Hermann Hendrich

Sick Witchery

Because everyone gets sick, even witches! Witchcraft is to be used in addition to proper medical care, and please be cautious when using herbs and do your research*

Teas and potions:

Sore throat potion

Sore throat sage tea

Cough/cold tea

Cold banishing potion

Us witches get colds too

Magick sick tea

Feel better tea spell

Fire cider recipe

Sick witch’s brew

Flu and cold buster

Milly’s “the flu can f*ck off” brew

Soothing tummy tea

Vitamin C healing potion

Syrups:

Easy DIY cough syrup

Soothing lemon cough syrup

Simple elderberry syrup

Magic cold syrup

Food:

Swamp’s immunity boosting noodles

Faye’s patchwork soup

“I am not getting sick!” broth

Spells:

Simple sickness spell

Simple healing spell

Christian witch healing spell

Bath magic:

Anti-nausea bath

Healing milk bath

Healing bath

Shower meditation

Odds and ends:

Cold remedies and tips

Common cold healing

Lil’ witch tips for sickness

Immune system sigils

Basil

Coriander seeds

Eucalyptus 

Onions

You may also like:

Chronically ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Witchcraft and meds

Witchcraft in the hospital

My spoonie sigils: (1) (2) (3)

Spoonie witch masterpost

*Resources for herbal interactions*

Links updated August of 2021. Please inform me of broken links via askbox!

Practicing Witchcraft in Secret

I love things that are traditionally “witchy.” I love dressing candles with herbs. I love setting things on fire. I love making poppets and charms. But not everyone is able to be so obvious in their craft. For various reasons, some witches choose to be secretive about their magical practice.

Why Would You Want to Keep It a Secret?

Historically, witches kept their practice a secret because it wasn’t safe to be open about their beliefs. In the late middle ages, the Catholic Church began to actively persecute witchcraft, herbal medicine, and folk spirituality with the publication of “witch hunting guides” like the Malleus Maleficarum. This witch hunting fervor would continue even after the Protestant Reformation, with some of the most famous witch hunts (such as the Salem trials) carried out by Protestants.

It is important to remember that the witch hunts were political at their heart and that very few of the people executed for witchcraft were what we would recognize today as witches. They were mostly women, poor folks, or members of ethnic or religious minorities. But even so, the danger of being accused of witchcraft and/or devil worship drove many medieval witches, herbalists, and pagans to hide their practice.

The United States experienced a modern witch hunt of sorts in the 1980s with the “Satanic Panic.” We still don’t entirely understand what caused this cultural phenomenon, but what we do know is that it resulted in widespread paranoia about devil worship. Anything that could be misconstrued as “satanic” was shunned or outright persecuted, from Dungeons & Dragons to heavy metal music to nature-based religions like Wicca — and, yes, witchcraft. People who had been comfortably open about their spirituality suddenly found themselves practicing behind closed doors. If you’re over 30, you may remember this. If you’re under 30, the Satanic Panic probably shaped how your parents view witchcraft and paganism, and they may still be grossly misinformed as a result.

Even today, a lot of witches choose to keep their practice a secret because it would be unsafe or uncomfortable to go public. Many witches have family members, friends, or coworkers who would be uncomfortable if they knew about their witchcraft, and may even choose to end the relationship because of it. Some witches live in culturally Christian areas where it might be harder for them to get jobs or make friends if they were openly self-identifying as a witch. Some of us live in places where an outdoor ritual could get the cops called on us, or have missionaries showing up to save our souls.

On the other hand, some witches just like privacy. You may feel like your spirituality is nobody’s business but yours, and for that reason you may prefer to do witchcraft in a way that is more subtle and secretive. Desire for privacy is a perfectly valid reason to stay “in the broom closet.”

There are also some magical traditions that require members to swear a vow of secrecy and to keep the group’s secrets. However, these traditions usually require an in-person initiation, so I won’t be discussing them here.

Inconspicuous Witchcraft

If you haven’t read my posts about magical journaling and kitchen magic, I highly recommend you check them out. Those are two forms of magic that are very easy to practice discretely.

