What To Use When In Witchcraft -

Breathing Life

Dolls and poppets are utilized across many faiths, however often witches neglect to “breath life” into them. Not doing so doesn’t make them wholly ineffective, however going the extra step really amps up the potency, especially when using it as sympathetic magic or creating a protective being! It’s a relatively simple step, but highly dependent upon which path you follow. I’ll briefly cover my methodology.

Foremost, I would like to specify the difference between the two types of dolls I utilize. One being sympathetic magic, the one most often thought of when people think of dolls and witchcraft. Voodoo dolls. This is a misnomer, as the common portrayal off voodoo dolls in media have skewed the original purpose of such dolls. Originally the dolls were used by practitioners not to affect people, but as a guide to the sufferers ailments and treatments – more akin to a “medical chart.” However, they have since (and really, in European magical traditions for centuries) been used to heal or harm a specific victim in which the doll was made to their likeness. This is a sympathetic doll, made in their likeness, usually incorporating some sort of personal affect (hair, clothing, blood, etc.).

The second type, and the kind I most often use, are dolls not based on any individual, but instead exist to act as a guardian of sorts or facilitate change/growth/health/etc. These are unique and very much a product of your imagination. Create them to be whatever you see fit.

That being said, let’s begin;;

Sympathetic Dolls: Begin by first, stitching the doll together in the likeness of he/she you wish to influence. You can be as general or as specific as you want – matching hair, eyes, facial features, build are all common concepts. Traditionally the dolls were stuffed with Spanish Moss (most probably due to the abundance in the American South) however you can stuff it with anything you have on hand. If you have anything of the persons, now would be the time to use it, hair can be wrapped and stuffed in the doll, pieces of their clothes can be folded and placed inside, blood should be on a scrap of cloth, dried and then added.

Once the doll is complete and you’re satisfied with its image (in truth, dolls have been made out of anything and everything, the only crucial step is the following), you must give it life. For sympathetic dolls, this can be as simple or difficult as you wish. I prefer to take the simple route and sit with the doll and focus intently on the person you wish to connect to it. I then mentally stitch the spirit of the person to the doll (either at the heart or at the feet – as a short of shadow). Vocalize your intent and revel in your creation.

Conceptual Dolls/Guardians: These are my personal favorites to create, in all honesty. I find poppets to be a lot of extra work, however they are useful in remote healing/hexing. These, as I mentioned, are beings of your thoughts. Tulpas, in a way. Begin by gathering your materials and ideas. Create a doll to symbolize whatever you wish to accomplish. As far as this tutorial goes, I’ll use the example of a Guardian or a doll for protection. It can look however you wish, and be as simple as sticks tied together, to the most intricately created doll you could muster. I, personally, stick with a small doll (no bigger than 8 or 10 inches) with yarn hair, simple clothing and a painted face. I often stuff mine with herbs associated with my will, as well as batting and sometimes stray scraps of fabric.

After your doll is complete, take it to the Crossroads. It can be a door, a gate (I use the gate of a remote cemetery near me), a cemetery, even a maternity ward if you’re that committed and light a candle. Fill your mind with intention, then connect with the energy of your crossroads. Feel the planes converge, and bend this erratic energy to your will, funneling it through your consciousness and into your doll. See the energy shape, bend, coalesce into a being of your intent and give it a Name, as there is much power in a Name. Connect its energy to our physical plane by allowing it refuge within the fabric of the doll you have created. Leave a gift at the Crossroads, and blow out your candle, sealing in the doll’s spirit. Use it as you desire, but do not neglect it.

Thus ends this tutorial!

Best of luck,

Q

Divination Intro

Like any other school of Magick, Divination uses many different methods in order to divine esoteric knowledge, including the past, present, and possible future. 

Important note: It is important to remember that, no matter the type of divinatory practices used, no single person is able to tell the future. There are always variables at play that may change your future and your destiny. Divination simple says that, should things continue as they are, this is the most likely outcome of the situation.

How does divination work? 

In and around all things is a flow of energy. You can think of this flow of energy as the circle of life type of thing from Lion King. “The circle of life flows through us all”, or, like water: Water particles are everywhere, even in the air we breath, and is thus constantly in motion. Same with energy. Energy makes up the very fabric of our existence, making us connected to everything around us.

