val ॐ

I’m trying not to judge myself in a negative way. I will accept my flaws and focus on things I like about myself and things I can improve.

I’m letting go of things and habits that don’t serve me. It’s time for a new chapter in my life.

I’m deeply loved, even when I don’t feel it.

I will make the most of being at home, and I have things to be excited for when this is over.

as saturn as entered aquarius, here’s how the progression has impacted lifes as seen below:

Being forced to change our lifestyles due to uprising presence of virus

revelation by society on the flaws in our economy, work and healthcare system

relying more on technology to function in our daily lives

rise of tiktoks and social media to spread views and awareness

people working together as a country to fight and protect

less focus on status and salary, more focus on healthcare, food service and cleaners (who are typically overlooked by society)

creativity and talents showing because more people are forced to be alone and thus they can reflect on themselves more

funny enough, there’s rebellion by certain groups of people who do not oblige to quarantine or no party rules. “i’d rather get the virus than stay home”

being united as a community although people are individually isolated (aquarius is known as the humanitarian sign that cares for the community as a whole rather than the individual)

i’m sure we all have times where we feel like witchcraft is too much, too time consuming, not fulfilling enough, or we just can’t seem to get motivated to actually practice. this is especially true for my spoonie witch self! here are tips i’ve found useful for when i personally feel burnt out.

pace yourself. don’t feel like you have to get back to where you once were in your practice right away. try one tarot card a day. do some light energy work this week. schedule a day to make a tasty potion (hot cocoa potions are the bomb for this) and then watch a movie while you enjoy it.

plan in advance. maybe you can get yourself hyped for a big ritual at the next full moon! write down a day in your planner for a cool event and ration smaller preparatory tasks leading up to it.

practice passively. set a jar on your porch for when the next rain happens to fall, or throw some rose quartz in your makeup bag for your next night out. when you rediscover these things, it can really spark interest and motivation again.

explore nature in solitude. this one is huge. go for a nature walk (yes, I am a city witch and it’s possible!) and collect fallen leaves or wildflowers (cut, don’t pick) that you can use in future work. or, just soak in the awe of earth herself.

research. when you have free time, have a big research day on herbalism, crystals, your dieties, whatever. this one’s also huge for me.

glamour magick. one great active spellwork activity you can do is glamour and self love magick. #glamour magick on here, check out the tag! also recommend @orriculum for these types of spells. they really help you find peace in your craft again.

take a break from it. sometimes we need one. go out with friends and family, focus on school or work, and try your best to remain hopeful. personally, i’ve taken two of these long breaks from my craft. it helped me to rediscover why I’m a witch in the first place.

hope these helped–

So being stuck inside isn’t fun and I could use something to get my mind off of things so I came up with this challenge for myself but you can follow along too. If you want to post anything tag it #quarantinewc

🌸1) Grounding

🌸2) Color magick

🌸3) Cleanse yourself

🌸4) Kitchen magick

🌸5) Cleanse your space

🌸6) Sun magick

🌸7) Ward

🌸8) Meditation

🌸9) Self love magick

🌸10) Read

🌸11) Enchant an item

🌸12) Travel altar

🌸13) Make rose water

🌸14) Deity work

🌸15) Infused water

🌸16) Crystal work

🌸17) Craft something

🌸18) Herbalism

🌸19) Divination

i am now home for the summer and parents have decided i am no longer allowed to burn incense in the house….. not even sage which had become one of my main ways of cleansing my spaces. (which seriously sucks because i just stocked up on everything) so my solution for cleansing my room has become making cleansing sprays they are super simple to make and they work great. ive started making them with other herbs for different effects, i will probably post them in the future. 

You will need-

1 empty spray bottle preferably glass ( i try avoid using plastics)

a heat proof for the boiled water 

Enough boiled water to fill bottle 

½ part Sea Salt

2 parts Rosemary

2 parts Sage

1 part Basil

3 Bay Leaves

a few drops of Lemon juice 

Collect and gather the supplies, and start boiling the water once the water has boiled pour it in a heat proof container or mug. then add the herbs and stir them around while focusing on your intent. let them steep until the water has become cool. once the water has cooled strain out the herbs and add the mixture to your spray bottle. Now Enjoy,  you can use it on yourself or your altar or wherever you like. 

