I love your new name! Perfect!
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Aw thank you! Its actually just a nickname I use from time to time. My friends made it up for me originally haha.
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Done. 
I love the name!
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My birthstone is amethyst and I really love it, so much so my Daddy got me some comics when Amethyst, Princess of the Gemworld came out from DC back in the early, early '80s. So I’m very attached to the name. I’m glad you like it!
Now we just have to remember who is who with all these name changes! LOL.
I wrote a fanfiction that came in at over fifty good-sized chapters. I know what you mean!
Thank you kind sir! I have good childhood memories attached to it.
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Okay, this is gonna be fun for me! LOL. What, I’m a chatty person when it comes to the written word.
First of all, I did my weekly Tarot Poem. I enjoy doing those since I learn so much about the cards.
Then I didn’t know what to write, so I wrote a short poem to Apollo for inspiration. I know there is one on-site but I wanted to jot one down for myself. Here it is:
Prayer to Apollo for Inspiration by Amethyst
Wondrous Apollo, God of the Sun
Shine your love down upon me.
You are the God of so many things in my life,
Sunshine, healing, music, poetry, protection.
I thank you for all of these and more!
I ask for your inspiration today, in helping me to write.
Bless me with your vision and your words.
Let the words flow onto my paper,
Let my inner eye see what I want to write,
and grant that your Muses never forsake me.
Thank you, oh Apollo! For all your creativity and caring!
Blessed be!
Then I got my thinking cap on and realized that while I had written an Elemental Circle Casting, I hadn’t written a banishment to let the circle go. So here that goes:
Elemental Circle Banishment by Amethyst
Lord and Lady, I thank thee,
for protecting all that I see.
Take down your wall of protection and might,
and let the day/night be merry and bright!
Spirit, I thank thee for the capability,
to harness the Circle and its power and capacity.
I bless thee with my thanks and glee,
and release you after spending this time with me!
Element of Earth I give thee thanks,
For comforting soil and rock in ranks.
I let you go with joy I assert,
and let your power go back to the dirt.
Element of Water I give thee acknowledgment and praise,
for all of your eddies and comforting waves.
I dismiss you with all the emotion I’ve saved,
and hope that you make it back to your watery enclave.
Element of Fire I say goodbye to thee with grace,
for all the warmth and flames that do race.
I release you with a heart filled with joy,
and hope that your fires be banked to not destroy.
Element of Air I bid thee goodbye,
as you go back to the joy of the bright big blue sky.
I thank thee with all the air in my lungs,
and hope that you continue to flow over my tongue.
Elements of all, to you I do praise,
for loving and protecting me all of my days!
I release you all from Circle of protection,
And hope that you continue to bless me from every direction!
So mote it be!
I’ve also decided to change my magical name from Kasie to @Amethyst, with help from the gentlemanly @praecog29. And I’ve been journaling each day of the week except for last Monday. And now I’m going to sit down and write myself some fan fiction! LOL.
I love this week’s challenge, can’t you tell? 
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I was going to put this in my BOM and I still may, but I want to submit something that happened in the beginning. It was 1994 or 1996 I was a nurse & dabbled with spiritual healing but wasn’t a witch…yet.
Wind that Blows. Fire that burns.
Water that flows and earth that turns.
And lastly Akasha (who had no name then)
who will form the last point in our revered star.
Help me remember my very first time
I was blessed with the gift of magic and time.
“The sister of my heart lay gravely ill.
Double pneumonia threatened her life,
she was so weak, in her body no will.
Taking small packets of salt in my hand,
I cast a crude circle around her sickbed
As I denied entry to all negativity.
All evil repelled and only good allowed.
I felt…more, stronger.
Then I asked the great Mother, beloved of all
to enter her body & chase away her illness.
I felt the need to hold my hands above her body
slowly running them down from head to toe.
I felt what I can only call hot spots that felt wrong.
I willed them into my hands & put them away
With a flick of my fingers to harm no more.
I was stimulated, giddy & trembled at my core.
I had to sit down my legs were so weak.
The ritual done, I thanked all who helped,
The Elements, my Goddess & to a small way, myself.
Each evening I sat by her bed, reading a book
To relax her to rest, then I returned home.
