Rev. (Dr.) Swati Prakash Alt. Med.

Category: Witchcraft and Wicca

Positive Witchcraft and ethical Wicca based on the Wiccan Rede as a guideline : An Ye Harm None and Do What Ye Will which means to do what a person chooses to with own will power, with no harm to self or others and without interference or domination over oneself. Freedom from limiting belief systems that have created misunderstandings about witchcraft and magic so that the right teachings are given.

  • Beltane: Start of Summer to Awaken Light, Power, and Joy

    Beltane: Start of Summer to Awaken Light, Power, and Joy

    As the wheel of the year turns, Beltane arrives as a radiant threshold — a celebration of fire, fertility, and the full awakening of life. In the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of summer, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it signals the descent into winter’s introspection. Yet in both, it is a powerful pivot — a moment of transformation in Earth’s living cycle.

    Today’s Flower Full Moon amplifies this energy to extraordinary levels. Blossoms are not only blooming in the physical world as flowers will soon turn to fruits, but energetically, possibilities are opening, intentions are ripening, and the veil between thought and manifestation feels thinner. This is a day of phenomenal power.

    The Turning of the Earth Cycle

    Beltane is not merely seasonal but energetically powerful.

    The Earth shifts from potential into expression. What was seeded in stillness begins to rise into form. Light expands. Warmth grows. Movement replaces dormancy. This is the triumph of life force energy.

    In this moment, we align ourselves with the same rhythm: From hesitation into action, from shadows of doubt into illumination, and from limitation into expansion of abundance and success.

    Light Over Shadow

    Beltane is a fire festival, and fire is both creator and purifier. It burns away what no longer serves us. Today’s energy clears away all lingering doubts, negative thought patterns, or stagnant emotional energy. We replace this with clarity, courage, and vitality.

    This is why Beltane has long been a time for spells of success, health, empowerment, and forward movement. The growing light of the sun becomes a mirror of our own inner fire.

    The Energy of Joy and Celebration

    Unlike more introspective festivals, Beltane is alive with happiness, sensuality, and playfulness. It invites us not just to reflect but to celebrate existence itself.

    Dance, laughter, connection, colour and the experience of joy without guilt or fear is liberating. Maypole dances and the May or Summer king and queen as divine symbols of nature when animals celebrate, and enjoy outdoors with good cheer. It is a social festival too with dance, music and playful exuberance.

    Wicca as a Global Path of Nature and Wisdom

    Wicca, in its modern global expression, is not bound by geography but rooted in a universal truth: Nature is sacred, and we are part of it.

    The word “witch” itself carries the essence of wit and wisdom — one who understands energy, cycles, and balance, and works with energy practically in a way that does not harm self or others, but heals, inspires and transforms our life and our planet.

    Global Wicca embraces a fusion of traditions, recognising that symbols across cultures reflect shared archetypal truths.

    Sacred Symbols of Beltane Across East and West

    Beltane’s solar fire and fertile energy appear in many forms across traditions:

    • In Western symbolism, the May Queen embodies beauty, growth, and the blossoming Earth alongside the Green Man who becomes the Oak or summer King.
    • The Maypole dance, with its intertwining red and white ribbons, represents the sacred union of energies — life force weaving into creation.

    In Eastern traditions, we find parallel expressions:

    • Mata Rani Durga, radiant and powerful, represents divine feminine strength — a force that destroys negativity and restores balance. She is a union of all the powers and positive energies of various masculine deities collectively in order to defeat the most unvanquishable demons.
    • The sacred pairing of Ram and Sita, comes to mind, supported by Hanuman, who reflects devotion, righteousness, and the victory of light over darkness with Hanuman eating up the sun as a symbol of power.
    • The colour red, so prominent both in Western and Eastern rituals, mirrors Beltane’s fire — passion, protection, and life energy. Red candles, and flowers are sacred today as offerings to the sun and the full moon, and to the deities.

    This East–West resonance forms the essence of Vedic Wicca — a unified understanding that spiritual truths transcend cultural boundaries which is represented in the Global Wicca Tradition.

    Beltane Ritual: Banish and Manifest

    This is an ideal day to actively work with energy with the Earth Healing Temple of Global Wicca.

