Latest posts

ANIMAL BITES (minor wounds)

from Purplewitch on 10/24/2017 04:43 AM

The powedered root of angelica (gathered when the moon is in leo preferably) mixed with abit of pitch and laid on the biting of dogs or any other creatures.
Helps to heal the wound more quickly and cleanse the wound from dirt and bacteria.

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

EMPATHY: the power of connection

from Purplewitch on 10/24/2017 04:37 AM

In recent years, the process of 'restorative justice' has been used more and more frequently as a way of dealing with crime. As a part of the process, offenders are brought face to face with the victims of their crimes, to hear how they have suffered as a result. The aim of this encounter is to bring healing, for both victim and offender. The victim transcends their rage with some understanding and forgiveness towards the offender, and the offender empathises with the victim, becoming aware of the real meaning of their crimes. This process changes lives. Victims feel free of the weight of hatred and are able to move on; offenders have a wider sense of perspective, and are less likely to re-offend. Sometimes offenders don't meet their specific victims, but just the victims of similar crimes. But this still leads to a new awareness, and new patterns of behaviour.

 

This highlights the amazing power of empathy. To a large extent, all crime and all cruelty are the result of a lack of empathy. It's a lack of empathy which makes someone capable of attacking or oppressing other people. A lack of empathy for another tribe or country makes warfare and conflict possible. A lack of empathy towards other ethnic groups, social classes or castes makes oppression and inequality possible.

What is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to 'feel with' another person, to identity with them and sense what they're experiencing. It's sometimes seen as the ability to 'read' other people's emotions, or the ability to imagine what they're feeling, by 'putting yourself in their shoes.' In other words, empathy is seen as a cognitive ability, along the same lines as the ability to imagine future scenarios or to solve problems based on previous experience. But in my view, empathy is more than this. It's the ability to make a psychic and emotional connection with another person, to actually enter into their mind-space. When we experience real empathy or compassion, our identity actually merges with another person's. The separateness between you and the other person fades away. Your 'self-boundary' melts away, so that in a sense – or to an extent – you become them.

If you experience this state of connection with another person, then it's impossible to treat them badly, except unintentionally. You recoil from their experience of suffering in the same way that you recoil from your own suffering. In fact, you feel a strong desire to relieve their suffering and aid their development.

Empathy has powerful psychological benefits for us too. Research shows that people who are more empathic feel more satisfied with their lives, and have better relationships. Some scientists used to belief that human beings are naturally selfish and individualistic, but more and more research is showing that empathy – not selfishness – is 'hard-wired' into us. Animals often show empathy towards one another, even to members of different species, and this manifests itself in random acts of kindness. As Lynn McTaggart – author of The Bond – puts it, 'Animals often partner up with members of unrelated species...There are even instances of an animal from one species adopting those of another.' And within their own species, animals often share food to make sure that weaker members of their group are fed, even when they have to sacrifice their own food.

Are Women more Empathic?

Studies have suggested that women are generally more empathic than men. For example, studies have shown that women are significantly better at 'reading' people's emotions purely from looking at their eyes. Other research has shown that women's friendships tend to based on mutual help and problem sharing, whereas men usually develop friendships based on shared interests, such as sports and hobbies. Men and women have also been shown to have different speaking styles. Women's conversations usually last longer, because of their use of more 'back channel support', such as nodding, smiling and other gestures. If they disagree, they tend to express their opinion indirectly rather than making a statement, helping to avoid confrontation. On the other hand, men tend to more blunt and opinionated. They use more imperatives and tend to 'talk over' more. As the psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen puts it, 'men spend more time using language to demonstrate their knowledge, skill and status.' This makes sense: after all, the vast majority of 'man's inhumanity' throughout history really has been man's. Almost all wars have been orchestrated and fought by men, and most social oppression has been inflicted by high status men, seeking to protect and increase their power and wealth.

