The Cozy Witchcraft Cafe

Sometimes it is very difficult to come up with questions for tarot readings on the spot, whether you are giving the reading to yourself or if you are getting it done by another. Here is a small guide to hopefully help you with better wording your questions.

What shouldn’t you ask?

A good place to start is with what you probably should avoid. This does change reader to reader so this is not always true, but some typical things are:

Avoid Yes/No questions, these may be fine for pendulum readings but they are very difficult for tarot reading which gives you more details than a simple yes or no. Limiting yourself to yes/no questions can make the reading more difficult to interpret and even in my case when I get yes/no questions I am sometimes left baffled at what the card could mean.

Avoid questions that dig into another’s life. This could vary between readers, though such questions can be rather rude such as asking how two other people’s relationship is going or asking about a person’s secret life like “what is K keeping from me?”. these are generally avoided because well, they are rude and can make readers uncomfortable. Instead try to reword these questions such as “How could I improve my relationship with K, i feel like we are distant?” It is much more proper and involves you showing more appropriate interest in this person’s life

 Try not to ask outrageous questions. This should be a bit obvious but asking a tarot reader “how will the world end” or “when will WW3 happen” etc may seem funny but again, it is a bit rude. It is very mocking to us, try to ask questions we can actual try to answer. 

Don’t ask about your own death or when/how you will die. Though this is not agreed on by every reader, I know myself and many are uncomfortable with this question and will not answer for numerous reasons, including that we don’t want to scare or panic someone.

Health and Medical Advice. many tarot readers are not comfortable answering questions about your health or the health of others. We are not doctors or medical professionals, go and ask these questions to someone with knowledge in the subject, not us

Mental Health/Illness questions. Many tarot readers will not answer these questions because again, we are not professionals. Please seek professional help about your mental illnesses.

Always ask the tarot reader what questions they are not comfortable answering. This varies so much between person to person, so if they are doing free readings or event readers, check their FAQ if they have one or ask them what questions they are uncomfortable in asking. They will appreciate your courtesy and it can also ensure you don’t end up asking things that they won’t want to answer.

How can I come up with good Questions to ask?

This is a bit more difficult than what you can’t ask for it, again varies person to person. But as a general list of suggestions, here are some common questions that many don’t mind answering and can be nice for you too:

How will my week/month/year go? Simple but good for a general overall reading

How can I improve my relationship with _____? Not too nosy into the other person’s life and also gives you some information you can work with

How will my schoolwork/career go this month/term? 

I feel distant from _____ how can we best approach this problem?

What should I focus on this month?

What is holding me back? What can I do to improve myself?

What energies are around me today/this week/month?

What should I be more aware of in my life?

What is something i have been blind to recently?

I want to improve my ____, how can I approach this?

What are some good things coming my way?

What are some bad things coming my way?

There are many other questions you can ask but these ones above are some good general ones to start with.

When asking questions, try to make them about you rather than others. This is because you are the one getting the reading, not the other person. Plus, again some tarot readers may have personal preferences not to answer questions relating to another person’s life without their permission.

Remember not all tarot readers will do the same things! Always ask, if they don’t mention it in their FAQ if they are comfortable answering the following:

Love/Romantic Readings: I know other tarot readers who will not answer questions related to whether your crush likes you or how another person’s relationship is going. It makes some people uncomfortable due to lack of consent in some forms of these.

Communicating with Spirits or the Dead: not all tarot readers work with spirits so they may not wish to try to communicate with them

Questions about the Deceased or Death: again, some people are really uncomfortable with these types of questions

Deities: not all tarot readers are willing to communicate with your deity for you or see how your deity feels, especially when they are not connected to that deity or have a very different religious standing. Please respect that

Past Life Readings: not all tarot readers believe in past lives so not all will be willing to do a past life reading

Spreads: Not all tarot readers if they are offering you free readings will be using spreads. Spreads take time and a lot more energy 

Entity Communication: these would include communication with fae, merfolk, dragons, angels, demons, guides/guardians, and many other things. Not all tarot readers are willing to interact with these entities for you, especially if they are inexperienced with them or uncomfortable.

Revenge Readings: these would include questions related to how you can get someone back for something they did, if they will get punished for it, etc. Again, many readers may not be comfortable with these types of readings due to how aggressive and the wish of harm to come onto another can put people off.

