Using Psalms/tehilim For Warding

Smoke Cleansing With Wood

Smoke Cleansing. For most of us, Our first thought, Or go to would be white sage And While sage is great to use, It is to often relied on as the cure all and the only option. There are so many other herbs, and barks around us to use for their cleansing smoke that they are easy to overlook.  

My favorite wood to use is Palo Santo (Holy Wood from Peru) But not everyone has access to that. And for this reason, I present to you all, (SOME) common Woods, And their magical correspondences.

Also note that the fallen leaves from these trees can also be used to smoke cleanse. Grind them up, And burn on charcoal. 

Birch-  Purification, Blessing, Protection, Expel negative Spirits

Cedar- Cleanses negative atmospheres

 Holly-  Purity, strength, Protection

Hawthorn- marriage, love and protection.

Juniper- Protection, and clears negativity 

Oak- healing, strength, money

Pine-  Purification, health, fortune, fertility, and prosperity

Willow-  Healing, protection, enchantments

🌱 • Herb Magick 101 • 🌱

Herb Magick is one of the oldest types of magick on Earth. It can be traced back to the early history of almost every ancient culture, and much evidence exists suggesting that herbal magick even existed in prehistory.

Put simply, herbal magick is the practice of utilizing the spiritual energy of non-living plant matter. It should not be confused with plant magick - which is utilizing the energy of living plants - or with herbalism - which is utilizing herbs for medicinal healing.

Every species of plant contains a unique type of energy, and using specific herbs (on their own or in combination) allows you to add specific energy to your spells.

In modern witchcraft, herbs can often be thought of as “ingredients” or “flavorings” to a spell. They’re not needed, but they add spice (buh dum tchhh 🥁).

Herbs are amazing because they’re so versatile. The most common ways of using herbs are in tinctures/potions (boiling herbs in water like a tea), in oils (extracting the essential oils from herbs by soaking them in base oils like almond oil or olive oil), in incense (burning the herbs on a candle or on charcoal), in candles (dressing candles with herbs to charge them), and in sachets (carrying the herb with you in a small bag). There are so many more techniques than these, too, and it’s up to you to decide how you like to work with herbs. Their uses are endless, though, and their energy will go wherever you place the herb, so sprinkle with caution!

Some Commonly Used Herbs:

• Sage - for cleansing

• Rosemary - for beauty, femininity, and empowerment

• Chamomile - for sleep, calm, and dreams

• Wormwood - for communicating with the dead and strengthening psychic powers

• Lavender - for calming and releasing

• Vervain - for binding, blessing, and tapping into the energy of the Goddess

• Dandelion - for luck and wishing

• Rose - for love and beauty

• Cinnamon - for good vibes and enticing spirits

• Apple - for abundance

• Cannabis - for detaching the Ego and elevating vibration

Some Herbs to be Cautious of:

• Belladona/Nightshade - poisonous - used for death, dreams, psychic powers, mind control, transformation, and certain types of astral projection

• Henbane/Wolfsbane/Aconite - poisonous - used for uncrossing and reversing

• Arnica - irritant - used for protection and regeneration

• Pokeroot - poisonous - used for aggressive purification

• Vervain - moderately poisonous

• Apple Seeds - poisonous in large amounts - used for tapping into nature energy

• Wormwood - mildly poisonous/hallucinogenic

• Many others so do your research!!!!!

Never ingest anything unless you absolutely know what you’re doing. I repeat, do extensive research!!

There are literally hundreds of types of herbs; study up, and practice!

Happy witching! 🕉

PS: I’ll be creating an herb master post soon, and I’ll update this post with the link when it’s ready.

Lunar Phases 🌜🌛

New moon:

new beginnings

new endeavors

new relationships

positive changes

hope and faith

planting seeds

optimism

Waxing moon:

growth

learning

accomplishments

creativity

healing

positive transformation

Full moon:

wish fulfillment

spell casting

harvest

protection

achievement

perfect ideas

Waning moon:

letting go

cleansing

breaking habits

release

opening up

making space

I hate to be a bother, but would you know where I can find free ebooks or something on witchcraft? I have looked and scoured site after site and I've read posts where people say you can, but I sure haven't found a single one. I'm new and not open, so I'm so lost.