No matter what your reason for keeping your practice a secret, here are a few tips for making magic without drawing attention.

Use scented candles. Candle magic is one of the easiest and most versatile forms of spellwork, and all it requires is a candle and your intention. Scented candles are perfect for undercover witches because, rather than adding herbs and oils, you can simply buy a scent that matches your intention. (For example, a vanilla candle is great for love, while a pumpkin spice scent will attract wealth.) Plus, they’re so commonplace that no one will think twice about seeing one in your bedroom or on your desk at work. If you’re a purist and want to make sure you’re using real plant materials, you can get all natural candles scented with essential oils — but lots of witches use artificial scents and get good results, so don’t feel like you have to go with the more expensive option.

Diffuse essential oils. Essential oils contain the concentrated essence of a plant, which makes them a must-have tool for witches. Essential oils are also extremely popular right now, both for holistic healing and for aromatherapy, so you definitely won’t attract any negative attention for using them. You can get a good essential oil diffuser for under $20 online. Some brands overcharge for their oils, but you can find good quality oils for under $10. When choosing an essential oil, look at the magical correspondences for the plant it is made from. You can diffuse oils to infuse your space with their energy, similar to the way you would use incense.

Enchant your perfume. You can choose a perfume to match your intention or make your own custom perfume by mixing essential oils in a carrier oil. Focus on your intention as you spray the perfume, letting it infuse your energy field with magic. You can also buy magical perfume blends from witch-owned businesses online or on Etsy.

Learn shufflemancy. “Shufflemancy” is a modern form of divination that is done by putting a playlist on shuffle — whatever song plays first contains an intuitive message for you, either in the lyrics or in how it makes you feel. You can find playlists specifically made for divination by Googling “shufflemancy playlist,” or you can make your own by compiling a playlist of songs from different genres that deal with different topics. Just be sure to keep it diverse — if your playlist only has love songs on it, you might not get very helpful messages if you have a question about your career.

Learn bibliomancy. This divination method is similar to shufflemancy, but much older. Bibliomancy is done by asking your question while holding a book, focusing on your question while connecting with the book’s energy, and then opening it to a random page. There is a long, long tradition within Christianity of doing this with the Bible — if you feel connected to a certain sacred text, you could use it for bibliomancy. You could also use a book of poetry, a novel, or even a dictionary. However, I think it’s important to use a book you feel a connection to, rather than something randomly grabbed off the shelf.

Use Pinterest and Spotify as manifestation tools. You may have heard of vision boards, a tool used to manifest something by creating a detailed collection of images that match your intention. Pinterest boards are already essentially virtual vision boards, and creating one with focused intent can be a spell by itself. Likewise, you can use Spotify playlists for manifestation. To do this, create a playlist of songs that match your intention (songs about money or love, for example) and listen to it while meditating on your desired outcome.

Choose your outfits with intention. You can pick clothes based on color correspondences (see this post for a guide to color magic), the material they are made from (a wool sweater vs. a cotton T-shirt), or some other symbolism. For example, if you want to feel empowered, you might wear leopard print to channel the energy of a fierce predator.

Enchant a piece of jewelry for a specific purpose. You can choose your jewelry based on the correspondence of the metal or gemstones it is made from, make your own piece, or use whatever you already have on hand. You can enchant this jewelry by passing it over the flame of a candle or through the vapor of an essential oil diffuser. State what purpose you want this charm to serve, either out loud or in your mind. Wear this jewelry whenever you need to tap into that energy, and make sure to cleanse it often.

Create magical art. If you want to manifest something, draw or paint a picture of it. You don’t have to be a skilled artist — what matters is that you are taking your mental image of what you want and bringing it into the physical world. Fold up the picture and keep it in your pillow, or in some other special place. Likewise, if you want to banish something, draw or paint a picture of it and then rip it into little pieces and throw it out. This ritual allows you to purge yourself of the negative emotions tied to the thing you are banishing.

