Halloween Month

Clearly our ancestors where pre occupied about who they were going to marry !!! Still it s fun to try out for you single folks out there.

If no one speaks at the table during dinner on Halloween, spirits will come to the table.

If you are a single woman and you put Rosemary under your pillow on Halloween night, you will dream of your future husband.

If you want to know if you will have a long life, on Halloween night you have to make an unbroken apple peel, which will estimate how long you will live, the longer the peel is, the longer you'll live.

It is thought that the colours, orange and black, became Halloween colours because orange is associated with harvests (Halloween marks the end of harvest) and black is associated with death.
Black cats were originally believed to protect witches’ powers from ‘negative forces’.

Folklore has it that ringing a bell scares away evil spirits.

Legend claims that if you see a spider on this particular night, it could be the spirit of a deceased loved one who is watching over you.

Another folklore tale states that if you care to encounter a witch, put
your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.

A note from a REAL witch on Halloween

A Witch's Thoughts on Halloween
Most people celebrate Halloween as a children's holiday of candy
and costumes. However, I will be celebrating tonight as Samhain
("Sow-wen"), the Celtic New Year, the night for remembering loved ones
past and looking toward the future. For I am a Neo-pagan, a follower of
the Old Religion, a Wiccan. I am a Witch.
There are probably as many definitions of Wicca as there are prac-
titioners of the Craft--one of the joys of this path is that there is no
"one, true way"; intuition is as valuable as teaching. This then is my
personal definition of what Wicca is to me.
First, what Wicca is not is devil-worship. Wiccans don't believe
in an entity of all-evil. (I personally don't believe in evil per se;
all evil is simply a perversion or excess of something that is good when
present in a proper balance.)
Wicca is a religion based on experience of Deity as male and
female. It is pantheistic--seeing all things as part of God/dess, and
seeing the Earth Herself as a living organism of whom we are part. It
is also a religion of immanence--seeing God/dess present in each of us
and in the world around us, not "out there somewhere" but part of daily
life.
Wiccans celebrate eight major holidays, or sabbats--the beginning
and midpoint of each season. We also celebrate the phases of the moon:
some only celebrate the full moon while others celebrate full, waxing,
and new moons. Each of these rituals helps keep us in touch with
Nature. These celebrations are in small groups usually called circles,
covens, or groves and are usually led by a Priestess, and often a
Priest. Some groups share duties and avoid titles.
Wicca is also a "Craft". We practice magic through chants,
visualizations and spells, all to focus our will on something we want to
happen. We believe that everything we do, good or ill, comes back to us
tripled, which is why we don't "hex" or "curse" anyone. We also believe
that many psychic talents are real and simply haven't been studied
enough by science to be catalogued as such.
Wiccans for the most part accept reincarnation, not as dogma to be
believed, but as fact based on personal experience. Many of us remember
past lives. As one who has studied science, I know that every atom of
my body once was part of something else, and I am continually losing
atoms that become part of others. Knowing this, it makes sense that my
soul also is "recycled".
Wicca is a positive philosophy. The only "law" is 'An it harm
none, do as ye will": Enjoy life to its fullest, and remember to help
everyone else enjoy it as well. Wiccans don't preach; Wiccans don't
evangelize. Everyone has to find his/her own path, and we welcome the
diversity this brings.
So tonight, when you dress up as a "wicked witch", know that there
are "good witches" celebrating as well. Know that I and thousands like
me throughout the world are celebrating the cycles of life through the
dance of the Lord and the Lady, trying to make this world we all share
a little brighter through our cauldron fires in the darkness. Know we
are not out to convert you; know we mean you no harm. All we ask for
is understanding, tolerance, and the freedom to practice as we choose.

Blessed Be,

Cecylyna Brightsword
High Priestess, Thalia Clan
P.O. Box 681092 . Indianapolis, IN 46268-1092 . (317) 579-3083

Competition time ******
Here are my attempts over the years at Pumpkin Carving - there are more in albums - Love Halloween 2 days to go!!!
So once again I will be sitting down with the kids and doing our creations on our pumpkins - its a tradition in our house.
So I want you all to post your Pumpkin carvings on here and the best 2 will win a Free Tarot reading from me - to celebrate the turning of the seasons and remembering those who have passed away.
Happy carving everyone!!!!