Here’s a witchy secret they don’t often bother to tell you: We are connected to this energy, and this energy is connected to all things. Energy, at its base, is information.

When we tap into this energy, we are able to see the information that the energy has to give us. Different diviners use different methods of tapping into this energy, but it’s all the same.

Kinds of Divination:

By no means is this list exhaustive. As mentioned before, there are many ways in which diviners practice divination. None is better than the other, and all accomplish basically the same thing. There are a few that I have dabbled in, and a lot that I have not.

Cartomancy

The most common and well known form of divination is divining using a deck of cards, most commonly tarot. Among the cards are different sets of titles and imagery that is meant to invoke some sort of reaction from your intuition. The best way to work with the tarot, oracle, or any other deck of cards is allow the cards to speak to you, and not you for it. In other words, allow there to be a natural progression as you read the tarot, instead of forcing meanings where there may be none.

Runes (Futhark)

Runes are another form of divination that use ancient symbols housing esoteric wisdom to divine. According to the legends which I’ve read, the runes are Norse in origin, but the exact details of how they came to be is a mystery. It is said that they were sacred to the Norse goddess Freya, and were possibly even discovered by her. She then introduced then to Odin, the Allfather, god of war, and the greater mysteries. Odin, who became fascinated by them, hung himself in a tree to die a shamanic death, and was then reborn as Odin the Runemaster. At some point, it is rumored that Odin then gifted the runes to man. 

Whatever the legends, the runes do have an energy all their own, but are not quite as easy as the tarot to read. They are symbols, ancient and unknown in origin, not pretty little colored images on a deck of cards. The best way to work with runes is to learn their general meaning, and allow them to expand their knowledge to you over time. 

Scrying

Scrying is another popular form of divination that uses a smooth, reflective surface in order to “See” images within the depths. Most commonly, crystal balls, black mirrors, and bowls of water are used. 

This form of divination is difficult to master, and takes tremendous patience. Thus, I will not be able to go into further detail about this at present.

Osteomancy

“Throwing bones” as it were. I’ve had more time to learn a little bit more about this, and I have a very basic understanding of how this form of divination works. 

Osteomancy uses bones, preferably from small animals, as well as other shells, beads, and curios collective known as the “bones” thrown out onto a cloth to divine the future. Depending on where the bones land, the diviner is then able to use their meaning to paint a picture of the quarents future, past, and present. 

I’ve read a few blog posts about this form, and it seems that, most commonly, osteomancers use what is known as “animism” the idea that everything has a spirit and is alive, in order to divine. While this may or may not be true, I believe that bone throwing employs the use to psychometry in order to decipher the bones.

Which brings me to my last point…

Psychometry

Psychometry is a powerful way to exercise your “Psychic muscles”, but it also takes a lot of patience to learn. Psychometry refers to the latent or inherent or learned ability to perceive residual information off of objects and/or people, usually by touch. 

Psychometry is best practiced in one of two ways. 

Collect various, preferably older items, such as necklaces, pocket watches, other small antiques, wood, shells, etc. Place all of the items under a cloth or under a bowl and then shuffle them around, making sure that you shuffle long enough for you to have no way of knowing where each item is. You then place your hand over the object, fell its energy, and try and divine what the object is. It’ll take time, but your accuracy will vastly improve, and you’ll find that other esoteric things come to you easily.

Find random objects such as old building bricks, signs, lampposts, antiques, etc. and place your hand on them. Close your eyes, and try to sense the object. See all of the memories that it houses within. Who did it belong to? What has it witnessed? Where did it come from? Eventually, you’ll begin to gain an understanding of the objects around you even without needing to touch them and close your eyes. Then, eventually, you’ll be able to divine a person’s past, present, and future using the same exact method, giving you yet another tool in your divinatory arsenal.

There are, of course, many MANY other methods that I missed. The ones I mentioned above are simply the ones that I personally have, so far, dabbled in. The tarot, of course, is my strongest practice, but others are working their way up there as well.

