Witch who does not know how to witch

Cleansing is the practice of cleaning the negative energy out of yourself, your posessions or surroundings.

✨Methods of cleansing✨

• Smoke. Pass the item you're cleansing through smoke, whether it be smoke from incense, a candle or a fire.

• Water. First make sure the item you're cleansing is water proof, or at least water resistant, there are a few crystals that are damaged by water, so beware! Sprinkle water on the object you're cleansing, especially if it's moon water or full moon water.

• Salt. Put the object your cleansing in salt, or put salt on the object. Salt will soak up all the negative energy in the item. Beware, there are some crystals damaged by salt.

• Sunlight and Moonlight. Put your item outside or near a window. Let the item bathe in the light for a few hours. Beware of bleaching! You can also sprikle salt in your doorway on the first friday of every month (or whenever) to protect and cleanse your home.

• Crystals. Use corresponding crystals to cleanse your object. Put them around/on your object. If you're cleansing your own energy, keep the crystals in your hands or carry them with you.

✨How to cleanse✨

• Pick the thing you want to cleanse (be it your home, your crystals, your witchcraft materials, your jewellery, etc)

• Pick a method of cleansing (use your intuition)

• Feel your energy and listen to your feelings when cleansing, try to stay calm. You can close your eyes and breathe deep.

• Try to transfer your positive energy into the object. Imagine your positivity flowing into it.

And you're done!

✨Cleansing crystals:✨

Crystals that have cleansing properties include:

• Selenite

• Clear Quartz

• Citrine

• Black Tourmaline

• Black Onyx

• Fluorite

• Selenite

• Apatite

In witchcraft, certain colors have correspondences that you’ll notice throughout your craft. It’s important to remember these for things such as Candle Magick and reading auras. 

Red: love, passion, sexuality, initiation, aggression, strength, control, health, and vitality. 

Planets: Sun, Mars

Orange: luck, kindness, celebration, abundance, optimism, and comfort

Planets: Mars, Mercury, Uranus

Yellow: positivity, courage, vitality, progress, communication, mental clarity, and focus

Planets: Sun, Mercury, Uranus

Green: finance, luck, charity, health, prosperity, vitality, nature, fertility, and balance. 

Planets: Earth, Jupiter, Venus

Turquoise: change, travel, intellect, invention, creativity, and humanity 

Planets: Mercury, Venus, Neptune

Blue: understanding, patience, honor, fidelity, health, healing, wisdom, justice, and tranquility 

Planets: Moon, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto 

Purple: wisdom, psychic ability and power, divination, inspiration, spirituality, empowerment and enchantment. 

Planets: Moon, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Pluto 

Pink: love, healing, family, friendship, selflessness, and socializing

Planets: Venus

White: purification, truth, inspiration, clarity, spiritual strength, and enlightenment

Planet: Moon

Black: protection, honor and respect, deep meditation, banishment, and unlocking

Planet: Saturn, Pluto

Grey: neutralization and stasis

Planet: Earth, Pluto 

Silver: femininity, emotional stability, intuition, dreams, and psychic ability

Planet: Moon, Neptune 

Gold: masculinity, luxury, power, success, confidence, and creativity

Planets: Sun, Mercury, Uranus

Bronze: positivity, friendship, and unity 

Planets: Mercury, Mars, Uranus 

Brown: grounding, concentration, searching, and protection

🌷🌿 Spring Witchcraft 🌿🌷

a list of things to do through the spring months, as a witch 🌷

🌿 studying flower and herb correspondences for spellwork

🌿 going outside and letting the wind and sun hit you to recharge

🌿 putting your bare feet in grass or soil and imagining being rooted to the earth to help with grounding

🌿 planting wildflowers around your house to save those bees baby

🌿 working with fae and other nature spirits and guardians

🌿 starting an herb or vegetable garden

🌿 spring cleaning to get rid of any old energy and welcome new, clean energy

🌿 opening your windows and letting spring breeze into your home to invigorate you

