Though I’ve mentioned my birthday in passing sometime around its date in each of the previous two years Witchcrafted Life has been online, I have not yet devoted a post to the subject.

Having decided by early June that I wanted to do so this time around, I began brainstorming a slew of possible topics to write about on this front.

Various ideas stuck in my mind for a few days at a time and, I have no doubt, each would make for a lovely entry unto itself.

However, the concept at the heart of today’s post is the one that soared above the rest and as a result, is what I am sharing with each of you on this, my 38^th (GF) cake day.

While in the most literal of senses, the word “truth” is precisely that. The factual actuality of a situation, event, statement, and so forth.

Yet, we each have our own truths as well. Many are likewise factual, but in a way, when dealing with the subject of personal truths, the word “truth” can almost become synonymous with others such as “lessons”, “experiences”, or even “battles”.

To my mind, certain truths are indesputable. The earth is round, we 100% went to the moon, death is inevitable, and Halloween is the best holiday of all time!

Okay, maybe that last one is more of a personal opinion, but you can see where I am going with this all the same.

The following list is not an exhaustive one and I delight in thinking that come five, fifteen, or (if I am immensely fortunate) fifty years from now, it would be both longer and contain other lessons/truths that I have yet to encounter or which are being learned as we speak.

I am not saying that these entries apply to everyone and completely understand that some of them might not jive with your own outlook on life. That is completely okay!

After all, we often differ in varying ways from one another and this is amongst the most beautiful and inspiring aspects of the human experience.

After a profoundly difficult and very long labour that very nearly claimed both of our lives, on a sizzling hot July night in 1984 my mother brought me into this world. A few hours later, a powerful summer thunderstorm raged outside the hospital windows as a first-time mom and her early – but not quite premie – infant snuggled together. Exhausted, elated, and bonded more closely than two adjacent atoms from that moment onward.

Like many of us, at this point in my life, I could easily pen a multi-volume autobiography of my life (the last decade alone could probably fill an entire library shelf! ). This post is not the Reader’s Digest version of that.

No, it is a list of some of the most important, meaningful, impactful, and valuable things I have come to call my own truths + life lessons thus far after nearly four decades of calling this ol’ spinning rock of ours home.

And while I could, likewise, speak at substantial length about each of the following points, given that birthdays should generally be lighthearted times of mirth and merriment, I didn’t want to delve too exhaustedly.

Most, if not all, of these statements speak for themselves so the addition of just a few more words or lines to expand on them feels right to me at present.

Take what you wish from them, agree or disagree, and remember that the rapidly perishing art of civility is one that we can all do our part to keep from giving up the ghost entirely.

38 of The Most Important Truths I Have Learned in My 38 Years of Life

1. Always do the right thing, even when no one is looking. In fact, it is all the more important to do the right thing when you are not being watched. It is often easy to act in front of others in the way(s) we believe they want us to, but the true measure of a person’s character comes from what they do when there are few, if any, eyes (or cameras, for that matter) on them.

2. It is okay to help someone carry their baggage, but remember that you are no one’s porter but your own. Often in life, what starts out as innocently aiding another person with their troubles can quickly spiral into you getting trapped under the weight of someone else’s problems, stresses, or hardships.

There is rarely anything wrong with being helpful. However, it is vital to always remember you are not here to hold up the weight of the entire world for anyone else (especially, fellow adults) – no matter how much you love and care about them.

3. Sometimes failing is vastly more beneficial than succeeding. Winning or achieving our goals is fantastic, but there are time when far greater lessons lie in not being the first to cross the proverbial finish line – or, in some cases, ever crossing it at all.

Lick your wounds, if applicable, study what went off the rails or could have been done differently, and instead of wallowing in defeat or failure, use what you learned to propel you forward as a stronger, wiser human being.

4. We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take. This line comes from hockey legend (and fellow Canadian) Wayne Gretzky and, goodness gracious, is it true.

It can be scary (if not downright terrifying sometimes) to push ourselves outside of our comfort zones, to wander even a metre beyond the border of familiarity, or to risk failing spectacularly (see the above point).

Yet, at the same time, the possibility of a positive outcome lies with each shot we take in life and while it is wise to be cautious at times, we do ourselves a profound disservice by not taking a leap of faith and trying the unknown/new/scary sometimes.

5. You are going to get hurt. Likely many, many times. This is normal. While I am not suggesting anyone be a glutton for punishment, trying to hide from situations that may cause us emotional/mental/spiritual pain is like trying to avoid getting wet when you’re caught outside in an open field sans an umbrella during a rainstorm.

It is simply not going to happen.

6. Never depend on another person for your happiness. Early on in life, as I lived through a childhood of immeasurable disfunction and a litany of abuse, I innately discovered (in part due to watching many adults in my life fail to understand this important point about themselves) that I am the one who is most responsible for my own happiness.

Right then and there, before I had even hit a double-digit age, I pledged to consciously choose happiness whenever possible and to remember that I am the person who most powerfully fans the flame of my own inner joy.

That does not mean being pollyannish or naïve, embracing toxic positivity, hiding from difficulty or putting on a false emotional front 24/7, rather that because I do not expect anyone else to make me happy, I owe it to myself all the more to generate my own sense of happiness from deep within my very being.

7. Good manners – as well as kind words – go a very long way. Simple as that.

8. Healthy, loving, respectful relationships take work, but if you constantly feel exhausted/stressed out by them, they are likely not any of those things.

Great relationships are rather like well-oiled and operating machines. Sure, they need tune-ups, inspections, and general maintenance periodically, but they should not require you to work on them 24/7 in order to barely keep them chugging along.

Hard as it can be, sometimes in order to save yourself and return a greater sense of stability/wellness/freedom to your life, you will have to end (or greatly alter the dynamics of) certain relationships.

In the long run, you will almost always thank yourself as you look back marvelling over how long you endured a situation that truly was not working.

9. Learn to laugh at yourself. As someone who is extremely shy, introverted, self-conscious, and prone to anxiety, this has been a tough one for me at times over the years. However, that has only made me more determined to laugh at myself when the situation calls for it.

We all make mistakes and blunders, do silly things unintentionally, find ourselves in embarrassing situations, say the wrong words, and get egg on our face from time to time. So what!

There are far worse things in this world and berating ourselves, lashing out at others, hiding in shame, or fixating on what happened doesn’t change the past, so why fret when you could simply laugh and move on!

10. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – but also know when to throw in the towel. Ask anyone who knows me well in real life and chances are one of the first words they will use to describe me is tenacious.

Tony even goes so far as to lovingly say I am as stubborn as a bulldog.

And you know what? I will happily take that as the compliment I know he intends it to be.

I will push myself to the extreme, fight tooth and nail to make things that matter to me come to fruition, and not back down easily.

However, at the same time, I have come to learn the value that resides in knowing when to admit that something is just not working out as it should.

There is no shame in that admission. At the end of the day, it usually far better and beneficial to give up trying to fix something that is seriously broken and instead start on a new build that might work out this time around.

11. No one is perfect. Not me, not you, not any mortal being that has ever walked the face of the earth. We all make mistakes, have bad days, say and do things we regret, make poor choices, forget important things, and hurt others (whether we intend to do so or not).

The sooner in life you embrace that, the happier, less stressful, and more easygoing the rest of your existence will be.

While it is fine to hold certain standards in terms of what you hope for/expect from others, remember that we are all just human, all learning, and that in many cases, deserving of a second (or third, etc) chance.

In recent years this point has all been thrown out of the societal window and we are doing nothing but harming ourselves as a species in the process. So, in some instances at least, let’s cut people a bit more slack, remember that the times when we ourselves have fallen short, and don’t be harsher on others for their shortcomings or mistakes than is legitimately warranted.

12. The little things matter a lot. Sure, we might remember the big events, the fabulous vacations, and the annual holidays we observe more than some random Thursday in February, but at the end of the day most peoples’ lives are filled with far more small, often meaningful experiences and joys than mammoth ones.

Value, take note of, share, and try to be thankful for the little things. They are, in fact, far bigger and more important than we often realize in the moment and help to make up the backbone of our existence.

13. Wear whatever you want! This is the 21^st century and, in many parts of the world at least, most people are free to sport anything they choose. As much as I do believe that some attire is better suited to certain settings/occasions than others, I am an even bigger proponent of marching to the beat of one’s own sartorial drum.

This was something I reiterated time and time again when I ran a vintage fashion blog for nearly a decade. This concept holds no less true for me – or anyone else – today than it did back in those delightfully fun 1940s and 50s clothing-filled days.

It can take guts to step out of the current fashion status quo and, yes, you might get some flack, unwanted comments, strange looks, or curious questions, but that is usually no reason to not dress however your heart pleases and your budget permits.

I learned a long time ago that the more I dressed in tune with the style(s) my own heart most adored at the time, the happier and less stressed I was. In speaking to others with unique styles, they have said much the same thing and I animatedly believe it rings true for a good deal of us the world over.

14. Hurt people hurt people. As touched on point #5 on this list, we all experience hurt, pain, sorrow, and negative experiences throughout the course of our lives.

However, the more a person suffers without knowing and/or having the proper outlets to help them cope, heal, process their trauma, speak about their ordeals, and (if applicable) rebuild their lives again, the more likely they are to lash out at others. Using their misplaced pain as a weapon of false power/control and/or way to temporarily block out some of their own suffering

We see this generational trauma, in those who come home from war, in bullying, in survivors of abuse, and countless others.

Some scars may never heal entirely. However, the short-lived, misguided sense of power or emotional pacification we may receive from directing our own pain unjustly at others is never the best route to healing for us and only stands to lengthen the journey for both ourselves and our unwitting victims in the process.

15. Eat ice cream for dinner. Remember when you were a kid and you used to say that when you grew up you would eat ice cream (or candy, chocolate bars, French fries, pizza, etc) morning, noon, and night?

And that you would stay up until 2 am, play video games (or whatever else your young self adored doing for fun) daily, and spend a bunch of time with your friends?

Umm, yeah, so how did those plans turn out?

Somewhere along the line, “adulting” (to use the parlance of the day) entered our lives and in the process, we forgot that a lot of the time, we have the ability to just let loose and embrace fun.

Whether that does in fact involve sitting down to a tub of Cookies and Cream for dinner or not, it is painfully easy to lose sight of the fact that as adults, we often have vastly more autonomy over our own lives than we tend to realize and that there is much to be said for keeping our inner child content no matter how many birthdays we experience.

16. Let it go. Long before Frozen made this wise piece of advice into a saccharine earworm, the principle existed and is no less true today than at any point in human history.

Seriously. Just let it go.

I know, it can hard or frightening to drop our pain, to forgive others (remember that forgiveness does not equate to forgetting and that in the act of forgiving another, we free ourselves further from the grasp of what they did to us), and to let sleeping dogs lie.

And that is all the more reason why we should try to do so. Life wasn’t meant to be easy all the time, but we can often make the road we trod a less difficult one by dropping a lot of unnecessary baggage along the way and mindfully choosing not to let the negatives/challenges/hardship/pain in our life fully define who we are.

17. We need so much less than we think/believe we do to be genuinely happy. Look, I’m not a minimalist and I certainly adore most of what I own.

That said, I can tell you having experienced multiple times in my life when all of my worldly goods fit into just one or two suitcase – and an instance when I had virtually nothing at all – that while material goods can bring us a measure of happiness and have their rightful place in our lives, at the end of the day, we cannot carry any of what we own with us when we cross over to the other side.

Be grateful for what you have. Take stock in the fact that the items you may desire exist in the world and that alone their presence is a wonderful thing unto itself whether you ever obtain them or not, and try not to fill your life with scads of possessions that you don’t actually need or love (and which *may* be transference for other things that are lacking or missing entirely from your world).

18. It is never too late to have a happy childhood. Let’s face it, not that many of us had idyllic youths – and, sadly, some of us scarcely got to experience a sense of childhood point blank.

Yet as American author Tom Robbins astutely reminds us, it is never (or at least rarely) too late to create a sense of the kind of joyful, stable childhood we wish we had later on in our in ourlife.

In the process, I have come to learn, we often do a great deal of inner healing from the difficulties of our early years.

19. Make things for the sake of making them. Not for praise, not to sell, not to flaunt online, not to try and one-up anybody, and, just as importantly, regardless of if you currently excel on a particular creative front or not.

Creating something that was not there before we spun it into being is one of the most rewarding, meaningful, and even cathartic experiences we can have.

Not everything we make will be a winner and that is completely fine. Having fun, letting your creativity take flight, and losing yourself in the moment are each worth far more than even the most valuable painting in the world could fetch at auction.

