Value and worth.

Value and worth.

We have been busy here at LucyDrake&Co. On Friday we had a big photo shoot of some of our products and yesterday E. mini witch and I blended ground, tweaked, tested and tweaked some more a large batch of incense for Lughnasadh and another batch for Blessing. This took hours. It took hours because I haven't made incense on this scale before. It took hours because I was also teaching. It took hours because hand grinding, cutting and shaving tiny curls of wood takes time and effort (especially rose wood and juniper berries!) It took hours because scaling it up from the small batch recipe didn't make it smell like the small batch at all! It took hours because every time an other ingredint went into the cauldron we chanted. It was fun, but it was very hard work. I was surprised these last few days at some people's ideas about the value of things and the worth of people.Whether it was someone charging a 10p for a tarot reading (ooh that will come back to haunt you and no mistake) or how much art, artist and handmade products are not always seen as the more than the sum cost of the parts. It is the time, the research, the years of honing your craft, the practice, the mistakes, the energy and of course, the love. You are not buying something that is a piece of pressed plastic, you are buying someone's time and creative love. It isn't the fabric, wood or stone it is the power and passion of that person. It is their magick that you are buying and that can never be cheapened. It reminded me of that phrase, knowing the cost of everything, the value of nothing.When you buy something made in a sweat shop by kids who can not afford to go to school, THAT is the energy in your things. When you buy things that are made with love, whether it is the paintings of your young child, the skilled work of a craftsman (or woman) or something you make your self that is the energy that radiates into your life. 
The runes above are TK's creation. Within those coins of holly wood are not only the markings of an ancient language, but his years of research, his time, his love and appreciation for the Norse culture and his magick.

When I make a Dancing Goddess Fertility charm, I not only make the pattern, fill with stuffing and herbs, and sew it shut. Every stitch is a prayer, every row is a blessing. I put my time care and love into each part. It is not a toy or a joke. I had a fair few more of these but I gifted them to friends struggling with conception, pregnacy and birth. They have work for these lovely families. It isn't a sure thing, I don't have the power of life and death, but they don't hurt a drop! Many ladies have them with them in the birthing room as a focus as they are soft and sweetly scented. They say that they had that feeling of connectedness to something bigger, something ancient.
How do I put a price on that? Yet I live in the real world and to have a shop I must. 

So as I stitched a sweet sleep candle pillow last night and watch E make a clay Goddess I knew the value of friendship, time, and love. The value of magick. These items are not just acts of creation. They are acts of love.
Bright blessings xxx