🌿 harvesting flowers to use for spells (ask nature spirits for permission first and maybe leave a lil somethin in its place as an offering)

🌿 making sunwater/flower teas

🌿 making wishes on dandelions

Circle: The sun and moon, enlightenment, unity, wholeness, infinity, perfection, ideals, protection, containment, gods/deities, rebirth and completion, and the element of spirit 

Triangle: The triangle is heavily associated with the power of three, and ergo the following concepts/rules:

Birth, life, death

Past, present, future

3 stars on Orion’s belt

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Beginning, middle, end

Sunrise, noon, sunset

Body, mind, heart

It is also associated with summoning symbols. Orientation matters just as much as the actual shape when it comes to triangles, as a point-down triangle symbolizes femininity, air, fire, goddesses, and the decent into the physical world. Meanwhile a pointed-up triangle represents stability, foundation, earth and water, energy flows, ascents into the after life, and masculine elements. 

Square: associated with the number 4, it is a nod to the main compass directions, the physical elements, seasons, solidity, static perfection and dependability, and the material world in general. In many other cultures the square also generally means order, safeness, and a square in most cultures is a meeting place or plaza at the heart of a city (ie town square, etc.)

Spiral: relating to circles, it is one of the oldest geometric shapes and associates with the achievement of the altered states of consciousness

Infinity: the infinity symbol represents reincarnation, lessons/knowledge, the maternial plane, the karmic circle a calling to wake up and rise, and derives from Uraeus, which is a magical cobra found commonly in ancient Egypt records and means either “the coiled one” or mehet, or “the risen one” or iaret, but both times the snake is depicted in this position. 

“What very few people discover (or remember) is that the symbolism of the Infinity comes from the great Uraeus, symbols of the Goddess Wadjet… What this symbolic act represents, is that one will never have true power until s/he realizes the divine power within.” -  5 Surprising Secrets of the Infinity Symbol ∞ by Mind Journal

Stars(5 pointed): also called a pentagram, the five pointed star represents the five human elements (air, earth, fire, water, spirit) and it is a symbol of protection and warding in many cultures, including wicca, which witchcraft takes the heaviest influence from. While many see the pentagram as satanic, what they tend to forget is that a five pointed star is a type of pentagram, but the lines in the center of the pentagram tend to be left in. Similar in design is a pentacle, which in merely a pentagram with a circle added around it, but in general they are all similar in design concept. 

https://www.learnreligions.com/geometric-shapes-4086370#step-heading?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons_nip

This is a spell I created for those who wake up early in the morning and want to cast a positive energy over their day! I work in the morning and always light a candle when I do so, so I started saying this spell and it really improved my morning hours. I hope this can be helpful to you!

You will need:

A candle of your choice 

Matches 

Good intentions!

Steps:

 Charge the candle by holding it into your hands and focusing your positive intentions for the day. You can imagine success during the day, a feeling of peace or comfort, etc. When you feel you’ve thought of all you could, get your match.

You can use your match as a ‘petition paper’ substitute for those who do not want to burn paper or for people who live in a dorm room (like me!). Using a pen or marker to write a word on a match that summarizes the energy you want to bring into your day today. I usually write ‘happiness’ or ‘love’. 

Strike your match and light your candle, visualizing your intent. Say the following spell aloud as you light the candle:

I bless this day ahead  With this fiery candlelight With this flame, my intentions living With this match, they ignite From the moment I wake To the second I sleep May happiness be mine to keep 

The Home/Family Herbalist

Going through my asks tonight, and there are several of them on herbalism. Thought I might attempt a master post, possibly a few of them, as this is always such a hot topic for witches it seems.

:: What's the Goal? ::

The first question really is, what are you hoping to do with it? Do you want to just incorporate herbs into your life, into your family's health practices? Or are you looking to work with other people? Knowing the answer to this can help direct the kind of studies and learning you want to do.

