🔮 Learning to Witch🔮

[[before you expand: LONG text post!!]]

I got diagnosed only a couple months ago, but I have been practicing witchcraft for a little bit now. So in retrospect, here is stuff that I realized I have been doing to cope the whole time, and some new things I'm tinkering with :) Please feel free to leave your own tips or thoughts!

At all costs, avoid promising gods and spirits that YOU WILL uphold a rigid routine.

Just do not promise to give daily offerings! JUST DON'T DO IT. If you struggle with upholding a regular routine, do not promise gods or spirits you will uphold a routine for them. You should only promise things you are confident you can deliver. ((If you identify as a beginner witch it's my personal belief that you should not be promising anyone anything.))

Delete from your mindset that all witches are supposed to uphold rigid routines.

Give yourself breathing room: if you want to give scheduled offerings, maybe do one on the full moon. Or, plan it to coincide with other activities that interest you, and that you're likely to show up for.

Unless you have a few hours a week to devote to your practice, you should probably not be dedicating yourself to doing daily anything.

Rigid routine is not the only way to get regular experience with magic, build relationships with gods or spirits, or improve in your craft! You simply do not have to promise yourself or anyone else that you will do X actions at Y times.

Instead of having "do X for Y minutes on Z days" routines, try developing a streamlined ritual you can fit in anywhere for the really important stuff.

Maybe there are some really important things in your practice that you want to do on a regular basis. Maybe these are things like:

Quick personal shielding

Acknowledging and honoring spirits

General offering

Prayer for guidance

Instead of saying "I'll do shielding for 5 minutes every day after breakfast, then of course my offering ritual-", you can put a streamlined (short, easy) ritual together where you do all four of these things at once.

Deep breaths, acknowledge and honor the spirits, ask for assistance in raising a shield, offering excess raised energy to them, and praying for guidance in the upcoming task.

It should take maybe like, 2 minutes tops.

Then, slot this streamlined ritual in before most practice activities. Like:

Before other energy work

Before divination

Before spellwork

Or, use it as a sort of 'generic' access point of connection and perform this ritual:

When you shower, to calm down from the day

When you're on transit to prepare for the upcoming day

When you're feeling grateful and want to share the moment with the spirits

When you're feeling sad and need support

Instead of forcing important actions into routines that may be hard to follow, find a way to carry these actions around with you in an accessible ritual, like carrying snacks around in a bag. This way you can use other exciting activities, or other life events, as a reminder to practice your ritual of important things :)

Build a clear system of omens for yourself. Omens can intrude on your daily life and get your attention.

Maybe you have alarm blindness, forget to do divination, forget to check in with spells - so asking for omens can be a huge help. They are spontaneous messages that catch your eye. Helpful!

Research cultural omens

Research omens in your magical tradition

Journal and brainstorm personal omens

Write out, for yourself, a short list of personal omens.

Solid black pigeons mean a spirit wants attention. Seeing your favorite tree species means a spell was successful. Three gray dots means a spell failed. The scent of cinnamon buns means fortune is headed your way.

Perform a ritual announcing your chosen omens to the Powers That Be. Invite those Powers, Yourself, Life, the Universe, and Everything to send you true, accurate, and helpful messages through these omens.

Working with omens in this way is a skill that evolves over time. Your personal omen system will evolve over time if you use it. Think of it as another form of divination!

(Tip: Combine symbols with colors for an advanced system that's easy to remember. Oak trees are prosperity, but black means slow movement, red means powerful, and white means failure. After a spell you see a plumbing truck with a red oak tree logo; powerful prosperity. Etc.)

Build all your spells, rituals, and everything with the foresight that you are probably going to forget about it or not return to it for a long time.

Employ foresight and:

Encode retirement/shutdown functions into your spells!! Do you want the spell to burn out completely and leave the vessel hollow so you don't have to deal with the vessel later on? Specify that! Do you want the spell to go to 'power saver mode' and hibernate so you can save the vessel and recharge it later? Specify!

ENCODE OMENS INTO SPELLS TO REMIND YOU TO TAKE ACTIONS! "This spell brings me financial benefit, and when it runs low, I will see my omen of slow growth - a solid black tree."

Assume that you are going to completely forget that you're able to take care of this problem, so encode the spells assuming you will never remember to deal with this again:

Spell for people that will remember they want to deal with Monica (they will also be working with wards, divination, and subtle cunning): "Stop Monica at the front desk from assaulting me with her dark energies, or else limit how much of her energy can reach me."

