book of magick

I use this spell all the time, and it hadn’t occurred to me to post it because it seems a little obvious - but then again, it’s obvious because it’s simple, isn’t it?

1. Place the thing, or a representation of the thing, in a jar or bottle. If you’re trying to summon more sandwiches, put part of a sandwich in a bottle. If you can’t get a sandwich, draw a picture of a sandwich or find a symbol of a sandwich. 

2. Burn an orange candle over it. Secure an orange (for attraction) spell candle with some of its own wax on top of your filled jar or bottle to charge and seal. You can use this candle plain after charging it in your hands or with an external source (the sun, the moon, etc), or you can dress it and carve it to enhance the effect (I find runes to be a pretty great and easy way to customize a candle for beginners).

That’s it! I recommend doing this spell during the waxing moon, but in a pinch, you can attach it to any waxing motion (sunrise, the rising tide, and so on). This is one of those “open-ended results” things, so I wanna hear about any successful outcomes you guys get! :>

Below are all my original posts on witchcraft & witchery sorted by subject. I’ll be adding to / editing this post each time I post something new - stay tuned!

CHARGING

Charging 101: The Quick Basics

CIRCLES

Three Simple Ways to Cast a Circle

Circle Casting Clinic 101

CHEAT SHEETS

Candle Magic Cheat Sheet

Spell Jars: A Guide & How-To

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Celtic Tree Calendar Cheat Sheet

CLEANSING

A Basic Home & Apartment Cleansing

CONSECRATION

Consecration Basics

The Lazy’s Witch’s Ring Consecration

Consecrating a Tarot Deck

DIVINATION & PSYCHIC MATTERS

Getting Started with Tarot

Dice Divination

Make an Emergency Tarot Kit

The Types of Psychic Power

Herbs for Psychic Ability

GREEN WITCHCRAFT

“My Throat Is Trying To Kill Me” Ginger Brew”

A Basic Wishing Spell, Green Witch Edition

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

HELLENIC PAGANISM & PAGANISM

Non-Conventional Ways to Worship Artemis

MEDITATION & VISUALIZATION

Starting Meditation

Exercises for Beginning Visualization

MOON MAGIC

A Witch’s Full Moon Traditions

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

The Movement of the Spheres: All About the Moon, its Movements, Phases, and Celebrations

PROTECTION

Simple Methods of Protection

Basic Shielding

RECIPES

“My Throat Is Trying To Kill Me” Ginger Brew

Lemon Cayenne Wakefulness Potion

A Green Witch’s Herb Bread

Things to Do With Rose Oil

…and Tea Tree Oil

Herbs for Psychic Abilities

RITUALS

Ritual of Announcement - for Witches Starting their Path

A Basic Home & Apartment Cleansing

A Witch’s Full Moon Traditions

The Tea Ceremony

SAFETY

Safety Tips for Witches

SPELLCRAFT

Attraction and Banishment in Spellcraft

Charging: The Quick Basics

Candle Magic Cheat Sheet

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

Circle Casting Clinic 101

Spell Jars: A Guide & How-To

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Celtic Tree Calendar Cheat Sheet

Magical Timing: The Sun & Moon in Witchcraft

Amelioration: Using Honey in Spells

Using Dirt and Ash Without Being Appropriative

What to Do With Dyed Glass & Fake Stones

SPELLS

The Banishing Bottle: A Spell to Thrust Away Banes and Stresses

Three Simple Ways to Cast a Circle

Enchanting a Necklace for Courage

Enchanting a Soap or Cleanser to Help Clear Skin

The Lazy Witch’s Ring Consecration

Getting It Done: A Virgo Moon

Simple Methods of Protection

A Basic Wishing Spell, Green Witch Edition

Wards for Resisting the Power

WANDLORE

How to Fix Up & Set Up a Stick as a Wand

WARDING

Wards for Resisitng the Power

Technomancy Warding for Blogs & Sites

WITCHCRAFT 101 / WITCHLINGS

Witch Starter Kit: First Year Supply List

Witching on the Cheap: First-Year Supply List II (Redux)

