Book of Ways

1
.C O R R E S P O N D E N C E S.
Colors
Gems and Crystals
Herbs, Plants, Flowers
Essential Oils
Incense
Soil + Dirt
Times
Planets
Water
Booze
.H O W - T O, T I P S, S A F E T Y.
For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft
“To Be a Witch” Falsehoods
Getting Started and Things to Keep in Mind
Daily Tips + Ideas
Folk Charms and Tricks
Urban Witchcraft + What You Need on the Go
Magical Terminology
Critical Thinking and Pagan Books
New Witch’s Shopping Guide
Where To Get Your Witch Supplies
What To Do When Witchcraft Gets Way Too Intense
Visualizing Tips
How to Actually Ground Yourself
Do I Need To Cleanse?
Types of Magic
4 Mindsets to Help You With Your Craft
2
Grimoire Organization Ideas

Altar 101
.S P E L L W O R K.
How Magic Works
Casting a Circle
Actions In Witchcraft
Methods For Spells
Mechanics of a Spell
Grounding Your Spells
Tips For Writing Spells
How To Create a Customized Opening Ritual
To Nullify A Spell
Why Aren’t My Spells Working?
Spell Loopholes
When Your Spell Fails
When to Use What in Magic
How to Dispose of Spellwork Remnants
So You’ve Made A Spell Jar. Now What?
On Burying Jars
Sigils: Getting Started
Graveyard Etiquette
Witchry’s Guide to Poppets
Charging Objects
Enchanting Things with Touch
.C R Y S T A L S - T I P S A N D C A R E.
Crystals: Care and Keeping
Things To Keep in Mind: Crystals
Ways to Use Crystals
How Different Crystal Shapes Can Influence Energy Flow
Programming Your Crystals
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Identifying Crystal Properties By Color

Fake Stones and Misrepresentations
.P L A N T S - T I P S A N D T R I C K S.
How To Store Magical Herbs
Working With Plants
A Basic Glossary of Herbalism Techniques
How to Grow an Herb Garden Indoors Year Round
How To Clone Your Herbs
How to Dry Herbs at Home
Harvesting Herbs
Things To Keep In Mind While Collecting Plants
Herbs For Spells: Grocery Store Vs. Home Grown Vs. Edible Wilds
Poisonous Herbs
Sage Cleansing Alternatives
Essential Oils: Precautions and Safety
.T O O L S A N D M O R E.
Tools in Witchcraft
Potions 101 Overview
Bells In Witchcraft
Cauldron Tips and Tricks
Magically Seasoning A Mortar And Pestle
Floorwashes
Palmistry 101
So You Wanna Pendul….um?
When Mercury is in Retrograde
Offerings To Entities
Posts Cited
4
.STARR’S BOOK OF WAYS AND BEGINNER

HELP.
HELLO WITCH CHILDREN AND WELCOME to my Book of Ways, where I’ve
listed my personal and collected correspondences, tips, guidelines, advice, and
more. As someone who also had no idea where to get started at first, I really
hope this helps out any of you who try to get into witchcraft but keep running
into outdated/severely biased resources.
Starr, what is a Book of Ways? WELL it’s something I made up! Since this is
not a spellbook and is more of a manual on a variety of basic starter
techniques, I’ve decided to name it appropriately.
All of this stuff came from tumblr. That said, it’s all pretty modern (save
whatever’s been referenced from old books/PDFs) so if traditional witchcraft is
what you’re looking for I’m not sure if you’ll really get that here but you are still
welcome to read my friend.
Please note that the correspondences listed here are ones that I
personally agree with and relate to. Witchcraft should be a highly personal
practice, so I encourage you to think critically on all of the info presented here
and check if it truly speaks to you personally. Just because I think clear quartz is
an amplifying stone doesn’t mean that you necessarily will too! These are just
basic guidelines to get people started.
Also, this is not a spellbook. I have one, as well as a section in my BoW for
recipes and crafts, but that’s made up of spells I found that speak to me. Go
poking around online or in books to find spells for yourself that work for you and
speak to you. Better yet, start writing your own! No one can make that for you.
So read up, learn some cool stuff and share with whoever you like! And
above all be smart. I’m not a fear monger myself but I do think advanced stuff
like spirit work, heavily influencing spells, work with deadly poisonous plants, and
trance work should wait until you’re more familiar with yourself and the practice
you’ve made for yourself. Witchcraft is not a race, and everyone learns and
develops at their own pace.
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That said, happy witching and if you wanna keep up with witchy stuff I
personally follow or wanna ask a question/look for an answer feel free to hit me
up at grizzlywitch.tumblr.com~
NOW GET WITCHIN’ AND KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF CLOSED PRACTICES.
.C O N T E N T S.
Colors
Gems and Crystals
Essential Oils
Incense
Soil + Dirt
Times
Planets
Water
Booze
Daily Tips + Ideas
Magical Terminology

6
Visualizing Tips
Types of Magic
Altar 101
.S P E L L W O R K.
How Magic Works
Casting a Circle
Methods For Spells
To Nullify A Spell
Spell Loopholes

7
On Burying Jars
Graveyard Etiquette
Charging Objects
How Different Crystal Shapes Can Influence Energy Flow
Working With Plants
Harvesting Herbs
Herbs For Spells: Grocery Store Vs. Home Grown Vs. Edible Wilds
Poisonous Herbs
8
Tools in Witchcraft
Bells In Witchcraft
Floorwashes
Palmistry 101
Posts Cited
9
Colors
Black - Grounding, wisdom, learning, protection, safety, reversing, uncrossing,
hex-breaking, repelling hostile magic, banishing negativity, releasing, defense,
scrying, pride.
Blue - Communication, willpower, focus, forgiveness, good fortune, weight loss,

truth, fidelity, patience, domestic harmony, organization, removing bad
vibrations, sincerity, astral travel, water element.
Brown - House blessing, animal/pet magic, earth magic, material goods,

stability, locating lost objects, real estate, construction, food, financial crisis,
earth element.
Green - Prosperity, abundance, money, physical and emotional healing,

growth, luck, marriage, tree/plant magic, acceptance, weather, counteracting
greed/jealousy/envy.
Orange - Creativity, self-expression, intellectual matters, overcoming addiction,

legal matters/justice, joy, business success, ambition, vitality, fun, action,
opportunity, celebration, investments.
Pink - Love, compassion, nurturing, friendship, romance, partnership, spiritual

and emotional healing, protection of children, domestic harmony, self-
improvement, maturity.
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Purple - Wisdom, influence, spiritual power, contact with spirits, driving away evil,
changing luck, independence, government, breaking habits.
Red - Passion, vitality, strength, survival, fertility, courage, sexual potency, mercy,
action, danger, war, conflict, sports, independence, assertion, competition, fire
element.
White - All-purpose, unity, purity, cleansing, peace, balance, spirituality, healing,

innocence, rain magic, children, truth, consecration, balancing the aura.
Yellow - Great fortune, abundance, prosperity, understanding, divination, fast

luck, solar energy, positive attitude, justice, health, attraction, luxury, air element.
*These correspondences are mainly for candles, but can be fit to any object or
purpose.*
Gems and Crystals

A
Agate – (Fire) Multiple colors, some have additional uses. Known as the “warrior
stone.” Good manners, happiness, intelligence, prosperity, longevity, good
health, eloquence, victory, protection, strength, grounding.
Blue Lace Agate – (Water) Carries soft, calming energy.

Communication, trust, peace, stress. Hold or stroke when a panic attack is
coming on. Charge under waxing moon.
Moss Agate – (Earth) Green witchcraft, combatting depression,

mental and emotional balance, lends energy, wealth, longevity, prosperity,
making friends, healing, happiness, finding treasures. Cleanse and recharge by
leaving in or near greenery overnight once a month.
Alexandrite – (Water) Prosperity, longevity, balance, calming, spiritual growth,

creativity, intuition, decision making. Cleanse with sage smoke, charge near
(but not in) direct sunlight.
Amazonite – (Earth) Facilitates empathy, promotes good health, encourages

speaking honestly and bravely, balance, harmony, hope, wishful thinking,
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gambling, success. Cleanse in a mint infusion. Color derived from copper, but
considered stable.
Amber – (Fire) Fossilized tree sap. Preservation, longevity, beauty, healing,

harmony, protection, soothing, strength, love, luck, all-around magically
beneficial, energy booster, balance, achieving goals, lessens energy drain,
cleansing, creativity, wisdom.
Amethyst – (Water) Very calming, aids in kicking addictions, pleasant dreams,

strengthens heart and cleanses liver, good for lung problems, prevents
homesickness. Scrying, protection, nightmare ward, grounding, anti-theft,
cleansing and charging other gems. Fades in sunlight, charge under moon.
Ametrine – (Air) A naturally occurring blend of amethyst and citrine.

Adaptability, calming, reduces stress and discomfort, removes blockages in
energy and emotions, promotes harmony. Cleanse in water.
Apatite – (Air) Change, happiness, health, healing, intellect, intuition,

communication, expression, understanding, flexibility. Cleanse/charge near
greenery or buried in earth.
Aquamarine – (Water) AKA Beryl. Expressing truth, reduces fear and stress.
Compassion, confidence, courage, purification, inspiration, travel, happiness,
communication. Aids against phobias. Cleanse in saltwater overnight on a full
moon, rinse in clear water afterwards. Contains aluminum.
Aragonite – (Air) Grounding, uplifts emotions, patience, clear thinking, spiritual

and psychic growth, companionship, family, calming, perseverance, change,
willpower, balance, centering, self-assurance.
Aventurine – (Air, Fire) Multiple colors, some have extra uses. Inner peace,
soothing emotions, acceptance of oneself and others, healing energy, decision
making, luck, eyesight, gambling, relaxing, tranquility. Balances erratic feelings.
Aids with anxiety (green).
Azurite – (Air, Water) Leadership, divination, prophetic dreams, astral travel, past
life and spirit work. DO NOT WET. Handle carefully with gloves. Charge under
starlight. Contains copper.
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B
Black Onyx – (Earth) A form of quartz and a type of chalcedony. Protection,
vigor, determination, Defensive magic, focus, moving on, faith, grounding,
balance, stability, relaxation. Pairs well with amethyst for addicts. Recharge in
sunlight.
Bloodstone – (Fire) Courage, endurance, harmony, decision making, wealth,

aids pregnancy, calms fears and anger, legal affairs, protection, strength,
confidence, control, victory, renewal, change, willpower, adaptability,
organization. Charge in running water or sunlight.
C
Carnelian – (Fire) A form of chalcedony. Psychic warding, eloquence, peace,
harmony, revitalizing, concentration, courage, determination, self-confidence,
motivation, protection, feeling powerful, attracts wealth. Charge in sunlight or
running water.
Celestite – (Water) Inner strength, peace, dream recollection (when kept under
pillow), travel, eloquence, compassion, healing, better wifi (?), grounding.
Potentially toxic. HIGHLY SOLUBLE, AVOID WATER.
Chrysocolla – (Water) Healing, calming, peace, wisdom, discretion,

levelheadedness, clarity, neutrality, patience, sleep, creativity, hope, intuition,
good against nerves and irritability. Aids against phobias. Charge and cleanse
overnight in a copper bowl/container.
Citrine – (Fire, Air) Positivity, happiness, boost confidence, reduces fears, raises
intuition, prosperity, motivation, better wifi (?), good for digestion, relieves
anxiety and depression. Never needs cleansing! Charge in gentle sunlight.
Creedite – (Water) Rare. Immediate access to a clear meditative state. Creative

visualization, productivity, understanding, relief from depression.
D
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Diamond – (Fire) Resilience, endurance, hard work, fortitude, commitment,

support, magnifies other stones’ energies, healing, spirituality, protection,
generosity, trust, prosperity, success, confidence, willpower, joy, luck. Charge
and cleanse by polishing and moving through smoke.
E
Emerald – (Earth) Invigorating thought, enhancing creativity, hope,
encouragement, wealth, protection, love, balance, communication, helps heal
after breakups, nightmare ward. Potentially toxic. Recharge under waxing
moon.
F
Fluorite – (Air) Multiple colors. Boosts confidence, allows negativity to bounce off,
grounds excessive energy, clears energy blocks, amplify other stones’ effects.
Fades in sunlight, do not wet, recharge in moonlight.
G
Garnet – (Fire) Happiness, balance, peace, patience, protection, inspiration,
persistence, stress, health, emotional healing, bodily strength, long, money
positivity, moon magic, transforms negative energy into positive. Recharge (red)
under cloudy/stormy night sky.
Geodes – (Water) Meditation, consecration, fertility, love, avoiding miscarriage.
H
Hematite – (Fire) Protection, hex breaking, support for hopes and desires,
dissolves negativity, grounding. Alleviates worry, helps with stress, aids against
spaciness and confusion, seals against negativity, wards off illness. Cleanse in
cedar or sage smoke. Will rust.
Howlite – (Air) Calming, sleep aid, stress relief, healing, mood booster, subtlety,
kind disposition, artistic expression, selflessness, creativity, spirituality, increases
action, relieves hesitation. Charge and cleanse on an amethyst bed.
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J
Jade – (Water) Protection, wisdom, calm, prosperity, ambition, finding answers,
fidelity, emotional balance, gardening, peace, resourcefulness,
accomplishment, vitality, fertility, money, aids against irritability and depression.
Cleanse in mint or sage smoke.
Jasper – (Earth, Fire) multiple colors, additional uses for each. Grounding and
stability, happy pregnancy, nightmare ward, banishes harmful thoughts,
protection, restrains dangerous impulses.
Red Jasper – (Fire) Protection, stability, balance, nightmare ward,

anti-theft, physical energy, action, healing, health, beauty, justice, compassion,
self-control, grace. Charge and cleanse by passing through the flame of a red
candle.
Jet – (Earth) Protection, nightmare ward, luck, intuition, health, divination (IRL
soul stones?), power, purification, healing, stability, absorbs negative energy.
Cleanse and charge by burying in soil overnight.
K
Kunzite – (Water) Good fortune, content, happiness, energy, calming, love
(pink), self-trust, unconditional love, astral travel, self-expression, aids bipolarity,
aids against depression and panic attacks. Recharge under waxing moon.
Contains aluminum.
Kyanite – (Air, Water) Endurance, meditation, love, relaxation, cleansing other

crystals, balance, dream recollection, better wifi (?), dream work, creativity,
cleansing, communication, dissolves anger and frustration. Never needs
cleansing!
L
Labradorite – (Water) Recognizing destiny, support during change, aids in
relieving depression and anxiety, may allow innate magical abilities to surface,
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makes elemental forces in the system balanced. Recharge under a rainbow

(good luck with that lol). Contains aluminum.
Lapis Lazuli – (Water, Air) Strength, vitality, self-assurance, dream work,

protection, intuition, friendship, understanding, calming, joy, courage, eases eye
strain, relieves depression. Sun fades color, cleanse under moonlight. Contains
Sulphur.
Lepidolite – (Water) Stimulates intellect, promotes positive self-change, pain

reliever (apply directly to affected area). Self-love, new friends, kicking
addictions, letting go, balancing emotions, nightmare ward, peace, protection,
luck. Aids with ADHD. Recharge with amethyst.
M
Malachite – (Earth) Increases physical energy, sleep aid, sympathy, calming,
learning, said to warn of impending danger to the wearer by breaking. Good for
stress and releasing repressed emotions. Soft, handle with care. Cleanse in soil,
avoid salt. Fumes of unpolished form are toxic.
Azure Malachite - (Earth) All-purpose healing stone, releases

repressed emotions, physical detoxing.
Mangano Calcite (Pink) – (Water) Healing, forgiveness, strength, memory,

forgiveness, grief, trauma, nightmare ward, astral travel, self-acceptance,
releasing fear and past difficulties, lifts tension, sleep aid.
Moonstone – (Water) Nighttime magic, sleep, protection, intuition, lucid

dreaming, travel by night, feminine energy, helps with menstruation. Soft,
scratches easily, handle with care. Contains aluminum.
Blue/Cat’s Eye – Focus, intuition
Gray – “New Moonstone” (as in new moon) carries power during

new moon phase.
White - energy at height of full moon, dream work, psychic power.
Rainbow – Lucid dreaming, peaceful sleep, deflects negativity,

reduces emotional trauma.
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O
Obsidian – (Fire, Earth) Healing, repelling negativity, sharpening internal and
external vision, understanding ones’ fears, lifts grip of phobias. Place around
home with tips pointed out for protection. Recharge in sunlight or moonlight.
Snowflake Obsidian – (Fire, Earth) Calming, reduces fears, balance,

focus, positivity, alleviates stress, grounding, dispels negativity, cleansing, purity,
detoxification, serenity. Recharge with one black and one white candle, allow
to burn fully down.
Opal – (All elements) Authentic opals are fluorescent under blacklight. Energy
amplifier, scrying, breaking down inhibitions, luck, inspiration, influence,
protection. Due to breaking down inhibitions, it is best not to wear it regularly.
Sensitive, some store in water when not in use.
P
Pearl – (Water) Should not be exposed to extreme heat due to cracking.
White – Purity, peace, balance, emotions, lunar energy.
Gold – Prosperity
Black – Protection, prosperity
Pink – Love, protects from sharks (?)
Peridot – (Earth) Protection, prosperity, happiness, emotional calming,

purification, balance, digestive system, luck, shielding aura, increasing influence,
aids healing, nightmare ward. Cleanse in water, recharge under full moon.
Pyrite – (Earth, Fire) AKA Fool’s Gold. Protection, enthusiasm, material

abundance, shielding, revitalizing, stimulating keeps off negative energy,
grounding, eases depression, anxiety and frustration. Contains iron sulfide.
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Cleanse and recharge by passing through the flame of a grey or silver candle.
DO NOT WET.
Quartz
Clear Quartz – (Water, Fire) Amplifies other stones, supplements crystals grids.
Master healing, soul cleansing, stability, grounding, channeling, stress relief,
better wifi (?), thought clarity. Can replace any stone! Recharge in sunlight or
near greenery.
Smoky Quartz – (Earth) Grounding, stabilizing, serenity, relieving grief,

abundance, luck, relieves hyperactivity, aids against insomnia. Transforms
negative energy to positive. Highly absorbing of negative energies, cleanse
often in salt water and recharge in bright sunlight.
Rose Quartz - (Water) The “Love Stone”. Gentleness, forgiveness, love, balancing
emotions, overall wellness, peace, calming, soothes children and animals. Aids
against phobias. Wear in a heart shape to attract love. Cleanse in earth,
recharge with a rose water rinse.
R
Rhodochrosite – (Fire, Earth) Self-love, emotional healing, balance, freedom,
extra energy, peace, compassion, wards off paranoia, promotes positive
attitude, good for shyness and nervousness. Aids against panic attacks.
Recharge in smoke.
Rhodonite – (Fire) Thought clarity, calming, balance, sense of well-being,

understanding, self-esteem, happiness, peace, change, laughter, joy,
assurance, strength against vulnerability, harmonious relationships. Aids against
panic attacks. Recharge with a pink candle, allow to burn fully down.
Ruby – (Fire) Love, concentration, protection, passion, strength, motivation,

sense of power, overcoming lethargy, courage, nightmare ward, guards against
psychological attack, lends energy. Charge under starlight. Contains aluminum
oxide.
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S
Sapphire – (Water) Psychic power, defensive magic, prosperity, love,
commitment, calming thoughts, divine ties, good for times of change, healing,
defensive magic. Contains aluminum oxide.
Selenite – (Water) Healing, spirituality, mental clarity, calming, concentration,

visualization, insight, intuition, sensitivity, clairvoyance, channeling, protection,
peace, business, reconciliation. Highly soluble, do not wet.
Serpentine – (Earth, Air) Protection, communicating with deities and entities,

inner peace, psychic development, stability, balance, money, cleansing,
longevity, visualization, attracting love. Charge and cleanse by passing through
the flame of a brown candle.
Sodalite – (Air) Increases confidence and creativity, balance, self-expression,

communication, eliminating confusion, spiritual growth, luck, power, healing,
calming, intuition, endurance, courage, self-esteem, insomnia, longevity. Aids
against panic attacks.
Sugilite – (Water) Healing, balance, love, psychic protection, channeling, dream

work, purification, meditation forgiveness, positivity, emotional healing, honing
talents, wards off negativity.
Sunstone – (Fire) Luck, talent, prosperity, self-confidence, optimism, happiness,

protection, intuition, positivity, health, aids against fear of the dark and fear of
small spaces, stimulates activity. Recharge on each side in late afternoon sun.
T
Tanzanite – (Water) AKA Blue Zoisite. Calming, communication, immune system
booster, revealing truth, psychic ability, protection, wisdom, clairvoyance,
meditation. Good during career change. Cleanse and charge by placing on a
rock outside during a thunderstorm.
Tigerseye – (Fire) Money, order, grounding, lucid dreaming, divination,

protection, courage, luck, focus, energy, health, reveals deception, curbs
cravings and addictions. Recharge in late afternoon sun.
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Topaz – (Air) Revitalizing, stimulating, leadership, knowledge, insight, balance,

abundance, clarity, energy, focus, confidence, wards off insomnia and
depression, mood booster. Charge in evening sun. Contains aluminum and
fluorine.
Tourmaline – (Earth) Protection, compassion, balance, higher love, clarity,

calmness, understanding, creativity, grounding, prosperity, weight loss. Black is
fiercely protective, should be cleansed in running water and charged under
moonlight. May contain iron or aluminum.
Turquoise – (Earth, Water, Air) Spiritual attunement, grounding, astral travel,

purification, stress relief, capable of handling strong negativity. Better received
as a gift than bought for oneself. Recharge in earth beneath a plant overnight.
Contains copper and aluminum.
U
Unakite – Gentleness, balance, self-love, generates calming energy, power,
healing, friendship, gardening, peace, happy pregnancy, good during recovery
from surgery or childbirth, protects children. Cleanse with olive oil and rinse
under running water.

A
Acacia – (Air) Money, protection, platonic love, psychic and spiritual
enhancement, friendship, consecration, divination, blessing, banishing. A sprig
over the bed will ward off evil.
Aconite – (Water) AKA Monkshood. Protection, invisibility, honoring the dead,

consecrating ritual tools, misdirecting enemies, cursing. Used in charms to
protect from evil. POISONOUS.
Alfalfa – (Earth) Wards off hunger, prosperity, employment, health, posterity.

Wards off disease. Place jar of alfalfa in pantry to keep away poverty and
hunger.
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Allspice – (Air) Healing, prosperity, luck, money, compassion, determination,

fertility, gain, love, renewal, gambling, healing baths, raises energy when used in
powders.
Almonds – (Air) Money, abundance, lust, overcoming addiction, wisdom,

fruitfulness, prosperity, union and handfasting rituals. Place in pocket when
something needs to be found. Wood makes excellent wands.
Aloe – (Water) Prosperity, banishing, healing, relieves loneliness, success,

protection, beauty. Hang in home for luck. Burn on a full moon to draw a new
lover by the next. Guards against evil. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Angelica – (Fire) Wards off negativity, promotes temperance, divination,

exorcism, healing, prosperity, love, spell breaking, success, wisdom, purification,
banishing. Root used for cursing. Sprinkle around outside of home for protection.
POISONOUS.
Anise – Protection, happiness, purification, divination, love, passion, nightmare

ward, psychic development and protection, cleansing, fertility, consecration,
good luck, money, gain, banishing (seed), aromatherapy.
Apple – (Water, Earth) Love, fidelity, fertility, marriage, beauty, wisdom, love
divination, healing, garden magic, kicking addictions, lust, Samhain. Makes
excellent wands for love magic. Contains a natural pentacle when cut
horizontally. Cider/juice used as a substitute for blood.
Azalea – (Air) Happiness, gaiety, light spirits, first love. POISONOUS.
B
Bamboo – (All elements) Wishes, protection, luck, hex breaking. Carry for good
luck. Carve a wish into and bury to make it come true. Excellent for wands.
Represents all four elements. Grow by the house to bring good fortune.
Banana – (Water) Fertility, draws money, luck, represents fruitfulness and bounty.
Basil – (Fire) Happiness, peace, success, luck, love dispels confusion, weakness,
curse breaking, wealth, courage, protection, legal affairs, employment,
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cleansing, prosperity, sympathy, drives off hostile spirits, wards off negativity.
Used in peacemaking spells after a fight. Cancer preventative.
Bayberry – (Earth) Good fortune, luck, healing, stress relief, money, prosperity,
happiness. Make excellent, long-burning candles.
Bay Leaf – (Fire) AKA Bay Laurel. Success, love, curse breaking, good fortune,
protection, strength, healing, purification, psychic power, wishes, energy, health.
Carry to protect against hostile magic. Not recommended for sleep blends. Can
be grown indoors. Laurel substitute.
Black Pepper – (Fire) Banishing negativity, exorcism, protection, curse breaking,

purification. Burn to rid a new home or office space of bad vibes (use sage
afterward.)
Bluebell – (Air) Luck, truth, constance, faerie magic, strength, enchantment,

friendship, used in rituals to help ease sorrow and overcome loss. POISONOUS.
Bergamot – (Air) Happiness, peace, prosperity, protection, restful sleep,

gambling, attracts success, purification, relaxation, love, memory, stopping
interference, money, eases depression.
C
Catnip – (Water) Protection while sleeping, happiness, luck, love spells, beauty,
friendship, peace, positivity, power, courage, joy. Pairs well with rose petals in
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love spells. Used for communing with and creating psychic bonds with cats.
Valerian substitute. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Caraway – (Air) Protection, health, anti-theft, psychic power, mental power,

fidelity, fertility, honesty, love, sensuality, travel, banishing, health, lust, attraction,
purification. Carry seeds to improve memory.
Carnation – Protection, strength, healing, banishing, enhancing magic power,

achieving balance, psychic healing, passion (red), devotion (white), vitality,
purification, bath spells. Burn to enhance creativity.
Cayenne – (Fire) Protection, strength, emotional heartache, purification,

cleansing, repels negativity, healing, speeds up spell effects, traditional offering.
Will break bad spells when scattered around the house.
Cedar – (Fire) Healing, purification, money, protection, consecration, longevity,

preservation, strength, confidence, summoning helpful spirits. Hung in homes as
a lightning ward. Place chips in a wooden box with some coins to draw money.
Chamomile – (Water) luck, banishing, curse breaking, peace, prosperity, love,

healing, reducing stress, sleep, purification, calming, legal affairs, wealth,
tranquility, nightmare ward, harmony, money. Wash hands in infusion before
gambling for luck.
Chives – (Fire) Scrying, invoking mischief, stimulates action, weight loss, protects
children, protects against evil and disease. Can be grown indoors.
Chrysanthemum – (Fire) Protection, truth, hope, promotes mental health.

Associated with rituals of death and dying. Grow in garden to ward off evil
spirits. Use to evoke spirits of the dead. POISONOUS.
Cinquefoil – (Fire) AKA Five Finger Grass. Anointing, banishing, clairvoyance,

divination, exorcism, healing, hex breaking, inspiration, justice, legal matters,
knowledge, love, luck, money, prosperity, power, protection, purification, sleep,
wisdom.
Cinnamon – (Fire) Lust, love, power, prosperity, healing, protection, psychic and
spiritual development, wishes of power, consecration, divination, strength,
wealth, money, cleansing, banishing, fertility, speeding things up. Cassia
substitute.
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Clove – (Fire) Protection, banishing hostile and negative forces, socializing,

exorcism, love, command, money, kinship, divination, legal affairs, wealth,
healing, spell breaking, ending gossip, lust.
Clover – (Earth) Fidelity, money, protection, consecrating ritual tools, legal

affairs, posterity, simplicity, purification, spell breaking, protects against evil
influences. Place around home to drive away negative spirits.
Red Clover – (Air) Fidelity, love, money, protection, blessing

domestic animals, lust, prosperity, hex breaking. Carry to aid in
financial arrangements. Sprinkle around home to remove negative
spirits.
Coffee – (Fire) Grounding, peace, nightmare ward, dispels negativity, stimulating

spells, protection, cleansing, curse breaking, divination (tasseomancy).
Cotton – (Earth) Luck, healing, protection, rain, fishing, purification. Place a

piece of cotton in the sugar bowl for good luck. Burn to bring rain. Makes the
best cloth for sachets. Planted or scattered around the yard to keep ghosts
away.
D
Daffodil – (Water) Love, fertility, luck, happiness, prosperity, chivalry. Wear near
the heart to bring good luck. POISONOUS, non-fatal.
Daisy – (Water) Love, luck, innocence, protection, faerie magic, Midsummer,

Beltane, legal affairs, simplicity, health, purification, wealth. Associated with
babies. Use in infant blessings and protection.
Dandelion – (Air) Wishes, psychic ability, purification, defeating negativity,

animals, divination. Roots aid in sleep protection. Bury root on northwest side of
your home for good luck.
Dill – (Fire) Travel, money, wisdom, protection, lust, luck, prosperity, sleep,
harmony, peace. Determination, tranquility, retention, fertility, psychic
protection, love, banishing, outlining reality versus superstition, attraction,
concentration. Good for an upset GI tract.
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E
Eucalyptus – (Water) Healing, protection, purification, cleansing, wards off evil,
joy, reconciliation, warding, curse breaking. Carry for protection. Add to a
bouquet to speed healing. Use caution when using essential oil. Camphor
substitute.
Evening Primrose – (Air, Earth) Love, faerie magic, disclosing secrets, truth,
protection, success, moon magic, job hunting, birth, children, admitting feelings,
healing grief and heartache. Use in bath magic to increase inner and outer
beauty.
F
Fennel – (Air, Fire) Healing, longevity, fertility, confidence, courage, love,
Midsummer, protection, purification, commanding, consecration, divination,
energy, gain, summer rituals.
Fern – (Water, Earth) Fiercely protective, luck, wealth, longevity, youth, health,
exorcism, banishing, prosperity, mental clarity, cleansing, purification, dispels
negativity, lightning ward, concentration. Brings rain. Keep around while
studying.
Feverfew - (Fire) healing, protection from illness, travel, spiritual healing,

banishing unwanted influences, protection from accidents. Keep flowers in
suitcase or car while traveling. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Forget-Me-Not: Friendship, remembrance, fidelity, love. Worn or carried to keep

a lover close to your heart, Give to someone who you’d like to keep you in
mind. Use in curses to plague someone’s thoughts.
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Foxglove – (Water) Protection, vision, faerie work, cursing, insincerity, courage,

heart healing, purification. Said to hold most power when harvested at the full
moon. POISONOUS, use with caution.
G
Garlic – (Fire) Wild/cultivated. Protection, strength, passion, cleansing, healing,
success, confidence, courage, longevity, curse breaking, banishing, willpower,
nightmare ward, divination, stopping gossip, exorcism, health.
Ginger – (Fire) Enhancing magic, attracting money, love, power, passion,

psychic development and protection, sensuality, easing pain, balance, health,
money, lust.
Ginseng – (Fire) Love, beauty, protection, lust, healing, fertility, health, wishes,
renewal, strength, longevity, gain, banishing, memory, stress relief,
concentration, good against cold symptoms. AVOID IF PREGNANT. Becoming
endangered, use conscientiously.
H
Heather – (Water) Protection, emotional healing, luck, memory, love, physical
healing. Dip in water and sprinkle around to bring rain. Use in sachets to prevent
assault and violent crimes. Use in home decorations to bring peace.
Hibiscus – (Water) Passion, love, prophetic dreams, divination, clairvoyance,

legal affairs, freedom, independence, swift assistance and activation,
protection from negativity and evil, psychic ability, attracting good spirits.
Holly – (Fire) Stable marriages, love, luck, dreams, magic enhancement,

divination, renewal, consecration, banishing, lightning ward, protection from
storms, curses for revenge. Plant outside home for protection. POISONOUS:
Seeds.
Hollyhock - (Water) Success, money, material gain, harvest, fertility, creation,

abundance, ambition, memory, healing from the past. Grow near the home to
aid family flourish and succeed.
26
Honeysuckle – (Earth) Love, clarity, wealth, psychic ability, banishing, attracts

friends and business, quick abundance, instills confidence. Grown outside near
home for luck. Burn incense for prosperity. Protects one’s garden from evil.
POISONOUS, berries only.
Hydrangea – (Water) Hex breaking, drawing love, fidelity, binding, friendship,

devotion, understanding, boundaries, restructuring energy.
Hyssop – (Fire) Protection, purification, cleansing, anti-theft, consecration,

healing, wards off negativity.
I
Impatiens – Grounding, healing, speedy outcomes.
Iris – (Water) Wisdom, purification, courage, faith, purification, valor,

consecrating, baby blessings, money, reconciliation, joining, creativity, love-
drawing. Represents belief in happy reincarnation.
Ivy – (Earth) Fertility, love, healing, protection, keeping away unwanted guests,
banishing, divination, tenacity, brides, purification. Hang by front door to ward
away unwanted company. Grow indoors to prevent disaster. Magically paired
with holly.
J
Jasmine – (Water) Love, attracting a soulmate, new ideas, legal affairs, wealth,
inspiration, restful sleep, money. Burn incense for prophetic dreams. Oil can be
used in binding people to you. Good for charging quartz.
Juniper – (Fire) Banishing, attracts good health, love, anti-theft, legal affairs,
psychic development, exorcism. Burn for magical protection. Cedar substitute.
L
Lavender (Air) Versatile, protection, love, romance, happiness, healing,
purification, calming, anti-anxiety, luck, peaceful sleep, dreams, sea witchcraft,
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anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, banishing, curse breaking, peace, nightmare

ward, legal affairs, wishes, hyssop substitute.
Lemon – (Water) Lust, strengthens relationships, friendship, magical cleanser.

