Arcane Academy

The thing is, we change. We are not the same person we were five years ago. Hel, a lot of us are not even the same people we were last week. We change, and our beliefs, favourites, thoughts and the way we see ourselves changes with it. 

The same is true for our witchraft, religion and spiritual beliefs. This is why I have a list of question that I like to answer for myself every couple of years. I first started this when I came across a list of questions by Juniper from Walking the Hedge (site no longer in use) in 2008, yes, over ten years ago. Every few years I filled in the questions and looked back at the answers I gave before. Some never changed, some changed quite a lot. 

When our coven started a new lesson plan, I gave out the list of questions as well. We sealed our answers in envelopes and plan to fill them in again, once we finish our lessons. Then open the envelopes and look at the answers side by side. To see how we have changed. 

I looked at the list last week and found it actually lacking a bit. The questions were very deity- and spiritual based, so I was missing some more questions about my personality and witchcraft. So I decided to make my own list of questions! 

Since I wanted to make this more a weekly journaling/grimoire prompt for myself I put together 52 questions. These can be answered weekly (maybe every year) or you can work through the list in one go and repeat that every few years or so. 

Some notes on the wording: I consider myself both a witch and a pagan, but to keep it easier to read I only used wording like “witch” and “witchcraft”, they can however be substituted for “pagan”, “paganism” or even “my path”, should that fit you better. When I talk about “sacred space” this can both mean a ritual space like a temple or casting of a circle, but also just your home or outdoors witchy environment.

I’d love it if you would tag anything you feel comfortable with posting online with the tag #writeyourwitchcraft!

What draws me to witchcraft?

How do I see the divine?

What in witchcraft makes me happy?

Do I want to follow a path that has to do with a little nature, or a lot of nature?

What areas of witchcraft would I like to learn more about?

Where do my witchy talents lie?

What kind of deities, if any, do I want to honor?

How do I believe magic works?

Simple or elaborate spells/rituals? Why?

What are my views on cursing/hexing?

Do I want to practice something similar to my ancestors?

What are the basic morals and ethics I feel I should live by?

What in nature am I drawn to; the ocean, animals, the trees, etc?

Which (witchy) holidays, if any, would I like to celebrate and how?

How do I believe divination works?

Would I like to work with a group some of the time, all of the time or not at all?

Which aspects of witchcraft appeal to me most, which the least?

What do I believe happens to us when we die?

How do I see mythological creatures?

When do I feel most magical?

How much is witchcraft woven into my daily life; is this too much, too little or just enough?

What kind of witch do I feel I am?

Which texts/quotes best describe my current path?

Do I like research and gathering info, or do I like things handed to me?

Which things about witchcraft worry or scare me?

What is my favourite element?

How do I see gender (roles) in witchcraft?

Am I interested more in magic, or spirituality?

Do I like to be told how to do things, or would I rather figure it out on my own?

What rules, if any, do I live by when it comes to witchcraft and magic?

What do I gain from witchcraft and magic?

Formal or informal rituals/spells? Why?

What subject do I love to study?

What is my favourite type of magic; candle, sympathetic, sigils, etc?

What would my perfect witchy day be like?

Would I want to be dedicated/initiated?

Who do I honor (ex: deities, ancestors, myself, etc), and how do I, or would I like to, honor them?

How do I create a sacred/witchy space?

What do I believe is needed for a succesful spell/ritual?

Which cultures do I draw from in my witchcraft?

What is my learning style; books, websites, videos, more hands-on?

What, if anything, in my mundane life influences my witchcraft?

What are my hobbys, how do I (or can I) incorporate them in my witchcraft?

Where do my non-witchy talents lie, how do I (or can I) incorporate them in my witchcraft?

What would my dream witchy life look like? What steps can I take to work towards it?

What would my dream sacred space/witchy home look like? What steps can I take to work towards it?

What symbols correspond with me; runes, animals, flowers, gemstones, etc?

Am I an open and proud witch, or do I (need to) hide my craft?

What are my favourite witchy items/tools; divination tool, ritual tool, décor, clothing, etc?

What is holding me back in my craft?

