WHERE TO START!

Divination is one of those aspects of magic that possesses a massive number of forms and methods which can leave a new witch confused. So, what exactly is Divination? Divination is the metaphysical pursuit of introspection into potential upcoming or occurring events, challenges, relationships, and opportunism. This is not only for the purpose of looking into the future, for Divination can also be used to look deeper within yourself as well.

Divination Correspondences:

Colors: Silvers, Indigos, and Purples.

Elements: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Spirit.

Planets: The Moon, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Tools: Bones, Bundles, Candles, Charms, Crystal Spheres, Incense, Mirrors, Pendulums, throwing Runes, and Tarot Decks.

Divination Methods:

Anointing your Third Eye beforehand.

Vetting thoroughly before practicing.

Wearing Indigo and Purple whilst casting.

Wearing Silver or jewelry and accessories.

Divination Instruments:

Crystals:

Amazonite, Amethyst, Aqua Aura Quartz, Azurite, Clear Quartz, Iolite, Kyanite, Labradorite, Merlinite, Nuumite, Silver, and Sugilite.

Herbs:

Basil, Bay Laurel, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clove, Dill, Mint, Nettle, Nutmeg, Patchouli, Peppermint, and Spearmint.

Flowers:

Blue Lotus, Calendula, Chamomile, Dandelion, Jasmine, Lavender, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Neroli, Marigold, Rose, and Vanilla.

I’ve been thinking that there’s more to saving and using leftover candle wax from spell candles than I’ve thought.

When you make a spell candle, you add your energy to it,your oils,herbs and whatever to it. After your spell you usually have leftover wax that dripped from said candle. You could either throw it away or save the wax. Of course you’re going to light more candles and therefore gain more wax from them.

The idea here is that if you keep lighting candles of the same purpose (Example: Burning money spell candles.) and melt all of the wax together, you essentially have a magical sour dough starter. That ball of wax may not look like much but it has the energetic remains of the 2 or more money candles you’ve burned to create it. All of those past herbs and oils you’ve used? Their ghosts are in your ball of wax. You know that one full moon prosperity ritual you did 3 months ago that actually kicked ass? Well now your ball of wax has that energy in it too. The wax could even have 50 different money candles inside of it. It’ll be pretty big unless you cut pieces of it off to use in other spells.

There’s so many possibilities you could use this wax for. You could melt pieces of it into other candles to empower the spell candles even further, use it in spell bags,sachets,use it as an talisman or use the wax ball to make another candle with it so you can have a super money spell candle. It doesn’t have to just be used for money spells either. Love spells,luck spells,curses,cleansing spells,happiness spells…you name it, there’s a ball of wax for it. 

MAGICAL PROPERTIES OF CLOTH/MATERIAL

Canvas: creativity, new beginnings, potential, possibilities

Cashmere: comfort, warmth, luxury

Chiffon: feminine, delicacy, vulnerable, elegance

Cotton: simplicity, harvest, protection, rain, good luck

Denim: ruggedness, durability, labour, working, independence, rebellion

Felt: protection, good luck, wealth (white felt), sacrifice, strength

Flannel: mojo bags, comfort, relaxation, warmth

Flax: weakness of man, prosperity, gift of the gods, Hulda

Gauze: uncertainty in wealth, healing

Hemp: travel, burial, trance, opening gates and doors, vision, enlightenment, Bast

Lace: sacredness, rite of passage, feminine, privilege, sensuality, sexuality, duality

Lamé: luxury, wealth, royalty, sun or moon

Leather: protection, covering, animals, instinct

Linen: righteousness and purity, does not cause sweat, rest, elegance, luxury, sophistication, light and purity, (display of) wealth

Satin: lustrous, sensual, shine, love

Silk: wealth, luxury, softness, smoothness, prestige, transformation, magical insulation

Velvet: distinction, honor, sensuality, emotions, royalty, leadership

Voile: secrets, unveiling, hidden, wedding

Wool: Hope, renewal, spinning, women’s crafts, durability, comfort and warmth

How to read your birth chart (basic)

Part 1 – Reading the Planets/Objects

For this, the only important part of the chart is the box with the planets and corresponding zodiac signs. I’m using my own chart as a reference.

Each planet (eg. sun) and object (eg. rising/ascendant) governs a specific portion of your personality.

The planets each have corresponding symbols, which are standardised for everyone’s birth chart (☉☽☿♀♂♃ ♄⛢♆♇).

