Tarot Cheat Sheet

Divination through Casting of Stones

A while ago I devised a simple divination method of casting stones on a board and interpreting where they fell. I ended up writing an entire ritual around this concept and performed it as a public ritual after teaching a class on the magical properties of crystals and stones. If I’m going to be teaching class and running a ritual afterward I like to tie the ritual into the subject covered in the class, so people can apply what they learned.

I decided to divide a reading area into three sections, for the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the Element of Earth, which would be marked with the colours associated with those aspects - green for physical, brown for mental, and black for spiritual. To really drive the Earth symbolism home I put the alchemical symbol for Earth on the centre of the reading board, and decided that if a stone fell inside that triangle then it had a stronger influence in the reading.

The three areas would break down as follows: Physical (green): The body, the home, physical concerns, structure, ‘real life’, wealth and finance Mental (brown): Control of thoughts, memory, discipline, patterns of thought Spiritual (black): Religious community, buildings, heirarchies, grounding, obedience and duty, moral and ethical issues, foundations

In order to make the board I went to Michaels and got the biggest wooden disc I could find, then carefully determined the centre and divided it into thirds which I painted with acrylic paint. I wanted the brightest colours possible, as I’d be doing this by candlelight. Two coats did the trick. At some point I may varnish them.

I gathered some of my collection of stones and decided to go with tumbled ones to minimize any possible damage. I wanted a wide variety of possible meanings for each reading, so my choices on what stones to use was heavily reliant on the symbolism I attach to them. I went with the following:

First row: Clear quartz: Clarity, power, wisdom Carnelian: Fire, strength, physicality, the body Hematite: Grounding Second row: Lapis lazuli: Divinity, the Gods, the sky Moss agate: Friendship, growth, the Earth Fluorite: Peace, inner calm, structure, learning Third row: Abalone: Inner beauty, secrets, Water Tiger’s eye: The Sun, power, protection, strength Moonstone: The Goddess, motherhood, the Moon, the psyche, magic Fourth row: Malachite: The Earth, growth, love Rose quartz: Love, pace, acceptance Amethyst: Sleep, dreams, peace, magic, the psyche Fifth row: Labradorite: Dark Moon, hidden secrets, new perspectives Amber: The God, the Sun, strength, power, healing Jet: Earth, night, grounding, stopping negativity

A sample reading: Physical: We have lapis lazuli, malachite, and jet, although the jet is partly on the spiritual side as well. Note the carnelian rolled off the board and as such doesn’t matter for this reading. The lapis is far from the centre, so has a weak influence here - the Gods and Their worship are not primary concerns for you right now as there are more important things going on. The malachite right on the Earth triangle tells us that growth is on the way, probably financial - the querent would have what they need to be fulfilled. As for the jet, its placement here implies that Earthy concerns are currently important to the querent, and it’s possible that they are feeling ‘in the dark’.

Mental: Abalone, right on the Earth triangle. There’s a foundational part of your self and psyche that you’re not revealing to others because you’re afraid to do so.

Spiritual: Moss agate outside the triangle tells us that the querent is making spiritual connections, be that to Gods, Elementals, some form of spirit, or connections in a religious or spiritual community. These connections lead to growth, but not in a spectacular way. The borderline position of the jet between physical and spiritual shows that the querent is a little uncertain about the connections they may be forming.

Of course, the stones used could be different, or a different reader may have a different interpretation of each stone, but still, I found it to be a useful method of divination and others seemed to appreciate the readings.

easy witchy tips i have learnt through my craft

writing a protective sigil inside your door to avoid bad energies to enter your room

making sigils by yourself works better because you pour your intention into it and can be a great way to manifest

white candles can replace any candle when doing candle magick

clear quartz can replace any crystal

when drinking your daily coffee/tea, stir clockwise to manifest something and anti-clockwise to let go of something. repeat your affirmations as you stir

salt baths absorb bad energies so having a salt bath once in a while helps with having your energies balanced

write an affirmation in a bay leaf and burn it to manifest it

always keep iron on you for protection

work with the moon phases and transits to make your spells more powerful

keep a sigil in your phone case for protection/manifestation

after giving an offering to a deity, return it to the earth

drink mugwort tea for lucid dreaming/astral projection (don’t drink it if you are pregnant!!)

