Taurus Sun, Aquarius Moon

Components of a Spell

Intent

Intent is the most important component and is the starting point of any magical process. Part of manifesting your desires into reality is defining them clearly and empowering that thought. 

Making your intent specific is very important because it will help you avoid unwanted outcomes. Here are some examples of intents:

Weak: Protect me.

Better: Protect me from negative energy. 

Strong: Protect my mind, body, and spirit from negative energy while allowing good energy in. 

If you are less specific, you may find that you block of good energy as well as bad energy! The universe can also twist your words in ways you do not expect so be sure that your intent is clear.

General and simple intents may work for some practitioners but I recommend beginners strive to be specific. 

Everything from here on will be directly related to your intent.

Materials

Choosing materials sounds difficult but if you have a clear intent, it should not be too difficult. Having a book of shadows or notebook and taking notes on spell materials is very helpful to crafting spells. As a beginner, you may be overwhelmed by the wide variety of herbs, flowers, spices, and crystals. Try to focus on a few at a time and keep track of their associations. 

Pick materials that align with your intent. For example, if we are using the previous example you would want the following materials:

One that brings protection 

One that connects to the self or the mind/body/spirit

One that absorbs or deflects negative energy

One that welcomes positive energy

You do not necessarily need all of these materials, as when you are performing the spell you can compensate for this through your words or actions. 

Finding the correct components will involve research so be prepared! Your choices should be based on a combination of outside sources and personal experience. As you cast and create more spells you will become more advanced at using and choosing materials. 

Words

The words you choose to speak, sign, or think, when casting a spell should reflect your intent. Your spell does not have to rhyme but the rhythm of a rhyming poem can 1. make it easier to remember and 2. help you connect more deeply to your spirit. You can also use repetition to strengthen the spell and solidify your intent. 

If you are lacking in components, you should take great care in crafting your words. This is your chance to communicate to the universe what you want and need. 

I recommend researching different types of poetry and literary techniques. In a way, your poem is an offering to the universe as a thanks for empowering the spell. There is value in choosing beautiful and meaningful words to aid your spell. 

Actions

I find the actions people use when executing a spell vary depending on their religion and background. In the end, you have to go with your gut and choose actions that feel right to you. Some examples of actions you can take during a spell are as follows:

Kissing a component

Burning a material

Grinding or combining materials

Drawing shapes or sigils with your hands

Facing a specific direction 

Sitting, standing, walking

Dancing or physical exercise

As you can see, actions are much more open ended which I why they are difficult to explain. However, I can say that the actions you take can aid in adding power and energy to your spell. For example, dancing releases your physical energy which can charge your spell. 

Actions can also help you invoke specific spirits or deities. There is a reason many Christians make a cross motion when praying. The motions themselves are a symbol that invoke whatever power you are calling upon.

Conclusion

Much of spell-making is a personal process of research and discovery. But, hopefully this post gives you an idea of where to start! I invite people to add on to this post with other ideas and suggestions as well as critiques!

(image from pixabay)

10 Daily Witchy Things

Cleanse your bed in the morning when you make it- to remove the stress and negativity of the previous night and have a peaceful sleep the next night. 

Make a cup of tea and charge it with positive energy to get you through the day. 

Clean your desk/workspace/wherever you do creative things and draw productivity sigils on it in cleaner or keep a clear quartz nearby to focus energy. 

Bless your keys before you get in your car for protection on the road. 

Use a special scrub or face mask in the shower for a glamour spell. 

Spend time outside, or keep your blinds open to allow sunlight in. 

Take a walk outside, if you can, and ground yourself with each step. 

Use wax melters, incense, or other scented items to fill your space with an intended scent. 

Cleanse your phone/other electronic devices- clean out the old apps and photos, clean out the negative people from your contact list, and reset your ringtones and wallpaper to increase positive energy. 

Before you go to bed, take ten minutes and thank your deities (if you have any) and reflect on your day. Before you fall asleep, think of one thing that was good about the day, no matter how small, and be grateful. 

☽ little tips for witches ☾

here I will leave some very useful tips for those who have been in practice for some time, as well as for beginners. I hope this text will illuminate and help each one on their way! ✨

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

• to do energy cleaning in your home, put in a glass: water, coarse salt and charcoal. position it behind the entrance door.

