“Choose to love yourself; choose to respect yourself; and promise with all your heart and soul that you will never leave you.”
— Kimberly Kirberger
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.
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.
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.
Anointing your Third Eye beforehand.
Vetting thoroughly before practicing.
Wearing Indigo and Purple whilst casting.
Wearing Silver or jewelry and accessories.
Amazonite, Amethyst, Aqua Aura Quartz, Azurite, Clear Quartz, Iolite, Kyanite, Labradorite, Merlinite, Nuumite, Silver, and Sugilite.
Basil, Bay Laurel, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Clove, Dill, Mint, Nettle, Nutmeg, Patchouli, Peppermint, and Spearmint.
Blue Lotus, Calendula, Chamomile, Dandelion, Jasmine, Lavender, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Neroli, Marigold, Rose, and Vanilla.
This post is not for those who create witchy content, but rather for those who consume said content.
Not every tumblr post is an educational post. Sometimes people are just sharing their experiences.
Of course it'd be nice if everyone could clarify whether a post is educational or not but with the amount of posts that witchblr sees in a day that'd be too much to ask of every single blogger.
So a good rule of thumb when navigating tumblr:
If you don't see someone saying that a post is educational or informative then don't assume it's educational or informative.
It's very likely someone is simply sharing their experience. If you aren't sure if the post is meant to be educational then you should just ask, I don't know of many bloggers who would be upset by the question "Is this meant to be an educational post or a post about your personal opinion and experiences?".
If someone says that a post is educational it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for their resources if they aren’t provided.
If they share incorrect information (and you have the energy for it) then it’s also perfectly acceptable to politely correct them and share the correct information.
I want to share some examples:
Opinion or personal experience: I prefer basil rather than mint for prosperity spells.
-> This is someone sharing their experience with a type of spell and the herbs they've used in said spell.
Fact: Humans have been using herbs for mystical and magical purposes across cultures since even ancient times and many of these herbs have different correspondences based on the culture.
-> We have texts and traditions backing this statement that can be easily found.
Opinion or personal experience: Artemis enjoys chamomile tea as an offering.
-> This person's personal experience with Artemis shows that she enjoys chamomile tea. However, this is not something we can prove nor is it something we can render invalid.
Fact: In ancient Greece, deities were often offered honey or olive oil. Artemis in particular was offered locks of one’s hair as well as animals from a hunt.
-> We have writings from those who lived during ancient Greece to back this up. Solid resources for this can be searched for fairly easily.
Facts are something we have evidence for. Opinions and personal experiences aren’t rendered invalid in light of these facts, but it’s generally in bad taste to try to teach your personal experiences as facts.
Rather than looking for a statement saying that a post is an opinion/ post about personal experience, it’s better to assume that if you don't see someone saying that their post is educational then you shouldn’t see it as trying to be educational or informative.
You know when the cards you pull just make you say “huh?” Yeah, it happens to all of us. So here’s what I do when I’m in that situation
1. Pull a clarifying card
Clarifying cards can be tricky. They can either shed some much needed light on the spread in front of you, or they can make things murkier. I still use them as my first reaction, but we aware that they aren’t an instant problem-solver.
2. Research!
Look up what other people have to say about the cards! Biddytarot online is a great resource, but also any book or website could give you that lightning flash of connection.
3. Meditate
I’ll admit, I’m not the best or most practiced at meditation, but I’ve found that even just taking a moment to step back and just Look can be really helpful. Maybe the connection is in the card next to it, or maybe it’s the colors that are trying to communicate with you. Take a moment and see what sticks out to you, then research it!
4. Come back to it later
Sometimes, the best thing you can do it just write it down and move on. A lot of times the cards are telling you something you don’t want to hear or they’re talking about something that hasn’t happened yet. I always recommend keeping some record of spreads, whether it’s a picture or actually writing it down that way you can come back and see what knew insights you can draw from them.
It’s never fun to feel stuck with a reading or to feel like you’re doing a bad job, so I hope this helps! 🖤
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.