The chart will show you what zodiac sign each planet and object was in the moment you were born, which is personalised for you.

Each planet and object has its own meaning,

☉ Sun: your core identity, ego

☽ Moon: feelings, emotions, aesthetics

Rising: how you are perceived by others (technically the 1st house, not a planet)

☿ Mercury: communication, intelligence, socialising

♀ Venus: love, romance, affection

♂ Mars: sex, passion, anger, drive

♃ Jupiter: luck, fortune, ideals

♄ Saturn: restrictions, limitations

⛢ Uranus: changes

♆ Neptune: dreams, sleep

♇ Pluto: transformation, deep meanings, destiny, your soul

and it takes the characteristics of the associated sign.

♈︎ Aries: active, initiating, leading, independent, aggressive, impatient, combative, energetic, pioneering, naive, assertive

♉︎ Taurus: persevering, down-to-earth, stable, stubborn, possessive, prosperous, dependable, physical, sensual

♊︎ Gemini: talkative, mental, adaptable, flexible, changeable, responsive, sociable, superficial, versatile, inquisitive, witty

♋︎ Cancer: gentle, conservative, feeling, nurturing, defensive, contemplative

♌︎ Leo: magnanimous, generous, hospitable, caring, warm, authoritative, active, open

♍︎ Virgo: analytical, intelligent, reserved, critical, helpful, conscientious

♎︎ Libra: just, sociable, refined, accommodating, kind, fair, diplomatic, likeable, indecisive, respectful, artistic

♏︎ Scorpio: passionate, perceptive, resourceful, possessive, psychological, prowling, determined, probing, fixed, focused

♐︎ Sagittarius: optimistic, restless, enthusiastic, adventurous, honest, irresponsible, outspoken, independent

♑︎ Capricorn: tenacious, conservative, resourceful, disciplined, wise, ambitious, prudent, constant

♒︎ Aquarius: individualistic, assertive, independent, humanitarian, inventive, original, eccentric, opinionated, intellectual, idealistic, cool, friendly, detached

♓︎ Pisces: intuitive, dreamy, artistic, humane, sympathetic, sensitive, compassionate, perceptive, tender, impressionable

For example, my sun, which governs my core identity, is in Capricorn. This shows that my core identity is tenacious, conservative, resourceful etc.

My rising/ascendant, which governs how I am perceived by others, is in Taurus. This shows that I am perceived as persevering, down-to-earth, stable etc.

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Now just replace this out with your own info and congrats! You now know the basics of reading the planets and objects in your birth chart!

I’m still working on learning to read the houses, but I’ll link it when I’m done!

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Chart made on https://www.astro.com/cgi/chart.cgi?btyp=w2gw&rs=3&usechpref=1 (more accurate)

Information gathered from my book of shadows and https://astro.cafeastrology.com/ (better info)

Laws of Magick (Grimoire Excerpt)

The Laws of Magick are concepts that describe patterns in the effects of witchcraft. Here are some simple definitions.

The Law of Attraction

What you put out to the world will be returned to you. This is manifestation through intention: "I want kindness so I will give kindness"

The Law of Knowledge

Knowledge is power. The more you know about something, the more you understand it and can use it or have power over it.

The Law of Self-Knowledge

Know thyself. The more you know yourself, the more you are capable of becoming the master of your own destiny and the facilitator of change in your own life.

The Law of Cause and Effect

Consistency is key. If you do the exact same action in the exact conditions, you will get exactly the same results every time.

The Law of Synchronicity

There is no such thing as coincidence. Though possible, it's extremely rare that two things happen at the same time that are not interconnected in some way.

The Law of Association

If any two patterns have elements in common, the patterns interact through those common elements.

The Law of Similarity

Having an accurate physical or mental representation of something facilitates control over it.

The Law of Contagion

Objects or beings in physical contact with each other continue to interact after separation. More contact = more connection.

The Law of Names

Knowing the complete and TRUE name of an object, being, or process gives one complete control over it.

The Law of Words of Power

Certain words hold great power. Even if their meaning is lost, the power is still there. An example is names: though you may not know what your name means exactly, it still holds a lot of power.

The Law of Personification

Personifying (considering it alive or to have a personality) anything makes it an entity. This can be beneficial in many ways: one example is personifying an object to channel a deity through it

The Law of Invocation

It is possible to establish internal communication with entities from either inside or outside oneself, said entities seeming to be inside of oneself during the communication process.

