a collection of witch notes

Southern Hemisphere Edition

🌑 New Moon 🌑 — time used for starting anew, personal growth and setting new intentions

Magic: consecrating new tools, cleansing and banishment

When: the moon is directly between the sun and earth, so we see the dark side of the moon

🌒 Waning Moon 🌔 — time used for gratitude and banishing negativity

Magic: cleansing and banishing rituals

When: the sun begins to move further from the moon so we see the first dark crescent until the moon is dark

🌕 Full Moon 🌕 — time used for using power and energy and sealing intentions

Magic: cleansing and charging rituals, manifesting and divination

When: the sun is opposite the moon so we see the entire light side, two weeks after the new moon, for three days before and three days after

🌖 Waxing Moon 🌘 — time used for gaining power and energy and acting on intentions

Magic: love and attraction magic, cleansing and protection rituals

When: the sun begins to move closer to the moon so we see the first crescent of light until the moon is almost full

🌑 Dark Moon 🌑 — time used for regaining energy and reflection

Magic: no magic is performed, focus on personal matters and self care

When: three days before the new moon, the moon cannot be seen in any phase

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Here’s the explanation for fellow baby witches

Fun fact: The moon appears upside down from Australia! That means the waning/waxing phases appear opposite to how they would from the southern hemisphere, which is why the emojis seem incorrect (this is an edit because im stupid and didnt realise)

It's generally accepted in witchcraft that we get our energy and power from the moon. As the moon goes through different phases, so do our abilities. This is why it's important to pay attention to the moon phases, so we know which forms of magic are best to perform and what time for the highest success rate.

I never did this, and I dont know why, but i regret it. I lost motivation in witchcraft for a while because nothing i seemed to be doing was impacting my life. I had a recent spark that brought me back though, and i regret not paying more attention to this stuff, because i'm a very structured person as it is.

An important note is that this isnt a complete list of all the phases, it's an overview. there are more detailed versions all over tumblr with crescents, gibbouses and quarters, but this is my current understanding at my current level, and one day i'll expand it.

What is Cleansing?

Cleansing is the act of magically cleaning a space. You’re going to want to do this before warding, and doing it regularly can also be useful for general upkeep. You could think of it like taking a magic shower, or cleaning your house. There are a number of methods, but making sure you use intent with them is, as always, extremely important in making sure it works. Cleansing is a form of accomplishing two goals. Casting out negative energy and bringing in positive energy. Inviting positive energy to replace or overwhelm the negative can work, as can removing the negative energy in order to allow for all that remains to be positive. There are ups and downs to both. One that invites the positive might miss some of the negative and one that repels the negative might not have enough energy to leave it in balance. Combining two might solve this or adjusting a technique to do both is useful. Most of those listed below have elements of both removal and invitation. These techniques can be combined and worked until you find something that works for you.

Empowered Cleaning:

This technique involves physically cleaning a space. Wiping down windows to bring in sunlight is one example of a way you could do this. I personally add lemon juice and white vinegar to my mop water in order to infuse it with the associations of cleansing and water. As you clean, put your intent and energy into the action to not only clean the floors, window, or what have you, but to clean the space of negativity and anything unwanted.(edited)

Incense:

Burning incense and or herbs and moving it around an area is a good way to cleanse a space. You’re going to want to go around counter-clockwise because you are removing the negative energy from a space. Lavender and frankincense are what I use, but something similar could also work for you. As you walk and burn it, let the smoke fill the space and cleanse where it goes. A few times I have put the incense in the intake vent for the air conditioner allowing the vents to help circulate the smoke to areas I might have missed. Modern problems require modern solutions. Let your intent flow around. I usually open a window afterward to allow the smoke to air out. This should also let fresh air in.

Using "Smudge Sticks":

Using "smudge sticks" is similar to burning herbs, but usually involves special sticks. These are usually herbs wrapped in string in order to bind them together. You might recognize this practice from sage sticks as this is one of the most popularly seen versions (don't use white sage, see note below). A bowl of sand tends to be something you need as you will want something to put the stick out in afterwards. You would also want a candle to keep the stick lit. Contrary to burning incense, in using "smudge sticks" you want to go in the other direction and cleanse yourself first and move clockwise. You will also want to open a window to allow fresh air into the space. You are bringing in good intentions as the herb itself is removing them. Watching the smoke interact with certain objects is also sometimes said to be able to tell us different things. According to some traditions you’re going to want to return the charred remains to the earth.

