Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil

ב' אייר תשס"ט
Annwn 3

In perfect love and perfect trust. Give wings to your spells and prayers, invoke the highest form of love, bring blessings down from the stars, and call up inspiration from the earth.

Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil is an intoxicating blend of frangipani, sandalwood and 3 types of wildharvested handpicked wildflowers from my yard, in a certified organic safflower oil base. Charged with a peridot gemstone, Wytche Blessings Perfume Oil was handcrafted during the planetary hour of Saturn (corresponding to reish, the magical letter of serenity) with the waxing crescent moon 5% full.

Naturally magical, powerfully enchanting, simply divine, the mother of all perfumes. A flower from the Pagoda tree (revered in India as the Tree of Life), frangipani epitomizes Sacred Perfection, its mesmerizing scent stimulates the unobstructed flow of benevolence, mercy and goodness into one's life, to shower blessings upon the soul. Peridot brings joy, health, wealth and happiness.

Awen Ancestor Conjure Incense

ל' ניסן תשס"ט
Annwn 1

Open a magical door to the ancestral spirits of the Otherworld. Awen Ancestor Conjure Incense is a sacred brew derived from a traditional Celtic Faery Witchcraft recipe for pathworking with the Ancestors. A blend of certified organic dittany of Crete, whole star anise with seeds, marshmallow leaf, acacia leaf, myrrh and patchouli with cedarwood essential oil, the botanicals were ground using a natural olive wood mortar and pestle, and called with three breaths of Awen to awaken as a bridge to the Ancestors under the erev shabbat New Moon of Annwn during the planetary hour of Jupiter.

The 4 dram corked vial is sealed with black wax, pentacle stamped and hung with a silver key bearing the letter "E", the fifth letter of the alphabet. "E" is the English descendant of the ancient proto-Sinaitic letter "hei" (from which is also derived the modern Hebrew letter ה). In Jewish Kabbalah, it is taught that the letter "hei" gave birth and ever continues to give birth to all the magical letters of the Hebrew alphabet (as is Awen the origin of all the magical Ogham of the Coel Bren).

Ogham staves:

Ruis - Elder (unhewn dolmen, r, reish ר)
Ailm - Fir/Pine (wonder, a, aleph א)
Huath - Hawthorne (awe, h, hei ה)

ראה - perceive, see, investigate, examine, understand, determine

Made under the Dark Moon of Annwn, use under the evocative power of the Full Moon. Caution - Ancestor work is not to be undertaken lightly or as a hobby.

EMail Address Change

כ'ט ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 29

I've cancelled my paid email account and will not renew it. My public free email is linked near the masthead. I won't be sending out any email announcements regarding my email address change.

Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit

י"ח ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 18

The Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit is now available at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

In Jewish kabbalistic tradition a "remedy for livelihood" is called a "segulah for parnassa". My Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit comes to you born from my own experience with a spell I created and performed for myself when I was unemployed. Importantly, after SEVERAL YEARS of unemployment and underemployment, LESS THAN A MONTH after performing my own segulah for parnassa, I became employed in a full-time well-waged position more commensurate with my skills, ability and education, with weekends and my "alternative holidays" off. May this Remedy For Livelihood Spell Kit bring to whomever acquires it equal success in her/his search for suitable employment and for overall wellbeing. So mote it be!

Ground, Fly, Touch

י' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 10

Three new enchantments are now available at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu:

Dew Of The Forest Floor ritual perfume oil. A truly exquisite, mesmerizing ritual perfume oil with the deeply penetrating scent liminally reminiscent of dew from an ancient forest floor. A potent potion of oakmoss absolute, labdanum absolute, wildcrafted guaiacwood, vanilla musk, juniper berry and vetiver in a safflower oil base, Dew Of The Forest Floor is full of pure pleasure and mystical magic. Deep, dark, moist, earthy, grounding. A hedgewitch's dream. Charged with a small natural amethyst crystal inside.

Witch's Flight Smudge is a shamanic blend of certified organic and wild harvested white ceremonial sage, black sage (artemesia vulgaris, also called mugwort and croneswort), uva ursi, pinon pine resin (pinus edulis), myrrh resin, frankincense resin, and premium white sandalwood with drops of hyssop pure essential oil.

Faery Finger Ritual Tea is my unique blend of Chinese foxglove (nonpoisonous rehmannia root), Ancient Forest black tea (from ancient tea plants 500 to 2,700 years old), white peony root, mullein flower, sweet cinnamon, elder flower, ginger root and licorice root. Enchanting, powerful, magical - this is a bold, dark, deeply penetrating, inviting tea.

I'm still using my mother's auto-focus digital camera, but my photography skills are already starting to improve dramatically, I think. Fewer blurs, more focus. I'm having fun with creating artistic perspective, and adding some visual magic into the mystical mix. Yay!