What is my pre-spell/ritual routine?

Why You Ground And Center

-To release pent up/excess energy before a ritual (or just in daily practice, as needed) -To release  overwhelming emotions -To gain energy if you’re depleted -To help yourself connect to the earth -To  balance your energy

How To Ground And Center

Being A Magical Practitioner: 1. Question everything you are told and read. 2. Hell even question this post. Only YOU can decide what is right and what works for you. 3. What may work for someone else may not work for you. What may work for you may not work for someone else. 4. Your practices are YOUR practices.

Support: 1. Ancestral veneration is so important. 2. Communicate with your ancestors daily. 3. They will help and guide you on your journey more than you will ever know. 4. You have several guardian angels and guardian spirits built into your existence, get to know them. 5. There is magic within you. Embrace your own power. 6. Mind your own magic. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to explain your practices to anyone else. Do you. 

Tools: 1. White candles are fantastic for every single purpose. 2. You can print your own labels for glass candles and glue them on plain glass candles.  You will save money this way in the long run. 3. You don’t need every single tool to start off with. 4. Water is life. Water keeps the flow of your magic, filters and is a conduit to you and spirit. Keep clear glasses of water in your home. Change them often. 5. Your altar space doesn’t need to be fancy. 6. You do not need expensive herbs. 7. Mirrors and Magnets are the best tools closest to crystals to magnify and amplify your magic. 8. The bible is a book full of spells and divination.

Herbs: 1. You can get most of the herbs you need from your local super market and dollar store. 2. Salt: Protection or cursing. Various Powdered Peppers: Protection and Cursing. Cinnamon: Money and Lust work. Basil: Money and Luck. Bay Leaves: Protection and Granted Wishes. Rosemary: Protection. Chamomile: Peaceful Home Workings. Cloves: Protection, Love, Control and Bindings. Eucalyptus: Cleansing. Thyme: Purification, Healing.

Floor Washes: 1. Do Floor Washes in odd numbers. One series to remove the negativity and one series to bring in good energy. 2. Curse Killer Floor Wash: Hot Water, Ammonia, Lemon, Salt (optional) Open Roads Floor Wash: Cold Water, Florida Water, Parsley, Mint Leaves, Coconut Water (Strained of pulp)

Various Cleansings: 1. Cigar or tobacco smoke is a great alternative to sage sticks. 2.  You can cleanse yourself with an egg and a glass of water. 3. You can cleanse yourself with lemons, limes and oranges. 4. When cleansing your home make sure to open your windows and doors. 5. Start from the back of the home towards the front and then to various rooms to confuse the negative energy. 6. A can of beer and salt will cleanse your aura. 7. When you cleanse yourself, make sure to replace what you removed with good energy.

Powders: 1. You do not need to purchase branded powders from metaphysical shops. Money/luck powder:  Bank dirt, Shredded currency and corn starch. Love/Passion powder: Rose petals, Cinnamon and corn starch. Open Roads powder: Dirt from four corners of a crossroads and corn starch. Add three dimes to bottom of container. Cursing Powder: Graveyard dirt from criminals grave, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper. Protection Powder: Church Dirt, Psalm 91 passage from bible, Psalm 23 from the bible grinded into a powder. Oils: 1. Do not buy oils from the botanicas and metaphysical shops. Most are made with mineral oil, a synthetic fragrance and colorant. If you want that, Get yourself some baby oil, food coloring and scented fragrance oil of your choosing. I wouldn’t recommend it though. 2. Get yourself some Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Grapeseed oil and Vegetable oil at the supermarket along with some Vitamin E oil for preservative. You can make your own charged oils with herbs and a few glass bottles. 3. My favorite simple oils: Lust Oil: Sunflower oil base, Vitamin E,  Cinnamon stick, red rose petals, and Vanilla Bean Money Oil: Grapeseed oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, basil and thyme. Protection Oil: Olive Oil base, Vitamin E, Rosemary, Basil, Eucalyptus Life Force Oil: For when you need extra power in your magic. Olive oil base, 3 drops of blood. Blessing Oil: Olive Oil, Vitamin E and Psalm 91 torn from the bible.

