SAMHAIN SOUL CAKES RECIPE

Offering cookies recipes

Cookies are one of the best baked goods to give as offerings, because they're 1; easy to make, and 2; greatly enjoyed by most deities.

The recipe(s) I use is a modified chocolate chip cookie recipe, which can be easily modified to preference.

I prefer to use sifted cake flour instead of all-purpose, because it makes them a bit thicker and more firm.

Keep in mind that I'm no professional baker by any means, so there may be some oopsies in this post. If so, please don't hesitate to point it out!

Version 1: Dark Chocolate Chip Rosemary Cookies

2 & 1/2 cups flour, sifted

3/4 cup softened coconut oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 heaping tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon cardamom (optional)

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Cream together the coconut oil and the sugars with a hand mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla extract.

Sift in the dry ingredients, then stir with a spatula until just combined.

Mix in the rosemary and chocolate chips.

Spoon 1' balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes, or until browned.

Version 2: Milk chocolate chip chai spice cookies

The second uses the same recipe, except instead of dark chocolate chips and rosemary, I use a mix of chai spices.

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (be very careful not to use too much! Cloves can be extremely overpowering!)

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground star anise (you can leave this one out if you don't like the taste)

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Just sift the spices in with the dry ingredients and you're good to go!

Happy baking!

Freyr’s Lore Tome 🌾

To help celebrate this year’s Vetrnætr (Winter-Nights), I’m happy to present Freyr’s lore tome! It currently covers 25 sources with 71 entries—it’s a great way to learn more (and aid research) about him!

Find it here | Need access? Join us!

• As Above, So Below •

Spell Jar Series: Healing

~Cinnamon

~Garlic skin

~Mint

~Rosemary

~Ivy

~Cedar

~Thyme

~Lavender

(The Label got covered in the wax I used…oops)

I charged this jar with lots and lots of green crystals (Jade, Moss Agate, and Green Onyx primarily) with plenty of sunlight and near clean, cool water. I hang this jar on my bed whenever I’m sick or hurt, and often carry it around with me when I’m having bad mental health days as well, but when it’s not on my person for use it’s stored in my first aid kit! I charge it up regularly so it can pass its energy onto all my band-aids, painkillers, antiseptic pastes and other medical supplies. If you want to pair it with a cleansing shower or bath, check out my witchy soaps post!

Fake Witchy Authors on Amazon ⋆ CrowSong Lodge

There seems to be a TON of FAKE AUTHORS selling self published books about wicca and witchcraft on Amazon. Let's talk about it.

More about the Lisagate situation.

A Hearth Witch's Security System - Boundaries and Entrances

A Disclaimer: I am one person and my opinions (which I have in abundance) may not reflect the opinions of other witches, in general, or other people who call themselves hearth witches. In fact, they probably won’t, because I’m an asshole. I have a bizarre sense of humor that doesn’t convey well in text and I rant about shit I don’t like. A lot. If you don’t think you can handle that, maybe don’t read anything I write. Ever.

Protecting the Home, Protecting the Family 

Let me preface this post by saying, I am exhausted, so probably nothing I write here is going to make sense to anyone but me. Also, that has just been my luck lately, but we’ll see how it goes anyway. 

If you read my blog, you’ll know that I do a lot of stuff to protect my railroad cottage. Not just because I live here, but because I literally use my house as a symbol of my household and family. So, in a witchcraft sense, protecting my home is protecting my family. And, because that’s the witchcraft I write about most on my blog, that’s what I get a lot of questions about (spirit work aside, because that’s what I get the most questions about). 

So, this post is going to be about various ways to protect your home and (hopefully) prevent nasties from creeping inside. 

Rule Number One: Keep a Clean House

I know that sounds really boring. I know you’re like, “Emma, that is not witchcraft. Those are chores and I hate you. Did my mom put you up to this?” But, actually, there are two good reasons that’s Rule No. 1: 

It’s not easy to cleanse a house that isn’t clean. Part of protecting your home is being prepared to go into battle for it. Now, witchcraft is known to make a house a little cluttered. If you’ve got ribbons falling out of your sewing box and stockpiles of tea on your counter. Don’t worry. You’re normal. But it’s possible for a house to be both cluttered and clean.

