All About: House Spirits

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)

Witchcraft: Protection Herbs and Crystals

ー

Let’s talk about ●●●

●●● Warding

★ There are many forms of magic that serve the purpose of protecting the environments that are important to us

☆ Wardings are a type of magic, which is characterized by the act of creating an energy barrier around something or place, with the intention of protecting. Protective barriers will keep certain energies out, and with clear intentions and practice, you can shift your ward focus to block all negative and harmful energies, or banish only specific energies.

★ Energy barriers can be constructed in many ways, both complex and simplified, and customized according to your personal practices. They can be temporary or permanent, but they are usually made to continue to protect the place for a long period of time.

→ To keep in mind when planning your energy barriers

• Have multiple layers with different purposes. A tip is to have at least the following layers:

1 - Concealment layer, to keep your home camouflaged and to make it more difficult for some entity or person with bad intentions to find your residence.

2 - Offensive layer, intended to deal with entities that wish you harm, or that want to harm you.

3 - Defensive layer, to prevent the energies sent against you from reaching you, whether from people or entities.

• Be very specific and selective when creating your wards, especially when placing intention and visualization. It is not enough to just determine "protection against malicious entities", as this is very vague, and an energetic barrier has no conscience to discern what is a good or bad intention. In that case, a better way to determine your protection would be "protection against entities I consider to be malicious or harmful," as that becomes your personal perspective.

   It's always good to make clear what a bad intention is too, such as "things that bring me nightmares", "things that bring conflict to my life", "things that affect me negatively", in short.

• The ceiling, corners of the house, floor and walls must be completely covered by the barriers! It doesn't matter how much power and energy you put into wards, if they have weaknesses and unprotected spaces. So visualization is very important, and in methods that use physical things like water, furniture must be moved to reach hidden spaces.

★ Free Witchy Newsletter  |  Tip your witch ★

PROTECTION WORK

protection magick - we’ve all heard of it, and if you haven’t, then welcome to a very important post. generally, protection magick is a great place to start for beginners, but its always super important to incorporate it into your craft even as an 'advanced' practitioner (I really don't like that term, because no matter how long you've been practicing for or how much magick is in your family there is always something new to learn!). protection magick is important to implement when doing spirit work, doing any type of offensive/return to sender magick, or honestly most magick in general - i will almost always draw up some kind of protection during ANY magick working, from big rituals to my meditation practice.

Protection work can vary a lot, from simple incantations, to candle magick, to full-blown protection rituals that are perfectly coordinated. personally, I like to practice an in-between - I'll do small acts regularly, then bigger practices if a situation calls for it.

Now onto the fun stuff; if you're a little short on time, then the following are some great ideas for small protection workings:

drawing a pentacle into your food/drink

visualising a protective light surrounding you/your space

burning a black spell candle* (can take this further, see below!)

sprinkling salt around your home

burning a protection incense (dragons blood or sandalwood are my current faves; you can even just place an incense stick on your altar if you can't have it burning)

calling on your spirit guides/guardian angels/ancestors/whatever term you prefer for protection

just mentally or aloud setting an intention for protection for yourself and your loved ones

If you have a little more time for a larger ritual, then these are some great options:

* burning a candle on its own is great, however you can up the oomph by anointing it with a protection oil (there's a simple recipe below, or you can use a bought one!) and herbs, and carving runes or sigils into it

you can do a 'home-protection' ritual by walking the perimeter of your property or around your home, and either visualise a protective barrier forming around your designated space and setting the intention to protect your home and those within it. this can also be done with a candle or incense in hand to provide some extra protection

Herbs are a great addition to your protective practice, and can be used as the raw herb or in essential oil form. These herbs can be used together, or alone, in an oil or spray or just around the home in a small bowl. I love to leave some salt on my altar for quick use.

sage - i personally grow my own, you can get it from most garden stores and will grow nicely inside or in a windowsill!

rosemary - a great protective herb, and can be used as a stand in for most other herbs!

mint

lemon - great for cleansing negative energies

tea-tree

nettle - great for protection and defensive magick, as you can imagine

eucalyptus

juniper

chili - anything spicy is good for protection and defensive magick

SALT - can come in many forms, i've found that sea salt is great, however you can mix the ash of a protective incense like dragons blood with salt to make an extra-powerful blend!