• bury egg shells in a pot or in your home garden to ensure abundance and fertility in your home.

• do not put the ashes left over from the incense out, they can be reused in making the black salt.

• burn dry rosemary to attract protection, purification, psychic abilities and openness for healing.

• to attract positive energies to you, spread several mirrors around your home, just avoid those with sharp details on your edge. they also help to clear the mind.

• to ward off any bother that is bothering you, write the key words of the situation on a white candle. light the candle and ask the fire beings to burn this evil that you want to destroy.

• make a wreath with chamomile flower and hang it on the door to protect the environment throughout the year from physical and spiritual damage.

• use cinnamon to improve your individual skill with prophecy through divination, channeling and working with oracles.

• when making your own oils, use olive oil and dried herbs of your choice.

• press and store rosemary leaves in your books. this will increase your wisdom during your studies and your memory, making you learn more easily.

• burn some thyme on your altar to clean up your magic space. thyme when burned with incense strengthens psychic power.

Too much light! 🌿 🌿

Keiichi T

Lammas tips

Activities

bake bread or put herbs bread you buy

go on a walk and observe the changes in nature

tidy up

fire/sun spells

have a bonfire

decorate! (this can just be changing your phone background)

gather and dry herbs for spellwork

enjoy the warm weather before autumn

go to harvest festivals and farmers markets

prosperity spells

check your garden

restock things you need

put wheat on your alter

mess around in the kitchen! put your own twist on that recipe you love

update any witchy journals you may keep (grimoire, book of shadows, etc)

eat late summer fruits

reflect on your talents and do what you’re good at

make sun water

have a self-love bath ritual

make corn dolls

Colors

yellow

cream

brown

green 

gold

orange

dark purple

tan

Herbs and Flowers

rosemary

cinnamon

mint

basil

garlic

mugwort

milkweed

acacia

peony

marigold

sunflowers

hops

goldenrod

yarrow

Incense and EOs

frankincense

sandalwood

rose

rosemary

patchouli

lavender

lemongrass

Crystals

tigers eye

citrine

rose quartz

quartz

carnelian

aventurine

granite

gold

brass

amber

malachite

sardonyx

yellow aventurine

golden topaz

clear quartz

marble

lodestone

rhodochrosite 

Animals

deer

cow

rooster

sheep

crow

pig

salmon

Deities

Lugh

Dagon

Taranis

Dumuzi

Demeter

Ceres

Dana

Isis

Luna

Danu

Hestia

Vesta

Food

bread

corn

garlic

blackberries

oats

apples

pears

fruit salad

elderberry

lamb

nuts

Spells

protection

prosperity

sun magick

courage

kitchen magick

connection

career

health

money

abundance

Other Names

Lughnasadh

Lúnasa 

Luanistyn 

Lùnastal 

The First Harvest

I started this later than I meant to, so this one’s shorter than usual, but I home it’s still helpful. To end it all, here’s a masterpost with a bunch of links to help. Blessed be!

Basics of Kitchen and Cottage Witchcraft

Kitchen witches believe that the kitchen is a sacred place where all of the magick happens. They focus on the use of edible ingredients and kitchen tools.  A cottage witch is a witch that brings magick into the house and are protectors of the hearth and home. They bring cheer and warmth to every room they enter. Their focuses are on the family, home, and daily needs. Both the cottage and Kitchen witch believe that by honoring the home it honors the Gods and Goddesses. They bring magick into everyday life and daily chores.

Ways a Kitchen and Cottage witch can bring magick into a home:

Create a kitchen altar

Stock your shelves with herbs and spices

Bring maximum feng-shui to your home

Keep the home physically and spiritually clean

Paint the house walls in colours that bring happiness, warmth, and coziness

When making a sandwich put mustard or mayo sigils on it

When making meals add herbs that correspond to your magickal needs

Decorate the home according to the sabbats

Brew some special teas

Make your own candles, salves, and tinctures.

Make offerings to Gods and Goddesses of hearth and home.  

Ask your deities to keep your house safe and healthy.

