Alex | Sagittarius | Official Vodka Aunt.
/// Tarot reader, writer, and professional drama queen.
///
I'm really chatty so if you don't want to listen to me, just blacklist the tags spksies (chatting with people) and alexstuff (personal updates and rants)
My little novel passed the 50,000 words today. I’m so proud of my bby. I’m expecting I still need about 40k more to go for it to be over, but I’m feeling very happy about how it’s going. Especially since I had some troubles with one of today’s scenes and I had to scrap it and rework the action into a previous one. Ah, the problems of not outlining correctly. But other than that little bump, I’m very excited about how it’s going.
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#tarot #witchcraft #grimoire #journal #Journaling #tarotreader #cartomancy #divination #divinersofinstagram #magic #healing #lightwork #amwriting
Days seem to pass me by so fast. As if I didn’t have enough time to do everything I want to do, and I wonder if it is because I am not trying hard enough, or because I demand too much of myself.
Perhaps it is a combination of both.
Today I covered most of my to do list, and now I’m working on my writing. There’s a novel I want to finish this month, while I’m awaiting a few calls, and I was hoping to go at a 5k a day pace, but I had more meetings and appointments than I expected. Saturn is making everything so slow yet hectic *sigh*
Magick is most easily used to alter character traits within the witch or magician. I’ve gone on record in the past saying that self-transfiguration of any sort is the only form of magick that does not include an element of manipulation, and I, to a degree, stand by that, but one must remember that spells and charms can manifest in one’s life in completely unanticipated ways. In short, just because you’re casting a spell upon yourself doesn’t mean the outcome won’t involve other people or result in their manipulation. Nevertheless, if you’re not quite ready to risk unintended consequences by manipulating the external directly, consider creating a charm to change your perceptions.
One such charm is described here. It’s a Saturn simple charm bottle, a herbal mixture in a small bottle designed to invoke the forces of Saturn in your life. If you know anything about Saturn, you’re probably aware that it is associated with time, death, restriction, and discipline, among other things. Much of what Saturn represents will strike most people (particularly younger folks) as decidedly unpleasant, and, to a degree, that’s natural. The death association alone make Saturn abjectly terrifying within some mindsets.
Indeed, Saturn is what is called the Greater Malefic, and is paired with Mars, the Lesser Malefic; however, the term “malefic” bears some unpacking. Yes, yes, anyone with a dictionary will tell you that the word has negative connotations, as do the planets. The fact is, though - this term is very anthropocentric. Saturn represents situations and events that humans consider negative - the planet itself is neutral, as are, arguably, the associations. I think that some of the reasons Saturn is viewed so negatively today result from rampant immaturity, to be honest. There’s really nothing I can imagine being more mature than Saturn (which sometimes is depicted as Father Time), and thus a society which lacks essential qualities such as practicality and discipline might come to despise it.
For example, Saturn symbolizes restriction. This can be pretty bad, which is likely why many Saturnian ingredients are used in spells designed to compel or control and adversary. Nevertheless, it can also be good. At times, we have to restrict ourselves in order to truly exercise our Will. In the symbol for Saturn, the basic crescent of the Moon is transformed into a scythe, as the cross of earth surmounts it - an exact reversal of the symbol for Jupiter. In both cases, the diagonal of Earth and the Moon represents the harmony of mind and matter, but in the case of Saturn, matter (Earth) takes priority in the form of the cross. The Moon’s use as a scythe in this case likely represents the fact that our minds are temporary, and all eventually pass away in the face of the physical.
This is the ultimate goal of this Saturnian charm - teaching oneself discipline via invoking the forces of the planet. This little bottle can be placed near the area where you study, slipped into a purse when you’ve got some tough “adulting” to do, etc. Remember, though, that magick will be most effective if you do your homework - don’t just make the charm and hope Saturn notices - get educated about the Greater Malefic and its qualities. Do as much research as possible.
As was the case with the Venus simple charm, I used ingredients that I had on hand. You may or may not have them available, and as always, that’s perfectly fine. This can work with any number of Saturn-related herbs, the names of which can easily be found with a little research. I’ll be talking a bit about each herb and why it has Saturnian associations, but if you’re choosing your own, please study each thoroughly and make note of any dual associations or folk meanings it may have, as these can affect things quite a bit.
