Crafts for the crafty pagan...
Or the non-crafty pagan as well. Still, these are lovely ideas for things you can do on your own or with your family! I know it is a little empty right now, but I am in the process of expanding. Please check back soon for more!
Brigid's Cross
On Imbolc, you may want to make a Brigid's Cross. Here, I have found a video to show how it it made. It is not me in the video, but one I found on the internet. This is so you can see how the process is done if you want to do this particular simple craft. |
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Goddess Prayer Beads
(from Leslie Ravenwing) Note: I am currently working on my own version of prayer beads. When I have completed it, I will share it with all of you so look forward to it! This can be adapted to your use and I encourage you to make up your own prayers! However, this is here so you can get an idea and get started. Enjoy! Oh, and the author that created this particular set says that the idea is borrowed from the christian rosary. However, keep in mind that many different faiths use prayer beads. It is not unique to then and they did not create the idea. "If these beads sound familiar, it is because they have been borrowed from the Christian Rosary. The Rosary was invented in the Middle Ages as a devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Although the Church is quick to define Mary as simply "first among the saints," it is clear the common people from the first century CE onwards saw Mary as the continuation of the Queen of Heaven: Astarte in Palestine, or Isis in Egypt. It is fitting, then, to adapt a Marian devotion for honor to the Goddess, the Queen of Heaven. These beads honor the Goddess in her three-fold, or triple, nature as Maiden, Mother, and Crone." It is best to string your own beads. You will need: 13 white 8mm beads for the Maiden 13 red 8mm beads for the Mother 13 black 8mm beads for the Crone 1 silver 10mm bead representing the Full Moon 52 silver spacer beads (class "E" 6/0) representing the Moonlight. Nylon thread: white or ecru, or color of choice You may begin and end stringing anywhere in the loop, but the tie-off is less visible in the midst of the black beads. The silver Moon bead is separated from the White Maiden beads by four (4) silver spacer beads. Each white Maiden bead is followed by one silver spacer bead, but the thirteenth bead is followed by four (4) spacer beads. Then come the red Mother beads, each followed by one silver spacer, but the 13th bead is followed by four (4)spacers. Then come the black Crone beads, each followed by one silver bead, but the 13th is followed by four (4) spacers. And so we are back at the silver Moon bead. In other words, beads of the same color are separated by one spacer. The three sets of beads and the larger Moon bead are separated by four spacers. Thirteen (13) beads are used in each set to signify the thirteen months of the lunar year. The silver spacers represent moonlight issuing from the Full Moon bead throughout the life cycle of Maiden, Mother, Crone. Prayers are said on each bead, while meditating on the mysteries of the Triple Goddess, and the experience of the human life cycle. Men may wish to make a devotion to the Horned God, and honor the life cycle of Youth, Father, and Sage. |
PRAYERS FOR YOUR GODDESS BEADS
On the silver Moon Bead say: Blessed Mother, come to me, and cast your lovely, silver light. Uncloud your face that I may see unveiled, its shining in the night. Triple Goddess, Blessed Be, and Merry Meet, my soul's delight! On the space say: I bind unto my self today the Fertility of the Maiden. Meditate of the Presence of the Maiden On each Maiden Bead say: Maiden daughter, sister, lover, White-light, Night-light, love's embrace; Seeking love, we find each other By the radiance of your face. On the space say: I bind unto myself today the Power of the Mother. Meditate on the Presence of the Mother On each Mother Bead say: Mother of all, radiant, beaming, Full and heavy womb with expectation bright; Be present here, full moonlight gleaming, And bless your child with truth and light. On the space say: I bind unto myself today the Wisdom of the Crone. Meditate on the Presence of the Crone On each Crone Bead say: Crone now stands in moonlight gleaming, Starlit night and silver hair; Peace and wisdom from you streaming, Goddess, keeper of our care. On the space say: I bind unto myself today the Fertility, Power, and Wisdom of the Goddess. On the silver Moon Bead conclude: Blessed Mother, stay by me, and cast your lovely, silver light. Uncloud your face that I may see unveiled, its shining in the night. Triple Goddess, Blessed Be, and Merry Meet, my soul's delight! So Mote it be! |
Painted Tin Craft
Recently, I came across a very nifty idea. I cannot remember where I saw the idea, so if you know please share it with me. But anyhow, I would like to share this craft with you. It can be changed and adapted for your own uses, but the basic idea is the same! Oh, and excuse the name... I had no idea what to call it!
