BELTANE

Travel Altar/ Altar in a Box

I have a cat and my cat is an asshole. I’d love to have a big beautiful altar set up on my dresser, but Pip is the kind of cat that likes to knock things off of high places, take things that don’t belong to her and run, and hide things. To get around this, I decided to make an altar in a box. I used the small box that I already had, but you can use any size or shape box that you want! 

I started with a box. Obviously. I got mine from Hobby Lobby ages ago and had stained it with a dark stain and put box corners on it so that it looked nice. I had been using it as a catch-all for oddities and found objects, but decided that I would have to use it for my altar, as it’s the only box that I have. 

Step one was already done, as I had done it last year. Decorate the box. Like I said, I stained mine and added some dark box corners. I also used black ink to darken up the gold clasp so that it wasn’t so bright in comparison to the rest of the box. I wanted it to look a bit more vintage and worn.

Next, I cut a rectangular piece of fabric to line the box with. I forgot to take a picture of the fabric before gluing it in, so I quickly cut out this smaller piece to show you what I did. In order to make sure that the cloth lay flat around the edges and not bunch up, I cut off the corners. Like so.

And then I used hot glue to attach it to the box. I folded the raw edges of the fabric under so that they were hidden and the finished product looked a bit cleaner. This step was an absolute pain and I burned my fingers on the glue a few times.

After that, I cut a piece of thick board to fit inside the box. You could use cardboard or chipboard, too. I used what I had on hand. This piece of board will be used a shelf. You’ll see what I mean later. Here, I’m just making sure that the board fits. I actually ended up cutting it down a bit, because with the fabric lining in, and taking into account the fabric that will be covering the board itself, it was a bit too wide to fit inside the box.

Once I was confident that I’d cut it down to a size that would fit, I covered it with the same fabric I used to line the box. This picture shows the underside of the board where the fabric was glued down.

Next was probably the easiest step - gluing that board into the box to make our shelf. The board is glued onto the lid of the box so that when it’s closed, it sits flat against the back wall of the box, and when it’s open, it makes a little shelf! If you make this box, be sure to make the shelf narrow enough that you can still close your box. You don’t want it hitting the bottom and preventing the lid from closing all the way.

Next, we add the ribbon to the sides so that the lid stays upright when the box is open instead of falling back. Without the ribbon, your shelf is useless. I didn’t measure very well, just made sure that the ribbon wasn’t too short so that the box wouldn’t open all the way. If you’re using two ribbons like I did, it’s also important to make sure that both pieces of ribbon are the same length. 

If you use something other than hot glue, you may want to do this step before you put your lining in. Because I used hot glue, I was able to peel back the front corners of the lining so that I could glue the ribbon down, and then replace the fabric over top so that the end of the ribbon was hidden underneath. 

I ran out of hot glue for the second ribbon, so I was forced to switch to E600, which works very very well, but takes some time to dry. I glued down the ribbon and let it dry enough that it wouldn’t move around, then glued the lining back in place. I used binder clips to hold the fabric in place while it dried.

I left the project while it dried and went to eat dinner. When I came back, I was able to take the clips off, and the box was done!

At this point, you can decorate the inside of your box how you see fit! If you make one of these for yourself, be sure to tag me! I’d love to see what you come up with. Happy crafting and blessed be.

Some notes: 

When gluing in the lining, put the glue on the box, not the fabric. This allows you to fold under the edge of the fabric and stick it down without burning yourself.

Before you cut your shelf, take into account that there is going to be fabric covering the board and the box, making the fit a bit snugger. Don’t do what I did and cut your board, then have to go back and shave some more material off so that it fits.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR CHOSEN ADHESIVE TO FINISH THE PROJECT. 

If you have fat hands like I do, you may want to use only one ribbon, on the opposite side of your dominant hand. I’m right-handed, so I may end up going back and cutting off the ribbon on the right side of the box.

-Vyrian

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 :)

Counting Crows!

