#thevirginwitch

you can add essential oils for aromatherapy

it’s a great opportunity for meditation

connection to the element of water

extremely customizable (add candles, rose petals, bath bombs, etc)

beauty/self-care/glamour magic

do you have any resources for reaching out to familiars and/or discovering familiars, specifically though dream work? I have a feeling I've dreamt about familiars in the past (before becoming a witch) and I'm wanting to do some dreamwork to see if I can see them again or contact them in someway.

- @thevirginwitch (forever cursing tumblr for not letting me send asks from specific sideblogs, lol, therefore forcing me to ask anonymously 😔)

Hey friend! Sorry, I wanted to do this question justice so I waited til I was able to do more research!

(First, I assume you're talking about this post.)

Here's what I found:

Familiars vs Magickal Pets - Blog post by "Dead" on the Pagans And Witches Amino. -> There is a familiar calling ritual at the end of the post.

The Crooked Path by Kelvin has a section on Familiar spirits -> see Exercise 27: Meeting a Familiar Spirit

Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby -> So far I haven't found a ritual or spell to conjure a familiar, but she goes into great detail about their history and has some really interesting tidbits!

Familiars in Witchcraft Supernatural Spirits and Guardians by Maja D'Aoust -> I have just started this one but it seems very interesting.

In my opinion, a familiar isn't a particular type of spirit, it is a title or role given to a spirit based on an understanding or contract between the spirit and the witch.

So, I would consider doing a guided meditation focused on meeting a spirit. Even if it doesn't say exactly "familiar" or "familiar spirit", just make sure you go into the meditation with the intention of meeting the spirit that you feel is contacting you. If you can do this meditation on your own, great! I struggle and need a guided meditation otherwise I get distracted and can't drop into the right space for it.

⠀⠀⠀//: wild rosemary is a poisonous plant of the Far East and some regions of Siberia. its leaves and branches (and especially flowers, pollen and seeds) emit a sharp, specific intoxicating smell. in the old days, rural tavern-keepers often insisted wild rosemary in moonshine in order to stupefy the client and extract more money from him.

⠀⠀⠀Somewhere it was believed that with its help you can send madness, cause an evil spirit, somewhere it was considered one of the most effective love potions. in Carpathian legends, it is depicted as a strong love spell. in the Far East there is an ancient belief, remotely similar to the legend of the fern, that the wild rosemary is a magical bush that can talk, knows all the secrets, including where the treasures are buried.

⠀⠀⠀In the symbolic language of plants, rosemary flowers symbolize courage and disregard for death. for centuries it was believed that rosemary strengthens memory and clarity of mind, improves mood, protects against evil influences from outside and evil thoughts inside.

⠀⠀⠀Blooming, it paints all the hills in a bright, unnatural color - as if the dawn had spread over the mountains and glades.

(my witch sideblog: @thevirginwitch)

Hey there!

Witchcraft Asks

40. What is the first spell you ever preformed? Successful or not.

I cursed a bully of mine in 6th grade (so I was 11 years old) and he ended up with a broken leg because of an accident. He was a football player, which is how his leg got broken (some...how...). You draw your own conclusions.

83. Do you have a pre-ritual ritual? (I.e. Something you do before rituals to prepare yourself for them). If so what is it?

I don't. I tend to just do things randomly. Sometimes I'll vibe check my room with some cleansing air spray before casting a spell, though.

Thanks for sending these in!

I'm getting increasingly frustrated by "witches" on social media (particularly TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and the like).

A Facebook reel came up while I was doomscrolling today, and someone had filmed themselves making a 'home protection spell jar'. All the top comments were things like: "what incense do you use to cleanse the jar?" "can you make one for self-protection?" "what if I don't have X ingredient/color candle/etc?"

Folks (especially beginner/baby witches), I am begging you: do the dirty work. Don't wait for someone to spoonfeed you information. Write your own spells and rituals. Learn WHY certain ingredients have certain properties. Make up your own associations for different local herbs and plants in your area. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Stop falling prey to "beginner witchcraft kits" and just go to your local grocery store and pick out a few herbs. Use recycled peanut butter jars. Go to a park and pick up some loose branches to use as wands. Write shit down. Be creative. Be resourceful.

I'm probably going to end up writing a whole piece on this on my Substack about how badly capitalism has changed our community. But I digress.

My life has been in absolute fucking turmoil lately, so I busted out the ol' spell supplies and crafted a super simple, reliable candle spell.

Materials:

Blue candle (or candle in a "calming" color) & something to light it with

Salt

Chamomile (tip: if you can't find loose chamomile at your local grocery store, cutting open chamomile tea bags works just as well)

Lavender

Bay leaf and a marker or pen

Optional: a tool to carve your candle

Instructions:

Pour salt into a mound on a heat-safe tray or dish. Flatten the mound by shaking the tray/dish around a bit. You want a solid circle of salt.

Taking your finger, make a crossroads or X in the salt.

Pour chamomile and lavender into the X - representing "making way" for peace and tranquility in your life.

Optional: You may carve your candle with calming sigils or runes, if you wish, and annoint it with anti-anxiety/calming oil as well.

Place your candle in the center of your salt.

Light your candle, and feel peaceful waves wash over you. Focus on the intention of carving a path for yourself to feel at peace.

You may now write an intention on your bay leaf. It could be something like "I find time to relax", "Peace will make its way to me", etc. Anything will work!

Carefully burn your bay leaf in the candle of your flame. I personally like to use a pair of tongs/tweezers to hold the bay leaf above the candle so I don't burn myself.

Allow the candle to burn out, and feel the stress wash away from your body.

Paganism, witchcraft, and that entire spiritual umbrella are all considered earth-centered religions. Using AI goes against these pro-nature values - it causes the waste of fresh drinking water; the poisoning of the planet by building massive data centers, increasing our (already massive) carbon footprint; strains our power grids; and increases risk of public health concerns.

AI is detrimental to our spiritual nature as pagans – utilizing AI chatbots has been shown to induce spiritual psychosis, and in my opinion, it is robbing us of our community. It is giving you the illusion of friendship and connection; keeping you stuck in an echo chamber so that you’ll be less likely to create real-life connections.

For pagan authors (and creators in general), there is a huge problem lying in the fact that AI models scrape online content, including published books, without the permissions of authors – leading to stolen works and plagiarism.

I had some of my gorgeous friends model some of my leaf bandanas this afternoon, and now they're available over on my Etsy!