#desert magic

Just take a look inside if love feels far away..

Deserts offer a lot of good resources for witchcraft! It does depend on what kind of desert your friend lives in. I live in a high desert at the moment - extremely hot dry summers where nothing grows and extremely cold winters. But all sorts of deserts offer many resources. A few suggestions for them to look into:

Sun/Solar witchcraft - most deserts offer intense amounts of sunlight and sunny days - this is a wonderful resource for a witch who needs sunlight in their magic

Moon/Lunar witchcraft - clear skies at night means clear moon and often little light pollution depending on where your friend is located - again a wonderful resource!

Sand - sand is used in all sorts of spells and magic, i have a whole post on the subject here

Dirt/Soil - wonderful for strength, grounding and earth related magic, if their desert isn't sandy I am sure it is full of dirt!

Clay - this is a regional thing but if they have natural clay deposits then they can make charms, bowls, trinkets and other items for spell with them! (and be the envy of many of us)

Desert Plants: they will have to research what plants are local to them, what are invasive, what are protected etc but even deserts offer plants. if Cactus are around research before they touch them (some are protected!) but their thorns can be used in cursing and hexing. If there are types of brush and brambles these can be used for everything from wind calling and besom making to cursing as well.

Fire Magic: deserts are often most aligned with earth magic however the intense heat and aridness of most deserts make them ideal for harnessing the energy of fire - please practice fire safety if your friend uses physical fire but a deserts heat can be used to 'represent' fire and flames in its place

Rocks: deserts often have rocks or natural salt deposits see what is in their area and what they can be made out of. even basalt and limestone are wonderful resources for magic

Desert Animals: research what animals live in their area, use the correspondences of these animals for energy work - coyotes for cleverness, snakes for flexibility and change etc etc

Creosote Bush

Larrea tridentata

A.k.a Stinkweed, Chaparral, and Hediondilla

image source

Creosote is a prominent plant in the southwestern portion of North America, it's range includes the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan deserts.

Correspondences

• Element: Water

• Powers: Permanence, longevity, healthy isolation (living alone with a purpose i.e introspection or healing), developing a "tough skin", overcoming challenges, logic, reasoning, order

Mesquite Tree

Prosopis velutina

A.k.a Velvet Mesquite

image source

Velvet Mesquite is found naturally, and plays an important ecological role, in the Sonoran Desert. They grow 20-50 feet in height, or more in well watered areas, less in dry grasslands. The roots far extend the height of the tree, as such Velvet Mesquite can access water sources that are deeper than most plants can reach.

Correspondences

Planet: Saturn

Element: Water, Earth

Powers: Healing, protection, cleansing, purification

Chuparosa

Justica californica

A.k.a Hummingbird Bush

image source

Chuparosa is a flowering bush native to the deserts of Southern California, Arizona, and Northern Mexico. Chuparosa and Chiporosa are both colloquial Spanish terms for "hummingbird". For a short while this shrub produces succulent leaves, it then loses those leaves and grows plentiful tubular flowers. These flowers are generally shades of bright red, but can also be found in shades of yellow. Hummingbirds frequent this low bush to feed on the sweet nectar hidden in the flowers.

Correspondences

Planet: Venus

Powers: Beauty, self-esteem, romance, sexual energy, love, new beginnings, positivity

Brittle Bush

Encelia farinosa

image sorce

Brittle bush is a rather common little shrub found in Northern Mexico, Arizona, Southern California, Nevada, and Utah. It's name comes from the brittleness of the stems. A Spanish name for this plant is "incienso" because the dried sap was burned by the early Spanish missions in the New World as incense.

Correspondences

Planetary: Sun

Element: Earth

Powers: Healing, cleansing, luck, empathy, friendship, protection, banishing sickness

Desert Lavender

Hyptis emoryi

A.k.a Bee Sage or Bushmints

Image source

Desert Lavender is found in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Northwestern Mexico. It is a medium to tall perennial shrub that is favored by honeybees in early spring. The violet-blue flowers are profuse along the main stem and side branches.

Native American tribes like the Akimel O'Odham saw this plant as a "pure and holy plant that cleanses all evils away from one's spirit". It's traditional Native American uses include smudge wands that were burned to cleanse the body of diseases and stop heavy menstruation and internal bleeding.

Correspondences

Element: Earth

Animal: Honeybees

Powers: Spirits, purity, banishing, warding, psychic energy & ability, cleansing, protection

Ephedra

Ephedra fasciculata

A.k.a Mormon Tea or Arizona Ephedra

image source

This plant is found mainly in the Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts. It thrives in creosote bush scrub. Historically it has been used as an alternative to coffee.

Correspondences

Element: Air

Planet: Earth

Powers: Protection, healing, positive energy, cleansing, friendship, happiness, purity, alertness & focus

Yellow Bells

Tecoma stans

A.k.a Yellow Trumpetbush

image source

Yellow Bells is an attractive ornamental vine native to the Americas, and is the official flower of the United States Virgin Islands. It is hardy in nature and can be grown nearly anywhere, becoming an invasive species in some areas. It's large yellow flowers attract many creatures such as hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

Correspondences

Element: Earth

Powers: Resilience, dominance, strength, healing, cleansing, banishment, cursing, retaliation

Source 1 | Source 2 | Source 3 | Source 4 |

Red felt like home. He sunk deeper into the bed, and the familiar ripple of leaving his body behind tugged at his back as he continued to sink through. He landed from the abyss, with his back to the hard, stony ground.

Blue eyes opened to look up at a sky that was just barely pink and lavendar and dark blue with sunrise. Back where he'd come from, the sun was up, behind a shroud of clouds, but here, at home, the sun had yet to peek up over the horizon just yet. He sat up and looked ahead, at the tall red mountains that loomed over the valley in which he'd grown up. Here, he felt the spirit of the cougar, as in the early morning air, one slunk through the thin desert brush, looking for it's next meal.