Scargle Scroll 01.03.2023

colleendalzell2
Mar 1, 2023
18 min read

Welcome dear reader to the fourth edition of the Scargle Scroll! Spring has definitely sprung here at Scargle with days growing that little bit warmer and with daffodils blooming. And so get ready for tips and tricks to make your month ahead magical!

The Spring Equinox in Ireland

Ostara . Spring Equinox

Waning Moon

Moon phase: Fourth Quarter

Colour: Ivory

Moon sign: Pisces

Moon enters Aries 12:01pm

Incense: Bayberry

Irish: vernal equinox: cónocht an earraigh, spring equinox: cónocht an earrach.

The spring equinox is when the sun is directly over the Earth’s equator and day and night are equal. It is considered the start of spring and days will grow longer until the summer solstice in June. There are those who now speculate that the close proximity of St Patrick’s Day to the spring equinox is due to the blurring of ancient Celtic traditions with Christian rituals.

The Newgrange website explains: “The early Christian church in Ireland incorporated pre-Christian spirituality and festivals into the 'new religion', it is conceivable that the Spring Equinox festival became Christianised and rebranded as Saint Patrick's day.”

“The Spring Equinox is the beginning of the 'light' half of the year where the sun is strongest, and the days are longer than the nights. Saint Patrick brought the 'light' of a different sun, the son of God to Ireland, the adaptable Irish Celts may have simply rebranded the Spring Equinox festival to Saint Patrick's Feast day.”

“Early Irish Celtic Christianity with its unique mix of Christian and pre-Christian beliefs and practices continued in Ireland until the Celtic monasteries were suppressed in the 12th century. By the time the date for Saint Patrick's day was placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the 1600's the connection with the Spring Equinox would have been lost.”

The Loughcrew Megalithic Centre says: “The Equinox is the halfway point in the year between the Summer and Winter solstices. It is over this 3-day period that the back stone in Cairn T is lit up by the morning sunlight shining down the passageway.”

A research and tour group explains: "The Cairn T equinox alignment is a fully functioning neolithic astronomical calendar, lit up in glorious golden sunlight twice each year, weather permitting."

"The passage orthostats, sillstones and roof all combine to shape the beam of sunlight into a large rectangle of light which forms on the back stone of the end recess. As the sun rises in the sky, the shape of the light beam in the passage changes, and the rectangle of light shrinks, moving down and right."

"Repeated observation has shown that the complex engravings of the backstone are carefully positioned markers used to calibrate the day of the equinox. It is quite possible that the beam runs on a four-year cycle used to calculate leap years."

In Ireland, the spring equinox delivers a phenomenon to the Loughcrew Cairns in County Meath that is very similar to the winter solstice event at Newgrange, also in County Meath.

“Martin Brennan and Jack Roberts discovered the equinox alignment of Cairn T, during which the light of the rising sun on the equinoxes shines into the passage within the cairn and illuminates what Brennan described as ‘solar emblems’ at the rear of the chamber”.

The days after the equinox, when March segues into April, were special days, known as the Borrowed Days, and often the time of the last blast of rough weather. It is said that the Old Cow boasted that she could live forever, having survived the month of March but March, furious at the insult, borrowed three days from April. The cow did not survive the final assault of the wintery storms and died.

We have arrived at what, for many, is the most beautiful time of the year in Ireland. If we look at weather patterns it is often the period when the weather is at its sunniest, if not its hottest. Ireland rarely gets scorching Julys or Augusts but it does get wonderfully warm and bright days from late April to early June. Spring flowers and trees blossom; lambs play games of chasing and, if you are lucky, you may hear the first call of the cuckoo, making this season the one most associated with the paradise of the Otherworld.

Hare and the Egg

The hare, known to many country people as the little brown cow with no horns, was already present in Ireland in the days when Newgrange was built, as small quantities of bone have been found there. It is associated with the god Donn, the mysterious Lord of the place where the dead go. Although its association with the Saxon goddess Eostre (from whom Easter gets its name) has been challenged, it is a creature that figures in a great deal of both Irish and international folklore.

In Scandinavia, the hare is the companion to Freya, the goddess of fertility, of growing things, of life. The warrior queen Boudicca offered a hare to Andastre (whose name seems very close to Eostre’s), the goddess of victory. Hare bones have been found in sanctuaries in Britain, and also small bronze hares that were offerings.

Ireland has its own species of hare, the mountain hare, which is larger than the lowland version. Famously fecund, the hare can conceive even while pregnant, though spring is its most fertile season and also when male hares can be seen boxing one another.