Please always remember that tarot readers will be doing the absolute best to give you a clear, accurate reading. But, take readings with a grain of salt, things change all the time, so the reading may not always be 100% accurate. Don’t attack the reader for this, for they are trying their hardest to give you a good reading. Things aren’t always accurate, though we all try to be as accurate as possible to give you good advice. Sometimes the reading may seem like one thing will happen but something else happens, we readers make mistakes too. We are human. And the future is ever changing. Just remember that a reading you are given is never carved in stone.

recycling

going outside barefoot

smiling when you see a flower, especially daisies and other wild ones on a patch of grass

pick up a rock you like

or a leaf, or a flower, or a twig

stay in the rain for a minute letting the raindrops fall onto your face before opening the umbrella 

eating seasonal food

So you have seen our lovely bath magic spells but you cannot take a bath. Maybe you don’t have a bath in your current residence, maybe you are physically unable to use bathtubs, maybe you’re just super stretched for time but want to get in some extra magical umph. Recreational Witchcraft is here for you. 

Shower disks are traditionally used in the aromatherapy world to relieve congestion and other flu-symptoms while showering via the use of essential oils, but we will be bumping up their magical potential.

Basic recipe:

1 cup baking soda 

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/3 cup of water

Muffin tins and muffin liners

Combine baking soda and corn starch (making sure there are no clumps), then slowly add in the water. Fill lined muffin tins about third of the way, then leave out for 24 hours to dry completely. Carefully take them out of the liners, add your essential oils, and place your disk somewhere in your shower that will allow them to dissolve slowly while you do your business. Bam. You’re done. 

Now onto the magic. All dry ingredients (herbs, spices, etc) should be added in with the baking soda and corn starch before the water is added. All essential oils should be added right before they’re used (so when they’re completely dry).

Cleansing and Purifying:

essential oil of rosemary

essential oil of lemongrass

dried peppermint leaves

dried lemon rinds

dried rosemary

Protection:

essential oil of lavender

essential oil of eucalyptus

dried basil leaves

dried lavender flowers

pinch of ground cloves

Glamour:

essential oil of sweet orange

essential oil of rose

essential oil of jasmine

crushed red rose petals

pinch of (body safe) glitter

Attracting Love:

vanilla extract

essential oil of jasmine

essential oil of ylang ylang

apple seeds

1 lavender flower

pinch of cinnamon

Attracting Money:

essential oil of patchouli

essential oil of juniper berry

dried mint leaves

dried thyme

The Horai - hours - were her attendants. They clothed her and brought her to Olympus after her birth. 

The Kharites - charities - were very commonly seen attending her. They’re good things, all good feelings in company of people. This includes Aglaia (beauty), Euphrosyne (merriment), Thalia (good cheer), and later Paidia (play), Eudaimonia (happiness), Pandaisia (banquets), Pannyakhis (night parties and revels), Antheia (floral decorations), Harmonia (harmony), and numerous others. 

The Erotes -  these personifications of love, beauty, and desire were her closest and most common attendants. Eros (love), Himeros (desire), Pothos (lust), and sometimes Peitho (persuasion). Peitho was known as her messenger, seen in Sappho’s hymn to Aphrodite “…and whom should Persuasion summon me here…”

These deities tell us a lot about Aphrodite! Though she has some “darker” aspects, she’s not a dark or bloody deity primarily, and I think people forget that. She’s about love and happiness and parties and potlucks and flowers and playing. That’s who she invokes with her presence. That doesn’t negate her power! 

Ingredients:

🌿 Dried Lavender buds - Peace, rest, healing

🌙 Dried Mugwort - Protection

🌿 Dried Citrus peels (any variety) - I used Orange peels for healing and for waking with a sense of joy. Any citrus can be used, but pay attention to the correspondence of the chosen fruit.

🌙 Dried Rose petals - Healing, spirituality, protection

🌿 Either one of these stones:

- Blue Tiger's Eye for peace, protection, and dreams

- Blue Goldstone for protection, joy, and psychic senses

🌙 "Healing Sleep" sigil OR sleep sigil of your choice. Corresponding Runes also work. Here's my sigil:

🌿 Some kind of sachet to hold everything

🌙 Your energy/intention to charge it with

I added all the dried herbs first. It's mostly Lavender and Mugwort with only a few Orange peels and a pinch of Rose petals. I folded the sigil up (folding it towards me and turning it clockwise to draw positive energies to me). Once the sachet was all tied up, I charged it with Reiki energy for peaceful sleep and healing. I intended the sigil to be activated every time I sleep.

