What is The Autumn Equinox / Mabon

The wheel of the year continues to turn and it’s time for another feast day. The Autumn Equinox is here, to some practices, called Mabon (Mah-bon), after Welsh God Mabon, son of Earth Mother Goddess, Modron (who actually has nothing to do with the equinox…)

When is the Autumn Equinox / Mabon?

The Autumn Equinox almost always falls on either the 22nd or 23rd September (although in rare cases the window is from 21st September – 24th September at 02:03am BST.

In 2022, the Autumn Equinox is Friday 23rd September.

What is the Autumn Equinox?

The Autumn Equinox marks the end of summer and the beginning of Autumn, on this date, day and night are of equal length before the longer nights and shorter days start creeping in. Everything is at that perfect balance but also on the cusp of change.

What is Mabon?

Mabon is a feast in reconstructed paganism and the Wiccan faith, it only really started becoming labelled as Mabon around the 1970s but for many, the name kind of stuck.

Mabon is not only become the feast of the Autumm Equinox but also the Second Harvest, the Harvest of fruit and around the ‘harvest festival’ which some of you may remember from school. The Harvest Festival is traditionally celebrated on the Sunday nearest the harvest moon, the full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox.

It’s a time to reflect and celebrate on the year so far with the ‘reaping what you have sown’ mentality and seeing all of the benefits of your hard work so far.

For me, the most important part is the resting side. As the days grow darker and the nights grow longer, we are supposed to rest. After the feast and celebrating is done, we are supposed to retreat, use less energy and get through the winter. Like we used to before *capitalism*.

How can I celebrate the Equinox / Mabon?

Whether it’s making blackberry jam with your own little fruit harvest or just embracing the autumn aesthetic and adding some colour magic to your wardrobe, here are a bunch of things you can do to celebrate the equinox and Mabon, some low energy and some more intense:

  • Dress in Mabon colours: just as the leaves have changed, embrace earthy colours to match. Browns, deep reds, golds and dark greens
  • Eat Seasonal Food: I love to make a stew using squashes (like pumpkin) from the local organic green grocer. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to grow my own! if that’s a little too much, an apple pie from McDonald’s is also valid.
  • Go Blackberry picking: Get your own little harvest, you can use these to make blackberry jam, pies and syrups or even just eat them with sugar and be thankful for the bounty. This is generally the last time the berries are still good.
  • Hold a thanksgiving ritual: Write a letter to the universe of everything you’re thankful for this year so far. You can make it proper witchy by burning the list on the day of the Equinox and releasing that thankful energy into the universe
  • Light a candle: With the nights growing longer we’ll need to bring more light in, I use yellow / gold candles to symbolise that the sun will return.
  • Wind down and get comfy: This is the time when we’re supposed to rest and hibernate so do not feel guilty about grabbing a blanket and settling in with a cup of tea and a good book. It’s what we’re supposed to be doing and it’s a ritual in itself.

How will you celebrate the equinox this year?

Witchcraft at work Interview with Joseph, creator of Money, Mindset & Strategy.

We interview Joseph, from coaching business called Money, Mindset & Strategy. We discuss coaching and empowering people to step into their power with money.

Bunnypudding (Emma) here, sorry we’ve been quiet for a few weeks, Coven. We’ve been doing huge life changes which has certainly kept us busy but we have loads of fabuous content coming up. Including work with the fabulous Joseph from MMS Strategy who we are interviewing in today’s Witchcraft at Work.

Take it away, Joseph!

First, tell us about yourself!

I’m Joseph, I live in Ibiza and run a coaching business called Money, Mindset & Strategy. I specialise in coaching and empowering my clients to step into their power with money, build wealth and get comfortable charging a lot more for their services. 

I host a podcast and run an online academy called MMS Academy. 

I love coaching on money because it affects almost every area of out lives and I believe it’s a reflection of our relationship with ourselves.

What is witchcraft to you?

I think it’s personal to everyone which is what makes it so beautiful and powerful. To me, witchcraft is using your own natural power, inner wisdom and intuition to create changes in your life that are meaningful for you. 

It gives you different things depending on what you need at that time in your life. Whether you are using your intuition to plan some next steps or tapping in to your personal power to manifest your goals or simply feeling calmer and more grounded, it’s all witchcraft. 

How do you use witchcraft in your day to day life?

