Shadow Work Info 🧿🌀🥀

Symbols Chart.

lunar cycles

Good evening everyone!

Tonight I wanted to talk about something I love, the lunar cycles! Learning about this cycle is so enjoyable, because you don’t have to be a Wiccan or a Witch to participate in any of this, however, keeping this in mind when you are meditating and performing spellwork will always enhance your energies and give you greater success, so without further ado, here’s what each of the moon phases mean, and how you can incorporate them into your magick.

New Moon: This is the time for a clean slate and a new beginning, it is important to gather previous thoughts and feelings and reground yourself. It is the time to plan for the future. This can be done by performing prosperity spells, maybe starting and new journal, and a great time to switch up your altar.

Waxing Crescent: The moon is beginning to grow and be showered in light, and this is what happens to you as a person. This is the best time to bring your hopes and intentions for the future to light. You can do this by writing what you want to achieve on small pieces of paper and pinning them to your walls as a reminder of the direction you are heading in.

First Quarter: This is the time to overcome any obsticals that you may be facing and push through with your achievements, you may have to change how you do things in order to reap the benefits. A great time to try out new crystals and herbs to gain effectiveness in your practices.

Waxing Gibbous: This is the time to refine all that you have learnt. By now you should be growing and moving towards your goal, make sure you have recorded how you have done this in your grimoire or book of shadows, and if there are any last minute changes you need to make, now is the time to do this.

Full Moon: The moon is t her fullest, and completely taken by the light. This is a time to reflect on what you have achieved in the first half of the lunar cycle. You can also take this time to cleanse and charge your crystals so they are ready to use again for the next half.

Waning Gibbous: As the darkness takes over the moon once more, it is time to give thanks for all that you have achieved. You can do this by performing a ritual with the pieces of paper you wrote on, by blessing them and burning them (SAFELY) in your cauldron. 

Third Quarter: This is the time of acceptance, you must let go of any old habits/relationships/and energies that are keeping you from reaching your maximum. It’s a time to take a step for what is best for you.

Waning Crescent: A final time of reflectance before the moon is plunged into total darkness again. View how far you have come and ultimately, don’t beat yourself up if you haven’t achieved everything you want to - there is always the next lunar cycle.

*picture credit: created by me*

Banishing Nasty Spirits

If you’ve been following this series of posts, you know why a witch might work with spirits, how to establish a relationship with a spirit, and how to communicate with spirits. What we haven’t yet discussed is how to get rid of spirits that are bothersome, annoying, or malevolent.

I was planning to talk about pathworking and astral travel before getting into banishing, but in light of some asks I recently received on Tumblr, I think it’s important that we take a moment to discuss how to get rid of spirits that, for whatever reason, you don’t want around.

There are lots of reasons you might not want a spirit in your space. Just like with people, some spirits just aren’t a good fit for you and your practice. Part of being a spirit worker is cultivating a “spirit team” of beings that you can have healthy and beneficial relationships with.

Some spirits are mischievous and like to cause trouble. If you find yourself on the receiving end of lots of spirit pranks, you may want to gently encourage them to move along. And there are some spirits out there who just genuinely hate humans and will go out of their way to cause mental, emotional, and even physical harm.

Don’t get me wrong — malevolent spirits aren’t common. In my experience, the vast majority of unwanted spirits are more annoying than dangerous. I’m not saying this to scare you or make you paranoid. But these things do exist, and it would be negligent of me not to mention them in a series on spirit work.

There’s a reason that one of the most common truisms in witchcraft is, “Never conjure something you can’t banish.” If you’re going to be working with spirits, it’s a good idea to know how to banish them just in case. With that being said, here’s how you can clear out any nasties that may be lingering in your space.

Cleansing

The first step is to kick those unwanted spirits out of your space. There are lots of ways to do this, so choose the one that is the best fit for you.

