The Witch At Lammas

Some notes from my little witch kitchen

- Before cooking I always start with a spritz cleanse with a rose water/moon water blend. Light a candle and make myself a cup of tea. 

- Rock salt for grounding, sea salt before a journey or to get rid of feelings of being stuck in place. 

- I love to cook with the seasons. This one may seem obvious but at times it can be tough to do given the endless year round choice we get in super markets. Each set of seasonal foods matches the energy of that season, helping you to get in sync with the natural rhythms and flows of the year. 

- YOU DON’T ALWAYS NEED FRESH SPECIALITY HERBS TO DO KITCHEN MAGIC. I cannot say this enough, a lot of what goes into the food I make for my family are simple spices and herbs that you can buy for like 50p anywhere. I do have quite a large stock of less common dried herbs but these mostly come out when somebody is sick or needs an elixir rather than going in a casserole unless I’m making something a bit special for a festival or something. 

- Stir clockwise to manifest & anti clockwise to rid/banish/ other wise tell something to bugger right off. 

- pssst..I don’t make or bake everything from scratch all the time. I’m busy, I have class, I have a job, I have a dog, I’m supposedly a practising artist. I *do not* have time to laminate pastry every time I wanna make a puff pie on a Sunday. 

- An almanac is your best friend for figuring out whats’ in season & if you want a kitchen garden: when, how and what to plant/harvest etc. (it’s also nice to have it all on paper rather than googling every time). 

- I plan ahead as much as possible, I do a weekly meal plan and buy everything on Saturdays. I know my partners’ schedule and by extension, what this household is likely to need throughout a 5 day period. Huge important PhD presentation coming up on Tuesday? great, we’re having pumpkin risotto with bay, basil, black pepper & thyme on Monday night to set you up for confident delivery. Stressful meeting on Friday? No problem, Cumin infused tarka dal with homemade rosemary flatbreads to ease out of the working week and relax. 

- Kitchen crafting for me is all about manifesting love, care and warmth for my loved ones. Building connections & community through the sharing of thoughtfully, *intentionally* prepared food. As an anthropologist, I cannot over-estimate the importance of food/food making/food sharing to how people feel and experience their worlds.

- Cooking is alchemy, it is a vastly undervalued skill (because misogyny) and the ability to take a bunch of raw materials and turn it into a physically and spiritually nourishing feast is magic. 

(Image: cheesy macaroni casserole with nutmeg & tomato, seeded rolls & rainbow salad)

~𝕚’𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕨~ 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕒𝕝𝕤

most people have goals they wish to acomplish, but have something stopping them from doing so. i personally struggle with anxiety and self doubt. hopefully this helps you to not only achieve your goals, but do so with confidence.

✹ you will need ✹

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp of dried yarrow,

1 tbsp of marjoram

matches or a lighter

heatproof bowl

a piece of charcoal

✹ steps ✹

✹find a place where you feel comfortable. face the south. ✹put your charcoal in your heatproof bowl and light it. ✹put the bay leaves, yarrow, and marjoram into the bowl. ✹place your hands above the bowl as if you’re warming them with the flame. ✹while the contents of the bowl are burning, close your eyes and think of the goals you wish to achieve. ✹say: give me strength  give me courage give me the confidence i need to flourish  as my blood runs through me let others see that i will not falter on my path to succeed ✹you can wait for the contents of the bowl to burn all the way or you can put out the flame when it feels like the spell has been completed. 

well i hope every one reading this has an amazing day, and i hope this helps you guys out! good luck everyone! :)

Herbal Hair Rinse for healthy shiny hair and protection using an infused vinegar.

When I was a little girl, my grand mother use to rince my hair with a table spoon of pale cider vinegar diluted in a pitch of water. It made my hair so shiny and strong, I kept this tradition in my adulthood.

Now I have more knowledge in herbalism and witchcraft and I adapted the recipe to be even more effective.

This is a remedy to treat small ailments. Always consult with your GP before. This doesn’t replace any medication!

Herbal Hair Rinse for soothing the scalp, strengthen the hair and protection.

Ingredients:

1L raw organic apple cider vinegar.

½ cup dried chamomile.

½ cup dried lavender.

4 to 5 fresh rosemary sprigs (or ½ cup dried rosemary).

Equipment

1l Mason jar

Plastic lid for the mason jar (you can find some here https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=mason+jar+plastic+lid&crid=1JCPADG0E2V6O&sprefix=mason+jar+plastic%2Caps%2C157&ref=nb_sb_ss_organic-diversity_1_17

Muslin cloth to filter the vinegar

Herbalism

Apple cider vinegar for the hair: help remove buildup of hair products, help balance hair’s pH, clean the scalp, boost circulation, condition hair, soothe dry itchy scalp.

Chamomile: Soothes the scalp

Lavender: Increases circulation, promotes hair growth, calms inflammation, soothes scalp irritation

Rosemary: Increase scalp circulation, promotes hair growth, strengthen hairs, fights dandruff

Magical intent

Apple cider vinegar: Purification, protection

Chamomile: Purification

Lavender: Protection, purification

Rosemary: Protection, purification

Recipe:

Add all the dry ingredients in the mason jar

Fill up to the top with raw organic apple cider

Don’t use metal lid as it will be corroded by the vinegar!

Store in a dark cool cupboard for 6 to 8 weeks. You can be tempted to wait less, but the result will be a weaker vinegar.

Shake every couple of days

When ready, strain and compost the herbs.

The concentrated vinegar will store indefinitely but you’ll need to prepare the rinse before each wash.

Don’t use it more than twice a week.

Always label your jar with the date of creation and what’s inside!

Utilisation

Use a 500mL mason jar.

Add 2 table spoons of vinegar, fill up with water to the top.

