I Ask Myself This A Lot Lately: Is Everything Exactly What It Seems?

Earth-Friendly Witchcraft

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.

Steps to a more Earth-Friendly Practice:

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

Spell Energetics: How to Apply the concept of Herbal Energetics to your spell work

Note: I'm drawing here from my knowledge of herbal energetics as they are recognized in multiple herbalism systems, my knowledge of astrology, and the concepts of sympathetic magic - if this isn't your thing, please just move along.

The four elements and the concepts of Energetics run consistently through the framework of much of the Western magic systems but it's something that is often overlooked. Suppose rather than relegating the elements to something that we call upon ritualistically to join us in our magic works (or, that must be represented on an altar), we instead stop and consider what they are, and what they do. In that case, we can gain a deeper understanding of how magic works on a human being.

The idea of the four elements and their associated qualities (dry, warm, cool, and moist - now known as herbal energetics) comes from the Athenian philosopher Aristotle. The fire element is warm, the earth element is cool, the air element is dry, and the water element is wet. This shows a remarkable difference from the modern astrological association of earth being opposed to water, and air to fire as it is shown on the astrological wheel; here, hot is opposed to cold (fire to earth) and dry to wet (air to water). It is worth noting that this can be somewhat proven through action - earth puts out fire, for instance. Today, we understand that there is more to healthfulness than balancing energetics (thank you antibiotics, vaccines, and insert your favorite modern medical miracle here) but there are still a number of views on wellness that encourage considering them. Maybe someday I will write more of this and how it relates to synastry, but let's focus on how this can be used in magic.

From here, we need to take a dive into modern herbalism. Why are we doing this? Because most people use all sorts of herbal components as ingredients in our spells and many of our correspondences have their roots in how that plant matter interacts with the human body. One of the major considerations when choosing an herb is what its Action is on the human body. These actions include Heating (Warm/Fire), Cooling (Cool/Water), Drying (Dry/Air), and Wetting (Moist/Water).

We use these actions all of the time without even knowing that we are doing them. Most cocktail people know that you want to drink a Mint Julip in the summer to cool you down (mint is a Cooling herb). On the other hand, if you need a pick me up, Chai tea which is full of warming herbs - even noncaffeinated versions like Bengal Spice - does the trick. The marshmallow (a Moist herb) does the coating of the throat in "Throat Coat" tea. The conditions of warm/cool/dry/moist are so normal to use as human beings that we tend to overlook them and adjust for them automatically.

With this in mind, I want to bring up a few ways in which this can be applied in witchcraft.

Warm is nice and pleasant. A lot of the warming herbs are used in money and sex magic - they make us feel good. But, like any good thing, they might need to be consumed in moderation. Candles carry the innate action of warmth and just think about how important fire safety is. Some herbs that warm cannot always be handled with bare hands (spicy peppers cause capsaicin burns) and these have long-documented uses in baneful magics of all kinds.

Cool magic can be used to calm and control. It can be used to put a particular situation on ice so that you don't have to deal with it. It can bring down fevers. It can soothe bad tempers and hot-headedness. It can preserve. It can also protect and insulate.

Dry magic can also be used to preserve. It can dry up emotions and stifle passion. It can draw out something or draw something away from a situation. It can create space.

Moist magic can be overflowing and generous. It can also be stagnant and suffocating. Moisture can revive life. It can also drown it.

It is worth noting that all aspects of these factors are always present in our lives. And they don't exist in a vacuum - everything is a combination of the two Aristotlean categories: you have Warm Moist or Warm Dry, and Cool Moist or Cool Dry.

We use these principles in magic all of the time. Anytime that you are using a liquid in a jar spell, you are applying the concept of Moist. If you are applying salt or rice to drain an object, you are using the concept of Dry. A freezer spell is an obvious example of Cool and any time that you are burning something you are using the concept of Warm.

But let's go a step further. If you are trying to do a warming spell, wouldn't it make sense to use specifically only warming herbs - or, at least - herbs that don't counteract Warmth (aka abstain from using cooling herbs?). Remember, these herbs have a natural and calculable effect on the human body so one would assume that, when used as part of a spell directed at a human body, they will have a similar effect. Even if you're a total candle head (I get it - I LOVE candle magic), consider not adding a candle to a spell meant to freeze somebody out.

