Ever had an evening when you just really needed some witch time, but there was nothing special going on that day?
In related news, my friend J and I designed an ad hoc Cleansing Ritual using stuff we had in the kitchen! Hurrah for kitchen witchery! We are all about practical forms of practice. You do not need expensive tools, special ingredients, or occult rituals. You can create your own magic by will and practicality. You apply your magic to everything you do, no matter how mundane or small.
The fruit is just for aesthetics to balance the swamp water. And yes, the sage was on discount. I’m sure the Gods understand frugality.
It was a great, intimate experience and felt very bonding; not just the ritual itself with water being poured over our naked bodies under the sky, but planning it as well. We sat in the living room and chatted about how we were feeling the need for some ceremony, but it was late Sunday night so everything is closed, the moon was neither full nor new, and no online searches revealed an uncommon pagan bit of importance to the day. It was just a random evening with a good friend at their place.
If I’m honest, sage and mint combined smell a bit like cannabis. Maybe sage and lemon next time?
We had two very large jars, in which we brewed a strong sage and mint tea with a quartz crystal in the water while seeping. We also added salt, which plays another role later. We filtered it through a coffee filter (admittedly first we thought a thin hand cloth would be fine, but it took too long).
As the tea cooled, we planned the rest of the ritual. Being outdoors felt right. We would do our own short version of a quarter call inside first, with the full jars on the altar (that we built on the coffee table with what was on hand). Then we would get our fingers wet with a bowl of fresh water (hand painted by my friend), then rub salt over our hands and rinse them in the water. Then outdoors, nude, for the finale, before coming back in and closing the circle.
Just wait for our article on athames
The quarter call was amusing and genuine. I haven’t been to that many rituals yet, whereas my friend had a great deal of experience. So our improvised lines for each quarter reflected that, but it was joyful and open-hearted. We talked a little about each direction and it’s meanings, including how that pertained to our journey in this rite. Air, inspiration and intellect. Fire, the passion and will to make it happen. Earth, the stubborn strength to see it through. Water, the emotion and meaning behind it all.
We also shared our private thoughts on why a cleansing felt healthy for us individually at this time. I had a wish to release a lot of impatience on my part, and ask the Lord and Lady to help keep my head on my shoulders when it came to adding projects to my list. I imagine they had a chuckle.
Stepping out into the cold of a Pacific Northwest February evening, in the semi privacy of the dark backyard, I felt very alive with purpose, if also a bit giggly. We hadn’t needed anything dramatic or elaborate; just us and a little help from the spice cabinet and we were making our own magic.
We decided we would pour the herbal water over each other one at a time, rather than on ourselves at once. We felt like priestesses blessing one another. The water was warm and smelled green and felt wonderful streaming down our bodies in the chill air. It was a precious moment to share together.
Have you ever created a little ritual of your own for no special purpose other than your own calling to it? Isn’t it beautiful how we can create magic with very little?
DIY Pagan 