Cleansing with fire and smoke is a very old and very simple method. If this is the way you decide to go, there are several magical substances you can burn to banish spirits. Burning sulfur or asafetida will clear out just about anything, but they both smell awful and are potentially toxic, so you’ll want to get an okay from the other people living in your home, burn a little at a time, and make sure you have lots of windows open. (Some people say sulfur and asafetida will banish all spirits, not just the unfriendly ones, so you may have to invite your spirit team back in later.) For something that smells a little more pleasant, you can try a mix of frankincense and myrrh resin, or burn a mix of dried rosemary, sage (garden sage, not endangered white sage, please!), and bay leaves — but again, make sure you have windows open, because these get smoky. Plus, you want the windows and/or doors open so the spirits have somewhere to go when the smoke chases them out.

If smoking up your living space isn’t an option for you, you can manually clean your space with a wash or powder. If you have hardwoods, you can make a floor wash with water, salt, lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. (This is adapted from an uncrossing bath in the book Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison.) Use this mixture to mop your floors, as well as to wipe down your walls and furniture. If you have a humidifier or essential oil diffuser, diffusing some of this mix would also be a good idea.

If you have carpet, you can make a powder by combining salt, dried lemon peel, dried roses, lavender flowers, and bay leaves. You’ll need to ground this really fine, so I recommend using a coffee grinder or food processor. Sprinkle the powder on your carpet, let it sit for a few minutes, and then vacuum it up. I would supplement this by also diffusing a mix of saltwater with rosewater, lemon juice, and lavender and/or bay laurel essential oil. If you don’t have a diffuser, at least sprinkle some saltwater around the room and on your belongings.

No matter which form of cleansing you decide to use, it’s important to verbally state your intention to banish these unwanted spirits from your space. Tell them out loud that they are no longer welcome here and that they need to leave. Don’t be rude about it, but be firm and speak clearly and with confidence.

After you cleanse your space, it’s a good idea to cleanse yourself as well to remove any psychic ties to the spirits you’ve just banished. The easiest way to do this is with a ritual bath. The floor wash recipe mentioned earlier can also be used as a psychic cleansing bath. Other options include a bath with salt, frankincense, and myrrh or a bath with salt, rosemary, sage, and bay laurel. You can use essential oils for your bath, or add the resins and herbs to a cheesecloth bag and drop it into the tub for easy diffusing and cleanup.

If you don’t have a bathtub, you can cleanse yourself in the shower. Place two cups of salt in a bowl. Add lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. If you don’t have essential oils, you can add dried lavender and crushed bay leaves. Add some of your favorite body wash to create a scrub (if you don’t have body wash, use olive oil). While in the shower, use this mixture to scrub your skin — visualize yourself scrubbing away any psychic gunk you might have picked up.

Protection

Once you’ve removed any unwanted spirits from your space, you want to lay down some protection to keep them from coming back. There are as many ways to ward off spirits as there are witches, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

One option is to create a ward. You can do this by anointing the door frames, door knobs, and window frames of your home with a protective oil blend and/or by creating lines of salt across your doorways and just inside your windows. You can use other protective substances if you prefer. As you lay down these protections, visualize a protective shield around your home, and speak aloud your intention to keep harmful spirits out.

Iron is said to repel spirits. Keep a railroad spike or other large piece of iron under your bed to prevent nightmares and to keep spirits from messing with you while you sleep. There’s an old superstition that says that hammering iron nails into the four corners of your home protects it from spirits — this may not be possible if you’re renting, but you can create a similar effect by displaying a piece of iron in each of the four corners of your home. Hematite is a crystal that is high in iron, so it can be used in a similar way to ward off spirits.

Aloe is said to protect from negative spirits, and to bring protection and good luck more generally. It’s also a common house plant that is easy to care for, so this method of protection is especially great for witches who need to keep their practice a secret. Keep several aloe plants in your home to protect those who live there.