Can be used a poppet by sticking pins and/or cloves in to protect any area.
Combine lemon juice with water for a strong magical cleanser that can
eliminate negative energies on people or objects. Peel can be used in love
spells or to draw friendship.
Lemon Balm – (Water) Peace, love, success, healing, psychic and spiritual
development, prosperity, aids with mental illness, sleep aid, relieves headaches,
thyroid health, combats depression.
Lilac – (Water) Divination, harmony, gentleness, love, memory, peace, psychic

protection, exorcism, wisdom, good luck, banishing, innocence. Considered
unlucky when brought indoors.
Lily – (Water) Protection, breaking love spells, fertility, happiness, marriage,

prosperity, banishing, healing, purity, safe travel, harmony, ease, legal affairs.
Lily of the Valley – (Air) AKA Jacob’s Ladder. Gentleness, happiness, modesty,
protection, stopping harassment, longevity in marriage, peace, harmony,
memory, decision making, mental power. POISONOUS.
Lovage – (Fire) Prophetic dreams, energy, purification, aphrodisiacs, love spells,

justice, bath spells for psychic healing, sachets for enhancing attractiveness.
POISONOUS.
M
Magnolia – Love, loyalty, helps with addictions, harmony, peace, tranquility,
psychic development, learning from past experiences, freedom, relaxation,
fidelity, hair growth, independence, wonderment, awe, happiness.
Marigold – (Fire) AKA Calendula. Focus, banishing, respect, admiration, luck in

legal affairs, dream work, love, calming, protection, psychic ability, honoring the
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dead, natural antiseptic, protection, curses, justice. Scatter under bed for
protected sleep. Angelica substitute.
Marjoram – (Earth, Air) Psychic and spiritual development, calming restlessness

and nervousness, love, tranquility, weddings, money, peace, pleasant dreams,
travel, wisdom, insight, success, banishing, cleansing, aids depression. Use in floor
washes for general home protection.
Mint – (Air) Protection, strength, luck, money, prosperity, healing, focus,

concentration, happiness, renewal, success. Place under pillow for protection
while sleeping. Place sprigs over doorways for protection. Good for cooling
anger. Can be grown indoors. Promotes digestion.
Mistletoe – (Air) Success, protection, legal matters, health, fertility, catalysts, luck,
love, forgiveness, exorcism. POISONOUS, AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Morning Glory – (Water) Biding, banishing, promoting attraction, happiness,

peace, cursing. Wrap vine around a poppet nine times to banish something.
Place seeds beneath pillow to banish nightmares. High John the Conqueror and
Periwinkle substitute.
Mossrose – (Water) AKA Rosemoss, Portulaca. Sleep, love, luck, protection,

nightmare ward (white blossom), energy for spells (Yellow and orange
blossoms), wards off evil, guards children. Scatter in four corners of home to
repel negativity.
Mugwort – (Earth) Strength, protection, prophetic dreams, healing, astral travel,

travel, midsummer rites, fertility, scrying, psychic and spiritual development.
Keeps one safe from hostile forces. Protects children. Hang over a door to keep
unwelcome energies from entering. AVOID IF PREGNANT. Possible hallucinogen,
use with caution.
Myrrh – (Water) Love, fertility, youth, peace, money, healing, spirituality,

purification, consecration, compassion, endings, protection, success,
transformation. Wear or carry to attract true friendship. Use in sachets for a
peaceful and loving atmosphere. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
N
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Nettle – (Fire) Banishing, cursing, warding. Dispels darkness and fear, strengthens
will, drives off negativity, cursing, helps prevent and treat dandruff. Sprinkle on
self to remove petty jealousies, gossip, envy, and uncomfortable situations.
Place fresh cuts in sickroom to speed recovery. Can be used as a diuretic.
Nutmeg – (Fire, Air) Prosperity, luck, warmth, protection, gambling, fertility,

money, breaking hexes, games of chance, clairvoyance, health. Carried to
increase intellect.
O
Oak – (Water, Earth) Truth, steadfast knowledge, protection, vitality, longevity,
concentration, observation, intuition, bravery, prosperity, strength, leadership,
fertility, healing, wealth, lightning ward, wards off negativity in the home.
Considered the most sacred of trees.
Oakmoss – (Earth) Luck, prosperity, attracting money, green witchcraft,

protection, strength.
Oregano – (Air) Happiness, joy, strength, vitality, extra energy, tranquility, luck,
health, protection, letting go of a loved one, deepening existing love, cleansing,
peace, wards against negative magic. Used as a white sage alternative when
burning.
Orange – (Water) Luck, good fortune, beauty, weddings, love, prosperity,

happiness, abundance, money, divination. Peel is used as a saffron substitute.
Orchid – (Air) Beauty, elegance, uniqueness, lust, fertility, harmony, romantic

love, spirituality, intuition, wealth, concentration, memory, focus, willpower.
P
Pansy – (Water, Air) Love, rain, divination, endings, exorcism, longevity,
protection, reflection, calming thoughts, lightning ward, broken hearts, lovers,
calming, stress relief, gentleness, self-exploration, clarity, ideas. Common
substitute for other flowers.
Parsley – (Earth, Air) Calms and protects the home. Prosperity, financial gain,
luck, restores sense of well-being, strength, vitality, divination, happiness, psychic
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development, purification, passion, love, attraction. Fends off drunkenness. Can

be grown indoors.
Pennyroyal – (Earth) Protection, peace, strength, endings, harmony, love,

release, tranquility, endurance, success in business, banishing, travel. Carry when
dealing with negative or unfamiliar vibrations. POISONOUS.
Peony – (Fire) Protects from hexes, brings good luck, prosperity, faerie magic,
happiness, nightmare ward (blossom), business success, healing, secret keeping,
cleansing, exorcism, confidence, banishing. The petals are considered positive,
while the seed is used to cause strife. POISONOUS.
Petunia – Beauty, carefree, joy, domestic bliss, happy homes, inspiration, fresh
perspective, power, cheer.
Pine – (Air) New beginnings, growth, purification, cleansing, wealth, compassion,

fertility, divination, money, consecration, protection, banishing, curse breaking,
lust.
Poppy – (Water) Fertility, prosperity, love, abundance, legal affairs, problem

solving, luck, agriculture, divination, compassion, consolation, dreams, wealth,
sleep, lust (seed) offerings, forgetting, rejuvenation, release, overcoming
addiction. POISONOUS.
Purslane – (Water) Sleep, love, luck, protection, Happiness, spell and curse
breaking, nightmare ward, psychic protection, recovering owed money.
R
Roses – (Water) Happiness, love, helps with anxiety, close friendships, speeds
healing of bruises and sprains, courage, health, legal affairs, protection, psychic
ability. Can (usually) be substituted in place of any flower.
Rosemary (Fire) Highly versatile, calming, memory, purification, love, longevity,

banishing, curse and hex breaking, peace, protection, friendship. Incense can
be burned to disperse negative energy and protect against disease. Essential oil
worn to improve memory. Can (usually) be used to substitute any herb.
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Rue – (Fire) Protection, spell breaking, calming, wishes, consecration, health,

luck, longevity, love, exorcism, blessing, compassion, psychic development,
banishing, understanding one’s mistakes. Add to baths for hex breaking. Use to
hex enemies. POISONOUS.
S
Saffron – (Fire) Happiness, prosperity, love, aphrodisiac, healing, strength,
weather spells, clairvoyance, divination, purification, spell breaking, exorcism,
commanding, consecration, lust, humility. Burn, wear, or carry to raise psychic
awareness.
St. John’s Wort – (Fire) Wealth, longevity, wishes, purification, clairvoyance,

consecration, prosperity, psychic protection, tranquility, weddings, protection,
exorcism, success. Prevents colds and fevers, drives off negative spirits, aids with
depression. POISONOUS.
Sage – (Air) (Common, white, clary) Healing, longevity, banishing, consecration,

blessing, divination, knowledge, wisdom, keeping secrets, purification,
protection, strength, courage, resolving problems, clearing negative energy,
maintain mental and physical health. Not recommended for sleep blends. White
sage is becoming endangered, consider growing your own rather than buying.
Sandalwood – (Water) Peace, banishing, curse breaking, purification,

protection, exorcism, luck, spirituality, success, wishes, visualization. Associated
with the full moon. Scatter powder to clear home of negativity. Burn during
protection and exorcism spells. Endangered, use conscientiously.
Skullcap – (Water) Peaceful sleep, peace, aids with stress, concentration,

fidelity, love. Used in rituals as incense to bind oaths and consecrate vows.
Burned to diffuse disharmony. Used in bath spells for stress relief.
Snapdragon – (Fire) AKA Calfsnout. Truth, hex guard, protection from evil, curse
breaking, personal power, exorcism, purification.
Star Anise – (Air) Psychic power, fortune, aphrodisiac, divination, fertility, luck,
love, money, nightmare ward, protection, consecration, purification.
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Sunflower – (Fire) Adoration, happiness, health, vitality, potency, power,

radiance, sustenance, strength, truth, energy, protection, wisdom, wishes,
fertility, Beltane, positivity, endurance.
Sweet Pea – (Water) Tenderness, lasting pleasure, good omen, weddings,

comfort, irresistibility, personal power, courage, friendship. POISONOUS.
T
Tulip – (Earth) Luck, fame, love, beauty, desire, gratitude, grounding, simplicity,
dreams, protection, happiness, prosperity, purification. Color variants can be
used for many different things.
Thyme – (Water) Affection, happiness, peace, banishing, courage, health,

psychic power, legal affairs, sleep, cancer prevention. Attracts loyalty and the
good opinion of others. Worn for inner strength and dealing with grief. Burn to
dispel melancholy.
V
Valerian – (Water) Ending guilt, stopping negative self-talk, self-acceptance,
finding solutions, love, dreams, purification, protection, drives off negativity,
inspiration, creativity, cursing, wards off danger. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Vervain – (Earth) Dreams, wishes, purification, creativity, healing, knowledge,

nightmare ward, prosperity, success, banishing, peace, love, astral travel,
prosperity, joy, transformation, love, wealth, all-purpose protection for places
and people, guards from psychic attack.
Violet – (Water) Healing, wishes, peace, harmony, protection, love, luck,

gentleness, honoring the dead, fidelity, modesty, banishing, lust, legal affairs,
revealing truth, dealing with grief. Leaves protect from all evil.
W
Witch Hazel – (Fire) Protection, ending love spells, mending broken hearts,
banishing, inspiration, love divination, chastity. Used in divining rods.
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Wormwood – (Air) Banishing, calling spirits, clairvoyance, divination, love,

protection, psychic growth, spell breaking, returning spells, vengeance,
accident prevention, exorcism, determination, scrying, repels hostile magic, can
be used in cursing and hexing. POISONOUS.
Y
Yarrow – (Water) Love, luck, healing, weddings, happy relationships, banishes
negativity, wards off fear, promotes courage and confidence, seeking,
communication, friendship, love wishes, increases spell power. Wormwood
substitute. AVOID IF PREGNANT.
Yew: Death and rebirth, divination, astral travel, crafting runes and frames,
cursing. POISONOUS, should never be eaten from/off of.
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Essential Oils
Concentration Courage Fertility
Honeysuckle Rose Geranium Musk
Lilac Musk Vervain
Rosemary Iris Meditation
Harmony Healing Acacia
Basil Carnation Hyacinth
Gardenia Eucalyptus Jasmine
Lilac Lotus Magnolia
Narcissus Myrrh Myrrh
Money Narcissus Nutmeg
Bayberry Rosemary Peace
Honeysuckle Sandalwood Benzoin
Mint New Beginnings Gardenia
Vervain New Mown Hay Magnolia
Power Protection Rose

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Carnation Cypress Tuberose
Rosemary Myrrh Psychic Power
Vanilla Patchouli Acacia
Passion Rose Anise
Cinnamon Geranium Cassia
Vanilla Rosemary Lilac
Rue Mimosa
Violet
Incense
Acacia - Burned with sandalwood to stimulate psychic powers.
African Violet - Burned for protection and to promote spirituality within the
home.
Allspice - Burned to attract both good luck and money.
Aloes - attracting good fortune, love, spiritual vibrations, and strength.
Althea - Burned for protection and to stimulate psychic powers.
Anise Seed - Burned as a meditation incense.
Basil - Used to exorcise and protect against evil entities such as demons and
unfriendly ghosts. Also attracts fidelity, love, good luck, sympathy, and wealth.
An excellent incense to use while performing love divinations.
Bay - To facilitate the psychic powers and to induce prophetic dreams.
Bayberry - Burned mainly to attract money.
Benzoin - Burned for purification and to attract prosperity.

36
Bistort - Often burned with frankincense as a powerful aid to divination.
Bracken - Burned in outdoor fires to magical induce rain.
Cedar - Burned for purification, to stimulate or strength psychic powers, attract

love, prevent nightmares, and heal various ailments, including head colds.
Cinnamon - Prosperity and money spells, protection rituals, spells to enhance

psychic ability, healing, love.
Citron - Used in healing rituals as well as to strengthen the psychic powers.
Clove - Burned to dispel negativity, purify sacred and magical spaces, attract
money, and stop or prevent the spread of gossip.
Coconut - For protection.
Copal - For purification and to attract love.
Damiana - Burned to facilitate psychic visions.
Dittany of Crete - Used to conjure spirits and to aid in astral projection, especially
when mixed with equal parts benzoin, sandalwood, and vanilla.
Dragon’s Blood - Burned to dispel negativity, exorcise evil supernatural entities,

attract love, and restore male potency. Many also burn dragon’s blood for
protection during spell casting and invoking. When added to other incenses,
dragon’s blood makes their magical properties stronger.
Elecampane - Strengthens clairvoyant powers and scrying abilities.
Fern - Burned in outdoor fires to magically induce rain. Also used to exorcise evil.
Frankincense - A great “clearing” incense. Creates a calm, peaceful

atmosphere in the home. Helpful in healing spells. Enhances mental clarity.
Happiness, prosperity.
Fumitory - Burned to exorcise demons, poltergeists, and evil supernatural entities.
Galangal - Curse and hex breaking.

37
Gardenia - Promoting peace and tranquility, encouraging harmony between

those who are fighting, bringing peaceful solutions to problems and conflicts.
Ginseng Root - Burned to keep wicked spirits at bay, and for protection against
all forms of evil.
Gotu Kola - Meditation incense.
Heather - Burned to conjure beneficial spirits and to magically induce rain.
Hibiscus - For attracting love.
Jasmine - Attracts love and money. Also induces prophetic dreams.
Juniper - Stimulates or increases psychic powers. Also used for curse and hex
breaking.
Lavender - Lifting the mood, happiness, joy, optimism, used in love and
prosperity spells, fertility, sleep, peace.
Lemongrass - Enhances mental awareness, mental clarity, focus, intelligence

spells, opens psychic awareness, promotes visions.
Lilac - Burned to stimulate or increase psychic powers, and to attract harmony

into one's life.
Mace - Stimulates or increases psychic powers.
Mastic - Conjures beneficial spirits, stimulates/increases psychic powers, and

intensifies sexual desires. Greatly increases the magical properties of other
incense when a bit of mastic is added.
Mesquite - The magical powers of all healing incense are increased when
mesquite is added.
Mint - Increases sex drive, exorcises evil entities, conjures beneficial spirits,
attracts money. Mint also possesses strong healing vibrations and protective
powers.
Myrrh - Healing spells, self-love rituals, any type of calming meditation, health.
Nutmeg - Burned to aid meditation and attract prosperity.
Patchouli - Attracts money and love. Promotes fertility.

38
Pine - Burned for purification, banishing negative energies, exorcising evil,

attracting money, and for curse and hex breaking as well as returning them to
their senders.
Poppy Seed - Promotes female fertility, attracts love, good luck, and money.
Rose - Love spells, enhances psychic awareness, promotes healing, peace in

the home, attracting good luck.
Rosemary - Purification, healing, preventing nightmares, preserving youthfulness,

dispelling depression, attracting fae folk, and promoting restful sleep and
pleasant dreams.
Rue - Burned to help restore health.
Sage - Clearing the air, neutralizing negativity, promoting a more peaceful

atmosphere, exorcism.
Sagebrush - Aids healing and banishes negative energies.
Sandalwood - Protection, banishing negativity, repelling evil, exorcism, makes

one feel more safe and secure.
Strawberry - Burned to attract love.
Sweetgrass - used to conjure beneficial spirits prior to spell casting.
Thyme - Purifies magical spaces prior to rituals, aids in healing, attracts good
health.
Vanilla - Love spells, increasing physical energy, improving mental alertness,

enhancing feelings of inner peace and comfort.
Vetivert - Curse breaking and protection.
Willow - Averts evil, attracts love, promotes healing.
Soil + Dirt
Bank or Financial Institution - Collect and use to bring money to you or to
receive the payment of an overdue debt.
39
Church - Use for anything even remotely involving legal matters. This could
include contracts, court cases, general justice, or even money owed to you. If
your intents will benefit from discerning the eye of the law, this is the dirt you
need.
Educational Facility - Be it from a college campus or an elementary schoolyard,

this dirt is excellent for efforts involving knowledge acquisition and retention. Can
also be used in magic to induce study.
Enemy’s Home - There’s no better way to bring your enemy to their knees by
cursing them using dirt from their own home. Take care, however, to direct the
wording of your spell/curse so that it only affects your target, rather than all the
inhabitants of the home.
Home - Gather dirt of this nature to protect all the occupants of your home and
ensure their safe return. The best way to do this is by sprinkling a little bit in all the
commonly worn pairs of shoes in the house. To make a guest come back again,
sprinkle some in their shoes, too.
Hospital, Clinic, or Doctor’s Office - Gather dirt from any of these locations for
efforts that involve healing. However, be sure that your spell’s intent is healing,
not simply keeping alive. Sometimes death is the best way to heal.
Garden or Flower Shop - Often used in love spells to draw love and make it
blossom and take roots. If playing for keeps, however, it is not recommended.
Jail - Use this dirt to keep police away from your door, especially if you’re prone
to trouble with them. Add hematite to aid you in staying scotch-free.
Mall of Shopping Center - These places are always bustling with customers and
employees. This soil is perfect for job hunting, or when looking to otherwise boost
your cash flow.
Police Station - Dirt from this location is commonly sprinkled along the
baseboards of the home to keep the family safe from harm. Don’t use this if
you’re involved in any illegal activity, as it may bring the police right to you.
Workplace - There are many uses for this type of dirt. It works wonders in spells
aiming for promotions and raises. It can also be used to foil a coworker or rub
the company’s name (literally) in the dirt.
40
Times
Lunar Cycle
New Moon - Dark work, new beginnings, new projects, rejuvenation, beauty,
health, personal improvement, new employment, banishing, money.
Waxing Moon - Growth, attraction, creation, inspiration, production, drawing,

increasing, courage, motivation, friendship, healing, luck, love, power.
Full Moon - Light works, knowledge, protection, prosperity, divination, romance,

fertility, psychic work, decision making, guidance, wishing.
Waning Moon - Removal, release, waning, repelling, reversing, ending

relationships, curses, protecting, cleansing.
Lunar Eclipse - A lunar event in which any sort of spell can be cast without
dependence on the current phase.
Day - Motivation, growth, strength, courage, communication, leadership,

business, travel.
Night - Inspiration, wisdom, divination, fertility, banishment, healing, tranquility,

self-discovery.
Sunrise - Beginnings, new love, opportunity, healing, personal growth.
Midday - Power, strength, health, vitality.
Sunset - Inner knowledge, peace, secrets, understanding, spirit work.
Midnight - Banishment, binding, divination, tranquility.
Planets
Mercury - Change, speed, close proximity.
Venus - Balance, harmony, love, money.

41
Mars - Courage, strength, protection, war.
Jupiter - Luck, protection, good fortune.
Saturn - Ambition, career, discipline, responsibility.
Water
Dew - Used for delicate magic, fae work, love magic, and fertility.
Flower Vase - Best used while flowers are still in full bloom. Used to nourish a
situation and help it grow.
Lake Water - Not recommended. Can replace sea water in a pinch.
Pond Water - Spirituality, stillness, sickness, the unknown.
Puddle - Can be used in curses to cause the target to stagnate or become

trapped in a certain point in their life.
Rain - Depends on one’s personal association with rain, as well as the conditions
under which it was gathered weather-wise. Can be used for creativity and
inspiration.
River Water - Can be used to stimulate change.
Sea Water - Versatile. Good for cleansing, banishing, etc. Sea witches’ favorite.
Storm Drain - For curses. Used to make the target feel self-loathing, low, and
disgusted with themselves.
Snow - Slowing, purity, ending, resolutions, change.
Storm Water - Strength. Used in curses to create stormy times in the target’s life.
Tears - Very strong. Can be used for many things, both negative and positive.
*Running water is highly versatile. Send things downstream to banish them, sink
to bind them, bathe to cleanse of unwanted attributes, etc. Don’t litter!!
**Water can be used as a simple offering, writing invisible sigils, and is essential to
life.
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***Rain water is a great first choice in spells, especially if you don’t have access
to sea or naturally flowing water.
Booze
This is not about alcohol as an offering, but the usage of it as a spell component.
The list is in no way exhaustive and does not include mixed drinks or brands. Just
your basics.
Distilled Spirits
● Absinthe: (Air) Useful in protection work. It is especially useful for safe astral
travel. Using it to draw sigils for safe travels on one’s body before leaving it can
keep away nasties in the meantime.
● Gin: (Earth) Useful in spells promoting good health and is good as a binding
ingredient for other alcohols’ properties. It can also be a good to use if the
caster of the spell lives in poverty and this is pertinent to the spell in some way.
● Rum: (Water) Useful in money spells or spells for gaining other material
possessions. Rum can be especially useful in a spell involving an underhanded
motive or intention, especially if the results leave you with more as a side effect
of the spell’s main goal.
● Tequila: (Fire) Tequila is all about timing. Perfect, exact timing. It can be used in
spells involving punctuality, appointments, or decision making. It can be used
when something has to be done just right, as well. Never use it for something
involving the past or anything about the future. Tequila is always for the present,
and in this moment, as they come issues.
● Vodka: (Fire and Water) Good for strength and courage. Lifting yourself up by
the bootstraps and carrying on with what needs to be done no matter how
hard it is or how tired you are. Can be used in spells involving getting through
43
difficult times, motivation, pushing forward, finishing projects. Shit’s gotta get
done? Vodka.
● Whiskey: (Water) Whiskey can be used in spells to promote change, usually
when change is unwanted by someone else. It helps bypass interference and
bring the change about in ways that which opposes it does not immediately
notice.
● Brandy: (Earth) Brandy can be used in love spells, especially those for preserving
pre-existing love. It can also be used for attracting a long-lasting love as
opposed to a fling.
Fermented Beverages
● Beer: (Earth) Beer is used in spells involving the home, family, and the past. It can
also be used in spells involving practicality vs desire.
● Cider: (Earth) Cider is used in spells for harvesting what you’ve already planted.
It helps ensure that the things you’re working towards are successful and your
effort is not wasted. But you must put in the effort.
● Wine: (Earth and Air) Wine can be used in spells for health, stress relief, and
blessings. It can also be used for spells involving standing on your own and
independence.
● Mead: (Air) Mead can be used for spells involving inspiration, study, education,
scholarly pursuits, the arts, and oratory issues. It can also be used to sweeten the
temper of yourself or someone else.
● Sangria: (Fire) Sangria is good for happiness spells, celebrations, and anything
involving good times and fun. It is also good for spells meant to broaden horizons
and promote new experiences.
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Deciding to practice witchcraft and magick can be equally daunting
and exciting. Here are some tips about what to do if you are thinking about
becoming a witch!
First, a few things that you should NOT do:
1. Do not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, period. Trust your
intuition, and always stay true to yourself.
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2. Do not do anything that puts you in danger. This includes casting a spell
without protection, or opening yourself to spirits before you know what you are
doing. This also includes running out in the middle of a storm to collect rain
water, or agreeing to meet a witch that you met online, alone. Use common
sense in all matters of your craft; your safety and health, both physical and
mental, must come first.
3. Do not do anything that contradicts your own personal, spiritual, moral,

ethical, or other beliefs. Unless you plan on changing what you believe, just
don’t do it. It doesn’t matter if everybody and their familiar is doing something;
if it doesn’t agree with you, walk away from it.
4. Do not start actually practicing anything witchcraft-related until you have

researched it. Do not do a spell until you have a working understanding of
magick, as well as all of the ingredients involved in the spell – even ones you
intend to substitute (especially the ingredients that you intent to substitute,
actually).
5. Don’t take witchcraft lightly. Your craft doesn’t need to be all serious spells
and spiderwebs, but you do need to have a healthy respect for the energies
and powers that you will be working with. You shouldn’t fear them - never work
with anything that makes you afraid - but you should respect them.
6. Don’t take your studies lightly. Put yourself through witch school. Research
everything; ask yourself questions and give yourself homework. Ask others
questions and ask them to give you homework! Be creative in your studies, but
still take them seriously. You don’t have to be hunched over spellbooks all day,
but you should make an effort to at least mentally review your existing
knowledge, on days that you can’t find the time for more.
7. Do not be afraid to ask questions or for help – but do not automatically

assume that everybody actually knows the answer. Most witches around here
will do their best to answer your questions, but they’ll also usually straight tell you
if they don’t know something themselves; you should respect that, whether or
not they point you in the direction of somebody else. On the other hand, if
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something sounds wrong, trust yourself and double check. Get a second
opinion, if need be.
—————————————————————-
Next, a few things that you should know before you enter the world of witchcraft:
1. Witchcraft is real, and magick is real. Whether or not you believe in it, it
believes in you (as the saying goes). Approaching magick as if you were
cosplaying Harry Potter is an attractive but ultimately unwise idea. Approaching
magick as if you were learning to operate a highly beneficial but potentially
dangerous piece of machinery – now, that is a wise idea.
2. Witchcraft isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it inherently pure good.

