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I think I’m going to be controversial because I’m divided about this one. I have a Master’s degree and have spent a lot of time studying many things. I can tell you that an early reference to Drawing Down the Moon can be found in Aristophones’ play The Clouds. I enjoy knowledge and think it is important.

But then - my grandmother was a folk practitioner who is unlikely to have ever researched the history of witchcraft or paganism in her life.  She knew folk magic, which was more technique focused. She came from a community where need was more common than books.  (Though knowing a lot of psalms and bible versus was an important part of technique, so do not think they were without knowledge. They were without access.)

So, let’s look at modern witchcraft.  I think we might have a split on this depending on whether someone is mostly online or practicing and learning with a more in-person tradition.

The online sphere seems to swing toward - research, research, research - as if that will provide all the answers. And it will provide many but I’ve also seen it just lead to confusion. (Okay, any massive influx of information without a basis to sort and understand it is likely to lead to confusion, even if it isn’t about witchcraft.)  But we’re online, what we have access to is links to sources, excerpts from books and the ability to share bits of knowledge. Online is rather like being back in my college days but without a professor to sort things for the class.

If you study within a tradition, they are likely to begin with a mix of technique and knowledge of the tradition. It’s more of a “learn this and then do this” approach. Before the internet, what you read might have been limited because books on various subjects were harder to come by. By training within a tradition, you might have had access to the coven’s library. But there was always be an emphasis on the doing part.  Becoming good at technique feels wonderful. However, you may have to make the jump to learn things outside the sphere of the tradition on your own.

Learning the history of witchcraft makes you an educated historian of witchcraft.  But doing witchcraft makes you a witch.

I can do both but knowing about Aristophanes’ The Clouds didn’t make me a witch. For that, I was more like my grandmother, focusing on techniques - and sometimes need.

(This is not meant to imply in-person witches are somehow better. I know some truly ineffectual in-person witches and because I know them in person, I know how truly ineffectual they are.)

Hey everyone! It's been requested that I make a post explaining the difference between naturally occurring citrine and man altered citrine. It should be noted I am by no means a geologist or geologist, just someone who has been in the crystal business for just about a decade now.

So I'm just going to break down the types of citrine that are usually on the market!

Heat Treated Amethyst Citrine:

So, for many years what has been very popular and commonly known as citrine is actually heat treated amethyst. Basically amethyst clusters (almost always from Brazil) get "baked" at high temps to turn them yellow/orange.

Here are some examples of that:

All of these pieces are heat treated amethyst from Brazil. As you can see, they basically just look like regular amethyst clusters that have been turned orange. The deeper the amethyst, the deeper orange the "citrine" turns out. The key features are closely clustered crystals, a very bright yellow or orange color, and a white base that the crystals are growing from. This heated amethyst is usually pretty easy to identify.

Lemon Quartz:

Another type of "citrine" is lemon quartz. Lemon quartz is created when quartz is heat treated. This is chemically the same as natural citrine, and looks very similar to natural citrine. The way you can tell this apart from natural citrine the easiest is usually through the price (it should be cheaper than natural citrine). It will also sometimes appear more of a bright/lemony yellow than natural citrine (but not always!), and also has kind of a green tint to it.

Here are some examples of lemon quartz:

The ones in the bottom picture are especially lemony, but the other ones look really similar to natural citrine. (Which is why it's so important to buy crystals from a trusted source, so that you know what you're getting). I personally really love the top ones and I think they're stunning! It's just important to know what you have and that it is not misrepresented.

Natural Citrine:

Finally, I can show off some lovely natural citrine! Natural citrine looks really different depending on where it's from. Most commonly it's found in: Brazil, the Congo, Zambia, South Africa, and Madagascar.

Brazilian citrine is usually either a very pale yellow or it is mixed with smoky quartz. African citrine is usually darker in color and also mixed with smoky quartz.

Here are some examples:

The top two are Brazilian citrine, the third is smoky Zambian citrine, and the bottom is a citrine cluster from the Congo. To ensure the citrine you want to buy is natural, check where it's coming from. Compare the color to the common types of altered citrine. Make sure the seller is trustworthy and has a good reputation. Natural citrine is more expensive than heated amethyst and lemon quartz, and can end up being pretty pricey depending on where it's from and the quality.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with cheaper alternatives to more expensive stones, it is just important that we know what we are getting and that things are not misrepresented or even inappropriately priced for what it is.

I hope this helps! Happy crystal hunting 🌞

When two new moons occur in the same month, the second one is called the black moon. It is considerably more powerful than a regular new moon, so an seeding spells you do under a black moon might manifest more quickly. When two full moons occur in the same month, the second is dubbed a blue moon. During the blue moon, you may find you get bigger or better results than on an ordinary full moon, or that you experience a lot more activity or vitality.

an excerpt from The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander

The next black and blue moons:

Black Moon: July 2019

Lavender Syrup!

I know there are a ton of recipes out there, but this one's mine. I put in a lot more lavender personally.

- 2 cups sugar

- 1 1/2 cup water (here's an opportunity to use moon water for extra energy. Full moon water can boost the lavender correspondences for psychic awareness and love, while water charged in phases leading up to the new moon can boost lavender's ability to banish/protect from depression and anxiety)

- 4 tablespoons lavender- Peace/anti-anxiety, happiness, love, sleep, psychic awareness/ability, creativity, protection from ill treatment.

- purple food coloring (optional)

Instructions:

Seven Planetary Metals. Seven metals are associated with the seven classical planets, and seven deities, all figuring heavily in alchemical symbolism. Although the metals occasionally have a glyph of their own, the planet’s symbol is used most often, and the symbolic and mythological septenary is consistent with Western astrology. The planetary symbolism is limited to the seven wandering stars visible to the naked eye, and the extra-Saturnarian planets such as Neptune are not used.