Competition time ******
Here are my attempts over the years at Pumpkin Carving - there are more in albums - Love Halloween 5 days to go!!!
So once again I will be sitting down with the kids and doing our creations on our pumpkins - its a tradition in our house.
So I want you all to post your Pumpkin carvings on here and the best 2 will win a Free Tarot reading from me - to celebrate the turning of the seasons and remembering those who have passed away.
Happy carving everyone!!!!

Scorpio – 24^th Oct – 22^nd Nov

Element – Water

Ruling Planets – Mars and Pluto

Birth Stone – Topaz

Celebrities birthdays

Wayne Rooney – Footballer – 24^th October

Katie Perry – Singer- 25^th Oct

Pablo Picasso – artist – 25^th Oct

John Gotti – Criminal (Gambini Family mafia) – 27^th Oct

Karlis Betins - world class chess player – 27^th Oct

Bill Gates – Entrepreneur – 28^th Oct

Ellen Johnson – African Leader – 29^th Oct

Tony Abbot – Australian Prime Minister – 4^th Nov

Gordon Ramsey – Chef – 8^th Nov

Leonardo Di Caprio – Actor – 11^th Nov

Ryan Gosling – Actor – 12^th Nov

Anne Hathaway – Actress – 12^th Nov

Charles Manson – Criminal – 12^th Nov

King Hussein of Jordon – 14^th Nov

Claude Monet – Artist – 14^th Nov

Goodluck Jonathan – Nigeria leader – 20^th Nov

Carly Rae Jepsen – 21^st Nov

          

Linda Bellingham OBE, born a Gemini on the 31st of May 1948 has sadly passed away aged 66 on Sunday after loosing her fight with Colon Cancer. She was best known from our childhoods as the mum in the long running series of "OxO family" adverts. The Actress and TV presenter also filmed her last series on Loose Woman just weeks ago. All tributes coming through from people who knew her through out her life use terms like " a great ball of energy, fun and honest"
Although her thousands of fans will miss her antics on TV, our hearts truly go out to her husband Michael and two sons Michael and Robbie. May the Angels wrap their loving wings around them now with the comfort that Linda is now Resting In peace.

I have pulled this extract from a Wicca website. Included this because I use the parking spell all the time - except I ask my Angels 
"Please Angels can you find me a space " It works everytime. I now have my mum, children and many friends using the Parking spell.

Start by reading Is Magic Real if you haven’t already.
You need to come away with at least the tentative hope that, in fact, witchcraft is real. You need to suspend your disbelief long enough to give yourself a fair chance. As far as I know, anyone can do witchcraft, with the exception of those who are mentally incompetent, intoxicated or those too young or too old to focus their will effectively. White witchcraft, above all else, is about focus—not just mental focus but your entire Being.

But seriously, I often give the following Wicca for beginner spells to acolytes to help get their astral feet wet, so to speak. The first two came to me from a totally non-magical source years ago. I was taking a car trip by myself; and as is my habit, listening to books on tape. The one I had in the player was about the ways of successful people. I don’t remember much about the course but that at one point the author strongly recommended visualization and belief to get what one wanted.

The first example was about waking up at a specific time without an alarm clock. I remember thinking that anybody can do that, it’s not magic, not witchcraft, just a fact that we’re not completely unconscious when we sleep—far from it, in fact.

The other two examples, however, were from the author’s wife. This, I thought, was a completely different story. This involved external reality. The author may not have been aware of it but his wife was probably a bit of a white witch, at least. Lucky him. I still use both witchcraft spells and include them here to give your innate abilities a warm up.

The first one involves the everyday frustration of finding a parking place. The first time I used the spell I decided to give it a real test and try to use it on the worst place I knew to park, outside my NIA yoga/dance class. It was typical to have to park blocks away in this busy downtown area.

The spell is simplicity itself. No tools, ingredients, witchcraft symbols, or invocation prayers are needed, though you can add anything you like if it helps your focus.

Always remember: whether you think you can or can't, you're right. This goes triple for spells and witchcraft.

Simply visualize the parking space you want and know that you will have it. When you get there it will usually be free. The trick is to invoke the white magic spell at least an hour before you arrive. If you pull up and have forgotten to cast the spell you can’t expect a Buick or Toyota to levitate out of the way, though it will often happen that a car will pull out just as you pull up if the spell is working well and you planned ahead.

