Here’s a brief overview of the holiday Lammas. [LAH-mahs] Some people use the name Lughnasadh. [LOO-nah-sah] They are both names for the same holiday–the celebration of the first harvest–, however they are not necessarily interchangeable.
Lughnasadh is the Gaelic name for this occasion. It celebrates the waning of the sun god Lugh as the summer gives way to fall. The year’s crop is ready for harvesting. Lammas is the modern name. It has minimal connection to the Gaelic sun God, so if you don’t believe in the God, you would use the term Lammas. Both terms recognize the power of the sun God infusing his blessings into the first year’s harvest, however Lughnasadh credits a Gaelic God while Lammas credits a more general sun God. Lughnasadh is the more traditional name, so you can choose to use that term if you want without having any affiliation to Lugh.
Lammas is celebrated on August 1st (Northern hemisphere) or February 1st (Southern hemisphere).
Lammas is a time of giving thanks, so be sure to leave offerings to your deities. It’s custom to use something from your harvest (if you harvested anything) as your offering. Spells involving blessings or guidance are going to fare well during this day.
Symbols: Sunflower, Wheat, Baskets, Creative Tools (pen, paintbrush, microphone)
Colors: Deep green, orange, burgundy deep reds
Herbs: Vervain, Sunflower, Rosemary
Food/Drink: Grain, Honey, Nuts, Berries, Beer, Cider
Incense: Frankincense, Rosemary
Crystals: Tiger’s Eye, Obsidian
Use this holiday to celebrate the things in life granted to you. Share your talents with others. Go for a walk in nature. Have a feast.
Theories on how magick works Theurgy and Thaumaturgy
Magic Vs. Magick
Types Of Witches
List Of Magick Tools
Magickal Tools
List Of Different Theistic Doctrines
List Of Acronyms For Magickal Concepts
Derogatory terms that I have ran into in the magickal community
The Crazy Stage
Things to remember
Belief
Understanding substituting, and reworking in spells, and rituals.
Reasons that a magick spell, or ritual would fail
Spiritual Verification? UPG To Lore!
How to undo a spell
Things you can use instead of candles in witchcraft, and other forms of magick.
Simple methods in order to help you opening your third eye
Energetic Blockages
Energetic Burnout
Energetic Overflow
How to get started on your magickal journey!
Chi Energy
Visualization
Exercise ideas for strengthening your visualization skills
Centering
Centering 2
Grounding
Grounding 2
Power Hand
Power Hand, and Receptive hand
Affirmations
Magickal Names
Magickal Names 2
Altered States Of Consciousness
Book of Shadows (BOS)
Pentagram, Pentacle, And Goat Of Mendes
Invoking, And Banishing The Pentagram
Casting And Undoing A Circle
Bubble Of White Light Protection
Warding In Witchcraft
Ways to cleanse a room
Shielding
Raising the cone of power
Liminality
Taglocks, And Magickal Links
Tarot Reading For Beginners
Connecting To The Elements
Spiritual Senses: The Clairs
Making A Magickal Wand, Or Staff
How exactly do you use a sigil?
Creating your own tarot spreads, and oracle cards spreads
Learning to write your own spells, and/or rituals
Symptoms Of Being Cursed, and Diagnostics methods
The 3 steps to get rid of a curse.
Meditation
Focal Meditation
Void Meditation
Problems, And Solutions For People Who Can’t Meditate
Planes Of Existence
The subtle bodies of the soul
The 10 Dimensions
Types of Personal Spirit Guides
How To Find Your Spirit Guides, And Guardian Angels
Spirit Guides
The Higher Self
The Laws Of Magick
The Seven Hermetic Principles of the Kybalion
The Law Of Attraction
Whatever religious or spiritual tradition they identify with, most witches agree that there is something sacred about the natural world. We draw our power from the earth beneath our feet, the sky over our heads, and the air in our lungs.
