The Birch Moon

Today is the first day of the Birch Moon, the beginning of the Celtic calender,  a time of new beginnings and making plans for the future.
Ask for general luck in whatever the coming year brings, and focus on what you want to achieve.
Resolution Blessing Spell
The birch is the first tree to grow back after a forest has been cut down or razed, reinforcing its association with new beginnings. It is a tree of extreme hardiness, thriving in places where the oak cannot. When you make a New Year’s resolution, increase your chances of sticking to our guns by performing this blessing spell.
You Will Need:

• Red candle
• Red ribbon
• Birch wand
• Frankincense, rose, and benzoin essential oil

1. Go for a walk in your local park and collect a birch twig no more than 12 inches long. As birch is a very common tree, you should be able to find one easily, even in urban areas and parks.
2. Mix a few drops of rose frankincense and benzoin essential oil into the palm of your hand and rub the mixture into a red candle.
3. Light the candle, and stand in front of it for a few moments visualizing your resolution. If you are planning to learn to play guitar, for instance, visualize ourself happily strumming your favorite song. You may want to state your intent aloud, saying, “I will learn to play guitar.”
4. Holding your birch twig at one end, pass it through the candle’s flame. Then turn around, clockwise, holding the twig in front of you to draw a circle around yourself.
5. Repeat the incantation, “I manifest new chances for good fortune, clarity and insight. I open myself to new experience and allow change to manifest in my life.”
6. Now sit down for a few minutes and quietly contemplate your wish. When you have finished, blow out the candle.

Another way to see the new year off is to sign up for my Ogham Tree Practitioners Course on the 4/5th February in Galway.
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Yours under the Elm,
Ian