When casting a hex, it is worth considering whether you want to burn them out with fire or take the slower more calculated path of ice. (Stop me from quoting Robert Frost here...) If you need to separate a couple who thrives on relationship conflict, drying them out could be a good option - more specifically, I'd probably use cool/dry.

Really we are getting into the basics of all sympathetic magic: using a thing that has an obvious effect to transfer that effect, through our spell, to the spell's intended target. This is why I have been very specific in saying that this applies to magic cast on a human being - here we are using the principles of Energetics and how they affect humans. For a spell on an animal or your house, entirely different sympathetic principles would apply.

The next time that you are choosing between two herbs that are said to have the same associations, consider whether one might be better than the other based on the Energetic nature of that plant. You might find a whole new level of casting open up to you.

Do you like my work? You can support my writing by tipping me over on Kofi.

Mini Land Spirit Shrine

use this as a conduit to connect you to the local spirits and nature

get a pot

fill it with local dirt/sand/clay

keep it on your porch/inside/near your house. somewhere you can visit it.

put cool natural items in it, like local shells, bones, branches, etc. that you’ve found…

watch it come to life. if i just leave a pot of dirt around, something will spring up in it. usually those considered “weeds”. if nothing grows, plant a low-maintenance native plant in it. but there should be something after a time.

make offerings like water and more natural items as you desire. 

connect to it, talk to it, introduce yourself.

Rinse and repeat over time. That’s really it! and then you just… build a relationship as time goes on.

Witchcraft Exercise - Home Brews

There are a lot of opinions in the modern witchcraft community about what sorts of things make the best components for spells. Some go simple, some go fancy. Most published sources focus on specialized materials like crystals, ritual tools, or plants you aren't likely to find outside an occult shop or a botanical supplier.

But any broke witch you talk to will extol the virtues of working with inexpensive common materials from everyday shops or even just items you have lying around the house.

So to that end, here is an exercise you can do at home to familiarize yourself with your available resources and brainstorm new ideas.

Select one room of your home. It can be any room you wish. If you're not sure where to start, the kitchen is usually a good place. Sit in the room for a while and thoughtfully examine the objects around you. Open drawers and cabinets if necessary. Select five to ten items and make a list of them.

Write down all the magical correspondences of the items that you can think of. Brainstorm five ways that each item can be used in a magical working. Brainstorm ten ways that the items can be used in combination with each other. If you're feeling extra creative, try to write a spell that incorporates as many of the items as possible.

Repeat this with other rooms and other items. This will help you build a list of ideas of what you can do with the materials you have to have as well as helping you practice identifying magical correspondences.

For bonus points, turn the exercise around by listing five types of spells and sussing out how to cast multiple examples of each one using just the items you can find around your home.

Pro-tip: Don't just limit yourself to herbs and art supplies. Get creative!

Happy Witching!

Ancestor Veneration

In the occult discords I frequent I periodically see questions from new practitioners who want to start spirit work and have been directed to start with their ancestors, but they’re in a bind because like many young folk today they don’t have such a great relationship with their family. For their own reasons they don’t know their family history and either feel disconnected from previous generations or don’t want to connect to their bloodline. Over the years my personal ancestor veneration has taken shape in a way that I think might be helpful or of interest to people who want to strike up a relationship with their ancestors, but don’t have a great one with their living or recently deceased family.

Types of ancestors:

Beloved Dead: These are my known/recently deceased spirits, people I have known in life who have passed on. Not always technically ancestors, because these spirits aren’t aren’t necessarily related to me, or in my direct line of descent. The only requirement is that I knew them in life, as well as in death.

Ancestors: My actual forebearers, the people I’m directly descended from. I know many of their names because my family tree is very well researched, but I never met them in life. This also includes the ancestors whose names I don’t know but are still in that familial line, those spirits I refer to as “unnamed ancestors” or “unnamed forbearers”.