20. Listen. Really, really listen. Not because you are counting down the milliseconds until it is your turn to talk next, but because you value what the other person is saying (regardless of if you agree with it or not) and respect their right to speak.

There is often just as much – if not more – to be learned from hearing what someone with differing views of life experiences from your own has to say.

It is easy to talk, harder (for many at least) to listen. Hone and actively practise this skill. It will take you far.

21. Get the thing(s) you least want to do out of the way first. Our parents often told us that if we wanted dessert, we had to eat our vegetables first (though, I don’t recall hearing this myself very often as I was that odd kid out who would have happily traded a second helping of carrots for a slice of carrot cake ).

That is an important life lesson that extends far beyond the dinner table.

Instead of putting off or flat out avoiding the difficult elements of your day/week/month, try to tackle them as soon as you possibly can.

The sense of freedom, serenity, and happiness that comes from knowing that they are no longer looming over your head will help you succeed all the more in the other, likely preferable, tasks that lay ahead of you (plus, potentially lift a decent sized weight off of your shoulders in the process).

22. There are (usually) far worse things in life than being offended. Lest Twitter implode at the mere thought, we are going to get offended sometimes. It happens, it is normal, and it does not necessarily mean that someone has actually done anything genuinely wrong towards/against you.

An important part of being a well-adjusted adult is accepting this fact, opting to not make a big deal out of things that do not warrant it, and simply moving on.

23. Spend your money on experiences, not just things. I remember hearing grownups say this when I was little and while I understood and could appreciate the sentiment, it would not be until I was old enough to vote, have a mortgage and all those fun things that hitting the age of 18+ entails that I would fully come to realize just how profoundly right they were.

If you have the means, try to allocate some of your budget for experiences. That doesn’t have to mean lavish vacations, huge parties, or front-row seats at a concert.

It can be taking your aging father on a road trip to his boyhood town (possibly for the last time), attending classes for a skill or area of study you have always wanted to pick up, going out to that incredible restaurant you keep hearing about, or countless other scenarios where the experience you have and the memories you make trump just about any physical item(s) you could have spent that same time and money on.

24. Almost nothing truly worthwhile comes easy. Goals take hard work and time. Success takes failure and perseverance, and excelling in a given area requires dedication coupled with frustration, times when you feel like giving up, and plenty of trial and error along the way.

Good.

More often than not, the harder we work, the sweeter and more meaningful reaching (or even exceeding) our target feels when it does eventually happen.

As the classic adage says, Rome was not built in day, so why should we expect our own lofty undertakings to be any different?

25. Value your elders. Once, not so long ago in the course of human history, it was extremely common + normal for multiple generations of a family to live together under the same roof.

And while, of course, this does still happen in some cases, in some parts of the world at least, it is no longer the norm.

I believe there is often great benefit to surrounding ourselves with those of generations other than our own – very much including those who have been blessed to reach their golden years.

Chances are they’ve learned a thing or two in their time that you could benefit from hearing or being taught how to do.

Sure, you might cringe over some of what your great-grandma says or want to roll your eyes when you aging mom tells you the same story about something that happened when you were a little kid for the 50^th time, but these things are often a small price to pay for the wisdom, love, and life experience that the elderly frequently have to impart to us.

Cherish the older individuals in your life and make sure to let them know just how much they mean to you before it too late.

26. Embrace change. This is a concept that sends a cold shudder down many a spin. I get it, truly I do. However, change accompanies death as one of the only certainties in each of our existences.

You can either exhaust yourself to bone swimming against the current of change, or do your best to float in the direction that it is flowing.

I find it helpful to shift the focus from what may be disappearing or being altered when change occurs and instead on the positives (or, as the case may be, seemingly hidden silver linings) that might soon enter my life.

Plus, what fun would life be if stayed the same day in and day? Change is important, necessarily, and a great opportunity for personal growth.

27. Don’t punish your current romantic interest for the sins, so to speak, of past partners.

This is a toughie. Nearly everyone who has had one or more difficult/abusive/stressful/etc romantic relationships tends to act and respond in certain ways in their next relationship(s) as a result of what befell them in the past.

Yet, it is vital that we give people a chance to show their own true colours before we jump to any conclusions or jeopardize a great thing before it has scarcely got of the ground because of what we experienced with prior partners.

Talk to the person (or people) you are with now, be open about what you’ve gone through and the lasting impacts that/those experiences have had on you (and likewise, give them ample time to share the same with you, if applicable).

You can even ask them to help you further your healing journey and in turn, offer to be a part of theirs. The bond that can stem from this kind of mutual desire to work towards the healthiest, safest, most respectful, and happiest relationship you can realistically share with someone is often worth more than its weight in gold.

28. An eye for an eye only leaves two people partially blind. It is woefully normal to feel the need for retaliation when someone has wronged or deeply hurt you, yet that is rarely (outside of situations where the law should be involved, of course) the best or wisest approach.

Instead of giving into knee-jerk reactions or scheming about how you can get even, remember that hurting someone else to make yourself feel better is about as smart an idea as building a house on quicksand.

It might look good for a moment, but chances are nothing of lasting worth will come of it in the end.

Instead, depending on the situation, it is often far better to speak to the offending party, remove yourself from the situation, or choose to take the highroad and let what they did roll off your back.

29. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink. Most of us are familiar with this classic expression and there’s a reason for that: it is very true!

No matter how much you may try to help, support, provide for, or otherwise attempt to present a person with what they may need, at the end of the day, they will only learn/change/grow if they want to do so.

Learn how to recognize when you’ve done a reasonable amount and yet nothing seems to be working. Step back at that point and wait to see if the horse gets thirsty or not in the end.

You cannot – and should not! – forcibly change people, so why drive yourself around the bend trying to accomplish the impossible?

30. Always have something to look forward to. It does not have to be big or break bank, but do everything in your power to always have at least one thing that you will enjoy doing/be happy about to look forward to in life.

This was something that was drilled home for me immensely in the years immediately following when (in my teens) I suddenly became a multi-severe chronic illness fighter and so much of my life was turned completely upside down.

For me, no matter what, Halloween / Samhain is something that I look forward to immensely the whole year through.

If I am blessed to have other things to eagerly anticipate throughout a given year, I consider myself very fortunate and lean as much as I can into the sense of hope and positivity that these lovely upcoming events stand to house.

Try to find one or two things that you can look forward to annually and to pepper others that (may) change from year to year into the mix as well.