For witches with a crafty side, making a witch bottle is another option for protection. There are lots of different recipes for witch bottles, but the basic method is to fill a bottle with sharp objects, add something from your body, and hide it somewhere outside your home (traditionally buried on the property, but leaving it in an outbuilding works just as well). The idea is that any nasty spirit that comes looking for you will be attracted to the bottle (because it contains part of your body), get caught by the sharp objects, and be trapped. To create a simple witch bottle, fill a mason jar about halfway with sewing pins, then add a bit of your hair and some of your fingernail clippings, and finally fill it with liquid (traditionally, this liquid is your own urine, but if that makes you uncomfortable vinegar will also work). If you want, you can also include some of your favorite banishing herbs, resins, or crystals.

Religious symbols can also keep nasty spirits away. If you identify strongly with a religion, display protective symbols from that faith in your living space. For example: a Christian witch might hang up a crucifix or set out a statue of Archangel Michael, a Norse pagan witch might hang up an image of Mjolnir, a Hindu witch might display a statue of Durga, etc. Sometimes the most effective way to keep nasty spirits away is to let them know that you’re under the protection of someone more powerful.

When dealing with unwanted spirits, the most important thing to remember is that you do not need to be afraid. You are a powerful witch, and you are more than capable of getting rid of them. Be confident in your abilities and know that whatever happens, you can handle it.

Resources:

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin

Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

💎Some Crystals and their meaning in Witchcraft💎

Recently I am a huge - like really huge - fan of crystals. That’s why I thought that I will try to write a detailed list about crystals and what they are good for. I hope this little list  may be useful for others too.

Anxiety: amazonite, amber, agate, emerald, herkimer quartz, jasper, lepidolite, lodestone, obsidian, quartz, rose quartz, sodalite, turquoise

Balancing/Stability: amethyst, desert rose, jasper, pearl, quartz, red jasper, sodalite, turquoise

Banish fear: banded agate, bloodstone, sodalite

Banish negative energy: amethyst, black onyx, black tourmaline, danburite, lepidolite, malachite, onyx, quartz, smokey quartz, tourmaline

Calming: amatonite, herkimer quartz, howlite

Clarity: azurite, citrine, fluorite, hematite, magnetite, obsidian, pietersite, quartz sapphire, smoky quartz

Cleansing: amber, obsidian

Courage: carnelian, hermatite, turquoise

Creativity: amazonite, ametrine, apatite, aventurine, carnelian, celestite, chalcedony, citrine, flourite (blue), lolite, jasper, kunzite, opal, sunstone, tiger’s eye, lapiz lazuli

Divination: bloodstone, obsidian, turquoise

Empathy: aquamarine, blue aventurine, chrome diopside, rose quartz, malachite

Faith: emerald, imperial golden topaz, labradorite, onyx, sodalite, variscite

Friendship: ruby fuchsite, rhodonite, turquoise

Forgivness: rhodonite, rose quartz

Happiness: amazonite, amber, citrine, red goldstone

Harmony: moonstone, rose quartz, sodalite

Healing: amber, angelite, jasper, kyanite, malachite, quartz, rose quartz, turquoise

Help in focuse: banded agate, citrine, lodestone

Hope: blue aventurine

Indivituality: malachite

Inspiration: amazonite,amethyst, ametrine, blue chalgebony, blue goldstone, carnelian, citrine, garnet, orange calcite, quartz

Joy: amazonite, citrine, labradorite

Love: angelite, citrine, desert rose, dragon blood jasper, garnet, jade, opal, quartz, rose quartz, ruby, turquoise

Loyalty: dalmatian stone, turquoise

Luck: amazonite, amber, apache tears, aventurine, sapphire, turquoise

Meditation: emerald, herkimer quartz, quartz, sodalite, turquoise

Mind: pyrite, sodalite

Passion: carnelian, garnet, ruby

Peace: amazonite, amethyst, emerald, larimar, lepidolite, rose quartz, selenite, sodalite

Positive energy: amber, apache tears, calicite, citrine

Protection: amethyst, black tourmaline, hag stone, kunzite, obsidian, smoky quartz, tiger’s eye, tourmaline, turquoise