Spell for people that are going to completely forget this is an issue they can take care of and won't do another spell on it for maybe 18 months: "Stop Monica from assaulting me with her dark energies, or reveal to everyone in the office her dark nature, but if neither of these things is possible, change something in the office so that we never interact again."

Assume you will forget about individual spells, that you will accumulate way to many spells than you can individually attend to, and that you may never take final steps like cleansing and deconstructing old spell vessels.

Build a spellcasting altar, or a spell recharging altar, where you store up all your vessels. Recharge them all at once, as often as you remember to.

Poor plan: "And when this vessel runs down I will recharge it with the waxing moon as I stand under the orange tree-" More tenable plan: "And when this vessel runs down let it drink energy from my altar; let it take up any energy that suits it; let it feed on what is available to it, according to its needs."

Focus on learning how to tie spells to external energy sources so they will stay charged for way longer.

For easy deconstruction, set blanket conditions for every vessel that it be undone and the magic erased if you take a simple action. This is called a kill code. You bake it into spells and it makes deconstruction way easier.

Try developing a barbarous word of undoing and using it every time you want to undo a vessel or a spell; this word will gain power and can become very helpful in other ways.

Once again, plan spells with the foresight that it will be difficult/unlikely for you to re-engage for formal deconstruction procedures. So, anticipate your future needs during spellcasting: "And if I ever open this jar and take out the things inside it, let this spell be released and return to the earth, let it fade away without trouble and nourish anything around it as fallen logs nourish the forest floor." This way, you know that if you accidentally forget about a spell or just take it apart, the magic already has instructions to safely dissipate and you don't have to worry.

Develop a visual language to remind you of what collected objects and spell vessels are.

This folds in real nice with a personal omen system!!

Use a combination of colors, established symbols (planetary, alchemical), and personal symbols to develop a visual conlang that helps you keep track of what things are.

If applicable, decorate or modify spell vessels so you can tell at a glance what the spell is for (violet symbol of Venus next to a paw: a spell to improve relationships with the spirits that help you with psychism)

Build a system that makes intuitive sense to you, perhaps folding in with your color correspondence associations, magical headcannon, or any other mnemonic device:

All the spells in jars are protective

Everything that's tied into a witch's ladder is about prosperity

If it has a red X on it, that's a hex

If it has a 7-pointed star, it involves your dragon guide

If you store it in a bag that has blue on it (blue print, blue button, blue tie-string) then that object is related to cleansing

Your personal visual language will gain its own power over time if used regularly, in the way that egrigores or sigils can gain power if used consistently over time :) It can become a real magical tool, not just a mnemonic device!

During spirit work, just clearly communicate that your sporadic presence has nothing to do with your dedication 🤷

When you conjure/talk to/pray to gods, spirits, or anything, address the fact that your communication/rituals/etc ARE going to be sporadic. Explain yourself and ask the spirits to extend understanding.

Some spirits/gods/etc are going to demand regular routine. AND IF THEY EXPECT THAT, then you guys need to get on the same page ASAP as to whether or not that's possible.

Spirits can be incredibly forgiving and understanding, but unless you tell them why you are sometimes around and sometimes not, they do not necessarily know what's going on.

Your spirit guide may have not read the DSM-5. Obelon the Fox-Man might not be up-to-date with the 2025 diagnosis criteria for ADHD, and Obelon might not recognize that you are struggling with a disorder that can mimic inattentiveness. Obelon might be asking why you appear to be so enthusiastic, and yet only call for him once every 5 weeks.

Just explain!! Explain what you are comfortable explaining. Give them reassurances and ask them to not misinterpret your ability to be present.

At all costs, avoid making your path a carrot that you dangle in front of yourself to try and force yourself to fix your brain through sheer force of will.

If the way you talk to yourself about your path sounds like someone struggling with unhealthy dieting, maybe it's time to readjust.

"I just need to do my daily offerings, on schedule, for two weeks. Then I will have earned researching tarot spells."

Maybe it's not a good idea to intentionally include witchcraft in a cycle of reward and denial that will ultimately drain joy from the process until your passion is a withered husk.

Witchcraft isn't going to force your brain to change any more than Stardew Valley was going to force your brain to change. Or that time you got super into succulents. If your time spent studying wool quality in heritage European sheep breeds didn't cure your disorder, witchcraft won't either.