The ingredients I used are:
Kava Kava. This is associated with both Saturn and Neptune, but, of course, the Saturnian associations are older. Its Neptune correspondence likely only results from the fact that it’s psychoactive when consumed and has a slightly narcotic effect. It’s Saturn association results from it being a root and tied to the Earth - remember how in the symbol of Saturn, the cross of Earth is at the summit? Yeah.
Valerian Root. This enjoys an association with both Saturn and Venus. Thus, I also used it in my Venus simple. If this squicks you, I’m sorry, but a lot of herbs have dual associations, and you’ve sort of got to deal with it. The dual association with Venus is good here, because it introduces love into the charm, and sort of tempers the harsher aspects of Saturn.
Patchouli. It… has a Venus correspondence as well as Saturn. Yes, yes, I know this is sounding a bit bizarre, me recommending all these charms that share similar ingredients, but you can bias a herb towards one of its associations by keeping it in mind while using it. It’s association with Saturn comes from its deep, earthy smell, and yes, as I said before, the Venus association has a tempering effect.
Slippery Elm. This is almost always associated with Saturn in traditional sources. In folk magic, it is associated with curtailing gossip and malicious speech, hence why a pinch of it goes into my blogging potion. It also has a history of being used for study spells and charms. This view coincides, believe it or not, with its Saturnian correspondence insofar as both studying and holding your tongue require discipline.
Comfrey. This is a root, and that’s where the Saturn association comes from. It’s used for fidelity spells, and spells to keep you belongings from becoming lost or stolen, both requiring discipline on the part of everyone, so it’s ideal for a discipline charm.
Smoky Quartz. This is associated with Saturn due to its appearance. It looks both bright and dark, perfect for the double-edged scythe of this planet.
Lapis Lazuli. This is associated with Saturn and Venus, and I added it for much the same reason I added the patchouli.
As was the case when mixing the last charm, I used discretion as to what would be added first, second, last, etc. I admit a lot of this was practical - I ground up all the roots in the mortar first, to make things easier, but also, I chose to put the roots at the bottom of the charm in order to give it stability. It just felt right. Below are the herbs before grinding. Note: You can see my tiny scale in the corner, but I didn’t measure the ingredients for this using it - I exclusively use it to measure psychoactives for consumption.
A word about the grinding process. It’s difficult and takes some time when you’re using roots. It actually might not be worth the hassle, and some people might prefer to add the roots to the bottle whole, but I ground them as finely as possible to ensure and even mix. Some people might actually want to use a more modern grinder, but this is what I had available. Below is the ground concoction.
My advice for anyone wanting to grind roots would be to move the pestle in a circular fashion while bearing down on it. I did this, and since the above mortar is a little too full, I spilt some, but the concept is sound. I also didn’t just set there grinding - I watched a television show I’d downloaded which had always struck me as saturnian. Just an idea.
I added the roots to the bottle first, then layered the slippery elm powder. You can get slippery elm in a raw form, and it’s sort of feathery, but I only have it in powder form. I thought the use of it in the neck of the bottle made for a nice aesthetic contrast, and also sort of sealed things with proper intentions, given that slippery elm is almost exclusively association with the kinds of behavior I hope this bottle inspires.
I added the stones last so they’d be more visible and pleasing to the eye, in the neck of the bottle. Finally, on top of the mixture, I put a few drops of patchouli essential oil. Then, I sealed the bottle with gold wax, as I did with the Venus charm. The activating energy of the Sun.
So, there you go. A Saturn charm to help a person be more disciplined. I made this one yesterday, on Saturday. I intended to post this Saturday as well, but I fell asleep. Saturday is Saturn’s day, after all!
This is only the most recent one of these I’ve made - I’ve been experimenting with Saturn simples and the herbs involved for a long time. I’ve made oils and perfumes based on it, and even teas (albeit with different ingredients). Bottles tend to be my go-to charm, though, and you can keep this by your desk to help you study, or tuck it into your bag for the same reason. You can even make and use it for non-academic purposes, such as just exercising self-control and remembering to do things.
I do want to say that there’s side effects of Saturn workings. Really, all workings have side effects, and I actually deeply regret not mentioning them in the Venus charm post. With Saturn, though, they can be more dire. Some are good - it may keep away immature people, for example. It may also bring a lot of older people into your orbit, for better or worse. Another warning that is particularly pertinent to Tumblr, though: when working with Saturn, you may find your political beliefs and general outlook becoming more conventional and hidebound. This can take the form of intrusive thoughts, but as long as you recognize them for what they are, you’ll be fine.