And yet, many of us live in societies that are actively contributing to the destruction of the natural world. Most developed nations have a linear economy, which means resources are extracted and then sent on a one-way trip to consumers who will use them and then throw them away. This leads to overflowing landfills, air and water pollution, and quickly disappearing resources. The World Economic Forum predicts that, if our habits don’t change, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. And I dearly hope that by now we’re all familiar with the reality of climate change and its devastating impact on global ecosystems.
I’m not trying to scare you, but I do want to point out the hypocrisy of drawing power from the Earth in our magic while simultaneously contributing to her destruction. If we truly want to consider ourselves spiritual allies of the planet, we need to make an effort to live our lives — and practice our magic — in ways that are less harmful to her.
You don’t have to become an environmentalist or switch to a zero waste lifestyle, but we can all make little changes for a more sustainable life. There’s lots of information out there about how to live a more Earth-friendly lifestyle, so in this post I’ll be focusing on how to apply that same philosophy to your witchcraft.
Limiting your consumption will automatically lower your negative impact on the planet. Follow my previous guidelines for avoiding consumerism to start shrinking your carbon footprint.
Avoid plastic as much as possible. According to the WEF, 70% of our plastic ends up in a landfill or in the world’s waterways, and according to Julia Watkins, author of Simply Living Well, only 9% of household plastics get recycled. Plastic (unlike glass and metal) cannot be recycled indefinitely — it can only be recycled a handful of times before it becomes too degraded to be repurposed any further. There really is no way to make plastic safer for the planet, so it’s best to just avoid it altogether. Look for tools made of metal, wood, or glass instead of plastics, and try to order things shipped in paper and cardboard when possible.
Create spells that won’t leave leftovers. One of the big contributing factors to our current environmental crisis is that we just produce too much waste. You can avoid this in your magical practice by crafting spells that won’t leave you throwing away a big ball of candle wax, herbs, and paper. Kitchen magic is a no-brainer for this, since kitchen spells are meant to be eaten. If you want to do a candle spell, use small candles that will burn up completely — I find larger candles are more likely to leave leftover wax. Making magical bath salts is another great option for leftover-free spells — just make sure everything you include is safe to go down the drain and won’t contribute to water pollution!
Forage for your own spell materials. One of the best ways to avoid plastic packaging and cut down on emissions from shipping is to use materials from your backyard! Learn about the plants, animals, and minerals native to your area, and take regular nature walks where you can gather what you need. Remember to only take as much as you need and to be careful never to damage the plants you harvest from. Make sure to carefully disinfect any animals bits you pick up — you can do this by burying them in salt for a full moon cycle and/or setting them in the sun/under a UV light for several days. If you find a dead animal and want to strip and clean its bones for use in ritual, this is a much more involved process and will require special research, equipment, and lots of time. And, of course, never eat anything you have foraged unless you happen to have an advanced degree in botany.
Keep a magical garden. Another great way to connect with the planet and shrink your carbon footprint is to grow your own herbs, vegetables, and fruits. You can, of course, grow food for your kitchen if you have space, but even if you live in a tiny apartment you can grow a handful of magical herbs in pots. For a list of common houseplants and their magical associations, check out this post.
Shop for spell materials at a local farmer’s market. Buying local is a great way to avoid the environmental impact of shipping produce, and it allows you to support small farms. Farmer’s markets also typically carry seasonal produce, which can help you align your magical practice with the cycles of nature. Farmer’s markets are a great way to find seasonal fruits and vegetables for kitchen magic, but you can use the produce you find there for other types of spells as well.
Trade paraffin wax candles for beeswax or soy wax. Paraffin, the material used for most cheap candles, is a by-product of crude oil, which is not only highly unsustainable but contains carcinogens (chemicals that may cause cancer). Beeswax is a sustainable alternative, and beeswax candles produce a “clean” burn, meaning it does not negatively affect air quality. Soy wax is a slightly pricier, vegan-friendly sustainable option that also produces a clean burn.