Prosperity: amazonite, aventurine, citrine, jade, moss gate, pyrite, ruby , tiger’s eye

Psyche: black tourmaline, calcite, emerald, labradorite, tuquoise

Psychic: chalcedony, unakite

Relieve stress: blue calcite, herkimer quartz, lepidolite, quartz, sodalite

Self-confidence/Self-esteem: amazonite, amber, ametrine, black tourmaline, chrysocolla, garnet, larimar, pearl, prehnite, rhodonie, rose quartz

Serenity: emerald, lepidolite

Sleep: amethyst, emerald, howlite, ledestone, sodalite

Strenght: amber, hermatite, red jasper

Success: amazonite, pyrite

Tranquility: emerald, lepidolite

Trust: onyx, ruby fuchsite, sodalite, turquoise, variscite

Vitality: carnelian, garnet, orange calcite, red agate, ruby, ruby zoisite, sunstone,

Wisdom: tiger’s eye, sodalite

Wealth: aventurine, citrine, green calcite, jade,malachite, pyrite, tiger’s eye, tree agate

In the future I’ll expand the list when I find enough new and useful information. I hope this little post will help someone. 😊

✨My pages on casting runes in my book of shadows/grimoire✨

✨Cleansing✨

Cleansing is the practice of cleaning the negative energy out of yourself, your posessions or surroundings.

✨Methods of cleansing✨

• Smoke. Pass the item you're cleansing through smoke, whether it be smoke from incense, a candle or a fire.

• Water. First make sure the item you're cleansing is water proof, or at least water resistant, there are a few crystals that are damaged by water, so beware! Sprinkle water on the object you're cleansing, especially if it's moon water or full moon water.

• Salt. Put the object your cleansing in salt, or put salt on the object. Salt will soak up all the negative energy in the item. Beware, there are some crystals damaged by salt.

• Sunlight and Moonlight. Put your item outside or near a window. Let the item bathe in the light for a few hours. Beware of bleaching! You can also sprikle salt in your doorway on the first friday of every month (or whenever) to protect and cleanse your home.

• Crystals. Use corresponding crystals to cleanse your object. Put them around/on your object. If you're cleansing your own energy, keep the crystals in your hands or carry them with you.

✨How to cleanse✨

• Pick the thing you want to cleanse (be it your home, your crystals, your witchcraft materials, your jewellery, etc)

• Pick a method of cleansing (use your intuition)

• Feel your energy and listen to your feelings when cleansing, try to stay calm. You can close your eyes and breathe deep.

• Try to transfer your positive energy into the object. Imagine your positivity flowing into it.

And you're done!

✨Cleansing crystals:✨

Crystals that have cleansing properties include:

• Selenite

• Clear Quartz

• Citrine

• Black Tourmaline

• Black Onyx

• Fluorite

• Selenite

• Apatite

✨Thanks for reading! Check out my blog for more witchy tips!✨

🌿Magical Herbs,Incense, And Oils🌿

🌿 Use herbs in a pouch, or while cooking, and stir the mix or infusions to empower the spell to protect the home, any possessions, your workplace, and property. Use incense in sticks, cones, or as a powder incense and burn it on heated charcoal blocks and use a lighted incense stick like a smoke pen to write empowerments or symbols. 🌿

Allspice- for money,passion,swift-moving,or urgent matters.

Basil- for fidelity,prosperity,protection,and fear of flying.

Chamomile(Roman) and Chamomile(German)- for healing,babies,children, animals,and reversing bad luck. It also helps to attract money and is helpful in family matters.

Cedar/Cedar Wood- for healing,cleansing bad influences,negative thoughts,and harmony.

Cinnamon- for passion,regaining money after loss, urgently needing money and psychic awareness.

Dragon’s Blood- for fierce protection,anti-curse,any major enterprise, and male potency.

Fennel- for travel,house sales,and moves. It helps to banish and  keep harm away from people,animals, and places.