Knowing that something positive is coming down the pipeline can do an immeasurable amount of good for our psyches, motivation levels, and general day-to-day mood alike.

31. You are going to look back on your younger self and cringe. Likely A LOT.

Whether it was your Flock of Seagulls haircut in the 1980s, the cheesy love poems you wrote in junior high, some of the romantic partners you chose, or a trillion other things, if you have grown and matured further even a little bit over the years, chances are you will wince when you reflect back on some of things you used to do.

That is great. No, seriously, it is! You want to keep developing as a person, honing your skills, making wiser choices, and progressing in life.

And chances are, by much the same token, there will also be points from years past that you look back on and feel immensely proud of yourself for doing.

Think of it as a bit of nostalgic yaying and naying, if you will.

32. Go outside. Often. Really often. Really, really often.

I sincerely understand that access to the great outdoors is easier to come by for some of us than others and, likewise, that not everyone is keen to do their best Bear Grylls impression.

Nor do you have to! Science backs up the immense importance of spending even just small pockets of time outside and the value that doing so imparts to our overall well-being.

Whether nature looks like sitting out on the deck of your 15th-floor big city apartment, walking your kids to school along a rural road, enjoying a good book on the beach, or any other positive scenario, try to spend time outside on a regular basis.

It can do wonders for your mood, provide inspiration, stir up old memories and create new ones, bolster your spirituality, and help to remind you of the vital link between humanity and the natural world that quite literally keeps us alive.

(Note: Exceptions to this point are, of course, made in cases where spending time outdoors is either limited or simply not possible due to things such as medical reasons or being incarcerated.)

33. Try to do at least one thing daily that will make your future better. This doesn’t have to be something massive by any means, but the impact such actions may have on the bigger picture of your life can be.

Countless options fall under this broad header. It could entail setting aside 15 minutes for daily mindful meditation, giving yourself an evening of self-care each week, getting up an hour earlier to exercise before starting the work day, breaking away from toxic people in your life, forgiving yourself (and/or others), doing volunteer work, finally tackling a project you’ve been procrastinating over, writing 1,000 words of your novel each night before bed, or anything else that stands to help make your future brighter, healthier, and/or more enjoyable.  

34. Do not lose sight of a person’s intentions. Tony (my husband) has, as many of us do, certain wise statements that he says periodically. One of which is that a person’s intentions often matter as much (or more) as their words.

While it is entirely possible for someone to try and whitewash manipulation, gaslighting, deception, or other negative actions behind claiming that they had good intentions, it can often be quite easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and not value or understand when someone was genuinely doing something kind/caring/thoughtful with no malintent behind it.

Even when someone’s actions or words may seem (or be) negative, at times there can still be a kernel of positivity or goodness behind them. Not always, of course, but sometimes for sure.

Try to look at the situation through their eyes, not just your own. Assess the bigger picture of what led them to do or say what they did, and remember that almost no one will treat you the way you want every single time you engage with them.

35. Take pride in an honest day’s work. I do not care if you are a housekeeper, a brain surgeon, a kindergarten teacher, or the president of a Fortune 500 company. A hard, honest day’s worth is something to be proud of.

Respect your own work and, every bit as much so, that of other people. Someone’s worth is in no way measured primarily by their pay cheque or job title, and the moment you start believing that it is, you need to have a serious heart-to-heart with yourself and check that mindset pronto!

36. We are, as Ram Dass wisely said, all just walking each other home. In other words, go easy on your fellow human beings, try not to sweat the small stuff, and remember that everyone is fighting their own battles.

Most are trying and doing the best that they can with the skills, resources, knowledge, and abilities they presently possess. Be kind and civil, and never forget that death finds us all sooner or later.

37. It is not so much what happens to us in life, as how we respond to it that matters most. Exceedingly rare is the life lived without heartache, trauma, stress, challenges, or even the unthinkable occurring.

And while it can be scarily easy to get stuck in a state of victimhood or to use something unfortunate as an excuse to not move ahead in life, that is no way to live.

Vent, process grief, try to heal, learn from hardship, and embrace the remarkable resilience that is innate in just about all of us.

Believe me when I say that you can get through almost anything, no matter how dark the moment may seem, and that you never know just how strong you can be until difficult circumstances push you to the extreme.

38. Love.

Love often. Love hard. Love freely. Love wisely. Love for all the right reasons and none of the wrong. Love not because you expect it (or anything else) in return. Love when it is easy and, especially (circumstantially speaking, naturally) when it is hard.

Love because tomorrow is in no way guaranteed. Love for those times when you longed for it but came up empty or lacking.

Love because there is so much pain and hate in the world that could, if we finally collectively got our act together and smartened up, be greatly lessened by an abundance of love.

Love as an example to others. Love in remembrance of those who have loved you but are now gone. Love because it is free.

Love because it makes your life better. Love to help and to heal. Love for the ways in which it inspires both yourself and others.

Love who you are – or, if you cannot do so at present, vow to work at it until doing so comes as naturally as breathing air.

Love when times are good and when the going gets tough. Love for the joy it imparts and the way it makes both you and the receiver feel.

Love your interests, love places, love pets, love learning, love sharing, love the first crocus of spring and the last jewel-toned leaf of fall. Find so many things to love that you quickly lose track of them all.

Love because, for all we know, it might very well be the meaning of life. Or at the very least, a profound way to add meaning, worth, and beauty to our lives and those we bestow our love upon.

I look forward to many more truths yet to come

The moment I stop learning or stop growing as a person is the moment I should pack it all in right then and there.

The universe houses an infinite amount to be learned and experienced and none of us, no matter if we live to fifty, eighty, or a hundred and ten, can ever do more than lightly graze the merest of surfaces on those fronts.

And so it should be. Life is not forever – though our souls or the energy we are comprised of may be.

Like the title and main verse of the 1977 song We’re Here For a Good Time (Not a Long Time) by the Canadian rock band Trooper reminds us, our time on this planet is far too short not to try and make the best of things when can.

Embrace the positives, acknowledge and process the negatives, and try your darnedest to routinely have a good time on this wild ride called life.

And on that note, my sweet friends, I will wrap up here for now. The electric mixer is calling my name and before I can heed its beckoning, I have an annual birthday tarot/oracle card spread to lay out in front of my now 38-year-old eyes.

I will indeed be striving for a good time today and encourage you all to do the same, no matter how close or far away you currently are from your own birthday.