Witchcraft, I think, deserves to be something that is a part of your joy - not a part of a system of stressful attempts at making yourself into someone you're not because "real witches" all do such-and-such routine (I assure you, they do not) so you must force yourself to do it too.

(Incidentally, if you have a 'streamlined ritual for the important stuff' and it becomes a barrier that prevents you from practicing, then maybe that's not a good idea for you - or maybe it's not as simple and streamlined as you need it to be)

STOP trying to build a static path. Lean into temporary hyperfixations.

There is SO MUCH to learn in witchcraft. It's never-ending. The more you learn, the more doorways open for you with more things to learn behind them.

This is not college, you do not have to declare your major. You don't have to wait to decide on your 'magic specialization' before you start learning.

This is not college, you don't have to take semesters of boring general ed classes before you're allowed to start studying what interests you.

Unless you are getting into very serious initiations, learning stuff, advancing your skills, and building your path is not going to shut doors and prevent you from getting into something else.

If something excites your interests, GET INTO IT! Don't force yourself to ignore what you're passionate about because you think serious, responsible witchcraft is supposed to be rigid, boring, and tedious. (It isn't!)

Avoid declaring your major. As in, maybe the idea of energy glamours is super exciting, so on day 1 you create a lesson plan that will realistically take you 70 weeks to complete. Based on your history, is it reasonable that you will maintain this specific interest in glamours for over a year?

Avoid making lesson plans that intentionally slow you down and make shit boring for no good reason. If energy glamours interest you, are you (*scrolls up*) using energy glamours as a carrot to force yourself to engage in a tedious magical workout routine? Is the reason the lesson plan takes 70 weeks because you decided to spend weeks slowly moving through each phase so you have time to spam energy work exercises?

You know yourself better than I know you. Maybe wanting to slow down and engage in your focuses in a new way is the goal. Of course, listen to yourself first!

But if you have a temporary burst of energy and focus to learn a new skill, and learning that skill won't require you to make unhealthy personal or financial decisions, why not just lean into it and explore it moment by moment, wherever your interests take you?

I think you'd probably learn a lot more doing and undoing 20 glamours in a week, because you're freaking out about how fucking cool it is, than if you practice 1 basic glamor exercise once a day because that's what real disciplined witches do, and then 11 days later you forget it once and never do it again and now your interest has faded because glamouring is just another boring chore.

Invest some time and energy into figuring out exactly what your bare minimum of responsibility and upkeep actually is.

How often do you need to recharge your wards to keep them functioning normally?

Once you've explained your own needs and limits, how often do your spirits actually request offerings?

Are you 100% sure the spirits you're working with expect offerings in the first place?

Are those offerings expected to be physical, or do thoughts and prayers suffice?

How often should you perform a personal cleansing to keep yourself feeling magically refreshed?

Feeling anxious or guilty over whether or not you're supposed to be taking certain actions is NO FUN.

It is much less fun if you don't actually know how often you need to do these things. Then it's just all guessing, all the time, and nothing is ever good enough.

If at all possible, avoid putting yourself into a situation where you feel that you are supposed to be doing something responsible in your practice, but you're never sure exactly what it is.

Manifest the career you deserve with a simple spell jar:

• Cinnamon — for speed, action, and motivation

• Citrine — for success and financial prosperity

• Rosemary — for remembrance and luck

• Petition — write your career goal on a small piece of paper

Place all ingredients into a jar. Seal it with green wax to lock in the energy for growth and manifestation.

I find a job that is delightful, fulfilling, and financially stable. The hours allow me to continue focusing on my education, and I am able to have time for my health, family, and friends. It propels me forward in my career, and I am happy. This job arrives speedily.

Ingredients:

Herbs:

A sprig of peppermint

Basil

Coffee beans or ground coffee

A dried orange slice

A stick of cinnamon

One bay leaf

Crystals:

Tigers eye

Aventurine

Pyrite

Citrine

Optional clear quartz

Other:

A yellow candle

A bowl

A dollar bill

5 coins

Instructions:

Cleanse everything first. Then light the candle. Lay your herb ingredients (minus the coffee) into the bowl as a sort of bed/foundation, with the orange slice in the center.

On the dollar bill, write the paragraph I have below the picture above, or write the specifics of what you're looking for in the new job. Do not write what you are NOT wanting. On the bay leaf, write a simplified version of this- just straight up one to three words of what you want. Wrap the dollar around the bay leaf, using wax from the candle to hold the fold down in place. Lay it over the orange slice in the bowl.