(Note: the related Smudging where the smudge sticks get their name from has lots of nuance on this related to Native American culture. This is not to be appropriated. This is from our research, and borrows ideas in order to help use the "smudge sticks" properly based on others, but Smudging specifically is part of a culture that we do not belong to and while we didn't want to not mention that it is a practice, we are not qualified to teach you. White Sage is also subject to poaching that threatens the species and should only be sourced carefully.)

Spoken invocations for cleansing:

As with other spoken invocations, what you say doesn’t matter as much as how you say. Some use poetry or verse, but theoretically you can shout “begone thot!” at the space to command out negative energy, or affirm that the energy in the area is clean.

Crystals:

Certain crystals can be used for cleansing and removing negative energy. Some of them help cleanse, but others just absorb negativity and can break once they’re used up. Walking around with them to absorb the negativity can remove it, but then you might want to cleanse them also, not unlike how you might cleanse yourself after you cleanse the space.

Visualization:

As with many forms of magic, it is possible to perform this without using components. Visualizing bright light flowing through yourself or the space you wish to cleanse can help remove the negative energy from it. This is not as advised if you aren’t very practiced with working with energy, but just for use on yourself if you feel like you want to meditate and remove some negativity, and if you don’t have anything with you, this can be very useful.

Whether you get your tarot cards as a gift, buy it online or in-store, it has picked up a bunch of energies from the different people who have handled it. This means your readings won’t be as accurate as they could be. So here’s a guide for beginners of how to take care of their first tarot deck!

Cleansing:

It’s best if you cleanse your deck as soon as possible, and don’t leave it overnight without cleansing on the first night. This is because the energies the deck has picked up could be negative, and it could have an unwanted effect on you. There are heaps of ways you can cleanse your tarot deck, and you can use all of then, or even just one depending on what you have on hand. Here are some easy examples (keep in mind, while performing these you need to have a ‘cleansing’ intent in mind for it to work):

Shuffle the deck

Tap three times on the deck

Blow on top of the deck

Place a tumbled clear quartz crystal on top of the deck

Wave the deck through incense

Create a sigil for cleansing and leave it in the box

'Reset’ the deck by putting it back in its original order by suit and number

This one is best for cleansing after a reading to remove traces of previous energies

Don’t freak out though if someone else touches your deck, nothing bad will happen, just make sure you cleanse it before doing another reading so it’s still accurate. In some situations, you can have someone purposely hold, shuffle, split or draw cards from your deck if you’re doing a reading for them in person and want their energy to be better connected with it.

Bonding:

Bonding with your deck is just as important as cleansing if you want an accurate reading! You should be able to feel a connection with your deck, which helps you understand what it’s trying to tell you through the readings. These are ways you can bond with your deck:

Sleep with your deck under your pillow

Play solitaire with your deck

Watch a movie or TV show while shuffling your deck, then ask it questions about what it thought of the genre/characters/themes (I did this while watching Assassination Classroom and my deck said the school was stingy af 😂)

Play music on shuffle while shuffling your deck, then pick a card to help explain the song

Draw a card every day in the morning after shuffling to represent how your day will be

While you’re doing these, take the time to look at the art of each card. Without looking at the guidebook, try working out what you think the card means by looking at things like the colours, shapes, background, animals, plants, figures, and repeating symbols. After you’ve don’t these, you can try a 'get to know my deck’ spread, like this one I made, or make one of your own. This can help you see what kind of things your deck is and isn’t good at reading, and it’s strengths and weaknesses.

Charging:

Like crystals, water, and most other magic tools, tarot decks need to be charged. This is very similar to cleansing action-wise, but it comes down to the intent of those actions. While cleansing is about removing energies from the deck, charging is more like putting energy back into it. This means they have to be performed with a 'charging’ intent rather than a 'cleansing’ one. Here are some examples of how you can charge your deck:

Place one or more pointed clear quartz crystals around the deck, pointing inwards

Leave the deck under the light of the full moon

Create a sigil for charging and leave it in the box

Hold the deck and envision a pure ball of energy moving from you into the deck

Shuffle the deck

Drawing and Shuffling:

There are heaps of ways to shuffle and draw cards that you can go through until you find the one you most prefer! 

Shuffle the deck gently using your method of choice, then break the deck and reverse

If a card jumps out from the deck while shuffling, it’s calling to be read

Let the subject of the reading shuffle the deck while thinking about their question

Let the subject of the reading pick the cards while thinking about their question

Spread out the deck in a line and pick cards based on intuition

Spread out the deck in a line, pick one card based on intuition, then draw the cards either side of it

Pick cards straight from the deck without spreading them

Pick the cards at the top of the deck without spreading them

Let a small group of cards drop onto each section of the spread, the pick the one that’s on top for that position

Let all of the cards drop, spread them out messily, then pick cards based on intuition

When I say 'based on intuition’ I mean that a card could have a different energy to the cards around it. It could seem a slightly different colour, or it could be the one your eyes are drawn to etc, and this is how you can tell if a card is calling out to you to be drawn.