Use undyed, unbleached paper for your written spells. The bleaches and dyes used in most commercially available paper have a toxic effect on the environment. Colored paper cannot be recycled or composted because it will contaminate everything it touches. Use plain, unbleached paper for your written spells, especially if you plan to bury them in the ground or dispose of them outside.
Make sure your essential oils are ethically harvested. Essential oils are tricky — although they are marketed as natural, many of them are produced through unsustainable methods. Because essential oils are concentrated, it may take thousands of pounds of plants to produce a single pound of oil. This can have a devastating impact, especially for endangered plants like white sage or palo santo. Look for ethically-sourced, wild-harvested essential oils — these are oils that are gathered from the wild in ways that don’t hurt the local ecosystem. Mountain Rose Herbs and Eden’s Garden are two brands that are committed to sustainable essential oil production.
Instead of burying a spell in a jar, bury it in a hollowed-out fruit or vegetable. Many traditions call for spells to be buried in the ground. Items like jar spells and witch bottles are traditionally buried on the witch’s property. The problem with this is that plastic and glass bottles do not biodegrade, and will remain in the ground for years. Instead of putting these materials in the ground, bury your spells in a hollowed-out fruit or vegetable. As a bonus, you can choose this item to support your intention. For example, you might use an apple for a love spell or a spicy pepper for protection. Just make sure everything inside the spell is also biodegradable!
Keep a compost pile as an offering to your local land spirits. Compost is an easy way to reduce food waste, and it gives your garden a boost! Even if you don’t have your own garden, you can give your compost to a fiend who does or look into donating it to a community garden. When composting, it’s important to maintain a balance between carbon-rich “brown” ingredients (leaves, undyed paper, cardboard, etc.) and nitrogen-rich “greens” (fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc.) — you want about four times as much brown as green in your compost. Start your compost with a layer of brown — preferably twigs or straw to allow good airflow. Alternate layers of green and brown materials as you add to the pile. Every time you add to your compost, verbally express your gratitude to the land spirits. Your compost should be moist, but not soggy — you’ll know it’s ready when it’s dark and crumbly and smells like soil.
Make your own tea blends with loose herbs and a reusable tea strainer instead of buying teabags. Witches and tea go together like peanut butter and chocolate, but the individual wrappers on teabags create a lot of waste. On top of that, since many of these wrappers are dyed, they may not even be recyclable. Keep your teas earth-friendly by buying dried herbs in bulk and blending your own teas. Making your own blends is not only better for the planet, but also allows you to choose each ingredient for a specific magical intention.
Find ways to use your trash in your craft. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Instead of throwing things away, find ways to use them in your magic! Use food scraps from cooking, like carrot greens and potato peels, in spells. Turn an old shoe box into a travel altar. Add your coffee grounds to spells to ground them and manifest results in the physical world. You get the idea. Be creative!
Research different models for Earth-friendly living, like the zero waste/low waste lifestyle, sustainability, and the solarpunk movement. This will give you more ideas for a sustainable lifestyle, as well as a sustainable magical practice.
The funny thing about Earth-friendly living is that, the more time you spend taking care of the planet, the more connected you feel to it. I encourage you to try some of the ideas on this list — you’ll be amazed by how quickly you develop a deeper relationship with the Earth and all her creatures.
Resources:
Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler
Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins
“By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans, study says” from The Washington Post
A Sustainable Mind podcast
Practical(ly) Zero Waste podcast
hi! i'm a baby witch and i wanted to see if there are any spells you'd recommend for protecting others.
