Aura/Energy Color Meanings

Putting ideas into words is hard and idek if this makes sense but here is something I have been thinking about lately:

Stop researching for your craft. There is no one truth to witchcraft and I think that researching has been hindering us from truly connecting with the spiritual world. Go outside and collect some grass or flowers or stones. Listen to them, they will tell you what they are and you can use them as you see fit. Rosemary doesn't have to stand for wisdom, pine doesn't have to attract money, plain sweet grass can cleanse and banish and ward if thats what it does for you.

The earth will tell you what it can do, its just up to you to listen.

(obviously though this does not apply in a medicinal sense. don't eat things that you don't know)

Witch Tip: Check your Spells

This is the easiest but mostly overlooked element of Magic101: if something seems off with your magic that normally works very well, go and check on your spell.

Maybe something is...off. Maybe your cat knocked over your altar or something in your jar molded. Maybe that last wind storm knocked a tree branch down which scratched out a part of the sigil at the edge of your property.

This could have happened for mundane or magical reasons. Discovering that is up to you.

But check first.

It could be something as simple as your partner changing the sheets on the bed and forgetting to put your dream pouch back into the inner pillowcase (as happened to me last week).

You can and probably should buy your first tarot deck!

My first deck was gifted to me by friends on my birthday, following the tradition by all means and then some. It was my first real tarot deck, I loved everything about it and it was a very thoughtful gift by very good friends. A couple of years later, I came across another one I really liked and after some time of contemplating if I needed two decks (lol) I gave in and bought it

The connection I have with the deck I personally chose and got for myself is not even close to the connection I had with the gifted one

The gifted one would often "short circuit" and give random cards that had no correlation to my question and formed no answer, just pure nonsense. The energy would also feel heavy and thick like trying to run through a swamp. I tried everything to fix it with no result, eventually deciding it was because I was not very experienced but no, even after all this time it's still the same

The deck I chose hasn't given me any problems at all so far. The energy feels welcoming and refreshing, all the cards I pull work in perfect harmony with each other and the answers are clear as day

There's a lot of reasons why people gifted others their first tarot deck back in the day. People's views on witchcraft and divination meant it could be dangerous for you to buy a deck because everyone would know about it and assume stuff. Things were also more expensive and not (as) mass produced or easily accessible so a deck could be a family heirloom of sorts that was handed down to you

Things are certainly different now and at the end of the day, your deck is a tool and you have to vibe with your tools to use them effectively

hi chicken, i think the idea of setting an indicator of the spell working is cool. do you maybe have anymore thoughts on that or how to actually do it? i like the idea im just not sure how to actually like.. set that intention and make sure it actually indicates

We're in reference to this I'm sure, the hematite ring bit I believe.

Easy as pie. You want something that has a chance to spontaneously change its physical state, but not a guarantee; a thread tied around your wrist that could snag and snap, or fall off; a brittle hematite ring that can shatter; in the past I've used something precariously stood up (a medical creme tube stood upright on its small cap) and set it in a sheltered place, the indication being whether or not it fell over on its own. (It did, in the middle of the night, and spooked me)

Place it with the other parts of the spell. Bake it into the same pie, as it were.

Candle be thou a candle likened to Money Marge herself, cash me out, stuff my hair with dollar dollar bills; And you, green thread, you are the oracle that sees; you are the chain that falls when the link is broken; you are the canary in the coal mine that falls away to sound the alert. You, my far-seeing helper, keep your eyes affixed upon Money Marge: and when [the last traces of power fade away/ when my spell has found its target/ if the spell fails before it can manifest] then you will show me it has happened by breaking, or snapping, or unraveling, or in any manner whatsoever falling away from my wrist.

Ensure you have thoughtfully chosen an indicator that could happen randomly, yet is not guaranteed or likely to happen (an indicator with a 50/50 chance of 'going off' anyways is not useful)

Through ritual action, words, or by any means, link and involve the indicating object to the spell; consecrate them together, energize them together, soak them in the same bath of energies

Clearly define what role the indicating object is playing. Poetry serves well, in my opinion. Also see if you can't get the poetry to match the action and theme (falling away thread = chain that snaps, canary that falls -- indicator for a ward being breached, "you are the war horn that sounds the alarm")

Clearly define the conditions under which the object will perform that indicated action ("when Money Marge has grabbed money for me and is rushing back to my side.")

From that point onwards such indicator objects may be considered to be a taglock of the spell, and a useful connection to be able to 'check in'. Very handy little things for practicing psychism and energy reading.

It's reasonable to assume that you are functionally enchanting an entire second object, and therefore this might be significantly more draining than one might expect at first glance. My recommendation is to ensure the primary function of the spell gets all it needs first, and any indicator object comes second; also, there's perhaps no need to go ham on the indicator at all.

Troubleshooting Your Tarot Deck

I read a bunch of people for unnecessarily cleansing their decks but didn’t actually provide any alternatives! So I wanted to describe some of the ways I troubleshoot my tarot decks. Please, please, please feel free to add on.

Sleep on it. Literally. My favorite way of working through some wonky readings is to sleep with my deck under my pillow. I like to do it for 3 nights but you can really go as long as you want. You may have some pretty crazy dreams, but I like to think that means it’s working.

Change things up. If you’re dealing with repetitive answers, change how you approach it. Whether that means changing your spread, your question, your shuffling technique or a secret fourth thing.

Put the bitch down. I have found that doing readings too often can muddle them together (well, I’ve had trouble with reading for myself too frequently. Multiple people in a day is fine, but draining). Taking a break of even just a couple days can make all the difference.