This also makes sense in terms of women's role as mothers. Surely their nurturing role encourages empathy, because of the need for a strong emotional connection to children. At the very least, you could say that this emotional connection would have made it more difficult for them to lose the ability to empathise.

Empathy with Nature

Empathy can spread beyond other humans, to other living beings and to nature itself. Many of the world's tribal peoples respect nature because they sense that it's alive, and because they feel connected to it. They sense that all natural things – not just animals but plants, stones and the whole Earth itself – are not just objects but beings, who are part of the same web of creation as them. They empathise with plants, animals and the Earth, and so are reluctant to damage or destroy them. As the great Native American philosopher Luther Standing Bear wrote, for the Lakota Indians, 'Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them.' As a result, wrote Luther Standing Bear, anticipating the modern animal rights movement, 'The animals had rights – the right of a man's protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man's indebtedness – and in recognition of these rights the Lakota never enslaved an animal, and spared all life that was not needed for food and clothing.'

This attitude brought a sense of responsibility. Many indigenous peoples saw – and still see – themselves as the caretakers of nature, with a responsibility to preserve harmony. As Chief Edward Moody of the Nuxalk Nation says, 'We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees.'

To a large extent, our environmental destruction is a manifestation of our lack of empathy for nature, and the Earth. Our strongly developed ego means that we experience a sense of 'otherness' to nature, that we can't sense its aliveness, and so don't feel any qualms about exploiting and abusing it.

Healing through Empathy

Just as the lack of empathy makes cruelty and oppression possible, the presence of empathy heals conflict. The wider empathy stretches – from victims to offenders, from one ethnic group to another, from nation to nation and religion to religion – the less brutal and more harmonious a place the world will become.

And perhaps most importantly, as Restorative Justice shows, to some degree empathy can be nurtured. When people are brought together in a neutral context, with an open, trusting attitude, empathy naturally establishes itself. Distinctions of ethnicity, religion and other superficial 'identity badges' begin to fade away, as does the sense of grievance and rage derived from past events. The same could be said of nature too: when human beings spend time in natural surroundings, relaxing into its stillness and space, a bond naturally establishes itself.

And it's this bond which is surely our true nature. Empathy shows that the concept of separateness is an illusion. Empathy is simply the experience of our true connectedness, the exchange of feeling through the channel of shared consciousness which unites not just all human beings, but all living and non-living things.

Empathy meditation

Think of someone you love, and be aware of the warm feeling that wells up inside you. Hold on to that warm feeling, and let it spread throughout your body, including to any parts of you body where you feel discomfort. Let it flow into your mind too, so that you feel empathy and compassion to your own thoughts, even the negative ones. Think of all the people around you, in the rooms or buildings close to you, and imagine that warm glow of compassion leaving your body and spreading to them. Think of all the people in your city, in the streets and buildings, and expand the warm feeling to them too. Thinking of all the people in this country, across the towns and countryside, and expand the feeling to them too. Then expand it further, to all the people on this planet, the millions of people in all the different countries. Feel the glow of compassion spreading from your being to the whole world, and into the space above you, rising up into the sky and the whole universe.

Cultivating Empathy

Use your imagination to picture how the world looks through other people's eyes. Think about how other people's predicaments make them feel, and how their experiences mould their perceptions.
When you speak to other people, give them your full attention. Don't think about other things, look into the distance or look at your i-phone. Giving people your full attention shows that your respect them, and establishes a strong connection, which enables empathy to flow between you.
Before you condemn another person for behaving badly, think about the reasons for their behaviour. Is it because of bad experiences they've had in the past, or because of personality traits that they have no control over?
Be altruistic and kind to others. Make sure that your life contains an element of service, where you part the needs of others before your own e.g. caring for the sick or elderly, charity or voluntary work. Altruism and service help us to transcend separateness, and to connect with others, creating a follow of empathy.

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

NEW THEME FOR HALLOWEEN!!! ----24oct----

from Purplewitch on 10/24/2017 04:16 AM

As you can see we have changed the theme, we are going orange and black for halloween!!! 
we will be returning back to the origional theme once halloween is over beginning of november. HOWEVER we are planning a yule theme which will be added beginning of december!! THATS RIGHT..we will be celerbrating all the holidays by adding a new theme and giving the web a new look!!