Short list of other divination practices:

Tesseomancy- Tea leaf reading

Pyromancy- Fire scrying

Lithomancy- Stone throwing

Pendulum- Divining with a heavy, pointed object on a chain

Numerology- Divining with numbers

Astrology- Divining using the stars and their alignments

Automatic writing/Drawing- Divining by closing your eyes and allowing your subconscious mind to write/draw

Making Fabric Poppets

I want to teach you all how I make my fabric poppets, and how you can make your own too. Here is my post detailing all of what I do to make my adorable plush fabric poppets.

I also sell them if making them yourself is too much fuss for any reason. Here are details.

——Supplies——

- Fabric of your choice- My fabric of choice is fleece. The fabric should be a color you can match with your intent, personality, etc.

- Person-shaped pattern to trace- You can use a gingerbread man cookie cutter to make your paper pattern, free hand, or if you like you can use mine which I will gladly sell you a copy of- message me for details.

- Needle and thread- You can use different thread colors for different intentions.

- Stuffing and any extras- herbs, objects, etc.

- A marker of a similar but darker color than the fabric

- Scissors

-Step 1-

Lay out your fabric. Lay down the poppet pattern on the fabric. I prefer to weight them down with rocks so they don’t shift. (You can of course choose rocks that match your intent.)

-Step 1.5-

I then trace the patter with a maker that is of a similar color to the fabric, but off enough that I can see it. Don’t worry about being super clean with your lines because they will be hidden in the inside seams.

-Step 2-

Next, to sew the pieces together. Place them together so that the side with the marker line faces out.

Then, grab your needle and thread. Thread your needle.

Be sure to have a piece of thread to work with that is about as long as your arm. This should be enough for the whole poppet, but make sure to have more on hand just in case.

-Step 3-

Start your sewing in the place where the opening will end later. I typically choose the “armpit” of the poppet because then the opening gives me great access to all of its insides for later.

I use a kind of slip stitch for sewing. Really any stitch will do, but I will show you mine. I put the needle all the way through both pieces of fabric to make a loop, and before tightening I stick the needle through the loop, then tighten. This makes a kind of knot that is durable and nice looking. Here’s a picture:

Aside- Why I hand sew- I find the process of hand sewing to be not only relaxing but also more magical. I can focus on my intentions while I sew, and with each stitch I’m fastening my energy into it. This is by no means the only way you can sew them together, but it is my personal preferred way.

 Continue sewing around to join the two pieces of fabric. **Remember to leave a 1.5in opening! Also leave your thread attached!** This is the only way to turn it inside out and hide the seams.

- Step 4-

Turn it inside-out. Reach inside and grab the top of the poppet’s head and pull it through the hole like shown. You may need to poke around a bit to make sure everything is fully turned right-side-out.

-Step 5- Once right-side-out, your poppet is ready for stuffing. Start with the appendages first, that way you can make sure they are well-fluffed. After that, if you want add in balls of stuffing in the places of major organs to make it more human. (A ball for a brain, a ball for a stomach, that kind of thing)

If you like, add in herbs or objects for your intent, or keys to link the poppet with the person that you’re targeting. Consider positions of the objects and herbs inside the poppet and the significance. I added rose petals in the head and heart of this one, and mint and rosemary in the stomach. That gives it some symbolism, and what witch doesn’t enjoy symbolism?

-Step 6- When it is stuffed to satisfaction, sew up the opening with the same stitch we sewed with before flipping it. This leaves a rough edge, and I actually like it that way. It makes it easier to cut open the stitching if you ever wanted to for any reason. I can’t be the only person that’s wanted to rip someone’s stuffing out (there’s a curse idea) so I hope you find it useful too.

Do a couple more stitches to assure your thread isn’t going anywhere and then cut it off.

Ta-da! A perfect poppet for all of your witchcraft needs.

Happy crafting! 

 - Max the Death Witch

🥀Energy Work Spell to help a Plant Recover🥀

I have been performing a bit of energy work+spell with an ailing plant this past week. I find this practice to be helpful at getting me to spiritually focus on my plant and its needs. I align myself with its experience and try to help it recover while lifting the spiritual morale. This is my personal method on how I work on a sick or injured plant. I sometimes just use my own energy, other times I call upon other energies for an added boost. 🌺🌸🌺 🌱First, I troubleshoot my plant and figure out what’s wrong with it. A google search is useful if I am dealing with something I am unfamiliar with, however typical problems could be overwatering, watering at the wrong time of day for certain plants in certain climates, not watering enough, wrong sunlight situation, infection, poor soil, or shock. I take the necessary steps to correct the issue first. The energy work is to help the plant recover, not to heal it without tending to its needs.

