Liquor Magic: Ginger Cardamom Vodka

Ways you can celebrate Yule that aren’t just Christmas.

Celebrate on the correct days!: Yule is a solstice sabbat, which means it’s on the day before, of, and after the winter solstice*. It’s NOT December 25th.

Hang all kinds of evergreens everywhere: Do you know why? Because while snow is very pretty at first after a while the never ending blinding white and brown and black starts to drive you slowly insane. Holly and Mistletoe are the two brightest green plants you could get your hands on during winter so of course they were everywhere!

Light a massive bonfire**: It’s dark and cold and everyone is miserable. Burn some shit! If you aren’t a heathen then Yule is about the rebirth of the sun god(dess?). Welcome that guy back with the best sun imitation you could get!

Leave feed out for Odin’s Horse: Kids would leave out hay or treats for Odin’s Horse(Sleipnir) to eat while he road in the wild hunt. A gift given means a gift must be returned and so Odin(also known as the parents) would leave treats for the kids. Yes this is where Santa came from.

Make winter clothes: Winter was the time when all the housework was done because, well, you can’t plant when the field is under five feet of snow. Clothes were often made during this time and given to the family.

Welcome guests into your home: If there was one thing the Germanic people valued it was hospitality. Friend who has no were to go? Come on over! Your kid’s friend who comes from a tricky home? Why don’t they stay a night or two. Everyone is invited!

Anything that still has Yule in the name probably comes from the original:  Yule log, Yule boar, Yule goat. These are all from the original feast day. 

Yule is a feast to celebrate the wild hunt: So make a feast!

And finally, throw one hell of a party***: Yule is a Norse holiday guys. There was no such thing as a low-key party in that culture. The majority of their myths can be summed up thusly; partying, beating up someone who ruined the partying, partying because they beat someone up. Have fun!

*These are the days I do it because celebrating for 12 days - 2 months is impractical.

**Don’t be dumb with fire.

***Don’t do anything illegal.

I’m not a heathen, and also observe Yule very low-key because I still live in my parents house. If there is anything I missed or got wrong please add onto this!

~𝕚’𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕨~ 𝕒 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕒𝕝𝕤

most people have goals they wish to acomplish, but have something stopping them from doing so. i personally struggle with anxiety and self doubt. hopefully this helps you to not only achieve your goals, but do so with confidence.

✹ you will need ✹

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp of dried yarrow,

1 tbsp of marjoram

matches or a lighter

heatproof bowl

a piece of charcoal

✹ steps ✹

✹find a place where you feel comfortable. face the south. ✹put your charcoal in your heatproof bowl and light it. ✹put the bay leaves, yarrow, and marjoram into the bowl. ✹place your hands above the bowl as if you’re warming them with the flame. ✹while the contents of the bowl are burning, close your eyes and think of the goals you wish to achieve. ✹say: give me strength  give me courage give me the confidence i need to flourish  as my blood runs through me let others see that i will not falter on my path to succeed ✹you can wait for the contents of the bowl to burn all the way or you can put out the flame when it feels like the spell has been completed. 

well i hope every one reading this has an amazing day, and i hope this helps you guys out! good luck everyone! :)

A Hearth Witch's Security System - Boundaries and Entrances

A Disclaimer: I am one person and my opinions (which I have in abundance) may not reflect the opinions of other witches, in general, or other people who call themselves hearth witches. In fact, they probably won’t, because I’m an asshole. I have a bizarre sense of humor that doesn’t convey well in text and I rant about shit I don’t like. A lot. If you don’t think you can handle that, maybe don’t read anything I write. Ever.

Protecting the Home, Protecting the Family 

Let me preface this post by saying, I am exhausted, so probably nothing I write here is going to make sense to anyone but me. Also, that has just been my luck lately, but we’ll see how it goes anyway. 

If you read my blog, you’ll know that I do a lot of stuff to protect my railroad cottage. Not just because I live here, but because I literally use my house as a symbol of my household and family. So, in a witchcraft sense, protecting my home is protecting my family. And, because that’s the witchcraft I write about most on my blog, that’s what I get a lot of questions about (spirit work aside, because that’s what I get the most questions about). 

So, this post is going to be about various ways to protect your home and (hopefully) prevent nasties from creeping inside. 

