This year Simon and I celebrated Samhain together. We talked about loved ones on the other side of the veil, we did some card readings for one another – experimenting with The Crystal Ally Cards and the Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards, burned things we would like to banish in the year ahead and made Witch Bottles.
My Witch Bottle is for Wealth. It contains: pieces of carnelian, amethyst & blue sodalite, glitter (silver, green & red), Dorothy Morrison’s Puttin’ on the Witch oil, Dorothy Morrison’s Rich Bitch oil, a scroll with symbolism on, some of my hair, energy with intention and emotion and sealed with gold wax.
We all have non-essential items at home that hold great sentimental value to us. Here are 15 of mine:
15. Crystals
15. Crystals
I love crystals. This bowl of crystals (my friend Jayne bought me the bowl as a Yule/Christmas present) is just the tip of the iceberg.
My home is filled with various types of crystals (clear quartz, smoky quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, lapis lazuli, citrine, turquoise, loadstone and many others), in various forms (tumbled, natural, points, beds & raw).
Each crystal is unique, with its own energy and feel, which is what I love about them and why they hold such sentimental value.
14. Amethyst Tree
14. Amethyst Tree
This Amethyst Tree was one of the first ‘pagan’ things I bought, when I was sixteen years old. I had to save up for it for weeks. It’s only small and wasn’t expensive. But it holds great sentimental value.
It reminds me of my past. How much I’ve grown and continue to grow. In every aspect of my life.
13. Sun God Wall Plaque
13. Sun God Wall Plaque
I love this sun God wall plaque that I bought myself on my recent adventure to India. It celebrates the sun, which I worship in all senses of the word.
12. My Fabulous Gay Mirror
Two years ago, before Simon and I went away to Wales (see Mid-Wales Part 2: Aberdovey Beach & King Arthur’s Labyrinth) I bought a lottery ticket. Then we went away. While away I bought this fabulous gay mirror. I was reluctant to buy it because I didn’t have much money. But the lottery ticket turned out to be a winner and covered most of the cost of the mirror.
I like the mirror just as much as I did on the day that I bought it. I love the bright colours, the shape and it’s weight. It is hung on the wall in my bedroom. The mirror also reminds me of the good memories Simon and I created on our trip to Wales.
11. Pentacle/Pentagram Wall Plaques
11. Pentacle/Pentagram Wall Plaques
Pentacles and Pentagrams are symbols of protection. I bought the bronze pentacle for myself, as a moving in present, when I bought and moved into my apartment 7 years ago (see The Move). It is hung above the door to my master bedroom.
The wooden pentagram was bought for me by the Watts family, at a gay pride stall of all places. The Watts family and I have mutually adopted one another. It is my priviliage to be considered part of the Watts family. The pentagram is hung above my front door in my hallway.
10. This Handmade Box
10. This Handmade Box
My friend Simon bought me this handmade and unique box for my 21st birthday. It is beautiful. I keep an array of essential and magical oils in it.
Simon and I have a close relationship and share a wide range of interests. He always buys tremendous gifts and presents, many of which could have made it on to this list. Each gift or present is chosen or made with great care.
Like this box, my friendship with Simon is handmade, unique and beautiful.
9. This Glass Tealight Candle Holder.
9. This Tealight Candle Holder
This handmade glass tealight candle holder was bought for me as a Christmas present by younger brother Alex, prior to his death. So for obvious reasons it holds huge sentimental value.
8. Apollo Statue.
8. Apollo Statue
Every time my friend Kay goes on holiday, she brings me back a wonderful souvenir. I love the god Apollo, so one year when she was going to Italy, I asked her to bring me back a statue of Apollo. She brought me this statue back. It is among my prized possessions.
Kay has brought me many lovely things back over the years. Each of them has found a place in my home. Each makes me smile and think of Kay every time I see them.
Kay is a amazing friend and one that I am very lucky to have.
7. My Altar – here is a photo of my Altar, which has a various items for various reasons.
7. My Altar
My altar is ever-changing. It changes with the passing of the seasons and according to pagan festivals. I’ve had altars on and off over the years, usually depending on physical space.
Although having an altar isn’t essential, it reminds me that I am a Witch and to practice meditation, spells and other spiritual endeavours.