Sure thing. Though, just as a note, protecting others is a bit more difficult than simply protecting yourself just because (like all magic worked on others) you’ll need something of theirs or you may want to make something that they will carry with them. I won’t link many particular spells here, but I’ll give you some ideas and you can begin to craft your own. You might want to look through the protection tag for further ideas as well. I would recommend either creating a poppet of the individual you want to protect or (if you’re trying to protect more than one person at a time) you might make up a jar to add all of your items and taglocks into. Alternately, it might be easiest to create a charm or satchet or to simply cast on an object and have them carry it with them for protection. You can also, if you work with any spirits or ancestors, make an offering to these powers on behalf of the person you’re hoping to protect and send them to watch over them. (You can also use a picture of the person/their name/some taglock and, placing it in the center of the table, build a ward of protection around them with stone, earth, candle/fire much like this ward is being built) Either way, protection items typically include garlic, basil, salt, eggshell, witch hazel, aloe, (I usually also include mint cause the best defense is a good offense), tiger’s eye, oak, etc. Have a look about your area and see what is local to your space, what’s accessible, what associations do they have in your area that they may not have elsewhere.
If you go for a walk in the forest, remember these ten things:
If you pass by a ring of mushrooms, don’t step in the circle, but do tell the mushrooms your dreams. They love to hear stories.
If you see large, foreboding pawprints in the middle of the trail, do not follow them; the path leads only to sorrow and despair.
If you hear the lull of a flute by the bubbling of a river, you may listen, but not for long; if you linger, you can never leave.
Be sure to keep any items you bring secured in your rucksack, with a few seashells hanging from it; the crashing waves from the shells will scare off thieves.
Return home before night falls. You never know what might appear when the forest is cloaked in darkness.
If you do stay after sundown, do not look at the stars. They are temptresses in their beauty, but can bring death and destruction.
If you come across wildlife, avoid eye contact. Some creatures may steal your soul if you stare long enough.
Never pass under a gnarled, curling tree, for you may enter a world that looks like your own, but is different still.
If you find a jar of honey or jam resting upon a boulder, ignore it. There are those who would tempt you with sweet nothings; don’t accept their gifts.
Mark a trail from your starting point with plain yarn. If you cut the trees, they’ll come for you. If you tie a ribbon on branches, they’ll capture you.
Be wary of the forest and all of its inhabitants. It is beautiful and wondrous, but can be frightful and merciless.
Summer solstice is upon up and I don’t know for you but I am celebrating mainly inside. This year I am feeling really inspired in the Kitchen. I have published a great recipe that I created for this sabbat. Since lots of us are still staying inside for Litha, I made a selection of recipes you could try to add a bit of Kitchen Witchcraft to your celebrations! All those bloggers and you tubers are amazing and I highly recommend that you visit their pages, you might discover some gems!
Lemon, Lavender, and Thyme Madeleines. A Midsummer treat! https://witchy-kitchen-craft.tumblr.com/post/621382849796489216/lemon-lavender-and-thyme-madeleines-a-midsummer
Litha Sun Cakes :: The Witches Corner https://youtu.be/p0GRlNXtmkI
Super Moist Honey Lemon Pound Cake Recipe | Homemade Food by Amanda https://youtu.be/6ovBEkFQuyg
Beautiful Floral Shortbread Cookies || Floral Shortbreads for Litha || Litha Recipe https://youtu.be/yifxdT8Ony0
Magick Chamomile Sweet Rolls || Anti-Anxiety Spell https://youtu.be/Ct7-wcS-Nm0
Magick Litha Lemon Cake 🍋 Summer Solstice Kitchen Witchery 🍋 Litha Recipe https://youtu.be/IDvcLrRcLJ4
Litha Celebrating The Summer Solstice 🌞 Everyday Summer Solstice Rituals & Magick https://youtu.be/WLlWSL7fQxE
LITHA RECIPE | Magickal Midsummer Lemon & Elder Tart | Summer Solstice cake https://youtu.be/2DDgXLZla7w
My Witch’s Year | Summer Solstice & Midsummer | Honeycake & Fae Offering https://youtu.be/JOxDkE0DmpU
Honey Lemon Upside-Down Cake
Solstice Cookies: https://deerhoofandrabbitsfoot.tumblr.com/post/175022965984/solstice-cookies-appropriate-for-both-the-summer
Summer solstice honey cakes ☀️🌻https://childofthecrowmoon.tumblr.com/post/621445997214777344/summer-solstice-honey-cakes
Don’t want to follow a precise recipe but still want to celebrate in the kitchen? Don’t worries I got you! We are at the peak of Summer, think fresh fruits and vegetables, lemonades, fruit cakes. Try to choose something that grows in abundance in your region and that is in season.