    Simple Earth Healing Practice:

    1. Step outside and enjoy time in a place of nature, or stand near an open window.
    2. Visualise golden sunlight pouring into your body.
    3. Feel it expanding through your chest, your mind, your entire being.
    4. Then imagine this light pushing outward — dissolving all negativity within and around you.
    5. Speak (aloud or within):
      “I release all that no longer feels right. I welcome light, power, and success in me. I heal and bless with love and light. Myself, my home, family, nature, and humanity. By the powers of earth, fire, wind and sea. As I will so will it be!!”
    6. Visualise your intention already alive — not as hope, but as reality.

    Stepping Into Your Power for Earth Healing

    Beltane reminds us that we are not passive observers of life but co-creators.

    The same force that blooms flowers, fuels the sun, and turns the seasons lives within us. Let this day and season, be one of brightness, movement, and intention to heal our planet.

    Thank the earth, sun and moon today for the radiance and life energy provided and channel some of the life force energy from the higher self or the universe into the earth using your hands of light. Visualise the Earth’s shadows or darkness being erased and replaced with a bright and warm aura of beauty, love, and healing for all animals and plants on earth. This is not possible unless we are Vegan first and then also choose to be a force of good.

    Today I also present www.govegan.earth as an offering of Earth Healing Network to the world. Please Take the Vegan Pledge and sign up the Animal Rights Declaration.

    Thank you and Blessed Be!

    Rev. Swati Prakash, High Priestess Earth Healing Temple, and Head Global Wicca Tradition/ Magick School.

  • Imbolc: A Pagan Festival of Seeds not Dairy

    Imbolc: A Pagan Festival of Seeds not Dairy

    Greetings of the Season of Imbolc!!

    Derived from the word Imbolg or ‘in the belly’, Imbolc is celebrated ritually at the start of February in the northern hemisphere (and the beginning of August in the southern hemisphere). This festival of earth, brings an end to the dark phase of very short days and less light, to provide an opportunity for earth to awaken again and bear seeds in her ‘belly’.

    It is time for Earth mother’s quickening and for us to be preparing seedbeds for plantation. The return of light to earth is illustrated with a symbolism of a young goddess (maiden or bride called Brigid) and a ritual of Candlemas (to crown the goddess with candles or light to pair her with God (solar deity) who brings the warmth necessary for the upcoming days of germination. Incidentally Christian symbolism has borrowed this festival of the Earth mother to create a festival around blessing of Virgin Mary who is a young lady selected to be impregnated by the seed of God, and called it Candlemas. (Just like Easter is borrowed from Ostara and Christmas from Yule).

    IS IT IMBOLG OR OIMELC?

    Imbolc is often wrongly described in modern explanations as a festival involving humans using animal milk/ dairy, or the lactation of ewes because some people pronounce it as Oimelc or Ewe’s milk (sheep lactation). While this interpretation has become common, it reflects a narrow and later overlay rather than the deeper spiritual and earth-based meaning of the sabbat. At its heart, Imbolc is not about consuming animal products, but about the subtle yet powerful moment when the Earth herself begins to stir again after the long dark in order for us to prepare soil for planting seeds in her ‘belly’. Even if sheep lactate at this time or any other, it is only for the purpose of producing milk for their own children, and never for human exploitation. Sheep or any other animal would lactate only when they produce a baby and not necessarily at a specific time of the year.

    WHY DAIRY MUST BE AVOIDED

    From a Wiccan perspective rooted in non-harming and reverence for life, the modern emphasis on dairy at Imbolc deserves careful reconsideration. Dairy is not a neutral or benign substance. It is a product of exploitation, involving the control of animal reproduction, separation of mothers and offspring, and ongoing physical harm. To include such products in a festival dedicated to renewal, purity, and alignment with the Goddess creates a spiritual contradiction.

    Wicca teaches respect for all living beings and seeks harmony rather than domination. Consuming products rooted in suffering and exploitation, does not align with the principle of non-harming, nor does it support spiritual clarity or attunement to the higher self. Explotation is harm.

    When honouring the Goddess as Earth Mother, it is more consistent to celebrate her through plant life, seeds, grains, herbs, and simple offerings that reflect cooperation with nature rather than extraction from it. The correct way of understanding this festival is described below.

    BLESSING THE SEEDS

    Imbolc actually is about blessing new seeds, for new beginnings, and preparing the soil, before planting them into the earth, as it marks the turning point where the light, once at its weakest, begins its return and days start growing. The days are still cold, the land may appear lifeless, and growth is not yet visible, but something profound has shifted beneath the surface. The Earth has entered a phase of quickening. Life is no longer fully dormant. Energy is moving again, quietly and inwardly, preparing for what is to come.

