In the roughly twelve weeks since the inaugural edition of the quarterly Magick, Craft Makes and Me debuted, we’ve witnessed the world endure the continued ravages, impacts of a pandemic that is still going strong, and some remarkable happenings pertaining race in America (and by extension, elsewhere across the globe).

Here at our house, and within our family on both sides of the Atlantic (all of my husband’s family lives in his homeland of Italy), I am very thankful to report that we’ve remained virus-free so far.

While certain public rules have been relaxed and various non-essential business and public locations have reopened in recent weeks in our area, we’ve opted to remain in strict self-isolation for the time being.

When the winter edition of this post appeared here, there was still an abundance of snow on the ground, icicles dangling from the roof, and daily subzero temperatures. What a difference a handful of weeks makes when it comes to the changing of the seasonal guard!

Spring began in earnest around these North Okanagan parts at the start of May and, in true Canadian fashion, by the end of that month, we were already experiencing temperatures in the low 30s Celsius.

When the next edition rolls around that the end of the summer, we’ll be witnessing the Wheel of The Year rotate into the gloriousness that is autumn.

As much as I adore fall with every last fibre of my being, I’m in no mad rush to put summertime to bed quite yet.

Though summer can be a challenging season in some respects, it’s also a beautiful, dreamy, even heady portion of the year and one that never fails to make me feel especially young at heart.

Right here and now, however, let’s take a gander at some of the witchy/Pagan/magick, crafting, and various other various links (the latter falling under the “Me” header of this post) that caught my eye during the turbulent months of spring that our world just endured.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

-Anytime two of my very favourite things – cooking and witchery – combine, chances are, I’m going to pounce on it like Annie on a tennis ball!

This pairing is examined through the lens of edible delights that are especially well suited to the moon in Other Worldly Oracle’s fantastic Full Moon Food Guide, which is chock-a-block with tasty recipes, food suggestions, and creative ideas.

-Candles, incense, smudge sticks – if you can safely burn it in a magickal context, a good many witches and Pagans are likely doing so as we speak.

However, there are plenty of times and/or reasons why you may want to cleanse without the need for matches or a lighter.

Willow’swonderful look at this very topic is explored in-depth in her recent post, 13 Smoke Free Ways to Cleanse, which may be of particular interest to those who are highly sensitive or allergic to smoke, incense and the like.

-Scrying is an ancient and widely used form of divination that has been practiced by various cultures around the world for many thousands of years. It remains popular to this day, particularly with some of us in the witchcraft and Wiccan communities.

One of the most common – and I would argue, effective – forms of scrying is mirror scrying. If you’ve always wanted to give it a go, but didn’t have a suitable mirror to work with, you’ll definitely want to visit this informative post that takes you through all the steps needed to Make Your Own Scrying Mirror.

-I am a firm believer that one can come to witchery and/or Paganism at any point in their life. However, there there are some of us for whom an ingrained sense that we were witches has been with us throughout our entire lives.

This topic is explored in Astrea’s insightful post, Born This Way: Witchcraft Comes Naturally to Some, which – as a “born witch” – I found myself nodding in agreement with from top to bottom.

-Spring and summer are peak seasons in many parts of the Western Hemisphere for early morning dew. If you’re keen to gather and put this potent, wonderful natural magickal ingredient to work in your witchcraft, be sure to check out Annwyn’s lovely video and accompanying blog post on How to Collect Dew.

-We in the 21^st century have a tendency to praise and elevate the act of being busy to near god-like status. Productivity is certainly important and has its rightful place, but so does the vital act of downtime and the ability to leave at least a few hours of our lives unencumbered with frenetic activity.

In The Magickal Art of Doing Nothing, Phoenix explores this topic and helps to remind us all of just how essential it is to simply be at peace with the present moment every now and then.

Card Making, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

-Going all the way back to my earliest collections – housed in the de rigour magnetic page photo albums of the day – back in the 1980s and early 90s, to the bevy of them that reside in my craft room today, I’ve loved and actively used stickers throughout my whole life.

You can just imagine then how much my eyes lit up and my creative juices started flowing when I recently spotted this handy-dandy post on how to make your own DIY Vintage Spring Flower Stickers. (The method for which you could easily apply – adhesive related pun intended – to a wide range of other sticker images as well.)

-Few fruits say spring and early summer better – or more iconically – than strawberries! If you’re in the mood to dish up a lovely serving of the paper variety of this fabulous produce offering, then you’ll definitely want to check out this DIY Paper Strawberry Tutorial over on Maggie Holmes’ inspiring blog.

-It likely comes as little surprise that the century which saw the invention and meteoric rise in popularity of photography would in turn produce a wide range of picture frames to help house some of the millions of photos that were taken at the time.

While real examples of Victorian photo frames often command steep prices these days, thanks to this lovely Victorian Folding Photo Frame Tutorial, with a few basic craft supplies and access to a digital die cutting machine, you can now whip up all the 19th century picture frames that your heart desires!

-Love working with alcohol markers but aren’t sure which ones to invest in or which might work most effectively for a given project? Let Ivana’s excellent and very informative comparison of The Best Alcohol Markers help ensure you find and work with the right markers for your crafting needs.

-When you think of summertime foods, what jumps out at you first? Ice cream? Watermelon? Lemonade? What about that beloved classic, a freshly made cheeseburger?

If you’ve been looking for a fun new pincushion to create, why not have a go at making this darling DIY Cheeseburger Pincushion?

It has all the look, but none of the grilling work involved with the real deal.