Place your five coins in a pentagram around the dollar bill in the bowl.

Sprinkle the coffee over everything in the bowl.

I have smaller crystals inside of the bowl, and bigger crystals outside charging it. But you can lay the crystals out in a grid around the bowl and later put those crystals inside the bowl.

House Guardian

House Guardians help keep wayward negative energies from accumulating too quickly or from “sticking” from day to day activities. They do not, however, stop massive amounts of it from being brought in.

Materials:

River stone that catches your eye and “feels right” (can be a land stone, any color but preferably you have a stock of these things you have picked up and can pick the one that your guard symbol can stand out on)

pen or brush (I prefer a short quill as you can see from the photo)

Black ink (Normally I have some ink I’ve made from fire ash but I haven’t had the chance to restock yet, so India Ink it is!)

Process:

Your House Guardian is going to essentially be your security guard, so treat it accordingly. 

As you pick out your stone, feel its energy. If it seems to resonate with a particular frequency that you associate with masculine or feminine, or if the stone outright says it refuses to be referred to in such a manner, give it that dignity. Most stones are neutral in that regard but “identifying” a stone in such a way only helps in naming and building a relationship. Every stone is different.

This process can take a long time, so don’t expect to get it done in a half hour. With this particular stone pictured above, I have been working at building a connection for a few months (and asked permission for it to be a part of this post). Over this time it has let me know what to call it, how to treat it, and what “face” it was comfortable with displaying. Sometimes a stone won’t tolerate a face but a symbol, sigil, glyph, sometimes a word in a certain language, sometimes even random squiggles or nothing at all. The stone will let you know.

The important thing to remember is that stones are OLD. They’re made up of millions of tiny dust particles that have traveled on the wind and water, been buried and compressed under immeasurable amounts of pressure, melted and “frozen” throughout the life-age of the Earth. They are parts of a larger whole broken off and slowly eroding away again to start that cycle anew. Essentialy they are the Earth’s “blood.” They’ve been through so much more than any of us can imagine and carry with them a steadfast stubbornness that has allowed their spirits to persist for so long. 

Being labeled and used as a House Guardian is hardly a lasting moment for them, but aside from that… and like a security guard they might divulge a few old war stories or open up about the state of things in the Hidden World. Just keep in mind as well that what they may share is not often comprehensible by humans….and is said VERY slowly.

When you’ve given it a face (literally or metaphorically) you’ve also more than likely been given suggestions on where your House Guardian would prefer to be stationed, now that it knows what you want out of the relationship as well.

Be it on a windowsill, in a forgotten corner of your home, buried in a flowerpot or in the yard somewhere, even in a purse or messenger bag (should they be a rolling stone ^w^). 

This is a spell I’ve used for many, many years. I’ve used it to win all sorts of things, from 50/50 pots and candy to bicycles and event tickets. It’s been successful to the point of uncanniness — my family will hand me raffle tickets to work this magic despite not being witches themselves. They’re a superstitious lot, and it’s common knowledge that if you want to win a raffle (or other ticketed contest), you ought to hand your tickets over to me!

And now, I’m offering this spell up to you! Note that this spell is very much grounded in the way that I work magic. You’ll have increased success if you adjust it to suit your practice’s particulars.

Note also that this spell works best with physical raffle tickets. You can do it with digital raffles, but it’s definitely more difficult with this particular working. See the spell notes below for details about that.

Spell Instructions:

Obtain however many tickets you like. I tend to go for numbers like three (or multiples of three), five, seven, or ten, but you should pick a number that's been demonstrably lucky to you.

Often, there are tickets you keep and tickets you write your name on. Before you separate them, or before you cast the tickets with your name on them, hold all of the tickets in your right hand as a long strand, grasping at the edge of the ticket at the end. (Note: If the tickets are already separated, you'll need to do the following steps for each ticket.)

Using your left hand, gently grasp the ticket just below where you're holding with your right hand and swipe down the entire ribbon of tickets toward yourself. Do this three times.

During the third pull, blow a strong puff of air along the ribbon of tickets. Focus on the concept of winning the raffle: You're blowing luck into them. Think of it like blowing on dandelions -- it's the same feeling.

Move the tickets to your left hand. Repeat the sweeping motion with your right hand from end to end, always toward yourself. On the third sweep, repeat the blowing step as well.