Cultural Ancestors: This by far the largest category, because there is no upper limit to the number of sub categories I can squeeze in there, none of which rely on actual blood ties. It has my ethno-cultural ancestors, the Irish people who came before me, the Italian people who came before me, the Norwegian people who came before me… etc. But it also has the ancestors of the things I choose to identify my self as: The disabled people who have come before me, the witches who have come before me, the Sailors, the Dancers, the Musicians, the Storytellers, etc. Everyone in this category connects me to some kind of cultural history that exists outside of my bloodline.

Who To Call On and When?

For me calling on my ancestors is a lot like calling on a deity. I petion them/ dedicate my actions to them, when I’m doing something that’s in their realm of influence. For instance: Say I’m cooking a traditional Italian meal, I would call on my Italian cultural ancestors, and they would get some of the meal as an offering in repayment. I would also probably call on the individual spirit of my grandmother, one of my beloved dead, since she was the one who taught me Italian cooking, and it’s quite likely her recipe I’m using.

I also have specific days set aside for my most frequently called upon groups Christmas Eve was always big with the Italian side of the family, and I still celebrate it the traditional way, so that’s become a day for my Italian cultural ancestors. St Patricks Day is for my Irish cultural ancestors. St. Lucia Day is for my Norwegian ancestors. I’ve set aside Talk Like a Pirate Day to venerate all of the sailors, fishermen, and wayfinders who have gone before me, and

Why Approach Ancestor Work/Worship/Veneration like this?

I feel like this approach gives me, and perhaps others, the most flexibility and the most options to approach ancestor work on terms that work for me. Have a great relationship with the family you’ve interacted with, but uncomfortable with the actions of your ancestors a few generations back? Interact only with your Beloved Dead and your Cultural Ancestors. Want nothing to do with your biological family, but still want to do ancestor work? Create a spiritual found family by working only with Cultural Ancestors. This way of thinking about those who loved what we love before us could be applied to any interest or personal identity that a person holds dear. However you choose to define yourself you can can use to draw a connection to people who also defined themselves that way in the past.

Appreciate this post? Consider leaving a tip!

Longtime lurker coming back to witchblr for like...the third or fourth time.

This blog will be mostly a personal resource and notebook while I try to redefine the witchcraft practice I had going on many years ago, when I was a lot more active. I'm doing a lot of reexamining of beliefs to try and quantify what I actually want out of this and why it keeps calling me back. My focus is heavily nature-based, very local, some beginner herbalism, with a big side of home/hearth/kitchen workings. Animism and spirit work are also big interests, though I'm tentatively dipping my toes into learning about that and maybe bringing it into my practice. Angels as well, though from a secular standpoint.

Resolving conflicting magical recommendations (for beginners)

(This isn't reactionary I promise, it's been on my mind for a couple of days 😅)

Idk really how helpful this will be, but if you're a beginner who is confused by a lot of apparently contradicting information, here are some thoughts/ideas that are too basic to have been this hard earned, but I'm not called Fool for no reason.

[All of the following are just my beliefs and aren't universal or applicable to everyone]

Resolving magical conflicts through intent

You can find apparent contradictions in almost any magical action. For example:

Light a candle to charge a crystal with energy

Light a candle to burn away an energy and dwindle it down to nothing

When you light the candle, is it going to fill the crystal with energy?

Or, is it going to burn away energy until nothing is left?

My belief is that this is where the idea of intent plays one of its most basic and vital roles in witchcraft.

When you perform a magical action, "setting intent" can be a vital first step that should not be skipped.

If you are aware that the fire could either charge or burn away, then it is very literally up to you what it does. As the agent of control and/or chaos, it is the witch who determines which facets of power come out to play.

Setting intent can be done inside of your head. Or, speak, sign, or write intent.

Rules about how you totally have to write intent can, for the most part, be ignored (e.g., "your intent must be present progressive tense or the Universe will never let you manifest your goals." Nah, the Universe doesn't even speak human language tbh.)