I would also like to announce we have put an events up on the events wall that on the web you dont have to be lonely on halloween because you can spend time with all of us on here, we can celerbrate together, sharing rituals, halloween jokes and so on.....lets have a day were we can celerbrate and share!!

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

toothache? no problem!

from Purplewitch on 10/19/2017 08:53 AM

you will need:

• cloves
• motar and pestle (optional)
• cotton wool

what to do?
Take three or four whole cloves, and grind them up with a mortar and pestle. If you don't have whole cloves, you can use a teaspoon of pre-ground cloves, but whole cloves work best.

 

Place the ground up cloves in a small glass - a shot glass or a sherry glass will work.

Cover the cloves with one capful of Vodka. Stir the cloves around in the vodka.

Let that soak for at least 15 minutes

Take a cotton ball, and pull a small piece out of it. Roll the small piece between your thumb and finger to create a tiny cotton ball.

Soak the tiny cotton ball in the clove/vodka mixture. Roll it around in the mixture until it turns yellow and picks up tiny bits of the clove.

Squeeze the excess vodka out of the tiny ball.

Place the tiny cotton ball into the area of the tooth that hurts, and leave it there until the pain stops.

Don't swallow the "clove juice". Spit it out or wipe your tongue with a paper towel.

Cover the mixing glass with plastic wrap and save the mixture to reapply as needed

why it works?

Clove oil contains eugenol, a dental analgesic and antiseptic that is used by dentists. It is the main ingredient in most toothache medicines.

The vodka extracts the oil from the cloves.

The cotton ball absorbs the oil, and holds it on your tooth - where you need it

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

What is a hedge-witch?

from Purplewitch on 10/19/2017 08:44 AM

A Hedge Witch is a solitary practitioner of the herbal arts - both, medicinal and spiritual. She is the person you call when you develop a rash or get a toothache, and the doctor or dentist is unavailable. She is the person you consult when strange things go bump in the night, or you are certain that someone just gave you the evil eye.

 

Her cupboard contains the remedy for what ails you - physical and spiritual.

A Hedge Witch does not belong to a coven. She does not follow the tenets of any sect or organized religion. Her craft is her own - usually handed down to her by family and honed by her own experience and research.

You will not find two Hedge Witches that are alike. Each follows her own path. The common thread that puts us under the heading of Hedge Witch is our herbal remedies and our solitary spiritual practices

The name, Hedge Witch, comes from days of old when villages were separated by forests. The edge of a village where the forest began was called the hedge. In most villages there was an herbal practitioner, who lived in the forest or near the edge of the forest. This was the person the villagers appealed to when there was no doctor, or the doctor couldn't cure them. The practitioner who lived by the hedge and practiced herbal arts was called a Hedge Witch.

Today, a Hedge Witch may or may not live near the forest, but you likely will find her there at one time or another. Most Hedge Witches have a reverence for nature. They know the medicinal and spiritual properties of everything that grows, and they understand nature's balance. A wise Hedge Witch enlists nature to deal with natural problems. She harvests more weeds than she pulls. She invites wasps, spiders and other predators to kill unwanted bugs. She uses plants and animals to divert bunnies from the vegetable garden.

But the most definitive characteristic of a Hedge Witch is that she has a remedy for everything under the sun, and much of it was prepared by the light of the moon.

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

LESSON 4 - the kick me sign

from Purplewitch on 10/18/2017 06:01 AM

This is very important because we deal with these types of people everyday bullies and negative people, they are our pests, they are pretty much anyone and everyone we come across including yourself, you may have subcontiously been one yourself. and when we come across these people they can burden us and make us have negative feelings about ourselfs.

