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Unpacking Witchcraft - Spell Types

A spell is a manifestation of intents, ingredients, and influences combined to bring about an intangible effect. However, there are a number of different of types of spells, intents, and methods. 

CURSE— A spell designed to cause a person or place harm or misfortune of a grand scale. Occasionally used to protect when it used against a concept, “cursing out” infections and medical problems.

HEX— Commonly thought as similar to a curse, though it comes from a German word for witch. Commonly interpreted as a weaker curse, or a midpoint between a jinx and a curse on a scale of annoying to devastating.

JINX— A spell to cause momentary bad luck or annoyance, but can occasionally come back to bite someone later. Usually paired with irony, or used to bring about the opposite effect of what someone says out loud or hopes for.

BANISHING— A type of spell, designed to get rid of something specific, whether it be a concept, a person, spirit, or otherwise, and to keep it away.

WARDING— A type of protective spell in which you create and put up magical walls, usually against a specific thing, such as spirits or negative people, but could be used for evangelicals and teenagers that theoretically loiter on your lawn.

BINDING— Similar to banishing. Instead of removing a person, object, or situation from your vicinity, you prevent a person or creature from performing a particular action.

GLAMOUR— Often used for beauty spells, are a type of spell used for creating an illusion over a person or object. They can be used for a number of purposes, to make someone more attract, or to make an object harder to find, or a person be more or less likely to be noticed.

CONSECRATION— The ritual blessing of an object or place by cleansing it and instilling with a specific energy. Cannot be done to living creatures.

POTION— Any drink made to have a magical effect.

JAR SPELL— A spell made and contained within a jar, often herb sealed with wax.

these are just a few types, feel free to add your own!

Beltane Tips!

* Wear lots of green

* Have a bonfire and fill it with fragrant incense, flowers, and sacred woods

* Bake tiny colorful cookies (with flowers, if you can!) and offer them to your local fae

* The veil is the thinnest this time of year - the only other time it’s this thin is during Samhain. Venerate and honor the spirits, and guard against malicious ones with salt along your windowsills or doors

* Wash your face with the morning dew to fill yourself with beauty

* Eat sexually suggestive foods or aphrodisiacs

* Dance. Dance a LOT. Turn on some drum-heavy music and let loose. Do it alone in your room at night, if you have to. 

* Go talk to all your local plants and give them little offerings of water. Blessed water charged with a quartz crystal would be extra nice.

* Do a tarot reading for yourself (or have someone else do it for you). This is a wonderful time of year for divination!

* Buy flowers. Pick flowers. Wear flowers. BE FLOWERS.

* You don’t have to have sex to have a legitimate Beltane, but you can always show yourself some love if ya know what I mean *wink wink*

* This is a holiday of sensual pleasure. That doesn’t necessarily mean sex - it means really indulge your senses. Take a hot, luxurious bath. Dance until you work up a sweat. Eat foods that you love and crave. Smell the flowers, feel your bare feet in the grass, splash your face with fresh water. FEEL the world around you - the spirits are alive and active on Beltane! Engage your emotional, intuitive, sensual side and you might catch a glimpse of one or two.

* Reach out to friends you haven’t talked to in awhile. Strike up a friendly conversation. Celebrate friendship!

* Meditate with crystals that open your third-eye or specifically relate to the fairy or devic realms - chlorite phantom quartz, moss agate, rainforest jasper, green diopside, spirit quartz, azeztulite, most green crystals, prehnite, a rock you found someplace outdoors that feels charged with earth energy - you choose!

* Perform solitary spells for abundance, protection, fertility, romance, love, sex, and divination!

* Plant seeds and start a magickal garden. There are lots of plants you can grow indoors pretty easily that have magickal properties.

* Dedicate an altar to Flora, Cernunnos, Bes, Pan, Hera, etc - any deity you can think of who rules fertility, marriage, romance, and abundance! 

Hope you all have a wonderful Beltane!!!

🔮 Witchy Habits to Make 2021 a Magical Year 🔮

3 Daily Habits

🧘 Meditate and stretch every day, when you wake up or before going to bed, to recenter yourself and look inwards. 

📖 Keep a journal, grimoire or book of shadows and write as often as possible, to remember your thoughts and log your progress. 

