Local Dumbass tries witchcraft

If you are feel called to work but are tired/drained, sit outside. Take in all the energies around you. Nature can help charge you

Every witch does a little bit of a bunch of types of magic but sticks mainly to one or two in general. You usually won't be eclectic forever. You'll find what magics work best with you.

Never be lazy or cut corners with spirits. Always be respectful and always tell them to leave when you're done

When you see a plant or ingredient with a long list of properties, there are different things at play. Season of collection, the part of the plant, the health of the plant, etc all play a role in impacting which properties it will carry.

Don't call on spirits unless you have confidence and control

Be careful with sea/water magic. Get into it gently and slowly until you have the energy figured out because it can get out of hand quickly.

Adding a little pinch of magic into your breakfast can make a major difference in your day.

Your personal emotions/feelings over something will impact a work

Planting some plants is good, not only to have a garden, but the dirt helps cleanse you too. Get all dirty and muddy. It's good for ya

Not all trees are nice

The more you listen to your intuition, the easier it will be to tell it apart from your anxieties and worries

Incense is very easy to make which is why it's usually cheap to buy. But you can find a million tutorials online on how to make your own personal incense which is great if you want a spell to take effect over a while but also want to infuse the fire energy in it.

The more you work with something the better feel you get for it. Cinnamon goes in almost everything i cook and most of my spells because me and cinnamon just get right along

When you walk with confidence, people look to see what you’re so confident about. They search for the source, so they only notice your best features. Whether it’s your hair, your body, or your style.

When you walk all hunched and timid like you’re apologizing for existing, nobody notices you. You become invisible. People sense that you don’t want to be seen, so you fade into the background.

You have great power of manipulation.

You can use it to help yourself or to hurt yourself.

Someone close to me was in a car accident recently.

And he was so grateful that all he got was a few deep gashes. No internal issues.

And I say this knowing full well it sounds ridiculous: Those deep gashes of his healed as if they were mere scratches. In a couple of days, gone. Not a trace left.

All because right from the start, his mind told his body that there’s nothing to worry about and everything to be grateful for. So his body treated the damage like it’s nothing. It healed itself in a flash, just like that.

Being envious of others is just about the worst thing you can do for yourself. You think shit-talking the Kardashians and their like puts you on a moral high ground, but in reality, it’s what’s keeping you poor and unlucky.

FENG SHUI

In Feng Shui, envy is a form of negative energy that creates a shield of vibrations emanating from your being, which block good chi (energy) from entering both your home and yourself.

THEISM

If you believe in a god or gods, your being envious of other people demonstrates contempt towards your higher power. Your envy scolds them for not giving you as much as another person has.

LAW OF ATTRACTION

Envying someone means you are highlighting your lack of something they have. Like attracts like. You would therefore be attracting lack. The result in your life would be the presence of more lack.

MANIFESTATION

You can only ever manifest from a place of positivity. Since envy is the opposite of positivity, being envious means you will never be able to birth anything truly positive in your reality.

SPELLCRAFT

One of the forces that a spell relies on is your faith that you have the power to make it work. Yet envy is the result of you believing you have less power than someone, one way or another. So it will never work.

SELF LOVE

Every time you feel envious of someone else, you are berating yourself for not being like that person, or for not having what that person has. You are being a hateful, nagging partner to your oldest friend.

If there is someone — celebrity or not — that you hate, take the time to reflect if it’s not envy of their beauty, status or wealth that is driving your hatred. If you discover even a tinge of it inside of you, either turn that envy into inspiration, or distance yourself from that person.

Amulets and talismans need to be activated. Otherwise they're just pieces of junk from China.

For real occult protection, acquire:

1) An evil eye ring made of metal, not plastic. It must be white and dark blue, not turquoise or mint green. 2) A piece of handmade natural paper, that is, anything made from plant, such as papyrus and banana, and uncoated by chemicals like polymers. 3) A pen owned by your birth mother or father. Whether the owner is dead or alive, ask for permission.

On the first night of the next full moon…

1) Open the windows to gaze upon the moon while taking four deep breaths. 2) Stay by the window, and write on your paper with your marker: PORTO HAMASIAS F EMANUEL F DORENUS 3) Wrap the evil eye ring with the piece of paper. 4) Close the windows, but leave the wrapped ring by the window sill where the moonlight can reach it. By sunrise, you will have created an amulet that will protect you from curses — both intentional and not. 5) Wear the ring, and keep the paper in a safe place. Return the pen to its owner.