Let me give you a virtual situation as an example on how to act around these people in a spiritual way and so i can point out highlights on how these people work.
Lets say you are at school/work...and theres this 1 Person/group of people who just simply dont like you, they harrass you, they say negative things about you, they even say horrible things to your face, and 1 day they just make a nasty comment. congratulations they noticed right? now this comment made you feel insecure and humiliated STOP!! SNAP!! THIS IS IT right here is the part were we are going to step back and take a look in this situation....listen to yourself 'i feel insecure and humiliated by what they said to me' and feel it, feel that humiliation feel that insecurity..NOW this what you are feeling is EXACLY the same way as they are feeling and this is were the 'stick a kick me sign' effect comes in. 
Psychologicly The kick me sign is what this person owns, they hold this burden of negative emotion, and they no longer want it, theyve had people kicking them enough times and dont know what to do, but you attracted them to target you..WHY? you ask..well this is the question bully victims ask themselfs "why me, why am i the target, why am i the only one" well heres your answer, Its because you remind them of them! how they were before they got the kick me sign pinned so now it is your turn! HOWEVER...As a spiritual person you want to be the decent person to put an end to this cycle, and by doing so requires your empathy and your strong mind in being able to let go..ITS VERY HARD but anyone can do it, its as hard as trying to get over a break up...but it gets easy the more practice you have with this.
So when this said person makes this comment, understand his feelings and emotions (as mentioned is exacly the same way he is making you feel right now) and smile, not a happy smile or a fake one but smile with empathy and explain to them "look im sorry that you feel this way" and simply walk away, or you could just smile and walk away, take your pick, and whatever you do, DO NOT carry this negative feeling that is passed onto you because this could cause you to then start passing on, you want to throw it away and move on and continue with your life and realise that this person is just someone who is not a very nice person and later in life wont be forgiven by the pain he causes people and will pay the price soon enough. what you did there was empathy, you felt someones emotions, took it and let it go. and you need to practice this in every negative encounter or were you feel bullied or victimised.

This is something all parents should teach their children too. because bullying is getting higher in numbers and it all starts with how children are learning and what Parents and schools are not telling them, what parents and schools are not teaching children, that people have feelings and that words can hurt them, but people make these excuses of "but they Are too young to know" well make them know, teach them, show them, tell them, talk to them...a child will sit and listen if you make them interested in listening to you...it is easy i promise, ive spoken to many children as young as 4 years old about hurting people and they were my neices and nephews and they have grown up to be amazing empathic children and im just an aunty i only saw them at christmas, seeds can be planted in heads of people at any age! give them ways to remember.

comment below a situation you are in or have been in were you acted spiritually or did not act spiritually and how you could have....

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

LESSON 3 - noticing your defaults and changing them.

from Purplewitch on 10/18/2017 05:31 AM

This is realy important and this is the first thing to be tought in witchcraft also...this is RESPECT. And what respect is, is noticing your own actions and acting on them, but thats the easy part weve all done that before in our lives. This is the hard one and nobody likes to do with without somebody counceling them to do so! What we are going to do here is, make a list of all of our defaults in our personalities, all the flaws you name it and i bet you it is all going to be 1 huge list and if you looked at another persons they will be near enough the same as yours or similar...every human being has selfishness, arrogance and anger ect all the things we know other people have in life that stands out to us, and we notice them because we have them, thats were the term "IF YOU SPOT IT YOU GOT IT" term comes in! and i want you to remember that!

so your task is to write down all of your defaults/defects and flaws everything bad in you....

you can be brave and write them in the comments if you like, i will put a strict rule in place that this is for learning purposes only and not to judge others for their defects because you have some too and we are learning to change them to positive things.

TASK:write down all your defects in comments....