And of course, vegans, vegetarians, and plant-based eaters can just as easily imagine that it’s their favourite meat-free (and potentially dairy-free) burger instead.

-Valentine’s Day was a few months ago, but there’s no reason why you can’t whip up this fabulously charming Gothic Valoween Garland anytime and proudly use it as year-round décor. (An easy DIY craft project that involves both hearts and coffins it is a serious winner in my books!)

What’s shaking in my life and on my radar

Wow, I remember thinking back in March that I had scarce little of note to report in terms of what had been transpiring in our lives then.

After three more months of being in strict self-isolation, I have even less of note to share – which sounds dreadfully dull, I know!

Our days are full of the usual happenings of life, however, and goodness knows I could use about a thousand more hours in every day to get a mere fraction of what I’d like/need to accomplish done.  

As we’ve been at home around the clock lately though, I don’t have too many adventurous tales to regale you with this time around.

Looking ahead to the summer months, both Tony and I will celebrate our birthdays before the season draws to a close. Our beautiful country of Canada also turns another year older soon too, hitting the venerable age of 153 come July 1^st.

Historically, Tony and I have usually taken at least one get-away (usually a road trip somewhere within Western Canada) between mid-spring and late autumn.

However, with the very real safety concerns surrounding the pandemic so far this year (to say nothing of possible subsequent waves of it), we’ve not planned a trip for 2020.

For two souls who adore and derive a great deal of positive benefits from travelling, including the sheer joy of having an upcoming trip to look forward to, this has been a bit strange indeed!

Of course, many others are in similar boats and tons of folks have had to cancel or postpone travel plans (including one of my aunts and her daughter who were set to visit France this summer), and we’ll just make the best of things here at home for the time being.

The safer we are now and the more precautions we currently take to help stop the spread of Covid-19, the faster we might be able to return to a world where it’s safe to once again travel, visit with others, and do more activities in public point-blank.

-At the very end of April, on the six-month mark to Halloween (a date that many Halloween fans affectionately refer to as Halfoween), I shared a fun post highlighting 31 Ways to Celebrate Halloween All Year Long.

After I wrote that entry, I found myself thinking (not for the first time) about various ways to help ensure that I have an environmentally friendly Halloween/Samhain celebration.

This led me to find a very handy Guide to Greening Halloween, which abounds with tons of useful, practical and enjoyable ways to help keep your October 31^st all the more planet-friendly.

-If you think that things like cosplaying and sci-fi related conventions are a relatively new invention, Vintage Everyday is here with a slew of photos from the 1966 Science Fiction & Fantasy Costume Contestants Posing at the 24^th World Science Fiction Convention that will quickly prove these much-loved passions have been going strong for many decades now.

-It’s safe to say that one of the most important aspects to the continuation of life on this planet – the world’s oceans – is in a dire state and in need of immediate help.

An extraordinary ‘Landmark’ Study Lays Road Map for Exactly How We Can Restore Oceans to Former Glory in Just One Generation, and I know that I won’t be alone in hoping to the stars above (and the starfish below) that the approaches it proposes are able to be put into action.

-Should you happen to be a fellow lover of edible flowers, want a gorgeous dessert to serve at your next tea party or bridal shower, or an ideal sunny weather sabbat feast treat, may I present you with Lindsay and Jonas’s gorgeous Violet Shortbread Cookie Recipe.

-While the amount of TV that I’ve watched during this time of self-isolation has changed little from my usual levels, I have been making a point to view shows, movies and documentaries that really speak to me on a deep level.

One of the most stand-out titles in that respect that I’ve viewed recently is a documentary on Netflix called Crip Camp, which was just released this year.

It is a stirring, poignant and much needed look at how a mid-twentieth century American camp for special needs individuals helped to plant some of the seeds for the immensely long overdue social and political revolution that took place within the disabled community during the past century.

If you’re not already doing so, why not pop on over to Instagram and follow my account there? I post a wide range of content pertaining to witchery and Paganism, crafts, nature, history and vintage, travel, our daily life (including snaps of Annie), and more!

Summer lovin’

While fall time will forever reign supreme for me personally, I’m the first to admit that summer holds a special place in my heart as well.

Between the fact that it’s the season into which I born, the one in which Tony and I became engaged (back in 2004), and that it’s the prelude to my favourite chapter of the year, it’s hard not to adore summertime.

There’s dreamily perfect warm nights, ice cold drinks, the magick and marvelousness of both Litha and Lammas, sunsets so stunning they evoke tears, vibrant gardens, sundresses, feeling the sun-baked earth beneath your bare feet, and so much more to enjoy + appreciate about this season.

At this point, all any of us can do is guess and prepare in regards to what the summer may hold in store pandemic wise.

It would be amazing, nay, extraordinary, if the world was in a vastly safer, healthier place come the fall equinox, but the realist in me isn’t going to place any bets on that being the case.

What I will confidently do, however, is strive to have a beautiful, enjoyable and very meaningful season, whether we remain in self-isolation the whole time or not.

And you can count on plenty of fun, informative new content here, as well as on my Instagram account.

In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll cover a wide array of topics, from Canada Day to book reviews, summer sabbat posts to ones that will lead us straight into the magickal months of fall.

It is my unwavering hope that each of you will have a safe, healthy, peaceful and positive summer (or winter, if you’re south of the equator), and we can all met back here in three months for the next installment of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

What are you most excited about this summer? Any standout plans in the works?

The post Spring 2020 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.