Made This A While Back And Never Posted It, But I Figured I Should Now That I Actually Started T!!!

Here's a list of ingredients with various protective and cleansing properties that I've found useful in my closet witch practice! Note that I'm not an expert and these are just my own experiences and interpretations.

Eggshells! Great protection qualities and can also be used for renewal spells as well. A good easy spell would be sprinkling bits of it around the front of your home with the intent of providing protection

Salt, a classic cleansing ingredient that you'll find in your mom's kitchen. Various kinds have slightly different properties. Tip: if you add ashes to it, then it becomes black salt, which in my experience is very a strong cleanser especially if you add a bit of moon water. It becomes a paste and can be used for various things such as sigils

Iron nails. Not only protective, but can deflect back. Like a "back the fuck off" kind of protection. Bonus if it's rusty

Thorny vines, barbs, etc can function like nails

Pinecones. Similar to eggshells, but a bit more spicy (mess with me and I'll nip you back) but not as intense as nails. Also has great renewal properties since it's a seed

Obsidian, a great protective crystal to have on hand

Custom protection sigil, all you need is a pen, paper, and intuition. Or just write it with charged water on yourself

Moon water, especially full moon water. Very strong cleansing

Incense and smoke cleansing, I like using rose. DO NOT USE WHITE SAGE

Enchant jewelry or something you have on you on a regular basis with protective and positive energy properties. It can be as easy as making a sigil for it and activating said sigil by burning or tearing it up or dipping it in charged water. Very secretive!

Pepper! Again, similar to the nails, but with an added kick and slightly different way of carrying out things. Instead of deflecting immediately, it deflects over a slower period of time, like how burns do

Ask a deity or spirit you're working with to bless a charm. Very effective! Can be literally anything!

You don’t have to have fancy crystals and herbs for spell jars btw. You can use sugar, coffee grounds, leaves, acorns, etc. Don’t fall victim to witchcraft consumerism.

Witchcraft and Self-Care: Nurturing Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Witchcraft is not just a craft; it's a path that intertwines with our daily lives. Amid the spells and rituals, it's vital to remember that self-care is a cornerstone of our practice. By nurturing our minds, bodies, and spirits, we empower ourselves to be more effective witches and resilient individuals.

In this blog post, we'll delve into "Witchcraft and Self-Care: Nurturing Your Mind, Body, and Spirit," exploring the importance of self-care and suggesting rituals and practices to help you flourish on your magical journey.

🌟✨

1. Grounding and Centering 🌳🌌

Start your self-care journey with grounding and centering. Take a moment each day to connect with the Earth. Stand barefoot on the ground, feeling the energy of the Earth rise through you. Meditate, visualize roots extending from your body into the soil, anchoring you to the Earth's nurturing energy.

2. Daily Affirmations 🧘‍♀️🌟

Affirmations are powerful tools for nurturing a positive mindset. Each morning, recite affirmations that align with your intentions. These affirmations reinforce your sense of self-worth, strength, and resilience. For example, "I am powerful," "I am loved," or "I am in control of my destiny."

3. Bath Rituals 🛁🌸

A soothing bath can work wonders for your well-being. Infuse your bathwater with Epsom salt, lavender, or rose petals. As you soak, visualize any stress or negativity melting away, leaving you refreshed and renewed. This simple practice can be profoundly healing.

4. Moon Meditation 🌕🧘‍♂️

Harness the energy of the moon to nurture your spirit. During the Full Moon, find a quiet space outdoors, and meditate beneath its radiant glow. Visualize the moon's energy filling you with light, cleansing away any emotional burdens, and empowering you for the month ahead.

5. Herbal Tea Ritual ☕🌿

Create a mindful tea ritual using your favorite herbs. As you brew and sip your tea, focus on the sensations and flavors. Allow the warmth of the tea to envelop you, bringing comfort and serenity. This practice can also enhance your connection with herbal magic.

6. Journaling 📓🖋️

Keep a magical journal to record your thoughts, experiences, and spellwork. Journaling is not only cathartic but also a powerful way to track your progress, uncover patterns, and celebrate your successes. Use it as a tool for self-reflection and growth.

7. Self-Compassion 💖🌈

Practice self-compassion in your daily life. Be gentle with yourself, just as you would with a close friend. Understand that setbacks are part of growth, and mistakes are opportunities to learn. By nurturing self-compassion, you'll foster resilience and inner strength.

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As witches, our practice is a reflection of our inner and outer worlds. By prioritizing self-care, we infuse our craft with authenticity and power. Remember that you are the most important tool in your magical toolkit, and by nurturing your mind, body, and spirit, you become a beacon of light in the world.

So, let's embrace self-care as an essential aspect of witchcraft. By nurturing ourselves, we empower our magic and cultivate a deeper connection with the universe.

🌿🌟✨

You don’t have to have fancy crystals and herbs for spell jars btw. You can use sugar, coffee grounds, leaves, acorns, etc. Don’t fall victim to witchcraft consumerism.

How do cards gain meaning in an occult sense? Like, both tarot and french-suited playing cards started as game pieces, but they have gained an understood meaning. Is it just someone whips up an organized table of connected ideas or is each card interpreted from a certain framework?

Oh good question!

Many things that we now consider staples of western magic are ideas that have been added to over generations by several layers of thinkers. Tarot Divination specifically is an excellent example of this!

In 1770, A french printmaker and occultist going by Etteilla published a book about how to do cartomancy with a 32-card Piquet deck. He writes down some simple but strict associations for the cards, and makes what is probably the first mention of reversals in carotmancy. He said that he learned the system "from an Italian." Now, its unclear how much of the system is his own invention, people have been doing cartomancy for as long as there's been cards, but the text presents a larval, bare-bones version of the cartomancy methods we know and love today.

