Month: July 2023

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How to Celebrate Lammas

Firstly, What is Lammas and How is it Celebrated?

Lammas is a celebration on the 1st of August marking the equal distance between the summer solstice and the autumn solstice. It is representative of the time around the first harvests of the year and is a festival of all things grain. Therefore foods rich in wheat, grains and barleys are common in Lammas traditions. As we know, summer (especially in the UK) is a time producing a delicious abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, and Lammas is a pinnacle point of gratitude for plentiful crops and bountiful produce. Take a walk outside and admire all of the plants and trees bursting with colours; these summer festivities are honouring just that!

Let’s have a look at some of the ways we recommend spending Lammas (or any of August) to get the most out of this magical time of year. The month of August is usually a time of fun, good weather and embracing your inner child, which is exactly what we encourage! This is a great time to enjoy the fruits of your labour and look at how far you’ve come this year. The seasons remind us that everything is always changing, so it’s important to be present and grateful for the right now.

How to Celebrate Lammas This Year

1. Bake Something Delicious

One of the best ways you can celebrate this time of harvest and abundance is by utilising these ingredients! Try baking some fresh bread to honour grain and wheat harvests during Lammas, try out a new recipe and share with loved ones. There’s nothing better than getting together and connecting with friends and family while enjoying some home-cooked goods. Try out a sourdough loaf or a yummy stuffed tear-and-share bread or go sweet and try out a seasonal strawberry and peach pie; the choices are unlimited! Wrap up your loaf or sweet treat and head to the beach or your favourite picnic spot and enjoy a lovely outdoor feast, giving thanks to the Earth and for the abundance it provides. Not to mention, there’s nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread, right?

2. Decorate with Fresh Flowers (Bonus Points if You Pick Them!)

This time is a perfect opportunity to decorate your sacred spaces with the abundance of nature, including flowers and floral decorations. Perhaps head to a sunflower field if you have one near you that offers a ‘pick your own’ style harvest and make extra memories frolicking through the flowers! Grab a buddy and make a day of it; that’s all part of the fun. If that’s not an option, try heading to a local florist and supporting a small business by buying a bouquet of high quality and seasonal flowers. Decorate your spaces with them and play around with some different displays. Some people love to create themed altars for the sabbats, so if you feel called to you could try that too. Use seasonal ingredients and natural items and say a little prayer of gratitude too once you’re finished. It’s also fun to save the flowers and press or dry them after you’ve enjoyed them for a while too.

3. Offer Something Back to Nature

Since we’re using this time to appreciate and show gratitude for all nature does for us, it’s important that we also give back too. Getting outside is a great way to do this, since we can really connect with the Earth when we are outdoors amongst the trees, ocean and sounds of wildlife. An offering can be anything of your choosing, as long as it is given with good intentions and you have gratitude in your heart. For example, you might choose to scatter some birdseed in your garden or set up a feeder to help your little community of birds. You could go as far as making a hedgehog house and filling it with food (hedgehogs are in great decline in the UK so this is a good one!) or installing a bug hotel to help bees and butterflies. On the other hand, the offering could be more of a spiritual one: perhaps burying one of your favourite rocks or crystals in the ground as a symbolic offering to mother nature. You could make a bouquet of dried flowers or herbs and place it somewhere in the woods or in your garden as it decays and returns to the earth. Get as creative as you like; the idea is to give thanks to Earth and repay it with kindness!

4. Honour the Full Moon(s)!

What is special about August is that we have two full moons this month, one falling on August 1st (Sturgeon Moon) as well as the 31st (Blue Moon). The second is called a blue moon because occasionally we get lucky enough to experience two full moons in one calendar month (hence the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’). This intense month of August brings with it the perfect opportunity to seize a new opportunity and watch it come into fruition with the two full moons symbolising a complete cycle. On August 1st, start a new journey or challenge, and see how far you’ve come on the 31st when we are met with another full moon. This could be a physical challenge (such as walking every day, or starting a new creative hobby) or equally a mental challenge (such as practicing meditation every day, or journaling how you are feeling each evening). The limits are endless; this is a great way to try out something new for 30 days and see how you get on!