before you put a crystal under water or in the sun, research about it

keep a dream journal. it helps for lucid dreaming.

put an amethyst under your pillow to sleep better and to recall your dreams

charge your tarot/oracle cards by putting a crystal on top of them while you are not usinf them

mix moon or sun water with your cosmetics for a quick beauty spell

try to do an activity to connect yourself with each element everyday. (ex: a bath for water, walking barefoot for earth, lighting a candle for fire, singing for air)

make an habit of meditating everyday

When NOT to Trust Your Intuition

“Trust your intuition” is a phrase we commonly see thrown around in witchy spaces, and in many cases it’s good advice. Part of practicing witchcraft (especially if your craft has a focus on divination or psychic abilities) is learning to trust in your intuitive promptings. In a lot of cases, going with your gut feeling is the right call. But not always.

Our intuition can be wrong, or can give us an incomplete picture of a situation. It can also sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between intuition and subconscious programming. The human brain is designed to find patterns. Because of this, it can sometimes be hard to tell if we are genuinely receiving a psychic prompting or just connecting dots that are actually unrelated.

There are a few common thought patterns that often get mistaken for intuitive messages by new and experienced witches alike. It’s a good idea to read up on these and to keep them in mind when determining the validity of intuitive messages.

Cognitive Distortions

According to Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA, writing for Healthline, cognitive distortions are “thought patterns that cause people to view reality in inaccurate — usually negative — ways. In short, they’re habitual errors in thinking.”

Like a computer error, cognitive distortions cause us to misinterpret information and draw incorrect conclusions. Cognitive distortions are common symptoms of mental illnesses [see below], but all of us experience them at some point, even if we’re 100% neurotypical. Research suggests that cognitive distortions may have evolved as a survival mechanism, and that they’re usually tied to trauma or negative experiences.

This is way too big of a topic to cover in a single post, but here are a few common cognitive distortions to look out for:

Black and White Thinking (also called “All or Nothing Thinking”): only thinking in extremes, framing every situation as either/or. (Example: “I have to do this ritual right or I’m a failure as a witch.”)

Overgeneralization: applying a conclusion based on a single experience to a whole group of people or things. (Example: “People who cast curses and hexes are all evil.”)

Catastrophizing: assuming the worst in every situation; turning everyday worries into major catastrophes. (Example: “I didn’t feel the gods during my ritual — the gods must have cut me off because they’re angry with me.”)

Personalization: taking things personally when they have nothing to do with you. (Example: “My friend cancelled our lunch plans for today — they must have decided they don’t like me anymore.”)

Mind Reading: making assumptions about what other people are thinking or feeling, usually projecting your own feelings onto them. (Example: “My partner is being quiet tonight — they must be angry with me.”) This cognitive distortion is especially important for witches to look out for, as it can be mistaken for empathy or claircognizance.

Mental Filtering: excluding positives and focusing only on negatives OR excluding negatives and focusing only on positives. (Example: You draw the Tower, the Sun, and Death in your tarot spread. You become fixated on the negative messages in the Tower and Death cards, ignoring the positivity and blessings heralded by the Sun.)

Labeling: reducing yourself, another person, a group of people, or a thing/activity to a single, one-word label. (Example: “I’m lazy.”)

I strongly encourage all witches to do research into cognitive distortions and learn to recognize them, especially if the nature of your magical practice has you leaning heavily on your intuition. A cognitive distortion is not an intuitive message — your intuition should be logical, and can often be fact-checked.

Prejudice

The prejudice I’m talking about here isn’t just the obvious kind, like blatant racism or homophobia. We all have prejudices, whether we realize it or not. Merriam-Webster defines prejudice as a “preconceived judgment or opinion” or “an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge.” Prejudice simply means thinking we know what to expect from something, even if we’ve never experienced it before.

