Watch your candles closely and learn to read them to help you with your practice.

The Flame

A strong flame: It means that your energies are raised. There is a lot of power behind your spell and little to no resistance. Indicates that all your power and energy is focused on your manifestation. This is a good sign. If a candle shaped into a figure is used and has a strong flame it means that whoever it represents is either angry, winning, or using authority over another. When their are two figures the candle with the higher flame has authority over the other person.   

A weak flame: Indicates that the magick you cast is facing a heavy opposition and is a sign that you may need to recast your spell in order to overcome the opposing force. On a figure candle this may indicate that the representative may be loosing a battle or an argument. 

A jumping flame: This indicates strong emotions. There may also be some sort of resistance against you. Maybe close your circle and bring your mind back to focus before continuing. It may also mean an explosion of energy. When two figure candles are being used it often means that an energetic or a heated argument is taking place between them.  

A noisy candle: Indicates a conversation. It may may that a spirit is trying to send you a message or get in contact with you. The louder the noises get the more urgent communication must be. 

The flame catches something on fire: Someone one may be using malicious magick against you.  

A clean even burning candle: Means your spell and manifestations are likely to come true.

Fast Burn: The results of your spell will happen quickly.

Flickering Flame: If there is no breeze then it means a spirit is near by. If it is a devotional flame it means you were able to get in contact with your deity.

Cannot blow the flame out: A spirit may not be finished its conversation with you or you did not complete a spell. The spirit needs to complete its work, something may be may in the works that you do not want to interrupt. 

A flame goes out while burning: This means the spirits cannot help you and the answer you seek is already determined.  

The Smoke

Black smoke/soot: Your energy and magick is being blocked. Negative energy is being sent your way, whether as a curse or hex. You may soon be faced with tough challenges and a hard road ahead of you. 

Smoke wafts towards you: It means your call will likely be answered or your spell has been cast successfully. You will get results quickly.

Smoke wafts away from you: You must work harder in order for your calls to be answered.

Watch the direction the smoke wafts: East - Something powerful is assisting you, North - You are ready to begin your ritual and get results, South - The spell will be successful, West - A powerful interference from an outside force.

Smoking Candle: Negative energy is being burned away.

The Wax

When a candle leaves wax residue: Your spell may need to be repeated.

Look for symbols in the candle wax, like reading tea leaves.

Resources: askanthony.weebly.com, anamericanwitch.wordpress.com,   

May the Moon light you path!

The New Moon is in Libra this Tuesday, with the power of Mars energy, it enforces to create balance in our lives, this will help bring peace and harmony into our relationships, better our mental health, and give us a moment of stability. There will be a sense of clarity and help us on our path in life when it comes to making a decision and more passion to achieve abundance. Justice will be made for those who are treated unfairly and negativity will fade away.

Cleanse your area before spell casting (incense, sage, etc)

Two bowls (past and future)

1 Candle (present)

Paper (to manifest your desired wish, dream, etc)

Pen

Water

Pink and white crystals

Salt (removes negative energy and bad luck)

Pepper (protection, banishing)

Basil (good luck, money)

Cinnamon (healing, love, lust)

Lavendar oil (beauty)

write down what you want for the future, write down what you want to put into the past, set your intention in the present, and burn the paper with the candle. put water into the bowls, this will represent balance, put the ingredients into both bowls, mix the past bowl in a circle, and mix the future bowl counter clockwise. let the water spin as you burn the paper.

Chant as it burns, you should make your own chant so it resonates with you more, and what you're trying to achieve.

(Photo credit:  Kenrick Mills on Unsplash)

Growth is bursting forth as April arrives not long after the Spring Equinox.  Everything is green in April, and the moon is pink. Well, not quite. 

April’s full moon is often called the Pink Moon since it occurs around the same time pink phlox bloom in North America, but this moon (also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, and Egg Moon) is typically moon-colored.

What does it represent?

The Pink Moon arrives in time for flowers, and as the bees buzz around your garden looking for the best pollen, you should also be on a journey of discovery. As the moon’s other names suggest, there is a lot going on in the world. Rabbits and other animals are breezing, the grass is springing up, and aquatic life is returning with the warming weather.

