Remember when your spiritual journey was new? When every step was an amazing discovery? Remember when you felt tangible energy for the first time. You could sit in the yard and connect to the fair folk for the first time. When you met your spirit guides and had your first telepathic communication.

2017 quickly became a year of overwhelming energy. From the long term astrological stressors to the unrest in the national political climate, everyone is feeling it. We are

The pots is not only about to boil, it is boiling and you don’t feel you have the wherewithal to respond to it. When your cup is full, life takes on a completely different hue. It’s tempting to slide into your lowest common denominator when you know you can’t get it all done, or there are too many stressors, or too many bad things have happened.

We’ve got help for those who are far too guilty of being swept into the madness that is our modern life. The beating pace of it all, the fear and anxiety, the brushes with hopelessness and lack of purpose can suck the life out of any mere mortal.

March’s Spell Caster card, included in every purchase this month, is all about shrinking your bills, managing the amount of money that leaves your house, and creating stability around your money. We all have bills to pay. They never seem to stop coming around every month, but watch how they shrink and maybe even disappear with this spell.

Welcome Spring!!!

New beginnings, the start of the gardening cycle, longer days, shorter nights, and warmer weather is the perfect time to bring out Coventry Creations World Magic Candles. Be sure to fill your magical toolbox with:

Limited Edition World Magic Greenman and Brigid Candles

Will there be enough? March’s Coventry Magic Oracle reading taps into that ever present fear. I have interviewed many people, from the struggling, to the wealthy, to spiritual

February’s Spell Caster Card, included in every purchase this month, is all about creating the life your heart desires. We have the power within us to manifest all the things we want to have. But, this is not about keeping up with the Joneses.

Prosperity, love, abundance, happiness, peace, or whatever you choose to have as the mainstay in your life Coventry Creations has the candle for that! 2017 is the year for new beginnings, and manifesting your intentions! Be sure to fill your magical toolbox with:

What is it that some people have that makes it look like they are living a charmed life? They don’t have to sweat as many details as you do,

January’s Spell Caster Card, included in every purchase this month, is all about the overwhelming information that we are all under siege with. Not only are we over informed, everyone around us is too and that can cause a lot of unclear voices rolling through your brain, muddying up the truth.

Goals, resolutions, wishes, intentions, no matter what you call them, we all have an idea of what we want 2017 to look like for us. Good thing Coventry has a candle for that!!! No matter what your intent is we have the magic for your toolbox this year - you may want to stock up.

Mercury retrograde is often a useful tool. What you say? That’s right. A useful tool. Mercury exposes issues that need to be resolved and reveals exactly what is not working. Mercury is always communicating, even if we don’t like what it has to say.

I hate it when my day, week, month starts to spiral down into the abyss of crap.

When it feels like everything you touch turns to

The Mercury Retrograde Spell Box is the perfect tool to get in front of the mayhem that this astrological aspect can cause. Pre-shadow begins December 1 and intensifies as it approaches December 19. This is normally when those annoying little miscommunications begin, with their effects felt through the rest of the retrograde which runs through January 8.

Don’t get stuck in a quagmire of dirty energy, take a broom to all the corners and get that stagnant muck out of your house with this month’s Home Clear and Bless Spell Box. Get rid of the old and make room for the new! This spell box comes complete with Wicked Good Smudge Spray, a Power Votive Coventry Glass candle holder, a Happy Home Blessed Herbal Votive candle, and a spell crafted by our resident enchantress, Jacki Smith.

Hold Out for the Real Thing

How do we know what true happiness looks like? Is a full bank account? A happy marriage? That perfect job? It’s a

And that jumble of grandparents, great grandparents, and all of the rest of them.  Standing right behind you.  Whether you call it All Saint’s Day, Halloween, the Day of the Dead it is a time when those closest to us come through the veil, not to frighten but to bring blessings, share love, and allow you to connect with them on a deeper level.

Modern Witch tradition makes Halloween spooky, but the longer standing history is that this is a day of celebration with the loved ones who have helped shape you into the person you are today.  Even if there is hurt and pain associated with them, this is the time for amends to be made and family wounds to be healed.  From the harshest beginnings we are given the opportunity to thrive and evolve.  It is from the darkest moments that the greatest potential for light is created.

