CURRENT TOP 5 ARTICLES & RESOURCE POSTS: Protection Work in Folk Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Protecting Yourself & Others // Jewish Incantation Bowls // the Star: A Tarot Spread for Pursuing New Endeavors // the Otherworld of Irish & Welsh Mythology // the Craft of Isobel Gowdie: A Look at Scottish Folk Magic in the 1600s
ABOUT KEZIAH: (she/they); witch, rootworker, spirit worker, and diviner (25+ years); writer and huge nerd lay scholar; Southern US; mixed (Black and white); Jewish (Ashkenazi); queer (nonbinary, panromantic, asexual); leftist; in my early 30s and loving it. | (Find more on the about page.)
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The Otherworld is a realm not quite separate from our own, all around us and yet not always accessible or visible to us. It has been interpreted as one expansive world and as having numerous realms and kingdoms within the one Otherworld, and is home to many beings – gods, fairies, and spirits of all sorts, along with some of the most honored and beloved dead.
It is described in ‘the Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries’ by W.Y. Evans-Wentz:
‘But this western Otherworld, if it is what we believe it to be – a poetical picture of the great subjective world – cannot be the realm of any one race of invisible beings to the exclusion of another. In it all alike – gods, Tuatha De Danann, fairies, demons, shades, and every sort of disembodied spirits – find their appropriate abode; for though it seems to surround and interpenetrate this planet even as the X-rays interpenetrate matter, it can have no other limits than those of the Universe itself.’
This cosmological concept descends from the ancient Celtic religions, and the Otherworld (by its many names) is found throughout the lands in which the Celtic tribes resided and lives on within the traditions preserved by reconstructionist and traditional Celtic pagans and Celtic folk magic practitioners. The Otherworld, along with other Celtic pagan beliefs, can also be found within many neo-pagan and neo-druidic practices and movements.
NAMES OF THE OTHERWORLD
The Otherworld bears many names across the Gaelic and Brythonic mythologies and cosmologies.
Irish
In Irish tales, the names of the Otherworld or realms within the Otherworld include:
Tír na nÓg – ‘the Land of the Young’ or ‘the Land of Youth’
Tír Tarngire – ‘the Land of Promise or ‘the Promised Land’
Tír-Innambéo – ‘the Land of the Living’
Tír N-aill – ‘the Other Land’ or ‘the Other World’
Tír fo Thuinn – ‘the Land Beneath the Wave’ (meaning a land underwater)
Mag Mell – ‘the Plain of Delight’ or ‘the Plain of Happiness’
Mag Már – ‘the Great Plain’
Mag Réin – ‘the Plain of the Sea’ or ‘the Sea Plain’
Emain Ablach – ‘the Isle of Apple Trees’
Ildathach – ‘the Many-Colored Land’
Welsh
In Welsh narratives, the Otherworld has been called:
Annwn or Annwfn
DESCRIBING the OTHERWORLD:
In Irish Cosmology & Mythology
Beliefs as to what the Otherworld is like and where it is located range widely. It’s been described as a world beneath our own that can be entered through some portals in caves or at the base of hills and mountains. In many old Irish manuscripts, it’s described as being located somewhere in the Western Ocean. The phantom island of Hy-Brasil is believed by many to be part of the Otherworld. Irish myth tells of Hy-Brasil being cloaked in mist (perhaps féth fíada, a magical mist) or fog which renders it invisible. However, once every seven years the island becomes visible to the human eye for a whole day.
In the Irish tale ‘Immram Brain maic Febail’ (‘the Voyage of Bran mac Febal’), Bran embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld via a sea voyage. Some days into their journey, Bran and his company encounter Manannán mac Lir upon his chariot. Manannán informs them that though their surroundings appear as the sea to them, to the god it appears as a great field of flowers. In this tale, the realms of the Otherworld are depicted as individual islands somewhere in the Western Sea.
In the story ‘Echtrai Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’ (‘the Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promise’), Cormac enters the Otherworld and encounters great bronze palaces, houses of white silver that are thatched with the wings of birds, and a courtyard, in the center of which is a great fountain or well with five streams flowing from it. There is said to be a fairy palace beyond the fountain, and there Cormac encounters ‘the loveliest of the world’s women’.
In many tales and poems, the Otherworld is depicted as being incredibly beautiful and as having very many apple trees, hazelnut trees, and great oak trees. It’s said to have plains filled with colorful flowers and dew of honey. And of the food available in the Otherworld, there is nothing that is not irresistibly delicious. Those who dwell within the Otherworld do not age, nor do they feel pain or take ill. Some believe that it is the fruits that grow within the Otherworld that provide its inhabitants with their everlasting youth and good health. Others believe that it’s the Otherworld itself that keeps one young and well.
In modern day, the Otherworld is most known for being the realm of the fairies and their courts. It is less commonly – outside of Irish historians, practitioners of Celtic paganism and Druidry, and keepers of the age-old tradition of Celtic storytelling – understood as the realm of deities, as the realm of all the Sídhe-folk. Here, the Tuatha dé Danann are believed to reside.
The Tuath dé Danann are a tribe of gods and goddesses descended from the goddess Danu. The Tuatha dé Danann are said to have moved from our physical realm to the realm of the Otherworld after facing defeat at the Battle of Tailte. Manannán mac Lir – a famed warrior, sea god, and king over the surviving Tuatha dé Danann – conceals the Otherworld from humankind via féth fíada, a magical mist that is used by the Tuatha dé Danann to render themselves invisible to humankind. Though, it is believed that seers or those with the gift of second sight can see Otherworld portals and entrances, as well as being able to see those that dwell within the Otherworld.
Time moves differently within these realms. Many tales state that one could spend what felt like a few days in the Otherworld, only to return to this world and find that their friends and family had all died, and many years had passed whilst they were away.
In Welsh Cosmology & Mythology
In Welsh tales, the Otherworld (called Annwn) is not ruled over by Manannán mac Lir but by Arawn and, later, Gwyn ap Nudd. In many of the Welsh legends, Annwn is described as a world of eternal youth, free of illness and disease, where no one could ever go hungry for there were endless supplies of food and drink. It was a realm of incomparable beauty where the gods, fairy folk, great ancestors, elves, and spirits reside. Like in Irish myth, Annwn is believed to be either a subterranean realm, under the sea, or on an island to the west. It is also a magical realm hidden from humankind.
Some tales depict a paradise-like world that is like all the best and most beautiful things within our own world with sprawling gardens, plainlands, and orchards, while others describe a ‘hellish’ place (most likely an outcome of the Christianization of the Welsh culture and beliefs). Both interpretations, though, speak of Annwn as the land of the dead.
The Welsh epic ‘Cad Goddeu’ (‘the Battle of the Trees’) tells of a battle between Arawn’s army and the forces of Gwynedd. The army come forth from Annwn is described as being made up of unearthly creatures, such as enormous beasts bearing one hundred heads, great serpents, and giant toads with claws.
The well-known ‘Preiddeu Annwfn’ (‘the Spoils of Annwn’) is another tale mentioning the Otherworld. It is the story of a journey into the Otherworld led by King Arthur. The tale depicts various realms or kingdoms within the Otherworld, including the Fortress of the Mound, the Fortress of Hardness, the Fortress of Mead-Drunkenness, and the Glass Fortress; though some interpret these names to be alternate names for the Otherworld in its entirety and not of individual lands traversed by Arthur within the Otherworld.
The legendary island of Avalon is also seen as a later interpretation of Annwn. Avalon famously features in Arthurian legends as the paradisical Isle of Apples.
ENTERING the OTHERWORLD:
Many of the old tales speak of humans gaining access to the Otherworld. Sometimes they were invited or summoned there by some god or spirit (as Manannán mac Lir was known to do), sometimes they were stolen away or kidnapped by one of the Otherworld’s inhabitants, and some folk entered the Otherworld of their own design during those times of year when the walls between their world and the Otherworld were lowered, such as during Samhain and Beltane. There are also many tales of folk (some quite famous, such as Cuchulainn, Lanval, and Ossian) being lured or enticed away by a fairy to the Otherworld to live as the fairy’s lover. It is also believed that musicians would be stolen away to the Otherworld to entertain its inhabitants.
As mentioned already, many believe openings at the base of hills and mountains to be entrances to the Otherworld. So, too, are ancient burial mounds, bogs, and caves seen as Otherworld gateways. It is also believed that patches of mist or fog could have within them some opening to the Otherworld, as in the Irish tale ‘Echtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’. In this story, King Cormac sets out from Tara with many soldiers to find his way into the Otherworld to take back his wife, daughter, and son (whom he lost in a trade-off for a magic silver bough). On his way, a thick fog befalls the party. When the fog is lifted, Cormac is alone in the plains of a foreign land, having been taken into the Otherworld.
In some tales, one could enter the Otherworld after they were gifted an apple or a branch bearing apples (such as the magic silver bough mentioned in the story above) from a sacred apple tree. The apple or branch was magical and acted as a key, allowing one to pass into the realm of the Sídhe-folk so long as the apple or branch was in their possession.
Sídhe, though now commonly used in reference to those inhabitants of the Otherworld, are the mounds, hills, or places believed to provide access to the Otherworld. Previously, the term sídhe was used specifically to mean the palaces, courts, or halls in which the spirits of the Otherworld resided.
TECH DUINN:
In Irish lore, there is a separate Otherworld where one goes after death. This realm of the dead is Tech Duinn, the domain of Donn – an ancient god of the dead and ancestor of the Gaels. Tech Duinn means ‘the House of the Dark One’ (‘Donn’ means ‘the dark one’).
There is a 9th-century poem which states that Donn’s dying wish was to have his descendants gathered to him when they died – “To me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths.” While the Otherworld is often described as being a paradise of great beauty, that is not how Tech Duinn is usually depicted. Rather, it is most commonly portrayed as a frightful place of darkness and dread. Why, I do not know. Perhaps this is simply due to it being the home of Donn, the Dark One.
Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond Ireland’s western coast. It is believed that the entrance to Tech Duinn lies on, within, or beneath Bull Rock, an islet bearing a natural tunnel and resembling a portal tomb. Bull Rock lies off the western point of the Beara Peninsula.
A line from Yeats comes to mind in regard to the Otherworld in general, but specifically when speaking of Tech Duinn and Donn’s dying wish -
‘In Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.’