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Other info

If you’re doing an online reading, try to get info such as the subject’s initials, star sign, hair/eye colour, gender (and pronouns), element etc to have a better connection to them for a more accurate reading

Try to avoid yes/no questions, and swap them out for something like “what can I do to make me more likely to…”

Okay, for reference, I'm a Digital Witch. now you're probably thinking, "Digital Witch?? What on earth is that??" and I'm here to answer that.

Just with all types of witchcraft, it's varies depending on the individual practitioner, but here's what it is to me.

Digital Witchcraft is a type of witchcraft that uses technology and social media as a magickal medium. Devices carry a lot of energy and most people already have a bond with their phones, computers, and other devices. On top of the energy that digital technologies carry, social media is also extremely powerful when it comes to magick. The fact that you can connect yourself to billions of people at the press of a button is quite amazing, and I'm sure you can imagine what kind of power that holds. digital Witchcraft is very much a type of magick that thrives on the connections made with others.

🧁How I Practice🧁

Digital Grimoires. This is a medium that's becoming more and more commonly used by witches in general. the fact that you can have all your spells, magickal journal entries and other such stuff in your pocket or bag at all time, directly in your phone, is extremely useful. I personally use Toxx; a really cute and extremely customisable diary app. I'm not sure if it's on the Apple App Store, but it's on Google Play. here's the link if you want to check it out: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wscreativity.toxx

Digital Tarot Decks: There are heaps of Tarot apps around where you can easily use for readings. you don't have to worry about accidentally losing cards in your deck and you can access it anywhere without needing a place to lay your spread. on top of that, since you likely already have a bond with your phone, it makes the bond with your deck that much stronger. I use Kawaii Tarot by Diana Lopez. here's the link ://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kawaiitarot.kawaiitarot274774 this app gives you a number of spreads to choose from and gives a brief explanation on the meaning of each card. if you like the style of this deck but aren't interested in using a digital deck, it's also purchaseable as a physical copy

Emoji Spells: okay, so there's a lot of debate on whether emoji spells are valid or not, but I think every medium is valid so long as no harm is being done and you're putting all of your mind into it. They're not extremely strong if you just mindlessly reblog them, but creating your own or reblogging them with intent and mindfulness can lead to very powerful and vet legitimate spells. On top of that, when you create your own, every like and reblog helps your own spell get just that little bit stronger as well as help the reblogger.

Mindfulness: Okay so this isn't necessarily a magickal medium but rather a preparation for things. there are lots of mindfulness apps you can get and use for a while before doing spells to make sure you're grounded. The app I use most is #Selfcare by Tru Luv Media. it's designed specifically for witches and has a Moon Calender, a Tarot deck, a Diary and a bunch of interactive mindfulness games. if you really wanted to, you could use this app for all your digital craft! here's the link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.truluv.android.selfcare

Digital Sigils: Okay, so if it wasn't obvious by how absolutely infatuated I am with technology, I also make my sigils digitally. I simply draw them up in an art program and make them all pretty. I usually charge my digital Sigils simply by pronderibg mindfully on it for a while, and I often insert their images in the form of a sticker into the corner of my schoolwork pages which, yes, I also do digitally.

🧁Conclusion🧁

I've covered warding recently in my protection post. But here I will go into more detail on what warding is, the most popular ways to ward and how to create them as well as when to know when a ward is no longer useful or has been broken. I will also go into baneful warding and what it is.

What is warding?

Warding is a form of defensive magick which acts as your first line of defense against negativity. Be this baneful magick from another practitioner or negative entities and general negative energy. There are multiple ways to ward with each practitioner warding differently to the other. Wards come in all shapes and forms, and there is no limit as to how much warding you should do, you protect yourself as you see fit.

What is baneful warding?

Baneful warding is a form of warding in which the negative that hits a ward gets sent back to its source. Baneful warding is seen as a more "advanced" form of magick, however not too advanced for a novice to do with the appropriate amount of research. Baneful warding can come in the same forms as normal warding would.

Warding jars

Perhaps one of the most common wardings on this post, warding jats usually contain ingredients charged with the intention of warding. These ingredients usually range from herbs to bodily fluids such as saliva or blood. These jars are either buried on the practitioners property, left above entryway, left on an altar, or are carried with the practitioner when they want protection on the go.

A warding jar might contain: ashes of a warding sigil, bodily fluids, herbs and plants, crystals, bones, warding or protection oils, spices, metals, glass shards etc. These jars are then sealed with black or white wax (or are sealed in any other way, with glue, tape or simply just with intention).