    Rather than focusing on milk or animal reproduction, Imbolc is more accurately understood as the time when Mother Earth once again carries seeds in her belly. These seeds, both literal and symbolic, are held within the soil, nurtured in darkness, awaiting the strengthening light of spring. This is not a time of birth or abundance, but of preparation, intention, and potential. The Goddess is present not as the giver of harvest, but as the bearer of possibility.

    Traditionally, this season was associated with cleansing, readiness, and quiet work. Tools were repaired, land was tended, and seedbeds were prepared. Nothing dramatic was expected to happen yet as it is still very cold in olaces further from the equator. The wisdom of Imbolc lies in recognising that true growth begins unseen. Roots form before shoots appear, just as inner transformation precedes outer change.

    WICCAN MAGICK FOR IMBOLC

    In Wiccan spirituality, this mirrors the inner path. Imbolc invites reflection, purification, and alignment. It is a time to release what has grown stagnant during the dark months and to make space for new intentions to take root. The returning light is gentle rather than overwhelming, like a candle flame rather than a blaze, reminding us that transformation does not need force to be powerful.

    Spells for Imbolc: Try candle magic, using brightly coloured candles to manifest your positive wishes, especially if dressed in herbal potions or magickal oils. This time Imbolc also falls on the full moon and is especially powerful. You may also use seeds for spells, by blessing the seeds with powerful intentions using the candle, and plant them for germination. How about a spell with seeds to bless the earth with positive energy and healing for our planet, and then planting these seeds in the soil with this powerful intent? You could also try to bless crystals or stones and plant them with written spells or intentions into the earth for fruition energetically.

    The association of Imbolc with Brigid reinforces this understanding. Brigid is a goddess of fire, healing, inspiration, and renewal. Her fire is not destructive but illuminating, warming the frozen ground and awakening life. This sacred fire represents consciousness returning after dormancy, creativity re-emerging, and the soul remembering its connection to the living Earth.

    Imbolc belongs to the land, the light, and the unseen work of becoming. It reminds us that life renews itself quietly and that the Earth is not a resource to be taken from, but a living presence to be honoured. As the light returns, so does our responsibility to walk gently, act consciously, and align our practices with the values we claim to uphold.

    Imbolc is the whisper before the green, the breath before the sprout, the moment when the Goddess carries the future within her once again. To honour this sabbat is to honour potential, purity of intention, and the sacred rhythm of life awakening from within.

    May you have a peaceful and positive festivity of the growth of light within and spreading of the seeds of knowledge. Bless the seeds of love and light and may the Goddess as the Higher Self always shine radiantly in you to spread positive energy and awareness of truth all around.

    Blessed Imbolc

    (*)

    Rev. Swati Prakash

  • The Right Application of Wiccan Wisdom in Daily Life

    Is it just about Positive Thinking?
    No
    Will just sound healing or frequency be enough?
    No
    Will just candles work?
    No
    Is it just about being compassionate?
    No
    Is it just belief?
    No

    There is plenty of misinformation out there on the Internet because AI, chatbots and new age influencers do not have the vast actual experience and enlightenment that I do. So please understand this well.

    Wicca works with all five elements:

    1) Spirit (Inner beliefs and subconscious energy)
    To keep your spiritual state Positive 🙏
    Holding on to lower quality beliefs, religious brainwashing, dogma, belief in exploitation, abuse, demonic alignment, evil deities, evil people, evil traditions, evil scriptures, and lower consciousness is unuseful.

    2) Air (Thoughts)
    Your words, your affirmations and spells, mantras, frequency resonance, mental programming, mental energy work, must be focused on good and to cut out all unwanted interferences

    3) Fire (Will and Action)
    Just belief and mind is not enough. We also need to send the energy out into life by acting on it. Set intentions. Project your will outwards. Do the energy work. Take concrete steps to welcome change. Work on your daily routine.

    4) Water (Emotion)
    Negative feelings, anger, rage, fear, selfishness, being unkind, jealousy, desperation, gloom, these take away your energy and leave you drained and unhappy. Transform your emotional charge. Walk in love and light. Visualise and feel the power.