The Difference Between a Book of Shadows, a Grimoire, and a Witches’ Almanac

The Difference Between Witches, Wiccans, Magic, and Magick

Making Witchcraft a Daily Practice

WITCHY TIPS

Recharging Tattooed Sigils

Witchery and Mental Illness

Five of My Favorite Witchy Tools

Holy Crap, Ghosts, Leave Me Alone

Circle Casting Clinic 101

The Science of Spellcraft

WITCH’S TOOLS

The Athame

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

[buy me a ko-fi]

contrary to most beliefs, you can pull for yes or no questions! here’s a short cheat sheet for when you have a question on whether you should do something ✨

wands

yes, but you’ll have to work for it!

cups

yes, it’ll come to you naturally!

pentacles

this one means it will come with a price...

swords

absolutely not!

major arcana

“good luck” and be careful

side note

⭐︎ Cleanse your deck after you buy it!! This is so so important, because you want to start working with a new clean energy.

⭐︎ There are thousands of ways to cleanse your deck. Cleansing can be something super simple, as just knocking on your deck 3 times or placing a crystal on top of the deck! Just do what feels right.

⭐︎ Interview your deck! After you buy new cards, talk to them, ask them questions and figure out the decks personality. There are a lot of fun spreads for this.

⭐︎ Sleep with your deck. Another good way to bond with your deck is sleeping with it near you. Just put it under your pillow or somewhere close to you over night!

⭐︎ You don’t have to read reversals. It’s up to you if you decide to turn the card back around. Again, do what feels right!

⭐︎ Reversals don’t always equal opposites. If you decide to read reversals, remember that it can have completely different meaning then just being opposite of the upright position.

⭐︎ Start simple. Start out with something simple like past/present/future spread. It’s super easy and gives you clarity on any situation.

⭐︎ Spend time looking at the picture. When you pull a card, really spend time observing at all the different colors and symbols before you look up the meaning. 

⭐︎ Jumping cards usually have something important to tell you. If you’re shuffling your deck and a card jumps out, look up what it means and what message it has for you!

⭐︎ Pull a daily card each morning. This is super fun and easy. You definitely don’t need to do this everyday, but it’s a good way to memorize the cards and their meanings.

and finally, practice, practice and practice! It’s going to take a while until you remember all the meanings, but just have fun and enjoy the process!🦋

So. You’ve covered the basics. You know what every kind of ritual tool does, you understand all the terms that seemed alien to you before and you think you’re finally starting to get a feel for this witchcraft thing. You’re not a baby witch anymore, but… where to from here? Making the move from beginner witch to intermediate witch is a lot more difficult than it seems, purely because resources aimed at intermediate witchcraft are few and far between. But there’s a good reason for that.

There are general rules and ideas that can be applied across all of witchcraft. There’s so much to learn from other witches, but your greatest teacher will always be yourself. There is a reason witchcraft is so customisable to the individual: some things just work better for certain people. Not to mention pretty much every magick practice in history was developed by witches using their intuition! Because of this, it’s hard to create resources that tell somehow how to go from a beginner to an intermediate. However, they do exist! You’ll just find that most of them will act as prompts or scaffolds. They’ll instruct you on how to figure things out for yourself.

This next stage of your craft will involve a lot of introspection, and a lot of trusting your gut. It’s the reason you learnt all that baby witch stuff in the first place. This is where most of the personal growth happens. It can be scary, but it’ll also be magical. It’ll be a while before you actually qualify as an ‘intermediate witch’, and there’s no shame in that. The process of moving from beginner to intermediate is one that can take years, simply because witchcraft is such a deep and complex art. I myself definitely wouldn’t identify as a baby witch, but I’m still a beginner in many aspects despite having been a witch for years.

Without further ado, I present to you witchcraft 102.

GENERAL

The Problem with Sharing Advanced Magic

Using Tumblr as a Resource

How to Stop Being a Beginner Witch

How to Deepen Your Craft

Developing Your Craft Beyond Tumblr

Creating a Spiritual Calendar

SOAP Journaling: a Devotional Framework

Devotional Journal (for deity worship)

Questions for a Deeper Spiritual Practice

ORGANISATION

When reading through information, I recommend taking notes on the content, as well as your thoughts on it. Do you notice any connections to other texts or ideas? Do you have any questions you’d like to follow up? This will not only help you remember the information, but encourage you to look at it critically and see the bigger picture. Here is an example of my personal note-taking scaffold which includes some of the notes I took a while ago. I adapted it from the Cornell notes system based on my personal needs.