It varies depending on what I need or am working on but I like to make sure I am always covering the basics of energetic cleansing, protection and gratitude. For me, those form the foundation of a strong spiritual or magical practice. 

I am also a huge fan of maintenance magick, rather than waiting for a problem before doing a spell, I think it;s really important to protect and appreciate the things in your life that are going really well. 

And professional life?

If I have a goal or intention I am working on, I will usually do a vision board around it and some candle spells. I have tried many forms of spell work and always see the most results from candle magick.

I also feel it;s really important to regularly study and learn so I make time every day for either reading or listening to material relating to magick or something I’m working on. 

I host a weekly mindset and coaching call as part of the Academy I run and before each class I set an intention and do a quick meditation to deliver messages that are helpful and empowering to everyone listening. I’ve done that with all of my work for years whether it;s writing a book, delivering a workshop or coaching a client in a 1 2 1 session, I always use the power of intention. 

How have you used witchcraft to support in shaping your career?

When I first started my coaching business, I created vision boards and did weekly candle spells to help manifest my goals. 

I also try and meditate most days and tune into my inner wisdom, I think this is a really under rated part of manifesting your goals. Its not just about setting the intention, it’s about understanding that you are the magick and that your actions are a beautiful and important part of the manifestation process. 

I tauge a course about magick a few years ago and something that kept coming to me during the writing of it was “magick works through you not just for you” so it’s important to always remember that the power is within you already, never outside of yourself. 

Does your work know about your practice?

I’m very open about my beliefs on my podcast and in my workshops, I also have quite a few magical looking tattoos on my arms so it’s definitely not a secret! .

Where can people find you?

You can check out my website and blog 

MMS Academy page

My podcast is called Money, Mindset & Strategy and is available across all platforms

I upload weekly coaching videos to my new YouTube channel 

You can check out the kindle collection on Amazon 

You can sign up for a free money mindset class and join my newsletter here 

If you’d like to know more about working together, you can email us on support@moneymindsetandstrategy.com to arrange a free consultation about your goals. 

Fabulous, Thanks Joseph!

And remember Coven, we love to hear about how you bring Witchcraft into your Work over on our social channels and the comments as well.

Event: 3 Wishes Fairy Festival

Exciting news from Karen Kay, aka The Fairy Lady & founder of the 3 Wishes Fairy Festival

COME AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES TO MAGICAL CORNWALL!

Exciting news from Karen Kay, aka The Fairy Lady & founder of the 3 Wishes Fairy Festival

We couldn’t be more excited here at Digital Coven as we love a good festival! The 3 Wishes Fairy Festival, dubbed the UK’s most magical event, returns to Cornwall in June after a two year pandemic absence. 

The family and pet friendly event takes place from Friday June 17 to Sunday June 19 at Mount Edgcumbe country estate, near Torpoint and will feature 100s of workshops, talks and performances, a big top circus and music among its attractions (all included in the ticket price). 

Alongside the entertainment many festival-goers will be embracing their inner ‘fairies’ or ‘elves’ creating a fun and colourful experience for everyone. Ahhhhh, we are so there, Bunnybunny (Emma) has always been partial to dressing like a fairy!

Woman dressed as a fairy
Emma still has the outfit and is willing to get it out with little notice

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to bring the festival back to Celtic Cornwall, the home of fairies, for the first time since 2019. This year, we’ve got music, activities, great vegan food, workshops, circus shows, special guests, meet and greets, and so much more. We even have a magical mermaid grotto with ‘real’ mermaids. There will be more magic than you can shake a fairy wand at,” Karen Kay said

Visitors to previous festivals have described the experience as ‘like stepping into a real-life fairy land’, and this year’s event promises to be even more magical with fantasy creatures such as gnomes, mermaids, elves, pixies and fairies wandering the site and fairy tea parties celebrating the festival’s 16th birthday. You has us at gnomes to be honest but ended strong on fairy tea pary, we can’t lie.

The festival was founded by the former BBC journalist in 2007. Karen, who lives near Truro, is a fairy author and is known as The Fairy Lady. She was guided to create a Midsummer gathering by the fairies she has been communicating with since she was a child. 

‘The Fairy Lady’ Karen Kay who is founder of The 3 Wishes Fairy Festival

She said: “I first saw fairies when I was a little girl, around the age of five or six. I would help my grandmother as she pruned the roses in her garden, and I would gather up the rose petals to make perfume for the flower fairies! I’d leave the concoction (rose water) out overnight for my fairy friends, and when I’d check in the morning, the perfume would be gone! 