Rule Number One: Keep a Clean House

I know that sounds really boring. I know you’re like, “Emma, that is not witchcraft. Those are chores and I hate you. Did my mom put you up to this?” But, actually, there are two good reasons that’s Rule No. 1: 

It’s not easy to cleanse a house that isn’t clean. Part of protecting your home is being prepared to go into battle for it. Now, witchcraft is known to make a house a little cluttered. If you’ve got ribbons falling out of your sewing box and stockpiles of tea on your counter. Don’t worry. You’re normal. But it’s possible for a house to be both cluttered and clean.

Cleaning a house regularly is a fantastic way to magically take ownership of the property—which I’ve discussed here. 

Obviously, I’m not saying you’re house has to look like something from Good Housekeeping. My own cottage has four rooms and is home to more than four people. It’ll never be as neat as we want it to be. But’s it’s clean. And that’s what matters. 

Rule Number Two: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors 

I’m not talking about real fences—but those too. I’m talking more about magical boundaries. Like a witch fence. This can be set up in or outside of ritual, using a real fence, other objects, or using visualization. 

So, let’s talk about putting up this fence, huh? The method I use  is, of course, the “Gross Method”—and, by gross, I mean no one wants to do it or talk to me they’ve found out I’ve done it. It uses a pre-existing fence to create the boundary, which means that what you’re actually doing with this method is enchanting or reinforcing your standing fence. It’s supa supa easy. Like really, children could do if you let them. Only probably don’t let them because it’s probably a health hazard. 

For this method, you will need 1) a fence, 2) something to mark your stake-points with, 3) some bodily fluids—i.e. menstrual blood, piss, spit, sexual fluids, etc., 4) your bad ol’ self

Step One: Walk around your property and decide where you want your stake-points to be. I refer to them as stake-points because what you’re actually doing is kind of like putting up a magical tent rather than a fence. These are the strength points of your enchanted fence. You’ll want at least one in every corner of the existing fence. Mark these places. You can do this by scratching or painting on the fence, tying something to the fence, or sticking something in the ground there. In my case, I used the support posts for my pre-existing fence as my stake points, so I didn’t have to mark them because I knew where they were. 

Step Two: Collect fluids. (Unless you’re using spit, which you have.) You can water any of these fluids down if you need to—except probably spit. 

Step Three: Using a paintbrush, herbs, your hands, a spray bottle, or whatever, apply the fluid to the INSIDE of your fence where your neighbors won’t be touching. As you do, visualize the stake-points linking together as they’re placed. I tend to visualize something like a barbed-wire fence going up between my stake-points, but white light works too if you’re into that. **If you’re going to forget, mark where you started.

Step Four: When you’ve completed the fence and connected your last stake-point to your starting point, visualize the tent going up. In my visualization this is something like a deer-skin version of a Circus tent, but I am a legit freak of nature, so your probably wont be. 

Now, you can be done here, or you can write something to say to tweak the spell to your style. If you have Property Spirits that you work with, you may also want to ask them to guard the fence at this point. 

Rule Number Three: Gardening = Ammo 

While we’re still outdoors, let’s talk about ‘defensive gardening’. One of my favorite things to do with my garden is to reinforce my boundaries by planting protective herbs. Not only does it add punch to your enchanted fence, but it provides ammunition should you need to banish something later. 

This can be done directly in the ground, in hanging planters at/on your stake-points, in windowboxes, in planters by the door, etc. 

Some good protective herbs to start are:

Aloe

Rosemary 

Roses (thorny for offensive magic, rosehips for defensive magic)

Mint

Lavender

You may also want to include banishing plants

Garlic 

Sage 

Sweeatgrass

Thyme

As well as flowers, trees, and shrubs to the same effect (like holly, cedar, etc). 

Rule Number Four: Wards/Wardings Aren’t As Hard As They Sound

Come with me to the porch and let’s talk about wards! *runs to the porch, points at wards* Wards are awesome! There are so many different kinds and they can range anywhere from decorative to practical to invisible! 

When you’re warding your doorway, like a lot of witchcraft, intent is super important. Really, it doesn’t matter what kind of ward you use as long as you have the intent. And, with the bucket load of types of warding, you should be able to find one to fit your needs.

My favorite way to ward a door or window is with a decorative ward, which was something we did in my family for years and then I finally saw it outside of our house in an Ellen Dugan book (which I bought JUST for that reason). This one isn’t mine, but it’s a good example of one:

These hang above doors and windows to ward off evil, ill will, etc. and can be made out of dried flowers and herbs (like above), fabric (such as a warding banner), carved into the wood above a door, or any other way you prefer. 

