☽♀☾

Monitoring the changing of the seasons via mozzarella

Predicting the weather by picking up a piece of cheese and mysteriously saying “oh, the storm is gonna be bigger than we thought...” just before thunder

Cheese that I’ve wrapped in plastic will acquire condensation in a few seconds when it’s about to rain big time

✨ Lock of Hair

✨ Sea Salt - cleansing • purification • banishing • protection

✨ Black Pepper - protection • banishing

✨ Allspice (ground or whole) - prosperity • luck • healing • energy

✨ Bay Leaf - wishes • protection • good fortune • purification • strength • healing

✨ Chamomile - peace • relaxation • healing • luck • prosperity

✨ Cinnamon - healing • protection • luck • strength • prosperity

✨ Fennel - strength • vitality • wards off negative energy

✨ Garlic (powder or salt) - healing • protection • banishing • cleansing • purification

✨ Sage - cleansing • purification • healing • dispelling negative energy • wishes

✨ Green Candle - healing • growth • abundance

Light the Green Candle and.

Write your name and your wish on the Bay Leaf, place it and layer all other ingredients into jar. No specific order is necessary.

Seal shut and pour candle wax over the lid or cork of the jar.

Visualize the energy if the jar filling your being with energy, strength, and good health. You can create a personal prayer to a deity or to the jar if you'd like.

Keep this jar near your bed and thank it every night for filling you with positive energy and keeping you healthy!

Hi, I’m Lucy! I’m pretty new to witchblr, but I’ve been practicing witchcraft for a while now and I wanted to share with you all a specific technique of fortune-telling I’ve come to use regularly in my personal life and for others: nutshell cleromancy.

What is cleromancy?

Cleromancy is defined as ‘divination by throwing dice or any such marked objects, like beans, pebbles, or bone.’

What can I use cleromancy for?

Anything you’d use other divination for! Guidance, help, insight. It’s not as detailed as let’s say tarot, but it is more specific in answering simpler questions.

Is cleromancy really witchcraft?

As it is a form of divination, yes! It is like tarot or any other form of divination based on ‘randomness’ in which we prescribe meaning to a seemingly random occurrence and believe that fate or another power has guided the ‘random’ event.

Is cleromancy a new thing?

No, not at all! Although it has taken many different forms through the ages and cultures, people have practiced cleromancy for centuries. It’s present in ancient cultures all around the world.

Why use nutshells?

In history, a lot of cleromancy was practiced through the reading of bones or seeds, emphasizing the importance of the use of objects related to the cyclical nature of life. I was taught to use nutshells, and have had great results with them more so than say pebbles or plastic dice, which is a clear signal to me.  However, like many forms of witchcraft, cleromancy is a way to express your personal connection to fate and/or higher powers, and you should decide on the proper tools to suit your own traditions and craft.

Is cleromancy culturally charged?

This is a hard question to answer, but an important one! The modern witch must take care not to appropriate other cultures and take into consideration the historical contexts of all practice. I know ‘casting of lots’ or a form of reading thrown bones is mentioned in the Hebrew bible, and this is one of the reasons I have shied away from using bones in my own cleromancy. I am not aware of any cultural history behind the use of nutshells for cleromancy, but if anyone does know of anything like that, please let me know! It is our shared duty to make sure we are respectful to all cultures.

What materials do I need?

The beauty of this practice is that it is, in its essence, very bare-bones (get it?). You need a few nutshells that meet some criteria I’ll specify in a bit and that’s it. Of course, if your practice requires you to use certain other materials (crystals, candles, herbs etc.) in your rituals those should be used in your cleromancy process as well. Now, for those criteria:

The nut shells you pick must be able to lie flat on one side. Walnut shells, pistachio shells, that sort of deal. Nutshell cleromancy is about which side of the shell lands upwards, so it’s important that your shells have a defined top and bottom.