 I go to a high school, and it was hard at first to find a way to make offerings at lunch. With a little bit of finagling, I devised a fairly simple way to dedicate the first bite of my meal to Hestia in particular. If you have any specific deities you’d like to give offerings to at lunch, just switch up what you would like and run with it :)

cleanse your house thoroughly

banish any unwanted energies

put some time into making solid wards

rearrange/cleanse your altar space and tools

take inventory of your supplies

make new batches of sun and moon waters (and any salts, tinctures, etc. you like to keep on hand)

start a dream journal now that you have the time

find a witchy article or book on somewhere like JSTOR and learn something new (and tell other witches about it)

try kitchen witchcraft if you haven’t already

create a new sigil or charm to display in your house

bless or add a glamor to an item in your home (ex. adding a glamour to a centerpiece so the food always looks good or to the welcome mat so people don’t notice the messes so much)

send a blessing to those who are helping (and donations, if you can)

or perhaps jinx, hex, curse, or bind those doing harm

set aside time each day to meditate– it’s the perfect time to start such a habit!

leave an offering to or commune with a spirit or deity you have not in a while due to time constraints

try a type of magic you are interested in, but struggle with

practice with your divination tools to get better at them

update your grimoire with things you’ve been meaning to write down

make a crystal grid of your own

make your own pendulum and board

make your own oracle deck

using the items you already have, make a new powder, oil, or tincture for an intent you have often

make a sigil and set it as your phone background

paint your phone case with a sigil, a symbol, or a color coordinated with your intention (use acrylic and then coat it in mod podge!)

create a new talisman

write a hymn or incantation

create a playlist to listen to during witchy things

buy a service from a local witch if you can afford to– many are in need of money right now, especially

draw, paint, or sculpt a deity you worship and add it to your altar

use notecards to write down and categorize things you have for each basic intention (ex. write down all of the herbs, crystals, etc. you have for love, for money, etc. so you never have to sit and think hard on what you can use– it’s a quick-reference for yourself)

write down your favorite spells or ones that you want to try

in your school or work space, add a sigil or charm for productivity, focus, or stress-relief

make a new sachet for sleep

contact a witch friend and facetime them to meditate together or do readings for each other. it’s important to stay in touch!

make shoebox, on-the-go, or pocket altars so when quarantine is over you’ll keep your practice up in daily life

write yourself affirmation cards or letters to open in a month/year/whenever you like

make your own runes

enchant a piece of clothing or jewelry for stress-relief or motivation

learn more about your own natal chart

transfer the info you look for in your grimoire most often to make a quick-reference book of the most important pages for yourself

learn about the plants and trees around your house and their properties

sit in your yard for a little while and enjoy nature and it’s sounds

open your curtains and blinds and windows to let in a little fresh air and sun into the house

start journaling– being in-tune with yourself will improve you as a witch

write letters or send care packages to witchy friends with things like bay leaves, sigils, and kind notes

on your next grocery run, grab some seeds or plants and plant whatever is in season where you are. try something that can grow in your windowsill, if you’re new! this is a way to have sustainable ingredients for your witchcraft that has no pesticides and is cultivated with your energy.

alternatively, get flower seeds and plant them around your home. this will also give you a reason to step outside to tend to them from time to time.

learn a new song or hymn and perform it as an offering to your deity of choice

make a list of this year’s dates of full and new moons, transits, and holidays and mark them in your calendar or put them in the notes of your phone

As a witch who’s always on the go it can sometimes be hard to focus on magical self care. I’m traveling and moving and working with lots of people and life is kind of a whirlwind and I love it but sometimes it all gets to be a little… much. In all of the hustle and bustle my ability to take care of myself and my ability to take care of my magical practice can start to go south. I forget to practice good magical hygiene (such as cleansing and banishing) and I start to feel a little disconnected from the whole thing.