Apparently
this is the month of me sticking my foot in places I’ll likely
regret. But I feel like this really damages the learning process for
a lot of witches and needs addressing. So today I’d like to talk
about this thing being told to new witches way too often: that they
can use “anything” as a substitution if they don’t have X ingredient for, say, a spell jar or whatever.
Can I just say, as someone whose practice focuses heavily on herbal
work, how crazy that makes me?
I
am not saying spells are set in stone and substitutions can’t be
made. They totally can be.
I
am not saying that this here fancy spell with all these fancy,
expensive ingredients can’t have a more accessible re-working done
with more common ingredients. It probably can.
I
am all about making spells work for less money, less time, and less privileged people. You tell me what you’ve got in your kitchen and
yard, and I will help you find a way to make that into any-damn-thing
you please.
I
am not all about the elite-extra-special “old way” or some
dead guy’s mandates on how to witch.
But
when I see, “just use quartz/rosemary instead” as the
generic advice for EVERYTHING, no matter what the missing component
in question is, it makes me crazy.
What’s
the purpose of using ingredient-based spells? No, not just for the aesthetic™. It’s to reduce the energy load on you by replacing it
with stuff that ALREADY HAS a given energy, or focus.
So
if you remove it and just stick a generic energy booster in there,
what’s going to happen?
One
of two things:
1.
The spell doesn’t work as intended, because you took off a wheel and
put a rocket where it used to be.
2.
The spell does work as intended, but I’m willing to bet you feel the
exact same drain you would have felt if you’d just done energy
work… because that’s probably what you did (and a lot of people don’t realize that isn’t supposed to happen).
So
while I’m not saying that you’re wrong and your spell didn’t work
regardless of whatever generic substitutions you made, I am going to
say that if that’s true, I wonder if you’re wasting a lot of
materials in your practice.
The
purpose of spell ingredients is to use the properties of the
ingredient in order to add a specific energy to the spell, which
reduces the burden on you to supply that specific energy, and to have
highly consistent focus while doing so. If your spell calls for
valerian, then there is something about valerian itself that is
aiding the spell. You can’t simply swap it with cayenne and expect to
get the same results. There are definitely things you COULD swap it
with because they have similar properties, but not absolutely
anything.
If
you can swap the valerian with literally anything and get the same
results, that likely means you are not actually using the valerian to
help you cast the spell. You’re simply using your own energy and the
herbs are set dressing.
And
there’s most certainly nothing wrong with being adept at pure energy
work. That’s a great skill to have as a witch. But it sure is a waste
of herbs if you’re not actually using them, eh? I mean, a lot of
these herbs we use aren’t cheap or readily available.
Why
not just get rid of the set dressing and save yourself time and money
and just do energy work? Or if you like your set dressing, use tools
meant to amplify energy work, like a wand or a staff or something?
Also,
I think there’s a certain level of damage being done when we tell
witches who are trying to learn herbal work that anything is just the
same as anything else and none of it matters.
The
magical uses of herbs are often tied to their mundane uses. Let’s
remember: cunning craft was the mother of medicine. To this very day,
the magical uses of many herbs are tied to their physical affects.
Even when they aren’t, they’re often a sort of hypersigil, and
they’ve gained those associations through dozens or even hundreds of
years of thousands or millions of people all imbuing them with the
same purpose and energy. Most correspondences have a biological
reasoning behind them, or have been basically sigilized by being used
the same way thousands of times.
Exceptions
and personal correspondences are a thing; I have a few myself. But
these tend to be herbs that have been highly significant in my own
life over a long period of time, and have consequently become a sort
of personal sigil, as opposed to the cultural sigil of most broader
correspondences. My personal correspondences tend to be things I have history with (even if it’s mundane), not just
literally anything. Basically, I’ve overridden the cultural
sigilization, by writing over it with my own over time. But that’s
an exception.
It
makes it impossible to learn herbal work – which is a totally
different skill from energy work – if you’re proposing that none of
it actually matters and it all works the same anyway. And
furthermore, it’s pretty discouraging if a witch tries that, and then
their spell fails, which I see with some regularity.
Witches
read that they can replace “anything” with quartz or
rosemary, and then they come back and say their spell is doing all
kinds of weird stuff it shouldn’t be doing.
Well,
I’m not surprised. The original ingredient was there to give the
spell a specific property, and then someone told them to replace it
with a neutral energy booster and not do anything to replace the loss
of that specific property, or control all the unprogrammed energy.