At TechnoCoven, a recent online witchcraft convention, there was an hour-long panel about planning in witchcraft called Spirit Papers. Here is a link to the recording. It goes over different organisation systems, notebooks, etc.

Why you should cite sources

How to cite sources

What is an annotated bibliography?

I would highly recommend setting aside a specific time every day to study witchcraft. This way, you will be improving your craft every day. Even if you only set aside half an hour, you will be doing three and a half hours of study a week. An hour a day totals to seven hours a week. If you can’t find a specific time every day, then find a specific time every week. 6pm-8pm on Tuesday and Saturday, for example, or reserve all of Sunday afternoon. This structure obviously isn’t compulsory, but with it you will advance at a much quicker pace and probably find your craft more fulfilling.

You should definitely have a grimoire already, but if you don’t, get one. It can be on paper or online, if you’d prefer. OneNote, Evernote, Microsoft Word and Google Docs are all viable digital options. You probably have lots of loose information lying around, whether its physical, in note form or on your Tumblr blog. Categorise it and order it. Then go through it. Document the important and useful parts in your grimoire.

READING

Elemental Magick in Science

Elemental Systems

The Darker Elements

History of Magick Part 1

History of Magick Part 2

History of Magick Part 3

History of Magick Part 4

How Location and History Affect Spiritual Practices

Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health (ebook)

TAROT

Stop Learning Tarot Like Flash Cards

Learning the Major Arcana

Learning the Court Cards

Reading Tarot Cards Vertically

Reading Reversed Cards

How to Take Notes on a (New) Tarot Deck

Understanding Yourself Tarot Mega-Spread

Conceptions of the Self Through Spreads

Shadow February Divination Challenge

Daily Tarot Journal Printable

SHADOW WORK

Introduction to Shadow Work

6 Phrases for Shadow Work

Safety Planning (good to have one of these if you’re doing shadow work and have a mental illness)

Shadow Working with Stuck Points

Shadow Work with Hillbillyoracle (pt. 1)

Shadow Work with Hillbillyoracle (pt. 2)

Hillbillyoracle’s Personal Shadow Work Framework

RESEARCH

Good Things to Research When You Don’t Know What to Research

Areas of Research for the Intermediate Witch

Masterlist of Journals, Articles & Books on Folklore, Mythology and the Occult

Index of Old Grimoires

Working with Plants

Tips on How to Google Correspondences

The Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection

Sacred Text Archive

Bocastle Museum of Witchcraft

Occult Library

Hermetics Library

Project Gutenberg Paganism Bookshelf

Legal Free Ebooks Masterpost

Good Pagan & Wiccan Publishers

How to Get Use Out of Older Texts

Finding Experienced Witches

PRACTICE

What to Do When You Fall out of Practice

Making Your Own Correspondences

Pendulum Dowsing for Correspondences

2019 Grimoire Challenge (a year of grimoire prompts)

Stones for Advanced Practitioners

On Tools and Psychodrama

A Way to Astral Project

Energy Alignment Identification

Magic in the Body

Spell Circles

Irish Concept of “On the Breath”

Sky Catch

Verbal Sigils

PODCASTS

Tea With the Gods

The Hillbilly Oracle

Hex Positive

The History of Witchcraft

The Empowered Modern Witches Show

Academy of Affluence

TESTIMONIALS

A Samhain Fairytale

Foundations of Diywitchery’s Practice

Godphoning

Devotional activities

GET OFF TUMBLR (AKA GET SOME VARIETY IN YOUR SOURCES) I’ve got some examples listed here but there are definitely more out there!

