HOLY SABBATH 10" Certified Kosher Soy Tapers, Unscented Pair w/ Star of David on Luxury Midori Ribbon for Shabbat Candelighting, Blessing

ט׳ באב תשע"א
Lughnasadh 11

With these candles
We ask of Goddess
The Goddess of our Mothers
of the Earth and of all Living Beings
To grant us good life and health
To all my dear ones
And to the whole world

With these candles
We ask of God
The God of our Fathers
whose Strength and Skill gird us
To grant us good life and health
To all my dear ones
And to the whole world

So mote it be, Amen.

[my rendition of the traditional Sephardic blessing recited before Shabbat ritual candlelighting]

Celebrate an extra special Holy Sabbath Day and give a gift of shalom with these lovely unscented 10" HOLY SABBATH white tapers handcrafted with premium certified kosher soy wax and pure cotton wick. Adorned with a silver pewter Star of David charm hung on luxury soft blue Midori organdy ribbon, these tapers measure approximately 1" diameter at the base.

Use these candles to bring blessing to those you love, into your own life, for peace, harmony, healing, goodwill and bounty.

Comes beautifully packaged.

Sabbath Light Blessing Candle

ד' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 4

Now available at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - the Sabbath Light Blessing candle.




ברוך אתה יהוה אלהנו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להדליק נר של שבת

Blessed are You, Great Ancestor of All, Who communicates to us the Teaching which brings forth the Sabbath Light.

So mote it be.

Simply amazing magic.

Mirror Magic

י"ד בטבת תשס"ח
Grael 15
Motzi Shabbat Yule

My 6" diameter, 1" deep concave, 1/4" thick skrying mirror is handblown, handrolled and double layered deep black glass fused with a clear glass layer over the top surface. The back surface is finished and the edges naturally softened by the kiln melt process.

A concave mirror is "where a parallel beam of light becomes a convergent beam, whose rays intersect in the focus of the mirror." (Wiki)

When in use, my black mirror rests upon an 8" X 8" square black skrying pillow.

When not in use, my mirror is wrapped with a 42" X 42" square dark navy Celtic paisley ("clearing") print pure silk scarf, placed upon the pillow, and contained within a 9.5" X 9.5" square, 4.5" deep, Tree of Life with Celtic knotwork wooden chest. The volume of the chest is 406.125 cubic inches. The value 406 is the gematria of בקדש, "in holiness", of האת, "the sign", of לשלום, "of peace", and of אתה, containing the mystery of all the permutations and cyclings of the letters of the Jewish-Hebrew aleph-beit. The value 125 is the gematria of החזקה, "the strong", of גבעים, "cups" and of יפלה, "differentiates". The value of 406 pertains to the Unity of Atzilut. The value of 125 pertains to the Creation Power of Beriyah. Taken together, the value of 406 + 125 = 531, which is the gematria of לאשר, meaning "of happiness", "of successful straightforward progression", "of the tree of blessing", and "of well trodden steps".

The underside of the chest's lid is engraved with my Jewish name in Hebrew letters and my Celtic name in Ogham letters. The inside bottom of the chest is engraved with all 48 (= יובל) letters of the Hebrew (including the otiot sofiot and the 4-shin) and Ogham alphabets.

The deep black layer of the mirror pertains to an integral fusion of Yetzirah (the universe of Formation) and the Divine Essence (Atzmut). The clear layer of the mirror pertains to the clarity of Malchut, itself integrally fused and supported by the Divine Essence revealed in the deep blackness of my Magic Mirror.

First, I chose the tools which spoke to me. Then, I explored the dimensional correspondences to discover meanings which reveal the deep Guiding Essence supporting my endeavors as a Jewitch.

Secret Of Shalhevet

א' בטבת תשס"ח
Grael 2

1 part midsummer's sabbat balefire ash
1 part shabbat incense ash
1 part fine gold sparkles
1 part dark amber resin
1 pinch Dead Sea salt (Israel)
1 pinch Flower of the Ocean (hand-harvested Celtic sea salt)

Barley - Evidence Of Reconnection

ז' שבט ה'תשס"ז

Note that today's Hebrew date rests like a double shabbat, a shabbat shabbaton, and like the double edges of a witch's athame, between two letters zayin (ז ... ז).