So,
the result is going to be a high-powered bouncy ball of a spell that
just pings around doing random shit and putting holes in the wall.
Because they didn’t give it anything except energy with no focus.
Because you can’t just replace “anything” with quartz or
rosemary.
That
tripped me up for a while, as someone who relies a lot on tools. I’m
an empath, and like a lot of drain-prone people, I find using
ingredients helps reduce how drained I get by casting spells.
Becoming adept at herbal work was really important for me to be able
to cast at all with any consistency. I can DO energy work, but I
don’t always wanna wind up spending the next day in bed, and that’s
where tools help me.
It’s
not very helpful to just say “replace it with anything.”
That’s not how herb magic works.
Substitution
can be done in most cases. But if you’re gonna remove a wheel, you
need to add a different one that’s compatible with the car, not just
strap a rocket to the axle.
So,
long story short: I really wish people would stop saying you can substitute with “anything.” While I get that the intention is to try to make the craft more accessible, it just impedes people from learning how to do it with stuff that’s ACTUALLY accessible. I mean, what’s inaccessible about the stuff most people have in their kitchen? You can substitute for a lot with that!
While it is completely true that
you don’t need ingredients to do a spell, it is also true that if
you’re going to use ingredients, they matter. If they didn’t matter
there’d be no point to using them.
If
you find that you can substitute with “anything” and get the
same results no matter what, then I think I can save you some time and money: just
get an energy working tool instead!
This is a list of crystals and stones that are not suitable for placing in water, especially for crystal elixirs. From: Gem Water: How to Prepare and Use Over 130 Crystal Waters for Therapeutic Treatments by Joachim Goebel and Michael Gienger.
Alunite: Non toxic but soluble in water
Anglesite: Toxic and slightly soluble in water
Arsenopyrite: Potentially toxic
Azurite: Harmful
Azurite-Malachite: Harmful
Azurite-Pseudomalachite: Harmful
Bunsenite: Toxic; allergen; avoid skin contact
Calomel: Possibly hazardous to health
Cerussite: Toxic
Chalcanthite: Harmful; easily soluble in water
Cinnabar: Very toxic!
Cinnabar-Opal: The cinnabar stored in the opal is toxic
Crocoite: Toxic
Cuprite: Harmful
Durangite: Potentially toxic
Eclipse Stone: Limestone with orpiment, toxic
Eilat Stone: Harmful
Erythrite: Potentially toxic
Fiedlerite: Toxic
Fluorite, Antozonitevariety: Potentially harmful
Galenite: Toxic and slightly soluble in water
Gaspeite: Harmful; allergen; avoid skin contact
Greenockite: Toxic
Halite: Not toxic in small quantities, but dissolves easily in water
this is a long-ish ritual that involves using the moon’s energy for helping someone who, emotionally, needs help getting back onto their feet (it can be either you or a friend, etc.)
1. a candle (white, your person’s favorite color, or if you want to be fancy, the color or their zodiac sign (correspondence table here)).
2. something to light the candle with (if it’s a match, you also may want to bring a small dish to put it in while you’re outside, to avoid any fire hazard).
3. something to write on/carve the candle with.
before:
1. anoint the candle with a peace or healing oil, such as chamomile or lavender.
2. write the name of the person you want to help on the candle.
the ritual:
1. go out with your candle when the moon is shining (monday and or/a full moon is strongest, but don’t feel obligated to do it then).
2. choose a spot to perform the ritual. cleanse it and draw your circle.
3. light the candle.
4. channel the moon’s energy. visualize a sort of “energy rope” and attach it to the moon’s.
5. holding up the candle in the direction of the moon, request that its healing energy be put towards the person whom you’re doing the spell for.
6. meditate with these energies as long as you’d like.
7. thank the moon, visualize the energies being separated, and close your circle.
8. blow the candle out, or if you want the spell to last long-term, let it burn out.
These exercises can be done in two ways. You can either pick one paper up and try to guess what is on the paper, or you can think of a paper and try to find it in the pieces of paper. If you feel you need more pieces of paper by all means add more. If you work with deities, your higher self, spirits of any sorts, please feel free to invite them to help you with these exercises, if you’d like.
The number exercise: cut four, same sized pieces of paper with the numbers 1-4 written on them. Turn them downwards and mix them up. Pick one up and try to guess which number it is.
The shape exercise: cut four, same sized pieces of paper, and draw a star, a heart, a circle and a cube on them. Turn them downwards and mix them up. Pick one up and try to guess which shape it is.