Herbs & Spices With Antioxidant Properties

ד' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 4

Certain herbs and spices like cloves, rosemary, oregano, sage, vanilla, peppermint, allspice, garden thyme and lemon balm have natural antioxidant properties, which sometimes can be quite strong. Adding these herbs and spices to magical recipes may naturally work to extend the shelf life of your preparation.

From the Publication: Journal of Nutrition. 2003 May;133(5):1286-90 :

Herbs are usually considered as plant with aromatic properties and are mainly used spice foods and for preparation of herbal teas. Herbs also contain many phytochemicals including antioxidants. The aim of this study was to determine the daily intake of antioxidants present in culinary and medicinal herbs. To determine the level of antioxidants in herbs use was made of the FRAP (Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma) method. The results show that there are large differences in antioxidant levels: the herb with the highest level of antioxidants contains 1000 times more antioxidants than the herb with the lowest level. The herbs with the highest levels of antioxidants are oregano, sage, peppermint, lemon balm, clove, cinnamon, Cinnamomi cortex and Scutellariae radix.

The levels of antioxidants found in culinary herbs were influenced by crop year and season of harvesting. These are some levels of antioxidants in common culinary herbs grown and harvested in Norway, (expressed as mmol/100g):

Oregano 138
Sage 102
Peppermint 79
Thyme 75
Lemon Balm 75
Marjoram 56
Hyssop 38
Tansy, leaves 37
Purple Coneflower, flowers 23
Roseroot, stem 18
Chamomile 18
Angelica, leaves and stem 15
Roseroot, root and leaves 6
Angelica, root 5
Coriander 3

These are antioxidants levels found in dried commercial herbs (expressed as mmol/100g):

Clove 465
Allspice 102
Cinnamon 98
Rosemary 67
Thyme 64
Marjoram 54
Bayberry leaves 24
Ginger 22
Nutmeg 20
Mustard 10
Cayenne 6
Garlic 2
Coriander 2

The researchers also tested some medicinal herbs, mainly Chinese and Japanese herbs. These were the levels of antioxidants found (expressed as mmol/100g):

Cinnamomi Cortex 120
Scutellariae Radix 112
Cimicifugae Rhizoma 64
Paeonaiae Radix 55
Glycyrrhizae Radix 12
Angelicae Radix 3

The researchers concluded that the intake of herbs contribute significant to the overall daily intake of antioxidants. Intake of 1 g of culinary herbs may contain 1 mmol antioxidants. Culinary herbs are even a better source of antioxidants than other foods such as fruit, vegetables and cereals.

Autors of the article: Dragland S, Senoo H, Wake K, Holte K, Blomhoff R

Research Institute: The Norwegian Crop Research Institute, Apelsvold Research Station Div. Kise, Nes (Norway)

More information:

Herbs And Spices And Their Antioxidant Properties
Antioxidants Isolated from Herbal Spices
Antioxidant Properties Of Several Culinary & Medicinal Herbs
Antioxidant Activity Of Traditonal Chinese Herbs
Nature's Gift, The Goji Berry (Wolfberry)
European Bilberry
Rosemary, The Herb Of Remembrance
Bloodroot Medicinal Properties
Hawthorne Medicinal Properties
Antioxidant Blackthorn

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.

Beltane Fire Ritual Oil

א' ניסן תשס"ט
Raven 1

Coming March 29th to WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Beltane Fire Ritual Oil, a blend of rue, cinnamon bark, blood root, dragon's blood, cedarwood, juniper berry, frankincense and blackthorn berry oils in a pomegranate seed base oil, all prepared under the blessing of the Dark Moon. Each vial charged with a garnet gemstone inside.

So mote it be!

Draw Down The Moon With Red Thread Witch Tea

י'ט אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 20

I've made the first blends of Red Thread Witch Tea. The first one is for my own use and is the one I used to perfect the exquisitely delicate recipe. The second one will be available for purchase March 29 at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

All of the ingredients of Red Thread Witch Tea are 100% certified organically grown and include: red saffron threads (stamens), cloves, cardamon pods, coriander seed, sweet cinnamon, stevia leaf and ancient forest black tea. The completed blend was burgundy wax-sealed during the planetary hour of the Moon in a 100 mL clear corked wide mouthed port jar, stamped with a gold brocade ink-highlighted pentacle, and adorned with a pewter spiral charm, a bronze 'shalshelet' charm, black tulle and red threads. Pictures of the finished product can be seen when it is listed for purchase at my etsy shoppe.

From the first blend (my own personal experimental blend), I earlier today had made myself a cup of Red Thread Witch Tea (using a black infuser tea cup, of course). Hours later, not knowing of the mad mysteries going on in my laboratory, my mother walked into the house exclaiming, "what is that smell!" She absolutely loved it and designated it excellent.

