Magical beginnings

air travel is a mess? shortage of air traffic controllers - for some mysterious reason

logistics a mess? shortage of truck drivers - for some mysterious reason

public transit can't meet demand? shortage of bus drivers - for some mysterious reason

We even mysteriously have shortages of doctors, nurses, teachers... FOR SOME MYSTERIOUS REASON

RECIPES I KEEP IN MY KITCHEN WITCH JOURNAL

My Original Content:

Soft Buttery Rolls

Healing Tea

Sweet Cream Buns

Baklava

Witchy Tomato Basil Soup

Birds Of Prey Inspired Spicy Avocado Breakfast Sandwich on Ciabatta Bread

Witchy Thumbprint Cookies

Magick Chocolate Chip Cookies

Imbolc Rosemary Jerk Baked Chicken

Witchy Pot Roast

Sweet Earl Grey Lavender Ice Cream with a Blackberry swirl

To heal a heartbreak cookies: Raspberry dark chocolate chunk cookies

PUERTO RICAN STYLE AVENA OATMEAL WITH A WITCHY TWIST

Other of my favorite recipes:

French Silk Pie

Rosemary, pepper, lavender skillet bread

Creamy summer vegetable soup

Salted Honey Pie 🍯

Love Thyself Brownies

Orange cake recipe

🌿Lavender Tea Infusion🌿

Fresh Apple Autumn Cake with Honey-Cinnamon Glaze

Pretzel buns

Foodie Friday: Acorn Bread!

Cold Season Soup–Vegetable Soup with White Beans, Cauliflower, and Quinoa

Moon Spell Cookies

Perfect lemon meringues

Chocolate muffins 🌙

Foodie Friday: Tiramisu!

100 year old gingerbread recipe

Strawberry juice 🍓

Witches’ Honey Bread

Warming Autumn Soup

Magickal snickerdoodles ☀️💘

Moon Cookies

- 🌿🍲🐌🍄✨

this soup.. is a cure all. break up? bad day? lazy day? rainy day? stormy day? repressed all your feelings for too long and now they’re coming to the surface far too rapidly to get a grasp on and this was all you could manage to pour yourself into as some form of healing spellwork.. day? try this soup! aha

originally when i made this i was slugging around the kitchen throwing sh*t in the pot but i think i retained enough to slap a recipe together so here goes!

[ potato soup ]

• 2 medium yukon golds (or 3 small)

• salt

• thyme

• pepper

• 1/4 sm onion

• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• butter

• flour

• 1 tbs sour cream

• handful of sharp cheddar

[ steps ]

cube up and boil your potatoes in some salted water, throw some thyme and pepper in the water too, do the toothpick/fork thing and when it’s time to strain save maybe a cup of the liquid for later, throw the potatoes back into the pot a sec to sautee up with your onion and garlic and some butter for a sec, just enough to infuse the flavour

chuck it into a food processor or blender to get it smooth with about 2 tbs of butter or substitute and however much of that reserved liquid it takes to get it just smooth enough to blend nice

now! get your butter and flour and make a little roux real quick, just adds a nice texture and flavour density to the soup but you could omit, from here stir in your potato sludge and more liquid as needed to reach your desired consistency

I have never seen so many suits and khakis IN MY LIFE. People who accidentally wore jeans went home and changed.

The community took it as a rebuke. We drew in closer to eachother, and felt unwelcome everywhere we thought we had friends before.

And I had people later tell me “You know I support you, just… I didn’t want anyone to think I was.” First off, I DON’T know you support me. Not if you refuse to, for one day, change nothing about your life to show it. Second off… why is that such a terrifying thought to you?

I remember before rainbows were a “gay thing”. They were everywhere. Church walls next to arks. School walls next to sunshine faces. People have VOLUNTARILY abandoned every other use. I have HEARD PEOPLE SAY they just couldn’t use rainbows anymore because people would think of “gay stuff.”

So I know this is a joke, and a stolen one at that, but you’ve done this to yourselves. If someone is so terrified of being perceived as queer that they will INSTANTLY abandon something they like if it has queer germs on it now or something, then they don’t deserve refracted light.