Supplies you will need:
An empty mint tin
Paint of any colour you choose
Ideas for other supplies you can use:
Stickers
Glitter
Printed images or photos
Clay figurines
Directions:
In this simple craft, take your tin and clean it so there isn't any of the mint residue. Then paint the tin in the colour of your choosing. You may want to use some sort of sealant so the pain doesn't scratch off. Decorate the tin as you wish, you are bond only by your imagination. Now, for inside your tin you can do anything. It can be a portable shrine with an image of a god or goddess containing a candle you can light and maybe some little offerings. Maybe it can be a prayer box where you add little clippings of prayers. Maybe you want to use it to hold your rune stones. Have fun with it! When I make one, I'll be sure to post pictures!
Supplies you will need:
An empty mint tin
Paint of any colour you choose
Ideas for other supplies you can use:
Stickers
Glitter
Printed images or photos
Clay figurines
Directions:
In this simple craft, take your tin and clean it so there isn't any of the mint residue. Then paint the tin in the colour of your choosing. You may want to use some sort of sealant so the pain doesn't scratch off. Decorate the tin as you wish, you are bond only by your imagination. Now, for inside your tin you can do anything. It can be a portable shrine with an image of a god or goddess containing a candle you can light and maybe some little offerings. Maybe it can be a prayer box where you add little clippings of prayers. Maybe you want to use it to hold your rune stones. Have fun with it! When I make one, I'll be sure to post pictures!
Dreamcatchers
Harvest Vase
Author: Laurel Reufner.
Copyright: September 1996
Original Site
This decoration has graced my altar every year for the past five years. I try to have it up the week of Mabon and there it sits, gracing everything, until December, when we decorate for Yule.
You'll need:
small glass vase
7-13 wheat sheaves
3 small years Indian corn (or one large one)
yellow, black, and orange ribbon
Shuck the corn kernals from the cob and drop them into the vase. Then tuck the wheat into the corn in a manner that pleases you. And finally, finish with ribbons tied in a bow around the neck of the vase.
Copyright: September 1996
Original Site
This decoration has graced my altar every year for the past five years. I try to have it up the week of Mabon and there it sits, gracing everything, until December, when we decorate for Yule.
You'll need:
small glass vase
7-13 wheat sheaves
3 small years Indian corn (or one large one)
yellow, black, and orange ribbon
Shuck the corn kernals from the cob and drop them into the vase. Then tuck the wheat into the corn in a manner that pleases you. And finally, finish with ribbons tied in a bow around the neck of the vase.
Corn Dolly
Original Site
Corn dollies have been made throughout history for various reasons, dating back as early as ancient Egypt. Usually, a dolly would be made with the last shafts of wheat straw, or the best, representing the spirit of the harvest. Often the little dolly made out of the straws would be honored, sacrificed, kept, or burned; either it was a place for the spirit to live until next year or it was a sacrifice to the gods of the fields' fertility. In any case, at some point it moved from a more ritualistic purpose to a folk craft, and there are many designs to make these, both simple and complex. Here is a design to make a fairly simple one, with suggestions for ritual use if you like.
Materials:
Directions:
If you're using real wheat straw, you should get it when it is almost ripe but not totally dry yet. It should still be green at the bottom. Dry for a day, hung up, and then cut off the leaves and the head of the wheat below its first joint. When you use it it should be soaked before you try to bend it, for about half an hour. If you don't have access to the real thing, the best craft material to use is raffia, and it doesn't need to be moistened. It is easily found at the craft stores and resembles flattened straw.
There are a lot of ways to make a dolly out of the material, but here is just one easy way. First, take a large clump--maybe fifteen to twenty-five strands--and cut it so that it is about a foot and a half long. This will be the main body of the dolly. Fold it over in half. If it seems too long right now to be the size of dolly you want, you should cut it, because it is not going to get any shorter during the process. Now, where the stalks are folded is going to be the top of the dolly's head. Take the string or yarn and tie it around the entire bundle about an inch and a half down from the top; that tie will be the mark of her neck.
