Talisman Set #17: Wild Cherry, Rowan Root, and Ivy

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

This talisman set has sold. Read this post anyway to learn about one-of-a-kind sets. Most sets are shown through private viewings, e.g, my free newsletter. I list a few sets here to introduce them to site visitors.

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This one-of-a-kind set is available exclusively to one of my newsletter subscribers. Crafting amulets only for folks traveling alongside me feels true to who I am. If you don’t subscribe yet, click here for a free subscription: https://www.outlawbunny.com/newsletter/.

Consisting of three unique talismans, the set is suited to one buyer who’ll think, “This is mine.”

Each talisman is a different wood:

I ritually blessed all the amulets in a major Faerie rite.

This set includes a threshold talisman to protect and bless the home: pyrography on wild cherry wood.

(Pyrography is the art of burning designs in wood.)

This lintel amulet will do its magic when hung by or above the door, another opening to the outdoors, or elsewhere in your dwelling. You could instead use this threshold charm as a protection and blessing for a space other than a home.

I like to learn the magical properties of trees directly, instead of secondhand. To that end, I woodwork and sit with trees. Here’s what wild cherry has told me about itself:

“I bring you strength and comfort. I bring richness to your days—richness of wealth, of fulfilling activities, of lush surroundings.

“Not all extravagance is purchased. Enjoy the extravagance found in the dark depths of the forest. Plunge into winter’s icy ocean water, so its chilled currents can thrill your skin. Hike into the mountains and keep going higher, until there is no one but goats and sheep and Fey Folk and you.

“Sing an extravagant song of praise for the hustle and bustle of an urban street.

“Enjoy an extravaganza: study everyone who passes you on a city street and realize each of them is a cosmos unto themselves.

“Be adventurous. The strength to do so is within you.

“My wood is a talisman to help you do all I have described.”

From the middle of the cherry to its top, Ogham letters spell out the Gaelic word for love. That seemed a perfect word for an amulet to safeguard and bless because the Old Gods take good care of us in Their love for us, and because love in a home is among the greatest blessings.

The pyrography is my original one-of-a-kind shamanic design that adds to the cherry’s powers. Home decor with mojo. My pyrography is done ritually to add yet more power.

This set also includes an amulet pendant crafted from ivy wood.

Ivy is commonly known as sacred to the Green God. This ivy wood could give you vitality and free your energy, so your confidence, determination, and overall power come forth more fully. Ivy also revs up your sexuality.

Since ivy “belongs” to the Green Man, I think it should also belong to the Green Woman: Elen of the Ways. For me, She has all the powers of the Green God. My sense of Her also is that, for those who want nature’s power but need it channeled to them gently, She can do that for them. He can too, but sometimes a person finds it easier to accept that gentleness and sensitivity from Her.

Since the Green God and Green Goddess both embody living fully, I feel this ivy amulet would help you be in the moment.

This is good jewelry to wear in honor of the wild Green God and Goddess.

Toward the bottom, I pyrographed the Ogham letter that corresponds with ivy. Again: the pyrography is executed ritually.

The set also includes an amulet pendant crafted from Rowan root.

I am delighted to share that this pendant is rowan root. I’ve become obsessed with tree roots. Here’s what I sense about tree roots I’ve encountered:

Those tree roots had energy almost visible to the eye. Their energy bypasses time and anything else that could completely block or even delay one’s goals. In that vein, using tree roots magically (which could mean simply wearing a tree root pendant), I experience the archetype of magic: miracles come to pass against all logic and reason. This occurs in a specific manner:

Obstacles to the fulfillment of my wishes become a non-issue. I reach goals regardless of obstacles, and without acknowledging them or otherwise dealing with them.

I’m not suggesting tree root magic, in ignoring an obstacle, blasts through it without even noticing. I’m saying I needn’t concern myself magically with an obstacle to my desired goal—needn’t remove barriers, circumvent barriers, or deal with them any other way. I needn’t limit myself by fixating on the route to my goals (in the sense of believing I must remove blocks in order for the route they are blocking to open for me); magic will get me there along the route that magic chooses. Roadblocks are a non-issue because, even if all impediments remain in place, my wish is fulfilled because tree roots are truly magic, the essential archetype of it, fulfilling my wishes against all reason, helping me live in a world where I’m not hemmed by in living in the logical world—and the road blocks it insists will hinder me—but can instead trust in an enchanted world.

My experience that tree root magic can bypass obstacles without necessarily even removing them affirms my belief about life overall: I find it vital, when at all possible, to leave the parts of life that aren’t “mine” as is; that includes neither removing blocks or otherwise dealing with them, but just going my merry way; a focus on removing blocks or otherwise dealing with them distracts me from living my life and working toward my goals. Of course, there are times we have to remove blocks, but I’m not addressing those times here.

When I told a student of mine (who prefers to remain unnamed) that I felt tree root magic bypasses obstacles without even removing them, he immediately had an brilliant insight: roots, as they grow, move around stones and other impediments, which become part of the foundation of the tree, holding it firmly in place. I love that idea. It affirms my desire to leave what isn’t “mine” as is, and affirms my belief that everything has its place so if, in my magic or another part of life, I fuss with something that’s “not mine,” I might actually harm myself in the long run, e.g., pull a foundation out from under me. I don’t move something to get it out of my way or to make it part of my foundation. (There are, of course, exceptions to this.)