Take your shower, wash your hair, then use the rince on your wet hair. Don’t rince your hair with water after!

Be careful to your eyes!

Rinse your shower after you’re done to remove any vinegar residue.

The rinse is really diluted, it doesn’t smell really strong. The smell will disappear when the hair will dry.

Also, it requires a long time of infusion so be mindful of the time frame when you are doing your next batch!

Witchcraft for when depression hits 🥀

Sometimes, we may think that our magick is invalid, or that our deities don’t want to work with us anymore when we have depression. Altars get dusty, the air gets stale, and maybe you have quit working with magick all together, but still identify as a practicing witch.

Depression is an illness. If a professional runner fractured a leg, how could they continue to run while going through recovery?  Can a witch continue to do mental work if their mental health is suffering? Think about it: witches are constantly using their brain to get themselves in a highly spiritual and magickal state. You cannot expect yourself to want to work with magick if getting out of bed is difficult on its own.

Understand that your deities are forgiving and understanding beings. Your magick will not dwindle. In fact, when you are sick, your deities and spirit guides will protect you and make sure nothing bad happens to you while you are sick. Don’t feel guilty for your depression. Depression is an illness, not a lack of dedication or general carelessness. I am going to give you advice on what kinds of spiritual work you can do while in a depressive episode.

Candle magick 🕯

🔮 Light a candle of your choice that symbolizes whatever you want to manifest (i.e yellow = confidence)

Aromatherapy 🧼

🔮 Different essential oils promote all different kinds of things. Lemon is uplifting and happy, while lavender is calming and promotes sleep.

Healing crystals 💎

🔮 All you need to do is set the intention. You can keep crystals by your bed, or you can set them up in a specific way for a spell or intention.

Chanting 🗣

🔮 You don’t need to get up for this one! You can even chant in your head.

Sleep meditation 💤

🔮 Sleep meditations are wonderful because of all of the insight you can get from intense dreaming. YouTube has great sleep meditation music.

Guided meditation 🧘🏻‍♂️ 🌀 🧘🏼‍♀️

🔮 This can be done in the bed as well. There are meditations on akashic records, spirit guides, past lives, you name it.

Be safe and know that it is okay to feel depressed sometimes. Make sure to get professional help if possible to help if these depressive episodes are chronic or prolonged. Know that the world loves you. Your deities love you. I love you. We love you.

The Light.

a tarot spread for litha.

1. The Heart.

The heart of the sun is your center. This is where you hold all your truths. Do not live in fear any longer. Let this card be your constant reminder that the time has come to be the person you truly are.

2. The Air.

The rays of the sun can be felt all around you within the warm summer air. Let this card be your constant reminder that you have been reborn as a being of strength and unwavering positivity. When you feel the warmth of summer, remember you are a new creation.

3. The Light.

Let the light of this new day chase the shadows of doubt far away. Know that there is nothing you cannot obtain. Let this card be your constant reminder that you have the ability to achieve your goals.

I figured I would take a little bit of time to post the pictures of some books wow secular or really good base for people who are interested in kitchen/hearth/green witchcraft.

Also be a really good resource for those of you who are still in the closet as these books by themselves are innocuous enough to pass by unnoticed by most unless they know what you're doing

Poems for Beginning Witches

Masterpost for the complete series of poems so far, designed to aid learning for beginning witches. Most are theory, and a one or two are conceptual. The reason for this masterpost is that they’re all poorly tagged

Moon Phases

Color Magic

Water Magics

Charging Objects

Herbs

Fire (element)*

Quartzes*

Witch Tools*

Divination*

Kitchen Witchcraft*

Air (element)*

Tea Magics*

Salt 

Wheel of the Year (Sabbats) requested by @fish-egs

Cleansing (an area) requested anonymously

Calling Circle requested by @dragonrhapsody

Spell Types requested anonymously

*with thanks to @lazywitchling, who helped inspire the second wave!

If there is something you would be willing to see in poetry form, send me an ask or drop me a message! As of 10/3/17, I am all out and no more are queued. 

If you don't understand why salt is important in witchcraft what the heck have you been reading?

😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

By the way I don't just mean salt circles.

To Feed Offering Candles

It's common practice for candles to be lit in offering to various spirits and powers for favor, power, or gain. The seven day glass jar candles which are available in just about every witchcraft store, Botanica, and apothecary are perfect for this purpose, as they are not only self-contained in their jar, but can be refilled and reused if you have the know-how. But that is a post for a different day.

One practice I have really fallen into a routine with is the practice of "feeding" offering candles. While the burning candle itself is already a great offerings, thay offerings can be made more sacred and appropriate. The "feeding" process is very simple, and only requires a candle and an oil.

Take your offering candle and prepare it however you feel is appropriate. For the glass jar candles, this may include anointing them, carving sigils into the top, or speaking specific prayers over them. Here I have a simple white candle.

Light the candle in the name of the figure to whom it will be granted. Allow it to burn for a moment to melt the wax around the wick. Then, grab your oil of choice. I tend towards a blend of Tunisian frankincense and myrrh, but Olive Oil will literally be PERFECTLY fine. I just like these because of the scent that is created.

With the dropper, drop several drops of oil into the wax pool.

If you like, you can reiterate your prayer as needed when feeding.

This process can be used to feed not only the offering candles, but can be used to offer various substances to spirits, even the witch's blood should it be desired, through the medium of the burning flame. As the oil is dropped into the wax, the wick will absorb it until the oil itself is burned off by the flame, completing the offering.

Just to make it clear, there is NOTHING wrong with the just burning these candles, as multiple practices and peooles do across the world. This is just a ritualistic process that helps me focus my offerings a little more, and one that I feel compelled to share.

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.