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By Glove and Cowl: Using Sewing Magick to Boost Our Words, by Raechel Henderson

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

On one of the last nice days of September, I met up with a friend in Chicago. We hadn't seen each other in a few years, despite living only an hour away from each other. We had kept in touch mostly through social media. After a while our conversation turned to social media, and the fact that both of us had cut off contact with certain friends and family in the past couple of years.

Since the election of Trump to the United States presidency, a common theme has emerged among my friends: rather than tolerating racist and sexist friends or family, we had just walked away from them. With the 2020 election coming up, the refrain of, "I just unfriended my aunt/dad/cousin/high school friend. It was just too much," is being heard again.

It goes beyond blocking out those words that are harmful. Many of us are using our words to push back. 2019 has seen protests not only in the United States, but across the world. Risking arrest and harm from government forces, people are making their voices heard. Our words are important, more than ever before. We speak out at protests and on social media. We reach out to others through Facebook groups and blog posts. We tweet and ‘gram and make YouTube videos to get our points across.

So how do we incorporate magick to enhance our message? I'm a practical witch. And I'm a seamstress. So, when I encounter a problem that requires some spellwork, I'm going to look for ways to weave the magick into my everyday life. With winter here, I find that I need to protect my hands and face when I go outside. Taking that desire for physical shielding and marrying it with a need to keep my words magickally secure led me to create some charmed winter wear.

I first need to protect my hands. Gloves or mittens won't do—I need to be able to use my fingers to type and sew and forage when I go on walks. To that end, I drafted a fingerless glove pattern. And while they will keep my hands warm and allow me to work, I also enspelled them to help my words flow and for my writing to always make sense. I want to pick the right words and strike the right tone so that my meaning is crystal clear.

For my face, I needed a different kind of magickal armament. When I am out walking my kid to school, or foraging, I want to be protected from any words intent on harming me or being a nuisance. The cowl I made will keep my face and neck warm. The charm I placed upon it shields me in an invisible wall that is impervious to ill-intentioned words. They will find no purchase on the shield to stick and cannot pierce it to get to me. I can pull the cowl up over my mouth and nose and stay cozy and unbothered while I am outside.

You can adorn your gloves and cowl in many different ways, depending on your skill level and desire. One of the easiest is to paint sigils or bind runes with fabric paint. You can embroider them, as well, if you are so inclined. In either case, choose a color that corresponds with the intention of your charm (for example: silver for communication if you are trying to get a point across, or orange if you are using your words in creative works).

This project uses fleece because it is a warm fabric that doesn't fray at the edges. This time of year it is usually on sale at various hobby stores, and it comes in a variety of colors and patterns. For the project below you'll need approximately ¼ yard of fabric to make a set of gloves and a cowl.

When you are finished with your gloves and cowl, you can charge them to their magickal tasks by burning some rosemary, mint, or lavender and passing them through the smoke. Call on the element of air and any deities you work with to bless the gloves and cowl. Say what it is that you want these garments to do, either out loud or in your head. For example, when I charged my fingerless gloves I said:

"Tip, tap, type
They heed the words I write."

In your mind's eye, see the words you post having the desired impact on your audience. See yourself at a protest, making your voice heard, while also being safe from any who would harm you for speaking out.

Below are the instructions for the gloves and cowl. This project is suitable for beginners and should take about an hour from start to finish.

Fingerless Gloves

Drafting the Pattern
To draft the pattern you'll need a piece of paper that is as long as your arm from your knuckles to your elbow, about 12-14" long. Regular printer paper will work if you tape it together. Otherwise, the back of wrapping paper, newspaper, etc. is suitable as well. Since I have a box of muslin scraps in my workshop, I used that for this project because I was out of any kind of paper. You will also need two pencils, tape or a rubber band, and scissors.

1. Trace hand and arm on paper. Lay your non-writing arm down on your pattern medium. Keep your fingers together and your thumb spread as far from your hand as is comfortable. Trace along the outside of your arm, from just below the knuckle of your pinky finger, down to just above your elbow. Do the same on the inside of your arm, from just below your thumb knuckle to the same point just above your elbow. Finally, trace the curve formed by your hand and thumb.
2. Next, using a rubber band or tape, bind the two pencils together with their points even. The distances between the two points will be about ¼". Go over the lines you just traced with one of the pencils. The second pencil will draw the exact line on the outside of it. Draw over all three trace lines. This adds ease to your pattern. While fleece has a bit of stretch, ease is important to make sure your gloves fit. Trace over the ease lines again to add a seam allowance.
3. You will now need to close up the top and bottom of the pattern as well as the thumb edge. You can freehand those lines or use a ruler to close them up. There is no need to add ease or a seam allowance to these edges as the cut edges of the fleece won't unravel, meaning they won't need to be hemmed.
   