Setting intent is not the only step to working magic, and sometimes literally doesn't matter. ("It's my intent to honor the spirit of this lake with an offering! *Dumps cigarette butts and beer cans into the water* "The lake is honored because that was my intent 😌")

Having a limited set of beliefs about what a certain power can do is like automatically setting intent. ("It's only possible that candles burn away energy, so when I light it, of course it will have a banishing effect.")

Setting intent in this manner only works to the extent that the power you are working with could already do the thing. If you've got a freezer with an ice dispenser on the door you can intend to store food inside it to chill, or, you can intend to get water out of the door, but it doesn't matter how much you intend to fry a chicken. The fridge does not do that action.

Resolving magical contradictions through tradition

Tradition in and of itself can advise how to resolve contradictions of magical meaning. This includes religious, magical, and cultural traditions.

What's important to remember is that just because one group does it one way, it doesn't mean that their way is universally correct.

A lot of people enter into the world of witchcraft with the concept that there is one universally correct set of methods and rules by which to perform magic. These methods are secret, but written down somewhere, and the key to learning magic is to just find the truest set of rules to magic. Magical truth is mutually exclusive, and contradictory information must either replace current truth, or be rejected as falsehood.

And fortunately for everyone, none of that is true!

This is why someone in one school of magic can make a certain claim ("letting spell vessels touch the earth immediately robs them of their power and the magic becomes inert,") and someone else can make a totally contradictory claim ("bury spell vessels for three days to supercharge them with the power of Nature,") and both people can be equally right.

Which set of rules might be true for you?

Well, whichever tradition you're a part of.

This is why it's really important to understand where your beliefs come from, and also to engage in self-examination about what you believe about the cosmos, our planet, and your role within it.

Entering into a tradition has a curious effect - you tend to be bound to those rules and assumptions, whether you like it or not.

Reflect on whether or not your current traditions and beliefs can resolve conflicting information.

Ask yourself what beliefs must be inherent before an assumption about magical 'rules' can be true.

(P.S. you can learn multiple contradictory systems of magic and flip between them depending on needs)

Resolving magical contradictions through experimentation

One witch may be able to charge excellently by burning candles and using intent to direct the burning energy.

A second witch may discover that they really can't charge jack shit with a candle. The energy seems to slip between their fingertips. When they direct it at something, it seems to have a consuming effect - not an invigorating one.

Setting magical intent is like choosing which path to walk down. But, the paths are unique for each of us. For the first witch, the path of "Charging Through Candleflame" is wide and open, a beautiful paved boulevard they can stroll down.

For the second witch, the path of "Charging Through Candleflame" is like hiking up a steep hill littered with boulders, and also the hill is on fire.

Many magical contradictions can be explained by practitioners simply having different personal experiences, and incorrectly assuming that their experiences must be universal.

One excellent way to learn not only about magic as a whole, but also how magic works for you, is to earnestly experiment with contradictory meanings and discover which ones A) make sense to you, but more importantly, B) actually work for you.

Whether or not you can use a candle to charge, banish, or both; and whether or not that's more or less effective for you than using water, or the sun, or pop culture icons, is something that you'll only be able to discover for yourself through experimentation.

Resolving magical contradictions through technique

If setting intent is choosing what path to walk down, then on the course of walking down that path, there is a chance you trip and fall flat (see: "I'm honoring the lake by dumping trash in it!").

Tripping and falling flat doesn't mean that path of magic is impossible for you, or shouldn't be further explored.

It can really just mean that you need some hiking boots and a trail guide.

Or, in other words: setting intent can be insufficient to actually access and manifest certain types/aspects of power.

I have personal beliefs about sorcerous power that dictate that various powers can be more or less difficult to access depending on a variety of factors. And, a witch must learn techniques to access the power. The more remote or hidden that power is, the more capable or attuned a witch must be to access that power.

That is to say, someone intensely aligned with underworld powers may be able to easily access the facets of death and decay that exist within many natural forces. But, someone without that alignment might instead need capable techniques gained through learning and practice in order to access those same powers.

And someone with neither of those things, who only tries to set intent and starts on a difficult path filled with roadblocks, may falsely assume that something "just doesn't work for me," when in reality, it's just more difficult to access.

