Witchy Things

Black tea

Think black tea makes you feel good? You’re right. It’s been proven to help you de-stress fast. It also helps eliminate bad breath. Plus medical research indicates that it lowers the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and reduces bad cholesterol.

Green tea

Want to stay slim, trim and beautiful? The antioxidants in green tea just might slow signs of aging, prevent the flu and raise your metabolism. More dramatically, it’s being shown to prevent and slow cancer, and help with arthritis and bad cholesterol too.

Oolong tea

This one’s known as a fat-buster in China, and science is indicating that it does indeed speed up your metabolism, burn fat and block fat absorption! Use it to fight expanding waistlines, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

White tea

Science is saying that white tea might be more effective than even green tea at preventing cell damage, shrinking cancerous tumours and stopping the growth of cancer cells. Plus it’s becoming the new cosmetic fix for aging skin. Beautiful!

Pu’erh tea

Traditional Chinese medicine prizes Pu’erh as a wonder tea. It’s said to aid digestion, cleanse the blood and help with weight loss. Studies in Europe are also saying it busts cholesterol as effectively as some medications.

Rooibos tea

It’s said that rooibos helps you recover from hangovers, and that it could slow dementia. Plus there’s evidence that it fights skin cancer and boosts the immune system. And it’s supposed to help with insomnia!

Maté tea

Yerba maté is a fabulous stimulant, without the jitters. It’s also full of antioxidants, so there’s scientific speculation that it could have anti-cancer properties, help stimulate the immune system and protect against disease.

Herbal tea

For spells, rituals or offerings!

I just made some offering boxes to put into the wickercreature at Castlefest, so I wanted to share some ideas! I had this idea for a while and finally found some time and energy to make some.

What you need:

🔥 Pretty patterned paper (I got some paper blocks from the dollar store)

🔥 Spell ingredients/Offerings (anything goes as long as it burns)

🔥 Cord/wool/linnen ribbon (remember: natural fibers)

🔥 Optional: pretty flowers for the top!

What you do:

Find a favourite tutorial for an origami box online. I used this one. And fold your pretty papers into a box. If you want, decorate the box a bit more. I made three: one for the Goddess Baduhenna, one for Nehalennia and one for the Horned God. I designed bindrunes for them and put them on the bottom of the boxes.

I got some fresh flowers from my garden and wrote down some poems (and made my own) to dedicate to the Gods. Then I added some herbs, lots of Marjoram as a taglock (my name means Marjoram) and even a bit of my favourite perfume. I wanted to make it as personal as possible.

Now simply close them and tie them shut. I used wool in the colours that matched the deities I’m making them for. I also tied some pretty flower to the top!

Because I’m lazy and don’t like to monologue while I’m doing a spell, here’s a couple of the single word spells I use in my personal practice.

absum - to make something be concealed from sight

     ↳ def. to be away, be missing

advoco - summoning spell

     ↳ def. to summon

casso - destruction spell

     ↳ def. to destroy, make void

bellus - glamour spell

     ↳ def. beautiful, charming, handsome

explico - reveal information

     ↳ def. explanation, to unfold

mutare - transmutation

     ↳ def. to change

cessabit - calming spell

     ↳ def. to rest, be free of

uro - burning

     ↳ def. to burn, inflame

conturbo - invoke confusion

     ↳ def. confound, to throw into confusion

taceo - to silence

It’s peach season, everyone! 

Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach compote…

What I find most refreshing at this time of year is a nice, cool Peach-Mint tea. Nothing helps me decompress after a long day of work quite like the combined sweetness of peaches and the coolness of mint. 

Now, teas like this are best made in large quantities, so you’ll want to make a double or triple batch of it and invite all your friends- or just drink it all by your lonesome because it’s so delicious that it will go that fast!

For a single batch, you will need:

8 cups of water

8 teabags (white, green, and black all have their own flavors- experiment!)

4 ripe peaches, but ½ inch thick

A small bunch of mint leaves

sugar, to taste.

Bring the water too a boil and steep the tea bags for ten minutes

Allow tea to cool in fridge

Pour tea into glasses and add fresh peaches, sugar, and muddled mint before serving. 

I find that this peach-mint tea is best served with no ICE, which allows me to relax while reading the day’s news headlines:

and you kinda feel sexy

and confident

and you feel like you can do anything

because you are a witch

and you are one with everything around you

and you know things are gonna be great 

❦ writing down and burning your spells, incantations, or intentions

❦ using meditation as a means of thanking/dismissing spirits or other powers

❦ channeling energy through memories and emotions

❦ communicating only through thoughts and facial expressions

❦ shying away from large, grandiose offerings or spells and instead opting for those that are discreet

❦ worrying that your craft is not as strong because you are not vocal

❦ lighting candles and lying crystals around the rim of your bathtub and energizing them with the sound of flowing water rather than your voice

❦ sigils are an absolute lifesaver. you can’t speak drawings

❦ your craft is personal. you keep it to yourself and rarely share your experiences with anybody but your grimoire, and maybe your cat

If you see smol birbs with few or no feathers on the ground, you can safely put them back into their nest, bird parents will still care for them.

scruffy feather bird = starting to try the fly thing, not very good at it. only put in nest/branch if predators abound, i.e. you have four outdoor cats and they’re licking their chops.