The Law of Evocation

It is possible to establish external communication with entities from either inside or outside oneself, said entities seeming to be outside oneself during the communication process.

The Law of Identification

Prolonged connection or association with another (person, being, entity, etc) can result in becoming said person/thing, including holding their knowledge or power. In other words, possession is possible.

The Law of Personal Universes

Reality is only our perceived conscious understanding of the world around us (and within us). It's possible that "reality" means different things to different people.

The Law of Infinite Universes

The concepts that multiple realities can exist at once, whether that be your own (like "multiple/alternate reality theory") or yours vs another's (like your perception of reality being different than your friend's).

The Law of Pragmatism

If a belief system allows someone to cope, survive, or achieve their goals, it becomes "real," "true," and "sensible" to them.

The Law of True Falsehoods

It's possible for two belief systems to contradict but still exist at the same time. Basically, just because something doesn't make sense to you, it doesn't mean it won't make sense to someone else. This is like a TL;DR of the above 3 laws.

The Law of Synthesis

If two "opposing" patterns combine to produce a new pattern, that new pattern will be more true than the previous two alone. In other words, if two understandings of reality combine, the new understanding will be more "true" or reasonable/understandable because it applies to more realities and therefore can be believed by more people.

The Law of Polarity

Any pattern of data can be split into (at least) two "opposing" characteristics, and each will contain the essence of the other within itself.

The Law of Opposites

The "opposite" of something contains information about said thing, by providing information on what it is not. This creates control or power over it because you now have knowledge over it, even if through its opposite; once again showing how interconnected all existence is.

The Law of Dynamic Balance

Balance is key. To live life to its fullest, one must allow themselves to not fall into extremes so that they can experience all that life is and can offer.

The Law of Perversity

Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Emotional stability and self-awareness can help avoid things becoming utter disasters.

The Law of Unity

Every phenomena in existence is linked directly or indirectly to every other one, past, present, or future.

Samhain

Crisp air like a freshly picked apple and leaves the colors of sunset indicating the ending of a season; here comes Autumn and with it a very popular pagan holiday: Samhain!

This is a remake of my original Samhain post. This one is going to be a long one so buckle up!~

While us those in the northern hemisphere are celebrating Samhain, our friends in the southern hemisphere will be celebrating Beltane!

Historical Samhain

The name “Samhain” (pronounced Sah-when) comes from the Old Irish samain which literally means “Summer’s end” as it was created using Old Irish sam ”Summer” and fuin ”end” (etymonline.com).

By now I’m sure you’ve guessed Samhain’s origin, it’s a Celtic* festival, one of four major holidays.

**In this post when I refer to “Celts” or “Celtic people” I am referring only to the Insular Celts, more specifically the Gaelic-speaking Celts. To learn the difference between Celtic and Gaelic please read this article

For these Celts, Samhain was the beginning of the new year. Due to the oral nature of the culture, not much is known about the traditions of Samhain, though we have some documentation from other cultures as well as some ideas from historians as to what they may have done.

Traditions

The traditions of Samhain may vary by group or even by family, but one common tradition was to have a large, public sacred bonfire. (Fun fact, the term “Bonfire” comes from the English “bonefire” meaning literally “a fire of bones”). During these bonfires, the Celts would sacrifice livestock and crops as offerings to their deities.

Households would extinguish their hearth fires earlier that day and would take the flame from the public bonfire to reignite their hearths. This was likely to represent renewal or new beginnings as they transitioned to the new year as well as a representation of community.

The veil between this world and other worlds is thought to be very thin on Samhain, making it easier not only for us to reach out to spirits, deities, and the like, but for them to reach out to us. These otherworldly beings are thought to be able to influence our world more powerfully during Samhain.

In some places, like Britanny, they believed that the dead would visit their living friends and relatives during this time.

In Welsh tradition, people would leave out food, leave doors unlocked, and prepare the house for the spirits of relatives that may come to visit.

Large turnips were hollowed out and would have faces carved into them and then place on window sills to ward off evil spirits.

In other places, like Scotland, Samhain was a time for mischief. Young men would dress up as spirits, donning masks, painting their faces, or wearing costumes.

Divination was very popular during this time, especially marriage divination. This wasn’t just done by druids but by the common folk as well.

In some places, it was considered taboo to forage for fruit or grain during and after Samhain, it was thought that the fae or spirits would have passed over and tainted them. There were even laws against doing so.

