Witchy Stuff

Bells might just be the earliest form of superstitious practise that I remember. My baba attached three sakura-patterned suzu bells on my schoolbag as a kid, purportedly for good luck and protection from evil spirits – and Japan is far from the only place to have associated bells and bellringing with mystic practise. They’ve been used worldwide to ward off evil and carry messages – and in a more metaphysical sense, sound is the movement of energy through substance. Sounds have the potential to work powerful magic.

Here are some of the ways I’ve found utilising bells to be helpful to my craft. While I’m more likely to use traditional suzu type bells, your own background, path and culture will likely have its own types of bells – and as ever, bells can be ornate antiques or they can be a bottle cap in a tin can, as long as they’re used with intent.

GETTING STARTED

🔔 As with so much of the craft, if you’re new to the witching bell, it’s a matter of exploration and experimentation. Get a “feel” for what works for you and the specific bell you’re using.

🔔 It’s good practise to ensure that the bell itself is cleansed, warded and protected – you don’t want anything nasty tapping into that power. All witching tools can do as much harm as good, intentional or accidental.

🔔 A good way to begin incorporating bells into your craft is infuse them into any typical ritual that you’re comfortable with, or even just a prayer or moment of contemplation at your altar if you have one.

🔔 Give the bell a soft ring while focusing on the energy it’ll ripple and move, try to track the movements it creates and what it touches. The tone it’s sending out.  The most primal and versatile use of the bell – and what many of the below come down to – is simply another manner of physically channelling energy, giving it shape and direction.

PROTECTION

🔔 “Passive” bells such as windchimes or small bells attached to belongings you don’t want disturbed are a starting point. They will scare off some forms of spirit all by themselves, especially if appropriately blessed, charmed or enchanted. Or cursed.

🔔 Gently tolling can draw energy into a ward or circle you are forming and enforce its protective properties, or for a simple cleanse, letting the sound travel to every corner of the area you are protecting. It’s a little more “cutting” than a smoke or incense cleansing, which I view as more “gentle” forms of cleansing. Both have their uses.

🔔 Harder tolling is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful ways in which to enforce a banishing – however, it’s best to you know what you’re doing with the bell before you go bashing it about.

DISCERNMENT

🔔 Bells can have quite the effect on your perception and awareness. Ringing and then stopping, listening to the silence left in its wake, can bring you new perceptions or make things you’d previously missed obvious. Let it attune your mind and senses to something new, whether that’s in your thoughts or something with a little more presence. Visualise travelling with the sound, taking heed of the energies it touches and disturbs. Take note of the echoes – you’ll learn what they mean with experience.

🔔 A set of windchimes can let you know if something is passing through or if there’s some unusual energy afoot – and, yes, it may also just be letting you know that it’s a particularly breezy day, but that’s witchcraft for you.

CONJURING

🔔 This can be as simple as calling good energies to witching tools, spell jars, tarot decks, crystals, altars and shrines, your favourite teddy bar, anything at all.

🔔 With spirit work, it can truly help to magnify your “calling”. This can range from gently bringing your latest offering to the attention of your friendly neighbourhood house spirit – all the way to trying to catch the attention of something more. Be mindful, however. As I said, I consider bells pretty powerful tools and a call that’s too loud is not good spirit work practise for the spirit worker’s own sake. It can really help coax something out of hiding if you’re gentle with it, though.

COMMUNING

🔔 Some use bells to mark the beginning and end of a ritual, and I’ve read that in Wiccan practise an altar bell can be used to invoke the Goddess, although as a non-Wiccan, I’ll welcome corrections on that if I’m wrong.

🔔 In my experience, very simple forms of communication via bell work a lot better than anything too complex – “come here” and “stay away” have already been covered, and other than that they can serve as greetings or signals of a start or end of some practise or ritual, the opening or closing of a door, etc.

🔔 They can also serve as a warning or a litmus test regarding spirits, a signalling of your presence and awareness, lack of fear, or willingness to defend – but be prepared to deal with whatever responses these garner.

BINDING

🔔 Bindings are where you most often see that famous (clockwise) circular motion of the bell, embodying the meaning of the spell. This can be a simple binding to seal a spell or charm or enchantment, or a spirit-binding.

🔔 Personally, spirit-binding is something I do as little as possible simply due to my beliefs holding the autonomy of spirits in very high regard. However, sometimes situations arise that call for it, and I’m aware that not all bindings are unwilling. Far from it – and some spirits are dangerous when unbound.

🔔 As an animist (believing that all things, including inanimate objects, contain a spirit of their own), I consider gently nudging a spirit back into its physical form a sort of semi-binding, and that can be useful.

I’ll leave you all with a note that I am an urban apartment-dwelling witch through and through, so I understand that we can’t all be jangling away at all hours. I myself have a glass windchime in my front window that makes a distinct but muted sound when disturbed by passers-through, and highly recommend wooden ones also. I also only use my small and relatively quiet suzu bell for my crafting – one given to me by my baba herself.

Hello hello! So the majority of my Chinese craft comes from my mom/family, in the form of what Westerners call spirit work, divination, and herbalism, if only because that’s what my family/cultural region mostly does or knows about (Han Chinese from the Southeast/city). The best resource for Chinese and East Asian magic is to find your nearest Chinese ancestor, ideally one who’s grown up on the Mainland, in Hong Kong, or Taiwan, and grill them over tea and biscuits about everything, everything, everything they know. If you don’t have a handy grandma or parent, here’s some ideas for getting started (keep in mind this is very broad and only skimming the surface on where to start):

- Divination: We’re biiiig on divination. If you’re into that, the easiest Chinese method accessible in the Western world is to learn the I Ching. It was originally meant to be read in the palace to determine broad scale subjects, so you may be getting some generalized ancestral answers. There are also a TON of regional divination methods - I can’t remember what it’s called in English, but in my grandma’s town there was a thing where an old lady made a canary pick out your fortune on a bamboo stick, which was the widely accepted “pop” fortune method out in the nearby-Shanghai area. Your specific area of origin will have a fortune-telling method specific to it, as well.

- The Elements: Unlike in Western magic, we’ve got five of them. Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Metal. Get to know these guys because the whole fundamentals change when you consider the components on a five-point shift.

- Ghosts Ghosts Ghosts: You probably know by now that Chinese magic is hugely dominated by ancestor and spirit work, pretty much the “fundamentals” of Chinese spirituality. This is probably why I recommend finding your nearest grandmother. You probably have a place where your ancestors lay, and it’s culturally important to bring them the right presents and offerings. Generally you’ll want to figure out what your family’s ancestor sitch is, where they are, and make nice with them. Your family probably also has a religious or semi-religious tradition in place for honoring your ancestors, but if not (or for my Asian Americans out there): Rule of thumb, you gotta burn it so it gets up to Heaven (Tian). The releasing of the matter into the air as smoke and ash releases it into the ancestor’s plane, much like the fundamentals of many Western and Eastern magical theory. Ancestors like receiving gifts they liked in life, like a special pastry or cigarettes. Paper money (folded money facsimiles) is also burned, because, and I’ve never figured this one out, ancestors need money in Heaven to spend. If you’ve never been to pay respect to your ancestors, spend a day finding burnables of things they liked fold some facsimiles or money, and buy or use the incense sticks (which are joss sticks) provided at the crematory/graveyard (not sure what the word is here, the place with all the urns and your ancestors in shelves and stuff outdoors. Chinese Outdoor Cremation Graveyard? Ahem.) Once you’ve made nice with incense and offerings, you’ll be doing the most important work in Chinese spirituality, and have your whole line of ancestors having your back. You may also like to have an ancestor shelf in your house if you can’t access their resting place. 