Bree NicGarran’s Blog

Luna Luna Magazine (Blog)

Witchy Words (Blog)

Mumble & Things (Blog)

Down the Forest Path (Blog)

The Travelling Witch (Blog)

Prisoner’s Apothecary (Blog)

Harmony Nice (Youtube)

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

6 Books for Advancing Your Craft

Hellenic Polytheism Books

Walker Between Worlds by Robert Kirk (I haven’t read it so I can’t vouch for its quality but I’ve heard its a valuable resources for those wanting to learn about the fae)

The Study of Witchcraft: A Guidebook to Advanced Wicca by Deborah Lipp (I will link to my book review here; this book is essentially a study guide)

Evolution of Goddess by Emma Mildon (book recommendation) (especially good if you are looking to find a deity but are unsure of where to start)

some resources to get you started with air witchcraft:

the element of air

air: the element

air in magick

air witch travel altar

mc’s guidebook: incense

bubbles in magick

whistling up a wind

above the trees meditation

how to make a spell spray

rainy’s wind charm tutorial

capture the wind jar spell

feather spell

spell for disconnecting

wind enchantment for divination

protection chimes

breath of fresh air tarot spread

air sigil

connecting with air sigil

air element

air correspondences

air witch self care tips

air witch aesthetic

you know you’re an air witch when…

things air witches love

air deities:

amun

apollo

athena

faeries (not deities, but can be worked with in a similar manner - be sure to do very comprehensive research beforehand, though, as they can be dangerous to work with)

farore (zelda pop culture deity)

fei lian

njord

sidhe

shu

thoth

urania

zeus

crystals:

amethyst

aura quartz

aventurine

carnelian

celestite

diamond

glass crystals

peridot

pumice

quartz

sapphire

smoky quartz

topaz

tourmaline

turquoise

plants to grow/use in your craft:

acacia

apricot

baby’s breath

bamboo

dandelion

eucalyptus

hazel

lavender

lemon

lemongrass

lemon verbena

lilac

nutmeg

olive

oregano

parsley

peach

pine

pistachio

sage

snow pea

spearmint

tangerine

willow

things to start doing:

go to a park/field/backyard and practice yoga

burn incense in the morning that corresponds to the intent you’d like to set for the day

look into dream magic

make a sigil that means “i am protected by the winds” and use it when you’re feeling unsafe

unleash your creative side: write poetry, paint, draw, sing, play an instrument

research angels

wear more white, grey, blue and lavender clothes

research subjects you’re interested in - amass knowledge in all its forms

make an air altar (preferably facing east): fill it with feathers, incense, crystals, hanging plants, pictures of beautiful sunsets you’ve witnessed, a flute or a record player

talk to the wind. vent your frustrations, tell it your worries, your dreams, your desires. it will always listen.

research faeries

find a signature perfume or cologne. wear it always.

learn to cleanse with the wind. sit in the breeze, feel it blow through you, taking all your negative energy to faraway places and replacing it with fresh energy.

good blogs that post about air witchcraft: @la-petitefille @rainy-day-witchcraft

some resources to get you started with green witchcraft:

tips for beginner earth witches

things to research as a beginner earth witch

earth witch self care tips

everyday plant magick

a list of basic herbs

flower correspondences

correspondences for succulents and cacti

dirt correspondences

elemental correspondences

the magick of tea

earth milk bath

quick and easy honey spells

acorn charms

strawberry luck spell

keep the wildlife healthy and well spell

lullaby to aid a dying plant

simple salve recipe

connecting with a tree

“my plants are healthy” sigil

earth sigil

good plants for beginners

earth witch aesthetic

earth deities:

geb

pan

persephone

demeter

gaea

freyr

vidar

idun

farore (pop culture deity)

the fae (not deities, but they are powerful beings you can work with - be sure to do lots of research beforehand, though)

crystals:

moss agate

agate

ammonite

aventurine

black tourmaline

clear quartz

chrysoprase

green calcite

hematite

jade

peridot

plants to grow/use in your craft:

pansies

moss

oak

tomatoes

mushrooms

lavender

snapdragons

daffodils

sage

anything, really!

