It's not our petty imperfections that define us

We all have our own spirit guides. They are always trying to guide us on the right path and protect us from harm, so connecting with them is truly beneficial.

✨ Approach them

The first obvious step is to approach them. I can give you some examples of ways you could do this, but in the end, the best thing you can do is listen to your own intuition. That applies to anything, really. 

✧ Meditation - Meditation is probably the most common way of approaching your guides. I personally recommend listening to guided meditations, specifically for meeting your spirit guides, if you are a complete beginner. 

But guided meditations often involve visualising, so if you are not comfortable with that, don’t stress it and meditate on your own. 

You don’t need to be good at visualising to meet your spirit guides. It is not about being able to see them, but to be able to sense their presence.

✧ Tarot & Divination - If you know how to read tarot, you can definitely do what I would call an ‘interview’ with your Spirit Guide. Invite your guides in and start asking questions to get to know them. This applies to any other form of divination you practice.

✨ Build a relationship

By building a relationship, I mostly mean learning how to recognise their presence. 

✧ Be consistent - Consistency is a key to speeding up this process. Regularly talk to your guides and include it in your routine. 

✧ Trust & Listen - When you start getting messages and intuitive nudges from your guides, listen and follow to them! Don’t just brush them off. Be confident in your belief. Learn how to distinguish their messages, start applying them into your daily life.

Drying herbs and flowers may or may not be something of interest. Here are some tips for those who are looking to dry their own harvests and gatherings.

Air Drying:

Air drying typically works best with herbs that are low moisture like rosemary, oregano, dill, lavender, etc.

Herbs like mint, basil, chive, are best put into an oven or dehydrator.

Be sure to trim them at a slight angle so the center of the plant is protected while drying.

Gather together a decent sized bundle. Anywhere between 7-10 branches/sprigs, typically, and tie them off with string or a rubber band even. The smaller the bundle, the faster they’ll dry.

Hang the bundle, stem-side up towards the ceiling, for about a week or so. The cooler and darker the place, the better.

Herbs are ready if the leaves/flowers crumble easily.

Harvest Tips:

If you are using the herbs for food, the best time to harvest them is right before the plant begins to flower. You can prolong the harvest by snipping away the flower buds as they appear.

Essential oils are concentrated in the leaves early in the morning before the sun can release them into the air so early morning is the best time to harvest.

Cut away healthy herbs, remove the sickly and dried/wilted leaves, and shoo away insects. Be gentle!

If you rinse the herbs, PAT DRY CAREFULLY!

When it comes to seeds (dill, fennel, etc), place the flower heads (once cleaned from stems) into a paper bag or Tupperware container and have fun shaking!

Oven Drying:

Clean up leaves/seeds/etc and place them onto a cookie sheet (I usually use a shallow one. I believe mine is less than an 1 inch?).

Put herbs in an open oven on low heat – less than 180 degrees F – for 2-4 hours. (I cannot stress the low heat! You WILL burn them otherwise.)

Herbs are ready if the leave crumble easily

More Notes:

Oven drying takes out some of the herbs potency to more will need to be used in cooking which is more than fine.

Store in labeled, dated airtight containers like canning jars, plastic storage containers or freezer storage bags.

For best flavor, keep the leaves whole until you are ready to use them, then crush.

Aloe: Soothing and highly moisturizing, a mask made from Aloe is absolutely heavenly. Mix Aloe with Honey and Seaweed to soothe, moisturize and detoxify your skin. Aloe is also known to treat wounds such as scrapes and burns but is also good for general dermatitis. When buying the gels in store, be careful to read the label to make sure there aren’t any harsh and/ or cosmetic additives in it.

Basil: A wonderful detoxifier and circulation promotor, crush a handful of leaves and brew a hot tea for a few minutes. Let cool. Once cooled, splash your face or wipe it down with a cotton pad or face cloth.

Burdock: Burdock does wonders for dry, itchy skin, especially on the scalp.  Like Catnip, it aids with relieving dandruff and promotes healthy scalp skin. For best results, purchase Burdock in its oil form and massage a bit onto your scalp after you wash your hair, while your hair is still damp. The fatty acids and phytosterols will keep your scalp happy and healthy.

Chamomile: A very gentle cleanser for oily skin especially when combined with Thyme. When combined with Fennel and brewed as a tea, it aids in digestion, relieving nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and indigestion.

Lavender: Like Aloe, Lavender is very soothing and an antiseptic. Wonderful for burns, treating infections, and in general dermatitis. A mild antidepressant and sedative, Lavender is also known to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Mint: Mint gum and toothpaste? There’s a reason for that! Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, Mint is wonderful for oral health. Mint also aids in digestion, improves respiratory conditions like asthma, and aids in relieving water retention. When used as an astringent, Mint coolly freshens up the skin and aids in getting rid of acne. Also aids in relieving headaches and migraines.