One Crow — Bad Luck, Death (Should be noted that a corvid alone is unusual as they are gregarious species)

Two Crows — Good Luck, Joy

Three Crows — Wedding, Female Birth

Four Crows — An Event, Male Birth

Five Crows — Money, Positive Business

Six Crows — Wealth Change, Loss/Gain

Seven Crows — Secret, Curse

Eight Crows — Life-Altering experience

Nine Crows — Love, Something Sensual

Ten Crows — Turnaround In Luck, Overwhelming

Eleven Crows — Surprise, Secrets (Hidden/Revealed)

Twelve Crows — Good Luck, Fulfillment

Thirteen Crows — Completion, The End

It’s been said that if the number of covids you see tallies up to something negative, then it can be countered with saying “Greetings Mr. Crow, I salute you!” as well as offering it a lil’ treat!

There are many different rhymes to help you remember! One of the longer ones goes as follows:

“One for sadness, two for mirth;

Three for marriage, four for birth;

Five for laughing, six for crying:

Seven for sickness, eight for dying;

Nine for silver, ten for gold;

Eleven a secret that will never be told.”

Historical Witchcraft 101: The Compilation

My historical witchcraft series is (for now) finally over! Thanks everyone to all the support I got, I’m really glad you seemed to enjoy those posts as much as I enjoyed making them. Feel free to message me about things you’d like to see from me in the future!

For ease of reference, I thought I’d compile all the posts here:

Witch Bottles

Witch Ladders

The Toad Bone

Poppets

Hag Riding

Familiar Spirits

The Witches’ Sabbat

Flying Ointment

Shapeshifting

| 100+ Grimoire Prompts/Ideas |

To see any updates to this post, click [here]. I’ll likely update it. 

Disclaimer No single witch knows about all these things or has answers to all these prompts. This is just a reference list. Don’t get overwhelmed and focus on what interests you and relates to your path when making a grimoire or book of shadows. 

The Essentials:

Does your grimoire have an index for organization? Make one! 

Write about the history of witches, the occult, Paganism, ect. 

What is witchcraft?

What is intent? What is your will? How do they work? 

What types of spells are there?

What are some methods for spells? 

What types of witches are there? 

What is cleansing? Why is it important? How is it done? 

What is charging? Why is it important? How is it done? 

What is grounding? Why is it important? How is it done? 

What is shielding & warding? Why is it important? How is it done? 

What are circles? Why are they important? How is it done? 

What is visualization? Why is it important? How is it done? 

What methods are there for divination? How can it be used?

What is consecration? How do you consecrate tools? 

Write about energy, energy work basics, how is energy used? 

What methods of meditation are there? Have any favorites?  

Write about any tips for meditation you know of! 

Other Useful Stuff:

Make a list of terms commonly used in reference to witchcraft

How to write your own spells 

How to make moon water

How to make sigils 

How to dress candles

The wheel of the year. What is it? How do you celebrate it? 

Make a pendulum board

Write the entire Theban Alphabet 

Taglocks. What are they? How do you use them?

The Correspondences of:

The Elements 

The directions - North, South, East, & West 

Moon phases 

Zodiac signs 

Planets 

Days 

Times of day 

Numbers 

Colors

Tarot cards 

Runes 

Herbs & Spices 

Flowers 

Trees/Wood 

Other plants 

Essential Oils 

Incense 

Teas 

Seashells & other things from the sea 

Crystals & Metals 

Gods & goddesses 

Spirits 

Angels 

Fae

Entities:

List pantheons/deities 

Basic spirit work 

How to protect yourself from spirits

How to bind and banish spirits if something goes wrong 

Fae etiquette 

Types of Fae

List ways to communicate with deities/spirits/Fae 

Information on constructs, servitors, tulpas, ect.

Your Path:

Page of tips/reminders

List practices, topics, deities/spirits of interest

How did you discover witchcraft?

What kind of witch are you, if any labels apply besides witch? 

Why do you do witchcraft?

What inspires your practice?

Is your practice based on any certain culture, religion, ect?

Is witchcraft spiritual for you? How so? Are you Pagan, Wiccan, ect? 

What is special about your practice? Do you have any unique methods, ideas, systems? 

How do you believe magic works?

What has being a witch taught you? 

Do you have any rules for your path? What are they? Why do you have them? 

Write about your goals relating to witchcraft. 

Do you have any familiars, deities or spirits you work with? Write about them. 

Are there many witches, occultists, Pagans, ect that inspire you? Who? What about them is inspiring? 