Practical Magic Summer
For all my witches out there, here's a handy list of the 2022 dates for the major holidays, full and new moons, and special events. I've listed my sources at the bottom. Dates and times for all events are calculated for Eastern Standard Time, USA, Northern Hemisphere. Adjust for your location as needed. Enjoy!
WOTY Holidays and Solstices
February 1-2 - Imbolc
March 20 - Spring Equinox / Ostara
May 1 - Beltane
June 21 - Summer Solstice / Midsummer
August 1 - Lughnasadh
September 22 - Autumn Equinox / Mabon
October 31 - Samhain
December 21 - Winter Solstice / Yule
Full Moons
January 17 - Wolf Moon ♋️
February 16 - Snow Moon ♌️
March 18 - Worm Moon ♍️
April 16 - Pink Moon ♎️
May 16 - Flower Moon ♏️
June 14 - Strawberry Moon ♐️
July 13 - Thunder Moon (aka Buck Moon) ♑️
August 11 - Sturgeon Moon ♒️
September 10 - Harvest Moon ♓️
October 9 - Hunter's Moon (aka Blood Moon) ♈️
November 8 - Frost Moon ♉️
December 7 - Cold Moon ♊️
Fun Fact: The title of Harvest Moon is given to either the September or October full moon, whichever falls closest to the autumn equinox. In 2022, that month will be September.
New Moons
January 2 ♑️
February 1 ♒️
March 2 ♓️
April 1 ♈️
April 30 ♉️
May 30 ♊️
June 29 ♋️
July 28 ♌️
August 27 ♍️
September 25 ♎️
October 25 ♏️
November 23 ♐️
December 23 ♑️
Special Events
April 30 - Black Moon & Partial Solar Eclipse (10:42pm EST)
May 16 - Total Lunar Eclipe (12:11am EST, coinciding with zenith)
June 14 - Supermoon
July 13 - Supermoon
October 25 - Partial Solar Eclipe (11:01am EST)
November 8 - Total Lunar Eclipse (5:59am EST, coinciding with zenith)
SOURCES:
Inverse - Full Moon 2022 calendar: Dates, times, schedule, and names for the brightest nights all year
Astroseek - Full Moons 2022 & New Moons
The Pagan Grimoire - The Wheel of the Year: The 8 Festivals in the Wiccan Calendar
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.
Witchcraft: Protection Herbs and Crystals
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Tasseomancy symbols and meanings
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.
I made this tarot cheat sheet after being inspired on tiktok <3 I hope this can help anyone who needs it!
History of witchcraft
Types of witches
Book of shadows and grimoire and how to make your own
Altars and altar tools
Types of spells
Psychic protection, protections spells, home and house and protection
Shadow work
Banishing
Protective herbs
Grounding, centering and meditation.
Moon phases and how they can be incorporated into spells
magickal/witches tools
Candle colour correlations/ colour correlations in witchcraft
Herbology
Crystals
Types of divination- tarot, pendulum, runes ect
Astrology
Dream interpretation
Reasons why a spell or ritual may fail
How to fix a spell if it goes wrong or ask a fellow witch for advice
The elements and how to connect to them
Understanding substituting and how to rework rituals and spells
Affirmations
Pentagram, pentacle and the goat of mendes
The laws of magick
The law of attraction
dangerous / poisonous/ toxic herbs!
Crystal care
auras/ aura reading
Folklores,superstitions and wivestales
Different deities in different cultures
Chakras
Alchemy
Seals
Familiars
Sigils and talsimans
energies/ energy work
Solitary vs coven/group witchcraft
sabbats/ esbats- if you’re interested in that.
Faeries
Lucid dreaming/astral projection
Working with spirits, angels, deities and
Steps to take to make sure you are working with certain angels and deities or spirits.