I have pulled this extract from a Wicca website. Included this because I use the parking spell all the time - except I ask my Angels 
"Please Angels can you find me a space " It works everytime. I now have my mum, children and many friends using the Parking spell.

Start by reading Is Magic Real if you haven’t already.
You need to come away with at least the tentative hope that, in fact, witchcraft is real. You need to suspend your disbelief long enough to give yourself a fair chance. As far as I know, anyone can do witchcraft, with the exception of those who are mentally incompetent, intoxicated or those too young or too old to focus their will effectively. White witchcraft, above all else, is about focus—not just mental focus but your entire Being.

But seriously, I often give the following Wicca for beginner spells to acolytes to help get their astral feet wet, so to speak. The first two came to me from a totally non-magical source years ago. I was taking a car trip by myself; and as is my habit, listening to books on tape. The one I had in the player was about the ways of successful people. I don’t remember much about the course but that at one point the author strongly recommended visualization and belief to get what one wanted.

The first example was about waking up at a specific time without an alarm clock. I remember thinking that anybody can do that, it’s not magic, not witchcraft, just a fact that we’re not completely unconscious when we sleep—far from it, in fact.

The other two examples, however, were from the author’s wife. This, I thought, was a completely different story. This involved external reality. The author may not have been aware of it but his wife was probably a bit of a white witch, at least. Lucky him. I still use both witchcraft spells and include them here to give your innate abilities a warm up.

The first one involves the everyday frustration of finding a parking place. The first time I used the spell I decided to give it a real test and try to use it on the worst place I knew to park, outside my NIA yoga/dance class. It was typical to have to park blocks away in this busy downtown area.

The spell is simplicity itself. No tools, ingredients, witchcraft symbols, or invocation prayers are needed, though you can add anything you like if it helps your focus.

Always remember: whether you think you can or can't, you're right. This goes triple for spells and witchcraft.

Simply visualize the parking space you want and know that you will have it. When you get there it will usually be free. The trick is to invoke the white magic spell at least an hour before you arrive. If you pull up and have forgotten to cast the spell you can’t expect a Buick or Toyota to levitate out of the way, though it will often happen that a car will pull out just as you pull up if the spell is working well and you planned ahead.

halloween

Halloween Month

Can you really see your future husband in the mirror at Halloween?
So the story goes - if a single girl wants to know who she's going to marry, she should place a veil over the mirror on Halloween. When the veil is removed she may see the face of her future husband.
Another tale on Halloween to find out your future bethrothed is to unpeel an apple in one whole piece. Throw the apple peel over your shoulder and the peel should reveal the initial of your future husband.
Also if a man wants to know what his girlfriend will look like in years to come he should pull up cabbage stalks and examine them - long and thin or short and fat will represent his future.

Halloween Month

Can you really see your future husband in the mirror at Halloween?
So the story goes - if a single girl wants to know who she's going to marry, she should place a veil over the mirror on Halloween. When the veil is removed she may see the face of her future husband.
Another tale on Halloween to find out your future bethrothed is to unpeel an apple in one whole piece. Throw the apple peel over your shoulder and the peel should reveal the initial of your future husband.
Also if a man wants to know what his girlfriend will look like in years to come he should pull up cabbage stalks and examine them - long and thin or short and fat will represent his future.

Halloween Month

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows' Evening also known as Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve.

Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as of Australia and New Zealand.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win").
The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
The Celtic theory is that on All Hallows Eve the family would set the table for themselves and for those family members that had passed away. Honouring their deceased loved ones and ancestors.

The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.

Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.

Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighbourhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters. As a Celt I can tell you that Trick or Treating is an American term in Scotland we called it "Guising" as we were in Disguise.

The history of Halloween has evolved. The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. The most significant growth and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the "trick" element. In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal "tricks" and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.

In Ohio, Iowa, and Massachusetts, the night designated for Trick-or-treating is often referred to as Beggars Night.

Part of the history of Halloween is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of "souling," when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas."