4. Cut out your pattern.

Sewing Instructions

1. Fold your fleece width-wise, right sides together and selvages meeting. This is important as fleece stretches width-wise and that stretch is necessary for the fit of the gloves, as well as for the neck warmer. Pin your pattern to the fabric near the selvage and cut out two pieces of fabric. Repeat so that you end up with four pieces total.
2. Sew along long side edges using a ¼" seam allowance. Sew the curved thumb side ¼" as well. Go over the curved side again to reinforce it. Leave the straight edges open. Make sure to back-stitch when you start and end to anchor each seam.
3. Clip the curves, making sure not to snip through the stiches. Turn the gloves right side out.

Cowl

1. Cut a 25" x 18" rectangle from the fleece.
2. Fold along long side, right sides facing. Sew a ¼" seam on the long edge.
3. Start turning the cowl right side out, stopping halfway, with the open ends matched up. Sew a ¼" seam around open side, leaving a 3" gap for turning.
   
4. Turn right side out. Sew gap shut with a ladder stitch.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019. All rights reserved.

There is a tall black shadow around my wife and sometimes around her family as well. What does this shadow want? How can we as a family get rid of it? I feel it has imprinted itself on my wife's energy, as well as on my kids' and my own energy. She feels drained and tired, and is often depressed. Thanks for considering my question.

Tim

Dreamchaser:

Most people equate black with evil, which leads to many misconceptions. This black shadowy figure is actually a protective spirit.

Black protective spirits are the BIG DOGS, so to speak. When we have them around, we REALLY need protecting. This being is around your wife because she is depressed; it is not causing the depression. Chronic depression usually begins gradually, with slight feelings of sadness that gradually build in intensity.

A depressed person may begin to have difficulty sleeping or want to sleep more than usual, experience changes in eating habits, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, low energy, restlessness, loss of interest in normal activities, decreased sex drive, feelings of guilt for no apparent reason, difficulty maintaining relationships, and trouble concentrating. People with chronic depression have at least two of these symptoms for a period of two years or more. People with chronic depression are also generally extremely critical of themselves and others.

You "saw" this darkness and ASSSUMED as many people would that it must be some evil or negative force. This idea then became a dumping ground for all your family's problems and issues.

I venture to say many people have seen these beings out of the corners of their eyes. I had one in my life for a while. The building I was occupying not only had really negative energy attached to it, but I also had a person living with me at the time who was in the throes of addiction.

The black entity came to protect me and my children from all the negativity inside the place. I called the entity a HE because he felt male to me. I used to see mine standing in the doorway (covering up most of it) or passing by a doorway when I was in a room. I would look quickly in that direction but see nothing there. They are plentiful. If you see one, do not be afraid.

If you would like to make sure that nothing evil is in your house, do a really quick housecleaning. Stand in the center of the house or as close as you can get to it and say very loudly, "If you are not here from Love and Light, I command you in the name of the One God to leave this place immediately." Anything evil or negative will have to leave. You can repeat this as many times as you wish until you feel comfortable, but once should be sufficient.

Once you are sure your house is clean, if you still see the black shadow, then you can address the real issue: getting your wife treatment for chronic depression.

I wish you all a sense of well-being.

*****

Astrea:

Often we invite things like this shadow into our lives without meaning to. Sometimes no matter what kind of protection you have, carry or employ, negative entities will attach themselves on their own. There may be no rhyme or reason to it, they just show up!

There are several ways to rid yourselves of this entity that has attached itself to your wife and her family. She feels tired and drained all the time because carrying this entity around is like having BOULDERS around her neck. Bless her heart!

She might need some outside help to get rid of whatever is plaguing her. Beware of "fake healers" who say they can dispel this entity for you. If you're not going to do it yourselves, then you need someone with experience who knows exactly what to do.

Probably the easiest and quickest way to rid her of this burden is to take her to a Buddhist Temple. For a tiny fee, the Monks there will balance her chakras and dispel any negativity that is hanging around her. A Catholic priest might be able to do the same thing, but they don't get as much practice, and they're often unwilling to participate in anything they don't totally understand.

If you and your family would rather do it yourselves, here is a ritual that I know has worked for other people in the past. If done properly, this ritual will dispel that dark shadow and free your wife and her family from whatever is draining her and spooking the rest of you.

To begin, take a green candle, an ivy plant and a green fruit like a pear or apple. You'll also need a bell. Cast your circle (with you and your wife inside) and call in your corners. Cut the fruit into four pieces and arrange it facing the four directions.

Light the candle, then face north and have her say, "By the powers of the northern light, I break all bonds of negativity with this shadow in my life." Ring the bell. Allow it to resonate. Face south and have her say, "By the powers of the southern side, I am strong in my power. Let my powers rise and dispel this shadow." Ring the bell.

Face east while she says, "By the powers of the eastern sun, I have faced this shadow. I watch it run." Ring the bell. Face west and have her say, "By the powers of the western night, I face my fears and they take flight." Ring the bell. Blow out the candle.

Have your wife eat the fruit. Release the corners and reverse your circle. She should be free of that awful entity forever. Her energy will begin to return, and she'll be protected from this sort of experience in the future. Good luck!

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.