Hawthorn – Protection from Evil Spirits

Bright red hawthorn berries are a sure indication autumn has arrived. This plant has a lot of magical and healing abilities. In Bulgaria hawthorn wood is used for doors and thresholds, in order to protect the house. People also place a twig with the berried below their threshold to prevent diseases from entering. The wood is good for making crosses, and simply having a stick from the tree on your person will ensure you can travel safely at night.

Magical Properties

My grandmother used gloves and a special wooden hook to gather the fruits. She used the branches to make a wreath to protect the house and livestock. I always imagined that little fairies and gnomes hid in its branches, but whenever I looked, the only thing I could find was a bird’s nest.

I’m sure Baba Yaga included them in her magical potions, since she is well-versed in the secrets of the forest. You may think of her only as an old crone who eats children, but she has many faces, and one of those is healer. She is a znahar, a woman who heals and restores life with herbs.

Since Baba Yaga lived in the boundary between the living and the dead, she could use hawthorn to ensure their spirits didn’t bother her. It’s believed that where black hawthorn grows, no ghosts will wander.

She possibly also used the wood to make amulets for the good girls and boys who ventured into her glen in the woods, to make sure they arrived safely back home. Hawthorn should be worn on three particular places on the body: around the neck as a necklace, on the wrist as a bracelet using red thread, metal, or leather, or on the head as a wreath.

An old Bulgarian proverb about hawthorn says:

“On the white in a black hawthorn you will look for a black vein,
In a tree grown on a slope, lies a powerful force.”

Health Benefits

Hawthorn (Crataegus species) has been a remedy for heart problems at least as far back as the first century. It has a calming effect that dilates blood vessels, thereby improving blood supply to the heart and brain. The prophetess Baba Vanga claimed drinking a decoction made from hawthorn flowers four times a year was a way to prevent heart disease.

Likewise, hawthorn lowers blood pressure, calms the nervous system, and improves sleep. The herb was one of my grandmother’s favorite cures. She added a few drops of hawthorn along with some of valerian onto a sugar cube whenever she was stressed or had to endure major challenges in her life. Considering she lived to 99, she was able to successfully overcome these problems with her herbal cures. Hawthorn is also popular for teas, wines, juices, and even snacks.

Always make sur to check with your medical provider before using herbs in your diet or for medical purposes.

Our book 77½ Magical Healing Herbs provides much more information about the magical and healing properties of herbs, the ones used in the Eniovden (Midsummer’s Day) wreath, plus much more… You can get the book here: https://77-1-2-herbs.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

Kickstarter

If you’d like to learn more about Baba Yaga, we are running a Kickstarter campaign during the month of October, starting on October 4. This will be part of the “Witchstarter” program that Kickstarter is promoting. Along with our campaign, you’ll find all kinds of witchy items to browse through. We’ll be sharing many of these with you in our weekly newsletter, so be sure to follow along.

You can get a preview of our Baba Yaga campaign here. We welcome your feedback.

If you’ve never logged into Kickstarter before, you’ll have to create an account. But then, you’ll have access to all the great projects going on every day, not just for the Witchstarter program.

The Power of the Rose

We’ll be launching our Kickstarter campaign for Baba Yaga on October 4. In her honor, we’d like to do a series of posts about herbs. Although you may know her as a cannibalistic witch, she has other characteristics. She was also a healer.

Today, we’ll be talking about roses and rose hips (Шипка).

If you have a cold, cough, or laryngitis, you can add honey to a tea made from rose hips to provide fast relief. This tea is also good treatment for people with cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, or diarrhea. It’s one of my favorite teas. It reminds me of the tea made from hibiscus.

 

Rose Hip Tea

Add 1 cup of rose hips to 1 quart of water and boil for 10 minutes.

Filter and add 3 Tablespoons of honey.

Drink a cupful three to four times a day.

 

Rose hips were also used as amulets to inducing love or protecting a home from evil.

First, the love remedies. Making beads from the rose hips is a way to seduce someone of the opposite sex. Or, if you prefer, you can bathe in the rose petals to make yourself more attractive and desirable. This works especially well for married couples. Your love for one another will become even stronger. The fruits will also protect you against love spells from unwanted admiriers.

If you’re not looking for love, but want to keep evil or negative energy, curses, and the evil eye away from your home, rose hips will do that work as well. The thorns are also especially powerful. By planting a rose bush near your home, you can prevent all kinds of evil, supernatural creatures from entering.