Cleaning a house regularly is a fantastic way to magically take ownership of the property—which I’ve discussed here. 

Obviously, I’m not saying you’re house has to look like something from Good Housekeeping. My own cottage has four rooms and is home to more than four people. It’ll never be as neat as we want it to be. But’s it’s clean. And that’s what matters. 

Rule Number Two: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors 

I’m not talking about real fences—but those too. I’m talking more about magical boundaries. Like a witch fence. This can be set up in or outside of ritual, using a real fence, other objects, or using visualization. 

So, let’s talk about putting up this fence, huh? The method I use  is, of course, the “Gross Method”—and, by gross, I mean no one wants to do it or talk to me they’ve found out I’ve done it. It uses a pre-existing fence to create the boundary, which means that what you’re actually doing with this method is enchanting or reinforcing your standing fence. It’s supa supa easy. Like really, children could do if you let them. Only probably don’t let them because it’s probably a health hazard. 

For this method, you will need 1) a fence, 2) something to mark your stake-points with, 3) some bodily fluids—i.e. menstrual blood, piss, spit, sexual fluids, etc., 4) your bad ol’ self

Step One: Walk around your property and decide where you want your stake-points to be. I refer to them as stake-points because what you’re actually doing is kind of like putting up a magical tent rather than a fence. These are the strength points of your enchanted fence. You’ll want at least one in every corner of the existing fence. Mark these places. You can do this by scratching or painting on the fence, tying something to the fence, or sticking something in the ground there. In my case, I used the support posts for my pre-existing fence as my stake points, so I didn’t have to mark them because I knew where they were. 

Step Two: Collect fluids. (Unless you’re using spit, which you have.) You can water any of these fluids down if you need to—except probably spit. 

Step Three: Using a paintbrush, herbs, your hands, a spray bottle, or whatever, apply the fluid to the INSIDE of your fence where your neighbors won’t be touching. As you do, visualize the stake-points linking together as they’re placed. I tend to visualize something like a barbed-wire fence going up between my stake-points, but white light works too if you’re into that. **If you’re going to forget, mark where you started.

Step Four: When you’ve completed the fence and connected your last stake-point to your starting point, visualize the tent going up. In my visualization this is something like a deer-skin version of a Circus tent, but I am a legit freak of nature, so your probably wont be. 

Now, you can be done here, or you can write something to say to tweak the spell to your style. If you have Property Spirits that you work with, you may also want to ask them to guard the fence at this point. 

Rule Number Three: Gardening = Ammo 

While we’re still outdoors, let’s talk about ‘defensive gardening’. One of my favorite things to do with my garden is to reinforce my boundaries by planting protective herbs. Not only does it add punch to your enchanted fence, but it provides ammunition should you need to banish something later. 

This can be done directly in the ground, in hanging planters at/on your stake-points, in windowboxes, in planters by the door, etc. 

Some good protective herbs to start are:

Aloe

Rosemary 

Roses (thorny for offensive magic, rosehips for defensive magic)

Mint

Lavender

You may also want to include banishing plants

Garlic 

Sage 

Sweeatgrass

Thyme

As well as flowers, trees, and shrubs to the same effect (like holly, cedar, etc). 

Rule Number Four: Wards/Wardings Aren’t As Hard As They Sound

Come with me to the porch and let’s talk about wards! *runs to the porch, points at wards* Wards are awesome! There are so many different kinds and they can range anywhere from decorative to practical to invisible! 

When you’re warding your doorway, like a lot of witchcraft, intent is super important. Really, it doesn’t matter what kind of ward you use as long as you have the intent. And, with the bucket load of types of warding, you should be able to find one to fit your needs.

My favorite way to ward a door or window is with a decorative ward, which was something we did in my family for years and then I finally saw it outside of our house in an Ellen Dugan book (which I bought JUST for that reason). This one isn’t mine, but it’s a good example of one:

These hang above doors and windows to ward off evil, ill will, etc. and can be made out of dried flowers and herbs (like above), fabric (such as a warding banner), carved into the wood above a door, or any other way you prefer. 

I usually go with the pictured method. Typically I

Start with a base. For year-round wards I like to use wheat and dried grass (which you can find at a craft store—but not Hobby Lobby, because they areevil). 