If your shells of choice have an inherent asymmetry (as pistachio shells do, for example) you need to use matching sets. This doesn’t mean you have to use both sides of one nut, but for every ‘left-facing’ shell you have to use a ‘right-facing’ one as well.

How many shells do I need?

You’re gonna need 4 shells at least, but you can expand your ‘hand’ as it’s called. In essence, this is what you need:

One marked shell. Many nuts, when you buy or harvest them, have natural imperfections. One of these shells can serve as your marked piece, but if your shells come without any apparent deviants, you can mark a normal shell by carving, colouring or otherwise altering it. Keep in mind you have to be able to see the deviancy from both sides of the shell.

Sets of normal shells. Whether asymmetrical or not, you should use an even number of normal shells for cleromancy. Two shells (one set) is the minimum, but you can use as many as you want. Just keep it even and keep in mind that more shells are more difficult to interpret.

Broken shells. For every set of two normal shells, you need a single shell fragment or broken shell. These still need to be able to lie on one of two sides.

This is an example of a possible hand:

[Image ID: A photo showing pistachio shells laid out on a wooden table. There are three sets of two shells, three fragments of shells and one shell that bears an orange/brown discoloration. /End ID]

I have my shells. What do I do?

A cleromantic reading has three stages: the question, the throw and the reading. I’ll discuss these separately:

For the question stage, you take a question in mind that you want the answer to. As the nature of nutshell cleromancy depends on the dichotomy of up and down, it will best serve you to phrase your question in a way that allows for two answers and no more. A yes or no question works very well for this, but a choice between any two options is fine. Don’t worry, you’re not limited to extremes: the reading of the shells accounts for degrees of certainty/severity. I’ll explain this later.

Now, for the throw: take all your shells in one hand, shake them an even number of times around and let them fall down gently on a flat surface like a table. If you have an altar space for your practice, that’s the ideal spot! If you have any actions you’d like to incorporate, such as lighting candles or saying incantations, do them before you throw the shells. When your shells have all landed, the actual reading can begin. That’s the fun part!

When reading your shells, these are the basic principles:

Your marked shell is your most basic answer. If you asked a yes or no question, hollow side up means yes, and hollow side down means no. If you asked another question, you have to make sure beforehand you establish which side up is which answer.

Your normal shells represent a degree of certainty/severity. The more shells have their hollow side up, the more certain/accurate your divination will be. If they all land hollow side up, it’s bad luck to ask more on the subject or ask again. Any other results welcome more questions on the subject, so don’t be afraid to specify your question and throw more than once until you get an all-up result. If they all land hollow side down, you might want to consider rethrowing with the same question another time or using another form of divination.

Your fragments represent clarity. The more they land hollow side up, the more likely it is that your answer is straight-forward and should be interpreted that way. If the majority of your fragments land hollow side down, there’s likely a second meaning or a deeper layer to your answer. Throw again if you’d like, unless all your normal shells landed the same way (as described above).

Can you show us an example of a throw?

Of course! I’m so glad you asked. I’ll be using the hand pictured above, with three sets and three fragments, as I personally find this to be a good balance between specificity and readability.

For my example throw, I’ll use a question related to my garden. This will be my question: Should I harvest my nettles soon or let them grow further? Because this is not a yes-or-no question, I’ll keep in mind that the first answer is hollow side up, and the second answer is hollow side down. Now, let’s throw! Here’s the result:

[Image ID: The shells lay scattered on a wooden table. The marked shell is facing downward, as are three of the normal shells and one of the fragments. This leaves three normal shells and two fragments lying face up. /End ID]

As you can see, the result favours letting the nettles grow. It has a normal amount of certainty in this, 3 shells, but there is another factor to be considered: the majority of my fragments is lying face up, which means I should think a little on this question. For me specifically, this means I’ll be using my nettles for something else than I was planning on.

Anything else I should keep in mind?