🌱Place plant in front of working space, or I sit near the plant (for the ones not potted). I also place any items corresponding with my intent on the soil before the plant (crystals, oracle cards, etc). Tip: I like to play plant favorite music during this energy work session.

🌱Center and ground

🌱Optional for extra energy that is not my own: Visualize a large taproot extending from my tailbone and rooting deep into the earth.

🌱Call upon the earth to grant me extra energy that I can direct to the ailing plant. (If I work with any other spirit or energy, or call upon guardian spirits like spiders or bees, this would be the time).

🌱An earthly energy winds its way up through my roots and into my body. As it flows through me, it intermingles with my personal energy and I focus on charging it with an intent. For example, to heal or aid growth.

🌱I feel the energy being charged as it begins to flow up my spine, into my chest, through my arms and out my finger tips. At this point I place my fingers on the plant gently and visualize it receiving my energy.

🌱When it feels complete, I withdraw my roots and send the plant one last burst of my energy to seal the session.

🌱Leave an appropriate offering for the condition it is recovering from. If it needs fertilizer and water, consider offering banana eggshell water. (Obviously do not offer water if the plant is suffering from being overwatered). I also leave a strand of my hair with the plant as a protective token.

🌱Leave an offering for the earth for its assistance, and to any other spirits I called upon. 🌺🌸🌺 I repeat these sessions every day or every other day until my plant is beginning to show signs of improvement. Sometimes they don’t make it, and that’s ok. I bless the plant and return it to the earth (compost) so that it may be useful for future growth.

Reading A Candle

Watch your candles closely and learn to read them to help you with your practice.

The Flame

A strong flame: It means that your energies are raised. There is a lot of power behind your spell and little to no resistance. Indicates that all your power and energy is focused on your manifestation. This is a good sign. If a candle shaped into a figure is used and has a strong flame it means that whoever it represents is either angry, winning, or using authority over another. When their are two figures the candle with the higher flame has authority over the other person.   

A weak flame: Indicates that the magick you cast is facing a heavy opposition and is a sign that you may need to recast your spell in order to overcome the opposing force. On a figure candle this may indicate that the representative may be loosing a battle or an argument. 

A jumping flame: This indicates strong emotions. There may also be some sort of resistance against you. Maybe close your circle and bring your mind back to focus before continuing. It may also mean an explosion of energy. When two figure candles are being used it often means that an energetic or a heated argument is taking place between them.  

A noisy candle: Indicates a conversation. It may may that a spirit is trying to send you a message or get in contact with you. The louder the noises get the more urgent communication must be. 

The flame catches something on fire: Someone one may be using malicious magick against you.  

A clean even burning candle: Means your spell and manifestations are likely to come true.

Fast Burn: The results of your spell will happen quickly.

Flickering Flame: If there is no breeze then it means a spirit is near by. If it is a devotional flame it means you were able to get in contact with your deity.

Cannot blow the flame out: A spirit may not be finished its conversation with you or you did not complete a spell. The spirit needs to complete its work, something may be may in the works that you do not want to interrupt. 

A flame goes out while burning: This means the spirits cannot help you and the answer you seek is already determined.  

The Smoke

Black smoke/soot: Your energy and magick is being blocked. Negative energy is being sent your way, whether as a curse or hex. You may soon be faced with tough challenges and a hard road ahead of you. 

Smoke wafts towards you: It means your call will likely be answered or your spell has been cast successfully. You will get results quickly.

Smoke wafts away from you: You must work harder in order for your calls to be answered.

Watch the direction the smoke wafts: East - Something powerful is assisting you, North - You are ready to begin your ritual and get results, South - The spell will be successful, West - A powerful interference from an outside force.

Smoking Candle: Negative energy is being burned away.

The Wax

When a candle leaves wax residue: Your spell may need to be repeated.

Look for symbols in the candle wax, like reading tea leaves.

Resources: askanthony.weebly.com, anamericanwitch.wordpress.com,   

May the Moon light you path!