- Energy Work: Both tai chi and kung fu utilize the same methods to find, center, and move your chi, which Westerners refer to as energy work. Find some old ladies practicing Tai Chi in a park, probably near Chinatown, or see if your local gym or YMCA has classes. It’s a great way to keep connected with your energy and learn to move it as if it’s second nature, and I consider this one of the fundamentals. Most folks growing up in China don’t even realize this is energy work, as it’s so common (think “yoga in the park”).

- Superstitions: I say “superstitions” like I mean “unreasonable facts”. Ghosts can’t walk in a straight line. Dragons and monsters hate noise and the color red. Hang your Fook sign upside down This is kind of a nebulous category, but you’ll find many Chinese cultural beliefs fall neatly into your correspondences and rulesets.

- Festivals: All Chinese festivals use the Lunar calendar. Get in the swing of treating Chinese New Year like the rebirth of your year, and participate in things like the New Year and the Midsummer Festival. Do all the prerequisite traditions per holiday like eat mooncakes, light firecrackers, set out a candy box, give out lai see, etc etc. This’ll help you get attuned to the Lunar year cycle, which, you’ll handily find, is the basis for almost every magical calendar in the East and West.

- Herbalism: TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, is pretty much herb healing. It’s some weird intense shit though, and works best in conjunction (def not in place of) Western medicine. If you can, find a TCM practitioner in your town and ask for a check-up. They’ll give you a full body scan and recommend which herbs and traditional materials work best with your personal physiology, and you’ll also learn some basics about how to fend off a cold, make a soothing poultice, etc. You might have to dig a little hard to find one of these guys if you’re outside Asia. If you’re not ready to have an old due tell you to smear root paste on your spine, start with something lighter: Tea is an age old tradition, and while not considered strictly magic, there’s a special set of ceremonies and correspondences that teach basic elements of respect and ritual that you can look up.

- Astrology: If you were born in Asia and your parents were Hella Chinese ™, chances are, you got a birth chart done by an astrologer. My mom’s essentially the WASP of Chinese Moms and she still got my date of birth checked out by an astrologer. See if you can find any clues about your lineage by asking your parents if they picked your date of birth for a special reason.

- Court Magicians: There’s a WEALTH of info here, even though a lot of it was destroyed or moved during colonialism, WWII, and the Cultural Revolution. Court Magicians were in the employ of the emperor for a whooooole lotta dynasties, and you’re gonna have to learn Mandarin and read a scroll top-down-right-to-left, but a lot of it is recorded by well-meaning British Empire scavengers who have no idea what it is they have on their hands. Look at old calligraphy, and examine the dynasties to get a handle on the evolution of what was considered the basics. Some of the dynasties overlap with trade in the Middle East and Europe, and this is when the juiciest stuff gets written.

Apologies if this is all stuff you’ve heard before! I don’t have any reading materials, unfortunately, as all this is from growing up in Hong Kong before moving to Singapore & my mom/grandma/heritage. I’m super happy to answer any more questions, or talk more about it, or offer more resources - I just don’t wanna step on any toes if you’ve got a parent or auntie waiting in the wings to tell you all about Chinese culture! If not, hit me up anytime, and I’ll blast you with facts!

Hello! As someone who grew up with Shinto (along with Buddhism and Catholicism) and also currently a miko at my local shrine (of the Konkokyo branch) I figured I would like to give a basic intro to Shinto most online sources (Even books) are misinformed about or lack, or misunderstood in a Western setting. Any other Shintoists/Konkos/etc. that would like to contribute to this guide, please feel free and reblog to your heart’s content! :)

—— What is Shinto? Am I allowed to join? Are non-Japanese people who worship native Japanese gods (*kami) still considered Shinto?  Shinto is not really a religion, but a system of Japanese pagan worship of the local nature/worldly deities. Basically just a system to honour the spirits of Japan and the world. People built shrines for these spirits/gods (called kami) and left offerings for blessings. Eventually, shamans began to communicate with the kami and learned more about them, and are recognized as the current kami of today.  Presently, Shinto is majority traditional than spiritual in Japan. Many people only go to shrines out of tradition (Festivals/Matsuri, New Years, Weddings, etc) , an excursion, or a “good luck wish” place (Asking to pass an exam, asking for a baby, etc). Many people, even the priests or mikos at some shrines, aren’t even sure the god of that shrine really exists. But that’s not the point. The point is just to continue on tradition and go by feeling and energies of that place. Indeed, shrines are also good for the soul to visit. 

However many spiritual people inside and outside of Japan still exist. These are shamans and people who can hear and feel the gods and act as their caretakers  and devotees.  YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE SHINTO! ANYONE IS! :) Even if you don’t have a drop of Japanese blood in you or you’ve never even been to Japan!!!! 

(Rev. Koichi Barrish, of Tsubaki America Jinja and  visitors) I cannot stress this enough!!!!! Many materials on Shinto are ruined by the Western understanding of Shinto from World War II era, namely Kokka Shinto. This Shinto was Japanese propaganda to exclude foreigners. PLEASE understand, this is not true Shinto Shinto is simply the worship/reverement and appreciation of nature and/or the kami of Japan and giving them an altar/shrine and (optional) offerings. Even if you just feel close to a kami and adore them, or just feel the vibrations of nature and adore nature, you are already (or can be considered) a Shintoist! It’s as simple as that :) Many people are Shinto without realizing it. 

Are only men allowed to be priests? What are miko?  Men and women are allowed to be priests/priestess. They can also get married and have children! Their role is to command the rituals and maintenance of the shrine. It gets a little more complicated though.

Every shrine has a head priest. Their role is to set service dates, give special services, process requests and paperwork, prepare offerings, and overall caretake for the kami and shrine. Then, there’s associate priests who assist with these duties, and also with administrative work, such as treasurer or secretary. Sometimes in smaller shrines, these are left to a certain group of trusted laypeople to work as volunteers.  After that, there’s the miko (me!). In olden days, these were women who ranked higher than the priest and could channel the gods and either be possessed (kamigakari) by, or be the mediator between god and man and deliver oracles.