Witchcraft is power, plain and simple. It is what one chooses to do with that
power that gives it such meaning, and even then, the concept of good and evil
is an ethical and spiritual one, and thereby tends to vary from person to person,
and from witch to witch. You have to use your own morals to guide you. The
only type of magick that should be in your witchcraft is the magick you
intentionally choose to put there. On a related note: I personally don’t agree
with classifying magick as ‘black magick’ or ‘white magick’, period – not
because magick can’t have precise descriptors, but because there’s no need
to use terms that have such negative racial undertones. Light can be harmful
and ‘evil’, while darkness can be protective and ‘good’. Your intentions aren’t
“to do dark” or “to do light”, anyway. Your intentions are “to do harm” or “to do
healing”; your intentions are “to take away” or “to give”.
3. Witchcraft is a personal practice. You do not need to follow any one

specific path, spiritual or otherwise, in order to practice witchcraft. There are
many different types of witches, and many different types of magick. If there is
not one specific path that you feel is absolutely perfect for you, don’t choose
one that feels ‘close enough’ – walk your own path and mold your witchcraft
into something that is uniquely yours.
4. Witches worship in varying ways. Some do not worship at all, and are purely
secular witches. Some are simply spiritual and do not follow one set path. Some
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are polytheists and worship many gods; some are monotheists and worship one.
Some are atheists and worship none! Some are Wiccan. Some are Christian.
Some are Satanists. Some worship ancestors. Some worship the stars.
Witchcraft is a personal practice, and should co-exist with all other aspects of
your life.
5. You don’t need a whole lot to get started. Twigs can be used as wands; rock
quartz can be used as a crystal. Tea mixes contain herbs, and your spice
cabinet is basically a magick cabinet. Most of what is in your house can be
used for magick, for that matter. While it is definitely helpful to have the proper
tools and ingredients when performing magick, it is possible to DIY your way
through witchcraft until you can afford otherwise. Also, it is probably smarter to
wait a second before you run out and purchase anything, anyway. As you
learn more, you’ll start to see which tools you really need, which ingredients
you’ll likely be using the most, which items really call out to you. If you run out
and buy everything that you see right away, you risk wasting money on things
that just don’t work for you, or that you don’t even need.
—————————————————————-
Lastly, here are the things that you DO need to do, no matter what:
o Be true to yourself. Do not compromise yourself or your beliefs.
o Be safe. Don’t do or use anything that you do not have a working

knowledge of.
o Be educated. Never stop seeking out new knowledge; try to learn

something new daily.
o Use common sense. Don’t get caught up in things; think before you act.
o Trust your intuition and instinct. We often know more than we consciously
realize.
o Be creative. Write the spell that you’ve been looking for. See what is laying
around the house that you can use for your witchcraft. Be inventive!
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o Have patience. Learning takes time; magick takes time; developing your
craft takes time.
(originally posted by tarigrove)

there are a lot of misconceptions going around lately on what someone needs
to be a witch, i just want to clear some up.
you do not need:

fancy tools - or any tools at all, really. all you need is yourself and your intent.
sure, tools that fit your aesthetic are nice, but you don’t need them. if you have
the ability to buy and you want to, there’s no stopping you, but please don’t
feel like you have to go out and buy yourself an etsy broom or a cauldron. and
don’t stress yourself out over making one either! they are but trappings.
appearance - in witchy aesthetic photos, it’s usually a slim, white girl with long
hair. and that lack of a more diverse representation can give the impression that
you need to look and be a certain way, but please know it is untrue. it does not
matter what your race, weight, hair, or anything looks like.
aesthetic - you don’t need to dress “like a witch”. a witch can look like anything.
if you want to indulge in the black cat, black clothes look, fine, but you don’t
need to confine yourself to it if it’s not your thing, you can look like whatever you
want to.
gender - there are some in the community that will fight tooth and nail to make
it seem you have to be a cis female to call yourself a witch. don’t listen to those
terfs. anyone can be a witch, regardless of gender. male, non-binary, agender,
trans, demi, etc.
black cat - you don’t need a black cat. you don’t need to have a familiar
either. those are unique relations that should not be forced to happen
dark, mystical attitude - you don’t need to suddenly start talking like chaucer or
put effort into having an air of mystery. you don’t need to be holier than thou, or
act like you know it all. witchcraft is a journey that takes time to learn.
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cursing - no, you don’t need to curse. but you don’t need to shame someone
for cursing either.
on a spiritual path - witchcraft does not have to be spiritual! you can practice
magic without having to worry about being “spiritual enough”, because each
craft is unique and deeply personal, you don’t need to force it to be something
that you’re not invested in.
religious - there are many witches that wonder where the power comes from if
they don’t call upon a god. the power can come from you. you do not need to
devote yourself to a god
wiccan - wicca is not the only way to do witchcraft, it is only one way of
practicing magic. there are many people who think the only way to do
witchcraft is to be wiccan, but they are misinformed. if you do not want to work
with wiccan influences or traditions, you do not have to.
initiated - some practices, some traditions, initiation is needed. however, to be a
witch in general, you don’t need to go through any ritual to prove yourself one.
be wary of those who insist you do, they are often trying to take advantage of
new witches.
straight/cis - some traditions you’ll encounter have homophobic
roots/influences. while it is discouraging, you dont have to listen to those, or you
can work with others to rework phobic traditions
a “natural” witch - some people will claim to have “witch’s blood” or “the
flame”, meaning witchcraft has been in their families for generations. this does
not make them superior or more of a witch than you. anyone who wants to be a
witch can, no matter their birth circumstances.
labelled - a lot of witches label their craft, “herb witch”, “space witch”, “storm
witch” etc. you can be as many as you want, or none if it pleases you. you do
not need to label your craft however. some people can’t put their craft in a
box.
td;lr, you do need:

- to want to be a witch
- your intent
that’s it! happy casting!
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(originally posted by orriculum)

● If need be, wait to refer to yourself as a witch. Be sure you know your life,
your wants and needs, and whether you really want this or not. You can
practice magic without labelling yourself as a witch. You can stop at any
time and move on, too. If you see any militants trying to scare people into
thinking this is some sell-your-soul, lifelong endeavor, tell them to go fuck
themselves.
● You don’t need to put a label on yourself and/or your craft right away, or
ever if you don’t feel like it. Labels such as eclectic, sea witch, spirit witch,
etc. are more like guidelines to the types of spells, not so much the
practitioners. If you find yourself straying from the defined box of a label,
don’t worry about it! Just do what you like and what comes naturally.
● When starting spell work, start with things that are simple, quick, and
immediately gratifying, like getting someone to text you or something to
bring good dreams. Things you can check on the next day to see results.
● Don’t do half-assed spells.
● Cleansing and protection spells should be among the first kinds of magic
you do as well. This allows you to strengthen your intent skills and see how
magic suits you in a relatively safe way.
● Ensure the following are protected when you begin shielding and
warding: yourself at all times, your bedroom/sleeping space, your home,
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your car, any children living with you and any people in the house that
may be vulnerable.
● You’ll get better at detecting when you need to have active protections
up over time, so at some point, constant self-protection won’t be
necessary.
● Energy work (grounding, channeling, cleansing, etc.) is important, but it’s
not for everyone! Don’t try to force yourself into it if you feel like you don’t
get it or you don’t need it.
● That said, try to spend most of your time with energy working by figuring
out how to make it personal to you.
● Pay attention to yourself, your environment, the weather, anything and
everything that you may have an effect on and/or may have an effect
on you.
● Don’t double up on spells when you don’t instantly see results. It’s like
working with a frozen computer. Don’t keep clicking shit.
● If you start communing with anything (nature, a spirit, a deity, etc.) don’t
up and quit without a proper goodbye. It’s rude.
● Witches and magical practitioners attract shit because we notice shit. Be
prepared for this. Pay attention.
● Do your energy work if and when you feel you need it.
● Avoid spells that focus on mental domination, binding, or things that will
alter the core foundations of your life.
● If magic is not having a real, positive effect on your life, you’re doing it
wrong. (Or you’re just not in a place where the changes are
possible/visible/etc. People’s situations are different.)
● Learn to combine magic with mundane things. Cook with magic. Clean
with magic. Do everything with magic. Work to make sure it’s not just a
corner of your life. When done well, it should cover your entire life.
● Don’t get into the habit of putting off important spellwork for the next
moon phase/sabbat/day/etc. No one has that kind of time.
● Learn to use magic to make your life better.
● Don’t be afraid to act magically when you need to.
● If you’re interested in divination, hop on that! Tarot, lithomancy,
bibliomancy, etc. should be acquired and researched early on. Avoid
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scrying, however, as this is a much different method that can be more

difficult to work with.
● Keep a journal to record your changes and progress in. Write things down.
Date when and where you perform your spells to keep track of their
progress and their results.
● Don’t fuck with unknown spirits. If you want to fuck with spirits in any way
besides shielding against them, a lot of work is required first. Don’t fuck it
up.
● Create a list of magical ideas and things you’d eventually like to make
spells or charms for, as well as any practices you’d like to research and try
out. Don’t worry about whether or not something is “real” enough to
warrant magical attention or a spell.
● Know yourself. Think on what your beliefs and morals currently look like.
Think on what the most important things you’d like to explore are. Know
your limits, your comfort zone, what you are able to handle and what you
can learn to be able to handle.
● Always feel free to fiddle in spell writing.
● Never stop learning! Be it in magic, cooking, plants, astrology, etc., stay
hungry. You never know when you may need that fun fact about
something you picked up somewhere in your practice!
● Make a list of tools you’d like to own and another list of tools you already
own (spices, herbs, jars, etc.)
● Write down your talents and think on how they can be used magically.
● Research which religions and paths are closed so that you know what is
not open for you to use. DO NOT APPROPRIATE IF MOMMA STARR CATCHES
YOU SMUDGING OR FUCKING WITH CHAKRAS OR SPIRIT ANIMALS AND THEY
DON’T BELONG TO YOU I WILL PERSONALLY COME AND BEAT YOUR ASS.
● If you come across a spell invoking a deity, do not pull out the deity so you
can use the spell secularly. Instead, study how it’s worded and what it’s
intent is so that you can use it an inspiration to write your own.
● The more variables a spell has, the greater chance it has to go wrong or
not work. If possible, try to narrow down exactly what the spell will do in as
few steps as possible.
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● If you can’t find the magical purpose or correspondence for something,

use it for whatever you personally associate it with, or for whatever else
you need it for.
● Tarot cards can be used to cast spells with. Burn a candle on the Lovers
for a love spell, the Tower for cursing, etc. Use your own personal
associations with each card as well to aid your spell. Just be careful of
wax dripping!
● Do not let people tell you that you aren’t properly equipped for a certain
path or practice because of your mental/physical illnesses or disabilities.
Only you know what you can and can’t handle. No branch of magic is
unsuitable for you just because some ableist asshole says so.
(tips from several sources, such as windvexer and seraphickalmagic, as well as

myself)
Daily Tips + Ideas

● For first waking up: state a magical intent for the day if you feel you need
one.
● Enchant your drink by mixing/stirring clockwise to increase things
(positivity, energy, etc.) and counterclockwise to decrease things
(anxiety, intrusive thoughts, etc.)
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● Magically affirm your food will give you energy and nourishment. Work
sigils into them if desired.
● At the end of the day, push away or transform the negative energy that’s
attached to you throughout the day. Add additional protective shields for
sleeping.
● Scent your pillow with lavender to bring sweet dreams.
● Place a full glass of water by the bed before sleeping to collect negativity
overnight (do not drink).
● Carve Sigils into everything. Bar soap, watercolor paints, eyeshadow
palettes, etc. to empower/enchant them.
● If possible, consider covering your mirrors, laptop/phone screens,
televisions, etc when doing magical working. This can seal them against
being used against you, as well as better control any energetic overload
in the area.
● Take off your shoes before/when entering your home. This keeps you from
tracking in dirt as well as any negative energies that have attached to
you during the day.
● Always keep a plant in your home. Plants absorb energy quickly and can
be used as a telltale way of seeing when cleansing needs to be done.
● A ring of salt around a candle will protect it from outside energies.
● Clear negative energy from your drains with lemons and warm water.
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● Cut an onion in half and place both halves in kitchen windowsill. Empower
to suck up negative energy. Change out when onion begins to sprout.
● Hang an open pair of scissors (securely) above a doorway to cut off

negative energy from people as they enter.
● Put garlic under the bed to ward off nightmares.
● Place small bags of angelica, rosemary, and mint under the four eaves of
the attic/in the four corners of your home for protection.
● To keep unwanted visitors from returning, sweep out whatever rooms they
were in as soon as they leave.
● Draw protection sigils under your doormat with chalk to protect all who
enter.
● Keep, dry, and crush old eggshells. These can be added to salts and
spells, especially those involving protection.
● Hang windchimes by your front and back doors to dispel negative energy
and prevent unwanted spirits/energy from entering the home.
● Keep a pine wreath or a few sprigs of pine above the bed to promote
good health.
● In spells relating to circumstances or relationships gone “sour”, use sugar

to help “sweeten: the situation and allow repair to be achieved.
● Socks that have lost their pair can be used as spell bags and poppets.
● Grotesques and gargoyles can be used as home guardians. Place them

besides doors and be sure they are always facing out. tHey don’t need
charging, but rather talk to them regularly and thank them for their work.
Cleansing is also unnecessary, but consider cleaning off their faces and
stands when doing magical upkeep and leave small offering around the
sabbats as thanks.
● Buttons make excellent charms. Choose based on color + intent, charge,

and carry around with you or sew onto your clothes.
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- Paper, pen, pencil, eraser (for on-the-go sigils)
- A pocketknife, preferably one with a scissor attachment
- Cigarette lighter and/or matches to burn things
- Chalk (if drawing sigils on brick/concrete)
- Hand sanitizer
- Gloves to keep gross stuff/bad energies off you while handling bad stuff
- Sunglasses for glamours and protections
- Compact/handheld mirror for several uses
- Your prefered divination method (if portable)
- A deck of playing cards
- A key (skeleton, house, car, locker, etc.) for personal wards
Tips:
- Anything you can do with a mirror, you can do with a CD
- If eating toaster strudel for breakfast, use the icing to make sigil for the day
- Use a saltwater spray instead of actual salt for cleansing without the gritty
cleanup
- Wash containers in natural water or vinegar before use
- Brick dust is great for protection spells
- Beach sand works as a substitute for sea salt
- Quartz is sold at most hardware stores in the garden section

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- Save incense ashes to make black salt
- Pendulums can be made on the spot with a needle and thread
Magical Terminology
Altar - A special surface set aside for magical work.
Amulet - An object of protection charged to deflect negative energies.
Astral travel - Separating the astral body from the physical, allowing one to
explore and commune with the astral plane. AKA astral projection.
Athame - A ceremonial knife.
Bane - Bad, evil, destructive.
Banish - To magically end/remove.
Bind - To magically restrain someone/something.
Call - Invoke divine forces/elemental energies.
Channeling - Trance meditation/moving energy actively.
Cleansing - Removing negative energy.
Consecration - Blessing an object, filling it with positive energy.
Coven - A group of witches that work together, numbering no more than 12.
Dedication - Dedicating yourself to a witchy path/an object or altar to a certain

purpose or use.
Deosil - Clockwise.
Divination - The use of magical tools to ascertain the past/present/future.
Elements - Earth = north, air = east, fire = south, water= west.
Evocation - To call something from within

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Handfasting - A Wiccan or Pagan marriage ceremony.
Intent - Your goal or purpose for spell work.
Invocation - To call something in from without.
Magic - Focusing your will and changing the world within and around you.
Energy + intent = magic.
Magical Circle - A circle calling the four elements to protect you while casting.
Keeps the magic energies within.
Pentacle - A five pointed star (pentagram) with a circle drawn around it. A
witches’ protection symbol.
Ritual - Magical working/habit.
Sigil - A magical seal/symbol.
Skyclad - Naked.
Spell - Mental, emotional, and physical energy used for a specific reason.
Talisman - An object charged with personal power to attract a specific force or

energy to the wearer.
Vision Questing - Accomplishing specific goals while in a trance/dreamlike state.
Webweaving - Networking with other magical people to learn and gather

information.
Widdershins - Counterclockwise.
Working - Using magic to reach a goal.

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I’d like to talk about how to critically evaluate the books that you read,
and why it is important to do this.
This is particularly complicated when we talk about Pagan books,

because many people who write Pagan books and materials are writing about
things they’ve experienced, and about a religion or practice in which there are
traditionally accepted concepts and a strong oral tradition. Many authors don’t
reference where they learned their ideas – or in many cases, they learned it
from a teacher, who learned it from another teacher, who learned it from
someone else.
That doesn’t mean that this kind of learning (or their experiences) are any
less true or valid (or that it’s any less powerful when used in ritual) – but it does
make it very difficult to determine what to question or where to find more
information. As well, there are times when accuracy of information can be very
important, such as in toxic effects of herbs, or other possible dangers.
Why do we want to evaluate the books? Isn’t it enough to just read them?
There are two main reasons: First we’re talking about religion or magickal
practice, and both of those deserve a thoughtful reading. Religion, because
how we relate to Deities is important – as is being respectful. For magic, this is
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important because there can be concerns or issues if some things are done
improperly (or even, in the case of things like herbal use, possible health
problems)
Second, it’s a matter of common sense. There are some good books out
there. There are some lousy books. The good books have some not-so-great
parts, and the lousy books can have some interesting things to say. Without
critical reading, it’s hard to tell which is which. Being an informed and critical
reader will help you make connections, question information, and generally
think about what you read and how to apply it more deeply.
All right, so we need to think about what we read. What sorts of things
should we think about?
The main things you should consider are: Who the author is, where they
got their information, how accurate their information is, what their purpose in
writing is, and what their tone tells you about how they feel.
Who is the author?
Here, we want to look at the author’s background. Unknown authors can

turn out great books (an example might be Jennifer Hunter’s 21st Century
Wicca, which is a great introduction to modern Wicca practice in a general
sense). Well known authors can write lots of books on vastly different subjects –
which can indicate that they may not know some of their topics as well as
others. Regardless, knowing about an author’s background and training and
experience can help you put their writing in perspective.
If someone is writing about a tradition, is it a tradition they have significant

training or experience in? If they are writing a general work, do they have the
experience to do so? If they write about leading a coven, have they done that?
Not having these experiences isn’t necessarily a problem, but if they don’t have
the experience themselves, they should be referring to people who do.
Why do we want to know where they got the information?

61
First, knowing where they learned the information can help you fit it into a
broader context, and compare it to other things you know. Second, it can help
you determine whether that information works well for you – if you know they are
basing information on a tradition you don’t find as helpful for you or one in
which only some parts are helpful to you, or which makes assumptions that don’t
work for you, you can make the appropriate changes.
Some examples might be a tradition which focuses on the Goddess more

than the balance of God and Goddess, or one which focuses on the
heterosexual aspects of the interaction of God and Goddess in ritual – the Great
Rite in its various forms. Knowing where the information is coming from can also
be particularly important when talking about correspondences and other
magickal practices which can vary (sometimes significantly) depending on the
source. Mixing these practices is often not advised without caution and careful
research and consideration.
Finally, it can help you determine whether or not something fits in with your
preferences or moral code. If a book focuses on the heterosexual activity
between the God and the Goddess and tells you that homosexual people are
missing something, and you’re gay or lesbian (or some other sexual orientation
than heterosexual), you may feel more support and inclusion for your choices
from a book that talks about multiple ways to relate sexuality and religious
practice. While reading things which challenge your beliefs can often be a
good thing to do, that doesn’t mean that it always an appropriate time to do
so.
How do we know how accurate information is?
One of the easiest things to do is to take a look at whatever book you’re

reading, and see what the copyright date is. This information can almost always
be found on the back side of the title page except in some older books.
This will give you an idea of when the book was written and published. If
the book is more than a year or two old, then there’s a fairly good chance some
of the resources and groups listed in it may be defunct or at a different address.
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If it’s more than five or ten years old, there have most likely been some
significant changes in practice and culture. And if a book is over about 20 years
old, there’s an excellent chance that a number of social attitudes or
approaches to history have changed, and that you should take these into
account when reading.
Older books have a lot of value, and may contain valuable information
that doesn’t change significantly over time. However, you should check
anything relating to current groups, acceptable practices, or anything that
changes over time.
In particular, you should double check anything you inhale, drink or apply
to your skin in a more up-to-date source first, as medical knowledge can
change or there may be specific concerns which apply to you which aren’t
mentioned in a general source. (For example, ragweed and chamomile are
very similar, and some people who are allergic to ragweed or have allergy
induced asthma may react badly to chamomile as well. That’s a good thing to
know before you plant or drink it, and is something that’s noted in a number of
mainstream medical resources)
You should also check out any factual material (history, specifics of
traditions outside the author’s immediate experience). Trusting your instincts can
be useful (if you have any strong background in history at all, or even if you
don’t.) If something sounds unlikely, check it out in other sources as well, or with
people you know who know more about the issue or time period.
At the very least, never take one book as your sole source of information
on a subject, and never take two books, one of which is based on the other, as
your only sources. Read widely over time, so that you get the best perspective
on the available information and evaluation of material.
What they actually say in the book.
What’s the purpose of the book? Is it a general introduction to Witchcraft

(as a magickal practice, not a religion?) Is it a general introduction to Neo-
Pagan religions? To Wicca? Is it focused on a specific aspect or practice (Tarot,
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herbs, candles, meditation?) Is it about a specific tradition, someone’s personal

practice? Is it aimed at the absolute novice, or at someone who knows the
basics? Is it a book of spells and rituals, or is there substantial discussion in there
as well?
What is their purpose? Are they presenting purely personal experiences

(“Here’s what worked for me.”) or are they providing a general overview? Do
they have some agenda (making a particular path more prominent or
accessible, aiming at a specific group of readers?) Sometimes authors have a
visible bias. Sometimes they have biases which are not so visible. If an author is
trying to present a relatively unbiased opinion, you should see an appropriate
tone (see the next section) and give references or other people’s statements.
How can authors reference information?
The most complete way to give information about sources is in footnotes

or end notes. (Footnotes are at the bottom of the page, end notes are at the
end of each chapter or sometimes at the end of the book.) Sometimes, sources
are given more casually, with a parenthetical reference to a well known work or
one previously referenced more fully. These give more specific information on
where you can go to read more on where that information came from. This is
the method that is used in any academic book or article.
Some authors give a suggested reading list at the end of the chapter or
the end of the book. These aren’t nearly as useful for further research because
they don’t let you go directly to the source of a quote or piece of information
that’s of immediate interest to you. They’re still better than nothing, but you
should be cautious of trusting unreferenced material, particularly in a historical
text, without checking out other sources.
In general, I am more tolerant of a lack of footnotes or references in books

which talk about someone’s personal experiences, practice, or those which rely
on a previously oral tradition. (Although I still like to know where they got
information and what they recommend for further reading.) I am far less tolerant
of books with few references which talk about history, religious theory, general
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practices, or multiple traditions. I personally get suspicious when an author talks

about a wide range of subjects (multiple traditions, a broad period of history)
without giving further resources and references.
Why is it important to cite information from other sources?
One of the dangers of not citing information is that personal experience

and personal opinions can appear as fact. Likewise, no one person is ever going
to have the same depth of knowledge about a wide range of traditions. They
may know two or even three well, but there’s no way that one person can
experience high level training and practice in many traditions in any one
lifetime.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to be suspicious of the accuracy of

information if there are no sources cited and if the author is talking about
material from several different traditions or cultures. They might well have done
their homework- but researching it further in books by people specializing in
each of those cultures will get you more depth and greater assurance of
accurate information.
If they’ve done their own research, it’s a relatively simple matter to give
you what sources they used. Think about it this way: do you want to
automatically trust the information of someone who can’t bother to tell you
where their information came from? What does that say about their work ethic
and ability to research? What does it say about their accuracy in other areas?
(A good example of decent citation is Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon)
What sort of questions can be asked about factual information?
If other people were consulted, who was consulted, and when? Are there
sources from within those traditions which are given? Do you recognize any of
the names of people who were consulted? Are they respected names, or have
you heard things that concern you about them from other sources?
If historical material (names and dates) are mentioned, do they seem to

be right to you? Are there major errors? Are hotly debated subjects (whether
Wicca itself existed before the 20th Century) mentioned as having alternate
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opinions or are those differences of opinion ignored? If the author gives an

overview, is it really an overview, or just a ‘the bits I like best’ version of history?
Do they talk about controversies and low points as well as the high points? If
they talk about herbs, do they talk about toxic ones? Do they specifically avoid
toxic herbs? (Two herbs that I usually look for to see how these issues are
addressed are belladonna/deadly nightshade and rue.) Do they talk about
needing particular care if you are pregnant or might be pregnant? In general,
do you see safety precautions you have seen elsewhere? Do they recognize the
issues of different sexual orientation, various ways of relating to deities (Deity as
an archetype or Deity as an individual?), or other issues (working with teens,
dealing with mainstream society, etc) as appropriate?
What sort of tone do they use?
While it’s all very well to speak from personal experience, a responsible
and experienced author should realize that there are a lot of differences in Craft
and Pagan practice and experience. Because of this, I tend to be very
suspicious (and I suggest that the critical reader should be as well) of any author
who uses words like “All Witches” or “No Pagan” or “This is the one way that
things are done”.
As I’m sure readers of this article are aware, there are a wide range of
practices, sexualities, rituals, and coven practices. While it’s fine to talk about
specifics when talking about a limited set of circumstances (“In X tradition, we
practice skyclad and do the following ritual at the Full Moon… In our tradition,
the balance between male and female energies is important, and we honor
both the God and Goddess equally”) a responsible author shouldn’t generalize
that to all practice. (“All Pagans practice skyclad, are heterosexual, and must
be willing to participate in the True Great Rite”)
Most of the time, the generalizations are a bit more subtle than that –
which is why books deserve close reading. Some areas where people can
generalize include pantheon (particularly gender issues relating to deity),
sexuality, the practice of sexual magic (including the Great Rite), the desired
membership of covens or size of covens. Again, it’s perfectly all right to insist on
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specifics in a given tradition. What’s not all right is generalizing to all Wiccans, all
Witches, or all Pagans, except in some very few and very general ways (for
example, the fact that modern Wiccans do not practice animal or human
sacrifice.)
Conclusion:
I hope that this article has given you an outline of things to think about.
Again, I’m going to list the basics so that you can reference them quickly.
1) Who is the author? What is his or her background?
2) Where did the author get information?
3) How accurate is that information?
4) What is the purpose of the book?
5) What does their tone indicate?
6) Are there warning signs for further caution: an older book dealing with herbs
or other medical issues; regular use of absolute words (all, no, none) rather than
recognizing that there are differences of opinion in the Neo-Pagan community;
lack of references regarding historical information, or that outside the author’s
direct experience and training?
(originally posted on gleewood.org)

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I see a lot of posts saying, “I want to be a witch, what do I need to buy?”
While I am 100% against the false idea that you need to buy things to be a witch
or practice witchcraft, admittedly there are some things that do make the
whole process easier.
Instead of going around to tiny and expensive shops downtown looking

for witchy items, hit up your local Wal-Mart and stock the heck up on these
crafty supplies:
Candles - get a 100 pack of white unscented tea candles, plus a few other
candles you’d like to have. I don’t care what candle magic books say, you
don’t need candles in each color.
- Skip the cheap incense on this aisle. Burn real herbs instead. Buy charcoal
disks or do as I do and improvise with tinfoil and a tea light.
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Matches - get a big box. Matches are proven to be 150% more fun than lighters
and 175% easier to find when you’re in the middle of a ritual.
Herbs/spices - dried rosemary (get double), chamomile, cinnamon sticks,

mullein, allspice, and star anise should be enough to keep you entertained.
Grab a bag of big dried peppers if you foresee hexing in your future. Also, get a
box of sea salt (the bigger the better).
- Screw those tiny, overpriced little plastic bottles. Get ethnic brands,
especially Mexican. Rosemary is a really common spell/ritual ingredient so
stock up.
Thread - get red and black, or get a box set of embroidery thread that girls use
to make friendship bracelets out of. It’s about $10 but it has every color you
could ever desire and it lasts ages.
Pins and needles - buy a box of thin pins and sewing needles large enough to fit
your thread.
- I already had sewing supplies at home, but if you need them get a pair
of scissors good for cutting fabric and thread.
Scrap fabric - look for small squares of fabric sold at a discount. Try and get a
plain, neutral color like beige and whatever else appeals to you.
Notebooks, sketch books, and binders - composition books or spiral bounds are
your best friend. If you are an artist, get a drawing book. Choose a thin binder
that is easy to handle. Consider spiral bound notebooks and sketch books with
perforated edges if you intend to move a lot of stuff into the binder. Get filler
paper if you don’t have it at home.
- Don’t bother with fancy pens or art supplies to decorate with. In my

opinion, creating an artistic grimoire should be done after a witch has
quite a bit of experience and has the time to slow down for it. Don’t
confuse witchcraft for drawing fancy spell pages.
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Clippers - you will need plant clippers to collect specimens from nature and
tend to your own plants at home.
Containers - get ziplock bags (probably the cheapest option) or glass jars if you
can afford it. You will need these to help organize your ingredients.
- Think ahead for labeling - you may need tape or glue to affix labels to
your containers
Live plants - depending on the time of year, the garden department is likely to
have a variety of young herbs available. Choose herbs that thrive in your
climate or can be kept indoors. Don’t worry about getting the “best” herbs, you
can buy what you need for spells dried. Just focus on what you can keep alive
and what you’d like to get to know better.
(originally posted by windvexer)

So this is a pretty basic post but I feel like it could be useful to beginner
witches and witches on a budget, or even just to give inspiration on where to
check for some supplies that you may not be able to find otherwise!
Thrift Stores/Charity shops
I don’t know what I’d do without thrift stores. Okay, so, you might not find
that ~aesthetically pleasing~ container that you’ve been searching for, or the
crystal that you’ve been wanting, but you can bet that you’ll find some candles,
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some beautiful holders/dishes, boxes, maybe some incense. Sometimes you’ll

find an absolute gem of an item, it’s all about being creative with what you find!
eBay/Amazon/Depop/Etsy
While these are all really useful, sometimes they can be a bit expensive.
You’ve really got to be careful that you’re getting what you’re paying for (i.e
read descriptions carefully). Nevertheless, if you’re stuck for resources, these are
perfect for any supplies! Also, you can buy vials and jars on eBay and it’s
generally affordable.
Other online stores
Literally just google ‘online witch store’ or something similar, and you’ll be
met with an abundance of online stores. It just takes a little digging around to
find one that doesn’t break the bank!
TK Maxx
Okay, I honestly don’t know if this is a worldwide shop or whether it’s just in
my town/country. It’s like a haven for people on budgets! (Not just for witchy
things, designer brands at discounted prices.) Anyway, you can buy so many
useful things here. Candles, boxes, herbs, incense, plant seeds, craft supplies,
etc.
Card Shops
Birthday candles! Pretty boxes! Generally inexpensive! I love card shops.
Stationery Shops
Wanting a ~fancy~ book to start your very own grimoire? Or maybe just
some nice boxes to hold all of your witchy supplies? Stationery shops are
actually very useful.
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Local Markets
I can’t stress this enough. Local. Markets. Are. A. Blessing. Whether they’re
car boot sales, artisan markets, yard sales, whatever, you can almost always find
something useful. At my local market, there’s a stall that sells crystals (from tiny
ones to huge -and expensive- chunks), incense, candles, helpful books, and so
many other things.
Pen Pals!
On a different spectrum: pen pals can be a really great experience.

Once you and your friend are close, you can exchange different supplies, buy
each other gifts, cast spells for each other, share tips, etc. If they’re able to get a
certain herb or crystal in their area, you can exchange with them! Not only will
you be gaining supplies, but you’ll be making a friend out of it, which is probably
the best thing about pen pals!
(originally posted by astralwitchling)

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1. FINISH WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
► DO NOT walk away from an uncompleted ritual
► DO NOT walk away in the middle of a spell
Grab your notes and close everything down. Dismiss any spirits or entities
you are working with. Close down the circle. End the ritual. Diffuse the energy of
the spell and close it down. If you were enchanting an item, announce over it
that it is closed and nothing more may come in or out.
Spells and rituals are little portals of power; if you leave one open without
closing it, all sorts of things could get screwy and come through.
2. End any spooky/witchy atmosphere immediately.
● Blow out all the candles.