Make a correspondence page for you. Your natal chart, birth tarot card, numerology, elements or signature ingredients you connect to, ect. 

Draw a chart of symbols you use in your practice. This could be alchemical symbols, sigils, runes, ect. 

Offering ideas for your deities/spirits

Plants you have and how to care for them 

Do you have any witchy drawings or doodles? Add them! Make some! 

Write about folklore, especially personally significant or local folklore

Write about any myths or folk tales you like 

Write about local animals, plants, in your area

Make lists of:

Witchy recipes, crafts, projects, ect that you wanna do

Tarot spreads you like

Other spreads you like, oracle, runes, ect

A section or separate book for readings/spells/rituals you do

Witchy places you like, that be it woods, cemeteries, shops, ect

A witchy wishlist, tools, ingredients, ect that you want

Witchy books you have and witchy books you want 

Random topics:

Astrology

Astral projection

Auras

Crystal grids

Dream interpretation

Familiars

Herbalism 

Lenormand 

Runes 

Sacred geometry

Scrying 

Symbols 

Tarot cards

Oracle cards 

Palmistry

Pendulums

Goal list to make

 Money, luxury and material values;

 Training, education, knowledge and skills; 

 Family, home, children, relationships; 

 Health, fitness, lifestyle;

 Fame, recognition and achievements

Travel, rest; 

 Hobbies and creativity;

 Spirituality.

likes charge | reblogs cast

☀️🕯🌼🔥🍻🕯🍻🔥🌼🕯☀️

to welcome the coming of summer!

happy beltane

Kitchen Witchin’

Kitchen witchery evolved from the ancient concept of the hearth as the sacred center of the home. In the ancient world the hearth, the place where food was prepared and warmth was created, had great importance and was treated with reverence. Humans have always inherently understood that the kitchen is a special place where magic happens.

For modern witches, the kitchen is a great place for everyday magic. Here are a few ways you can infuse some magic into your food.

Magical Cooking Techniques

Begin by taking a moment to clear your mind and focus your energy. Just like any other magical activity, kitchen magic is best performed in a focused, spiritual headspace. This doesn’t have to be anything elaborate (although, if you want to cook with incense and candles burning, more power to you). It can be as simple as taking a moment to close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and focus on your intention.

Set the mood. One of the simplest ways to put magic into your food is to infuse a dish with a certain energy or emotion. Let’s say you want to make a dish infused with the energy of happiness, so that everyone who eats it gets a little bit of those good vibes. The easiest way to do this is by making sure you’re happy when you cook it! Put on music that makes you feel happy, dance around your kitchen, and pour all of that happy energy into the food as you prepare it.

Enchant your ingredients. You may choose to layer ingredients with different magical purposes in order to create a stronger spell. For example, if you’re making a meal infused with protection magic, you might include some ingredients for physical protection, some for strength, and some for mental clarity. You can accomplish this by enchanting each ingredient individually as you add it to the food. Your enchantment can be as simple as thanking the spirit of the item, and asking to help you accomplish [insert intention here] in your spell.

Use numerology. Numerology is the idea that numbers have an inherent spiritual nature. There are many different systems of numerology, so it’s important to use what makes the most sense to you — this includes bringing in your own associations for numbers! You can use numerology in your cooking by adding a certain number of an ingredient based on that number’s magical value. For example, I might add nine shakes of salt to symbolize completion and the granting of wishes, or add three bay leaves to symbolize creativity and collaboration. Just make sure you’re not adding so much of an ingredient that it overpowers the other flavors in the dish!

Stir ingredients clockwise to bring blessings or counterclockwise to send away unwanted energy. This comes from an old Irish tradition that states that moving “sunwise” (clockwise) brings blessings while moving against the sun (counterclockwise) brings curses or banishes something. When you’re mixing your food, stir it clockwise to bring in desired energies, like love, joy, or peace. Stir it counterclockwise to cast out undesired energies, like sickness or stress.

Draw or carve sacred symbols on your food. I talked about runes and sigils at length in my last post so I won’t repeat myself here, but you can also use magical symbols in kitchen magic! You can carve runes or sigils into vegetables and charge them before slicing them up, use your spoon to trace them in the surface of a soup as you stir it, or draw the symbols in the air over your food before you serve it. If you’re drawing a symbol with a name, you should speak the name out loud or in your mind as you draw it. If you’re drawing a sigil, speak the intention behind that sigil out loud or in your mind. These symbols are like batteries for magical power, so they’re a great way to add a boost to your kitchen magic.