I do those things now; but many miko do not. The role of a miko in modern times is simply to help clean up the inside/outside of the shrine, help serve naorai lunch and tea (lunch made from offerings), perform Kagura/Kibimai/Miko Mai sacred shrine dance offering (what I do), or sometimes even play the instruments in dance like koto or flute. (what my friends do). They also watch over omamori and ofuda that are for sale, or assist with events. 

Also, as a side note, one thing Western writers write that bothers me: Virginial miko. Mikos are NOT required to be virgins, and never have. Ame-no-Uzume is the patron deity of all miko, as her dance is the origin of Kagura among other things. Ame-no-Uzume is also the goddess of revelry and sensuality, including sex. Sex is seen as a divine act and also enables one’s spiritual senses to heighten. A miko that has to be a virgin doesn’t make sense. In the end, it doesn’t matter! Mikos were virgins, some weren’t. In fact some are even married with children. (There’s no age limit either) What matters is their heart is devoted to the kami of their shrine, and has sincere intentions to caretake for that kami.  How many kami are there? What exactly is a kami? Why are there shrines to kami?  There is an infinite number of kami, for every little thing in the world, even man-made things. Even including yourself and your body, you are a part of kami.  Some kami are more powerful in nature (have more energy) than other kami, simply because they are more ancient, a spirit of a powerful physical thing (like Amaterasu and the sun) or they receive a lot of devotion and prayer (and thus, strength and support).

A kami is not necessarily a god/deity, though commonly kami = god/deity. However, kami also can mean the spirit of a thing, or the energy surrounding a place, like the kami of a tree, is a spirit of a tree, and the kami of the sun, is the goddess of the sun Amaterasu. Kami is a complex word, but in essence the best way to understand it is the context in which it’s referred to.  “The kami of the tree seems happy” - the spirit of the tree is happy “The kami of the sun is shining brightly” - the goddess of the sun is shining brightly “Kami are everywhere” - the gods/spirits are everywhere

Now, there’s titles to add onto the word “kami” - O-Kami, means “Great God” usually reserved for only powerful gods like Amaterasu-Omikami (greatest goddess) or Sarutahiko-no-Okami (Great god Sarutahiko). There’s also Kami-sama, which can either refer to a general deity, or, in my case, to Tenchi Kane no Kami, the deity that is the spirit of the universe itself. Thus, this Kami encompasses all the other kami as part of it. So it’s Kami-sama! We have shrines for kami not because they really “enshrine” in the sense the kami is cooped up in their shrine and cannot leave lol. But they act as “power spots”. In the sense the kami’s essence is felt very powerful at shrines. And/or, the kami’s spirit can travel or be split to reside in the area of these shrines. Essentially, shrines are like wi-fi hotspots, the place where you’ll feel the most connection to the kami enshrined there. Home shrines/altars work the same way. The kami’s presence will be there. Usually this is done through the power of ofuda (tablets which contain the kami’s essence or have the kami’s name which draws them towards it)

(torii - that big red gate, acts as a symbol to a more spiritual area) Do ofuda/omamori or other shrine paraphernalia really “expire”? This is a bit controversial, so bear with me, and it’s a little secret information from a miko. They do not lose their power with time. However, they are good to keep buying to support the shrine.  The reason however shrines say to burn and renew them each year is not for only donations. Over time, the power does not lessen, but grows more powerful. If the owner is a layperson than does not know how to purify or bless, this ofuda/omamori can absorb other energies, and often can become a Tsukumogami (a youkai/spirit of an object) and loses the essence of the kami you want to worship. Therefore, you should only keep using an old ofuda/omamori if you yearly purify/bless it with the essence of it’s original kami. (I will explain in another post) If not, please just buy new ones! ;w;

How do I begin practicing Shinto or worshipping a kami? What do I need to do? Any special ritual? Do I need to go to a shrine? Alll you need to do is feel connected to a kami, and you practice Shinto. There is no special ritual like Baptism or Buddhist vows,  (well, there’s a variation, but its absolutely not a requirement). And you do not even need to a visit a shrine in your life to be Shinto. All you need to do really is go outside and appreciate the beauty of nature. Not even that, just appreciate all you have in your home and all of your blessings. Focus on the good and positive, realize the nature of the universe, and that is practicing Shinto.  If you want to get more into it, please build or set up an altar (there are home shrines called Kamidana you can buy, but they are not necessary) And use an ofuda to attract the essence of the kami. Or even just a paper with their name, or their image. At the altar, you can leave offerings or not, but common offerings are rice, salt, water, and sake. You can leave whatever you like though, as long as you offer it with sincerity (I will go more into it on a future post)

Shrines are scarce outside of Japan, but there are a surprising number. The famous one in America is Tsubaki Jinja in Washington. Let me list a few

Tsubaki Jinja, in Granite Falls, Washington

Ki-no-Mori Jinja, in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

Shrine to Amaterasu-Omikami on Shambhala mountain center in remote Northen Colorado

Small Inari shrine in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York (the National Shinto association is in New York as well)

There are also a handful of shrines in Hawaii! Taken from wiki ”

Daijingu Temple of Hawaii

Hawaii Ishizuchi Jinja

Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha - Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu 

Hilo Daijingu

Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii

Māʻalaea Ebisu Jinsha

Maui Jinsha Mission”

There are also many Konko shrines/churches (the branch I belong) all across North America, you will find a complete list here (Spans from East to West coast, across US, Canada, Hawaii, Brazil, and Korea) www.konkofaith.org* *Note of respect: While Konkokyo has origins in and worship style of Shinto, which may be good for you in terms of spirit and comfort, it is also it’s own religion. If you visit a Konko building, please be respectful and do not assert it’s a Shinto shrine! Please have an open heart and mind :)  If you live in Europe, there’s a hokora (shrine foundation/worship hall) in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam. Konkokyo also has yearly London gatherings/services.

Hello!!! First off you should check out my resource tag, it’s got some decent stuff in it.

A while back I went online to gather the best—IMHO—free resources I could about tarot for use by them as wants to learn.  Below are the fruits of my labor. 

Quick Methods of Learning Tarot

Learn Tarot in 7 Easy Steps (PDF)

Learn the Tarot in Two Hours - Part One and Part Two, by Ben Lucas (YouTube)

The Symbolist: A Simplified Guide to Tarot Symbols and Terms, by Corrine Kenner

A quick and dirty chart to tarot cards and their common meanings

Minor Arcana Quick Reference Chart - thetarot.co.uk

Learning Tarot

What Every Newbie Tarot Reader Should Know by Mary K. Greer

Easy Tarot Lessons with Dusty White (YouTube) - Part One 

How to Read Tarot by Bonnie Cehovet - PDF from AclecticTarot.com

Tarot for Beginners, or Now That I Have a Deck, What Do I Do With It?  by Olympias (TarotByOlympias.com) - PDF from her website

Learning the tarot (PDF - 19 lessons) by Joan Bunning.  The complete course is also online for free here.

