Frigg’s Forest: The Leaves are Beginning to Change

In Practical Magick by HeatherLeave a Comment

As the All-MothePhoto courtesy of Elizabeth Cappsr, Frigg is the Norse Goddess of Mothers and protector of children. Frigg’s Forest is an on-going series of tips and activities to involve your children in your practice.

As the wheel continues to turn, the days are once again growing shorter. With the fading light, the leaves are beginning to change and show their bright colors.

If one finds the first fallen leaf of the season on the Autumnal Equinox, it is considered to be an omen for all Winter, depending upon from which tree it fell. According to Cunningham’s tree correspondences:

•    If the leaf is of an apple tree, it represents wisdom and otherworldly knowledge; beauty, love, and fertility spells; protection or attraction.
•    If the leaf is from an ash tree, it can be used to call upon the Fae.
•    Laurel leaves turn darkness into light; they can be used for banishing and healing; they are magickal enhancers.
•    Birch tree leaves are balancing agents between creation and destruction related to Fire.
•    Cedar leaves are for healing and purification.
•    Elder leaves help with achieving greater awareness in the spiritual plane.
•    Hawthorn leaves bring love, fertility, and creativity.
•    Maple tree leaves are another love and fertility bringer, associated with Water and romance.
•    Oak trees, one of the most prominent in the Greater Raleigh area, brings power and stability into one’s life, and also can be used for banishment.
•    Pine leaves give protection. Burning them can cleanse auras and ward off negative energies.

In our modern Pagan practices, many of us are not working the land in the same way as our ancestors once did. When we consider the Wheel and reaping and sowing, rituals are often turned metaphoric with self-growth. We “sow” a goal at Imbolc which is worked on and cultivated until it is finally ready to be “reaped” in accomplishment between Mabon and Samhain. Self-reflection between Samhain and Imbolc gives us a chance to make an inventory on ourselves and sets us on the path to begin our next self-growth season. In working with kiddos, fertility Magick can be turned into metaphor as well, focused more on creation. Should your little Witch find any leaf associated with fertility, it can be used to fuel creativity and spark some artistic work through the darker months.

Many of us will not find our first fallen leaf on the Autumnal Equinox. Many leaves are still green and thriving at this time, especially in the South where our days are longer than our ancestral counterparts in Northern Europe. Falling leaves become more prominent as the fall progresses, however, and a more direct form of leaf Magick can be done at this point.  Write a spell on a leaf in safe ink, like lemon juice, and then burn the leaf [with adult supervision] to set energies into motion. Upon burning, your wish will be released and can come to fruition.

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