful gesture irrespective of religion. Others may note that the modern Valentine’s day is a reinvention fueled by the greeting card companies and that the feastday of Saint Valentine was removed from the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969 simply because nothing other than a burial location is known of Saint Valentine.

Here at In Pure Spirit we think the 14th of February is a good day to buy a little gift for someone you care a lot for. It doesn’t have to be called a Valentine’s Day gift.

All six gift suggestions in this post come from Pentagon Direct. That’s because we have a special discount offer to share with our readers.

Discount Code: Enter VDAY09 at check out for a 5% discount. This is valid until the 16th of February 2009.

Aroma Mini Duck Set – Banana, Apple and Blueberry

Cute! Designed by Bud these bath ducks are enhanced with lovely spells. The banana scent is used to encourage wisdom and positivity, the apple scent enhances that love connection and the blueberry assists balance and calm.

Crystal Bag Holder

These are strange looking devices are actually extremely useful. The flat crystal head is balanced on the tabletop, which allows the metal arm to reach under the table and become a hook for your bag.

This means you can sit down at a table in the pub or restaurant and keep your back safe and sound beside you. There’s no need to put the bad on the dirty ground either.

Leather Pandora’s Box

A sneaky idea! This box may look like a book – just the sort of large tome that some people like to collect – but it is actually a hideaway for secret items.

Home Spa Lights

This is a classic gift. The spa lights turn any bathroom into a relaxing and calming spa sanctuary.

These spa lights are not floating tea lights (less fire hazard) but are powered by AAA batteries. They’ll shine for 120 hours and light from a button push.

The spa lights are sold in sets of two.

Sky Glow Flying Lantern

An ancient and impressive gift. Flying lanterns are nearly 2000 years old and an invention of the ancient Chinese.

These Khom Lay fill fly for up to 20 minutes once their fuel block is lit.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers

Hibiscus is commonly used by Wiccans in incense form as part of love rituals. As a tea it is said to help reduce blood pressure, aid the removal of toxins and has a reputation as good hangover remedy. For Valentine’s Day we are suggesting an alternative use of Hibiscus – simply pop the flowers into a Champagne flute and enjoy the wonderfully sweet syrup of the edible flower.

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Sadly very little information about the ancient Celts has survived and what we know is pieced together from fragments, second hand and bias sources.

It is believed that the ancient Celtics followed a lunar calendar. As a result the ancient calendar would have had 12 months one year and 13 the next.

The Celtic Tree Month calendar is an adaption that allows modern Wicca to benefit from fixed dates mapped to the Gregorian year while still being close to traditional ways.

• Birch Moon – December 24 to January 20
• Rowan Moon – January 21 to February 17
• Ash Moon  February 18 to March 17
• Alder Moon – March 18 to April 14
• Willow Moon – April 15 to May 12
• Hawthorn Moon – May 13 to June 9
• Oak Moon – June 10 to July 7
• Holly Moon – July 8 to August 4
• Hazel Moon – August 5 to September 1
• Vine Moon – September 2 to September 29
• Ivy Moon – September 30 to October 27
• Reed Moon – October 28 to December 23
• Elder Moon – November 25 to December 23

In Pure Spirit

Do you follow the Tree Calendar? Just how sure can we be of any practise which claims to be based solidly on Celtic tradition?

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Liverpool’s Central Library is a complex set of buildings, some of which are grade II listed and others due for demolition and replacement.  The library’s eldest building is the William Brown Library and Museum, which was extended in 1879 to the Picton Reading Room and then the Hornby Library in 1906.

Central Library is part of the William Brown Street conservation area. This area includes the unusual St John’s Gardens and St John’s Church.

St John’s Church was designed by Thomas Litoller and construction started in 1767 in an area which was once used as the general burial ground of a small mortuary chapel. St George’s Hall‘s west elevation backs against the Church.