Why yes! I actually have several Free PDFs I can give you that I’ve collected over the while!

Herbal Enchantments

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews

The Ultimate Book of Spells

The Gardnerian Book of Shadows

Every Witch Way

Witch Crafting

Wicca In The Kitchen

The Magical Household

Circle, Coven, and Grove

Magick When You Need It

The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Spells For The Solitary Witch

A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk

The Great Book of Spells

Spell Crafts

Scottish Fairy and FolkTales

The Call of the Horned Piper

Book of Protective Charms

A Whole Folder of Nature/Herb Books

Cornells Digital Witchcraft Collection

All of these are, to my knowledge, still up and running! Enjoy these, I’ll add more if/when I find them! 

constantly-disheveled.tumblr.com/ask

Drunk Witchery

Anything and everything that involves witchcraft and alcohol. Please drink legally and responsibly! And please tag this appropriately for those who avoid alcohol.

Correspondences of…

Wine types in witchcraft

White wine

Red wine

Rosé Wine

Champagne

Beer brands and witchcraft

Booze correspondence table

Making…

Blackberry gin

Booze witchcraft (making gin)

Tonic wine recipes

Mulled wine

Yule buttered rum

Hot toddy

Moon vodka

Infuse your booze

Using in witchcraft…

Vodka luck spell

Lucky night shots

Simple spell for warmer weather

Hot toddy (for good health and cheer!)

Love spell cocktail

Simple love potion

Witchy whiskey

Use of alcohol in a ritual

Get that bartending job spell

*Multiple links were pulled from this post*

🔔 BELLS IN WITCHCRAFT 🔔

Bells might just be the earliest form of superstitious practise that I remember. My baba attached three sakura-patterned suzu bells on my schoolbag as a kid, purportedly for good luck and protection from evil spirits – and Japan is far from the only place to have associated bells and bellringing with mystic practise. They’ve been used worldwide to ward off evil and carry messages – and in a more metaphysical sense, sound is the movement of energy through substance. Sounds have the potential to work powerful magic.

Here are some of the ways I’ve found utilising bells to be helpful to my craft. While I’m more likely to use traditional suzu type bells, your own background, path and culture will likely have its own types of bells – and as ever, bells can be ornate antiques or they can be a bottle cap in a tin can, as long as they’re used with intent.

GETTING STARTED

🔔 As with so much of the craft, if you’re new to the witching bell, it’s a matter of exploration and experimentation. Get a “feel” for what works for you and the specific bell you’re using.

🔔 It’s good practise to ensure that the bell itself is cleansed, warded and protected – you don’t want anything nasty tapping into that power. All witching tools can do as much harm as good, intentional or accidental.

🔔 A good way to begin incorporating bells into your craft is infuse them into any typical ritual that you’re comfortable with, or even just a prayer or moment of contemplation at your altar if you have one.

🔔 Give the bell a soft ring while focusing on the energy it’ll ripple and move, try to track the movements it creates and what it touches. The tone it’s sending out.  The most primal and versatile use of the bell – and what many of the below come down to – is simply another manner of physically channelling energy, giving it shape and direction.

PROTECTION

🔔 “Passive” bells such as windchimes or small bells attached to belongings you don’t want disturbed are a starting point. They will scare off some forms of spirit all by themselves, especially if appropriately blessed, charmed or enchanted. Or cursed.

🔔 Gently tolling can draw energy into a ward or circle you are forming and enforce its protective properties, or for a simple cleanse, letting the sound travel to every corner of the area you are protecting. It’s a little more “cutting” than a smoke or incense cleansing, which I view as more “gentle” forms of cleansing. Both have their uses.

🔔 Harder tolling is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful ways in which to enforce a banishing – however, it’s best to you know what you’re doing with the bell before you go bashing it about.

DISCERNMENT

🔔 Bells can have quite the effect on your perception and awareness. Ringing and then stopping, listening to the silence left in its wake, can bring you new perceptions or make things you’d previously missed obvious. Let it attune your mind and senses to something new, whether that’s in your thoughts or something with a little more presence. Visualise travelling with the sound, taking heed of the energies it touches and disturbs. Take note of the echoes – you’ll learn what they mean with experience.

