witch's tit

Lidia Yuknavitch, from The Chronology of Water

The front portion of her shop sells cooking supplies and spices, cards, little artsy things, and local goods like soaps and crocheted blankets. But the back was, at one point, my nightmare and laughing stock all at once.

An entire section dedicated to ‘flower fairies’ and ‘light fairies’. Little glittery kits of herbs and stones, with guides so even the mundane-est person could get money, or love, or good luck, with the power of magic. The ‘fluffiest’ of fluffy witchcraft, as I used to think of it. And that’s not even counting the ‘angel spirit classes’, or the rune casting lessons by White Mother of Three, pseudonym, “Cleopatra”.

And yet…

Her classes are never rained out. Her little altar area, dedicated (as far as I could tell) to the Gods-of-Resin-Collectable-Dragons and a Barbie doll, always has fresh flowers and cookies. Her shop prospers through every local and country-wide economic disaster, and has paved the way for other similar shops to open in her area.

And she has power. When she speaks, people listen, though her voice is gentle and matter of fact. If my power, at one point, was laid out next to hers…no doubt it would appear as a small, angry spark next to an ocean of gentle light.

With that said…I guess the moral of this little story is such:

Don’t mock the gentle witches, the Fairy believers and the candle-wishers. Don’t laugh at their books, or their collections of angel statues. Their ‘healing light’ or happiness spells of sprinkles and joy.

You don’t know their power, their Powers, their Gods. Don’t be like me, and laugh up your sleeve at their songs, or their paintings of beautiful ladies holding butterflies.

Let them be. Or better yet, learn from them. Don’t make my mistakes.

Look at how much time I lost that I could have been friends with her, and could have traded secrets!

Be nice to them. They’re doing an important job. Do not chase them, grab them or harass them. 

Always bring some food with you, it’s just polite. 

Approach them slowly, and let them come to you. Sometimes you might have to sit on the ground and tap it a few times. This is what you brought food for. 

At some point after you have managed to touch the cat it will turn and sprint away. This is when you start following it.

Cats do not want you to get lost, but they can be fast. Never lose sight of them, you should stay with it until your return. This might still look like your usual street but you are in a liminal space already. Try not to get lost. 

(NOTE: do not follow cats with mismatched eyes. You can pet them, but the moment they run away you should immediately turn your back to them and walk in the opposite direction.)

Black cats:

Follow black cats into the floor-level vents. Don’t worry, there are many spider webs but there aren’t any spiders.

Do not lose sight of them in the dark.

When you emerge, you will be in the same street you were before, but there will be no people to be found.

Do not stray, follow your cat. Sometimes it might want to just catch a bird and go back. Do not stay longer just to explore.

 If you hear the sound of a crowd in the distance do not try to follow it. Your cat will never lead you there.

You can take anything with you but you cannot take pictures or record video or sound.

Orange cats:

Orange cats hang around train stations for a reason. Follow them into the next train. You will not need a ticket.

If the cat wants you to scratch its ears during the trip, do it.

The landscape will not look like the area around your town.  Do not panic - this is normal.

The people in the train will not speak a language you understand or recognize, but they will have clothes and devices similar to yours. They are usually nice.

Get down at the same stop as your cat. You will not understand the name of the station, and no one will get off in the same station as yours. You should follow your cat, but it will never leave the station. Follow it into the next train to get back home.

Never stay in the train. Never wait for the last stop.

White cats:

White cats live on the edges. They will take you to many places but at the same time they will never take you anywhere.

If you meet them during the night-time, the sun will start rising, regardless of the time. If you meet them during the daytime, the sun will start setting. It will stay like this for the duration of the trip.

Follow them to the edge of a forest that smells like honeysuckle. You will hear the song of birds and the flow of water. You should never stray and enter the forest on your own. Your cat will not follow.

Follow them to a building where a fancy party is being held at. Through the windows you can see the food and the champagne. The guests will ask you to join them, but your cat will keep walking. Do not accept the invitation, and never eat the food or drink the champagne.

Follow them along the edge of a swimming pool. People will be bathing, playing and laughing. It will be hot, regardless of the season. Do not step too close to the edge, because they will try to grab your ankles and pull you into the water. Keep walking.