Thank you for being here with me and for the 2.5+ awesome years of blogging we have already shared together. I can hardly wait to experience the next year of my life with all of you as well.

Okay, it is time to go pull some cards, bake a scrumptious dessert, and bask in the glow of a rather sizable number of birthday candles.

The post 38 of The Most Important Truths I Have Learned in My 38 Years of Life (Shared on My 38th Birthday) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Does this apply to everyone? Certainly not, but it has been my experience that no shortage of people do tend to adore the national holiday that transpires around the same time that they entered the world.

In terms of national/secular holidays, Canada Day has long been a firm favourite of mine. Not the top contender (that, as most of you likely know, goes eternally to Halloween / Samhain ), but one that I often rank as my third most beloved (non-Pagan/witchy) holiday.

Both Canada – as the official nation it has been since 1867- and I came into being during the exquisitely warm month of July.

By the time I emerged on the scene in 1984, Canada was a fully established, thriving nation with a strong economy, ever-expanding population, and a magnificent melting pot culture that has, thankfully, only continued to become my diverse with each passing year.

As a youngster, not only did Canada Day serve as the closest holiday to my birthday, but it was the first one to transpire after the school year let out.

In terms of the academic side of things, I usually adored school and was, humbly, a very good student. However, like most youngsters, come late June, the summer break could not get here quickly enough for me.

At the time, where I lived, school wrapped up sometime during the last week of June.

Canada Day returned a few short days later and always felt to me like the true start of the coming two months of school-free enjoyment that stretched out like a glistening ocean embracing the distant horizon.

There was a heady, palpable excitement to both the start of summer and the beginning of our breather from textbooks, teachers, and homework.

Though summer often whizzed by faster than frisbees we threw to one another throughout the roasty-toasty months, when school wrapped up and July began, it felt for a few brief, enchanting moments as though we had an eternity’s worth of time.

Come Canada Day on July 1^st, like many families, mine would usually fire up the barbeque or roast hotdogs, ears of corn, and marshmallows over an outdoor fire pit.

We donned red and white (the colours of the Canadian flag), made our way down to a public park where the town put on festive activities (including providing for free generously sized – and very tasty, as I recall –  slices of frosted vanilla layer cake with the words “Happy Canada Day” piped in red icing on its saccharine surface).

Live music wafted from the mid-century bandstand at that same park. Beachgoers frolicked merrily in the large lake across the street and many a soul, both young and young-at-heart, went in for the free face painting that the town also provided. Patriotic Canadian flags then temporarily emblazed on plenty of cheeks throughout the day.

As night fell, the sultry warmth that is July’s perpetual dance partner enveloped us all.

We would then clamber to find a free patch of sand on the beach or grass at a different park adjacent to that beach and turn our gaze skyward for the beautiful fireworks show that would soon unfold.

This generally happened around 10 pm and the sight of the fireworks being launched high into the air above the warm waters of Okanagan Lake, their multi-coloured hues reflecting with a magical charm on the water’s surface below, was hypnotically wonderful.

Once the fireworks had concluded, many folks leisurely made their way home. Some would carry on to bars, late-night restaurants, friend’s houses, or their own backyards to keep the festivities going.

Others stayed put, stoked small bonfires on the beach and let their cheerful chatter dot the beautiful night every bit as vibrantly as the fireworks we had just witnessed.

Then as now, I love(d) Canada Day.

We here in this country might not always wear our patriotism quite as boldly on our sleeve as those in some other countries are apt to do, but most of us cherish our homeland – or adopted country – something fierce and appreciate that July 1^st gives us an opportunity to let that adoration ring out for at least one day of the year.

Though Tony and I do not have any major plans for it, I am in the mood for Canada Day big time this year (because, let’s face it, as the pandemic lingers on, just about any excuse to celebrate takes on greater meaning and importance than it may ever have done so prior to 2020).

Two years ago I shared a charming shabby chic red, cream and gold Canada Day card that I made.

This time around, we have retained the red (albeit in a different shade) but opted for a different palette. One that nods its head happily to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but which is more than timeless enough to ensure it is au courant at the same time.

Beautiful rose-filled true north strong and free card

Much like grilled foods, sizzling hot sand, and exuberant fireworks, one of the things that I will forever associate with early summer is roses.

At most of the homes I lived in as a child and teenager, roses grew either on rickety trellises – their paint peeling and aged to shabby chic perfection – or in short, sturdy bushes.

The first roses of the season usually took up the reigns from the local lilacs, emerging at some point in May. Though it was by no means uncommon to see both smiling in the springtime sunshine at the same time.

They often got a second wind around early July, their unmatched aroma fanned by the hot summer breeze.

In my mind, roses and Canada Day are rather synonymous – particularly if those sublimely fragrant blooms are red or burgundy. Their hue a delightful nod to one of our nation’s two national colours.

The line “true north strong and free” is amongst the best known and most beloved from our country’s national anthem.

It reminds Canadians far and wide of how fortunate we are to live in this country and of the sacrifices many have made over the years (including during both World Wars) to help ensure that sentiment remained factual.

These words, cut from a sheet of Photo Play Oh Canada Eh! paper, were the jumping-off point for this Canada Day card.

I also took a colour cue from that same festive paper, composing a somewhat darker, more refined colour palette for this celebratory greeting.

In addition to various hues of grey, I employed teal, pale mint green, aged pine green, white, and deep shades of red worthy of the most magnificent of real summer-grown roses.

A slew of die cut maple leaves upped the festive feel of this handmade Canada Day card, as did an adorable background layer of moose print paper that is just too darling for words!

In addition to maple leaves and moose, another element that is often associated with Canada (in no small part due to lumberjacks and lumberjills) is plaid, so a lovely dose of that also joined the team here.

This is an oversized horizontal slimline card, and much like various other oversized projects of mine (such as the delightful Cottage Spooky Cottage Sign that I shared here earlier this year), it was a bit tricky to photograph in my small, rather basic quality lightbox.

Nevertheless, happily, I managed to get a few usable shots in the end, which you see peppered throughout this post.

I adored making this (if I may say so myself) gorgeous card and, in the process, conjuring up many positive July 1^st memories both from my youth and adult years alike.

If you are keen to make your own version of this elegantly festive Canada Day card, read on for a complete list of the products used on this project plus detailed step-by-step instructions to assist you in doing just that.