As long as the ring is on your finger or touching any part your skin, you are shielded from bewitchment.

Never let it get wet. Do not bathe or swim with it. Water drains its power.

For an amulet to keep working, it needs to be fed. Every full moon, wrap the ring in the same paper you used when you forged it. Leave it overnight by the window sill where the moon can shine on it, as you did when you created it.

Physically, we sleep to recharge. Spiritually, we sleep to awaken.

One of my high school teachers was in a coma. Then I heard that she woke up. I messaged her, wishing her well and saying I’m relieved she’s better now. That night I dreamt of her. She thanked me and said she’s feeling very happy.

I found out that morning that she had passed hours before. Yet she found a way to reply to me after all. Now I know she’s truly at peace.

A relative's house was being haunted by a child’s ghost, until she befriended him in her dreams.

A colleague had an impossible choice to make until he dreamt of 70-year-old him who had taken the right path.

A friend of mine desperately needed money and dreamed of the next day's winning lottery numbers.

In slumber is when our soul is fully conscious. It’s when we can travel to other realms and speak to any soul, dead or alive, including our past and future selves.

So before you fall asleep tonight... ask for help.

Tarot is alive. It is a sentient occult instrument. And if you want it to help you with your life, you need to treat it right.

1. Introduce yourself to tarot.

2. Take great care of your decks.

3. Prepare for and perform readings respectfully.

4. Keep your decks charged.

5. Keep your decks protected.

6. Have a sacred space for doing tarot.

7. Invoke your higher powers when using tarot.

8. Never ask tarot the same question twice.

9. Never pull clarifying cards.

10. Do not deliberately misread tarot's messages.

11. Show remorse when you've made a mistake.

12. Read in many ways to bond with tarot.

13. Use tarot as a guardian, to avenge yourself.

It might even sound contradictory to everything I’ve previously said.

But here’s what people don’t tell you about manifestation. (Because it doesn’t sound as glamorous.) It’s not the thing you truly aim for. It’s the experience of the thing.

You want to have champagne while you swim in a balcony pool in a five-star hotel in Santorini? Do it right now. Close your eyes. Watch it happen. Feel the joy. 

You don’t have to wait until you’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars to have that experience. You can have it right away. 

And you don’t have to save another tens of thousands of dollars to have that experience again. You can relive it in your mind’s eye anytime you like and as often as you want.

Is it your dream to live in a five-bedroom penthouse on Billionaires’ Row in New York? Live there right now. Take a deep breath and watch yourself riding the elevator all the way up to the top floor of the One57. Hear your massive solid-wood double doors creaking quietly as they open to let you in. See yourself removing your shoes and running straight to your cloud-like velvet sofa to watch your favorite TV series on your 120-inch 4K TV.

You don’t have to wait to win the lottery or have a multimillion-dollar business idea to move in to Billionaires’ Row. You can live there as we speak.

And yes. Yes, experiencing Santorini and Billionaires’ Row in your mind’s eye does help attract them into your reality. That’s very true.

But that’s not the point. The point is you never have to wait. You can have the experience of it instantly. You can make it happen right here, right now. You can enjoy it this very second, and at any time of the day, of whatever day, in whatever year.

And that’s how you achieve happiness.

If the thing does come, it's just a bonus. Because you've already enjoyed the experience.

Every spiritual belief — from established ones like Christianity, to modern ones like the Law of Attraction — encourages you to be positive. “Look at the bright side of things!” “Be grateful for what you have!” “Like attracts like, so never be negative!”

But you’re human. You can’t always be happy.

Of course you’re allowed to feel and say negative things, both to yourself and to people you trust.

The trick is to make sure you acknowledge that your negative situation is temporary.

When I’m going through a hard time, and someone asks me if I’m fine, I say, “I will be.”

I don’t lie and say I’m okay. That’s how wounds stay wounds — when you don’t admit they’re there.

But I also don’t declare defeat. Because for as long as I’ve been alive, I’ve won every single challenge life sent me. Haven’t you? Trust your track record.

To become a powerful witch, an effective manifester, or simply, a happy person… that’s the key.

Don’t say, “I’m so tired!” Say, “I’m so tired, so I will rest to feel better.”