Tarot Worksheets for Download and Study (PDFs)

Trainee Tarot Course by The Four Queens (Youtube)

Tarot Oracle’s Complete Tarot Course by the Tarot Oracle.  Part One is here,  and there are 15 hours in total (YouTube)

the Aeclectic Tarot Forum’s Cards masterthread (multiple links to articles on all 78 cards)

The Socratic Method of Tarot Reading by Jeanne Fiorini (YouTube)

How to Shuffle Tarot Cards by Kate Madison (YouTube)

Learning Tarot - Reversals

The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K. Greer, via MyTeaCup.com (PDF)

Reversals, and What to Do if All of the Cards Are Reversed, by Christiana Gaudet (YouTube)

Learning Tarot - Court Cards

Why You Can’t Read the Court Cards, by Marcus Katz. Unpublished material from Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It by Marcus Katz.  PDF.

Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K. Greer and Tom Little, via ChinaTarot.com (PDF)

Court Cards at a Glance - Site and Printable Chart via TarotCourtCards.com

Learning Tarot - the Thoth Deck

Tarot: Mirror of the Soul.  A Handbook for the Aleister Crowley Tarot by Gerd Ziegler (PDF)

TarotTown: Thoth for Beginners - a Worksheet that breaks down a few of the complicated aspects of the Thoth tarot deck. (PDF)

Doing Readings

the Aeclectic Tarot Forum’s All About Reading masterthread (formulating questions, reading techniques, and more) 

Gaining Confidence in Your Tarot Readings by Teresa Michelsen/TarotMoon Press

How to Read For Others - the Tarot Sybarite

Overcoming Reader’s Block from TarotMoon Press

When the Cards Just Make No Damn Sense - the Tarot Sybarite

To Rephrase or Not to Rephrase from TarotMoon Press

Working With Vague of Complex Questions from TarotMoon Press

Interpreting Large Readings from TarotMoon Press

Asking Questions (For Those Seeking Readings)

How to Phrase Tarot Questions - The Free Reading Network

How to Phrase a Question for a Tarot Reading - PlanetWaves.net

Seven Ways to Ask a Good Question in a Tarot Reading  - TarotCanHelp.com

Effective Tarot Questions - The Tarot Reader Blog

What NOT to Ask the Tarot- BiddyTarot

The 37 Best Tarot Questions - Alec Satin

Public Domain Tarot Books (PDFs) via EsotericOnline.net:

Pictorial Key to the Tarot, by A. E. Waite

A French Method of Cartomancy, by A. E. Waite

An Introduction to the Study of the Tarot, by Paul Foster Case

Oracle of the Tarot, by Paul Foster Case.  Keyed to the Knapp-Hall Tarot

The Wisdom of Tarot by Elizabeth Haich

What is the Tarot? by Ouspenpsky

Book T, by MacGregor Mathers  Intro the the Golden Dawn system of tarot interpretation.  Very dense reading, not keyed to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, and not for beginners

Tarot of the Bohemians, by Papus.  References the Tarot de Marseilles and the Oswald-Wirth Tarot.

A History of the Tarot, by Dame Gabby

The Continental Tarots by Christine Payne-Towler

A Self-Guided Tour of the Tarot by Cameo Victor

The Continental Tarot, by Christine Payne-Towler

The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang

Sex Magic, Tantra, and Tarot: The Way of the Secret Lover by Hyatt and DuQuette

Printable Tarot Decks (Public Domain Art)

Rider-Waite-Smith Deck (High-Resolution Images) viafantasycards,wordpress.com

Color-Your-Own Rider-Waite-Smith Deck via tarotinstitute.com.  Coloring your own deck is a simple and effective way to fix the image in your mind and internalize its many meanings.

Color-Your-Own Marseilles Deck via tarot-cards-reading.net

The Tarot de Marseilles is one of the oldest known tarot decks, and is the basis for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Click here to download a full-color Marseille Tarot Deck

VintagePrintable has a tarot deck from Venice circa the 1500s for print.

You can also print the Bodet cards from 1739 by clicking here.

DarkTarot.com has another printable traditional deck available for personal use. Please note the copyright.

Once you’ve decided which deck(s) you want to print, save the printable tarot cards to your computer. Avoid printing directly from the browser as you might end up with some weird and unwanted results (trust me on this).

Print out the tarot cards on your chosen paper. Make sure that you print them in the standard tarot deck size. If you’re not sure that the size is right, do a test print of one card so you don’t destroy the entire paper. If you printed the images on regular paper and want a good backing, then you need to use spray adhesive to glue the paper to the actual cards.

Carefully trim the edges of the cards - some people like rounded edges, so make sure you have enough place for the borders. 

Once the cards are printed, let them dry and then seal them with a varnish spray. After that, run them through a laminator. These days laminators are pretty affordable, and if you find yourself creating lots of tarot decks, you might want to invest in one.  You can also take the files to office supply stores (such as Office Depot in the USA) for printing and laminating.

Tarot Spreads:

Creating Tarot Spreads (PDF)

Divination Spreads (PDF)

Three Card Spreads (PDF)

Three Card Yes-Or-No Spread (PDF)

Popular Spreads with Interpretive Charts from MyTeaCup.com (PDF)

KMilliron’s Free Tarot Spreads eBook (PDF) - a poster over at AclecticTarot’s forums collected all of his spreads into a PDF for sharing via MediaFire

41 Quick Tarot Spreads For Reading Any Situation - JeanneMayell.com

Original Tarot Spreads - TarotMoon Press 

AeclecticTarot Forums’ Tarot Spread Index

gardenofthequeen’s tarot spread tag

hellboundwitch’s tarot spread tag

TarotSybarites tarot spread tag

Tarot Journaling

http://austinpagan.com/ebooks/Tarot%20Exercises.pdf

Creating Your Own Tarot and Oracle Card Journal by owlmoon (YouTube)

Tarot & Astrology

Tarot and Astrology by Hajo Banzhaf. 

Simple Astrology Spread (PDF)

Tarot & Numerology

Secrets of Tarot Numerology by Gary Meister: Lesson One, Lesson Two, Lesson Three, Lesson Four, Lesson Five, Lesson Six, Lesson Seven, Lesson Eight, Lesson Nine, Lesson Ten, Lesson Eleven, Lesson Twelve

Issues in Tarot

Ethics When Reading For Others by Dixie Vogel (YouTube)

Ethical Tarot Reading by BiddyTarot

Setting Boundaries and Developing a Code of Ethics from TarotMoon Press

What A Tarot Reading CANNOT Do For You by Mita Bhan

Third Party Readings by BiddyTarot

Why I Don’t Do Tarot Readings For Third Parties by tarotcanhelp.com

Your Tarot Reading Made the Client Mad!  What Now?! by Dixie Vogel (YouTube)

The Peril of Practice - Unhappy Clients from TarotMoon Press

Are There Any Clients That You Would Refuse to Do A Tarot Reading For? via TarotWisdomReadings.com

Going “Pro”

Becoming a “Professional”: How To Know When You’re Ready to Charge For Your Tarot Readings by Biddy Tarot.  See also her article How Much Are Your Tarot Readings Worth?