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

LESSON 2 - first timer

from Purplewitch on 10/18/2017 04:49 AM

Now you have been out in the outside world as a new you, A Spiritual you, a different person...you come across someone hurling abuse at you, maybe this was someone from the past you never got along with, or you did something wrong to this person in the past...of corse you loose the spiritual you in this and your mind is wizzing with come backs to hurl abuse back at this person (Point scoring) you realy hate this person for what they are saying to you, you want to tell them what they are and what a picture they are painting! NO HUSH!! stop right there!! realise this is no longer you, what you want to do is think about the basics!!
i like to remember the 3 golden questions! these help me ALL THE TIME even as an advanced spiritual person this helps me even when im angry and it always gives me an outlook...the 3 golden questions are why? how? and when? these questions are to make you question, WHY is this person reacting so negatively towards you? i want you to think about the reason, their side of the story, and if you still cant seek this out this is were you look at your side but have some understanding of their anger. now think about the next question HOW are you going to respond to this situation? (this is optional it is also spiritual to also choose to walk away)think about how you are going to respond, if you are going to do this you need to realy think about approaching positively, maybe ask to speak to them in private and in a calm manner and if they do not want to then walk away however if they agree you want to show them empathy let them know you feel their pain and you apoplogise and would like to move on it is all about RESISTANCE which is what you will learn about later and this would be a great first step as you are new to this. first before the HOW? question which i should not have written before WHEN? realisticly but hey ho, life goes on....anywho...think about when the right time is to do your HOW approach. this is important because if it is realy that heated you dont want them to act physical towards you and with you being new to this, you are going to instantly react by fighting back and as a spiritual person this is not what we want to be doing, we want to avoid this.

Please remember your WHYS? WHENS? and HOWS?

write your heated social story below :)

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

LESSON 1 -meditation

from Purplewitch on 10/18/2017 04:35 AM

First off meditation is the key to add to your everyday routine, because meditationg helps with keeping calm and peacefullness. It also reduces stress and to start off with your first few early days of becoming spiritual maybe a little stressfull for you.

To meditate you want to sit on the floor on a cushion, yoga mat or a comfy rug with your legs folded or if you like you can lie down, anything that helps you with your posture, sitting up would mean sitting up straight. you then close your eyes and just breathe, slowly and calmly, dont let yourself get light headed, just do this very softly.
Whilst you meditate think of nice things, places you enjoy going and things you like doing.

you want meditation to last at least a good half an hour, you could buy yourself some singing bowls to help you relax, doing it in candle light could also help you to relax and let loose too.

comment below how you meditate and what you like to think about when meditating.

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons

The 5 elements of the craft.

from Purplewitch on 10/13/2017 11:45 AM

Elements play an intricate part of the craft they are used in most spellcastings by all paths, and can also be used to discover the personalities of zodiac signs.

Earth Element
The Earth element is the element that is the most closest link to our physical world, and the densest of all the elements. It Governs money, prosperity, Buisness, Security, Loyalty, Responsibility, and anything that is connected to the physical body and health, buisness affairs and finances. It is the feminine element of the mother goddess and stands for stability and growth, it is the foundation on which the other elements move. Earth is a receptive energy, Helping us to accept responsibility and bringing to our attention limitations in our makeup. Earths season is winter, and its direction is North. In the natural environments earths place is a cave, the symbol of shelter, the womb, rebirth, and the home of ancient oracles. Other places associated with this element are forests, Valleys and Fields. Earth governs the home and areas of physical needs such as the bathroom and didning room and practical tasks. It is the element of Buildings, Financial institutions, catering, gardening, Farming, buisness and anything that requires working with the hands. earths energy is Grounding.

Earths personalities love to be surrounded by family and are quite tactile, they enjoy the pleasures of the senses and have a healthy libido. An over abundence of the earths element slows down progress and too little of the earth element, causes inability to dare, take risks or branch out.

Air Element
There is a delicate balance between thev four elements which make up the universe, Practitioners of magic work with these elemental energies and their particular charecteristics. Air governs the realm of the mind and all mental activity, It is the most etheral of the elements. Air's direction is East, and its season is spring, As it is the element of wind, Air governs all movement, and is associated with travel, freedom, thought, ideas, intellect, imagination and discovery.
Areas governed buy air are, meeting rooms, schools, librarys, airports, railway stations, and bus terminals. It is connected with mathematics, science and the law.
Air places are mountain tops, windy plains, clear or cloudy skies, and the Air element presides over the eastern quarter of a room or building.