“My fairy friends appear as tiny vibrant lights and have stayed with me since childhood and into my adult life, and I can honestly say, there’s never a dull moment when the fairies come out to play!

For three days and nights, the grounds of Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park on the outskirts of Torpoint will be transformed. Day tickets for the festival are available, yet for those wishing to stay, the event accommodates tents, caravans and campervans and there’s also a glamping option to rent bell tents, ‘shire’ homes and traditional caravans. A camping area is also available for disabled festival-goers which does need to be booked in advance. 

Picture by Danniella-Jaine who specialises in ‘fairy’ photography – https://www.danniellajaine.com

The 3 Wishes Fairy Festival is the first UK fairy festival to be totally vegan, with all food on-site provided by vegan caterers, with gluten-free options available. 

Ticket prices have been held at early bird prices until the end of April with a three-day ticket at £100, day tickets £40 for adults and £20 for children with free admittance for children under the age of seven. For more information visit www.fairyfestival.co.uk

Will you getting a ticket? If so let us know below or via our digital channels, as we want to know and we really, really want to see your outfits!

Instagram

Tiktok

Until Next time, Coven!

Love, love,

Everyday Witchcraft – Tea Magick Supplies: Rose Tea Sets.

Due to popular demand, here is where Bunnypudding gets her teaware from…

Well hello there Coven, I’ve been pretty active over on my Tiktok and Instagram recently making lots of fabulous everyday witchcraft and lifestyle content and well, I hate to say this but the breakout star of my labour isn’t me. Oh no, it’s my bloody Rose Enamel Glass Tea Pot that I treated myself to as a moving in present. 

Here she is in all of her glory. I call her Roseline after my grandmother and well, it has a bloody rose on it and some days I am more creative than others. 

I’ve been asked about where I get my supplies and homewares on my videos and DMs so here is the list of kitchenware items used in my April Social Videos below. Some of the items are from different stores so if you are looking for a specific colour click the link below the picture 🙂 

Of course, I will also be sharing recipes and how to’s for my tea blends in another post so watch this space (or check out my social media!)

Please note that there are some affiliate links on the copy on this page, this means that I get a commission for any purchases made via this post. 

Tea Pots and Tea Pots Sets: 

You can get my stunning rose tea pot in either red (Picture above) or blue. I am not going to lie, I want them all. It’s an issue, it really is. 

One thing I need to stress though is that the tea pot is pretty small, so great for those who want to make one or two cups for tea or herbal spellwork but not so good if you are want to pour for several people at the same time. Great excuse to get two, otherwise, pay heed! 

Blue Rose Tea Pot Page: https://amzn.to/3OUUxYX

Price: £19.95

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3OUUxYX

Blue Rose Tea Pot Set (Tea pot+ 6 cups): https://amzn.to/3LDt1gC

Price: £24.99

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3LGtaQy

This is a rare set to get cheap, thus why I haven’t had it yet as these weren’t on offer when I was getting mine. I am truly gutted about this fact but it is also why I have two links below as I am sure they will be gone pretty quick. 

Red  Rose Tea Pot Set (Tea pot +  6 cups): https://amzn.to/3KH6

Price: £26.99 

Otherwise, 

Brand store: https://amzn.to/3vGz7HE

Has another set for £34.99 

Red Rose Tea Pot Page:  https://amzn.to/3F5tsxT

Price: £19.99

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3LGtaQy 

Rose Enamel Kitchenware:

Now if you really cannot help yourself, and I clearly cannot, you can also get the matching cups, and mugs (and there are even wine glasses but that is another post!) So I have listed the options for the blue and red designs below. They are honestly so beautiful and so much fun. Leave me to my life of staying at home drinking tea out of my fancy cups. 