Methods for opening the third eye and other chakras
Chaos magick
Personal spirit guides
How to find your spirit guides and guardian angels
The higher self
Taglocks and magick links
Lightworkers
Symptoms of being cursed/ hex
How to remove a curse or hex/return to sender
Empaths
Symbols
Types of water(moonwater ect)
Writing your own spells
Cord or knot magick
Ritual structures
How to cleanse your space and cleansing herbs
Do not try hex ,cursing or any type of baneful magic as a beginner witch! It can backfire and go wrong if you’re not prepared! But knowing the symptoms and how to send one back can be very useful
when i started out, all those lists of “research herbs! crystals! auras! deities!” with no specificity always overwhelmed me. so here’s a list of things i personally think would benefit beginners to research, with a little description for each!
- different types of witches. find the labels, the terminology, and pay attention to the ones you connect with the most. research those more in depth. i did this in the beginning of my craft and i starred green witchcraft and kitchen witchcraft, which have become a big foundation to my craft, and hedge witchcraft, and now im an aspiring spirit worker.
- the difference between witch, wiccan, and pagan. wicca has dominated a lot of sources, so make sure you know the difference, especially if you’re trying to avoid wicca.
- the history of witchcraft and different practices. especially the practices you are interested in doing.
- pick one herb. literally just one. research its folklore and its properties. don’t overwhelm yourself trying to research all the herbs that ever exist; just one. then you can decide if you want to continue researching herbs or move onto something else. same goes for crystals. pick just one to start.
- if you’re interested in religion, research different religions; open and closed. remember that (as long as the information is open) you can research closed practices; you just cant DO them. it will also help you determine what religions you feel drawn to. some closed religions and practices are open by initiation, and if that is something that interests you, you can do research into how initiations work, where they happen, and if you would be able to be initiated. also remember that you do not have to be religious to do witchcraft!! if that interests you, research secular witchcraft.
- protection and cleansing. i tend to lump these together because they go hand in hand. research how to cleanse protect yourself and how to cleanse and protect your space.
- how to set up an altar. not every witch has an altar and you don’t have to! but if you’re interested in one, research how to set one up. going out and collecting rocks, water, and flowers for my altar was what i consider the real beginning of my practice.
remember that all of these are suggestions!! i just remember feeling overwhelmed with all the other lists and i know im not the only one, so i thought this could help! and, there are many other things you can research; most importantly, look into what piques your interest.
literally just a rock. it can be a protective crystal if you want, but also if you pick up a rock from outside it can be a ward.
black salt (or any salt, if you wish) on windowsills. i also have black salt in jars in the 4 corners of my room.
sticks. dude trees are SO cool and protective, just don’t cut off a branch (unless you’ve been given permission, but i doubt a tree would like one of their limbs being cut off when you can easily find naturally dropped ones on the ground).
sigils! sigils are so versatile, make your own or find some online, draw it on a paper, and put it in your room. i have some thumbtacked to my wall as well as on my altar.
thread or ribbons around doorknobs. tbh, im not sure where this one comes from (maybe witch bells? which are also an idea) but you can tie black (or any color, but black is good for protection) ribbon around your doorknobs as a form of protection.
i’ll probably add a second post if i think of more. hope these can help you come up with your own ideas, too!! happy witching!
Water Energies
It could energize crystals
Perfect for a magical bath
For bless yourself, your home or magical tools
Good for Fae work
Excellent for abundance
Used in love or fertility spell
Used in subtle magick
Recommended for spells that focus on purity endings and change
For slow working spells
Multi-purpose
Excellent for growth and rebirth spells
Good for spells that you want to keep gaining power over time
Recommended for rituals and spells that has to do with moving on.
Focusing energy
Breaking through rough times
Warding
Good for activating tools
Good for cleansing
Healing
Banishing
Used for protection rituals and spells
Cleansing crystals
Add a magical boost to any work
Good for spells and rituals that has to do with emotional strengthening, confidence and motivation
Virtuous for hexes and curses
☀️sunrise is the best time for: healing, positivity, happiness, anti-anxiety/depression, spirituality, self care/love, air magic, cleansing, soft energy/ positive energy amplifier, truth spells, protection, and peace
☀️sunrise associations: citrine, lemon, peaches, ginger, orange, morning dew, orange calcite, coffee, bergamot, lime, earl grey, mint, sage, cinnamon, grapefruit, morning glory, marigold, saffron, calendula, daylily, daisy, black tea, and frankincense
☀️tips and things to try:
🌞yoga (especially sun salutations!)