Don’t say, “I’m fucking broke!” Say, “I need money, and I know it’s on its way to me.”

Don’t say, “My life sucks!”. Say, “Life hasn’t been easy, but things are about to change.”

I have mentioned countless times how much I prefer traditional witchcraft to modern. But technically, my practice is incredibly modern compared to that of my ancestors.

Unlike me, they didn’t own tarot decks based on their favorite movies and TV series. They had the Rider-Waite and the Baraja Española.

Unlike me, they didn’t do Pick a Card readings on YouTube. Instead, they welcomed strangers into their home and cured their ills or read their palms.

Unlike me, they didn’t buy scented candles from Bath & Body Works. They made their own, and added herbs, flowers & peels for fragrance.

Even though I often look down on modern witchcraft because I don’t believe it to be as powerful, I am in truth, the least powerful witch in my lineage.

I still hear stories about how my grandfather stopped a fire with a handkerchief and a few Latin words. Meanwhile, I have been stranded in a supermarket, waiting for the rain to stop.

Forget the past generations — my own brother once buried a diamond amulet in his arm. I heard it was bloody. I would never. My amulet is a Scorpio necklace from Swarovski.

Only last month, my father saw me hiding a knife in my entryway for self-defense. He said, “If you’re really powerful, you won’t need that.” I told him, “But it's not for evil spirits. It's for bad people.” He said, “Same thing.”

My theory is that it’s my rational mind that keeps me from being as faithful to the old craft as my elders are.

But I think that’s who I am. I have my own brand of traditional witchcraft. I respect the old ways, but only so far as they don’t violate my understanding of the practical world. Maybe I’ll find other ways to become more powerful while still honoring how pragmatic I am.

When casting a spell or manifesting a wish, do not focus on the thing — focus on the feeling.

Don’t focus on what the mansion looks like. Focus on what it feels like to live there.

Don’t focus on the car’s engine specs. Focus on what it feels like to drive it.

Don’t focus on the Maldives’ pristine waters. Focus on what it feels like to swim in it.

When you list your wishes for 2025, do not make them realistic. Because having “realistic” dreams is insulting to yourself.

Want a five-bedroom home but worried it’s not realistic, so you’re planning to manifest a two-bedroom instead?

Want to marry that celebrity but worried it’s not realistic, so you’re planning to pray to at least meet him instead?

Want to lose 15kg for your health and self-esteem but worried it’s not realistic, so you’ll hope for just 5kg instead?

You know how insulting it is when you share your dreams with someone, and they ask you to aim lower? You’d be doing that to yourself.

You can’t control others doubting you. But you doubting you? The fuck?

Hello, My name is Alva Tauri! I am an herbalist, spirit worker, tarot and oracle reader, and lunar and herbal witch dedicated to closing the education gap when it comes to herbalism and witch practices!

Today, I thought I'd discuss some common forms of divination for those who are wanting to get into divination practices, but aren't entirely sure where they'd like to start.

NOTE: there are infinite forms of divination out there. I will not be listing every single form in existence. If none of these methods seem right for you, that's okay! do more research and find what fits you.

ASTROLOGY

a form of divination where one interprets the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies (stars, planets, etc.) and how they influence us. astrology gives users an understanding of the situations in our lives.

BIBLIOMANCY

a form divination where the practitioner randomly chosen passages in books, often religious books or Grimoires. This method consist of picking a random passage from a book to answer a question.

CARTOMANCY

a form of divination where the user uses cards to get answers to questions. There are many different forms of cartomancy, including the use of playing cards and oracle decks, but tarot reading is the most common practice of cartomancy. (learn more here)

Start talking to yourself.

Comfort yourself when you’re down.

Soothe yourself when you’re hurt.

Encourage yourself when you’re scared.

Feeling nostalgic? Tell yourself some memories.

Messed up? Tell yourself it will be fine.

Time to sleep? Tell yourself good night.

When you’re tired, ask yourself to take a break.

When you’re panicking, get yourself to breathe.

When you win, congratulate yourself.

If you do these things sincerely and consistently, you will witness true sorcery.

Your body will start healing itself for you.

Your heart will start feeling whatever you want it to.

Your mind will start changing your environment to fit you.

No one in this world will love, nurture and protect you as much as you will yourself.

But as with everyone else, you first have to earn yourself’s devotion and loyalty.