Rose Enamel Rose Flower Glass Tea Cup with Spoon Set Page: https://amzn.to/3OUUxYX

Price: £7.99 

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3y9CCYA

Blue Enamel Rose Flower Glass Tea Cup with Spoon Set:

https://amzn.to/3LBeNN3

Price: £8.99

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3LBeNN3

and it’s bigger counterpart

Blue Enamel Rose Flower Glass Tea Mug with Spoon Set

https://amzn.to/3LBeNN3

Price: £9.98

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/3OPUrBY

Blue Enamel Rose Flower Glass Tea Mug with Spoon Set, lid and placemat set 

Price: £26.99

Brand Store: https://amzn.to/38HJCkK

Phew! Be still my beating heart….Let me know if you have taken up any team making or decided to treat yourself to some new magick tea brewing kit below or via our social channels as we love to hear from you:

Tiktok

Instagram 

Until next time, Stay dazzling!

Love,

Emma

Witchcraft Around The World: 30th April -Walpurgis Night

Witchcraft Around The World: The fabulous Tanja, shares her insight into Walpurgis Night.

We love learning about all different type of Witchcraft here at Digital Coven and today we have the fabulous Tanja, sharing her insight into Walpurgis Night.

Take it away, Tanja!

Greetings fellow witches! You may or may not be prepping to celebrate Beltane this weekend, so I thought I would make you familiar with what I like to call its “German goth counterpart”, – Walpurgisnacht, or the Night of the Witches, which takes place on the night of the 30th of April.

About Beltane

As you may know, Beltane is the pagan festival held halfway between the spring and summer equinox, celebrating the blossoming of trees and flowers and the days getting warmer. It takes place between 30th of April and 1st of May and therefore traditionally includes May Day celebrations which span across many different cultures – Celtic, German, Hawaiian and Greek, to name a few. They include dancing around a May Pole, making flower crowns and crowning a May queen (not to be confused with the customs of Midsommar – neither the Swedish festival nor Ari Aster’s horror masterpiece).

The Fire Festival

Beltane, from the Gaelic Bealtaine, can be roughly translated to “bright fire”. On the eve of May 1st, Pagans would gather to light bonfires and dance around them – since fire typically stands for purification and new beginnings, this ties in with Beltane’s themes of renewal and summer returning. 

Like on Halloween (Samheim) and Midsummer, the veil between the realms of the living, dead and spirits is supposed to be especially thin this time of year. It is therefore no wonder the night became associated with witchcraft, its literal Dutch translation being “Heksennacht”, the night of the witches, which in German folklore became associated with a night where evil witches gather to plan their mischievous schemes.

The History of Walpurgis Night

For this negative association, we can thank the Catholic Church – as pagan beliefs did not fit in with the Christian religious ideals, during the Middle Ages they attempted to stamp out any other religion’s customs, including those of Beltane, throughout Europe. Walpurgisnacht i.e. “Walpurgis Night” derives its name from the Catholic missionary turned Saint Walpurga, who was celebrated for succeeding at putting an end to “pagan sorcery”

Ironically, the image I associated with Walpurga until researching this date stems from a popular German children’s cartoon about a teenage witch – In this, she is the leader of the coven and looks like this:

As someone who grew up Catholic, that doesn’t look very pious to me, which goes to show that Walpurga today is associated way more with witches than she would have liked. Sorry, gal!

To give her credit, Walpurga actually did see to it that the pagan rituals didn’t completely die out: She was canonised on the 1st of May, and therefore, likely by accident, Christian and Pagan customs became entwined. Pagans could continue their celebrations without fear of being condemned, by doing it under the guise of honouring Saint Walpurga (article). 

So, these practices could be continued quite freely in Medieval Germany, until the 16th century, which saw a massive hysteria about witchcraft followed by one of the most gruesome and bloody witch hunts in history taking place in Germany.

During that time, hysteria led people to believe that witches would gather on Mount Brocken, the highest peak in Germany’s Harz Mountains, to have orgies, dance, and meet with Satan to discuss how they could bring the most mischief and evil to the coming year (no, really).

Ein Bild, das Text, Zeichnung enthält.

Automatisch generierte Beschreibung
The actual Saint Walpurga

 

According to some legends, witches would gather in the valley and then ride up to the mountain’s peak – not just on broomsticks, but even on cats or goats!

In an attempt to protect themselves from evil spirits and witches, locals would gather on April 30th to light bonfires, burn straw men and make loud noises to chase away evil. The joyous pagan rituals for fertility and summer returning therefore morphed into a gathering driven by fear. Well done, Catholic Church!

Luckily, those superstitions began to gradually die out and Walpurgis Night celebrations carried on but became more light-hearted, as people would gather around the fire, celebrate, and sing folk songs. The festival might not still be part of the German Zeitgeist today had it not been for Goethe’s famous poem Faust, published in the 19th century, which sees the protagonist travelling to Mount Brocken and taking part in the witches’ celebrations.