● Put out all the incense.
● Turn on all the lights.
● Turn off spooky chanting music. Turn on some happy music or better yet, a
non-supernatural television show or movie you love.
● If you were enchanting an item, immediately put it in salt.
3. Don’t destroy the items/notes you will need later.
Trust me, do not throw away the spell you wrote or the objects you were
working on. If things go wrong in the future you will need these to fix the
problem.
► Immediately write down exactly what happened. Write down every

deviation from the spell that you did. Write down exactly what you said and saw
during any visualizations. Write down exactly when things started to get freaky.
► If you were enchanting an item, keep it in a black bag filled with salt
until you are ready to deal with it.
4. Cleanse.
Use an energy cannonball to purify the space you were working in. Burn
rosemary and bay leaves to fumigate the area, or spritz a premade water
solution if you can’t have smoke. Pay special attention to all ritual tools.
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If you feel the need to, cleanse yourself by visualizing the power of the
smoke enveloping you and driving away any bad vibes; or take a shower if you
really feel something has gone wrong.
5. Get out of the area you were working in.
Go to another room. Leave the house if possible. Seek the company of

others or turn on the television if you are alone.
6. Do mundane things for a while.
Eat a nice meal. Drink a big glass of water. Go for a jog. Do some chores.
Put anything magical totally out of your head. Absolutely do not focus on how
weird things just got.
7. When you are ready, return to the area you were working in.
Relax yourself and judge the energies within the room. Are things still
‘creepy’? A heavy-duty cleansing is in order. Do you feel as if someone else is
there? Open a window and command it to leave - if it does not, more
fumigation or a banishing is required.
Judge your ritual tools and determine if they will need additional
cleansing. If you were working on an object, determine if it has been corrupted
or if anything is wrong with it. If so, put it back in the salt and deal with it as soon
as you can.
8. Take a break from witchcraft for a couple of days.
9. Figure out what went wrong.
Fear is never a good thing. There is a difference between embracing the

darkness and being afraid.
► Fear can be caused if an entity showed up you were unprepared to

deal with.
► Fear can be caused if your intuition (or perhaps a spirit ally) was
warning you that what you were about to do was a really bad idea.
► Fear can be caused if you tap into powers that overwhelm you.
You need to figure out what went wrong. It isn’t a situation where you can
say “oh well” and try something else later - because you screwed up, and next
time you may not get an adequate warning before things go to hell.
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(originally posted by windvexer. good info, but i personally doubt making a

prosperity jar will open a portal to hell like this post implies. just be aware of how
intense whatever you’re working with is and be prepared to react accordingly!)
Visualizing Tips
I’ll be honest. As soon as someone says “Antheia, think of a bright light between
your hands,” I’m out. While visualization works very well for me when I’m
grounding, meditating, or shielding, I find it hinders rather than helps when I get
to actual spellcraft and more complicated energy work. While visualization is a
skill that is very useful and good to practice, here’s a few solutions.
1. Do something physical. When you’re putting up your shields, lift your hands with
your shield. When you’re cleansing yourself or something, rub it down as though
you were washing mud and grime off of yourself/the object. Imagine the heat
of your skin is the energy that you’re putting into something. While you might
feel a little silly at first, I’ve found that doing something along with your energy
work can be really helpful in putting you into the right mindset. In terms of spell
craft, sometimes making something that you can hold physically will help, as
well.
2. Command it. You will do as you please. Saying it out loud can also be helpful if
you’re having trouble visualizing. “I’m raising my shields/My shields are up.” “The
energy will…” “My intent is…” Simple commands can be very effective, just
don’t get too caught up in having good grammar or anything. Sometimes one
word works. Sometimes you might want to dictate what you feel or what you
want to happen.
3. Do some breathing exercises. These are not for everybody, but again,
something physical for you to do. A very simple exercise is to imagine your
shields swelling big big bigger when you inhale, and then coming in tight
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around you, right against your skin, when you exhale. Works with energy, works
with some spells, helps with meditation and grounding.
4. Close your eyes. Sometimes, especially when you’re a beginner and can’t see
what you’re doing, just closing your eyes can make a difference. By taking
away that sense, you sharpen your other senses a little more, and it gets a lot
easier to practice. When I’m in a very high or low part of my mood disorder, I
have a lot of trouble concentrating on magic and on energy. I find that closing
my eyes can help me by disconnecting me a little from what I’m seeing and I
can pay more attention to what I’m actually doing.
Again, these are things that I do when I’m having issues with visualization. If they
don’t work for you, try something else! These aren’t the only ways, and you can
combine them however you’d like. (originally posted by witchantheia)
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(Grounding is a form of energy work that most folks like to do before/after spell
work to raise and dismiss the energy needed to get magic going. There is no
one way to go about this ((remember, personalize!)) but this post contains the
two most helpful methods I’ve found.)
Meditative Visualization
1. Make sure some part of you is flat on the ground (I prefer my feet), and get
comfortable. You can be sitting or standing.
2. Take some deep breaths to clear your head. It doesn’t have to be completely
clear (I know how frustrating trying that can be), but the clearer the better.
3. Visualize the energy flowing throughout your body, circulating like your blood
through every fiber of your being.
4. Imagine a rope or cord (really whatever you want) connecting you and your
energy to that of the earth below you. Some people imagine this connected to
their root chakra if that’s what you’re into, or just connected to whatever part of
their body is touching the ground. Whatever works best for you, this is your
visualization.
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5. Take all of your negative and excess energy that’s floating around in you and
is no longer serving you, and send it down the cord back into the earth. Any and
all energy you don’t want or need, gone to be recycled into new earth energy.
Once all the excess is gone you should have a clean energetic slate. In my
experience you can really feel the difference.
“Earthing”
1. Go outside. No shoes allowed if you can help it.
2. Find some kind of earth- dirt or sand or mud. Grass works too if there’s no other
alternative but really you need to be able to bury your feet in it somewhat.
3. Do that. You can do it with your hands too if you want but I’ve found feet
most effective. Bury your feet in the earth and really feel it, make a connection
to the earth this way.
4. Imagine the earth absorbing all that energy you are holding onto that you
don’t need anymore. Allow it to take the energy from you- it’s no longer serving
you.
5. Some people with a little more physical energy in general (especially kiddos)
can find that it helps them to shake off the energy to be given back to the
earth. Dance around and wave your arms and whatever if that’s what suits you.
Anyway you choose to remove the surplus energy. Since you’ve already made
your connection to the earth via the ground it should still take on that energy
even if your feet/hands aren’t buried anymore.
Once all the excess is gone you should have a clean energetic slate. In my
experience you can really feel the difference.
(originally answered by liberumbrarum on tumblr.)
*Several crystals and stones can help you in grounding as well. Try these:
Fluorite
Hematite
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Celestite
Tigerseye
Clear quartz
Smoky quartz
Agate
Pyrite
Turquoise
Magically cleaning stuff is just a part of witch life. Unfortunately, our dust is
invisible, so most of the time we have to watch for the symptoms before we
treat the cause.
Do I need to cleanse myself?
Any witch, whether they feel they are actively ‘practicing’ or not, should
cleanse once a month at the very least. Once a week is better. If you have
recently experienced any of the following, cleansing is a good idea.
● Misfortune, bad news, high stress, arguments, or losses

● An unusual streak of back luck, poor timing, clumsiness, or awkwardness
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● Acting in unusual and negative ways, such as being short-tempered or

being angry at people you usually like
● A big spiritual working, spirit contact, or an unexpected or startling
magical event
● If you feel as if there is a cloud around you
● Running into someone who really hates you, or being pointed out as a
success in a crowd
Do I need to cleanse an object?
● The object was worn during a big emotional blow-up or argument

● Jewelry that keeps slipping off, hurts your skin even when it never used to,
or doesn’t seem to fit right for some reason
● For some reason you just don’t like the object any more
● You don’t like walking past it, or having it in the room
● It is working incorrectly or you keep almost injuring yourself on it, even
though it hasn’t physically broken
● Items that seem to ‘bite’ you or hide from you
Do I need to cleanse an area?
● Something negative happened there, such as abuse or a very negative

argument.
● Walking through the area makes you feel uncomfortable and you will go
out of your way to avoid it
● It feels different, as if it’s someone else’s house and you shouldn’t be there
● You feel very dull or stagnant when in the area, or you feel unusual and
unexpected emotions coming to you
When in doubt, cleanse - it doesn’t hurt anything.
Is cleansing always the answer? Nope. As witches, we need to be aware of

when we are beat. Some things are too powerful for us to tackle alone or even
with friends or a coven. Throw the object out or return it to the earth instead.
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Also, not every object that we can cleanse should be cleansed. Not everything
is supposed to be filled with happy and bright energy. It is not always wisest or
best to change something just because we don’t like it.
Types of Magic
There are as many types of magic as there are stars in the sky!
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Sometimes magic is defined based on the materials used, like candle

magic, knot magic, or crystal magic.
Sometimes magic is defined based on its structure, like sympathetic

magic, mental magic, or ritual magic.
Some magic is defined based on its goal, such as binding, blessing,

hexing, uncrossing, protection, or healing.
Other magic is defined based on an area it effects, such as love magic,

money magic, or luck magic.
Many of these areas overlap. A sympathetic hex can use a candle. The
definitions we use are just to communicate to others what we are using. A work
of magic does not need to fit neatly into any little box. But there are some terms
that I think are good to know.
Sympathetic magic: This is a type of magic where physical objects represent

your target. A voodoo doll is likely the best example of this. The doll represents
someone else, and as you stick pins into the doll, you expect your target will feel
the prick. Another example of sympathetic magic is using a thread to represent
a relationship, and then snipping the thread in half. In sympathetic magic, you
associate a physical object with your target, and then whatever you physically
do to the object will magically happen to the target.
Direct magic: I’ve never heard a better term for it, so this is what I call it. It is the
opposite of sympathetic magic. Instead of using an object to represent your
target, you access your target directly on the ethereal realm using magical
means. Once you have access to your target you can work magic on it as you
please. An example of this would be to focus really hard on someone and
repeat what you want them to do.
Binding: To literally bind up a person, spirit, or situation, so it becomes limited and

cannot function as it normally would. This can be used as a form of protection
(by binding an attacker).
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Attack magic: Sometimes called cursing, hexing, jinxing, blasting, etc. This is
magic intended to harm others. It can be used defensively or offensively - just as
‘self defense’ in real life can be a counter-attack.
Warding: To put up magical shields or walls, which certain things (people, spirits,
energies, etc) cannot cross through. Wards can be put upon a place or taken
with you. Some people may just call this ‘shielding’.
Glamour: Any type of magic intended to change how others perceive you.
Conjure magic: There is a magical tradition called Conjure. This is not what I am
referring to. Conjuring something means making it appear; causing it to
manifest; bringing it into your life. You can use magic to conjure things into your
life.
Banishing: To send things away, such as spirits, people, situations, feelings, etc.
This is just a quick list. As I said, there are many types of magic! You need
not be limited by labels. Any practitioner can perform any type of magic.

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Disclaimer: As always this is just my own opinion and everybody else is welcome
to have a different one.
1. Reality is illusion.
I know what you think. Why, Nat? It feels pretty real to me! And we both
will be right. It feels real to you, but is it really? Can you change anything in the
physical via your craft? Heal perhaps? Became not noticeable in the crowd
when you are scared almost as if you were invisible? See, we are both right.
Even if reality is real indeed thinking it is not will help out a great deal to manifest
your spells. As all illusions this one can also be broken and/or changed with
enough effort. The more people believe something is real the harder it becomes
to break but with enough power and time it is possible to do so.
Let’s talk about real physical glamouring when you are able to change
some aspects of your outer appearance or make objects invisible by breaking
the illusion for a while. I won’t lie you won’t see it in the mirror and others won’t
see it at first with their physical eyes (they will however see it with their
subconscious mind), but with enough practice the illusion will break completely
and you will be able to change it into something you desire [but only for a
limited period of time]. It takes a lot of patience and time but the more you try
the longer you can keep it up. The change is slight but noticeable by others.
Not only it applies to glamouring but also to any other spells. Thinking you
can actually change something by breaking illusions will crease your self-doubt
related to witchcraft. It opens your mind to new possibilities.
2. Imagination is source of your power.

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You don’t need fancy supplies. Once you learn how to use yourself as a
tool things like herbs, crystals and candles will only be a bonus. The real fun with
witchcraft is that you need to be creative to be a witch. Without creative power
you can’t create reality that you wish for, so any for of art and visualization is the
best thing you can do to enhance your magic. Convince yourself that whatever
you think about has a potential power of manifesting. Just because “it’s all in
your head” doesn’t mean it’s not valid. The most powerful rituals I have done
were done on the astral exactly “in my head” without use of any physical tools.
3. You are divine. You are Goddess.
I know this will be ridiculous to most of you, especially atheists and agnostics, but
thinking you are Goddess is actually helping. This is not to say you are indeed an
embodiment of some kind of Goddess, it’s just a type of mindset that helps you
feel more powerful and magical at the time when you perform ritual. If you
can’t get behind this thinking you can also try thinking you are The Queen or
High Priestess or any other title that you like. Give yourself that title the one that
suits you, a title that makes you feel like more than just a mere powerless human,
and use it during your rituals. Believe it or not but it does helps you feel more
mystical and thus making your magic more bonded with your body.
4. Not everything has to be physical. [Magic is energy.]
This is kind of extension of the mindset 3. This time although I will talk about
effects of the spell. Not everything that is an effect of your spell will be tangible.
That’s why so many witches spend so much time on astral plane. Intangible
things often have more value to us than tangible ones. And when it comes to
spells you often won’t even notice they actually manifested. Magic is subtle and
often chooses the easiest way possible to manifest. The way which to you is
barely seen.
Examples: When you cast a curse on someone magic might choose to punish
them via nightmares. Will you know about it? No, unless they will tell you. Curse
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worked but you are not aware of it. You think curse failed, when it actually
didn’t.
On positive aspect: If you cast ‘be rich’ or abundance spell you might not get
any money and instead get some answer you were looking for or strengthen
your relationships with your friends and loved ones. Spell manifested because
abundance and being rich is not only about money, but you will be left thinking
it didn’t because you were expecting physical thing to manifest out of thin air.
You will get disappointed and doubt your craft once again if you will not aware
that magic prefers intangible things to tangible ones. So the rule goes more like
that: The more you are rich inside as a person, the more easier it is for you to get
the things you desire on the physical.
(originally posted by myonlysecretly)

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What is a grimoire?
● A grimoire can be defined as a book of magickal spells and invocations.

(click here to read more)
What should I write my grimoire in/on?
● A grimoire can be handwritten or typed, there is no wrong way to

construct your grimoire. (i.e. my grimoire is typed in a OneNote
document)
What can I put in my grimoire?
● About the Author

○ favorites:
■ color, magickal tools, herbs, crystals
○ tarot birth card, astrology birth chart, personal beliefs, relationship
with deities or other spiritual beings
○
● Basics
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○ intent
○ visualization
○ meditation
○ terminology
○ protection
■ shields & wards
■ circle casting and removing
○ cleansing & banishing
■ using various energies
○ enchanting items
○ clockwise vs. counterclockwise
○ other how-to’s
■ anointing items
■ dressing a candle
● General Correspondences
○ days of the week, lunar phases, colors, incense, essential oils,
elements
● Correspondences Based On Intent

○ protection, healing, cleansing, banishing, luck, wealth, love,
emotions, mental clarity, psychic awareness, cursing, etc.
● Altar Ideas
● Crystals
○ crystal grid designs, crystal correspondences & folklore, gem
water/crystal elixir recipes, crystal care
● Herbs, Spices, Plants, Flowers, & Trees
○ correspondences, edible vs. non-edible, botanicals with medicinal
value, folklore, gardening
● Divination
○ tarot, runes, pendulum, scrying, etc.
■ spreads
■ interpretations
● Astrology
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○ birth chart + traits, planetary correspondences, planetary hours,

zodiac correspondences, moon/star/sun water
● Sigils & Symbols
○ how to create, personal sigils, other symbols & talismans
● Psychic Abilities
○ identification of personal abilities (clairvoyance, claircognizance,
clairaudience, clairsentience, clairambience, etc.)
○ meditation techniques to strengthen abilities
○ personal experiences
● Important Dates
○ sabbats, magickal anniversaries, astronomical & astrological
phenomena (meteor showers, planetary alignments, etc.)
● Recipes
○ food
○ potions (potions are edible liquids!!!)
○ beauty products
■ salt scrubs, sugar scrubs, lotions, lip balm
○ natural remedies
■ salves, ointments, balms, poultices
○ cleaning products
■ floor washes, window cleaner, wood cleaner, etc.
○ powders
● Witchy Arts & Crafts
○ glitter jars, witch ladders, wand-making, crystal jewelry, etc.
● Spells & Enchantments
○ sachets, spell jars/bottles, knot magick, candle spells, powder spells,
curses (if you’re into that sorta thing)
● Magickal Goals
Other ideas
● Decorate your grimoire with pressed flowers, illustrations, cut-out photos, or

collages
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● If you like the idea of handwriting in a book but cannot, check out this
website: it allows you to download and print a template so you can write
the alphabet in your own handwriting and upload it as a font
● Stain your pages for a vintage look
● Make flower ink to write with
● Enchant your pen or keyboard before you begin constructing your
grimoire for extra inspiration
● Spray your grimoire with perfume
● Add a sigil or symbol of protection to the inside cover of your grimoire
(originally posted by cosmic-witch)
Altar 101
★★What is an Altar?★★
An Altar is a Witch's sacred space, where objects of devotion & Magickal tools
may be placed. It can be made from dressers, table-tops, desks, on walls, etc, &
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can be of any size you find appropriate. Altars can be set up in the home, or in
a secluded space in the wilderness. Your Altar represents you, your practices &
beliefs as a Witch. For many, the Altar is also a space where ceremonies are
performed, & offerings are made to Deities. Working Altar’s can also be created
to provide a sacred space for Magickal workings. Some Altar’s are permanent
others are temporary, with many Witches often redecorating their Altars to
celebrate the Sabbats.
★★What should be placed upon the Altar?★★
There are no set rules in the Craft regarding the construction of the Altar. As it is
your own personal sacred space, add anything you feel has a strong
connection with you, & your craft. An Altar cloth is a good idea if you wish to
protect your sacred objects & the Altar itself, this can be any fabric/material of
your choosing. For working Altars, a Dark color, like black or dark green cloth is
recommended for the protective & neutralizing properties these colors
symbolize. I would also suggest placing another smaller piece of cloth on top of
Working Altars to catch any spillages etc. Other objects that could be placed
upon the Altar include:
Objects of Ritual & worship, including Magickal Tools, Candles, Candle Holders,
Pickings from Nature, dishes or boxes to place offerings, Incense & Censers,
Plants, Crystals, pictures, statues or other depictions of chosen Deities or power
animals, Pentacles, Chalice’s, etc etc, the list really does go on.
(Originally posted by wiitch-craft)
Representation on an Altar
Be sure to include objects or trinkets that mean a lot to you personally, and that
you really feel aid your magic.
While not necessary, the representation of the four elements can also be found
on an altar. Those working with circles when casting may be especially inclined
to this. Some are obvious, such as candles for fire, herbs for earth, etc. But for a
closeted witch or one on a budget, there are some more low-key alternatives:
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- Figurines of pegasi or dragons for air

- A rock collection, favorite leaf, etc. for earth
- Red/orange/yellow objects for fire
- Seashells, teardrop pendants, mermaids, etc. for water
Building Altars with a Purpose
Spellcasting: The four elements, ceremonial tools, spellbook, charged crystals,

protective incense, reagents and spell ingredients.
Prosperity: Green and gold, real or fake money, real or costume jewelry,
cinnamon incense, dragons, images of treasure, good luck charms.
Divination: Purple, blue, water, divining tools (tarot deck, pendulums, etc.),
protective oils and incense.

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.S P E L L W O R K.
How Magic Works

These are just some of many different theories about how spells work. For
anybody who really enjoys “magical theory” like I do or is looking for validation
that there’s something to all these weird spells! None of these serve to discredit
magic, but rather add a deeper level of understanding to it. The success of a
spell could be credited to more than one of these, or something else entirely!
Law of Attraction. Basically, the idea that you attract what you focus on. A
popular example is focusing on the color red, and seeing how much red is
around you that you didn’t notice before. This is most effective for spells
involving personal matters and success, by formally opening your eyes to details
and opportunities you may have missed otherwise.
The Placebo Effect. It’s a proven fact that our bodies can heal ourselves merely
by belief that what we’re doing helps! This can extend beyond health spells to
things like confidence, performance ability, and other things that aim at
personal improvement. The placebo effect may be all that spell needs to be
successful ( and it wouldn’t have happened without the spell!)
Direct cause/effect. Something about the spell and the way it was cast directly
affects the outcome. Example: a sigil designed for protection, when looked at,
serves as a constant visual reminder that you are protected, subconsciously
strengthening your wards.
Science/chemistry. This is most true for kitchen witchery and herbalism.
Chamomile, lavender, and other herbs aren’t corresponded with calmness and
sleep for nothing… they’re made up of chemicals that have been scientifically
proven to calm the nerves and aid in sleep!
Quantum physics. There’s a phrase called “Quantum Woo,” where people use
quantum physics (often incorrectly) to explain any type of magical thinking or
practice. While the ultimate theory behind quantum physics was recently
disproven, the discoveries made through research still hold true. Basically, we
know particles behave differently when observed, and our energies can effect
this. We just don’t know why that is. This is the baseline behind a lot of energy
work.
Divine string pulling. Ask and ye shall receive. This is where we depart from the
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physical to the spiritual side of magic. Many people do magic by appealing to

divine forces, Mother Earth, God(s), the Universe, whatever you want to call it.
This could be with an offering, a ceremony, or even just bedside prayer. The
divine force hears the request, and grants it by affecting change and “pulling
strings” to cause the desired outcome.
Spiritual string pulling. Very similar to the previous point, but with entities that are
not worshipped or seen as divine. Many believe that spirits can still affect
change “behind the scenes.” A spirit worker may make a deal with a spirit for
luck or protection, or someone may ask their ancestors for good fortune and
health.
Personal string pulling. Instead of asking an outside entity, this is the idea that
we, as the practitioner, pull the strings. This is most seen through the “cone of
energy” method of casting, where we raise a lot of concentrated energy and
intent in a space, then release it all at once to do its thing. You also see it with
sympathetic magic, where by doing something to a poppet, we actively affect
that change on the target. No middle man included.
(originally posted by will-o-the-witch)

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Casting a Circle
It’s helpful when casting a spell to create a ritual space, and casting a
circle is one way to do so. Not only does this ward off distracting energies, it
helps to move the practitioner to a ritual state of mind. Not every practitioner
casts a circle in the same way and often it’s best to experiment a bit and find
what works for you. Here’s a general guide:
1. Determine how much space you’ll need in your ritual.
If you only need space for yourself, a good rule of thumb is to make a
circle big enough to fit your outstretched arms. If you plan to stand or move
around, or if your ritual includes something like an altar or more people, account
for more space.
2. Make sure you have everything you need for your ritual before casting your
circle.
There’s nothing more distracting than realizing you’ve forgotten supplies

and leaving to go fetch them. If you do need to leave for something mid-ritual,
many find it helpful to visualize “cutting” out a door which you would seal up
again when you return. This way, your circle is not interrupted.
3. Cleanse your ritual area.
First, clean it physically by tidying up and vacuuming or sweeping (with a

regular broom, not a ritual one) if needed. Then cleanse and purify the area of
negative energy. Purifying processes include lightly brushing the floor with a
besom (ritual broom), fanning incense around the area, smudging, sprinkling salt
or saltwater, and playing a musical instrument (I particularly like chimes and
bells). The most important thing, no matter what method you use, is to visualize
the negative energy dispersing. If you don’t focus and visualize, the physical
actions will have little effect.
4. Once your space is cleansed and you are ready to begin, cast your circle.
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There is any number of ways to do this, but generally people will trace out
a circle with a wand, athame, or even their hand. Keep in mind that whatever
tool you use does not have to actually touch the ground — you need simply
point it down. Visualize protective energy coming from within you and direct it
toward your casting arm (generally your dominant arm). Focus it through your
casting tool and visualize a beam of energy coming from it and settling on the
ground. Some like to cast a circle multiple times (for example, once for
protection, once for focus, and once for power), but this is not necessary.
Sometimes practitioners like to call the four quarters (east, south, west, north),
especially if their ritual involves invocations or presence with the divine.
Sometimes a circle is marked with candles, stones, cord, or some other marker.
Usually, a circle is imagined as a sphere or dome of energy. Keep in mind that
the stronger your visualizations are, the better your circle will be cast. Take your
time and focus.
5. When your circle is cast, proceed with your ritual but always try to be aware of
your circle. It would be unhelpful if you forgot about it and stepped outside.
(originally posted by spellbookofwitches)

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Just like each herb and crystal has certain properties and strength, so do
actions taken during rituals and spells. When writing spells it is important to
include the proper actions to make sure your spell is as effective as possible.
Burning - Burning an object is a common practice in spells and rituals. Fire is

considered a cleansing and activating force.
● If you want to destroy something’s influence, burn it and dispose of the

ashes away from your home.
● If you want to set something into motion, burn objects related to the
situation to ash.
● If you want to activate certain energies, burn objects related to those
involved.
● If you are performing a curse or hex, burn the object in the flame of a
candle.
Burying/Abandoning - A Witch might bury and object for many reasons. They
might want to put something to rest, perform a slow spell, or banish something.
There are different ways in which one can bury an object to accomplish a
desired outcome:
● If you want to keep something close, bury the object in your back yard.
● If you want to attract something, bury the object under the front door step
● If you want to disperse something to a distance, throw the object into a
crossroads
● If you want to fix an influence, inter the object in a five-spot pattern
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● If you want something to work by means of spirits, bury the object in a

graveyard (but don’t disrupt those buried there!)
● If you want to hide something’s point of origin, conceal the object in a
tree
● If you want something/someone to work by stealth, hide the object in
clothing or on objects
● If you want an influence to begin or strengthen, throw the object East
● If you want an influence to end or weaken, throw the object West
Rubbing - Rubbing an object can be the easiest and most immediate way to
experience witchcraft. Transferring and garnering energy from objects can be
done through physical contact with an object.
● If you want to put energy into an object, rub it with your left hand
● If you want to gather energy from an object, rub it with your right hand
● If you want to bring positivity, rub clockwise
● If you want to bring negativity, rub counter clockwise
● If you want to use crystals to heal, rub the appropriate stone on the
affected part of the body.
Soaking - Water is one of the main elements used in witchcraft. It comes in many
forms with many different properties and uses.
● If you want something to move away and sink, throw it in running water
● If you want something’s influence to rise and fall cyclically, float it in a tidal
estuary
● If you want to protect or cleanse something, soak an object in rain water
● If you are focused on your personal goals, soak your object in sea water
● If you want to bring about transformation, soak your object in
snow/melted snow
● If you’re trying to make a wish come true, soak your object in well water
● If you want to banish, soak your object in harbor water
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(originally posted by witchtips)
Methods For Spells

TO BIND- wrap in black thread, drip wax over, or seal in a jar and hide it in the
dark.
TO BANISH- burn an effect to ash and sweep off the back door step, cast it out
a window, or bury in the ground and spit on it
TO ENCOURAGE- plant it by the front door/steps, bury by a window, or place it

on a windowsill
TO HIDE- place in a jar painted black, cover with cloth and bury, or wrap with a
ribbon
TO CLEANSE- bury it in a bowl of salt, burn herbs and pass through the smoke, or
lay it in a moonwater bath
TO GLAMOUR- leave under the full moon, hold its reflection over a mirror with
herbs, or
TO WISH- place before a candle and blow it out, drown a coin in water, or let
seeds blow into the wind
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TO COMMUNICATE- (with a spirit or deity) - anoint a candle, leave out offerings,

or open the front doors and windows
TO WARD- leave part of the spell in four corners, draw lines around the protected
area, or plant an object of projection in the north, east, south, and west edges
TO CURSE- spit on it, drag your nails down it, or stick sharp things in it
TO DISCOURAGE - plant or bury by the back door, or burn to ash
TO JINX- say it three times out loud, or say a word the same time as someone
else
TO MANIPULATE - use wax, use poppets, or tie several strings to pieces of an

effect
TO BENEFIT - light a candle, charge a crystal, or create a talisman
What makes a spell a spell? What are the moving pieces and the working
parts? We get this question a lot, and though there isn’t a super easy answer, this
is what we’ve gathered through our practice.
Intent
This is your thought, you desire and your purpose. This is why you perform your
spell, this is what gives it meaning.
Examples of Intent: To enhance love, to increase luck, to bring bad luck
Action
This is your moving piece. This is what transforms a mere thought into something
that is acted upon. This is the glue between your intent and your energy.
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Examples of action: Combining ingredients, writing or saying things aloud,

burning objects, drawing sigils
Energy
This is the driving force of your spell. This is what your intent hinges on, and what
will push your intent out into the universe.
Examples of Energy: Energy from an organic or important object, crystals, herbs,

materials, consecration and charging
Using this basic formula, you can create your own spells for any use with any
materials on hand!
(originally posted by recreationalwitchcraft)

How:
1. Finish your whole spell. Raise energy, finish chanting, boil this, cut that, sacrifice
this, eat this baby, etc.
2. Have a complete grasp of the spell in the astral. Your spell at the moment is like
a really dense cloud of energy and power. Have a full mental grasp of that
entire abstract “cloud”. It may or may not look like an actual cloud - it’s just an
analogy.
3. Pull and drag it down into the physical plane. I clenched my fist - grasping the
spell - and pulled downward towards myself. Feel that you are dragging the
whole spell into manifestation into your reality.
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4. Feel that you are living in your spell. You’ve already dragged it down from the
astral and into reality. Congratulations. Congratulate yourself. Feel the reality
you live in as being the spell you’ve envisioned and cast.
Why:
For Step 1: You have to finish a spell before grounding it because what you’ll be
grounding is the spell you’ve finished. I think this should be simple enough.
For Step 2: Mentally grasping the spell is like throwing a net. You have to be
specific with what you’re dragging into manifestation. You also wanna make
sure that you’ve covered everything that you want to manifest.
For Step 3: Like I’ve mentioned earlier, spells are really just dense clouds that
linger on the astral when they’ve been cast. They’ll find their way into
manifesting eventually somehow, but you can be the agent of that
manifestation. By pulling astral matter into physical existence, you’ve effectively
manifested your own magick. The whole point of magick is to bring your
thoughts to manifest into the physical world. Dragging them into the physical
with your power and skill through this method does that.
For Step 4: There’s two ways of looking at this. By dragging a spell into the
physical, you would, of course, feel as though you’re living in it. You’re living
within the manifested reality that you’ve worked magickally to come to be. Step
4 is almost a knee-jerk reaction to Step 3; you would feel a spell if you pull it into
the physical.
The Law of Attraction also talks about putting yourself in the disposition of
receiving that which you want. This doesn’t only go for the positive, but also for
the negative. If you believe that you will fail, you will think as though you’ve
failed, act as though you’ve failed, and effectively become a failure. By
mentally living “inside your spell”, so to speak. So, by living your spell, you bring it
into manifestation by syncing your mundane actions with your magickal work.
(originally posted by saintberns)

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● If you want to keep something close, bury it in your backyard.
● If you want to attract something, bury it under the front door step
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● If you want to destroy its influence, burn it.
● If you want it to move away and sink, throw it in running water
● If you want to disperse it to a distance, throw it into a crossroads
● If you want to fix its influence, inter it in a five-spot pattern
● If you want it to work by means of spirits, bury it in a graveyard
● If you want to hide its point of origin, conceal it in a tree
● If you want it to work in secret, give it in food or drink
● If you want it to work by stealth, hide it in clothing or on objects
● If you want its influence to begin or strengthen, throw it East
● If you want its influence to end or weaken, throw it West
● If you want its influence to rise and fall cyclically, float it in a tidal estuary
(originally posted by purplevains)

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There are many ways to go about beginning spells and rituals, from
complex rites to simple methods such as casting a basic circle. Often there’s
very little discussion of personalizing an opening rite. Instead many of us use a
preset ritual or simply follow along with whatever opening rite is included in the
spell we’re currently working.
While this can and does work for many people, designing your own
personalized pre-spell ritual has many benefits. As with all aspects of the craft,
personalizing it to match your own beliefs and priorities allows your power to flow
through the ritual more smoothly, there is no disruption from going through the
motions on aspects of a ritual that seem extraneous or tedious to you.
Creating continuity and stability in your craft can also be useful, along
with allowing you to find a kind of ease in this aspect of your spell work it can
serve as a mental and energetic “trigger”. Repeating the same ritual every time
you perform a spell will build a habit that will allow you to switch quickly from
any mindset into your magic working mental space. For many witches trying to
perform magic when you’re “off” in some way can prove rather frustrating and
giving yourself a switch can prevent these frustrations and streamline your spell
work.
DEFINING YOUR RITUAL

When writing any sort of personal ritual the first thing you must do is clarify
your intentions. Ask yourself, what do you want out of your pre spell ritual? What
do you need? Your ritual should not only meet your personal beliefs and sense of
aesthetic but also your functional needs and style of spell casting. A poorly
designed ritual will quickly become a nuisance and end up cast aside.
The first thing to consider is the desired length of your ritual. Will it need to
be short and succinct so that you can perform it quickly before small spells? Or
do you prefer to have more preparation and solemnity about your spell work?
How long does it take you to prepare mentally to perform a spell? Keep this in
mind as you assemble the pieces of your ritual, too many or too few steps and
you could find yourself with a ritual that doesn’t suit your needs appropriately. If
you’re unsure of what you may need in this area start small. You can always add
to your ritual as you become more comfortable with it but starting with a
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mammoth of a ritual could very well end in you abandoning the ritual
altogether.
In addition to the length, the complexity of your ritual should be carefully
considered. Are you interested in using lengthier incantations or will you be
performing wordlessly? If you want to be able to memorize it then you should
only make it as complex as your memory will allow. If you will be performing the
ritual from your grimoire every time you use it then feel free to create something
more elaborate.
Will you be needing tools for your ritual? Tools can be exceptional
additions to any spell but they can cut down on the portability and spontaneity
of your spells. If you don’t often perform spells spontaneously or away from your
main workspace then tools can add a more tangible feel to your ritual which
many people find helpful.
How many people will be involved in your ritual? If you work alone then
this is simple and you only need to consider your own desires when building your
pre-spell rite. If, on the other hand, you work in a group or coven you may wish
to consult the other members of your circle or even build this ritual with them.
Now that you have an idea of the general kind of ritual you’ll be creating
it’s time to start adding in the individual components. All of the following
suggestions are excellent additions to an opening rite but you can elect to use
only a few of them or none at all if your imagination and inclinations draw you
to some other form of ritual. These are simply some of the basic building blocks
of opening a spell.
CLEANSING YOUR SPACE AND SELF

Cleansing is a regular part of most ritual openings. It removes any
stagnant, stuck or unhelpful energies that might get in the way of your spell work
as well as ensuring that the room is properly prepared in more commonplace,
earthly terms. There are two types of cleansing that should be considered for
your ritual: cleansing your space and cleansing yourself.
Preparing your space may seem like a mundane task, tidying up isn’t
necessarily the most magical act, but it can be incorporated into your ritual.
Cleansing your workspace, both physically and energetically can be an
important first step if it isn’t something you take the time to do otherwise.
Energetic cleansing removes stuck or unwanted energies from the space,
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ensuring a clean slate for your spells.