Frankincense- For wealth,courage,joy,career,success,and travel. Also used in formal rituals.

Hyssop- For making a love commitment;healing;spirituality;all forms of protection, especially from psychic attack;and as an infusion to cleanse artifacts.

Juniper- purifies homes; protects against accidents,thieves,and illness;and male potency.

Lemongrass/Lemon- repels spite,malice,and gossip. It also helps with psychic awareness and travel.

Lemon Verbena- For breaking a run of bad luck,protection against negativity, the Evil Eye, and ill-wishing.

Mint and Peppermint drives negativity from objects and places,and brings money, health,love, and success.

Myrtle- For a lasting marriage,mature love, domestic happiness,property, and security.

Myrrh- For healing,peace,purification,overcoming grief, and protection against evil.Can be used in formal rituals and in moon magic.

Pine- Drives away harm from the home and family, especially newborn infants, cleansing negativity and malice, guarding property, and premises.

Rosemary- For learning,love,fidelity,prosperity,and banishing malevolence.

Sage- For longevity,good health,examinations,interviews,tests,protection of home and family,slow-growing prosperity, and wisdom.

Sandalwood- For spiritual awareness and healing,leadership,justice, compensation,and sexuality. Can be used in formal rituals.

Tarragon- The dragon herb,courage,and anti-bullying,and the shedding of old burdens,guilt,fears,and destructive relationships.

Thyme- Psychically cleanses the home,possessions,vehicles and land,health, memory of past worlds,and drives away nightmares and phantoms of the night.

Vertivert- For love, breaks a run of bad luck, protects against theft and negativity.

fire salt 🧂🔥

used for protection, banishing, power, cursing/hexing, chaos magic, or as a strong symbol of fire for a spell/alter.

sea salt

chili powder

black pepper

cinnamon

red chili flake

crush everything till combined in mortar & pestle, charge with candles before use if desired to reawaken your salt

earth salt [x] - air salt [x] - water salt [x]

The sun watches what I do but the moon knows all my secrets

New Moon

•blank page

•new beginnings

•planting seeds of intention

Crescent Moon

•fresh energy

•form new ideas

•focus on details

First Quarter Moon

•momentum

•challenges

•paying attention

Gibbons Moon

•patience

•edit

•refine

Full Moon

•peak energy

•gratitude

•blossoming

Disseminating Moon

•release

•recieve

•harvest

Last Quarter Moon

•breakdown

•forgiveness

•let go

Balsamic Moon

•rest

•restoration

•reflection

Blue Moon

•protection

•energy boost

•positivity

Blood Moon

•transformation

•banashing

•prophecy

A Halo

-a halo around the moon is always a sign of disruption

•a change in the weather

•a fever to come

•a streak of bad fortune

(But a double ring means anything can happen. The more tangled it is the worse the outcome)

-Full Moons-

January ▪︎ Wolf Moon

February ▪︎ Snow Moon

March ▪︎ Worm Moon

April ▪︎ Pink Moon

May ▪︎ Flower Moon

June ▪︎ Strawberry Moon

July ▪︎ Buck Moon

August ▪︎ Sturgeon Moon

September ▪︎ Harvest Moon

October ▪︎ Hunter's Moon

November ▪︎ Beaver Moon

December ▪︎ Cold Moon

A Herbalist's Glossary: Herb Actions

This is a list of terms used when describing the way a particular herb affects the body. Herbals can be confusing to read sometimes so I’ve put everything in one place here 🌿