There’s a largely apocryphal association of violets as a symbol of love between women as “dating back to Sappho.” This is not really true – Sappho did write poems about violets, but apparently the association really gained traction in America with a 1926 Broadway play called The Captive (adapted from the French, by Edouard Bourdet). The story is about a woman trying to deny her same-sex desire and love, marrying a man in the attempt. Spoilers for a nearly century-old play: it ends happily for the lesbians, it’s pretty cool. Unfortunately because of this, the play was shut down after 17 weeks on charges of obscenity.

Anyway. The heroine’s lover is never actually seen on stage – but in her final, victorious attempt to lead the heroine back to her side, she sends a nosegay of violets. 

After the premiere, shutdown, and subsequent court hearings, violet sales plummeted. In an act of what can only be described as “intense hetero panic,” people stopped buying violets. Because of a play. A play where there isn’t even any “enacted” same-sex physicality onstage. But The Captive ends with the women happy, and together. And they exchange violets. 

And that was all it took! Again, there are stories that lesbians and queer women took inspiration and used violets as signals after the play popularized the association – and I don’t doubt it, although I’m pretty sure we can trust that was mainly women who could afford to do so, financially and socially. But again, that’s largely apocryphal. What is on record is the violet farmers and florists going, “yeah, this play has really fucked us.”   

Obviously queerness is not infectious, but there’s a bone-deep fear of ever being subject to the same treatment queer people receive, even for a second. And the fear of association with such innocuous, even generic symbols like flowers – like rainbows – means those same people somewhat invest in the idea that treatment is deserved. Because gay symbols are not created by a sexual minority exerting their oh-so-massive cultural influence, but by the dominant majority being more terrified of association than outraged by condemnation.  

Representation on Tumblr has become a way for white people to win brownie points just because they took a Hershey's bar and slapped it onto a person's skin tone.

The most disgusting thing is that they insist on making JUST African-Americans. They insist on making JUST one facial type, one nose type, one lip type, one hair type, one slang type, one skin tone.

And when they make a person Asian, it's Japanese. And when they make a person Hispanic, it's Mexican. And when they make a person indigenous, they never specify on which tribe/nation they came from, but you'll bet they're Native AMERICAN.

But my favorite part is when other POC demand representation and those same fucking white people are like "But but but look at all my black characters!!!!"

POC isn't just confined to America.

POC isn't just black.

POC isn't just Japanese.

POC isn't just Mexican.

POC isn't just Native American.

It's from the Miskitu in Nicaragua, from the highlands of Ethiopia, from the deserts of Saudi Arabia, from the mountains of Indonesia. It's from the arroz con gandules, from the folk music, from the festivals. It's many cultures blending, it's speaking more than just English, it's dealing with racism unique to our countries of origin.

DIY Gemstone Necklace

✖✖✖✖✖✖✖✖

Yall are the daughters of slave owners and slave owner wives that ALSO used the bible as a spell book and sacrificed black bodies to spirits to uphold white supremacy

You need herbs in bulk and you don’t have a lot of money? This place has your back.

Here is the first order I received, ¼ pound bag each of sage, bay leaf, rosemary, basil, sea salt, and cinnamon sticks. How much did all this together run me? $22. 

I have always loved thrift stores. When my family was poor-ish back in the day, I would often get one shopping trip a year for clothes at the thrift store and I would get all my halloween costume pieces there. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, maybe it’s that I myself am now poor-ish but either way I think we can all appreciate a good deal regardless. Especially on staple pieces that can be used for your practice. Now ON TO THE FINDS!

Books

Sometimes it takes a little luck but I’ve found a couple great useful books for 3$ or less each along the shelves of books in my local Value Village. The crystal healing ones I found were a huge deal to me back in the day when I was but a baby witch and they were dirt cheap.

Candle supplies

Every witch needs something to burn candles on/in. Now I’m not saying it needs to be fancy, for a long time I used a dollar store plate (psa, do not burn candles on surfaces you care about because scraping wax off things is not a delicate process) but picking up some candle holders for less than 2$ is going to help keep candles from falling over and lighting your house on fire. You can also find some wicked pretty ones.

Curtains/Tablecloths/Pillowcases

Yes, I buy thrift store curtains. As I mentioned in my previous post in this series, many things may require scrap fabric and although you can get the dollar store scarves I prefer using old curtains or tablecloths from the thrift store. Not only will you be getting WAY more fabric but it doesn’t cost too much more than the dollar store.