Once the sun finally sets or rises you will be back home. Never enter your house until you are completely sure the sky is changing.

Calico cats:

Calico cats are the safest. They will follow you instead.

Walk around your town and you will see everything is the same, but you will not be able to make the connections between the streets.

If you want to go to a certain place you will find it is no longer where it used to be.

You will not recognize anyone. Every single person in the street will be a stranger. They are not dangerous but do not look them directly in the eyes.

Never try to find your house. Because you will find it.

When you want to come back take the cat back where you found it. This might be more difficult than you expect.

Remember to always take some food with you, something make of iron, and comfortable shoes.

And remember to always be nice to the cats!

Otherwise known as; I am in a rut of self-pity and can’t muster the energy to get out of bed, let alone do a ritual.  I have eaten onion rings and regret for the past 3 days as my main meal, I am breaking out in acne, I can’t remember the last time I had a wash. Time has become meaningless. I can’t get out of bed.

Devotional Work

This is a big area where depressed witches start giving themselves a really hard time. The guilt of not being a good devotee can become overwhelming, you can convince yourself that your higher power is starting to hate you. None of this is true.

 You wouldn’t expect someone with a physically impairing illness to be able to go out and buy a higher power flowers and gifts. Please do not expect it from yourself. One of my biggest tips is that you need to find peace in the reality that you are hurting. Instead of trying to live like you’re well and exhausting yourself by doing tasks you are not ready for or giving yourself huge amounts of guilt by making yourself promises you can not keep, live within your means. There is no need to kill yourself trying to live a life that isn’t possible for you at the minute.

Have an honest conversation with your higher power. Let them know that right now, you are unable to perform conventional acts of devotion and assure them that the love is still there. They will understand. Sometimes they will give you help. One of the perks of being divine is that this higher power has known millions of people just like you. You are not the first devotee to suffer from depression and you will not be the last. They understand.

 Here are a few alternative acts of devotion that are more realistic to give you a base to start from.

Eat a meal in front of your altar / dedicate your meal to your higher power

Take a shower.

Clean a small portion of your messes (This can be as little as removing 1 cup from your room, remember, do what you can)

Take 5 minutes to just sit and think about your higher power.

Talk out loud to your higher power like you would a friend. 

Go outside for two or three minutes. If you can, go for a walk.

create a Spotify playlist for your higher power; play it only in times of devotion.

Watch a YouTube video about your higher power.

Make your bed.

Spend quality time with a pet.

Light a candle.

Spells

Spells as any seasoned witch will know, require at least a small modicum of personal energy. if you have none to spare, do not push yourself into doing one. There is no witch council looking down and judging you because you have not done a spell in a few months. A lot of people think I am a ‘perfect’ witch. I haven’t done a spell since around March and I hold absolutely no guilt over this. It’s not a requirement. There is more to witchcraft than doing spells. 

Having said this, if you are ready to do a spell, do not try to ‘cure’ yourself. You will only be disappointed and have more doubt and self-hatred in your craft when it does not work. You can NOT witch your way into curing depression. Fuck what Facebook groups and crystal healing ebooks have told you. No amount of rose quartz is going to make you love yourself until you are ready to do so. These things are fine used alongside treatment, as an afterthought.They are an aid; they are not and never will be a solution. See a doctor.

Instead of going into spellwork with the mindset of ‘I want to fix x problem’ go in with the mindset of ‘I want to aid the process of my body and soul being able to deal with x’. ‘I want to remind myself that I CAN recover from x’. This is why self-care is a very powerful form of witchcraft. You are merely asking for the traits you already have (power, strength, love) to be enhanced and renewed once again. You are not changing yourself. You are refining yourself into the person you always were. You are reminding yourself how wonderful you have always been.

Here are a few links I think you’ll find useful.

I am free and proud of what I have become sigil

Self Care Sachet

Dreams Of Success Sachet

I am strong in the face of my fears sigil

I do not think harmful things sigil

i deserve to love and to be loved sigil

Self Loving Spell

Motivation Charm Bag

Simple Self Love Spell

Emoji Spell For Personal Growth

Emoji Spell ‘I Am Capable’

A Spell For Going On When It Seems Impossible

Research

When your brain is clouded from fog and time is a word you’ve forgotten the meaning of, do not worry about memorising long lists of spell item correspondences. It is an actual, medical fact that when depressed our memory gets worse and we are unable to retain, process and recall information like we once could.