Becoming A Professional Tarot Reader - What You Need to Know by DailyTarotGirl

Suggestions for Becoming a Professional Tarot Reader by Mary K. Greer

Charging Fees for Readings by Madhavi Ghare

Why I Do Not—And Will Not—Do Free Readings by idanceitarotiart

Mary K. Greer: Tools for Recording Your Readings

Getting Experience: Join the Free Tarot Network where you perform free Tarot readings via email, with the support of a Tarot mentor.  See also biddytarot’s Seeking Feedback from Your Online Clients

The following is NOT free, and some of the information on the Internet is dated, but the bulk of information contained within is outstanding: Christine Jette’s book Professional Tarot.  Highly, highly recommended.

Organizations That Support/Promote Tarot

Tarosophy Tarot Association - “We teach methods of Tarot to divine your life, and make your way better through it – understanding more along the way.”  This organization runs TaroCon US, TarotCon Australia, and TarotCon UK.

American Tarot Association - “The American Tarot Association is a professional and social organization for Tarot enthusiasts, students, scholars, and readers. We promote the study and appreciation of Tarot by supporting a variety of educational programs.”

Tarot Association of the British Isles - “TABI is a not-for-profit association run by unpaid volunteers with a passion for Tarot and the esoteric. We were formed in 2001 to provide support, information and resources for Tarot enthusiasts of all levels.”

Tarot Guild of Australia - “The TGA represents a community of Tarot enthusiasts, readers and teachers from across Australia and worldwide.”

Tarot Publishers

Tarot Media Company - “…our goal [is] promoting the work of Tarot authors, artists, and scholars to make their creations available to the Tarot public and to support them in their goal of right livelihood.”

US Games Systems - Publisher of classic and contemporary tarot decks, Rider-Waite, Crowley Thoth, divination and oracle decks

Lo Scarabeo - Born in 1987 in Torino, Italy, Lo Scarabeo is now a leading international company in the mind, body and spiritual health publishing, with a main focus in Tarot publishing. Lo Scarabeo is one of the most important Tarot publishers in the world.

The Game Crafter - “the world’s first web-to-print game publishing company and offers a print on demand game publishing service…The Game Crafter gives designers an easy-to-use system to make a board game, card game, or custom playing cards. TGC offers templates, instructions, videos, and proofing tools to help designers create a quality product”.

Shopping For Decks

TarotGarden

ShopTarot

If you’re browsing decks on AeclecticTarot, you can usually click a link on the deck’s page and be taken to a web site to order.  Those affiliate links usually help the site, too.

Tarot Card Games

Wikipedia’s article on tarot card games

Simplified Rules for The Game of Tarot, via Mary K. Greer’s blog.  For a copy of the rules of French tarot, see here. 

Rules for Games Played with Tarot Cards via Pagat.com.  There are literally hundreds of rules variations out there, here’s a handful of them.

Emperors, the fortunetelling betting game played with Tarot cards by copperbadge

Theoricus Poker by Frater B.T. - a fun way to learn correspondences from astrology, etc., with the different tarot cards.

Arcanus Major - A Tarot Roleplaying Game

Tarot History

Take a look at this graphic for some quick facts about tarot

Thomas L. MacDonald’s detailed, excellent series on the history of tarot cards.  MacDonald is an editor over at Games magazine.

For a shorter overview of the history, you can look at tarot author Mary K. Greer’s blog post What Every Newbie Tarot Reader Should Know About the History and Myths of Tarot and the TarotL History and Information Sheet.

History of Women’s Tarot - Tarot as a keystone of the Women’s Spirituality movement branches off in a different direction from the mainstream in the mid-1970’s.

Make sure you do some reading about Pamela Colman Smith. Smith is the artist who designed the artwork for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the world’s most popular tarot deck, and the one most people think of when they hear the word “tarot”) in 1909.  

Smith based her RWS deck design on the Tarot de Marseille.

Smith’s creation of individual scenes on the cards of the minor arcana was a huge leap forward in tarot deck design, and contributed mightily to the enduring popularity of the RWS deck.

You can see examples of her non-tarot artwork here and here.  Don’t forget her book Susan and the Mermaid!

One thing to keep in mind about Pamela Colman Smith is that she made a deliberate decision to reduce or eliminate the Christian imagery found in the early tarot decks.  For example….

The Hanged Man image comes from the medieval Italian practice of hanging traitors upside down (Fun Fact: at the end of WWII, Mussolini was hanged upside down to mark him as a traitor; and please be warned that link is GRAPHIC and TOTALLY NSFW).  That practice was inspired by the death of Judas Iscariot in the Bible, where Iscariot is described as falling “headlong” (Acts 1:18). In the earliest tarocchi decks, the Hanged Man is depicted with bags of money, or with coins falling out of his pocket, a reference to the infamous thirty pieces of silver Iscariot was paid for betraying Jesus Christ.

The World card can be seen in many churches and ancient Christian manuscripts, usually showing Christ ascending into heaven surrounded by symbols of the Four Evangelists.

Smith’s High Priestess replaced La Papessa (the Papess, a female ‘Pope’ figure) in the deck.  Lots of folks assumed that this image was inspired by the legend of Pope Joan, but evidence suggests that the image is a female allegorical figure for the Roman Catholic Church (which claims the title ‘The Bride of Christ’)

General Cartomancy

Origins of Playing Card Divination - Mary K. Greer’s Tarot Blog. An illustrated presentation of theories and research on the origin of playing cards.

The New World Witchery Guide to Cartomancy by Corey Hutcheson (PDF)

Secondhand Souls: Cartomancy - Guide to learning cartomancy. Includes a brief history, discusses cards, and gives spreads.

Playing Card Meanings - Serena’s Guide to Divination

Sarena’s Tarot: Using Regular Playing Cards - A guide to using regular playing cards for divination.

A Manual of Cartomancy, Fortune-Telling, and Occult Divination by Grand Orient, published 1909 (PDF) via the Wayback Machine

A French Method of Fortune-Telling by Cards, by A.E. Waite, published 1912, via Hermetics.org

Fortune-Telling By Cards by Prof. P.R.S. Foli, first published 1915 . PDF via labirintoermetico.com

Cartomancy: History and Legend of a Prophetic Artvia associazioneletarot.it (PDF) 

Arcana Arcanorum: The Playing-Card Oracle - A personal system of playing card divination is presented with card meanings and layouts.

Other

A Glossary of Tarot Symbols from TarotMoon Press

the Difference between Oracle and Tarot Cards by hellboundwitch

World Tarot Day

World LeNormand Day

Tarotpedia, the Online Encyclopedia of Tarot

Tarot Reflections Archives - Back Issues of the newsletter of the American Tarot Association

Tips For Reading at Psychic Fairs by Teresa Michelsen

Reading at Charity Events by the Tarot Sybarite

“Wait, so i’m not just an Aries?!”