Create your own recipes and add your own touch of magick to them

Put intent into everything you cook and clean

Make an incantation or short song to sing while you stir.

Inscribe your wooden spoons with sigils  

Carve your wooden shelves with sigils - carve them at the bottom of the cupboard to remain discreet

Craft oils, incense, soaps, potions, and salves.

Make herbal remedies

Chant while cleaning or preparing a meal

Use numerology in their practices by the number of times they stir or the number of times they knead dough.

During the mead moon, brew mead with magickal intent.

Decorate the home with your own art or art done by your children, poems, knits, woodcraft’s, paintings, quilts, diy’s, or tapestries.

Enchant your crafts.

Use weather magick, candle magick, ribbon charms, and anything else used to add magick to your home.

Honour the ancestors.

Bless the home.

Start a garden and will it with organic and in season fruits and vegetables.

Charge herbal oils by moonlight or candlelight to heal, bless the home or to clean and protect the woodwork she polishes with it.

Scatter charm bags, witches ladders, chimes, and bells around the home.

Grow an indoor jungle

Learn herbal remedies to treat MINOR injuries

If you work with meat make sure to thank and honour the animal it came from.

Sing or play music to raise good vibrations

Bake and cut cookies in shapes to match your intentions

Provide someone in need with a free meal

Volunteer at a local soup kitchen to bring magick into it

What their altar may display:

Candles

Tools used for sacred use

Four elements

Statues of the honoured deities

A doll weaved of corn

A kitchen witch’s altar is often displayed in the corner of the kitchen and is not permanent

Food made by the witch left as an offering

Some beliefs followed:

Magick is not used to inflict pain on others or block anyone’s free will

Believe in living simple lives

Believe in using organic items, products that aren’t animal tested, recycling, and composting.

Creativity is a form of devotion

Keep peace in the household

May the home always contain good food, good talk, and good company

Welcome guests into the home with open arms

Cottage and Kitchen witch superstitions/wives tales:

Stir clockwise to bring good luck

Never stir with a knife as it is considered bad luck

Place a piece of amethyst near the stove top to make the food cooked there tastes better

If an apple bursts in the oven while baking it means good luck is on its way for the cook

Eggs that are cracked while they boil is a sign that visitors are on their way

Dropping silverware means that company is coming

Spilling water on the table cloth means that rain is on its way

Seeing a spider in the house is good luck, killing it is bad luck

Wild animal tracks in the snow encircling your house is a sign of good luck and protection

When your cupboard doors are left opens it means that people are gossiping about you

If a broom drops across the doorway it means that you will soon head off on a journey

If you spill salt throw it over your left shoulder to undo any bad luck

To keep evil spirits away chop an onion in half and place it on the window sill

Chosen tools:

Wooden spoons

Knife

Bowls

Cooking pot or cauldron

A ritual knife used to only cut spiritual ties

A Fire place

Broom

Mortar and pestle

Kettle

Jars and bottles

Sewing kit

Cook books

Spells are cast to bring:

Healing

Prosperity

Protection

Abundance

Happiness

Fertility

Harmony

Peace

Deities worked with:

Hestia

Frigga

Brighid

Demeter

May your house stay warm and full of magick!

==Moonlight Academy==

📚 Witch Study Tips 📚

🌪️ Start your study session by opening your windows wide open and getting fresh air on your face to clear out negative or distracting thoughts. 

🔮 State a clear intention for the session, for instance “I have no doubts in my ability to succeed in my studies and to understand everything clearly”. 

🕯️ Light a purple candle, which is associated with power, ambition, and focus, to get inspiration and energy from the flames. 

💎 Set clear quartz crystal around your study space to bring clarity of mind and a deep focus state. 

🍵 Drink matcha, peppermint, or green tea to increase focus and concentration while studying. 

🎧 Listen to lo-fi playlists with spooky themes, such as this one (for witches) or that one (for ghosts). 

✏️ Draw a productivity sigil on your notebook or add it digitally to your notes on your computer, if you don’t use actual paper. I like using this one.

🧘 Meditate at the end of your study session to absorb the knowledge and calm your thoughts before moving on to another topic.  