Correspondence cheat sheet: Action, Balance, Beginnings, Discovery, Growth, Opportunity

Herbs, Flowers, and More

Here are some herbs, flowers, colors, and symbols to use in your Pink Moon spellwork:

Herbs: Basil, Chives, Dragon’s Blood, Dandelion Root, Dill, Fennel, Milkweed

Flowers: Daisies, Dandelions Lilacs, Geraniums, Phlox, Sweet Peas

Colors: Red, Royal Blue, Yellow

Crystals: Angelite, Diamond, Garnet, Quartz, Ruby, Selenite 

Spells and Rituals

Make Moon Water

An obvious choice for every full moon, make some moon water and label it with the Pink Moon’s correspondences to use when you need it later.

Make a Bee Bath

The Pink Moon is a great time for personal discovery, but it is also kind to help some of our important friends on their own journeys! Use a shallow dish or plant saucer and fill it with flat stones. Then add just enough water so that it reaches the edges of the stones, leaving a place for the bees to safely stand while they hydrate. For a little extra magic, use moon water to fill your bee baths!

Make Sigils for Your Goals 

It’s time to take action! The Pink Moon is not idle, so if possible, you shouldn’t be either. Use this moon’s energy to get to work on your passions! (You could use this energy for chores, too, but I like to focus on inspiration.) On a small piece of paper create a sigil for something you want to work on. Once the sigil has been created focus on it, imbuing it with your intentions for that goal or task. Then fold the piece of paper in half toward you until it is too small to fold anymore. Then burn it, bury it, hide it, or otherwise activate is as you please and get to work!

Journal

What questions are emerging as the seasons change and new things grow around you? How are you already tending to the goals you set at the beginning of the year? What seeds have you planted that you didn’t water or act upon? Write about these potential sources of growth and discovery.

💗Gather rose petals, rain water.

💗Dip the petals in the water, use to wipe down any part of your body that is in pain.

💗*If its for mental/emotional pain, wash the part of your body you associate with it - like your head, chest, etc.*

💗"Wild water, wild rain, let these petals ease my pain.“

It is okay if you don’t get to do a huge ritual tonight.

Yes, the lunar event is going to be huge and spectacular and rare. Yes, it is New Year’s Eve and you have to start the year off right. Yes, missing this opportunity might make you sad.

I woke up this morning with close to no spoons. The moon loves me. She understands. I should not push myself to do the impossible. Sometimes you miss out on witchy and non-witchy things because you’re healing, and guess what? That’s okay. You’re allowed to do that. You’re supposed to. Being kind to yourself is a devotional act.

If I get to do my planned ritual tonight, good for me. If I can’t, then I must be gentle with myself.

Here’s the list of the full moons that’ll be occurring this new year, sadly there aren’t blue moons this year.

January 21st Wolf moon ♌

February 19th Snow moon ♍

March 20th Worm moon ♎

April 19th Pink moon ♎

May 18th Flower moon ♏

June 17th Strawberry moon ♐

July 16th Black moon ♑

August 15th Sturgeon moon ♒

September 14th Harvest moon ♓

October 13th Hunter’s moon ♈

November 12th Beaver moon ♉

December 12th Cold moon ♊

Witch Tip: Appropriate Sage Use

Interested in using white sage as a non-native? There are appropriate ways to do it.

-always buy white sage from ethically, native-sourced suppliers. If you’re unsure, ask. If they’re unsure, err on the side of caution and go somewhere else

- don’t call it ‘smudging’. As a non-native, you’re clearing/cleansing. Smudging is a cultural ritual

Two commonly used Herbs for any witch to use, I tend to put basil in the food I make

All the main holidays for ya witchy soul~ each have different goals and activities. Celebrating these holidays can give you an extra kick in all sorts of different spellwork ✨ which is your favorite? (Mines Samhain cause it’s the one holiday where I feel most comfortable being myself)

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Ideas of what to put in your Grimoire:

🌿Table of contents

🌿A page about you, your birthstone, birth chart

🌿Types of Magick

🌿Wheel of the year

🌿The Sabbats and how to celebrate each

🌿Types of witches

🌿The history of Magick//witches in your countries

🌿All about the deities you worship//if any

🌿Local myths//legends of interest

🌿Herbs and their magickal properties

🌿Candles and their magickal properties

🌿Crystals and their magickal properties

🌿Essential oils and their magickal properties

🌿Gemstones

🌿Tarots

🌿Runes

🌿Sigils

🌿Casting a circle

🌿Spells and how to cast them

🌿What days//times are best for spell casting

🌿Wandwoods

🌿Zodiac signs

🌿Moon phases

🌿Altars, what they are and what you need to set up yours

🌿Moonwater//sunwater

🌿Banishing

🌿Binding

🌿Cleansing

🌿Grounding

🌿Spirit work and how to do it safely

🌿Sabbats

🌿Witch terminology

🌿Potions

🌿Best witchy books

🌿Ritual music//songs to listen to

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Organising a Grimoire:

🍁Table of contents is a must.