🌻sunbathe in the sunrise to cleanse and charge with positive energy
🌞if you can’t wake up before/during sunrise, just leave your window blinds open to help you wake up naturally and/or to charge in the sunlight while you’re sleeping
🌻this is a great time for tea and coffee magic
🌞this is a great time to charge stones, especially sun-sensitive stones. (Here’s a post on solar stones)
🌻listen to and charge with soft or acoustic music
🌞 spend some time outside, take some deep breaths of fresh air, enjoy the birds chirping, flowers, dew, fog, and the beautiful colors in the sky that sunrise brings
🌻charge some lemon juice in the sunrise for extra boost of cleansing, positivity, and happiness properties (to make it stronger you can infuse it with mint or grapefruit, which both have similar properties and correspond with sunrise)
🌞if you’re comfortable with it, leave an offering out for sunrise deities and dawn sprites & other sun fae
🌻sunrise is a spiritual time, it’s the perfect time for meditation, exploring spirituality, astral travel, etc.
🌞here’s my post on how to connect to the elements in the morning/dawn
☀️My sunrise recipes:
🍋Sunrise tea: (has cleansing, happiness, positivity, energy boost, and protection properties)
1 part grapefruit (be careful if you’re on medication) optional
1 part sage or basil (whichever you prefer, both work)
1 part lemon
1 part orange
1 part mint
1 part hibiscus
🍊Sunrise oil/diffuser blend: (helps you connect to the sunrise, and it’s energy. It has positivity, happiness, anti-depression/anxiety, glamour, cleansing, and love properties)
Bergamot
Grapefruit
Rosemary
Lime
🍑Dawn faeries/spirtes:
☀️What they’re like- human looking, lots of pinks (their skin as well as ‘clothes’), they love dancing during sunrise, waking up the animals and plants sweetly, happy attitude, gentle, they love dew, pink clouds, they have a soft yet sparkly pink glow (it feels warm but not hot), and can bring about peaceful and positive feelings
☀️Offerings- rose quartz!!!, grapefruit, pink chyroprase, pink roses, peaches, peach roses, peony, geranium, hibiscus, marigold
☀️Deities associated with sunrise- Eos, Aurora, Hemera, Alectrona, Neaera, Mitra, Saranyu
Howdy! I’m back with another installment in my protection series!! Today I’m gonna be talking about something a little bit less magickal and more mundane: Grounding!
A quick google search will bring you to a plethora of pages talking about the phenomenon known as…grounding. Be wary that some of these sources will talk about autoimmune diseases and other chronic illnesses as if they can be cured by grounding- that is NOT the case!
Grounding is talked about in two capacities: as a practice that can help you pull away from flashbacks, unwanted memories, and negative or challenging emotions..or the other way grounding is mentioned in modern day witchy settings is as: a therapeutic technique that involves doing activities that “ground” or electrically reconnect you to the earth.
I honestly think these are one in the same, but I think of grounding as “centering” myself to protect myself from any malicious energy that may intend to harm me, and as a way to dispel any unwanted energy.
Put your hands in water: focus on the temperature, the feeling of the water, etc.
Breathing exercises: By bringing focus to your breath, you can help calm and center yourself. I personally favor an app called “Breathwrk” that has guided breathing exercises.
Take a short walk: You may not always be able to take a break to walk, but this is an amazing way to get in touch with the earth and your surroundings while also giving yourself a little “reset” to get back to a healthy mindset.