things to start doing:

grow a small herb garden

make tea blends

press flowers

research local flora and fauna

go on walks in your local nature reserve/forest

incorporate more homegrown/organic food into your diet

learn basic herb correspondences

research essential oil blends/how to use them safely

draw sigils on your potted plants to encourage their growth

look into starting a bee garden, if you have the space

set up crystal grids in your home to attract your desired energies

try keep fresh flowers in your room

watch nature documentaries

good blogs that post about green witchcraft: @curiousitycabaret @eith-ne @imaginarywitchcraft @thebasildruid

some resources to get you started with solar witchcraft:

sun magic & the elements

little solar witch ideas

sun altar set-up

sun witch morning tips

sun crystals & how to use them

sunrise witchcraft

sunset magick

seeds of happiness spell

forever sunkissed spell

glow like the sun spell jar

cloak of the sun spell

solar witch teas

witch’s basil lemonade

sun salts

summer incantations

sun witch vibes

summer witch moodboard

solar deities:

apollo

helios

ra

alaunus

sol

the wiccan god

crystals:

citrine

pyrite

orange calcite

garnet

sunstone

carnelian

tiger’s eye

amber

goldstone

golden/honey calcite

plants to grow/use in your craft:

rosemary

basil

sunflowers

marigolds

succulents

cacti

citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, etc.)

oregano

cinnamon

ginger

ash

turmeric

corn

carrots

poppy

geranium

chamomile

good blogs that post about solar witchcraft: @healing-sun-witch @solarianwitch

Simple Anti-Burglary Charm

—

Begin by amassing a collection of keys, aiming to have one key for every door and window in the house that opens to the outside. If you have 2 entry/exit doors and 15 windows, for instance, you will want to gather 17 keys. There aren’t really any specifications for the kinds of keys you should be collecting, but try to only add a key to the collection if it “feels” right for the magic in question. The older the key, the better, as an old key has probably locked more doors than a new one.

When you have managed to gather the proper number of keys, wait for a Thursday and then take them, along with a length of red ribbon, to the outside of the front entrance. Walk through the front door, closing it behind you, and make your way to the nearest point of ingress on your right. Take one of the keys, and press it against the window/door, saying:

“I call on you key, to lock out thieves who prowl in the light.

I call on you key to lock out thieves who creep in the night.”

This being said, take the key you just used and slip it onto the red ribbon. Moving Deasil (Sunwise) through the home, stop at every point of ingress. At each entryway, hold one of the keys against the door/window and repeat the same words. Each time you finish, add the key you’ve just used to the red ribbon.

When you have made a full circle around the house and back to the front door, take the last of your keys and repeat the incantatory process, before also adding it to the ribbon and tying the ends together. The final product should look something like a beaded necklace made from keys.

With this complete, hang the loop of keys above your front door and say:

“With (insert #) locks this house is secured.

With (insert #) locks all theft is deterred.”

Ingredients for spells can be found pretty much anywhere. Here are ten you may not have thought of, most of which I’ve used!

The ribbon used to tie a bouquet: Very versatile ingredient! Can be used to symbolise love, connection and happiness. The ribbon’s correspondences can be varied based on the situation by which you acquired the bouquet. A bouquet given to you by your partner on your first anniversary, for example, will have strong love energy and could even be used in a spell to reignite the ‘spark’ in the relationship. If the bouquet was given to you by a best friend on your birthday, it would correspond with friendship and potentially have solar energy (with a birthday celebrating one revolution of the sun). The ribbon could also symbolise your connection to whomever gave you the bouquet. I keep the ribbons I get off bouquets for this purpose!

The thorns from a rose given to you: I kept the thorns from roses that were given to me by an ex and used them when performing a curse. Really good for symbolising toxic relationships or helping someone realise they’re causing you pain. You could use thorns off roses in your garden, but the thorns will act better as a taglock if they’re given to you.

Bobby pins: Structure, organisation and beauty. An air of temporary composure when things might be falling apart. Perfect for glamours for this reason.

Greeting cards: Happiness, love, relationships, friendship, connection, celebration, appreciation. The occasion upon which they were given and who they were given by will of course affect their energy.

Old clothes: Another versatile ingredient. If you feel the old clothes represent a version of yourself that you want to let go of, they could be used in a cleansing ritual (perhaps by burning). If they were clothes you really liked but wore so much that they’re breaking, they could symbolise beauty, comfort or contentment. Also a good taglock if they were gifted to you by someone. Poppets are extra potent when constructed from this fabric.

Train/bus tickets: Discovery, exploration and opportunity. If the ticket is taking you to a favourite place it might correspond with happiness. If the ticket was acquired on holiday it might correspond with relaxation.

