Witchy Wednesday Writing Prompt: A Letter for the Lost

Letters to Heaven by Osnat Tzadok.

One of my witchy writing exercises recently suggested writing letters to the dead as a way of processing the grief and all the feelings attached. I have been walking around with so much unresolved anger since my mom passed and no way to resolve it. Nothing left but to let it go.

I thought about how we’ve made Yule wish balls in the past and filled a pine cone with wishes for the future and things we want to let go of from the prior year. Maybe I could do something similar to take the first step to free myself from the rage I have been holding onto.

So, I wrote my letter, which I am not going to share here. It's a private thing, and I do not want to cause harm to people I care about if they happened upon this post and read my private thoughts and feelings. There could be no good from making those public. I folded the letter into a small paper packet fill the folds and spaces with dried herbs and flowers. I made the packet heart shaped because it's my heart that I want to lighten with the practice. I want to think of my mother and her passing and be able to dwell on more love and less anger. I placed it on a bed of sand and dried orange peel, circled it with salt, and burned it til all the words were gone.

I think I will mix the sand and ashes into some soil and plant something pretty that I can watch grow. My mother would have liked that part, and I want to turn the energy that I've been putting into holding onto negativity and use it for something positive and growing and green.

Mixing Up Magic in the Kitchen - Holiday Edition

What recipes do you always make around the holidays? My family always made a few every year. They were a ritual. There were so many things attached to each food. Memories of childhood. Memories of family members who were no longer with us. The ritual of mixing and stirring and seasoning that seems so magical when it all comes out just as you planned. I will share a few of my favorites here.

I remember some about my Great Grandmother Smith before dementia began to ravage her, but not a lot. From the stories that my grandfather and grandmother told, she liked cooking, but it wasn't really her strong suit. There were a few dishes though that everyone loved, especially my grandfather, so we made them each year for the holidays. It was a way us to help him remember her and honor her.

Photo from Recipes.net

Old Fashioned Potato Candy

 

1 large white potato (peeled and boiled)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

6-7 cups of powdered sugar

Smooth peanut butter of your choice

1 Tablespoon of water or milk

Food coloring (optional)

 

Peel and boil 1 large white potato until tender. Mash potato until smooth of lumps. Add vanilla extract and stir into potato. Add the tablespoon of water or milk if extra liquid is needed to smooth the mixture. If you would like to make your dough different colors, add in your food coloring now. Sometimes my great grandmother would split the batch into three parts and do red, green, and white for the holiday. We most often skipped the food coloring part.

 

Begin adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time until you are able to create a dough similar to a sugar cookie dough.

 

Roll out dough using extra powdered sugar to dust surface to prevent sticking. You want the finished dough to be about 1/8 inch thick when you are done rolling.

 

Spread peanut butter over the top surface of the dough. We always used smooth peanut butter because it was my family’s overall preference, but I suppose you could use crunchy as well for added texture.

 

Starting at one of the long sides, tightly roll up dough, like a jelly roll. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze for 30 minutes to an hour. Until firm. Slice into ¼ inch pieces and serve. Store in the refrigerator.

Winter is Coming

I was thinking to myself that I'd like to be more actively involved in my writing here, both about introspective things and about what I am actively engaging in. Winter is always a busy time because there are so many things that get put off during the summer while we are busy doing outside chores and gardening and generally enjoying the warm weather while it lasts. Winter is full of crafts and sewing and indoor projects that let us stay cozy warm. Also cooking and gathering with friends and gaming. More time to think and read and hibernate a bit too.

I saw the following writing prompt and activity ideas on The Witch of Lupine Hollow blog and thought I would give them a try over the holiday season.

Record in your grimoire family recipes you make each year during the holidays, such as the family gingerbread cookie recipe. This is perfect for kitchen witches who use their grimoires as recipe books as well.

Work with the winter astrological signs of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces and record information you find about the energies of these signs in your grimoire.

Profile crystals and herbs associated with Yule such as garnet and moss agate, or holly and peppermint.