I once felt rowan wood’s dominance as the witches’ wood undeserved, and its power greatly overrated. And … well, I felt modern use of rowan was simply trendy. Oops! Eventually, I understood rowan’s many benefits and why it deserves its prestige. I’ll address two of its traits here.

Rowan protects from evil magic. That’s commonly known but, duh, Francesca, so important for witches because they are constantly in the realm of magical doings! Plus … drumroll … I intuit rowan fosters the ability to spot evil magic.

Why the drumroll? Ability to spot negative mojo and protect oneself from it is pivotal to me because I’ve repeatedly seen great suffering for witches who either didn’t realize the prevalence of nasty magic or recognize it when it manifested in their own life. I suffered myself until I learned to spot it more consistently and protect myself from it more effectively. Sadly, I’ve learned that discernment regarding evil magic and protection from it need more attention than some Pagans realize.

As an example, my warnings of negative Fey and their human agents tend to be ignored or minimized. I have repeatedly experienced, after explaining the prevalence of Unseelie (Unseelie is the term for evil Faeries) and other negative spirits, someone not quite hearing me. They respond that they are sophisticated and insightful—or quite intuitive and experienced magically—so not easily duped. Fact is, they’re no one’s fool, but they don’t understand how easily mal-intended magic can slip past even a consummate psychic unrecognized. Or they’ll understand my warning in one context, but not in others.

I am sophisticated, I am intuitive, I was raised in a family tradition of witchcraft. I nevertheless fell prey to evil magicians before I learned better.

Overconfidence isn’t the only reason some Pagans don’t realize they might need help spotting negative energy. To continue using my example of negative Fey, a person might not know the Unseelie weave a glamour to hide their true nature. Another person might not be able to admit when someone’s deeds are thoroughly and consistently evil; such a reality can be just too much to bear. Yet another person might not understand the magical realm is, like the mundane world, a constant weave of good and bad; so during the day it can be hard to notice all the evil threads the Unseelie weave into the fabric of the enchanted world that day.

The list of reasons go on and on, but I’ll stop here. My point is that the ability to recognize evil magic is not as easy as most magical practitioners believe, and far more important than most magical practitioners think.

Sidebar: Unseelie are highly invested in distracting us from our true selves, including our true Feyness, go to great lengths to create such distractions, and are quite skilled at it. They and other negative spirits with whom they keep company will lead a person on a wild goose chase for decades, convincing that seeker they’re traveling a rare path to power, while in fact they are on the road to complete self-destruction. That’s only one example of the harm Unseelie cause.

Ask the Faerie Queen, also know as the Seelie Queen, to protect you from Unseelie. And wear rowan. End of sidebar.

Rowan gives good witches an edge, fostering the discernment to spot evil magic of humans and of otherworldly beings, and providing protection against it. Rowan even helps you spot when a person is harried by a negative entity.

About the beads: I love them. I’ve been hunting down designer beads that I can use in talismans to create the looks I envision. I do mean hunt because it takes time to find the right beads, let alone with large enough holes for what I construct.

Even the smallest of these beads are designer. That costs me more but I want to create dreams with jewelry, and the wrong beads might pull someone out of their dream.

Most of these beads were artfully crafted to have an aged look. E.g., the larger bead reminds me of old glass that acquired a shimmering patina by being buried in the earth for years.

I pyrographed the rowan Ogham on one side. Both sides are lovely wood so either can be worn facing front.

To benefit from the power of either pendant, when you don’t want to wear it or otherwise carry it on you, put it on your altar.

Cost for the set is $130 plus $7 shipping. I ship only to U.S. non-military addresses, via USPS priority. Pay securely with PayPal:




Your set will arrive with simple care instructions to keep your talismans beautiful. I’ll also enclose a print up of this PDF.

All wood was ethically harvested, finished with a natural beeswax and oil treatment, then strung on waxed cotton cord.

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Talisman Set #11: Gorse, Alder, Willow

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

This talisman set has sold. Read this post anyway to learn about one-of-a-kind sets. Most sets are shown through private viewings, e.g, my free newsletter. I list a few sets here to introduce them to site visitors. Subscribe to my free newsletter if you want to purchase any sets: https://outlawbunny.com/newsletter/

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This one-of-a-kind set is available exclusively to one of my newsletter subscribers.

Consisting of three unique handcrafted talismans, the set is suited to one buyer who’ll think, “This is mine.”

Each amulet is a different wood:


I ritually blessed all three amulets in a major Faerie rite.

The willow piece in this set is a lintel ward to bless and safeguard your home. This talisman will do its magical work placed by or above a door, another opening to the outdoors, or anywhere else you choose in your home.

The talisman will also work for a building other than a home.


Willow protects and blesses those who are fey-touched and childlike, and empowers their magic and other endeavors. I think these magics perfectly suit a threshold piece for someone who is Fey-touched. (These magical sensibilities in Lady Willow are ones I perceived myself; I’ve never read about them in a book or heard of them anywhere. I love getting to know the magical properties of wood through visions and other direct experiences.)