Hares have been associated with witches all over Europe and could bring either good luck or bad luck. To have a hare cross your path while pregnant could result in a child born with what used to be known as a harelip, or a cleft palate.

The hare figures in the songs and folklore of Ireland, the most common story being that of a hare spotted sucking milk from a farmer’s cow. The farmer wounds the hare – either his dog attacks it or he takes a shot at it – and then follows the trail of blood to a cottage. Inside the house he finds no trace of a hare but an old woman, bleeding from a wound.

In other versions of this story, fairy hares could only be caught by a black hound, sometimes with white ears. In some parts of Kerry, it was once believed that the souls of grandmothers went into hares and so their meat should not be eaten.

One theory is that because the mountain hare sometimes uses the lapwing’s nest as a bed, and indeed vice versa, it was thought that hairs laid eggs, hence the Easter egg, Easter bunny/hare connection.

Ways to celebrate the Spring Equinox

v Go outside at dawn and greet the sun. Think about the dawn stretching from pole to pole, and about the earth’s position, side-on the sun as it makes its annual orbit around it. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face, knowing that it is getting stronger.

v Gather together materials for a nature table or an altar to mark the moment. Include a vase of spring flowers, unfurling buds and blossoms, some moss formed into a nest, a few found feathers and some dandles. Light the candles at 21:24pm.

v Fill a spray bottle with water, 1 teaspoon of vodka and 25 drops (only if in a large spray bottle, always follow instructions when diluting essential oils, particularly in relation to the volume of the container) of essential oils and spritz the air around you. Try lemon, jasmine, grapefruit and chamomile.

Spring/Magical Cleaning Cleaning your space is in and of itself an act of magic. Physically removing dirt, grime, and clutter from our environments has been proven in psychological studies to improve our state of mind and general wellbeing. Think of the old adage ‘tidy house, tidy mind.’ As magical practitioners, we can add our own methods to spring cleaning to double up on our own psychic protections.

Doing simple things like adding essential oils like rosemary, corresponding crystals, and herbs to our cleaning water and wiping down surfaces can cleanse our space of negative energies, or make a floor wash (or adding oils like four thieves vinegar oil) to cleanse away that which does not serve us.

Using a besom or a good old-fashioned brush to sweep away dirt symbolically removes negative energy and physically removes dirt keeping our homes and our energy clean.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Moon Phases in March

- Full moon: 7th of March 12:40pm. March’s Full Moon is in Virgo and is known as the Plough Moon, Lenten Moon or Chaste Moon.

- Last quarter: 15th of March 02:08am. This month’s new moon, on the 21st, is in Pisces. The New Moon is a quiet, contemplative time in a phase of growth. Each New Moon has its own energy, depending on the zodiac sign that it is in, and the Pisces New Moon is said to rule spirituality and interconnection.

- New moon: 21st of March 17:23pm

- First quarter: 29th of March 03.32pm

March Correspondences

Stones: Aquamarine, Jade, Bloodstone, Jasper

Animals: Cougar, whale, rabbit, frog

Flowers: Daffodil, narcissus

Deities: Diana, Artemis, Kwan Yin, Poseidon, Sedna, Yemaya, Ostara

Zodiac: Pisces

March 2023 Energetic Forecast

The first week of March ends with the Full Moon in Virgo; take care not to be too critical. The fourth quarter in Sagittarius on the 14th is a good time for a heart-to-heart chat. The Aries New Moon on the 21st should see energy rising – well, it is the spring equinox, after all! The second quarter Moon in Cancer on the 28th draws attention to feelings and family matters.

It is quite a Piscean month, with the Sun and Mercury being in Pisces at the start of the month, and Saturn entering Pisces on the 7th. It’s a good time for spiritual pursuits, but don’t get deluded.

Other planetary movement sees Venus entering Taurus on the 16th, where it is very comfortable and where relationships and careers could start to improve. Mercury enters Aries on the 19th, which is good for thinking out loud.

Pluto enters Aquarius for the first time on the 23rd, bringing a glimpse of the transformative energy that will eventually settle once it’s finished bouncing back into Capricorn. This is the time for breaking down what has been established and finding solutions to old problems. On the 25th Mars enters into Cancer, infusing home life and traditions with fiery energy.

The Zodiac

Pisces: 19th of February – 20th of March

The sun begins the month in the same area of sky that holds the constellation of Pisces, the Fishes, the 330th-360th degree of the zodiac. On the 21st of this month, the sun will move into Aries.