6. An Illustration of Me – drawn by my good friend Sye Watts.
6. An Illustration of Me
For Christmas in 2011, my friend Sye, who is a superb Illustrator, drew this illustration of me. It is framed and hangs on the wall in my hallway.
It makes me smile every time I see it. It always reminds me of what a wonderful friend I have in Sye.
5. My Childhood Teddy Monkey.
5. My Childhood Teddy Monkey
This is Monkey, my childhood teddy, bought for me by my Auntie Sue. Monkey has velcro hands and as a child he came everywhere with me. Once my mum even had to rescue Monkey from under a bus.
These days Monkey lives quite happily on my bookshelf.
4. This Willow Tree Brothers Figurine – given to me by my long lost brother.
4. This Willow Tree Brothers Figurine
My brother Shaun bought me this Willow Tree Brothers Figurine for Christmas one year. Shaun is my Long Lost Brother. He’s my older brother and despite not growing up together, we’re really close. Shaun is supportive, loyal, makes me laugh and always has a story to tell. I’m so glad that we met.
I just wish we had met sooner, so that my younger brother Alex and Shaun could have had more time together.
3. This Photograph – a rare photo of two of my brothers and myself.
3. Photograph
This photograph. It’s a photo of two of my brothers and myself. It was a photo taken on a family meal for my 21st birthday. Alex, my younger brother (on the very left of the photo), died a few years after this photo was taken (see My Darling Baby Brother). It’s been 5 years since Alex died and I am so glad I have this photo of us brothers together.
2. iMac – my writing tool.
2. iMac
I bought my iMac in January 2012 (see iMac Part 1 & iMac Part 2). It is so many things to me: a tool for writing and for sharing my writing through my blog & creative writing page; a visual collection of memories via my photos; an entertainment station playing music, films, DVDs, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, YouTube; a tool to communicate through Facebook, Twitter, email, forums, Skype, FaceTime; and a tool to learn through the Internet.
It is one of the best things that I’ve ever bought myself.
1. Books (image is part of my top shelf where all my favourite books are kept).
1. Books
The photo (left) is a photo of some of my favourite books. Books that I have read again and again. For me books inspire creativity, educate and inform, but mostly: ignite my imagination.
I’ve been pagan for a long time, but it’s always good to go back over the basics. This book covers: working with power sources, magical boosters, tools (including Wand, Cup, Athame, Pentacle & other tools), casting a circle and pagan festivals.
Morrison has a warm, engaging and humorous writing style. Reading The Craft is like having an intimate and meaningful conversation with Morrison herself. She writes in a way that informs, ultimately inspires and without a single word wasted.
The Craft is bursting with little gems of knowledge and wisdom such as:
1. “When all elements are used in equal combination, they form static electricity.” (p. 20)
2. “successful magic relies heavily upon emotion rather than logic.” (p. 33)
3. “Magic usually works in twenty-one days, or not at all.” (p. 29)
4. “Part of basic witchery is learning to work with what you have and substitute if need be.” (p. 41)
5. “Not only must we engage our brains when performing magic, we must use them effectively. We have to be able to think, concentrate and focus. We must reply on the creative flow.” (p. 97-98)
6. “When we take our place in the center of the Circle and take our place as Akasha, we provide a perfectly balanced arena from which magic flows…” (p. 112)
I learned some new things and gained an even deeper understanding of somethings by reading The Craft. No matter who you are or what experiences in The Craft you have, undertake all activities and exercises in the book. I undertook all activities and exercises and they all benefited me. Each of the activities are designed to encourage personal growth and learning.
The only thing The Craft missed out is any reference or explanation of what a Book of Shadows is.
The Craft – A Witch’s Book Of Shadows by Dorothy Morrison is a must have for any Witch. It is an excellent reference book for moon phases, sun phases, days of the week, times of day, pagan festivals, plants, herbs, trees, magical tools, dream symbols, stones, deities and the Book of Law.
Recently my life has been so hectic. Here’s most of the things I’ve been doing since I last blogged:
I’ve challenged a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPA) that was issued on my car by the local Council. The local Council had wrote to me and asked me to move my car from my private resident car parking space to their carpark for a community event. I did as they requested. They day after the event my car had been issued with a FPA.
