Giveaway! Featured Favorites Friday: Pillow Runes

Deity Diva Imbolg Goddess

I know I don't typically talk much about my daughter, mostly because I don't want her to hate me when she grows up and reads my blog, but I do have one.  She's amazingly cute, a tad precocious and claims Thor and the Goddess as hers.  Don't ask her to name her Goddess, though, because she'll tell you a different one every time.   Quite a while ago I was searching for something to be just as loved by her as the Thor Super Hero Squad figurine but that represented the Goddess.  Of course I searched around etsy and I found a lovely woman willing to trade for a beautiful purple stuffed Goddess doll, and it was a HUGE hit!

Elder Futhark Pillow Rune Set - Samhain

Today I'd like to introduce you all to this lovely crafter, Dana of By Land Sky and Sea.  Read a bit more about her below and then enter to win your very own set of Elder Futhark Pillow Runes by using the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also find her on facebook and her blog.

Q: What got you into your work here on etsy?

A: After the birth of my daughter in 2010 I was a stay at home mother until she turned 18 months. I was looking for a way to earn some extra income and came across Etsy through a mutual friend of my husband and I from high school. I haven't sold a whole lot since opening up last year, but the sales I have made mean a lot. It really is an incredible feeling to make something by hand that someone else feels is worth enough to buy.

Custom Handfasting Cord

Q: Which piece in your shop has the most meaning for you and/or is your favorite to make?

A: The answer to both of these is the same. It would definitely have to be any handfasting cord that I make, whether premade or custom. My husband and I were married in handfasting ceremony in 2010 and it's a tradition I fell in love with while researching ideas for ours. I love the meaning and symbolism behind it and whenever someone requests a custom order each one is always unique in their own way, from the color combination to beads and/or charms they wish to add.

Trick or Treat Halloween Bag

Q: Which is your favorite holiday and why?

A: This one is hard because it's a tie between Halloween and Christmas. I love the buildup to each, the decorations, the lights... Deciding on a costume every year for Halloween was fun and then running around the neighborhood collecting candy from everyone. With Christmas there is just this feeling of warmth and happiness that I wish we could all feel every day of the rest of the year. Because of this I am definitely one of those people who gets depressed after the holidays are over - though the sales on all the decorations for the next year help. lol

Deity Diva Yule/Christmas Goddess

Q: Where does your inspiration come from?

A: My mom was a huge crafter growing up so I got the crafty streak from her. I'm also inspired by other people and things I see around me. I'm always looking for things to make, but in my own way, with my own mark on it. And from paganism - finding useful, inexpensive ways to make things people need or want to celebrate their faith with.

Q: What inspired you to make the leap into children's items?

A: I was making some ornaments one afternoon and my daughter who is almost two kept picking them up to play with them and I realized, I have made nothing for her to play with. I can sew and crochet and craft but I have nothing for her yet. That's when I decided to not only make stuff for her but stuff to sell as well for children. Especially for those who are pagan and have children that they are raising pagan and want to include them more in rituals, etc. or just want them to have a symbol of their own.

13 Goddess WK11: African Goddess Yemaja

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to report that my back is doing much better thanks to long weeks of physical therapy.  I can now sit at my computer for more than ten minuets at a time and I am pleased to announce that Blog Posts are Back!

Today I bring you a spell invoking Yemaja, the African Yourba Goddess of mothers, children, the rivers and the sea.  Yemaja has traveled the world and resides in every place that slaves once lived.

Yemaya Body Soap Gel by MaidenMotherCrone

Yemaja – Baby Blessing Candle Spell

ReadingsByKat.etsy.com

This spell is best performed during the night of the Full Moon. Spells to bring energy in are done at this time because the energy of the moon helps move things into your life.

Use a pin to carve a river into the candle holding in your mind the life giving and protective properties of the flowing waters governed by Lady Yemaja.  You can add other symbols or words to increase the directedness and power of the spell.

Hold the candle between the palms of your hands and direct all of your energy into the candle.  Using silver (if possible) or blue ink, write the name of the child and words that describe how their life should be (i.e. loved, strong, protected, treasured) out a petition paper.  Light the candle, burn the petition paper in the candle flame and say (aloud or to yourself): 

O Yemaja, mother and protectors, guardian of the waters and life;

Guard (Child’s name) against harm and illness.

Watch over him/her with every step he/she takes.

Let your life giving waters always flow through them.

If possible, focus and meditate on your desires until the candle is almost burned out.  Combine the ashes and left over wax together and offer it to a stream near your home or bury it in the earth as close to your home as possible.