I face half of my base one way and half the opposite way—so that the cut ends are together and you have the awesome wheat/grass/evergreen ends facing out. Over lap the two halves a few inches and tie them together. (I usually use twine for that, but you can use whatever you like.

Next, go you your second layer, which is the actual warding part. For this, my favorite things to use are lavender (which grows wild in the neighborhood I work in), and rosemary. But there are plenty of other possibilities, too—sunflowers, rose, baby’s breath, holly, pine, mint, etc. These can be tucked into the tie you’ve already made, glued on, or tied on separately. 

To finish mine off, I usually add a bell, to symbolize a signal, which sort of makes the ward into an alarm. Sometimes, when trouble is around, I’ll hear a bell even though it’s not ringing. Sometimes it actually rings. 

The ward can go above your door, window, fireplace, or anywhere else you feel you want to hang it. 

Of course, there are a lot of other ways to ward your doors and windows. 

With energy and visualization. 

With water or oil (drawing protective symbols on them with the water/oil) 

Warding Wreaths

Other hangings (like photographs of deities or saints, Brigid’s crosses, horseshoes, strings or bells)

Salt lines and brickdust (I tend to mix these together)

Hanging herbs by or above the door (I typically dry my herbs next to the door so I never have a shortage of door-based protection)

Whatever

The most important thing is that you make your intent clear. Whether you want to ward off evil spirits or unwelcome mortal visitors, make your intent clear. If you need to do this by putting your warding into a big ritual, do so. If you need to activate your wards out loud, go ahead. 

Rule Number Five: Everything You Need to Strengthen Your Protection is On/In You

Spit

Urine

Menstrual Blood

Sexual Fluids 

Sweat 

and so on

These are all totally useful supplies for witchcraft in general and for protection in specific. A touch of one of these on a window, door, doorknob, etc is fantastic for strengthening a boundary and clearly marking your territory to anyone who might wander inside. Surface cleaning with remove germs, but not the intent or the warning.

Rule Number Six: Never Let an Outsider Make Your Forget Whose House This Is

The conviction of ownership is pretty important to home protection. Don’t let an intruder scare you into believing that they own your home. They don’t. It’s yours. The people inside it are yours. 

Keeping Consumerism out of Your Craft

Consumerism is a set of socioeconomic conditions and attitudes that encourage the continual acquisitions of goods and services. There is no “enough” in a consumerist society — members of the society are constantly pushed to buy new things, pay for new services, and keep up with the latest trends.

There are a few reasons consumerism is bad news. For one thing, it’s terrible for the environment — consumerist cultures usually have linear economies, where resources are extracted, consumed, then discarded, with no effort to replenish them. This is highly unsustainable, because at some point those limited resources are going to run out. Consumerism also has a human cost, as it often leads to the use of sweatshops, which violate basic labor laws. In many sweatshops, workers are not paid a livable wage, children are employed as workers, and working conditions are unsafe. Companies in countries like the United States get around labor laws by outsourcing labor to other (poorer) places. Consumerism also contributes to classism, as the acquisition of expensive items is often treated as a status symbol.

Consumerism is present in nearly every aspect of Western culture, and this includes spirituality and witchcraft. There are multiple “Beginner Witch Kits” for sale from Amazon and other online retailers which include candles, crystals, and incense — which is great, as long as that’s all stuff you’ll actually use in your practice. (I mean, do you really need twelve different varieties of incense?) Witchy authors and bloggers often treat magic like a matching game, where every problem requires a very specific herb or crystal. YouTube is full of “witch hauls,” videos solely dedicated to showing off new purchases. All of this contributes to a commercialized witchy aesthetic, which can only be achieved by buying the tools of the trade.

I get it. Shopping is fun, especially when you’re still learning about magic and magical items. It’s exciting to search for the perfect crystal or incense blend, especially if you have a local metaphysical store where you can shop in person. But owning the right stuff doesn’t make you a witch. All you need to practice magic is your will — everything else is optional.

I’m not saying every witch should be a hardcore minimalist, or that you can never buy new things. What I am saying is that all of us, witches or not, need to be more mindful of how we spend our money and the impact of our purchases on the world around us.