The reality is that the 99% of witches do not remember spells, simple correspondences or tarot meanings off the top of their head. They all use a mix of pure intuition and double checking. I’ve been practising in various different forms for a long time now, somewhere between 7 and 9 years depending on how strictly you use the term witchcraft, and I can not and never will remember the meanings of every tarot card, spell ingredient or colour. I can’t remember ritual orders, incantations or the dates of the sabbats.

 I was not blessed with an encyclopedic memory, in fact, I’d go as far to say that my ‘off the top of my head’ memory of witchcraft is worse than someone who has been practising and studying for as little as 3 months. What I do have, however, is notes, books and 6 years worth of blog links to refresh my memory. There is absolutely no shame in having to refer to these resources and it does not make you any less of a witch. 

This is why grimoires are a thing. We all have this notion that it’s so you can look back in the future on your old workings or pass them down to a relative. While both of these things are true, grimoires are working active reference tools, just like any other website or book. Don’t be afraid to use them.

Serious rituals, cloaks, incantations in weird languages, meditation over candle light, cursing people all the time, gazing into a crystal ball and seeing the future, lots of old books with confusing spells and rituals, believing in superstitions, serious tarot sessions

What it actually is:

Lots of questions! lol! Okay so first off you don’t have to do things traditionally. Most of us don’t worship the traditional way and instead adapt our devotion to fit not only modern times but our own individual life. Now my suggest to you is to look into doing devotional activities. Those are exactly what they sound like, activities that are devoted to a deity. And these can be ANYTHING! They can be the things you are already doing in your busy life, but now you can devote them to Aphrodite so you don’t have to worry about going a prolonged period of time without interacting with her. Not to mention they help make certain tasks that may seem mundane or ordinary a lot more special and even important to you. It can also help push you to do things you may otherwise not have done because now its not just for you, its for Aphrodite as well. So devotional activities are beneficial to both you and Aphrodite, which is one of the main reasons I love them so much! Here are some simple ideas:

When waking up in the morning you can take 1 min to give thanks to Aphrodite for the new day (or whatever you want to give thanks to)

When getting ready take a moment to admire yourself, you can simply do this by giving yourself a smile in the mirror. And know that Aphrodite is smiling too

Give at least one compliment a day so you are spreading Aphrodite’s message me love and self-love

When showering/bathing say a small prayer and admire yourself some more 

If you see something that catches your eye and you think “Wow, thats beautiful” thank Aphrodite

Listen to a song that makes you think of her

Spending time with loved ones and basking in that feeling of bonding and connecting can be dedicated to Aphrodite

Before going to bed you can thank her for the day and/or for anything specifically that happened. 

Get familiar with things that symbolize her, both traditionally and for you personally, notice when you see them irl and send a thought/prayer/appreciation to her

I devote self care and bathing to Aphrodite, I have a bar of soap associated with her (frankincense and mir) and a face wash (a lush seasalt one) and a hand lotion (lush’s love and light) which are all dedicated to her and used only in devotional moments.

Devoting make up, skin care, dressing up, painting nails, etc to her is a super easy way to connect with her I find.

If you’re comfortable, you can devote sensual and/or sexual to her, even if just in part. I find when I am ‘in the Aph zone’ and connected, my partner is suddenly very cuddly/lovey/admiring and that connection totally connects with Aphrodite as well! 

Consider making a tumblr or pinterest board with things that remind you of her, use it as an e-altar as offerings, very easy to add to if you find yourself with a few extra minutes at the computer or on your phone.

Self-love self-love self-love, as mentioned above, compliment and admire yourself, do things to encourage that, keep her in mind.

It’s no secret that I’ve been going through a pretty rough mental health patch. And with final exams this week, that is not a good thing. But because every cloud has a sunbeam behind it, it inspired me to create this witchy self-care guide for whenever you really need it. (Prob going to be a long post, sorry.)

It’s real important for us to keep up our self-care routines, if only because our body is the conduit through which magic flows. If the channel is damaged, our magic will suffer. 

