The Thornbush with Rose

Welcome to the Thornbush. I have been a witch and studying the craft in various
forms all my life. It started when I was a youngster who loved Eglentine from
Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. I wanted to be
that magical. In this, the first in a series of articles about the how to blend
witchcraft and divination. I will share tips and tricks to connect your own craft
and divination practices. 

My study of witchcraft has influenced my spiritual journey every step of the way
and has helped me connect to divination. Serious explorations of the use of herbs
and plants, creating spells, and understanding energy workings helped me to
discover ways to connect to Spirit. This time in the Thornbush we will focus on
pulling cards, seeing the symbology, and creating spells to use in our everyday
lives and rituals.

Let’s begin. Grab your favorite deck or a basic Rider Waite Smith tarot and
shuffle the cards. As you shuffle, focus on what aspects of your life which you’d
like to address. With this in mind, focus on what you need to add to your world
energetically. At this point I usually pull 1-3 cards from anywhere in the deck to
be my Spell Builders. For this exploration, after I pulled the cards, I looked at the
images and asked myself: How do the images draw me in and what feelings do
they bring forward in connection to my place in the world? Are there specific
plants or herbs that draw my attention? Do the images conjure up an energy that
connects to crystals I would associate with that energy? What colors stand out to
me? As I explore the cards, I see what stands out and then plan what I want to
create. Is it a spell or an oil to hold that energy that I see in the images? After
deciding, I planned the direction of my next steps and spell work.

Next, I looked through my herbalist guides, texts, and my crystal meanings
books to find out what the plants might mean and what would work with the
energies to which I was drawn. I looked at other plants that complement the ones
I saw. I worked with them to build up the energies that I wanted to connect with
and bring forth. I found all the items needed to enhance my working. For
example, when I pulled The Lovers, The Magician, and the 6 of Cups, I looked
at the colors that were strongest from the three cards: Red, Yellow, and Purple.
For herbs and plants, I see the lilies, roses, and apples. For energetic crystals, I
used pyrite to go with the cups, and Selenite crystal for the wand in the
Magician’s hand.  With these in mind I built my plan of what can be done to
bring out the energies of the cards as well. The Lovers energy is love, sure. But it
is also communication and connection. What other items in the other two cards
express connection to me? The roses and lilies in the Magician are associated
with love and blood connections as well as divinity. In the 6 of Cups the two
people are directly interacting which depicts a form of connection.  Both the
Magician and the 6 of cups depict lilies, which suggest connections of purity and
the divine.  The Apples from the trees in the Lovers card can be a nod to the tree
of knowledge, suggesting apple seeds or apple blossoms for the ingredient list.
Using all of these items together offered a strong scent of earthly connection as
well as divine connections.

Then, I added colors derived from various sources, such as, food safe dyes or an
herb or crystal that has the colors that attracted my attention in the images. I
decided to use red for the roses, purple gems, such as amethyst, to connect to the
energies, and pyrite to add the yellow color which came to me from the gold
chalices in the 6 of cups. 

With all the ingredients gathered, the wording started to take form. Some people
like to rhyme things. Personally, I like that for my spell work, as it makes it
easier to memorize and the sounds flows better. You can do as you choose. I
suggest four to six lines that communicate the feel of the spell you have in mind. 

Keeping it simple is the best way to stay focused in the moment. For my spell, I
wrote the following:

Connections may be strong and deep, 
Forms of love for my mind to keep
As I go about my day
Make me aware of all I do and say.
Bring the Divine into each of my actions
Strengthen my heart to these energetic attractions.

So, you have your ingredients, you have your written spell wording. Now what
can you do? Well, you can either blend your ingredients during your ritual time,
or blend them before your ritual, and consecrate the product you have built, or
you can just use the ingredients in everyday life and say the spell wording to
yourself as you use them. The choices are endless. 

For this example, I created an oil to use every morning before I head out to work.
I take the oil, anoint my forehead, chant my spell, and say a thank you to my
spirit guides for the blessing of the day. When I use it in a ritual, I use the oil to
bless a sacred stone that I then carry with me to keep that energetic connection
alive every time I touch it.

Each time you try this you will discover where you want to go with your
creativity. Build a communication oil by adding the roses, lilies and apple
blossoms to a carrier oil and anoint an amethyst to carry in your pocket, rubbing
your fingers over it and repeating your spell as you do it in a morning meditation

This article first appeared in the September 2021 issues of The Cartomancer