Abortifacient: induces abortion

Adaptogen: helps the body processes return to normal when stressed

Adjuvant: modifies the effect of another substance

Adrenergic: acts like adrenaline or describes how adrenalin affects the body

Alterative: restores the body’s functions to normal

Analgesic/Anodyne: a pain killer

Anthelmintic/Antihelmintic: destroys/repels/expels intestinal worms

Antibacterial: inhibits bacterial growth

Antibilious: helps the body to remove excess bile

Anticatarrhal: helps the body reduce excess mucous and phlegm

Anticholinergic: a cholinergic blocking agent

Anticoagulant: slows or prevents clotting of blood

Antidote: counteracts or neutralizes a poison

Antiemetic: reduces the feeling of nausea, can help to prevent vomiting

Anti-inflammatory: helps reduce inflammation

Antilithic: prevents formation and aids removal of stones in the urinary system

Antimicrobial: helps the body destroy or resist pathogenic micro-organisms

Antimitotic: prevents division of cells

Antineoplastic: inhibits or destroys tumours

Antioxidant: eliminates hydroxyl free radicals

Antipyretic: prevents or reduces fever

Antirheumatic: relieves or protects against rheumatism

Antiscorbutic: prevents or cures scurvy

Antisudorific: stops or reduces perspiration

Antiseptic: prevents growth of microorganisms

Antispasmodic: prevents/eases spasms or convulsions

Antitussive: reduces or relieves coughing

Aperiant: laxative

Aphrodisiac: stimulates the sex drive and sometimes sexual ability

Aromatic: an organic compound containing benzene, or, of herbs, having a fragrant/spicy smell

Astringent: contracts tissue and reduces the function of said tissue, affecting haemorrhages, secretions, diarrhoea, bleeding etc.

Bitter: herbs that promote the appetite

Cardioactive: affects the heart

Cardiotonic: increases function of heart muscle

Carminative: relieves flatulence and colic

Cathartic: purges the bowels

Cholagogue: stimulates the release of bile from the gall bladder, sometimes acts as a laxative

Choleretic: stimulates the production of bile in the liver

Counter-irritant: causes inflammation of the skin, used for temporary relief from deep irritations

Demulcent: soothes/protects inflamed or painful surfaces

Depurative: removes impurities from the blood

Diaphoretic: increases perspiration to aid the body in removing toxins

Diuretic: increases the flow of urine, aids in removing toxins via the urinary tract

Emetic: induces vomiting

Emmenagogue: stimulates and normalizes the menstrual flow

Emollient: used internally to ease inflammation or externally to soften skin

Escharotic: a substance that sloughs off dead skin, corrosive

Expectorant: helps the body to expel mucous

Febrifuge: prevents/reduces fevers

Galactogogue: increases or induces lactation

Hallucinogen: affects the senses, produces a wide range of reactions often including hallucinations

Hepatic: strengthens and tones the liver as well as stimulating the flow of bile

Hypnotic: induce sleeps

Hypotensive: lowers blood pressure

Laxative: promotes evacuation of the bowels

Lymphagogue: promotes/increases lymph flow

Miotic: contracts the pupils

Mydriatic: dilates the pupils

Narcotic: in small doses promotes sleep and reduces pain, but can cause poisoning with comas or convulsions

Nervine: strengthens the nervous system, eases anxiety and stress

Oxytocic: stimulates uterine contractions

Parasiticide: kills and removes parasites

Pectoral: used to treat respiratory complaints

Placebo: an inactive substance that is believed by the patient to be a cure

Prophylatic: prevents disease

Psychotropic: affects the mind

Purgative: produces very strong laxative effects and watery evacuations

Reagent: involved in a chemical reaction

Retardant: delays or slows down a chemical reactant

Rubefacient: stimulates circulation locally when applied to the skin

Sedative: calms the nervous system

Sialagogue: stimulates the secretion of saliva

Spasmolytic: relieves spasmodic pains

Sternutatory: causes sneezing

Stimulant: enlivens the physiological functions of the body

Stomachic: promotes digestion and strengthens the stomach

Styptic: stops bleeding by contracting the tissue

Sudorific: induces sweating

Tonic: strengthens and tones either specific organs or the whole body through nutritional stimulation

Vasoconstrictor: constricts blood vessels

Vasodilator: dilates blood vessels

Vermifuge: expels or destroys intestinal worms