Journaling Prompt: Reflect on the past year and how you have grown in your spiritual journey during that time.

Record a favorite holiday story or Yule legend, such as A Christmas Carol or the story of the yule log. Then, each year, you will be able to read this story out loud from your grimoire to create a new holiday tradition.

Make plans for the new year in terms of your spiritual journey. What new ideas and techniques do you want to study?

Sketch or trace mandalas into your grimoire and color them in. Coloring may be trendy but it really is deeply meditative and relaxing, and mandalas can be very powerful for centering your energy. The perfect activity for a rainy, winter day!

Press sprigs of holly leaves, pine or cedar in your grimoire to scent the book with the feeling of the season.

Research and record information about gods and goddesses associated with Yule and other winter holidays, such as Saturnalia. You might find a new tradition you feel drawn to.

Write down the steps you take for your Yule and December full moon rituals, so that you can refer back to them in the future.

Autumn - My Favorite Time of Year

 

Kameiwa Cave - Chiba, Japan

Autumn is my absolute favorite time of the year. The harvests are done, and the fields have been turned in readiness for sleep. The animals are all gathering the last of the nuts ands seeds to hoard for the coming Winter. The leaves are a riot of colors ... green, gold, orange, bronze, scarlet, and wine. They swirl and dance in the air and crinkle under puppy paws and human feet. The air is just starting to gain a crispness to it that smells so clean. The wind gusts and lulls and howls through the branches, rustling the leaves on dressed trees and howling through bare limbs of those that have already shed their bounty for the season.

Witchy Wednesday Writing Prompt - Mabon is Upon Us

Writing prompt ideas from The Seasonal Soul

1) Give thanks and recognition of the blessings you've received.

What abundance did you experience this summer? What blessings have you received?

We have been blessed in quite a few ways. We were able to add a bit of time onto my London work trip to explore more of the UK, and that was awesome. We also got to travel with some friends to Texas for a gaming and painting convention. It was our first purely for fun convention since before the pandemic, so it was really nice to gain back that semblance of normalcy. We were able to purchase a new car at relatively affordable payments. It's newer and has better gas mileage than our prior cars, and it's more environmentally friendly as well being an electric hybrid.

2) Acknowledge your personal achievements.

What are some accomplishments that you’re proud of? What changes have you been working on? And how have you grown since the beginning of the year?

I've been slowly working through my mental shit related to my parents passing. It's been long, hard, mostly solitary work, but I am getting there.

3) Give yourself credit for job well done.

Really recognize the things you’ve accomplished and the hard work you’ve put in. Write a note to yourself and express how proud you are of all the hard work you’ve done this year. Talk to yourself like you would a beloved friend, or your child, and let yourself know how proud you are of all your accomplishments.

We organized and facilitated three in-person events, a virtual event, and two directory renewals that all happened within a six month segment of time. That's a ton of work for everyone, with so many moving parts. It could have gone off the rails in so many ways, but it didn't. We should all be proud of that.

Steffie and I put in a new pollinator garden and installed a new vegetable arch and strawberry patch this year to go with our prior three garden boxes. We canned corn, spaghetti sauce, hot wing sauce, and chili starter. We have also successfully brewed multiple batches of beer and cider. 

4) Analyze what is and isn't in balance within yourself and your life.

In what areas of your life to you feel really well balanced? Where do you feel like you’re rockin’ it?Where do you feel out of balance? Why do you think that is? Give yourself 1 action item to bring things back into alignment.

I do not feel like I am rocking anything right now. It's been a struggle to keep up with yard work and house work and gardening and the actual work I get paid for. It has felt like I have been a day to a week behind on everything. I want to give more time to my wife and to myself as well. I feel like there aren't nearly enough hours in the day. I need to give myself some solid time to really rest my mind and soul and rejuvenate so that I can set my mind on what is actually important to the moment with energy and focus.

5) Let go of what isn't serving you.

In order to experience new Soul growth, we need to let go of our old leaves–old patterns and habits that no longer serve us. What are you ready to let go of? What do you need to shed in order for new life to grow?

