Apparitions Gaze

(Learn from my mistakes.)

Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Losche

anti-Semitic (an anti-Semitic caricature depicted as the Devil on the card of the same name)

Dark Goddess Oracle Cards by Barbara Meiklejohn-Free, Flavia Kate Peters, and Kate Osborne

see this post for a list of problems with this one

Tarot of Sexual Magic by Laura Taun and Mauro De Luca

depicts a hate crime (a white man preparing to murder a black man having sex with a white woman on the Tower card)

When reading stuff about magic and witchcraft, it can be a good thing to remember that the writers are coming from their own experiences with magic and those experiences are filtered through a) the fact that most of them are alloromantic and thus b) most of they don’t have a complicated relationship with the concept of love and if they do c) they are probably dealing with that complicated relationship by making everything about how they experience love.

Love in magic, like everything else, is highly situational and depends on what the caster needs at the time. It isn't some universal 'power up' or key magical component, it's just another ingredient that sometimes gets thrown in the metaphorical pot. While I do incorporate love for the craft into much of what I do, I view that love from the standpoint of "this is a soothing hobby I do in my spare time to ground myself, I love this activity as it helps soothe myself from the stress of my daily life."

Sadness exists to help you process loss and disappointment. If you hear about some horrible atrocity and feel sad about it, that’s not a bad thing; that’s you having a healthy emotional response to a horrible situation.

●●● Warding II

★ As with almost everything in magic, there are countless ways to create protective barriers around objects and places.

☆ Wards need to be effective and powerful, so choose methods you can relate to, and avoid experimenting with things you don't know or have a lot of experience with.

❗ Before creating a protective barrier anywhere, physical and spiritual purification is necessary, because in the same way that wards are able to prevent certain energies from entering, they also prevent all energies that are already inside from leaving. Ideally, the physical space should be clean and purified, to prevent existing energies from influencing the expected final result.

→ Warding Methods 101

• Spray warding

   This is a simple method that doesn't require much visualization, and is recommended for beginners. The intention placed at the time of creating and applying the flavoring, and choosing the right herbs is enough.

   Wards made from air fresheners are not as durable, and need to be redone every month or so. There are ways to enhance the effect, at the time of creating the flavoring, by combining it with sigils, crystals and using a good amount of herbs with protective properties.

• Incense

   For warding, it is recommended that only natural resin incenses are used, made from herbs with protective properties. If that's not possible, make an herbal smoking stick, but don't just use incense sticks to create energy barriers. Avoid using them, but if you still want to, combine them with other methods, or your ward will have low energy and will quickly deactivate.

• Sigils

   The best thing is that you create a specific sigil for the warding of the object or place you want to protect. You can adapt bindrunes for this purpose, but beware of runes that will be formed unintentionally during the process, as they can weaken or get in the way of the desired end result.

• Energy targeting

   If you're already experienced with energy manipulation and directing, this is a great way to work on these aspects and make your ward exactly the way you want it to look. It's also a very customizable way, so it's great for creating your own personal way of making energy barriers.

• Containers

   Barriers made using containers as a base have good longevity, and need to be reinforced less frequently. Choose a variety of fresh or dried herbs with protective properties, and add other ingredients that can boost energy, such as properly purified and energized essential oils and crystals for protective purposes.

• Salt

   Works well for creating temporary barriers. The salt used can be coarse salt, sea salt or table salt as a last resort. For more intensified protection, I recommend black salt

Washing your face is cleansing. Taking a shower is cleansing. Cleaning your home is cleansing. Tidying up your space is cleansing. Doing the dishes and running a load of laundry are cleansing. Taking out the trash is cleansing.

Fantasy Is A Metaphor For The Human Condition, a comic about magic, and art, and speculative fiction, and being sick, and how they all intersect. Originally laid out/pencilled November-December 2017, when I was in a very difficult place emotionally as I was relearning how to draw post-brain injury.

What are Baneful Protections?

Baneful protections can be considered both a form of baneful magic and a form of protection magic. When beginning baneful work, this is usually what I recommend starting with. Baneful protections are protection spells that produce some sort of consequence when energy hits it. This can be done without the use of physical taglocks (like names or dates of birth) because energy is able to act like a taglock. For example, some of the baneful protections I have set up will reflect any energy that hits it back to its source while others trap that energy instead (so it can used later on).

It is very important that even though you are protecting yourself, you aren't accidentally tethering the energy to you. In my first baneful protection, I used my saliva to tether the protection to me but instead I tethered all the negative energy the spell had trapped to me and had a horrible case of bad luck for weeks before I realized what I had done. As a rule of thumb i personally don’t include any personal taglocks in baneful protections and always make sure to include a petition that details my exact intent for the spell.