Lady Willow also provides a threshold into Faerie—a place between the worlds—and safety while there. Using Willow as a threshold protection and blessing seems to me a lovely pun and enchantment. Again, I’ve not read or otherwise heard of the functions of willow mentioned in this paragraph, but for decades Lady Willow has performed them wonderfully for me.

Ogham letters going down the center of the willow spell out the Gaelic word for love. That seemed a perfect word for an amulet to safeguard and bless because the Old Gods take good care of us in Their love for us, and because love in a home is among the greatest blessings.

The pyrography is my original one-of-a-kind shamanic design that adds to the wood’s powers. My pyrography is done ritually to add yet more power. (Pyrography is the art of burning designs in wood.)

On the back, I pyrographed the Ogham that corresponds with the willow tree:

This set also includes a gorse wood pendant.

As I said, I learn the metaphysical properties of a tree directly from it or its wood. What gorse has told me, and here says to you:

“You are beautiful exactly as you are. Your face, your body, your DNA, your mind, your feelings, your bones, your veins, your breath, your heart, and your soul are beautiful.”

When you need a reminder of that message, and magic to reinforce it, wear this gorse charm.

Gorse also said:

“Serve others generously; whatever you have, give; use whatever you have in service; every part of you is beautiful, so do not worry about whether what you give of yourself is good enough.” Wear this amulet to help you live as gorse suggests.

On the top, I wood-burned the gorse Ogham:

The set also includes an alder amulet pendant.


When I tune into alder, I sense the essence of magic that runs through all things. I also notice a sensibility of being magic rather than doing magic. (I love doing magic, I do magic all day long. But being magic is entirely different and core to my existence.) Hence, an alder amulet helps you be magic and tune into the essence of magic.

I sense alder’s magic is powerful, rich, and complex, but also subtle, not flashy or obvious. It is below the surface. Someone whose magic is akin to alder’s can seem like there’s nothing enchanted in them at all, that they might not even have the potential for magic. Alder can remind such a person of their power and boost it.

When I asked Alder Spirit if it protects the person whom I’ve described above as akin to it, Alder said, “Yes.”

I pyrographed the alder Ogham on the back of this nice thick chunk of wood. … And maybe you want to wear the back as the front. The wood is gorgeous either side.

To benefit from the power of either pendant, when you don’t want to wear it or otherwise carry it on you, put it on your altar.

Cost for the entire set is $130 plus $5 shipping. I ship only to U.S. non-military addresses. Scroll down to pay securely with PayPal.




If this set calls, grab it. I’m constitutionally incapable of repeating my designs.

Your set will arrive with simple care instructions to keep the wood beautiful. I’ll also enclose a print up of this post.

All wood was ethically harvested. Each amulet is finished with a natural beeswax and oil treatment, then strung on waxed cotton cord.

I put my heart and soul in these pieces because I’m an old-fashioned witch who believes I was put on this planet to serve you. Now the amulets will flow to whomever they are meant to serve.

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Surrender Creates Victory

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

Roadblocks, Accidents, and Synchronicity:
Surrender Creates Victory in the Creative Process and the Rest of Life

After lucking out by acquiring gorgeous, large, old turquoise beads, I decided to make myself a somewhat monochromatic necklace. Sorting through my other beads, I found perfect pieces, but needed one more style of beads for the necklace to really kick, so I started making them, by felting.

I made six felted beads. I wanted them to be just plain turquoise-colored for the monochromatic look I’d envisioned. But the Corriedale Turquoise wool fiber I’d bought from Living Felt was temporarily hiding in my very messy crafting area.

I love it, though, when something limits me in my creative process, since whatever I do to circumvent the problem usually produces something better than my original vision. It always affirms that I needn’t let blocks stop me in any endeavor, whether creative, romantic, spiritual, financial, magical, or other.

The only pale blue wool I had from Living Felt (LF) was more like a baby blue, probably LF’s Corriedale Ice. So I needle felted that, using one of LF’s pink-handled needles (I think pink handle means their 36 triangle, but you can check that on their site). I needle-felted around a shish kebabs skewer, to make the beads’ holes.

Once the pieces were very roughly felted, I took apart yarns of various greens and blues and wrapped them around the beads, letting a lot of the pale blue show through. Luckily, I had a tiny bit of turquoise yarn, which I think made a difference.

Then I added wisps of one of LF’s dark greens, probably their Fir Merino top. Next, I wet felted, rounding the pieces into balls and firming them up, keeping the skewer in them to stop their holes from closing.

I’d hoped a portion of each bead would be turquoise-colored, and hadn’t expected what happened instead. Imagine my delighted shock when the colors and patterns that emerged made the felt reminiscent of turquoise. The resemblance was not strong enough to make the felt beads look like sleazy imitations of turquoise. Instead, the felt mildly echoes the necklace’s real turquoise, highlighting it. I mean, this is one of the necklaces I’m most proud of having made. And I feel elegant wearing it.

This happy accident was a wonderful reminder for me about how to deal with blocks in any part of life: instead of getting all frustrated, I went with the flow. Feeling frustrated is natural. But sitting in my frustration endlessly instead of going with the flow is unnecessary. Remembering that is always so freeing for me.