Before you tie off the section that makes her body, you'll need to make arms. This is easy; take more of your stalks and make a longer but thinner bundle--four to six stalks ought to do it--and fold them over. Tie off at the ends and cut the looped end so it is frayed just like the other side. The little frays represent her hands. Stick the arm bundle into the main bundle right under the neck, and then tie off the main bundle under the arms. That way they cannot slip out the bottom but can still be moved side to side or diagonally shifted.
At this point the bottom of the main bundle is frayed and splayed out a bit like a skirt. This is the simplest form of corn dolly, and it can now be considered finished if all you need is a very basic doll for your purpose. However, you can of course take a few extra steps, especially if this is to be ornamental rather than just ritually used.
You may want to make your corn dolly a dress. It is easy to cut a small piece of material--use a color or pattern that matches the season or a country print--and cut it in sort of an hourglass shape. Make a hole for the head at the center of the hourglass, and pull it over her head, then tie at the waist. The sides will be open but it doesn't much matter since it's just for effect. If you like you can even make a smaller version to make her an apron.
Also, a nice touch is giving her wheat stalk or raffia hair. Of course, for hair you can use any material, but we'll take it for granted that you are not making the dolly to be professional-looking, it is a natural craft, so it is more likely that using the same material as you used for the rest of her body will be most appropriate. For hair, take a few strands of straw and loop them again; when looped it should be as long as you want her hair to be on either side. You'll put it through the slightly closed loop made by her head. If you want this to be really easy, you may want to thread the hair piece in before tying it up, like you did with the arms. Otherwise it's still possible but you may have trouble forcing it in. In any case, thread it through the head-hole and open it up on either side, then bring it up on top of her head and tie it in a double knot. You can then leave it loose if it looks nice, or give her a braid on either side. Then it is up to you how you dress her up; some nice touches are giving her a necklace, like a twig star or a string bracelet, or you can give her a bouquet of seasonal dried flowers for her hand. Use your imagination. But it is not considered part of the traditional craft to give her a face.
The corn dolly makes a nice addition to a basket of fallen leaves or pine cones, or a wall-mounted horn of plenty with dried flowers or wheat stalks (with the heads on) protruding from behind her.
Ritual use:
This could be the same dolly used in other crafts, such as the dolly for Brigit's Bed. If that is the case, keep these other rituals and their purposes in mind as she has come to another spoke on the wheel. If this dolly was created just for this Sabbat, it can be placed on the altar during ritual and used to represent the harvest; if you have gone the simple route and not dressed it up, it is appropriate to use it as if it is the sacrifice for the harvest, and buried outside with any other libations from the ritual. It can instead be kept and hung up in the kitchen during the season and through the winter, where it can be buried or converted to a Spring symbol when the winter is past.
Corn dollies have been made throughout history for various reasons, dating back as early as ancient Egypt. Usually, a dolly would be made with the last shafts of wheat straw, or the best, representing the spirit of the harvest. Often the little dolly made out of the straws would be honored, sacrificed, kept, or burned; either it was a place for the spirit to live until next year or it was a sacrifice to the gods of the fields' fertility. In any case, at some point it moved from a more ritualistic purpose to a folk craft, and there are many designs to make these, both simple and complex. Here is a design to make a fairly simple one, with suggestions for ritual use if you like.
Materials:
- Wheat straw, hollow straws, or raffia
- Yarn or string
- Small amount of cloth
- Optional: A receptacle to display finished product, such as a basket or a horn of plenty
- Optional: Decorations for the dolly or her display case
Directions:
If you're using real wheat straw, you should get it when it is almost ripe but not totally dry yet. It should still be green at the bottom. Dry for a day, hung up, and then cut off the leaves and the head of the wheat below its first joint. When you use it it should be soaked before you try to bend it, for about half an hour. If you don't have access to the real thing, the best craft material to use is raffia, and it doesn't need to be moistened. It is easily found at the craft stores and resembles flattened straw.