If you need to cleanse the inside of your home, gather a bouquet of rosehips. They’ll absorb all that negative energy and calm your nerves and help reduce any domestic problems. You can even scatter dry twigs with roses on them around your home.

Rose Hip Amulet

Dry the fruits and put them into a cotton bag. If you don’t want to carry that, use a scarf of other accessory that has roses, with the fruits and flowers, embroidered on it. But you’ll want to keep it with you for protection.

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We’d love to have you follow our Baba Yaga Kickstarter campaign so you know the moment it launches. You may think you know all about her, but I’m sure we have plenty of surprises that we’ll reveal in our book. We also have some really cool pins and postcards we’ll be offering backers. Illustrations come from Bulgarian artist Alexander Petkov. Click on the link below and set up a Kickstarter account if you don’t already have one.

Baba Yaga Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/a-study-of-baba-yaga.

Article Source: Nikolova, Ani. “Няма да повярвате: Шипката пази от магии и слуги на Сатаната!” December 23, 2020. https://www.topactualno.com/123681/nyama-da-povyarvate-shipkata-pazi-ot-magii-i-slugi-na-satanata/.

The Seababies Adventures World

Since childhood, I’ve longed to paint and write, but challenges and life in general forced me to compromise my love for the arts. When I move to the States, I strived to succeed and provide for my family. I returned to school and began building my life again, as I’m sure many other legal immigrants have done. It wasn’t until ten years ago that I finally was able to make the time to be an artist, to write and paint again.

I’m fascinated by the ocean. I can only imagine all the creatures that live within its depths. In my mind, it’s a magical world, thriving with kingdoms and countries. Each kingdom has its citizens, rules, and culture, similar to how we live on land. The difference is that they live (mostly) in harmony and don’t have wars or nuclear power. There will always be squabbles, but in general, it’s a peaceful place. This was my vision of MerrowLand, where Whimsea and her friends live.

Sometimes shells from this kingdom get washed onto the beach. Each one tells its own story. Maybe it housed a funky little crab like Seamore. Or perhaps a baby octopus or a little mermaid crept in there to sleep. My imagination explored the possibilities, and my hands created Whimsea and her little friend Seamore using clay and shells.

My goal was to tell a story and empower kids to believe in themselves and the strength of friendship. I’m sure many of you can relate to their stories in the books.

I also love classic children’s books, and this is what inspired the classical look of the covers. I wanted to create a magical world using words, figurines, and illustrations.

Overcoming difficulties and differences with the power of friendship

• Are you fascinated by the vast ocean, its legends, and the creatures living within its depths?
• Has fear of failure or ridicule ever held you back from your potential?
• Have friends supported and empowered you when you’ve felt alone?

If this sounds like you, then dive under the sea and join the Seababies for adventures in the MerrowLand kingdom.

I hope you’ll join us, along with Whimsea and her friends, and learn a little bit about sea life in the process. You can find our campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures.

What’s Special About Seababies Adventures?

Our campaign’s off to a slow start compared to our first one, and we’re only halfway to our goal, but we are confident we will make it by the end of the campaign. If you haven’t backed yet, you still time to get the EARLY-BIRD PERK. You can find it at the top of our campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures. But it’ll be gone after the end of the day Eastern Time on Saturday, September 10.

And don’t forget that you can get an extra free book (our children’s short story Mermaid’s Gift) by sharing our campaign and posting where you shared it on our website. Click on the link to go to our website for the full instructions: https://ronesaaveela.wordpress.com/ronesa-aveelas-books/seababies-adventures-series/. You can also click on the “Click here to share” button on our campaign to go to our website.

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Today, we’d like to talk to you about what this book means to us. There’s a little bit of Whimsea, Seamore, and Cupcake in both of us.

Everyone has a story about one or more difficulties they’ve overcome as a child. They may not seem overwhelming to us now, but as a child, they may have been traumatic and caused fear of being ridiculed by other children.

Losing your front teeth and not being able to pronounce some words correctly. Having to wear glasses or braces. Moving to a new state (or country) and being “different” from the rest of the kids in your class. If you were lucky, you found friends who supported and encouraged you.

Even as an adult, you may have experienced ridicule and scorn for being different from others. Your accent may have prevented you from getting that well-deserved promotion. Your impaired vision may have made people think you didn’t “look” the part of success. During my years living in the U.S., I’ve been told many times to correct the way I am pronounce words. My accent is something I have and always will have. Like Whimsea, I have trouble pronouncing “th” sounds. This prevents her from achieving her dreams in the same way it’s made me afraid to take on jobs I know I am qualified for.