Rose: A very gentle astringent when applied topically and is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and reducer of acne. Full of a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, Rose is a well rounded addition to any herbalist’s repertoire.

Rosemary: A rise made from Rosemary adds beautiful shine to hair, strengthens damaged hair and soothes dry scalps. A rich source in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, Rosemary is also known to boost the immune system and improve blood circulation. Also known to be a cognitive stimulation, Rosemary can also aid in improving memory performance and quality.

Sage (Kitchen): An astringent of Sage mixed with Witch Hazel or even Apple Cedar Vinegar cleanses the skin efficiently yet gently due to it being rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Also aids in supporting oral health (reducing plaque), easing menopausal symptoms and aids in promoting brain health, improving mood

Black: block negativity. energy. power. strength.

Chai: calming. digestion. energy.

Chamomile: healing. meditation. sleep. stress.

Cinnamon: cold relief. love. metabolism. passion.

Dandelion Root: divination. luck. power.

Elderflower: blessing. healing. sleep.

Fennel: healing. protection. purification.

Ginger: healing. menstrual pain. nausea. tummy ache.

Green: calming. cleansing. energy. healing.

Hibiscus: blood pressure. harmony. love.

Lemon Balm: health. love. success.

Matcha: detoxification. mental clarity.

Nettle: love. protection. repel negative energy.

Parsley: protection. purification.

Peppermint: clarity. decongestant. tummy ache.

Rose Hip: harmony. luck. protection.

Rosemary: blessing. consecration. protection.

As a witch, the most useful and influential magical practice to learn is how to protect yourself and your home. If you can’t keep malevolence or stagnant energy out, then bringing good things in won’t be as effective. Banishments and cleansings are useful, but shields are great preventative measures that require less time, energy, and stress. The number one thing I always recommend to new witches is to learn bout protection magic first. In this series, I’ll be offering my tips, tricks, and several spells and rituals that I have found to be incredibly effective. This system may not work for everyone, but it does work for me. It’s taken me a while to find something that fits my needs, and it may be the same for you. Do what you feel is right!

Know Your Home

In order to develop a good system for your home, you need to know what your weaknesses–and strengths–are. Whether you live in an apartment, trailer, suburban home, or tiny house, knowing your domain is crucial. Here are my steps for doing this (most important info is bolded):

Draw your home from a bird’s eye view. Don’t worry about the furniture, but make sure you get all doors, windows, garages, and rooms on the paper. If you have multiple floors or a basement, pencil in the staircase(s) and use a separate sheet of paper for each level. Label each sheet of paper clearly. You may want to make at least one new copy of each sheet for ease of reading and use.

Create a key with the following symbols/meanings (you can definitely switch up the symbols): high energy (draw a sun), medium energy (draw a crescent moon), and low energy (draw a star). Each room, hallway, and area will be labelled with the energy input and energy output. You can use two colours to draw the symbols in, such as green for input and red for output to avoid having to label them individually. [If you are having an issue with a room or area in your home that seems to leech energy from you, you may want to evaluate the cause]

Label each room and area using your key. How much energy do you and the rest of your household put into your kitchen? If you are constantly in it, I’d say a high amount of energy. How much leaves it? Do you feel any energy emanating from the kitchen? For me, the answer is not very much. So, I would draw a green sun and a red star in the kitchen. 

Locate the doorways of your home, including the windows. These areas should be treated as gateways, especially if you often leave them open for the light/air/etc. Outline or fill them in with a bold colour. 

Set this map aside and get a fresh copy of each sheet. Locate any energy-producing machinery or objects and pencil them in. Things such as routers, furnaces, ovens, washing machines/dryers, generators, etc. are all great things to draw in. These objects can be harnessed as energy providers for enchantments.

Outline rooms that you see as energetic weak spots and those you see as strong spots; the rest of the rooms can be left alone. This is to help you find out where the big enchantments/etc. should be energized at, and where you should definitely find an energy solution for (I will explain how in another guide). 

Think of yourself as a robber or an entity trying to get into your home. Where would you go? Does one window feel particularly vulnerable? Do you believe that the chimney should be noted as a point of entry? On the map you made with the windows/doors defined, label areas you would like to reinforce. 

After you’ve completed this, you can continue on  to plan your system (next guide is coming soon). I recommend keeping your maps somewhere safe, perhaps in a black folder or in a shoe box.You could also do this digitally if you prefer. If at any time you feel the need to add or change something, you can. Just remember to update your plan as well, if you have one already.