And, should you dig the design by not wish to take this paper crafting project in a Canada Day direction, you could easily swap out the sentiment for one that worked for a different occasion. Say as a birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even Valentine’s Day card.

In addition, you could easily use this card design for things like thinking of you, just because, get well, missing you, and congratulations (very much including congratulations bestowed on those who have, or soon will, achieved Canadian citizenship).

Products use to make a Victorian inspired Canada Day card

-Charcoal grey (or black) cardstock

-Medium grey cardstock

-Light-medium grey cardstock

-Dark red (or burgundy) cardstock

-Light mint (or light aqua) cardstock

-White cardstock

-Canadian national anthem print paper – O Canada True North Paper from Photo Play

-Moose print paper – O Canada Eh! Paper from Photo Play

-Teal plaid paper – the backside of the same moose print paper from Photo Play

-Two different ornate oval frame dies, one larger than the other (they do not have to be the same as one another)

-Scallop edge oval die

-Two sizes of scallop edge circle dies (or punches)

-Larger maple leaf die

-Slightly smaller maple leaf die (for the dark red maple leaf in the middle of the card)

-Corner rounder punch

-Teal ink – Tim Holtz Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink from Ranger (regular or oxide, as you wish)

-Dark greyish-brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Espresso Truffle Ink from Tsukineko

-Two sizes of dark red (or burgundy) paper roses

-Faceted clear buttons – Modern Avalanche Buttons from Bazzill

-Earthy forest (or olive) green hued seam binding

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a layered, shabby chic Canada Day card

Begin by making an oversized horizontal slimline card base from dark red cardstock.

Cut a piece of teal plaid paper slightly smaller than the card base. Round both of its bottom corners with a corner punch or corner die, then ink all four sides of this piece with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink. Adhere this layer to the card base.

Cut a piece of pale mint (or pale aqua) coloured cardstock a touch smaller than the previous layer. Round both of the bottom corners on this piece and ink all fours sides of it as well, then adhere it to the previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of medium grey coloured cardstock a little smaller the previous layer and round both of its bottom corners, too. Adhere to the previous layer.

Take the moose print paper, cut a piece of it that is (again) a little smaller than the previous layer. Round both of its bottom corners.

Then, cut the moose print paper into a few equal-sized pieces, trimming the pieces down, if needed, to allow a small vertical opening between each piece.

Ink all of the edges on each of the moose print pieces with Espresso Truffle ink. Arrange and adhere them down evenly across the piece of medium grey coloured cardstock.

Using the larger of the two sizes of scalloped circle dies (or a good-sized scalloped circle punch) cut out two circles from white cardstock and two from medium grey cardstock.

Use the smaller-sized scalloped circle die to cut two circles from the “True north strong and free” text print paper.

Arrange the circles starting with the white, then the grey, then the text print layer, so that some of each layer is visible. Adhere the layers together and then (one grouping apiece) to each side of the center of the card, as shown.

We are going to get extra Canadian here next. Die cut two maples apiece from the white, mint green/pale aqua, light-medium grey, and dark red cardstock.

Create two layered stacks of maple leaves starting with mint green/light aqua, dark red, white, and light-medium grey. Splay the layers out a bit so that each of the colours of maple leaves is visible.

Attach the layers to each other and then place one maple leaf stack on the lower portion of the scalloped circles on the lefthand side of the card. Adhere.

Repeat with the other stack of maple leaves, however, this time, you’re adhering them down on the upper right-hand side of the other group of scalloped circle pieces.

Die cut an ornate oval frame from dark grey, charcoal, or black cardstock (I used charcoal cardstock here).

Die cut a slightly smaller scalloped edge oval from medium grey cardstock. Adhere it to the ornate charcoal grey circle.

Next, die cut a decorative border-edged oval piece from white cardstock. Back that oval with a piece of mint green/light aqua cardstock so that the green/aqua cardstock shows through the openings on the edges of the white cardstock oval, but does not extend out past them at any point.

Adhere that piece to the previous oval.

Die cut a scalloped edge circle from light-medium grey cardstock with the larger of the two scallop circle dies. Adhere it to the previous (oval) layer.

Then die cut a smaller scalloped edge circle from the “True north strong and free print paper”. Adhere to the previous (circle layer).

Die cut a single maple leaf from dark red cardstock and adhere it to the centre of the last circle layer that you created.

Use the small banner/label shaped die to cut out a banner from white cardstock.

Fussy cut out a portion of the text print paper (used throughout this project) so that you have a small strip of paper that says, “True north strong and free”.

Ink all four sides of this piece with Espresso Truffle ink and adhere it to the white banner/label piece.

Gently bend the white banner/label piece so that it bows upward a little in the middle. This creates a greater sense of depth and visual appeal for the sentiment area of this Canada Day card.

Adhere both sides of the white banner/label down across the bottom of the central oval and circle layers, as shown.

Using a medium to dark shade of earthy pine (or olive) green seam binding or ribbon (I used seam binding here), make two slightly larger single layer bows and two single-layer slightly smaller sized bows.

Adhere the larger seam binding/ribbon bows to the outer edges of the center of the moose print paper, so that one larger bow appears on each side of the card design.

Repeat the process with the smaller bows, on this time, center them right beside the central ornate charcoal grey oval piece.

Take two small and two somewhat larger dark red (or burgundy) paper roses. Attach one small rose in the center of each of the larger seam binding bows.

Repeat the process by placing the two larger dark red paper roses in the middle of the smaller-sized green seam binding bows.

Lastly, place and adhere four clear faceted buttons around the smaller green seam binding bows, as shown.

And there you have it, one sophisticated, beautiful, and thoroughly festive Canada Day card for you to use as part of your celebratory décor or give to someone special before/on July 1^st.

O Canada! Our home and native land!

While patriotic music has been penned and sung on the soil of this nation for over two centuries now, the Canadian anthem that is familiar to those of recent generations is actually somewhat new.

The national anthem of this country is called “O Canada” and it begins with the same words that I used for the header above.

It was written by a French-Canadian-American chap named Calixa Lavallée in 1880. However, it would not be until 1980 that an Act of Parliament declared it as the country’s sole national anthem (as since 1939, the country had had two different national songs; the other was “God Save The Queen/King”).

Oh Canada was in use from at least the 1930s onward though, so those of both my parent’s and grandparent’s generations, along with my own, grew up memorizing and singing its stoically beautiful words.