There’s a few little notes and thoughts I have, so I’ll put those here:

Nutshell cleromancy is great for the visually impaired witch! This is because it relies on the shape of the shells on the table, which can be determined by touch. Of course, you would need to alter your marked piece in such a way that you can feel the marking, but that’s very doable.

I tend to re-use my shells, as I don’t have a nut tree or something like it and nuts from the store are a rarity for me. However, the witch I learned this from buries her shells after every few throws and selects a new hand, which might fit well into your practice.

You can sort the shells once they’ve fallen onto the table, so that you have a clearer picture of how many of everything there is.

There is more to reading shells. When you throw shells, they might fall onto each other and overlap, forming patterns. I might make a post about some of those if you guys are interested!

The Elements are the forces of Nature and life, and are incorporated into ritual and magick. Every aspect of existence is bound up in Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. And the fifth element which is Spirit (or also deemed Aether), which is present in each of the other four. Each of the four classical Elements is associated with one of the four cardinal directions; North, East, South and West.

There are also energetic associations, that add great depth to interpretations of how people with different zodiac signs interact with each other, for each sign is associated with an Element, and each Element is different.

𝐄 𝐀 𝐑 𝐓 𝐇

↟Direction: north

↟Energy: ♀

↟Rules: grounding, strength, healing, nature, stability, foundations, empathy, fertility, death, rebirth, and wisdom.

↟Season/time: winter/midnight

↟Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

↟Ruling Planets: Venus, and Saturn.

↟Colours: green, brown, black, white, and gold.

↟Plants: cedar, cypress, honeysuckle, ivy, magnolia, grains, primrose, oak, sage, and nuts.

↟Crystals: emerald, tourmaline, quartz, granite, dedrock, peridot, onyx, jasper, and amethyst.

↟Tools: pentacle, salt, crystals, dirt, herbs, wood, plants, and flowers.

↟Virtues: patience, truth, dependable, thorough, focused.

𝐀 𝐈 𝐑

↟Direction: east

↟Energy: ♂

↟Rules: mind, clarity, knowledge, logic, abstract, wind, consciousness, intuition, and memory.

↟Season/time: spring/dawn

↟Zodiac: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius.

↟Ruling planets: Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus.

↟Colours: yellow, gold, white, and light blue.

↟Plants: acacia, anis, aspen, clover, frankincense, lavender, lemongrass, pine, and vervain.

↟Crystals: topaz, amber, citrine, jasper, and agate.

↟Tools: feather, wand, staff, incense, pen, broom, and bell.

↟Virtues: intelligent, practical, optimistic.

𝐅 𝐈 𝐑 𝐄

↟Direction: south

↟Energy: ♂

↟Rules: energy, will, destruction, courage, strength, self-knowledge, power, passion, sexuality, self-healing, divinity, light, and flame.

↟Season/time: summer/noon

↟Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius.

↟Ruling planets: Sun, and Mars.

↟Colours: red, orange, gold, and white.

↟Plants: allspice, basil, cinnamon, garlic, juniper, hibiscus, nettle, onion, poppies, peppers, and thistles.

↟Crystals: ruby, garnet, red jasper, bloodstone, quartz, tiger’s eye, and agate.

↟Tools: candle, lamp, athame, dagger, and burned herbs.

↟Virtues: courage, enthusiasm, willpower.

𝐖 𝐀 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑

↟Direction: west

↟Energy: ♀

↟Rules: emotion, intuition, psychic, love, deep feelings, the unconscious mind, fertility, tides, reflection, lunar energy, and healing.

↟Season/time: autumn/twilight

↟Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

↟Ruling planets: Moon, Neptune, and Pluto.

↟Colours: blue, aqua, silver, and green.

↟Plants: aloe, apple, chamomile, ferns, gardenia, jasmine, lemon, lily, lotus, moss, seaweed, rose, thyme, and willow.

↟Crystals: amethyst, aquamarine, beryl, blue tourmaline, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, and sodalite.