This is why one witch can say, "roosters are a powerful source of connection to the underworld," another witch can say, "roosters only connect to the underworld if you use their feathers in a certain ritual," and a third witch can say, "roosters don't connect to the underworld," and all three are speaking from valid personal experience.

Experimenting with different techniques means learning a wide variety of ways to perform magic, including different paradigms, rituals, techniques, and methodologies.

Many systems of witchcraft contain concepts of when power is more or less available (the easiest example is the types of power more freely available due to the phases of the moon). Learning these systems can assist in discovering the accessibility of various powers.

Research is your friend.

In summary,

There are many reasons why witches have different lived experiences with magic (the topic of which would be enough to fill a book or two). As a witch-practitioner, your role in the creation of magic can't be ignored.

It's through your own culture and traditions, your own intent, and your own sorcerous techniques and education, through which you will be able to determine what aspects of magic are true to you - and which do not apply.

I made a Winter Syrup to beat the January blahs

Every January, as we scurry off to the grocery store to buy pounds upon pounds of citrus fruit, we joke in my household that we must have scurvy.  I have multitudes citrus-forward cocktails that are designed to fight of the mid-winter ennui - lemon-drop martinis and whiskey sours - we’ve even experimented with putting clementine juice into drinks!

So when I found a recipe online for a Vitamin C heavy syrup that doesn’t HAVE to be served in alcohol form - I was pretty excited.   Better yet, it called for using evergreen needles which (if you’ve been following along) is completely in line with my study of Eastern White Pine that I have decided to undertake this month.

Serendipity is funny things: along with evergreen needles, the major vitamin C contributor in this recipe is rose-hips and I happen to have dried a bunch from Rosa Rugosa that I harvested at the beach in September that have been waiting for the perfect project.   Because I’m an overly ambitious kitchen witch (who also has a partner that loves food) - I had everything else needed for this recipe all set to go.

The crafting was surprisingly simple - its just a simple syrup - something that I’ve made dozens of times out of all sorts of ingredients.  You just want to leave the “tea” part of the mixture on the stove for a long time - we’re talking hours.

In the end I used Eastern White Pine and Rosa Rugosa rose hips for the vitamin C; cardamon, cinnamon and allspice for flavoring, a knob of ginger for its anti-inflammatory properties; lemon balm for its calming effect, and orange and calendula for sunshine energy.   For a sugar, I used raw local honey which is my go-to for most things.

So far, I’ve been loving having this in my life.  I’ve been adding some to my turmeric and ginger tea every day - it adds a nice earthy/herbal/woodsy taste but isn’t overpowering.   I will absolutely make this again and look forward to experimenting with different flavors/added intentions in my syrup.

Ko-Fi / Insta / Blog

forever my fave piece of cake ever. perfect carrot cake w the perfect amount of walnuts, heavenly spiced with cinnamon and cardomom & topped with the perfect cream cheese frosting, edible flowers and lime zest. i love her

Elminx's Guide to Augmenting Your Spellwork

This guide is intended to be allied to the type of spellwork that draws something towards you or is desirous of change within yourself. The goal here is to create actions throughout our day or week that bring our thoughts back to the magic that we have performed. From my way of thinking, this keeps the stream of magic flowing in the right direction through your returned focus. It can have the added benefit of reminding you to take the actions in the world that are necessary for the success of your spellwork.

There will be a number of examples following but they all have the same theme: doing something during your initial spellwork that you will return to after the spell has been cast to keep your attention focused in the direct on what you want. Some of these things will be very obvious and you will have seen them before - others may be less so and better suited to a person in the broom closet. Some of these are standalone spell techniques on their own; here I am trying to convey that when combined together, multiple types of spellwork can have a greater effect than individually.

The idea is to continue to do the things listed below until your spell has manifested. Yes, there are obviously too many to do all at once. You are, as always, free to pick the ones that fit the spell best or the ones that fit your own lifestyle. Or to disregard all of them altogether.