    5) Earth (Physicality)
    Your body, your Home or workspace, your surroundings area, environment, clothing, decor, and food, all matter. Clean, positive food, clean spaces, herbs, crystals, aromas, symbols, colors, sunshine, and nature, clothing, jewelry, all connect with the earth element. Bring your positive energy into actual physical life too.

    Only 100 percent positive energy inside out.

    Blessed Be
    (*)
    Rev. Swati Prakash
    AskSwati.com Swati Prakash Tarot and Wiccan Healer

    A Holistic Path
  • The Real Magical Festival of Winter Solstice

    The Real Magical Festival of Winter Solstice

    The Original Season of Yuletide Explained

    Long before Christmas became a commercial holiday, it was known as Yule—the celebration of midwinter, the Winter Solstice, and the rebirth of light and the Goddess (Nature). In the darkest days of the year, ancient peoples honoured the turning of the Wheel, gathering in warmth and gratitude as the Sun began its slow return back to fuel earth.

    At its heart, this season was never about consumption or excess. It has nothing to do with killing baby pigs and putting their dead flesh in their own blankets of tortured skin. It has nothing to do with stuffing dead turkey birds murdered ruthlessly or eating and gifting dairy products made of milk of of stolen babies. It was originally about nature, light, renewal, and love for all life.

    The Living Evergreen: A Tree to Honour, Not to Cut

    The Fir tree, evergreen even in the harshest winter, symbolizes eternal life of earth or nature, endurance, and the promise of renewal. People once decorated living outdoor trees, offering them: Solar and star symbols and lights, ribbons, herbs, fruits, misteltoes, holly, and pinecones, handmade charms and presents to share love with. These were gifts to nature, not taken from it.

    Cutting down trees, abandoning them after use, and treating them as disposable is the opposite of the original meaning. The tree was, and still remains, a living guardian of the winter nights.

    Sacred Plants: Mistletoe and the Magic of Midwinter

    Herbs like mistletoe were revered not only for protection and healing but also for their symbolism of life that thrives even in darkness. Such plants reminded ancient peoples that nature has its own wisdom and that winter is a time of quiet power, not death.

    These traditions were expressions of partnership with the Earth, not dominion over it.

    25 December: The Solstice, Saturnalia, and the Old Sun

    The date later known as “Christmas Day” was originally the culmination of Saturnalia and the veneration of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. It marked the returning strength of the Sun after the longest night.

    Santa Claus and Saturn: The Old Sun / Old God

    Before Santa was reinvented as a jolly gift-giver in red, he reflected the Old Sun—the Old God of Saturnalia.
    He was the Ancient Winter King, the spirit of the dying year who:

    Delivered final gifts of wisdom

    Blessed people magically (the most magical time of the year)

    And then stepped aside to make way for the new Sun of the coming year

    This figure symbolises release, completion and the gentle passing of the old cycle with new magical gifts brewing inside the cauldron of our soul and soil.

    The Goddess and Earth: December as Her Rebirth

    Later patriarchal traditions centred winter festivals around a male god or sun deity and the modern deity of the scriptural religions who claim that nature was created in six days by a male deity or an individual person from outside of nature who forbids use of magical powers in us. Who demands sacrifice and obedience to commandments that are not always healthy and allowed the use and dominion of non human animals with humans made more ‘special’ as the ‘image and likeness’ of himself.

    We can now clearly see that the older understanding of nature as the creator of all beings is more balanced—and in many traditions, deeply feminine and reminds us of our own inner power or energy. After all Energy creates Reality, not a deity or individual from outside. And we all have Magickal Powers inside of us. We are all animals.

    The Earth Herself is the Goddess

    In winter, she descends into stillness, appearing barren or asleep.
    But beneath the frost, she carries the potential for new life.