Hold ice: Like with the water technique, holding an ice cube and letting it melt in your hand gives you a sensory focusing tool to bring your mind back to the present
Light a candle: Or something to that effect. If you put on your favorite diffuser scent, or light your favorite candle, you can focus on the scent and draw your attention to the scent that fills the room
Play a “challenging” game: I think this one may just be me but I love to do the daily mini cross word, or a similar game like solitare, when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It brings me back to the moment and gives me a second to reset while stimulating my brain
Think in categories: Choose one or two broad categories, such as “musical instruments,” “ice cream flavors,” “mammals,” or “baseball teams.” Take a minute or two to mentally list as many things from each category as you can.
List your favorites: Listing is something I thoroughly enjoy, and by listing your favorite ______ (insert category) you are bringing your mind into a thankful/uplifting headspace
Close your eyes and focus on your energy. Get it under control so that it’s manageable—and then, using your hands, push it into the ground, a bucket of water, a tree, or some other object that can absorb it.
Grounding is useful in multiple mundane situations, like when you’re stressed, overwhelmed, etc. But we use grounding in magickal situations…especially surrounding energy work. For example: If you fail to center yourself properly before you preform a spell, ritual, or something that is highly demanding of your energy, you can feel kind of “amped up” or jittery afterwards. When you preform any sort of magick, you can get a rush of energy afterwards if you didn’t properly center yourself. Grounding is extremely useful because it can help get rid of that extra energy you’ve stored up.
Remember it’s always important to cross reference your information, for this post I used multiple sources I knew have been vetted by much more experienced witches than I am- but still! You need to make sure what you’re reading is credible
Grounding Techniques: Healthline
Magickal Grounding
Grounding 101
What Is Grounding: Healthline
Getting Grounded
🪐Notes about the qualities of planets✨
**I found these observations in my notes from about a year ago when I was researching the qualities of the planets for aspect research. I can’t the source of these just yet but when I do I’ll add it! I think these could be super interesting to analyze in content of ruling planets. Do people take on these properties in a way? Either way I hope you all enjoy them! **
☀️Sun: to radiate, blast or push forward. Create attention or spotlight. Very hot and dry (heat makes more active, dry creates distinctions) Masculine, spirit, intent, will, determination
🌙Moon: to suck, to draw inward, to collect inward with magnetism, creating a vacuum. Cold and wet (cold makes things inactive, wet blurs distinctions and creates sympathy and empathy and unity of feeling). Cold lowers activity levels, makes calm. Feminine, receiver for spiritual info
🗣Mercury: to split and quicken, duality, logic. Goes between dualities and communicates between hot and cold, dry and wet, light and dark, hard and soft. Tends to be slightly dry but mimics prominent energy. Communication, transit, language, mental capacity
🌷Venus: to unify, pacify and smudge with levelling force. Cool and wet (cold creates inactivity and wet blurs creating empathy, sympathy ect). Connects people and blurs distinctions or differences that would separate them. Coolness aids in social harmony. Feminine
🔥Mars: to energize, activate and direct. Hot and dry (hot creates activity, dryness creates distinction). Malefic. Heat creates disturbance and anger. And the dryness creates distinctions and highlights differences, keep opposites apart. Masculine, survival instinct, war, violence, danger, actions, decisions
🌱Jupiter: to expand, to collect and add. Hot and wet (heat creates activity, wet blurs lines creating empathy, sympathy and unity). Hot and wet = ideal growing conditions, things grow under this energy. Shows where prosperity is most likely to happen in a chart. Masculine
🪐Saturn: to contract, jell (crystallize), to form or organize. Super cold and dry (cold creates inactivity, dry creates distinction). Malefic. Dryness makes distinctions which separate and cold nullifies slow activities and togetherness. Can create depression or lack of understanding other perspectives. Coldness allows concentration of ideas (molecules) and the dryness gives structure. Responsibility, achievement, discipline
💥Uranus: entropy, to explode, fracture or split. Very hot and dry (hot creates activity, dry creates distinction) . Electricity. Breakthroughs, sudden insights. Freedom
🌊Neptune: to expand without addition, to dissipate, release, blur, diffusion, to make porous and permeate. Very cold and wet (cold creates inactivity, wet blurs and creates empathy, sympathy, unity). Malefic. Can blue to the extreme. Idealism, very little structure. Feminine
🐍Pluto: to transform, shape shifting, purification. Aversion. Heat and dryness kind of, but not very defined like mercury. Death, regeneration
I think people very often oversimplify what shadow-work is and typically don't know what it's for.