Stickers you still have from your childhood: Innocence, happiness, creativity. Can symbolise bringing back something which has been lost.

Washi tape: Small blessings, excitement, beauty, adding something good to an otherwise ordinary situation. Colour and symbol correspondences may also come into play here.

Wrapping paper: Can symbolise happiness, disappointment (if the gift sucked) or gratitude. Could be used in beauty spells or for glamours. If the wrapping paper came from a disappointing gift, it could even be used in a hex/curse for someone who tries to sugarcoat terrible situations, or changes the topic/turns it on you when you try to approach them about issues in your relationship. Could be use for prosperity or money spells.

Guylian seashell chocolates: Really great offering for Aphrodite (chocolate and the ocean). Useful in sea witchcraft, or as an offering to ocean deities. Good for beauty and love spells.

In her book Wicca for Beginners Thea Sabin says, “When you do a spell, you are telling the universe that you intend to bring about a certain change and you are putting the energy in motion to achieve that end.”

A spell is sort of an energetic shove to get things moving in the way you want them to, and we do this by creating a ritual to build and then release the energy to get things going.

Most spells are based on a principle called imitative magic.

In his book Backwoods Shamanism, Ray Hess says, “Imitative magic means that making a symbolic gesture, when combined with intent and will… can affect the intended change on a grander scale.” [Note: I don’t actually recommend this book, but I like Hess’s definition of imitative magic.]

So, for example, you may have heard of a “cord cutting” ritual, where you symbolically cut your spiritual ties to a person you no longer want to have a relationship with. You’re symbolically creating a separation between yourself and that person, which creates physical separation in real life.

There are four basic components to any spell: your will, your intention, focused energy, and a ritual action. Some magical traditions add extra steps, like casting a circle, but from what I’ve read and been taught, these four basic components are constant no matter which tradition you’re following.

Let’s start with the most important bit: your will. Your will isn’t just what you want: it’s the desire and drive that is in alignment with your highest good. But in this case we’re also talking about will in the sense of willpower — Basically, your will is your personal spiritual authority and the source of your magical power.

Any spell that is not in alignment with your will won’t work. This is why it’s important to be clear about what you want and why you want it before you attempt a spell.

There’s also an element of belief here. Because magic only works when your spells are in alignment with your will, if you don’t believe your spell can work, it won’t. This is because you, yourself are blocking it from working.

The second important component of a  spell is your intention. When you do a spell, it’s important to clearly state what you want to happen. Some traditions will write the intention down on a piece of paper, which is called a petition. Other traditions will use a spoken statement of intention in the form of an incantation. Some witches use both.

You need to be clear about your intention before you begin your spell. Magic will always follow the path of least resistance, so it’s important to be specific. However, I find that magic works better when your intention leaves a little bit of wiggle room. It’s about finding that happy medium.

You also want to keep your petitions and incantations simple. If it’s more than a couple of sentences, you probably need to trim it down a little.

The next important part of a spell is focused energy. Magic is a way of directing energy, and this means that your own energy needs to be focused for it to work.

Don’t get too stressed out about focus. Your spell isn’t going to fail if your mind wanders for a few seconds. But you should set aside some time where you’ll be able to fully dedicate yourself to your spell. Try to find a private place where you won’t be interrupted. Turn off the TV, put your phone away, and try to avoid distractions. You might find that playing meditation music or burning incense helps you focus.

While you cast your spell, keep focusing on what it is you want to manifest. Again, don’t overthink this and don’t worry if your thoughts wander a little, but try to stay in the moment. Repeating your incantation can help with maintaining focus.

The last important part of a spell is your ritual action. This just means doing a specific set of things, in a specific order, with a specific intent behind them. If we go back to our definition of imitative magic, your ritual actions are symbolic of the change you want to manifest.

Your ritual actions do not have to be complex. A very common ritual for spells is anointing and lighting a candle. Making a charm or poppet is also popular. But any action can be a magical ritual if it is done with intent and focus, in alignment with your will. Making a cup of tea or coffee can be a ritual. Running a bath can be a ritual. Cooking food can be a ritual. The only limit is your imagination.