You may have an image in your head of what “real” witchcraft looks like. You might feel like emoji spells, for example, aren’t “real magic” because they seem silly, they don’t take a lot of time and effort, there’s no historical precedent for them, etc. etc. In short, you feel like they aren’t “real magic” because they don’t fit your idea of what magic looks like. This is an example of prejudice, and buying into that prejudice prevents you from having access to an easy, fun form of techno magic.

If you find yourself receiving an “intuitive message” that someone else is faking it, is lying about their spiritual experiences, or is only imagining those experiences, take a step back and seriously examine that thought and where it might be coming from. It’s possible that the thought came not from your intuition, but instead from your own prejudices. It doesn’t matter if the way someone practices magic or experiences spirituality is different from your path — it’s the right way for them, and that’s what matters.

When you bring your prejudice into a tarot reading or other form of divination, you bring a set expectation for what the cards are going to tell you. The cards are going to pick up on that, and they may very well tell you what you want to hear — or you may twist the meaning of the cards to fit your expectations. This prevents you from getting clear, accurate readings.

I know it’s hard, but witchcraft requires us to leave our prejudice at the door. There is no “right way” to be a witch or to practice magic. There is no “right way” to communicate with the gods or the universe. Prejudice, biases, and expectations will only keep you from fully exploring your spirituality. Work on letting them go and opening up to the full spectrum of possibilities.

Stereotyping

This one goes hand-in-hand with prejudice and is closely related to overgeneralization (a cognitive distortion). Stereotyping is a necessary coping mechanism that we use to simplify our social interactions — but it is also the root of serious social issues like racism and misogyny. We all use stereotypes without consciously thinking about it.

While it’s important to be aware of stereotyping in order to avoid contributing to social issues, it’s also important for witches to learn the difference between an intuitive hit and a stereotype. This is especially important for witches who use claircognizance, where information often comes in the form of “downloads” that can sometimes be difficult to tell apart from our own thoughts.

For example, you might “just know” or “have a gut feeling” that a man you know is gay. But if that man talks in a higher pitch, acts effeminately, and puts a lot of time and effort into his appearance, then your gut feeling may have less to do with intuition and more to do with applying stereotypes to your friend.

Mental Illness

Many common mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety, can cause you to feel like you know that something bad is about to happen. “Anticipating disaster” or feeling like something is going to go wrong, is one of the most common symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and other anxiety disorders. Hyperfixating on details and worrying over small things are also common symptoms of these and other mental disorders.

As a witch with two anxiety disorders, I’ve had to learn to tell the difference between my intuition and my anxiety. Here’s a very recent, real life example: Last week, the entire staff at my workplace was tested for COVID-19. The results were expected to come back on my day off, and I found myself constantly watching my phone. Now, I do have some claircognizance, and when my phone goes off I usually know who the message is from before I even look at it. But on this day, every time my phone dinged I was just sure that it was my boss texting me to let me know that I’d tested positive. After the first couple of “false alarms,” I realized that this was an anxiety thing, not an intuitive thing. I was anxious about the test results, so that was the first thing my mind went to every time. (For the record, when my results did come back, they were negative.)

If you have or suspect that you have a mental illness that affects your thoughts and emotions, I highly recommend seeking out a good therapist or counselor. A trained mental health professional can help you sort out your symptoms and learn to recognize them, so you can differentiate them from genuine psychic experiences. (I’ve personally had really good results with CBT and DBT.)

Journaling has also been really helpful for me, as it helps me keep things straight and allows me to go back and read over my experiences when I’m having a better mental health day. (In my experience, it’s much easier to tell the difference between anxiety and intuition when you’re not in the moment.)

Resources:

“What Are Cognitive Distortions and How Can You Change These Thinking Patterns?” by Rebecca Joy Stanborough, MFA, medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP, published through Healthline

“50 Common Cognitive Distortions” by Alice Boyes Ph.D., published through Psychology Today

“Stereotypes” by Saul McLeod, published through Simply Psychology

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Facts page on the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) website

New World Witchery Podcast, “Episode 65 — The Slender Man Discussion”

Beltane ideas you might not have thought of!