When this happens I like to turn to magical self care! Now, there are two types of magical self care: there’s magic that is used as self care and there’s self care for your magic. The methods I’m about to discuss happen to be useful for both! 

  The Most Important Magical Self Care Tool In A Witches Arsenal: Grounding

Grounding is a vital part of learning to practice magic in a safe and healthy way. The term comes from the process of grounding an electrical circuit. Essentially if an object is negatively charged, grounding allows excess electrons to flow from the object into the earth, and if an object is positively charged, electrons flow from the earth into the object. It’s a method of balancing and equalizing the flow of energy.

Similarly, in witchcraft grounding is the practice of balancing personal energies. Many things can pull us out of balance, emotional turmoil (for empaths it doesn’t even have to be our own emotional turmoil, often we pick up other people’s emotions far too readily!), illness, performing rituals or spells, astral travel, even simple things from our day to day lives can create a state of too much personal energy or too little personal energy.

This can be an incredibly uncomfortable experience.

Symptoms of unbalanced energy:

Dizziness, feeling spaced out, light headed or a floaty feeling

Headaches

Forgetfulness

Misplacing or losing things

Feeling generally unwell or exhausted

Daydreaming and an inability to focus

Sensitivity to light and noise

Feeling over stimulated and nervy

Bumping into things or other general feelings of clumsiness

An uncomfortable sensation of buzzing under the skin

Nausea and vomiting

Pain

Irritability

Insomnia

These symptoms typically become more severe the further out of alignment you are.

It is essential that you learn to ground properly before beginning to practice magic. Often I see newer witches who have yet to learn this skill experiencing unnecessarily strong backlash from their spell work.

Magic is energy! When you move and manipulate energy in such powerful ways it can and will pull your own energy out of balance. Grounding allows you to avoid the unpleasant side effects of spell casting which means a you’ll be a happier witch and have more time and space to practice your craft!

How To Ground Yourself

There are many ways of grounding yourself, I suggest you try a variety of methods and find the one that is most effective for you.

Rooting Yourself

This method works best if you are barefoot and standing on grass or dirt. Imagine your energy extending down through your legs and sinking into the earth, becoming roots and burrowing into the soil to trade energy with the earth. Feel the earth’s energy flow up into your body, filling you all the way to your head and then back down and out through your roots. This energy will cycle through you and clear away any excess energy as well as solving any energy deficiencies you might have. Continue this until you feel calm and comfortable.

Laugh

Laughter is an amazing way to release pent up energy as well as building our personal energy from within! Give yourself time and space to have a good laugh, put on your favorite comedian and enjoy yourself.

Food

Nourishing your body can help to reconnect you to your physical self and refuel depleted energy. Sit down for a hearty meal and give it your full attention, this helps to pull you back into your body fully after astral work or other intense spiritual experiences and gives you a moment to rest and relax.

Water

Water is a wonderful conductor of energy, sitting with your feet in a stream, your hands under a running faucet, or drawing yourself a bath can equalize your energy very quickly. Playing in the rain can also equalize your energy but if it’s sunny out visualizing rain washing your energy clean will work just as well.

Go for a walk

Getting out in nature, especially if you can walk barefoot, will allow your body to trade energy with the earth and equalize your energy levels. Walking in nature also helps to build mindfulness and create a sense of ease in your life!

Wind Visualization

Sit comfortably and begin to visualize your energy body. When you have a solid image of it in your mind imagine a strong gust of wind blowing your energy around you, removing blockages, carrying away excesses and refueling any energetic deficiencies.

Exercise

Gentle exercise can help to release any excess energies. Do not ground this way if you feel lethargic, exhausted or in any kind of pain. This method is ONLY to be used when you have an energy excess!

