I connect to the magical energy of Mother Nature every morning. I do this when I let the dog out first thing. Whilst he is bounding around and sniffing every plant, stone, and corner of the garden, I take a moment to myself. I encourage you to take a step outside every day. Look at the plants around you; see the leaves and the flowers and the stage of life they are at. Look up to the sky. Feel the sun and the air on your skin. Note the clouds and their patterns. Listen to the birds and the sounds of life around you. Take a deep breath in and feel the energy of the moment. Sometimes when I am doing this, a word or a feeling will pop into my head. Occasionally, I even get a message about what magic to work or which tasks to take on that day. Most importantly, I am connecting with Mother Nature and the energy she provides, watching, looking, listening, and feeling the moment that nature is in. but I am also connecting with the energy of the land beneath my feet, the layer upon layer of memories our ancestors left there. Get to know your area. Don’t just get to know your area in the ordinary sense of going for walks and finding out where everything is—really delve into the history. With so much information available at our fingertips, it is easy to source the history and folklore of any one place. Find out what has happened in your area over the past few centuries. What history does it hold? What folk stories or myths are associated with it?
Connect with the energy of the land that is below your feet. Interact with the ancestors that came before you. The Romans called it genius loci, which translates to “spirit of place.” Every location has the spirit or energy of the place, whether it is a field, a forest, a shopping mall, or a car park. Even modern buildings and spaces will have a spirit or an energy that you can connect with. It is a feeling, an energy, or perhaps an aura.
I am not talking ghosts or spirits of those long dead, but the energy of a place made up from memories of those that have been there before and the energy of the buildings or land itself. The energy is held within the buildings, the earth, and the space. Not only will it help you understand your local area, it will also help you feel comfortable, connected, and at home with the land. When I visit a place—or even when I am just in my own garden or house—I connect with that energy. Open yourself up, use your senses, and feel the energy; talk to it. Remember that you don’t need to visit a famous “sacred” place to feel connected. Every place is sacred, and none more so than your own home and yard.
Connect to your sacred space; take three long deep breaths.
Standing or sitting, with both hands on your heart and say, "From my heart”, stretching both hands into the air, say "To the sky”.
Putting both hands on or facing down to the earth, as close to it as you can get, say "To the land”.
Putting both hands on your heart, say "To my heart”.
Leaving both hands on your heart, say "From my heart”, reaching out your right hand, "To all points on the compass".
Reach out your left hand and place your right hand on your heart and say, "To all directions”.
Putting both hands on your heart, say "To my heart”
She is ancient…
She is the landscape beneath our feet
She is the mountains and the hills
She is the rock and stone that leads down to the shore
She is wisdom
She is knowledge
She is mysteries
She is the old hag
She is The Cailleach
We call to you of wise and ancient one to lend your wisdom and seer abilities to this ritual
Welcome The Cailleach
Today we are looking at a form of divination that can benefit from the energy of the ancestors, calling upon them to help guide you with your readings, in the form of the pendulum.
You might already own a pendulum, and if you do we are going to walk you through a small blessing ritual that you can use for it. If you are making your pendulum today, now is the time to put the pieces together and we will bless and charge it afterwards.
You will need a crystal point, key, ring, hag stone or pendant (something with a hole in and a bit of weight to it is best)
A lightweight chain (an old necklace works well) ribbon, cord or string can be used if not. 10-14 inches is perfect.
If your object doesn’t have a hole in it, you will need to wire wrap it. If you haven’t done this before you can make your pendulum later unless you have everything you need and know what you’re doing. There are lots of good instructional videos on YouTube.
The easiest way to make a pendulum is with an old chain and a crystal pendant that still has the loop on the top. Attach the chain fastener to the loop on the pendant and voila, you have a pendulum. Otherwise, attach your chain, string or ribbon to your weighted object in whatever way you feel will work.
Please post photos of your pendulums on the Kitchen Witch Coven or Student page, whether you make them now or later.
Once you have created your own pendulum or purchased one we find it helps make a connection by charging and blessing it.
Light some incense, or if you prefer you can use essential oil.
Hold your pendulum and pass it through the incense smoke or dab it with a spot of essential oil.
Say:
Incense smoke/oil to cleanse and consecrate
Psychic connection from my ancestors and clarity to create
Draw upon the magic from the ancestors of mine
My psychic abilities will be more than just fine
Pass the pendulum back through the smoke or dab with more oil and say:
Smoke of incense/oil to cleanse and consecrate
Ancestors psychic connection and clarity to create
Allow the incense to burn out.
This can be repeated when you feel the need to cleanse or recharge your pendulum.
Now let’s take a look at working with it.
Let’s start by understanding the directional swings. Pendulums can swing vertically and horizontally in straight lines. They can also do circular movements - clockwise and counter clockwise, in an elliptical motion, a sort of bobbing/vibration movement up and down.
There’s no right or wrong here and you will need to spend some time understanding the directional swing of your pendulum since each pendulum and person is different.
Assign each directional swing a response by first asking the pendulum to show you what their response looks like.
Try asking,
“What does a NO look like?”
“What do YES look like?
“What does I am not sure look like?”
Posing these questions individually to your pendulum and gaining its answer will help you when advancing to more challenging questions.
Now try out a few simple Yes/No question with your pendulum and keep a record of your answers. Make sure to intentionally stop any pendulum motion between questions to clear any lingering energies that pertain to the previous question.
I always like to thank my pendulum after it has given me an answer too. It pays to build a connection and a relationship with your pendulum. Before I work with my pendulum I often call upon the wisdom of my ancestors or deity to help guide me in the reading.
The secret to getting answers from your pendulum is to keep the questions simple. It can only really give you yes or no answers, don’t expect anything more detailed and you won’t be disappointed because you can easily confuse it!
We have shown you the very basics today, keep your pendulum with you so that it gets used to your energy and you to it. Work with it regularly and build a relationship.
Once you have gotten used to it you can also work with pendulum boards that have words written on them as well.
And now it is the part of the ritual where we feast, we eat and drink and raise a glass to our ancestors and their energy!
What is everyone eating and drinking today?
We will now disconnect our sacred space
To The Cailleach, Crone and wise one, we thank you for your energy and insight today and wish you farewell.
Standing or sitting, with both hands on your heart and say, “From my heart, stretching both hands into the air, say “To the sky”.
Putting both hands on or facing down to the earth, as close as you can get, say “To the Land”.
Putting both hands on your heart, say “To my heart”.
Leaving both hands on your heart, say “From my heart”, reaching out your right hand, say “From all points of the compass”.
Reach out your left hand and place your right hand on your heart and say, “From all directions”.
Both hands on your heart, say “To my heart, thank you”.
To watch the replay of the ritual, please click here