Take a magical bath. We rarely have more privacy than when we’re in the tub. Taking a bath is already a ritual of sorts, and it’s easy to add magic. You can, of course, make magical bath salts by mixing essential oils into Epsom salt, but you can also create bath spells with household objects. For example, a bath with salt and vinegar will clear up nasty energy, while adding milk to your bath will attract love and abundance.

Practicing in secret does not have to mean a less deep or well-rounded practice. There are lots of magical acts that can be done subtly or kept private. The suggestions in this post are by no means exhaustive, and I hope they will give you some ideas for other ways to fill your life with undercover magic.

Resources:

“Introduction” from The Malleus Maleficarum at http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org

The Fat Feminist Witch podcast, “Episode 34 — Witches, Midwives, and Doulas”

“Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless” by Bridget Marshall for The Conversation

New World Witchery podcast, “Episode 118 — The Satanic Panic”

About Lucia

Going by the old Julian calendar, December 13 was the darkest night of the year — the eve of the winter solstice. This, however, changed after the calendar reformation in 1753, when the Gregorian calendar was put into use in Sweden, and the winter solstice shifted to December 21. But the folk tradition still stood — the night before the 13th was still popularly known as the darkest night, and therefore also the most dangerous, for the darkness allowed evil entities to thrive longer than any other night. This, in turn, has led to a number of traditions, but the most important aspect has always been the one of light and feasting. To keep the evil away, it was important to stay awake and to stay indoors with lights.

But to be able to stay awake a whole night, one must eat. Tradition decreed that almost all preparations for jól (the midwinter celebration) should also be completed by the 13th, including the slaughter of the festive pig, meaning there was fresh food prepared already and the long night served as a good reason to get an early start on the seasonal feasting. Sometimes, the teenagers and young adults would walk from neighbor to neighbor, singing songs in exchange for food and drink, protected with light. Sometimes they would dress up, and sometimes they would do some pranks to scare people.

Today, the tradition is still standing: to lussa is to dress up as Lucia and walk to neighbors or family members with song and cakes. However, the act of lussa was originally to stay awake during the night between the 12th and 13th and was called Lussevaka (Lusse watch). Lucia can still be equally called Lussefirande (Lusse celebration) today.

But why Lussa? Lussi, otherwise known as Lussekäringen (the Lussi witch) or Lussegubben (Lussi man), was an evil entity. She often took the form of a woman who came riding through the skies with her companions called lussifreda. She was one of the evil spirits who would lurk around in the night and take naughty children away through the chimneys, or punish those who had not completed their jól preparation.

And it is due to this, in the dark of the longest night with a despair for light, with evil all around, that the myth of a female figure of light arose. During the pre-Christian era, the light was sworn to keep evil away. The tradition of a light-bringing woman may therefore have its foundation in a heathen goddess of light who was invoked during this night. The tradition of celebrating light in this manner through Lussevaka has stayed on in different forms ever since.

There is also a theory that Lusse is Freya, hence the traditional bread called “lusse cats” would refer to the cats pulling her wagon.

Lusse bread is baked to honor Sunna (the sun) and attract it back when it was at its darkest, today's lusse cats still have the old Sunna symbols (the spirals at the ends).

In the 19th century, a special interest sparked in the Lusse celebration, due to the first wave of nationalism and the search for old folk traditions all around Sweden. Lusse, which was mainly celebrated by men or women dressing up in white with a crown of flowers, holding candlesticks and walking around the farm with food while singing in the morning, gave the foundation to the modern Lucia.

Samhain

An Samhain sind die Tore zur Anderswelt weit offen und wir gedenken⁹ an die Verstorbenen, die uns mal sehr nahe waren. In der Nacht zum 1. November ist es darum leicht, mit den Geistern der Verstorbenen in Kontakt zu treten.

Diese Nacht ist auch gut für Weissagungen. Orakelt wurde mit der Schafgarbe, Hanf, und dem Bilsenkraut. Nach dem Glauben früherer Völker beschützen unsere Ahnen ihre Familien und so gedachte man ihnen zu Samhain.