Because I just told you to offer things to the fae, I figured I would write up a little list of things that are good offerings.  One thing to note, however, is that whatever you offer them you cannot take back.  Unlike with (some) gods, it’s not a good idea to eat things after you’ve offered them to the fae, and a trinket once theirs can be traded for, but you should never just take it back.  Okay, with that, I give you good offerings, grouped into categories.

FOOD AND DRINK

1. Alcohol is usually good - the sweeter the better, usually, though they also seem to like all kinds of beer.

2. Juice is also good, especially if it’s something a bit exotic.

3. Clean, cool water is good in a pinch, especially if it’s from a well, or filtered - they don’t like water with too much fluoride or chlorine in it, which rules out tap water in a lot of areas.

4. Any kind of cake or pastry is good.  Also bread.  Really just baked goods in general.  And sweeter is usually better here, too.

5. Meat.  Yes, some fae like meat.  Particularly the Wild Hunt types.  Figures, right?

6. Fresh fruit. Pretty much anything is good, so long as it’s not too bruised/shriveled, etc.

7. Honey.  Any kind of honey is good, by itself or drizzled on a baked good, like a piece of bread with butter.

8. Dairy products.  They love milk, cream, buttermilk, buttered bread, you name it.  Probably yogurt too, but I’ve never tried that.

TRINKETS:

1. Old jewelry.  Have an earring missing it’s pair?  Excellent gift for the fae.  Jewelry you used to love but don’t wear anymore? A broken silver chain?  All good.  And here most people will tell you it’s only okay if it’s silver or gold.  And I’m here to tell you that most fae don’t seem to mind a little stainless steel, and nickel and copper were never a problem.  The problem is cold black iron, like the stuff they make railings out of.  Eeesh.

2. Beads.  Plastic, glass, resin - really anything goes.  Strung or single, they seem to love beads.

3. Bits of broken glass or pottery.  Especially if it’s colored and you put it in a jar.  Pretty and interesting and they love it.

4. Bits of string.  Especially ribbon, and especially brightly colored, but twine is also acceptable, as is embroidery floss, or even hair ties.

5. Sequins and confetti.  These are also really quite wonderful when collected in a jar.  Fun shiny things are pretty excellent fae offerings.

6. Origami or other papercrafts.  It might just be the brightly colored and floral papers, but I find that fae like 3D papercrafts.  Just be careful - these cannot be left outside in the weather.

7. Hanging decorations.  I have a mini-mobile with a central prism that casts rainbows that they seem to like.  Things like that, especially with prisms, can be good offerings to the fae.

NATURAL ITEMS:

1. Pretty stones.  Polished or not, just make sure that you didn’t actually take these from the fae in the first place - if you collected it out of a stream or forest, did you leave an offering in return?  Anything you bought is probably fine.

2. Flowers and leaves.  I like to give bits of plants that I’ve grown and tended, because otherwise you usually get into that “did you leave something in return when you collected it?” problem.  Plants you grow you are constantly giving offerings to: care, weeding, watering, etc.  Sometimes I make patterns with leaves and seeds and flowers, similar to a mandala.

3. Bones.  Most fae like bones, whether they are bones from your dinner, or bones you bought, or bones you found - though again, if you find something, give an offering in return.

HOMES:

1. Mini decorative birdhouses.  If you want fae (especially smaller fae like brownies and garden sprites) to move in nearby, try offering them a decorated mini birdhouse.  Just be sure the birds know it’s not for them!

2. Doors.  A lot of people sell little decorated fairy doors - these can be good, too, as long as you keep your Neighbors happy so that they watch the door for you.  It’s likely to become a portal to the fae realms, and not everything on the other side is friendly!

3. Windchimes.  Not exactly a home per se, but a wind chime can function as a sort of little outdoor altar to the fae.  Find one with a pleasing noise.  And again, they don’t seem to mind a little stainless steel, but make sure it isn’t made of cold black iron!