There are many ways to cleanse a room in this manner, for example, you
could sweep your ritual space with a besom, cleanse the room with burning
herbs or incense, tidy your altar, or even create a crystal grid to cleanse the
room over a period of hours if you like. Other ideas include sound clearing with
bells or singing bowls, visualizing white or gold light filling the space, or opening
windows to allow fresh air in.
In many traditions cleansing yourself before performing magic is an
indispensable step. Smoke cleansing may also be used for this purpose but other
methods to consider include ritual bathing, washing the hands, feet and/or
face, changing into clothing reserved for your spell work, performing
meditations, using crystals or even taking a ritual meal or drink.
SETTING THE TONE

This part of your ritual is largely for aesthetic purposes but it can absolutely
have an effect on your personal sense of power in your ritual. When setting the
tone there are many ways to go about achieving your desired feel; music,
candles, incense, the level of lighting and the decor of the room you’re in all
play a part in setting the tone for your ritual. If you aren’t picky about this sort of
thing you can eschew this step altogether or simply leave it as a blank space to
be filled based on your current whims. If it suits your practice you may also
consider changing your ritual aesthetic based on the seasons, moon phases or
holidays.
Building energy for your spells and rituals is an act that isn’t always
included but it is one of my favorites. This step gets you thrumming with energy,
unlocking channels in yourself and in your surroundings that may stay stagnant
the majority of the time. In many circles this is achieved with drumming,
chanting or other kinds of music. You can also draw up energy for your rituals
using dance, guided meditations, visualizations or releasing energy from
charged objects.
CONSECRATING
Consecration is a ritual step for religious witches. It’s the process of
dedicating your tools and/or magic work space to your gods, should you have
any. This process can vary greatly depending on your religious leanings and
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which gods you worship or work with so I won’t be giving much detail on this.
Some witches choose to consecrate once, some choose to consecrate on a
regular basis (every full moon/solstice/etc) or on an as-needed basis at each
ritual. If you do involve gods in your witchcraft and would like to learn more
about consecrating I would suggest looking into the specific traditions
associated with your particular gods or deities.
In the same vein, invoking your gods may be an important part of an
opening rite however, if you aren’t religious invocation may still play a part in
your ritual. Often spells may include spirits or energies that need to be
summoned (or perhaps politely invited) to your ritual. As an example, calling the
four corners involves invoking the elemental energies of fire, air, water and earth
and their corresponding cardinal directions. If there is an energy, spirit or being
that you work with regularly this is the time to call it to your aid. Often an offering
may be appropriate as thanks.
PROTECTING YOUR SPACE

The act of protecting your ritual work space is perhaps considered one of
the more important aspects of designing your own opening rite. Casting a circle
is certainly the most commonly known form of protection but there are many
other ways to protect your ritual space.
There are many ways to cast a circle, in some methods the circle is
physically drawn with salt or a cord, in others the circle is denoted with four
candles or other markers denoting the cardinal directions, in some the circle is
only held in the minds eye. Typically the circle is cast by walking the perimeter
clockwise three times, speaking a protective incantation or perhaps simply using
your will to create a barrier against unwanted energies coming into your space.
Your protective circle may also be used to keep anything in your circle from
getting out depending on what sort of magic you have planned.
Other forms of warding are equally effective, my personal preference is
using a guardian (add link) to protect my space. With this form of warding I
include an offering to the guardian in my opening rite.
When deciding how to protect your ritual space you should decide what
you will need from your wards. If you are working by yourself they can be quite
simple, working with a group may call for something more complex or even
multi-layered. For example, you may wish to protect your ritual space against
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the emotional baggage of other members of your circle, for this you could erect
a ward designed to “hold” these energies outside of the circle until the
members leave again.
Another consideration is whether or not your wards should be permeable
and to what degree. Perhaps a designated “door” in the ward might be
prudent to allow members to leave for the bathroom or in the event of an
emergency without breaking your circle. Would you like certain spirits, gods, or
energies to be able to come and go at will? Your wards can be designed to
allow this to happen.
In many practices it’s considered an absolute necessity to ward your ritual
space in some way. There are no grand rule makers in the world of witchcraft
though. You are the witch. You hold the power. You make the rules. If this
practice feels too rigid, doesn’t speak to you, or doesn’t serve your personal
purposes then omit it. No one can decide what you should or should not be
doing in your craft except for you.
When you have chosen what you wish to include in your ritual it’s time to
start fitting the pieces together. The order I have presented these ideas in is not
necessarily the ideal order for your ritual. Play with your opening rite and
rearrange it as you see fit, a smoothly flowing ritual is a beautiful thing and well
worth the time and effort it takes to create.
(originally posted by intrepid-crow)
To Nullify A Spell
sometimes spells just flop, and you want to redo them. but before you do that,
you should nullify the first attempt, to prevent the first attempt creates conflicts
with the second attempt of the spell.
⚫ TO NULLIFY ONE OF YOUR OWN SPELLS ⚫
WITH SPELL INGREDIENTS:
gather the contents/ingredients of the spell you first cast it with
✴️️separate the burnable and non-burning contents of the spell
✴️️salt the burnable ingredients lightly (such as paper, herbs, etc)

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✴️️burn the ingredients, and cover the non-burning pieces with the ash.
✴️️rinse the non-burning pieces clean and cleanse them.
WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS:
✴️️gather as many of the same spell components as you used to cast it
✴️️perform the spell backwards, speak any chants used backwards.
however, sometimes it isn’t a spell you cast, and things can get a little trickier.
how do you nullify a spell you didn’t cast?
⚫ A SPELL YOU BELIEVE HAS BEEN CAST ON YOU ⚫
✴️️gather a bowl of salt water and a black candle
✴️️place the candle in the center of the bowl
✴️️burn a hair of fingernail clipping of yours on the flame
✴️️let the flame burn down until it is extinguished by the water
⚫ A CURSE YOU BELIEVE HAS BEEN CAST ON YOU ⚫
✴️️make black salt but combining ash and salt
✴️️burn it safely. ward and cleanse your area.
● The spell was not transferred enough energy to take effect. Think of this as filling
up a balloon with helium ~ If you don’t put enough in, the balloon with just roll
around or float a few inches above the floor, rather than floating high in the air
like you intended for it to do. This can also happen with spells! There needs to
be enough energy transfer (The energy you put in, the energy you’ve taken
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from something/someone else, etc.) to allow the spell to ‘take hold’ and
manifest strongly and in the way you preferred.
● You’re not helping the magick along when it requires you to do so. For many
spells, such as magick geared towards jobs, people, physical events, etc. there
needs to be more than just one magickal variable working towards your intent
to manifest. You need to work for it; If you cast a spell for a job, you also better
be turning in that application and resume along with it ~! A spell can increase
your chance, luck, and appeal, but it cannot contact your employer and set
up an interview.
● (A break-off from the above reason) Your conditions just don’t allow the magick
to materialize easily. This is the most possible to happen in weather spells, such
as those to bring heavy rain to a dry climate area, or magick for something that
your life/area just cannot manifest. For example, imagine somebody trying to
cast a spell to ‘make one of their friends fall in love with them’ whilst having not
a single friend in their life; the spell is incapable of materializing, because their
are no variables for it to work with! It is a sad thing to think about, certainly, but
this example shows how casting a spell that is wrong for your life situation can
cause it to work improperly or not at all. (Tip: This person should have cast a
spell for new friends first! This also shows how you may be casting spells that are
wrong for the situation)
● Your wording was not the best. Similar to how people will often word things in a
positive or future-tense manner (EX: ‘I AM BRAVE’ / rather than ‘I WILL BE
BRAVE’) during spellwork or how in some fairytales the genie will grant a wish in
a horrible way according to the wording of a wish, you must be careful to be
clear and concise in what you’re wanting! Stay away from vague or general
wording; You’ll wish you had when you try to cast a spell for a person to love
you romantically, and later find that they love you like a sibling or best friend ~
● You forgot to/incorrectly grounded after a spell. Grounding is not only important
to maintain your own energies, but it is also a good tool for assuring that the
energies of your spell don’t simply go on floating ‘up in the clouds’, failing to
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come down to earth and manifest! Grounding after a spell also increases the
chances that it will work faster.
● Your focus/energy was off during the spell. Common for those with a low rate of
focus, whose mind wanders easily, or with low/confidence and doubt (which
can especially put off your energies) you might have broken the intent of the
spell while casting it. Not to worry, for spells can be re-cast and focus can be
sharpened, but be sure to have a strong mind when performing visualization or
transferring your intent into a spell! This can lead to a spell manifesting in a
different way than you intended (which may not always be a bad thing) or just
all-together not working.
● (For people-directed magick) The person on the other end of your spell has a
protection ward. If you’re simply trying as hard as you can to curse, heal, bless,
cast upon another witch without their knowledge, there’s a chance that they
have up some magickal barriers of their own. Be cautious with curses on other
witches especially, since there are wards to reflect curses back upon the
sender, and you never know! This can also be so if you are casting magick
upon somebody to improve an aspect of their life; they may unknowingly be
mentally/spiritually guarding, or ‘closing’ their energy, making it difficult for the
magick to attach to them.
● Further tip: Have patience! Some spells take a while to manifest or come to be,
and if you’re becoming discouraged after them not working within a week, you
need to have a bit of patience.
Keep in mind that these are things anybody can do without knowing; they do
not at all make you a bad or incapable witch, but it is important to know and
accept why they may not be working. I hope for those that experience it, these
reasons can provide some insight ~
(originally posted by rainy-day-witchcraft)

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Spell Loopholes
Wording a spell correctly is extremely important! We’ve all heard the stories of
someone who cast a spell and technically had it come true, but in a way that
wasn’t what they actually wanted at all! Here’s a list of common “loopholes”
spells will take to get the job done, and how to make sure you get what you
want!
🕯Taking its time- “I want money,” you tell the Universe, hoping to get some help
with rent. Well, rent comes and there’s no extra cash in sight! Then, two weeks
later, a surprise wad of cash all but lands in your lap. The spell came true, but
not in time for when it mattered. This is easily fixed by adding “…by the end of
the month,” or specifying what the money is for, which in this case was this
month’s rent.
🕯No help needed- “I want money,” you say again. Magic will often take the
path of least resistance, so if you’ve already got a paycheck on the way, the
spell might not do much besides make sure it doesn’t get lost. There. Money. It
can be good to specify that you want your spell to work in addition to
everything you’re already doing!
🕯 Bare minimum- This time from your money spell, it arrives on time from an
unexpected source! But it’s a quarter you found on the ground. Maybe three
quarters. Not much help! If your intent would require the money to be close to a
certain amount or any other specific like that, let it be known! The universe isn’t
there to make assumptions.
🕯 For the worst- Let’s say you have two friends that have been flirting, so you
cast a nice little spell to let any mutual interest between them blossom into a
relationship and save them some trouble. It happens, but it turns out they do
NOT work well with each other. They are interested in each other, but argue
constantly and bring out the worst in each other. The relationship is hurting them
both. You had the absolute best of intentions, but there was no way of knowing
that would happen! This is why a lot of witches include the phrase, “for the
highest good” in their spells, as a failsafe for any unexpected pitfalls like this that
may be lurking. The universe will see them but doesn’t know to care unless you
specify.
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🕯Another layer- Once I made a dream bear to bring me more dreams. Well, I
had lots more dreams, but couldn’t remember any of them! Make sure you hit
every point you need to be satisfied with a result.
(originally posted by will-o-the-witch)

no witch succeeds with their spells 100% of the time. here’s a short list of reasons
why it could have happened and some solutions
possible reasons why:

distraction - a spell you’re not invested in isn’t going to have much power
behind it. if you’re concentrated more on you. if you cast a motivation spell
while planning out your vacation, it’s going to subtract from that motivation.
rosemary replaces everything - supposedly. it supplies general power, but
if you add nothing into the spell that has any real meaning to you, then what is
that power supposed to do? where does that energy go with no direction?
associations - the correspondences everyone else lists for herbs and
stones and planets can be very useful, but sometimes you have a personal
conflicting association. perhaps lavender is gross to you, and not peaceful at all.
then that dream sachet isn’t going to give you peaceful dreams.
didn’t help the spell - magic does not exist in a vacuum. spells can only do
so much, but if you don’t make the effort, it much less likely to work. job spells
dont work if you don’t fill out applications, love spells don’t work if you don’t go
out and talk to people, and so on.
too many cooks - if you cast 10 love spells, and yet no one is attracted to
you, it’s entirely possible they all did work but they all conflicted with each other,
and ended up canceling each other out.
shot for the stars- sometimes you try to achieve something, and you set
your expectations too high. either it’s impossible, you’re trying from the wrong
angle, or you didn’t get as much as you wanted.
cancellation - sometimes a spell may appear not to work when it does,
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but the results are invisible because it canceled something else out. say you cast
a money spell and get no extra cash after several weeks, it could be just helping
you maintain your current income and blocking extraneous expenses.
impatience - unless you programmed a working time limit into it, the spell
could be working and you just don’t see the results yet. these things can take
time.
out of your depth - if you don’t feel like you’re ready to do a spell, your
lack of confidence or discomfort can either disable the spell or not give it
enough power to work
what to do:
- take a break, ground, cleanse, and give it time. refocus your intentions
contemplate each ingredient and step in the spell, and modify
- use the ingredients that you know best work for you, old standards hold up.
- think about what you could do to help the spell work. what mundane methods
haven’t you tried?
- take a step back and look at it realistically. is there another angle you can
approach this from, can you break it down into smaller steps?
- return to the spells you are comfortable doing, and work from there.

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Candle Magic:
Carve a candle when…. the candle represents the target, in sympathetic

magic. When, essentially, the candle is a poppet and lighting it is a symbol of
destruction or empowerment to the target.
Place something under the candle or before it when… you are doing general
candle magic, when the candle represents empowering a wish, idea or
concept.
Anoint the candle when… doing work with spirits and gods, when you mark the
candle for a special purpose, when doing high magic.
Herbs and plant work:
Use dry herbs when… it is convenient to do so, when the herbs are out of season
or when you need to store them in a jar or bottle for a long time.
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Use fresh herbs when… the spell is very earth orientated, when doing magic on
behalf of another or when the magic is sympathetic so that the herbs represent
the target, within kitchen witchery.
Use flowers when… when the spell concerns love and sex, or perhaps fertility
and attraction, due to flowers being the reproductive parts of the plant.
Use fruit when when… working with children as a target, or with children
practising. When you work with fertility and abundance spells.
Use wood and twigs when… when the spell is for protection or binding, for
hardiness.
Burn herbs (recaning/incense) when… you wish to cleanse or banish, or invoke

an atmosphere - that being, for divination using herbs that are said to open up
your perceptions, when banishing, burning acrid or pungent herbs.
Use oil infusions when… you wish to anoint something, when you wish to mark
something permanently.
Use floral waters (rose water etc) when… dealing with spirits and gods, for
glamour as it has a long history of being used to beautify.
Crystals:
Use metals (haematite, copper, ores etc..) when… you work in protection, when
you do energy work due to the conductive properties of metal.
Use shell, pearl, coral and such when… you work in sea magic, when you work
within emotional magic due to the element of water.
Use points when… you wish to direct magic to a target.
Use tumble stones when… you wish the magic to be gentle or manifest at a
certain place on the body on a target.
Use geodes when… you work in protection, when you work with glamour aimed
to obscure and hide.
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Knot magic:
Use cotton when… it is convenient.
Use silk when… doing spells that benefit the target.
Use ribbons when… love spells and wealth spells, as well as confidence and
beauty spells. Spells to ensure victory.
Use rope when… doing spells that aim to hurt or weaken the target, binding
especially.
Poppets:
Use cloth when… the spell aims to benefit who the poppet represents, use
particular care when sewing or cutting, choose colours that are appropriate to
them.
Use wax when… you wish to manipulate the target.
Use clay when… wish to create fetches or servitors, when you wish to create
permanency.
Use twigs when… you wish to bury or throw the poppet out, when you want the
poppet to be easily destroyed by breaking or setting on fire.
Sigils:
Use an alphabet grid or circle when… you wish the sigil to be more random and
less attached to you.
Combine the shapes of letters from a sentence… when your sigil is very specific
and a short term goal.
Use your own personal symbols when… you want the magic to be connected
to you, when it is personal.
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(originally posted by dog-rose)

What you do with the remains of your spell (wax, photos, ashes, etc.) is just
as important as the spell itself. The spellwork does not end when the candles
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and the incense extinguish. The spellwork is not complete until you return the
remnants back to the Earth. The Earth and the universal energy carry and propel
your magick and your spellwork to its full completion. Make sure your disposal
method does not contradict your desired outcome by completing your
spellwork following the disposal methods outlined below:
– Burying in your Backyard –
To maintain a desired circumstance, finances, a person, or a possession in your

life. Also for Marriage, Prosperity, Protection, and Harmonious relationships.
– Burying in your Front Yard –
To welcome something new into your life, attract new love, new career/life path
spells, and attract a new experience such as travel, health, or marriage
proposal.
– Burying in the Cemetery –

To curse/harm a person, banishing, or to end undesirable circumstances. Leave
a few coins or pieces of candy or apple at the gates when you leave. Do not
look back while departing. Take a different route home than the one used when
you came.
– Burying in a Target’s Yard –
To curse, bless, or to influence a specific person or family. Cursing, love spells,

protection, influence and manipulation spells.
– Burying at a Business Property –
To curse, bless, or to influence a specific business or an employee of the

business. Protection, influence/manipulation, prosperity.
– Releasing Into Running Bodies of Water –
To release negative circumstances or emotions. To deliver a curse or influence a

person in a distant or unknown location. Banishment, love, cursing, releasing
emotional pain.
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– Leaving On Active Railroad Tracks –
To release negative circumstances. To deliver a curse or influence a person in

the direction of the running train.
If cursing, take a different route home, do not look back. Avoid the train and
railroad tracks for at least 3 nights. Be careful of active tracks and do not leave
anything directly on the track!!
– Leaving On Abandoned Railroad Tracks –
To separate yourself or other people from each other or a situation in

banishments or breakups.
– Leaving at an Intersection –
To release negative circumstances. To deliver a curse, or influence a person in

an unknown location. Banishments, releasing emotional pain, love,
influence/manipulation.
– Leaving on a Road in the Lane of the Direction of Your Target –
To deliver a curse or influence a person in the direction of the traffic lane.
– Leaving at a Target’s Front Door/Driveway –
The most direct way to curse or to influence. Remnants must be inconspicuous

and discreet, such as ashes mixed with dirt.
If cursing, take a different route home and do not look back. Consider also
leaving a very obvious remnant (jar, poppet, etc.) without even performing a
curse. The target may see this and worry themselves into a self-cursed state.
– Blowing/Throwing Ashes –
(only when you only have ashes, without any wax)
General all-purpose release of spellwork energy into the universe. Blow in the
target’s direction, love, prosperity, protection, healing.
– Throwing Into A Fire –

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To release negative circumstances. To deliver a curse or influence a person in an

unknown location.
If cursing, it is recommended the fire is not on your property grounds.
- Notes:
● *Banishment spells refer to any spellwork where the desired goal is to
remove or end undesirable conditions, circumstances, people, or habits.
● *After performing a curse, it is best to completely disconnect from your
magickal working. Not because of karma or anything external, but
because you cannot thrive while being attached to the energy of
destruction. You can do this by not looking back when you walk away. By
walking away without looking back, you consciously (and physically)
disconnect and move on with your life.
(Originally posted by belladonnaswitchblog)
Always be aware of your environment! Try to keep non-biodegradable materials

out of water and don’t bury anything that could harm the earth and plantlife
nearby. Consider burying things in a planter rather than the earth itself, or simply
throwing things away or recycling if a clean, eco-friendly disposal method is not
readily available.
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I was recently asked what to do with a spell jar once it’s made. I thought
my answer would be simple, but the more I wrote, the more I realized it wasn’t.
So here’s a guide for those that need it showing what to do with different bottles
depending on your intent.
Positive influence on yourself or in your life:
- Place somewhere you will see it very often, like a sunny window, bedside
table, desk, or altar. Seeing it every day will help strengthen your intent
and remind yourself why you made it.
- Place somewhere that you meditate. If you meditate regularly you can
take a few moments during that time to hold the jar and focus on the
spell, the result that you want, and how to help make that happen.
- Keep it on your person throughout the day. If the jar is small enough, it can
be kept on you inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace. It will
act as a conductor for the positivity that you want.
Beauty/Glamour:
- Place on vanity or in bathroom. Placing it at the central point of your daily

beauty routine will maximize the use of the spell bottle.
- Keep in makeup bag/kit. Keeping it in a container with all of your beauty
supplies will infuse it’s intent with everything inside.
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- Stash inside your dresser or closet with the clothes that correspond to your
spell (date clothes, party/club clothes, formal wear, lingerie).
- Bury in a pot of flowers and keep by a mirror you use for your daily beauty
routine. Flowers are a universal symbol of beauty and having something
living channel your spell makes it much stronger.
- Keep it on your person throughout the day. If the jar is small enough, it can
be kept on you inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace.
Keeping the jar close to you will help influence the beauty spell/glamour
longer and stronger.
Weight Loss/Gain and Exercise:
- Stash inside your gym bag/locker. It will serve as a boost right before you
work out.
- Keep with your food. If you are using it to control eating habits, keep it in
your pantry/fridge IN FRONT of all of your food. It will be a barrier between
you and your food. You’ll have to get past the jar before you touch
anything else.
- Keep it on your kitchen table. If you are using it to battle eating disorders
and/or increase your eating habits, place it where you eat all of your
meals.
- Take it with you while you move. If you like to ride your bike for exercise,
use an unbreakable/break resistant bottle and tie it to your bike. If you like
to walk/run with your kids in a running stroller, put it on the stroller where
your child can’t reach it.
- Store it with your workout clothes. The spell will bleed over into the clothes
so that you have it whenever you put them on.
- Keep it on your person. If the jar is small enough, it can be kept on you
inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace. It will influence you as
well as remind you of our goals all day.
Influence Relationships:
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- Place in the heart of your home. If you are trying to influence your family
or the relationships within, keep it where you’re family spends time
together the most (kitchen, living room mantle, game room, dining room).
If you can’t practice openly at home, use a container that is pretty and
not see through, fill it completely so it doesn’t rattle, and glue it shut. That
way, to everyone else, it will just be pretty decoration.
- Give it as a gift. Decorate the bottle and give it as a gift to the person
whose relationship with you, you want to influence.
- Keep next to their photo. Keep it next to a photo of the person you wish to
change your relationship with.
inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace. The bottle will work it’s
magic whenever you are around the specified person.
Health:
- Stash in the bedroom. Placing the jar on your nightstand, under your
pillow, or under your bed will allow health spells to work while you sleep,
especially if you are bedridden.
- Store with your medicine. If you have to take medication regularly, store it
with your meds.
- Keep next to your drinking water. If you use drinking water that isn’t from a
tap, store the jar where you store your water. The spell will bleed into your
drinking water to influence your health.
inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace. If it is on your person, it
can influence your health all day, healing you or protecting you from an
illness that is spreading.
Dreams:
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- Stash in the bedroom. Placing it on your nightstand, under your pillow, or

under your bed will keep it close while you sleep so it can influence your
dreams.
- Store with your pajamas. Storing it with the clothes that you sleep in will
infuse them with the spell’s energy (unless you sleep naked of course, but I
don’t need to know about that).
Wards/Banishments:
inside a purse/bag, coat pocket, or as a necklace. It will act as a shield to
keep away whatever you want.
- Bury it in your yard. If you are just trying to banish something/someone
from your life or ward them away from your home and family, bury it in
your yard. It will act as a shield.
- If you are trying to banish something/someone and send them far away
from you, bury next to train tracks.
- If you are trying to banish thoughts or habits or trying to forget something,
bury it in a cemetery. If you can’t bury it in a cemetery, bury it somewhere
in the woods and forget it’s location.
- (originally posted by thejunewitch)
On Burying Jars
I can’t be the only one that sees how many witch jar spells tell you to bury said
jar in the ground and winches. Why? Because reasons, that’s why.
Don’t roll your eyes. Read on.

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Here’s a few reasons why burying all the witch jars you make can be a pain in
the ass:
1. It can break. Broken glass can eventually make its way to the surface and
that barbeque you’re having and turn into a trip to the hospital. This is
especially dangerous if the glass was coated or holding with poisons, rust,
metal, or other harmful materials.
2. Finding the jar again. Let’s say you want to undo a spell. Or you just need
to find the damn jar after you buried it. If you didn’t mark it, you’re going
to be playing the guessing game on locating it in the earth.
3. Too many jars makes for a full garden. Think about it. Bury six jars in small
space then try to plant a garden over it. You can do it, absolutely, but
that’s a lot of earth being taken up for a spell.
4. You’re burying a perfectly good glass jar. I hate using glass jars for spells. I
prefer to use and reuse glass jars until I can’t any more. By can’t I mean
they shatter, are given away, hold poisons, or contain a smell that can’t
be dispersed.
5. It isn’t your land. (Maybe) You’re renting? Live in an apartment? On
campus? Maybe you shouldn’t be burying shit in places you don’t own a
deed to.
6. Someone else could dig it up and find it. And how much would your plan
suck then?
7. Glass doesn’t decompose. Technically called devitrification (if I remember
correctly) only some glass actually “breaks down”. In this process, the
glass crystallizes as typically seen in art glass, crazing, warping, etc will
occur before the glass actually becomes so fragile it will break. This occurs
over long periods of time. Some types of glass can be broken down with
chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid. But most glass we use, such as
silicates, don’t break down naturally.
So what the hell am I bringing this up for and what am I suggesting otherwise?
Because I find a lot of people are bottling things up and shoving things in jars as
a matter of course. It’s just what you do. And, that might be personal practice
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and belief coming into play but it’s not necessary. Easy and convenient but not
necessary most of the time (from what I can see).
Ask yourself this when gathering ingredients for a spell:
1. Does it need to be buried? Does it really? Are you sure? There isn’t some
other way to solve the problem?
2. Is this a short term spell? Maybe burying it in a potted plant is better.
3. Does it need to be liquid? You can soak herbs in vinegar, hot sauce,
protection oils, water, etc. without needing to fill a jar. It might even be
easier to soak said herbs then leave them for the spell’s target to stumble
upon. Hell, you could even spritz some vinegar/water/oil/etc on it and it
would probably work (depending on your paradigm and all that).
4. Does the spell need to be contained? Sometimes spells don’t need to be
contained. Sometimes you need them to leech into the soil, earth, and
world. If it doesn’t need to be contained, perhaps you should try putting it
in a paper bag or a “biodegradable” bottle (most of these aren’t fully
biodegradable and don’t do it in five years as advertised so keep that in
mind) Jars contain things. Why would you put something in a jar if you
want it to get out?
5. Is it a funeral? A lot of the time I see “bury this” spells is because you’re
suppose to be giving it a funeral. If you aren’t doing that, then you may
want to rethink burying it.
6. Is it a secret? I don’t bury my protection witch jars. Instead, I hang them
up. I put them on display. I let the world know this place is protected.
Besides, it also serves as decoration. (Obviously, if you’re in the closet or
the spell has a secret purpose, this isn’t an option).
7. Will some other container make do? I paper bag half my “bury this” spells.
Especially if they don’t contain liquid. And the ones that do sometimes
don’t need that much liquid. Instead of shaking the jar, I’ll shake and
squish the bag instead.
8. Can you reuse the jar? One your spell has gone off, are you willing to dig
up the jar and use it again? I’m not talking about the ingredients. I would
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bury the organics and bring the inorganics to a recycling station or dump.
I’m talking about the jar itself. This comes down to personal belief and
practice. I go either way on it personally but to each their own.
9. Does it need to be sealed? Many witches seal their jars in wax. Why not
make a container of wax instead? Or seal a paper bag or whatever. It’s
still sealed and yet you’re not burying glass.
10. Does it actually need a jar? Many jar spells don’t need to be jar spells. It’s
for convenience. You can pour hot sauce or vinegar over paper to curse
someone. You don’t always need to stick it in a jar.
I’m not talking about just curses. This applies to ALL spells. And sure, I still make
spell jars. It’s easy to make a jar. It’s harder to deal with a spell when it’s messy
and everywhere. And I’m not saying everyone should suddenly not use jars. But I
hope this little spiel has given at least one person a second’s pause before they
reach for that glass jar and consider an alternative.
In the end, this is going to come down to personal practice, personal belief, and
convenience. Do what you do and I’ll do what I do.
(original by thiscrookedcrown)
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What are Sigils?
Well, here’s the dictionary definition. Basically, it's a symbol created to aid
in completing a goal. They can help with nearly anything you desire, but keep in
mind that magick still has its limits.
Even the most powerful witches can achieve only so much. Sigils cannot
give you superpowers or grant any wish. Like i said, they AID in bringing you
closer to a goal. For example, if I wanted to pass a test I could make a sigil that
states my will (“I want to pass my test”) but it’s still up to ME to study and prepare
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for the test, the sigil can only help. Or let’s say I want to get healthier, I can make
a sigil to help me with my health but it’s still my job to take care of myself.
Do NOT get confused between sigils and runes or scripts! While yes, runes
and sigils both serve a magickal purpose and can look very much alike, they are
not the same. Scripts, as the name suggests, are just other ways of writing. Some
witches use these or make their own. There are also alchemical symbols, feel
free to look those up since there are just too many to show here. Some scripts
are:
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Runes are from the ancient Germanic alphabet and are used for
divination. Typically they are made out of bone, wood, or stone. They look
something like this:
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How do I make Sigils?
There are a few ways to do this and they range from easy to harder, but
each is just as credible as the next. Don’t let anyone tell you that one way is
better than the other, just do what fits you best! Make sure that after you make
a sigil you charge it with energy so it can help. Without energy it won’t work as
well, or at all. NOTE: Be careful when you choose your intent! Phrasing it wrong
can cause big problems!
● Try going to the website www.sigilscribe.me This website works well for
wills/goals longer than one word. (check my earlier posts for what some of
these look like, or go make your own!)
● Use a sigil wheel. Start at the center and draw a line to the letters making
the word you want. It looks something like this:
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● You can also draw a circle with the alphabet around it. Like the sigil
wheel, just start at the beginning of the word you’re focusing on and
continue from there.
● Write out your will as a sentence. Cross out any vowels or repeating letters.
Use the remaining letters to inspire a sigil of your own making.This may take
a while and it may take a few tries to get it to your liking, but that’s okay!
And I know some of you may think “but this doesn’t look anything like a
sigil! Am I doing it right?” The answer to that is yes you are, there is no right
way a sigil should look. Some sigils may look more complicated than
others and that’s totally fine! If you’re satisfied with the look, go for it!
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Completed Sigils may look something like:
or
How do I charge Sigils?
There are LOTS of ways to do this, so just pick the right one for you. I’ll list
some but don’t think you’re limited to these!
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● Write on yourself, especially near a major vein or artery, or while you’re

doing exercise.
● Write it down and leave it in the sunlight or moonlight. (Be careful of the
sunlight however because it could make the sigil fade)
● Make the sigil your background on an electronic device and charge it
overnight while the device is charging.
● Write it down and burn it (be careful!)
● Write it down and run water over the sigil.
● Write it down and play music near it that matches the goal.
● Draw it in your food and eat it
What do I write it with? What if I need to hide it?
You can write it with anything you please. Some witches prefer a certain
writing tool, such as I like to write in my Book of Shadows with a fountain pen. If
you need to hide it, you can write it in makeup that matches your skin tone,
invisible ink, or even a white crayon if you need to put it on the wall or
something.
Where else can I learn about Sigils?
You can ask another experienced witch (I myself am still a beginner) or

look online. If you want to as well, you can go to your local library or bookstore
and find a book about Sigils or Witchcraft. There are also lots of sigil making
blogs on Tumblr, you just have to look for them! If you’re going to use a sigil from
another source, make sure you have the author’s permission to use it or at least
credit them. Here are some sigil blogs:
www.everydaysigils.tumblr.com
thesigilworkshop.tumblr.com
Is it okay to use pre-made Sigils?