With a prayer I left each night, willing her to fight.
Five days I sat by her & read to my best friend.
Along with modern medicine and a touch of Magick,
She recovered & to this day is well.
Was it because of my spell?
Maybe a little or maybe a lot. In the end she was
better & to me, that was all that mattered.”
Sorry if it was too sappy.
Much love and many blessings
Garnet Anne
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My pain is mine dearest. I found that what I wrote became a cathartic
for me. As much as it pained me to write it, afterwards, I felt calm soothed.
I think I forgave myself for surviving when they didn’t. Survivor’s guilt much?
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@Amethyst It is fun getting lost in a world of your own creation though 
You have a talent with words I love it <3
@Garnet That’s such an inspirational story <3 and so beautifully worded I felt every emotion <3
I also love everyone’s new names 
Fine choices 
<3 Blessed Be <3
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That was beautiful! So eloquent and I could really feel your need for your friend to pull through! And I bet your good work helped a lot! I could almost feel the love pouring off you!
I get that. You wonder why couldn’t the Gods take you instead. But love, if you had gone they’d be here hurting. It’s not fair but it’s nature. Which just is unfair at times. 
I’ll be thinking of you and keeping you in my prayers.
Thank you so much @Liisa! It’s very fun until you get writer’s block and it feels like you’re hitting your head against the wall. LOL. Glad you like my words!
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Thank you for sharing my first adventure in magick. Bessings abound
enough for us all.
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glad to know that you like it…
Disclaimer/TW/content warning: This post contains discussion of depression and anxiety. I’m not discussing anything too intense, but I just wanted to let you know so that you can skip over this post if it could potetnially be upsetting or cause feelings of discomfort.
Tonight, I used the New Moon to take some time to try my hand at a bit of Shadow Work. I’ve heard about how intense it can be, and, honestly, as someone with depression and anxiety, I’m still a bit apprehensive at giving it a go. I decided to start out as light as possible for a while and sort of ease into it a bit instead of diving in too deep of water without first putting on a life jacket.
I did the Moon in Aries Meditation after a few other steps (smudging with palo santo, casting a Circle, calling the Quarters, presenting an offering to and praying to Bast for protection, etc.).
Extra details about my meditation session
I think tonight ended up being a great night for the Moon in Aries Meditation because the gloomy, dreary weather has had me feeling a bit “meh.” I imagined the jungle in the meditation being a symbol of the struggles I face with my depression and anxiety symptoms. The visualization of the fire within me clearing out and transforming the jungle of my symptoms was surprisingly effective at helping me to feel a bit lighter and less under the weather! 
After the Moon in Aries Meditation, I used the Shadow Worksheet found on Spells8 as a prompt for my journaling in my Book of Mirrors, or, should I say, my Omnibook™️ (as mentioned previously). I took it easy and just focused on the “My irrational fears and the problems they cause” part. I feel like I had a huge breakthrough that took even more weight off my shoulders, and I wanted to share some of the statements I wrote; I feel like they may apply to things some of you may be working through.
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Stressing and worrying about it only causes me anxiety.
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Stressing about something that I have no power to control drains me of my power to be able to control what I can.
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By stressing about this situation that I can’t control, I am accomplishing nothing. This fear does not benefit me. It only destroys me.
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What else can I put my freed-up energies toward once I get that weight off my shoulders?
I hope y’all enjoyed your weekend! Blessed be! 
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Congrats on jumping into the BOM course, @Jewitch! How are you liking it so far? 
Hooray for the Green Witchery- feel free to share any fun plants you discover as you explore your yard in search of lovely herbs! 
I’m glad the New Moon brought you insight and good energy. May the positive vibes carry you through the week- thanks for sharing! 
Lovely, @AliceInWonderdab! I can tell your witch name was chosen with thought and care- Joan is a beautiful name 
Well done with your BOM, @Liisa! 
It sounds like you had fun putting it together- the pictures are stunning! I love the new quill as well 
I hope you continue to enjoy the process of filling up your new BOM. The poem to Freya is gorgeous- thank you for sharing your lovely words! 