This poem, loathed by German highschoolers throughout the country, re-popularised Walpurgisnacht and is likely to thank for why it is still popular today.

Modern Day celebrations

Today, Walpurgisnacht remains part of German popular culture, with many other stories about the Witches’ mountain gatherings having sprung up in the century following Goethe’s Faust.

As for the celebrations, most that remains of them is the lighting of and gathering around bonfires, although this is now being celebrated under the new motto of Tanz in den Mai – “Dance into May”. Turns out, pagans, legendary witches and normal human beings alike love a bit of revelry and dancing around a fire! Due to the first of May being a bank holiday, Labour Day, people still traditionally like to go dancing at clubs which do “Tanz in den Mai” themed nights. I have taken part in many of these club nights and regardless of alcohol levels, the night has always felt special to me. Maybe there is something to the veil between the worlds being more permeable. Or maybe I just feel very seen as a witch on this holiday which is, in a way, dedicated to us. 

Thanks, Tanja!

You can stay in touch with Tanja and find her shitposting and creating other digital content about drag, queer and witchy stuff on Instagram @tanjaktx and Tiktok @tanjatix

If you wish to write an article for Digital Coven please get in touch on our contact page or just pop an email over to us on digitalcovenuk@gmail.com or you can always reach out via our social channels:

Tiktok

Instagram 

Until next time,

Love,

Featured Image: “File:Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival 2012 – Bonfire.JPG” by Stefan Schäfer, Lich is marked with CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ways to bond with your new Tarot Deck

So you have got your first Tarot Deck, hooray! What a journey you are going to have.

One of the main questions we have received over the years is ‘how do I connect with my cards’ and, in all honesty, that’s entirely up to the reader. You can go as big or as small as you want and it really doesn’t HAVE to be complicated. 

Image Credit: @SoulfulStock via UnSplash

Cleanse your deck

You don’t HAVE to do this one straight away but I like to so i can set a vibe with my cards. I (AJ) pass my cards through rose incense smoke as I love my cards and I’m sure they’ll love me too. If you want to go ‘all out’, Emma has a whole New Tarot Ceremony too!

If you don’t use smoke to cleanse you can use crystals. I have a piece of clear quartz in my tarot box and I give them a shake in the morning / when I’m ready to read.

No crystals? That’s OK too. Just knock three times on the cards and say hello. 

Witchcraft and Tarot don’t need to be expensive, use the tools you already have.

Intro yourself

Introduce yourself to your cards. While you’re having an initial shuffle, tell them your name, how you want to work with them, what your favourite colour is, does pineapple really belong on pizza?

Tarot cards are more than just a tool, they can become a life-long friend and they need to know you as you, not just as a tarot reader.

Card of the day

If you’re new to the cards in general, a card of the day is a simple way to learn and become familiar with not only your deck, but all the little nuances of each card.

Draw one card of the day, and before you even look up the meaning in a book or online, really look at the scene presented to you, what do you see? Are there any plants, are they alive or dying? Any animals, are they standing alert or lying peacefully by the subject’s feet? 

This can help you work out what you see before you read, so make notes of all of these in your book of shadows / grimoire / random notebook with the nice pages and then write down the meaning descriptions from books / online. Highlight the areas that match between the two and learn those parts first. Then you can start looking into beginner tarot spreads and build your skill, knowledge and intuition from there.

Carry your cards with you

All of my friends, family and colleagues know I always have a Tarot deck on me. This isn’t just so they’re always available if someone needs a reading at the office Christmas Party but it’s also so my cards *know* what has happened throughout my day, they come with me on every journey so they know each feeling I have. 

This method is particularly useful if you want to do readings on self growth because the cards will have experienced everything you have. 

Sleep with your cards under your pillow

When we sleep and when we dream, we are our most intimate and vulnerable selves. Sharing this part of you really helps your connection with the cards, in my experience, and is also recommended by many other readers. If you’re unable to carry cards around with you everyday like I do, maybe this is a better solution, especially for a ‘still in the broom cupboard’ witch.

And there you go, a handful of ways I like to bond with a new deck, do you have any more recommendations? Let us know in the comments or on my social channels:

Tiktok

Instagram