Yet there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in America, and trick-or-treating may have developed in America independent of any Irish or British antecedent. There is little primary Halloween history documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in Ireland, the UK, or America before 1900. The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, near the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street guising (see below) on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbours to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Another isolated reference appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. Ruth Edna Kelley, in her 1919 history of the holiday, The Book of Hallowe'en, makes no mention of such a custom in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America." It does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the earliest known uses in print of the term "trick or treat" appearing in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939. Thus, although a quarter million Scots-Irish immigrated to America between 1717 and 1770, the Irish Potato Famine brought almost a million immigrants in 1845-1849, and British and Irish immigration to America peaked in the 1880s, ritualized begging on Halloween was virtually unknown in America until generations later.

Trick-or-treating spread from the western United States eastward, stalled by sugar rationing that began in April 1942 during World War II and did not end until June 1947.

Chilli

Chili peppers, despite their fiery “hotness” are one of very popular spices known for medicinal and health benefiting properties. The chili is actually a fruit pod from the plant belonging to the nightshade family of Solanaceae, within the genus; capsicum. Scientific name: Capsicum annum. Some common members of nightshade family are tomato, aubergine, potato, etc.
Health benefits of chili peppers

Chili pepper contains an impressive list of plant derived chemical compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.


Chilies contain health benefiting an alkaloid compound in them, capsaicin, which gives strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.


Fresh chili peppers, red and green, are rich source of vitamin-C. 100 g fresh chilies provide about 143.7 µg or about 240% of RDA. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis in the body. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body protect from scurvy; develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity) and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.


They are also good in other antioxidants like vitamin A, and flavonoids like ß-carotene, α-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin, and cryptoxanthin. These antioxidant substances in capsicum help to protect the body from injurious effects of free radicals generated during stress, diseases conditions.


Chilies contain a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.


Chilies are also good in B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that body requires them from external sources to replenish.

Chili peppers have amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals. Just 100 g provides (in % of recommended daily allowance):
240% of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid),
39% of vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine),
32% of vitamin A,
13% of iron,
14% of copper,
7% of potassium,
but no cholesterol.

Celebrity Birthdays
Libra – 23rd Sept – 23rd Oct
Ruling Planet – Venus
Birth Stone – Sapphire
Element - Air
Traits – ...
As with all Air signs Libra born people are fantastic communicators. They are charming and witty and can be very strong influencers. (see each week what jobs famous Libran’s do)
The people born under the Sign Libra are kind, gentle and lovers of beauty, harmony and peace. However, in their effort to keep everyone happy, they find it difficult to say ‘NO’ to anyone, and as a result, they end up getting stressed. They have a lot of positive traits, but some negative ones, too. Here we take a look at them to get a better idea about the qualities of a Libra.

Positive Traits Negative Traits

Balanced Indecisive
Romantic Unreliable
Charming Unrealistic
Fair People Pleaser – which could lead to being insincere
Diplomatic Lazy at times

Famous People born under Libra

Will Smith – Actor/Singer – 25th September
Hillary Duff – Actress – 28th September
Horatio Nelson – Influencer and World Leader – 29th September
Gandhi – Influencer and Civil Rights Leader – 2nd October
Vladimir Putin – Russian, World Leader – 7th October
Jesse Jackson - Civil Rights Leader – 8th October
Bruno Mars – Singer/ Song Writer - 8th October
John Lennon – Singer/ Song Writer – 9th October
Hugh Jackman – Actor – 12th October
Margaret Thatcher – UK, World Leader - 13th October
Usher – Singer – 14th October
Eminem - Singer/Rapper/ Song Writer – 17th October
Lee Harvey Oswald – Criminal – accused of killing JFK – 18TH October
Christopher Wren – Architect – 20th Oct


So as you can see from the list of Famous Libran’s they are generally Influencers on a grand scale and largely very popular. Wither they have influenced people through their music, politics, movies or philosophies – they clearly put their heart and soul into their beliefs and manage to charm followers from all over the world. See More

Superstitions
"Not got a pot to piss in" or "piss poor" What's that all about?
In the days when Tanneries used urine to tan the cow hides - the very poor collected the families urine in a communal pot and sold it to the tanneries. If they were very very poor - they wouldn't even have a pot to piss in!! Nice - thankfully we ve moved on from that era!!! Also if people were "dirt poor" It was because the couldn't afford stone flooring or rugs - instead they just had the ground inside their home.

Halloween Bags. GET READY FOR HALLOWEEN!! Reusable, tote with padded handles, hand painted and personalise if you choose. All designs have some 3d features.
Size 20 x 20 £6 each - p&p an extra £2.35 (10 photos)