Breathing Life

Beginning Tips for a Witchy Notebook

I get a lot of asks about how I started my notebook whenever I post pictures of it! I do have a background in scrapbooking/collage/art, which is reflected in my witchy notebook. I’ve been a self-identified practicing witch for about a year now, but many of the practices in my craft have been in my life for years.

Some people call them Book of Shadows, grimoire, or simply just a “witchy notebook.” Here are some tips that helped me when I was beginning my notebook. Lengthy post with pictures!

Notebook? Binder? E-grimoire?

There are lots of ways to keep all your witchy information together. You can keep your grimoire on the notes of your phone, documents on your laptop, Canva/other graphic design website, loose leaf papers or in a binder, or a regular bound notebook. Don’t place too much pressure on yourself! Whatever feels right is right.

Start with what you like (but stay open to what you don’t know!)

Your notebook won’t have the same authentic magic if you fill it with things that you don’t actually care about! While my first notebook contains some aspects of witchcraft that I don’t practice now, they were still important to me at the time. Your notebook is a visual representation of your journey, so don’t be afraid to fill it with your current obsession with crystals or a one specific tarot card. 

These are some really great tags for exploring topics when you don’t know where to start!

witch tips

baby witch

witchy 101

And some simple ideas for your first entries:

your birth chart

what you want to use magic for

a collage page of your witch aesthetic (or ideal aesthetic)

a wish list

your favorite crystals

a simple moon calendar (full/new moons of the year, month, or just information about the phases)

your favorite colors, seasons, places in nature etc

record information about the chakras/energy points in the body

list of your favorite witchy movies and tv shows

draw teacups and fill them with drawings of your favorite blends

drawings of your ideal familiars (animal companions)

A couple witchy things that you may not have heard about but are super cool to incorporate into your craft:

sigils (visual symbols charged with an intent)

incantations (short spells that sometimes rhyme)

Don’t knock Pinterest.

I personally like to have very organized and planned out pages. I’ve resorted to Pinterest *many* times to get graphic ideas for lunar calendars, zodiac wheels and other witchy things that require a lot of information in a condensed graphic. Pinterest has great inspiration for those special, planed out spreads.

Separate or keep it altogether. 

Some people like to keep everything in one notebook/binder, others like to separate their topics or layouts into different notebooks. I started a bullet journal for more planned out pages, but my general notebook is a leuchtturm1917 with dotted grids where I have reference pages and personal entries.

Here are some pages of my notebook that I’m especially proud of.

Ultimately, your notebook is a reflection of YOU. It doesn’t have to be super witchy, covered in cobwebs with etched pentagrams. It can be a simple composition notebook or a super frilly lace journal. Be true to yourself and your notebook will never lead you astray. Best of luck and feel free to message me!

Trick or treat!

Treat!

Cleanse A Friend 🚿🌬

(A poppet spell for breaking negative energy)

Create a poppet with a taglock for your friend or family member who is dealing with bad energy or vibes. Lovingly bathe it in a cleansing bath of charged water with rosemary, lemon, salt- maybe some rose petals to help soothe them.

Since you’re using a poppet feel free to use rainwater or moon water, rose petals from any grocery store or boutique, and even essential oils rubbed into the poppet’s fabric/skin.

Afterwards, draw tiny protection sigils or bindrunes on thin strips of paper and fashion them into wrist braces and a necklace to twist around the poppets arms and neck

Keep in a safe place until at least your friend/family feels better- or as long as you like.

Repeat the cleansing bath if needed as necessary.

How to Write Your Own Spells

There are lots of ways to create spells, from planning everything to the minutest detail ahead of time to absolutely flying by the seat of your pants in the moment. If you'd like to write your own spells, either for use in your craft or as a creative exercise, here are some suggested steps that I use in my own practice:

1) Determine the intent or goal of your spell. Decide, first and foremost, what you want the spell to do. Refine your goal if necessary and try not to be too nebulous. Your intent tells the spell what it's meant to do. A more focused goal may increase the chances of success.