Air Personalities are rational and analytical, they are clear thinkers and dont rush into things, Enjoying mental stimulation, a good debate, and an exchange of ideas. Too much Air makes a judgmental and critical outlook, with a pedantic attitude towards all things. these personalities can put a damper on creative ideas in their early stages, without any rational.
An over abundance of the air element and a person can live in a fantasy world, given to ideas that have no substance. they can approach something that is untenable and be blind to the pitfalls.

Fire Element
The fire element is associated with the sun, The giver of life, It governs passion, Intensity, Desire, Intuition, Understanding, Imagination, and possibilities. Fire cleanses and purifies it is also creative and destructive, and it can consume everything in its path, It is the only one of the four elements that cannot exist without feeding on something else. It offers warmth and cooks food, But can get out of control, It has the power to transform everything it touches.

Fire rules the south and is related to motivations, creativity and passion, It has a fast and forceful power and energy, it is positive and upliftingbut can be frightening if it gets out of control. it is the creative spark within us all, it promotes courage and streangth, helping us fight for what we want.

Fire personalities are charming, charismatic and passionate, they live life to the full, and rely heavily on their instincts and intuition. their streangths are creativity and leadership, they are daring and bold in their career and love life, liking stimulation and challange in both areas. Too much fire can be destructive because no boundries are imposed, leaving the fire entity worn out and off balance. An overabundance of fire leads to selfishness, egoentricity, and unrealistic expectations of others. Too little fire leads to low energy and a lack of motivation.

Water Element
The water element effects the subconscious, emotions and dreams, it is the element of love and emotions. constantly active beneath the surface, influencing our moods and emotional responses. The energy of water rules the west and its season is Autumn, it purifies, Heals, offers emotional release, and removes all that is stagnant. The energy of water is feminine and is symbolised by the womb, It is related to fertility.

Within the home, the bathroom and kitchen sink are ruled by water, It also governs the living room, the area of social activity. Water is the element of medical environments, and the healing and caring proffessions. Its places are seas, lakes, rivers, marshes, wells, pools, and areas were the land is rain-drenched.

Water personalities are spirtual, emotional, sensitive and very intuitive, often becoming involved in psychic work or mediumship. They approach life from a feeling perspective, rather than a thinking one, and can be quite spontaneous. In relationships they are empathic and nurturing, but can be touchy. too little water makes them emotionally distant, with an inability to express themselfs, causing them to keep people at arms length. in this instance they would be less empathic, intuitive and psychic. Too much water can take all emotional levels to extreme, making day to day functioning in the world difficult and possibly causing psychic overload.

Spirit element
the fifth element is spirit, In the sanskrit language is akasha, from this comes the "akashic records" which is a record of all knowledge pertaining to the magical plane. It exists in the astral world. Either was refered to as the quintessence in the middle ages, meaning fifth. The alchemists quest was to find this fifth essence, which they beleived contained the secrate of everlasting life. Either was described as the substance that made up the heavens.

The qualities of spirit are expressed through art, music, writing, religeon, healing, magic and ritual. Spirit is associated with the crown, or 7th chakera, in the tarot deck it is represented by the last card of the major arcana, the world.
Spirit colours are white and/or black, they are the colours that contain or reflect all other vibrations of the light and dark. Each culture has its own definition of spirit, in buddhist tradition it is likened to a dewdrop dissapearing into the ocean of infinite being.

Spirit is the most difficult element to describe, it is everywere and nowhere, and is the force that unites all things, in rituals it is our connection to the otherworld. The spirit element transports us beyond any narrow confines and allows us to open up to something much bigger, it is present in all aspects of life, and goes beyond thought and emotion. unlike the other four elements it has no defined place or location, even though we can not specificly place it, we know it is there.

purplewitch
Naomi Gibbons