Also, witchcraft IS NOT herbalism. Sure, a lot of witches are interested in herbalism. But there's no requirement of a witch to have a knowledge of herbalism. Likewise, not all herbalists are witches or otherwise pagan. There are, sadly, a lot of herbalism information out there which is no better than snake oil. For myself, my herbalism is grounded in science. That's not to say I ignore the traditional uses of herbs. Knowing how different cultures use a plant can give a lot of insight into what it's useful for! The reason the information survives is because people see results. So, while I do believe in some energy work, and think that sort of thing is important. And mind-body-spirit is an important part of the holistic approach that I use... my witchcraft is separate from my work as a herbalist.

DISCLAIMERS:

A) I am not your herbalist. This series is general herbal advice and things I've learned along the way and is not meant to be any sort of medical advice!

B) Herbs CAN be dangerous. Even seemingly innocuous ones. Do your research.

:: The Home and Family Herbalist ::

If you are only intending to treat yourself and your family it's a fair bit simpler. Although that *can* depend on how medically complex you all are! If your family is taking a lot of medications then you're going to want a deeper understanding than the suggestions below are going to give you.

Generally, for someone looking to only practice on themselves and family, without complex medical issues, you can do a lot with "book learning" and premade formulas.

For a "typical" situation with your average health stuff I'd highly suggest Rosemary Gladstar's books.

Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide - this is where I started. It's got a lot of common herbs in it, a ton of formulas for general ailments and health boosts

Herbs For ... : She also has a whole series of small books that start with "Herbs for" and include "Stress and Anxiety" "Natural Beauty" etc. So if there's something more specific you'd like to do then getting this book can be useful.

She's popular for a reason. People wanting a deeper and more complex look into herbal medicine might not feel too satisfied. But if you want a good introduction, this is a great start.

Other book suggestions:

Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Nickerson

The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide by Thomas Easley

Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal by Rosalee De La Foret

So, what sort of stuff will you be making?

Fire Cider is my go to. I think everyone should make fire cider.

Teas of all kinds are great.

Cough syrups and various salves are fantastic to know how to make.

Tinctures and oil infusions, also splendid. Although you're getting a little deeper here as some herbs extract better in different alcohol contents, some don't do well in alcohol at all. Some are better dried, some fresh, etc. And there's a lot of science into optimizing the extraction of the constituents from a plant.

There's So MANY PLANTS, where do I start??

I was overwhelmed at first, so I sat down with Rosemary Gladstar's "Herbs for" book series and went through putting a little sticky note on every condition that was common in my household.

Then I went through the list and wrote up a list of herbs that were in the formulas for those things. That gave me a decent place to start.

...You're not going to be very focused on your intent or present if the entire time you're just thinking about how much it physically hurts you to mix and knead the dough. Your not going to be very connected if the whole time you're dreading how sore you're going to be after cleaning up the kitchen. It's not very spiritual if you're ignoring your body's needs.

Anything and everything that involves witchcraft and alcohol. Please drink legally and responsibly! And please tag this appropriately for those who avoid alcohol.

Correspondences of…

Wine types in witchcraft

White wine

Red wine

Rosé Wine

Champagne

Beer brands and witchcraft

Booze correspondence table

Making…

Blackberry gin

Booze witchcraft (making gin)

Tonic wine recipes

Mulled wine

Yule buttered rum

Hot toddy

Moon vodka

Infuse your booze

Using in witchcraft…

Vodka luck spell

Lucky night shots

Simple spell for warmer weather

Hot toddy (for good health and cheer!)

Love spell cocktail

Simple love potion

Witchy whiskey

Use of alcohol in a ritual

Get that bartending job spell

Crystals

~ What are Crystals and what are they used for?

   Most crystals ( in this case including gems, rocks, precious stones, semi-precious stones, and simple stones) are of mineral origin. Crystals, like amethyst, come out of the ground naturally faceted and don’t need to be changed in anyway. Diamonds, for example, come out of the ground equally as rough, but are usually polished and cut into intricate styles.

 For many years, crystal have been used as a tool to aid spiritual healing, psychic development, and meditation.

~ How can I incorporate Crystals into my everyday life?