2) Determine how you want the spell to manifest. Decide how the spell should work and what the result should look like. This is a good time to build in a sign of success, especially for spells that may not work in an obvious or visible way.

3) Determine what or whom the spell will affect. If the spell is to have a target, be it a person or a place or an animal or an object, decide what that should be and how they or it will be represented in the casting.

4) Determine how long the spell is meant to work. If your spell is timebound or has a deadline, decide what that will be. If the spell is meant to work long-term, you may want to check in and refresh it from time to time. (Not every spell will be timebound. Many spells will simply expire when they have fulfilled their purpose or if they are blocked or circumstances are not favorable.)

5) Determine the timing of the spell, if applicable. Not everyone uses celestial or astrological timing for their spells, but if you do, look into the prevailing conditions and decide on an advantageous time for your casting. (Please note that magical timing can only enhance your spell and casting something on the "wrong" day will not necessarily cause it to fail.)

6) Determine what methods and materials you want to use to cast the spell. Decide how you're going to go about performing the casting, whether you're doing a ritual or making a charm or just using energy. If you're going to need a ritual space or physical components, plan that out and make sure it fits with what you want to do.

7) Determine the words, if any, which will empower the spell. If you want to include a prayer or a petition or a song or an incantation with your spell, decide what that should be. This is not strictly necessary and the words need not be spoken aloud. (Rhyming incantations are not required, but if you prefer them that way, you can certainly do so.)

8) Prepare the materials for casting the spell. Get all your necessaries together ahead of time. Make sure you have everything you need, that tools and components are in good and useable condition, prepare your workspace, and make sure everything is within easy reach so you don't have to stop and search for things in the middle of your casting. (And for goodness sake, if you're working with open flame, observe fire safety and tie your hair and sleeves back.)

9) Finalize details and perform the casting. When you're ready to begin, try to eliminate as many possibilities for distraction or interruption as possible. Go over your spell and components one more time, then proceed with casting the spell.

10) Record the particulars for future reference and to determine how well the spell worked. Make a record of the spell, including your goal, how it should manifest, the words and components used, the date of the casting, the casting method and procedure, and how the casting went. If there are any additional details or observations that seem important, include those as well. This will serve as a useful learning tool in the future and will allow you to check your work if the results make themselves known.

It's useful to write spells from time to time if the inspiration strikes you, in order to better understand how they fit together and how they work. Plus it's a fun and creative journaling exercise and recording the spells you cast a great way to measure your progress later on.

For additional tips on writing your own spells and helpful tricks for using timing and available materials to your advantage, check out my podcast, Hex Positive, Eps. 006-007, "Come In For A Spell, pt 1 & 2."

(And if you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop. 😊)

Happy Witching! 🔮✨

😴🍄Communicating with Plants: Dreams🍄😴

Needed:

🌱chosen plant to communicate with

🌱item symbolic of the plant (a cutting, store bought dried version of the same herb, or drawn symbol).

🌱journal to document

🌱optional: any dream boosting items or practices you wish to add

If you are comfortable with dream work, this is a way you can receive messages from a specific plant. This is the method I personally have experience with and have done. If possible, I would recommend having a trimming of some kind from the plant you wish to communicate with, but this is not the only way. 

For example, if I wanted to receive messages from my Rosemary plant, I would save a bit of her leaves (dry for repeated use) for this purpose. If you have a plant but can’t take any cuttings away for whatever reason, you could get some from the store or kitchen cabinet if it’s a cooking herb pant (place a little before your plant and keep the rest for your work) or even create a sigil that simply represents your plant and draw it on a piece of paper (if I do this, I like to “show” my plant the sigil in my minds eye at some point just to further tie the plant to the symbol). Tell the plant at some point that you wish to speak with it in your dreams tonight, don’t worry too much if it got the message.