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Absolutely! There’s no wrong way to practice the craft (as long as you
aren’t hurting anyone, including yourself) so it is up to your interpretation. If you
feel better making your own than borrowing, go for it!
(originally posted by tenderwitchy)
Graveyard Etiquette
Okay, so I know I’ve said this about a hundred times now, but pissing off
spirits/ghosts/ephemera or whatever you want to call them is a BAD IDEA. And
when you’re in a graveyard, you need to remember that that is their space.
Please be respectful. You wouldn’t want someone tromping into your house at
random and trashing it. The same thing goes for graveyards. Here are some do’s
and don'ts for burial grounds.
DO:
Ask before entering
Leave if you feel unwanted
Bring a little gift of some sort if you’re going to be asking anything of the
residents
Ask before taking anything
Remember to thank the spirits
Acknowledge the Gatekeeper
Go home by a different route than you used to get there
DON’T:
Sit on tombstones
Step on graves
Take things without permission
Hang around when you’re unwelcome
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Make rude comments

Ignore the Gatekeeper
Jump up and down on a grave to see what will happen
Damage the graves unnecessarily
Take dirt without giving anything in return
Be loud or obnoxious
Perform any rituals without the permission of the residents
(Originally posted by hedgewitchonahill)

What is a poppet?
A poppet is a doll that is used to represent a person during a spell.
When should I use a poppet?
When you feel like, however remember that poppets can be rather
powerful by their nature, so depending on what you are intending to do with this
poppet use appropriate safety measures.
Extrapolate?
One of the reasons I am writing this article is because a week ago I saw a
blog post a spell for ridding yourself of impatience, and in that spell it said to use
herbs and vegetables with rather negative consequence (which is okay by
themselves, or in another spell) and to make a poppet of yourself and set it
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aflame. My personal (any many other’s) advice is to not set a poppet of

yourself on fire with warding herbs and spices. It just isn’t a good idea.
So poppets are only for cursing?
It depends on who you talk to, but no, they don’t have to be only used for
cursing. However, use some common sense. If there is a magic(k)ed doll
representative of a person, use your deductive reasoning as to how you want
the outcome to unfold. Treat a poppet sweetly for a kind outcome. Treat the
poppet cruelly for a hateful outcome.
What are some ways to make a poppet?
● sewn up fabric fabric doll (old classic)

● sewn up paper doll
● wax dolls
● flower doll (bind the fresh flowers with twine or string to resemble human)
● clay doll
● butter sculpture
● hair doll
Really, I could go on for ages on how to do this, but really it is up to you as

to what feels best.
What to do with the poppet:
Depending on what material your poppet is you can do any or more of these
things:
● fill the poppet with objects

● stick or wrap objects into the poppet
● dissolve oils into the poppet
● add a wick to the poppet to melt it down (in the case of a wax poppet)
● set it aflame
● submerge or drown it in water
● bury it
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● box it
Some suggestions for a kind outcome:
● flower petals (either using symbolic love or friendship, or a flower the

intended loves)
● herbs which you would usually use for a kind outcome
● silks, satins, mohairs, fur, leather (a type of material that is comforting, or
soft, protective or sexy- whatever your intend)
● oils and perfume
● hair, spit, fingernail clippings, semen, blood, etc.
Some suggestions for a cruel outcome:
● nails (preferably rusty)

● broken glass
● push pins
● herbs which you would usually use for a cruel outcome
● gasoline (BE. CAREFUL. obviously do not use a flame on a gasoline soaked
poppet unless you have done so before and in a well ventilated open
area with a fire extinguisher on hand)
● fire (to burn)
● water (to drown)
● hair, spit, fingernail clippings, semen, urine, feces, flesh, blood, etc.
● bugs, decaying meat, etc.
Okay, I hope I have covered a wider area on how to use poppets. I am

not claiming to be the best source their is out there (or even on here), but I do
think what I have to offer is good advice. I have not included religion, origins, or
how to make a spell or ritual with a poppet because it varies depending on the
tradition you are using. Please do a further research.
Please, the number one thing I want to stress about using a poppet is use
your damn common sense.
-Don’t do things that are normally hateful to a poppet and expect a sweet
outcome, and vice versa.
-Start small and work your way up to bigger and better things.
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-Don’t make a poppet of yourself and burn it if you are a beginner.
-Finally, remember, leave yourself an exit strategy- give yourself a way out to
break your spell and destroy your poppet if (or when) the time comes.
(originally posted by witchry)
Charging Objects
Charging an object is a very simple process. The first thing to determine is
your intent. What are you trying to achieve? Do you need a pick me up?
Something to help you focus? Something to draw attention to you? Once
you’ve figured out what your intent is, keep it in mind.
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When you’re charging your object, pick somewhere quiet where you
won’t be disturbed. Hold your object in both your hands and start focusing on
your intent. Try not to let your thoughts wander, and start to visualise your object
taking on the energy you need. Some visualisation techniques you could use
are:
● Picturing the object surrounded by a bright light representing your intent
● Picturing the object being ‘filled’ with your intent, like you would fill a
bottle with water
● Picturing yourself with the object succeeding with whatever your intent is
(eg. charging a ring with positive energy; imagine yourself wearing the
ring and feeling happy!)
● As your hands warm up the object, imagine the heat is your intent
washing over it.
These are not the only methods, and there isn’t any wrong one- so if you
come up with something that suits you better, go for it!
Some things to remember: it’s good to recharge your object every once
in awhile if you’re using it in the long term. Things do tend to pick up energy in
everyday travel, so it’s important to clean that off and replace it with what you
need instead!
Also, it is possible to charge things for others, of course; like a gift you are
going to give them. However, don’t use this to be manipulative. Charging a gift
for them with something like a good luck charm or positivity is okay, but anything
bigger than that you should ask for permission for!
Charging objects is a quick, easy and effective form of magic that has an
infinite number of uses. Go forth and charge!
(originally posted by seraphickalmagic)

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A lot of witchcraft seems to be focused on visualisation as a means of imbuing
things with magic, energy work seems almost entirely written to suit those who
can visualise images. Enchantment in my book means to take an object and
make it magical, whether it be a charm, a ward, an agent of the spell itself.
Kissing things - your lips are far more sensitive than your fingers, they are also
very close to your nose so you can incorporate smell into this, too. Take the item,
and bring it to your lips gently, place a plush firm kiss whilst focusing on planting
your into into the item.
Stroking or brushing - I have heard people try knot magic by braiding their hair,
my hair is too short for this, but you could start by brushing your hair. Really
smoothing it out, deeply brushing hair or even fur is a great way to transfer
magic from your mind to the hands to the object, brushing is very therapeutic
and could almost be a trance inducing activity.
You could also feel the surface of your item by smoothing it with you hands,
really get to know the texture, let the magic explore the grain of the wood, the
crevices in the stone or the cool touch of the metal.
Crumbling something - You could do this with breadcrumbs for kitchen magic or
a bath bomb for bath magic (I wouldn’t crumble a bath bomb imo but I have
heard some people prefer to do that.) Guide your intent to your hands and let it
overwhelm the object in your palms.
Stepping on something - This could be very destructive and great for curses.
Walking around it - Walking around an object features a lot in folk lore, perhaps
you could use it to slowly build up intent and magical energy within you?
Throwing or juggling - Juggling is a great skill to learn and I can well and truly say
kinetic energy is magical very powerful, throwing and catching something in the
air until your satisfied is a fantastic way of enchantment, the weight as you
catch it in your hand and watching it fly in the air is just fantastic.
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Rubbing it to give it body heat - This is very physical, you can feel the warmth
you’ve transferred to this object and its very responsive as well.
(originally posted by dog-rose)

Cleansing:
Many crystals have specific, individual cleansing methods based on their

type and energy. See this list to see how to specially charge your stone.
However, if the specific method is unknown or currently unavailable to you,
there are several general cleansing methods that can be done for almost any
stone.
Visualization: While holding the stone, visualize it immersed in white light.

Mentally focus your intent, willing the collected old and negative energies to
leave the stone and return to the earth/universe/etc. to be transformed.
Magically affirm that the stone is now clear and activated to be used or
charged towards its full potential.
Rinsing: Many crystals love running water. Natural sources such as rivers,
springs, and stream are preferable, but cool tap is useable as well. Rain water is
also a good choice. Dry naturally in open air or sunlight. Be sure that the stones’
chemical makeup will tolerate being wet.
Light: Sunlight, moonlight, and starlight are all natural, gentle methods of
cleansing. Be aware that most forms of naturally colored stone (quartz in
particular) will fade in sunlight, so if you want to preserve their color, either place
them in a clear container or cleanse under a nighttime alternative. Full moons
are best for moonlight cleansing.
Burial: Burying a stone is a slow, gentle method of cleansing. Be cautious

that the stone will not react negatively to the contents of the soil. Also be sure to
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mark where the stone is buried so you can find it again, or consider burying it in
a potter/planter instead of open yard or garden.
Charging:
Light: Sunlight is a common method used to cleanse and charge at the

same time. Full moons are also good charging sources. Again, be aware of sun
fading!
Weather: Placing a stone out in dynamic weather conditions such as a

thunderstorm can give it a strong, electromagnetic charge.
Jewelry: Jewelry and smaller crystals can be placed on an amethyst

cluster to charge.
Charging boards are also cool and great for lazy witches like myself.
Storage:
Stones should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place, away from direct
sunlight and/or heat sources. Soft, lined cases like jewelry boxes work well. Take
note of each stones’ hardness on the Moh scale to see how easily it scratches
and store accordingly, either with equally soft stones or by itself.
Notes:
Crystals in frequent use should be cleansed/charged at least once a

week. Those used only on occasion can be cleansed/charged once a month or
never at all, depending on the stone and what you’re using it for.
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1. There is no one correct way to use crystals. You could use them to help you
meditate. You can use them to bring a specific type of energy into your space
or your body or your spirit. You can use them in place of something on an altar
(for example, my apartment doesn’t let me use candles so I use pyrite to
represent fire when I work). You could carry them around with you to attract
something. You can use them however you see fit.
2. You may connect with one type of crystal and not at all with another type.
You will hear a lot of people tell you that “____ is a great crystal for beginners
because everyone can work with this” and that’s BS. You may not feel
connected to a certain type of crystal AT ALL. AND THAT’S OK! Personal
example, I had read somewhere that a good crystal for students was fluorite, so
I went out and got a fluorite. I didn’t connect with fluorite whatsoever. It didn’t
sync up with me, and so I hardly ever use it. On the other hand, the first time I
ever picked up a smoky quartz I just KNEW it was for me. I deeply resonate with
smoky quartz still to this day.
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3. You may connect with one SPECIFIC crystal, and not at all with a different
crystal of the same kind. And, again, that’s ok. Certain crystals will just call out
to you more than others.
4. Certain crystals will want to be used for certain purposes. I have a crystal that
is specifically used for headaches. I tried using it for other things and it just felt
weird. The only purpose I felt at ease using that crystal was for headaches. Your
intuition will help you with figuring out how crystals want to be used.
5. If you can’t feel crystal energies from the get-go, that’s ok. Keep working at it
and don’t give up. It comes more naturally to some. I was one of those people
who didn’t really feel it much to begin with, except for smoky quartz. I had to
train myself to do so, and once you get into that state where you can feel the
energies, it will be so exciting. When you feel it, you’ll know.
(originally posted by majoringinwitchcraft)

Put them around your home!
● Place a protective stone, such as black onyx, hematite, or black obsidian,

outside by your front door to prevent negative energies, including
burglars, from entering your home.
● Place a rose quartz on a table or shelf in a frequently used room, such as
a living room, family room, or den, to fill your home with love and
harmony.
● Decorate with seasonal stone colors.
Put them in your car!
● Placing a golden tiger-eye in your car will help to protect you and your
car against accidents. Place the stone in a secure place where it will not
roll around or get lost. I suggest wrapping it in wire, attaching it to a cord
or chain, and then hanging it from the rearview mirror.
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Bring them to work!
● Place a quartz cluster or purple fluorite cluster next to your computer to

help protect you from its electromagnetic field.
● Place a smoky quartz on your desk or in your work space to protect
yourself against the stress and frustration of your coworkers or clients.
● Keep a rose quartz or amethyst with you. When work is stressful, hold it in
your hand or rub it with your fingers.
Bring them with you on your next vacation or business trip!
● Carry an aquamarine or moonstone with you for protection while

traveling.
Clear the air!
● To disperse negative energy, use a black or dark stone, such as onyx,

obsidian, tourmaline, jet, apache tear, smoky quartz, or hematite. These
stones, when placed about a room, home, or other area, work as
environmental cleansers that purify the area and protect it from negative
energies.
Fight pain!
● Lapis, malachite, and bloodstone are good pain relievers. Place them on
the affected body part or area of the body until the pain lessens.
● Tape a carnelian to your lower abdomen to relieve the pain of menstrual
cramps.
● For a headache, place an amethyst, amber, or turquoise stone on your
forehead, or, if you have multiple stones, place them around your head.
● In the case of a migraine, lapis has been used since the time of the
ancient Egyptians, if not longer.
Get a good night’s sleep!

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● Place an azurite, amethyst, or sugilite on your forehead or under your

pillow to increase your dreams.
● A garnet or amethyst under your pillow will help you to remember your
dreams.
● A black tourmaline, smoky quartz, or amethyst will chase away any
nightmares.
● Can’t sleep? Place a rose quartz or amethyst by your bed or under your
pillow to combat insomnia.
Get in control of your emotions!
● Moonstone, chrysocolla, aventurine, rose quartz, and blue lace agate are
all stones that help to balance emotions. You can wear them in jewelry,
keep them on your person, or take a bath with them.
● Use a rose quartz for emotional healing.
● Aquamarine, aventurine, moonstone, rhodonite, and rose quartz are
calming stones. Lie down and place one over your heart, or bathe with
them, or massage yourself with them.
● To relieve stress, worry, fear, and anxiety, use one of the following:
aventurine, black tourmaline, black onyx, lapis, sodalite, chrysocolla, rose
quartz, citrine, or snowflake obsidian. Use one as a “worry stone”. A worry
stone is a stone that you keep with you, and whenever you feel worried,
stressed, or anxious, you take it out and rub it with your fingers. You can
also wear it in jewelry, bathe with it, or massage with it.
● For depression, use amber, smoky quartz or citrine in any of the
aforementioned ways.
● To help control anger, keep a red garnet, amethyst, snowflake obsidian,
or sodalite with you. Take it out, hold it, and rub it whenever you feel the
need.
Increase your brain power!

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● Use citrine, fluorite, lapis, pyrite, or sodalite to stimulate the intellect.

● For focusing thoughts and concentration, use citrine, hematite, lapis,
black tourmaline, or fluorite.
● To bring mental clarity, use sapphire, peridot, or gold (Imperial) topaz.
● To increase memory, use citrine, amber, black tourmaline, hematite, or
fluorite.
● Use amethyst, bloodstone, hematite, or lapis to relieve mental stress.
● For help with problem-solving, use green tourmaline, or citrine.
● To help with decision-making, use azurite, fluorite, or sodalite.
● To use any of these “thinking” stones, wear them as earrings or a pendant,
or place them on your desk or workspace.
Spark your creativity!
● Carry or wear an amazonite, azurite, carnelian, chrysocolla, or citrine to

get your creativity flowing.
Improve your communication skills!
● Sodalite, sapphire, aquamarine, blue topaz, and chrysocolla are all great
stones for communication. Use them to bring self-confidence when
public speaking, to help you to speak up for yourself, to be able to explain
things in an easy to understand way, to overcome shyness, to be able to
speak more clearly and freely , to be able to express yourself better
emotionally, and to improve your relationships by keeping
communication lines open. These stones work best when worn as a
pendant that hangs close to the throat, but they can also be worn as
earrings, or held, or carried in your pocket.
Strengthen your intuition!
● To do this, hold a moonstone, chrysocolla, or amazonite to your third eye

(brow).
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Meditate!
● Meditation crystals can be held, placed on the third eye, or placed

before you as a visual focal point. These crystals include: clear quartz,
amethyst, celestite, apophyllite, charoite, sugilite, azurite, labradorite, and
yellow calcite.
● To get in touch with your spirituality, use amethyst or charoite.
● To gain wisdom, use amethyst, charoite, lapis, sodalite, or sugilite.
● To ground yourself (bring yourself back to Earth) after meditating, hold a
grounding stone such as, smoky quartz, black obsidian, snowflake
obsidian, black onyx, hematite, or jet.
Feel better about yourself!
● To increase your self-confidence and feelings of self-worth, use azurite,

chrysocolla, aquamarine, ruby, moonstone, or rose quartz.
● To raise your self-esteem, use hematite or rose quartz.
● To improve your self-image, use moonstone, rose quartz, or pink kunzite.
● To learn to love yourself, use rose quartz, rhodochrosite, or pink kunzite.
● All of these stones can be held, worn, or carried.
Spread the love!
Rose quartz is THE love stone. Use it to attract love; to increase romance; to
strengthen love between friends, lovers, and family members; to make a
friendship blossom; to mend a broken heart; and to keep any relationship
balanced, peaceful, and loving. No matter what the situation, if it has to do
with love, rose quartz is the stone that does it all. But there are, of course, other
stones of love.
Here are just a few examples:
● To attract love, use magnetite or a tantric twin. A tantric twin (also called
a soulmate stone) is a stone in which two crystals, such as clear quartz,
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amethyst, or citrine, of about the same size are joined together side by
side.
● To heal the heart, place pink agate, pink kunzite, or pink tourmaline over
the heart, or wear as a pendant that hangs close to the heart.
● To balance relationships, use peridot or rhodonite.
● To increase or enhance loving feelings, use emerald, ruby, garnet, or
diamond.
Love stones can be worn, carried, held, or bathed with. Place them throughout
a room or home to create a more loving atmosphere. Put one next to your bed
to increase romance and intimacy.
Add some spice to your sex life!
● Use carnelian, garnet, or red tiger-eye to increase passion, sensuality, and

eroticism.
● To increase sexual energy and stamina, use carnelian, bloodstone, ruby,
red garnet, or pink tourmaline.
● Use carnelian to stimulate sexuality.
● Use red jasper to prolong sexual pleasure.
● Pink tourmaline will release inhibitions.
● For lack of libido, use fluorite or red garnet.
● Place them next to, on, or around the bed, or wear them as jewelry.
Bring abundance, prosperity, wealth, and success into your life!
● For prosperity, place a citrine in the “wealth corner” of your home. This is
the corner to the left of and furthest away from the front door. If this is
where your bathroom is, do not put the stone in there, otherwise any
wealth that you acquire will go right down the toilet!
● Wealth comes in many forms other than money and material things.
Being surrounded by a loving family can make someone feel wealthy. To
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bring wealth of any kind, wear or carry green aventurine, peridot,

bloodstone, emerald, jade, or pyrite (fool’s gold).
● Keep a green aventurine in your wallet or purse to make your money
multiply.
Bring good luck!
● Wear or carry a green aventurine or golden tiger-eye with you.

● Bring a green aventurine with you to the casino. Wear it in a pouch
around your neck, keep it in your pocket, or hold it while you are playing.
PLEASE NOTE to research the chemical compounds of your crystals before

adding them to baths, potions, etc. and be aware of any mineral or chemical
allergies you may have before handling with your bare hands.
(originally posted by witchtips via crystal-cure.com)

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How Different Crystal Shapes Can Influence Energy

Flow
● Natural Point(s): Best used when energy is meant to be concentrated and

pointed in a specific direction. If a stone has more than one point, the
energy will also tend to be directed in those multiple directions. Larger
points make wonderful wands!
● Grounded Point/Obelisk: Stronger version of the (natural) pointed stone,
as the bottom of an obelisk-shaped crystal is flat, and allowing for a more
grounded directional energy. Because these are meant to be placed
standing and pointing upwards, they are best used when energy is
needed to be pointed up from a flat surface.
● Double-Terminated: Think of these cuts as having two poles, like the earth,
moving energy in a elongated sphere around the crystal. Energy is taken
in by each point and added to the ‘bubble’ of energy the crystal can
work with.
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● Tumbled: Crystals and stones that have been tumbled (yet not quite into
a perfect sphere) will have energy that softly emits in all directions,
sometimes directionally varied if the stone is a little more abstractly
shaped.
● Natural/Raw: Energy flow with naturally shaped and formed stones, while
being stronger than man-made stones, tends to be more sporadic than
smoother or more even stones (unless, of course, the stone forms naturally
with a smooth texture). Energy flow depends on the shape and texture of
each mineral - Rough, cubed, pointed, etc.
● Faceted/Multiple-Faced: Energy in and around faceted gemstones, such

as those commonly used in jewelry, will be given off similarly to how a
mirror or glass pane reflects/directs light; In this example, think of each
face of the stone as glass, and energy as the light. This method of energy
flow also applies to multiple-faced, non-pointed stones, such as some
varieties of raw minerals that grow with cubed or edged faces.
● Spherical: Crystal balls and spheres will give off energy in an evenly
distributed way, as you expect a perfect sphere would. Spherical
gemstones that are translucent and able to focus light (similarly to how a
magnifying class can focus sunlight) can also direct energy in one
direction if used in certain ways.
● “Palm” Stone: Palm stones are similar to spherical stones in that they emit
energy in a constant way, though these stones are more grounded.
Because of their grounded nature and palm-like shape, these types of
stones are ideal for emotional healing, grounding, or stress.
● Worry Stone: Worry stones are created to, just as the name suggests,
decrease or eliminate worry! These are made to work a bit differently than
others; the piezoelectric energy of the stone is made to be given off as a
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trigger to physical touching or rubbing one’s thumb on the slightly

concave area of the stone. Besides metaphysical healing purposes, these
are also made to give a person something to fiddle with in their hands to
take the mind off worry.
(originally posted by rainy-day-witchcraft)

We’ve all heard this before, Right? “Program your crystal to blah blah
blah.”
When giving advice to beginner practitioners sometimes we forget to stop

and explain what it means to even program a crystal. In short, You are infusing it
with intention. A Goal, A Desire. You are infusing a crystal to amplify that
intention and desire, And to hopefully achieve it.
The way you do this is simple.
1. Cleanse your Crystal - This is the most important step. Cleanse. Your. Crystal.
Yourself. Use herb smoke, Energy work, Sunlight, Moonlight, Prayer, Whatever
works for YOU.
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2. Cleanse Yourself - This is equally as important as cleansing your crystal

because you want to be in a clear calm state. You don’t want any outside
forces influencing your work.
3. Once you are clear with your intention and desire hold your crystal in your
hands. Visualize what you want, Speak aloud or in your thoughts. Be Clear. Be
repetitive. Feel it.
4. Feel the energy and warmth leaving your hands, And entering the crystal.
Make it yours, And fill it with your desire.
5. Continue these steps until you feel the crystal has fully absorbed all the
vibrational energy.
That’s all! The crystal will now hold your intention, And will amplify your
attract your desire.
(To reverse this process, Do the same steps with intention of cleansing and
release the energy.)
(originally posted by witchy-tips)

We’ve all been there. You walk into a crystal shop and there they are. Dozens of
unfamiliar crystals just waiting for you to ask a million questions about. Rather
than waste the time over analyzing, Remember the Rule of the Color. The rule of
colors work not just with Candles, but also crystals. Of course each is unique and
holds a special energy but the nature of the color is always the same. Do the
next time you’re in a pinch, And you’re like “Woah, What does this do?”
Remember the rule of color!
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● Pink (Example: Rose Quartz) Femininity, Self love, Acceptance,

Compassion, Romance, Friendship, Spiritual healing, Nurturing.
● Red (Example: Ruby) Strength, Power, Health, Power, Love, Sex, Energy,
Vibrancy, Vitality. Protection.
● Orange (Example: Topaz) Encouragement, Fortune, Success, Taking
Action
● Yellow (Example: Citrine) Happiness, Joy, Creativity, Imagination, Comfort,
Charm, Confidence.
● Green- (Example: Jade) Growth Fertility. Grounding, Money, Fortune,
Luck, Prosperity.
● Blue (Example: Aquamarine) Wisdom, Understanding, Calmness, Inner
peace, health, Cleansing,
● Purple (Example: Amethyst) Psychic Ability, Power, Protection, Tranquility,
Prosperity.
● Black (Example Tourmaline) Deep Cleansing, Protection from negativity,
Banishing, Binding.
● White (Example: White Jade) Purification, Spiritual strength, Serenity.
● Clear (Example- Quartz) Amplification, Understanding.
● Mixed Colors / Spots (Example: Snow Flake Obsidian) Mixed properties
based off colors
(originally posted by witchy-tips)

Quartz:
● If your quartz has teeny air bubbles it’s glass.

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● If it’s got a fruit name it’s dyed. End of story. (strawberry, cherry, lemon,
pineapple, blueberry) yes there may be some very rare exceptions-fire
quartz being dubbed strawberry- but due to the rise in fakes with that
name it’s generally called fire quartz now.
● Aura quartz is a regular quartz that’s been bonded with another material.
(man made)
● Cinnabar Infused Quartz usually reconstituted and mixed together to

make a red crystal.
● Green quartz can be grown in a lab + anything that forest green color is
Turquoise:
● Magnesite and howlite look very very similar to turquoise when they’ve
been dyed, magnesite will have very deep cracks in it though.
● No there is no white turquoise.
● You can do a uv test to see if it’s real
Amber
● Often faked with Copal. They look nearly identical.
● Amber will float in salt water-copal will not.
Irradiated/dyed stones:
● Very vibrant colors!!
Irradiated: (they irradiate the crystals to get a deeper or more vibrant color)
● deeply pigmented topaz or kunzite
● dark (almost black) smokey quartz
● very deep pink or red tourmaline
● colored diamonds
● some cultured pearls

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● vibrant yellow heliodor
Dyed:
● Pearls
● Agate
● coral
● other stones may be dyed as well, generally if it looks fake..it is.
Heat treated stones: (really not a bad thing but if you’re going for natural)
● Amethyst-lighten color+remove brown
● Citrine-heat treated amethyst.
● Aquamarine-remove green
● Ruby-clearer stone
● Sapphire-clearer stone
Rainbow Cal-Silica
● Nope, completely fake 100%
● Literally just car paint layered with calcite and resin.
Citrine: (im so sorry)
● Much of the citrine on the market is lab made.
● If it’s lab made it’s usually amethyst that’s been heated until it changes
color
● The bottom of these stones will be white with more color at the tips.
● srry
Lapis Lazuli:
● High quality is vibrant blue, hard to come by, and very expensive.
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● Low quality howlite, jasper or sodalite is dyed blue, and passed off as
lapis.
● Acetone will remove the dye but damage the stone.
Obsidian:
● The clear green obsidian you see all over ebay is slag glass.
● Natural green obsidian has been found but it is opaque and is more gray
than green.
● there is red obsidian as well but again, it’s not a vibrant red and is more
brick colored.
● Wikipedia is not always right.
Goldstone:
● it’s glass it’s legitimately just glass
Opalite:
● also glass.
● real opalite exists but it’s green and not commonly found
● once again, don’t believe everything on wikipedia.
Bismuth:
● Doesn’t naturally form in the crystals, lab made!!!
● rlly pretty though
Hematite:
● Not naturally magnetic!
● Magnetic hematite is 100% man made!
Jade:
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● Real jade is p. heavy! A way to tell if it is real is that it’ll be heavier than it
looks.
● Jade is faked with the following:
● Serpentine “New Jade” or “Olive Jade”
● Prehnite
● Aventurine quartz
● Grossular garnet “Transvaal jade”
● Chrysoprase “Australian jade”
● Malaysia Jade- dyed quartz that may be called by its color – Red Jade,
Yellow Jade, Blue Jade
● Opaque dolomite marble “Mountain Jade” (usually dyed)
Dragon vein agate:
● Quench cracked, bleached, and dyed agate and some is quench

cracked, and dyed glass.
Snowflake obsidian:
● Being faked with a very low grade cheap dalmatian jasper!
● Snowflake will be gray while Dalmatian should have a lighter color
Hollow galena:
● A lot of pieces have been proven to have been faked through

sandblasting + similar techniques (but there may be real ones I’m not
100%)
Charoite:
● Chinese Charoite doesn’t exist.
● If it’s called that then it’s not real, real charoite isn’t banded and is more
swirly.
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Moldavite:
● Very very commonly faked!!
● Biggest giveaway is the ‘wet’ look a faked piece has due to the molding
process
● White moldavite doesn’t exist!!
Sunspar:
● It’s really just yellow Labradorite, which isn’t a very rare gem

Dried Herbs should be stored in covered airtight containers- preferably
glass but plastic is acceptable as well. Since most of the therapeutic values of
leaves, roots, seeds and flowers lie within the essential and volatile oils present in
all plant life, it is important to ensure that these oils do not dry out or wear off.
There are several options in choosing containers for your herbs. Glass jars with
screw on caps are the most economical and easy option. Hinged jars with
metal latches and airtight seals are idea and come in multiple sizes. You can
even keep your herbs in corked glass containers but it is advisable to seal the
top with beeswax if you don't intend on using the herbs any time soon. For those
who purchase just a small amount of herbs at a time, baby food jars come in
quite handy!
Make sure your containers are clean and dry before storing your herbs in
them. Any moisture within the containers will quickly damage your herbs and
can result in mold and mildew. After placing your herbs inside the containers,
make sure the lid is on tightly and securely. Your herbs should be covered at all
times between uses. Roots, flowers, and seeds are particularly vulnerable to red
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flour beetles so be sure to watch that none of them get into your containers.
Infestation can occur rapidly and would be a devastating and costly loss to your
herbal investment. If you ever have the misfortune of finding one of these little
buggers inside a container, you need to quickly toss out ALL the herbs inside and
clean and disinfect the container before using it again. Simply taking out the
beetles will not work as they can quickly lay their microscopic eggs within your
herbs and infest your whole collection if you’re not careful
Keep your containers in a cool, dry place protected from the elements.
Keep your herbs away from direct sunlight, extreme heat or cold, drafty areas
and all forms of moisture. Do not store your herbs outside or in a non-climate
controlled garage or shed.
Dried herbs have a shelf life of 6-12 months before losing all their potency.
Watch out for discoloration, extreme brittleness and complete loss of scent.
When any of these occur, it means that your herbs are too old or have gotten
damaged and it is time to replenish your stock.
(originally posted by thebluechicory)
Working With Plants

1. Start your own Herbal. There are some great books out there, but
recording your own experiences/uses/collected lore for herbs is invaluable.
Draw, press or take photos of the plants you include.
2. Learn about plants by seeing them with your own eyes. Visit botanical
gardens, nurseries, garden centres and parks to see the plants in situ and
(hopefully) correctly labelled. The human brain has an amazing memory for
plants, it is a survival skill to be able to identify them. When you walk through a
park or garden, notice the plants and identify those you know to re-establish this
memory.
3. Grow things. Be as ambitious as your space, money and time allow.