Suffice it to say, the Otherworld has inspired numerous poems and exciting and moving tales, pieces of a time long gone by preserved (hopefully) forever through art. And today it is the source of much scholarly exploration and debate. How much of the Otherworld as we understand it now has been altered by Christianization? How many of the old tales were twisted and reinterpreted to suit the narratives of the Church? We do know that a great deal of this occurred within the preservation of Celtic lore and history, and what tales we have of the Otherworld were not left untouched by this. I hope that this piece, as brief as it is, might inspire others to explore the old Celtic tales in their many interpretations, for there is much to be enjoyed there, as well as much to be learned.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
'Cad Goddeu'
'Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' - Koch, John T.
'Celtic Myths and Legends' - Rolleston, T.A.
'Dictionary of Celtic Mythology' - MacKillop, James
'Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore' - Monoghan, Patricia
'the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' - Evans-Wentz, W.Y.
'Hy Brasil: the Metamorphosis of an Island' - Freitag, Barbara
'Immram Brain mac Febail'
'Irish Fairy Tales' - Stephens, James
'the Lord of Ireland' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí; Prof.
'the Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales' - trans. Ford, Patrick K.
'the Mabinogian - A New Translation' -Davies, Sioned
'Myth, Legend, & Romance: An Encyclopedia of Irish Folk Tradition' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí
'the Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland' - Squire, Charles
'Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature' - Byrne, Aisling
'Preiddeu Annwn'
'the Religion of the Ancient Celts' - MacCulloch, J.A.
‘the Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Ireland’ - Ó hÓgain, Dáithí; Prof.
Spring Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Cleansing & Prosperity
by Keziah
Spring creeps into the Northern Hemisphere, awakening much of the land's greenery from its slumber. The spring birds are returning, the flowers and trees will soon be blossoming, and the time for spring magic has arrived.
For some spring has already come, as the 01st of February marks the folkloric return of spring and the changing of the seasons for many cultures; and others find themselves at spring's threshold, mere weeks away from the turn of the seasons. Either way, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the magic that spring has to offer. I've created and curated a collection of spells, charms, and magical workings for cleansing (of a space, item, or of the self), prosperity, and plenty more money matters that are perfect to include in your work this spring. Enjoy!
WHEN IS SPRING?
There are three main systems used for determining when spring arrives - the astronomical system, the meteorological system, and the solar or folkloric system. The astronomical system is determined by the sun and moon's locations in relation to the earth, marking the seasonal start dates at the time of the equinoxes and solstices, though in many practices and throughout history, these were seen as the height of the season, not the beginning. The meteorological system is determined by when the weather shifts to best fit meteorological circumstances associated with that season. The solar and folkloric system is that which is determined by the local lore and customs of a people.
So, when does spring begin in the Northern Hemisphere?
-Per the astronomical system: 20th of March.
-Per the meteorological system: 01st of March.
-Per the solar and folkloric system: Varies, but typically about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc and Saint Brigid's Day (festivals which hail from Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man) are celebrated on the 01st of February, marking the first day of spring; the traditional Chinese calendar sees spring's start within the 03rd - 05th of February; and some follow the opinion of Marcus Terentius Varro (a Roman scholar, polymath, and author) who pinpointed the start of spring as the 07th of February.
HERBS & INGREDIENTS TO INCLUDE IN SPRING MAGIC:
As always, please research any and all herbs, plants, and magical ingredients you use if you have children or pets.
*Seasonal spring flowers and plants to make use of in your magic this spring.
Allspice: for aiding in protection and prosperity magic, in workings for new business ventures, and for drawing in money, success, and luck.
Anise: can be used in purification and cleansing work, as well some protection magic.
Buttercup*: for love, friendship, and harmony.
Cinnamon: for cleansing, healing, psychic enhancement, prosperity, abundance, good fortune, luck, protection.
Coffee: for prosperity, love, fidelity, warding, malevolent works; to attract money, good luck, success in business, new jobs and career changes,
Daffodil*: for prosperity, renewal, luck, love, fertility, happiness, and rebirth.
Dogwood*: can be used in protective charms and spells; dogwood sap can be used in wishing magic.
Garlic: for cleansing, purification, protection; used to attract money and ward off theft.
Ginger: for love, money, success.
Lemon: for cleansing, purification, luck, friendship, and love
Magnolia*: for fidelity, loyalty, transformation, psychic development, rebirth, fertility, and abundance.
Periwinkle*: for money, prosperity, protection, and love [poisonous, toxic for some pets, use with caution, do not keep around pets or children, best not to consume - more info here (symptoms and identification) and here (list of animals for which periwinkle is toxic and further information)].
Rosemary: for protection, love, cleansing, purification, and healing.
Rue: for cleansing, healing, and love; can also be used to remove curses and hexes.
Sea Salt, Salt: for cleansing, purification, protection.
Tulip*: for love, prosperity, and protection.
Witch Hazel*: for protection, cleansing, purification, aid in divination, in work for healing a broken heart.
SPELLS & CHARMS
Cleansing:
As many practitioners use spring as a time to cleanse their spaces and welcome in change, positivity, prosperity, and good fortune, cleansing work, such as sweeps and washes, is essential magic for the season.
HAND WASH CLEANSING
To purify, sanctify, and get rid of old energy and negativity, and to attract protection, new opportunities, good fortune, happiness, and harmony.
What you'll need:
water
lemon juice or lemon essential oil
rosemary or rosemary essential oil
chamomile essential oil or chamomile flowers
lavender flowers or lavender essential oil
bowl or basin
What to do:
-Designate the area where you’ll perform this cleansing spell. Ideally, it should take place in a space that you feel comfortable and at peace – outdoors, in your bedroom, at an altar, anywhere you feel secure and in tune with yourself.
-Fill your bowl with water (whichever kind of water you prefer to use) and add lemon juice or lemon essential oil, rosemary leaves or rosemary essential oil, and chamomile flowers or chamomile essential oil. Why these ingredients? Lemon purifies, cleanses, and sanctifies while also attracting luck, friendship, and love; rosemary is often used in cleansing work and also boosts protection and healing; chamomile has long been used in ritual washes to bring purification and cleansing; and lavender is another cleansing ally that removes negative energy.
Other options for cleansing & purifying essential oils to use instead of these are:
-Take a moment to close your eyes and set your intentions. You will use this water to symbolically wash away the old. Think about why you’re doing this. Are you washing away negative energy? Are you cleansing yourself in preparation for the new season and the new opportunities it may bring? Are you washing away bad luck in hopes to attract a turn of fortune? Set your intentions and sit with them for a moment, affirming them within yourself.
-Dip one hand into the bowl of water. Cupping water in that hand, hold the other hand over the bowl and pour the cupped water over the dry hand. While you do this, think on washing away whatever it is you wish to leave behind and welcoming in newness, positivity, and whatever goodness you seek.
-Now dip the opposite hand into the water and perform this same act on the other side, cupping water in your hand and pouring it over the other hand, letting the water wash down from your hand back into the bowl. Perform this step as many times as you like, alternating slowly between each hand. The action should be slow and meaningful, not hurried, and you should be thinking on all that you’re leaving behind with this symbolic washing of your hands.
-When you're finished, dry your hands (preferably using a white cloth). You can use the water left over to brush over doorways, windows, and sacred spaces, if you like.
CLEANSING WASH FOR AMULETS, DOORWAYS, MAGICAL TOOLS, & SACRED SPACES
To cleans one's home and space of negativity and old energy, and to attract prosperity, protection, blessings, and positivity.
What you'll need:
water (you can use any kind of water you prefer)
lemon juice
mugwort / st. john's plant (whole frond with leaves)*
bowl or basin
*you can use a mugwort infusion added to your water instead of using a frond of mugwort
What to do:
For washing doors, windows, etc.:
-Mix water and lemon juice (it can be freshly squeezed or pre-bottled) in your bowl or basin. You can take a moment before, during, or after mixing the water and lemon juice to sit and think on the purpose of your wash - to cleans old energy, purify and sanctify the space or object, and to welcome in new opportunities, good energy, and good luck.
-Take your frond of mugwort and submerge or dip the leaves in the water.
[Artemisa Vulgaris illustration from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1897]
-Use the mugwort frond to brush the doorframe, the door, the woodwork around windows, the windows themselves, and even the beams and/or rails on your porch if you have them.
-If you're using a mugwort infusion added to your water and lemon juice instead of using a brush of mugwort frond, you can use a cloth to wash with, preferably a white cloth to symbolize purity, cleansing, and newness.
For washing amulets & sacred spaces:
-Small amulets, such as those worn or carried on one's person, can be gently washed with a small amount of the water, lemon, and mugwort wash, or, if you're using the mugwort frond method, you can flick the frond over the amulets to sprinkle them with the water and lemon juice mixture.
-Amulets that hang on walls can be sprinkled or splashed with the mixture to cleans and purify them.
-Altars and magical workspaces can be gently washed with this cleansing wash as well.
For washing magical tools:
-This wash can be used on magical tools, especially divination tools, as mugwort is a valuable ally in the art of divination. Wash crystal balls, scrying mirrors, scrying bowls, tabletops on which you perform divinatory readings, any sortilege utensils, pendulums, etc. with this water, lemon juice, and mugwort blend to cleans old energy whilst enhancing psychic practice.
CLEANSING WASH FOR ITEMS & SURFACES
This cleansing wash is intended for things and places where lingering energy may have settled, such as items inherited from or having belonged to a now deceased person, items given you by an ex-lover or former friend, or items purchased second hand or from antique stores, yard sales, or estate sales. It can also be used on surfaces in rooms where a spirit, ex-lover, former friend, negative person, or enemy may have passed through or lingered.
What you'll need:
1 cup of warm water
1-2 tablespoons of vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
bowl, basin, or cup
cloth or rag
What to do:
-Add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar/apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of warm water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir.
-Using a rag or cloth, gently wash surfaces, areas, or items that you wish to clean. Be mindful of your items. Only wash items that wouldn't be damaged by water, vinegar, or salt. For a milder cleans use more water and less vinegar.
CLEANSING SWEEP
What you'll need:
salt (any kind of salt you like);
a broom (birch brooms add extra cleansing oomf, but you can use any broom)
a dustpan
Optional additives: Herbs and flowers are commonly used in floor sweeps to not only add to cleansing work but to also attract things like good luck, money, love, and blessings. Always be mindful if you have pets or children to never perform a sweep in an area they have access to, as many ingredients are not safe for them to ingest.
flowers and petals - burdock for cleansing and banishing negative energy; chamomile for cleansing and purification; daisy for cleansing and attracting good luck and positivity; lavender for cleansing, purification, and peace; roses for love, manifesting wishes, and luck.
herbs and plant allies - dried lemon peel/rind for cleansing, renewal, and purification; pine needles for cleansing, banishing and protection, and to attract money; rosemary for protection, cleansing, purification, and healing.