Before going to bed, place the cutting/symbol inside your pillow case. I also have a bedside altar space and I place some cuttings on that as well for good measure. If you take any other measures to induce a dream (consume a substance, smell a dream inducing herb or oil, meditate before bed, etc) do so. Any extra dream boosts are welcome, I prefer to do a specific meditation I created for meeting/speaking with spirits in dreams.

📝Tip: Keep a journal and a writing utensil near the bed if you wish to record any messages before you forget them when you wake!📝

Go to sleep and be open to how a plant may communicate with you.

Some notes on dream communication: what to expect

🌱For starters, they may not show up at all. You extended an invitation to meet up with you in the dream world and they have a right not to attend.

🌱They may literally just “appear” in your dreams and that’s it. Or is it? Sometimes you are dreaming away and just see your plant (or something that looks like it but bigger/brighter/fuller) chilling in a pot set on a counter top. Nothing else happens, it’s just there. If you can in the moment (for lucid dreamers) try to think about when it appeared and why. For example, my oregano plant suddenly appeared during a nightmare I had. It said next to nothing but I just felt its presence and suddenly became aware I was only dreaming (which made me feel 100% better and in control of the nightmare). In this case, while nothing was said, I received the message of “hey you’re dreaming, you’re fine.”

🌱They may have a bigger or more specific message to you, and it’s up to you to try to interpret it to the best of your abilities. Messages are not always clear in the slightest. 

🌱The message may have nothing to do with what you wanted to talk about. Did you just dream of your tropical humidity loving plant in a scarce desert? Maybe the message is designed to tell you something about the level of care it is receiving. Don’t expect every message to be about your spiritual enlightenment, sometimes a plant really just wants an opportunity to say “hey I need more/less of *insert need here*.”  

🌱As with any communication with plants, remember that they can refuse to communicate with you. They may simply not wish to communicate now, but perhaps another time or with a different method. They could be indifferent towards you and would prefer not to communicate (IMO, plants aren’t big on politely sitting through a conversation they have no desire to be in). There is always the chance that (get this) they just don’t like communicating with humans (either in this specific manner or not at all).

🌱You may have to try over and over again to get a message. If a plant does not show one time, it may agree at another time. Or perhaps it has agreed, but you just aren’t getting the message. Practice, practice, practice. 

Troubleshooting 

So this method isn’t working but you want to continue to give it a try. 

🌱Are you a decent dreamer? Do you remember your dreams semi consistently? If not, it may be a good idea to develop your dream recall skills first or even learning to lucid dream (you don’t have to know how to lucid dream but I personally found it helpful). You could be receiving messages nightly and fail to remember them, it happens! 

🌱You are comfortable working in dreams but it just isn’t happening? This leads me to one of the most important aspects of troubleshooting this type of communication; your plant choice.  If you’ve already bonded with a particular plant, this is an ideal one to start with. It’s good to pick a plant whose energy you know and perhaps they will be more willing to meet you in your dreams if they know you better. I wouldn’t recommend starting with a new plant or any plant you just don’t bond with very well. Another benefit to selecting a plant you bond with is that they are more likely to be willing to practice with you. You may have to try (and fail) at dreaming multiple times. 

Another tip for choosing a plant to work with you in dreams is to pick a plant that is associated with dreaming. Plenty of plants not associated with dreams can and will communicate just fine (especially if you’ve bonded), but considering the properties of the plant may help you connect easier.

Think you are dreaming but struggling to remember it? Try working with Rosemary, as smelling it during the night (if you used a cutting) will naturally help you remember your dream.

You dream but aren’t receiving messages at all? Try dandelion, mugwort, or lavender. 

Work with a plant that likes dream work, and be sure that you like it as well. If you just don’t enjoy or can’t do dream work at all, that is okay! There are other ways to communicate. 

But if you’re interested in dreaming with plants, have patience.  

🌿Ivy

-This is all UPG based off of my personal experience troubleshooting plant communication in dream state.

Ritual To Invite Spirit Contact

This spell is designed to let a specific spirit know that you are open to communication. It includes protective elements to avoid attracting negative entities.