The color exercise: cut four, same size pieces of paper, and add a different color to all of them. Turn them downwards and mix them up. Try to guess which paper has which color on them.
The quiz exercise: find a quiz online that you know nothing about - this may be a science quiz, a pop culture quiz, a quiz about a band, or the Viking history quiz. Take the quiz and try to guess the answers.
The object exercise: Get a older object, works best if it’s given by a friend do you and examine it. Try to pick up the objects energies and try to see/hear/smell the person that the object is tied to. It’s best done with a friend because they will most likely know some information about the person and they can tell if you’re right or wrong.
The card exercise: Pick one card up from a deck and try to see the color, the shape and the number of that card. You can also do this with tarot cards, try to feel the cards energies.
Divination: it’s a great exercise for enhancing your psychic abilities and the range of tools you can do divination with is enormous. So, find the one that calls to you and start divining.
In my experience these are the main exercises which you can sit and work on but they’re not the only ones. Intuition can be worked on throughout the day even in the most mundane tasks:
Try to guess who texted you or is calling you before you pick up the phone.
If other people cook for you, try to guess what you’re having for lunch before seeing it.
Try to pick up what your friend is going to tell you before they do.
Try to guess when the light is going to turn green at a traffic light.
Think of a person, and try seeing what they’re doing at the moment. After you’re done, ask them whatsup.
When talking to a friend on the phone try to see what they’re wearing, what their hair is like, and/or what they’re doing and ask them.
When you get up try to sense what the weather is going to be like today.
When at the store and you’re waiting in line try to sense how much the person before you needs to pay.
Tell a friend to think of a number and try to guess that number.
When listening to music on shuffle, try to sense what the next song is going to be.
When people close to you talk on the phone try and sense who they’re talking to and ask them afterwards. (only if they’re comfortable with it, not all people would like their privacy invaded, my friends and family know why I’m doing that so they’re cool with it)
Try to sense what a close friends text is saying before you open it, or try to sense why they’re calling you.
These are all I can think of a t the moment, hopefully in the future I’m going to add more. Basically anytime, anywhere when you have some space left to guess what’s going to happen, do it.
MEDITATION: I can’t stress how important meditation is, especially to witches, mages, shamans, and all occult practitioners in general. I know it sounds boring when people tell you to meditate but we all need some time to relax and clear our heads. And in the moments of blissful relaxation we let out soul speak to us the most thus coming into our strongest potential where we can energetically change our DNA and rewire our brains. In the moment of deep relaxation you can focus on cleansing your pineal gland / increasing your intuition.
I like to imagine purple/indigo color and lavender flowers coming out of my pineal gland spreading and covering my whole body and aura. I also like to imagine roots stretching from my pineal gland bursting through my forehead opening an eye in the centre of it. I like to massage the centre of my forehead, and I like taping an amethyst to it lol.
There are lots of guided meditations on youtube, which are extremely helpful, and there are lots of binaural beats and isochronic tones, which are also very helpful. Just find your comfort zone to working on the pineal gland and focus on it. Don’t feel bad if per say, isochronic tones don’t work for you but storm sounds do work. Find your comfort zone and work within it.
Also you might want to check out Sun Gazing, which is a very powerful exercise you’re going to need to dedicate yourself to.
Pineal gland detoxification:
Avoid ingesting fluoride - I know this is hard, seeing at the people on top put fluoride in literally everything knowing what it’s doing to our brains. But there are alternatives, the internet is a huge place and you can find almost everything there. Avoid fluoridated water, fluoridated toothpaste, GMO fruits and vegetables, soda, all artificial foods and drinks. Try to eat healthy and organically and if possible reduce eating meat - and cutting it off completely.
Avoid sleeping with technology in your room if possible - this means wireless routers, mobile phones, computers etc. The pineal gland is suppressed by electro magnetic fields.
Avoid or if you can, completely cut off all sugar, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
Once you’ve detoxified your body and pineal gland it’s time to start working on activating and boosting your pineal gland:
Spend time in sunlight every day - or as much as you can. Practice sungazing as well, and it is best done when the sun has risen or in the moments it’s going away because the sun is the weakest then and it can’t harm your eyes and it won’t bother you.
Oils and incense -
Sleep and meditate in complete darkness.
Commit to meditation every day.
Dedicate rituals to your third eye - whether it be a bath ritual, once in a full moon ritual, a day of the week ritual, or whenever you feel like it ritual, do it.