Notes

Samhain is the Irish name for the month of November.

Samhain is one of the four main holidays of the ancient Celts, the other three are Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Imbolc.

Pigs were the choice of sacrificial animal for Samhain.

Samhain was a sacred time that often welcomed assemblies and would be used to settle important business matters like the inauguration of new kings, debts being paid, and trials.

In Celtic mythology, the Second Battle of Mag Tuired begins on Samhain.

Trick-or-treating is a modern-day tradition but could have derived from the many different traditions of old.

The Cailleach is a seasonal goddess said to rule the “dark” side of the year (fall and winter) and would rule between Samhain and Beltane. Likewise, the goddess Brigid would rule the “light” side of the year between Beltane and Samhain.

While Wiccans may celebrate Samhain as part of their Wheel of the Year, it is not a Wiccan-specific holiday and has ties to much older traditions.

Modern Halloween is an amalgamation of Samhain and the Christian All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ day. Halloween found its popularity after many Celts immigrated to North America.

Similar to these holidays is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) which originated in Mexico. This holiday reunites the living and the dead, allowing the spirits of loved ones to cross back over to our world for a short period of time. Families will make altars and give offerings to those who have passed. Festivities and celebrations are held during this time. It is traditionally held on November 1st or 2nd but is celebrated on October 31st or November 6th depending on the location.

Modern Samhain

As long as you’re aware of and honor the history of Samhain and are being respectful you can celebrate this holiday however you choose!

Here is a list of correspondences and the like that I found throughout my research for Samhain, some have historical backing and others don’t. Take what speaks to you and leave what doesn’t.

Food

Mead, beer, and mulled wine

Meat

Bread, soul cakes, pies, and other such pastries.

Apples, squash, and potatoes.

Colcannon

Soul cakes

Barmbrack

Colors

Warm colors such as red, orange, brown, and yellow.

Black

Dark green

Rocks & Metals

Onyx

Obsidian

Citrine

Hematite

Carnelian

Smoky quartz

Tiger’s eye

Ruby

Copper

Jet

Plants

Rosemary

Thyme

Vervain

St. John’s Wort

Mugwort

Dragon’s blood

Saffron

Deities

The Morrigan

The Dagda

The Morrigan and The Dagda seem to be the main deities for Samhain as per Celtic mythology but you could also choose to honor any Celtic deity or even other deities on this day, especially those involving liminality and death such as:

Cerunnos

Diana

Anubis

Hecate

Heimdall

Here are more liminal deities and here are more death deities.

Magic & Spellwork

Spirit work: honoring or communicating with spirits

Banishing and cleansing (out with the old and in with the new!)

Honoring ancestors

Activities

Bonfire

Fest

Baking

Decorating or creating an altar for Samhain

Other Correspondences

Tarot: Death, The World

Death in the Tarot often means “the end of something with the promise of something new on the horizon”, and represents transition the perfect card for a holiday of similar sentiment.

The World tarot card indicates cycles, closure, and completion.

Zodiac: Scorpio

It’s Scorpio season!

Runes: Fehu, Eihwaz

Fehu can represent new beginnings.

Eihwaz represents transformation, out with the old and in with the new, which pairs well with the ancient Celtic new year.

Androgyny

In Samhain's past, it wasn’t uncommon for men to dress in traditionally women’s clothes and women to dress in traditionally men’s clothes. While the social idea of gender is shifting and we don’t gender clothes as often in some modern societies, we can still use this as a way of celebration. Androgyny is like the liminal version of gender, neither male nor female. So trans witches or gender non-conforming witches of all flavors: show yourself some extra love this coming Samhain holiday!

References and Further Reading

The Ancient Origins of Halloween - History.com

Samhain - Worldhistory.com

Halloween Customs in the Celtic World - by Bettina Arnold

Samhain - Wikipedia

Samhain - Flying the hedge

Secular Celebrations - Samhain - @breelandwalker

Let’s talk about ●●●

●●● Warding II

★ As with almost everything in magic, there are countless ways to create protective barriers around objects and places.

☆ Wards need to be effective and powerful, so choose methods you can relate to, and avoid experimenting with things you don't know or have a lot of experience with.

❗ Before creating a protective barrier anywhere, physical and spiritual purification is necessary, because in the same way that wards are able to prevent certain energies from entering, they also prevent all energies that are already inside from leaving. Ideally, the physical space should be clean and purified, to prevent existing energies from influencing the expected final result.