The line “true north strong and free” is perhaps my favourite element of Canada’s national anthem, as I know it for many others as well.

Freedom is not something any of us should ever take for granted, no matter where we live in the world. We need only look to this planet’s history to see countless examples of times when peace was shattered and freedom either stolen or greatly jeopardized.

Much like at Mabon, Thanksgiving, and various other points in the year, I use Canada Day as a time to reflect on how lucky I am to call the world’s second-largest country, geographically speaking, home and to live in a land that is, in a lot of respects at least, quite free and respectful of its citizens’ rights.

No country is perfect – Canada included, of course – but at the end of the day, it is objectively a great nation overall and one that I am truly grateful to call my own, eh!

To all those observing Canada Day this year, may you have a splendidly enjoyable, safe, and festive July 1^st – and to everyone else, may the same hold true for the start of the year’s seventh month on your end, too.

Does your country have a national holiday to celebrate its founding? If it does, do you enjoy making craft projects for that special day?

The post Beautiful Rose-Filled True North Strong and Free Canada Day Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Or at least it is for me.

And yet…

The card featured in this post might just be my favourite I’ve ever made.

Not just this year, not just in the past few years, but during the whole of my time as a paper crafter.

Definitely in the top five for sure and, again, very possibly my absolute favourite to date.

I had a vision of how I wanted this card to look in my mind’s eye and the end result exceeded my hopes and expectations. The whole project flowed beautifully and I am pleased as punch with how it turned out.

I have dubbed this gothic-inspired card “Summertime Sunrise Over the Cemetery”, as that is the scene it depicts. (Though a similar sight could be observed in the spring or very early fall around these Western Canadian parts as well.)

Passionate taphophile that I am, I’ve spent many an early morning (and late night and afternoon… basically all hours of the day ) witnessing breathtaking sunrises break in the heavens above various cemeteries and graveyards.

It was to these meaningful memories that I turned when creating this sunrise, weeping willow, and headstone filled greeting.

A card that just happens to suit Summerween to a tee. (And which I’m sharing here as my #MakeHalloween365 project share entry for July.)

That’s right, my dear friends, it’s time to delve into another fabulous Halloween-inspired take on a holiday or season. So grab an ice-cold drink (may I suggest black lemonade) and come along as we explore the ins and outs of Summerween.

What is Summerween?

If you’ve seen my Valoween or Springoween blog posts, you may be familiar with the fact that I’m wild about embracing each and every October 31^st inspired holiday and season possible.

You might also have deduced by now (based on its name) as to what Summerween entails.

In short, Summerween approaches summer and looks for ways to inject as much of the spooky spirit of Halloween as possible into the hottest chapter of the year (on this side of the equator).

Perhaps, however, of all the annual events and seasons that can “Halloweenifed”, so to speak, Summerween often remains the most lighthearted.

Summerween is the beach goth of the seasons.

It is a fun-loving way of merging the sizzling hot days of summer with the eerie, iconic, and wonderfully enjoyable elements of Halloween that many of us hold dear.

As with Valoween and Springoween, I did not invent #Summerween myself.

Much like those two spooky happenings, from what I can find, Summerween seems to have largely come about organically from multiple sources, fuelled greatly by those of us who proudly belong to the #EverdayisHalloween crowd.

Interestingly, the concept of Summerween being a specific holiday instead of a season-long theme got a helping hand from the animated cartoon series Gravity Falls.

In episode 12 of season 1, we see the townsfolk preparing for, and then celebrating, Summerween on June 22^nd.

Why are they doing so? Because, like many of us, the good people of Gravity Falls adore Halloween so much they feel the need to celebrate it twice each year.  

Hugely relatable, let me tell you!

In the real world, some people may prefer to celebrate Summerween as a single day (or weekend), whereas others are all about pumpkins, bats, and ghosts the whole season long. Rest assured that either, or anything in between, is A-okay.

Halloween-inspired takes on existing events and seasons do not come with any hard and fast rules, and can be embraced however one desires. Indeed, that’s part of their charm and fun!

How to get a Summerween aesthetic

A fa-boo-lous place to get inspiration and ideas when it comes to Summerween is the blog Spooky Little Halloween, where the author, Miranda, has shared numerous Summerween related posts over the years.

(I especially adore her Summerween recipe posts, including those for 11 Halloween S’mores Perfect for the Campfire and Easy 4 Layer Halloween Ice Scream Cake.)

Be sure to also check out Miranda’s social media accounts as she shares plenty of terrific Summerween inspiration there as well.

I love to do the same myself too and have a Pinterest board dedicated solely to Summerween, which you’ll want to visit for lots more hauntingly enjoyable sunny season inspiration and ideas.

Summerween is a delightful way to marry summer with notes of spookiness. You can, for example, pick a general theme such as a haunted road trip, a dreamy tropical beach, a hair-raising summer camping trip, or a gorgeous sunny weather garden and “Halloweenify” to your heart’s content.

Some of the ways that you can achieve a Summerween aesthetic for your home, a party, or most any other reason include the following:

-Carving various summertime fruits and vegetables into jack-o-lanterns. As demonstrated in these two posts, watermelons and pineapples lend themselves especially well to getting the jack-o-lantern treatment.

And speaking of pumpkins, why not decorate with a palette of summertime coloured options.

You could utilize vibrant, even neon, shades; take things in a soothing and relaxing direction with whites, light greys, mint green, and soft pink, or look to the seas and go with a nautical colour scheme of reds, whites, blues, and sandy beiges.

-Draw (or cut out and adhere) a jack-o-lantern face on a beachball or volleyball for a smile-inducing summertime take on fall pumpkins.

-Include summertime flowers amongst your more traditional fall décor. Why not use a plastic (or real) pumpkin as a vase for some of your favourite summertime blooms?

Or you could create a centrepiece of flowers and pumpkins, partner the season’s first sunflowers with pumpkins or other Halloween elements, or design a wreath that included summer blooms and iconic fall pieces (such as skeletons, witch’s brooms, ghost figures, headstones, bats, spiders, owls, or skulls).

-Decorate a Halloween witch’s hat with summer blooms and use it as a centrepiece or décor item elsewhere in your house.

-Serve summertime drinks in Halloween cups and mugs (or vice versa). Add cute paper umbrellas, swizzle sticks, and tropical fruits to each glass for a fabulous summer meets October vibe.

