Black Jade In The Night

Start a lunar or dream diary. 

Write spells. 

Astrology meanings. 

Write and record rituals 

Tarot meanings. 

Magickal correspondences. 

Your natal chart info. 

Herb names, uses, and/or properties. 

Info about deities and entities. 

Crystals names, uses, and/or properties. 

Magickal food recipes. 

Faeries. 

Meditation techniques. 

Full moon names. 

Sigils.

Runes.

How to use a pendulum.

Wheel of the Year. 

Essential oil uses. 

How to scry.

Maiden, Mother, and Crone. 

The Elements. 

History of witchcraft. 

The difference between jinxes, hexes, and curses. 

Morning and night rituals. 

How to celebrate/info about the Sabbats. 

Types of salt and their properties. 

Moon phases and their corresponding meanings. 

Types of divination. 

Planet correspondences. 

Candle colour meanings. 

How to draw and/or cast a circle, runes, and sigils. 

Self Love

One thing I use a lot in my witchy life is self love magic and in that little umbrella is beauty magic, love magic, and a lot more that many don’t get into so I thought I’d share a little of what I do

- sigils on everything

- apples. they are my best friend

- using colors such as pink and red or sometimes white

- affirmations every morning

- a playlist filled with music that makes me feel like a bad bitch

- blessing my jewelry

- writing down things so they aren’t stuck in my head

-build healthy habits

- take time for myself

I have adhd so I use a self care app. My favorite is finch but there’s plenty. I also use notion to track things and keep a notebook to write the days down! Always find ways to take care of yourself blessed be <3

Just cute halloween stuff I'll take to a local spooky event.

We've all seen em'. Those beautiful shelves filled to the brim with pretty jars of herbs and essential oils galore. They're gorgeous and I'm sure those who have them are capable of fully utilizing them, but that isn't true for everyone. First of all if you're not growing or foraging a good portion of what you use, you will easily break the bank trying to upkeep such a large inventory. Secondly, if you aren't one who used a lot of herbs and oils in your practice, many things will simply sit and go to waste. As someone who is easily tempted by the idea of a large apothecary, I had to come up with a way of vetting the herbs I wanted to see if I could actually use them. Here's a little guide I put together to help you do the same.

This is a beginner's guide and over time your apothecary will grow and change as your craft changes, do not take this as a set of rules but rather a set of loose guidelines.

What Do You Want?

Avoid writing down specific plants unless they are an absolute must-have. Try writing down what sort of spells you're going to be doing and their intent. Find a few options for plants that match that intent and can fill that role. While you may end up with a bigger list, the goal here is to determine what is most prudent to source for each category and avoid redundancy your apothecary.

What Do You Use?

What plants have you already used and had good experiences with? This question will get you thinking about what it is you do and don't really do in your practice, thus helping narrow your list a little bit.

What Do You Have?

Your spice cabinet has more than you think when it come to helpful herbs and spices for magick. Cinnamon? Use it to speed up a spell, bring luck, or prosperity. Black Pepper? But in black salt or in protective workings. Salt? You get the point. These things are easy and comparatively cheap to purchase from the store. Sure the containers don't look #witchyaesthetic, but that isn't the point here. We are going for functionality first. Other things like fruit peels, cores, seeds, and any other organic matter your throw out should at least be considered for witchcraft.

What Can You Find?

Can you can forage safely, ethically, and legally where you live? Then get out into the great outdoors. Buy a foraging guide for your area and learn about the myriad of plants that grow all around you. Though I recommend not foraging for mushrooms unless you absolutely know what you're doing as that can be quite dangerous. And please learn how to clean and preserve what you forage for as it can easily rot if you're not careful. Do not consume anything you forage unless you are absolutely sure it is safe to do so.

What Can You Grow?

Not all of us have access to the garden of our dreams but there are at least some things one can grow and use. From simple potted herbs to flower beds, if you can grow, you can use it. It's also a plus if the plants being grown can double as culinary or medicinal herbs.

What Can You Substitute?

Most likely you're going to have either exotic or difficult to source herbs left over that you'd like to purchase. But if they are expensive and you aren't going to be using them often then this is a problem. Try to find a more affordable substitute. For example: if a recipe calls for galangal, ginger can be used in its place. Vanilla extract instead of vanilla pods. Things like that.

What Are You Buying?

Hopefully, you've narrowed down you're list enough to where you only have a few items on there that are relatively cheap and simple to source. If you use certain ingredients enough try purchasing them in bulk as it is less expensive in the long run.

Essential Oils

These are tricky as the good ones tend to be expensive, especially for small bottles. A great way I have found to circumvent this is by making my own oils from herbs and a carrier oil rather than resorting to the essential oil. It may not smell as nice but they do the job just as well. I mostly use any essential oils I have for giving my homemade oils fragrance (thankfully it doesn't take much) rather than applying them directly to things like tools or spell candles.

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