Going with the flow does not mean being a doormat. For example, often, when I surrender to the flow, it opens the door for the Goddess to create a pattern better than anything I could’ve come up with, whether it’s a pattern on a wool bead or a pattern for living. Going with the flow when a challenge hits any part of my life might help me come up with a pattern for overcoming that challenge.

The creative process informs the rest of my life.

As a witch, I strive to align with the flows that course through my day because there’s much magic in them.

Even when I almost died from multiple sclerosis in my early years of it—my utter feebleness and impending demise like a nightmare from which I just could not wake—leaning into that horrifying “flow” best I could (which was not very well, I’ll be honest) and trusting there was a Divine hand in it, brought me to a much happier place in my life than I’ve ever been in before.

Going with that flow, even though I couldn’t do it well, also helped create a mindset and events that made my health bounce back and will allow me to keep going well into my late senior years. I intend to enjoy every magical moment of it.

2018 note: this piece was written in 2016, but I hadn’t the chance to post it yet. Then I came across it today. It served as a good reminder for me. I’m not a pacifist. I fight for my rights and for the rights of all people. And I need constant reminders that spiritual surrender makes me a better fighter.

Nwsltr2017B

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Talisman Set #9: Birch and Elm

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

This talisman set has sold. Read this post anyway to learn about one-of-a-kind sets. Most sets are shown through private viewings, e.g, my free newsletter. I list a few sets here to introduce them to site visitors. Subscribe to my free newsletter if you want to purchase any sets: https://outlawbunny.com/newsletter/

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This one-of-a-kind handcrafted set is available exclusively to one of my newsletter subscribers.

Consisting of two unique talismans, the set is suited to one buyer who’ll think, “This is mine.”

The talismans are each a different wood, from a tree sacred to the Celts:

I ritually blessed both amulets in a major Faerie rite.

The birch piece is a pentacle for your altar.

A pentacle will protect and bless the home, add power and protection to your rites, and honor your wild witchy spirit.

Whether on the altar or elsewhere in your dwelling, this pentacle will safeguard and bless the home. I display my wood pentacle by leaning it against a pretty vase.

A pentacle also symbolizes the wisdom and free ways of witches, and honors sexuality.

Birch trees hold the magic of new beginnings and renewal.

The pyrography is my original one-of-a-kind design that adds to the birch and pentacle’s powers. Home decor with mojo. (Pyrography is the art of burning designs in wood.)

The design is my usual insistent asymmetry. I won’t even make a pentacle symmetrical, usually.

If you rotate the pentacle, you’ll notice the design can be viewed any-side-up.

I pyrographed the birch Ogham on the back. I wish the photo showed how smooth it is.

I left the bark on because it’s beautiful. It might come off since I refuse to use a polyurethane finish or the like. I applied a lovely, natural, beeswax blend instead. Whoever buys this sacred artifact can enjoy its bark for as long it lasts then, if the bark comes off, still enjoy a lovely talisman.

The elm wood piece is a pendant talisman.


Elm is a high tree, so no surprise it traditionally represents seeing the large picture and being objective. My sense of the wood, when I hold it and tune in, is that elm helps me experience my feelings more fully and comfortably instead of suppressing them, so I can assess a challenge or other situation more accurately and wisely, and am proactive rather than reactive. I also intuit elm helps me stay down to earth when exploring strong emotions, remember my true goals, and act on them.

I thought all those traits might be desirable for someone who wants birch for new beginnings.

I looked forward to wood burning my first piece of elm but, when I finished sanding, the wood was so beautiful that I hesitated to cover it up with pyrography. Moments later, I learned that burning elm is verboten in lore. Interesting. I left this magical jewelry simple, showing its gorgeousness.

To benefit from the pendant’s power when you don’t want to wear it or otherwise carry it on you, put it on your altar or wall.

Cost for the set is $130 plus $5 shipping. I ship only to U.S. non-military addresses. Scroll down to pay securely with PayPal.




If this set calls, grab it. I’m constitutionally incapable of repeating my designs.

The birch is my first large, detailed piece. It was exciting to have developed my skill enough for this project and to obtain a large enough piece of wood. My sets have previously consisted of three pieces. Since the birch is a large and detailed, and I don’t want to raise my price, I’m offering this two-piece set. Is it yours?

Your set will arrive with simple care instructions to keep the wood beautiful. I’ll also enclose a print up of this post about the set.

Each amulet is coated with a natural beeswax and oil treatment. The pendant is strung on waxed cotton cord. All wood was ethically harvested.

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A Five-Day Blessing Rite, Done for You

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

A Five-Day Blessing Ceremony,
Done for You

In this ceremony, I bless you and your life.

You don’t have to attend an event or do any work. Just enroll, and I do the work for you.

This ritual blesses your circumstances, body, and spirit with what you need, even if you don’t know what that is. Heck, if compulsively reading social media non-stop robs you of the time you need to figure out how to improve your life, this ritual can help. This blessing’s energy shapes itself to meet your physical, spiritual, and emotional needs.

FallLeaf1Want more than one type of blessing? For example, desire more money and serenity and physical healing and …? I’ve got you covered. This rite takes good care of you.