🍁Try and plan what you're going to write down and when.

🍁Perhaps write down every idea you have in a notebook aside first to organise and plan.

🍁Perhaps first write it in pencil, then go over later.

🍁Print out photos, dry out flowers and herbs, add stickers, doodle and more to decorate your Grimoire if you want. It makes it more personal, but in the end the most important thing is that you understand it

🍁And remember that it is your Grimoire, don't compare yourself to anyone else. That book is yours and that's the specialist thing of all♡

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I truly hope this helps someone out there♡x

Modern witchcraft is steeped in various traditions, and many of these traditions demand a specific set of altar tools. As witchcraft has also gained unfathomable popularity recently, various aesthetics of witchcraft have also arisen. Unfortunately, many young witches think that they NEED all of these pretty tools just to be a witch, or that their craft has to meet a specific standard of aesthetic to work.

As someone who has been practicing since long before witchcraft became popular among Millennials, I am here to tell you that that is simply not the case.

At its roots, witchcraft has always been simple and accessible to the common person. Even longstanding traditions have some kind of basis in folk magic. Long before silver-plated athames and golden chalices were mass produced for aspiring witches, our witch ancestors were using anything and everything they had available to them.

As I've talked about in previous posts, the only thing you really need to create magic is yourself. Everything else - all of the tools and crystals and gadgets - are mostly there to help you tap into your own natural power.

So, with that in mind, here are some ideas for cheap and accessible magical tools:

🍷 Wine glasses from the dollar store make perfect chalices

🎇 Some of the best wands begin as simple twigs on the ground

👕 Poppets and spell dolls can be made from literally anything, including paper, twigs, and even old T-shirts (I've even made a poppet from natural clay I found at the beach)

💎 Crystals occur naturally and can be found everywhere in nature, especially near beaches, rivers, and rock formations. They aren't any less powerful just because they aren't polished and glossed

🌱 Research native plants in your region and figure out their metaphysical properties. Use these as substitutes for mainstream herbs

🌙 Moon water literally has more properties and uses than I can count, so fill up a jar with some water and leave it out overnight on a full moon

🧂 When all else fails, salt and salt water are some of the most ancient and powerful cleansing agents and are perfect to add in ritual baths

🛌 Almost every single altar cloth I've ever owned has been a $5 black bed sheet from Walmart

🌹If you can't afford a fancy oil from a shop, make your own! You'll be able to tailor it more precisely to your intention, and you'll be left with way more than you could get at a shop. I've created an in depth tutorial for making your own oils, which you can find here

🍯 Offerings do not have to be expensive. Some of the most traditional offerings include water, milk, and honey

🐦 I can't even tell you how many feathers I've found on the ground while I'm out and about in the world. Just make sure you disinfect them before use!

🛣 Crossroads dirt is one of the most powerful binding agents known to man, and it's completely free

✍ Sigilcraft is one of the most powerful types of magic and other than the cost of a paper and pen, it is completely free. I've created an in-dept tutorial which you can find here

🧨 Color magic is your friend. Colored candles from the dollar store are your friend. Birthday candles are still candles. Tealight candles from Walmart are still candles.

👟 Get familiar with knot magic for quick and simple spells. If you can't find yarn or a piece of thread, shoe laces will work perfectly in a pinch

🍽 If you can't obtain a candle holder for a taper candle, worry not! Light the taper candle and drip about 10 drops of melted wax onto the center of a plate. Then quickly press the base of the candle into the melted wax and hold it there firmly for about 30 seconds. Boom! You now have a stable taper candle that isn't going anywhere (as long as you don't bump it)

🥫 A jar is a jar. If you use a lot of jars in your craft, start washing and saving your spaghetti sauce jars. Pro tip: If you're into color magic, use old alfredo sauce jars for purity (that is a joke)

🥕 Most of the common magical herbs can be found for a dollar in the spice aisle at the grocery store

☕ You can literally cast a spell just by stirring your morning tea or coffee. Clockwise to attract something into your life. Counter clockwise to banish something from your life.

So, yeah! Get crafty, and have fun with it. Try to change your perspective on objects you use everyday, and pretty soon, you'll see the magical potential in everything around you.

And remember,