Autumn Enchantments
I don't know about you but tis time of the year, Autumn, brings me such a renewed Energy to all aspects in my life. Maybe its the crisp cool air, the scent of fallen leaves, pumpkins, squash, or the many decorations and colors about. Or maybe it's because Samhain is the New Year and the time for a new beginnings. I do know it's one of my most favorite and treasured seasons of the year, the other being Spring.
Any where I look or walk I can feel the Enchantment in the air...buzzing all around me...through me...filling me with this wondrous Energy and sense of being. How can you bring Enchantment into this time of the year around your home, workplace, or sacred space? Adding a little Autumn Enchantment to your home is rather easy enough, especially when you approach it from a natural-magickal perspective. So, for a moment lets look at some of the Samhain/Haloween decorations and add a little Witchy touch to them ;)
Why not cast a witchy eye on all of the beautiful, natural bounty that nature has to offer us at this time of the year and see what sort of Autumn Enchantment you can conjure up? Take a fresh look at nature and see what sort of new, elemental spin you can put on your own individualized magick.
Apples;
Apples are among the most magickal of fruits. According to many mythologies it si the food that grants eternal youth and immortality to the Gods. Any mortal lucky enough to get a hold of a sacred apple and consume it would then gain access to the underworld and receive the gift of prophecy. When it's sliced clockwise, the apple reveals a star-shaped arrangement of seeds inside. This is sometimes referred to as the Star of Knowledge.
The Apple is the “secret” symbol for the Craft, and the traditional harvest game of bobbing for apples may have some ties to old divination magick. The point of the game is to test the petitioner; as the apple floats and bobs along the water's surface, to hold their breath, dunk her/his head in, and try to grab the apple using only their teeth. Going through water to get the apple is symbolic of the journey to Avalon (land of apples.) If the person is successful, he/she gets to eat the apple, perhaps acquiring the ability of foresight and magick.
Autumn Leaves;
Here is a great idea that won't cost you a dime; gather fall leaves and display them in an old jar or basket, or arrange them across a shelf or mantle with seasonal gourds and mini-pumpkins. I also place some on my Altar, and use them in my outdoor Samhain decorations. You can also use them as accessories in your magick. Try the scarlet-brown Oak leaves to invoke the wisdom of the green Man. Use red or yellow Maple leaves in charm bags to promote love or sweeten up your life. Add the luminous red leaves of the dogwood to spells and charms designed to bring love and security or to encourage a happy and protected home.
Work with soft yellow Elm leaves for Fairy magick and glamours (a name used for Elm tree Elves.) Or simply use the various colors of the leaves as part of your color magick, just like you would a candle. Match the color of the leaf to your magickal intent.
Corn Stalks and Ornamental Corn;
Porch posts wrapped n golden-brown cornstalks stylishly celebrate the harvest festivals and encourage prosperity and good luck. Corn is sacred to many and Earth mother Goddess, so think about that the nest time you go to tie a bundle of the rustling stalks to your porch. Cornstalks displayed inside, or now a days outside of the home, are thought to encourage fertility and to bring good luck. Plus it really sets the stage for the harvest celebration.
Ornamental Corn is a popular decorative accessory for the fall months. Sometimes referred to as “Indian Corn,” these brightly colored ears come in a rainbow of jewel-tones and colors. Try stringing up the ears into garlands that can be tied to a porch, hung above doorways, or laid across the mantle. Try this Autumn Enchantment as you fasten the ears of corn up for display;
“This golden season of Autumn, I now celebrate; Blessed be the harvest, make strong my magickal faith. Three ears of corn for the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone; Lady bless this house with abundance, and make it your own.”
Pumpkins;
What is Samhain/Halloween without pumpkins? It's hard to picture this holiday without the glowing and flickering faces of jack-o-lanterns lining the streets or perched on top of porches, stumps, and hay bales. This native squash became popular as a replacement vegetable for the Irish custom of using turnips or hallowed out cabbages.
Pumpkins can be grown just about anywhere, including six out of seven continents! The original purpose for the jack-o-lanterns was to frighten away evil spirit, so consider using them for your Samhain conjunction with your candle magick to frighten away negativity and bad luck this year. As you light the candle, repeat the following;
“Bright pumpkin that glows, and scented candles of black, Send bad luck away, turn negativity back, By all the enchantment of three times three, Lady hear my Spell on this Hallowed Eve.”