↟Tools: seashells, ocean water, seaweed, moss, stones, chalice, and cauldron.

New Moon

•blank page

•new beginnings

•planting seeds of intention

Crescent Moon

•fresh energy

•form new ideas

•focus on details

First Quarter Moon

•momentum

•challenges

•paying attention

Gibbons Moon

•patience

•edit

•refine

Full Moon

•peak energy

•gratitude

•blossoming

Disseminating Moon

•release

•recieve

•harvest

Last Quarter Moon

•breakdown

•forgiveness

•let go

Balsamic Moon

•rest

•restoration

•reflection

Blue Moon

•protection

•energy boost

•positivity

Blood Moon

•transformation

•banashing

•prophecy

A Halo

-a halo around the moon is always a sign of disruption

•a change in the weather

•a fever to come

•a streak of bad fortune

(But a double ring means anything can happen. The more tangled it is the worse the outcome)

-Full Moons-

January ▪︎ Wolf Moon

February ▪︎ Snow Moon

March ▪︎ Worm Moon

April ▪︎ Pink Moon

May ▪︎ Flower Moon

June ▪︎ Strawberry Moon

July ▪︎ Buck Moon

August ▪︎ Sturgeon Moon

September ▪︎ Harvest Moon

October ▪︎ Hunter's Moon

November ▪︎ Beaver Moon

Beginning on Page 123/124:

“...the name of a troublesome police officer can be gathered and taken to a Catholic church. There the aspiring revolutionary can inform a priest the name is that of the recently deceased and pay for a mass to be said for the newly dearly departed. An entire church will affirm the officer is a dead man...”

“... Valerian root, also known as Vandal root, causes horrible accidents and bad luck to follow those whom it’s been thrown at. It can be sprinkled on cop cars or mixed with the dirt of a specific officer’s footprints. The dirt can be thrown in a jar with vinegar, Red Pepper flakes, and whole Black Pepper and buried in a cemetery...”

“...Red Pepper flakes, Black Pepper, Black Mustard seed, Valerian root, Spanish moss, and rusty nails can be thrown into ajar with water from a horrible, nasty place. Add Psalm 109 written in red ink to the jar and pray with extreme venom all the terrible things you wish to afflict your victim with. Seal the jar, throw it at the targets door with all your might, and return to safer ground...”

“... before any operation, or before joining in a protest or place where agitation could occur, prepare a tea of Bay leaves, Black Cohosh, and Star Anise before noon. Take the tea as the sun is rising and asperge the members of the cell taking part in the action, calling upon the spirits of the herbs to grant them success, protection, luck, as well as increased psychic perception. Throw the remaining water eastward...”

“...Take an empty glass bottle and pour in Red Pepper Flakes, Cayenne, and crushed styrofoam. Fill the bottle half way with (radacted because tumblr, it’s in the book), capping it. Take an Ace of Spades card and write the number “792” thirteen times on the front of it. Tear the card into little pieces and add it to the bottle. Tie, tape, or use metal wire to wrap a rag around the neck of the bottle, alternatively affixing the rag to the main body of the bottle, leaving the neck free to be used as a handle for greater throwing distance. Light the rag, throw the bottle far from you (and very far away from children, pets, and anyone else you do not wish harmed by its incendiary magic) and laugh, calling upon Dionysus the Liberator...”

“...in a blue flannel bag take Oregano, Fennel seed, Black Mustard seed, and three chips of Cascara Sagrada bark, praying over each group of herbs that their spirits awaken and keep you safe from all meddlesome individuals and authorities. Add a piece of paper with your name written on it and smeared with your blood, sealing the bag up afterward. A candle carved with the words ‘LAW KEEP AWAY” and dressed in an oil of the same name can be burned as you do this, and the bag can be kept near it as it burns to help charge it as you pray. Make a blend of the same herbs that went into the bag and burn them over charcoal, giving the spirit of the bag a name. When named, soak the bag in whiskey. Now it is alive. After all is said and done, feed the bag whiskey once a week and never let anybody other than yourself see it or touch it. If they do, they will kill the spirit and you will need to create an entirely new bag...”

