QUESTION - My 16 yr old daughter is bipolar and is starting to suffer from night terrors again.. It is terrifying her and she is not getting sleep.. she is a new mom but her son sleeps thru the night, she does not... Do you know of any easy, simple spells, chants etc.. To help? I'm am very new at being a witch so I'm not sure what can help.. Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you, thank you, thank you

ANSWER - Yes, there are certainly a few basic things I can suggest. However, I would deal with the problem differently depending on whether you feel your daughters is being bothered by passing spirits attracted to her anxiety or whether the night terrors are more of a symptom of her being bipolar.
For the bipolar symptoms I would suggest lavender on her pillow and a sprig by the bed (lavender has strong protective powers and is not just used as a simple sleep aid.) I would create an area of calm and serenity in her room by sprinkling blessed moon water (leave a bottle of water out in the full moon, add a pinch of salt and then stir slowly while adding your intent) round the corners of the room. If you/she believe in deity you could also ask the Goddess to help restore harmony to the room. If she is suffering from stress, a small piece of selenite crystal under her pillow will help her to relax. I'd also suggest you do some meditation together, focusing on something peaceful, possibly you could walk her through a walk through the woods as she rests in bed, describing all the sounds and colours and smells to her and help her to relax within her own mind.

One of the charms that has always worked for me is a weaving charm undertaken by the restless person themself. Get her several long strands of cotton/wool, any thread will do and bind six matchsticks into the shape of a wheel. Ask her to slowly weave the thread around the spokes while chanting "Peace around me, peace within
Let my soul be calm and still."
Don't repeat for a specific number of times, tell her to focus on the message and the thought of the peace surrounding her in her bedroom and stop when she is ready.

If she is worried about genuine spirit activity and you believe the night terrors are things she is actually seeing rather than imagining then all the above will still help but in addition I would suggest you take a firm hand with the spirits. Most spirits have little concept of time and tend to turn up when they feel like it. Tell them firmly in front of her that they are not welcome while she is trying to sleep. A little pouch sewn shut filled with agrimony may also be helpful as could a small piece of black arrow head obsidian under her pillow.

Also - don't forget that as we witches we know such methods work on their own but there is also the psychological belief of the person which can also help the spell along. So which ever methods you use to help, show her your absolute faith that it will work and create that mindset that will start to help her to overcome her fears.

(And buy a dreamcatcher to hang over her bed...)

Image http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1269145 (trublueboy)

There was no one factor that influenced my decision to follow the path of the Craft. I was at a time in my life where I had the confidence to explore different views than those I had been indoctrinated with from a young age (society I mean, not my parents...), I had experimented and researched other paths and several religions and Witchcraft felt right to me. There is an evident trend toward the craft in my family and I felt drawn toward it from a young age. 

There were other factors too, I speak a lot of my frustration with the mundane and becoming a witch allowed me to focus on and express my spiritual side to a much greater degree. This was important as during my late teens and early twenties I felt very ostracised from that part of myself. Becoming a witch helped me to integrate my parts together to achieve the synthesis of who I needed to be.

If I'm honest, I am also very interested in power. I am more interested in power than worship and supplication. Learning the craft helped me understand how to manipulate the world to my best advantage and how to take control of my life and others. I was also conscious of my own views on morality which do not fit into any conventional framework I have ever yet come across. Traditional Witchcraft allows me to work with the beliefs inherant in my own personal morality.

I don't think becoming a witch is ever a snap decision, for me all the elements of my life just quietly moved together until such a choice was natural, possibly even inevitable.

Image http://www.deviantart.com/art/Witch-341116135 (Joe Roberts)

You mean like a third nipple or a sixth finger?

No. I did recently think I was growing a third nipple and I got ever so excited but it turned out just to be an irritation from a protruding bra wire. Most disappointing..... The most traditionally witchy feature I have sadly is a slightly hooked nose.


