June 2023 Newsletter
Welcome to our June 2023 Kitchen Witch newsletter.
Following on from the Beltane theme of celebrating life, this month is also about the abundance of beauty on our planet and all that she provides for us.
The longest day and the shortest night of the year arrives in June. This is a time to celebrate the completion of the cycle that began at the winter solstice – the Sun is at the height of its power and although hopefully the hot days of summer are yet to come this is the point when the year starts to wane.
Connect to this moment by taking time to stop, be still and look back over the past few months, celebrate your achievements and acknowledge your failures, make sense of your actions and learn from them. Focus now on what you want to nurture and develop during the coming months.
June Magical Energy
Full but restful energy; protect, strengthen and prevent. A time of light; Earth tides are turning. Decision making, taking responsibility for present happenings. Work on personal inconsistencies. Strengthen and reward yourself for your positive traits. Celebrate, clarity, reflect, focus, nurture and develop.
Rachel x
Citrine from Sue Perryman
For the month that brings us the Summer Solstice I decided to write about Citrine. Described as liquified sunlight, Citrine is said to carry the energy of the Sun, and like the Sun it lifts the spirits and brings happiness, joy and positive energy.
Natural Citrine that has been heated by the earth is not as common as the type that is commercially heat-treated Amethyst. They have similar energies, but the natural kind is more powerful. Heat- treated Amethyst has a deeper more orange colour and the natural is much paler.
Citrine is from the Quartz family of crystals, its name comes from the French word ‘citron’, meaning lemon.
It is a potent cleansing stone, that absorbs and dissipates negative energy, cleanses the aura and chakras, particularly the Solar Plexus, and never needs cleansing itself.
Sprinkle Citrine elixir around your home to keep those pesky negative energies away.
A stone of abundance and prosperity, keep a small tumble stone in your purse or wallet to attract money.
Citrine can enhance feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem; it can improve concentration and focus so is a good stone to keep on you when you have an exam or test.
Physically, Citrine can ease skin problems and allergies, it is an energetic powerhouse and is beneficial to those with Chronic Fatigue syndrome, M.E and Fibromyalgia.
Keep a Citrine crystal on the windowsill of every room in your home if you are trying to sell it, it is believed to attract a buyer.
Carry Citrine on you to bring love into your life and to guard you from those who would break your heart.
Citrine is one of the best stones to enhance your creativity.
Magical Properties: Happiness, Joy, negative energy, abundance, prosperity, depression, stress, success, healing, intuition, creativity, confidence, self-esteem, protection, clarity.
Element: Fire, air
Birthstone: Gemini
Chakra: Solar Plexus
Planet: Sun, Mercury
What's Going on in Nature this Month from Ness Armstrong
Well, at long last, we are having some dry and warm days here in the UK. The temperatures aren't quite hitting the 'summer clothes' mark - not for me anyway - I'm the last one out of my jeans and boots!
Nature is really starting to flourish now. Footpaths on my walk are overgrown with all sorts of greenery - cow parsley, nettles, ragwort, hogweed, cleavers, grasses (brome, cocksfoot and meadowgrass) Elderflower is starting to bloom and the hedgerows are alive with hawthorn blossom. Daisies and dandelions carpet flat green spaces.
As the Summer Solstice approaches, we can expect to see chamomile, mugwort, dog rose, honeysuckle, meadow sweet and rowan blossom and many other beautifully scented plants, trees and flowers.
Honeysuckle from Heather Dewhurst
One of those summer evening scents which is so evocative of happiness and abundance is honeysuckle. With its sweet and fruity fragrance notes, to its curiously-shaped petals containing tasty nectar inside, honeysuckle is beautiful for us and for wildlife.
Not only that, but it also packs an arsenal of magical properties within its flowers, twigs, leaves, and berries – health warning do not ingest the berries, they are toxic.
Honeysuckle Magical Correspondences
Botanical Name: Lonicera caprifolium; Lonicera japonica
Folk Names: Dutch Honeysuckle, Goat’s Leaf, Woodbine
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Jupiter
Element: Earth
Sign: Gemini, Cancer
Magical Properties: abundance, prosperity, balance, lust, memory, happiness, protection, divination, intuition, psychic powers, love, luck, wealth, and healing
Magical Ways to Use Honeysuckle
Take a few fresh flower heads and steep in hot water, strain, sweeten if wanted with honey, sip and relax.
Fresh or dried honeysuckle flowers can also be added to wine for a magical concoction. Simply allow the blooms to steep in your beverage, and then strain them when ready to drink.
Honey suckle scent can stimulate dreams of love and passion. Try burning a honeysuckle scented candle or spritzing your home with a honeysuckle room freshener.
According to superstition, bringing a honeysuckle plant in bloom into the house will cause a wedding to take place soon.
Growing a honeysuckle plant near the home or placing the vines in a vase attracts love, good fortune, and wealth and protects against negative energies.
Burning a green candle encircled by honeysuckle flowers will also draw wealth.
Rub fresh honeysuckle flowers on your brow to stimulate your psychic abilities, enhance your intuition, and inspire prophetic visions and dreams.
Dreaming of honeysuckle is believed to be an auspicious omen and usually means that good fortune and happy days are ahead for you and your loved ones,
Sources and further reading –
Cunningham’s Encyclopaedia of Magical Herbs
A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Plants & Herbs by Rachel Patterson
www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/magickal-properties-of-honeysuckle
www.magickalspot.com/honeysuckle/
Rune of the month from Ness Armstrong
This months rune is Othala/Odal. The rune of the ancestral home and of our sacred boundaries.
Perhaps you've lived in your home for a long time, maybe its only been for a little while. Take the opportunity this month to think about the energies within your home. Delve into who lived there before you, and maybe before them, and so on. How old is your home, what is the history behind it? If it is fairly new, what was on the land before your house was built?
Although Othala is about our own homes, our boundaries - of where we are supposed to feel safe. Drawing this rune can also indicate that someone is encroaching on our personal boundary, our own inner sacred space. Something to be mindful of...
With blessings of the month from
Rachel Patterson, Ness Armstrong, Sue Perryman, Heather Dewhurst
What's On?
Every WEDNESDAY Morning, 9am UK time join Rachel for a live chat on www.facebook.com/RachelPattersonbooks
& www.youtube.com/c/RachelPattersonwitchauthor
2023
Rachel has online courses running with The College of Psychic Studies, check out their website for details
22nd - 25th June - Pagan Tribal Gathering - https://www.pagantribalgathering.org.uk/
For Kitchen Witch students - study hall and readings events - check the forum for details
