Tauro By Patricio Silberberg

The Elements.

Representing action and creativity = fire.

Representing emotions and decision making = water.

Representing intellect and analysis = air.

Representing substance and practicality = earth.

witches cat aesthetic

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What to use when in Witchcraft -

Ok so I am gonna say this is my personal reference, its mainly through associations. You might TOTALLY disagree and thats chill!

Its more something to think about and a guideline of what I use myself…

Candle Magic:

Carve a candle when…. the candle represents the target, in sympathetic magic. When, essentially, the candle is a poppet and lighting it is a symbol of destruction or empowerment to the target.

Place something under the candle or before it when… you are doing general candle magic, when the candle represents empowering a wish, idea or concept.

Anoint the candle when… doing work with spirits and gods, when you mark the candle for a special purpose, when doing high magic.

Herbs and plant work:

Use dry herbs when… it is convienent to do so, when the herbs are out of season or when you need to store them in a jar or bottle for a long time.

Use fresh herbs when… the spell is very earth orientated, when doing magic on behalf of another or when the magic is sympathetic so that the herbs represent the target, within kitchen witchery.

Use flowers when… when the spell concerns love and sex, or perhaps fertility and attraction, due to flowers being the reproductive parts of the plant.

Use fruit when when… working with children as a target, or with children practising. When you work with fertility and abundance spells.

Use wood and twigs when… when the spell is for protection or binding, for hardiness.

Burn herbs (recaning/incense) when… you wish to cleanse or banish, or invoke an atmosphere - that being, for divination using herbs that are said to open up your perceptions, when banishing, burning acrid or pungent herbs.

Use oil infusions when… you wish to anoint something, when you wish to mark something permanently.

Use floral waters (rose water etc) when… dealing with spirits and gods, for glamour as it has a long history of being used to beautify.

Crystals:

Use metals (haematite, copper, ores etc..) when… you work in protection, when you do energy work due to the conductive properties of metal.

Use shell, pearl, coral and such when… you work in sea magic, when you work within emotional magic due to the element of water.

Use points when… you wish to direct magic to a target.

Use tumble stones when… you wish the magic to be gentle or manifest at a certain place on the body on a target.

Use geodes when… you work in protection, when you work with glamour aimed to obscure and hide.

Knot magic:

Use cotton when… it is convenient.

Use silk when… doing spells that benefit the target.

Use ribbons when… love spells and wealth spells, as well as confidence and beauty spells. Spells to ensure victory.

Use rope when… doing spells that aim to hurt or weaken the target, binding especially.

Poppets:

Use cloth when… the spell aims to benefit who the poppet represents, use particular care when sewing or cutting, choose colours that are appropriate to them.

Use wax when… you wish to manipulate the target.

Use clay when… wish to create fetches or servitors, when you wish to create permanency.

Use twigs when… you wish to bury or throw the poppet out, when you want the poppet to be easily destroyed by breaking or setting on fire.

Sigils:

Use an alphabet grid or circle when… you wish the sigil to be more random and less attached to you.

Combine the shapes of letters from a sentence… when your sigil is very specific and a short term goal.

Use your own personal symbols when… you want the magic to be connected to you, when it is personal.

Domestic Garden Witch: When Eggshells Grow

So maybe you’re a college witch with limited space and money, limited to the one window in your dorm. Or, maybe you’re a witch without extensive backyard space who wants to start up a magical garden. Perhaps you’re a kitchen witch who wants the freshest herbs right at her fingertips.

For many witches, having a garden seems to be a bit of a no-brainer. After all, plants and magic go hand-in-hand. Plus, when thinking of a witch, it’s hard not to think of a cottage in the woods with a little vegetable garden out front. Unfortunately for the majority of us, our cottage in the woods is a tiny flat, and our garden out front is a windowsill with limited space.

This is when it comes time to embrace your craftiness and bring your garden indoors! Not only does it place your garden in a convenient location, it also allows you to freshen the air, recycle what would otherwise harm the earth, and embrace your witchy green thumb!

Eggshells for the Garden Witch

The kitchen witch has eggshells piling up on the counter, dried and ready to be ground up for use in protection powders. The garden witch looks at these shells and thinks, “Oh! Fertilizer!”

But if you’re limited in space and have to keep your garden limited to your windowsill, you may find yourself looking at those eggshells and saying “Oh! New pottery!” Not only is creating an eggshell planter a very green practice, but it’s also creative and makes transplanting much easier if you end up having a larger garden later on!

The Container…

Simple enough, you just need mostly intact eggshells. In the picture above, the eggshells are kept in the carton, but I’ve seen eggshells set up decoratively, such as with this picture:

The core of this post is clearly the eggshells, but you can arrange them in whatever way saves space or is aesthetically pleasing!

Carefully fill the emptied eggshell with potting soil. Make an indent in the soil with your finger, and carefully add your seedling before adding a final layer of soil and watering. If you plan on keeping the plants in the eggshells instead of transplanting, you could also carefully poke holes in the bottom of the eggshells so that your plants don’t get over-watered.

How Can I Witch This?

Eggshells alone are extremely protective, and providing your plants with that energy is beneficial. Around Ostara, use died eggshells! Not only will the shells have protective energy, but you’ll be able to use color correspondences and whatever symbols you used for the rite.

Draw symbols or runes of growth, protection, and strength on the shells in order to encourage your plant’s growth!

Bonus points is if you grow protective herbs in the eggshells!

May your harvests always be fruitful! Blessed Be! )O(

Crystal Of The Day - 06/20/16 - Quartz

I thought I’d start my little series with the most commonly collected crystal!