The term Shadow in Shadow-work refers to the Jungian archetype. Jung said the Shadow "represents our darkest desires, our untapped resources, or even rejected qualities. It can also symbolize our greatest fears and phobias." Exploring the Shadow is inherently uncomfortable and can bring a reaction out of us when we come close to it. For example, we feel anger or hostility to others often because they represent or demonstrate an aspect of our Shadow.
Shadow-work, however, is the practice of acknowledging, identifying, and understanding the contents of our Shadow. So not only are we not ignoring the Shadow, we're deliberately exploring it.
The purpose of Shadow-work is to facilitate personal growth, identify and heal lifelong traumas, promote personal accountability, understand the mind's conditioned responses, add context behind our personal behaviors, to know what our values are and why we hold those values, and to be consciously aware of our actions, their consequences, and why they produced the consequences they had. The Shadow is not some kind of evil programming inside us designed to ruin our lives, but rather parts of ourselves we've chosen to bury as opposed to addressing their needs.
Why is this work important? Becoming adept at Shadow-work turns someone into the orchestrator of their life as opposed to the byproduct of it. We learn act as opposed to react. We happen to life as opposed to life happening to us. This state of sovereignty is essential for magical and spiritual growth, which is why you see many practitioners undertake it.
It's uncomfortable work, but it's work worth doing.
⭐️ First of all, we need to get a few things clear. Tarot won’t always make sense. You will make mistakes. Sometimes, you won’t get any messages at all no matter how hard you try. If this sounds similar to your experience with the cards, don’t feel bad. It doesn’t mean you’re a “bad” reader. As soon as you get more comfortable with the idea of being wrong, you’ll find that your confidence (and subsequently your readings) will improve a lot! Got that? Great! Let’s move on to the topic at hand.
Confused by your tarot cards? Don’t get discouraged.
⭐️ I’m just going to tell you plainly. There isn’t a single tarot reader in the world who hasn’t been completely baffled with their cards at some point. This is natural and a completely normal part of the learning process. What’s more, Tarot is one of those things that you never really stop learning more about. There is always room for growth, and for finding deeper meanings within the stories each card tells. So if you’re hoping to be a “Tarot Master” with omnipotent vision and 100% accurate readings about everything, then I’m afraid I must be the bearer of bad news: There’s no such thing. We’ll all be wrong or confused sometimes, and that’s ok.
Even so, there are a few things to consider if you find yourself bamboozled by your cards more often than not.
Reasons why your tarot cards don’t make sense, and what to do about it.
⭐️ This is a common culprit for readings that aren’t making much sense. If you don’t shuffle your cards enough, either straight out of the plastic wrapping or after too many readings, you won’t get any clear messages. This is especially true if you’ve been doing a lot of readings, and just quickly shuffling your pulled cards back into the deck afterwards. If you notice that you are getting a lot of cards from previous readings, and they aren’t making much sense, it might be time for a good shuffle.
What to do: If your deck is new, you’ll want to spend several days shuffling and getting to know the cards. This will mix up the cards enough for you to actually get messages, and help you become more familiar with the imagery of the deck (which will improve your intuitive readings).
⭐️ If you deck isn’t new, it’s likely that you just haven’t shuffled well enough in between readings. It happens. Just give them a good shuffle, and you’ll be set.
⭐️ Wait! Don’t get upset yet! I’m not saying that you have to memorize the traditional meaning of every card, and use only that definition as the “be all, end all” of card interpretations. Far from it! That would be super boring. I’m also not saying that you can’t use the guidebook (you totally can). In fact, if you use your guidebooks, you’ll be able to learn the subtle nuances that each deck author attributes to the card meanings. It’s pretty neat stuff!