When a warding jar is broken, you might find the contents of the jar to become moldy, the jar shatters, the seal might break or the contents of the jar to go off, you also might feel that the jar no longer has its power. When this happens, if the jar is intact, break the seal and empty the contents into the bin/trash or return them back to the earth. You can then cleanse the jar with your preferred method of cleansing and reuse the jar for another ward or spell.

Talismans and symbols

Talismans are objects which are charged with the intention fo protection or warding. A well known example would be the Nazar, known to ward off the evil eye.

Symbols are used to represent something or represent an intention example would be the pentacle/pentagram, a well known protection symbol. Another example could by the Eye of Horus, a symbol used by the Ancient Egyptians for protection, health and restoration.

You can create your own talismans and symbols to aid in warding. These might be used to ward against a specific thing, or can be used as a general ward to all negativity.

A talisman or symbol might break or feel like they're no longer useful once theyve done thier job. If this time comes, you can simply dispose of the old one and create a new one.

Sigils

Sigils are created and can be programmed with any purpose necessary. May this be warding ot cursing, they can be used for almost any working.

Sigils can be burnt to activate them, with the ashes being used in spells to add extra power. Sigils can be put up around your house or around your room for warding. These sigils can look like anything, simply draw them with the intention of warding.

Crystals

Crystals can be placed above entryways or in windows to act as a ward. Crystals can also be added to spells to give a desired effect or worn as jewellery to act as warding or protection on the go.

Some examples are: black obsidian, black tourmaline, clear quartz, amethyst, hematite.

When a crystal ward has been broken, the crystal might shatter, or go missing. Or you may feel the crystals energy feels different than usual. With crystals you cam simply cleanse and recharge the crystals to be used again!

Spells

Warding spells can be as simple as a dressed candle, or can be a complex ritual. Warding spells differ from practitioner to practitioner. Similar to warding jars, these spells might include the use of herbs, bodily fluids, crystals, plants etc. The methods of creating a warding spell vary, as there is no one way to create one.

When a ward breaks down, you might feel the ward break, or if it does what is intended, you might feel something bounce off the ward. Depending on the negativity sent your way, the ways in which you might feel a warding spell break down vary, this could range from feeling sluggish or nauseous to downright feeling psychic attack. (Whenever this happens, please consult a doctor, mundane before magical. What you may feel is a magical occurrence could be explained by illness, so please consult a doctor of you feel this way constantly)

Hello, another great question! Sigils are tools of the craft and can technically be charged in any kind of way that you are most comfortable with. The most common way to charge a sigil is by incorporating the elements; the elemental can be pulled from the type of spell/magick work you are doing, the elemental sign of yourself or the person you are working on or from the environment you find yourself in while performing the charge ritual. 

I find that there’s a fork in the sigil road, so to speak, and you need to consider if you want to charge and destroy your sigil or charge and keep it first. So once you figure that out, then you can move on to the proper charging method.

Destroying the sigil with a power charge means a one-time use, draw it out, sew it into your memory and discard of it by using one, or a mixture of the elements. 

Dig a hole and bury the sigil to represent Earth

Throw it away in a body of natural water to represent Water

Burn it down to ashes to represent Fire

Rip it up into fine pieces and release it into the wind to represent Air

Envision the sigil glowing/burning into your mind in bright white light energy and release it mentally into the universe to represent Spirit.

Charging the sigil to keep is fairly similar, only we get rid of the whole destructive part. 

You can keep stones and herbs that are beneficial to the specific sigil close by. Heck, you can even collect a little jar of dirt and keep it near the sigil to represent Earth.

You can expose the sigil to something representing Water. This can literally be a cup water or even a painting/photo of the element.

You can keep a burning candle nearby the sigil to represent Fire.

You can allow your sigil to sit in the light of the sun or the moon to represent Air

You can also use the envisioning technique here too in the exact same way to represent Spirit.

To be honest, charging sigils mentally is one of the easiest ways if you’re just starting out and have very little physical tools to work with. I have mentioned before that our minds are our most powerful tool and it only takes our true belief and intention to manifest what we need and want into the world around us.

Sigils are magical drawings or symbols imbued with spellwork.  They are generally either self-contained spells or part of a string of symbols.

Forms of Sigils: A few examples to help you along! Preexisting Sigils and Runes: This one is fairly self explanatory.  This is using existing sigils and or runes to channel intent.  Nordic runes, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and even Chinese characters are open game for usage when charging them with intent.  Alchemical symbols and religious symbols also tend to fall into this category.  From the fish of Christianity to Brigid’s cross, all the way to the sigils of demons, there are upwards of thousands of symbols that have been used throughout history both tied to deities and not.