Collect plants that are hard to find, appeal to you and suit your climate. Go
beyond culinary herbs. Be aware of where you plant things in the garden, both
directionally and symbolically. Plants you have grown are constantly receiving
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offerings of your time, energy and resources and are therefore more likely to be
willing to assist you.
4. Plants will die. Even the most experienced gardener will lose plants.
Accept it. Don’t just buy a few seedlings and then decide you lack a green
thumb because they all died. Some herbs are annuals, that means they only live
for a season, some plants are deciduous, some will simply not be suited to your
climate or area and fail to thrive. Be patient and persistent and become a
student of gardening as well has herbcraft.
5. Work in depth with a particular herb or tree to discover its secrets. Read
everything you can about it, research folklore and planetary correspondences,
consume it raw, dried, as a tea and a tincture. Prepare a spagyric essence from
it. Burn it as incense. Infuse oil with it. Grow it, talk to it, dream about it. Watch
how it changes through the seasons, collect its seeds, smell its flowers. Do this
until you know it inside out, and then begin again with another.
6. Substituting herbs is tricky business. No, you can not replace all flowers
with lavender or all herbs with rosemary. That is lazy nonsense. Put some actual
effort into getting the herbs you need for a spell, and if you genuinely can’t
acquire them find something botanically related, energetically similar or at very
least ruled by the same planet.
7. Treat herbs and trees as spirits, with respect and humility. Ask before
your take, leave offerings, communicate, bond with them and you will be
rewarded with gifts and wisdom and powerful ingredients for your spells.
8. Poisonous herbs and strong entheogens are for advanced practitioners.

Don’t just start growing or using them because you want to be taken seriously.
Some of these plants are tricksters, they can be very seductive. They are quite
capable of controlling you. Be wary.
9. When harvesting for magical use, think not only what the plant is but
where it is growing. A tree on a university campus will have different properties
to the same kind found in a graveyard. A herb growing at the crossroads is
different to one found by a stream.
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10. Expand your learning and awareness beyond trees and herbs. Learn
the lore of mosses, lichens, fungi and seaweeds. Parasitic and carnivorous
plants. Get to know the plants that grow locally, even if they are far removed
from those found in your books.
11. Check your sources when it comes to lore. If a book tells you lavender
is good for love spells, question it. Try to discover where the information came
from, look up the older herbals, read books of plant folklore, investigate
planetary and elemental correspondences based on the nature and virtues of
the plant, not just what Cunningham says.
12. Develop relationships not only with individual trees and herbs, but with
particular species. Plants can be spirit guides in the way that animals can. There
is an oak tree, and then there is Oak. They can teach, guide and protect.
Having a handful of plant allies you know intimately and fashioning your tools
from their wood, planting them around your house and visiting them in the wild
will make your connection to those spirits all the stronger.
(originally posted by batwitch)

OK, so one thing that often comes up in Q&A sessions about witchcraft is
herbalism. It’s extremely complicated in some parts, and this isn’t helped by the
fact that there’s often a lot of new and complicated terminology that can really
obfuscate the techniques used to people who aren’t used to it.
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This post is therefore meant to clarify a few things about terminology to

help people decipher what the hell is going on. It does not go into the effects of
herbs (like what the difference is between a sedative and a hypnotic), that’s for
a later post. This one talks about actual techniques used to MAKE a herbal
preparation.
NB: The terminology I use is the most common terminology and definitions
used in Western tradition herbalism. Some terms have different definitions in
biochemistry or in other herbalism traditions to the ones they have in Western
tradition herbalism (WTH). If a term is likely to cause confusion, I’ll try to put an
asterisk (*) beside it.
Acetum* – A tincture that uses vinegar as its menstruum. The plural is aceta.
Active ingredient – The medicinally active component chemical(s) of a plant;

these are what you’re trying to extract.
Aqueous* – An extract that is prepared with water is called an “aqueous

extract”, or simply an “extract” (though this is correct, it is vague and therefore
should always be clarified as an aqueous extract).
Aromatic* – A chemical that has an easily-discernible fragrance or smell, e.g.

menthol from peppermint
Ayurveda – Literally “science of life”, this is a form of Indian herbalism. Included

because people often ask what it is and I’m sick of answering.
Cold infusion – A form of herbal preparation in which a herb is steeped in room

temperature water overnight as a means of extracting active ingredients.
Constituent – Any component chemical of a plant, regardless of activity.
Decoction – A herbal preparation in which plant matter is simmered in water

without boiling until half the liquid has been evaporated.
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Double decoction – A form of decoction where the water is evaporated down

to a quarter of its original volume, rather than a half.
Elixir* – Any liquid preparation that contains both alcohol-extracted and

aqueous-extracted components.
Ethanol – An alcohol with the chemical formula C 2H4OH, also known as drinking
alcohol and ethyl alcohol.
Extract* – Any liquid preparation in which plant matter is left in a liquid solvent for
several weeks. The word “extract” can also refer specifically to aqueous
extracts.
Filtrate – The liquid retrieved from a physical filtering separation process.
Fluid Ounce – Also known as an ounce by volume, this is a measurement of fluid

equal to 1/16th of a pint by volume, or approximately 0.03L metric. Weight-to-
Volume ratios measure volume in fluid ounces most commonly. Symbolised as fl.
Oz.
Folkloric extract – A herbal extract prepared without measuring weights or

volumes of the marc or menstruum. Much more variable in dosage than
measured extracts, and therefore more risky.
Glycerine – Also known as glycerine and glycerol. A chemical with the formula
C3H5(OH)3, often used in the preparation of sweet-tasting extracts.
Glycerite – Any extract prepared using glycerine as the solvent. Glycerites

should be a minimum of 55% glycerine by volume in order to preserve their
contents against bacteria.
Hot infusion – A herbal preparation made by steeping plant matter in boiling or

boiled water for at least 10 minutes. Less than 10 minutes forms a tea instead.
Inactive ingredient – Any molecule in a plant that does not have medicinal or
biological value. A plant will always have more than one inactive ingredient,
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but a herbal preparation could theoretically have only one (although it never
will).
Liniment – An extract, most usually a tincture, which is used topically on the skin
rather than taken orally. Also known as an embrocation.
Lipid – Any fat. Often used as a solvent when dealing with fat-soluble
compounds, for example cannabinoids.
Lozenge – A herbal preparation in which the active ingredient is made into a

thick syrup, heated until candying occurs, and then allowed to cool and
harden. Often used to make unpleasant-tasting medications more palatable,
such as for children.
Marc – The solid matter in an extract or tincture.
Menstruum – The liquid component of an extract or tincture.
Ounce – A measurement of weight, 1/16th of a pound, and just under 30g

metric. Symbolised as Oz.
Pastille – A herbal preparation similar to a lozenge, but unheated and therefore

preserving many of the medicinal compounds that are otherwise heat-sensitive.
Made by grinding herbs into a powder, and then mixing them with sugar and a
binding agent. Maple syrup or honey is often used.
Preparation – Any herbal remedy, of any kind.
Poultice – A herbal preparation formed by mashing fresh, solid plant matter into
a mash, and then directly applying it to the skin. Sometimes also involves
wrapping the plant matter in gauze or fabric to prevent it coming apart.
Precipitate – The solid matter that forms from the marc when making a tincture
or an extract of some kind.
Proof* – As it related to alcohol, this is a measurement that is equal to either two

times the alcohol percentage (US definition) or is equal to 1.75 (4/7 th) times the
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percentage (UK definition). Almost all sources use the US definition, but all
sources will also use the alcohol-by-volume (ABV) metric, which is a simple
percentage.
Residue – The solid matter left in the filter after a physical filtration separation.
Solubility – The ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent.
Succi – The preserved juices of a plant. Alcohol is the most common

preservative.
Syrup – A decoction that has subsequently had sugar added to it, and is then
simmered down further until it forms a thick, sweet liquid. Mostly used for making
herbal preparations that are unpleasant-tasting easier to swallow.
Tea – When boiling water is added to plant matter and is left to steep for no
more than 10 minutes. If it is left for longer than 10 minutes, it is described as a
hot infusion.
Tincture* – Any liquid extract in which alcohol is the solvent. The word tincture is
often used interchangeably with extract in herbal sources, but they are actually
different things.
Weight-to-volume extract – Any extract in which the marc and menstruum are
actually measured out before manufacture. This is a little more complicated, but
makes the dosage much less variable and therefore much safer to use.
(originally posted by juniperwildwalk)

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1) Provide adequate light. The goal is a vegetative light cycle (18 hours of light
at least), with eight or more hours of direct sun or bright artificial light. If you
need lots of an herb, you will need to take care of the herb’s lighting needs. For
example, basil and coriander (cilantro) need just a bit more light than other
herbs, and really prefer 8 hours or more of direct light each day. In addition to
this, if you want fresh pesto, just a pinch here and there is not going to cut it.
Here’s what you can do about it:
● Whenever the light levels are low, give them a boost. Two or three
fluorescent lights above your plants will greatly increase growth and yield.
You can grow enough basil for a few servings of pesto now and then and
still have enough always at your fingertips.
● With a small metal halide light, you would have a larger area with better
lighting. You could produce an abundance of any herbs you choose for
your culinary and aromatic delights. Basil would take well to the bright
conditions under a metal halide, as it is a Mediterranean, sun-loving herb.
2) Select the proper soil. Some herbs grow better in poor soil, as they can
develop a stronger flavour. The oils in herbs make them special. Very fast
growing herbs often grow plain leaves and stems more quickly than they can
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produce tasty essential oils. Often you will hear, “Basil grows better in poor soil,”
or, “Your basil will taste better if you don’t fertilize”. What is really meant here is,
“Don’t grow your basil too fast.” (Basil is an example to which this applies).
3) Correctly set up your containers. When growing in a container it is a little

different. The plant still needs some food to grow, and when that food runs out
you will need to fertilize. However, as you will see next, this is all taken into
consideration together with the growth habits of your herbs:
● To keep initial growth rates in control, use a soil mix with just enough
nutrients. Mix 2 parts coir (coconut fibre) compost to 1 part perlite, and
then add 20 percent worm castings. Test the pH of any mix, and if it is
acidic, add one gram of hydrated lime for every litre of soil mix. Or, you
can substitute with vermiculite, which does not need pH adjusting. Finally,
add 1 tablespoon of kelp meal for each gallon of soil to add plant
hormones and to give beneficial microorganisms something to feed on.
Use this mix whenever you transplant.
4) Know when to water. If the surface of the soil feels dry, you need to water.
Another way to tell is to pick up the container and check how heavy it is. Your
herbs like their soil to drain fast. You need to have containers with holes in the
bottoms, and you need to add a layer of broken roof tiles (slate is ideal) or other
small flat stones, or a centimeter or so of perlite or gravel to the bottom of each
container as you transplant. It is best to water thoroughly but less often. Water
the container until some water comes out of the bottom, but don’t over-water.
5) Start feeding your plants after 10 or so days. When the herbs have been in
any container for ten days or more, you need to begin feeding them. In a
container, the roots are stuck in a small space and will quickly mine it free of any
nutrients, especially if you have been going easy on the nutrients to begin with.
Feed with half-strength nutrient such as Maxsea 16-16-16 every two weeks.
6) Give an additional boost to your herbs. If you really want to keep your plants
healthy, it is recommended to use 10 ml/gallon B1 plant mix and liquid seaweed
in every drop of water you give to your plants. The B1 consists of vitamins and
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root hormones, and the seaweed is trace nutrients and plant growth hormones.
This will help with essential oil production. Finally, water basil from around the
base; it does not like water on its leaves.
7) Use your herbs when they’re ready. As soon as the herbs have grown enough
leaves to be pinched without affecting their growth, you can begin using some
of the herbs. This usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the herbs.
Herbs like basil are best when harvested before flowers open. You will get your
highest essential oil levels when you harvest at the end of the dark period,
assuming you do not leave the lights on 24 hours a day.

Ever seen another person’s herb garden and wanted one exactly like it?
Want to buy loads of lovely herbs but don’t have the money? Or want to start a
plant business don’t know where to start? Well my friend, I have two words for
you. Plant cloning. It’s natural, free and very easy to do.
This method works best for herbs such as:
● Basil
● Broadleaf Thyme/Cuban Oregano
● Mint
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● Oregano
Basically, what it does is allow you to take a cutting from one plant, and grow
an entirely separate plant from it. This means that you could have an endless
supply of herbs - you can take 20 cuttings from a single plant, and when they’ve
all grown you’ll be able to take another 20 cutting from each of those plants! So
how do you do it? Well it’s deceptively simple. Here’s how:
1. Start with your parent plant. Due to my recent obsession with basil, that’s the
herb I’ve decided to go for.
2. Take a cutting - about 4-5 inches long. Make sure you do it just below a
node(the place where the leaves join the stem, just like in the picture)
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3. If possible, try and cut the stem diagonally. This gives it a greater surface area
to suck up water with.
4. OK, so this is pretty much what the cutting should look like. Make sure you’ve
removed at least the bottom pair of leaves, but it’s good to remove a few sets
as the plant can then concentrate on growing roots.
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5. Place the cutting in some water so that the stem is completely submerged. I
found old plastic shot glasses worked great for this, but you can also use pretty
bottles or cups or whatever.
6. Make sure you’ve picked the bottom leaves off, and that the nodes are in the
water. This is because the new roots are going to grow out of these nodes, so
obviously they’re going to need to be in the water.
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7. Put them in a sunny place where you can keep an eye on them. Above is a
picture of the babies with their mummy! After about a week, roots should have
grown out of the nodes.
8. That’s it, you’re done! Once the roots are well developed, you can plant your
herbs into pots. Keep the soil moist and the herb in a sunny place, and soon it’ll
be as big as the parent plant.
You can use this method to get free herbs - instead of buying them all, why not
just take cuttings from a friend or family member’s herbs and use them for your
own garden? (with their permission of course)
Or, take a lot of cuttings like I’ve done, pot them up and sell them for a profit!
Good luck and happy planting!

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(originally posted/photos by the-wiccan-wanderer)

Drying herbs removes excess water to prevent the growth of bacteria and
mold—an easy and safe way to preserve herbs year-round.
Here are three ways to do it.
1. Hang Herbs to Dry
Hanging herbs to dry is probably the easiest method. This method works
best with low-moisture herbs, such as dill, rosemary, summer savory and thyme.
First, remove the lower leaves and gather four to six branches into bundles and
tie them with a string. Then, place the bundles in a brown paper bag upside-
down with the stems sticking out from the bag and tie. Next, punch holes in the
bag to promote air circulation. In a dark, cool place, hang the bags for a few
weeks.
2. Sun-dry Your Herbs
Sun-drying is another cost-effective way to dry herbs. Lay a towel on a

hard, dry surface, such as a back porch or patio. Place the herbs on the towel
while making sure the herbs are not touching each other. Bring the herbs inside
at night to ensure the dryness of your herbs.
3. Dry Herbs in the Oven
Use the oven to dry herbs quickly and effectively. Place the leaves and
stems of the herb on a flat baking sheet. Heat the oven to about 180 degrees
and warm the herbs for two to three hours. Microwave ovens also may be used
to dry herbs, although this method can cause herbs to dry too quickly and lose
flavor. If you decide to try it, place the plant on a paper towel and microwave
on high for about three minutes.
When to Harvest Your Herbs
Every herb, root and berry has a different peak time for harvesting. Here
are a few tips:
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• Leaves should be clipped before the flowers of the plant have opened.
Leaves often are the most fragrant at this stage. Gather flowers such as
lavender when the plant first starts to open.
• Roots should be collected in the fall after the plant has begun to die.
However, dandelion roots should be collected in the early spring.
• Seeds should be gathered in the fall when the seed starts to ripen.
• Harvest berries as soon as they are ripe, which is usually mid-summer to early
fall.
Harvesting Herbs
Plant chemistry varies according to the time of day and season.
Traditionally, some plants were always collected prior to sunrise, and others were
never collected after sunset. In all, plant harvesting practices included many
important quirks, which are now being proved to be of value through scientific
evaluation. It is possible to identify some basic guiding principles:
Leaves: Spring leaves are best because they have new sap in them. Their
energy has not yet been drawn away to produce flowers or seeds.
Bark: Spring is the best time to collect bark, just as the sap rises. This is also when
the newly formed bark is most easily cut off.
Flowers: These are at their peak just after they have opened.
Seeds: These are at their peak in late summer and early autumn.
Berries: Usually autumn is the best time to collect berries. Look for good, deep
color and tight, glowing skin.
Roots, rhizomes, root bark, and tubers: Collect in late autumn when all the top
foliage has died down, but before the nutrients stored in them are used during
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the winter and spring. Springtime is an option and will produce a slightly different
chemistry, but spring collecting should be done before major foliage and stem
production has begun.
(The complete home guide to Herbs, Natural Healing & Nutrition, pp. 28-29)

1: Do you need it? Harvest with a purpose or plan in mind, not just for the fun of
it.
2: Harvest only as much as you will use and process it as soon as possible (don’t
waste it).
3: 1 in 20 rule. It is ok to harvest a plant if there are 20 others available to

maintain the population.
4: Leave Grandmother. Allow the biggest and best plants to remain so they can
continue to propagate the healthiest population.
5: Leave damaged plants or plants with “residents.” Select quality material for
your food and medicine. If a critter makes it’s home there, choose another.
6: Harvest 1/3 or less of an individual plant (leave some roots) so it can continue
to survive and thrive.
7: Harvest with a clean cut so the plant will heal well and continue to survive
and thrive.
8: Avoid polluted areas.
9: Offer appreciation and bring positive energy to your harvest.

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10: Never put anything in your mouth unless you are 100% sure it is safe to ingest.
11: Look for evidence of other people harvesting in the area. If so, reconsider
the plant count you see. Look for the impact. If multiple people are harvesting
from a single patch, is it sustainable for the plants?
12: Don’t harvest in shared spaces… in parks, along paths. The beauty of these
spaces belongs to everyone, and they deserve to be protected. Go way off the
main trail to get what you need.
13: Remember that harvesting plants in state and national parks is almost always
illegal. Private property with permission, folks!
The best thing to do is really know the plant you want to gather before you bust
out your gathering basket. How long does it take it grow? How does it
propagate itself? If you know the answers to those questions you can make
informed decisions on how to best decrease your impact. There are certain
plants I won’t harvest one bit of unless there’s 50+… Ramps, for example. Ramps
are small, but take a long time (40 years) to grow a healthy, stable colony and
are at risk of overharvesting.
(originally posted by witches-of-ouroboros)
Herbs For Spells: Grocery Store Vs. Home Grown Vs.

Edible Wilds
though not every witch uses plants or herbs in their craft, it is a common question
for beginner witches, “where do i get herbs for spells/potions?”
the short and simple answer is, wherever is most important in your craft.
● do you feel it is important the herbs you acquire commune with nature?
● or is it important that these herbs are close in energy to you from time
spent growing them?
● or are all herbs are good as each other, and you prefer where they are
most accessible?
all of these are equally valid choices in one’s craft. however, the answer is not
as simple as this. we are dealing with plants, which have the potential to cause
harm. merely being a witch does not give one a degree in botany or make one
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a master in herbalism. the way you procure your herbs/plants does not so much
depend on your skill as a witch, but your knowledge of plants. though there may
be a spiritual reason for where you would like to get your herbs from, you may
want to work your way up to that first, and do the appropriate amount of
research and training before you dive into unknown and dangerous territory.
🌿 Finding Herbs at the Grocery Store
as this is the safest and easiest way to acquire herbs. for the most part, you are
unlikely to be hurt by your average spice cabinet of kitchen herbs, spare for
certain medical conditions, like allergy or pregnancy. the herbs bought from
stores are already prepared to be consumed in recommended amounts, and
though you may not find anything particularly exciting at the store, you’ll never
run out of rosemary and thyme.
🌿 Using Homegrown Herbs
this is the middle ground. you have control over the herbs you plant, and it’s
up to you to research them before buying/using seeds, which includes on how
to handle the plant as well as its edibility.
however, there is still the possibility of mistake. outdoor gardens are susceptible
to whatever seeds get carried in by wind and animals, as well as whatever
pesticides and general pollution that is in your area. how edible the plants you
grow varies from area to area, and requires individual research.
🌿 Finding Edible Wilds
this is the most dangerous way to get your herbs, as there is the most room for
error. there are many plants that can be easily mistaken for their poisonous
counterpart, and others that though they are edible, are harmful to
touch/harvest. using edible wilds is something only people high experienced
with plants should consider themselves able to do, and even then they still put
themselves at some amount of risk.
tl;dr: unless you’re a professional don’t go looking for random shit in the woods
for your spells, there’s poisonous shit out there
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Poisonous Herbs
● Aconite - also known as: wolf’s bane, monkshood, friary’s cap, and blue rocket. All
parts, mostly the roots, are poisonous. Symptoms: numbness of the tongue and mouth,
a sensation of insects crawling over body, nausea and vomiting, labored breathing,
irregular pulse, cold skin, giddiness, staggering.
● Belladonna - also known as: deadly nightshade, devil’s cherries, naught man’s cherries,
divale, black cherry, devil’s herd, great morel, dwayberry. All parts, but mostly the roots
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and seeds, are poisonous. Symptoms: dry mouth, hot skin, rash, blurry vision, fear,
restlessness, confusion, vomiting, eye damage, brain damage, death from heart failure,
hallucinations which may be erotic.
● Black Hellebore - also known as Christe herbe, Christmas rose, melampode. Roots are
poisonous. Symptoms: itchy mouth and throat, shortness of breath, nausea and
vomiting, spasms, and asphyxiation. When combined with certain medications it may
cause a slow heartbeat, heart failure, and death.
● Bloodroot - also known as Indian paint, red root, coon root, snakebite, sweet slumber.
Symptoms: dizziness, fainting, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea.
● Bryony - also known as blackeye root, wild vine, wild hops, ladies’ seal. Symptoms:
violent vomiting, severe colic pains, thirst.
● Clematis - Roots and stems are poisonous. Symptoms: burning mouth, mouth ulcers, skin
redness, burning skin.
● Foxglove - also known as witches’ gloves, dead men’s bells, fairy’s glove, gloves of our
lady, bloody fingers, virgin’s glove, fairy caps, folk’s glove, fairy thimbles. All parts are
poisonous, but the digitalis is an antidote for aconite poisoning. Symptoms: blurred
vision, confusion, depression, hallucinations, fainting, headache, slow heartbeat, loss of
appetite, low blood pressure, rash, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness.
Hallucinations, loss of appetite, and seeing halos around objects are symptoms of long
term poisoning.
● Hemlock - also known as herb bennet, spotted corobane, musquash root, beaver
poison, poison hemlock, poison parsley, kex. Leaves, fruit, and seeds are poisonous.
Symptoms: salivation, muscle weakness, diaphoresis, increased heart rate, low blood
pressure, constricted pupils, coma, paralysis.
● Henbane - also known as hog’s bean. Fresh leaves, flowering tops, branches, and seeds
are poisonous. Symptoms: fast heart rate, dry mouth, dilated pupils, impaired vision,
headache, dizziness, stomach cramps, difficulty swallowing, body aches, confusion,
hallucination, deep sleep, delirium, death, erotic hallucinations, memory loss the next
day.
● Jimson Weed - also known as thornapple, datura, devil’s apple, Jamestown week,
stinkweed, devil’s trumpet. All parts are poisonous. Symptoms: little to no urine, blurry
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vision, dilated pupils, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, fast pulse,
coma, death, red skin, thirst, and hallucinations.
● Larkspur - also known as lark’s heel, lark’s toe, lark’s claw, knight’s spur. Symptoms:
nervousness, weakness, tingling in the mouth, burning mouth and skin, sweating, chills,
dry mouth, abnormal heartbeat, diarrhea, pain, paralysis.
● Mandrake - also known as satan’s apple. All parts are poisonous. See Belladonna for
symptoms.
● May Apple - also known as American mandrake, wild lemon, racoon berry, duck’s foot,
hog apple. Everything except the fruit is poisonous. Symptoms: nausea, severe diarrhea,
vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, fever, low blood pressure, rapid breathing, rapid
heartbeat, paralysis, dizziness, tingling, liver damage, kidney failure.
● Meadow Saffron - also known as naked ladies. Roots and seeds are poisonous.
Symptoms: yellowing to the eyes or skin, vomiting, spinning sensation, bloody urine,
bleeding, death.
● Mistletoe - Leaves, twigs, and berries are poisonous. Symptoms: stomach irritation,
abdominal pain, diarrhea, reduced blood pressure, slow pulse, nausea, vomiting, failure
of muscular coordination, seizures.
● Periwinkles - All parts are poisonous. Symptoms: hypothermia, hallucinations, dilated

pupils, sweating, vomiting, sweating, muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, seizures,
slower heart rate.
● Poison Ivy - leaves are poisonous. Symptoms: itchy rash that appears within 25 to 72
hours.
● Poppy - also known as mawseed. Capsules and flowers are poisonous. Symptoms:
slowed breathing, circulatory depression, nausea.
● Yew - Leaves, seeds, and fruit are poisonous. Symptoms: blue colored lips, coma,
convulsions, diarrhea, dilated pupils, muscle weakness, headache, stomach pain,
vomiting, trembling.
Other herbs listed:
Bittersweet
Burning bush
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Calabar bean
Calico bush
Camphor
Castor oil plant (seeds)
Celandine
Christmas rose (root)
Cowbane
Dog’s mercury
Elkweed
Ergot
Flag lily
Gelsemium
Hellebore
Holly (seeds)
Honeysuckle (vine and fruits)
Horse balm
Ilex
Impatiens pallida
Indian arrowroot
Inkberry
Jack-in-the-pulpit (root)
Jerusalem cherry
Laburnum (seeds)
Laurel (seeds)
Poinsettia
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Poke root
Rosebay
Springle tree (seeds)
Spurge
Swallow wort
Thorn apple
Tobacco (Believe it! This IS a deadly poison if concentrated and eaten)
Wahoo
Wake-robin
Water dropwort
Winter rose
Wood anemone (seeds)
Yellow jasmine
Also, please do your own research and do not solely look at this post for information on
poisonous herbs.
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Not everyone has access to dried sage or can burn it where they live, and
many don’t feel right doing this due to the close ties of smudging with white
sage in Native American practices. Some just hate the smell. Luckily there’s
plenty of alternatives when it comes to cleansing that either involve it in a
different form or not at all.
● Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop some clippings or leaves in.
Carefully walk around your room/home with the pot and let the steam
cleanse the space. The smell isn’t as strong and steam works just as well as
smoke.
● Gather red, white, and/or yellow rose stems. Burn them at either one end
or both, depending on how quickly you want to burn them down.
● Strands of dried hot peppers hung over doorways keeps the wayward
energies and spirits out.
● Floor washes (if flooring type allows) incorporating vinegar and alcohol.
● Cinnamon powder for washes, dusts, or even loose incense.
● Unscented Epsom salt. Wet with just a touch of alcohol, light, and waft.
Can also be placed in jars and left in rooms to collect nasty energy.
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● Equal parts black salt (either made at home or Kala Namak, not lava)
sulfur powder, and table salt. For troublesome spirits, sprinkle,
sweep/vacuum up, and dispose of the collected powder at the edge of
your property or a graveyard.
● Baking soda and table salt can be added to floor/doorstep washes or left
to collect negative energy.
so, I’ve been selling smelly things for about a decade now (which is crazy,
but there you go), and I get super wired whenever I see people using essential
oils for witchcraft/devotional perfumes/what have you. I also get worried
sometimes, because some of what I see people doing - particularly on tumblr - is
kind of dangerous. (sometimes in a low-key way, sometimes seriously.) use
essential oils for devotion and witchcraft because essential oils are awesome,
but be careful with them, because plants are assholes and want to kill you
sometimes.
Check out the contraindications before using anything. There are basically
no essential oils that are 100% safe to use in every single situation. It’s important
to double check even if you’re healthy, but particularly if you have a medical
condition or are pregnant. (If you’re pregnant, be really fucking careful.
Seriously. Essential oils are a minefield for you.)
Don’t give yourself a fucking chemical burn. One of my favourite party

tricks (I am so boring at parties) is to put a few drops of something like
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peppermint oil on a thin plastic take-out container. If you wait a couple of