Ein Verstorbener musste über ein Jahr tot sein, um das an ihn mit Gaben gedacht wurde, denn nach ihrem Glauben benötigt man ein Jahr um sich von seinen physischen Körper zu lösen.

Wenn die Lebenden in diesem Jahr nicht loslassen oder übermässige Trauer tragen, werden die Verstorbenen viel zu lange in dieser Welt festgehalten und haben keine Möglichkeit in Ruhe zugehen.

Dieses Fest ist auch der Totengöttin Holle gewidmet. Eine Erdgöttin des Totenreiches. Sie wacht über die Verstorbenen und heisst sie willkommen.

Lug der keltische Gott, begibt sich jetzt in die Erde zurück und ihm folgt die Göttin Morrigan. Sie steht im Glauben der Kelten für die Behütung der Seelen und Samen von Mensch, Tier und Pflanze.

- Celticgarten

Rübenlaternen (im Deutschen Rübenlichtle) mit eingeschnitzten Grimassen sollten den geliebten Verstorbenen den Weg weisen und gleichzeitig unleidliche Bewohner der jenseitigen Welt fernhalten. Diese Bräuche finden sich heute noch in Form von geschnitzten Kürbissen, Lampions und Laternen wieder. Verzierte Kürbisse (die Kelten selbst kannten keine Kürbisse) sollen ihren Ursprung in der schon christianisierten keltischen Tradition haben. Hier waren sie gedacht als Abschreckung gegenüber Elfen und Feen, die auf der Suche nach Kindern waren, die sie für würdig hielten, ihre Welt zu betreten. Besorgte Eltern höhlten die Gewächse aus und ritzten Zeichen und Fratzen hinein, die durch ihr schreckliches Aussehen alles Böse in die Flucht treiben sollten. In der Samhainnacht wurden Rüben (später Kürbisse) mit einer Kerze darin nun nicht mehr als Wegweiser ans Fenster oder vor die Tür gestellt, sondern dienten dazu, mißgünstige Naturgeister und unheilbringende Spukgestalten fernzuhalten. Es war zudem nicht ratsam, sich umzudrehen, wenn man Schritte hinter sich vernahm, denn die Verstorbenen konnten einen leicht versehentlich mit auf die andere Seite nehmen.

Wissenswert: Dabei muss man beachten, dass die vorchristliche jenseitige Welt oder keltische Anderswelt nicht gleichbedeutend mit der christlichen Hölle oder dem christlichen Himmel war, sondern ein Ort, an dem Götter, Ahnen und Feen wohnten und wo der ehrlich Suchende große Weisheit erfahren konnte. Die Anderswelt war ein Ort der Wunder, der aber auch große Gefahren barg, was die sichere Rückkehr betraf. Neugierige, die an Beltane oder Samhain in der Anderswelt verschwanden, waren nicht etwa Geistern und Dämonen zum Opfer gefallen, sondern einfach im Bruch des Zeitgefüges zur falschen Zeit am falschen Ort und landeten daher schon einmal auf der anderen Seite.

Aus: Das magische Jahr

Experten vermuten die Wurzeln des Festes weit in vorchristlicher Vergangenheit und geben einen Zeitraum von 3000 bis 5000 Jahren v.u.Z. an. Damit wäre Samhain / Samhuinn / Samhraidhreadh eines der ältesten Feste der Menschheit. Von den historischen Kelten hat sich das Fest Trix Samonis überliefert, welches Anfang November gegangen wurde und weitestgehend dem Samhainfest entsprechen soll. Die Festlichkeiten erstreckten sich über mehrere Tage. Vergleichbar mit der heutigen Karnevalszeit nimmt man inzwischen (mit regionalen Unterschieden) einen ganzen Festzyklus zwischen Oktober / November und Januar / Februar an — ähnlich der nordischen Julzeit.