If you’re wrangling with a large book with lots of sections or a broad Table of Contents, pick up a pack of index tabs. You can find these at pretty much any office supply store. Flip through the book and mark each section you want for quick reference with a clearly-labeled tab. I had to do this for a few of my books and it definitely made them easier to navigate. You can totally do it with smaller books as well.

If you’re trying to organize your own study materials, start by sorting the information into broad categories. I would suggest things like the following:

General Craft Theory (the overall ideas that govern your craft)

Instructions (how-to’s and tutorials, plus your personal rules)

Resources (lists of info sources, i.e. books, blogs, websites, etc.)

Calendar (important dates and any celebrations

Religious Matters (info on deities, offerings, and related lore)

Celestial Matters (astronomical and astrological components)

Correspondences (lists of magical associations for herbs, crystals, etc.)

Signs and Sigils (symbols and signs important to your craft)

Recipes (component lists for potions, incense, herb blends, meals, etc)

Spellcraft (records of spells you’ve archived or written yourself)

Magical Practices (any notes on the different types of magic and how to employ them, i.e. protection, divination, hexing, etc.)

Magical Theory (any notes on the ideas behind how magic works)

Personal Craft (your own views and experiences as a witch)

Rituals (detailed records of any rituals you perform, with illustrations where needed)

From there, you can break things down further in each section, either by subject or by article, depending on which ones is appropriate. Make sure you label each list or article with the source you got it from, in case you need to revisit the subject later. If it’s just from personal observation, you can mark that down too. If something is related to other entries in your notes, you may want to mark it with a little “See Also: X Correspondences, Y Calendar Page, Z Spell” for good measure.

These are just suggested categories. If you have additional topics that you focus on, make a section for them. It’s all down to what matters to you in your craft. And if you’re using a physical book or a 3-ring binder, you can use those index tabs again to help you find things more easily.

You can also examine existing grimoires and books on the craft to see how they’re organized. That might give you some additional ideas.

I’m finally looking to the future and creating posts I can link, instead of answering the same questions over and over. It’s not that I mind answering them, it’s just that I usually don’t have the energy to give you the solid answer you deserve.

Where to start?

I generally wouldn’t recommend picking up where you left off for two reasons:

You spent a lot of time building up to that point, jumping right in is going to be a lot. Give yourself permission to start small; slowly building back up.

Something obviously wasn’t working and led to you stopping your craft for a while. Don’t force yourself to do the same things if they don’t work!

Get a solid foundation back under your feet:

Start at the basics, even if you knew the advanced stuff. Act like a beginner again and relearn. Chances are, you’ll learn some things you missed before!

Cleanse yourself, your space, your tools.

Rebuild and strengthen your wards.

Make a list of the things that you’d like to relearn, and pick something from the list each day and spend some time building your knowledge.

Don’t compare it to your old craft. Crafts and paths are constantly shifting over time, taking a break doesn’t change this, time has passed and your craft will likely be different.

Do what excites you! Learn new things too! What drew you back into the craft? This is a great chance for a fresh start!

Drawing a blank? Here’s some ideas of things to research/relearn:

Altars.

Astral travel/projection.

Astrology.

Correspondences.

Crystals.

Deities (perhaps learn about a new pantheon!)

Divination (any type).

Enchantments.

Herbs; remedies and magical uses.

The local world; birds, animals, plants. 

Mythology (bonus: local mythology and lore).

Sigil creation and use.

Space; planets, constellations, moon phases, etc.

Spell writing and casting. 

Spirit work.

Whatever you want!!

See also: how the mundane can influence your craft and what to research.

Some recommendations if you feel stuck/hit a block:

Browse the baby witch tag and help some beginners out. They have so much motivation and inspiration, and it’ll likely leak over to you (and you’ll reinforce some of the knowledge you forgot you had).

Buy yourself something witchy (it doesn’t have the be expensive, even just a new little candle you only burn for witchy things).

Find a friend who is also getting back into the craft, talk about your practices!

Look up some tips and tricks on overcoming art block/writer’s block and find a way to apply them.

Follow your passions. Don’t force yourself to be interested in something. Dive into what calls to you and allow yourself to follow wherever that leads you.