The Seababies Adventures was inspired by these challenges—not only from a child’s perspective, but also how they affect us as adults. Each story brings awareness to a problem holding the character back. The tales teach children to value friendships and teamwork and that it is okay to be unique. The power to change and succeed lies in their own hands.

Head on over to Kickstarter now so you can make sure to get your copies: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures.

Overcoming difficulties and differences with the power of friendship

• Are you fascinated by the vast ocean, its legends, and the creatures living within its depths?
• Has fear of failure or ridicule ever held you back from your potential?
• Have friends supported and empowered you when you’ve felt alone?

If this sounds like you, then dive under the sea and join the Seababies for adventures in the MerrowLand kingdom.

I hope you’ll join us, along with Whimsea and her friends, and learn a little bit about sea life in the process. You can find our campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures.

Why You Should Back on Kickstarter

For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, we’d like to explain a little about what it’s all about.

First, we want to remind you to pledge early, so you get the EARLY-BIRD PERK. You can find it at the top of our campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures. But it’ll be gone after the end of the day Eastern Time on Saturday. September 10.

And don’t forget that you can get an extra free book (our children’s short story Mermaid’s Gift) by sharing our campaign and posting where you shared it on our website. Click on the link to go to our website for the full instructions: https://ronesaaveela.wordpress.com/ronesa-aveelas-books/seababies-adventures-series/. You can also click on the “Click here to share” button on our campaign to go to our website.

Before we tell you the benefits of backing there rather than buying through a retailer, we’ll tell you what this platform is.

It’s a crowdfunding platform. What Kickstarter is NOT: It’s not a platform for people looking for money for personal goals. You won’t find charities or general fund raisers on Kickstarter. You won’t be donating to a cause.

Unlike crowdfunding like GoFundMe, Kickstarter is a place where people promote new CREATIVE PROJECTS to potential backers: art, books, comics, crafts, dance, fashion, film & video, food, games, films, merchandise, music, photography, technology, and theater. It’s a way to test the market to see if the product is something that consumers desire.

Years ago, I had a gift shop. What I loved most about it was searching for unique, cool stuff to sell. All handcrafted. At that time, eBay was my place to go. Now, Kickstarter is that cool place, even though I no longer have my gift shop. I love scrolling through the projects to find all kinds of fascinating campaigns I can support. Oftentimes, I support a campaign even if I don’t want the rewards they are offering—just because I want them to succeed.

As a creator myself, I love Kickstarter because it provides me a chance to offer followers some of that said cool stuff. You can get so much more than simply a book that you can buy from any retailer.

Creators BUNDLE rewards. These can be digital or physical, or even services like consulting or training. As you help creators reach their funding goals, they’ll return the favor and offer you incentives and perks as a thank you.

Even more than that, backing on Kickstarter lets you get to know more about the product than a simple description on a retailer can provide you. The “Story” section digs deeper into what’s on offer. You’ll find samples and behind-the-scenes details. Kickstarter allows creators to share why they are producing this product and what is unique about it.

Kickstarter also lets you get to know the creator better, and he or she gets to know and interact with fans. That’s impossible to do on a retailer.

We hope you’ll join us on this venture. You’ll get all kinds of cool perks if you back the project to help us achieve our goal of producing this fun series of children’s picture books.

How Does Kickstarter Work?

Kickstarter can be confusing if you’ve never used it before, but once you make it through one campaign, the rest are easy.

If you haven’t created a Kickstarter account, you’ll have to do that first. You don’t have to enter any credit card info until the end, and only if the project funds. Kickstarter is all or nothing. If the campaign is even $1 short of reaching its goal, then the creator won’t receive any funds and you won’t be charged. If it does reach its goal or beyond, then Kickstarter will ask for your credit card information. You never have to provide this directly to the creator. Kickstarter takes care of all that stuff; the creator will never see your financial information.

Once the campaign reaches its deadline, that’s it. You can no longer pledge. If you have pledged at any level, you can still make changes until the deadline.

Backing early means you are eligible for more perks as the campaign progresses. Every creator handles this differently. But normally there can be rewards for backing within a given time frame, rewards when the campaign meets certain goals determined by the creator (such as getting to a certain funding level or getting a certain number of backers). So, sharing and encouraging others helps both you and the creator.

Once the campaign successfully funds, Kickstarter will attempt to process all the backers’ credit cards over a two-week period. They will give you an opportunity to fix any problems if they occur. At the end of two weeks, if your card has problems that aren’t fixed, Kickstarter will drop your pledge and you won’t be able to get your selected rewards.