⭐️ However, a basic understanding of your cards and their key meanings will help you read accurately with consistency. A big part of intuitive reading is being able to recognize the symbolism within the cards. If you know a keyword for each card, you can use them as a starting point for your interpretations.
⭐️ For example: Let’s say you have the 4 of cups. Traditionally, it shows a moody figure, staring off into the distance, with spilled cups before them. Above the figure is often some sort of offering that they can’t see. If you know that a keyword for the 4 of cups is apathy, you could use the symbolism in the card to read it as “having lost interest in a situation”. The figure feels apathy for the situation he’s in, and is not interested in what is being offered. That’s an example of the traditional, symbolic meaning of the tarot in action. Ready to take this a step further? Once you know the traditional meaning, you can combine it with other cards, as well as the details of the situation, to “springboard” into other interpretations.
⭐️ Example 2: Maybe you know that “apathy”, the traditional meaning of the 4 of cups, doesn’t completely fit. In this imaginary reading, the client is asking you about an argument they had with their partner. They are hurt and upset, and have asked you if it’s worth it to stay in the relationship. Clearly, they are not feeling apathetic toward the situation! In this case, we would go beyond “apathy” or “loss of interest”. What is the energy of this card? Combining the imagery with the traditional meaning, we can generate other meanings. Stagnancy, miscommunication and an inability to see another perspective are all alternative, non-traditional interpretations. In this situation, I might tell this client that there is some confusion between them and their partner. Neither one has a clear understanding of how the other feels. Therefore, it might be a good idea to discuss the current situation with each other once they have both had time to calm down. The surrounding cards will usually help you fine tune your interpretation.
What do to: There’s no way around this one. Study the cards. In particular, the imagery of your deck will be very useful to become familiar with. Read your guidebook, read other tarot books and blogs, journal about your readings. If books are not your thing, there are countless YouTube videos and podcasts that cover tarot these days. My favorite tarot podcast is Tarot bytes by Theresa Reed. Pace yourself. You don’t have to learn everything in a week. Most importantly, read, read, read with your deck. The more you read, the more you will begin to understand how your deck communicates and how your intuition picks up on this subtle energy.
⭐️ This mostly happens if you are reading for yourself, but it can also happen when reading for close friends or family. Sometimes, if we are hyper focused on a particular outcome or in a state of reaction, it’s easy to project our own personal feelings onto the cards. This skews the interpretation. Its not a bad thing to read for yourself, your family or your friends. However, it’s a good idea to keep this point in mind.
What to do: If you are nervous, upset or in any way unable to remain objective about the outcome, it’s probably best to not do the reading. You can try again later when things are calmer.
⭐️ This happens when a reader fails to take into account the “focus” or theme of the reading. For example, if a client asks you about work, and The Lovers card comes up, you should not tell them that they will meet their soulmate soon. This has nothing to do with what they were asking about. You’re more likely to encounter this problem when reading for others, but it can happen when reading for yourself.
What to do: An easy answer, stay on script. Keep the original question in the forefront of your mind during the entire reading. Like our example above, if you are reading about work, don’t start interpreting anything about romance. The cards are nuanced and varied enough to have multiple meanings. Instead, if The Lovers card appears in a work related reading, consider how the energy of the card might show up within the context of the reading. Instead of a “soulmate”, you might say that this client needs to find a harmony and balance between their home and work life. This is just one of many possible ways to interpret this card within the context of a work-related reading.
⭐️ This can happen with both self-readings and readings for other people. Tarot is a powerful tool of self reflection and insightful divination, but it is not omnipotent. Further more, tarot readers themselves are not mind readers. We have to have context and understanding in order to see the connections clearly enough to interpret them with accuracy. With tarot, the more context we have about a situation, the better a reading will be. So for vague questions like “what will happen next Tuesday?”, a reader would need to supplement the reading with their intuitive abilities. It can be done, but the chance of misinterpretation is much higher if a reader is unsure how to weave the tarot and clair senses together.