©️Claudia Liath

Wissenswert: Vielen ist der Begriff Halloween geläufiger als Samhain, wobei Halloween nicht mit Samhain identisch ist, sondern eine nachfolgend in christlicher Zeit entstandene Abwandlung des Festes. Das Wort leitet sich ab von All Hallow’s Eve(ning), während das Fest selbst eine Verbindung aus Allerheiligen und Samhain darstellt - wenngleich eine Theorie existiert, die in Halloween oder Helloween Parallelen zur nordischen Unterweltsgöttin Hel entdeckt haben will.

Halloween vereint zahlreiche Traditionen, von alten germanischen, keltischen, römischen und griechischen Bräuchen, über christliche Sitten bis hin zu neuzeitlichen Jahreskreisfeiern und kann daher auf reichhaltiges Brauchtum zurückblicken. Es ist eine Mischung aus Herbst- und Erntebräuchen, Verkleidungsbrauchtum sowie Heischebräuchen (Bitten um Gaben, oft verbunden mit dem Versprechen, für die Toten zu beten). Einen großen Teil davon nimmt die Ahnenverehrung ein, die sich in ganz Nordeuropa in der Zeit vom Erntedankfest bis zur Fasnacht findet.

Die Thematik Todesfurcht, Geister und Grusel bringen die christlichen Feste Allerheiligen und Allerseelen ein. Möglich sind auch Parallelen zu den römischen Lemuralia, sowie zu den griechischen Anthesterien, deren dritter Tag von ausgeprägter Geisterfurcht bestimmt war. Das Umherziehen von Tür zu Tür, das klassische Trick or Treat, gehört zu den alten Heischebräuchen. Zusammen mit den Rauhnächten oder der Walpurgisnacht zählt man Halloween zu den Unruhenächten, in denen Streiche gespielt wurden und man sich allerhand Schabernack einfallen ließ.

Aus: Das magische Jahr

Im Vergleich zu den Germanen wird Samhain dem Vetrnøttablót (Winternacht) und dem Mittwinterfest gleichgesetzt. Bei den Germanen wurden Herbst- und Totenfeuer entzündet, in denen Strohpuppen und geflochtene Körbe verbrannten. Den Verstorbenen legte man als Wegzehrung verschiedene Opfergaben auf die Gräber. Ein Brauch, der sich im Seelengebäck (Seelenbrot, Seelenzopf, Seelenwecken) zu Allerseelen erhalten hat. In diversen Ritualen hielt man Zwiesprache mit den Verstorbenen, riskierte einen Blick in die Zukunft oder versuchte, die destruktiven Wesenheiten gnädig zu stimmen.

Obgleich auch im Glauben der Germanen der Tod neues Leben barg, verbreitete er zugleich Schrecken. Ehe also der Winter anbrach, eine Zeit des Mangels, der Kälte und Dunkelheit wurde ein letztes Mal mit Verkleidungen und viel Lärm ausgelassen gefeiert. Maskierte verkörperten die Wilde Jagd, das Ahnen- und Geisterheer, das nun in Form der herbstlichen Stürme auszog um alles mitzureißen, was müde, krank, alt und morsch war und keinen Fortbestand mehr hatte. Auch stellte man den Kampf der Götter gegen die Winter- oder Eisriesen nach.

©️ Claudia Liath

S A M H A I N / Ahnenfest

Wenn die Welten sich berühren,

Öffnet still die Ewigkeit

Ihre Tore und wir spüren

Es beginnt die dunkle Zeit.

All die ruhelosen Seelen

Strömen aus der Anderswelt,

Mit Gesang aus toten Kehlen,

Zu dem Licht, das sie erhellt.

Lausche, höre, wie sie singen,

Hörst du diesen Andersklang?

Stimmen, die voll Wehmut klingen,

Ein betörender Gesang.

Niemals darfst du sie verfluchen,

Niemals wirst du sonst erkennen,

Wonach ihre Seelen suchen.

Darum lass das Feuer brennen.

Samhain Fest der Jahreswende,

Fürchte nicht die Dunkelheit.

Nur das Gute siegt am Ende,

Beltane ist nicht mehr weit.

Stimme milde ihre Herzen,

Zeige ihnen dein Gesicht.

Säume ihren Weg mit Kerzen,

Führe sie zu deinem Licht.