🔔 A set of windchimes can let you know if something is passing through or if there’s some unusual energy afoot – and, yes, it may also just be letting you know that it’s a particularly breezy day, but that’s witchcraft for you.

CONJURING

🔔 This can be as simple as calling good energies to witching tools, spell jars, tarot decks, crystals, altars and shrines, your favourite teddy bar, anything at all.

🔔 With spirit work, it can truly help to magnify your “calling”. This can range from gently bringing your latest offering to the attention of your friendly neighbourhood house spirit – all the way to trying to catch the attention of something more. Be mindful, however. As I said, I consider bells pretty powerful tools and a call that’s too loud is not good spirit work practise for the spirit worker’s own sake. It can really help coax something out of hiding if you’re gentle with it, though.

COMMUNING

🔔 Some use bells to mark the beginning and end of a ritual, and I’ve read that in Wiccan practise an altar bell can be used to invoke the Goddess, although as a non-Wiccan, I’ll welcome corrections on that if I’m wrong.

🔔 In my experience, very simple forms of communication via bell work a lot better than anything too complex – “come here” and “stay away” have already been covered, and other than that they can serve as greetings or signals of a start or end of some practise or ritual, the opening or closing of a door, etc.

🔔 They can also serve as a warning or a litmus test regarding spirits, a signalling of your presence and awareness, lack of fear, or willingness to defend – but be prepared to deal with whatever responses these garner.

BINDING

🔔 Bindings are where you most often see that famous (clockwise) circular motion of the bell, embodying the meaning of the spell. This can be a simple binding to seal a spell or charm or enchantment, or a spirit-binding.

🔔 Personally, spirit-binding is something I do as little as possible simply due to my beliefs holding the autonomy of spirits in very high regard. However, sometimes situations arise that call for it, and I’m aware that not all bindings are unwilling. Far from it – and some spirits are dangerous when unbound.

🔔 As an animist (believing that all things, including inanimate objects, contain a spirit of their own), I consider gently nudging a spirit back into its physical form a sort of semi-binding, and that can be useful.

I’ll leave you all with a note that I am an urban apartment-dwelling witch through and through, so I understand that we can’t all be jangling away at all hours. I myself have a glass windchime in my front window that makes a distinct but muted sound when disturbed by passers-through, and highly recommend wooden ones also. I also only use my small and relatively quiet suzu bell for my crafting – one given to me by my baba herself.

Feel free to add any of your own findings, and happy tolling.

Z.M. Wilmot’s Personality Tarot Spread

1. Central Characteristic: This card represents the most important part of someone’s personality; it is the card that best describes and sums up the the personality of the entire person. It is both the primary factor and the summary of the rest of the spread.

2. Influencing Characterstic: This card is the second most important aspect of someone’s personality, and influences, mitigates, or complements the Central Characteristic; in many ways it also the secondary characteristic of a person, and provides a second dimension to one’s personality, adding depth to it.

3. Influence of Past: This card sums up the influences that past events have had on one’s personality; memory is an important part of our personality, our desires, and our own identity. This card represents and shows the influence that this memory has had on a personality.

4. Goals of the Future: This card represents what one are striving to accomplish; another aspect of one’s personality is their drive, and what makes them motivated: that motivation and drive is represented by this card, which shows the thing that the person is striving to achieve, and their most important desire for the future.

5. Unconscious Thoughts and Motives: This card represents the unconscious thoughts and concerns of a person, and also represents this person’s motives. It answers the questions of “why do they do this?” as well as those of “what are they really thinking?”  This is their unconscious drive (rather than the conscious drive of Card 4), and represents the deepest aspects of their personality, hidden from themselves. This card also serves as the synthesis of cards 8 and 10.

6. Conscious Thoughts and Concerns: This card represents the person’s conscious thought. It helps one examine what the most important things are to this person, and represents their most pressing concerns, and what is most important to them at this time. This card also serves as the synthesis of cards 7 and 9.

7. Public Face: This card is the public aspect of one’s identity; this is how others perceive this person, and how their environment (including other people) affects them and notices them. This card is similar to Card 8 (second from the bottom of the Staff) on the Celtic Cross. This card represents how they want others to see them as well.