Image http://strangebuttrueradio.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/brazil-extra-finger-cracks-police-case.html

I have rather a lot of tools. Bear in mind that a lot of witches use few tools and some use none at all, preferring to use their hands to direct energy. Tools are more prevalent in Wicca and here my own practise has been heavily influenced by Wicca. I have three wands - one general purpose, one linked to the element of air and one dedicated to healing. I also have a staff with a quartz crystal. All are home made not shop bought. I use them primarily for the direction of energy. I have an athame (ceremonial knife) and usually use this for casting my circles. I have a traditional broomstick that I use to sweep negative vibes from the house.
I use a chalice to represent the element of water in my rituals and a cauldron where I often make (quite dangerously) indoor fires. I use a crystal ball and a scrying mirror for divination and have several sets of tarot cards and runes. 

None of the above is necessary, I know many many witches who achieve the same (and better) results than me using no tools at all. Its personal choice, tools can set the scene and help you get into the right frame of mind but its the witch, not the tools who does the magic.

QUESTION -  My father is almost 90 and received an envelope from another state with 2 index cards in it. One had a pentagram and the other a symbol for the horned God. I identified them by a search on the internet. My dad is really letting this bother him and I wondered if you had any idea what these meanings were or why someone would send them. Is it meant to be a bad thing? I want to reassure him that all is ok. Any help you can give would be great. Thanks 

Personally? No.
 
In terms of do they exist that is rather more complicated. It depends really what you mean by a werewolf. The way I see it there are three definitions. 1. A human actually changes his physical form into that of a wolf. 2 A human takes on the spiritual form of a wolf. 3. A human believes he/she turns into a wolf.
So the first one – no, I don’t believe it is possible. I do not believe that a human can morph their physical shape into that of a wolf. That’s a personal belief, I do know one or two people who believe otherwise but rationally I can’t see any basis for there being any truth in it. I think some people may have been watching a few too many Robert Pattison films *twinkles*.
The second definition is far more likely. I do not follow a Shamanic path personally and nor am I party to the advanced practises of those who do. But Shamanism is very involved with working with animal spirits. I see no reason at all why a human could not assume the spiritual form of a wolf, either for astral projection or to take the characteristics of that animal into their workings. Like I say, its not my thing – but it may well be worth speaking to someone who practises Shamanism if it is something you are interested in. Some witches may use their physical animal  familiar as a house for their spirit (now you know where JK Rowling’s horcruxes came from…) but again, not something I do.  (Would you trust any part of your spirit to a degu??)
The third definition is the most documented. The medical term for somebody who believes they are a werewolf is “lycanthropy.” This is a medical condition often linked to schizophrenia. There is actual medical evidence to prove beyond a doubt that this condition exists but the symptoms only consist of a belief in transmorphing into a wolf (or other animal) not actually making the physical change.

I don't really see why not. And if its sufficiently integrated into the life of the witch then a magical response will be an automatic response. I'd question why a witch would want to limit her sphere of influence.

My one exception is at work. I've never really worked out what I'm paid for. If I'm paid to do the same work as everyone else then that's fine but if I'm paid to do everything in my power to achieve company targets then I'm cheating them a bit as I could probably double my productivity by using magic. But I've made the call that work would probably prefer me not to manipulate my customers – they value customer service highly and may see it as a bit immoral – so I choose not to bring my witchcraft to work. I suppose if a weird situation ever arose I'd have to employ it and I did bind a colleague once a few years ago – he's still swinging from my hex tree and I poke him occasionally, lol. But that was personal, not work!

I think its down to using common sense. I can magic off a headache, but why bother when I can just take a paracetamol? Being a bit of a lazy wotsit, I tend to go for the easiest route, sometimes that is magic, sometimes it isn't.

But fundamentally, why would you go to the trouble of studying and practising witchcraft only not to use it when you need it? Magic doesn't run out you know!  

Opinions on this vary. I think the most common is to ground, centre and then shield. The rationale being that you siphon off your excess energy first then centre and balance the positive energy that remains and then finally focus your energy into creating a protective shield.
I do it a bit differently though. For me, centering is the process of drawing together all the energy I want to return to the earth. So I centre first. I focus my energies into a focal point in my body and then hold it steady for it to be returned into the earth.  Its the part of the process that I find the most difficult as I've never found a visualisation for it that I'm completely happy with (suggestions on a postcard please!) and it usually takes me a lot longer than the grounding which I find the most beneficial.
I do also know of one witch who always shields first and then does all her energy work inside her shield. So I think it is very much what feels right and works best for you.

Image http://browse.deviantart.com/art/Forcefield-Powercard-142642037 (Branganator)