Ancestors are in our blood

Cultures all around the world revere ancestors as a large part of their spiritual practice.  In West African traditions, ancestor altars are created by the largest tree on your property or in the kitchen of your home.  In China, they create a high altar in the main room to watch over the family.  In Rome, they would have Spirit Houses by their front door for their ancestors to protect the family and home from evil entering.  Reclaiming or creating your own ancestor reverence helps ground you in your cultural roots and give you a strong base to grow from.  Why do you think we are in the midst of a ghost hunting craze?  We are disconnected from our foundation and need to find some way to reconnect with the spirit realm.

No matter what the story of your ancestors, they are in your blood and their actions got you here today.  When they pass in full from this world to the next they leave behind the issues, fears, and hurts that limited their ability to love while they were human.  Even the nastiest ancestor, once they pass on, is working on making amends for their negative actions.  Bringing blessings to you and your life are a way they can do that.  Put them to work!

Why it works

I have an ancestor altar in my office at Coventry.  I put it there rather than my home because I was in the midst of moving and was not sure how long I would be at the new place.  I needed a place where I could secure my roots; so in the office it went.  My people love it here.  Once I moved them all to my office and talk to them regularly, I discovered that many of them were entrepreneurs and risk takers in their lives.  From the Grandfather that my Dad never knew who started a machine shop that employed his whole family, to my Grandmother who ran a daycare out of her home after her husband died to keep all of her kids in decent schools.  They lend us the energy to weather any storm, resolve issues and general blessings.

My ancestors protected my old house until it was time to go, and then they pushed us out.  When there is a lot of negative influence in my life, my ancestors make themselves known and let me know to feed them energy so they could work in my life.  Glasses of water move from the counter to the floor and once a roast that flipped out of the roasting pan and slid across three door jambs to land in front of their altar.  Sometimes it’s pictures that move on their own or the door that opens on its own to show us where the item we were looking for was stored; in any case they talk to us.

Start your own tradition

You don’t have to subscribe to any one tradition, you can start your own, but there are a few key universal ingredients for an ancestral altar.

A place to start – You need a place that is only theirs.  This is where you build your altar and set your offerings to them.  It is a special, reverent place; not the junk collecting place.  This is not where you go through your mail or put your dirty shoes on.  Give them a place of honor in your life.

Pictures or items from your people - Let your ancestors know who you are talking to by adding their photo to your altar.  Make sure only people who have passed on are in the photos.  You can also add their name and birthdate or if that is not available put on a piece of paper “My beloved Ancestors; known and unknown.” No worries if you are adopted, you got to choose your family and they choose you – it’s even more powerful!

Water – A universal symbol of the communicating with the spirit world

Candle –This is a universal symbol of spirit, use it.  White is most often used, but if your grandma loved blue, honor her with a blue candle.

Flowers – This is another universal symbol of bringing the spirit world into the living.  A fresh bunch of flowers is an excellent offering for your ancestors to give them some physical energy to use in this world.

Treats – Your ancestors all had their favorite treats from cigarettes to candy (or maybe candy cigarettes) and leaving them an offering is a sign of love and respect.  Offerings give them energy to use to bring blessings into your life.

Food – Give them a little of Sunday dinner.  Giving them food, especially food they liked while living, is a boost to the energy they use to help you in your life.  You see, they need tangible physical energy to create tangible physical change in your life.

There are many traditional prayers to use, but I start with a simple invitation for them to join me and a little conversation.  I talk about what I learned about them, how they have helped me in my life and what struggles I am experiencing now.  I ask for their guidance and then spend quiet time in front of the altar in thanks for all that they have done.  The biggest ritual I do for my ancestors is collecting things over time that they enjoy.  For instance, I have a door lock that is in pieces for my Uncle Maury.  He was a locksmith and loved to re-key locks.  I learned my Grandmother Teeny loved angel food cake.  Whenever I find an individual size at the store, I know she wants to talk to me.  My Uncle Pete loved to play Euchre so I made him a “Go it alone” hand and have that with his funeral program.

Temporary or permanent it’s a good practice to start your magic with your ancestors; they have your back!