☾ Moonlight Academy ☽ 

Hey I was wondering if you had any advice/resources on beginning/using osteomancy?

sure!resources:

- this site gives a pretty good overview of bone throwing and even gives some ideas on bone types

- this site is also good for info on how to interact with your bone set

- this video is also a good source of information

- this book was my go to when starting out in bone throwing. it has a lot of information and ideas and can really give you a good idea of where to start

tips:

- this type of divination is very personal and super intuitive. there’s no right or wrong way to read the bones. you assign each bone their meaning and so the interpretations are always solely on you.

-anything can be used in osteomancy, but it’ll still generally be called a “bone.” for example, i used a bullet shell, and a bottle cap and various other oddities. i still call them bones

-this may not be up your alley, but i’ve found that talking to my bones and “feeding” them has only made my intuition with them stronger. don’t worry about looking silly, it’s fairly traditional to do.

that’s really all i can think of. you can find more articles and such by googling “bone throwing” instead of osteomancy. if you have any more questions about it, feel free to ask me. good luck!!

Sabbat Altar and Celebration Ideas for the Solitary Witch

YULE Altar ideas: Put mistletoe and pine on your altar; put a candle up there to represent the Sun; keep your Yule log on your altar; use symbols of the Sun; decorate with red, green, white, blue, and yellow (red and green for holly, white and blue for snow and wintery colors, yellow for the Sun). Celebration ideas: Kiss a consenting person under the mistletoe for luck; give gifts; have a feast; make magickal wreaths with herbs corresponding to the spell intent (you might use lilac, lavender, and camomile for a wreath that brings peace into your home).

IMBOLC Altar ideas: Use candles to represent the return of spring; make a cute little corn dolly; put a Brigid’s cross on there to honor her; decorate with yellow and green to represent the Sun and return of spring. Celebration ideas: Clean your house; have a self-dedication ritual (to a particular path, deity, philosophy, standard of life, etc.); clean off your working altar and redo it; cleanse and charge any tools or crystals you need to.

OSTARA Altar ideas: Use fake eggs, rabbits, and other symbols of fertility or spring; put some potted plants on the altar; place some packets of seeds you might be planning on growing; decorate with purple, yellow, green, white, and other spring, pastel colors. Celebration ideas: Paint and blow eggs (take proper precautions when handling raw eggs, obviously, especially if you’re putting your mouth on them); if you have a greenhouse, want a potted plant, or it’s warm enough where you live to plant outside, plant some seeds; buy a potted plant; organize your herb shelf.

BELTAINE Altar ideas: Make a mini Maypole for your centerpiece; smack some candles up in there, especially beeswax, if that’s in your budget; put some faery symbols, like little statues or bells or something like that; a jar of honey or some beeswax is always dope; if you’re comfortable with it, some people like to put representations of genatalia on their altar. Celebration ideas: Light an awesome bonfire (also be very cautious with this because fire can quickly turn dangerous); leave offerings to the faeries; have a dance outside; this is a good time to plan to have a handfasting ceremony or wedding; cast any love workings you’ve been meaning to do; if you’re an adult and have a person/people who consent to it, you could choose to have sex during this time (but do be safe!); many people try to conceive children during Beltaine.

LITHA Altar ideas: Symbols of the Sun and the Moon, feminine and masculine symbols if that’s a thing in your tradition; decorate with black and white to symbolize the night and day. Celebration ideas: Get up before the Sun rises and go to sleep after it sets, so you can experience the day and night; have a bonfire (again, safety is important); have a picnic; just spend a lot of time outside.

LUGHNASADH Altar ideas: Put bread and grain on the altar; maybe some apples and other autumn fruits; pinecones and leaves are fall symbols; decorate with red, orange, yellow, brown, and other colors of the season. Celebration ideas: Bake (especially make the cute little bread men); give an offering to the Earth; go to an apple orchard and pick some apples; share a feast with the family or your friends.

MABON Altar ideas: Wine, or grape juice if alcohol is unavailable for any reason; leaves and pinecones; apples; a money jar (see first celebration suggestion below). Celebration ideas: For a week or two before Mabon, put money you can afford to give up in a jar, and donate it to charity or a cause you support on Mabon; have another apple harvest; have another feast; do a ritual to honor the Earth.