Practice yoga, especially Yoga Nidra as it is the most powerful yogic practice to increase the blood flow to your pineal gland.
Eat food that boosts the pineal gland - raw cocoa, coconut oil, lemon - the body’s best friend, basically the master of detox, garlic, raw apple cider vinegar, goji berries, watermelon, honey, hemp seeds, iodine, vitamin K1/K2, boron, bananas, alkaine food, chlorophyll rich foods, oregano oil, sea moss, walnuts, turmeric and melatonin.
Crystals that stimulate the pineal gland - amethyst, lapis lazuli, clear quartz, moonstone, sodalite. You can meditate with these crystals on your forehead daily, you can tape a crystal on your forehead and stay like that for a while, or you can massage your forehead with it.
Chant - there are a lot of chants to boost your pineal gland, you can google some, I’ve found that OM works best for me.
Plants that enhance intuition - ginger, gotu kola, ginkgo, skullcap, elder leaf, berries and flower, fennel, lavender, lemongrass, saffron, bay leaves, rosemary, honey suckle, anise, eyebright, lotus, mimosa, sandalwood, burning acacia, cinnamon, buchu leaves, celery, lilac, mint, mugwort, solomons leaf, frankincense, jasmine, lemon, peppermint, rose, sage, vanilla and star anise.
Oils - bay laurel, carrot seed, galbanum, german chamomile, grapefruit, myrrh, nutmeg, palo santo, petitgrain, roman chamomile, sandalwood, st. john’s wort, angelica root, eleni, juniper, frankincense, rosemary and patchouli.
And most important of all - trust your gut! The problem with not listening to our intuition is when our rational, logical mind interferes and tries to come up with logical solutions as to why your intuition is wrong. Whenever you get that gut feeling, just go with it, don’t question it. Also always remember to protect yourself when working on your pineal gland, seeing as we are more open and vulnerable to psychic attacks during these moments.
Gem water is water that has been exposed to crystals so that the water can be encoded with the energy of the crystals. You are left with very useful and high frequency water.
There are three main things to keep in mind when you are going to make a gem elixir.
1. Toxicity
Do NOT place crystals into your drinking water without checking for toxicity. Most crystals within the quartz family are safe for drinking water, like amethyst. Always check first.
2. Use
Some uses are baths, sprays, and taking a few drops at a time like you would with a flower essence.
3. Desired Potency
Do you want something that is really strong and energetically potent? Or did you just want to add a small boost to the water you are using?
Ways to increase potency:
Astrological correspondences
Adding other ingredients, such as herbs
Leaving the water to be exposed to the crystals for a longer period of time
Exposing the water to an appropriate colored light
Methods for creating gem water:
Drinking glass method (for nontoxic crystals)
Simply place your crystal(s) in your water glass and leave for at least an hour.
Glass with lid method (for nontoxic crystals)
Find a glass container with a lid (a jar works) and fill it with water and your chosen crystal(s). Leave it overnight, or longer. (Outside during a full moon is appropriate)
Crystal next to or under glass method (for toxic crystals)
For toxic crystals, place the crystal either under or next to the water container. Never inside of it.
Different gem water recipes to try:
Moonstone, ametrine (or amethyst), and rose quartz for balancing hormones and PMS
Labradorite, rainbow fluorite (in the green, blue, and purple range), and blue calcite for meditation and astral travel
Rose quartz, aquamarine for healing acne
Smokey quartz, hematite, and black obsidian for grounding
Black tourmaline and amethyst for protection
Apache tear, lepidolite, and azurite-malachite for emotional balance/healing
Integrating your craft into your living space can be a daunting task. Unless you’re just a stellar housekeeper your home is likely at least a little messy all of the time. Unopened mail might still be sitting on the counter, that pile of laundry that you just didn’t get to this week is still on the floor or maybe you’ve just got a little extra clutter from too many missed spring cleanings. Despite how much these things can make your space feel distinctly un-magical, making your home into a sacred place for yourself can be quite simple.
Turning your home into a witchy haven isn’t for everyone, there are a lot of reasons to give it a go and everyone is going to have different motivations (or no motivation, which is ok too). Your home is where you base yourself. You sleep, eat and come together with loved ones there. Using witchcraft to ensure that space is always positive and energetic can improve the quality of the time you spend there, help you unwind more easily and give you a place of stillness in the midst of the chaos of life. Personally, I turned my home into a magic space to bring more focus on my craft, I take more time writing in my spiritual journal, traveling the realms and just generally maintaining my craft when my home looks and feels like a witchy home.