Your five-day ceremony begins October 30 and continues through November 3. I’ll also do ceremony on Nov 4, if something unexpectedly keeps me from performing a rite on one of the five planned days.

The ceremony occurs at an enchanted time of year. This will amp up the ceremony’s magic.

The Pagan holy day, Samhain, falls between October 31 and November 2. Samhain, and the days immediately preceding and following it, are special magic that this witch loves. I’ll travel into other realms, to draw on Samhain week’s vast power to fuel your rite.

Scroll down to enroll: pay securely with PayPal.
Cost: $130.





Upon receipt of payment, I email you confirmation of registration. If you need more info, do phone me. 814.337.2490. No refunds. If you can’t afford the enrollment fee, phone to discuss scholarship, partial scholarship, payment plan, or trade.

FallLeaf3I strive to take the best possible care of you. This ceremony facilitates both inner transformation and improvement in circumstances. Examples of inner change: anxiety gives way to hope, a creative block is replaced by artistic action, confusion about a crisis turns into wisdom about what steps to take. Examples of circumstances changing: a long-wanted new home manifests, a surprising opportunity to start your own business appears, a crisis ends.

Magic is not a substitute for medical care by a physician, psychiatric counseling, or other therapeutic treatment. Participants are personally responsible for the consequences of their voluntary participation. This ceremony is extraordinarily effective, but may not work for some individuals.

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How to Teach Teleseminars

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

How to Teach Teleseminars:
A Four-Week Intensive for Writers

Teaching teleseminars—classes held via group phone calls—is a solid income source, a way to be of service, and a beautiful experience.

If you write articles, books, or blogs, about witchcraft, art, astrology, psychic readings, marketing, fitness, or anything else, this four-week course will show you how to:

* Turn your blogs, articles, or books into curriculums.
* Draw on your expertise in your field to create lessons.
* Use the easy technical basics of setting up and running teleseminars, including online payment options.

Also included:
* Pricing
* Promotion
* Choosing ideal teleseminar topics
* Turning your writing skills into teaching skills

I’ll work with you as an individual with your own strengths, weaknesses, goals, and concerns.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you want to try to teach teleseminars, how to turn what you’ve written into classes, or how to do so profitably, this course is your chance to know.

I’ve usually led at least two teleseminars a week, since 2002, producing and promoting my own events. I’ve been a professional shaman for decades, cited in major books for my marketing savvy.

I’m offering this course because leading teleseminars has been a joy for me, and I’d like you to have the chance for that experience. Sixteen years of teaching teleseminars has taught me a lot about the best ways to go about it. I look forward to sharing with you what I’ve learned.

This is probably a one-time event because shamanism courses take most of my teaching time.

I originally developed a one-hour version of this course for The American Society of Journalists and Author, an organization of professional writers of which I am a member. (Correction: currently, ASJA accepts non-professional writers as members.) Creating that presentation, I ended up with far more material than could be shared in an hour. That extra material is compelling, so I’ve kept waiting for a chance to offer this fuller version of the material. I look forward to sharing it with you now, and the chance to, in depth, meet your particular goals and needs.

Expect a special handout!

We’ll meet via teleseminar. Teleseminars are group phone calls: just dial the phone to participate.

Enrollment limited.

We’ll meet four consecutive Tuesdays, noon to 1:00 EST, starting Tues, October 9. Reserve Tues Nov 13, same time, for a makeup session in case I’m unavailable for one of the planned meetings.

Tuition: $160. Your particular carrier may charge you for the calls.

Pay securely with PayPal: Scroll down and click the Pay Now button.





Upon receipt of payment, you receive an email confirming enrollment. A few days before our first meeting, you receive event phone #, etc.

Feel free to phone me to discuss payment plan, scholarship, partial scholarship, or trade. 814-337-2490. No refunds.

HatFlw2

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I Defy the God of the Patriarchs

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

Crafting a talisman can be a shamanic journey.


When I started to sand a piece of oak to make it into the above talisman pendant, it reminded me of a deer antler tip. This, in turn, made me think of Herne and Elen of the Ways, wild deer-antlered Gods of the forest. So I was very in touch with Them while I sanded, and thus my own wildness was coming forth.

As I sanded, my wildness more and more tried to flow, but I was visited by nasty messages; my mind was filled with shaming restraints. The messages were that I shouldn’t be doing art, that my jubilance and passion in crafting were wrong, that the passionate joy I took in the physical vigor of sanding was inappropriate.

Mind you, I know my passion, joy, art, and physical vigor are holy. And much of the way I act and feel is in accordance with that. But something deep down was sabotaging me, nonetheless. Those horrific messages weren’t overt, but quite faint; I barely noticed them when first sanding the pendant.

There is a well-known pattern of “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.” Examples: telling oneself one should do something other than what one is doing; thinking it would be better if one does something differently from the way one is doing it; insisting to oneself that one could do better.

Such statements can reflect a search to find and achieve high ideals, but might instead be shaming, a tearing down of healthy pride in one’s accomplishments.

Those messages can bind one’s energy, keeping it from flowing into feelings of joy, happily vigorous activities, and the passion felt when dancing, having sex, running, or playing sports.