What to do:
-In an area where you wish to clear out negative energy, sprinkle salt (or your mixture of salt and any additives) on the floor. Make sure you sprinkle extra at thresholds and beneath windows or in front of fireplaces - boosting the banishing of negative energy at all entrance points of the space. To banish energies, sprinkle your salt/mixture from the back of the home/space toward the front; for houses with multiple levels you work back-to-front, top-to-bottom. To attract energies, sprinkle your salt/mixture from the front of the home/space to the back.
-While sprinkling and laying out your salt/mixture, you should think on or speak on your intension to rid that space. Be as specific as you need to be, let not one hint of negativity or malevolent energy or spirit linger in ta shadowy corner or a crack between floorboards.
-Some leave their salt to sit and work for a few hours, a whole day, some overnight. You can do that if you like. Others sweep it up immediately, while still thinking on or stating their intentions to banish energy and clean the space. Whatever way you put your salt out, sweep it in the same manner (back to front of the home or front to back).
-Dispose of the salt/mixture after sweeping it up. You can toss it off your property or put it in the trash bin, but make sure you don't keep it in the house.
SMOKE CLEANSING
These dried herbs can all be burned and smoke either in the form of a bundle or loose in a firesafe pot, cauldron, bowl, or vessel. Cast iron is always good. Line the bottom of the vessel with sand (to absorb heat) and place a disc of charcoal on the sand. Burn the herbs on top of the charcoal disc.
Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus bundles are burned to purify spaces, especially those in which healing work is to be performed. It's also said to be ideal for cleansing homes of those who are struggling with their mental health.
Pine Needles - Burn pine needles and let the smoke banish negative energy and banish evil eye and any curse or hex work that's been sent your way, as well as clean and sanctify sacred spaces.
Rosemary - Burn a bundle of dried rosemary. The smoke will rid the space of negativity and ward off negative or harmful energy. It also grants protection to that space and those within it.
Thyme - Thyme can be burned as a dried bundle or in incense form to provide cleansing, purification, psychic enhancement, and healing.
Prosperity, Money, & Business:
Incense to Attract Money Your Way
Burning these incenses is said to draw money to you.
Allspice
Bergamot
Jasmine
Wallet Charms to Attract Money
BERGAMOT: Leaves of orange bergamot should be kept in wallets and purses to attract money and financial luck.
CHAMOMILE: Keeping a chamomile flower in your wallet or purse is said to bring in more money.
FLAX SEEDS: Place a few flax seeds in your pocket, wallet, or purse along with a few coins. This should be repeated daily to bring the money your way. You can also keep flax seed in your shoes to ward off poverty.
JASMINE: Carrying Jasmine in your wallet or purse to draw in money.
'the White Jasmine Branch' by Zhao Chang, early 12th century
PERIWINKLE: Keeping a periwinkle flower in your wallet or purse will attract money your way. *WARNING: Varieties of periwinkle can be poisonous and periwinkle is toxic to some animals. Do not keep periwinkle flowers around pets or children and always handle with caution. [ More information on animal safety and periwinkle. ] [ More information on periwinkle varieties, child safety, and animal safety. ] [ More information on potential toxicity. ]
SASSAFRAS: Kept in the purse or wallet to draw money your way.
Pomegranate Branch Charm for the Home
It's said that keeping a pomegranate branch will help one attract money their way and can also aid in uncovering "hidden" or "lost" money. You can mount a pomegranate branch in your house to keep the money close to home.
Wheat Charm for the Home
Keeping sheaves of wheat in the home (either dried and hanging, in a vase, or braided) is believed to attract money, aid in business ventures, and bring prosperity and fruitfulness.
Arrowroot Powder for Business Success & Money Luck
Where I'm from, people powder their feet with arrowroot powder or poot arrowroot powder in their shoes when they're going to business meetings, pitching a new business idea, or going gambling. It's believed to bring luck with money and success in business ventures.
the 10 of Diamonds for Attracting Money
There are various methods of using the 10 of Diamonds playing card to attract money your way.
The simplest way is to carry the 10 of Diamonds card in your wallet, purse, or pocket.
Another method common in the Southeastern US and Southern Appalachia is to write your name horizontally across the 10 of Diamonds three times. Where I'm from, we then turn it clockwise and write your name again, three times. The lines of names from the first three and the lines of names from the second three should crisscross over each other, as demonstrated below. Another variation includes you writing your date of birth within the squares formed between the written names (where the 'x' marks are on the rightmost image below).
You then keep this as a charm to attract money. Put it in your wallet or add it to a satchet spell for money or in a money jar spell.
Money Jar
There are lots of ways of doing jar spells and lots of ways of doing money jar spells. Where I'm from in the Southeastern US, we tend to use herbs, flowers, and sweet things like honey, molasses, or syrup because the sweetness is believed to attract good things and the stickiness is believed to make the money and goodness stick to you. So, I'm going to write an easily customizable version of the variation I'm most familiar with. You can do this in three versions - the dry version, the wet, and the sticky version. It's up to you.
What you'll need:
Herbs and flowers that attract money, such as:
alfalfa, allspice, arrowroot, bay leaves, basil, cinnamon, clover, garlic (cloves or dried for the dry version, cloves or minced for the wet version), ginger (for dry version, root or powdered), ginseng (for dry version, root or powdered), honeysuckle, nutmeg, thyme.
(dry version) sugar
(wet version) whiskey or bourbon
(sticky version) honey, molasses, or syrup
coins
a jar with a lid
a pen or marker (optional)
a 10 of hearts playing card with or without your name written on it (optional)
candle wax (to seal the jar)
What to do:
-Put a layer of coins in the bottom of the jar, preferably pennies, but you can use any coin.
-Next, place your selection of herbs and flowers in the jar. If you're using bay leaves, you can use a pen or marker to write your money wishes on the bay leaf before putting it in the jar.
-You can include your playing card now if you're using the playing card.
-For the dry version, fill the jar with sugar.
-For the wet version, fill the jar with whiskey.
-For the sticky version, fill the jar with your honey, molasses, or syrup.
-Seal your jar with the candle wax. You do this by lighting a candle and dripping the wax all around the jar lid. You can use white wax, or you can use a particular color of candle if you associate a certain color with money, such as green for wealth or gold/yellow for prosperity. After you've sealed the lid, you can burn the rest of the candle down if there's any left, either on top of the jar or beside the jar.
-Keep your money jar in a place you'll see it every day or in a place where you work, like in your office. If you do ever need or wish to dispose of your money jar, you can do so by burying the jar whole or throwing it away whole.
Apple Spell for Good Luck, Attracting Fortune, & Prosperity
This is a spring variation of the same spell featured in my Apple Magic piece.
What you’ll need:
an apple, preferably green or golden
red clover
allspice
cinnamon
What to do:
-Take your apple and cut it in half, but instead of cutting it from top to bottom, turn the apple on its side and cut it down the middle that way.
-You should now see holes in the middle with the apple seeds inside. This usually forms the shape of a five-pointed star. As apples and stars are both a symbol of good luck, this is the perfect base to build our spell on.
-Next, press the red clover, allspice, and cinnamon into the apple around the star. You should do this with both halves of the apple.
-Leave the apple to sit on a windowsill or porch rail to soak up the sun’s light for the rest of the day. If you like, you can bury the apple at sundown or the next morning as a means of “discarding” your spell. You can also simply throw the apple away. Remember, you’ve already done the work, these are just what’s left of the tools you used in doing so.
TAROT ALLIES FOR MONEY & BUSINESS WORK
Many practitioners of witchcraft like to utilize tarot cards in their spells or as visual manifestation tools. These tarot cards are ideal for incorporating in either spellwork for money or success in business, or as those visual manifestation tools to keep on your person or around you.
the Magician: For those starting a new business venture or trying to start their own business, the Magician is a powerful tarot ally. He has all the tools he needs before him, just as you do. Emulate the Magician's ability to summon new ideas and bring his vision to life.
the Sun: Perfect for those hoping to find a new job or get a promotion. The Sun is all about growth, prosperity, and expanding one's horizons.
Ace of Pentacles: This card is all about raking in the money. Let the money come your way and put the Ace of Pentacles to use in your spellwork to help ensure so. It can also be used when looking for a raise, a change of career, or to start a new business.
Nine of Pentacles: If business and success are your main focus right now, the Nine of Pentacles is the helper you need. Success, monetary gain, growth, and recognition are the central themes with this card.
I hope you'll find some use for these spells, charms, and techniques. May your spring be filled with renewal, fresh starts, abundance, and prosperity!
Sources & Further Reading:
-'Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs' - Cunningham, Scott
-'Doctoring the Devil' -Richards, Jake
-'Herbal Magic: A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions' -Kane, Aurora
-'Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen' -Köhler, Hermann Adolf
-'Magical Folkhealing' -Conway, DJ
-'the Master Book of Herbalism' -Beyerl, Paul
-'Tarot Spells' -Renée, Janina
We were given a notice on cleaning, which we have, we have a busted pipe that leaks into the front hallway from the kitchen but we are facing eviction. Despite the stipulations. But regardless anything will help and I appreciate everything. And in good faith, I will post photos of all cleaning supplies I bought as I am not intent on making this a trend for I appreciate generosity. Thank you.
I have looked into getting an attorney to deal with this landlord but the most I get is they can't help despite this being a health issue. We have a much large leak that we literally have a hole in our ceiling from the upstairs bathroom, that they have waited months to fix but we get the threat of eviction. I have looked into legal avenues but not extensively. And I don't want to create a bigger handle if things don't turn out with an attorney.
Friends & followers! CJ is facing eviction if they aren't able to meet this goal by the 26th of May. They're in a difficult situation with an unjust landlord, but they have nowhere else to go if they do end up getting evicted. Please, if you're able, share this post and/or send some aid CJ's way. Every little bit helps!
No need to hear your voice when I can talk about you better than you can speak about yourself. No need to hear your voice. Only tell me about your pain. I want to know your story. And then I will tell it back to you in a new way. Tell it back to you in such a way that it has become mine, my own. Re-writing you I write myself anew. I am still author, authority. I am still colonizer the speaking subject and you are now at the center of my talk.
-Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics (1990); bell hooks
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The theme to explore for May 2026 is magic. It seemed a fitting theme to open our prompts with. As you may already know, Weyward Grove is a project created with the intention of fostering exploration and celebration of magical and mystical traditions, as well as encouraging introspection and growth in one's own magical path and magical perspectives and understandings. This month, we're doing so by exploring the concepts, ideas, and functions of magic, as well as exploring our own beliefs and definitions surrounding magic.
Here are some examples of questions through which one can explore their beliefs and definitions of magic within their own practice/craft, culture, religion, etc.:
-What is magic?
-Do we create magic ourselves? Or are there pre-existing magical currents we're utilizing?
-Where does magic come from? What is its origin?
And some further examples of more introspective, philosophical ponderings to explore and play with this month:
-Does magic have a purpose?
-If magic isn't "magic," what else might it be?
-Are you a maker of magic? Or has magic made you?
-What role does magic play in your life, practice, beliefs, etc.?
Feel free to explore these questions within your practice, play with them, answer them in any way you'd like. You can spend as long or as little with these questions as you want. Perhaps these questions birth further questions, which you are more than welcome to share and explore in your submitted posts, reblogs, or responses.
Need ideas of what to post? Weyward Grove encourages creativity, passion, and nerdiness of all sorts, so don't worry about getting "too crafty" with artistic mediums of expression, "too wordy" with written responses or journaling/logs detailing your process and answers, or "too into it" when sharing your opinions. Remember, answer in whatever way you're moved to — Q & As, essays, poems, digital art, photo diaries, mood boards, videos, audio, etc.
Join in: Use the submission feature on our blog to submit a post. // Make your own post using the tags #weywardgrove, #weyward grove, or #weyward grove community submission to ensure we see the post and can share it via a reblog on this blog. // Share shorter form answers via asks or replies. // Share your thoughts in reblogs to this post.
Please see the pinned post for more information on taking part and on our rules & guidelines. Feel free to send questions, comments, or concerns to @weywardgrove via DM or ask.
The Otherworld is a realm not quite separate from our own, all around us and yet not always accessible or visible to us. It has been interpreted as one expansive world and as having numerous realms and kingdoms within the one Otherworld, and is home to many beings – gods, fairies, and spirits of all sorts, along with some of the most honored and beloved dead.
It is described in ‘the Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries’ by W.Y. Evans-Wentz:
‘But this western Otherworld, if it is what we believe it to be – a poetical picture of the great subjective world – cannot be the realm of any one race of invisible beings to the exclusion of another. In it all alike – gods, Tuatha De Danann, fairies, demons, shades, and every sort of disembodied spirits – find their appropriate abode; for though it seems to surround and interpenetrate this planet even as the X-rays interpenetrate matter, it can have no other limits than those of the Universe itself.’
This cosmological concept descends from the ancient Celtic religions, and the Otherworld (by its many names) is found throughout the lands in which the Celtic tribes resided and lives on within the traditions preserved by reconstructionist and traditional Celtic pagans and Celtic folk magic practitioners. The Otherworld, along with other Celtic pagan beliefs, can also be found within many neo-pagan and neo-druidic practices and movements.
NAMES OF THE OTHERWORLD
The Otherworld bears many names across the Gaelic and Brythonic mythologies and cosmologies.
Irish
In Irish tales, the names of the Otherworld or realms within the Otherworld include:
Tír na nÓg – ‘the Land of the Young’ or ‘the Land of Youth’
Tír Tarngire – ‘the Land of Promise or ‘the Promised Land’
Tír-Innambéo – ‘the Land of the Living’
Tír N-aill – ‘the Other Land’ or ‘the Other World’
Tír fo Thuinn – ‘the Land Beneath the Wave’ (meaning a land underwater)
Mag Mell – ‘the Plain of Delight’ or ‘the Plain of Happiness’
Mag Már – ‘the Great Plain’
Mag Réin – ‘the Plain of the Sea’ or ‘the Sea Plain’
Emain Ablach – ‘the Isle of Apple Trees’
Ildathach – ‘the Many-Colored Land’
Welsh
In Welsh narratives, the Otherworld has been called:
Annwn or Annwfn
DESCRIBING the OTHERWORLD:
In Irish Cosmology & Mythology
Beliefs as to what the Otherworld is like and where it is located range widely. It’s been described as a world beneath our own that can be entered through some portals in caves or at the base of hills and mountains. In many old Irish manuscripts, it’s described as being located somewhere in the Western Ocean. The phantom island of Hy-Brasil is believed by many to be part of the Otherworld. Irish myth tells of Hy-Brasil being cloaked in mist (perhaps féth fíada, a magical mist) or fog which renders it invisible. However, once every seven years the island becomes visible to the human eye for a whole day.
In the Irish tale ‘Immram Brain maic Febail’ (‘the Voyage of Bran mac Febal’), Bran embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld via a sea voyage. Some days into their journey, Bran and his company encounter Manannán mac Lir upon his chariot. Manannán informs them that though their surroundings appear as the sea to them, to the god it appears as a great field of flowers. In this tale, the realms of the Otherworld are depicted as individual islands somewhere in the Western Sea.
In the story ‘Echtrai Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’ (‘the Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promise’), Cormac enters the Otherworld and encounters great bronze palaces, houses of white silver that are thatched with the wings of birds, and a courtyard, in the center of which is a great fountain or well with five streams flowing from it. There is said to be a fairy palace beyond the fountain, and there Cormac encounters ‘the loveliest of the world’s women’.
In many tales and poems, the Otherworld is depicted as being incredibly beautiful and as having very many apple trees, hazelnut trees, and great oak trees. It’s said to have plains filled with colorful flowers and dew of honey. And of the food available in the Otherworld, there is nothing that is not irresistibly delicious. Those who dwell within the Otherworld do not age, nor do they feel pain or take ill. Some believe that it is the fruits that grow within the Otherworld that provide its inhabitants with their everlasting youth and good health. Others believe that it’s the Otherworld itself that keeps one young and well.
In modern day, the Otherworld is most known for being the realm of the fairies and their courts. It is less commonly – outside of Irish historians, practitioners of Celtic paganism and Druidry, and keepers of the age-old tradition of Celtic storytelling – understood as the realm of deities, as the realm of all the Sídhe-folk. Here, the Tuatha dé Danann are believed to reside.
The Tuath dé Danann are a tribe of gods and goddesses descended from the goddess Danu. The Tuatha dé Danann are said to have moved from our physical realm to the realm of the Otherworld after facing defeat at the Battle of Tailte. Manannán mac Lir – a famed warrior, sea god, and king over the surviving Tuatha dé Danann – conceals the Otherworld from humankind via féth fíada, a magical mist that is used by the Tuatha dé Danann to render themselves invisible to humankind. Though, it is believed that seers or those with the gift of second sight can see Otherworld portals and entrances, as well as being able to see those that dwell within the Otherworld.
Time moves differently within these realms. Many tales state that one could spend what felt like a few days in the Otherworld, only to return to this world and find that their friends and family had all died, and many years had passed whilst they were away.
In Welsh Cosmology & Mythology
In Welsh tales, the Otherworld (called Annwn) is not ruled over by Manannán mac Lir but by Arawn and, later, Gwyn ap Nudd. In many of the Welsh legends, Annwn is described as a world of eternal youth, free of illness and disease, where no one could ever go hungry for there were endless supplies of food and drink. It was a realm of incomparable beauty where the gods, fairy folk, great ancestors, elves, and spirits reside. Like in Irish myth, Annwn is believed to be either a subterranean realm, under the sea, or on an island to the west. It is also a magical realm hidden from humankind.
Some tales depict a paradise-like world that is like all the best and most beautiful things within our own world with sprawling gardens, plainlands, and orchards, while others describe a ‘hellish’ place (most likely an outcome of the Christianization of the Welsh culture and beliefs). Both interpretations, though, speak of Annwn as the land of the dead.
The Welsh epic ‘Cad Goddeu’ (‘the Battle of the Trees’) tells of a battle between Arawn’s army and the forces of Gwynedd. The army come forth from Annwn is described as being made up of unearthly creatures, such as enormous beasts bearing one hundred heads, great serpents, and giant toads with claws.
The well-known ‘Preiddeu Annwfn’ (‘the Spoils of Annwn’) is another tale mentioning the Otherworld. It is the story of a journey into the Otherworld led by King Arthur. The tale depicts various realms or kingdoms within the Otherworld, including the Fortress of the Mound, the Fortress of Hardness, the Fortress of Mead-Drunkenness, and the Glass Fortress; though some interpret these names to be alternate names for the Otherworld in its entirety and not of individual lands traversed by Arthur within the Otherworld.
The legendary island of Avalon is also seen as a later interpretation of Annwn. Avalon famously features in Arthurian legends as the paradisical Isle of Apples.
ENTERING the OTHERWORLD:
Many of the old tales speak of humans gaining access to the Otherworld. Sometimes they were invited or summoned there by some god or spirit (as Manannán mac Lir was known to do), sometimes they were stolen away or kidnapped by one of the Otherworld’s inhabitants, and some folk entered the Otherworld of their own design during those times of year when the walls between their world and the Otherworld were lowered, such as during Samhain and Beltane. There are also many tales of folk (some quite famous, such as Cuchulainn, Lanval, and Ossian) being lured or enticed away by a fairy to the Otherworld to live as the fairy’s lover. It is also believed that musicians would be stolen away to the Otherworld to entertain its inhabitants.
As mentioned already, many believe openings at the base of hills and mountains to be entrances to the Otherworld. So, too, are ancient burial mounds, bogs, and caves seen as Otherworld gateways. It is also believed that patches of mist or fog could have within them some opening to the Otherworld, as in the Irish tale ‘Echtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiri’. In this story, King Cormac sets out from Tara with many soldiers to find his way into the Otherworld to take back his wife, daughter, and son (whom he lost in a trade-off for a magic silver bough). On his way, a thick fog befalls the party. When the fog is lifted, Cormac is alone in the plains of a foreign land, having been taken into the Otherworld.
In some tales, one could enter the Otherworld after they were gifted an apple or a branch bearing apples (such as the magic silver bough mentioned in the story above) from a sacred apple tree. The apple or branch was magical and acted as a key, allowing one to pass into the realm of the Sídhe-folk so long as the apple or branch was in their possession.
Sídhe, though now commonly used in reference to those inhabitants of the Otherworld, are the mounds, hills, or places believed to provide access to the Otherworld. Previously, the term sídhe was used specifically to mean the palaces, courts, or halls in which the spirits of the Otherworld resided.