Repeat the entire swipe-blow-swap, swipe-blow-swap cycle as many times as feels right to you. I tend to do the whole cycle three times for good measure. You should choose a number that, again, is demonstrably lucky to you, specifically.

Separate the tickets.

Cast your tickets. I like to give each an air-kiss or blow on them right before setting them into the raffle entries receptacle for extra luck, but that's optional.

Keep your copies in a secure location on your person until results are announced. I typically put them in an inner pocket of my jeans or coat, or even in my shoe. Don’t leave them out somewhere random. If you must leave them somewhere, put them in a container of some sort (bag, box, etc.) and keep them in a safe place where they won’t be disturbed.

Wait for results to come in!

Spell Notes:

If tickets are digital or you won't get to handle them before they're cast, it's a little tougher. I have less success with this, and I'm still tweaking the technique, BUT I've had moderate success with using two strips of paper to simulate the pulling and blowing cycle. One will stand in for the tickets you cast, one will stand for the tickets you keep. Perform the ritual charm as described above. You can “cast” the tickets in a few ways; I've had luck with both burning the submission-proxy tickets and with placing them in a jar similar to a petition. As before, keep the false tickets meant to represent the ones you keep in a safe place on your person until results are announced. You might try writing out a petition and/or sigils on each strip -- describe what each is meant to represent and what they're meant to do for you, then proceed.

If you make your own physical tickets for a digital raffle, consider the color of your proxy tickets. Green might be the obvious one, but I find yellow and red to also be VERY lucky raffle colors!

Several of the steps in this spell are based off of personal superstitions I observe. If you have superstitions regarding luck, lucky events, avoiding bad luck, or winning contests of any sort, be sure to account for those in this working. Warding against bad luck (including “rebound” bad luck, especially if you end up winning) or interference will help the spell’s efficiency.

Possible additional steps to this spell might include making your tickets “float” to the top of the pile, making your tickets like magnets to the iron of the drawer’s fingers, or causing your ticket to appear more appealing for whoever is drawing lots.

I recommend keeping your copy of the tickets on your person because it strengthens their connection to you. However, if you employ spirits or work with deities, you could leave the tickets on an altar or other sacred space alongside an offering of some sort to petition their assistance in winning.

If you use this spell, please let me know how it goes! I’d be interested to see if this works for anyone else.

When they use phrases like "spinning yarns" for telling stories or "heckling a performer" without understanding where they come from, I imagine a scene in the future where someone uses the phrase "stir the pot" to mean "cause a disagreement" and I say, did you know a pot used to be a container for heating food, and stirring was a way of combining different components of food together? "Wow, you're full of weird facts! How do you even know that?"

When I say I spin and people say "What, like you do exercise bikes? Is that a kind of dancing? What's drafting? What's a hackle?" it's like if I started talking about my cooking hobby and my friend asked "What's salt? Also, what's cooking?" Well, you see, there are a lot of stages to food preparation, starting with planting crops, and cooking is one of the later stages. Salt is a chemical used in cooking which mostly alters the flavor of the food but can also be used for other things, like drawing out moisture...

"Wow, that sounds so complicated. You must have done a lot of research. You're so good at cooking!" I'm really not. In the past, children started learning about cooking as early as age five ("Isn't that child labor?"), and many people cooked every day their whole lives ("Man, people worked so hard back then."). And that's just an average person, not to mention people called "chefs" who did it professionally. I go to the historic preservation center to use their stove once or twice a week, and I started learning a couple years ago. So what I know is less sophisticated than what some children could do back in the day.

"Can you make me a snickers bar?" No, that would be pretty hard. I just make sandwiches mostly. Sometimes I do scrambled eggs. "Oh, I would've thought a snickers bar would be way more basic than eggs. They seem so simple!"

Haven't you ever wondered where food comes from? I ask them. When you were a kid, did you ever pick apart the different colored bits in your food and wonder what it was made of? "No, I never really thought about it." Did you know rice balls are called that because they're made from part of a plant called rice? "Oh haha, that's so weird. I thought 'rice' was just an adjective for anything that was soft and white."

How to Set Up Your Ancestor Altar  - High Priestess May

How to Create Your Ancestor (Ancestral) Altar - SunFiyyah TV

How to Setup and Build an Ancestor Altar, Give Offerings, Prayers and Burn Ancestor Money  - S. Ali Myers

This is a collection of articles and information pertaining to Ancestral work with both The Beloved Dead (ancestors of blood, family, familiar ancestors) & The Mighty Dead (ancestors of spirit, witchcraft). The practices that surround working with the dead, benevolent necromancy, ancestral worship, and altars, and offerings. 