   You can carry around your crystals. This way you can feel your crystals energy when needed. Place them in a little sachet or pouch and they are ready to go!

    Infuse your water with your clean crystals. This is a fast way to feel your crystals energy.

    Decorate your magickal space and/or surroundings with crystals.

    Meditate with your crystals. Just spend a minimum of 30 seconds with each crystal. Hold it in your hands, close your eyes, and feel its energy soaking into your skin.

How Crystals Can Help You

Agate

  ~Banded: help you feel grounded, remain focused, and banishes fears.

  ~Blue Lace: helps you adjust and adapt.

  ~Moss: refreshes spirit, brings peace of mind, helps to develop intuition.

  ~Tree: aids meditation and clear thinking, reduces stress.

Amazonite ~ soothes the nervous system, increases self-esteem and confidence.

Amber ~ relieves depression and lifts your spirits.

Amethyst ~ the great healer of mind, body, and spirit. helps the development of psychic abilities and intuition.

Apache Tears ~ brings good fortune and positive energy.

Apatite ~ aids in motivation and communicative powers.

Aquamarine ~ helps you during hard decisions and times. promotes compassion and empathy.

Azurite ~ relinquishes harmful beliefs.

Bloodstone (aka Heliotrope) ~ calms fears, and dispels confusion and obsessive ideas.

Calcite ~ boosts energy and provides amazing psychic protection.

Carnelian (aka Sard) ~ banishes jealousy and inspires courage. aids perception.

Celestine ~ helps with communication and good thoughts.

Chalcedony ~ balances emotions and lifts your spirits.

Chrysocolla ~ eases stress and promotes self-confidence.

Citrine ~ helps steady emotions and give inspiration.

Coral ~ strengthens and protects emotions.

Desert Rose ~ promotes love and stability in relationships.

Diamond ~ assists in your connection with the universe.

Emerald ~ strong healer with both physical and mental problems.

Fluorite ~ helps with rationality and combats anxiety and worries.

Garnet ~ protects against melancholy and depression. encourages perseverance and patience.

Hematite ~ helps with psychic development and building self-esteem.

Jade ~ a very useful healing stone for both the body and spirit.

Jasper ~ aids with stress relief and grounding. promotes tranquility.

Jet ~ keeps evil spirits at bay and strengthens character.

Kunzite ~ helps align emotions. provides security.

Kyanite ~ helps to align and heal chakras.

Labradorite ~ aids with strong development of psychic powers.

Lapis Lazuli ~ helps develop your sixth sense. stimulates intuition. promotes creativity.

Lepidolite ~ great for relieving stress and dispelling negative emotions.

Malachite ~ used for healing when dealing with negative emotions.

Moonstone ~ restores harmony and emotion balance.

Obsidian ~ helps you to focus on the paranormal, used for protection and a scrying tool.

Onyx ~ instills a protective psychic shield. 

Opal ~ helps with rationalizing emotional states.

Pearl ~ aids self-respect, stability, and self-esteem.

Pyrite ~ opens the mind to new ideas.

Quartz ~ channels and aids in meditation. a powerful healing stone.

Rose Quartz ~ aids in anything love-related. instills comfort, relieves grief, and promotes harmonious relationships.

Rutilated Quartz ~ releases energy blockers.

Rhodonite ~ helps with assurance and confidence.

Ruby ~ purifies love, promotes spiritual knowledge and to be realistic about situations.

Sapphire ~ aids in mental clarity, clearing your inner eye, and bringing good fortune.

Smoky Quartz ~ filters out negative thoughts and emotions. helps with telepathy.

Sodalite ~ heals damaged emotions, and aids in restful sleep.

Tanzanite ~ helps you to accept change.

TIger’s Eye ~ a powerful aid in those seeking knowledge about past or future lives. promotes persistence and protection.

Topaz ~ allows you to transmit your visualizations as universal messages. an aid in telepathy.

Tourmaline ~ repels all negative energy and is a powerful stone for protection.

Turquoise ~ an aid in luck, love, money, and protection.

Unakite ~ heals the psyche, helps you realize your higher self.