Symbol: The Fishes

Planet: Neptune

Element: Water

Colour: Sea Green

Characteristics: Creative, intuitive, intelligent, sensitive, non-judgemental, spiritual.

Typhon, the most terrifying of the monsters, had been sent by Gaia to attack the gods. To escape, Aphrodite and her son Eros escaped by leaping from the banks of the Euphrates onto the backs of two fish, which bore them away. Aphrodite put the fish into the sky, where they became the constellation Pisces. The best time to spot Pisces is when it is in the opposite part of the sky from the sun six months from now, in September.

The Sky At Night

Jupiter will be lost in the glare of the Sun by the end of this month, and Mars is very dim, but Venus is now getting higher and brighter in the evening sky.

Tuesday the 2nd: Close approach of Venus and Jupiter. First visible in the dusk around 18.00pm at an altitude of 22 degrees in the west. Jupiter will be 0.7 degrees below Venus. They will go on to set in the west at about 20:10pm.

Friday the 24th: Close approach of the Moon and Venus. First visible in the dusk at around 18:40pm at an altitude of 27 degrees in the west. They will then go on to the set in the northwest at about 21:20pm.

Monday the 27th: Close approach of the Moon and a dimming Mars. They first appear in the dusk at about 19:40pm in the south at an altitude of 62 degrees. They go on to set in the northwest at around 02.50am the next day.

Astrological Conjunctions for March 2023

March is a month for monumental change as six planets shift signs, one for the first time in three years, and another for the first time in fifteen. Expect life to speed up quite a bit as Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and the Sun enter Aries, preparing us for uncharted territory in the months ahead. March, however, kicks off with a visually stunning alignment of Venus and Jupiter, a yearly event that tends to bring positive manifestations—and signals a great time to travel, especially for trips focused on connection, pleasure, joy, and entertainment.

Another big shift taking place this year is Saturn’s entry into Pisces on Tuesday, March 7, which coincides with the Virgo full moon. Saturn spends three years in each sign, making this an important and notable change, as Saturn first entered Aquarius in March 2020. Its movement into Pisces is a huge deal, signaling a shift in our responsibilities, limitations, and how we structure our lives. The Virgo full moon happening in the sign opposite Pisces on this day brings a spotlight to the ways we show up in service to others, while Saturn in Pisces reminds us of our duties to the collective. The problems that you may have been facing personally and collectively over the last three years are resolving as new challenges arise. How you take care of yourself and others throughout these changes is what matters the most. Venus enters its home sign of Taurus on Thursday, March 16, leaving the latter half of the month characterized by a shift into prioritizing comfort, quality, and the simple pleasures of life. It is an excellent time to prioritize food experiences, relaxation, and other pleasure-oriented activities on your travels.

Then, the spring equinox takes place on Monday, March 20, when the Sun enters Aries, followed by an Aries new moon on March 21. The fresh, sprite energy of this sign might be exactly what you need heading into the second quarter of the year—and it’s a great new moon to use to set intentions for the rest of 2023. Aries is direct, fast-paced, and to the point, so utilize that energy to propel yourself into new journeys. A few days later on Thursday, March 23, Pluto will enter Aquarius, leaving Capricorn for the first time since it entered in 2008. Pluto, the planet of total and complete transformation, power struggles, death, and rebirth, will be assessing the waters in Aquarius until June 11, so pay attention to what shifts you notice during this time, personally and around you. Finally, on Saturday, March 25, Mars will enter Cancer after seven months in Gemini, which will be a relief for most. Mars rules our ability to make decisions and act on them—during its time in Gemini, you may have felt stuck ruminating over different options. That changes when Mars enters Cancer, a cardinal sign that is known for initiating. Overall, March is a busy month that, for a lot of folks, will feel like the official start of 2023.

Tarot Card of the Month: The Empress

Card number 3 of the Major Arcana is the Empress, with the zodiac affinity of Venus associated with love, beauty and desire she is also the archetype of the universal mother.

Key words associated with the Empress are fertility, abundance, nurturing, action, development, vitality, sensual pleasure, luxury, compassion and creativity.

Although this card may not at first glance seem to have any associations with this dark time of the year, are not all thoughts, plans and projects conceived in the darkness to come to the surface at brighter, warmer times when the conditions are right.

Often when you draw this card in the “you now” position it can indicate your nurturing instinct is powerful and you need to concentrate on creating harmony in your relationships (family, friends or work) or perhaps you need to nurture your own heart and work on self-love.