Chemical Formula: SiO2 Mohs Scale Hardness: 7  Mineral Group: Silicate 

Quartz is the second-most common mineral in the Earth’s crust. Chances are, no matter where you are in the world, you can pick up some type of quartz off the ground. Today we’re just going to talk about clear quartz, specifically. 

Some notable locations where crystal quartz is found are Minas Gerais, Brazil, Arkansas, USA, and the Herkimer county of New York, USA. The most common quartz points you find on the market are the ones from Brazil. They are mined by the ton every year in huge mining operations, and are very inexpensive. Both Arkansas and New York are famous for having great quality quartz crystals, and both offer different sites where people can come dig for crystals themselves. Herkimer county is specifically known for having a double terminated variety of quartz, that goes by the trade name of Herkimer diamond. Some people try to pass off just any double terminated quartz crystals as Herkimer diamonds, but it is important to note that a crystal is not a “true” Herkimer unless it comes from Herkimer county in New York. 

In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, quartz also has industrial uses. Did you ever notice how some watches have the word quartz written on the face? That is because a quartz crystal is used in the watch to regulate the electronic oscillator. Quartz has rather unique electrical properties that make it a great tool for electronics. Quartz is also rather heat resistant, and very hard and durable. Quartz countertops are quite popular for this reason as well!

Metaphysical: Quartz is a super versatile crystal for crystal healing. It’s often used to amplify the effect of other crystals. Quartz is very grounding, and can also be a great tool to use in meditation. 

Quartz is often referred to as a “master healer” as it can be used for almost anything! 

Buying Quartz: If you are in the market to buy some quartz crystals, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind!

One of the biggest things on the market right now is “aura quartz”. Aura crystals are crystals that have been super heated and sprayed with precious metal fumes to achieve differently colored shinny and iridescent effects. These pieces are always more costly than just the plain quartz. There are lots of different ways these aura pieces can be faked, as well. It is very common for cheaper knockoffs to be made where the quartz is just painted, and the color eventually peels off or fades.

Quartz also has a couple very common knockoffs! Probably the most common is just simple glass. If you see very inexpensive, perfectly clear crystal balls or pyramids, chances are you are looking at glass. A scratch test can be done to differentiate between glass and quartz. Quartz is harder than glass, so if your quartz can scratch a glass bottle, it passes the test. If it fails or struggles to scratch the glass, chances are it is glass and not quartz. 

“Smelt quartz” is another term some sellers use. Smelt quartz is very literally just glass. It will often be polished and shaped into the point of a crystal, and often times it is to try to pass it off as real quartz. 

Quartz can also be irradiated in order to turn yellow. This is called lemon quartz, and may be falsely sold as citrine. (Citrine is the natural variety of yellow quartz)

Crackle quartz is low quality quartz that has been heated to create cracks, and then dyed. It is very easy to distinguish this, because it is usually very brightly colored with color concentrating in the cracks. 

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I hope this is helpful to you! I have gathered my knowledge over my whole life. I grew up around crystals, and have been in the mineral business for just over 3 years now. 

I make by hand jewelry with only all natural gemstones. If you are interested, please feel free to checkout my shop. If you have any additional questions, I would be happy to answer! 

Crystals for Artsy Witches

Here is a list of crystals that could be useful to artistic witches.

Agate: inspiration, awaken talents and improve them

Alexandrite: creativity, imagination

Amazonite: creativity, intuition

Amethyst: creativity, intuition, perception, insight

Apatite: insight, creativity

Aqua Aura Quartz: motivation, making progress in goals

Aventurine: creativity, imagination, motivation

Beryl: creativity, helps relieves the feeling of tiredness (always good for artists)

Bixbite: creativity

Carnelian: creativity, precision

Cavansite: inspiration

Charoite: inspiration

Chlorite: inspiration

Chrysoberyl: creativity

Citrine: intuition, creativity, clarity

Coral: creativity, visualization

Dolomite: concentration, focus

Emerald: focus

Fire Agate: creativity, expression

Fire Opal: creativity

Garnet: mental rejuvenation, motivation

Girasol: visualization, imagination, creativity

Goshenite: creativity, originality

Hematite: focus

Howlite: expression, creativity

Kyanite: visualization

Magnesite: visualization, unconscious thoughts realized

Mookaite Jasper: expression, versatility

Mother of Pearl: imagination, intuition, mental clarity, adaptability

Opal: creativity, inspiration, spontaneity

Pearl: focus

Rainforest Jasper: variety, progress, creativity

Sapphire: creativity, expression, mental clarity, intuition

Sardonyx: creativity, mental clarity

Siberian Gold Quartz: inspiration, motivation

Tangerine (dyed) Quartz: motivation

Tanzan Aura: intuition, inner vision

Tiger’s Eye: motivation, focus, concentration, mental clarity

Tiger Iron: artistic skills, creativity, motivation

Topaz: creativity, individuality, expression

Ulexite: creativity, inspiration, imagination

🔮🌿LAVENDER TEA BREAD🌿🔮

INGREDIENTS Lavender Cake: ¾ cup milk 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender 6 tablespoons butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt

Lavender Glaze: ½ cup milk 1 tablespoon dried lavender buds 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

PREPARATION Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine the milk and lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat to a simmer, then remove from heat, and allow to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until the mixture is light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and lavender until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a wooden pick inserted into the crown of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Lavender Glaze: Place the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. When it starts to boil, take the pan off the heat and add the dried lavender buds. Let the mixture steep for 5-8 minutes, then strain the milk Whisk it into the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you get a smooth and opaque glaze. Pour or spoon over the cooled loaf.

Witchy things to do during this New Moon in Gemini (tonight through the next 24-48 hours) 💁🕯🔮⛥👭🌚♊

❤ Witchy Tip

Charge your lipstick under the moon amongst your crystals to make it witchstick.

More Star Wars Girls!