Recently I attended a class at my local Metaphysical Shop, The IIISuns. It was all about the Moon, It’s phases, And how to incorporate them into your craft. 

Here’s what I learned 

The Instructor, “The LoonWitch” started of the class with telling us why the moon was so important. As we all know, The Moon controls the tides of the ocean, Right? Well the moon also has an impact on our body’s because we are also water. Like the tides, The moon pushes and pulls us. It can drastically effect our magic. 

She also emphasized that we should make the moon personal to us. It doesn’t have to be a feminine energy by default. It can be masculine, Or genderless.

Depending on which Phase of the Moon we are in, It “sheds light” or can “illuminate different things” or energys.  

[NOTE: Waxing means Expanding, or growing in illumination, And Waning would be decreasing in illumination) 

1. New Moon:  The New moon calls for a time of beginning,  fresh starts, optimism, hope and faith. It is when you would want to organize, And prepare your spells. 

2. Waxing Crescent: Manifestation,  Building, accomplishments, creativity, strength, growth and learning, positive transformation. As the Moon begins to illuminate, so does your spell. 

3. First Quarter: The time of light, and dark. Balance. Decision making, and inviting new positive energy. 

4. Waxing Gibbous. It’s about perfection. Getting things done, making room for positivity and attraction.  

5. Full Moon: This is when the moon is most powerful, It is fully illuminated. It’s a time of completion,  Abundance, harvest, and wish-fulfillment.

6. Waning Gibbous: is about reassessment, Letting go, clearing away, cleansing, releasing, undoing bindings, opening up, Making amends, and making space. 

7. Last Quarter: Banishment. As light leaves the moon it is also banishing, and letting go of bad habits, and negativity. 

New page in my grimoire/BoS! It’s a pagan perpetual calendar. It has the wheel of the year and the phases of the moon which I can spin so that the current one is at the pointer (the broom on top). It spins!

we somehow found our love for the occult and decided we wanted to dive in head first, and then didn’t realize where to start

“is this a good one?” we say as we skim through the tiny metaphysical section at our local bookstore, and walk out with a mishmash of titles from various authors, all with conflicting opinions 

we jot down notes in old school notebooks because that leather grimoire we found online was too expensive

we ditched the books we read over and over again and turned to the internet, hungry for hidden knowledge

we all stumbled upon spellsofmagic.com and tried to do the unthinkable before realizing that it wasn’t working and got discouraged

we realized that *gasp* you can write your own spells, but how? 

we spent hours compiling correspondences for every herb and spice in our kitchen pantry, and dug through boxes to find our old crystal or seashell collection from when we were kids thinking “i could probably use these for… something”

we spent too much money on candles and incense before realizing we could get them cheaper online

we practiced drawing sigils and symbols to make them perfect before crumpling up the paper and starting all over

we learned to go outside and look at the moon to see what phase it was in and how we could possibly use that to our advantage 

“what cardinal direction was for fire again? south?” we went back to the drawing board, digging through our notes to find the section in which we wrote down the information before giving up and doing a quick google search instead

we set up wiccan altars because we didn’t know that there was anything else out there at first

we learned about intent, and made sure that we were careful to stir our tea or coffee in one direction or the other to set the mood for the day

we would squint at bottles of body wash in the shower to find the ingredients and quickly figure out how to use them for magick: “jasmine and lavender? i think that’s good for peace or something”

we say little incantations when we cook dinner, or pour food for our pets - “bunny, you are happy and healthy. enjoy!”

What is the “placebo effect” -  a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment

One of the hardest aspects of witchcraft is proving it actually works. When it comes to spell jars, sigils, and other energy type work the only proof we have of its abilities to actually do anything is our own experiences.

Think of it this way:

You create a spell jar to banish negative energy from your home. You’ve been having this feeling in your gut that something just isn’t right. When you come home you feel some sort of bad mojo around you.

So you put together a spell jar. You collect all your ingredients and you perform your spell. Everything went just as planned and you have your jar all finished. You decide to place it on your altar or maybe you choose to bury it in your yard, or place it somewhere hidden like a closet or dresser..

You start to feel a lightness surrounding you (like that heavy bad feeling is gone or at the very least, slowing dissipating). ~ it’s working ~ the spell is actually working…. or is it?

You’ve been told that this will banish the negative energy from your home and you believe it. So did a jar full of herbs, objects and whatever else you used actually banish the negative energy? Or did it work because you believed it would? 

We’ve argued to a point of exhaustion about intent in witchcraft. “All you need is intent, everything else is just extra shit.” You ever wonder why witches tell you this? It’s because they have some awareness that all you need to do is believe it works and it’ll work. 

I’m not one of these witches lol. I’m into science and hard facts. Which is probably why my craft mostly centers around herbalism (and the medicinal properties of herbs) but I do still use crystals, candles and I’m a tarot reader but that doesn’t mean I’m not self-aware. I understand that my craft will be questioned and what kind of witch would I be if I didn’t also question my own craft and how it works. 