pepper - good for banishing

cinnamon

cloves

dill

garlic - cliché, but it works

hawthorne

rose - the thorns especially are great for protection

I am leaving a method to crafting an oil that can be used for protection work under the cut! sending protection energies your way, have a blessed day xx

making a protection oil to anoint candles, doorways, window sills, your body, etc. is a really great way to provide yourself with something that will last, and is quick to use once made. Start by selecting any oil of your choosing, I personally don't like the smell of olive oil and have found it leaves my skin kinda greasy, so I generally opt for a grapeseed oil, almond oil, or a fractionated coconut oil. Place your chosen oil into a container, preferably the container you will be storing it in once finished (you can get small dropper bottles from most craft stores or online relatively cheap!). From there, add in any essential oils and/or herbs you like (I've included a list of herbs/oils that are great for protection above!) whilst setting the intention for protection of your person/space. Lighting a black candle is also a great addition to this ritual if it suits you. Once you have added your oils and/or herbs, you can visualise or infuse the oil with your intention and your magick, calling upon any spiritual guides, ancestors, deities etc., then place it on your altar. I like to surround it with cleansing and protective herbs and salt, as well as crystals like black obsidian, tourmaline, and selenite. I have a personal preference of leaving something on my altar for 3 days (often around a corresponding moon cycle; almost any moon cycle can be used for protection, I have a few posts about moon cycles so check that out!), before using it however you need to.

✶*✧Introduction to Spell Sealing✧*✶

Everything must come to an end.

This is an area of spellcraft that doesn’t get a lot of publicity because for most people it just becomes a natural part of the process.  However, if you want to mix up how you do it, try something new, or otherwise let go of the way you were originally taught, this might be a good resource for performing rituals!

What are Sealed Spells?

In the context of magic you usually hear about sealing and binding like binding a person or something from being able to do something.  Here we're talking more like a binding contract.  This is a binding or seal locks in an action or intent.  It is binding in the way an agreement is binding.  You have given it firm parameters that it must follow and you have endeavored to finalize the action.  You have provided certainty, locked in your answer, sealed the deal.  

The benefits of this are inherent in the finality.  You have a set thing that now is much harder to alter and is much harder to waver in its purpose.  This is no longer some multi-purpose object.  It has varitably been christened for this and this alone.  The work to undo it will be just as rigorous as the work to do it in the first place.  A light cleansing of your materials afterwards might not be enough.  You're gonna need the spiritual bleach.

To some extent you might just feel that something needs to be finalized.  If you feel it in your gut like you need something to formally end the working, these are what you might be looking for.

More Common Than You Think

This might be more familiar to you than you would initially think.  Signing your name on something at the end is a common one, but even in a ritual sphere there are many examples.  This is going to be your “so mote it be”, your “Amen”, and your other declarations of finality.  Even purely secular situations often have rituals of finality.  I think you’ll find that when these things are left out, there is sometimes a feeling of the energy hanging in the air.  In a lot of ways it does not feel right.  Whether this is the social convention of signaling to everything and everyone present that the ritual has come to a conclusion, or just to announce you’re finished, there is some power to it.

Types of Seals

There are several different ways to express finality in your workings.  Here are just a few examples.

Shutting the Door and Sealing the Envelope

If your work involves some kind of lid or package, you can physically seal it.  Whether this is corking a jar, sealing with wax, tying a string around something etc.  If this is a possibility it is a good way to finalize a spell.

Written and Spoken Seals

Whether this is through signing something like you might finalize a formal contract or expressing that it is finalized verbally.  A few examples of this are listed above that you may have heard before, but there is really nothing stopping you from making your own.

Kiss Seals

Sealing with a kiss.  Kissing something to finalize has historical precedent and takes no extra tools to complete besides your lips.  Whether this is physically using your lips or the other means, this is one option for a quick seal.  Just don’t kiss poison.

Burning, Burying, and Bestrewing

Few things are more final than destruction.  Once you’ve set the flame, you’ve pretty much confined what you’ve set on fire to that purpose forever.  Burying something in the ground would be another example of this.  Whether you feel the finality is from returning it to the earth, or because you are sealing it in a tomb of soul, this will certainly signal that it is done.  Some feel like things are not complete until they’ve scattered the ashes, in which case throwing something to the wind could be your version of finality.

Whether this is through signing something like you might finalize a formal contract or expressing that it is finalized verbally.  A few examples of this are listed above that you may have heard before, but there is really nothing stopping you from making your own.

Sigil Seals

An extension of the written or spoken seals are sigil seals.  It accomplishes much the same thing, but can be a little more formal.  Some might think this is kind of a stretch, but wax seals, like what might go on a letter, could fall into this category, technically.

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.

Bring Money to Your Door Spell

a shiny golden coin (ex. penny, after sitting in coke for a day or two- seriously, have you seen those?! SO SHINY)

mint in any form (leaf, extract, essential oil, etc.)

pinch of cinnamon

bay leaf (should be large enough to completely cover one surface of the coin)

money sigil (you can create your own!! Or just draw a dollar sign, that works too. I also sell mine on my site.)

green or gold wax (literally any kind. Melt down a crayon safely, research how to do it!! Or one of those cheap Ikea tealights.)

So picture this spell as a little package with layers.