String and/or Ribbon

Some of my spells and my favorite hex require some kind of yarn/string/thread. If your local thrift establishment of choice has any kind of craft section, no matter how big, you are in business. Bags of embroidery thread, spools of twine or other string and skeins of yarn are all SUPER cheap and often great quality. (Note: I mean the yarn, the other two options are pretty standard) Sometimes I can even find ribbon spools but those are interchangeable with plain old coloured string.

Picture Frames

Are you setting up your altar? Do you wish you had something nice to put the picture of your deity(ies) in? Look no further than the thrift store for GORGEOUS frames of literally every size imaginable. 

Vases

You actually can not find nicer vases for cheaper than a thrift store. I don’t know what else you’d use them for, crystals maybe? Dried flowers waiting to be used? Candles? Either way, if you need one, there are virtually none cheaper or easier to find. Same goes for crystal or glass bowls. Besides, if you kill plants like yours truly, having flowers that are guaranteed to die is a nice way to enjoy plants without having to remember to water them.

JARS

That alone should be enough but I do want to chuck in one piece of advice. Do not forget about the cup aisle! I got a sweet glass skull that screws closed with your standard mason jar lid because it was donated with one of those lids with a hole and a straw. Hence it was a “cup” but NOT ANYMORE! It holds my dead flowers. I named him Herman.

As always, feel free to send me a message if you’d like/have more questions. Hopefully soon I’ll make a trip to IKEA for the next post in this series! If there’s something you’d like me to cover, let me know.

Last Spring I delved into gardening more than I ever had before. I planted all kinds of flowers, trees, herbs, shrubs, and more! It was fantastical to dig in the dirt and care for these plants, watching them bloom and grow and stretch toward the sun.

Then winter came and one by one many of my plants began to whiter or stop giving off blooms. This is obviously upsetting but also a reminder to contemplate the nature of life and death and everything in-between. 

However, there is a simple way to help bring that joy of plants and growing into the home through houseplants! Below I have provided some house plants that I personally care for as well as both mundane and magical properties of the plant.  

💐 Devil’s Ivy (Pothos)💐

Devil’s Ivy is one of the easiest plants to care for in the home.

Mundane Properties (Devil’s Ivy):

Only water the plant every two weeks (over-watering is the most common way to kill a devil’s ivy and under-watering rarely harms the plant).

The plant is toxic to both you and pets. So if you have any familiars lurking about that like to munch on things keep it out of reach!

The plant is easy to propagate and after a while you can have hundreds of them around your home.

If your plant looses a leaf it will never grow back on that part of the stem.

Pothos is fairly slow growing but will live for decades if properly taken care of.

Magical Properties (Devil’s Ivy):

Save stems you trim off to be used in binding or banishment spells.

Like most ivy, growth this plant around the walls or floors of your home can protect it.

Can be used in witch jars as a form of poison magic.

💐 Spider Plant💐

Mundane Properties (Spider Plant):

A spider plant is a great addition to every home!

Although all plants will remove toxins from the air, Spider Plants are one of the most effective house plants and achieving this goal.

Over-watering is the leading cause of death for plants at home.

The plant, when happy, sends off shoots that produce babies which can easily be snipped off and potted to create more plants.

This plant is non-toxic and is safe around familiars and people!

They prefer a bright North or East facing window.

Magical Properties (Spider Plant):

Spider Plants can be used in all kinds or protection magic.

The pups can be cut off and placed in a spell jar to filter out bad spiritual energy.

Long stems and leaves of the plant can be tied into a witch’s ladder for protection.

Placed on your altar the plant can help equalizes the energy of your altar and tools placed upon it. 

💐 String of Pearls💐

Mundane Properties (String of Pearls):

The String of Pearls can be a difficult plant to get right, however, once you do you will be happy with the beauty it can bring into your home.

This plant requires a fairly consistent temperature (room temperature or a bit warmer is perfect for this girl).

Make sure to place this plant away from any breezes (windows, fans, and vents can cause this plant to stop growing and possibly die).

Only water this plant when the soil is completely dry, take care to ensure the pot you have it in has good drainage.