Crystal Care Tips

  Some crystals shouldn’t be left in direct sunlight. These include: Amethyst, Ametrine, Aquamarine, Celestite, Citrine, Fluorite, Kunzite, Opal, Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz, Topaz, and Turquoise.

  Some crystals shouldn’t get wet. These include: Celestine, Desert Rose, Lapis Lazuli, Lepidolite, Malachite, Selenite, and Sodalite.

Click here to learn about Crystal Shapes.

source: Crystals by Cass & Janie Jackson

* If there is anything we missed or you’d like to add, just let us know! *

🕯RED: Binding, Courage, Strength, Lust, Magnetism, Competitiveness, Fertility, Health, Attraction, Protection Magick, Conflict, Dispelling Anger & Hate.

🕯PINK: Emotional Healing, Spiritual Healing, Love, Friendship, Compassion, Protection if Children, Affection.

🕯ORANGE: Luck, Strength, Power, Attracting Luck, Creativity, Success, Professional Growth, Justice, Energy, Happiness, Ambition.

🕯YELLOW: Clairvoyance, Communication, Action, Inspiration, Psychic Power, Memory, Divination, Confidence, Imagination, Wisdom, The Sun.

🕯GREEN: Mother Earth, Balance, Growth, Wealth, Money, Health, Dispelling Envy & Jealously, Dispelling Greed, Beauty, Abundance, Luck, Harmony, Fertility.

🕯BLUE: Communication, Inspiration, Harmony, Occult Wisdom, Forgiveness, Fidelity, Focus, Protection, Truth, Loyalty, Banishing Anger.

🕯PURPLE: 3rd Eye, Psychic Power, Spirituality, Confidence, Success, Divination, Contacting Spirits, Increase of Willpower & Inner Strength, Independence, Spiritual Guidance, Protection.

🕯WHITE: Peace, Truth, Purification, Protection, Spirituality, Positive Outcome, Happiness, Moon Magick, Cleansing, Balance.

WHITE CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF ALL COLORS DURING SPELLS AND RITUALS

🕯BLACK: Binding, Dispelling, Reversing of Spells Hexes and Curses, Destruction of Evil & Negative, Habit Breaking, Grounding & Protecting, Repelling Spells.

🕯BROWN: Friendship & Balance, Intuition, Concentration, Animal & Earth Magick, Healing, Locating lost objects, Blessing of a Home.

🕯INDIGO: Balance restoring, Spell Blocking, Creating Balance, Karma.

🕯GOLD: Divination, Luck, Money, Success, Wealth, Sun Worship

I see a lot of beginner pagans posting about this and I think there’s been a serious miscommunication of information from us more experienced pagans to the new generation. 

This is an organic process

Working with deities is more like making friends or finding a passion. You don’t just go embark on some kind of spiritual quest to determine which deity is yours. It’s not a personality quiz. It’s also not like unlocking some kind of secret engraved on your soul or anything like that. In my personal opinion, that’d be a little creepy and would take the choice out of things. 

How do I say hi?

Choose a deity that you feel drawn to or share interests/values with and invite them for a meal. Give some offerings based on the information you know about them. Talk to them. If you’re still struggling to rely on your intuition with proper discernment, pull out a divination method to talk to them and get to know them. If it goes well, continue to invite them over, invite them to participate in activities with you, etc. 

What if I’m not thrilled with the first deity I pick? 

If at any point you become uncomfortable with their presence or you’re just not vibing with that deity, let them know and move on. Deity work shouldn’t be scary or intimidating. If it is, then maybe there’s some unprocessed trauma from Christian culture. No relationships with deities should be fear based. 

Can I work with multiple deities? 

Forming relationships with multiple deities is normal, that’s why we call it polytheism. Our deities aren’t jealous or possessive like in monotheism. You can even work with deities that may not have gotten along great in the canon mythology too. We’ve been doing so for literally thousands of years, that system isn’t gonna break down now. It’s typical to have a few main deities that you work with the most just like a close circle of friends and then your other friends and coworkers. Throughout my life and my practice I usually bump shoulders with and talk to the entire Norse pantheon but I have my main deities; Hel, Odin, Skadi, Syn, and Eir. 