⭐️ Some types of questions are ill-suited to tarot. Generally speaking, these would be questions that limit the ability of the seeker to act. “Will I pass my exam?” would not be a good question because it leaves no room for change or growth. A reader might struggle to interpret this correctly unless they are very experienced.
⭐️ Another type of question that you might see a lot are third party questions. For example: “Is person A having an affair with person B?” This type of question that doesn’t directly involve the seeker in any way is not useful with tarot. Most likely, you won’t get a clear answer or any useful information. Tarot is not a tool to be used to spy on others. In fact, it’s quite disrespectful to use the cards in this way.
What to do: A lot of this boils down to personal preference and reading style, but a good rule of thumb is to ask open ended questions. In this sense, questions that begin with “how” or “what” will be better than questions that start with “is”. Remember, tarot does not deal in absolutes. It reflects energy of situations and projected futures, and energy can change. Nothing is 100% certain with tarot.
Hello Tarot Friends! So I’ve had some lovely opportunities to teach tarot over on discord, and one of the questions I notice most often is how to read court cards. While I do agree that they can be a bit trickier than the rest of the deck, they aren’t too bad if you think of them as one of three possibilities. This is how I understand and read with court cards. I hope this little info graph can help someone out at least a little! Maybe a little later on I will create something that goes into each court card more in depth.
Also, please keep in mind that this is only my own personal reading preference for court cards. Their are so many different possibilities. If you read them a different way and that’s working for you, then that’s perfectly ok.
…WANDS 🔥
conditions are primarily in the realm of thought
situation is in the very early stages of development
you are being provided insight into the core of who you are
they represent intention and consciousness
you are being inspired to take action
element: fire
key words: ideas, growth, ambition, expansion
…CUPS 🌊
conditions are primarily felt in the realm of emotion or spirit
you need to pay attention to your intuition for this situation
thoughts and feelings are blending together
things may not be manifesting outwardly yet
element: water
key words: emotion, desire, inner experience, spirit
…SWORDS ⚔️
conditions are in the realm of action
there is a lot of activity, acceleration, and/or agitation
associated with power and conflict
you’re in the last stages of effort and/or difficulty before the final result
swords do have a double edge - be cognizant of your thoughts/ambitions/actions
element: air
key words: action, movement, struggle, keenness
…PENTACLES 🏅
conditions are taking form, you’re in the realm of manifestation
dealing with the physical plane of life
situations surrounding work, health, finances, material possessions
you are being presented with the end result - what’s come to fruition
element: earth
key words: manifestation, realization, proof, prosperity
Keeping this here as well-
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
Also this one-
The number 10 is the biggest in the Minor Arcana. Therefore:
The Ten of Wands is the biggest burden you can have.
The Ten of Cups is the biggest happiness you can feel.
The Ten of Swords is the biggest pain you can endure.
The Ten of Pentacles is the biggest abundance you can enjoy.
Main Meaning: Burden. Either in the sense of having too many tasks to accomplish for the day, or too many problems in life to deal with.
Positive Meaning: Being burdened by a harvest. First-world problems. Like having too much money that you do not know where to put it all.
Main Meaning: Happiness. The kind you get from knowing there is a special someone or an entire loving family you can share your joys and sorrows with.
Negative Meaning: Nothing. The Ten of Cups at its worst only means that your fairy tale ending is delayed. In divine timing, it will arrive.
Main Meaning: Pain. Physical or emotional. Feeling like you cannot take it anymore. As if death would be a sweet relief to your current ordeal.
Positive Meaning: The worst is over. You have experienced the peak of agony. From here on out, whatever follows will be tolerable.
Main Meaning: Abundance. Usually material. Not the kind that lasts for just a few minutes, but one that will stay for the rest of your life.
Negative Meaning: Nothing. Like the Ten of Cups, the Ten of Pentacles at its worst only means your stability is delayed but still promised.