A Gift For The Land

י'ח אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 19

The first master batch of Black Goddess Underworld Initiation Ritual Concoction has begun its first step of preparation.

The herbs were blended with the waning gibbous moon 90% full, on this auspicious Friday the 13th, during the planetary hour of Mars, with the Sun in the 22nd degree of the sign Pisces and in the 1st degree of the constellation Pisces. Kabbalistically, Pisces links to mysteries of the hidden world, brings forth into reality the 'sweet miracle' of laughter, and supports "expropriation of Divine lifeforce by the material realm" [ק].

Basic herb Master Batch recipe:

1 oz. blackthorn berries*
1 oz. hawthorne leaf/flower
1 oz. bloodroot pieces
1/2 oz. sweet cinnamon pieces

The next step (to be done on the Dark Moon on the 26th of March) will consist of soaking the herbal mixture in heated pomegranate seed oil to make an herbal infusion, and then allowing it to cool naturally. After cooling, portions of the master batch will be placed into smaller containers along with a naughty touch of lampblack. The container will then be sealed for purchase.

As a Black Goddess Underworld Initiation Ritual concoction, the liquid 'extract' of the concoction can be decocted by the purchaser for use as a ritual oil, while the remaining herbal material can be used as a gift to the Land during a Black Goddess Underworld Initiation ritual.

My concoction contains blackthorn berries which have a large very hard woody seed inside. Purchasers of the concoction may wish to harvest some of the whole seeds for other ritual uses.

Black Goddess Underworld Initiation Ritual Concoction will be ready for purchase March 29 at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

*This hard to find ingredient, imported from the UK, was not sold to me as a certified organic product. All other ingredients are certified organic.

Passover Protection Ritual Oil

י'ב אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 13

Limited edition item to be added to my opening line-up of products for WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Passover Protection Ritual Oil.

The Lost Passover Herb. Passover Protection Ritual Oil is a blend of Hyssop (hyssopus officinalis) essential oil and premium Gold Seal Dragon's Blood (daemonorops draco) in wildharvested certified organic through CCPB extra virgin olive oil, sold in a 2 mL (0.5 drams) corked spell bottle with a star of David charm, charged with a rainbow moonstone inside.

"... take a bunch of hyssop, and immerse it in the blood from a liminal place .."
Shemot 12:22

On the threshold! Coming soon! to WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu, witchcraft on the edge and beyond the hedge.

Passover 2009 begins with the first seder (ritual meal) the evening of April 8 and continues through April 16.

WITCHCRAFTS opens for business March 29.

Faery Finger Tea

י'ב אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 13

Another new product I'll be adding to my opening lineup of items for WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Faery Finger Tea.

Deeply penetrating faery magic! Faery Finger Tea is my unique blend of certified organic Chinese Foxglove (nonpoisonous Rehmannia Root), certified organic and fair trade Ancient Forest black tea (made exclusively from stands of protected ancient growth tea plants in the Yunnan province of China, all of which range in age from 500 to 2,700 years old) and other secret ingredients. Exclusively from WITCHCRAFTS, you won't find this unique blend anywhere else.

Rehmannia Root (also known as Chinese Foxglove and Sheng Di Huang) is a nonpoisonous version of Foxglove (faery fingers, witches' bells) and a traditional herb of Chinese medicine, where it has been used for thousands of years to replenish the vital force, treat autoimmune diseases, increase potency, balance blood sugar, promote healthy blood and circulation, relieve fever, and counter the effects of aging. It is also a mild diuretic.

Red Thread Witch Tea

ח' אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 9

Another new unique creation for my etsy shoppe WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu - Red Thread Witch Tea. Until it's debut, it's magical ingredients are a secret! Oh, but it's so incredibly and powerfully witchy, both the tea and the 'red thread' running through it (you can't guess, it's so cool!)- I am giddy with excitement!

I am having so much fun doing this! I've ordered shipping materials, figured out how to take photos on my cell phone and how to get them onto my computer for editing, and am ordering all kinds of supplies. I've got so many witchy ideas for more unique products. I'm so in total love with being a witch right now!

My certified organic pomegranate seed oil won't arrive until the end of this month, near my shoppe's opening date, but I've decided not go for anything less than certified organic pomegranate seed oil or another kind of oil. My products are going to be of superb quality, even if I have to wait a few more days to bring some items online for purchase.

I am also going to to write a kabbalistic profile of the point in time each small batch of big magic was prepared, and other things to 'tell the story' of each product's enchantment. So much to do ... and I'm loving every moment of it!

Goddess is smiling with me!

Black Goddess Underworld Initiation Ritual Concoction

ו' אדר א' תשס"ט
Keolwulf 7

The third item I am planning to add to my line of magical enchantments for WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu is Black Goddess Underworld Initiation Ritual Concoction. It is my own unique blend of blackthorn berries, hawthorne leaf, bloodroot and other secret ingredients concocted into pomegranate seed oil, and charged with a small onyx gemstone.

