A spiritual blog

my personal correspondences by time of day, complied form my grimoire.

dawn - breaking curses, beauty and glamour spells. weather and sea spells. magic involving delicate feelings, friendship and forgiveness, budding romance.

morning - fertility, good luck, green/herbal witchcraft. best time to brew potions. intuition and justice. 

noon - wealth and career spells. success and motivation. confidence and courage spells. kitchen magic.

afternoon - the time to gather herbs. communication spells. travel protections. 

evening - psychic protections, peace/balance spells. kitchen spells and pop culture spells

twilight - catalysts, movement and growth. astral travel and divination. love/lust spells. technology witchcraft.

evening -  curses, hexes, banishment, bindings. space and cosmic magic. dream magic. hedgecraft

I know a lot of people who find it really difficult to start filling out their grimoures. Here are a few of the things I have done and some advice I have:

If you are in to tarot, design your own spreads and keep notes on the ones you have used.

Make a to do list of everything you want to put in and work down it

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, this will only make it more personal to you

Dedicate a few pages to your deity or devotion

Sleep with your book under your pillow, this will create a better connection between you and it

Create as daily prayer to your devotion

Write out your birth chart and make notes on what it means

Have a page full of useful sigils and runes for quick reference

Design your own pendulum board

Hello my beautiful babies! 

At the moment I am working on my book of mirrors which to me is a magical journal to record my personal experiences with magic and how it affects me and my world. This differs from my Grimoire which holds my basic magical information and my book of shadows which holds only my working spells. 

This is my beautiful book of mirrors from paper blanks. I personally use this brand for all my magical books because they look to me like my idealistic version of magical books. I’ve tried making books and recycling old ones but unfortunatley I am not artistic and neatness does bother me as a stereotypical virgo. 

This post is a list of things I am personally covering in my book and may even give you some ideas for what to include in your magical journal.

I’ve split the list into sections which you may or may not chose to include in your book .

Family 

The history of witchcraft in your family. is there any? are you the first one ?

Your family tree

The meaning of your name 

Your celtic tree sign (This sign is calculated from the date of conception and not birth)

Attributes asigned to you at birth 

Your zodiac information 

Your birthstones and their correspondances

The numerlogical meaning of your birthdate 

Your aura 

Childhood

Did you see a ghost or ghosts as a child?

Did you encounter any magic growing up?

Were you interested in any mythical creatures? Which ones? What were your experiences ? What are their attributes?

Who were your childhood magical icons ? Did you look up to any magical characters in books, film , Tv or video games ? 

Were there any numbers, animals or signs that followed you through childhood? If so what do they mean ?

Teenage / Adult years 

When did you discover witchcraft ?

What was your first spell? How did it go? 

What paths were you / are you interested in ? 

Have you had any other encounters with ghosts or magic ?

Who are your magical icons now ?

DIscovery of the self 

Do you have a totem animal or spirit guide ? What animal are they ? what do they represent ? What is their name ? 

Who is your shadow self ? What are your shadow fragments? What do they look like? What are they called ?

You don’t need to be Shakespeare to write powerful spells, rituals, and prayers. However, practicing writing (free word association, creative, poetry, brainstorming, etc.) can only make you better at it!

Furthermore, no one else necessarily has to see or hear your writing. It is okay if the only audience is Deity or Spirit.

Book of Mirrors

A journal for reflection and introspection usually geared toward your practice.

It can be a mundane journal, or drafting journal for spellwork and ritual.

Can also be used to ventilate your worries.

A Book of Mirrors can be used as a place to informally compile notes, sketches, and rough draft writing.

Book of Shadows

Can include a wide variety of information pertinent to your particular practice (s). Including charts, information on esbats and sabbats, inventory of crystals you own, herbology, recipes, and many other types of entries.

Could be described as a sort of personal, magickal scrapbook, though it need not be decorative.

Can contain developed information on topics that interest you.

Digital Journals/ Blogs

Can serve you as a mobile version of a Book of Mirrors, Book of Shadows, Grimoire, etc.

Easily shareable when you are networking with other practitioners and exchanging knowledge.