TECH DUINN:
In Irish lore, there is a separate Otherworld where one goes after death. This realm of the dead is Tech Duinn, the domain of Donn – an ancient god of the dead and ancestor of the Gaels. Tech Duinn means ‘the House of the Dark One’ (‘Donn’ means ‘the dark one’).
There is a 9th-century poem which states that Donn’s dying wish was to have his descendants gathered to him when they died – “To me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths.” While the Otherworld is often described as being a paradise of great beauty, that is not how Tech Duinn is usually depicted. Rather, it is most commonly portrayed as a frightful place of darkness and dread. Why, I do not know. Perhaps this is simply due to it being the home of Donn, the Dark One.
Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond Ireland’s western coast. It is believed that the entrance to Tech Duinn lies on, within, or beneath Bull Rock, an islet bearing a natural tunnel and resembling a portal tomb. Bull Rock lies off the western point of the Beara Peninsula.
A line from Yeats comes to mind in regard to the Otherworld in general, but specifically when speaking of Tech Duinn and Donn’s dying wish -
‘In Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.’
Suffice it to say, the Otherworld has inspired numerous poems and exciting and moving tales, pieces of a time long gone by preserved (hopefully) forever through art. And today it is the source of much scholarly exploration and debate. How much of the Otherworld as we understand it now has been altered by Christianization? How many of the old tales were twisted and reinterpreted to suit the narratives of the Church? We do know that a great deal of this occurred within the preservation of Celtic lore and history, and what tales we have of the Otherworld were not left untouched by this. I hope that this piece, as brief as it is, might inspire others to explore the old Celtic tales in their many interpretations, for there is much to be enjoyed there, as well as much to be learned.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
'Cad Goddeu'
'Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' - Koch, John T.
'Celtic Myths and Legends' - Rolleston, T.A.
'Dictionary of Celtic Mythology' - MacKillop, James
'Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore' - Monoghan, Patricia
'the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' - Evans-Wentz, W.Y.
'Hy Brasil: the Metamorphosis of an Island' - Freitag, Barbara
'Immram Brain mac Febail'
'Irish Fairy Tales' - Stephens, James
'the Lord of Ireland' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí; Prof.
'the Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales' - trans. Ford, Patrick K.
'the Mabinogian - A New Translation' -Davies, Sioned
'Myth, Legend, & Romance: An Encyclopedia of Irish Folk Tradition' - Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí
'the Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland' - Squire, Charles
'Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature' - Byrne, Aisling
'Preiddeu Annwn'
'the Religion of the Ancient Celts' - MacCulloch, J.A.
‘the Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Ireland’ - Ó hÓgain, Dáithí; Prof.
The Witch's Tree: a tarot spread to help you on your way
by Keziah | Support on Ko-fi (leave a tip, commission a reading)
Whether you’re just starting your journey into witchcraft and are unsure of where your talents lie, or you’re looking for something new to incorporate into your practice, or you’re ready to leave the path you’ve known thus far and start an entirely new journey — the Witch’s Tree Tarot spread can help you on your way.
I really like your blog and how accessible your posts are for people learning the craft. I was just wondering if you had any other blog recommendations for beginners? If not, no worries!
Hey! Thank you. That's honestly always been my goal. My old blog was organized way better than this one and I'm trying to get back to that lol.
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Spring is rolling right along, and my garden is blooming like mad. I noticed the other day that some of my rosebushes are already budding, and I look forward to their blossoms every year, not only because I enjoy the vibrant hues of my rose shrubs and roses are favorites of the pollinators in my neighborhood (who doesn't love to see happy bees and butterflies hanging around?), but also because roses are a versatile magical ally that can be put to use in a number of ways.
Perhaps best known for their use in love magic, roses can also be utilized in spells for luck, beauty, health, protection, or binding, or in divination work. In this piece, we'll explore some magical uses for roses, including spells and divination methods for all experience levels.
Rose season varies depending on the variety of rose in question and the growing area in which one lives, but many rose varieties bloom (sometimes once or twice and sometimes continually) from midspring through fall, which means that the days of rose blooms are nearly upon us in the northern hemisphere. Hopefully there's something for everyone in this piece, and we can all take advantage of the rose season to come this year.
SPELLS
WISHING SPELLS
There are a few ways to use roses in wish spells. Roses, known for the sweetness of their scent, are believed to attract goodness and positivity, making them the perfect addition to any wishing or fortune spell. Perhaps their sweet scent will be just the thing to attract the outcome you seek.
Planting the Wish
What you’ll need:
A rose petal / rose petals
Pen or marker (optional)
What to do:
Share your wish with a rose petal. You can do this by whispering the wish to the petal, by holding the petal to your chest as you think on the wish, or even by writing the wish upon the petal.
Now all you need to do is bury the petal. It’s preferred that you ‘plant’ the rose petal at the base of something growing – a rosebush, a tree, flowers. This adds strength to your spell and helps your wish to grow into being.
Casting the Wish
What you’ll need:
A rose petal / rose petals
Pen or marker (optional)
What to do:
This spell is to be done on a windy day. Much like the spell above, you can share your wish(es) with your rose petal in whatever way you prefer.
Hold the rose petal(s) up above your head between your forefinger and your thumb. When you’re ready (and when the wind is blowing), release the petal(s) into the wind and let it carry your wish(es) to fruition.
the Wisher’s Bag
What you’ll need:
You can use any combination of the plants listed or all of them! It's entirely up to you!
Drawstring bag or a square of cloth and a ribbon or string to make your own bag with
What to do:
Fill your drawstring bag (preferably made of something breathable, like organza or cotton) with any, or all, of the above plants. As you fill your bag, think about what you’re wishing for, thinking about it coming true and pouring your hopes into the bag.
If the plants were already dried when you put them in the bag, you can go ahead and put the bag in your purse or wear it around your neck, or you can hang the bag up near your door, above your bed, in an area in your home associated with your wish (for example, in an office or study space if your wish has something to do with your work or academics).
If the plants were fresh, hang your bag up where sunlight will hit it to dry the plants – on a porch, in the window, anywhere that gets good sunlight. After the plants have dried, you can put the bag in any of the above listed places, or you can carry the bag with you.
Every now and then, or every day if you like, hold the bag in your hands and think about your wish, filling the bag of plants with your hopeful energy.
the Wisher’s Working Oil & the Wisher’s Jar
The ingredients listed above in the Wisher’s Bag spell can also be used with a jar instead of a bag.
What to do (the Wisher's Jar):
You can either fill the jar with dried plants to make a Wisher’s Jar, or you put fresh or dried plants into the jar and then fill the jar with an oil of your choosing. Grapeseed oil is commonly used. Now you not only have made a wisher’s jar spell, but you’re also making a Wisher’s Working Oil.
What to do (the Wisher's Working Oil):
You can use this oil as added oomph in any spell pertaining to you meeting your goals or obtaining your wishes. You can use it to:
anoint candles you’re using in the spell,
anoint yourself while working,
anoint tools used in said spell.
Rosa centifolia (cabbage rose); Pierre-Joseph Redouté
GLAMORS & BEAUTY
Rosewater & Rose Oil
Rosewater can be used in a number of magical ways as part of any glamor or spell to amplify attraction or beauty. It can be used as a facial toner, can be used to anoint mirrors and beauty application tools, can be sprayed upon clothing or fabric, can be used to wash hair, and has many other uses and applications.
NOTE: If you wish to use rosewater in any food or drink, be sure to use petals from edible rose variations. Older heirloom varieties are said to be best for cooking with and for rosehip teas. Lady of Shallot, Rosa Blanc Double de Coubert, Rosa Centifolia, Rosa Damascena, Rosa Gallica are popular varieties to use for cooking and teas, as are Wild Roses. And remember, the more fragrant the rose, the stronger the flavor. You can always purchase food-safe dried rosehips, leaves, and petals from tea stores. When collecting hips and petals yourself, always be sure that you’re not using anything that’s been exposed to pesticides or herbicides.
Making rosewater can be incredibly easy as well! You’ll find a few methods of making rosewater here, and of making rose oil here.
It’s said that dabbing a bit of rose oil or rosewater behind your ears magically enhances your beauty, making your best features stand out to those around you and giving you a vibrant, effortless glow that attracts people to you.
Rosewater, rose petals, and/or rose oil are all also a great foundation to build a beautifying bath spell on.
Color Me Pretty Sympathetic Magic
Here’s a little ditty from my childhood. This spell is one that wasn’t at all odd to come across in a schoolyard or classroom where I'm from. It’s something that we partook in as youths before we were really old enough to understand or realize that we were practicing sympathetic magic, which is a fairly common method of magic in that region. This was something that we used to do during recess and at sleepovers or camp as a ‘game’.
Rose petals – they must be red or dark or bright pink
What to do:
Draw a picture of yourself – it can be a simple picture, but you should include identifying details (freckles, haircut, standout features).
Then, take the rose petal(s) and smear it upon the paper to add color to the cheeks (and lips, if you want to). It’s as simple as that, folks.
We used to fold the pictures up and tuck them away somewhere. At sleepovers, we’d sleep with them under our pillows. Sometimes we’d just hang the picture up in our rooms or on the refrigerator. The beautifying effects of this easy spell aren’t meant to last too long, nor is it intended to drastically change anything about your appearance; it’s just to give you that added glow to your natural beauty.
LOVE
Roses are a well-known aid in love magic and there's a plethora of information around as to how to use roses to such ends, so I'll not spend too much time in this piece dedicated to the matter.
Scattering Rose Petals
It's said that walking through a garden or field and scattering rose petals as you go along could attract new love into your life. Beyerl specifies in the Master Book of Herbalism that doing so unclothed is preferred, but it's also said that doing so whilst wearing white (further symbolizing newness, hope, beginnings) or pink (symbolizing love and happiness) is ideal.
Preserving Love & Promoting Romance and Harmony
What you'll need:
Rose petals (fresh or dried)
A photo of your love
A photo album (optional)
A safety pin or rape (optional)
What to do:
Place rose petals near or on an image of your love, encouraging harmonious love and affection between you.
You can pin the petals to a photo, tape them around a frame holding a picture of your love, or keep them on or around a picture in a photo album or billfold.
There is another variation of this work -
What you'll need:
A jar, tin, or box (it should have a lid, so as to keep from attracting ants or other bug or mice friends)
A photo of your love
Rose petals
Sugar
What to do:
Pour your sugar and rose petals into the jar, tin, or box. Place the photo of you love in the bed of sugar and rose petals. This promotes love and sweetness, keeping your relationship happy and romantic. It can also be used for those wishing to draw someone their way in a romantic sense, perhaps someone they wish to date that they feel might not yet see their romantic feelings.