    December can be seen as the birth of the Goddess:

    The Old Crone of Samhain, now dying and experiencing rebirth

    The deep womb of the Earth carrying the spark of new life, and

    Nature preparing to reawaken

    By spring or Ostara, the Goddess emerges as the Maiden, young, green, and flourishing. This interpretation shows that the season is not inherently male at all. It is Earth-centric, nature-centric, and deeply inclusive. The cycle is simple and eternal (The Wheel of The Year):

    Dec – Yule/ Mid-winter Solstice – the old Goddess of earth or nature rests, regenerates, dreams new life, reborn as new alongside the dying and reborn sun god in the shortest day and longest night of the year

    Feb – Imbolc/ Start of Spring – The Goddess is the baby Brigid, helped by the solar god of growing light and potential of seed germination

    March – Ostara/ Spring Equinox – the Goddess is a green Maiden, fertile, and youthful in the equinox of the sun when day and night are equivalent

    May – Beltane/ Start of Summer – The Maiden is wed with the powerful Sun as the days are brighter and longer

    June – Litha/ Mid-summer Solstice – the Goddess flourishes, bearing flowers with the strongest sun or the longest day of the year

    Aug – Lammas/ Start of Autumn – the Mother bears the first harvest fruits as the days get shorter

    Sep – Mabon/ Autumnal Equinox – The Mother bears the second harvest of grains as autumn takes over

    Nov – Samhain/ End of Summer and Autumn—she becomes the Crone, releasing the final harvest of pumpkins and ready to retire in winter’s start

    It is the story of nature itself—not a masculine lineage, but the living body of the planet with the Eight Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year.

    Easter / Ostara: A Festival of Life, Not Harm

    Just as Yule celebrates rebirth in the womb of winter, Easter (originally Ostara) celebrates the explosion of life at the Spring Equinox.

    It was always about: Newborn animals, Eggs as symbols of creation, Flowers opening, Rebirth and fertility. This season honoured life, not death.
    It was never intended to be a time for harming lambs, consuming eggs from exploited animals, dairy chocolates, or celebrating violence against the young. To truly honour Ostara, just as Yule (real Easter and Christmas) is to protect and nurture life, not take it or steal it.

    So, now do you realize how the ‘Matrix’ or false religious propaganda was created to replicate original reality and promote consumerism in place of nature. They created focus on stories of mythical deities and personalities as divine men, in order to reduce a direct connection with nature. In this way they promote exploitative industries of killing lambs, stealing milk from mother animals, and stealing eggs and newborns to ruin the planet and take away empathy by making humans. This is all done to make humans feel superior, entitled and ‘allowed’ to exploit other animals, by a deity who is imagined to be someone of our likeness or image, and a person instead of nature?

    Hemispheres: Celebrating the Festival the Land Is Actually Living

    In the Northern Hemisphere, December is Yule; June is Litha.
    But in the Southern Hemisphere, these are reversed as the seasons are inverse with the opposite spoke of the Wheel of The Year in action, instead of midwinter, there is midsummer and vice versa, for all eight sabbats.

    This alone reveals the truth:

    These festivals were never meant to be rigid dates.
    They are instructions from nature.

    To celebrate Yule in December in Australia or South Africa makes no spiritual sense—because the land itself is singing a different song. True celebration is always in dialogue with the Earth beneath our feet.

    Reclaiming the Real Tradition: Love for Nature and All Beings

    When we peel away modern layers of consumerism, exploitation of nature and animals, mass slaughter, artificial customs, patriarchal overlays, commercial storytelling

    …we rediscover the oldest truth of all festivals:

    They are invitations to honour the Earth.

    To protect life, not destroy it.

    To live in partnership with the natural world.

    The real traditions teach us to:

    Decorate living trees, not cut ones

    Offer gifts to nature, not take lives from it

    Love animals instead of using or eating them

    Celebrate the return of light with gratitude, not excess

    Recognise that the Goddess of Nature (manifested as the Earth for us) is the true mother of all life, born from her womb, and growing to maturity before taking rebirth alongside the Solar god. Thereby seeing nature as divine in itself. It is not an alien or outside ‘God’ who is a creator of nature. Nature is energy/ Shakti goddess, born of the Self, along with her own Inner Light or Consciousness/ god or Shiva (her own awareness), and we are the ones who are part of her and conscious beings who can look after and respect nature.

    These celebrations are not about religion or dogma; they are about remembering who we are:

    Children of the Earth.
    Keepers of life.
    Protectors of the seasons.

    A Planet-Healing Path Forward

    When we reclaim the wisdom of Yule, Solstice, Saturnalia, and Ostara, we step back into harmony with the living planet. The festivals become what they were always meant to be:

    Seasonal celebrations of the sacred duty of humanity towards loving and protecting nature, our mother.

    Reminders that the Earth is sacred, and so is every being upon it, nourished by the light of the Sun who protects her and us.