I had a spring clean in my bedroom, throwing out 6 bin bags, mostly filled with clothes that don’t fit anymore. I listed 3 suits on Gumtree. They’re practically like new having only be worn once or twice each. I like a new suit for job interviews ideally, but some of the times, I’ve had to buy a new suit due to putting on weight in the years between interviews. There has been a lack of interest on Gumtree, so I’m thinking of seeing if a local homeless charity wants them for their clients.
The UK Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) has changed the process for revalidation. Every 3 years, Nurses (such as myself) and Midwives are required to revalidate. Previously the process was to complete a form confirming that you had done the number of practice and learning hours required. Now we are required to:
Complete a practice log to demonstrate completion of the required number of practice hours (450 hours for a Nurse such as myself).
Complete a Continued Professional Development (CPD) log to demonstrate completion of 35 hours of CPD.
Collect 5 pieces of Practice-related feedback.
Writeup 5 reflective accounts.
Have a documented discussion with another NMC Nurse or Midwife.
Declaration of anything that could impair your fitness to practice.
Declaration that you have have the appropriate indemnity insurance cover.
So I have been doing some work to collect my evidence for revalidation. I have mixed thoughts about the new revalidation process. Overall I think that it is a good process, but with a few problems that could have been solved if the NMC had thought it through properly. These few problems for me are:
Firstly I think it should have been phased in, so all Nurses and Midwives should have used the old revalidation form and been informed to start collecting the data above for their next revalidation. I’m lucky as I keep paper diaries with details of my working hours. But if a Nurse or Midwife had been using an organisation’s electronic calendar and moved organisations in the last three years, he/she might be unable remember what hours they worked before switching organisations. Same goes for CDP.
Secondly it is very bureaucratic. This is not a problem for Nurses or Midwives that work in the community and can organise their diary to allow time for the revalidation process. But for Nurses or Midwives on busy hospital wards or departments, it is likely they will spend the many hours required to complete the paperwork in their own time. It is also likely that Nurses and Midwives will see it as a purely bureaucratic exercise, so not put the effort into revalidation that the NMC wants. I think it would be better if there were less forms to complete. For example, the NMC could require 3 pieces of practice-related feedback and 3 written reflective accounts, instead of 5 each.
Thirdly I think it’s important to mention money. Nurses and Midwives have to pay £120 per year to maintain their registration. Regardless of their income or level within an organisation. My registration date is the 24th September, but they want all of my revalidation paperwork in and the £120 paid by the 1st September. Moving the date that the payment is required is important because it means that I am paying £120 for closer to 11 months of registration rather than 12 months.
Fourthly the NMC should allow Nurses and Midwives to pay their registration fees up to and on their date of registration expiry. I also think it’s about time that they charge different rates of fees depending on the Nurses or Midwives NHS band of pay. I wouldn’t mind paying more so that junior Nurses pay less.
I’ve given some feedback to my good friend Steve on his novel manuscript. I’ve still got more to read and more feedback to give, but we had to pause the process due to me being so busy.
There’s been a few good job opportunities on NHS Jobs. I applied for two jobs and got interviews for both of them. The first job I was beat because the person who got the job had an addition 5 years experience than me. I asked for feedback and they told me that I did a superb interview. They said that there was nothing that I couldn’t have done any better. That they’d had to make the decision they did purely because the other candidate had more experience. They encouraged me to continue applying for jobs in the field and explained that had the candidates been different that I would have got the job hands down.
The second job I attended the interview, scored the highest, the managers wanted me and argued for two days with HR. HR didn’t want me to be recruited because I had no qualification in mental health. I have the experience but because I’m a Children’s Nurse rather than a Mental Health Nurse, in the end, HR wouldn’t let me be recruited. Again I asked for feedback and again they said there was nothing I could have done better and they encouraged me to keep applying. They stated that I would get eventually get a job in children and young people’s mental health services and that they hoped it would be in their service, as I would be an asset to any service that I joined.