Start off just working on one room. It can be your kitchen, bedroom, living room, any room that you spend a decent amount of time in. It isn’t necessary to do a huge cleaning and wear yourself out, doing a little bit here and there can make a substantial improvement over time and you’ll be a lot more likely to continue maintaining your home instead of getting worn out and giving up.
Now, I’m certainly not your expert on cleaning, for those of you who really need help with this step I suggest checking out Unfuck Your Habitat. Personally, I like to do a deep cleaning using as few chemical cleaners as I can manage, I make all of my own cleaning agents with the purpose of magical as well as physical cleansing.
Cleaning Recipes
All Purpose Disinfectant Spray/Wash:
I use this for almost everything. I mix up 10 parts warm water with one part white vinegar and a few drops of essential oil OR I let the vinegar water sit with fresh or dried herbs in it for about a week before using it to clean. The herbs you use here can change depending on what your space needs. For example I use lavender for protection, purification and peacefulness. Basil draws wealth and soothes tempers between lovers. Orange is good for luck and wealth (though NOT good for cats so if you have kitties stay away from orange oil!). And mint is good for healing. This is great for wiping down counters, cleaning windows and mopping.
Shower Cleaner:
Cleaning showers is one of my least favorite tasks and trying to do it with safe cleaning products can be a nightmare but I’ve got a solution that does the trick. This isn’t so much a magical cleaning product (though I’m sure you could turn it into one) but it’s certainly a handy one to have around. Mix one part warm white vinegar with one part liquid dish soap in a spray bottle. It does require a bit of scrubbing if your shower is bad but compared to every other DIY shower cleaner I’ve tried it’s a miracle.
Floors
Sweeping has long been used by witches as a method of cleansing our homes magically and while a lot of sources will tell you to reserve a broom for the task and to sweep just above the floor to properly cleanse the area I just do it all at once. Who has time to sweep twice? I can do the same magical task with a little intent and focus while I’m also cleaning up pesky crumbs and cat hair.
Vacuuming is perhaps a less common way to tidy up the energy of a room but I find it works just as well as sweeping does! I make sure that when I empty a vacuum bag or dustpan I do it in the can outside to make sure I’m not just shuffling energy around in my house.
Mopping is another excellent mundane cleaning task for witches, especially when it comes to entryways and exits to the house. In addition to picking grime up off of your floor your mop water can be charged and used to lay down spells. I like using herbs for my mop water usually but once a year in the spring I mop with sun charged water to bring the vibrant spring/summer energy into my house and once a year in the fall I mop with moon charged water to welcome the introspective fall/winter energy in.
Doors and Windows
Doors and windows are important, they both protect our homes from the unwanted and welcome us in every day. When I make a magical wash for my doors and windows I like to use cinnamon, for protection, healing and enhancing my craft or, if I feel like I need a serious boost on my home protection or I need to break a curse I use chili pepper, which has the added bonus of strengthening love ties. In addition both of these are bug repellant.
One suggestion I would make is when you are cleaning your house you should try to have windows open. This allows fresh air to circulate into your home and it allows an outlet for all of the stagnant energy that you’ll be stirring up. Doors can be left ajar as well if you aren’t worried about pets taking themselves outdoors. Obviously this isn’t something you can do all the time, very hot or very cold weather would put a lot of strain on you heating/AC bill and it’s always best not to let the rain in.
Immediately post cleaning is a good time to place sigils on doors and windows as well. I like to use my Binding Chalk to make a line just in front of doors and windows, it acts very similar to having a line of salt in the same place.
Bedrooms
Bedrooms can be an excellent place to do magic. If you share a bedroom with a lover spells to enhance your relationship are favored. Tucking away herbal pillows or lighting candles can draw honesty and good communication for you and your partner or you could try something a little spicier and use spells intended to ignite a little passion.
If your bedroom is a solitary place it can be an excellent place to do dreaming magic, to meditate and to do spells for gentle self improvement.
In a child’s bedroom protective magic or sweet dream spells would be a good idea. A lot of small children have a fear of monsters and when I was little my parents would use “monster spray” every night to help me sleep. I know now that it was just water but infuse the water with lavender and it could easily double as a sleep aiding and protective spell.
A Few More Magical Home Ideas
Enchant the mirrors in your house to give everyone who looks into them a boost in their self esteem/body image.