Create an altar for your spell Say that I was going to create a spell for money to make sure that I could pay my rent on August 1st. I would create a money altar for my spell, do my spell on the altar, and keep all of the spell ingredients (including candle remains and any nonperishable offerings) up for the month of July. If I was going to create a spell to combat the upcoming Venus retrograde, I would keep the altar up all the way through the end of the retrograde. The visual reminder of the altar helps to realign your thoughts toward that spell.

Feed your spell This one goes along with the first nicely. This can look like a lot of different things - it could be adding coins to a money bowl or a spoonful of sugar to a sweetening jar. It could be burning incense on your altar for success on your exams every Sunday. It could be successively lighting small candles to charge your spell for a set number of days, weeks, or on every full moon. If you work with spirits of deities, it could be making repeated offerings while you ask for help with your spellwork. If you are the type of person who sticks to schedules well, make it a scheduled thing. You could align it with the days of the week if you're into that or with the moon cycles. If you're not a scheduler, do it when you remember.

Mantras (and other Spoken representations of your spell) If you are a verbal person, word magic may work very well for you. This can be anything from one phrase to a rhyming couplet - the idea here is that it is something that you remember to repeat to yourself. I think that this type of magic work especially well when doing work on changing something about yourself, but you may find a use for it in other areas that I have not. Ideas for using mantras: say them when you wake up or before you fall asleep at night, say them while looking in the mirror while getting ready in the morning. Or, simply say them when it would be appropriate for the magic that you have worked.

Sigils (and other Visual Representations of your Spell) If you are a visual person, sigils and other types of art magic can help you to augment your magic. The idea is to charge or create your symbol during the casting of your magic and then return to it throughout your days. Depending on your situation, you may able to hang your artwork or sigil on your mirror in your bathroom or even on your fridge. If you cast a spell to get better tips, carry the sigil or wear it when you are working. You can draw sigils on your skin with lotion or other skincare. This can be at once the most obvious forms of magic (think the Bluetooth symbol) and the most discreet. You can incorporate your sigil onto something you handmake like clothing (inside your clothes or out), jewelry, or any number of other charms.

Put it in a Jar (and other Physical representations of your magic) Yes, jar spells and other container magic are a topic all onto themselves. But have you thought about putting the remains of a spell into a jar? This is a very sympathetic view of magic, but it makes no sense to me to cast a spell to bring something toward you and then immediately get rid of the objects used in the spell. It's counterintuitive to throw something away that you want. N'est pas? Instead, put the items you used in the casting of the spell into a jar or bag and keep it somewhere safe until the spell comes to pass. This is where an altar to your spell comes in handy - it's a place to house this object. Bonus: this makes it harder for sneaky people or inquisitive animals to find their way into your spell components. Other versions of this include putting your intentions for the spell into an object such as a stone or a piece of jewelry and carrying it with you every day.

Invoke Your Senses Again, this is strictly my opinion, but magic involves both the unconscious and the conscious mind. The best way to hijack your unconscious mind and keep it aligned with your consciousness is through the base senses like smell and taste. They tap right the fuck in as they are deeply connected to our memory centers. Here I suggest picking a scent or flavor from your spell and incorporating it into your life for the duration afterward. If you use rose petals, buy yourself a rose-scented soap or rose perfume. If you use basil, make yourself pesto once a week or work to otherwise incorporate basil into your meals. As far as food goes, items like jams and simple syrups are perfect for this purpose if applicable. This involves a bit more planning than some of the other suggestions but can be very rewarding (and tasty!). Alternatively, if sound is important to you, you could use a piece of music during your spell and then play it repeatedly to reactivate the feeling of the spell. Or, if you're very musically inclined, you could write your own song or simply set your mantra/words to music in some fashion.

This is a very non-exhaustive list of some of the techniques that I have used to keep the energy of my spells flowing when I am working on a longer manifestation. Mostly, as stated above, these techniques are best used for magic designed to bring something towards you or to change something about yourself but they can be adapted for use with other types of magic as well.

Again, the goal here is to create moments throughout your day or week where your attention is turned back to your magic through repetitive actions such as showering with rose soap or donning a necklace you made with your sigil every morning.

Do you like my work? You can support me by tipping me on Kofi or purchasing an astrology report written by me just for you.