    To celebrate in alignment with the land is to return to compassion.
    To honour the Goddess is to honour life itself.
    To cherish the seasons is to heal the Earth with light and love. And the Earth, when loved, answers back. 

    May you rediscover your soul’s powers and be reborn in consciousness.

    Blessed Be and have a most spiritually magickal celebration!!

  • The Vegan Witch’s Cauldron: Beautiful Plants, Not Animal Parts

    The Vegan Witch’s Cauldron: Beautiful Plants, Not Animal Parts

    Blessings of the Hallowed Season of Samhain!

    Every Halloween, witches have been misrepresented in media, brewing dark potions with eyes of newt, tongues of dog, and dragon’s blood. From Shakespeare’s “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” to TV shows like Charmed, magic was often imagined as something wicked — full of animal parts and sinister ingredients. While Veganism is about not exploiting non human animals, Wicca is meant to be a path of positive witchcraft which includes not harming anyone, and being against all evil overall to the best possible extent.

    Evidently, the truth about these ingredients used by witches in potions, is far gentler — and far greener.
    Real witchcraft has always been rooted in plants, not cruelty. And Halloween as it is called now, was originally Hallows Eve or Samhain, a sacred festival of celebrating the final harvest of the year with pumpkins, apples, candied fruits, and lights, just like Diwali in Hinduism is too a celebration of the harvest and a new year for pagans or plant farmers at the summer’s end, with presents, fruits, nuts and decorations of light. This is a global time for celebrating the bounty of Earth mother or Lakshmi, whether in the West or the East. The use of animal milk or dairy, animal gelatin sweets, animal body products for food or any other evil ingredients in food, worship, or magic is simply repugnant and unnecessary.

    The old “body part” names were never literal. They were secret herbal codes — poetic metaphors used by healers and wise women to protect their craft when magic was forbidden. What sounded eerie was simply earthly.

    The Secret Language of the Wise

    When you read that a witch added Eye of Newt to her potion, she was actually using mustard seeds — tiny and golden like a newt’s eye.
    Bat’s Wings? Those were holly leaves, protective and spiky like wings in flight.
    And Tongue of Dog was houndstongue, a soft-leaved herb used for grounding and courage.

    Even the “pigs’ feet” shown in Hollywood cauldrons of witchcraft in Charmed, could simply mean Pigweed (Amaranth), a nourishing plant used for health and strength and also for protection against evil.

    Ancient herbalists used these coded names both to guard their knowledge and to speak in symbols. Magic was never about harm — it was about understanding nature’s hidden language.

    Plant-Based Magic for the Modern Witch

    As vegan witches, we continue this tradition with compassion.
    Instead of animal-based products like honey, we can use Honeysuckle in spells for sweetness, attraction, and love — no bees exploited, and the symbolism remains pure.

    Dragon’s Blood isn’t blood at all, but a deep red tree resin used for protection and empowerment. I used to sell these in my store called Magick in Mumbai.

    Devil’s Claw sounds frightening but is simply a healing root used for releasing negativity.

    Every animal body part sounding name has a positive truth inside it — a lesson in transformation, the very heart of witchcraft.

    Decoding Shakespeare’s Potion

    In Macbeth, the witches chant:

    “Eye of newt and toe of frog,
    Wool of bat and tongue of dog…”

    To the uninitiated, it sounds like a horror scene — but to herbalists, it’s simply a recipe written in code:

    • Eye of Newt – Mustard Seed
    • Toe of Frog – Buttercup
    • Wool of Bat – Moss or Holly
    • Tongue of Dog – Houndstongue herb

    So if you use the right plant based ingredients, it is not an evil brew at all, but a poetic herbal spell for transformation, written in the language of nature.

    To be fair you could change the rhyme a bit. Why not ‘Double Double, Success Double, Take Away all Toil and Trouble‘? (As I wrote in my book Yes, You Are a Witch/ You Are the Magick). Sounds and feels way better than ‘bubble bubble toil and trouble’ anyday! A good witch will use magic for banishing misfortunes and replacing them with positive energy in our lives instead of brewing even more toil and trouble than what we already endure. And in order to handle enemity or evil beings, we do not send toil or trouble to them, but rather repel evil beings away. That truly is the path of real ‘wit’ and deep ‘wisdom’ which is real witchcraft – the craft of the wise.