5. Connect With Loved Ones

This celebratory time is often a time of weddings, parties and gatherings, so it’s a perfect time to connect with loved ones. Get together with your nearest and dearest, bring some drinks and snacks and enjoy long summer evenings. On Lammas you could host a dinner or garden party, where you each bring your favourite seasonal treats and discuss things you are grateful for in each other and in the world itself; not only will this create beautiful memories, it harbours a lovely sense of gratitude and positivity. If you’re looking for some tipples for your summer parties, our 3 for £90 spirit deal might just be for you if you’re looking to try our magical new Welsh Witch Vodka!

However you choose to spend Lammas, as we always say, it’s important to do what feels authentic to you. We are all about showing up authentically here at Welsh Witch HQ and that means doing what feels magical to you. Essentially, spend your Lammas honouring the magic of nature, (which is a lot of the keystone beliefs of pagan tradition!) and spend time with loved ones and use this time to be reflective of the cyclical and ever-changing seasons.

Love and light,
Welsh Witch HQ x

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What is Intuition and How to Strengthen it

This week we’re delving into intuition; what it is, how to use it and also how to tap into that inner intuition and strengthen it for spiritual and life guidance. Here at Welsh Witch Craft Spirits, we are passionate about living authentically, showing up in a way that aligns with your goals and honouring your inner magic. That being said: take what resonates with you and work with that to begin, and feel free to explore more if you wish.

First let’s dive deep into what intuition is…

Ultimately, your intuition is a sense of inner knowing, an instinctive feeling that guides you towards what you know to be true, the right path or the best option. It is categorised as both a physical and mental sensation of being aware of which choice is the right one to take, or knowing if a certain thing is going to happen. Everyone has a sense of intuition to a degree, but it is something you can work on to strengthen in order to have less doubt and more certainty in yourself. Have you ever had a sense that something just wasn’t right? Your whole body was telling you that no matter how much reasoning or logic you gave yourself, that thing or situation just was giving you a bad vibe? Well, that gut feeling is a prime example of your intuition – or inner knowing – giving you warning signals to avoid the situation.

Similarly, it can work the opposite way, and you just know when something is the right thing for you. Everything feels aligned, your body feels at ease or ecstatic – that is your intuition affirming that you are doing exactly what you are meant to be.

Now, how do we strengthen our intuition?

Learning how to strengthen your intuition is no easy task, and nor will it happen overnight. This is something that must be worked on consistently to see improvements and deepen your trust with yourself. Your intuition draws from previous experience and situations, so you must first acknowledge that your intuition will have its flaws. Let’s take a look at the ways in which we can begin our intuitive growth journey:

Analyse your past intuition experiences

In order to strengthen our intuitive powers, we must learn from previous mistakes. Our brains are clever things, and they will seek patterns in the experiences we have. If there are any times that you thought ‘This is absolutely the right thing for me’ and it turned out to be a bad experience, or vice versa, take some time to sit with this experience and unpick why you think you had those feelings. Once we address the current thought patterns and habits we have, we can begin to work on strengthening those thoughts to make the right decisions for us instead.

Meditate frequently to recognise your inner voice

One of the most important techniques you can use to strengthen your inner voice, and thus intuition, is by meditating. Taking time out of your day to sit somewhere quiet, take some deep breaths and drop into yourself. Listen to what comes up: is it worry, self-doubt, anticipation? These thoughts are often just busy brain activity – take a moment to tell these thoughts that they are valid; they will come and go. Eventually, find a place where you mind becomes settled, the chatter of thoughts like ‘I should really wash that rug,’ or ‘I need to book a dentist appointment’ will fade. This is the time that your inner voice will begin to shine. Of course, this takes practice – but the more your practice this technique, the stronger your inner voice will get, which is key to developing that intuitive power.