8. Private Face: This card represents the concept of self-identity and self-image, and shows how a person really thinks of themselves. This might line up with one’s public face, but often is at least slightly different. This card is similar to Card 7 (bottom of the Staff) of the Celtic Cross spread. This card shows how this person really feels about himself, and what they think their own identity is.

9. Public Desire: This card represents what one says they want; it is the stated hopes and fears of a person. This is what the person wants others to think they want and what they want others to think they are afraid of; this card represents those desires made public.

10. Private Desire: This card represents one’s true hopes and fears; their heart’s desire or their deepest, secret fear. These are the desires that people keep repressed and hidden – sometimes even from themselves – for various reasons. These are the inner passions and repressed terrors that often motivate people’s actions unconsciously.

cheap, easy ways to decorate your altar for the sabbats

Imbolc/Candlemas: seeds or bulbs, candles, red and white

Ostara: flowers, eggs, milk, honey

Beltane: flowers, ribbons, acorns

Litha: oak leaves, sun symbols, sunflowers

Lammas: bread, wheat, beer, honey, corn dolls, iron

Mabon: fall leaves, cornstalks, grapes and grape vines, pomegranates, apples

Samhain: tarot cards, mirror, food offerings, mulled wine, dark bread

Yule: holly, pine cones, mistletoe, fruits, nuts, bells

Spells To Do For Each Phase of the Moon

New Moon: Spells related to personal growth, manifestation, abundance, fertility, new relationships, grounding, and stability.

Waxing Crescent: Spells related to success, growth, attraction, communication, and intellect.

First Quarter: Spells related to courage, motivation, breaking bad habits, passion, and creativity.

Waxing Gibbous: Spells related to balance, organization, completion, emotional healing, and intuition.

Full Moon: Spells related to love, intuition, psychic abilities, abundance, protection, releasing negative energy, and grounding.

Waning Gibbous: Spells related to banishing, breaking bad habits, releasing negative energy, and communication.

Last Quarter: Spells related to endings, closure, forgiveness, passion, and creativity.

Waning Crescent: Spells related to rest, renewal, dream work, divination, emotional healing, and intuition.

My Ko-Fi

Ways to use Tarot for Mental Health Maintenance

Someone (I won't mention them because I didn't ask permission first) asked me to make a post about the ways in which tarot can be helpful for mental health maintenance. I've been thinking about witchcraft and health in general and also about tarot and health. Anyways here is the post!

Disclaimer: This will not be a post about how to use tarot to predict mental health outcomes. This is also not a substitute for help from a licenced or certified mental health professional.

Using tarot for when you don't know what you're feeling

There are times when you might feel something but don't always know what it is you're feeling or why you're feeling that way. I always reference Blanche from the Golden Girls when it comes to this feeling, she called the feeling "magenta". You can simply ask two questions, "what is this feeling?" and "why am I feeling this way?" This might be helpful for anyone but especially those that attend mental health therapy. Having at least some insight into your feelings to share with a therapist.

Tarot to ease your mind about potential outcomes

Even the most calm and collected person can have moments of doubt or worry about the outcome of a situation. Instead of asking your cards for a concrete outcome, ask the cards the following question "what is the best possible outcome of this situation?" If the card is what you consider a positive card then meditate, pray, and/or do spellwork to encourage that outcome. If the card is one that makes you feel uneasy or one that you'd rather not have as an outcome for a situation. Ask the cards again "what can I do to change this outcome?" or if you feel that this is not applicable to the situation "what can I do to find peace with this outcome?"

Tarot for self reflection

Tarot can also be a great tool to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, you can ask yourself some of the following questions.

What are some of my strengths?

What are some of my weaknesses?

What parts of myself do I hide?

Why do I hide certain parts of myself?

Who would I be if I felt completely safe to be my most authentic self?

I hope you found this post helpful and please reach out to a medical professional if you are having mental health struggles. Tarot and divination in general are wonderful tools but there is nothing wrong with realizing that you need medical intervention. You owe that to yourself and you are worthy of receiving the best care possible, mind, body, and soul!

- Erika, The Clumsy Witch