Of course I’m not saying magick isn’t real or that witchcraft is just made up bologna. I am a witch afterall lol. What I am saying is that witchcraft and the placebo effect are very similar.

There have been medical studies where they’ve found that more than 30% of those given a placebo reported the same results as those given the actual drug. This begs the question; are the active ingredients (or properties) in the drugs actually doing anything? or is the power of suggestion strong enough to mimic the results of the drug in question?

LIFE GOALS.

No seriously, this is my life goal.

I want to be the neighborhood witch who bakes tasty food for potlucks and gives good advice, who the parents don’t always approve of because of that WITCHCRAFT business (even though some of them sneak over to ask for charms every now and again) but who they accept because the kids all instinctively love and trust her and come to her house if they need help…or a snack. I want those parents to know that their children would always be safe with me, because anyone who tried to harm them would lose a hand before I allowed them to raise it to a child in my neighborhood.

I want to be the mother bear who young people come to when they have trouble with their SOs, the house where battered women know they will be safe, and the place where runaway pets somehow turn up safe and sound even after all hope is lost. I want to be that tough, ageless Auntie who stands in the doorway with a baseball bat and orders a violent drunk to get the hell off my property while their partner is safe inside my house.

I want to be a person who makes the word “witch” synonymous with strength and kindness and resourcefulness; with knowledge and cunning and witty platitudes; with gardens and knowing grins and stony-eyed glares that stop troublemakers cold; with warm cookies and sweet tea and a gentle hand to squeeze your own across the table or patch up a scuffed knee.

Because everyone gets sick, even witches! Witchcraft does not replace proper medical care, and please be cautious when using herbs and do proper research*

Teas and potions:

Sore throat potion

Sore throat sage tea

Cough/cold tea

Mama’s cold curing tea

Cold banishing potion

Feel better tea spell

Sick witch’s brew

Flu and cold buster

Soothing tummy tea

Vitamin C healing potion

Syrups:

Easy DIY cough syrup

Soothing lemon cough syrup

Simple elderberry syrup

Magic cold syrup

Food:

Swamp’s immunity boosting noodles

Faye’s patchwork soup

“I am not getting sick!” broth

Spells:

Simple sickness spell

Simple healing spell

All-purpose recovery spell

Christian witch healing spell

Healing/cleansing spell bottle

Bath magic:

Anti-nausea bath

Healing milk bath

Healing bath

Shower meditation

Odds and ends:

Cold and flu remedies

Lil’ witch tips for sickness

Immune system sigils

Herbs for a sick witch

Onions

Coriander seeds

Eucalyptus 

Basil

*Resources for herbal interactions:

U.S Department of Health and Human Services

AAFP

Potential Herb-Drug Interaction Chart

Checking for Possible Herb-Drug Interactions

For those among us who, like myself, value the simple little things we can do to keep our homes and hearths happy, healthy, and still magical! I hope you all find some use out of these little bits I’ve picked up along the way.

• Make a spray of salt, water, vinegar, and herbs you associate with protection (I use pepper, lemon, and rosemary- though I do recommend a variation of Thieves oil, if you’re interested in also cutting down on germs and such) to use when cleaning to add a magical boost to protecting your home.

• Through many of us don’t have the traditional old school hearth setup, I like to light a candle to symbolize the hearth fire burning in my home. I use this ritual to honor my gods and their presence in my home. This also helps me feel connected to the hearth fires of old and to all those who came before me, allowing me to be here.

• Timing your chores with moon cycles can be an effective way to get witchy and remember to actually do certain chores, which we all forget from time to time (no? Just me? Alright then.)

• Enchanting your throws, blankets, and miscellaneous comfy things to be loving, comforting, and reassuring for those who need it is always a nice touch.

• Making a charm for a healthy, happy, and protected home! I made a little witch ball out of a plastic Christmas ornament and some items that matched my intent and it’s been good.

• Don’t underestimate the magical nature of mundane chores. Sweeping? I like to visualize that I’m sweeping out all of the gross energy and vibes along with the grime. Vacuuming? Same deal. Airing out the house? Inviting in clear and flowing energy. As long as you make it meaningful, it is.

• If you’re into home decor, switching out wreathes and interior decorations is a good way to stay in tune with the feel of the season.

• Warding your home! This can take many forms, such as a witch ball, wind chimes, a rock guardian, or whatever else you see fit!

• Adding charged water to your cleaning supplies can really help intent and usher in the seasons. I like to use solar water with some lemon to welcome in the spring and summer and moon water with some chai spices to welcome in fall and winter. Some people like to use this method for a magical mopping scenario, I just use it for the front door.

• Laundry magic is real, y'all. Even if you don’t make your own detergent or fabric softener, you can buy scents that correspond with certain intents (citrus for joy, lavender for relaxation, etc).

• I enjoy working my crystals and plants in my home decor. Our little rock and plant friends are great for keeping a home feeling happy and healthy. They raise the energy of the home, but also make it a bit more inviting in feeling and appearance.