Rose Water, Perfume, Potpourri, or Incense to Attract Your Desired
In Gillian Kmep's the Good Spell Book she features a spell using rose-scented incense to encourage attraction from someone you have interest in. It's also said, outside of Kemp's work, that wearing rose-scented perfumes or dabbing rose water behind one's ears or at one's neck before going to see the person you desire will encourage their attraction. Burning potpourri or incense featuring rose as an ingredient whilst you ready yourself to see that person can also have the same effect.
Rosa moschata (musk rose); Pierre-Joseph Redouté
PROTECTION, BANISHING, & BINDING
Door Warding for Protection of the Home
DISCLAIMER: If you have cats or other pets that will swat at something hanging or try to chew on something hanging on your wall or door, this is not the spell for you. The rose thorns may cause injury.
What you’ll need:
Rose thorns
Yarn or ribbon (preferably red or black, or both)
Bells (optional)
Nails (optional)
What to do:
Cut good, long lengths of yarn or ribbon (red and black are great colors to use for protection, warding, and banishing work). You’ll need at least 9 strands for this spell, but you can add (in multiples of three) as many as you’d like.
With your yarn or ribbon all cut roughly the same length, separate them into groups of three. Braid each group of yarn or ribbon using a simple three-strand braid technique.
Gather the top of the braids together in one hand and secure a knot, tying all of your braids together. You’ll end up with something that sort of resembles the end of a cat of nine tails now. You can either leave your braids like this or you can braid each of the braids together until you’ve formed one thick braided cable.
Whether you’ve chosen to keep your braids separate or braid them together, now is the time to add your rose thorns. Taking care not to poke yourself, pierce the braids with the sharp end of the rose thorns. You want to push it in far enough that your rose thorns are secure and will not fall out. If you like, you can push it far enough in that the sharp end of the thorns poke out the other side of the braid.
If you want, you can add bells (small jingle bells or whichever bells you like) to the door warding – bells are known to ring and alert one to the presence of evil or malicious figures or energy. Tie your bells to the ends of your braid(s).
For added protection, you can insert nails into the braid(s), especially iron nails, in the same way you did the thorns.
Now all that’s left is to hang this protective charm up either on your door, on your doorframe, or on the wall near your door to keep your home safe and sound, protected from malevolent spirits, energies, and people alike.
Protection & Banishing Candle Spell
What you’ll need:
1 candle (preferably red or black)
Rose thorns
Salt (optional)
What to do:
If you choose to include salt in this spell, form a ring of salt around the candleholder and unlit candle.
Add a ring of thorns, placing them on top of the ring of salt.
Light your candle and sit for a while, thinking on what you want to protect from/what you wish to banish or cast out. Pour that energy into the candleflame, imagining it growing stronger and hotter and being fed by your energy and your wishes.
Let the candle burn down on its own.
Binding Spell
What you’ll need:
Thread, yarn, or ribbon (preferably red or black, or both)
Rose thorns
What to do:
Cut nine lengths of thread, yarn, or ribbon. Separate those nine lengths into groups of three.
Braid each group of three, resulting in three braids.
You can now either braid those three braids together to form one thick braid, or you can tie the ends of the braids together to form one long braid (but don’t gather the top and tail of the braid and tie it; we don’t want it to form a circle because we still have tying yet to do).
Tie knots into your braid. You can tie either three or nine knots. Most people tie nine if they’re braid is long enough, but I’ve known it to be done with three as well. Think about who it is you’re binding with this spell and what you’re binding them from doing, and, as you tie each knot, say (either aloud or to yourself) –
As I tie this, so I tie you.
As I knot this, so I knot you.
As I bind this, so I bind you.
(Insert what you’re trying to keep this person from doing here), no more you’ll do.
You can also use the person's name in place of "you."
For added oomph, pierce each knot with a rose thorn. Work the rose thorn into the knot, making sure its securely fixed in the knot. It's not meant to cause physical injury or harm to whomever you’re binding. Think of it as using a nail to fix something into place. You’re using the rose thorns in the same way, pinning down the magic and helping it stick. That being said, you absolutely can use thorns (in this spell or otherwise) with intention of sewing injury or harm (see the curses section of this post).
As for what you do with the braid after, that’s up to you. Some folk hang it from a tree for nine days. Some bury it (this isn't recommended if you live in an area where an animal or child may dig this up). Some hang it in their home or keep it in their home, in a box or jar somewhere. Some simply discard it. It's up to you.
Protection Jar Spell
What you’ll need:
1 jar
Rose vinegar
Rose thorns
Star anise
Rowan berries and/or rowan bark
Apple seeds
Candlewax (preferably red or black; optional)
What to do:
For this spell, you’ll need rose vinegar. If you don’t know how to make rose vinegar, the recipe will be included just after this spell. It’s very easy, so stick around for that. Until then…
Take your jar and fill it at least ¾ of the way with rose vinegar. Remember, you don’t want to fill it completely, just in case anything we add raises the vinegar to the point of spilling.
Add your rose thorns, star anise, rowan berries and/or rowan bark, and apple seeds to the jar.
Close the lid of the jar. Many people like to further seal the jar with melted candle wax. If you’d like to do this, it’s best to use a red or black candle (or both!) as they’re both colors frequently used for protection work. All you have to do is light your candle(s) and hold it over your jar, tilting it to drip the wax onto the top of the jar and its lid. Drip to your heart’s content.
And that’s that! You have a protection jar.
Some people keep their jars on a shelf or table in the main room of their house or near their door. Others bury their jars in their yard or stash it under a porch. Do whatever feels right to you.
Rose Vinegar Recipe
Rose vinegar is a great addition to your magical work and to your kitchen. It can be used in protection, cleansing, and banishing magic, and can be used in some curse work. It can also be used to take the inflammation and itch out of bug bites or some rashes, can be used as a temple massage to treat headaches, and as a hair rinse.
What you’ll need:
Vinegar (any kind works, but most prefer to use apple cider vinegar)
Red or vibrant pink rose petals (they make the prettiest colored rose vinegar)
1 saucepan or kettle
1 jar (IMPORTANT: While infusing, you don’t want to use a metal lid on your jar. Metal and vinegar are not friends. You can use a makeshift lid of plastic wrap over the top of the jar. If you use a metal lid whilst you store the vinegar once it’s cooled, be sure to not fill the jar all the way up with your vinegar. Vinegar is corrosive and exposing the metal to vinegar can lead to chemicals of the metal breaking down in your rose vinegar, which we don’t want. It’s best just to avoid using a metal lid altogether.)
1 glass bottle (optional) or decanter to move your rose vinegar to after it’s steeped and ready to use
What to do:
Heat your vinegar in the saucepan on the stove. Heating the vinegar will give you a head start on the infusion process, as the heated vinegar begins drawing the color, flavor, and properties from the rose petals faster than cold vinegar does. But you absolutely can do this without heating the vinegar, it will just take a little longer.
While your vinegar is warming up, place your rose petals in the jar. You can use either fresh or dried petals, though fresh will give you a much prettier and more vivid finished product. Fresh petals also strengthen the fragrance.
With your vinegar heated (you want to cut the heat just before it starts to simmer), pour it into the jar. You want the roses to be completely covered and submerged in vinegar – not one bit of dry rose left.
Cover the top of the jar with a plastic or cork top or your makeshift lid of plastic wrap.
Leave your vinegar to cool. Once cooled, you want to store your vinegar in a dark, cool place to infuse. This process usually takes about 2-3 weeks. Remember, do not let your rose vinegar contact any metal lids! Whether it’s hot or cold, vinegar simply does not like metal.
After 2-3 weeks, your vinegar should be a pretty hue of reddish-pink. Now you want to strain the vinegar into glass bottles for storing, keeping the rose petals out of the now finished rose vinegar.
Your rose vinegar will keep for at least 1 year. I recommend storing your vinegar in the dark, perhaps in a pantry or cabinet. You just don’t want to leave it out in direct sunlight, as that will fade the color of the vinegar faster and potentially shorten your vinegar’s shelf life.
Rosa gallica 'Evêque'; Pierre-Joseph Redouté
DIVINATION
Roses can be used as divinatory aids in many ways. One easy way is to wash one's hands in rosewater before working divinatory practices, most especially if the divination pertains to matters of the heart.
Phyllorhodomancy
Phyllordomancy is divining via rose petals and leaves. There are various ways of doing this, but any method of divination using rose petals, roses, or rose leaves is technically phyllordomancy. Here are a couple of methods –
Method One: By Clapping
What you’ll need:
Rose leaf or rose petal
What to do:
This method was practiced by the Ancient Greeks. Take a rose leaf or petal and lay it upon your palm.
Ask or think on the question at hand, then clap your hands together.
If the sound produced was clear, loud, or full, this means that a positive outcome is at hand. If the sound was dull or quiet, the odds aren’t in your favor and the outcome will be a negative one.
Method Two: By Water
What you’ll need:
Rose petals
A bowl or vessel of some kind
Water
What to do:
Fill your bowl or vessel with water.
Take your rose petals in hand and ask or think on your question.
Lay or drop the rose petals down onto the water. If the rose petals pull away from each other, the answer to your question is no. If the petals stay together, the answer is yes.
You can continue asking questions. After each question, tap the water with your fingertip, or shake the bowl or vessel, to make the rose petals move. Again, if the petals move away from one another, your answer is no; and if they stay together, your answer is yes.
There is another variation of this method in which you place the roses atop the water before asking your question. With the roses floating on the water, close your eyes and gently swirl the bowl or vessel of water whilst asking your question. Remove your hands from the bowl or vessel and open your eyes, observing the behavior of the rose petals. As before, if they disperse upon the water, the answer to your question in no; but if they stay together, your answer is yes.
Method Three: By Air
What you’ll need:
Rose petals
What to do:
Your hands full of rose petals, think on or ask your question.
Cast the petals high into the air and observe how they fall.
This method has many variations of its own. Some read the symbols or shapes they see in the rose petals as they fall. Others read where the rose petals lay – Do they form any patterns or symbols? Do they cluster together or fan out? Are there any distinct piles or mounds of petals? And what do these symbols or patterns mean to you? This method is one that intuitive readers will likely take to quicker than those who prefer a set system for their divinatory practices.
Method Four: By Burning
What you’ll need:
Dried rose petals
A fire-safe cauldron, bowl, or pot
What to do:
Burn dried rose petals in your room before going to sleep to promote a good night's sleep but also to encourage divinatory dreams to come forth in the night.