SAMHAIN Altar ideas: Pop a few gourds in there, more apples if you want; pictures of the deceased; tools for divination and spirit contact; decorate with black, white, and orange. Celebration ideas: Divination, spirit communication (obviously only if you know what you’re doing); hold a seance or a dumb supper if that’s more comfortable for you; light a candle in the window for spirits (use a fake one if you want it lit all night); leave some milk and honey for the Fair Folk; give offerings to the dead; put up wards and shields if you’re one of the people who would prefer to avoid spirit activity.

✨Tarot tips for beginners✨ pt 1

Wands/Fire- Imagination, creativity, intuition

Pentacles/Earth- Finance, work, material things

Cups/Water- Love, Relationships, Emotions

Swords/Air- Thoughts,Ideas, Attitudes

Aces-Potential

Twos-Wisdom

Threes-Belief

Fours-Commpasion

Fives-Rules and law

Sixes-Harmony

Sevens-Victory

Eight-Intellect

Nine-Emotions

Tens-Manifestation

Keep a tarot journal

Don’t try to remember every single card

Try to stick to the same deck in the beginning to build a strong connection

Allow your intuition to come through

Don’t second guess yourself always go with your gut

This spell is designed to improve your insight into an existing relationship. Given the associations most people have for the ingredients, it tends to work best for clarity within a romantic or sexual relationship, but will work for friendships as well. It is a bit more physical than many spells and has multiple mechanisms of action.

Obtain lavender, jasmine, and rose blossoms. Do not use rose or jasmine petals - the spell is impossible if you use these. Instead, you want whole flowers. These are, surprisingly, widely available at health food stores and even occult retailers, and only a small amount is required. Just make sure you’ve got the full blossoms and not the petals! Use your intuition to decide how much of each to add, but the jasmine and rose blossoms should be added in a larger combined quantity than the lavender. The roses and jasmine are associated with the beauty and glory of love, and lavender adds a Mercurial element of clarity.

Place all of these in a small bowl, and find a quiet, relaxing place to sit, where you are comfortable and able to hold the bowl in your hands and manipulate it without spilling it. You may attempt to sink into a meditative state if that is customary for you when working magick, but it is quite possible to perform this with a normal relaxed state of mind.

Gently but purposefully, crush the blossoms and lavender, mixing them with your bare fingers. Don’t use a mortar and pestle. It is important to do this with your hands. As you mix, you will find that you come across the hard central parts of the flower, which are not colorful nor quite fragrant like the petals. 

Carefully, and with no sense of haste or desperation, remove these from the mixture and set them aside, perhaps in another bowl. These represent the irrational thoughts and feelings that cloud your judgment regarding your relationships, whereas the petals represent your pure love and good intentions. Remove the perturbing cruft from your relationship in the form of these worthless little chunks, but do so carefully, purposefully, and, above all, calmly.

When all or as many as possible are removed from the mixture, continue mixing it with your fingers until it is well-mixed and homogenous. 

Then, take the mixture and pour boiling water over it to create a herbal tea, perhaps adding a small bit of rose quartz or moonstone to add a gem elixir element. Drink it slowly Do not swallow the gemstone, obviously. If you do not use an infuser and prefer your herbal tea in loose leaf form, you might read the remainder of the leaves after you’ve consumed it in order to perhaps get a glimpse of how your relationship will develop in the future.

If you dislike the taste of any of these ingredients, consider placing the mixture in a small charm bottle, perhaps with, again, a bit of rose quartz or moonstone Present it your friend or lover, and explain what you’ve done. Make sure they understand that this was not a love spell in the traditional sense and acted on your own psyche alone.

And the clunky bits? Bury or dispose of them far away.

Be sure to research these herbs before you use them and do not go near them if you are allergic! Consult your doctor if you are pregnant, nursing, or attempting to become pregnant, or have other concerns.

candle intention ideas

here are some ways to infuse intention into your candle spell work that aren’t carving, oils, & herbs:

• wrap string around the candle with colors that align with your intention (ex: black string for protection)

• anoint the candle with a certain element if it is prominent in the spell (ex: water for a dream spell, dirt for grounding, etc)

• wrap a taglock hair around it

• write your intentions on a piece of paper or bay leaf and tie it around the candle

• tie a printed paper photo around the candle (taglock) could also be a piece of paper with their handwriting on it