minutes and then poke it with a fork, the plastic will have melted a little.
EXCITING. A lot of people seem to think that essential oils are ~~natural and
gentle~~, but fuck, a lot of them are used by the plant to get rid of
insects/fungi/etc. All essential oils need dilution before using them (okay, sure,
tea tree and lavender are generally safe, but otherwise), and some shouldn’t
even be used on the skin in normally-safe levels of dilution. If you have sensitive
skin and put some cinnamon oil lotion on it, you’re fucked, you’re going to be
red and sore and pissed off at cinnamon, which is a sad state of affairs.
Related note: don’t try to dilute with water. Essential oils aren’t lipids, but
they’re still hydrophobic. Want to use essential oils in your bath so that you can
focus on shit that isn’t all the stuff you have to do at work tomorrow? Awesome!
My favourite is spruce, clary sage, and myrrh - that one’s fucking great. Dilute it
with bath oil or some salt first, though. Being super focused on how sore and
itchy you are isn’t ideal.
Related note: citrus oils are assholes. You know that whole ‘use sun and
lemon juice to bleach your hair!’ deal? That totally happens to your entire body
if you use too much citrus oil in something that’s going on your skin. Bergamot is
one of the worst, but all of them are guilty as hell. Dilute well, don’t slather it on
before going out in the sun, and keep an eye on how your own body reacts.
Remember that essential oils are super concentrated. I fucking love

putting essential oils on charcoal. Sometimes I mix them in with dried herbs, but
sometimes I just drop them on the charcoal directly - too many drops and you’ll
just have a hunk of sad wet charcoal, but it’s worth it for the billowing smoke
that flows out over the rim of my charcoal-burning bowl and drifts along my
altar. (SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR YOUR MAGIC.) Whenever I do that, though, I have
to remember to be careful about how much I use, and how much of the smoke
I breathe in. Inhaling ten drops of peppermint essential oil all at once is like
eating more peppermint than anyone should or would want to eat, just
fucking… bowls and bowls of the stuff. When I used clove oil on charcoal to get
rid of a plague of flies, it worked magnificently, but then I also had to air
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everything out and ended up googling the effects of clove oil overdose. I had
one customer who accidentally dumped a bottle of lavender oil on their head;
they washed it off, but still had some fun hallucinations (this is sarcasm) and
spent a while at a walk-in clinic. Don’t let that be you.
Essential oils go bad. This isn’t a safety tip, exactly, unless you’re dealing
with an oil like jasmine that will make you cry and hate your life and the world if
you smell it after it’s gone bad. Those oils are rare, though - your sadly ruined oil
isn’t going to stink, it’s just going to stop smelling like anything and become an
expensive bottle of nothing much. Store your oils in a cool, dark place - don’t set
them out on your altar or shrine if that’s on a sunny windowsill. Most oils will
eventually lose their potency anyway (citrus oils continue to be assholes and
only last about a year even in the best conditions), but some oils, particularly
resins, will keep for decades and just get better with time if you’re nice to them.
Be careful. Don’t burn yourself. Don’t overdose. That’s about it, really.
ETA: Be careful about pets and other animals. This needs a whole post of
its own, honestly, but if you have pets (particularly cats or birds), read up on how
they react to essential oils. This shit is important. Essential oils can be deadly to
some animals.
(originally posted by liadine)
Tools in Witchcraft
as you go along your path, you’ll find there are many tools used in witchcraft,
and they all have different purposes. not all witches use the same tools, some
use unconventional ones, some don’t use any. here are some that are well
known
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wand - for directing energy in rituals and spells. represents energy, power, and
fertility, used as both air and fire element. this can be anything, from a stick, to a
pencil, to a spoon.
broom / besom - air element, for cleansing negative energy out of a space, or
to clear the way for a different type of energy. there are many different ways to
make a besom, or any old broom will do
chalice - for a mixture that does not need heat applied, for offerings of drinks,
or a spell you intend to drink. it’s a water element that can be any type of cup.
crystals - earth elementals, often used for conducting and charging and
storing specific types of energy. sometimes the shape can influence how the
energy is used
candles - fire elements good for color magic, also good for applying a fire
element. can be carved, anointed with oils or herbs. they come in a variety of
shapes: tea lights, votive, pillar, taper and jar candles. some scented candles
can be used instead of incense
cauldron - water elements for mixing, cooking, and burning things. heat
resistant. does not need to be the typical idea of a cauldron, it can be any
fire/heatproof pot or kettle.
athame - though often characterized as a “black blade”, and an athame can
be any knife you set aside for cutting up plants, or harvesting herbs. like a wand,
it can be used in rituals to direct energy in a more hostile manner. considered a
fire element
bell - earth element, for cleansing and clearing out, and bringing new energies
in, very similar to a broom. for calling and dispelling spirits
jars - good for containing ingredients, potions (assuming properly kept and
sanitized), and herbs, and especially jar spells. sometimes a jar is the only tool
you need in a spell

what is a potion?
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a potion, is any drink made to have a magical effect. from the latin potio and
the french potare , a poisonous drink. however, as the connotation of the word
has changed with popular media, it doesn’t have to poison anybody, in fact,
let’s try not to do that.
types of potions:
there are many names for potions, and they indicate different methods of
creation and application.
Infusion - a drink prepared by soaking the leaves of a plant or herb in hot

water or alcohol for 5-10 min. to be drunk when cooled
Decoction - an infusion prepared by simmering a tougher substance, such as
a bark, for 10-30 minutes. to be drunk.
Tincture - a medicine made by dissolving a herb in alcohol for a week. to be
taken sparingly in small amounts
Vinegar - similar to a tincture, but instead of alcohol, vinegar is used. to be
added into other foods in small amounts
Syrup - ingredients that are preserved in sugar solution, a reduced
infusion/decoction with added sugar. to be taken sparingly in small amounts
Poultice - a soft, moist mass of fresh chopped plant material, applied to the
body with a cloth.
safety first!
however, knowing how the potion is prepared does not necessarily mean it is
safe to use or consume, that depends on knowledge of the herbs you’re
working with, how much of one herb is healthy to ingest, how they interact with
other chemicals, and awareness of any allergies you might have to them.
under no circumstances, is it recommended or legal to put a potions or herbs in

someone else’s drink/food without their knowledge or consent.
please avoid working with toxic or dangerous ingredients unless you have the
proper training, for your own safety.
ask your doctor about herbs conflicting with any medications you’re taking,
before consuming herbal potions
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take extra precautions with herbal ingredients when pregnant or dealing with
a medical condition.
end note :
the idea of making a potion can be daunting, there are so many factors to get
right, the herbs, combinations, potency, the preparation, storing, side effects or
drug interactions, etc. however, to potions do not have to be a dangerous or
complicated activity.
a potion can be a simple, subtle brew of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or infused
water, with simple, everyday ingredients added that correspond to various uses.
these fall under infusions, the simplest type of potion to make, which is in fact
what tea is. for beginners, working with ingredients you are familiar with that
have not caused you problems before is the best route to take.

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Bells In Witchcraft
Bells might just be the earliest form of superstitious practise that I remember. My
baba attached three sakura-patterned suzu bells on my schoolbag as a kid,
purportedly for good luck and protection from evil spirits – and Japan is far from
the only place to have associated bells and bellringing with mystic practise.
They’ve been used worldwide to ward off evil and carry messages – and in a
more metaphysical sense, sound is the movement of energy through substance.
Sounds have the potential to work powerful magic.
Here are some of the ways I’ve found utilising bells to be helpful to my craft.
While I’m more likely to use traditional suzu type bells, your own background,
path and culture will likely have its own types of bells – and as ever, bells can be
ornate antiques or they can be a bottle cap in a tin can, as long as they’re used
with intent.
GETTING STARTED
🔔 As with so much of the craft, if you’re new to the witching bell, it’s a matter of
exploration and experimentation. Get a “feel” for what works for you and the
specific bell you’re using.
🔔 It’s good practise to ensure that the bell itself is cleansed, warded and
protected – you don’t want anything nasty tapping into that power. All witching
tools can do as much harm as good, intentional or accidental.
🔔 A good way to begin incorporating bells into your craft is infuse them into any
typical ritual that you’re comfortable with, or even just a prayer or moment of
contemplation at your altar if you have one.
🔔 Give the bell a soft ring while focusing on the energy it’ll ripple and move, try
to track the movements it creates and what it touches. The tone it’s sending out.
The most primal and versatile use of the bell – and what many of the below
come down to – is simply another manner of physically channelling energy,
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giving it shape and direction.
PROTECTION
🔔 “Passive” bells such as windchimes or small bells attached to belongings you
don’t want disturbed are a starting point. They will scare off some forms of spirit
all by themselves, especially if appropriately blessed, charmed or enchanted. Or
cursed.
🔔 Gently tolling can draw energy into a ward or circle you are forming and
enforce its protective properties, or for a simple cleanse, letting the sound travel
to every corner of the area you are protecting. It’s a little more “cutting” than a
smoke or incense cleansing, which I view as more “gentle” forms of cleansing.
Both have their uses.
🔔 Harder tolling is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful ways in which to
enforce a banishing – however, it’s best to you know what you’re doing with the
bell before you go bashing it about.
DISCERNMENT
🔔 Bells can have quite the effect on your perception and awareness. Ringing
and then stopping, listening to the silence left in its wake, can bring you new
perceptions or make things you’d previously missed obvious. Let it attune your
mind and senses to something new, whether that’s in your thoughts or
something with a little more presence. Visualise travelling with the sound, taking
heed of the energies it touches and disturbs. Take note of the echoes – you’ll
learn what they mean with experience.
🔔 A set of windchimes can let you know if something is passing through or if
there’s some unusual energy afoot – and, yes, it may also just be letting you
know that it’s a particularly breezy day, but that’s witchcraft for you.
CONJURING
🔔 This can be as simple as calling good energies to witching tools, spell jars, tarot
decks, crystals, altars and shrines, your favourite teddy bear, anything at all.
🔔 With spirit work, it can truly help to magnify your “calling”. This can range from
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gently bringing your latest offering to the attention of your friendly

neighbourhood house spirit – all the way to trying to catch the attention of
something more. Be mindful, however. As I said, I consider bells pretty powerful
tools and a call that’s too loud is not good spirit work practise for the spirit
worker’s own sake. It can really help coax something out of hiding if you’re
gentle with it, though.
COMMUNING
🔔 Some use bells to mark the beginning and end of a ritual, and I’ve read that in
Wiccan practise an altar bell can be used to invoke the Goddess, although as a
non-Wiccan, I’ll welcome corrections on that if I’m wrong.
🔔 In my experience, very simple forms of communication via bell work a lot

better than anything too complex – “come here” and “stay away” have
already been covered, and other than that they can serve as greetings or
signals of a start or end of some practise or ritual, the opening or closing of a
door, etc.
🔔 They can also serve as a warning or a litmus test regarding spirits, a signalling
of your presence and awareness, lack of fear, or willingness to defend – but be
prepared to deal with whatever responses these garner.
BINDING
🔔 Bindings are where you most often see that famous (clockwise) circular
motion of the bell, embodying the meaning of the spell. This can be a simple
binding to seal a spell or charm or enchantment, or a spirit-binding.
🔔 Personally, spirit-binding is something I do as little as possible simply due to my
beliefs holding the autonomy of spirits in very high regard. However, sometimes
situations arise that call for it, and I’m aware that not all bindings are unwilling.
Far from it – and some spirits are dangerous when unbound.
🔔 As an animist (believing that all things, including inanimate objects, contain a
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spirit of their own), I consider gently nudging a spirit back into its physical form a
sort of semi-binding, and that can be useful.
I’ll leave you all with a note that I am an urban apartment-dwelling witch
through and through, so I understand that we can’t all be jangling away at all
hours. I myself have a glass windchime in my front window that makes a distinct
but muted sound when disturbed by passers-through, and highly recommend
wooden ones also. I also only use my small and relatively quiet suzu bell for my
crafting – one given to me by my baba herself.
(originally posted by shintowitch)

My favorite witchly tool is hands-down the cauldron. There’s so much that
can be done - elemental magick, honoring your deities, setting a hearthfire, the
list goes on!
Choosing Your Cauldron: Cauldrons come in varying shapes and sizes, but
are commonly made of cast-iron and have handles. There are cooking
cauldrons, which operate like large soup kettles, small, portable, mini-cauldrons
for indoor use, big older copper cauldrons, and modern day kettle cauldrons,
safe for cooking while camping. The ideal Witch’s cauldron is cast iron, has
handles, and has a lid, if only for practical reasons: The cast iron makes it safe for
many heat and flame-based spells, the handles make it easy to carry when it’s
hot, and the lid is used to stamp out fires before they get out of control.
Cauldron Upkeep
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Rust - This is a very real danger when filling your cauldron with liquid. Remember
to always rinse out and pat dry your cauldron.
Fires - Keep a lid and sand on hand to extinguish any magickal fires. If oils are
used, water won’t work as well as an extinguisher.
Tradition - I like to keep a sprig of seasonal herbs, or something else decorative,

in the cauldron while it’s on the altar, so it isn’t empty. You can put the lid on it,
or leave it uncovered, as you wish.
Cauldron Work
This is just the tip of the iceberg - here are some of my favorite uses for a
cauldron, whether on the altar or without!
● Honoring the Elements: Fill your cauldron according to the season or day’s
elemental hold. For water, you can fill your altar cauldron with spring or
rainwater and float a candle and herbs/petals correspondent to the day.
For fire, you can light candles to flicker in your cauldron (see below for a
safe method). For earth, the cauldron can be filled with fresh dirt and
decorated with an herb bundle. For air, incense can be burned in the
cauldron, on a charcoal round, or as a cone.
● Cauldron Candlefires: You can have a blaze in your cauldron without
having a hearth fire! Line the bottom of your cauldron with any type of
sand (often referred to as “cauldron sand”), deep enough to stick
candles of your choice in. The sand will support them, and the wax will be
easier to take out.
● Incense: Cauldrons are fantastic vessels for incense. I use mine to hold my
loose resin incense, burning on a charcoal round. The handles make it
perfect for carrying around a sacred space to welcome visitors and the
deities. Sand should be laid down in the cauldron, and stick incense can
then be placed in it to burn, or a lit charcoal round, or a piece of cone
incense.
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● Scrying: Cauldrons are wonderful scrying vessels. An experienced scryer

can fill a cauldron with water and gaze within, or you can wax scry by
dashing warm candle wax into cold cauldron waters, then interpreting
the symbols.
● Offerings: You can use cauldrons as offering bowls for your altar, your
deities, or for any other purpose.
● Balefire: Cauldrons traditionally were used to hold balefires, sacred fires of
nine woods. You can safely keep a small balefire in your cauldron by
layering some sand, making a small hole, placing some kindling, then
topping with your bale woods (which don’t need to be nine - you can
light a non-bale, regular magickal fire with your regular woods).
The possibilities only expand when you have a food-safe cauldron for cooking.
Go forth, Witches, and cast!
(original by theoryofmagick)

If you are looking for the culinary seasoning post for your mortar and
pestle, click here. I also wanted to expand upon seasoning your mortar and
pestle as well. So, why do we season a mortar and pestle? Several reasons, but
primarily to remove the leftover grit from the manufacturer so that doesn’t get
200
into whatever you are making. Nobody wants stone grit in their creations! I will
actually give you two different ways you can season your mortar and pestle for
magical purposes as well, and you can choose what you prefer!
This cleaning methods is going to be primarily for mortar and pestles made
of stone. It is the only type I personally use, but this works for almost any type of
mortar and pestle.
Items Needed:
● Mortar and pestle

● White rice
● Salt
STEP 1: Clean your mortar and pestle. Rinse your mortar and pestle with
warm water. Scrub with a stiff brush if you like, but whatever you do, do not use
soap. Soap will ruin the flavor of all of your precious creations later on. After
rinsing, let your mortar and pestle dry completely.
STEP 2: Grind some rice. Take a small amount of dry rice, typically 2-3
tablespoons (or a small handful) and grind into a powder. This may take awhile,
but it's good practice getting to use your new tool! When the rice is ground into
a powder, toss it and repeat this step until your rice grinds white. Plan to do this
at least 3 times (especially if you got a white stone M&P) but it sometimes takes
up to 5 times. Doing this really helps get all the stone dust that is leftover from the
manufacturer so you aren’t getting it all up in your spells. You can save this rice
powder for spells or other things if you like, I just don’t recommend cooking with
it since it will contain that stone dust.
STEP 3: Salt. Add about a tablespoon of salt. I personally use coarse sea
salt, but you can use any kind that you have. Grind this into a powder as well,
getting all sides of the mortar and pestle. This cleanses your mortar and pestle of
all previous energies. After you are done you can either toss or save this salt
powder for another use. I find it great for making spell jars or black salt!
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STEP 4: Wash & dry. Rinse your mortar and pestle out again with warm
water. Again, do not use soap. Never use soap. After you have rinsed it out, let
your mortar and pestle air dry again, and then you are ready to go! That is it!
You can also combine the culinary and magical seasoning of your mortar
and pestle as well if you like, starting off with the culinary cleansing then ending
with adding salt and cleansing its energies. If you grind and toxic materials in
your mortar and pestle like I do, I recommend getting another pair just for
cooking if you have plans on using it for both.
I do recommend re-seasoning your mortar and pestle every now and

then as well, it cleans it and keeps the energies from your previous spells from
getting into your new workings, especially if your intents are different! Good luck,
and happy spell-casting!
(originally posted by urbanspellcraft)

202
Floorwashes
Floorwashes don’t sound as glamorous as incense and aspersing when it
comes to cleansing a home, however they are an integral component of the
Hoodoo and Conjure magical traditions. It combines physical house cleaning
with spiritual and magical work, and if you know me, you know i’m a sucker for
practical magic.
Although the liquid is called, “Floorwash”, technically it refers to the final

rinse used to clean the floor or other interior surfaces.
It should not be removed but allowed to air-dry, so that its power radiates
into the surrounding atmosphere.
In other words, the floor should be clean before applying the floorwash.
The radiant power of the botanicals is what is crucial: floorwashes are a
component of many spells for a variety of purposes, including protection and
romance, in addition to their obvious value in cleansing the space.
There are two standard methods of making a floorwash. These are meant
to be used as a base.
● Fill a bucket with warm water. Add the magical infusion together with
some white vinegar.
● Create the infusion and pour it into an empty bucket. Pour enough boiling
salted water over it to fill the bucket. Add some white vinegar.
The infusion depends on you, whether its for protection, love, or something
else. use appropriate correspondences to make it.
Here are a couple examples. They are rather simple.
New Home Floorwash

203
This is something i do whenever i move into a new place. This removes old
vibrations and emotions lingering from past residents and allows you to begin
with a fresh slate.
1. Make a strong infusion from basil, hyssop, and pine needles.

2.
3. Strain, and add to the bucket of rinse water, with vinegar.

4. Cleanse floors and surfaces as needed.
Ocean Water Cleansing
1. Fill empty glass bottles with ocean water

2.
3. Bring them home

4. Use this water to cleanse walls and floors, and whatever else requires
cleansing
(originally posted by witchybitch101)

204
Palmistry 101
When reading palms, whether your own or someone else’s, these are the main
things to consider:
1. Which hand is dominant? For right-handed people, the left hand gives
information about inherited characteristics and potential, while the right
hand reveals the development, character, and life events. The opposite is
true for left-handed folks!
2. Quality of lines and their points of intersection. How strong or fine are the
3. lines? Are they straight and long, broken and twisted, etc.?
4. The directions of lines, which mounts they occur on or near, and their
influences.
5. Shape of the hand, fingers, nails, and mounts.
6. General demeanor of the person and the hand.
MAJOR LINES
Each line has its own meaning and depicts a certain course of action in a
person’s life. Lines come in all shapes and sizes. Not everyone has all six of these
lines, although the first three are always present (the fate line is usually present
as well).
205
● Heart line: emotions, insecurities, marriages, dependence and

independence, the nature of your relationships.
● Head line: intellect, reasoning powers, prospective career paths,
potentials for success.
● Life line: pattern and quality of life, physical vitality, stability or imbalance,
will power and logic, not necessarily the indicator for length of your life.
● Fate/Saturn line: strengths of character, career, friendships, life’s daily
problems, and general ability to succeed.
● Mercury/Health line: health matters, business and adventure, the spirit of
discovery.
● Apollo/Sun line: utilization of creative energies and potentials for success
through development of talents.
MOUNTS
The mounts are fleshy cushions underneath each of the fingers. These mounts
carry the same name as the finger they are under. Below are the different
character and personality traits associated with each finger/mount.
● Mercury: Pinky. buoyancy, shrewdness, wit, spirit.

● Apollo/Sun: Ring finger. compassion, love of beauty, artistic abilities,
potential for success.
● Saturn/Fate: Middle finger. seriousness, cautiousness, gloom, superstition.
● Jupiter: Index finger. leadership, honor, ambition, spirituality/religiousness.
● Lower Mars: Below pinky. moral courage, self-control.
● Upper Mars: Below thumb. resistance, coolness of spirit, calmness,
courage.
● Venus: Thumb. benevolence, affection, humility, passion.
● Moon: sentimentality, imagination, self-centeredness
CONFIGURATIONS
206
These are just a few of the figurative markings that are commonly seen on the
hand. They add meaning to the lines or mounts they are near.
● Branches: emphasize strengths.

● Breaks in lines: emphasize weaknesses.
● Chains: signify obscure goals, inclinations to deviate.
● Crosses: signify upheavals, violence, struggles, and blunders.
● Islands: indicate delays, injuries, and problems.
● Stars: emphasize luckiness.
(originally posted by occultgoddess)

What is a pendulum?
Most of the pictures you’ll see on tumblr show pointy crystals on a chain.
but any weighted object with a string can turn into a pendulum! my broke self
uses a metal ring on a string! Pendulums can be used for divination, and/or
connecting with spirits, entities, deities etc.
How does it work?
(this is pretty much just my theory but hey) a pendulum works by tapping
into your energy, and consequently the energy of the world around us! when
you ask a question, it will give you an answer based on which way the energy is
207
headed at that specific moment (which means it’s not always right, our world is
so changeable)
When you’re doing readings for yourself, I find at least, it taps into your
subconscious, it can be very enlightening! I’ve also heard when you’re doing
readings for yourself, it moves from micro-pulses in your fingers so if someone has
a source on that, cool.
If you are using a pendulum to contact another entity, that entity’s energy
will be influencing the pendulum’s swing.
How do I use one?
1. Before I do any divination or energy work - I get into the zone by

opening my chakras, you can just meditate if you prefer !
2. Hold the end up the pendulum’s string or chain in between your thumb
and forefinger
3. If this is your first time using your pendulum, you will have to program it:
● ask a series of simple yes or no questions to which you know the

answer (e.g. are my eyes brown, do i like cats, am i eighty years old)
● pay attention to what the pendulum does for yes questions and no
questions
● try the same thing with true/false statements
● now you have a sense of how your pendulum answers questions
(e.g. my pendulum swings away from me for a no, and side to side
for a yes. some people’s pendulums swing clockwise/counter
clockwise!)
4. You’re ready to pendule! (making that the official verb)
If you want, you can use a pendulum board! It is a small board with letters
and/or numbers. You may be able to spell out a word! (works best with pointy
pendants.)
208
Troubleshooting:
pendulum is not moving?
● sometimes movements are really subtle, don’t discount any slight

movement!
● you may have to wait longer, it could be mulling over an answer
● there could be an energy blockage, try cleansing your pendulum (or
yourself!)
● your pendulum might not want to answer, best to move on to a different
question, or a take a divination break!
inaccurate answers?
● practice makes perfect, i’ve been doing this for 6 years! and i was pretty
crap when i started
● word your question differently or try wording it as a statement your
pendulum can agree or disagree with
● are you suuuuuure it was wrong? things don’t always turn out the way you
expect them to - you may look back a year later and realize the
pendulum was right, you just couldn't see it at the time
● sometimes, you’re just wrong - it’s okay
hands shaky/worried you’re moving it yourself?
● steady your arm on a table, chair, and just let the fingers holding your
pendulum hang off the edge!
● if you’re confident in your energy skillz you can try hanging it from an
object, put your hands underneath or either side and focus your energy
on it!
● trust yourself and your intuition friend
If nothing is working
209
● “program” your pendulum again (some days I have to do this between

every question)
● try a different pendulum! if it’s a crystal - maybe you aren’t connecting
well! Maybe even make your own (like my circle on a string) you may
connect better with it!
● today just might not be the day, don’t fight it - your pendulum is your
friend
and remember major life decisions are best made with careful thought,
planning, and research, not pendulums!!!!
(originally posted by biwitched)

210

● Avoid complicated spellwork or cursing.
● Don’t begin any unfamiliar trance work, shadow work, or new
necromancy practices.
● Put off connecting with any new patrons or deities that you don’t normally
work with.
● Avoid experimenting with/ingesting unfamiliar herbs.
● Allow yourself more time for everything.
● Be prepared for anything.
● Have backup plans in place.
● Leave early for appointments, school, and work.
● Back up and save all documents and files.
● Use caution when signing contracts, or avoid them if you’re able.
● Do not see your ex.
● Think before you speak.
● Finish all unfinished business.
211
Different spiritual entities prefer different offerings of food, drink, incense
and other items. Do your research as to which your particular deity, spirit or
guardian prefers. Some general guidelines are as follows:
✰ To Nature Spirits: Offer bread, grain, fruit, cheese, beer, tobacco, and quartz
crystals. Burn sage as incense.
✰ To Garden Spirits: Offer fruit, honey, bread, water, milk, and flowers. Burn bay
laurel as incense.
✰ To House Spirits: Offer bread, oil, salt, fruit, wine, beer, and milk. Burn pine or
rosemary as incense.
✰ To Ancestor Spirits: Offer food and drink from your table. Burn caraway as
incense.
✰ To Threshold Guardians: Offer bread, barley, and wine. Burn juniper as

incense.
✰ To Deities in General: Offer bread, beer, wine, and milk. Burn frankincense
resin as incense.
(originally posted by belladonnaswitchblog)

212
Posts Cited
A-Z Incense List and Usage - eclecticwiccans
Using Dirt/Soil in Magic Spells - thedruidsteaparty (original broken)
The Magick of Booze: A Correspondence Table - the-brambled-way
Tips For Those Considering Witchcraft - tarigrove
“To Be a Witch” Falsehoods - orriculum
Critical Reading and Pagan Books - gleewood.org
New Witch’s Shopping Guide - windvexer (original broken)
Where To Get Your Witch Supplies - astralwitchling
What to do if Witchcraft Suddenly Gets Way Too Intense - windvexer (substitute)
Having Trouble Visualizing? - witchantheia
“Any suggestions on grounding techniques?” - answered by liberumbrarum
Do I Need To Cleanse? - windvexer (original broken)
Types of Magic - windvexer (original broken)
4 Mindsets to Help You With Your Craft - myonlysecretly
Grimoire Organization Ideas - cosmic-witch
How Magic Works - will-o-the-witch
Casting A Circle - spellbookofwitches
Actions in Witchcraft - witchtips

213
Methods For Spells - orriculum
Mechanics of a Spell - recreationalwitchcraft
Witchy Tip: GROUND YOUR SPELLS - villainfairy
To Nullify A Spell - orriculum
Why Aren’t My Spells Working? - rainy-day-witchcraft
Spell Loopholes - will-o-the-witch
When Your Spell Fails - orriculum
When to Use What in Magic - dog-rose ( original deleted)
How to Dispose of Spellwork Remnants - belladonnaswitchblog
So You’ve Made A Spell Jar. Now What? - thejunewitch
Witches, Jars, and Burying ‘Em - thiscrookedcrown
~Sigils~ - tenderwitchy
Graveyard Etiquette - hedgewitchonahill
Witchry’s Layman Guide to Poppets
Ways to Use Crystals - witchtips
Crystal and Stone Cuts - rainy-day-witchcraft
Programming Your Crystals - witchy-tips
Identifying Crystal Properties by Color - witchy-tips
Fake Stones + Misrepresentations - cryptia
Charging Objects - seraphickalmagic
Enchanting Things with Touch - dog-rose (original deleted)
Things I Wish Someone Would’ve Told Me Before I Started Working with Crystals -
majoringinwitchcraft
214
How to Store Your Magical Herbs - theblueichory
Working with Plants - batwitch
A Basic Glossary of Herbalism Techniques - juniperwildwalk
How to Clone Your Herbs - the-wiccan-wanderer
How to Dry Herbs at Home - herbalriot
Herbs For Spells … - orriculum
Essential Oils are Awesome Witchcraft Components! … - liadine
Tools in Witchcraft - orriculum
Potions 101 Overview (original deleted - orriculum
BELLS IN WITCHCRAFT - shintowitch
Cauldron Tips and Tricks - theoryofmagick
Floorwashes - witchybitch101 (original not found)
Palmistry 101 - occultgoddess
So You Wanna Pendul...um? - biwitched
Offerings to Entities - belladonnaswitchblog
(these are all the sources I could recall referencing/was able to find accurate
links for. If I’ve missed any that you have a link to the original post please
message me so I can edit it in here! also let me know if any of these links are
broken or any URLs have changed. Any posts that the originals have been lost or
deleted I have found new sources for through reblogs so that the owner’s
wording may be preserved.)
215

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1

Grimoire Organization Ideas

Identifying Crystal Properties By Color

.STARR’S BOOK OF WAYS AND BEGINNER

Gems and Crystals

Herbs, Plants, Flowers

For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft

“To Be a Witch” Falsehoods

Getting Started and Things to Keep in Mind

Daily Tips + Ideas

Folk Charms and Tricks

Urban Witchcraft + What You Need on the Go

Critical Thinking and Pagan Books

New Witch’s Shopping Guide

Where To Get Your Witch Supplies

What To Do When Witchcraft Gets Way Too Intense

How to Actually Ground Yourself

4 Mindsets to Help You With Your Craft

Grimoire Organization Ideas

How Magic Works

Methods For Spells

Grounding Your Spells

Tips For Writing Spells

How To Create a Customized Opening Ritual

Why Aren’t My Spells Working?

When Your Spell Fails

When to Use What in Magic

How to Dispose of Spellwork Remnants

So You’ve Made A Spell Jar. Now What?

Sigils: Getting Started

Witchry’s Guide to Poppets

Enchanting Things with Touch

Crystals: Care and Keeping

Things To Keep in Mind: Crystals

Ways to Use Crystals

How Different Crystal Shapes Can Influence Energy Flow

Programming Your Crystals

Identifying Crystal Properties By Color

Fake Stones and Misrepresentations

How To Store Magical Herbs

Working With Plants

A Basic Glossary of Herbalism Techniques

How to Grow an Herb Garden Indoors Year Round

How To Clone Your Herbs

How to Dry Herbs at Home

Things To Keep In Mind While Collecting Plants

Sage Cleansing Alternatives

Essential Oils: Precautions and Safety

Potions 101 Overview

Cauldron Tips and Tricks

Magically Seasoning A Mortar And Pestle

So You Wanna Pendul….um?

When Mercury is in Retrograde

Blue - Communication, willpower, focus, forgiveness, good fortune, weight loss,

Brown - House blessing, animal/pet magic, earth magic, material goods,

Green - Prosperity, abundance, money, physical and emotional healing,

Orange - Creativity, self-expression, intellectual matters, overcoming addiction,

Pink - Love, compassion, nurturing, friendship, romance, partnership, spiritual

White - All-purpose, unity, purity, cleansing, peace, balance, spirituality, healing,

Yellow - Great fortune, abundance, prosperity, understanding, divination, fast

Gems and Crystals

Blue Lace Agate – (Water) Carries soft, calming energy.

Moss Agate – (Earth) Green witchcraft, combatting depression,