✨ Find something to be grateful for every day, whether it’s a big event or simply watching a bird landing on a tree outside of your window. 

–

3 Weekly Habits

🃏 Make a past/present/future Tarot spread on Sundays to reflect on the week that has passed, your current feelings and the week ahead. 

🌲 Spend time around nature or observing the sky, at least once a week, to stay connected to the Earth and the Moon. 

🍞 Practice Kitchen Magic by making at least one special meal per week, where you pour positive energies and magical intentions. I try to learn a completely new recipe once a week to keep it fun and interesting.

–

3 Monthly Habits

📝 Make a list of your goals on the first of each month, and keep it close to your desk to stay on track every day. 

🌙 Follow the moon phases to connect to the Moon’s magic and power. Work hard, start projects and be productive when the Moon is waxing ; rest, recover and reflect when the Moon is waning. 

📚 Learn something new about witchcraft, spirituality, or a completely different topic that interests you. Staying curious, even when life gets busy and complicated, is what makes it worth living. 

–

3 Yearly Habits 

🧹 Fully cleanse your home after each witches sabbats to get a fresh start and throw out old energies. 

🕯️ Switch up and clean your altar at the end of each season, to keep it alive and filled with magical power. Decorate according to the coming season and sabbat. 

🌱 Adapt your behavior to the rhythm of nature: spring and summer are high-energy, starting big projects and spending time outside, while fall and winter are about rest, reflection and spending time indoors. 

If you’re a TERF, please don’t follow or interact with my blog. This blog supports trans women, please leave my blog alone if you don’t.

Bath magic

I bought bath crayons (the ones they sell to parents with toddlers to encourage fun bath time) a while ago, pro tip: you can use them to write sigils and stuff for a magical bath!

| 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

Hello, witches! Since I’m always harping on about learning your history and checking your sources, I thought I’d help folks get a head start by compiling some source material.

To that end, I’ve started a Dropbox folder with a stash of historical texts on witchcraft, magic, and related topics. Nearly everything I’ve managed to find so far is public domain (thank you Project Gutenberg), with the exception of a very thorough herbal grimoire I found online some years ago and a book of witchcraft from the 1970s that appears to be out of print.

I will be continuing in this vein with future texts that I find. Everything will be public domain or cited to the source that it came from, in PDF format. I will NOT be including PDFs of any book currently in circulation with a copyright linked to a living author or estate. The point of this folder is that everything in it should be free for sharing and open use as research materials.

Below is the initial list of titles. I tried to include as many as I could find, with a focus on some oft-cited classics. I will be adding new texts as I find them.

A Collection of Rare and Curious Tracts on Witchcraft and the Second Sight, by David Webster (1820)

A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718, by Wallace Notestein (1909)

British Goblins, Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, by Wirt Sikes (1880)

Curiosities of Superstition, by W. H. Davenport Adams (1882)

Daemonologie, by King James I/VI (1597)

Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, Edited and Selected by W. B. Yeats (1888)

Irish Witchcraft and Demonology, by St. John Drelincourt Seymour (1913)

La Sorcière, or The Witch of the Middle Ages, by Jules Michelet (1863)

Lives of the Necromancers, by William Godwin (1834)

Magic and Fetishism, by Alfred C. Haddon (1906)

Magic and Witchcraft, by Anonymous (1852)

Modern Magic, by M. Schele de Vere (1873)

Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, by Richard Folkard (1884)

Practical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing, by William Walker Atkinson (1908)

The Devil in Britain and America, by John Ashton (1896)

The Discoverie of Witchcraft, by Reginald Scot (1594, 1886 reprint)

The Extremely Large Herbal Grimoire (date unknown, internet publication)

The Golden Bough : A Study of Magic and Religion, by Sir James George Frazer (1890)

The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, by L.W. de Laurence (1918)

The Magic of the Horse-shoe, by Robert Means Lawrence (1898)

The Mysteries of All Nations, by James Grant (1880)

The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy, by Charles John Samuel Thompson (1897)

The Superstitions of Witchcraft, by Howard Williams (1865)

The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut by John M. Taylor (1908)

The Wonders of the Invisible World, by Cotton Mather and A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches, by Increase Mather (1693, 1862 reprint)

Witch Stories, by E. Lynn (Elizabeth Lynn) Linton (1861)

Witch, Warlock, And Magician, by W. H. Davenport Adams (1889)

Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, by John Gregorson Campbell (1902)

Witches’ Potions & Spells, ed. by Kathryn Paulsen (1971)

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that these texts are (with few exceptions) more than a century old, and may contain depictions, references, or language that are outdated and inappropriate. The point of including these documents is to provide access to historical texts for research and reference. Inclusion in the collection does not equal unconditional agreement with or wholesale approval of the contents.