Eat small and eat often. Our brain needs calories to function. Food is energy, it is not the enemy. But if preparing food is just too much work, try eating small meals that are easy to prepare and clean up after: instant oatmeal, fruit, instant potatoes, cheese and crackers, etc. Add spices/certain elements for intent. 

Limit caffeine. Don’t completely cut it out bc then you’ll just have withdrawal and be miserable. But try subbing coffee or energy drinks for tea. When in doubt: water is the best option. If you can’t stand the taste- try adding mint, lemon, or other fruit to match an intent. 

Don’t sit in the same place all day. I am hella guilty of this, but we are not sedentary creatures. Even if you’re studying like a madman, get up to stretch once an hour. Try to take a walk everyday, get some time outside. Again, if you’re really really low energy: you can do stretches in your bed. Try these.  If you really need a break or stress removal- try to do a full workout vid. 

Please sleep. Even if it’s a little bit. We cannot function on no sleep. It limits brain activity, and you won’t be able to perform at your best. If you can’t relax enough to sleep for 8 hours at once, try sleeping in short intervals. Anything is better than nothing. Try sigils, herb sachets, sleepy time tea, to relax. 

Bath magic! When we’re low energy, it can be difficult to devote time to making spells work properly because we can’t channel enough energy towards our intent. This is perfectly normal, but can be frustrating. Bath magic kills two birds with one stone. It’s a low energy form of magic, you get clean, and relax all at the same time. Try @recreationalwitchcraft for some awesome ideas.

Hope these help! Add more self-care ideas to the chain. Every little bit helps, you never know who will read it when they need it most. 

May your final exams be blessed with ease and predictability. May you find focus and energy in abundance, and may your strength sustain you to finish the semester strong, regardless of your GPA. You are loved and powerful, and your grades do not define you. 

Create a sachet charm to keep in your car and protect you during your travels.

Car accidents are one of the lead causes of deaths in the U.S. Everyone is likely to get into at least a few accidents over the course of their lives. Even the best driver’s can’t control the actions of everyone else on the road. Obviously, this spell won’t make up for good old defensive driving. But it should help protect you from those factors that are beyond your control.

You’ll need:

Incense: Sandalwood,  Frankincense, or Dragon’s blood

A small sachet/bag, preferably a thin cotton

Ingredients for the sachet*

*There are so many plants, flowers, and herbs that are associated with protection, so you can really customize this to whatever you want. But, because this charm will be kept in a small, enclosed space, we want to be mindful of the smell. Garlic and valerian have great protective properties, but will make your car smell unpleasant (to say the least). So, here are some of my suggestions:

Ideal ingredients: Mint, leaves from an Ash tree, and Wormwood. These all have specific associations with safe travel

Flowers: Carnation, chrysanthemum, lavender, lilac, peony

Trees (use twig or leaves): Birch, cedar, dogwood, elder, oak, willow

Other herbs/plants: Aloe, bay leaves, branches from blueberry or raspberry bush, caraway seeds (extra helpful to protect against theft), three-leaf clover, holly and mistletoe (especially around the holidays)

Spices: Pepper, salt (or black salt), a stick of cinnamon, rosemary.

This should give you enough options. My sachet contained mint, ash leaves, black salt, rosemary, caraway seeds, and lavender.

Ideally, you could perform this spell in your car, if you have the privacy to do so. I drove to a secluded place down by my local river. Use the incense to do a smoke cleanse of your car and stay focused on the image of protection. Make sure you have your doors/windows open so that the negative vibes have a way to escape (and your car won’t smell too strongly of smoke.) If you like, you can use some phrases to keep you focused: protect the driver, any passengers, help the car run well, etc. If there are any safety features with your car, such as airbags, make sure you focus some energy there too. Don’t forget the steering wheel, tires and under the hood, though avoid directing the smoke to the engine parts, a simple wave overhead should suffice.

Combine the ingredients in your sachet. Stay focused on the intent of each ingredient. If you still have some incense, wave the sachet through the smoke. Keep the charm in your car, preferably some place open, like your cup holder or dash. You could put it in your glove compartment, though it will be closed off from the rest of your car, so the “flow” might be stifled. Also, it is technically illegal to hang things from your mirror, so I can’t advise it.