No, you’re not. In fact none of us are just one anything. So let’s dial it back to day we were born. The stars and planets in the sky aligned to convey a story completely unique to you, and thus your natal chart was born!

   Our Sun sign

“Playboi, what’s a Sun Sign?”

Well, the Sun Sign is the sign everyone typically knows about themselves. It’s the sign you were born under that immediately correlates with your birthday. Meaning, “I was born in April so I’m a Taurus!” Your sun sign is the sign the Sun was in on the day of your birth. So what does the sun represent in astrology? Our vitality and ego, “who we are.” The thing about the Sun is we’re constantly growing into ourselves and our egos, constantly learning ourselves and strengths, so we’re constantly growing into our Suns. Many people write off astrology due to their inability to relate to their Sun signs when so much more goes into a person. Your Sun sign is less “who i am” and more so “who i’m becoming.” And sometimes we never fully become the poster child of our Sun signs because we grow at different rates and resonate with different things, not to mention the housing of the Sun plays a heavy role in how our “egos” will play out. Also aspects made to our Sun by other planets are most important as they shape our Sun’s characteristics, but that’s another post!

Our Moon Sign

“…okay, so I understand Sun Signs now, but what’s a moon sign?”

The moon sign in astrology is of immense importance. This is where we feel most comfortable and secure and our primal emotional reactions. As I mentioned previously, the sun is “who we’re becoming’’ while the moon can be defined as “who we always are.” Unlike the Sun who illuminates everything, the moon is a softer, dimmer light. It lights up the dark sky at night and it does the same for our personal dark sky emotionally. Simply put, the moon is our emotions. Emotions can be simply irrational and erratic, so we suppress them because throwing a hissy fit in public is not that endearing. My point being that our moons can sometimes be overlooked by others as well as our selves because the attributes of our moons are highly subconscious at times.The moon is how we were nourished, and in turn how we nourish others. It’s an extremely sentimental and personal part of our being.It’s what makes us feel safe as well as habitual patterns we carry. A balanced moon is very important as an unbalanced one can take a toll on us physically. When the needs our moon requires aren’t met, we can start to display it’s negative attributes and fall into a bit of a depression, eat less, and never leave your bed. Or perhaps become more aggressive and angry depending on your moon sign. It’s also equally important to understand that others around us have different moon placements then us natally. Everyone requires different things to feel emotionally secure, sometimes we’re harder on others because their love languages differ from our own.

   Our Mercury Sign

“What does Mercury have to do with anything?”

Well, everything. Mercury rules over the mind, how we think, how fast we think, how we learn, our speech, and even our style of writing. He’s the fastest moving planet in the solar system so it’s fitting that he rules the nervous system. The poor guy gets glossed over a lot until he turns retrograde and everyone starts running around like chickens missing their heads because that’s when we notice most how strong Mercury’s influence is on our lives. Mercury is not an emotional planet but more so an intellectual one. It’s how we asses things and use logic before we act, if we use logic before we act.

Our Venus Sign

“I KNOW THIS ONE…LOVE RIGHT?”

You’ve guessed it, Venus rules over romance but a lot more as well. She’s our social graces, if we have any social graces at all. How we charm others as well as what we personally find pleasurable. Venus rules over our attitude towards money and material things. How much we spend and how often we treat ourselves. What we like to eat, what tastes good, what feels good. Venus is also our attractiveness, and what we’re attracted to. She gives us a clue to our love language on a more superficial level, what it takes to woo us. How we like to be seduced and pursued. Venus is diplomatic, she shows us how we make peace with others. Venus also rules over artistry and how appreciate the arts and even the possibility of having artistic gifts as well. Venus also highlights our sexual nature in terms of what we find pleasurable, what feels right, and what we find acceptable.

Our Mars Sign

“Mars is our…anger?”

He can be, yes. After all he is the God of War. Mars in astrology represents energy. Our physical energy and vitality, and especially our sexual energy. He’s all about action, what it physically takes us to do…well, anything. He’s our day to day strength and drive. He exemplifies how aggressive and assertive we are. Our ambitions, durability, temperament, action, and drive. Do we exercise? How sexual are we? Our sexual style? Our competitiveness? All can be answered by our mars sign. Mars showcases how quick we are to anger, what makes us tick/explode. He’s also the last of the personal planets.

Our Jupiter Sign

“……”

Jupiter is the first non personal planet as it stays in the same for an entire year. Everyone born within that year will have the same Jupiter sign. That doesn’t negate Jupiter’s importance in anyway, so don’t skim over him. It just means we have take a closer look at him in our natal chart by examining his house placement and aspects made towards him by other planets. Jupiter rules over good fortune, philosophy, travel, and higher level learning (different from mercury.) He is expansive and optimistic. He’s a grand catalyst to spiritual growth. He’s where we overindulge, our generosity, and wisdom.

Our Saturn Sign

“So what does Saturn do?”

Saturn is like our astrological father. He sets the rules and regulations, the routine. And like when we disobey our paternal father there’s consequences the same applies for Saturn. Saturn is not out to punish anyone, he just returns anything we put out into the universe. “What goes around comes around.” Sound familiar? Saturn rules over Karma. Saturn in our chart shows us where he grounds us, where we must be held responsible, where we must work hard. Our careers, the practicality of how we achieve success.

Our Uranus Sign

“and Uranus?”

Uranus is a much slower moving planet. His energy is very erratic, spontaneous, and rebellious. He’s extremely progressive and an advocate for originality. Uranus has to be looked at by house placement to determine its effects on us individually, as people from the same generation will share the same Uranus sign. Uranus in our charts will show us where we are unpredictable and rebellious. How and where we go against the grain. Our humanitarian side. How interested in activism we are, where we are liberated ourselves.

Our Neptune Sign

“that Sea God?”

Indeed. Neptune is the God of the Sea. In astrology Neptune rules over spirituality, all things hazy, confusion, love and romance on a deeper, ethereal level. He is illusions and our dreams. Intuition and psychic abilities. Neptune has dominion over deeper creativity and artistic abilities. He also shows us where we might try to escape reality and what we may try to use to escape reality with. He is addiction, substance abuse, and deception. Our fantasies. 

Our Pluto Sign

“isn’t Pluto like not even a planet anymore?”

Yes, technically Pluto is a planetoid, but we still refer to Pluto as a planet in astrology so he will be respected as such! Despite his small size and the grand amount of distance he is from us his effects are undeniable.Pluto in our charts shows us where we are transformed and regenerated. Where we must die to be born again. His energy is very subconscious, we don’t always see it, but we feel it.  He is obsession, and our hunger for power, where we struggle for power. He is how we react to sex on a deeper, subconscious level. Where and what we become drawn and attached to. His energy is very primal. He also highlights where we’re manipulative or jealous if we’re displaying the negative attributes of Pluto. 

Our Ascendant Sign

“our…what sign?”