Grimoire

Can be viewed as a more formal presentation of developed spells, rituals, prayers, blessings, etc.

May be very personal, especially if you are a solitary practitioner.

Bullet Journal

Great for daily writers.

Can help you track progress in whatever areas of your life you are working to improve.

Can be as informal as a Book of Mirrors if you desire.

Helps you organize and plan.

Don’t worry about making mistakes…

Especially if you are writing informally. Not everything about your craft has to be somber and ceremonial!

Feel free to emulate your poetry heroes or simply express your worries.

If you want to deepen your practice, you might consider writing in your favorite way.

Hey everyone! This is my list of resources I have made over the course of the existence of this blog, pertaining specifically to death witchcraft and spirit work. (EDIT: I also added divination because it is such a vital part of my own practice) I hope it helps some of you, and provides a resource for you to use! I’ve also thrown in my death work stuff as well. These posts are all mine, coming from separate blogs at times ( @shipping-the-gods , @the-daily-diviner, and @tarnished-headstone (@witchthatiam is the name of this blog from a while ago)); none of these blogs are active. The only blogs I am active on are @lonesome-bones, @bronwyns-divination-shop, @spirit-tea-party (suggestions blog) and @breathing-in-gilded-dust (dodekatheism blog). 

Please note you can do these three practices individually, I just choose to put them together for my own personal practice! Pick what you like and use it if you desire.  

Thanks, 

Bronwyn 

@lonesome-bones and @bronwyns-divination-shop

Resources, Essays, and Tips:

Dead Spiders and Other Tiny Corpses

Connecting With Human Spirits When You Don’t Have Access to a Graveyard

How to Deal With Angry Spirits and Banish Them if You Need To 

Ways to Get to Know Death and Its History

Symbolism for Death Witches and Spirit Workers

What to Do When Your House Rules Have Been Violated

Spirit Worker Tip 

Fun/Unique Spirit Vessel Ideas

Spirit Summoning Bath Spell 

Forgotten Dead Funeral 

Death Witch Decor and Crafts

Selfcare for Death Witches

Tips for Setting Up a Shrine/Altar for Spirit Work 

Vessels for Death Energy

How to Call Non-Human Spirits

Sweet Passing Potion

Sweet Passing Potion (Pet Edition)

How I Bind Spirits to Vessels 

How I Cleanse Spirit Vessels for Their Future Inhabitants 

Building Spirit Vessels 

Death Witchery in the Dead of Winter

Basic Offering Ideas for Spirits 

Fearing Death - A Guide for Aspiring Death Workers and Witches

Death Witch Rituals - My Basic List (AKA What do death witches do?)

Creating and Enchanting Wards

Warding While Watched - A Secret Witch’s Guide 

Funeral Bouquets and Correspondences 

Dying Does Not Always Inhibit Your Power

Ancestral Recipes

The Butterfly’s Place in Death Witchery

General Tips for Beginner Death Witches

My Methods and Tips for Astral Travel 

My Grimoire in PDF Format (updated in March of 2018)

Advice on Understanding Cultural Appropriation 

Collecting Bones Ethically and Legally

Greeting the (Human) Dead - Bronwyn’s Guide

Spirit Work Terminology

Death Witches Digging in the Dirt: Flowers and Funerals

The Elements of Death Witchery/Work

Spells & Rituals:

“Here Lies the Ashes of My Past” Ritual

Essence of Death Potion (to overcome your fear of death)

Passing on Spell for Deceased Spirits 

“Lull Me to Sleep” Ritual for A Passing Person

Divination: 

Divining the Future With the Dead

Herbs for Divination 

My Tips for Learning Card Meanings for Divination 

How to Make a Divination Cloth 

How to Cleanse Your Divination Tools 

Teas to Drink Before Doing Divination 

How to Record Your Divination Sessions 

Mirror Gazing to See Your True Self 

Beginner Tips for the New Scryer

Divination Chants

How to Wax Scry 

How to Do a Nephelomancy Reading (Cloud Scrying)