Body Awareness

Simply giving your body attention can encourage your energy to equalize on its own. Take a few minutes to consciously take stock of every inch of your body. Begin at your head, feel your scalp, then move to focusing on each part of your face. Move downward and feel your neck, your chest, then your arms, your elbows, your wrists, your fingertips. Focus on your torso again, now placing your energy on your stomach, feel it move with your breath. Continue this all the way down to your toes. Try to remain relaxed throughout this process.

Let Yourself Cry

Crying or screaming will release excess emotional energy very quickly. If you’re the sort of person who loves a good cleansing cry then this one is for you.

Stones and Crystals

Certain stones and crystals can be grounding. Hematite is particularly good for this purpose.

Play in the dirt

Getting in contact with the earth through gardening or rolling around in the dirt like you did when you were a kid allows your body to exchange energy with the earth. So let go of your adulthood for a few minutes and get in the dirt!

When To Use Grounding

Grounding is a wonderful tool to use but it isn’t a cure all. It’s also not always desirable to be completely grounded! There are certain types of magic that can be hindered by grounding and other types of magic that are simply not energy based and won’t require grounding to be effective.

When working with spirits being too grounded can make it more difficult to connect to the entity

If you’re fueling magic with emotions or excitement grounding beforehand will not help. You want your emotions and energy high in order to perform that sort of magic.

Sigils generally do not require grounding

Any kind of astral or out of body practice will be made much more difficult if you’re grounded beforehand. Ground after this sort of practice, not before

Dream work will be hindered by grounding

Grounding is most often used for post-spell backlash but it can also be utilized in your day to day life to enhance focus and happiness, lessen anxiety and protect you from emotional runoff.

If you struggle with any of the symptoms of being ungrounded regularly you might benefit from adding a few minutes of grounding into your daily practice!

New to witchcraft? Not sure where to start?

You say “glad to know we’re on the same page.” Slowly, he will have to adapt to just outright telling you what he thinks instead of playing mind games.

When your friend tries to hint that they’re mad at you without saying anything: “Oh, I’m fine, clearly you don’t need to worry about me,”

You say: “I’m glad you’re doing well. Call me if you want to talk, though!” Soon enough, they will accept that they can’t be passive aggressive with you.

When your boyfriend says: “All your friends are great, I really love *insert male friend* especially.”

You say: “I’m so glad you like my friends! I should invite them back soon.” He needs to understand that if he has a problem with your friends, he needs to just voice his concerns instead of being sarcastic and accusatory.

As someone who has lived through several toxic relationships and has an abusive father, I think one of the most important manipulation tools a toxic person has is excessive subtext and hidden meanings in their conversation. It hides all of the actual fighting from the eyes of onlookers while still hurting you, which is scary and makes you feel like you’re making it all up. Don’t put up with this bs. Make them stop hiding.

For the purpose of this article, “ward” is defined as: a wall of energy with a purpose. These are different types of protective wards and components. 

Anti-Detection: Prevents you/your area from being sensed by hostile forces in the first place. 

Reflection Ward: Repels any outside magical attacks.

Wall Ward: Simply prevents entry/provides a barrier, just like a regular physical wall does. 

Offensive Ward: Damages the intruder upon entry/touch. 

Redirect portal: Entering this ward will teleport the intruder to another place. 

Illusion Wards: Mess up the intruder’s senses in some way. Can make the ward much thicker than it seems to be, or even cast the illusion of being somewhere else. 

Binding Wards: Condense into a binding that will limit the intruder’s ability in some way. 

Minor Hex/Debuff: Cast a curse on the intruder. This can be temporary, wearing off as soon as the intruder leaves or a short time afterwards, or permanent (as can be). 

Sensor:  This component senses anything and feeds that information to the other wards/to other security systems in place. 

Warnings: A ward component whose only purpose is to warn the intruder. This component contains a prerecorded message. Usually of impending doom if the intruder proceeds. 

Energy Drainer: A component that drains the energy of the intruder, so as to tire them out. Can also be used to redirect hostile energies elsewhere, where it cannot harm you. 

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