→ Warding Methods 101

• Spray warding

   This is a simple method that doesn't require much visualization, and is recommended for beginners. The intention placed at the time of creating and applying the flavoring, and choosing the right herbs is enough.

   Wards made from air fresheners are not as durable, and need to be redone every month or so. There are ways to enhance the effect, at the time of creating the flavoring, by combining it with sigils, crystals and using a good amount of herbs with protective properties.

• Incense

   For warding, it is recommended that only natural resin incenses are used, made from herbs with protective properties. If that's not possible, make an herbal smoking stick, but don't just use incense sticks to create energy barriers. Avoid using them, but if you still want to, combine them with other methods, or your ward will have low energy and will quickly deactivate.

• Sigils

   The best thing is that you create a specific sigil for the warding of the object or place you want to protect. You can adapt bindrunes for this purpose, but beware of runes that will be formed unintentionally during the process, as they can weaken or get in the way of the desired end result.

• Energy targeting

   If you're already experienced with energy manipulation and directing, this is a great way to work on these aspects and make your ward exactly the way you want it to look. It's also a very customizable way, so it's great for creating your own personal way of making energy barriers.

• Containers

   Barriers made using containers as a base have good longevity, and need to be reinforced less frequently. Choose a variety of fresh or dried herbs with protective properties, and add other ingredients that can boost energy, such as properly purified and energized essential oils and crystals for protective purposes.

• Salt

   Works well for creating temporary barriers. The salt used can be coarse salt, sea salt or table salt as a last resort. For more intensified protection, I recommend black salt

★ Warding I | Free Witchy Newsletter  |  Tip your witch ★

Aphrodite's Epithets 🌸

(Source: Theoi.com)

Aphrodite Aligena (Sea born)

Aphrodite Ambologera (She Who Postpones Old Age)

Aphrodite Anaduomene (Killer of Men)

Aphrodite Anosia (Unholy)

Aphrodite Apatouros (Deceptive One)

Aphrpdite Apostrophia (She Who Turns Herself Away)

Aphrodite Areia (Warlike; of Ares)

Aphrodite Basilis (Queen)

Aphrodite Dôritis (Bountiful)

Aphrodite Eleemon (Merciful)

Aphrodite Enopilos (Bearing Weapons)

Aphrodite Epipontia (On the Sea)

Aphrodite Epistrophia (She Who Turns to Love)

Aphrodite Epitragidia (She Upon the Buck)

Aphrodite Epitumbidia (She Upon the Graves)

Aphrodite Euplois (Fair Sailing)

Aphrodite Euploia (Fair Voyage)

Aphrodite Genetullis (Genetrix)

Aphrodite Heteira (Courtesan)

Aphrodite Hera (of Hera; of Marriage)

Aphrodite Hôplismeně (Armed)

Aphrodite Kallipugos (of the Beautiful Buttocks)

Aphrodite Kallisti (the Fairest)

Aphrodite Kataskopia (Spying; Peeping)

Aphrodite Khruse (Golden)

Aphrodite Kupris (Cyprian)

Aphrodite Kuprogenes (Cyprus-born)

Aphrodite Kuthereia (Kytherean)

Aphrodite Limenia (of the Harbor)

Aphrodite Makhanitis (Deviser; Contriver)

Aphrodite Mechanitis (Skilled in Inventing

Aphrodite Melainis (Black)

Aphrodite Migôntis (Marital Union)

Aphrodite Morpho (Shapely Form)

Aphrodite Nikěphoros (Bringer of Victory)

Aphrodite Nymphia (Bridal)

Aphrodite Ourania (Heavenly)

Aphrodite Pandemos (of All People)

Aphrodite Pasiphaessa (the Far-Shining)

Aphrodite Pelagia (of the Sea)

Aphrodite Philomeides (Laughter-Loving/Smile-Loving)

Aphrodite Porne (Fleshy;Prostitute)

Aphrodite Potina (of the Sea)

Aphrodite Praxis (Action; Sexual)

Aphrodite Psithyristês (Whispering)

Aphrodite Skotia (Dark)

Aphrodite Suriě theos (Syrian Goddess)

Aphrodite Summakhia (Ally in War)

Aphrodite Symmakhia (Ally in Love)

Aphrodite Tumborukhos (Gravedigger)

Aphrodite Xenia (of the Foreigner)