©  Simone Wiedenhoefer 

Vila is a Slavic name for female spirits or nymphs who can appear in a plethora of different variations. Some live in clouds, meadows, ponds, trees or even high up in the mountains and their appearance can be either almost human-like as beautiful maidens with long white hair, nearly translucent skin and green eyes or they can be similar to ghosts, see-through and with billowing cloaks wrapped around their bodies. 

It is said that if even one of their hairs is plucked, the Vila will die, or be forced to change back to her true shape. A human may gain the control of a vila by stealing a piece of the vila’s skin. Once burned, though, she will disappear. Though they seem deceptively frail, vilas are fierce warriors skilled in combat and will attack lone travellers. However, offerings of cakes, flowers, fruit and ribbons might win their favour. 

Die Feenkönigin, Queen of Elphane

simple sleep sachet 💜

Celtic Deities: Cailleach, Ancient Old Crone of Winter

'There are three great ages; the age of the yew tree, the age of the eagle, the age of the Cailleach.' -An ancient Celtic poem

The Goddess Cailleach is a mother of Celtic Gods, she is an old crone, a witch, and the Mother of Winter. She is so vastly ancient that the Celts when they arrived in Ireland two thousand years ago, addressed her as already ancient and powerful.

Cailleach was reborn again, an old crone, each Samhain and went about chilling the Earth to halt new growth, to frost the ground with a long wand or flick of her hand, and by calling down the snow. She was a tempest who controlled storms and weather along the shores of Ireland and Scotland and she is still spoken of in winter storm myths and legends today. Her staff had the ability to turn plants (and herself) into grey stone, therefore making lonely standing stones sacred to her.

It is said that her long fingernails carved the rivers and valleys of earth, and that she created the mountains from the stones that fell from her apron. Her appearance was fearsome, she was noted to have sharp red teeth and hair white as a frosted snow covered mountaintop. She was a goddess feared, a goddess respected. In many ways, she was Death personified.

Another Celtic goddess, Brigit was the goddess of new beginnings and birth, the sheering of sheep and the budding fertility of the spring. Twice a year, a challenge was issued with Cailleach against Brigit, the Cold Dragon against the Warm Lamb. At Samhain, Cailleach would triumph over Brigit, but at Imbolc the reverse would be true allowing spring to win over winter and warm the earth once again.

Terrifying old crone, witch, Cailleach, we feel her chill and deathly presence in our bones, our roots hit her frozen waters. We all must follow her crisp air into the dark cold winter of the wood. Here the old hag will test us, and we will be allowed to grow new again by the will of the Gods.

“shingar” in punjabi means the “adornment” or “decoration” of oneself. something as seemingly simple as putting on makeup or doing your girlfriend’s hair, is somewhat of a ritual that brings women together. from the careful hands that apply mehndi, to the purposeful placement of kajal on the eyes, women adorn themselves and each other with such love and care.

The Nature of an Old Soul ♡

• Your idea of bliss is singular to the vibrations of a certain place: Preferring to frequent history or art museums, antique or secondhand shops, haunted inns and cemeteries, or historical + architectural sites; you love to experience the large role played by the various energies which make up your surroundings

• A deep fascination is held by you when presented with trinket collections (no matter how much dust has correlated upon them over time!), ghost stories, vintage copies of books or albums, or aged family photographs

• You can see yourself inhabiting a cozy cottage home somewhere in the faroff countryside - or an old, towering castle whose stairways and cooridors are rich with the frequencies of days gone by

• You hail simplicity as the truest form of abundance: Love letters, songs played on the turntable, watching black-and-white films, flower bouquets, visiting the theatre, or spending hours reminiscing beneath the stars or sun are some of the truest ways to your heart

• "I love this song!" you often proclaim when an older tune comes on, only then realizing that you're the only one around who knows it!

• You have a tendency to get along very well with older beings or with animals; as you are more than happy to listen to the memories shared by humans who have seen more than you, or to whisper secrets to the furry ears of dogs or cats

~ L-PF ♡