🌼 Tie colorful ribbons with wishes and blessings onto tree branches

🌼 Buy a bundt cake. Stick a long straw into the center and tie little ribbons onto it. BOOM, got yourself a very sexual may pole cake (OPTIONAL: drizzle with honey, sprinkle with edible glitter, and top it off with some edible flowers)

🌼 Pick up a pebble and make a wish on it, then toss it into a body of water!

🌼 Go outside and draw. This holiday is about creativity and creation, so go outside and make some art!

🌼 Visit a local fruit stand or farmer’s market and get some local fruits and veggies. Cook them up simply, and eat them outside (or just eat them raw)

🌼 Buy a single little pot and a little plant of your choice. Plant it in nutrient-rich soil, then decorate around it with a tiny quartz crystal, or any other decorative crystals or rocks you can find. Name the plant after a deity or spirit of nature, fertility, love, or healing. Now you have a magical Beltane plant! Leave it outside overnight and ask the local nature spirits/fae to bless it or at least infuse it with their energy.

🌼 Go on an early-morning walk around your neighborhood and look for litter to pick up. Nothing honors the nature spirits like keeping the environment clean!

Happy Beltane, everyone :)

quick witch tip #2

quick witch tip: wear black pajamas to bed so you'll be protected during the night from any evil spirits or bad dreams!

black is a protective color!

Simple Ways to Connect with Nature

   Nature is my best friend, and often I feel disconnected from it. It’s important to ground yourself with nature, and feel one with it. Nature is the foundation of our lives, holding so much positive energy. You can easily harness this energy in many ways! So if you’re busy or just simply lazy, but would like to connect with nature, try some of these quick and helpful tips! Remember, always be aware of your surroundings and be careful!

Make contact with the earth. Take a walk in the grass barefoot, hug a tree, plant something with your bare hands, meditate on the dirt.

Have indoor plants. Not only do they freshen the air around you, but each plant brings it own unique benefits as well, such as mood boosters.

Open your window and blinds.  Breathe in the fresh air and take in your outdoor surroundings.

If possible, do what you do indoors, outdoors! Even if you’re just sitting on a patio, you can still enjoy the benefits of the outdoors while doing what you need to do.

Collect outdoor elements. Often I see witches decorate their altar with outdoor elements. This is a simple and effective way to better your connection with nature.

I hope you find this useful! xx ~ @chlovoyant

Banishing Nasty Spirits

If you’ve been following this series of posts, you know why a witch might work with spirits, how to establish a relationship with a spirit, and how to communicate with spirits. What we haven’t yet discussed is how to get rid of spirits that are bothersome, annoying, or malevolent.

I was planning to talk about pathworking and astral travel before getting into banishing, but in light of some asks I recently received on Tumblr, I think it’s important that we take a moment to discuss how to get rid of spirits that, for whatever reason, you don’t want around.

There are lots of reasons you might not want a spirit in your space. Just like with people, some spirits just aren’t a good fit for you and your practice. Part of being a spirit worker is cultivating a “spirit team” of beings that you can have healthy and beneficial relationships with.

Some spirits are mischievous and like to cause trouble. If you find yourself on the receiving end of lots of spirit pranks, you may want to gently encourage them to move along. And there are some spirits out there who just genuinely hate humans and will go out of their way to cause mental, emotional, and even physical harm.

Don’t get me wrong — malevolent spirits aren’t common. In my experience, the vast majority of unwanted spirits are more annoying than dangerous. I’m not saying this to scare you or make you paranoid. But these things do exist, and it would be negligent of me not to mention them in a series on spirit work.

There’s a reason that one of the most common truisms in witchcraft is, “Never conjure something you can’t banish.” If you’re going to be working with spirits, it’s a good idea to know how to banish them just in case. With that being said, here’s how you can clear out any nasties that may be lingering in your space.