🛌 Take breaks! Don’t forget to step out of your study space, stretch your muscles, take a walk outside, make a nap. 

Mabon: Autumn Equinox

To begin, let me start by saying this is the 3rd time I have to write this because Tumblr decided to refresh on me when I didn’t ask it to and so everything I wrote DISAPPEARED (fix your bugs, tumblr!) Because of that, this version my original post is going to be so half-assed now! I hate tumblr sometimes!

An equinox is a day of the year when there is equal parts day and night - light and darkness. Many people have a tendency to view this as a “versus” thing, but it’s not! It’s a day to acknowledge balance and harmony.

The fall equinox is an important day of power for many Neo-Pagans and Witches. It’s a day that some even call, “Witches’ Thanksgiving” because it’s a day where witches “reap what they sow” - literally and figuratively. That means, giving thanks to Mother Earth for providing us with the sustenance we need to survive and also acknowledging the people in our lives by expressing our gratitude and asking for forgiveness for our past transgressions (and also for forgiving others).

There are many mundane ways someone who is a witch, or Pagan, can celebrate Mabon! Here are a few examples that I can think of:

- Throw a “barnyard” party with dancing, singing/karaoke, and chanting

- Have a bonfire! (please be responsible!)

- Host a potluck or a dinner party

- Apple picking

- Go camping or take a hike

- Crochet, quilt, or knit

- Make wines, ciders, beers or butters, jams, jellies, featuring the fruits of the season

- Bake pies!

- Give back to the community and maybe volunteer at an animal shelter or food bank or host a food drive

There are also many things a witch can do to celebrate this day of power:

~ This is a good time for divination (apparently there’s something called apple divination and it sound perfect for this time of year!)

~ Protection magic also gets a boost during this time (maybe try warding?)

~ Because this day is a day of thanks, avoid asking for things on this holiday

~ Have a “Gratitude Ritual”

~ Meditation and grounding are great on this day (it’s all about finding balance and harmony)

~ Set up an altar that showcases the fall of Summer, the start of Autumn, and the soon to be here Winter; be sure to include things that you’re grateful for!

~ Have a mock sacrifice

~ This is a great day to practice and hone your kitchen magic, so take this time to learn more about sigils in baking, herbs and their medicinal and magical properties, etc.

- If you’re Neo-Pagan, take this time to talk to some different deities (focus on harvest, wine, earth and sun deities)

Important symbols:

> The colors gold, yellow, red, and orange

> Oak, ivy, Hazel, Cedar, Hops and Vines are important trees/plants to acknowledge during this time

> Scarecrows, scales, ying-yang, scythes, & haystacks are common symbols

> Wolves, dogs, foxes, and birds of prey are important symbols of this time

> Amethys, yellow topaz, and citrine are stones/ctystas associated with this holiday

> Drinks and Foods include wine, grapes, most nuts, apples, all berries, and black pepper

As always, please feel free to share your knowledge and wisdom - and feel free to ask questions - so that we can all continue to grow and prosper!

Shadow Work journal prompts

Shadow work works best if you are completely honest with yourself, this is a time for growth and evaluating your behaviors and what you need to change in order to be closer to a more authentic you.

In the beginning, I didn’t notice how much these questions made me really take a step back and think. I’ve spent so much time not thinking about the reactions I’ve had or what perceptions I have about situations, that I spent a lot of time writing and putting a lot of effort into each and every question.

Every time I started to journal— I have noticed a pattern, I have noticed where some of my anger and insecurities are stemming from, and why.

One of the prompts asked me to describe how I was as a child, this took me into a long loop of all the things I enjoyed doing as a child. This helped me connect with her. As I was describing how I was as a child I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the (good) memories that followed. There were some (bad) memories that showed up as well, and I journaled about them too and how it made me feel then— and now. This helped me feel connected to who I am today. It also made me realize how much I have been working for a very long time achieving who I am today. I hope these prompts helps whoever in need to start their journey into healing.

*A reminder that I am not a licensed professional and use caution, everyone has different types of trauma and how to work through it. Talk with a licensed professional if you need to. My inbox is always open as well for support*

Artist Credit: Forever-Healing (Jupiter Moon Apothecary)