You may need to work carefully with the String of Pearls to unravel it’s many creeping tendrils and prevent it from looking a mess.

It may take a few tries but the String of Pearls is a fairly easy plant to propagate and give to friends.

Fairly fast growing in the right conditions. 

Needs very bright light.

Slightly toxic when consumed, some people are also receptive to the juice and sap of the plant.

Magical Properties (String of Pearls):

The fairly fast growing tendrils can be snipped (this does not hurt the plant) and be used in love charms and love magic.

Growing in the home, the plant promotes positive energy and happiness.

Pearls which fall from the plant can be used in divination bags once dried.

When the plant flowers the energy surrounding is perfect to use in all magics wishing to draw something to you.

“I surround myself with peaceful and harmonious energy in order to bring balance into my life”

hi loves! it’s the first day of march, so you know what that means! new month: new money bowl!

so what is a money bowl? well, for any of you wondering, it’s a convenient and easy offering idea that can also work as a spell!

you will need:

a bowl

that’s it

just a bowl

it’s so easy

that’s right! you just need a bowl! i put it on my altar but you can literally put it anywhere!

the idea is to put spare change in throughout the month. you can do this as an offering to your deity/deities if you worship, and if you don’t you can use it as a spell! (you can still use it as a spell if you’re using it as an offering though!!)

so how do you do the spell? well, there’s no correct way, per se, but this is what i do.

at the beginning of every month, that money from the previous month goes into my savings for future investments. then, i cleanse (physically, with water and soap! and intention wise) and bless the bowl. than, i light the candles on my altar and ask my deities for prosperity and good fortune in return for the offering. then, let the money bowl work its magic! put any spare change into it! and i cannot stretch this enough: no touchy. don’t be taking money out early unless you really really need it. and i mean emergencies.

This is my near completed masterpost of shells which I tried listing up some common and uncommon shells for the past few days! I might add more shell info in the future💕

Disclaimer: This list is of associations collected from various sources around the internet and a mix of my personal ones!

     ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧      ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿       ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Abalone: love, healing, prosperity, luck, wealth, balance, peace, cleansing, meditation, psychic abilities, self-love, feminine energies, earth + water element

Angel’s Wing: determination, freedom, angelic energies, positive spiritual guidance, protection, aid in receiving and sending energies, air element

Auger: fertility, strength, courage, power, masculine energies, fire element

Ark Shell: safety, protection, finding strength in the outer world 

Bear’s paw: power, strength, vitality, nurturing, protection, warmth, feminine + masculine energies, earth + fire element 

(Banded) Tulip Shell: binding, friendships, relationships, social life, water element

Bonnet Shell: secrecy, the unknown, protection, mystery, trust, beauty, air element

Button Shell: connections, gatherings, friendships, spirituality, divination, air element

Bubble Shell: inspiration, creativity, happiness, curiosity, wished, intuitions, cleansing, psychic abilities, divination, air element 

Carrier Shell: overcoming shyness, helps getting out of your shell, courage, protection, strength, escaping from negative thoughts

Cat’s eye Shell:  protection against jealousy, gossips and negative energies

Cerith Shell: sexuality, fertility, masculine energies, fire element

Clam: purification, love, friendships, abundance, communication, healing, stability, vitality, protection, protecting emotions, truth, balance, peace, grounding, feminine energies, water element

Cockle: love, friendship, relationships, emotions, centering, gateway to a new life, new beginnings, feminine energies, water element

Conch: love, beauty, friendship, communication, feminine energies, truth, art , beauty, clarity, freedom grace, movement, speech, spirituality, strength summoning, trust, truth , vanity, feminine energies, air element

Cone Shell: protection, control, motivation

Cowrie: abundance, prosperity, fertility, love, wealth, pregnancy, growth, divination, sexuality, protection, beauty, menstruation problems, feminine energies, water element

Crown Conch: associated with crown chakra, meditation, divinity, intention, confidence, intuition

Drupe Shell: reflecting oneself, discover and being comfortable of who you are, self trust, confidence, bravery

Fig Shell: wisdom, creativity, peace, love, luck, fertility, divination, fortune, water + air element

Fighting Conch: aggression, defense, warding/shielding, protection, masculine energies, fire element

