WitchOfTheNorth

fun air based things!!

charging things with your breath

cleansing things with your breath

blowing on something to activate a spell

blowing a kiss to someone to give them a quick energy boost

blowing away bad energy like you blow out a candle

breathing to ground yourself

breathing to manipulate energy

breathing to boost your energy

meditation but focusing especially on breathing and air on your skin

whistling to summon winds and air spirits

whistling as any kind of summoning device

listening to the wind to “see” what’s around you spiritually. wind spirits know what’s up.

rituals with feathers!

music magic because vibrations/sound falls under the air element!

humming and using vibrations for grounding or rituals

singing/whistling/humming for any spells tbh

good overlaps with water:

gather energy from storms

(if you’re near the beach) incorporate sea breezes into your work

good overlaps with fire:

using incense and smoke

candle magic, emphasis on blowing out the candle for things

good overlaps with earth:

go on top of hills or mountains for rituals

scatter sand/dirt in the wind for rituals

I knew this week’s herb blog was going to be about an herb associated with Ostara. However I wasn’t sure which until I did a bit of cyber witchcraft. For some reason it was broom and not lilac or daffodils or even clover that called to me. So I pulled out my copy of Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs and looked it up. As I read the list of powers associated with broom. I noticed that wind spells were among them. So I guess this week the element of air has chosen the herb. Who am I to argue?

Before I continue any further with this blog I want to advise everyone reading that broom is poisonous. As such it should not be ingested under any circumstances.

Broom is ruled by the plant Mars and is a masculine herb. By my introduction I’m guessing that you have already guessed that it is associated with the element of air. Powers associated with broom are Protection, Purification, Divination and as stated earlier Wind Spells.

One of the folk names for this herb is Besom. Also both the Irish and Scottish varieties are associated with Ostara.

Some Magickal uses are as follows:

To keep evil out hang up in the home. Sprinkle an infusion of broom throughout to banish poltergeists.

Carry to increase psychic powers.

Throw broom into the air while you invoke the spirit of Air to raise the winds. To calm them you should burn brooms d bury the ashes.

As always I hope you have found this week’s blog beneficial. What are your favorite Ostara herbs? Share them in the comments. Have a great week Witches!!

Brightest Blessings,

The Violet Moon Witchery

Of course, there are multiple ways this could work. You could say the entire while focusing on the type of wind you want, or you could potentially only read to the point of the poem that coincides with the type of wind you wish to call.

There are also definitely other ways to use it that I haven't thought of yet.

how to cleanse:

shuffle - shuffle your cards for some time with cleansing intent.

sort the cards - put the cards back in the order of the major arcana from 0-21, wands, cups, swords, and then pentacles. let them stay like this for a short while, until you feel they’re cleansed, and then shuffle them again.

crystals - choose a crystal with your intent and place it on top of your deck, or create a crystal grid around it.

smoke cleansing - pass your deck through the smoke of burnt sage or rosemary, or through the smoke from insense.

sunlight/moonlight - natural light sources give healing energies to your deck. sunlight is more masculine, while moonlight is more feminine. keep this in mind when choosing a light source and what’s best for your deck.

meditation - meditate on the cards. this may be one card at a time or the whole deck at once.

yoga - do yoga with your deck, this will soothe and cleanse you both and create a stronger bond between you and your deck.

sound - use a song, a bell, or an instrument to wash vibrations over and through your deck to release energy.

salt - sprinkle salt gently over your deck or put your deck in an airtight bag and submerge it in a bowl of salt and let the salt absorb pent up energies.

sigils - write a cleansing sigil on a slip of paper and put it in the box or bag with your deck.

fresh air - set your deck on a windowsill by a cracked open window. allow the movement of fresh air to cleanse the pent up energy from your cards.

close contact - keep your deck beside or under your pillow as you sleep to both cleanse and build a close relationship with your deck.

when to cleanse:

brand new deck - if you bought or have been gifted a new or secondhand deck, the best way to sort out its energy is to cleanse it before the first use.

after each use - this is the best way to upkeep the health of your cards.

every day - a great way to take care of your cards, routine cleansing is a wonderful daily ritual for you and your deck.

when someone else touches it - energies can get muddled when someone other than the reader touches a deck.

after a complicated reading - your deck can run out of energy quickly when you ask it to do a complcated reading, and the best way to replenish these energies is to cleanse.

after not using it for a while - stagnant energies will build up in your deck if you go a while between uses. the best way to counteract this is a thorough cleansing.

with your life cycles - whether moon cycles, menstrual cycles, or sleep cycles, cleansing your deck when your energy is high can be a good idea.

⭐︎ Cleanse your deck after you buy it!! This is so so important, because you want to start working with a new clean energy.

⭐︎ There are thousands of ways to cleanse your deck. Cleansing can be something super simple, as just knocking on your deck 3 times or placing a crystal on top of the deck! Just do what feels right.

⭐︎ Interview your deck! After you buy new cards, talk to them, ask them questions and figure out the decks personality. There are a lot of fun spreads for this.