Cleansing

The first step is to kick those unwanted spirits out of your space. There are lots of ways to do this, so choose the one that is the best fit for you.

Cleansing with fire and smoke is a very old and very simple method. If this is the way you decide to go, there are several magical substances you can burn to banish spirits. Burning sulfur or asafetida will clear out just about anything, but they both smell awful and are potentially toxic, so you’ll want to get an okay from the other people living in your home, burn a little at a time, and make sure you have lots of windows open. (Some people say sulfur and asafetida will banish all spirits, not just the unfriendly ones, so you may have to invite your spirit team back in later.) For something that smells a little more pleasant, you can try a mix of frankincense and myrrh resin, or burn a mix of dried rosemary, sage (garden sage, not endangered white sage, please!), and bay leaves — but again, make sure you have windows open, because these get smoky. Plus, you want the windows and/or doors open so the spirits have somewhere to go when the smoke chases them out.

If smoking up your living space isn’t an option for you, you can manually clean your space with a wash or powder. If you have hardwoods, you can make a floor wash with water, salt, lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. (This is adapted from an uncrossing bath in the book Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison.) Use this mixture to mop your floors, as well as to wipe down your walls and furniture. If you have a humidifier or essential oil diffuser, diffusing some of this mix would also be a good idea.

If you have carpet, you can make a powder by combining salt, dried lemon peel, dried roses, lavender flowers, and bay leaves. You’ll need to ground this really fine, so I recommend using a coffee grinder or food processor. Sprinkle the powder on your carpet, let it sit for a few minutes, and then vacuum it up. I would supplement this by also diffusing a mix of saltwater with rosewater, lemon juice, and lavender and/or bay laurel essential oil. If you don’t have a diffuser, at least sprinkle some saltwater around the room and on your belongings.

No matter which form of cleansing you decide to use, it’s important to verbally state your intention to banish these unwanted spirits from your space. Tell them out loud that they are no longer welcome here and that they need to leave. Don’t be rude about it, but be firm and speak clearly and with confidence.

After you cleanse your space, it’s a good idea to cleanse yourself as well to remove any psychic ties to the spirits you’ve just banished. The easiest way to do this is with a ritual bath. The floor wash recipe mentioned earlier can also be used as a psychic cleansing bath. Other options include a bath with salt, frankincense, and myrrh or a bath with salt, rosemary, sage, and bay laurel. You can use essential oils for your bath, or add the resins and herbs to a cheesecloth bag and drop it into the tub for easy diffusing and cleanup.

If you don’t have a bathtub, you can cleanse yourself in the shower. Place two cups of salt in a bowl. Add lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. If you don’t have essential oils, you can add dried lavender and crushed bay leaves. Add some of your favorite body wash to create a scrub (if you don’t have body wash, use olive oil). While in the shower, use this mixture to scrub your skin — visualize yourself scrubbing away any psychic gunk you might have picked up.

Protection

Once you’ve removed any unwanted spirits from your space, you want to lay down some protection to keep them from coming back. There are as many ways to ward off spirits as there are witches, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

One option is to create a ward. You can do this by anointing the door frames, door knobs, and window frames of your home with a protective oil blend and/or by creating lines of salt across your doorways and just inside your windows. You can use other protective substances if you prefer. As you lay down these protections, visualize a protective shield around your home, and speak aloud your intention to keep harmful spirits out.

Iron is said to repel spirits. Keep a railroad spike or other large piece of iron under your bed to prevent nightmares and to keep spirits from messing with you while you sleep. There’s an old superstition that says that hammering iron nails into the four corners of your home protects it from spirits — this may not be possible if you’re renting, but you can create a similar effect by displaying a piece of iron in each of the four corners of your home. Hematite is a crystal that is high in iron, so it can be used in a similar way to ward off spirits.

Aloe is said to protect from negative spirits, and to bring protection and good luck more generally. It’s also a common house plant that is easy to care for, so this method of protection is especially great for witches who need to keep their practice a secret. Keep several aloe plants in your home to protect those who live there.