The second product of the Land that we traditionally eat during Tu B'Shevat is barley. The word in Devarim 8:8 is ושׂערה meaning "and barley", where the first [1] letter is a vav (ו) of connection called a vav hachibur. This is the vav which reconnects the letter yod to the letter chet in the word wheat (חיטה) as discussed in my previous entry, Wheat - From Galut To Geulah (from exile to redemption).

Evidence for this reconnection is found in the root שׂער of the word for barley, which implies a strong movement from within [2]. The first letter of the root is sin ("s" sound) as opposed to shin ("sh" sound), with a nikud (dot) over the left pillar as opposed to the right pillar. Consequently, we can see that the movement manifests through action of the feminine left emanation.

What is this movement? It is the movement described in Sefer Yetzirah 1:6 and 6:1 as a stormwind, the se'arah. Ruach se'arah [3] is a klipah (as I've distinguished previously here, Sufah and Se'arah), in contradistinction to ruach hakodesh or divine inspiration. Like its ezer knegdo, the shoresh "against it" (שרע), it implies stretching and extending in response to a strong inner movement. In other words, it is deliberate, measured, active work. This klipah gives the soul something to push and pull against enabling growth. As a yetziratic "agitating wind" meant to loosen distorted complexes in the soul for removal and/or reconstruction, ruach se'arah is neither as powerful nor as potentially destructive as Ruach HaShem. Ruach se'arah results when the human moves toward the divine. Ruach HaShem results when the divine bestows upon the human. Consequently, the powerful presence of the "chaotic dynamic" described here is evidence that the reconnection has been established.

In my own life, this dynamic is discussed most notably here (Soul Of A Bat Kohen) and here (Modah Ani).

Footnotes:

[1] Hebrew is read right to left, as opposed to from left to right as with English.

[2] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

[3] Inner Space, R' Aryeh Kaplan

Consecrating My Athame

כ"ח טבת ה'תשס"ז

Tonight is the esbat of the Dark Moon. In contrast to Rosh Chodesh, which notes the first sliver of silvery light sighted each month, the Dark Moon is fully within the Shadow of Night. Light represents activity. Darkness represents rest. In other words, while Rosh Chodesh celebrates rebirth, the Dark Moon rests symbolically as a tzelem Elohim within the Dark Essence of Ein Sof.

Consequently, with the Light resting within the completely Dark Essence of Ein Sof, the Dark Moon esbat represents a shabbat of the moon. The moon generally corresponds to soul power of Emet (אמת truth) and to the sefirah Yesod (יסוד foundation). Thus, this esbat of Tevet, my athame will be infused with the Essential Foundation of Truth and the power of shabbat consciousness.

The esbat nocturnal ritual (performed surrounding midnight):

Complete steps 1, and 3 as found in Jewitch Shabbat Ritual.

Set up altar to basically include a central black taper candle standing upon a pentagram tile, a red pomegranate votive candle, and an incense blend [2] prepared with a teardrop within cauldron censer.

Light black taper (projective energy), saying:

Beruchah at Shechinah HaShem Chai, malchat shel Shabbat v'Esbat b'laylah, who transforms darkness into brilliance.

Use flame from the taper to light pomegranate votive (receptive energy) candle, saying:

Beruchah at Shechinah HaShem Chai, ruach shel Shabbat v'Esbat b'laylah, move through the Shadow of Night and be One with the Light.

Use flame from the taper to light the incense, saying:

Blessed are You Shechinah Acknowledger of Life, ruler of the universe, who has gifted me with a portion of Truth.

Beruchah at Shechinah HaShem Chai, malkat ha'olam, she'natnah li chemdat emet.

Wipe down both sides of the blade of the athame with a magnet.

Rinse with consecrated water [1]. Don't wipe dry.

Pass athame through incense smoke, saying:

ישמך אלהים השם חיי כאמת וחנה
Y'simech Elohim HaShem Chai k'Emet v'Chanah.

May the Goddess who acknowledges life make you as truth and favor.

Go outside and under the Dark Moon, cast the circle (step 7 here) using the index and middle fingers of the right hand.

Hold athame straight up with both hands directly over the crown of the head, saying:

With the Dance of Holy Darkness, I dedicate, consecrate, awaken, charge and infuse you.

Encircling the tip deosil overhead 8 times, saying each time:

ברוך שם כבוד מלכותה לעולם ועד
Baruch shem kevod malchutah le'olam va'ed.

Blessed is the Glorious Name, Her Kingdom stands forever and ever.

Following the eighth blessing, bring the athame parallel to the heart, point up, saying:

אמן
Amen.