I treated myself to some Witchy goodies:
I ordered a small Dorothy Morrison Wickedly Wonderful Magical Mystery Package before the end of May and got these. Wakin’ The Dead candle and room spray for ancestor work and Forever Mine candle, room spray and oil to bring an endless love into my life. Kindly sold and dispatched by The Angry Cauldron. If you want learn more about the mystery packages, see my blog post here. But be aware that they were only being sold throughout the month of May.
I also bought a Limited Edition Rich Bitch candle and Limited Edition Rich Bitch oil.
Dorothy Morrison has done brilliantly at selecting the right things for each of the three Wickedly Wonderful Magical Mystery Packages I’ve ordered. In this small package photoed above, I’ve got stuff for ancestor work – something that I really need to work on. She’s also sent me Forever Mine love magic products. My love life is a neglected area of my life and something I need to work on. So thank you and well done on selections Dorothy Morrison.
I’ve started casting spells and spell crafting again, after over 5 years of doing nothing. This is because I’ve been inspired by Dorothy Morrison’s products, which have been sent from the USA to the UK by the people at The Angry Cauldron.
I’ve spent time with my gorgeous bengal cats Dylan and Russell. I haven’t shared any photos of them on here for a while, so here’s a photos of them both:
My bengal cat Russell Cat Naps.
My bengal cat Dylan surveys his kingdom.
I’ve seen various family and friends who’ve had birthday’s or have at least sent them out a card.
I’ve attended a range of annual diabetic health appointments including: podiatry, retinopathy screening and an review with my Practice Nurse and GP. Prior to seeing the Practice Nurse and GP I had a fasting blood test. My cholesterol is high, so I’ve been started on statins. Statins to me are associated with people much older than I am, but seen as I have Type 1 diabetes, if statins can bring my cholesterol down they will also bring my blood sugars down. So it’s all good.
A few months ago I woke up with a painful left knee, groin, right shoulder and arm. As the days past the groin, shoulder and arm all got better but the knee didn’t. I ended up going to my GP for stronger painkillers, got referred to a Specialist and have just recently had a MRI scan on my knee. I think it’s probably cartilage damage, but am awaiting an appointment with the Specialist to find out.
The extra painkillers and statin have caused me to write up a drug regimen, so I don’t forget to take any tablets and I’ve just recently ordered a Colourful 7 Day 3 Times In-a-day Rainbow Pill Box to help make remembering to take everything at the right times easier.
I’ve been doing a Contraception module at Uni. Last weekend despite the good weather, I figuratively chained myself to my Mac to write the case study assignment. After editing the assignment over a few evenings, I have now submitted it online. I have till the 20th June to complete my clinical placement portfolio and submit it online.
I recently wrote via email to a private company to express an interest in working for them. By chance they were just about to advertise a Nurse vacancy and said they’d add me to the distribution list. The email came through late this week. Although it sounds like a lovely place to work the job just isn’t well enough paid.
After being told by several members of my family how good ALDI is in terms of price and quality, I decided to give it a go. The food is of a good quality and much fresher than the bigger supermarkets. I’m buying the same things I always buy, but saving around a third on my food shop. Plus ALDI is smaller so I am in and out quicker and I tend to buy much less on impulse.
Having decided to build up my collection of essential oils and because the box I was using to store them in was full, I went looking for a new box to keep them in. I tried searching everywhere online that I could think of (including ebay, Amazon, Etsy & Google Shopping). I searched using every combination of search terms I could think of, loosing count of the number of searches I did. I was looking for a wooden red chest type box to match my other two boxes. But I had no luck.
So I decided that I needed some magical help. I cleaned up the hallway (where it was to go) and used Dorothy Morrison’s Witched Witchin’ Oil and Dorothy Morrison’s Puttin’ on the Witch Oil to draw the box outline on the floor and visualised the box being there in as much detail as possible. A few hours later I stumbled across this lovely box on my first search on ebay for the bargain price of under £10 with delivery:
My new red wooden essential oils chest (1), which was a bargain at under £10 with postage.
My new red wooden essential oils chest (2).
So my darlings, please forgive the lack of blogging recently. As you will know if you’ve managed to read all this post, my life has been super hectic. I’m hoping it will start to quieten down in the next few weeks and then I’ll have more time to blog.