How to Avoid Consumerism

If you’re considering buying something, ask yourself if you’ll really get use out of it. For example, I don’t use a lot of tools in my practice because I prefer to work with my hands, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to buy an expensive wand or ritual knife. Don’t feel like you have to buy something just because another witch uses it — if you don’t think you’ll use it, don’t buy it.

Don’t buy multiples of the same tool. Instead of buying multiple different colored altar cloths for different times of year, buy one white altar cloth you can use year-round. Instead of buying multiple tarot decks, find one or two you really enjoy working with. You get the idea. (Obviously, there will be some items you need more than one of, like spell candles. This rule applies more to tools that can be reused.)

Replace things as they run out instead of buying them before you need them. Buying things in bulk can lead to unnecessary waste and drawers full of unused magical supplies. Buy things you know you’ll really use, and only buy one or two at a time. Use up the items you have before you buy more.

Invest in items that have multiple uses. For example, most kitchen spices can also be used in spells — search your spice cabinet before ordering special ingredients online. There are some items that have multiple magical uses, like rosemary and salt. Buy a couple of these multitaskers instead of a large collection of herbs with very specific uses.

Use the “two week” rule. This is something I do to keep myself from making impulse purchases. If I think I want to buy something online, I wait two weeks before I order it. If I still want it after two weeks, I take that as a sign that I’ll actually get some use from it.

Go “shopping” in your backyard. Familiarize yourself with the plants, animals, and minerals that are native to your area and go foraging for spell supplies instead of buying them. Items you can probably find near your home that could be used in ritual include leaves and flowers, pine cones, seed pods, tree branches, rocks, and naturally shed feathers. Just make sure you never harvest enough of a plant to hurt it, and make sure you properly disinfect any animal products you pick up.

If you can, make it yourself. Not only does making your own magic items save money, it also creates a much stronger personal link between you and that item. You can grow your own magical herbs in a garden or in indoor pots. Many common magical tools, like brooms and wands, are easy to make at home with some basic craft skills. Making your own items also means you can customize them, tailoring them to your own craft.

If you can’t make it yourself, but it used. There are some items you can’t reasonably make yourself, like incense burners, cauldrons, and books on the craft. But you can find most of these items used, either in thrift stores or online on websites like Ebay and Depop. Buying used almost always ends up being cheaper than buying new, and because you’re buying items already in circulation you aren’t contributing to a linear economy. Thrifting is also a great way to find unique items that won’t be like what anyone else has on their altar.

If you can’t find it used, support a small business. Sometimes, you can’t make what you need or find it in a thrift store. In that case, buying from a small business is preferable to buying from a big retailer like Amazon. When you support a small business, you’re supporting an individual rather than contributing to some CEO’s massive yearly bonus. A lot of small business owners make their items themselves, which avoids sweatshop labor. Pretty much everything I buy new for my craft comes from Etsy sellers — there are a LOT of witches on Etsy, so with a little digging you can easily find exactly what you’re looking for!

Don’t buy crystals. I know, I know. Thanks to social media, large crystal collections have become synonymous with witchcraft. But the crystal trade is highly unethical, with unsustainable mining techniques, dangerous working conditions, and child labor. Because of a lack of regulations, it’s virtually impossible to find crystals that are truly ethically sourced. Most sellers don’t know where their crystals come from and can’t guarantee that no workers were harmed in their extraction. No stone is worth the health and safety of other human beings, no matter how pretty.

Avoiding consumerism in your witchcraft means being less reliant on tools and set dressing. This will allow you to rely on your own energy and will, which will lead to a deeper and more meaningful spiritual practice.

Resources:

Revolutionary Witchcraft by Sarah Lyons

Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins

“11 Facts About Sweatshops” on dosomething.org

“Child labour in the fashion supply chain” from The Guardian

“Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000” from BBC News

“Are crystals the new blood diamonds?” from The Guardian

“Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze” from The Guardian

Quick spell from my grandma that was passed onto her from her mum and however many generations…

Lost something?

Stick a pin in your sofa and it’ll return to you.

Why does this shit work? No clue, fam. But mum and grandma swear by it and I’ll be damned if it didn’t work for me today

Deities of the crossroads and beings that dwell in liminal spaces truly favour the bold. Remember that the next time you hesitate.