Drawing this card can indicate the need to examine the relationship with your own mother (or mother type figure) or an indicate yourself as a mother or a desire to conceive and pregnancy.

The Empress is a creative force that works for harmony. She brings disparate things together, reconciling differences like a mother running a household must do. This is therefore a card of emotional control and congeniality.

This card can often refer to the way a person was mothered, for the first and most significant relationship you form is with your mother and this relationship has a direct bearing on all subsequent relationships formed and may well reflect your core beliefs.

In general this is a positive card to get in any spread, however if it is a cross card or comes up in a blockage position it could indicate issues with self-love, neglecting your needs, infertility, stunted growth or creativity, greed, possessiveness, over indulgence, a disruptive female influence in your life or a troublesome relationship with your own mother.

International Women’s Day And What That Might Mean For A Modern Witch

Falling on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day has grown exponentially over the years and provides an opportunity that many women take to celebrate the powerful women in their lives, and the famous pioneers of women’s rights throughout history.

As a witch and a young woman who meets in circle regularly with other women, I have come to have a great appreciation for the global holiday.

I come from a family of strong women. When I think of resilience, grit, and surviving despite the harshest of conditions, I think of my mum and my granny. I studied in an all-girls grammar school, and so spent my formative years seeing all the girls in my class grow into fierce, independent women hell-bent on pursuing their dreams and passions.

But what does my identity as a pagan witch have to do with my identity as a woman?

For me, they go hand and hand with each other, my witchcraft and my womanhood are intrinsically linked in bonds that cannot be easily severed.

Before coming to witchcraft, I struggled horribly with internalized misogynism as a young girl, and I would very nearly sneer at the feminists in the scope of public discourse who argued for pay equality, a crackdown on fatphobia, and better treatment of female health. I was raised catholic and found that that indoctrination taught me that under the thumb of patriarchy was the correct way to live, and in grabbling with poor mental health I retreated into this way of thinking.

But coming to witchcraft was like coming home, not just spiritually, however, but also to my own female identity. Following a pagan path empowered me to break away from the chains that bind (i.e. sexism, misogynism, and conservative views), and I rediscovered what it meant to me to be a woman in this world, and most importantly, how to view and treat other women.

The more I studied paganism and witchcraft and became familiar with the history of mother goddesses, priestess cults, and the role of women in magic and in history (or better, herstory) the more I connected with those teachings and appreciated the importance of the revival of witchcraft celebrating women and our innate inner power.

If my solitary path was the gentle streams trickling through the rocks, attending rituals and classes at Scargle Nargle was a river bursting through a dam.

Meeting Colleen, Margaret, and all the regular Scargle girls were finding a sisterhood I never knew I sorely needed. Colleen has built Scargle into a safe space for women, where it does not matter your background or the path of life that you’ve walked, if you have a kind heart and an open mind there is a place for you. It is an environment where I have seen women who would not have met if not for Scargle nurture deep friendships, support and uplift each other. Getting to work magic and be in the company of such magnetic women is a privilege that I am forever grateful of, and taking this year’s International Women’s Day as an occasion to celebrate them in all their power is something I am so excited to do.

There is nothing more uplifting or inspiring than celebrating the sabbats or working magic under the full moon with the incredible women of Scargle Nargle!

And so, to celebrate International Women’s Day, why not call in for a cup of tea and a chat with our wonderful holistic service providers to explore everything Scargle Nargle has to offer and connect with your own divine femininity!

Kitchen Witchery: Self-empowerment Cupcakes

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 15 Mins (May Need An Extra 5 Mins)

Total Time: 30 Mins (Plus Decorating Time)

Ingredients

For the fairy cakes

1. 100 g (4 oz) softened butter.

2. 100 g (4 oz) caster sugar

3. 2 large eggs

4. 100 g (4 oz) self-raising flour

5. 1 level tsp baking powder

Method

v To make this fairy cake recipe, heat the oven to 200C fan, 180C fan, gas 6. Place fairy cake cases into a 12-hole bun tin, to keep a good even shape as they bake.

v Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 2-3 mins until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Fill each paper case with the mixture.

v Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the cakes are well-risen and golden brown. Lift the paper cases out of the bun tin and cool the cakes on a wire rack.

For the buttercream

1. 140g/5oz butter, softened

2. 280g/10oz icing sugar

3. 1–2 tbsp milk

4. ¼ tsp vanilla extract

5. few drops food colouring

For the orange buttercream variation

1. 1 large orange, zest and 2 tbsp juice

For the chocolate variation

1. 25g/1oz cocoa powder

2. 75g/2½oz milk or dark chocolate, melted

Method

- Beat the butter in a large bowl until soft. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth.

- Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.

- Stir in the food colouring, if using, until well combined.

- For the orange buttercream variation, omit the milk and vanilla from the basic recipe. Stir in the orange zest and juice until thoroughly combined.

- For the chocolate variation, omit the milk from the basic recipe. Cream the butter and sugar, as above, also adding the cocoa powder. Allow the melted chocolate to cool for 10 minutes before adding to the whipped butter and sugar. Beat until well combined.

Witch tip: Associations add layers to enhance your visualisation for your spells, and this includes food spells. For empowerment cupcakes, I like to add food colouring (red in this case) to the cupcake batter to inspire fiery determination and pink to the buttercream icing for self-love. Also, you can infuse milk with herbs associated with empowerment, strain and allow to cool (bear in mind you will get the taste! I personally like to do this with tea roses).

(These are the self-empowerment cupcakes that I made last year on international women's day)

Book of the month: The Children of Gods and Fighting Men

Deftly intertwining Irish history with evocative folklore, the first installment of Lawless' epic fantasy finds competing immortal races battling for control of tenth-century Ireland.

The first in a gripping new historical fantasy series that intertwines Irish mythology with real-life history, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is the thrilling debut novel by Shauna Lawless.

They think they've killed the last of us...

981 AD. The Viking King of Dublin is dead. His young widow, Gormflaith, has ambitions for her son - and herself - but Ireland is a dangerous place and kings tend not to stay kings for long. Gormflaith also has a secret. She is one of the Fomorians, an immortal race who can do fire-magic. She has kept her powers hidden at all costs, for there are other immortals in this world - like the Tuatha De Danann, a race of warriors who are sworn to kill Fomorians.

Fodla is one of the Tuatha De Danann with the gift of healing. Her kind dwell hidden in a fortress, forbidden to live amongst the mortals. Fodla agrees to help her kin by going to spy on Brian Boru, a powerful man who aims to be High King of Ireland. She finds a land on the brink of war - a war she is desperate to stop. However, preventing the loss of mortal lives is not easy with Ireland in turmoil and the Fomorians now on the rise...

Magical Dates for your Calendar in March

Full Moon 7th of March 7 pm 2023. Taking place at Scargle Nargle is our monthly full moon ritual, with the full moon being in Virgo. The full moon in Virgo is ruled by earth. This uplifting circle is the perfect opportunity to manifest intentions in a gathering of like-minded people. Cost is £10 PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

International Women’s Day at Scargle 8th of March 2023. Pop in for a cup of tea and a sweet treat and have a chat with our amazing holistic therapy providers.

Journey of Initiation Through The Major Arcana. Saturday 11th March 2023 12pm-4pm. Join us as we explore our life journey and magical development using the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Day will include resources, discussion and guided journeying. Light refreshments provided. Cost is £25 per person. £10 deposit required as places are limited due to pre-booking. Another date will be arranged if fully booked. PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

Spring Equinox 20th of March 2023 7pm Join us for our spring equinox celebration, this time of equilibrium and balance, when the light and the dark are in equal part. Spring has arrived and it is a time of rebirth. The planting season will soon begin and life will form once more within the earth. As the earth welcomes new life and new beginnings so can we be reborn in the light and the love of the goddess. Cost is £10 per person PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

Monthly healing circling 21st of March 2023. Join us for our first healing circle on Tuesday 21st March to create a safe space together and share positive healing energy. You do not need to be a qualified Reiki practitioner or energy healer to take part as we will draw on the innate healing abilities that we all possess. Just come along with an open heart and an open mind. Cost is £5 per person. PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

Book Club 29th of March 2023 7pm at Scargle Nargle (also optional to join via Zoom). The third meeting of our monthly book club will be reading and discussing Shauna Lawless’ The Children of Gods and Fighting Men. Cost is £5 and light refreshments are provided. PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

Monthly Tarot Club. 30th of March 2023 join us for tarot club where each month we will take a deeper dive into the cards to learn about their energy and mysticism to develop skills for reading for yourself and other people. Cost is £15 PM myself or the page or call/text 07881474797 to book your place!

Exciting information to follow regarding the Scargle Choir. This up and coming vocal ensemble will be led by Emily Dalzell, musician and music teacher. No previous experience necessary. Early interest can be registered by contacting the page.

“When we sing together in harmony, our hearts start beating together.” Tania De Jong