Learn to trust yourself and understand your symptoms

Intuition is based largely on inner trust. Once you have addressed any mistakes you have made in your intuitive journey, you can work on progressing and thus building trust with your inner knowing. This unshakeable trust is where your intuition will begin to bloom; it will come naturally and without thought. With enough practice, this inner trust will be your intuitive compass which will let you know through somatic symptoms whether a something is right or wrong. It is important to really pay attention to how you are feeling: if a situation or opportunity is wrong, it might make you feel sick, anxious, give a quickening heartbeat, stomach ache, and so on. If a situation feels right, it might promote symptoms such as euphoria, smiling, deep feelings or calm or excitement. These cues are crucial to understanding that inner knowing; tap into them and listen to what they are telling you.

Have fun with it!

The most important part of doing any kind of inner work, personal development or deep healing is doing it for yourself. Life is serious enough as it is; use this as an opportunity to have fun with it. Grab your friends and tell them to hide a crystal (or any object!) in one of their closed hands; see if you can guess – and feel somatically – where the object is. Remember that not everyone will get it right every single time, and that is part of the beauty of being human: we are imperfect! Once you embrace this, the journey of strengthening your intuition becomes one of joy and self-discovery.

Becoming more in tune with yourself is a very powerful tool in a world where everything acts as a distraction: constant information, data and technology makes it easy for our inner knowing to take a back seat. Find a way to take back your power, get to know yourself again and rekindle that trust in yourself we all deserve. At the end of the day, you are your greatest power! Finding comfort in your own decisions and knowing what is best for you is a way to show up authentically in this world as your wonderful self.

We hope you have learned something interesting today; check out our Witch’s Journal for more magic about showing up as your authentic self, recipes and magical stories about our Welsh Witch Jade and her spiritually charged and folklore inspired craft spirits.

Love and light,

Welsh Witch HQ x

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Celebrating Summer with Welsh Witch Craft Spirits

Summer is officially here: grab the beach brollies, some strawberries and cream and pop the Wimbledon on! The UK is revelling in the freedom of summer holidays, al-fresco dining and enjoying all the festivities the hot weather brings. So, let’s give you some ways you can celebrate summer with our inspiration from Welsh Witch Craft Spirits, from garden parties, to seasonal recipes and ways to connect with your loved ones.

Get outside into nature

Use this delightful weather to inspire your senses and inner explorer. Grab a pal or take a solo adventure. Visit a place of natural beauty nearby, whether that’s the beach, some gardens, the mountains, it doesn’t matter! Get outside and enjoy some of the fresh air while the weather is good: studies show that getting outside, even just for a 10 minute walk outdoors, boosts your mental health and mood significantly! Find time to take a dip outdoors, in a river, the sea or even a lake if you have one nearby; this time of year the water is so refreshing and ideal for a soothing dip on a hot day.

Host a garden party or barbeque

Summer is often a time of weddings, parties and celebrations. Grab your nearest and dearest and host a summer gathering to remember. If you don’t have a garden, hit up your nearest park, beach or community garden and host a picnic, a ‘bring a plate’ party or a barbeque (if the community space allows!). Finding time to connect and relax with loved ones is a perfect way to soak up the sunshine this summer and enjoy those memorable moments. Don’t forget to top up your tipple stash with our 3 for £95 spirit deal, and you can check out our blog for lots of summer cocktail recipes to enchant your guests and spread some sparkle.

Try out some new recipes

Summer is such a beautiful time for seasonal fruits and veggies, making it a great time to try out some new recipes, prepare some preserves for the winter months or to just have fun with loved ones. Strawberries are an excellent example of a fresh seasonal fruit on offer at the moment; nothing beats UK strawberries in the summer! Try out a strawberry shortcake recipe, a strawberry and feta salad, or check out our recipe for a Strawberry & Elderflower Smash gin cocktail.

Summer Cocktails

Embrace the beautiful summer energy

The summer is always such a beautiful to go out there and do. Use this time to be inspired by the abundance of nature and tap into your inner magic; this is the time to try out new things, explore a new hobby and do that thing you’ve been putting off! Now is the time to strike, with summer in full flow we are encouraged with the solar energy to find time to play, release our inner child and find wonder in this magical summer season. Try some yoga outside, host a game of rounders with friends or spend a day making recipes you’ve been meaning to. It’s so important to nurture that inner child, so what will you do this summer for fun and play?

