May Your Intent Be Clear

Hello!

There sure are! There is, of course, sage, which is well-known as a cleansing herb at this point and is often used to banish malevolent spirits. Many people really like white sage, but it’s quickly becoming endangered, and other types of sage will work just as well. Kitchen sage is a favorite of mine, but just about any will work.

Sweet grass, as well as sweet fern, are both used to attract benevolent spirits. Sweet fern is also used the way sage is to clear out malevolent spirits, often with smoke cleansing (bonus of sweet fern: it smells very nice while fresh or dried, and unlike sage, sweet fern doesn’t smell like marijuana while burning(YMMV on sage smell, some people think it smells like marijuana and others don’t. It’s a weird thing where people familiar with both smells can still disagree.)

Lilac and mint are often used to get in contact with spirits, and there are many many herbs for raising awareness of spirits. including basil and mugwort.

Many spirits also like offerings! What your character offers will likely be dependent on the kind of spirits they’re trying to get in touch with, but coins are usually a good bet, and many spirits are known to be attracted to candles, and to the rituals themselves.

I hope this helps, happy writing!

Hi magicmoon65!

Consider researching Celtic/Gaelic polytheism! If your character practices it, they may incorporate those deities into their craft.

You might also consider looking into fae magic! A lot of fae magic is rooted in Celtic and Gaelic folklore, and that could be a good tie in to their roots. It can also provide a potential source of conflict, as the fae are often tricky and can be malevolent at times.

If you’d like more information on either or both of these topics, let me know!

I hope this helps, happy writing!

Hi alphabethens!

It’s very uncommon for familiar spirits to be human or humanoid, but it’s not unheard of! The most common humanoid familiar spirits depicted in art are usually imp-like creatures.

I hope this helps, happy writing!

There’s two potential ways you could go with this! You could have your characters use multiple ingredients for banishing and blocking the memory, or your could have them add ingredients for longevity. My suggestions list got long, so under a cut they go!

Hey anon!

First, I want to address a terminology thing. The idea that dark=bad and white=good comes from racist ideas, and is in general something to be avoided. Evil/malevolent and good/benevolent are much better terms to use.

That being said, iron and silver are big big ones in folklore! Witches in some European folklore share “can only be killed by a silver bullet” with werewolves, and iron/iron filings are very commonly said to stop witches from doing magic. Iron horseshoes also have this distinction.

Running fresh water is also an issue for witches in some folklore. Like vampires, it was believed in some areas that witches can’t cross running water, or that pure water will do them harm. Some also believed that a witch’s magic can’t cross running water.

Depending on how old you want, there are some really interesting American superstitions about witches as well! Knots of horsehair were said to ward of witches in some parts of Appalachia, and a New England superstition tells us witches can’t stand milk and are repulsed by it.

I hope this helps, happy writing!

Hey anon!

This question seems to be less about witchcraft and more about how to respectfully write Muslim characters. That’s great, and I’m glad you’re doing your research, but it’s not a question I’m qualified to answer. I’d suggest checking out blogs about writing Muslim characters and reaching out to them for this question. @writingwithcolor is on break at the moment, but their Muslim tag may be of use to you.

Happy writing!

Hey anon!

I’m a little confused by your question, and I think you may have missed a word?What is being set loose in the house?

That being said, that’s very dependent on how you choose to define “seer.” Is that someone with divinatory abilities? Is it someone with an innate talent for spirit work? Is it someone who’s trained and honed their abilities? More detail would be super helpful in getting this question answered for you, as that’s something very much up to you, and the skills of any witchcraft, divination, or spirit work practitioner vary person to person, as with any other skill.

I hope this helps, happy writing!

Hello everyone!

Happy Halloween (and day before NaNoWriMo starts)! I have a rare several hours of calm, so I’ll be working hard on emptying the inbox and filling the queue! If you have an urgent question for your NaNo project, feel free to include that in your ask, and I’ll do my best to prioritize those if I can.

Happy writing, and stay spooky!

Hi there anon!

That depends on the individual character’s religion! Many witches don’t invoke deities at all, but those that do can invoke any they like from their religion that may be willing to give Their aid in a given spell. They’ll likely use whatever epithets they use in their regular worship– a character writing a healing spelling invoking Apollo may address Him as Apollo Paean,  for example– and the spell work may include taking time to give an offering to the deity being invoked. Deciding on a religion for your character will help you narrow down what deities you may be researching more into, and if you need additional help in finding sources I’d be happy to assist.

Literally or figuratively, anon? In real witchcraft, the figurative meaning of the phrase could definitely be used, but for the literal meaning, you’re going to need to dip into fantasy.

I would say no, blood of a character that’s been used in rituals is still blood that’s been used in rituals, regardless of the time the character using it initially collected it.

That depends on a couple of factors, namely how long she’s been practicing, how concentrated or spread out her methods of divination are– does she just use one method, or does she know a dozen?– and how regularly she practices. Someone who’s been practicing the same method daily for eight years is going to be much more advanced than someone who’s been practicing sporadically for four years and has spread their practice out.

Sorry this answer is pretty general, but I hope it helps! Happy writing!