⭐︎ Sleep with your deck. Another good way to bond with your deck is sleeping with it near you. Just put it under your pillow or somewhere close to you over night!

⭐︎ You don’t have to read reversals. It’s up to you if you decide to turn the card back around. Again, do what feels right!

⭐︎ Reversals don’t always equal opposites. If you decide to read reversals, remember that it can have completely different meaning then just being opposite of the upright position.

⭐︎ Start simple. Start out with something simple like past/present/future spread. It’s super easy and gives you clarity on any situation.

⭐︎ Spend time looking at the picture. When you pull a card, really spend time observing at all the different colors and symbols before you look up the meaning. 

⭐︎ Jumping cards usually have something important to tell you. If you’re shuffling your deck and a card jumps out, look up what it means and what message it has for you!

⭐︎ Pull a daily card each morning. This is super fun and easy. You definitely don’t need to do this everyday, but it’s a good way to memorize the cards and their meanings.

and finally, practice, practice and practice! It’s going to take a while until you remember all the meanings, but just have fun and enjoy the process!🦋

Tarot Tips - Confidence

Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be right all the time. Sometimes a reading just doesn’t resonate, and that’s okay! It’s also okay to acknowledge this and try again. When reading for someone else, and they don’t resonate with the cards, if you casually brush it off, they likely will too! 

Memorize the cards as best as you can. This is obviously going to take a lot of practice. But recognizing the cards right off the bat will make your reading go smoother and help you feel more confident.

Learn to read body language. Chances are, you’re probably already pretty good at this! Receiving positive body language when reading for others will help reassure you. And knowing when a reading doesn’t feel right for others will help you switch gears.

Ask the right kinds of questions.

Start small. Don’t jump in with a 12 card reading about your life’s destiny. Start with 1-3 cards about how your day or week is going to go. This applies when reading for others too! Answer their questions with a 3 card spread instead of 8. It’ll help you not get lost in the details. 

Read for close friends. Sometimes you know too much about yourself, and that can be confusing. And reading for people you trust can remove some of the stress if you’re new to reading for others.

On that note, read for people that don’t know enough to correct you. If you read for people unfamiliar with tarot, and you get something wrong, they won’t know! Even if you don’t get anything wrong, knowing that you won’t be “exposed” will take away some of the anxiety. 

Learn to read without a spread. If you find pre-made tarot spreads restrictive or just don’t want to remember a spread for every occasion, learn to rely on your intuition instead and do away with them!

Don’t be afraid to provide a disclaimer. If you’re still a baby diviner, give a quick “btw I’m still practicing” to, again, relieve some of that pressure to be perfect. 

Get a reading from someone else! Seeing another diviner in practice can only ever be a learning experience. You also get a sense of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a reading that isn’t your own, and hopefully you’ll realize you’re much more focused on your own question than trying to spot your reader’s mistakes. (In case that’s something you were worried about.) 

how to cleanse:

shuffle - shuffle your cards for some time with cleansing intent.

sort the cards - put the cards back in the order of the major arcana from 0-21, wands, cups, swords, and then pentacles. let them stay like this for a short while, until you feel they’re cleansed, and then shuffle them again.

crystals - choose a crystal with your intent and place it on top of your deck, or create a crystal grid around it.

smoke cleansing - pass your deck through the smoke of burnt sage or rosemary, or through the smoke from insense.

sunlight/moonlight - natural light sources give healing energies to your deck. sunlight is more masculine, while moonlight is more feminine. keep this in mind when choosing a light source and what’s best for your deck.

meditation - meditate on the cards. this may be one card at a time or the whole deck at once.

yoga - do yoga with your deck, this will soothe and cleanse you both and create a stronger bond between you and your deck.

sound - use a song, a bell, or an instrument to wash vibrations over and through your deck to release energy.

salt - sprinkle salt gently over your deck or put your deck in an airtight bag and submerge it in a bowl of salt and let the salt absorb pent up energies.

sigils - write a cleansing sigil on a slip of paper and put it in the box or bag with your deck.

fresh air - set your deck on a windowsill by a cracked open window. allow the movement of fresh air to cleanse the pent up energy from your cards.

close contact - keep your deck beside or under your pillow as you sleep to both cleanse and build a close relationship with your deck.

when to cleanse:

brand new deck - if you bought or have been gifted a new or secondhand deck, the best way to sort out its energy is to cleanse it before the first use.

after each use - this is the best way to upkeep the health of your cards.

every day - a great way to take care of your cards, routine cleansing is a wonderful daily ritual for you and your deck.

when someone else touches it - energies can get muddled when someone other than the reader touches a deck.

after a complicated reading - your deck can run out of energy quickly when you ask it to do a complcated reading, and the best way to replenish these energies is to cleanse.

after not using it for a while - stagnant energies will build up in your deck if you go a while between uses. the best way to counteract this is a thorough cleansing.

with your life cycles - whether moon cycles, menstrual cycles, or sleep cycles, cleansing your deck when your energy is high can be a good idea.