Those messages can knot muscles to the degree that one might get injured when moving.

When I was sanding, those messages at first came at me in the faintest repeated whisper of “You should be doing something else right now.” I barely heard it or noticed its terrible effect on me.

But a friend of mine had suggested I start watching for such messages, so I found myself noticing them while I was sanding and, the more I noticed them, the more I realized how constant they were. And the louder they got, which was good, because then I could hear their underlying messages—I shouldn’t be doing art, my jubilance and passion in crafting are wrong, the passionate joy I take in the physical vigor of sanding is inappropriate—and I could deal with them.

They slammed into me, over and over—as I sanded—first only as whispers but eventually brazenly, like a demon visited upon me, hateful. I resisted the messages and moved through them and past them, so my strength and passion and joy gathered and flowed and mounted, until I cried out, fully passionate and released, yet choosing my words carefully for their magic to be potent but safe,

“I defy the God of the patriarchs.
Begone!
I obey the Old Gods—my wild Faerie ancestors.
Because of that obedience,
They can protect me
in my disregard for a petty deity.”

The moon is in this wood. After I finished sanding the pendant and burnt the oak Ogham on it, I applied a beeswax oil finish. I couldn’t believe what happened once the finish was on: parts of the pendant shimmered like mother of pearl. The moon is in this wood. The moon always protects me.

It’s been a few days since I finished the pendant, and I have been freed: healthy defiance allowed my energy to soar more than ever.

More than ever, I am enjoying myself exactly as I am.

I had rebuked the patriarchal God in the past, but now I had reached a new level of rejecting Him.

I changed the piece, so it no longer is reminiscent of a deer antler tip. Originally, I’d left bark on at the top, and had sanded so that, bit by bit, the piece graduated from bark to utterly bare wood. Thus, the pendant was thicker at top, narrowing bit by bit, and its shading progressed from dark bark at the top to pale bare wood at the bottom.

But, as amazing as that looked to me, it was not the tactile sensation I wanted. So I stripped all the bark off. I lost the gorgeous look, but I enjoy touching the oak more when I wear it now, plus more of its silver light shows.

Redoing the amulet added another power to it:

I’ve been told that “should’ve, would’ve, could’ve” thoughts are not one’s own, e.g., were drummed into one during childhood.

There’s no point in dwelling in other people’s thoughts. I choose to disregard what my actions look like to other people. What matters is how my deeds feel to me. This amulet bolsters that choice because it doesn’t matter whether this oak piece looks antler-like to someone else. For me, it will always have antler energy, and I love the way it feels to the touch, and my Gods live in it, Their moonlight and starlight radiating from the wood as a sign of Their indwelling.

Hail Herne, God of the forest. Hail Elen of the Ways. Hail Diana, my moonlit Mother.

The pendant’s name is Defiance.

So mote it be!

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Talisman Set #5: Oak, Ash, Thorn

Posted on September 15, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

This talisman set has sold. Read this post anyway to learn about one-of-a-kind sets. Most sets are shown through private viewings, e.g, my free newsletter. I list a few sets here to introduce them to site visitors. Subscribe to my free newsletter if you want to purchase any sets: https://outlawbunny.com/newsletter/

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This set’s available only to someone traveling alongside me: one of my students or other newsletter subscribers. Being a shamanic guide keeps me too busy to create many talismans, except for myself. (Well, I paint original digital talismans for my students constantly, but the previous sentence refers to talismans on the physical plane.)

This handcrafted talisman set consists of three unique charms. The set is one-of-a-kind and suited to one buyer who’ll think, “This is mine.”

The charms are meant to suit that individual over the long haul, working both as a powerful grouping and also separately. In other words, when you want to use only one or two of the pieces, store the other one(s) away.

When the set has sold, I’ll update the listing to say so.

This set has three pieces. Each is from a tree in the witches’ classical triad: oak, ash, and thorn:

The first item in this set is an oak wand that feels like pure enchantment held in your hand. The cord is at the handle end.

I sanded any blunt edges off the tip end without making it pointed or rounded like a ball. I like to shape softly tipped wands. I almost kept this one for myself, it’s so beautiful physically and psychically that it will really inspire you to do magic.

Oak is a standard wand for witches, druids, and others, since it represents power.
Are you ready? I’m thrilled. During my entire process with this oak wand … drum roll … I crafted it physically and psychically to also function fabulously as a household lintel ward and blessing—in other words, it protects and blesses the home. When you’re not using it as a wand (or if you never use a wand), hang in your home as a blessing and protection.
This amulet will do its magic when placed by or above the door, another opening to the outdoors, or anywhere else in your dwelling. You could instead use this charm as a protection and blessing for a space other than a home.

Oak symbolizes strength, prosperity, protection, and overall blessings. Oak is also a door into Fey realms and their mysteries.

To add to the piece’s potency as both a wand and a threshold talisman, I pyrographed oak leaves and branches, spirals, the ogham letter for oak, and dots, on the wand. (Pyrography is the art of burning designs in wood.) The art and blessing I did on the piece call forth protection and blessings from Gaia, as well as from the Green God and Elen of the Ways (the Green Goddess).