Frog Shell: moving forward, starting over, new beginnings

Harp Shell: secrecy, beauty, art, protection, feminine energies, water + air element

Helmet Shell: grounding, protection, strength, honor, masculine energies fire element

(Horned) Turban: protection, faith, trust

Horse Conch: beauty, freedom, grace, strength, progress, water + earth element

Jackknife Clam: (inner) strength, speed, warding, secrecy, masculine energies, air element

Janthina Shell: faith, peace, trust, moving forward, going with the flow, trust in the universe, air element

Jewel Box Clam: beauty, vanity, glamour, passion, (self) love, self care, feminine energies, water element 

Jingle Shells: wealth, prosperity, cleansing, positivity, trust, intuition, earth element

Junonia Shell: strength, beauty, marriage, fertility, childbirth, feminine energies, named after the Roman goddess Juno/Hera (Greek)

Keyhole Limpet: finding a way in/out in a situation, meditation, unblocking psychic/divination abilities  

Limpet: courage, confidence, strength, nurturing, self  trust, peace, endurance

Left-Handed Whelk: making drastic / positive changes in life, transformation, air element

Lightning whelk: awareness, banishing, intent, trust

Lion’s Paw: strength, courage, protection, inner strength, victory, pride, masculine energies, fire element

Miter Shell: peace, spirituality, grounding + centering, calm energies, spiritual introspection, lunar magick, feminine + masculine energies, water element

Moon Shell: purification, peace, protection, meditation, clarity, vitality, rebirth, cleansing + charging energies, psychic awareness, cycles, progress, warding, lunar magick, feminine energies, water element

Murex: protection, defense, binding, masculine energies

Mussels: communications, friendships, luck, health, travel, abundance, dedication, determination, community, life giving stability, enduring life’s hardships, feminine enegies, water element

Nautilus: focus, intentions, clarity, wisdom, growth, peace, endings + beginnings

Olive Shells: healing, hope, love, friendship, hope abundance, opportunity

Oyster: love,luck, good fortune, prosperity, banishing, fertility, (hidden) beauty, vitality, passion, turning pain into beauty (pearls), lunar magick, feminine energies, water element

Oyster Drill: curses, warding/shielding, protection

Pearl Whelk: control, life, progress, trust, strength, manifestation, fire element

Pen Shell: beauty, confidence, creativity, self-love, art, love, inspiration, feminine energies, water element

Periwinkle: grounding, intuitions, focus, friendships

Purple Snail Shell: beauty, divination, psychic abilities, air element

Pyram Shell: determination, hope, strength, air element

Scallops: travel, love, friendships, movement, beauty, grace, change, fertility, peace, healing, travel, spirituality, happiness, communication, patience, diversity, openess, all-purpose shell, feminine energies, water element

Slipper Shell: balance, generosity, transformation, healing, peace, community, helping others, air element

Snail Shell (Garden Snails): fertility, sexuality, travel, protection, home, feminine + masculine energies, earth + water element

Spider Conch: maturity, responsibility, self-defense, maintaining your position, fire element

Spindle Shell: inspiration, meditation, fate, change, karma, destiny, vitality

Strombus Shell: truth, communication, divination, speech, trust, air element

Star Limpet: strength, growth, beauty, art, water element

Sundial Shell: hope, success, victory, the sun, fire element

Thorny Oyster: defense, creativity, intuition, focus, beauty, art

Tooth Shell / Tusk Shell: wealth, business, abundance, strength, aggression, masculine energies fire element

Top Shell: spiral energies, centering, helping energy flow, control, air element

Triton Conch: happiness, intentions, prayers, helps clearing your voice/intentions, use to seek help/attention, air element

Turkey Wing: freedom, happiness, emotions, lifts bad moods, change emotions, water + air element

Venus Comb Murex: vanity, beauty, glamour, love, feminine energies, water element

Wentletrap: creativity, inspiration, art, water element

Whelk: taking control, get a hold of a situation, life changes, good fortune, wisdom, guidance, control, positivity, understanding, spiritual development, air element

Whelk Egg Casing: abundance, new beginnings, faith, luck

Worm Snail Shell: tenacity, hope, life and death, creation, overcoming obstacles, hope, changes, earth element

                          ❤ Note: Please use/collect your shells ethically! ❤