When to use Baneful Protections:

Baneful protections can be used instead of or in conjunction with other forms of protection (see my blog posts for more information on alternative forms of protection magic). I personally didn't have any baneful protections before I was hexed (for the first time) and now I have some just as a precautionary measure. Baneful protections are most beneficial (in my opinion) if you are surrounded by a lot of negative energy or work in an environment that is mentally draining. These protections can help combat the toll that it takes and prevent much of that energy from staying with you for an extended period of time.

It is really up to you whether or not you choose to incorporate baneful protections into your practice. It is worth it to note that this spell work is considered baneful magic, so those who believe in "doing no harm" may choose to forgo this and stick to regular protections instead. Whatever you choose, be sure to do your own research before attempting any new forms of spell work.

Return-to-Sender Spells:

Mirrors- mirrors have the ability to reflect an image so they are also able to reflect energy. Putting up a mirror on your altar or incorporating a piece of a mirror into a spell is very effective at returning energy to its source.

Burning the bottom of a candle- this is a common one and it is also my preferred method at returning energy. The way I do it is by burning the top of the candle like normal and visualizing the energy that you wish to return. Once the candle is flat, I will flip it upside down and light the other end of the wick, symbolizing the return of that energy to its source. This can be done many different ways so check out what other practitioners do to come up with your own method.

Petitions- petitioning is a really great tool that I utilize in most of my spell work because it is an effective way at manifesting a specific intent. It helps if you know the name of the person who sent you the energy for this method but it is not necessary. As long as you have a clear intention and some return-to-sender oil you can make an effective spell.

Running water or rivers- running water has been viewed as being able to carry energy from place to place so it is possible to use it to return energy to its source. In the shower, you can imagine the energy running off of you, down the drain and back to the person who sent it. Another method is throwing your petition into a river and having the river carry it back to its source. (This method also works with a toilet if you are feeling especially feisty!)

Hello, witches! Since I’m always harping on about learning your history and checking your sources, I thought I’d help folks get a head start by compiling some source material.

To that end, I’ve started a Dropbox folder with a stash of historical texts on witchcraft, magic, and related topics. Nearly everything I’ve managed to find so far is public domain (thank you Project Gutenberg), with the exception of a very thorough herbal grimoire I found online some years ago and a book of witchcraft from the 1970s that appears to be out of print.

I will be continuing in this vein with future texts that I find. Everything will be public domain or cited to the source that it came from, in PDF format. I will NOT be including PDFs of any book currently in circulation with a copyright linked to a living author or estate. The point of this folder is that everything in it should be free for sharing and open use as research materials.

Below is the initial list of titles. I tried to include as many as I could find, with a focus on some oft-cited classics. I will be adding new texts as I find them.

A Collection of Rare and Curious Tracts on Witchcraft and the Second Sight, by David Webster (1820)

A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718, by Wallace Notestein (1909)

British Goblins, Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, by Wirt Sikes (1880)

Curiosities of Superstition, by W. H. Davenport Adams (1882)

Daemonologie, by King James I/VI (1597)

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats (1888)

Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John Drelincourt Seymour (1913)

La Sorcière, or The Witch of the Middle Ages, by Jules Michelet (1863)

Lives of the Necromancers, by William Godwin (1834)

Magic and Fetishism, by Alfred C. Haddon (1906)

Magic and Witchcraft, by Anonymous (1852)

Modern Magic, by M. Schele de Vere (1873)

Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, by Richard Folkard (1884)

Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing, by William Walker Atkinson (1908)

The Devil in Britain and America, by John Ashton (1896)

The Discoverie of Witchcraft, by Reginald Scot (1594, 1886 reprint)

The Extremely Large Herbal Grimoire (date unknown, internet publication)

The Golden Bough : A Study of Magic and Religion, by Sir James George Frazer (1890)

The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, by L.W. de Laurence (1918)

The Magic of the Horse-shoe, by Robert Means Lawrence (1898)

The Mysteries of All Nations, by James Grant (1880)

The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy, by Charles John Samuel Thompson (1897)

The Superstitions of Witchcraft, by Howard Williams (1865)

The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut by John M. Taylor (1908)

The Wonders of the Invisible World, by Cotton Mather and A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches, by Increase Mather (1693, 1862 reprint)

Witch Stories, by E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton (1861)

Witch, Warlock, And Magician, by W. H. Davenport Adams (1889)

Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

Witches’ Potions & Spells, ed. by Kathryn Paulsen (1971)

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that these texts are (with few exceptions) more than a century old, and may contain depictions, references, or language that are outdated and inappropriate. The point of including these documents is to provide access to historical texts for research and reference. Inclusion in the collection does not equal unconditional agreement with or wholesale approval of the contents.