The exciting summer times always bring a sense of wonder and joy, the warmer weather is an invitation to step outside and revel in the sunshine and just do. So, embrace that solar energy and dive into something new, host a party or take a long trip out into nature.

Here at Welsh Witch HQ, we are wishing you a magical summer, filled with sunshine, good times with good people, and of course a delicious tipple here and there!

Love and light,

Welsh Witch HQ x

 

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Rum Cocktail Recipes to celebrate World Rum Day

Our favourite Rum Cocktails 

Do you know what’s happening on Saturday? If you didn’t, on the 8th of July it is World Rum Day! Fear not if you didn’t get the memo, we’ve got some delicious rum recipes you can try out this weekend with our mystical Welsh Witch Spiced Rum. 

Check out some delicious crowd-pleasing rum cocktails to try out below:

1. Rum Old Fashioned 

A perfect drink for the classicist in your life! Good old-fashioned flavours and simple, delicious notes of aromatic spices make this one a winner for spiced rum enthusiasts. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 2 parts Welsh Witch Spiced Rum
  • 2 dashes Bitters
  • 1-2 tsp sugar
  • Cubed ice

To garnish

  • Orange Peel

For a classic spiced rum beverage perfect for any classic cocktail fan, mix together the sugar and Bitters in a whisky or rum glass. Add in a single ice cube and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add a few more ice cubes, half of the rum and stir for a minute. Then, add more ice, the remainder of the rum and stir generously once more. Take an orange peeling and twist over the drink to ensure that delicious orange oil infusion is added to your drink. Stir the orange peel in and enjoy. 

2. Magical Dark & Stormy

Ahh, Welsh Witch Spiced Rum and ginger beer; a match made in flavour heaven! This Dark and Stormy is a perfectly refreshing tipple for a hot day.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 60ml Welsh Witch Spiced Rum
  • Freshly squeezed juice of ½ a lime
  • 150-200ml botanical ginger beer

To garnish

  • A lime wheel 

Add the rum and lime juice to a tall glass filled with ice and stir. Pour the ginger beer over the top and garnish with the lime wedge and enjoy the harmonising flavour of our Spiced Rum with a delightfully refreshing ginger beer. 

3. Spiced Rum Mojito

Enjoy a little spicy twist on a summer mojito with this Spiced Rum Mojito; perfect for beating the heat this summer with an abundance of fresh mint leaves. Bonus points if you can pick the mint fresh from your garden! Mojitos are very customisable, so feel free to add any fruit puree you might like in there too; perhaps some strawberry or pineapple and add this at the muddling stage at the beginning.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 3 parts Welsh Witch Spiced Rum
  • 1 part simple syrup
  • 4 lime wedges
  • 6-8 mint leaves
  • Small slice of fresh ginger
  • A dash of bitters

To garnish

  • A lime wheel 

Muddle together the lime, ginger, mint leaves and any other fruit you’d like, along with the simple syrup, in a tall glass. Filled with cubed or crushed ice and top with the rum and bitters and give it a good stir. Top with more ice if you desire and garnish with a lime wheel and enjoy our spiced take on a classic mojito. 

4. Dreamy Spiced Rum Milk Punch

For something a bit different, why not try a Milk Punch? This cold and milky beverage is an evening iced latte, if you will. Cool, creamy, and refreshing, this is perfect for summer evenings in the garden or as a nightcap before bed. Of course, this can be made with any milk of your choice, experiment and see which ones you like the most – we recommend coconut milk for the creamiest flavour.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • 50ml Welsh Witch Spiced Rum
  • 90ml milk of your choice
  • 20ml simple syrup, maple syrup can also be substituted here
  • 1 dash of vanilla extract
  • Handful of ice

To garnish: 

  • Freshly grated cinnamon
  • Freshly grated nutmeg

Add the spiced rum, milk, simple (or maple) syrup and vanilla extract to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice and shake until well combined and chilled. Strain into a chilled glass with several cubes of ice, then garnish with freshly grated cinnamon and nutmeg. 