*It is important to research the side effects of herbs before coming into contact with them. One should also keep in mind their personal allergies and medications taken when ingesting herbs. Your safety is more important than an ingredient.*

Ingredients

Dried Rose Hip (2 or more)

Clove incense

Dandelion (one stem and flower)

Mint leaf or scent, in any natural form

An item that relates to the spirit you wish to contact

A Brown or White candle

Directions

Light your Clove incense and your candle.

Sit with your item in your hand. Rub it clockwise.

Picture the spirit as you know it in your mind. Verbalize your openness to receiving communications (if you are unable to verbalize this or do not feel comfortable you can think it instead).

Take your rose hip and dandelion. Wrap them together (with string or cloth). Bury them under your doorstep (if you do not have a traditional doorstep you can put it on your porch, hang it in your doorway, or bury it by an entrance).

Leave a window or door open (it could be slightly open or fully open) for one hour.

Be sure to pay attention to little signs and happenings after performing this ritual and be sure to try and remember your dreams!

This spell is dedicated to my Grandmother, Marie, who I never had the chance to meet during her short time on earth. I hope to see you someday.

General Relationship Tarot Spread

1. What is the energy currently surrounding this relationship?

2. How do I truly feel about this person?  

3. How does this person truly feel about me?

4. Where is this relationship headed?

5. Advice on how best to proceed for the highest possible good of both involved?

Rainwater 

Rain from a lightening storm

this has the greatest energy

used in a bath to re-energize your being and aid in a ritual of clearing and cleansing your energies of negativity by soaking in it

used to clear and cleanse an object or area 

store in a white glass bottle

Rain from thunderstorms, tornadoes or hurricanes

Used to empower spells for moving things forward such as letting go of the past and moving forward in life

used to help move a project forward and get beyond current blocks in life

used to change a pattern or habit you don’t like

store in a blue glass bottle

Sun and Rain

Used to balance energies when feeling weighed down

helps gather your thoughts when they are flighty and scattered

store in a dark green bottle

Hail storm

collect in a metal bowl but dont let it sit in the bowl for more than 6 hours

allow the hail to melt before bottling it

store in a black or dark brown bottle

used to dispel psychic attacks or negative energies

best used for black magic to get rid of your enemies or negative forces that stand in your way

Spring Rain

used to empower new ventures such as new relationships, new business ventures, a new job

rain collected on the spring equinox or the first rain after the spring equinox is good for empowering spells for relationships

stored in a light green bottle

Summer Rain

used to encourage growth whether it be personal, spiritual growth or growth of a business venture or relationship

used to break bad habits

great to water indoor plants

rain collected on mid-summers eve and day is especially mystical

store in a sky blue bottle

Fall Rain

used for giving thanks and showing gratitude for the abundance the year has given you

store in an orange or fall colored bottle

Winter Rain

can be used for blessing a person, relationship, family or object

can be used to bless an event such as a birth, wedding or new business venture

to be able to survive the hardships of winter one is able to survive the hardships of life

Full Moon Rain

Used to honor the Goddess

a small glass can be added to a cleansing bath

add a couple of drops to your bath before an important event or ritual

used for a blessing during a full moon ritual

used for blessing a child or pet 

rain collected during the full moon according to that season will have the energies of that moon according to month and season

clean altar spaces and other things by putting an ounce of rain water into your cleaning products

also very good for divination

Waning Moon Rain

good for getting rid of things, banishings, and purging negative energies

used like a banishing oil

also can be added to your bath for relaxation, clarity or promoting self love

use to prepare for lunar rituals

anoint your money with it to increase your wealth 

anoint yourself to increase your psychic awareness

New Moon Rain

good for workings in which something needs to be brought in 

used when starting a new project

Waxing Moon Rain

used to bring in good energies and blessing

used at the start of a new project or a new beginning

Rain collected from trees or roses will have different energies depending on the type of tree or color of the rose you collect it from

Use 1 cup of rain water to 1 tub size of water

For rituals use 1oz of rain water in a glass bowl or cauldron, to add effects to the water pour over crystals energized with your intent

For a spell place all your spell items in your bowl or cauldron and add 1tablespoon of rainwater

For cleansing or anointing ritual take 1/2oz of rainwater into a glass bowl and as you recite your incantation dip your fingers or wand/athame into the water then mark your physical body, the mark can be any spiritual symbol that has meaning to you

To anoint a tool, pout 1oz of rainwater onto the tool as you state your incantation to empower the tool for its intended purpose.