Pinch up that pinch of cinnamon and drop it on the shiny coin.

Now add your mint on top of that. If it's in liquid form, just drip it onto the cinnamon. If it's in leaf form, sort of wrap it around that little pinch of cinnamon & the coin, or cover it, depending on how big the leaf is.

Draw your sigil (or dollar sign) on the bay leaf, and wrap the whole thing up like a little package. Try to make sure your final wrapping movement, or fold of the leaf, is aimed inwards toward your body, for drawing things in. If you mess this folding bit up though, don't worry! It's not a must.

Flip your little parcel over and seal up all those edges of the bay leaf with some melted/malleable wax.

Accidentally clicked on the poll option gah & I have no idea how to remove it after you've added one does anyone know? So...

When I seal things up in magic, I like to think of the energy inside fermenting like a jar of pickles until you eventually get that deliciously sour yum. In fact, I don't tend to recharge when things are sealed, I just leave it and picture the spell inside slowly growing stronger the longer it's left like that to "ferment." I do this with my spell jars too.

5. You could further wrap up the whole little package with some twine or string the way you would a present, or add a layer of tin foil (especially if you're worried about it getting damaged or falling apart if the wax isn't secure enough) if you like.

6. Leave it somewhere that could count as your 'doorstep.' It's great if you could leave it on your actual doorstep, but it could easily get stepped on there. You could leave it under your doormat (visitors charge when they step on the mat on their way in), under the pot of your potted plant (especially good when it's something also associated with money, like basil), or just tape it to your door where you'd place a wreath.

Do place it on the outside of your home rather than somewhere inside though, since this spell is meant to attract money from the outside to your doorstep. It's very small so if you're a closeted witch, there's not a high chance of it being discovered, and it looks quite mundane when wrapped in tin foil. Granted, a small wad of tin foil on the ground near your door could be mistaken as trash and thrown away, but you can always make a new one!

I tend to swap mine out when I see it's been displaced; ex. If you taped it to the door, it's fallen off; if you didn't tin-foil-wrap it, you see that the wax has broken and the package has come apart.

Anatomy of a Spell

This post will go over what is needed for a spell to be created!

This is a page from my grimoire and by no means is this a set-in-stone situation. Take what you will and leave what you won't.

Desire or intent. This is the whole point of the spell. What is the desired outcome, what do you want to achieve from this spell?

Planning of ingredients, spell structure, time, and location. This includes the verbal or written aspect of the spell if any.

Protection, there’s really no reason not to have a safeguard on your spell in my opinion but this isn't true for everyone. Do what feels right for you.

Raising, gathering, or building energy for the spell. Energy is how you get your spell to work. This can be done by chanting, breathwork, borrowing energy, and more.

Directing energy into the spell. Self-explanatory, gotta get it in there somehow. Basically just getting the intent/desire from inside you to inside the spell so that it can work its magic (pun intended).

Release any excess energy if needed. Grounding is a good way to do this.

Clear and concise ending; this could be a phrase, word, or physical act that indicates the ending of the spell. It’s best when everyone and everything involved knows when you have ceased doing the spell.

Extras:

It’s a good idea to record your process and results of the spells you create and cast so that you have a reference for future spells; also you can figure out what went wrong or right.

I personally think it’s a good idea to put a fail-safe in a spell, I usually do this by stating it out loud: i.e. “If I take apart this spell bag then the spell will cease.” or “If I do this spell in reverse the spell will cease/reverse” and so on.

Preparing the physical and non-physical things for the spell; can mean gathering, cleansing, or preparing yourself to be in the headspace needed for the spell. It's better to be prepared than to get blindsided halfway through because you’re missing something!

im moving into a dorm for the first time in the fall so i wont be able to burn things. that means no candle spells. this whole summer i’ve been researching different ways of doing spells, since candle spells and jar spells are very popular right now and both are difficult without fire. knot spells and sigils have been piquing my interest, but as i looked at my glass of water, ice half melted, i had an idea.

ice spells!

the ice melts just as a candle will. you can add herbs, food coloring, sigils in water and freeze it. once it’s frozen you can melt it and that will be the spell! ingredients can also be added to already formed ice, which would be easier for closeted witches.

depending on the ingredients, the water leftover could be drank and used to make sure that the spell it attached to you. it could also be refrozen and reused!

i hope this helps other witches who live in places where they can’t burn candles!! if you can, maybe this will provide an example of other types of spells too.

Keeping this here as well-

Tarot & Oracle Spread Masterpost

This is a masterpost of tarot & oracle card spreads. None of them are mine; this is solely a compilation of various spreads found on tumblr. I’ve broken them down into sections to sort through them with ease. This is not a full list, but do enjoy the spreads listed below. Note: Witchcraft is NOT a replacement for medical care. Seek the services in your area if you need help.

