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My kitchen altar is comprised of a nested matryoshka doll which is a cleverly designed set of measuring cups bought for me by my best friend, a bottle of Green Man porter, a grain dolly, an incense burner for Air, a beeswax candle in a candle dish my daughter brought back from Thailand for Fire, a seashell for Water, a fluorite egg for Earth and a mortar and pestle for combining things. On my work altar beside my computer where I am writing: across the back is a set of Matryoshka dolls that represent my maternal ancestors. A figure of the Slavic goddess Berehynia, spreading her veil of protection. A motanka doll that symbolizes a helping, guardian spirit. A carving that I did of Veles, the Slavic horned god of magic, music, creativity and the spirit world. A stone egg, the symbol of eternal renewal. My goddess gourd which was a gift from a friend with the serpent of wisdom and the bee for the god and goddess of honey, Austeja & Zozim (or Bibilos). Along the front is a toad and a mortar with a bone pestle for Baba Yaga. Offerings in the dish of honey cake and mugwort. Incense. Heads of wheat for the fertility of the land. A beeswax candle shaped like the fertile pine cone with chips of raw amber. In Slavic lore, amber is the stone of radiance and the sun. And a spindle; a “wand” used to spin intention into thread. In the horizontal picture it also includes a replica of the ancient stone xoanon found in Poland that represents Svantovit. A wooden carving that came from Poland of Perun, the Thunder god.A Short Summary of the Stone Circle Wicca Tools as They Relate to Slavic Magical Traditions.? by Robin Woodruff, Lemko Bosorka1. THE CORDThe Cord represents our connections, our ties, and our intentions.? Since I am a First Degree initiate of Stone Circle Wicca, I have a green cord.? I have been working for the past two years on my Second Degree.? It is my intention to pursue my SCW studies and?continue my scholarly work in Slavic religion, as well as pastoral care for my community.??The Slavs commonly used knot magic both for binding and unbinding energy.??A belt in particular held protective energy woven into it.2. THE BOOKThe Book represents our chronicle, holds our memories and wisdom.? Since many magical practitioners were illiterate, they would use embroidery as a way of “writing” symbols of protection, fertility or strength onto the clothing.? Once writing became common, a?bosorka?might keep a “Book of Depth” or “Book of Deep Wisdom”, recording charms, the properties of herbs and stones, etc. ?3. THE DRUMThe Drum represents the rhythm of life, the pulse that moves all things.? While the Slavs did use drums, there were many other instruments that they used to get in touch with Spirit; flutes, mouth harps or their 5-stringed?gusli.? This stringed instrument was so closely connected with magic that a male witch could be called a?gusslowar.??I have a whistle that is a replica of a Neolithic bird whistle found in the Slovenian cave sacred to the goddess Siva.4. THE CENSERThe Censer represents our awareness of the world and our senses.? Variations on the word?kaditi?is used by the Slavs meaning “to smoke” or “to burn incense.”? Dried juniper berries are commonly used and this can be seen in the Lithuanian word for juniper,??kadag?s.? It is ritually burned on the Winter Solstice and other holidays to ritually cleanse the home. In the spring, the animals were “smoked” to keep them healthy.5. THE CAULDRONThe Cauldron represents both the tomb and the womb, life’s greatest mystery.? Ceremonial cauldrons go back thousands of years.? The Scythians ritually smelted bronze arrowheads from each of the tribes into a huge cauldron that was then used to cook the ritual feasts when those tribes got together.? However, a Slavic witch was ever practical and would just use her household cauldron for both cooking and ritual potions.6. THE DISHThe Dish represents offerings and service to community.? Weekly food offerings were made to the protective household spirit, the?Domovoy.? It is also expected that you make an offering to the woodland spirits, if you are going into the woods to harvest berries or wood.? Reciprocity is an important underlying theme of all Slavic culture.7. THE BLADEThe Blade represents division, created boundaries, and what is cut away.? The dark goddess, Mora, was usually depicted with a curved sickle since she is the goddess of death, rest and regeneration.? Protective circles could be drawn with a knife around a baby’s cradle or drawn with a plow around a village to protect it from disease.? A?bosorka’s?knife handle is traditionally black.8. THE CHALICEThe Chalice represents personal connections, the hospitality of an offered cup.? Traditionally this would be the drinking horn which overflows with fertility and abundance of the earth and all its goodness.? Statues of the gods would often hold a drinking horn and it would be used to predict the fertility of the next harvest.? The drinking horn could be used for a binding oath or be ritually offered by the Priestess upon parting.9. THE SCHMATTAThe Schmatta represents the veil and the illusions of the world.? It is also used for protection and shrouding.? The Slavs refer to an embroidered linen towel as a?rushnik.? They tend to be red and white symbolizing the energy and blood of life.? These?rushniki?are hung over icons, holy springs, on holy trees or given as protective gifts.? Mine is usually used as an altar cloth.10. THE BOWLThe Bowl represents the physical world and our place in it.? It is the accepting, all-receiving container.? In Slavic magic one could take a symbol of illness and put it into a container and set it to drift away in a river. ?11. THE MIRRORThe Mirror represents our self image and our perception of others.? Slavic mirrors could be made of polished obsidian or metal, but the simplest would be a copper bowl full of water used for divination and scrying.? Mirrors are perceived as being able to catch a person’s soul, so children were discouraged from looking in a mirror so they don’t have “bad dreams”, and the mirror was covered in the house of a person who just died.12. THE CANDLEThe Candle represents illumination and the divine spark in all things.? This also lets us get messages from the Divine in different ways.? A candle in front of a mirror done on a liminal day (such as the Winter Solstice) can reveal who one will marry.? Melted beeswax poured into water can reveal one’s future by the shapes that it makes.? My “candle” is an antique oil lamp carved with the circular symbols of the sun.13. THE WANDThe Wand represents our power and responsibilities.? It extends our reach and lets us direct and amplify our power.? As such, wands were used by Slavic magical practitioners, as well as other tools that act in the same manner such as divining rods, the broom and drop spindles.? Spindle whorls carved with religious inscriptions have been found in the Balkans dating back 7,000 years.? This imparts intention and energy into the fibers that are spun.Follow Robin Woodruff and explore her bibliography:author/patriciarobinwoodruff ................
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