Who’s Who : Ancestors (Greenstag)

Ancestral Practice, Altars & The Mighty Dead (Wildhunt)

Altars to the Beloved & Mighty Dead (Sarahannelawless)

Ancestral Altars & Rituals (Sarahannelawless)

In Search of The Mighty Dead (Pantheos)

Ancestor Altars (AFWcraft)

Honoring the Dead in the Northern Tradition (Northernpaganism)

Dem Bones (Newworldwitchery) 

Dancing with the Ancestors (Walkingthehedge)

What is Necromancy (Greenstag)

For the Ancestors (Northernpaganism)

Related Articles 

Drying & Preparing Graveyard Dirt (Unfetteredwood)

Recipe for New Flesh (Walkingthehedge)

Nature Friendly Offering Stones (Unfetteredwood)

Mullen Candles & Torches (Unfetteredwood) 

Creating an Ancestor Garden (Unfetteredwood)

Deity Dossier

This spread is intended to answer those “I’m being contacted by a deity but which one!?!” questions. This is your answer. It won’t give a name up it will give up a LOT of information to help you find out the answer.

I’ve been working on this one for what seems like forever. This is a HUGE spread. The kind of spread where you lay out on the floor and hope the cat doesn’t mess up the spread kind of spread. It’s meant to look like a tree with the four cards at the bottom being roots but I am not an artist. I can’t even stick figure well. However, I also gave you two demos of the spread in action!

Special thanks to hellboundwitch and whatever beings were used as testers.

The text is tiny so I’ll copy it below for your convenience.

Spirit or Significator: This represents the spirit, deity, or being in question. The card can be drawn or selected, depending on if you know the nature of the spirit or a card that could represent them.

Past: These are past deeds or dealings the spirit has had with either other people or you that you should know about.

Underlying Influences: Similar to Past, this represents influences that could be important to know. This may be an emotional thing rather than a past action. (Example: if previously betrayed by humans, a spirit is less likely to want to deal with humans.)

Attitude and Thoughts or General Personality: General personality and/or how they think.

Present: Their current status. If a spirit is in trouble, this information would appear here.

Situation at Hand (optional): If there’s a specific situation at hand, draw this card. (Example: A spirit asks for a large offering that would be very expensive - draw this card to see why it suddenly needs that offering.

Health: The health of the spirit, deity, or being. (Example: A land spirit could be ill or ailing due to pollution.)

Mind: Their mental health or, possibly, their overall mood.

Physical: Their physical health or how they could physically manifest. This is especially useful for finding out what deity is contacting you.

Things They Like to Do: This could be things they like to do for others, part of their sphere of influence, and/or things that could be used to connect with them or honor them. Think of this like hobbies or likes.

What to Know: Things that are imperative for you to know. This could be used to see how working with this being could affect you in the future.

What to Avoid: Things that are imperative for you to avoid doing. Example: If a spirit hates blood, don’t give blood offerings. This could also be used to see how the spirit could negatively affect you in the future.

Positive Influences: What is helpful? What will help your relationship with them? This can be something that is not in the spirit or deity’s sphere of influence but still influences them. A deity might be one of fertility but their sibling could be a deity of war. That will somewhat play into how the spirit acts. Another example would be a spirit becoming powerful because a nearby coven is worshiping it.

Negative Influences: Exactly as above, but the more negative side of things. What isn’t helping this spirit? What will not help your relationship with them? Do they feel used or not appreciated? The examples above also apply. 

Conscious Desires: What they want. This could be offerings or a general goal. This may be what they want from you. If they have an agenda they’ll admit to, it will be here.

Unconscious Desires: This is what they want but won’t admit to or what they don’t know they want. If they have a hidden agenda, it will be here.

Hopes: This can be a general list of hopes, a overall hope for the future, or what they hope to get from you.

Fears: This can be a general list of fears, what they fear for the future,or what they’re concerned about in regards of you or your life.  

For those of you staring wide-eyed at this, I offer this reading in my shop.

Have fun everyone! 

thiscrookedcrown 

Yet the truly queenly attributes of Venus are not those that relate to how Charlotte carries herself outwardly, but with what she concerns herself inwardly. She is enamored by theater, reading, art, music, and fashion. She is empathetic toward the poor and orphaned. She is considerate. She is compassionate. She is true to herself yet retains a regard for others.