Method Five: By Sleeping
What you’ll need:
Rose petals (fresh or dried)
A pillow with a pillowcase
What to do:
Before going to bed, tuck rose petals into your pillowcase. This can bring on dreams revealing the identity of your true love or soulmate.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
In this post, you’ll find a collection of spells that anyone can try for themselves. I should note, I am a practitioner of a regional traditional magic and a good portion of the spells that I’ve written here are either spells that are heavily inspired by the practice I’ve grown up with or directly from that practice. That being said, none of what is written here is exclusive to that practice, so it can be used by anyone, anywhere without encroaching upon a practice they’re not a part of.
Making Rosewater
Making Rose Oil
‘A Compendium of Herbal Magick’ – Beryl, Paul
'Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs' - Cunningham, Scott
'Doctoring the Devil: Notebooks of an Appalachian Conjure Man' - Richards, Jake
'the Good Spell Book: Love Charms, Magical Cures, and Other Practical Sorcery' - Kemp, Gillian
'Magical Folkhealing: Herbs, Oils, and Recipes for Health, Healing, and Magic' - Conway, DJ
Welcome to Weyward Grove : a community for the discussion, exploration, and appreciation of the magical and mystical arts.
Launch date: May 01st 2026!
This blog was created with the intention of fostering a space where practitioners of magic and mysticism can explore their personal crafts and paths whilst also engaging with other practitioners on their own journeys. I adore the magical and mystical, and I want to have a space to celebrate our magic whilst also encouraging and fostering growth in our practices through introspection, craft building, exploration, and respectful discussion. Thus, Weyward Grove was born.
This blog is a community space without utilizing the Tumblr community feature (because, let's be honest, the community feature isn't always the best). Each month, a new theme/prompt will be posted to the Weyward Grove blog. Followers and community members are then encouraged to explore that theme in their personal practices throughout the month, in any way that they feel comfortable doing so, and then reflecting on the prompt/theme in a submitted post to Weyward Grove (or a series of submitted posts throughout the month to catalog the process, thoughts, journey, and/or outcome).
While this is a submission blog, there are a number of ways to take part and engage. Here's how:
Submit posts using the submission feature!
This is how Weyward Grove was intended to function. Submitted posts can contain media (text, audio, images, video), but cannot contain links. If you'd like to include a link in your submitted post, please DM @weywardgrove, explaining why there needs to be a link and sharing the link beforehand. Pending verification of the link, submission settings will be temporarily altered to permit link inclusion.
For those who don't want to use the submission feature (I understand the sideblog struggle), here are other ways of engaging:
Make your posts on your sideblog using these tags: #weyward grove, #weywardgrove, and/or #weyard grove community submission.
I will be frequently monitoring these tags and will reblog posts pertaining to the prompts/themes on @weywardgrove.
Send shorter posts to the ask box with your sideblog tagged!
Use the submission feature, but specify at the beginning of the submission your witchcraft sideblog with your tag.
How to engage with content:
Like posts! Reblog content that speaks to you! Comment in the replies!
If you'd prefer your content not be reblogged/commented upon, please specify as much at the beginning of your post.
Always engage respectfully. Any disrespectful behavior, bigotry, harassment, or breaking of the established guidelines of this blog and/or Tumblr's community guidelines will result in being blocked from the blog and, when called for, reported (see the soon-to-come pinned post for Weyward Grove's full guidelines).
Be mindful and respectful of closed practices. Practitioners of closed practices are welcome to take part in Weyward Grove. You can tag or mark your submissions/posts as pertaining to a closed practice so that others know how to respectfully observe and engage.
And don't forget to have fun!
Launching May 01st 2026! Pinned post coming soon. | Please direct any questions to @hillbillybubbeleh or @sheydmade.
by Keziah | Support on Ko-fi (leave a tip, commission a reading)
Use this spread when you need to vet someone to learn all you can about them. This spread was originally written for vetting someone before you (or someone you know) decide whether or not to go out with someone, pursue them, or accept their advances, but it can be used to vet anyone. New acquaintance you're unsure of? It works for that. Met someone new and you get the feeling they're not being genuine about themselves? It works for that. Your best friend starts seeing someone new and something just doesn't feel right? It works for that. And then some!
From @sheydmade 's 'With Love: Tarot Spreads for Matters of the Heart.'
1. The person the world sees.
2. Who they really are.
3. Their true intentions.
4. Their focus.
5. Are they compatible with you?
6. Would they be good for/with you?
Welcome to Weyward Grove : a community for the discussion, exploration, and appreciation of the magical and mystical arts.
Launch date: May 01st 2026!
This blog was created with the intention of fostering a space where practitioners of magic and mysticism can explore their personal crafts and paths whilst also engaging with other practitioners on their own journeys. I adore the magical and mystical, and I want to have a space to celebrate our magic whilst also encouraging and fostering growth in our practices through introspection, craft building, exploration, and respectful discussion. Thus, Weyward Grove was born.
This blog is a community space without utilizing the Tumblr community feature (because, let's be honest, the community feature isn't always the best). Each month, a new theme/prompt will be posted to the Weyward Grove blog. Followers and community members are then encouraged to explore that theme in their personal practices throughout the month, in any way that they feel comfortable doing so, and then reflecting on the prompt/theme in a submitted post to Weyward Grove (or a series of submitted posts throughout the month to catalog the process, thoughts, journey, and/or outcome).
While this is a submission blog, there are a number of ways to take part and engage. Here's how:
Submit posts using the submission feature!
This is how Weyward Grove was intended to function. Submitted posts can contain media (text, audio, images, video), but cannot contain links. If you'd like to include a link in your submitted post, please DM @weywardgrove, explaining why there needs to be a link and sharing the link beforehand. Pending verification of the link, submission settings will be temporarily altered to permit link inclusion.
For those who don't want to use the submission feature (I understand the sideblog struggle), here are other ways of engaging:
Make your posts on your sideblog using these tags: #weyward grove, #weywardgrove, and/or #weyard grove community submission.
I will be frequently monitoring these tags and will reblog posts pertaining to the prompts/themes on @weywardgrove.
Send shorter posts to the ask box with your sideblog tagged!
Use the submission feature, but specify at the beginning of the submission your witchcraft sideblog with your tag.
How to engage with content:
Like posts! Reblog content that speaks to you! Comment in the replies!
If you'd prefer your content not be reblogged/commented upon, please specify as much at the beginning of your post.
Always engage respectfully. Any disrespectful behavior, bigotry, harassment, or breaking of the established guidelines of this blog and/or Tumblr's community guidelines will result in being blocked from the blog and, when called for, reported (see the soon-to-come pinned post for Weyward Grove's full guidelines).
Be mindful and respectful of closed practices. Practitioners of closed practices are welcome to take part in Weyward Grove. You can tag or mark your submissions/posts as pertaining to a closed practice so that others know how to respectfully observe and engage.
And don't forget to have fun!
Launching May 01st 2026! Pinned post coming soon. | Please direct any questions to @hillbillybubbeleh or @sheydmade.
A little tip for any witches with roses in their gardens:
When working with rosebushes in the garden, if any thorns pierce you and stay in place in your flesh, that is the number of people working against you, wishing you harm, or speaking ill of you.
Keep the thorn(s). Take it/them to your spirit house/spirit vessels or magical work station. Give it to the spirits and let them take care of it, or include it in a baneful work/return to sender work/protection work about the situation.
Alternatively, the thorn(s) can be included in protective amulets or charm bags. 🌹🩸🌹
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Launch date: May 01st, 2026 | Weyward Grove : a community for the discussion, exploration, and appreciation of the magical and mystical arts.
Pre-launch information about Weyward Grove to come throughout this week.
Follow to stay up-to-date. // If you have any questions about this upcoming community project, please send them via ask or DM to @hillbillybubbeleh or @sheydmade.
the Craft of Isobel Gowdie: A Look at Scottish Folk Magic in the 1600s
by Keziah
Those of you readers familiar with Scottish Folk Magic and Traditional Scottish Cunning Ways, or perhaps with the history of witch trials in Scotland, will likely know the name Isobel Gowdie. For those of you who don’t, allow me the honor to introduce you. Known as ‘the Queen of Scottish Witches’ and ‘the Witch of Auldearn’, Isobel Gowdie was a woman whose confessions of witchcraft have gifted us perhaps greater insight into Scottish folkloric beliefs and the folk magic practices of her time than any other account accessible to us.
Little is known about the life and background of Gowdie, aside from the facts that she was the wife of a peasant farmer (John Gilbert), she resided in Lochloy in the Scottish region of Auldearn, and that she gave detailed testimony of her practice of witchcraft in 1662 (the first trial having taken place on the 13th of April). The confession was made in four parts over the course of six weeks. In this piece, we’ll take a look at some of the spells and practices that Gowdie revealed during her trial, diving into the magical craft of Isobel Gowdie.
On Becoming a Witch
In her first confession, Isobel details how she came into the practice of witchery by forging a covenant with the Devil. She states that she first encountered the Devil whilst walking ‘between the farmsteads of Drumdewin’. She then promises to meet the Devil again that night at the kirk, meaning church, in Auldearn. On this night, Isobel made a pact with the Devil, which she describes thusly –
‘The first thing I did was deny my baptism. Then I put one of my hands upon the crown of my head and the other to the sole of my foot and renounced all between my two hands to the Devil. He was in the reader’s desk’ – meaning at the pulpit – ‘with a Black Book in his hand.’
She then tells of another woman present, Margaret Brodie, who was already in covenant with the Devil and who served as a sort of assistant in this ceremony, mentor in Gowdie’s craft thereafter, and a high-ranking member of Gowdie’s coven. Throughout her confessions, Gowdie names other members of her coven along with practitioners from other covens and their locations.
‘Margaret Brodie from Auldearn held me up to the Devil to be baptized. He placed his mark upon my shoulder and sucked my blood from the mark. He spat the blood into his hand. Sprinkling it [the blood] on my head, he said, “I baptize thee, Janet, in my own name.” Her baptism concluded with her being given the baptismal name Janet.
The belief of inheriting the role of Witch through a pact with the Devil is one that appears often in Scottish, English, and Irish folk beliefs from this era, and also appears throughout the Appalachian and Southern United States and other regions of Europe. The act of touching one’s hand to one’s head and the other to one’s foot whilst ‘freely giving all between my hands’ to the Devil is not uncommon in these baptismal rites.
Gowdie states that her powers and the powers of her fellow coven members come directly from the Devil.
‘We get all our power from the Devil. When we ask him for it, we call him ‘Our Lord’.’