Sachet can be charged in other ways too! I'd recommend Moonlight or using a crystal grid.

Part 1

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Part 2

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-Pagan. You can be a witch and be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or any other religion that does not use the label “pagan” for itself.

-Wiccan. Witchcraft is a secular practice. Wicca is a religion that involves the practice of witchcraft sometimes.

-Religious/spiritual. You can be an atheist witch.

-Female. Men and nonbinary people can be witches.

-White. A person of any ethnicity or race can practice witchcraft and be a witch.

-Straight. Anyone of any sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bi, pan, ace, poly, multi, omni…) can be a witch.

-Cis. Trans and nonbinary people can be witches.

-A hardcore environmentalist. Respect for nature is certainly never a bad thing, but you don’t have to chain yourself to a tree or live in a building run entirely on solar power or eat only organic food to call yourself a witch.

-Vegetarian/vegan. Witches can eat meat and animal products. Remember, witchcraft is a secular practice. There is no dogma.

-Full of love and light. Witches who do not follow a religion or moral code that says otherwise may curse as they see fit.

-Dark and scary. Some witches do not want to curse anyone, and that is also fine. Make healing potions and yummy smelling tinctures to your heart’s content.

-Anti-science. Love and study of scientific fields and technology can complement witchcraft.

-A childhood witch. Some witches start practicing as adults, after marriage, and are great at it.

@lovebyluna on instagram

Yesterday I learned my backyard is home to purple ground ivy and its place within herbal witchcraft and herbal medicine was fascinating so I want to continue this journey. Obviously I know a few herbs and plants that are good for certain things but I really want to educate myself deeply!

….Ahem. Yes, I think I can help.

I’m a huge proponent of pairing magical education with mundane learning, both for safety and for context. Thus, books on plants, for spells and medicine alike, make up a big part of my library.

For the sake of convenience, I’ll break down my recs into two categories:

GREEN WITCHCRAFT

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (Cunningham) 

Garden Witchery (Dugan)

The Garden Witch’s Herbal (Dugan)

The Sacred Herbs of Samhain (Hopman)

The Real Witches’ Garden (West)

The Hearth Witch’s Compendium (Franklin)

The Hearth Witch’s Kitchen Herbal (Franklin)

The Green Witch Herbal (Griggs)

PRACTICAL HERBOLOGY

The Complete Guide to Herbal Medicines (Fetrow & Avila)

Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs (Carr)

Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Peterson Field Guides)

Edible Wild Plants (Peterson Field Guides)

Herbal Remedies (Chevallier)

The New American Herbal (Orr)

The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook (Green)

I also have a few other books that deal with practical gardening techniques and plant-related folklore, which I’m happy to provide upon request.

Please keep in mind that everything should be read with common sense and a grain of salt in mind. I have a lot more books that I refer to, but these are the ones I find myself reaching for most often.

For a really great free resource I suggest Maude Grieves Modern Herbal available online here.

Green Witch by Arin Murray-Hiscock

Green Witchcraft by Paige Vanderbeck

I agree with Bree on the Cunningham book and the Ellen Dugan books and local field guides.

For the next step:

The Witching Herbs by Harold Roth

Corinne Boyer Books (Plants of the Devil, Under the Bramble Arch, Under the Witching Tree)

Veneficium: Magic, Witchcraft, and the Poison Path by Daniel Schulke

intent of the spell

🌟 list of intents to pick from (x)

spell components

🌟 herbs, crystals and materials by correspondences (x)

🌟 crystals by shape (x)

🌟 what tools you’re going to use (x)

pick a time:

to some witches (not all) the time, day of week, junction of zodiac signs, or moon phase makes for better casting, and even strengthens their spells, here’s a quick summary of the best sort of spells to cast then

🌟 by week day (x)

🌟 by time of day (x)

🌟 by moon phase (x)

🌟 by planet influence (x) (x)

🌟 by zodiac sign (x)

performing the spell:

🌟 chose how you will perform the spell (x)

What is a Path in Witchcraft?