Turning athame, point down, saying:

So mote it be.

Draw a pentagram invoking earth into the soil. Wipe off any dirt from the tip of the blade with the middle fingers, using the left middle finger for one side and the right middle finger for the other.

Kiss both sides of the blade near the middle and the hilt.

Bring the athame inside and place on the altar, saying:

With the Divine Shadow be embraced. So mote it be.

Allow candles and incense to burn themselves out. Leave up circle of protection. Wrap athame in black cloth and store with altar tools after the flames and incense have become dark.

Footnotes:

[1] Banished of negativity and blessed.

[2] Dragon's blood, frankincence, myrrh, pinch of salt, drop of vanilla oil, drop of olive oil, drop of red wine.

Jewitch Shabbat Ritual

Here is the first formal Friday evening shabbat ritual I have written for the solitary Jewitch. It may tweaked and refined as time goes by. This is the basic format from which I will build:

1. Take a bath or shower. Visualize washing away physical, emotional and spiritual impurity, letting all negativity flow down the drain with the water. Dress in ritual attire. Put on Jewitch pentacle (pentacle + magen David), saying:

Blessed is this Unity. Her Glorious Name is One. So mote it be.

2. "Sweep" (counterclockwise-"widdershins" and out) ritual space with besom. Visualize removing all negative energy from it, saying:

From this place, I banish all negativity and evil. So mote it be.

3. Perform ritual bath. Add herbs and oil of choice [1] to ritual bowl containing warm water.

Relax. Breathe. Stand facing north (Gevurah, fire) in front of bath bowl. Purify and consecrate the water mixture, placing tip of athame into the water, saying:

Out from you I cast all that is impure and unclean. Blessed are you, with the heart of the Shechinah. You are Holy. So mote it be.

Lay athame upon empty altar "place" (where altar will be or is permanently located). Face north/ritual bath bowl. Hold palms facing upward, saying:

Shechinah, fierce and intense, gentle and mild, blessed are You, and I am Your beloved child.

Dip finger of choice [2] in bath, close eyes. Anoint eyelids by drawing a small pentagram (invoking air [3]) on each with your finger, saying:

Open my eyes to see, my mind to understand and my perception to clarity.

Open your eyes. Dip finger of choice in bath, anointing lips in same fashion, saying:

Open my lips to speak the truth.

Similarly, anoint your breast, saying:

Open my heart to beat with compassion.

Similarly, anoint the palms of your hands, saying:

Open the strength of my hands to do rightly.

Similarly, anoint your loins, saying:

Open my lifeforce to flow with the Source of Peace.

Similarly, anoint your knees, saying:

Open me to be a revealed blessing.

Similarly, anoint the tops of both feet, saying:

Open the path to all good and guard my way upon it.

4. Cleanse the ritual space.

Sprinkle salt-herb water from ritual bowl, starting from the north and turning clockwise ("deosil", pronounced "jess-el", also called "sunwise" and the "holy round"); i.e. north to east to south to west. Repeat by carrying a representative of each of the four elements [4, 5], working with one element at a time.

5. Set up your altar.

Faced north, located on the eastern side of the room/space. Sprinkle salt-herb water over altar area. Set up table or other surface. Cover with black altar cloth. Individualize set up of altar space. Place candle trays upon the altar cloth now if you are going to use them. Place "circle" quarter candle (black anointed and consecrated tea candles in clear crystal circle holders) on each side of the altar north to east to south to west.

Generally, and in this order [3], place fire element (main illuminator black candle anointed, consecrated and inscribed using athame) and athame on the northern side of the altar. Place air element (incense in cauldron censor) and witch's wand (symbolizes "order from chaos") on the eastern side. Place water element (bowl of water) and chalice/kiddush cup on the southern side. Place earth element (stone or piece of wood) and pentacle on the western side.

Place besom on eastern corner (on or near the altar). Place other objects pertaining to your ritual intent upon the altar if desired [6]. Note, the only steel or iron item upon your altar should be your athame.

6. Call the quarters or watchtowers.

Pick up athame. With projecting hand (right), hold it point up parallel to your heart. Face north, raise up athame, drawing a pentagram in space with your athame in the manner invoking fire [3], saying:

Blessed is She, the Eternal Flame and the Essence of Truth.

Hail Guardians of the Watchtowers of the north, element of the fire, I, (your name), do summon, stir and call you forth to witness this rite, and to protect this sacred space and time. Welcome to my circle. Stand in strength. Blessed be in joy, love and light. So mote it be.