On the Devil
Gowdie gives detailed descriptions of her interactions with the Devil and of his appearance. She depicts herself as a servant of the Devil and lists many magical acts she carried out in the Devil’s name. She described him as being cold to the touch and ‘a meikle, blak, roch man’ – being large and hairy with coal-black skin – who ‘had boots and sometimes shoes on his feet – but his feet were always forked and cloven.’
She also explains that the Devil would sometimes appear to her and the others who served him as an animal, and she states that the Devil would come to her house sometimes in the form of a crow or deer ‘or in any other shape, now and then.’ Gowdie goes on to state that the Devil was present at the Sabbats held by Gowdie and her company. She recounts one Candlemas –
‘The Devil sat at the head of the table, and all the coven about.’
In her testimony, particularly during her third confession, Gowdie speaks of having sexual relations with the Devil, as does a fellow coven member, Janet Breadhead, in her own confessions. Isobel gives further detail into the Devil’s anatomy and the instances when she partook in intercourse with the Devil, as well as describing orgies with her coven –
‘He would lie with us in preference of all the multitude; neither had we nor he any kind of shame, but especially he has no shame with him at all.’
On Spirit Companions
Isobel reveals during her second confession, ‘There are thirteen people in my coven, and each one of us has a spirit to wait upon us, when we please to call on him.’ As an aside, many believe that the standard of having 13 members to a coven comes from Isobel Gowdie’s confessions.
During this confession, she describes some of the spirits (though some of the descriptions were omitted from written record) –
Swein: always dressed in grass-green
Rorie: always clothed in yellow
the Roaring Lion: always dressed in sea-green
Mac Hector: a young-looking devil, dressed always in grass-green
Robert the Rule: always dressed in faded dun. He seems to be in command of the rest of the spirits.
Thief of Hell Wait Upon Herself: of whom she gives no description
the Red Reiver: He’s my personal spirit. He waits upon me and is always dressed in black.
Robert the Jacks: always clothed in dun and seems old. He’s a glaikit, goukit (simple-looking, stupid/dumb) spirit!
Laing: of whom she gives no description
Thomas, a Faerie: of whom the description is not included in the written testimony
On Sympathetic Magic
Isobel Gowdie describes an act of sympathetic magic – that is, when one uses an image or item to represent someone and then performs actions (be they symbolic or literal) toward this item or image, actions which will then affect the intended person – that she performed with members of her coven.
She tells that they made a clay effigy or clay doll, with which they intended to ‘kill the Laird (Lord) o’ Park’s male children’. She states,
‘All the Laird’s male children will suffer by it if it isn’t found and broken, as well as those who’ve been born and died already.’
‘John Taylor brought the clay home in his plaid and his wife broke it up into small bits, like meal. She sifted it through a sieve and poured water into it, in the Devil’s name, and kneaded it until it was like rye dough.’
The dough was then shaped and made to resemble the Laird’s sons.
‘It wanted none of a child’s features, and its hands were folded down by its sides. Its texture was like crab or a scraped and scalded piglet.’
In her third confession, Isobel reveals the words that were recited whilst the clay doll was made –
‘The words which we spoke, when we made the doll, for destroying the Laird o’ Park’s male children were thus:
‘In the Devil’s name, we pour this water in among this meal,
For lang dying and ill health;
We put it into the fire,
That it may be burnt both stik and stowre*
It shall be burnt, with our will,
As any stubble upon a kill.’
*Stik: a stick-like implement or object / (in this context) to be burnt to the point of being destroyed; I’m not sure how stowre should be interpreted from Pitcairn’s work and have had difficulty finding a meaning for this.
‘The Devil taught us the words; and when we learned them, we all fell down upon our knees with our hair about our eyes and our hands lifted up, looking steadfast upon the Devil and still saying the words thrice over, ‘til it [the doll] was made. And then, in the Devil’s name, we put it in the midst of the fire. After it had shriveled a little before the fire, and when it was red-hot like a coal, we took it out in the Devil’s name. ‘Til it be broken, it will be the death of all the male children the the Laird o’ Park will ever get.
‘Cast it over a kirk (church), it will not break until it be broken with an axe, or from such a thing, be a man’s hands. If it is not broken, it will last a hundred years.’
Isobel goes on to describe what actions they performed upon the clay figure, such as putting it in hot embers, holding its face near the fire until it shriveled, and roasting it or parts of it ‘every other day’.
She concludes by informing those at her trial that the doll was still being practiced upon and roasted when she was taken in, and that they can find the doll hanging upon a peg in John Taylor’s house, with ‘a clay cradle around it’.
Her account is corroborated by the testimony of Janet Breadhead. After describing the doll, she shares,
‘It was put near the flames until it was dry and wrinkled. Then we placed it on the hot coals until it was hard. Then we took it from the fire and wrapped it in a cloth and hid it away on a shelf or sometimes under a chest. Every day, we would wet it then roast it and bake it, and every other day we would turn it at the fire, until the bairn was dead. Then we hid it [the doll] away and didn’t touch it until the next bairn was born.’
She states that they would do the same with the doll within six months of the child’s birth, continuing their practice of roasting the doll ‘until the new bairn died too.’
In a later confession, Isobel reveals their purpose in doing this was to make the Laird o’ Parks heirless.
On Taking the Form of an Animal
Isobel Gowdie mentions taking on the shape of various animals, an act she performed along with members of her coven. Though she mentions multiple types of animals she can take the shape of, the animal she is most famously remembered for presenting herself as is the hare, the form which the Devil had her take when he sent her on an errand, as relayed in her third confession. To this day, artworks in honor of Gowdie still feature the hare.
She describes an instance when she took on the form of a jackdaw to gain access to the dye-house of a neighbor in Auldearn, while two other women with her had taken the shapes of a hare and a cat.
During her second confession, Isobel describes how she would take on the shape of a hare –
‘When we go into hare-shape, we say:
"I shall go into a hare,
With sorrow and sych (sigh) and meikel (great, much) care;
And I shall go in the Devil’s name,
Aye while I come hame (home) again."
And instantly we start into a hare.’
To change back, she would say:
‘Hare, hare, God send thee care.
I am in a hare’s likeness now,
But I shall be a woman even now.
Hare, hare, God send thee care.’
To turn into a cat, she recited this three times:
‘I shall turn into a cat,
With sorrow and sych and a black shot;
And I shall go in the Devil’s name,
Aye while I come hame again.’
To turn back from a cat:
‘Cat, cat, God send thee black shot.
I am in a cat’s likeness now,
But I shall be in a woman’s likeness even now.
Cat, cat, God send thee black shot.’
To turn into a crow, ‘we say three times:
I shall turn into a crow,
With sorrow and sych and a black throw;
And I shall go in the Devil’s name,
Aye while I come hame again.’
And to turn back from a crow:
‘Crow, crow, God send thee black throw.
I am in a crow’s likeness now,
But I shall be in a woman’s likeness even now.
Crow, crow, God send thee black throw.’
Isobel also explains that when she or her fellow witches are in their animal forms, they can cause whomever they like to join them in that form by saying, ‘I conjure thee, Go with me!’ whilst with them or in their house. ‘And they instantly turn into what we are, either cats, hare, crows…, and go with us wherever we want.’
On Raising the Wind
Isobel explains how she and her coven members would raise and control the wind by wetting a cloth rag in water. They then took a laundry stick and ‘knocked the rag upon the stane (stone), saying three times:
I knock this rag upon the stane,
To raise the wind in the Devil’s name –
It shall not lie until I please again!’
When they wanted to calm or lay the wind again, they would dry the rag and say three times:
We lay the wind in the Devil’s name
It shall not rise ‘til we like to raise it again!’
On Fevers
To rid one of a fever, Gowdie revealed that she would say three times:
‘I forbid the quaking fevers,
the sea-fevers, the land-fevers,
and all the fevers that ever God ordained;
out of the head, out of the heart, out of the back,
out of the sides, out of the kidneys, out of the thighs,
from the points of the fingers to the nibs of the toes –
out shall all fevers go.
In Saint Peter’s name, Saint Paul’s name, and all the saints of Heaven.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!’
On Magical Travel
Accounts of magical travel across great distances or into the realms of the sidhe-folk are not uncommon amongst folk and traditional practices throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Gowdie gives a few such accounts. In the first, she describes how her coven met and yoked a puddock-plough (a plough drawn by frogs).
‘The Devil held the plough and John Young from Mebelstown, our Officer, drew it. Puddocks drew the plough, like oxen. The traces were made of dog grass. Its coulter was made from a half-gelded ram’s horn and a bit of horn was used as its blade. We went around two or three times with all of us in the coven going all the while up and down with the plough, praying to the Devil for the fruit of that land, and that thistles and briars might grow there.’
In another account of magical travel, Gowdie details how her coven would place a blade of grass, straw, or a cairn stalk on the ground between their feet and stand over it, saying, “Horse and Hattock, in the Devil’s Name!” or “Horse and hattock, horse and go; horse and pellatis, ho! Ho!” This would transform the grass or straw into a horse that they could then ride. The horses would also be able to fly –
‘...and we would fly away wherever we would, like straw flying about on the highway.’
She also proclaims that if they were to pass anyone and be seen during such a flight, that unless the person was quick in blessing themselves, the coven would ‘shoot them dead if we want. Anyone shot by us, their soul goes to Heaven but their body stays with us – they will fly to us like horses as small as straws.’
These accounts are but a portion of what Isobel Gowdie spoke on in her confessions. While I would love to dig into everything she revealed, that’s simply far too much for a blog post. I highly recommend, though, that you do look into the records of her confessions if this piece interested you. You’ll find explanations as to how she and the women of her coven used charmed broom sticks in their beds to keep their husbands from noticing their absence in the night; the making of Elf-shots or Elf-arrows, and how Isobel and others were instructed in how to use said tools against others; explanations as to how one can take the strength from someone’s ale and put it in the drink of another, and how one can steal the yield from another’s farm; along with the ‘salacious’ accounts of Isobel’s intimate encounters with the Devil, and so very much more.
Sources & Further Information:
‘Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland, Vol. 3, Pt. 2’ - Pitcairn, Robert, Esq.
'The Black Book of Isobel Gowdie and Other Scottish Spells and Charms' - Mills, Ash William
'Narratives of Sorcery and Magic - Volume 2' -Wright, Thomas
‘The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland’ - Wilby, Emma
‘1Scot1Not’ podcast episode ‘Isobel Gowdie: the NAUGHTIEST Girl of the Entire 17th Century’
