Picture By Paula Swaney
All of y'all bid farethewell to 2007 and all hail 2008! The rumors of the death of the Appalachian Pagan Alliance have been exaggerated. We are alive and well, though somewhat less active in our old age. The APA’s yahoo group chat list is still online and even awake at times. Our website and monthly online newsletters going back almost 10 years now are, if we do say so ourselves, the BEST resource anywhere for those studying and exploring the Appalachian Granny Magic trad of Paganism. The APA still hosts occational gatherings and events in Western North Carolina, as well as periodically has Ladies Night Out and Witchling Circle subgroup meetings. Our activism work on behalf of those being discriminated against because of their Pagan religion continues as well as our PR work for Witches and Witchcraft, with the press and public. FROM OUR BOOK OF SHADOWS: Prayer bead charm Spell By Ginger Strivelli This season the kids and I have been making charms. One particular good one to make with kids is a prayer bead locket charm; The Witchlings can make your own beads with polymer clay or baked clay or even dried play dough. You need 13 (Representing the 13 lunar cycles in one solar cycle to honor both Goddess and God energy) large beads. Don’t forget to make the holes before you bake or dry your beads by running a needle through them. You can mark the beads with protective runes or symbols or even power words. Make the beads colored and designed to fit your prayer’s intention. (In example; for a prayer to keep rain from canceling your teams next game, use sunshine shaped golden beads.) Take the 13 beads and place onto a string. (Silk embroidery thread or dental floss works nicely.) Add a locket to the string. (You can get these in the jewelry findings section of a craft store.) Then on a tiny slip of paper, write out a prayer to be repeated when using the prayer beads. (In example: Lord Apollo help me do well in band this semester, so I will be invited to take honors band class next year.”) Use a pentagram or other power symbol before and after the sentence. Then cut this into a thin strip of paper, and roll it tightly into a small scroll. Place this prayer paper inside the locket. This charm can be worn like a bracelet or necklace (depending on the size of bead and extra string used) or just hung on a peg by your bed or desk. To use the charm you recite the prayer one time for each bead as you roll it between your fingers.