    Some other eerie sounding names of plants which are not animal body parts at all (and if people knew these they would stop killing innocent animals for cures and magical remedies or luck):

    • Rabbit’s Foot – Davillaya plant
    • Dragon’s Blood – Cinnabar tree sap
    • Wish bone – Turenia pansy
    • White Man’s Foot – Common Plantain
    • Graveyard Dust – Mullein
    • Lizard’s Leg – Ivy
    • Lamb’s Ear – Betony
    • Hens and Chicks – Sempervivum
    • Horse’s Tongue – Heart’s tongue fern
    • Sparrows’ tongue – Armstrong
    • Lion’s Tooth – Dandelion
    • Swine Snout – Dandelion leaves
    • Wolf’s Foot – Bugleweed
    • Dog’s Mouth – Snapdragon
    • Pig’s Ears – Round leaved navelwort
    • Bone of Ibis – Buckthorn
    • Elephant Ear – Purpurea
    • Ass’s Ear – Comfrey
    • Dragon’s Scale – Taro
    • Tear’s of Himadryas Babboon – Dill juice
    • Adder’s Tongue – Trout Lilly
    • Bear’s Foot – Lady’s Mantle
    • Bird’s Foot – Fenugreek
    • Crow’s Feather – Foam Flower
    • Tiger’s Claw/ Devil’s Claw – Martynya Annua
    • Wood Spider/ Devil’s Claw – Grapple plant
    • Cat’s Claw/ Hawk’s Claw – Unkaria Tomatosa
    • Gall of Goat – Honeysuckle
    • Cat’s Tail – Reed Mace
    • Crab Eye – Coral Bead Plant
    • Lady’s Finger – Okra

    As an easy guide also remember that blood in herbal magick simply means the sap of the tree, milk simply means plant secretion, foot or ear usualy stands for the leaves of the plants, guts for roots, hair for fine roots, eyes for the whole flower circles, tongue for petals, eggs for fruits, tears for seeds, flesh for stem or fruit flesh, toes for small leaves and wool for moss.

    The Witch’s True Magic

    Real witches — ancient or modern — are healers, herbalists, and guardians of life.
    Our cauldrons are filled not with suffering, but with seeds, roots, leaves, and blossoms for love, prosperity, protection, and health. We stir teas for wellbeing, create tinctures for healing, and burn incenses for meditation

    Magic isn’t about commanding dark forces or using demons for fulfilling sinful wishes at all. It’s about repelling dark forces away and keeping safe from them, as well as working in harmony with the living Earth in order to make our life positive in a real way, not just in thoughts but also in practicality. Witchcraft is practical magic of everyday life, with potions steeped with wisdom, stones for building positive realities, smoke of purification, candles of light, and of course positive intentions in words to energise our mind, body and spirit and protect our life, home and hearth.

    So next time someone criticizes witchcraft or magic, please guide them towards the truth and dispel myths to make the world a better place for all beings.

    Closing Blessing

    May your spells be kind, your herbs be green,
    Your cauldron bubble, with courage unseen,
    May you flourish and grow, in kindness and peace
    May your success and prosperity never cease
    May all evil beings leave you unharmed
    And may your life be magically charmed
    By earth and fire, wind and sea
    By the Spirit, Blessed Be!

    Rev. Swati Prakash, High Priestess

  • Witches and Their Familiar Animals

    Witches and Their Familiar Animals

    Do you believe we are magical beings?

    If yes, did you think only human beings are magical?

    Animals of non human species are powerful beings with magic in them just like us. They all have their free will and creative energy.

    Respect of each person’s free will is most important in witchcraft as it’s all about free will and crafting a chosen reality out of your will as well as not harming others in the process (the Wiccan Rede). No one should be treated as an object or owned or forced to live with us against their will, or forced into becoming our companion animal, or farmed animal, or domesticated slave, or our victim to be bred, used, traded, or killed (not even to become food or pets).

    Witches don’t usually prefer to have ‘pets’. We may at times have familiars, i.e. some animals who are free to come and go as they please as per their own free will, and are willing to be with you if they like to. Not confined in a small space indoors ideally, although they might be indoors if they are happy. Not domesticated. Not owned.

    Contrary to what religions have claimed, witches do not work with demons or any devil, and their familiar animals are not their slaves, servants, or ‘demon spirits’ on animal form who do their bidding.