For witches with a crafty side, making a witch bottle is another option for protection. There are lots of different recipes for witch bottles, but the basic method is to fill a bottle with sharp objects, add something from your body, and hide it somewhere outside your home (traditionally buried on the property, but leaving it in an outbuilding works just as well). The idea is that any nasty spirit that comes looking for you will be attracted to the bottle (because it contains part of your body), get caught by the sharp objects, and be trapped. To create a simple witch bottle, fill a mason jar about halfway with sewing pins, then add a bit of your hair and some of your fingernail clippings, and finally fill it with liquid (traditionally, this liquid is your own urine, but if that makes you uncomfortable vinegar will also work). If you want, you can also include some of your favorite banishing herbs, resins, or crystals.

Religious symbols can also keep nasty spirits away. If you identify strongly with a religion, display protective symbols from that faith in your living space. For example: a Christian witch might hang up a crucifix or set out a statue of Archangel Michael, a Norse pagan witch might hang up an image of Mjolnir, a Hindu witch might display a statue of Durga, etc. Sometimes the most effective way to keep nasty spirits away is to let them know that you’re under the protection of someone more powerful.

When dealing with unwanted spirits, the most important thing to remember is that you do not need to be afraid. You are a powerful witch, and you are more than capable of getting rid of them. Be confident in your abilities and know that whatever happens, you can handle it.

Resources:

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin

Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

🍞 Kitchen Magic 🍞

🌿 Herbs 🌿

Basil: wealth, money, blessings, fertility, protection, house blessings

Catnip: love, beauty, happiness, working with cat spirits

Chamomile: luck, sleep, peace, purification, calm

Cinnamon: sexuality, lust, consecration, love, spice

Elderberry: exorcism, healing, prosperity, protection

Lavender: anti-anxiety, sleep, healing, meditation, psychic abilities

Peppermint: purification, love, anti-negativity, power

Rosemary: cleansing, drawing the aid of spirits, mental focus

– 

🧂 Spices 🧂

Cardamom: love, courage, desire, sex, intimacy

Cumin: happiness, balance, peace, promises, protection

Turmeric: breaking a spell, power, purification 

Mustard seeds: wealth, money, fertility, success

Nutmeg: warmth, luck, art, knowledge, psychic powers

Paprika: energy, creativity, strength, healing

Cayenne pepper: banishing, passion, fire, against nightmares

Pepper: curses, powerful spells, conjuration

Saffron: changes, wind, healing, love, happiness

Salt: abundance, earth, work, purification, protection 

– 

🍎🥦 Fruits and Vegetables 🍎🥦

Avocado: beauty, love, happiness, youth, transformation

Banana: wealth, abundance, growth, energy, health

Cherry: creativity, desire, divination, fertility, sex

Lemon: banishing, spirits, balance, healing, joy, purification

Pumpkin: prosperity, dreams, immortality, fertility

Strawberry: love, strength, harmony, inspiration, luck 

Coconut: life, generosity, insurance, energy, opportunity

Olive: abundance, wealth, money, power, security

Bell pepper: mental health, protection, love, strength

Apple: soul, life, relationships, wise, health, success

Potato: money, luck, healing, truth, divination 

–

🔮 Kitchen Rituals 🔮

Growing your own herbs will give them extra magical properties. 

Before cooking or baking an important meal, bless your kitchen and caste a protection circle to keep only good energies in. 

Use sigils when adding sauces or spices to your meal. 

Create affirmations and spells to say out loud when baking or cooking your favorite meals. 

Make herbal remedies to cure colds or small illnesses. 

Sing or play music to bring positive energies while cooking. 

Gift baked goods to friends, family or someone in need. 

Stir your food clockwise to bring good luck. 

Bless your most important tools, like a witch spoon, to make every meal extra special and magical. 

Reblog if you're a Witch with a mental illness

I wanna see that there are others out there like me who struggle with a mental illness and also practise 🔮📿🕯

I wanna know I’m not alone and show you that you’re not alone too! 💞💜

Before you do anything, consider:

Is it magical?