-Purchase or make some delightful Summerween themed art. Summerween is catching on, especially with diehard Halloween lovers and as a result more and more fantastic Summerween themed art (as well as other products, including enamel pins, clothing, and beach towels) is hitting the market.

Some Etsy artists who are currently selling art prints that either specifically focused on Summerween or which work splendidly for a Halloween take on summer include:

–Carrie Anne Hudson Art (who also sells Summerween perfect enamel pins, such as this awesome tropical drink cauldron pin.)

–Fred Lanthier

–Ghost Girl Greetings

–Mythical Studios

–Spooky Ghost Shop

–The Littlest Spook Shop

As well, Spooky Yeti Studio has adorable summer ghost postage stamp shaped stickers and Hannah of Fall Trades offers cute and cheerful Summerween bookmarks (which would be perfect for your favourite beach reads!).

Summerween décor can be just about anything you can dream up. The key is to inject a sense of October 31^st into the sun-kissed months in whatever way(s) you wish.

Let your imagination take flight and have a blast celebrating the awesomeness of All Hallows’ Eve all summer long.

Now, let’s take a gander look at how you too can make your own summer sunrise over the cemetery card like the one featured in this post.

Products used to make this Distress Oxide Ink blended sunrise over the cemetery card

-Black cardstock

-Four different shades of light to dark grey cardstock

-White cardstock (for the card base – or use a premade 5×7 inch white card base instead)

-Thicker white cardstock (that takes well to ink blending) – Ultra White Smooth Premium (100lb) Cardstock from Spectrum Noir

-Silver metallic cardstock

-Weeping willow tree frame die

-Tree lined hill die (or, alternatively, you could achieve a similar look by applying different shades of grey ink through a tree covered hill design stencil)

-Headstone lined hill die

-Headstone die

-Victorian frame inspired embossing folder – 3D E3D – 017 Oval Accent Embossing Folder from Spellbinders

-Various shades of Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink, as follows:

For the yellow sun: Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, and Antique Linen

For the sunrise: Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, Hickory Smoke, Weathered Wood, Milled Lavender, Tattered Rose, Pumice Stone, and Victorian Violet

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Note: To create a mask for the sun portion of the ink blended sky, punch or die cut two small nested circles from cardstock or paper. I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Large Circle Dies set to die cut the two circles I needed for this project.

How to make a gothic summertime graveyard card

Begin by making a 5×7 inch card base from white cardstock (or use a premade card blank/base of the same dimensions).

You can then make the other elements of this card in whatever order you prefer.

I created my Distress Oxide Ink blended sky – with a masked and then inked glowing sun – before proceeding on to the die cuts (including one weeping willow frame made from silver metallic cardstock and another from very light grey cardstock) and the embossed frame.

For the ink blended sky, aim to have a halo of lighter coloured ink around the sun, so as to heighten the realism of a sunrise filled sky.

Next, arrange and adhere the layers of hill die cut shapes starting from lightest to dark, as this mirrors how objects in the foreground and background, respectively, often appear – especially in low light settings such as the early morning sunrise depicted on this card.

Arrange the weeping willow frames so that their branches overlap and create a lovely arch of foliage. To do this, you will flip the light grey cardstock die cut weeping willow frame over and use the backside to create a mirror image with the same piece cut from silver metallic cardstock.

Once you’re happy with the placement of the weeping willow frames, adhere them in place and proceed to arrange and adhere the headstone die cut between the trucks of the two weeping willow trees.

Using black cardstock, emboss a Victorian inspired frame piece and attach it to the cardstock. I opted to distress my black frame in various spots to give it even more of an aged, gothic look. You can leave your pristine, if you prefer. Either way will look fantastic!

Adhere the frame to the cardstock and top it with the ink blended + die cut covered panel.

If you wish, you can die cut a third weeping willow frame and use it to adorn the interior of your card (as shown above).

And there you have it, with a bit of ink blending, die cutting, and embossing, you have one serene, spooky, and splendidly Summerween appropriate card ready to go.

Send it out now, or, if you prefer, wait to give this sunrise at the cemetery card to a fellow Halloween loving soul (or taphophile) come October.

Birthday celebrations, now with even more Summerween!

Tomorrow just happens to be my birthday (I’ll be 37, for those inquiring minds out there ).

Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to have a Halloween-themed b-day. Now, thanks in no small part to the advent of Summerween doing so is now all the more possible.

With the pandemic still going strong and the fact that not everyone in our circle (myself included) has received their second Covid vaccine yet, my b-day this year is going to be another very lowkey one without a big party or public gathering.

However, together Tony, my mom and I will happily make the best of it and are going all-in on the Summerween side of things.

Or should I say, the Birthdayween side of things!

After all, there are only 113 days separating July 10^th and October 31^st.

What Halloween lover amongst us wouldn’t want to have an All Hallows’ Eve related celebration little more than 3.5 months before the big day itself returns?

We’ll be doing a Halloween jigsaw puzzle (I’m an avid puzzler), playing Halloween themed board games (including the Disney Hocus Pocus boardgame, which my very thoughtful mama gifted me with last fall), watching some of our fave Halloween shows and movies, and eating delicious Halloween related foods.

Basically, my dream way to celebrate my birthday.

I’d love to share in the festivities with more of my friends and relatives, but the three of us (plus, our darling dog, Annie, of course) will have a blast all the same.

And with a bit of luck, hopefully, come this time next year, a larger group of our loved ones will be able to get together for birthdays, holidays, and everyday hangouts alike again.

As I blow out the candles on my GF pumpkin spice cake tomorrow, you can bet that a swift end to the pandemic will be one of the things I wish for most of all.

And, on a less somber note, an early autumn that lingers late into the year will be another.

No matter if that comes to pass or not, thanks to Summerween we can celebrate Halloween all sunny season long. An act that helps to ramp up one’s excitement for the actual return of October 31sts all the more, especially as summer is the last season before fall’s arrival.

Thus, Summerween becomes an extra fun and festive way to countdown to Halloween and is perfect for those amongst us who love to get our All Hallows’ Eve on year-round.

Have you heard of Summerween before? What are some of your favourite ways to inject spookiness into the summer months?

PS: Fun – and rather cool – fact, this year my birthday coincides with July’s new moon.

I am using this point to focus many of my current magickal workings on new starts, banishing, healing, serenity, and renewal – and invite you to do the same as well, if so desired.

The post Spooky Summertime Sunrise Over the Cemetery Card (Plus, What is Summerween?) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.