Word sigils:  Using word sigils is the practice of imbuing a word with magical intent.  In practice this might look like someone putting the word “Protected” on their bag or on a piece of paper to act as a ward.  Some people like word sigils because their lative language is often something they understand on a very deep level that has meaning to them, but the opposite might also be true where you might avoid it because the word you want has a meaning to you that doesn’t line up with your intent.  If this seems like an appealing option, but doesn’t quite feel right I’d suggest coming back to the idea in the Letter Method of crafting your own sigil.

Sentence Sigils: Similar to word sigils, sentence sigils are also the practice of using written words imbued with intent to do spellcraft.  This one tends to be the least recognizable as a sigil.  Your “Live Laugh Love” poster in your living room could technically, in this wider umbrella, be considered a sigil.

Self Crafted Sigils:  Self crafted sigils are the sigils we make ourselves.  This is usually what comes to mind when people think of sigils.  There are many ways to make them that are discussed below, but the essence of them is a design we craft and give intent to.  It’s not much different from a symbol that already exists, but when we craft them ourselves they can take on more specific and sometimes more complex intentions.

Techniques for crafting sigils

Assuming you want to make your own sigil instead of using a symbol that already exists, there are a few methods.  The most important part is charging them with your intent, but sigil crafting is an art form and giving it some personal touch or inherent meaning can take it up a notch.

The Letter Method: This method is done by taking a word that means what you want it to and deconstructing it into its base letters and reshaping it into a symbol.  How people go about this varies, some people remove vowels, some people cancel out repeat letters, some people do it differently every time depending on what they think feels right.

Simple Shapes:  

This sigil making technique arguably has roots in the ideas of sacred geometry, but in practice generally revolves around combining basic shapes.  I am personally attached to the hexagon for things like warding for instance.  It is the strongest shape in nature and makes both snowflakes and beehives, but there are lots of reasons to use all the other shapes.  Circles are also often used for the belief that they protect and contain.

Circle Method: 

This method is done using, well, circles and going from point to point within circles within circles.  Some people use natal charts for this or map it out using the zodiac signs they want to incorporate and drawing from one to another.  Could do it by having the ones you want to be predominant on the outside or the starting point and going around.  The options could go on from there.

Mandala: 

“Mandala actually means ‘circle’ in Sanskrit. You can create mandalas for different things, to symbolize different intentions. As you draw and create, a mandala can reveal the inner workings of yourself and your soul. It can be used as a meditation and mindfulness tool, to create feelings of inner peace and calm, reduce stress and anxiety, and much more. It is a fun, creative and personal way to explore your inner self, express feelings, merge inner and outer worlds, and also use it as a manifestation tool. It can be inspirational and therapeutic.”  Mandalas are most easily made, in my experience, by making a small circular design and expanding outward by drawing designs around the small circle.  Continue this process of drawing around the smaller circles as it gets bigger until it’s the size you want.

Bindrunes:  

Bind runes are done by combining nordic runes together.  This is done by stacking or putting smaller versions of the runes on a larger one.  This is done by running the runes together on a single middle line.  One way to do this is to draw a straight line and try to incorporate all the runes you want into that shape whether it being making the straight part of one into the whole line or tying the rune to it.  This might be easier explained visually and if you’re having trouble feel free to either look up an example, or ask!

The Freeform method: 

Another on my Witchy Quick Tips series! We talk a bit about fire safety and what it means when you practice witchcraft.

When you think of witchcraft, perhaps you think about a cauldron boiling over a fire…or maybe you don't. Either way, fire is a common element used in witchcraft. Whether we're burning things, cooking things, or setting fire to bigots, we use fire often! So let's talk a bit about fire safety.

Fire Safety Tips

In general, when using fire, make sure that you have a fire extinguisher or another way to put out the fire nearby and ready to be used at any moment.

When using candles, do not leave them without supervision.

If you're planning to burn things, first make sure they will not explode, making sure they're generally safe to be set of fire (like paper).

Also, when burning things, make sure you have a fire safe container such as a cast-iron pot, a metal burn barrel or cage. You can also buy a literal cauldron if you'd like! I personally use a fire-safe ceramic bowl that I got from a faire.

Be sure that if you're burning things in any type of vessel, that it is on a heat resistant surface such as a trivet, brick, or stone.

Do not leave any flame unsupervised.

Keep pets and small children away from any open flame.

Make sure your smoke alarms are working if burning things inside.

Also be sure to only burn small items inside and that it is in an open, well ventilated space.