Make an offering. Your tarot deck has a spirit too! Appreciate what it does for you and give it a gift. It could be a symbolic offering, like food, alcohol or some incense, or a new case to live in.

Give it a recharge. It might be acting funky because it’s tapped out. Use whichever is your preferred charging method. I like moonlight and sunlight (ironically, they are also cleansing methods, but it’s all about intention at that point).

Ask it what’s up. If you ask your deck why it’s acting out, it may just tell you what’s going on. Maybe it wants one of the other solutions, maybe it wants something else.

If none of those things work, then I’ll cleanse my deck. Sometimes it’s as simple as a smoke cleansing, sometimes it is reorder the deck and let it sit in salt for a week, it just depends on the situation.

My favorite simple wards to guard the home

Hanging rosemary above the doorstep, and/or above doors of the house for protection.

Sprinkling a line of dried red pepper on a windowsill, to counter a curse.

Placing a mix of dried & ground eggshells and black pepper in every corner of a room to keep out unwanted spirits.

Placing a decoration representing a witch in the kitchen, to keep away illness and to favor health.

Crafting an effigie (no matter how crude!) and make it into the guardian of your home by charging it with your intent of protection by placing it near the front door.

Crafting small witch ladders to hang around the house.

An easy tip for my fellow spirit workers or others who use candles in their magic (especially "light it and leave it" style casters):

Put stickers on your lighter(s). Have a different colored lighter for various moods or purposes. Put stickers on those shits. My favorite spirit work lighter is hot pink (because it's what I had) and is covered in relevant stickers. A little holographic ghost, a candle, purple and yellow hearts, a butterfly, a white lily, the word "remember."

It's literally that easy. Enchant your lighters. With the power of STICKERS.

See also: Drawing on your lighters with sharpie

Occultists, witches and spiritualists really need to stop peddling the lie that spirituality, witchcraft, paganism, etc. isn’t a psychological phenomenon as well as a mystical one. Your psychology will in fact, fundamentally inform your experiences with spirituality.

And we also need to stop pretending that spirituality and witchcraft are somehow contrary to mental illness. Or that having a mental illness means you can’t do witchcraft.

I’ll be completely honest with you guys and say that certain people with certain afflictions are more predisposed to different “mystical” experiences than others. I don’t think it’s a great coincidence that I am so great at visualization given that I was raised in a severely neglectful household. It doesn’t surprise me that many pagans are lonely people. This doesn’t mean to say that spirituality is “filling” a hole within anyone (although if it is, that’s great for you) but more so that, well, this path is unpopular for a reason. Alternative subcultures are alternative for a reason, and outcasts and rejects usually find a home there for a reason.

This also doesn’t mean to say that people who engage in witchcraft and spiritualism are inherently mentally ill. There is still a difference between hallucinations and spiritual encounters. And there was never any rule that said that both of these things cannot happen to a single person. For the safety of yourself and others we should be aware of the warning signs of dissociation and hallucination, but that doesn’t make anyone “wrong” for experiencing those things. And experiencing those things doesn’t mean you cannot explore spirituality or do witchcraft.

I hate it when “spiritualists” who are actually just anti-vax conservatives push the narrative that people with mental health issues cannot participate in spirituality. I also despise the notion that mental health issues are inherently a sign of an energetic imbalance. We’re all walking around with a special concoction of brain soup in our heads, it doesn’t surprise me that Ares devotees tend to have BPD, that many Aphrodite devotees struggle with self harm, that many people who work with angels have paranoia or generalized anxiety.

There was never any rule that said that you cannot use your deities or magic to help you cope with your mental health. I know some people will say “the Gods aren’t here to be your friend or hold your hand through life” but I’ve seen no evidence to suggest that’s true. I see no reason why a God like Ares couldn’t help his devotee with BPD come down after a bout of rage, I see no reason why Dionysus couldn’t help his devotee with their alcoholism or substance abuse, I see no reason why Aphrodite couldn’t help a devotee with relapse or negative self talk.

Witchcraft and paganism were historically used as a tool for survival, to bring people ease, to help people feel safe and secure, blessed and protected. That applied to all people, including those with mental health issues.

In Greek mythology, Zeus got played by Prometheus so the gods got the bones of animals as offerings while humans got the meat. Sharing your meal with the gods is such a wholesome offering and one the gods appreciate very much

“Don’t give Gods leftovers this is disrespectful” since when is leftover food, the food you would eat yourself, bad?

It’s not rotten, it hasn’t gone bad, it’s not from a trashcan, it’s not food for animals. Like… this argument that all offerings have to be brand new and freshly bought has always bothered and worried me. How privileged and rich do you need to be to impose this on people?

Gods don’t care if your food is freshly bought/made/harvested or not. We have records of Romans and Greeks sharing their home meals with Deities as well as cooking for Deities. Rustic worship existed, which sort of implies that Gods were accessible to people regardless of their income. It has never, ever been stated anywhere, unless you somehow magically provide a reliable source against it, that leftovers are bad as an offering.

You are gifting something you could have eaten yourself. You are sharing food. I don’t know what world this is disrespectful in.

The Scorpion's sting spell

If someone wishes you harm then this spell is for you.

What you'll need:

Black paint

black pepper

Lemon juice

Black or red salt { you're choice }

Cayenne pepper or any hot dried pepper of your choice, the hotter the better.

Cedar powder

dried saint John's wort

A mirror

What you'll do:

Take your mirror and cleanse it how you see fit then set it aside. Take your dry ingredients and three drops of lemon juice then mix it with the paint.

Paint the back of your mirror, tell the mirror your intuition, feed it some incense or your own breath then put it in your front window.

This nifty spell will send any curse or hex back at someone but 3 times worse.