Take everything with a grain of salt and remember to do your due diligence!

Happy Witching!   -Bree

☔ Storm Grounding ☔

a quick guide on grounding with storms for storm witches

☔ to be done during a storm

☔  stay in a safe place when you practice this form of grounding. only allow yourself to get wet if your health allows, and please avoid places that would get you struck by lightning. 

☔  have a view/hearing of the rain to the best of your ability

☔  visualize:

each thunder strike rattles you to the core, and leaves nothing there. each drop of water brings energy that replenishes and re-energizes you.

every drop is one of millions, but every drop has importance. each one soaks into you, cold and bright. it fills you

every sound of every drops rebuilds you from the inside out. 

each lightning bolt ignites within you, calling up new energies and instilling a calm in its wake.

☔  when you are ready, let the storm fade its hold on you. you are not severing the ties harshly, only letting them fall away, the way rain dissipates and the storm calms down.

Oh my god, food extract is not the same as an essential oil.

Food extract is the flavoring of something cooked down into a carrier oil or alcohol that is safe for human ingestion.

Essential oil is the pure extract of the plant refined down and distilled for concentrated medicinal purposes to a significantly higher strength than simply adding ground up mint leaves to your water. The two are not comparable in any way.

Cinnamon extract and cinnamon essential oil are not the same thing.

One is about 100 times the strength of the other and can also cause acute organ failure. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not the food extract.

Sweet gods I’m not trying to be mean, I want you to be aware and safe and stop putting yourselves and others at risk. Please.

Witch’s Ladder

As yall know, ive been having a rough week. So i decided this morning that it was time to make a witch’s ladder and get my shit back together.

For those who are new to the craft, a witch’s ladder is a braided group of strings with items placed in it at regular intervals. It can be used to help meditate or to cast a spell.

When you’re making a witch’s ladder (or doing really any kind of magic) it’s important to think about correspondences! I picked these colors because they correspond with my intent. Earlier this week i disappointed my Sisters and i want to cast a spell to heal the rift that i created. Purple was chosen because it signifies familial love, the thing i want to preserve. Black signifies protection, in this case protecting our relationship. Blue signifies peace and healing, both things i want to bring to our relationship.

Numbers matter too! I cut each strand of yarn to be 3ft long. 3 is my number, and if youre familiar with numerology you probably have one too.

Make sure to cleanse and consecrate all your materials before you begin the braiding process!

When you have your strands, pull them together into a knot and visualize binding your intent to that knot. Visualization is KEY to getting your spells to be effective. Visualize yourself as already having what you want. In this case, i visualized becoming closer to my Sisters.

Find some items that you want to tie into your ladder. Numerology is important here too. I chose 27 items because 3x3x3 is 27 (or three, three times). That gives this number extra power.

The items can be pretty much anything. Organic things are especially powerful, which is why feathers, plants and seashells are often used. You cant find real feathers where im from so i got some fake ones in colors that correspond to my intent. Symbols are important, so it works pretty much the same. 

If you’re having trouble getting beads onto a larger string like yarn use a needle to pull the yarn through. Even in doing that i couldnt get the pendant to go on so i traded it out for a pearl.

When you’re braiding the strands together, raise power. You can do this by chanting or humming or reciting something, but i find that singing works better for me. Just stay in the moment and visualize your intent. When you finish braiding, shout or say something final when you tie the last knot to truly bind your intent into the braid and keep it there.

When you’re done, hang your ladder somewhere that youll see it often. I might move mine to my Book of Shadows when i finish it.

Have a great weekend ✌️ Stay witchy y’all and hmu if you have questions or want more tutorials like this