Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Practicing
Chakras are part of closed practices. Find a different theory on energy centres and how they work. I have my own here but there are many more that exist.
Do your research. Question everything. Donât follow Tumblr posts blindly. Do your research, make sure that research is credible. Some authors out there are shitty (Edred Thorsson for example). Some Etsy shop owners appropriate. Do your research.
Support minority businesses! Support local businesses!
The best basic herbs to have on hand are: sage, rosemary, cinnamon, thyme, lavender, sea salt.Â
For the love of the gods, please ward. The first time you ward, you will most likely sleep upwards of 10+ hours because it is draining as hell but WARD. Wards will keep you safe from entities that seek to harm you.
ALWAYS have a good banishing spell and a good return to sender spell on hand if you need it. Here is Part 1 of a good masterpost on protections and warding.
Always be a skeptic. Donât just believe things blindly. Is a god telling you theyâre an actual god? Question them. Do your research on that god. Always question.
DO NOT INGEST ESSENTIAL OILS. Theyâre meant to be applied topically with a carrier oil. Donât ingest them.
Some herbs will interact with your medication if youâre on them. If youâre on medication and want to try herbal remedies, talk to your doctor to make sure that your herbal remedy wonât negatively interact with your medication.
Tarot cards donât need to be gifted or stolen in order to work. Thatâs a myth. However, if you feel like youâd like your tarot decks to be gifted to you, do that. Whatever youâre comfortable with.
Your first tarot deck doesnât have to be explicitly Raider Waite Smith. My first deck was a variation on the traditional RWS style and it allowed me to read tarot more intuitively.
Thereâs no shame in using a tarot guidebook. Thereâs 78 cards thatâs a LOT to memorize. I havenât memorized them all and Iâve been reading tarot for two years now. Take your time and donât be embarrassed to read tarot from a guidebook. I do paid tarot readings and still use my guidebooks.
If youâre worried about wasting food as an offering, itâs okay to eat them. I do it. Many others do it. If youâre still wary about eating the food, if you have plant friends, you can just bury the offerings (especially relevant for chthonic worshippers).
The Theoi website is one of the best for information on Hellenism. Every thing written on that website is cited back to an Ancient Greek text, or even several.
PLEASE PRACTICE FIRE SAFETY. If youâre burning an object in a metal bowl, donât touch the bowl afterwards. You may burn yourself. Have something to put out a fire on hand should something happen. Donât burn hair. Crack a window so you donât inhale smoke. Be safe with fire.
Personalize your spells! If you find a spell on tumblr that you wanna try but donât have an ingredient, go with your instinct and research what it could be replaced with! Tumblr spells are guidelines and you can modify that shit to your heartâs content.