Then comes fulfillment. We use Backerkit, because it makes it easy to distribute digital goods, and it has a whole lot of helpful functionality. So, you will receive a survey from Backerkit, in which you’ll enter the information needed to get your rewards to you: email, shipping info, etc., plus other questions we like to ask.

I hope you’ll join us, along with Whimsea and her friends, and learn a little bit about sea life in the process. You can find our campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures.

Our Kickstarter Campaign Is LIVE

We’re so excited. Our children’s book series, Seababies Adventures, is finally available for pre-order through our Kickstarter project! If you’ve followed the campaign, then you’ll have already received your email notification from Kickstarter the moment the campaign went live.

Don’t forget to pledge early, so you get the EARLY-BIRD PERK. You can find it at the top of our campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures. But it’ll be gone after the end of the day Eastern Time on Saturday. September 10.

You can also get an extra free book (our children’s short story Mermaid’s Gift) by sharing our campaign and then going to our website and posting the link to where you shared the campaign. Full instructions are on our website: https://ronesaaveela.wordpress.com/ronesa-aveelas-books/seababies-adventures-series/. You can also click on the “Click here to share” button on our campaign to go to our website.

Here’s a little bit about what our new Seababies Adventures children’s series is all about.

Overcoming difficulties and differences with the power of friendship

• Are you fascinated by the vast ocean, its legends, and the creatures living within its depths?
• Has fear of failure or ridicule ever held you back from your potential?
• Have friends supported and empowered you when you’ve felt alone?

If this sounds like you, then dive under the sea and join the Seababies for adventures in the MerrowLand kingdom.

Whimsea Wishes Upon a Star

Whimsea, a charming little mermaid, is full of energy and love. She desperately wants to be a cheerleader and has practiced and practiced until she knows the routines. But something goes wrong, and everyone looks at her funny. It takes a wise old turtle to explain to Whimsea why she is different from the other mermaids. She learns that different can be cool and something she can be proud of.

Seamore Sees More

Seamore, a funky little crab with googly eyes, is facing the biggest challenge of his life today. He’s trying out for soccer, but, oh, that net seems so far away, and he has to squint to see it. With Whimsea’s support, Seamore overcomes his fear of being made fun of.

Cupcake’s Heroic Day

Jellyfish Cupcake is excited to be a finalist in the annual bakeoff competition. Her desserts are the rave of MerrowLand. Taunting fish and a cry for help may squash her dream of winning, however. Cupcake learns that things that make her different are not a shortcoming, but an advantage.

Thank you for your support!

A Sneak Peek at Rewards

Time has flown while we’ve been busy putting the final touches on our campaign. It’s down to a a few days before we launch our Seababies Adventures campaign on Tuesday, September 6, around 9 a.m. Eastern Time. If you want to grab one of the dedication tiers, you’ll want to be ready to do so quickly, or you may miss your opportunity. Only one is available for each book. Dedicate it to your little mermaid, hermit crab, or jellyfish!

Make sure you follow our campaign, so you’ll be notified the moment it goes live. Simply go to our page and select the “Notify me on launch” button and create a Kickstarter account if you haven’t already done so: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ronesa-aveela/seababies-adventures.

You also won’t want to miss out on other perks we’re offering throughout the campaign.

Everyone who backs the project within the FIRST WEEK will get the early-bird perk listed at the end of this post. If you support our project AT ANY PLEDGE LEVEL, we’ll add this FREE children’s picture book (digital format) to your pledge. You’ll receive it, along with your other rewards after the campaign ends if we meet our funding goal.

We’ll also be offering other free children’s picture books throughout the campaign, one per week. If you back within the first week, you’ll get them ALL. Nothing more you’ll have to do. Just sit back and wait for your rewards.

In order to get these ebooks, though, you MUST back our project by the end of the day Saturday, September 10, Eastern time. Then, when the campaign ends successfully, these will be yours!

As the campaign progresses, we’ll offer more exciting surprises as well, so be sure to read our daily updates.

Thank you for your support.

FREE CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK (digital) for backing early

Here’s a look at the early-bird perk we’re offering.

The Little Bird and the Little Worm

By Russell Nohelty, Illustrator: Orlando Baez

A little bird wakes up to find a little hole in her perfect little nest. She sets out to find the perfect little twig, and ends up finding a little worm which shows her the true meaning of friendship.

https://linktr.ee/russellnohelty.