My etsy shoppe opens March 29.

True Petrified Amber & Dragon's Blood In Pomegranate Seed Oils

כ"ח שבט תשס"ט
Imbolgen 28

I've just purchased some supplies for items I will be carrying in my new etsy store WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu. My first two creations will be true Dragon's Blood-Pomegranate Seed oil and true Petrified Amber-Pomegranate Seed oil. These oil infusions are going to be made with premium ingredients - not the cheap stuff you can buy anywhere at one of a million metaphysical shoppes.

The dragon's blood (daemonorops draco) resin I've purchased is select Gold Seal Dragon's Blood from Sumatra. This is the best on the market.

Most amber oils and incense on the market are not made from real petrified or semi-petrified amber resin at all, but rather are blends of benzoin, styrax or copal resins only. My amber oil will be made with true petrified amber (succinum sp.) from Russia and true semi-petrified amber (succinum sp.) from China, touched with a naughty bit of extra dark India amber (a combination of liquid benzoin or styrax resin with a touch of vanilla and chocolate notes in a beeswax base).

Both my dragon's blood oil and amber oil will be infused into a pomegranate seed (punica granatum) carrier oil. This is a very exquisite premium ingredient - four ounces of it can cost $30-$50 or more. The pomegranate seed oil I am using is certified organic through OTCO, cold pressed and originates from Turkey in the Mediterranean. Pomegranate seed oil from the Mediterranean region is considered to be the most desirable of the pomegranate seed oils on the market because it contains higher concentrations of antioxidants and other beneficial properties acquired due to the climate, soil and traditional farming methods of the Mediterranean. The pomegranate oil I'll be using is a soft amber color, virtually odorless (unlike most carrier oils), and has a shelf life of 14-16 months.

My handcrafted premium oil infusions will be sold in 4 dram (0.5 ounces) amber vials, sealed with professional burgundy (dragon's blood) or black (amber) wine-bottle sealing wax, wax-stamped on the top with either a pentacle (dragon's blood) or a star of David (amber) with inset areas highlighted with gold brocade metallic ink, and hung with a red or black ribboned charm and other unique beautifications (such as beads, ragged fabric threads, etc.). Charms to choose from at this point include a welsh dragon, celtic knot, star of David or a key. All charms are made of copper. Before each vial is sealed, a very small natural clear quartz crystal will be intentionally introduced into it, to magnify the magic each oil infusion contains.

This is only the beginning of WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu. Opens March 29, 2009.

Dark Forest Divination

כ"א שבט תשס"ט
Imbolgen 21

In further development of my hedgecraft in the manner of a witch of the wild wood, I've added another piece into the atmosphere of my magical practice - this stunningly handmade Dark Forest tarot pouch.

So exquisitely earthy, it's knitted from handspun animal friendly and environmentally sustainable fibres, has an embroidered felty leaf, a lavender jewel and laced sides. It's perfect!

deep within the winter forest
among the snowdrift wide
you can find a magic place
where all the faeries hide


I absolutely adore handmade things.

Hedgecraft

כ"א שבט תשס"ט
Imbolgen 21

This recently acquired pendant is made from the wood of an elder tree, the witch tree. Elder symbolizes the Elder Mother, Crone and Matriarch of hedgerows and the wild wood. She guards liminal places and blesses with powerful sweetness handfastings and magic rituals.

Sweet Wicked Witch Of The Wild Wood

כ' שבט תשס"ט
Imbolgen 20

I've added nine (ט) wicked blackthorne spikes to my magical curios collection. Extremely strong and very sharp, blackthorne spikes provide strong protection against malevolent magic.

Blackthorne blossoms, usually white with red-tipped stamens, have toothed edges (ש) and cluster in star-shapes.

The dark blue-black berries (sloe berries) of the blackthorne tree are used to make ink, a strong red dye, sloe gin and jam. Medicinally, blue-black red-producing blackthorne berry cleanses the blood and has both astringent and diuretic properties. Sloe berry sweetens after the first frost of winter, magically representing the essence of sweetness brought forth from the experience of adversity. I've acquired 100g of these charmingly holy berries.

Sweet! Like the sloeberry jelly soon to be on my biscuit.

Esoterically, the blackthorne tree is known as the Mother of the Woods and Dark Crone of the Woods.

Pathworking With The Ancestors

ט"ו שבט תשס"ט
Imbolgen 15

Since I anticipate doing a significant amount of pathwork with the Ancestors and Old Ones, I've purchased a small smokey quartz crystal skull for my altar. May the Ancestors and Old Ones bless me with their guidance and goodwill. So mote it be! אמן

To All My Pagan & Witch Friends - Blessed Imbolc!

May this sabbat of Imbolc be a blessing for all and may we all meet with omens for good.