Connecting with the Dead

Posted by M - on October 31, 2025

The world ignores past trends and patterns. Yet past has much to teach us if we only pay attention. The dead have much to tell us, if we’d only listen.

If you do something that scares a whole lot of people,
you get an environment that is better for black magic.
– Dead Beat

At Samhain the Veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. If you want to contact those who’ve passed – ancestors, loved ones, our pets – now’s the time! The Otherworld is waiting.

Before I reveal the result of my Samhain Tarot spread, let me tell you about a dream I had last night: I rescued a frog and was carrying it with me in my hand (don’t remember which hand). I never dream of frogs.

A positive omen, although some things may not be as they seem.

Emotional transformation and increased spirituality.*

Magick and witchcraft.

*Reflective of a spread I pulled yesterday involving both The Hermit and the Ace of Wands. This combination signifies a time of spiritual quest, inspiration, and creativity. As a Major Arcana card, The Hermit points to long-term influences beyond one’s control.

The dream certainly set the stage for the following:

Skulls (Pentacles) Skulls are associated with matter: physical, craft, home, Earth and Mother Nature.

Represents the person, entity or ghost trying to communicate with you from the other side.
Queen of Scepters
I am her and she is me. Queen of Scepters (Wands) are magical people (the black cat expresses her interest in occult powers and the energy of magic). This card is sometimes referred to as the Witch’s Card in the Tarot. The minute I saw Her I knew I was communicating with myself; therefore, it’s more an ENERGY than an entity.

Represents your understanding of the afterlife
10 of Grails
I am in perfect harmony with it. It is a comfort at times.

The astral “thread” that connects you with the spirit of the ghost trying to communicate with you.
Daughter of Skulls
I drew her just last week.
The black cat in the Queen of Scepters is the thread as it represents the natural world as well as The Other. I often feel Diego around me still. His spirit lives on.

Message from the other side of the Veil.
7 of Skulls
Major transformation going on here. The Vampyress is connected symbolically to the Earth, grounded in her animal origins – yet she clings to past regenerations (Frogs regenerate.) as she waits for the Be-witching. Believe in your visions.

Signifies where you stand in this life, and how you relate to those spirits that have passed on.
Ace of Skulls
The Ace of Skulls is featured in card #3, the Daughter of Skulls.
The skull is symbolic of both the physical and spiritual. You always have one foot on either side of the Veil. You are a Hedge Witch.

Never forget you are Magick.

ℳ –

If Dracula had a cat

Posted by M - on October 31, 2025

Happy Howl-O-Ween
from all of us here at Chez Rock Vixen

ℳ –

Magic Lessons

Posted by M - on October 31, 2025

Magic Lessons is a prequel to Hoffman’s Practical Magic and I liked it much better. So much so that I purchased a copy. Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

Fate is what you make it,
or you will be what it makes of you.
– Magic Lessons

A man tells you who he is the instant you meet him, all you have to do is listen.

Do good among them, Hannah always said, but do not expect the same in return.

Before she could stop herself, Maria uttered a curse. “Let he who tried to wound me be wounded in turn.”

Love was the thing that tore you apart; it made you believe the lies you were told, obvious as they might be.

By the age of five, Faith was a charming, well-behaved girl with talents all her own. She had already learned that judgement was everywhere in their world, and one should keep one’s private thoughts and deeds and attributes to oneself. Her mother warned that being different could cause grief, for men often destroyed what they didn’t understand.

“You’re a stranger here,” Lydia said. “I’ve lived here all my life and I know that people see what they wish to believe.”

In a place called Kings County, originally called Breuckelen by the first Dutch settlers, newcomers arrived to find a land of marshes dotted by snow-white clouds where the horizon reached out in hands of blue until at last it met with the sea. Rough workingmen established the original villages on land where the native Lenape people had once lived, before they were slaughtered and driven out. In a world that had begun with murder, there was always cruelty, despite the beauty of the shore and sea.

Faith’s favorite, Courage Tea, which provided bravery and grit and was made of vanilla and currants and thyme.

When you go inside darkeness, the darkness goes inside you.
– Magic Lessons

She was herself again, it was true, but she had also been changed. Inside there was a line of bitterness that reached directly to her heart, so strong it brought her to the brink of tears. This is who she was: the girl who had climbed through the window to save her own life.

He had always believed that madness could easily be born from an excess of feeling. That was what happened in Salem, People’s emotions had gotten the best of them, and jealousy, hatred, and fear had turned into self-righteous vengeance.

ℳ –

Halloween or Samhain?

Posted by M - on October 30, 2025

Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve, comes from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (SOW-in) which predates Christianity. So the origins of Halloween or Samhain (the Irish name for November) are at least a few thousands of years old. The festival of Samhain is traditionally celebrated from October 31 to November 1. According to Celtic folklore, the transitions between seasons are associated with spirits and fairies, when the boundaries between the worlds were at their weakest. At Samhain that veil between the living and the dead dissolves, making it a breeze for spirits to cross over into our world.

It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands.

Not until large populations of Irish immigrants came to the United States in the mid-19th century did many of the well-known Halloween customs become popular here.

Like Jack O’ Lanterns, which originated in Ireland. The Irish would carve turnips (or other root vegetables) into lanterns for use in warding off evil spirits. Irish legend holds there was an actual man named Jack, who was “cursed to spend all of time roaming the earth with only a burning coal (inside a carved-out turnip) to light the way as his punishment for trying to trick the devil.”
Handing-out candy or other treats? This is possibly tied to the Celtic custom of offering food and drink to appease spirits crossing over.
Costumes? Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume (perhaps impersonating the souls of the dead), reciting verses in exchange for food and promising good fortune. Hence “Trick or Treat.”

For Wiccans, Samhain is one of the Sabbats on our Wheel of the Year.

November 1: All Saints Day, Day of the Dead (Mexico), Day of the Banshees
November 2: All Souls Day

ℳ –

Cats of the World

Posted by M - on October 29, 2025

In the spirit of National Cat Day here’s a book that celebrates Felis catus from all over the world – and was another Christmas gift.

From the Introduction:

This book does not represent the entire world, or any chapter an entire country. Rather, we offer a magical peek at the raw beauty of the cats and humans with whom we share our earth, spotlighting the compassion that unites us. We hope it will be a beacon that inspires you to make the world a better place in your own way as the human-feline story continues to unfold.

The stunning photos are accompanied by text and showcase cats from Malaysia, China, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Oman, France, South Africa, Croatia, Japan, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Uruguay, Thailand, England, Kenya, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Spain, Australia, Italy, Peru, Finland, Tanzania, Mexico, India, Greece, Nepal, Montenegro, and the USA.

I probably chose too many black kitties, but I simply couldn’t resist.