A path is the journey that someone takes as they practice witchcraft. Some use it to describe their past, present and future on their magickal journey. Others use it to represent what they would consider a “label” to themselves and their craft. In general a path in witchcraft is a word to describe that specific witch’s journey, views, experiences, focuses and future goals that surround their own personal magickal practice.

Everyone, absolutely everyone, has a different path because each person is an unique individual with unique interests, hobbies, views, practices and choices. This is why your path may vary so greatly from others around you, your friends and even your mentors/teachers. There is nothing wrong with this because it is your path, not their path.

How do I know what my Witch Type/Path is? Is there a test I can take?

No, there isn’t a test you take to determine what your path is or what type of witch you are. There is only one thing that determines that: you. You are the one who chooses your path and what you wish you focus on.

You don’t have to be any specific type of witch at all. You don’t have to be a storm witch or a green witch. You can be whatever you want. If you want a label and to focus your path onto one thing, then do it. If you want to be labeled as more than one thing, go for it. Do you just want to do whatever you want and have no labels? That’s perfectly fine too!

You decide what kind of witchcraft interests you by:

Researching: research every single thing you can find! Save your sources, read through articles, take notes and compare them to other articles, posts, blogs and writings on the same topic. Look at the differences but also examine who is writing: a person who is an atheist witch will have different views on the spirituality and morals of something compared to a Wiccan witch or a Christian witch. Examine who is writing the post, and take their views with a grain of salt and not as solid fact because everyone differs. If you agree with their views that’s great! If not, take it as something to consider. Research the scientific and medical relations of things as well, what I mean by this is each herb is a medicine and like medicine and drugs it has side effects, research it before ingesting it or using it. Research your crystals and stones to ensure you don’t ruin them or harm yourself with them. Science and witchcraft come hand in hand, remember that. It’s not fun sending yourself to the hospital because you overdosed on a herb you didn’t research well enough.

Cater to Yourself: By this I mean look at what you as a person enjoy doing: your hobbies, your likes, your dislikes, your talents, your interests, etc. Use these in your craft, take these and put them into your craft. Are you interested in art? Use art supplies, drawing, painting and sigils in your craft. Interested in singing? Sing your spells and incantations, use song lyrics for spells, sing to cleanse a space or attract things. Enjoy collecting stickers? Use stickers to seal spell jars and sachets, use them like sigils and stick them to things, buy stickers that relate to correspondences via color, shape, or imagery. You can use anything you want in your path. If you are passionate about gardening, then your path can bring in gardening and plants into it. If you are passionate about cooking definitely bring kitchen magick into your path. If you just love reading, bring literature, writing and spell books into your path. Bring in your interests, make your path full of things you love. Don’t force yourself to be the “dark mysterious witch” if that is not what interests you. Why bring in tea magick into your craft if you hate tea? Your path is meant for you to enjoy it, it is to cater to you. If you like pink, glitter, candy and soda then use that! Use those things, because they are important to you. That means they hold magick in them, because they are special to you. You will find more success in doing things you love and working with tools you associate with.

Follow Your Own Beliefs: This is a big one, some people in our community will try to push that you have to worship a certain religion or deity. You do not have to worship anything or anyone to practice witchcraft. You do not have to be part of any religion, all who tell you otherwise are gatekeeping. If you wish to be Wiccan then be Wiccan, if you wish to be Pagan then be Pagan, if you wish to be Christian then be Christian, if you don’t want to bring religion into your craft at all that’s fine too. It is your choice what your beliefs are, and don’t let others tell you that you are wrong but give that same courtesy to others. Others will likely have different views and beliefs than you and so you should also give them the same respect for their beliefs as you expect them to give you. If you do wish to work with a deity or religion, research it and look into what it is like to be apart of it. Ask others who worship this deity how they do and their bond with them, this can help you figure out your own way to worship.

Why can’t others just tell me how to find my Path? I don’t want to research.

Well, that isn’t how it works I am afraid. Other people don’t know what is important to you in your core, they don’t know what holds your interest or what holds your passion. They can’t just tell you everything about your path. They can give you advice based off of their own experiences however, but this is not the same as them being able to instruct you as to what to do.

