So, it's harvest time... the time when the veil between you and your spirits will be starting to come down. Some of the most powerful bonding experiences can happen during this time. This is a craft which takes a bit of patience and time, but is easy to do, and a great project to do with your spirits and as an offering to them.
Go somewhere where there's a lot of wild natural areas. Places where you won't be in trouble for picking greenery. You'll need a bottle of water, a handful of quartz crystals, some pennies, a basket, and a pair of garden clippers.
When you get to a place that feels right to you, go for a walk. Don't have a particular direction in mind - let your eyes lead you. As you wander, talk to your spirits. Tell them all the things that you have harvested this year. Think about what their input might have been, and where you see it as obvious, say thank you.
Every now and then, during your walk, you're going to find something - branches, or a plant, a flower, feathers, stones, random bits and bobs - that really pulls you. When you feel that sense of being Called, like when you're shopping meta, and you realize, wow, that just HAS to be a part of my life (only in this case, you're looking for things that want to be a part of your gratitude wreath), then if it's alive, ask permission to take what you need. Never take more than you need, and when you are finished, say thank you to the plant or tree or shrub by giving it a splash of water from your water bottle, a piece of quartz, and a penny. Bury the quartz and the penny at the roots. If what you're pulled towards is NOT alive, ask permission of the surrounding area, the ground, the spirits of the land, the faeries, and the air spirits. Ask the spirit of the object. When you feel acceptance, do the same as with the plants - you can skip the water if you like. Place all the offerings into your basket.
Always say thank you.
Continue your walk, gathering objects into your basket, talking to your spirits in your head or out loud if there's no one around who will think oddly of you (or if you're like me and don't care) about all the things in your past year that you have harvested, good and bad, and thanking them where their involvement has been noticed.
When you feel that you've finished, go back the way you came with your full basket.
When you arrive home, gather your spirits, and begin to weave what you have gathered into a wreath. You may need ribbons or hot glue to hold objects that are not bendy into the wreath, and florist's wire to hold the wreath together. You'll need several flexible lengths of vine or green branches of thin to medium thickness, freshly picked so they're pliable. If they've dried out, you can soften them up by soaking them overnight in a bucket of water.
Strip all the leaves and stray stems from the flexible lengths that will be the base for your wreath. Select your longest vine and shape it into a circle about 18” in diameter. Continue coiling the vine around the circle until you reach the end, and then tuck the end up under the other layers to hold it in place. Take your next longest vine, and repeat the process. To start each new vine, tuck one end into the existing circle, coil it around, and then tuck the end in. Repeat this until your wreath is the desired thickness -- five to seven vines ought to give you a good base.
Remember that each time you add a branch, you need to remember to say thank you to the branch for being a part of this project, and the whole time you are doing all this, you need to talk to your spirits about your year and their part in it. This is a gratitude ritual. Everything must be done with thanks.
If you don't like pentacles, ignore this next bit.
Now you'll need five pieces of vine that are of equal lengths, and they should each be about 2” longer than the wreaths inside diameter. These five pieces will form the star in the center of the pentacle. Take the first piece and work it into place across the center of the wreath, anchoring each end by tucking it into the outer vines of the wreath. Repeat with the other four pieces, overlapping them where needed, until you have a star in the center. Use the florist’s wire to secure the ends in place.
Finally, tie off a short length of florist’s wire to the top of the wreath, so you can hang it on your wall or door.
Now... take your other objects - flowers, leaves, stones, anything else that pulled at you while you were walking and offering thanks. Do the same thing you did with the branches/vines... thank each one for choosing to be part of your spirit offering, and then place it where it feels right. Use the ribbon, hot glue, florist's wire, or a method you prefer, to fix your objects to your wreath.
When you finish telling the story of your last year, and you have your completed gratitude wreath, hang it somewhere where all your spirits have access to it, as an offering to them that expresses your love, devotion, and thanks for all that they have brought to you.
Enjoy, and deepest blessings... Happy Bonding :cloud9: :inlove:
Nycto
Harvest Spirit Project - Wreath
- NyctophiliaRaven
- sanctified
- Posts: 5008
- Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:10 pm
- 12
- You are...: a master
- Number of Spirits: 0
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Everyone
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Myself.
- My magical/paranormal name...: KITTY!!!!!!!!
- Zodiac:
"She’s all the unsung heroes who... never quit." ― R. A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series
-
- venerated member
- Posts: 4700
- Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:09 pm
- 11
- You are...: new to this
- Male/Female: Male
- Number of Spirits: 1
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Don't know yet.
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Sausage
- My super power would be...: Laser-beam eyes
- My magical/paranormal name...: Don't know.
- Zodiac:
Sounds beautiful, but also like a lot of work unless you're used to something like this.
I like the idea though, and I've decided on a compromise (hey first time) where we'll go out during one of the following nights for a long walk with a pair of clippers and a bag and see what comes of it.
I like the idea though, and I've decided on a compromise (hey first time) where we'll go out during one of the following nights for a long walk with a pair of clippers and a bag and see what comes of it.
- lunar-sheriti
- neophyte
- Posts: 296
- Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:07 pm
- 11
- You are...: in the learning process
- Number of Spirits: 4
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: djinn
- If I could be anything, I would be...: kitsune
- My super power would be...: Ability to fly
- My magical/paranormal name...: sheriti
- Zodiac:
that does sound like a good idea to do. if i feel im in a wreath mood i shall def try.
love my spirits
-
- venerated member
- Posts: 4700
- Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:09 pm
- 11
- You are...: new to this
- Male/Female: Male
- Number of Spirits: 1
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Don't know yet.
