Festival of Hecate Trivia

Hecate (sometimes spelled Hekate) was originally a Thracian, and pre-Olympian Greek goddess, and ruled over the realms of earth and fertility rituals. As a goddess of childbirth, she was often invoked for rites of puberty, and in some cases watched over maidens who were beginning to menstruate. Eventually, Hecate evolved to become a goddess of magic and sorcery. She was venerated as a mother goddess, and during the Ptolemaic period in Alexandria was elevated to her position as goddess of ghosts and the spirit world.

Much like the Celtic hearth goddess Brighid, Hecate is a guardian of crossroads, and often symbolized by a spinning wheel. In addition to her connection to Brighid, she is associated with Diana Lucifera, who is the Roman Diana in her aspect as light-bearer. Hecate is often portrayed wearing the keys to the spirit world at her belt, accompanied by a three-headed hound, and surrounded by lit torches.

The epic poet Hesiod tells us Hecate was the only child of Asteria, a star goddess who was the aunt of Apollo and Artemis. The event of Hecate's birth was tied to the reappearance of Phoebe, a lunar goddess, who appeared during the darkest phase of the moon.

Today, many contemporary Pagans and Wiccans honor Hecate in her guise as a Dark Goddess, although it would be incorrect to refer to her as an aspect of the Crone, because of her connection to childbirth and maidenhood. It's more likely that her role as "dark goddess" comes from her connection to the spirit world, ghosts, the dark moon, and magic. She is known as a goddess who is not to be invoked lightly, or by those who are calling upon her frivolously. She is honored on November 30, the night of Hecate Trivia, the night of the crossroads.

*arthur unknown

-The Crafty Witch

Thanksgiving Tomorrow

So as many of you know tomorrow is Thanksgiving day and instead of boring you with a post about the history or traditions of Thanksgiving I just wanna write to you and remind you to enjoy this day with your family, put down your phone, you don't need to update facebook or twitter every minute and goodness sake we do not need to see your food on instagram. Spend some time with those who matter.

From the Crafty Witch family to yours - Happy Thanksgiving

-The Crafty Witch

Celtic Tree Month of Elder Begins -- YESTERDAY

Let me just start off by saying "sorry" I was super busy yesterday getting everything in order for Thanksgiving that I honestly forgot to post yesterday - my apologies!
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The winter solstice will pass, and the Elder moon is a time of endings. Although the Elder can be damaged easily, it recovers quickly and springs back to life, corresponding to the approaching New Year. Called Ruish by the Celts (pronounced roo-esh), the month of Elder is a good time for workings related to creativity and renewal. It is a time of beginnings and endings, births and deaths, and rejuvenation. Elder is also said to protect against demons and other negative entities. Use in magic connected to Faeries and other nature spirits.



-The Crafty Witch

25 Best Movies of the Holidays - 11-13 Of 25

This weeks best movies of the holidays features Kids Classics, all movies that we grew up on (maybe even your parents) and have come to know and love. I present you with movies 11 - 13. Enjoy!

 A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rating: NA           Length: NA mins.               Year: 1965

Cast: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus van Pelt, Lucy van Pelt, Schroeder, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Patty, Violet Gray, Frieda, Shermy

Movie Description

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the first prime-time animated TV special based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Rating: NA          Length: 85 mins.               Year: 1964

Cast: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hermey the Misfit Elf, Sam the Snowman

Movie Description

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass.

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The Muppet Christmas Carol 

Rating: NA          Length: 85 mins.               Year: 1992

Cast: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson

Movie Description

The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser's redemption on Christmas Eve.

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-The Crafty Witch

All About: Dowsing

Dowsing is purported to be a psychic method of finding hidden things, i.e. water, gold, treasure, etc.  To tell the truth, we had a little trouble when we embarked on the research for this page, because for every document that touts the wonders of Dowsing, there is another document that describes controlled studies in which dowsers basically performed very poorly.

Despite this, Dowsing has been utilized for hundreds of years, and in Europe it is still considered a valid medium for finding water, etc.  As such, we will treat it as a viable phenomena for the purposes of this page, as it does seem to work in some cases.

The use of Pendulums to answer questions is a variation on traditional Dowsing methods, and again, this is met with quite a bit of skepticism as far as the literature is concerned.  This use of Dowsing comes very close to the concept of using Ouija Boards for insight into the unknown, and quite frankly, it seems to us that a Ouija Board is much better suited for this type of inquiry.  However, we will leave that decision to the reader, and do our best to describe and report various techniques and tools used in Dowsing on these pages.

All concerned seem to agree that Dowsing is a learned art that comes with practice, and that it is probably not a spiritual entity that causes the rods or pendulums to react in the ways they do.  Rather, the results appear to come from inside the dowser himself, and indeed, some people have the innate ability to find whatever they are looking for without the use of tools of any kind.

For most of us, however, a tool of some sort is required, and on the following pages in this section, we will concentrate on how to make or acquire the proper tools for Dowsing, and how to actually utilize them for the desired results.  

Author Unknown

-The Crafty Witch

25 Best Movies of the Holidays - 8-10 Of 25

Movies 8 through 10 are movies that play again, and again, and again during the holidays but it's okay because I can't think of a christmas list of movies without them on the list. Here are just a few cult classics!

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Scrooged 

  Length: 101 mins.               Year: 1988

Cast: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover

Movie Description

A cynically selfish TV executive gets haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve. A fun twist on a holiday classic that the family will enjoy.

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Home Alone

 Length: 103 mins.               Year: 1990

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard

Movie Description

Oh the mischief that is to come. An 8-year-old boy who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas must defend his home against idiotic burglars.

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A Christmas Story

 Length: 94 mins.               Year: 1983

Cast: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz

Movie Description

Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940s.

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-The Crafty Witch

Adorable Holiday Finds (part 1 of 3)

We are always rushing around for the holidays whether its to see family, partake in festive activities or to get that last minute shopping in. Oh did I even mention the decorations, and the supplies you need to make your home the biggest with "holiday cheer" - one thing on everyone's mind is "How much is this all going to cost me?" Well what if I told you that you could get adorable holiday finds for a fraction of the cost - what if you could get these holiday finds for $1! Im here to save you some money during the holiday, because lets be honest, we could all use the extra dough. All these holiday finds can be found at your local Dollar Tree for yeah you guessed it, $1.

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Luminessence Cinnamon Stick Mini Glass Apothecary Jar Candles, 3 oz.


The succulent aroma of cinnamon creates a wonderful holiday scent! Apothecary candles are perfect for scattering candlelight at banquets, receptions, outdoor parties, and more. Plus, glass container helps protect flame from extinguishing.





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Luminessence Peppermint Mini Glass Apothecary Jar Candles, 3 oz.


The sweet aroma of peppermint creates that wonderful scent of the holidays! Apothecary candles are perfect for scattering candlelight at banquets, receptions, outdoor parties, and more. Plus, glass container helps protect flame from extinguishing.



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Christmas House Decorative Wooden Nutcrackers, 9"


Nutcracker soldiers stand at the ready to greet all your holiday guests! A traditional symbol of the season, detailed wooden nutcrackers are a classic addition to table settings, centerpieces, mantels, and more. The troop is highly decorated with accents of glitter, feathers, fur, gemstones, and gold rope, plus each has a back lever that moves his mouth. ($1 each)


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- The Crafty Witch