@autumnwitchesx i hope this helps you some!!!

also the bottles you store in dont have to be a specific color unless you want them to be, im all for using what you have first and foremost 

SPELL JAR MASTERPOST

MONEY SPELL JAR RECIPE

HEALING SPELL JAR

SELF LOVE SPELL JAR

PROTECTION SPELL JAR

ANTI ANXIETY SPELL JAR

HOME PROTECTION AND TRANQUILITY SPELL JAR

GOOD SLEEP SPELL JAR

CREATIVITY SPELL JAR

PET PROTECTION SPELL JAR

BANISHING “FUCK OFF” SPELL JAR

DIVINATION/INTUITION SPELL JAR

LOVE SPELL JAR SAFE TRAVEL JAR

Candle Color Correspondence 🕯🔮

🕯RED: Binding, Courage, Strength, Lust, Magnetism, Competitiveness, Fertility, Health, Attraction, Protection Magick, Conflict, Dispelling Anger & Hate.

🕯PINK: Emotional Healing, Spiritual Healing, Love, Friendship, Compassion, Protection if Children, Affection.

🕯ORANGE: Luck, Strength, Power, Attracting Luck, Creativity, Success, Professional Growth, Justice, Energy, Happiness, Ambition.

🕯YELLOW: Clairvoyance, Communication, Action, Inspiration, Psychic Power, Memory, Divination, Confidence, Imagination, Wisdom, The Sun.

🕯GREEN: Mother Earth, Balance, Growth, Wealth, Money, Health, Dispelling Envy & Jealously, Dispelling Greed, Beauty, Abundance, Luck, Harmony, Fertility.

🕯BLUE: Communication, Inspiration, Harmony, Occult Wisdom, Forgiveness, Fidelity, Focus, Protection, Truth, Loyalty, Banishing Anger.

🕯PURPLE: 3rd Eye, Psychic Power, Spirituality, Confidence, Success, Divination, Contacting Spirits, Increase of Willpower & Inner Strength, Independence, Spiritual Guidance, Protection.

🕯WHITE: Peace, Truth, Purification, Protection, Spirituality, Positive Outcome, Happiness, Moon Magick, Cleansing, Balance.

WHITE CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF ALL COLORS DURING SPELLS AND RITUALS

🕯BLACK: Binding, Dispelling, Reversing of Spells Hexes and Curses, Destruction of Evil & Negative, Habit Breaking, Grounding & Protecting, Repelling Spells.

🕯BROWN: Friendship & Balance, Intuition, Concentration, Animal & Earth Magick, Healing, Locating lost objects, Blessing of a Home.

🕯INDIGO: Balance restoring, Spell Blocking, Creating Balance, Karma.

🕯GOLD: Divination, Luck, Money, Success, Wealth, Sun Worship

Ultimate Grimoire or book of shadows checklist✨📓✒️🔮

Hey beautifuls,

I’ve compiled a checklist in booklet format of pretty much anything I could think of or find online that you could include in your Grimoire/book of shadows. Please note that this is a very very broad list and you do not need to include absolutely everything listed. Pick and choose what matches your craft!

also if you would like a non-watermarked PDF print version (digital file) I’m offering this for just $3 AUD. You can direct message me here on tumblr or on my Insta account “@beautifulvalleywitch”.

Otherwise enjoy this free version lovely’s 🥰🥰

*copyrighted, please do not share without credit or claim as your own*