Our Ascendant sign is crowned the ruler of our chart, and is of equal importance as our Sun and Moon signs. It’s specific to our birth time and location. The Ascendant is like the mask we put on to face the world. It’s our initial reaction to external forces. The lens we see life through on a day to day basis. Our ascendant is our physical bodies, how we look and how we act in public. It’s how people initially receive you, our first impressions, our mannerisms. Our outer personality. If people were to describe you they’d likely describe this sign.

So, as you can see a lot goes into a persons personality even more than what’s been mentioned above, humans are complex beings who can’t be described as just one sign, or one anything. We are more than our sun signs, we are more than signs period.

I Know The Way 

A sigil to help one come to know and follow their truth path in life, especially in areas in which one is unsure or feeling lost.

I Know The Way 

A sigil to help one come to know and follow their truth path in life, especially in areas in which one is unsure or feeling lost.

We tend to hear a lot in our witchy circles about keeping an altar devoted to your craft or your deities or “just because”, but with our focus on Self Love for February, I wanted to put a little spin on your average altar, and offer up some tips for creating and using one that’s devoted to loving yourself and your craft. While the majority of the tips below are geared towards a physical altar that takes up space, with some creativity you can easily take the concepts and apply them to a paper or shoebox altar, or even a digital one!

Creating Your Altar

First, set up and cleanse your space, dedicating it to be used as your altar. This isn’t to say that the space will always be used for this purpose, but it’s important to specify it so that its focus is entirely on what you want - to be better at loving and accepting yourself. This can be achieved by wiping the surface down with a household cleaner and cloth, placing an altar cloth or protective cover on the surface, setting up a boundary (visible or not) that separates it from other objects on the surface, etc. You can cleanse with incense or smoke, moon water, energy, anything!

Set down the object that will represent “you” in the center, at the back. This can be anything from a photo of you, a taglock, an object that you hold dear to yourself, a tarot card that you feel symbolises you, a personal sigil, a candle, et cetera. The item itself isn’t the important factor here. What matters is that you can identify yourself with that item, so that any energy directed through the altar will come to you.

Set down elements that represent your craft. You can get super creative here if you want! Do you have deities? Maybe put down little symbols for them! Are you a green witch? Dried herbs! A Sea witch? Shells or a vial of sea water! If you want to incorporate all four elements, you can totally do that. If you’re into shadow work, set down two candles: one for your outward face, and one for your Shadow. There are no hard and fast rules to this unless you implement them yourself.

Set down other aesthetic elements. A lot of guides towards decorating altars seem to imply that everything on an altar needs to have dedicated symbolic meanings. I don’t think that’s entirely fair. This is an altar dedicated to you so you should have things on it that you like. Are you a fan of jewellery? Put it on there! Crystals? Hell yeah! Tiny statues of corgis? Why not! A pretty space that you feel like is yours because it’s full of the things you like will help you maintain focus that the space is yours, as well as perhaps encourage you to use it more because it’s full of your favourite things!

Keep an area clear for your working space in the center. To denote this area as separate from others, you can use a bowl or plate, draw a circle, or simply leave it bare. Altars are meant to be used, not just looked at, so you need to keep a space large enough that it’ll be practical for you to do workings, leave offerings, place candles, a tarot card or two, etc. As large as you feel is necessary, or is practical given the space you’re working with.

Using Your Altar

Altars are, fundamentally, fancy working spaces, so in order for you to reap the benefits of it, you need to actually use it! Here are some general tips for using your altar to direct yourself towards self-love:

Leave offerings to yourself. Think of it like “food for the soul”. It doesn’t necessarily have to be food - it can be anything really - but the whole point is to feed your energy things that you enjoy, or that you want to bring more of into your life.

Spend dedicated time before it. You can call this “Me Time” if you want. Light a tea candle or a birthday candle (something small that will burn out relatively quickly) if you can, and almost use it as a timer for your dedication. During this time, you can meditate, read a book, do something you’ve been putting off but you know will benefit you in the long run, work on your craft, do a tarot reading, anything! Dedicate this time to a specific purpose, that you are actively present for, and acknowledge that you are loving yourself by being present in your own dang life.

If it’s not working, change it up. Your altar isn’t something that needs to stay as it was the day you made it, collecting dust (Your altar should never collect dust! Take care of it as you would take care of yourself!). Not feeling the shells or all the candles? Take them off, replace them with something else. Decorate it for the seasons or the holidays. Invite deities or the fae to dine at it by leaving offerings (though, as always, be careful when working with other spirits in “your” space). It’s your space, the only person you need to impress is yourself.

Make sure to cleanse regularly. Just like you’d bathe everyday or every other day, so should your altar receive the love and attention it deserves. Wipe off the dust, refill dried up water vessels, replace burnt out candles with new ones, remove old food offerings, et cetera. Keeping a fresh, clean altar may perhaps help you feel fresher and cleaner as well, though if it’s becoming too much effort and you aren’t reaping the benefits, you should sit down and analyse what you can do to change it so you are.

Stay focused. While you don’t need to be thinking “I love myself” every moment of every day, when using your altar, keep in mind why it’s there, what purpose it’s serving, and what you want from the experience. Ultimately, by using your altar and spending this dedicated time to acknowledge the love you deserve, you should find yourself more attentive to your own physical and emotional needs, as well as how addressing them better can fit into your life.

If you have any questions about this post, feel free to send an ask here on @witchhavencommunity, or you can send me on over on my own blog, @auroraliferous.

Keep Casting,

BEKKATHYST WINTER 2018 GIVEAWAY

~This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Tumblr.~

Please read thoroughly before entering!

Hello lovely Tumblr folk! It’s that time again- I have a giveaway for you all. Last year ended great, so I thought we should start this year great! So I’m giving you the chance to win this large collection of items.

All these items came from my shop.

What you get:

$50 credit that can be applied to anything in my shop.

amethyst & calcite cluster 

labradorite palm stone

tumbled quartz 

fluorite bunny

rainbow moonstone necklace (handmade by me!) 

other tumbled stones

selenite wand

quartz wand 

obsidian sphere 

lapis lazuli sphere

labradorite heart 

selenite tower 

tiger’s eye cow carving 

giant druzy heart

amethyst hedgehog 

rainbow moonstone nuggets

chunks of labradorite 

This has a retail value of $215 in addition to the $50 shop credit!

Rules:

You must be 16 or older. (If under 18 you MUST have parent’s permission)

You don’t have to live in the US to join!

You must be following me, so you can get updates if anything about the giveaway changes.

Please check out my shop and if you’re interested, you can sign up for my email newsletter here. (Totally not necessary or required, it’s just an option!)

DO NOT tag this post as giveaway. That will risk the notes getting messed up, and this will be ruined for everyone.

Reblog this post to enter. Likes count, too. No giveaway or spam blogs. If you reblog on a side blog, let me know in the tags what the name of your blog is that you’re following me with.

Please don’t spam people with reblogs- limit 2 reblogs per day. Last time I had angry people messaging me because people were spamming it a bunch :s 

Each entry will be assigned a number and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The giveaway ends Wednesday, February 28th at 6 pm Pacific time.