Take everything with a grain of salt and remember to do your due diligence!

Clubs are the suit of accomplishments, luck, social status, communication and transactions. This suit generally talks about the individual's role in social situations and whether or not they are successful in their endeavors. The following are my own interpretations of the individual cards.

Please feel free to add to this list in the comments, I will be adding to this list in the future as well <3

Books

→ Of Blood and Bones - Kate Freuler

→ Elements of Witchcraft series (four parts) - Astrea Taylor

→ The Green Witch - Anne Murphy Hiscock

→ Psychic Witch - Mat Auryn

→ The Crystal Bible - Judy Hall

→ Growing Your Own Tea Garden - Jodi Helmer

Creators

Multiple Platforms

→ @chaoticwitchaunt 

→ @thewitchofwonderlust 

→ @jaqswitchyways 

Instagram

→ @craftingwitch 

→ @_hearth_witch_ 

→ @the_celestial_witch 

Youtube

→ @thegreenwitch 

Tiktok

→ @terminallyhomosexual 

→ @thecrystalpatch 

→ @astralwitch 

→ @thathoneywitch 

→ @witchy_apothecary 

→ @king_clairvoyant 

→ @sourpatchtarot 

→ @ravensandcrow 

→ @witchycannamom 

→ @theglamourwitchla 

→ @highpriestsiah 

→ @lokiladdusaw 

→ @ofbatbones 

→ @curvyblackwitch 

→ @cautionmagik 

→ @astralarchangel 

→ @onyxsouls 

→ @fairytarotgoddess 

→ @lightwands 

→ @jewitches 

→ @youngblkwitch 

→ @sand.witchh 

→ @jasminesgarden23 

→ @innergymedgroup 

And as always, merry meet,

Everything must come to an end.

This is an area of spellcraft that doesn’t get a lot of publicity because for most people it just becomes a natural part of the process.  However, if you want to mix up how you do it, try something new, or otherwise let go of the way you were originally taught, this might be a good resource for performing rituals!

What are Sealed Spells?

In the context of magic you usually hear about sealing and binding like binding a person or something from being able to do something.  Here we're talking more like a binding contract.  This is a binding or seal locks in an action or intent.  It is binding in the way an agreement is binding.  You have given it firm parameters that it must follow and you have endeavored to finalize the action.  You have provided certainty, locked in your answer, sealed the deal.  

The benefits of this are inherent in the finality.  You have a set thing that now is much harder to alter and is much harder to waver in its purpose.  This is no longer some multi-purpose object.  It has varitably been christened for this and this alone.  The work to undo it will be just as rigorous as the work to do it in the first place.  A light cleansing of your materials afterwards might not be enough.  You're gonna need the spiritual bleach.

To some extent you might just feel that something needs to be finalized.  If you feel it in your gut like you need something to formally end the working, these are what you might be looking for.

More Common Than You Think

This might be more familiar to you than you would initially think.  Signing your name on something at the end is a common one, but even in a ritual sphere there are many examples.  This is going to be your “so mote it be”, your “Amen”, and your other declarations of finality.  Even purely secular situations often have rituals of finality.  I think you’ll find that when these things are left out, there is sometimes a feeling of the energy hanging in the air.  In a lot of ways it does not feel right.  Whether this is the social convention of signaling to everything and everyone present that the ritual has come to a conclusion, or just to announce you’re finished, there is some power to it.

Types of Seals

There are several different ways to express finality in your workings.  Here are just a few examples.

Shutting the Door and Sealing the Envelope

If your work involves some kind of lid or package, you can physically seal it.  Whether this is corking a jar, sealing with wax, tying a string around something etc.  If this is a possibility it is a good way to finalize a spell.

Written and Spoken Seals

Whether this is through signing something like you might finalize a formal contract or expressing that it is finalized verbally.  A few examples of this are listed above that you may have heard before, but there is really nothing stopping you from making your own.

Kiss Seals

Sealing with a kiss.  Kissing something to finalize has historical precedent and takes no extra tools to complete besides your lips.  Whether this is physically using your lips or the other means, this is one option for a quick seal.  Just don’t kiss poison.