Curiously, these traits are also attributed to Taurus, the astrological sign ruled by the planet Venus. As it happens, Queen Charlotte, who was born on May 19, 1744, was a Taurus. It is perhaps not coincidence that the series focusing on the queen’s past was released during Taurus season amid Mercury retrograde.

Sort of obvious, but I had to learn it (like everything else) the hard way. And as spooky season approaches and people may be revitalizing their practices after breaks, I want to say something that might end up saving a couple folks from a lot of frustration and heartbreak:

Just because it worked that way for you in the past, doesn't mean that's how it works for you now.

I mean this in a literal, making-stuff-happen with magic and sorcery way.

You guys have heard the adage that some spirit guides are with you for life, some for short periods, some for just one lesson, etc., right?

Well, the same can be said for sorcerous techniques.

I don't know if I just shed techniques like hermit crabs shed shells or what, but this happens to me a lot. Here's the kind of thing I mean:

You used to do readings with a specific little ritual involving a prayer and incense, but now that technique seems to produce incorrect readings. It feels flat and you can tell you're not connecting.

You used to be able to tie intent into knots and carry the thread around with you all day to conjure specific little occurrences, but now it barely seems to work and manifestation is spotty.

You used to be able to converse with spirits by going into a deep meditation, but now when you try you can hardly connect and it's like their messages are getting blotted out.

And I think sometimes when these things happen, people tend to process this with:

self-blame (I'm not a devoted enough witch, I brought this on myself!),

scapegoating spiritual allies (I used to pray to Hekate before divination but now my divination doesn't work, so Hekate must be mad at me), or

developing personal doubt (I used to think magic worked but now I can't replicate my own results).

When the reality is, if you're a magical snickity-snek and you've shed your skin, you might be slithering about in the soil trying to do the little old things that no longer fit the bigger, better you.

Sometimes this "shedding" is very obvious and we can feel and taste it. "Shedding" may come before, during, or after a period of intense personal transformation. It may come in a numinous moment when you hear a single phrase, or view a single image, that makes you become the Hanged Man and see reality in a whole new way.

But it can also happen without us really noticing it. I might put down my tarot cards for a couple months, pick them up again, and suddenly the ways I used to read don't work for me any more.

It's not because I'm a bad reader, or that the spirits have abandoned me, or that magic isn't real.

It's because what used to work for me doesn't any more, and now I just need to find new techniques.

So if you're trying to pick up what used to work and it just doesn't seem to be helping any more, consider that it's just like outgrowing an old set of clothes. Nothing is wrong with you, or the clothes. It just doesn't fit any more.

Since I think it'd be frustrating as hell to read a post like this without some actionable steps, below the cut are some ideas that might help you develop new techniques if your old ones seem to be failing you.

Lucy McCall | Mermaid Dish, 2022 | ceramic plate, 21 x 15 cm

Lay out the standard offerings: sweet-smelling incense, candlelight and fresh water. Feel free to include other edible offerings as well. Have with you a bell you have consecrated for this invocation, that it will only attract the attention of benevolent ancestors. You may call upon a deity who can help you with ancestor work, but this is not necessary.

With each line of the invocation, ring the bell and feel that your very being is pulling the spirits of your ancestors to you. With your awareness, reach into the sound of the bell as it ripples out into the spirit world. Take your time with this step.

Ancestors of mine Mother’s line Father’s line Ancestors of blood and spirit Ancestors human and non-human* Ancestors, from the first to the last I call to you through space and time Your flesh is my flesh Your blood is my blood Your breath is my breath Follow, my Ancestors, the sound of this bell The sweet smell of this smoke The warmth of this candlelight Come and be nourished by these offerings Come in peace and benevolence

*In my belief as a Buddhist, we have ancestors from this life and all our past lives, some of which will be non-human. 

Now, you can do any number of things:

Sit quietly and meditate on your ancestors, their presence, your connection with them. See if any messages arise.

Perform divination, asking about them, or for advice.

Tell your ancestors about yourself and your life.

Ask for their help and protection.

Pray for your ancestors’ wellbeing. Depending on your belief system, they may be suffering from sin, negative karma, improper burial rites, generational trauma, or simply the consequences of having lived the life they did which were not resolved upon their passing.