Thank you again for sharing your entry, @Susurrus- it was a delight to read 
Beautifully written @Garnet 
The emotion is tangible- sending love, light, and endless support to you 
Great correspondences and beautiful BOS, @Missa! And congrats on your new name 
Hooray for your craft name, @Christina4! 
If you do decide that you’d like to change your username, feel free to give a shout here or in a PM and we can update it for you 
Your chant is beautiful written- thank you for sharing your talents
“Different Drums” was delightful to read, @steph! We are blessed that you chose to share it with us- your words have an important message! 
Congrats on your new name, @Kasandra! 
It sounds like it is a name that resonates deeply with you for many reasons- an excellent fit! Blessing to you and your name name- enjoy!
Well done @Rowan- and congrats on your witch name! Sometimes find us when we least expect it, and it sounds like this name came to you at exactly the right moment Rowan carries beautiful meaning and has a powerful ring to it- blessing to you and your witch name!
Gorgeous @Amethyst- it is a name with personal history and lovely nostalgia that suits you well! May your new username bring you many blessings on your witchy path! And wonderfully written with the Prayer to Apollo and Elemental Circle Banishment- it is always such a delight to read your words and poetry. You blew this challenge out of the water- fantastically done! 
I had quite the surprise when I logged in this morning and had to play a quick game of Coven Detective to figure out who was who! 
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Well done to all the talented writers of the coven!
Friendly reminder time!
This challenge will close TOMORROW
If you would like to participate and haven’t done so already, please post about your challenge experience(s) by the deadline: Tomorrow: April 13th, 7:00 AM CET (Central European Time Zone)
Blessed be!
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I loved the BoM course! I appreciated how much of an emphasis it put on “do whatever feels right to you” because pretty much all of the other journaling resources I’ve looked at up to this point have been very “you HAVE to do it this particular way, or it’s not real journaling” which I knew wasn’t true, but it was very de-motivating. The Spells8 BoM course was super motivating though.! 
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Thank you my dear! I feel comfortable with it at the very least. So that’s good. Glad you liked my writing! It was fun! I had a good day yesterday doing this!
Hee! I figured you’d be confused. Sorry about that. I’d say it won’t happen again but we’ll get newbies and it’ll come up again. LOL!
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Content warning for a deep dive into fear and anxiety
As someone who’s also been struggling with anxiety for a long time, I recognize these are some very powerful and meaningful statements you discovered! Anxiety can be such a slippery eel to get a hold of. A shapeless blob of terror. I think this same moon showed me a very similar lesson, and I consider it a major breakthrough too. Some of my discoveries…
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I have a limited amount of energy and time to use it. Everyone does. We might have a divine spark within us, but we’re still just guests on this plane of existence.
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I can choose how I spend that energy. Or save it for later.
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Basic needs come first. Food, water, sleep. If I “just loan some” time or energy from those, I’m going to have a bad time.
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Self care is also a basic need.
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Things that our brains may trick us to do when faced with a difficult situation: stress and overthink, worry and catastrophize, feel guilty about getting here and a better person for feeling that guilt, reinforcing it. Anxiety is the sum of these and maybe more. I don’t know if they helped our ancestors, but they certainly don’t help us. If at all possible, please feel free to skip this step.
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It all comes down to doing or not doing a thing. I can stress and worry about it all I want but it doesn’t let me evade the decision.
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I can try to explain to myself that it was the stress / worry that made the decision for me, but what difference does it make really? Suffering doesn’t make me a better person, it just makes me feel worse.
My background to these is being unemployed for two years, after having been an academic overachiever for a lot longer, or trying way too hard to be. Suddenly a lot of time to think and try different things, but it like everything else has its complexities. Now I’m just learning to be human again. And a witch.
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@Jewitch @CelestiaMoon Thank you both for sharing these thoughts <3 I have struggled with anxiety for quite some time now, thankfully I have been spared the depression that can come with it so far. It can be a daily struggle sometimes but these words really are simple yet powerful <3 Practising the craft has made me look further into myself than I’ve ever done and sometimes that stirs up the anxiety already in us, but I wouldn’t change it for the world because it has made me more humble in my approach to what happiness truly is, not a constant state we live in but one we enjoy when we have it and let go off temporarily before coming back to it <3 Blessed Be <3
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