Burning, Burying, and Bestrewing

Few things are more final than destruction.  Once you’ve set the flame, you’ve pretty much confined what you’ve set on fire to that purpose forever.  Burying something in the ground would be another example of this.  Whether you feel the finality is from returning it to the earth, or because you are sealing it in a tomb of soul, this will certainly signal that it is done.  Some feel like things are not complete until they’ve scattered the ashes, in which case throwing something to the wind could be your version of finality.

Whether this is through signing something like you might finalize a formal contract or expressing that it is finalized verbally.  A few examples of this are listed above that you may have heard before, but there is really nothing stopping you from making your own.

Sigil Seals

Wolf moon (January) also known as cold moon, air

Inner power, insight, assess your journey, protection, personal developement

Ianna, Freyja, Skadi, the Morrigan, Hecate

Wolves, foxes, coyotes, blue jay, pheasants

Hematite, ruby, selenite, moonstone, opal, garnet, jet, onyx, obsidian

Black, white, silver, violet

Snow moon (February) also known as storm moon or hunger moon, air and water

New starts, ambition, change, creativity, reflection

Brighid, Diana, Juno

Otter, eagle, chickadee, unicorn

Amethyst, jasper, moonstone

Purple, light blue, yellow

Worm moon (March) also known as seed moon, water and fire

New growth, set intentions, renewal, balance, prospering

Mars, Tyr, Athena, Isis

Cougar, bear, hedgehog, sea crow, sea eagle

Aquamarine, bloodstone, jade

Pale green, red, violet

Pink moon (April) also known as hare moon, fire and earth

Rebirth, discovery, fertility, goals, openings, opportunities

Aphrodite, Venus, Hathor, Kali, Rhiannon

Bear, wolf, hawk, magpie

Diamond, quartz, emerald

Pale yellow, pink, gold

Flower moon (May) also known as fairy moon, earth and air

Abundance, gratitude, romance, maturity, intuition

Bast, Artemins, Pan, Cernunnos

Cats, lynx, leopard, swallow, dove, swan

Emerald, sapphire, agate

Pink, green, brown

Strawberry moon (June) also known as rose moon, air and water

Harvest, manifesting, dreams, love, good health, clarity, communication

Juno, Hera, Isis, Neith, Cerridwen

Monkey, butterfly, frog, toad, wren, peacock

Pearl, moonstone, citrine, blue lace agate

Yellow/green and orange

Buck moon (July) also known as hay moon, water and fire

Inner fire, long term goals, leadership, divination

Hel, Athena, Lugh, Khepri

Crab, turtle, dolphin, whale, starling, swallow

Ruby, carnelian, green calcite, peacock ore

Blue, gray, silver

Sturgeon moon (August) also known as barley moon, earth and air

Freedom, perseverance, cleansing, reaping, gratitude, peace, harmony

Demeter, Ceres, Hathor, Nemesis, Ganesha, Vulcan, Vesta

Lion, phoenix, sphinx, dragon, crane, falcon, eagle

Periodot, onyx, bronzite, green sapphire

Gold, yellow, green

Harvest moon (September) also known as corn moon, earth and air

Harvest, gratitude, balance, reflection, psychic work, home and hearth

Demeter, Ceres, Thor, Thoth, Persephone, Freyja, Isis

Snake, jackal, ibis, sparrow

Peridot, sapphire, bloodstone, chrysolite

Brown, yellow, amber

Hunters moon (October) also known as blood moon, air and water

Strength, protection, endurance, rebirth, ambition, ancestral work

Cernunnos, Hecate, the Morrigan, Osiris, Astarte, Ishtar, Lakshmi

Stag, jackal, elephant, ram, scorpion, wolf, heron, crow, robin, owl, raven

Opal, tourmaline, citrine, rose sapphire

Red, orange, deep blue, black, dark green, brown, gold

Beaver moon (November) also known as snow moon, water and fire

Preparation, security, grounding, fidelity, new beginnings, release

Cailleach, Circe, Sybele, Hel, Holda, Kali, Bast, Osiris

Unicorn, scorpion, crocodile, jackal, owl, goose, sparrow

Topaz, obsidian, onyx, apache tear

White, purple, gray, sage green, black

Cold moon (December) also known as oak moon, fire and water

Completion, renewal, reflection, shadow work, transitions, peace

Dionysus, Athena, Attis, Ixchel, Neith, Wodan, Osiris, Frey

Deer, mouse, horse, bear, snowy owl, robin, rook

Blue zircon, turquoise, serpentine, lazulite, smoky quartz