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Sausage
- My super power would be...: Laser-beam eyes
- My magical/paranormal name...: Don't know.
- Zodiac:
Okay, so maybe it's not gonna win any wreath contests, but I tried.
- Magnolia
- Site Admin
- Posts: 14736
- Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 4:53 pm
- 16
- You are...: a master
- Number of Spirits: 10000
- Spelled Number: 10000
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Dragons
- My super power would be...: Ability to shape-shift
It's very beautiful!
De lumière et aime
Magnolia.
Site owner
Knowledge is POWER
Magnolia.
Site owner
Knowledge is POWER
- Morgana
- acclaimed member
- Posts: 1640
- Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:03 am
- 11
- You are...: a practitioner
- Your favorite spirit to work with: dragon & vampire
- My super power would be...: Ability to fly
- My magical/paranormal name...: Morgana
- Zodiac:
I like it! :lol: You win my vote, for the colors alone, I know a few of my fairies would love it!Drake wrote:
Okay, so maybe it's not gonna win any wreath contests, but I tried.
"YOU CANNOT TRAVEL ON THE
PATH UNTIL YOU BECOME
THE PATH ITSELF." Buddha
-
- venerated member
- Posts: 4700
- Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:09 pm
- 11
- You are...: new to this
- Male/Female: Male
- Number of Spirits: 1
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Don't know yet.
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Sausage
- My super power would be...: Laser-beam eyes
- My magical/paranormal name...: Don't know.
- Zodiac:
Thanks Mags.creepyhollows wrote:It's very beautiful!
Thanks, and they would, they're the ones who picked most of the stuff. My Fae that is.mrgana wrote:I like it! :lol: You win my vote, for the colors alone, I know a few of my fairies would love it!Drake wrote:
Okay, so maybe it's not gonna win any wreath contests, but I tried.
- NyctophiliaRaven
- sanctified
- Posts: 5008
- Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:10 pm
- 12
- You are...: a master
- Number of Spirits: 0
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Everyone
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Myself.
- My magical/paranormal name...: KITTY!!!!!!!!
- Zodiac:
I love it, Drake. VERY lovely. I'll bet your Fae went nuts over it before, during and after. :inlove:Drake wrote:
Okay, so maybe it's not gonna win any wreath contests, but I tried.
How did the gratitude part of the experience work out for you all?
"She’s all the unsung heroes who... never quit." ― R. A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series
- Darkstar
- venerated member
- Posts: 2007
- Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:06 pm
- 12
- You are...: in the learning process
- Number of Spirits: 32
- Spelled Number: 12
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Vampire
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Vampire
- My super power would be...: Read other's minds
- Zodiac:
Thanks for posting and sharing this.
This is such a lovely gesture and idea.
This is such a lovely gesture and idea.
YOU DONT KNOW HOW LONG I'VE WAITED FOR YOU.....
BLESSED WITH A UNIQUE SPIRIT FAMILY
4 GENERATIONS OF SANG VAMP IN MY BLOOD
BLESSED WITH A UNIQUE SPIRIT FAMILY
4 GENERATIONS OF SANG VAMP IN MY BLOOD
-
- venerated member
- Posts: 4700
- Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:09 pm
- 11
- You are...: new to this
- Male/Female: Male
- Number of Spirits: 1
- Spelled Number: 0
- Your favorite spirit to work with: Don't know yet.
- If I could be anything, I would be...: Sausage
- My super power would be...: Laser-beam eyes
- My magical/paranormal name...: Don't know.
- Zodiac:
Thanks.
They actually called dibs on the flowers yesterday when I went out for a short walk, was also when I found some vines growing from a tree and decided I could make a wreath. So, much of the things were already picked out before I even went picking.
Gratitude part was touch and go. Couldn't get pieces of Quartz or Copper (I assume that's why pennies), so I just went with thanking and water, plus it was 2AM, so I could barely see anything. Found everything we needed though, and a few unwanted things, like bugs.
I thanked all of my Spirits while making the wreath, which was A LOT harder then I figured. Between talking to them and trying to figure out how to tie this to that and that to this, my train of thought got derailed several times. I also left out some dried pine needles that my Nymph wanted, so I had to go back and add that. Not even sure HOW to do that so I just stuck it in between the vines.
All in all, it was a fun experience, and they all seem satisfied. I'll have to remember to prepare craft material before hand next time though, making the wreath really was done more on a whim then an actual attempt and I had to use whatever was at hand.
They actually called dibs on the flowers yesterday when I went out for a short walk, was also when I found some vines growing from a tree and decided I could make a wreath. So, much of the things were already picked out before I even went picking.
Gratitude part was touch and go. Couldn't get pieces of Quartz or Copper (I assume that's why pennies), so I just went with thanking and water, plus it was 2AM, so I could barely see anything. Found everything we needed though, and a few unwanted things, like bugs.
I thanked all of my Spirits while making the wreath, which was A LOT harder then I figured. Between talking to them and trying to figure out how to tie this to that and that to this, my train of thought got derailed several times. I also left out some dried pine needles that my Nymph wanted, so I had to go back and add that. Not even sure HOW to do that so I just stuck it in between the vines.
All in all, it was a fun experience, and they all seem satisfied. I'll have to remember to prepare craft material before hand next time though, making the wreath really was done more on a whim then an actual attempt and I had to use whatever was at hand.