The winner will be messaged and must respond with their full name and address within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath.

If you can, create a relaxing environment for yourself. Light a candle, shift position, stretch, get in some pajamas, set yourself up to relax.

Feel your energy pool with each exhale. Let it graze the surface of your skin. Let it accumulate.

Feel the ground beneath you. Where are you? Are you sitting with your legs crossed on a grassy hill? Are you stretched out in an armchair? Are you lying in bed? Are you on a train or in a car?

Wherever you are, beneath the floor is soil. There are roots clinging to the earth, there are plants finding peace and solace beneath the ground. Picture a plant you love sprouting in the very place you sit. Is it a flower? An herb? A tree?

Take another deep breath, keep going, feel the air in your lungs.

You are surrounded by the atmosphere. A whole bunch of gases are protecting you from anything spooky that might be out in space. You are safe here. You are safe.

Remember that wherever you are, you are on the Earth. You are a part of the world. Life thrives above, beneath, and all around you. You are alive.

You are here, wherever you are. You are not in any imminent danger. Maybe you’re not okay right now, maybe you don’t feel relaxed and safe, but you are alive. Despite everything, you exist, you are here with everybody else.

Everything will be okay.

Take a few more deep breaths.

Keep going until you feel a bit better. Go get a glass of cold water, if you can. Try to grab a snack if you’re hungry. Take a shower, even. Whatever you need to do to take care of yourself.

This spell will change your hair colour. Remember that these spells are only temporary; the more you do them, the longer they will last and the stronger they will be. Also, try to stick with a colour already close to your own; changing from black to blonde won’t work. Try brown to black, blonde to dirty blonde or light brown, brown to auburn, auburn to red, etc. You will need:

3 orange or red candles

a hand mirror or free-standing mirror

an altar or flat surface

On a Friday during the waxing moon (not necessary unless you hold value in the moon), go to a place where you can be alone for at least 15 minutes. Light your 3 candles and place them in a triangle on the altar or flat surface.

Visualize the colour of your hair fading and becoming white as it drains away. Next, visualize yourself holding the colour you desire in your hands. This may take time to get in your mind, so I recommend practising beforehand. Slowly lower your hands above the candles and focus on the flames (aim for the centre of the triangle and be careful not to burn yourself!)

Next, raise your hands above your head and imagine the colour you’re holding pouring from your hands into your hair. Visualize your hair changing into that colour. After this is done, say:

“Fire warm and fire red Charm the hair upon my head. Fire dance to fire shrine From (original colour) to (desired colour), this wish is mine. As I will, it now shall be By fire, water, wind and tree.”

(The final two lines can be changed to any binding you want – i.e. “As I will, so mote it be” or, “By the power of three times three.”)

Questions to ask your tarot deck! Will definitely be trying these.

What do I need to know/see/understand right now?

What do I need to focus on right now?

What message do my spirit guides/angels have for me?

How can I have more fun in life?

What’s the best way for me to make a positive difference in the world?

What will help me feel more at peace?

How can I express myself creatively this week?

What talent do I have that I need to use more?

What part of myself am I ignoring/denying right now?

What do I need more of in my life?

What do I need less of in my life?

How can I feel more connected to others?

Who in my life do I need to reach out to right now?

What is influencing me the most right now?

What spiritual lesson am I trying to master right now?

How can I be more powerful and effective in my life right now?

What is my biggest block at the moment?

What characteristics do I need to fully embrace?

What area of my life needs the most attention right now?

BEKKATHYST WINTER 2018 GIVEAWAY

~This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Tumblr.~

Please read thoroughly before entering!

Hello lovely Tumblr folk! It’s that time again- I have a giveaway for you all. Last year ended great, so I thought we should start this year great! So I’m giving you the chance to win this large collection of items.

All these items came from my shop.

What you get:

$50 credit that can be applied to anything in my shop.

amethyst & calcite cluster 

labradorite palm stone

tumbled quartz 

fluorite bunny

rainbow moonstone necklace (handmade by me!) 

other tumbled stones

selenite wand

quartz wand 

obsidian sphere 

lapis lazuli sphere

labradorite heart 

selenite tower 

tiger’s eye cow carving 

giant druzy heart

amethyst hedgehog 

rainbow moonstone nuggets

chunks of labradorite 

This has a retail value of $215 in addition to the $50 shop credit!

Rules:

You must be 16 or older. (If under 18 you MUST have parent’s permission)

You don’t have to live in the US to join!

You must be following me, so you can get updates if anything about the giveaway changes.

Please check out my shop and if you’re interested, you can sign up for my email newsletter here. (Totally not necessary or required, it’s just an option!)

DO NOT tag this post as giveaway. That will risk the notes getting messed up, and this will be ruined for everyone.

Reblog this post to enter. Likes count, too. No giveaway or spam blogs. If you reblog on a side blog, let me know in the tags what the name of your blog is that you’re following me with.

Please don’t spam people with reblogs- limit 2 reblogs per day. Last time I had angry people messaging me because people were spamming it a bunch :s 

Each entry will be assigned a number and the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.

The giveaway ends Wednesday, February 28th at 6 pm Pacific time.

The winner will be messaged and must respond with their full name and address within 24 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

As a Witch who relies heavily upon the convience of technology, it is nice to know that there are plenty ways I can incorporate technology into my Craft. For my own convience and the convience of other Techno Witches, I’ve made this masterpost that includes all the ways I use tech-magick in my Craft. Enjoy!

Pinecone Pub - This awesome site is a quick and easy spell-maker. You type in an intent, and this bad boy will list crystals and herbs that are for that intent. The best part? You can save your spells.

Liquid Divination - This is an awesome site. With a click of your mouse (or a drag of your finger if you’re on mobile) you can create amazing glittery, liquid patterns that are awesome for some on-the-go portable divination.

Batch Magick - This is awesome if you need to cast spells quickly, or without tools. The coding is super simple and you don’t need anything other than WordPad. Using just your keyboard you can input an altar set-up or an incantation or a sigil, and BAM. You just double-click that file and your spell is cast!

Cellphone Sigils - I am a lover of sigils. Although sometimes, coming up with sigils can be challenging. Using this method, you use your mobile keyboard to give you a basic idea, and wah-lah! You got yourself a sigil. And if you need to charge it? Just charge your phone.

WiFi Wards - At this point, you’ve already got WiFi, so you might as well use it to cast a ward around your house. It’s easy and simple, and it does wonders.

Shufflemancy - Easy divination. It’s as simple as having music on your phone (and who doesn’t?). You can use your own tracks, Pandora, Spotify, take your pick. Just pick and number, ask your question and skip through your songs that number of times. The song that pops up is your answer.

Apps - This is a list of all the awesome (and Free!) apps that you can download on your phone for all your Witchy needs! Track the Moon and Stars, have a handy Tarot deck, look up herbs and crystals, and have an on-the-go Grimoire (although, that is what Tumblr is totally for, right?)