Use blessed water. If you make moon water during the full moon, try adding a few drops of it to the next thing you cook and see how much more energized you feel after eating it! Making moon water is an easy way to get blessed water, since all it requires is leaving a jug of water out under the full moon, but there are other kinds of blessed water you can use as well. Some Catholics sprinkle holy water (water that has been blessed by a priest) into their food or drink. You can create your own “holy water” by speaking a blessing over a jug of water — it can be a general blessing for peace and good fortune, or can be more specific based on your intent. You can also use water that has been infused with edible plants based on their magical associations, but this will of course change the flavor of your food.

Speak an incantation. The spoken word is a powerful source of magic. Write an incantation or statement of intention based on what you want to accomplish with this magical food. Speak this incantation aloud at some point during the cooking process — I like to say it when I’m mixing all the ingredients together. This can be as simple as, “May [insert food here] bring me [insert benefit here],” or can be long and elaborate. If there are words from another source, like a poem or song lyrics, that feel like they fit your intention, you should absolutely feel free to use them as your incantation.

Pray over your food. Saying grace before a meal is another way of blessing it. You don’t have to pray to a certain deity or higher power. Instead, you could simply thank the spirits of the plants and animals that died so that you could be fed, or you could thank the planet for providing this nourishment to you. Of course, if you do want to pray to a higher power and thank them for the food, that’s also a great way to bless your meal!

Magical Correspondences for Some Staple Foods

Another way to do kitchen magic is to work with the correspondences of your ingredients. Here’s a quick correspondence guide for some staple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Grains and breads correspond to abundance, health, and security. Historically, these foods were associated with the autumn harvest, and they are still sacred to harvest deities. Bread is a common offering to house spirits and to gods of hearth and home.

Milk, cheese, and dairy correspond to the nurturing aspect of motherhood, love, sustenance, and abundance. Cows are sacred in some cultures, such as in Ancient Ireland, where offering someone milk was a form of blessing.

Eggs correspond to fertility, hidden mysteries, and the feminine principle. In several different folk magic traditions, such as those of Appalachian America and of Italy, eggs are used to detect or remove curses.

Salt corresponds to protection and purity, and can be used for grounding. Salt is useful for banishing unwanted energies, as well as for putting up protective barriers. Blessed salt has many uses in magical rituals and in a magical kitchen.

Rice corresponds to money, good luck, and fertility. You might be familiar with the tradition of throwing rice at weddings — this is a good example of rice’s magic associations. Rice also absorbs negativity and, like salt, it can be used for protection.

Onions corresponds to healing, prosperity, and protection. Onions are said to prevent and dispel illness, and are sometimes associated with love and lust.

Garlic has similar associations to onion, but is also strongly connected with protection, banishing, and curse-breaking. I add garlic to all of my protection and uncrossing spells, and it can also be handy for banishing unwanted spirits.

Sugar corresponds to love, affection, and attraction. Sugar is used in American folk magic to “sweeten” situations, making them more favorable. It can also be used to attract positive energy or positive outcomes.

Honey corresponds to health, happiness, love, wisdom, and stability. Like sugar, honey can be used to sweeten a situation or to attract positive energy. Some witches believe that honey works slower than sugar, but brings longer lasting results.

Vanilla corresponds to love, romance, and sensuality. It’s also a very comforting scent, and I’ve even seen one author claim that the smell repels negative spirits (although I’ve never used it for this purpose). Vanilla is perfect any time you want to conjure love, whether it’s self-love or love between people.

Hopefully, this list gives you some ideas for magical recipes. For example, if you want to conjure luck and abundance, you could make a risotto (a rice dish) with lots of Parmesan cheese, butter, garlic, and basil (not listed in this post, but strongly associated with wealth). If you want to create a stronger sense of self-love, you could make vanilla cookies with sugar and honey. If you need to kick a common cold, a soup with lots of onions and garlic will probably do the trick. You get the idea.