    Familiar, as the word indicates, is a term that simply means someone who is seen around or known to you. Often an animal from the neighbourhood might like you or spend some time with the you…as many animals can sense energy and know whom to trust, therefore those who have spiritual (magical) or healing energy can often attract various animals from time to time. Sometimes someone brings them to you especially because they felt they should. The bond needs to develop naturally. I always had a stray animal or two wandering around deciding to enter my home and live with me, or someone brought an injured one to me. Often pigeons walked into my rooms when hurt, or a cat or dog in Mumbai where so many were on streets. I always felt bad that humans have brought so much sorrow to them by not thinking about their needs and focusing only on our own desires.

    Sadly religions have destroyed free will, and stopped humans from using our own good sense. They have also created an illusion that other animals are below humans and are made to serve our wants. Most of the negative beliefs regarding humans being superior, made in the image of an all powerful lord who is a singular creator, and that it’s ok to harm, kill, breed, farm, and use other animals, are from religions who have destroyed sense and sensibility, and taken away our intuition, empathy, and natural inner power from us.

    We are all animals. We all have a sixth sense and magic inherent in us. Let’s use these powers well for the betterment of ourselves and all beings.

  • How Do We Manifest Reality?

    It’s Witchcraft!! Except, that it’s not.

    Teen Witch movie reminded me, I always had this power to think and make something happen. Like a switch you turn on or a computer button to get an output, there is a power in every person in the world. Our mind and emotions.

    I decided to pursue a higher research degree in Psychology this year and was preparing for IELTS which is a requirement. It was really tough in the computer practice tests at home, so I did a spell quickly at the venue in my mind on the computer and made the final test super easy for me. I went to eat out at lunchtime and thought about how the speaking test would be. I heard a voice inform me to talk about Tarot Reading (I do hear prophecies). I then thought that perhaps the examiner should ask me about food and veganism. On returning to the test centre I was called for the interview round and he asked me exactly about that. First he asked me about my profession which is Tarot reading, and then entirely about food and veganism.

    Once last year in summer I was eating falafel wraps at a stall and suddenly thought, ‘Well, that is a nice dish to cook and I wish I could wear that pretty apron and work there for a bit and learn how it’s done.’ I pictured myself wearing that apron. Suddenly the chef came over and I complimented him on the colourful apron. He said, perhaps I could wear it someday and work there. Of course I couldn’t do it for too long as he was also serving halloumi wraps that aren’t vegan and I quit.

    Do this yourself.
    Try to create an image in your mind of what you want to do, where you want to be, how you want to enjoy life, or meet people, and make it as colourful and clear as you can. It must be something that feels good and that you are emotionally drawn to. Then let me know what happened.

    Remember that even those things that emotionally upset us happen to come true.

    Infact, anything and everything happening around us is always, related to our feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and worries.

    This is a super fact that if everyone knew about, we could solve the mystery of the universe.

    Also very important is, not to waste time thinking of romance or relationship with particular persons, as this is a sure way to invite trouble into your life. Focus only on yourself and how you wish to feel instead of controlling someone.

    Try to manifest something positive.

    Blessed Be!!

    Swati Prakash

  • Today’s Affirmation: A Fulfilling Life

    Why are we here in this world?

    We may not know everything but we do know that we are here. And while we figure out the greater philosophical questions, why not live in the best way possible, right now? With joy, compassion, and truth. And who knows, that might be the very purpose of existence!!

    Swati Prakash, http://www.askswati.com

  • The Answer is Within Me

    The Answer is Within Me

    Believe in yourself. We create realities, we manifest people and things unconsciously all the time.
    Time to be conscious and know thyself.
    Those who do not seek to look within will never find Truth.
    Truth will be that everything is illusion.
    Because of unconsciousness the illusion around (reality) is evil.
    To awaken the world and heal it, know thyself, awaken thyself, heal thyself, love thyself, empower thyself.

  • Merry Beltane/ Blessed Samhain

    Merry Beltane/ Blessed Samhain

    Blessing be upon us and all our animal kin, on our beautiful planet Earth, from the Sun and the Moon above and our heart and Soul for our well deserved freedom and success this May!!

    Swati Prakash, http://www.askswati.com

    The Wheel of the Years

    In northern hemisphere we celebrate the start of Summer and in the Southern hemisphere the reverse applies and summer ends. These are the true Earth festivals that we all must celebrate. There are eight Sabbats per annum, reversed in the Southern hemisphere. These are illustrated below.