4. Gardens.  Some fae will come and inhabit a garden, or even the pots of a container garden, so make sure your garden is welcoming, if you have one!  They seem to especially like butterfly attractants and medicinal flowers, but for some of them any plant will do!

OTHER:

So a lot of us are out of the broom closet so to speak, but many of have to be careful of being public because of the views of the communities we live in. What I propose is a symbol we can put on flyers or in shop windows that means “You’re safe here.”

I don’t believe that a pentagram would work because it’s got so much stigma attached and it’s really easily identifiable. Ideally, we can find something that is not tradition specific. I don’t know. I just want us to be able to put feelers out into the community without painting a target on ourselves for intolerant jerk faces, and I want witchlings that are seeking guidance to be able to do so in a safe environment. I mean, how badass would it be to find a little symbol of solidarity in your favorite coffee shop or bookstore??

You may feel more comfortable calling them chakras after studying from trustworthy sources if you really want to work with them, and if you DO decide to call them chakras in your personal practice and you’re still learning, do NOT voice yourself as an authority on chakras, claim your way is the proper way, or mislead people. Recognize where chakras come from. If you really want to learn more about chakras, you’re going to have to do more than skin new age summaries. I still have to work on it, myself.

If you want to work with and learn about chakras, you can and it is independent of your religion.

http://sopherielspeaks.tumblr.com/post/137232544833/someone-said-that-you-shouldnt-be-incorporating

“So mote it be” was used by witches, occultists, and other practitioners before the creation of Wicca and since then, so that is not inherently wiccan at all and should not be mistaken as such. That’s not cultural appropriation.

These salts are super easy to make and are good for any sun magic, an offering to solar deities, solar bath salts, cleansing, energy, positivity, healing, creativity, protection, and more 🌞

What you need-

🔆A mortar and pestle

🌼Sea salt

🍊Dried orange peel (and/or orange essential oil)

🌻Chamomile, marigold, sunflower, or any yellow petaled flower (dried)

🌾A dash of cinnamon powder

Instructions:

🔆Gather your ingredients

🔆Combine them one by one in a mortar and pestle until the salt changes color (yellow or orange) or until its powderized

🔆Let it charge in the sunlight (sunrise-sunset) with your favorite sun crystal

Others may have a different notion of what success means and how to get there in magick, but this is what I’d like to say from my experience with magick and witchcraft.

What is a successful witch to me?

To me, a successful witch is a witch who never stops learning, never stops growing, and is connected to and confident in her magick. Now, when I say never, I use that term very loosely; we all fall down, sometimes we need breaks, and our failures do not erase our successes. But a successful witch, to me, is someone who pushes on through the struggles and gets back up.

My Tips

Never let go of your witchling spark. There was likely an allure to magick that brought you here. Never lose sight of that inspiration because it is a source of motivation and joy. That spark is what makes magick so magical. Magick is full of miracles and you have the power to make those miracles and experience those miracles. And when you look at your initial spark, know that there many more unexplored, fantastic, magical experiences ready for you to claim them. I hope that using some of these other tips will help you keep hold of your spark.

Do not limit your magick. Stop focusing on what magick isn’t because you will never reach the limits and you can always grow. If you see something and know that you cannot achieve it, there are two options you can take. The first option: find an alternative. Can’t fly? What’s the next best thing? Learn to astral project on the real-time zone and fly with your astral body. The second option: work to get the power you need before you can achieve your goal. If aerokinesis isn’t working for you, try going one step lower and working with energy manipulation and then go back to aerokinesis later. If you don’t know what one step lower is, then look into other forms of magick, strengthen your connection to the metaphysical and your power, and look back st your goal later and see if you can figure anything out with the new abilities and knowledge you have.

Look for inspiration. Keeping in mind my last tip, try looking for inspiration in music, art, film, books, etc. Listen to what other witches have experienced, expose yourself and talk to other successful and passionate witches, psychics, occultists, psions, etc. Brainstorm magical ideas, no matter how crazy and unrealistic, and get creative, then figure out how you can utilize this in your magick in a way that could actually work.