Point athame into (toward) the earth, walk/turn the circle clockwise (deosil), then return athame to the altar. Face the east, light incense, raising it and drawing a pentagram in space in the manner invoking air [3], saying:

Blessed is She, Mistress of the mysteries of spices and perfumes, the One over Death, and She who loves me.

Hail Guardians of the Watchtowers of the east, element of the air. I, (your name), do summon, stir and call you forth to witness this rite, and to protect this sacred space and time. Welcome to my circle. Stand in strength. Blessed be in joy, love and light. So mote it be. [7]

Holding censor, turning a complete circle (or walk the circle) deosil, reface the altar. Return censor to the eastern quarter of the altar. Pick up water bowl on the southern quarter.

Repeat with south-water, west-earth.

Blessing over water element:

Blessed is She who bestows Wisdom.

Blessing over earth element:

Blessed is She who sustains Life.

7. Cast your circle, pick up athame, extend it outward and down toward the earth, walking deosil starting from the north, saying:

I conjure you, O Circle, to establish in this place sacred ground, with the Brilliance of the Shechinah surround, Her Power within it found.

No place or time or barrier may there be, between Her, my word and me. So mote it be.

Baruch shem kevod malchutah leolam va'ed, amen.

ברוך שם כבוד מלכותה לעולם ועד, אמן
Translation: Blessed is the Glorious Name, Her Kingdom stands forever and ever, amen.

8. Light the illuminator-shabbat candle(s), (covering eyes) saying:

Blessed are You Shabbat, Goddess of all life, Who transforms darkness into light.

Uncover eyes and circle flame 3 times with hands (starting and ending over your heart), each time drawing light toward you.

9. Pour and bless wine, saying:

Blessed are You Shechinah, Goddess of all life, Who guides me to wise understanding, proper compassion and right action.

Take a drink.

10. Blessing over bread:

Blessed are You Shechinah, Who nourishes me with all goodness.

Take a bite.

11. Perform other specific observances, shabbat spellwork, meditative study, etc.

12. Release quarters and open circle [8] following havdalah.


Footnotes:

[1] Dragon's blood, frankincence, myrrh, pinch of salt, drop of vanilla oil, drop of olive oil, drop of red wine (may vary according to intent of ritualwork). Ritual bath general reference: The Craft (Dorothy Morrison).

[2] See Ari's chiromancy correspondences.

[3] Pentagram invocations and banishings according to correspondences of the Zohar (hat-tip to Jack Nathanson for Zohar reference).




[4] Examples of elemental representatives: earth (stone, small piece of wood, bowl of salt, pentacle), fire (small lit candle, athame), air (lit incense stick or feather, wand), water (bowl of water, seashell, chalice).

[5] Elemental correspondences according to the Zohar: north-fire, east-air, south-water, west-earth.

[6] Book of Shadows (BOS), cauldron, tarot cards, dream journal, ritual jewelry, cakes/cookies/challah, kosher wine or grapejuice.

[7] "Hail, Guardians ... so mote it be" - standard quarter call revised from Solitary Witch (Silver RavenWolf).

[8] Walking and moving widdershins (counterclockwise), using pentagram "banishing" formations at the quarters to return the energies from whence they came.

Circle Name Of Shabbat Consciousness

In addition to my Hebrew names, my circle name [1] shall I hereby join to them.

Lleucu, pronounced "Lly-kee" (i.e. Lley-kee) is a Celtic/Welsh name meaning "light". As "Liorah" means "light to me", Lleucu marks its reception. It is the name of a true mekubal.

Transliterated into Hebrew letters, Lleucu ללאכו (where א is vowelized with tzere) comes from the root (shoresh) לאך, meaning "accomplishing work", "messenger" and "angel". [2] This root is found in derivation in Bereshit 2:2 -

"And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made."

ויכל אל הים ביום השביעי, מלאכתו אשר עשה; וישבת ביום השביעי, מכל-מלאכתו אשר עשה

Lleucu ללאכו is my name of Shabbat consciousness. ללאכו has a gematria of 87 (see Akvah). It is also the root לאך surrounded by the letters ל"ו (see lamedvavnik).

Footnotes:

[1] Ritual mystical name.

[2] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

see also Mashpia, Lleucu - The Secret Of Amen, Circle Casting, Double Blessings, Double Lameds