Enjoy!

Daily Spreads:

Good Morning Spread

Harmonious Day Spread

Daily Brew

Morning Mug

One Day At A Time

Love/Luck/Truth:

Soulmate Spread

Relationship Insight

how to make friends

Luck Ducky

Illuminate the Truth

Bat Tarot Spread

two halves of the same heart

confusion in a relationship

Love Tarot Spread

Single and Looking

A Way Back into Love

Where is my love life going?

Self Love/Self Care/Spirituality:

The New You

What’s Up My Dude?

The Unicorn Spread

Mirrored Heart Spread

Breathe Deeply

Inner Empress Spread

Shine Like a Star

Self-Love Spread

Self-Exploration Spread

May Your Self-Confidence Rise Like the Moon

Self-Care Spread

A spread for healing from hurtful words

Forgiveness Spread

For Gaining Closure & Letting Go

Let Your Soul Shine

calm the f@%k down

hierarchy of needs

Pyramid of Present Introspection

Unlock yourself

Walking Away

Stop Being Bad To Yourself

For Empaths

I Can’t F@%king Sleep

Up All Night

Reprogram your Subconscious

Higher Self & Purpose Spread

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual Check-up

Spiritual Progress

connecting with the gods/goddesses

The Baking Sun

Enlightened Perspective

Temper Temper

Loneliness Spread

Self Love Spread

Personal Protection Spread

Self Image Spread

Wholeness Spread

Aphrodite’s Pearl

Hidden Self

Change/Fear:

The New Adventure Spread

Evolve Your Blog

The Tree of Life & The Sprout of Fear

Go With the Flow: A Guide for Change

Keys to Courage

Terrified

Classic Tarot Spreads/Based on Tarot:

Classic Tarot Spreads

Star Spread

100 Variations of the 3-Card Spread

Simple and classic spreads

The Empress

The Fool

The Tower

Eviction Notice

The World

Connect with your Tarot Deck:

Bond with Your Tarot Deck

Hello New Friend (Tarot Deck)

Get to Know Your Deck

Pop Culture: 

Harry Potter Hogwarts Houses

Rapunzel Spread

Happy Little Trees

The Princess and the Pea

The Princess Bride

Brainstorming/Productiveness/Success:

Achieve Your Dreams

Plan Your Goals

Job Search

Solution Spread

The Right Choice

for busy motherf@%kers

Busy Bee

Toxic Workplace Spread

Quick Coffee Break

growth and goals

Problem Solving Spread

Focus Spread

Holiday/Specific Time Period/Date:

August 2017 Solar Eclipse

New Year’s Spread

Imbolc Spread of Growth

Imbolc Spread for Goal Setting

Valentine’s Day Spread

Valentine’s Day Self-Love Spread

Be Your Own Damn Valentine

Galentine’s Day Spread

Ostara Tarot Spread

For Beltane

Lammas Spread

Back to School Bag

Holiday Survival Spread

Tarot Spread for Yule

Neptune Retrograde

Embracing Mercury Retrograde Part 1 & Part 2

How to Survive Mercury Retrograde

Beginning, Middle, & End of the Month

New Moon Reflection Spread

New Moon Spread

New Moon New Start Spread

Full Moon Spread

Near to Distant future Spread

Creativity:

Paint Palette Tarot Spread

Protagonist Spread

Sunny Creativity

Storytelling through Tarot

The Artist Spread

Find Your Muse

writing tip

Realize Special Talents

Quick Tarot Fixes/Tricks:

Fix My Wifi

Goals & Desires

Stalker Stand Still

Spiderweb Spread

for when you’re stuck between two choices

Easy Tarot Tricks

The Hermit

doing the right thing?

fix a f@%k up

Wheel of Fortune

goals and desires

41 Quick Spreads for any situation

For When You’re Lost/Going through a Hard Time:

Putting the Faith in the Universe

Well, Now What?

Finding Balance

A Light In the Dark

Radical Acceptance

Fork In the Road

When You’re Laying On Your Bed Wondering Where the F@%K You’re Going In Life

What are my next steps?

Self-Discovery

When the World is Cruel

This Too Will Pass

Bottled Up

“Strongest Person I Know”

Difficult Conversation Spread

What the Actual F@%K?!

Past-Lives:

Pyramid of a Past Life

Past Life Spread

A Glimpse into Past Lives

Miscellaneous:

RGB Spread

Conquering a Bad Habit

12 Olympians Spread

Spread for Hobbies

Zodiac

Planetary Tarot Spread

Seven Sisters

Setting Intentions

The Lessons

How to Handle a Situation Getting Out of Hand

Remove the Blinders

I Want to Know You

Chakra Spread

What You’re Attracting in Life

Mending the Communication Gap

Crystals: Card Reading Aids