Food
Fresh fruits
Fresh vegetables
Lemons
Honey
Lemonades
Ice creams
Ales and Meads
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Herbs:
Chamomile
Rose
Honeysyckle,
Oak
Lavender
Yarrow,
Elder
Thyme
Ginger
Basil
Rosemary
Mint
Here we are! I hope this will keep you inspire for the new season! We are already half of the year. It has been weird and difficult so far but now is the time to celebrate all the hard work we have done and set up new goals and intention for the other half of the year.
Blessed be!
Have a wonderful Litha!
Warding The Home
On the shortest day and the longest night of the year, the veil between the spirit world and ours becomes thin. This allows wandering spirits the cause mischief and possibly invade your home. Unfortunately, if you live in an apartment as i do, or just don’t have a chimney to burn the infamous Yule Log, you’ll need to resort to other measures to protect your humble abode through the long night. What I do is place one seven-day candle with a protective sigil drawn on it in every window of the house. Placing snowflake obsidian or black tourmaline stone in the corners of the window can add an extra boost of protection, sealing your house up good and tight.
Offerings for Wondering Spirits
This year, instead of just shutting out spirits, I want to provide them with some goodies while they’re on their journey. Currently, I’m planning on baking yummy Yule cookies and placing a good travels charm on them for any spirits who find themselves at my front door.
Spiked Spiced Apple Cider
Sorry baby witches, this one isn’t for you. However, the recipe can be used without alcohol. This year, I’m placing a protection charm over the cider while it simmers, protecting anyone who indulges in this yummy sweet nectar. Later on, I’ll be posting a recipe for the cider as well as the spell.
This spell was made to be super quick and simple, I hope it helps people the same way it helps me.
You’ll need one lemon, a way to heat the juice, and a white candle
• Press 1 lemon and heat the juice. • Place the candle in front of you and light it. Breathe in and out and focus on your anxiety. • Hold your drink before your eyes and concentrate on pouring your energy in it. (Optional) Say: “I hereby banish anxiety from my body and mind for these are mine and no one else’s.” • Drink the hot lemon juice. • Simply watch the candle burn for a few seconds, visualize it burning your anxiety away, then blow the candle.
This also works for emotional shocks.
As Yule passes and the new year is beginning, I have a spell I enjoy using this time of year as it brings good things to come whilst helping to remember and learn from the past.
1) Think of what you want to manifest in your life, and the hardships that you have endured to make it as far as you have. Be proud, you’ve made it so far and will go much further.
2) Say the following:
As the sun warms my skin,
May it heal me within.
As the dark slowly leaves,
May I remember the night’s mysteries
As the wheel turns once more,
May happiness find me evermore.
1) Basic Cooking : This is probably pretty obvious and most people interested in kitchen witchcraft know at least the basics. But if you don’t - learn. You can do kitchen magic without even turning on a stove (sandwiches, salads, etc)
2 ) Cooking From Scratch : Start with basics and get more complicated. Basic things can include - Soups, Sauces, Marinated or Seasoned Meat, Potato Dishes.
3 ) Baking and Baking From Scratch : Baking from a box is perfectly valid. you can add things like fruit or nuts, you can make frostings or fillings, you can decorate. But baking from scratch is also a good skill. Pies, Pastries, Cakes, Etc. Also remember savory baking (like bread, meat pies, etc)
4 ) “Drink Potions” : Any drink really. Coffee, Tea, Juice, Milkshakes, Etc
5 ) Canning, Pickling, Preserving : I have limited experience in this, but there are lots of recipes for “Freezer Jam” or “Refrigerator Pickles” and im going to start with them.
6 ) Cheese Making, Yogurt Making : Another thing i have no experience in, but you can buy kits online for a decent price.