Are there any deities I should stay away from until I’m more experienced? 

Nope. In my experience, deities are here to form positive and mutually fulfilling relationships with mankind. I’m not quite sure where this rumor got started that you should stay away from any specific deities or that any deity will “fuck your shit up” or any of that nonsense. Tbh it reminds me of similar fearmongering around spiritwork. In magic, metaphysics, or in paganism if you hear people saying to “just don’t” with anything without providing information about how to do it safely, it’s probably a projection of that person’s own fears and insecurity. There may be specific deities that a specific practitioner doesn’t get along with, and that’s okay. But their experiences shouldn’t deter others from forming fulfilling relationships with those deities. 

a desire to learn

an oddly strong love for the moon, the sun, or both

an open mind

time

a little humility

salt, probably

THINGS YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A WITCH

a vagina

nor a uterus

fancy tools

money

formal training

a fancy witch name

a neurotypical brain

(These descriptions are compiled from Wikipedia.) Grimoire - A grimoire (also known as a “book of spells”) is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, deities and demons. Book of Shadows - A Book of Shadows is a book containing religious text and instructions for magical rituals found within the Neopagan religion of Wicca, and in many pagan practices. One famous Book of Shadows was created by the pioneering Wiccan Gerald Gardner sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and which he utilised first in his Bricket Wood coven and then in other covens which he founded in following decades. The Book of Shadows is also used by other Wiccan traditions, such as Alexandrianism and Mohsianism, and with the rise of books teaching people how to begin following Wicca in the 1970s onward, the idea of the Book of Shadows was then further propagated amongst solitary practitioners unconnected to earlier traditions. Book of Mirrors - Some Wiccans reserve the Book of Shadows for recording spells and keep a separate book, sometimes called the Book of Mirrors to contain thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Lunary - A lunary (from Latin lunarium), also called a selenodromion or moonbook, is a book of prognostication based on the position of the moon at any given time. It is an astrological genre with parallels as far back as Akkadian literature. From the 2nd century AD, it is common in the Greco-Roman world. There are examples in Greek, Latin, Coptic, Middle English and Old Nubian. Pagan, Jewish and Christian examples are known. The lunary was “by far the most popular and widely circulated prognostic genre” during the Middle Ages.

Herbarium - A Herbarium vivum (plural Herbaria viva) is a collection of plants and images, and their descriptions from a particular locality. The images were produced by a process doubtless suggested by engraving and lithography whereby an object coated with printer’s ink or other suitable substance, is pressed onto paper, leaving behind an impression.

Lapidary - A lapidary is a text, often a whole book, giving “information about the properties and virtues of precious and semi-precious stones”, that is to say a work on gemology. Lapidaries were very popular in the Middle Ages, when belief in the inherent power of gems for various purposes was widely held, and among the wealthy collecting jewels was often an obsession, as well as a popular way to store and transport capital. Bestiary - A bestiary (from bestiarum vocabulum) is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson. This reflected the belief that the world itself was the Word of God and that every living thing had its own special meaning. For example, the pelican, which was believed to tear open its breast to bring its young to life with its own blood, was a living representation of Jesus. Thus the bestiary is also a reference to the symbolic language of animals in Western Christian art and literature. Demonography - A demonography is a bestiary dealing with demons.

While I do use herbs medicinally, they should in no way be used to the exclusion or disregard of modern allopathic medicine. Integrative medicine is important!

Also, it’s not just which herbs are safe for the meds your in, but also which herbs are safe for you specific body. Not everyone should be drinking hibiscus tea, even if they aren’t on blood pressure meds, for example.

2. Pretty means I can keep it on a shelf and I can see it which means I lessen the chance of forgetting about it like a baby playing peekaboo because I have no object permanence.

Sincerely, someone with a history of lung-related problems who straight up just uses Febreeze or a fan to room cleanse.