There are a lot of ways to make a dolly out of the material, but here is just one easy way. First, take a large clump--maybe fifteen to twenty-five strands--and cut it so that it is about a foot and a half long. This will be the main body of the dolly. Fold it over in half. If it seems too long right now to be the size of dolly you want, you should cut it, because it is not going to get any shorter during the process. Now, where the stalks are folded is going to be the top of the dolly's head. Take the string or yarn and tie it around the entire bundle about an inch and a half down from the top; that tie will be the mark of her neck.
Before you tie off the section that makes her body, you'll need to make arms. This is easy; take more of your stalks and make a longer but thinner bundle--four to six stalks ought to do it--and fold them over. Tie off at the ends and cut the looped end so it is frayed just like the other side. The little frays represent her hands. Stick the arm bundle into the main bundle right under the neck, and then tie off the main bundle under the arms. That way they cannot slip out the bottom but can still be moved side to side or diagonally shifted.
At this point the bottom of the main bundle is frayed and splayed out a bit like a skirt. This is the simplest form of corn dolly, and it can now be considered finished if all you need is a very basic doll for your purpose. However, you can of course take a few extra steps, especially if this is to be ornamental rather than just ritually used.
You may want to make your corn dolly a dress. It is easy to cut a small piece of material--use a color or pattern that matches the season or a country print--and cut it in sort of an hourglass shape. Make a hole for the head at the center of the hourglass, and pull it over her head, then tie at the waist. The sides will be open but it doesn't much matter since it's just for effect. If you like you can even make a smaller version to make her an apron.
Also, a nice touch is giving her wheat stalk or raffia hair. Of course, for hair you can use any material, but we'll take it for granted that you are not making the dolly to be professional-looking, it is a natural craft, so it is more likely that using the same material as you used for the rest of her body will be most appropriate. For hair, take a few strands of straw and loop them again; when looped it should be as long as you want her hair to be on either side. You'll put it through the slightly closed loop made by her head. If you want this to be really easy, you may want to thread the hair piece in before tying it up, like you did with the arms. Otherwise it's still possible but you may have trouble forcing it in. In any case, thread it through the head-hole and open it up on either side, then bring it up on top of her head and tie it in a double knot. You can then leave it loose if it looks nice, or give her a braid on either side. Then it is up to you how you dress her up; some nice touches are giving her a necklace, like a twig star or a string bracelet, or you can give her a bouquet of seasonal dried flowers for her hand. Use your imagination. But it is not considered part of the traditional craft to give her a face.
The corn dolly makes a nice addition to a basket of fallen leaves or pine cones, or a wall-mounted horn of plenty with dried flowers or wheat stalks (with the heads on) protruding from behind her.
Ritual use:
This could be the same dolly used in other crafts, such as the dolly for Brigit's Bed. If that is the case, keep these other rituals and their purposes in mind as she has come to another spoke on the wheel. If this dolly was created just for this Sabbat, it can be placed on the altar during ritual and used to represent the harvest; if you have gone the simple route and not dressed it up, it is appropriate to use it as if it is the sacrifice for the harvest, and buried outside with any other libations from the ritual. It can instead be kept and hung up in the kitchen during the season and through the winter, where it can be buried or converted to a Spring symbol when the winter is past.
Witches Ball
directions found in 'Craft of the Wise' by Vikki Bramshaw
Silver or glass baubles
Ribbons (colours of your choice) 1 white candle Powdered orange peel Crushed Ivy leaves Crushed Holly leaves Crushed Bergamot leaves Wood sorrel leaves Powdered Orris root Pen and paper |
Crush the herbal ingredients, ideally with a mortar and pestle, and working in a clockwise direction. Try and focus your intent with the ingredients as you crush, creating a herbal mixture for protection, luck, and prosperity. Pull out/ unscrew the removable pin from the top of the bauble and tip the herbs inside.
On a small piece of paper, write the words: protection, luck, and prosperity. Fold the paper into four and place it inside the bauble, along with the herbs. Now replace the pin of the bauble. Carefully, turn the bauble in your hands and seal the bauble with a small amount of wax. Then, tie the ribbon around the bauble like a parcel and tie it off. Thread a thin loop of ribbon around the pin of the bauble so that it can be hung. The protection ball should be hung high high up in a window or over the front door all year long, to evoke the positive energy of the herbs and the moon. |