I need to let go of things that happened or didn't happen in the past so that I can move forward with a clean slate. I can change those things. I can't make those people happy now, and many of them do not deserve my effort to do so. I need to focus only on the hear and now and on what I want to achieve in the future.

The Waning Gibbous Moon - A Moon Phase Writing Prompt

Writing prompt by Natural Black Vegan

The Waning Gibbous moon is the time to reflect on this lunar cycle. This is the time to turn inward with prayer and meditation. Reflect on your intentions and give gratitude for all that has been granted to you thus far. Celebrate the abundance that has been manifested thus far, and prepare to move forward with ease and grace.

*I am grateful for…

I am grateful for my wife. She works hard with me, and she plays hard with me. I have never had anyone in my life (family, SO, friend) who is more of a partner than she is. We laugh so much together. She gets my off beat sense of humor and shares it. She sends me funny or cute pictures/stories randomly during the day because she knows I will enjoy them. She cooks for me and with me. She's always willing to explore a new dish or a new restaurant. Really anything in our lives, if I bring an idea to her and say I wanna try this, she's right there with me to give it a go. I love her completely non-judgemental, adventurous spirit.

*What have I enjoyed about this lunar cycle?

I've enjoyed all of the beautiful green things that have been blooming and fruiting in our garden. Tomatoes and cucumbers and squash. Onions, so many herbs, rhubarb. The pop of a sun warmed cherry tomato in your mouth is such a lovely thing. The milky sweet smell of fresh corn. The way with just a few ingredients yellow squash melts in your mouth like butter. 

*What revelations have been revealed to me thus far?

I did some deep soul searching about my past, my family, and myself and how we all relate to and affect one another. It was and is hard, and it's going to take a while to sort through how I feel about it and how I am going to respond to the revelations.

*How can I take care of myself?

I need to allow myself more down time. Sometimes I over schedule, and I feel so drained that I have to forego something I really wanted to do just to recharge. I feel guilty if I have to cancel or say no to a plan, but I mentally and physically feel awful if I try to do everything. Finding a balance for that should be higher priority. Myself as a priority is something I need to work on.

*In what ways am I growing?

I am becoming more okay just being me. Good, bad, pretty, and ugly. All of me. That's a big step.

A Dream is a Wish ...

Does anyone else have a keen mental understanding that you are in a dream during the dream itself? I do. If I am dreaming as myself (as in I am me in my dream), I cannot shut off the fact that I am 100% aware that I am dreaming no matter what the dream is. I have zero suspension of disbelief.

If I am dreaming that I am not myself, like for example dreaming I am a character from a favorite book, I am fully that character and everything that happens is real to me at the time. If I am myself, it is like I am a viewer following a version of myself doing whatever it is I am dreaming and at the same time am the me in the dream. It's hard to explain. There is always a part of me held back in this viewer role that reminds my dream self that this is all just a dream and that I'll wake up soon every so often.

It's been particularly strong since my parents have passed. I dream of them often, but I am always very aware during the dream that it is only a dream. A few nights ago I was dreaming that I had flown to Alabama and was visiting my parents. My dream self remembered having a good visit with my parents during the day and was thinking about the different things we had done together, the good conversations as my dream self was getting ready for bed. My dream self had the thought that I should tell them both goodnight before sleeping, but the viewer self popped in to remind that they had both passed and wouldn't be there. My viewer self warned that I'd only find an empty room and it was best not to look. Then I woke up.

Similar things have happened many times both before and after my parents passed. I have dreamed of crashing my car or being chased by someone or something else unpleasant, and the viewer steps in to remind me that it's only a dream and that I will wake up fine. Sometimes it will actually be a conversation like, "I don't want to do this!" ... "Well, wake up then! You're dreaming." Or when having a particularly good dream, my viewer self will comment something like, "Wow, this is a really nice dream. The mountains look so realistic."

I do not know if this is normal or not. I've never heard anyone describe anything like it.