Look at the handle end. I left a tiny bit of bark by one of the holes where the cord goes through. That wild touch represents Herne, the God of the forest, viewed by some as synonymous with the Green God:

The glass is Preciosa, a traditional Czech bead. Translucent cobalt blue is sacred to me and holds mysteries of the Green God.

This set’s second amulet is a pendant made from the wood of an ash tree.


The Tree of Life, otherwise known as the World Tree, is often often considered to be an ash. The Tree of Life represent the entire cosmos in union. This amulet embodies my experience of ever-present care from the Tree of Life. It gives us magic, as well as sweeps us up into its branches to hold us safely and grant us all its fruits.

When I remember that, in any situation, I’m held in the loving care of the World Tree, I can move fearlessly into the activities my Gods ask of me.

To add to the amulet’s power, I woodburned a spiral, a moon, and the Ogham for ash. The latter is the five burnt lines that start at one edge of the pendant. Oghams were often etched at the edge of a stone or piece of wood, the edge representing the perpendicular line of the Ogham.

Since most of this wood is not pyrographed, I found myself touching its nicely smooth front and back, just for the tactile experience. It felt calming.

I left the gorgeous bark on, and I sanded it so it’d be comfortable against your skin:
To benefit from the ash tree power when you don’t want to wear the pendant or otherwise carry it on you, put it on your altar.

This set’s third talisman is a hawthorn pendant.


In the triad of trees often associated with witches—ash, oak, and thorn—hawthorn is the “thorn.” It has become one of my favorite woods. This hawthorn pendant invites the Faerie Queen, drawing Her blessings, adding Faerie power to your spells, and bringing Fey enchantment into your day.

I experience the attributes of hawthorn viscerally, magic made tangible. The wood grants me an enchanted sense of itself that is deeply personal to who I am, moving me at my core. I don’t know if other people would have the same reaction, or it’s the result of my affinity for hawthorn. Many people view hawthorn as the quintessential Fey tree. I experience that myself (though, long story short, other trees can hold their own), and I myself am utterly Fey; perhaps the Feyness of the wood and my own being combine to create the reactions I note in this paragraph.

The green and white bead dangle at the bottom adds Fey colors.

This piece of wood has a history special to me. A friend gifted me a stunning, long, hawthorn wand from my favorite wand-maker. But I wasn’t using it because I prefer short wands. I cut the wand in four pieces: a short wand, and three pieces to craft into pendants.

The craftswoman who made the wand has high standards for her work. I have equally high standards, so I couldn’t just coast on her work. What makes a good wand does not necessarily make a good pendant.

The thick, rough bark was gorgeous, so I kept some of it on, but it needed to be sanded smooth to feel nice against your skin. I also sanded bark on a knot to reveal wood there.

But the big change was the overall shape. The wand maker had achieved a beautiful pointed wand tip, perfectly symmetrical all the way around. This pendant is that tip. In its new life as a pendant, the piece of hawthorn wanted to be organically shaped, crying out to be less pointed, more rounded, and a bit asymmetrical. And the bottom end of the pendant didn’t want to match the top; though the bottom asked for a good amount of narrowing and rounding, it was not as much as the other end has. This overall shape felt like organic harmony for that piece of wood.

I also sensed some beads added to the pendant would make the overall shape just right. Yup, I found the perfect beads. (I’ve had that little white glass bead at least 10 years, waiting for the right use.)

Since the pendant is strung vertically, it might rotate on the cord when worn. Each side looks different and, from some angles the pendant is slightly askew, clearly an organic little creation instead of machine-made.

From one angle, the pendant looks like a tiny Faerie cottage built into part of a tree—in other words, built without detaching the cottage from tree:
Hawthorn carries Fey wisdom through the veil, along with a wild otherworldliness. It makes sense this piece would look like a happy home for a wood sprite.

Cost for the entire set is $130 plus $5 shipping. I ship only to U.S. non-military addresses. Scroll down to pay securely with PayPal.




If this set calls, grab it. I’m constitutionally incapable of repeating my designs.

Your set will arrive with simple care instructions to keep the wood beautiful. I’ll also enclose a print up of this post about the set.

Each amulet is coated with a natural beeswax and oil treatment, and then strung on waxed cotton cord. The wood was ethically harvested.

I ritually blessed all three amulets. Now they can flow to whomever they are meant to serve.

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Creative KillJoys

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

Someone making you feel down about your writing or other art? You can be productive and joyful anyway. Check out this post.

A stranger emailed me, discouraged by their failed attempts to get published. An adapted excerpt of my response is below, in hopes it encourages you to keep going, no matter what:

After eight years of laboring over the text for Be a Goddess! , and equally sincere efforts on a manuscript previous to that, I was heartsick when both books were rejected. Be a Goddess! received 28 rejections!

But I kept on going.

Finally, Be a Goddess! was acquired by a publisher and became a bestseller. As such, it became widely available so could help a lot of people improve their lives. That was my dream.

Publisher after publisher said, “We don’t understand what you’re trying to do with this book,” when they saw the proposal for Share My Insanity: It Improves Everything, my self-help book that uses humor to show how divine madness can be integrated with chaos theory to create a better life for yourself.

Eventually, the book was accepted by a small house who totally understood the project. Almost as soon as it was released, it hit Amazon’s bestseller list.