Make sure that the magical food you prepare is actually something you’ll want to eat! Just because an ingredient works with your intention doesn’t mean you should always include it. If you hate vanilla, you shouldn’t add it to your love brownies. Leave things out or make substitutions to ensure that you enjoy eating the finished product.

On a related note, you can substitute vegan products for milk, cheese, eggs, etc. but the magical correspondences won’t be exactly the same. Almond milk, for example, has the magical associations of almonds (prosperity and wisdom). This is similar, but not quite the same, as the correspondences for cow’s milk. Likewise, soy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk all have their own correspondences that will affect the energy of your spell. If you plan to keep your magical kitchen vegan, it’s a good idea to look up the magical uses of the plants your food is made from and use those as a guideline, rather than just substituting coconut milk for cow’s milk and expecting the exact same result.

Resources:

Wicca: Kitchen Witchery by Lisa Chamberlain

A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin

Where the Hawthorn Grows, Brigid: Meeting the Celtic Goddess of Poetry, Forge, and Healing Well, and The Morrigan: Meeting the Great Queens by Morgan Daimler

Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison

🌊 Water Magic 🌊

Water is a powerful tool in witchcraft. Whether you collect it from the weather, the ocean, a lake, or from your own sink or shower, it can be used in many spells and incantations and has strong magical properties… 

–

Water Correspondences

🌊 Water: love, banishing, beauty, calm, change, compassion, creativity, emotions, femininity, fertility, flexibility, healing, intuition, meditation, psychic powers, purification, dreams, sensitivity, sadness, life

🌊 Ocean / sea water: vastness, fear, power, life, protection

🌊 Rain water: growth, power, regeneration, rebirth

🌊 Storm water: clarity, strength, purification, banishing

🌊 Lake water: abundance, unknown, wealth, spirituality

🌊 Swamp water: disease, invisibility, connection, links

🌊 River water: charging, energy, movement, power

🌊 Pond water: limitations, silence, conjuration, immobility

🌊 Melted ice: creativity, growth, harmony, motivation, purification

🌊 Melted hail: pain, curse, bad intentions, anger

🌊 Melted snow: change, balance, endings, healing, power, purity

🌊 Morning dew: love, charm, fertility, sensitivity

– 

✨ Spells & Magic

- Practice daily energy cleansing under the shower.  - If you have a bathtub, create bath spells to give you power. - Open windows when it rains.  - Make sprays with specific herbs for your home or your bed.  - Listen to waterfall / rain playlists.  - Charge jars of water under the moonlight to collect moon water. - Dress with blue colors to use the power of water. 

✨ Chai spells ✨

Now that it’s getting colder I feel like it’s time to post about chai spells! 

✨  Basic recipe for chai  ✨ - ¾ mug of milk (or milk alternative) - ¼ mug of water - Any tea that goes with milk (so no green or fruit teas) - Sugar or honey to taste

Heat up your milk, water and sweetener, once boiling whisk in your tea. If using black or milk oolong tea then do not exceed 45 seconds of stirring - it seems like a small amount of time but your chai will be bitter if you go over this time! Any tea other than black tea would be alright for a bit longer, but you shouldn’t need much time at all! 

Pour the chai through a strainer and serve! Drink this while hot for the best flavour (though it doesn’t taste bad if it gets cold either)

_

For the following spells, use the milk, water and sweetner and then add the tea specified! Feel free to personalise your blends!

✨  Self love chai  ✨  - Black tea - Culinary dried rose petals 

✨  Protection chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cinnamon - Ginger  - 2 peppercorns

✨  Banishing chai  ✨ - Black tea - Basil leaves (chopped) - Ginger 

✨  Sleepy time chai  ✨ - Culinary lavender - Culinary dried rose petals

✨ Happiness chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cinnamon - Orange peel

✨  Confidence chai  ✨ - Black tea - Nutmeg - Cinnamon

✨  Divination chai  ✨ - Milk oolong tea - Peppermint 

✨  Purity chai  ✨ - Milk oolong tea  - Coconut

✨  Lucky chai  ✨ - Black tea - Cardamom - Cinnamon - Clove

_

Happy brewing everyone! Enjoy many cups of magical chai  ✨

(Credit for our basic chai recipe goes to @sidewalk-crystal  - thank you lovely!)