Its 1780-ish. The Rosetta stone hasn't been discovered yet. Occult-inclined Europeans are obsessed with Egypt. That's where our boy Trismegistus is from! There's a concept in Egyptian mythology called The Book of Thoth, a mythical book of spells penned by the God of Knowledge himself. This was the Holy Grail for European Occult Egpytaboos.

In 1781, Antoine Court de Gébelin claimed that Tarot cards were the "original book of Thoth," Saying that Tarot cards had been used by ancient Egyptian priests for their own magical ceremonies, and that their designs contained ancient mystical secrets. This is 100% not true, but he writes a pretty fun pseudohistory for Tarot that involves Romani people bringing the decks to Europe through the Levant where they then taught its esoteric secrets to several Popes.

Then in 1783, Ettellia responded with another book. Manière de se récréer avec le jeu de cartes nommées tarots ("Way to recreate yourself with the deck of cards called tarots") Where Ettellia basically claims "uhm actually I knew about tarot divination way before Court de Gebelin published that big ass book. But anyway here's an interpretation of Tarot symbology that includes multiple references to Egyptian, Zoroastrian, and Greek mythology." But the smartest thing he did was include spread methods that involved Thoth and Numerology. Napoleonic Occultists fucking loved Thoth and numerology.

In 1788, he formed a little magical society for the express purpose of discussing and workshopping ideas for Tarot divination. In 1789, he made a TRULY smart decision, and published a Tarot deck that was Specifically For Magic, and that basically cemented Tarots place in magical history.

Occultists just kept iterating! Someone would speculate "maybe the suits correspond to the elements" and people went "yeah, they correspond to the elements! That makes this tool even more fun and interesting to use!" Then people go "What if the suits and the elements also correspond to parts of the Self?" and people went "Sure they do! That makes this tool even more interesting!"

But its also not just one thread. Eventually you get the Golden Dawn saying "The Major Arcana correspond to the nodes and paths on our version of the Quabbalistic Sefirot, you know, the hermetic version with a Q." and some occultists responded "Idk about that! Love what you've done with the color symbology though!"

The development of magical ideas is an iterative process. It is people whipping up a table of correspondences, but that table needs a mythology to keep it together. Originally, the mythology that gave tarot "power" was its Egyptian pseudohistory, but these days its the fact that occultists have been iterating on and fine-tuning this system for hundreds of years.

Humans don't think in tables of information, they think in stories. The cool thing about stories is that they're flexible. If magic is anything, its learning how to engineer stories to make the tables of information more effective.

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reblog if your blog is safe for trans witches, non binary witches, bisexual witches, gay witches, pansexual witches, closet witches, mental ill witches and all type of witches 🔮🌿

to rewild your witchcraft

walk barefoot on stones in shallow streams.

talk to the wind and let it carry away your regrets.

forage for wildflowers to place on your altar, press in thrifted books, or give to loved ones —be careful when identifying

watch sunrises and sunsets. wake up before the sun. bare witness to the painted sky.

spend hours in the woods among the wild. take long long walks or sit still and watch the world.

talk to plants and listen to them. make friends.

get field guides to trees, plants, birds, etc. that are native to your area. learn which are which. bookmark pages that you recognize or want to find.

sing back to the robins. caw back to the crows.

journal by firelight and feel the flame burn your worries away.

gather snow and bring a bowl inside. talk to it and tell it your worries. your fears. let it melt, transmuting your stress and worries into healing nourishment. bring it outside and water the soil. see how things can be changed.

dance. run. move your body to sweat, if this is something you can do

collect stones from the river and try to find the best ones. keep them in your pocket. hold onto them to remember that you’re an animal.

go to a lake and float. feel the water carry you. lifting you from your stress. bring a vial and collect some for spellwork.

make a necklace out of an acorn and thread.

stand in the rain. dance in it. lay down in the grass and let it pour. let it wash fears away, transform doubt to hope. start anew.

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘

(wild winter witchcraft here)

whenever i get sad that i don’t have friends to worship and do rituals with, I remember that birds sing love songs into the sky everyday, and the grass dances in the wind when it blows. And the clouds blush at the sunset, and the wind whistles tunes, and the bees hum, and the deer trot. And then I remember that the river runs, and the flowers open themselves to the sun, and the bugs sleep on warm leaves. and as I walk and pray, perhaps the rabbits nibbling on shrubs are praying too, perhaps that’s why the spider spun her web so beautifully. and then I remember that I’m not worshipping alone. I never was.

How to incorporate yarn crafts into your cottage magic journey!

If you are a witch that likes to journal or keep a book of shadows, you can use this to help plan out your crafts. You can write down what you want to make, your goals, the colors, and what hooks you are using. This allows you to focus your intentions, your goals, and even color magic into the craft! Crocheting and knitting can also be calming and possibly meditative! It can help you get ready for a different spell as well, if you are not using the yarn for the spell itself!

This can also be a form of knot magic, and you can focus protection or any other outcome as you work and make your stitches/knots in the yarn/string! You are most likely zoning out anyway while working, so thinking about your intentions should be easy to do in the moment. If knot (:3) then you can write your intentions in a journal to help you!

You can also burn incense or a candle while you work to help calm yourself, breathe life into the craft, and help set your intentions. 

Did you know that you can make a familiar out of yarn? They obviously behave differently from a living familiar but they are still used for protection and companionship! 

Yarn can also be used for jinxing and hexing. You can weave your intentions into the yarn and then burn it at the end of the project. Please make sure you are being careful and practicing proper fire safety!

You can also make offerings with the objects you’ve made. Remember, deities often prefer handmade offerings than store bought offerings!

I can't believe in the year 2024 we are still having to remind people not to put essential oils on their skin without diluting it with a carrier oil first