If you believe in your art, believe in it. Don’t let anyone stop you. Good work often goes unrecognized. It’ll even be trashed by so-called supporters, so they can dominate your field.

Yes, we might become despondent, believing we can’t overcome the odds. It feels awful. Just awful. Hitting a lot of roadblocks can rob us of the drive, optimism, and other traits needed to strive toward our creative goals. Hitting a lot of roadblocks can fill us with various traits that keep us from striving. Take care of yourself when opposition has overwhelmed you. Give yourself love and self-acceptance. Reach out to others—and reach deep into yourself—for every bit of care you need.

And then pick yourself back up and move toward your goals again.

Find people who see your work’s value. Cleave to them. Let them help you remain productive and joyful.

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A Wild Rose Bush and Hidden Magics

Posted on August 27, 2018 by Francesca De Grandis

A few years ago, a wild rose bush on my property grew to enclose a utility pole, like a magical thicket swarming over an intruder. Thorns were up against wiring, requiring I cut a lot of the bush back. The Faerie Queen blessed this undertaking and governed my actions.

In the following years, the bit of rose wood I kept cured beautifully, so this August I was able to make myself a pendant of three pieces of the wood.

When I sawed, and when I used a knife to remove bark, the scent was spectacular. I’d never experienced such a wonderful smell when working with wood. How interesting that this wood, a wood that bears such a wonderfully scented flower, would have a special fragrance of its own.

After I wrote that last sentence, I took a moment to smell the pile of bark I’d shaved off the wood. There’s actually a strong rose scent if you look for it, but also a scent unto itself. The combination is an enchantment.

Next time I saw into a piece, I want to check whether the lovely scent that filled the air came from the bark alone or from the non-bark part of the wood as well.

The wild rose here is invasive. In fact, while working on the pendant, I had to also be pruning the wild rose that’s dangerously swarmed over the utilities pole again. Harvesting new wood to cure while crafting the well-cured wood felt special.

Wood of the wild rose centers me into my Fey qualities, as well as helps me not be diverted from my true self by the Unseelie. (Note: Unseelie is the term for evil Faeries. They’re highly invested in distracting us from our true selves, including our true Feyness, go to great lengths to create such distractions, and are quite skilled at it. Truly mean beings! They’ll lead a person on a wild goose chase for decades, that seeker all the time thinking they’re traveling a rare path to power but instead are on the road to complete self-destruction.) Or, at least, the wood from this particular rosebush works those enchantments on me. Or perhaps only this batch of wood from the bush does so, since the Faerie Queen oversaw the pruning and harvesting.

Later: it seems the wood, not just the bark, is rose-scented, sweet full-bodied rose (unless a lot of dust from sanding the bark mixed in with the regular sawdust). Am not sure everyone would smell it, though. I have a really sharp nose.

… I wonder if the wood is not rose-scented or is scented only a bit, and I accidentally generated a perfume from the other realms. The Goddess has a trick She’s played on me a few times, to remind me I am Her beloved: She fills the air with the fragrance of roses. (I’m not so arrogant to think I alone am Her beloved, the one and only. Each of us is Her beloved, and that does not lessen how precious, unique, and special we each are to Her.)

She once filled a whole, huge bookstore—it was a Books and Borders. If you ever went to one, you know how big they were—with the scent. Everyone was wandering around asking where the scent was coming from. Oops.

I was at the store doing a book signing. My book signings tended to be unusual; I’d usually lead a ritual. I’m convinced the aroma, which started as soon as the ritual ended, occurred because all the ritual participants—not me alone, but everyone who attended—really put their heart into it.

Later still: stripping the bark from another piece of the wild rose wood, I was surprised and delighted to discover a lower layer of bark was dusky pink! It seems the entire plant is physically consistent with the qualities of its bloom. Well, this plant’s blooms are white, but I’m going to check them next year to see if there’s any pink on them. In any case, the deep, rich, dusky pink of the hidden bark is very rose energy. Magic in that hidden layer of bark.

So much magic is hidden, yet easily found when I play and work in nature. If I do my best to be fully engaged, wholeheartedly interacting closely with leaves and breezes and sticks and critters, they have a chance to reveal their gifts. Respectful proximity to Gaia—respectful in the sense of trying to fully engage—also allows shrouded magics to slip through the veil, like incenses wafting from the Gods’ censers.

Magic wants to come out of hiding in cities, too. A ritual done whole-heartedly in a bookstore (or other urban environment) can coax enchantment out into the open because, perhaps without your even noticing it, you’ve tried to fully engage with your own soul, the atoms all around you, and the Gods stealthily walking the store aisles.

An aside: After the ritual, in the seconds before the store became redolent with incense from the Fey, I caught a female and male in the corner of my eyes, walking past me, on my left side. Then I realized They were the Faerie Queen and King.

I was surprised. My otherworldly senses are finally tuned, I rely on them constantly throughout the day, and I’m used to feeling the presence of my Gods in a truly visceral way. But I don’t usually see Them so vividly that I mistakenly think They are humans in the mundane realm. Between the perfumed air and the sighting, my Gods were really trying to prove a point that day. Or, rather, several points.

BYABar4

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