Research is apart of witchcraft, that’s just a simple fact. Yes you can ask around to people what things may be or for help but think of it like this: People don’t like feeling like google. Asking someone what the correspondence of a crystal is can get quite annoying if you or just several others keep doing it when you can easily search the phrase: “Correspondence of ____ in witchcraft” and find exactly what you need or to simply search that user’s blog for that specific crystal. Research for yourself, it is your responsibility to do if you wish to use witchcraft. You walk your own path and that means you are responsible for your own lessons. People have out there tons of amazing resources that you can use.

Common Falsehoods, Lies, Red Flags and “Dishonest Truths” about Witchcraft/Paths:

You have to be Wiccan/Pagan: As spoken about up above, this not true. You can follow whatever religious practice or belief you desire or none at all.

Cursing is Bad!/Three Fold Rule: This is another popular thing people will throw out at new witches to try to scare and shame them away from cursing, hexing and other acts of baneful magick. As a whole, this is a personal opinion. If you choose to curse that is your choice and others have no right to tell you that you’re a bad person for it. But, if you chose not to curse yourself, then that is your choice. Don’t drag others down or insult them for their choice.

You can only be one type/kind of Witch: No, you do not even have to label yourself as we talked about above. If you wish to label yourself as a “Sea Witch” or “Cosmic Witch” or “Green Witch” then do so. If you wish not to just focus on one thing then that’s perfectly fine! A lot of witches don’t label themselves as a ‘specific type’ of witch.

You have to use crystals/herbs/tea/etc: Nope, you are not required to use any specific ingredients, you don’t even have to use any ingredients at all if you don’t wish to. Use what you have hand and what you like. If you have a lot of candy, make candy spells; if you have a lot of crayons, make drawn and colored spells; if you have a surplus of toilet paper rolls, use those as poppets or for spell containers.

You have to have companions/familiars: Nope, you do not have to work with spirits or animals or anything like that if you don’t want to. Before you do get yourself a companion I recommend heavy research into spirit companions and make sure you have a way to communicate with them.

“Only women can be witches!”: Nope! Any gender, sexual orientation, race, etc can be a witch. If you practice magick and you want to be called a witch, guess what you’re a witch. If anyone tells you otherwise they are not worth your time.

You have to be trained/in a coven to be a witch: Nope! You can be self taught and you can work alone. Beware of toxic covens too, there are some out there who try to gender-shame and can be quite toxic in general. If you wish to be apart of a coven ensure that the rules of the group are ones you are okay with and that you aren’t pressured into behaving a certain way.

You have to have “witch blood” if you want to be a strong witch: huge lie right here; your bloodline and family history does not weaken or strengthen your magick. You don’t need to be from a long line of witches to be a witch, you don’t have to be “born a witch”.

Tech Magick/Emoji Magick/Pop Culture Magick/Modern Magick is terrible and is ruining true magick!: You will see this a lot on tumblr I am afraid. Lots of people trying to tell other witches that their paths/craft is not “true witchcraft” since it is not based on traditional witchcraft or religions. Don’t listen to them. If you want to practice modern magick and pop culture magick that is your choice and you are valid in every way!

If you’re mentally ill/disabled/sick you can’t be a witch: Spoonie witches exist and there are plenty of them! Just because you have found that you may not be as energized as other witches means absolutely nothing. You are valid, even if you use simple and basic magick due to low energy levels you are valid! You are still a witch.

You can only be friends with/date other witches: big red flag here! If anyone is telling you this, whether it is a mentor, teacher, friend or coven member/leader you need to find someone else fast. This is majorly toxic behavior used by some witches in this community to make you cut ties with others. It is an abusive manipulative tactic that you have to be aware of and avoid. You can be friends and date whoever you want (obviously within legal terms), whether they are a witch or not.

True witches practice magick everyday: Nope! You can take breaks! Especially when you have other things going on, you are tired or you just aren’t mentally/emotionally able to do witchcraft. That is perfectly fine. Take breaks, rest up, focus on other things - its okay. Take care of yourself. You aren’t being a ‘bad witch’ for taking breaks.

Everything is related to the supernatural!: No, the mundane is a thing. Not everything you see will be a mystical sign or message. Not everything that happens to you is because of spirits, curses, spells, etc. Rule out the mundane first such as medical problems or common sense/reasoning before you go leaping onto it being some great supernatural occurrence. Once the mundane is ruled out then you can consider other things.