All this is from Doctor Bones in “Curse Your Boss, Hex the State, Take Back the World”, linked above.

Good luck🤘

Another tip is to think very intently on the way you word your sigils/spells. So instead of “I will grow quickly”, maybe say “I am growing quickly”. Because your first basil did grow quickly, until it didn’t any more because it was rootbound, though the “I will” part was totally fulfilled. But if you say “I am growing quickly” that never ends and it’ll just keep going in the moment. You could also try building in conditions like “I will grow to maturity quickly and live healthily for many years”. You just want to make sure that the conditions aren’t too specific to the point where they become improbable.

I find that adding complexity to a spell, by means of being too specific or too demanding, increases the chances of it not working outright. And I think of this in terms of percentile odds. “I will grow quickly” is like a 95% chance to work, so long as I put in the bare minimum mundane work and water it. “I will grow healthy and strong” is a little harder to pull off on the plants part, so that’s like a 92%, maybe 93% if I do a little more mundane work and harvest leaves responsibly. “I will grow to maturity quickly and live healthily for many years” is even harder, so lets say that’s like a 88% chance, given I remember my part and water it. “I will grow to maturity quickly and live healthily for many years, and regularly produce large amounts of delicious basil leaves.” gets even harder at like a 75%. and so on and so on. But you can probably even put in specifics that help the plant and up the odds, maybe even layering more sigils ontop of the first. Make a sigil to draw on the pot that says “The basil in this vessel easily absorbs the nutrients from its soil.” for a +3%, but be aware that your mundane responsibilities just went up a little, and now you need to sprinkle some miracle grow in the pot once in a while, or else the basil is going to over eat and deplete the soil. Also you’ll have to manage any sprouts that pop up, because they might crowd out the parent thanks to the new sigil.

Additionally you could add more complex spell work to it, in attempts to drive up the odds, but that’s a whole other level of complexity that strays way away from sigils, and it probably a topic for a whole other post.

Why.. Hoodoo isn’t an umbrella term. And the way its used feels very much like its an umbrella term. Which.. is erasing the vast amounts of history and energy that created Hoodoo in the first place. 

This is an emoji spell for peace of mind and clarity in the first week of the new year. May you find clear solutions to the problems you've been confronting in the past few weeks. May this spell bring you the mental strength and fortitude needed to survive the coming months. May the right words reach you just when you need them the most.

If you’re reading this, good luck will befall you and you will receive some good news within a week’s time.

Whistling up a Wind

Recently I’ve had a few people asking me for more information on how to whistle up a wind. So here you go!

Whistling up a wind is the most common forms of weather magic and has been practiced for hundreds of years. Depending on the pitch and tone of the whistle (which I’ll talk about below) a witch can create a gentle breeze or a sharp gust of wind. Traditionally, if the skill of whistling up a wind does not come naturally to you the option of making a ‘wind whistle’ out of willow or alder wood is available. You could also use a simple glass bottle - all you need is to be able to make a whistling sound.  

To whistle up a wind, you would first take a deep breath (close your eyes if you need to), centre yourself and focus the energy you breathed in. Let it mingle with your own energy/magic whatever you want to call it and then literally breathe out the energy into a whistle.

The tone/pitch/length of the whistle you make decides the type of wind you will get. For example a low pitched whistle which sounds like ‘breath over a glass bottle’ will form a light breeze and a short sharp piercing whistle will form a huge gust of wind.

I included the video (sorry about the poor video quality) so you could hear the pitch of the whistle I create to blow in some rain. 

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it immediately. It really is just a matter of practice and finding the right note/pitch and length of the whistle to make for each type of wind. Don’t be afraid to experiment!