If none of these tickle your tastebuds – you really can’t go wrong with a classic Rum and Cola…

Delightful if you ask us! We’ll definitely be trying one of these on a hot summers’ evening.

We hope you have a magical World Rum Day and celebrate in true Welsh Witch style: with lots of magic, laughter and joy. Hopefully we’ve given you some rum inspiration to try out some new tipples this weekend.

You can shop our award-winning Welsh Witch Spiced Rum here.

Love and light,

Welsh Witch HQ x

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Honouring July’s Buck Moon – Welsh Witch Explains

On Monday the 3rd of July, we will be blessed with a beautiful full supermoon characterised in July as the ‘Buck Moon’. Named, aptly so, after this time when antlers of male deer are at their peak growth during this month. Stags shed their antlers each year to grow a bigger, more impressive set the following year. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that this supermoon is used as a time of growth, transformation, and shedding negativity. We’re going to have a look at some of the best ways you could spend this day of lunar wonder.

Ways you can celebrate the Buck Moon

Since July’s moon is a supermoon (and the first one of 2023 at that!), meaning it orbits slightly closer to the Earth than normal, it will appear bigger and brighter in the night sky than a normal moon. This means it’ll be very hard to ignore the light and lunar energy radiating from the Buck Moon; get ready to use this time to supercharge your life this July. The other supermoons of the year will be happening in August (one on the 1st and one on the 31st) and on the 29th of September, so this summer is going to be filled with lots of beautiful feminine energy. There are lots of things you can do to honour the energy of a supermoon (or any full moon!), whatever you choose to do should feel right for you and remember to remain true to your authentic self.

Now, are you ready for some inspiration for what to do?

1. Plan a new dream, project or goal

This Buck Moon is often seen as a symbol of fertility – due to the full male antlers signifying mating season, but whether that means literally or symbolically is up to you! Characteristically full moons are seen as times to sit back and enjoy your hard work, but the masculine nature of the stags this time of year shows that now is the time to go for it! Use this fruitful time to start a new hobby, tick something off your bucketlist or cultivate a new friendship. Seeing your little seed grow into a greater plant in a few months’ time will be so rewarding if you put things into place during the Buck Moon. Nurturing is a very important process during this transformational lunar energy; what will you nurture this July?

2. Celebrate the moonlight

If it wasn’t obvious, the light from this Buck Moon is going to be pretty intense! You can honour this light by celebrating it however feels authentic to you. Perhaps meditate during the full moon with a guided visualisation, or practice gratitude while bathing yourself in the moonlight. If you’d prefer company, hold a supermoon ceremony or join in a women’s circle or witch’s circle. Use this time to honour the light, give thanks for mother nature and the cyclical events that give us life. If you’d like, use candles to make this celebration of light even more magical.

3. Shed anything that’s holding you back from growing

Just as the male deer would with their antlers each year, use this time as a metaphorical purge of your own antlers. What is holding you back from growing bigger and stronger? Use a journal or in your head think about what is keeping your from progressing further and becoming your best self. If you hold onto any negative emotions that are stopping you from healing, use this time to let these go too. Visualise yourself physically purging these emotions. Similarly, you could write them on a piece of paper and (safely!) set them alight in a controlled environment.

4. Connect with your feminine energy

While the moon’s counterpart the sun emanates masculine energy, the lunar energy is feminine, meaning this is a great time to tap into that feminine energy and honour this sacred time to nurture, venture inwards and reflect. Honour that feminine magic inside each and every one of us and use this time to welcome feelings of gratitude, compassion, and unconditional love for all. Spend time with loved ones or enjoy a self-care evening with all your favourite things; there is no right or wrong way to honour your feminine energy!

When you look up at the moon on Monday, remember how truly connected we all are. Each day is a magical opportunity! However you decide to enjoy the magical supermoon, we hope it is filled with magic, joy and comfort for your soul. May this be a time of calm amongst chaos and let it remind you how special your place is in this big, beautiful world of ours.

Love and light,

Welsh Witch HQ x