St John’s Gardens was conceived as an area to display art to the public. As such it contains a number of monuments; Balfour Monument, Regimental Monument, Gladstone Memorial, Nugent Monument, Lester Monument, Forwood Monument and the Rathbone Monument.

Witches and witchcraft

The father of modern day Wicca Gerald Gardner was born in Liverpool. Gardner (1884 to February 12th, 1964) authored the famous Witchcraft Today, a book which help revive public attention in Wicca and Witchcraft in 1954.

In his life Gardner used the craft name Scire, acted as High Priest of the Bricket Wood coven and met Aleister Crowley who announced Gardner as being able to perform the rites of the Ordo Templi Orientis.

Gerald Gardner travelled often and did not stay in Liverpool, however, perhaps because of his association with the city and the gothic appearance of St John’s Gardens and the Central Library the area has been associated with witchcraft.  Locals sometimes speak of a history of rites or rituals occurring in the gardens or from inside Central Library itself.

Hauntings

Central Library is believed to be haunted. The Picton Stacks, a separate building from the main area, actually contains an isolation ward and mortuary.

Visitors to the William Brown Library have reported the feeling of menace originating from unusually dark shadows towards the corners of the room.

A black cat with glowing eyes is sometimes seen in the International Room and the sounds of cat screeching are occasionally heard late at night throughout the library. Whereas cats screech all the time and the reflective nature of their eyes often result in a glow like appearance some occult commentators have noted the connection between witches and demonic familiars which often take on a cat-like appearance.

The names Sal or Sally have been reported by more than one psychic while in the library. One theory links the name to a missing librarian, murder and possible demonology.

The mortuary is, of course, strongly associated with death and deaths. Stories of demonic rats or ghosts remaining near the autopsy slab remain are often shared by visitors to the historic building.

Most Haunted Live visited Central Library in 2009. The program coincided with the 45th anniversary of Gerald Gardner’s death.

In Pure Spirit

Have you been to either Central Library in Liverpool or St John’s Gardens? Did you sense anything while you where there?

People continue to confuse Wicca and witchcraft. Do you think this will change any time soon and do programs like Most Haunted help the situation?

The information in this article is commonly available online or from books like Haunted Liverpool*.

Diclaimer: Links marked with a star* are revenue links and go towards hosting and admin costs.

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An athame is a double-edged dagger used in Wiccan ceremonies.

The athame traditionally has a black handle, a sharp point and the double-edge.

The knife is one of many tools used in Wiccan rituals is used to channel energy and is not intended for physical cutting. Athames tend not even to be used to cut herbs, flowers, wax or other components sometimes used in rituals as the white-handled boline knife is used instead.

The athame is associated with the elements of air and fire. The blade is masculine in nature and sometimes paired with the feminine chalice. The act of placing the shaft of the blade in the cup of the chalice can be used to represent the act of intercourse.

Some academics suggest that Gerald Gardner introduce of the modern athame can be attributed to French version of the Key of Solomon and Grillot de Givry’s Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy (1931).

In Pure Spirit

Do you own an athame? What does it mean to you?

Image by alles-schlumpf via Flickr

Rituals and mediation are often best done while refreshed, clean and calm. It is common place for baths to be taken before any such activity and it is especially common the herbs and incense to be used.

Once the herbs have infused the warm bath waters they easily transfer onto the body. The following list suggests which herbs are most appropriate for rituals and meditations.

For Peace

Chamomile, hops, lavender, peppermint and rose.

For Energy

Heather, lemon balm, rosemary and savory.

For Comforting

Chamomile, lavender, marigold, mint, raspberry leaves and rosemary.

For Relaxation

Chamomile, heather, jasmine flower and lemon balm.

In Pure Spirit

How important do you find a nice long bath before a ritual, spell or meditation? Which herbs would you recommend?

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Who thinks witches are scary now?

The Coven: Who thinks witches are scary now?

In Pure Spirit

This photograph was uploaded to Flickr under Creative Commons by vige.

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