Take opportunities. In the modern era, we have soo much information on magick. We are so lucky for that. You can read about so many methods of magick, so many spirits, you can read folklore and occultism and healing. Take in this knowledge and jump at any opportunity for practice you can because you have so many opportunities ahead of you. You can commune with the dead! You can work with faeries, and not only that but you have so much information available to you for how to approach that and all these different faery cultures. The astral is huuge and YOU can experience that and get out of your body! Or in your body with trances, ASC, soul dives. There is so much in front of you. Take these opportunities because there is always more you can do and there is always more to explore.

Ask questions. By asking questions, you will dig deeper into your understanding of the world around you and yourself. When you practice your craft or when you study, ask questions wherever you can. You can ask other witches questions or you can ask yourself and figure out what you can do to find that answer. Don’t lay your trust in everything you hear.

Avoid alienation. If you discover lots of magick abilities and paranormal abnormalities, do not isolate yourself by emphasizing how different you are. We’re all unique and we’re all different, but if you really focus on how strange you seem and how different you are, you may begin to overestimate yourself and underestimate others. Yes, there are plenty of people who are not connected to magick, but you’re not the only one. This can be both comforting to know there are others like you out there as well as humbling, and it is a way you can make sure you’re disrespecting others as little as possible. Blowing things out of proportion can also cause you to feed yourself lies, limit your view of the world, and subsequently limit your mind. This god complex has surely affected me before, and I’ve seen it affect other practitioners as well. It’s belittling and disrespectful to others and it limits your capability to grow. It tends to be more helpful to focus on how things (and people!) are similar and how they connect rather than focusing on how they don’t.

Organize your information. This is something I’ve found works for me (and I might make a post dedicated to just how I do this). Throughout your craft, you can find different categories that you can delve into later in your craft. It’s not enough to put everything under the broad category of “magick”. We also have things like enchantment, correspondences, manifestation, divination, energy manipulation, psi constructs, healing, cursing, etc. If you lay out all the different areas of magick that you can explore in all the different ways you can, you can go back to those lists later when you feel lost in your craft. If you ever don’t know what you want to work with next, you can look at one of these categories and start from there.

Practice is invaluable. You can read a bunch and listen to witches, but your experience as a witch relies on your practice. I would personally recommend that you make time for your practice with a higher priority than studying what others have to say. You may want to play it as safe as possible and read and read and it is GOOD to read on protection magick but if you read and read excessively about this and that you will never experience. If you want to grow as a witch and if you want to gain magical memories and if you want to expand your abilities then you will have to live and experience magick.

Do what works and keep an open mind. This doesn’t mean do what works for others or do what someone says works. This means that you practice and do what you discover works. Maybe you started off with something like a sigil but it ended up as something else, but if it works then who cares. Work with it. Different people learn better in different ways. Some people are audio learners, others study best by reading over and over, some people speak, some people are visual. Magick is about taking in concepts from a ritual, tools, and your intent, whatever you’re using, and then manifesting that and sometimes things just make more sense to you one way than another. Whatever gets you the results you want, then do THAT. Not what someone else claims works and what doesn’t. Likewise, be open-minded towards methods other people use because it might work for them. Do what works despite what others might say about you and despite what even some witches claim you can’t be doing. That is true power.

Oh really?

How about casting a love spell on someone only to have them become your stalker?

How about performing a ritual for money and not being specific enough so it comes from the inheritance of your father after he has a brutal death via an accident at work?

How about making an invisibility talisman so you can petition the dead in your local cemetery at night without being seen but having it work too well and you get hit by a car on the way back?

How about forgetting to bring your alms to the servitor you created and it bringing poltergeist tier disturbances into your home?

How about using the goetia to acquire something you desperately need last minute and agreeing to give the demon 7 years of your life because you didn’t know how to properly bind and compel it, or that you even had an option to refuse a clearly raw deal and now you’re paying for it in time–a priceless currency?

These scenarios are real. They have happened. Some of them to people I know personally with many successes but also huge regrets. Real magic is not a LARP. Real magic is not a moodboard. It’s not a lifestyle aesthetic. It’s not a game. It is a skill set with very real consequences. Sometimes that includes madness, illness, poverty, and even death.