How to Do a Stichomancy Reading

How to Use a Pendulum 

How to Smoke Scry 

How to Deal With Negative Readings You’ve Done for Someone Else

How to Design and Create Your Own Cartomancy System

Blessing Water for Your Divination Tools 

DIY Scrying Mirror

How to Scry 

Meditation to Reveal Psychic Abilities

Halloween Divination Ritual

DIY Scrying Mirrors - The Frugal/Secret Way

Curio Casting - How I Do It 

My Cartomancy System 

Scrying With Spirits: Bronwyn’s Complete Guide

Free Curio Casting Board Set

How to Make a Cartomancy Spread

My Symbols and Artwork for Death Witches/Workers

The Gatekeeper 

Ally of the Dead

Metamorphosis Through Death

Other Recommended Resources:

The Order of the Good Death (not witchcraft, but death work is essential to my own practice)

@death-witch-envy (tumblr death witch blog, who I love dearly. Yunan has a few witchy zines, too!)

@darkfyretheumbrawitch (He is an umbra witch, and, again, a good friend of mine)

@nightmarist (has many wonderful resources on shadow work and the like)

@bronwyns-divination-shop (my currency-less divination shop, ranging from no payment to intangible trades) Read This Pamphlet First

Master-List of Death Witches, Spirit Workers, and Necromancers on Tumblr  

Some fun things:

Death Witch Aks

Your Official Death Witch ™ Name   

Audience of Bones - My 13 Card Oracle Deck

My Small Oracle Deck - The Things I’ve Seen in Holloway

Dark Workings - A Youtube Playlist for Your Rituals 

Encouragement from One Witch to Another

Another Encouragement (about defining your path)

One More Thing:

I get a lot of asks about how I started my notebook whenever I post pictures of it! I do have a background in scrapbooking/collage/art, which is reflected in my witchy notebook. I’ve been a self-identified practicing witch for about a year now, but many of the practices in my craft have been in my life for years.

Some people call them Book of Shadows, grimoire, or simply just a “witchy notebook.” Here are some tips that helped me when I was beginning my notebook. Lengthy post with pictures!

Notebook? Binder? E-grimoire?

There are lots of ways to keep all your witchy information together. You can keep your grimoire on the notes of your phone, documents on your laptop, Canva/other graphic design website, loose leaf papers or in a binder, or a regular bound notebook. Don’t place too much pressure on yourself! Whatever feels right is right.

Start with what you like (but stay open to what you don’t know!)

Your notebook won’t have the same authentic magic if you fill it with things that you don’t actually care about! While my first notebook contains some aspects of witchcraft that I don’t practice now, they were still important to me at the time. Your notebook is a visual representation of your journey, so don’t be afraid to fill it with your current obsession with crystals or a one specific tarot card. 

These are some really great tags for exploring topics when you don’t know where to start!

witch tips

baby witch

witchy 101

And some simple ideas for your first entries:

your birth chart

what you want to use magic for

a collage page of your witch aesthetic (or ideal aesthetic)

a wish list

your favorite crystals

a simple moon calendar (full/new moons of the year, month, or just information about the phases)

your favorite colors, seasons, places in nature etc

record information about the chakras/energy points in the body

list of your favorite witchy movies and tv shows

draw teacups and fill them with drawings of your favorite blends

drawings of your ideal familiars (animal companions)

A couple witchy things that you may not have heard about but are super cool to incorporate into your craft:

sigils (visual symbols charged with an intent)

incantations (short spells that sometimes rhyme)

Don’t knock Pinterest.

I personally like to have very organized and planned out pages. I’ve resorted to Pinterest *many* times to get graphic ideas for lunar calendars, zodiac wheels and other witchy things that require a lot of information in a condensed graphic. Pinterest has great inspiration for those special, planed out spreads.

Separate or keep it altogether. 

Some people like to keep everything in one notebook/binder, others like to separate their topics or layouts into different notebooks. I started a bullet journal for more planned out pages, but my general notebook is a leuchtturm1917 with dotted grids where I have reference pages and personal entries.

Here are some pages of my notebook that I’m especially proud of.