Place a candle on the stove to symbolize the hearth fire tradition
Make a magic welcome mat that draws in good company and keeps away the bad
Pay close attention to the sort of energy your decor creates and adjust it to help create the energy you want in your home.
Is the TV the center of your home? Electronics can drastically change the feel of a space, try moving it to a less central spot and focus your rooms on something else
Playing music and changing the scent in a room can suffice for a quick energetic shift. Try setting a small pot of water with cranberries, orange peel, cinnamon or mint on the stove to simmer.
Get rid of stuff! I say this for people like myself who have trouble letting go of anything. Your stuff hangs onto energy. Gifts from people you don’t like? Stop being polite and letting their energy invade your house. Chuck it. Anything that reminds you of past relationships can go. In fact, cleaning house post breakup is super important! Get rid of any lingering reminders, wash their smell out of everything and clean your mattress thoroughly.
If it’s broken do away with it. I know, I know, you’re planning to get around to fixing it eventually. How often do you actually do that though? If you aren’t willing to sit down right now to fix it you probably won’t ever get to it. Throw it away or give it to someone who will have a use for it.
If you haven’t used it in the last year, chances are you won’t use it in the next year either. Get rid of it.
Make a habit of de-cluttering in small ways every day. Don’t let the mail pile up, clean up dishes left in odd rooms, pick up laundry, and just generally put things back where they belong. This goes a long way toward keeping the energy flow moving through your home smoothly.
Put bells on your doors. Bells help to clear energy, every time you open a door that room gets a little cleansing boost.
Cleaning your house can be turned into more than just house magic. You can visualize yourself sweeping away worries or scrubbing old habits that aren’t serving you away as well.
Bake bread. This really falls more under the heading of kitchen witchcraft but the smell of baking bread (or cookies!) wafting through your home can alter the energy in lovely ways and it’s also great for bringing prosperity to the house.
Hopefully this gives you guys some ideas and motivation to start making your home a little more magical :) Remember not to overdo it, making a home is a constant, gradual process, not a marathon. My ask box is always open if anyone has questions!
First of all a lot of the people buying them are saying things like “I don’t know anything about spirits or spirit work but I want one so I’ll buy one” which… If someone knows nothing about spirits and spirit work do you really think it’s a good idea for them to try and own a spirit??? Like do you really think that’s safe???
Second of all I’ve seen these spirits sold in the context of being bound to or in something (like bound inside of a jar for example) and then the bound object is what’s sold. Why would that be a happy spirit? Being bound to something like that? So these people are not spirit workers, and know nothing about spirits, and now they’re buying a spirit who’s potentially pissed the hell off for being caught bound and sold. Oh yeah. Such a great idea.
Third of all, placebo can hit hard y'all and these “spirit companions” are the perfect scam for the seller. People are on here paying real money for something they have no definitive way of verifying. If someone buys something that says “There’s a spirit attached to it” and they suddenly “feel a presence” it’s probably because they want to feel one, are trying to feel one, and have convinced them self they do feel one. How many times have you psyched your self out when you heard a bump in the night? Suddenly everything is a bump or noise. So of course they can make someone pay real money just to hype up their imagination, and all it costs to them is what ever rock they found outside to tell you it’s a bound object.
Which brings me to my last point. You can get a spirit companion for free by learning how to work with spirits!!! Plant and crystal spirits are great for beginners, and when you take the time to learn how to use this type of craft for your self, then you can also learn how to protect your self should you encounter a spirit who isn’t so friendly.
Before I get to far into this and the morals of buying and selling spirits (since they’re sentient beings) and whether or not it’s against their will or what have you, I’ll end this little rant here.
I hope that some of my points maybe got through to someone or helped them see a different perspective. :x Sorry this turned into a long post
this cleansing spray is great for either cleansing your altar or sacred space, especially when you are not able to burn sage or incense.
What you’ll need:
A 4-ounce bottle with a fine-mist setting. i personally use glass bottles, because essential oils can eat through plastic.
Optional 1-ounce alcohol; Vodka works fine. (dont use isopropyl or rubbing alcohol) the alcohol gives the spray a longer shelf life.
2 ½ ounces of distilled water.
Essential oils, preferably organic see recipes below
keep in mind that If you don’t have one of the oils called for you could substitute it with something different, or leave it out all together. Feel free to play around and get creative. if you find a mixture isn’t strong enough you can always add more oil.
Dawn is Coming