I usually go with the pictured method. Typically I

Start with a base. For year-round wards I like to use wheat and dried grass (which you can find at a craft store—but not Hobby Lobby, because they areevil). 

I face half of my base one way and half the opposite way—so that the cut ends are together and you have the awesome wheat/grass/evergreen ends facing out. Over lap the two halves a few inches and tie them together. (I usually use twine for that, but you can use whatever you like.

Next, go you your second layer, which is the actual warding part. For this, my favorite things to use are lavender (which grows wild in the neighborhood I work in), and rosemary. But there are plenty of other possibilities, too—sunflowers, rose, baby’s breath, holly, pine, mint, etc. These can be tucked into the tie you’ve already made, glued on, or tied on separately. 

To finish mine off, I usually add a bell, to symbolize a signal, which sort of makes the ward into an alarm. Sometimes, when trouble is around, I’ll hear a bell even though it’s not ringing. Sometimes it actually rings. 

The ward can go above your door, window, fireplace, or anywhere else you feel you want to hang it. 

Of course, there are a lot of other ways to ward your doors and windows. 

With energy and visualization. 

With water or oil (drawing protective symbols on them with the water/oil) 

Warding Wreaths

Other hangings (like photographs of deities or saints, Brigid’s crosses, horseshoes, strings or bells)

Salt lines and brickdust (I tend to mix these together)

Hanging herbs by or above the door (I typically dry my herbs next to the door so I never have a shortage of door-based protection)

Whatever

The most important thing is that you make your intent clear. Whether you want to ward off evil spirits or unwelcome mortal visitors, make your intent clear. If you need to do this by putting your warding into a big ritual, do so. If you need to activate your wards out loud, go ahead. 

Rule Number Five: Everything You Need to Strengthen Your Protection is On/In You

Spit

Urine

Menstrual Blood

Sexual Fluids 

Sweat 

and so on

These are all totally useful supplies for witchcraft in general and for protection in specific. A touch of one of these on a window, door, doorknob, etc is fantastic for strengthening a boundary and clearly marking your territory to anyone who might wander inside. Surface cleaning with remove germs, but not the intent or the warning.

Rule Number Six: Never Let an Outsider Make Your Forget Whose House This Is

The conviction of ownership is pretty important to home protection. Don’t let an intruder scare you into believing that they own your home. They don’t. It’s yours. The people inside it are yours. 

Laurel’s Easy Sabbat Planning Guide

For all of the witches who struggle with Sabbats sneaking up on them, here is a guide to help whip up an easy celebration so you never have to miss out on Sabbats again!

A Sabbat is a seasonal festival mostly celebrated by Pagans and Witches. Sabbats are like any other holiday, except these are normally celebrations of the changing of the seasons, or the “turning of the wheel.” Each person will celebrate each Sabbat differently, as each season is completely personal to you.

⛤ The First Step

The first step I recommend to planning a Sabbat celebration is to figure out exactly what the Sabbat is to you. Figure out how you feel about the sabbat and what you naturally associate each one with. This can take some time to work through, especially if you are new to sabbats or if you tend to avoid nature at all costs.

⛤ What to ask yourself:

- What does this Sabbat mean to you? - What is the Earth doing right now? What does it look like outside your window? - What is in season (this includes foods, herbs, flowers and decor)? - How do you feel this time of year? How does this particular Sabbat make you feel? Is this normal? - What sort of things make you feel “witchy” or connected to this Sabbat? - Why is this day special to you?

⛤ Things to Do:

- Perform a ritual. Rituals can be as elaborate or as simple as you want them to be. Sometimes all you have to work with is a tealight candle and a week old pack of cookies.

- Cook. Some of us feel connected to the world around us when there is food involved. After all, it’s not a party unless there is food. Try out a new recipe with in-season foods, or make your favorite comfort food dish.

- Go outside. The easiest way to celebrate the changing of the seasons is to go outside and experience them. Even if it’s a short walk (because not many people want to go for long strolls in the dead of winter), take a moment to step outside and experience nature and observe what it’s currently doing. If you are able, plan a day trip to somewhere special or new to explore.

- Decorate. Nothing gets me in the holiday (or Sabbat) spirit like decorating. As a child decorating for Christmas was the best because that was the only time we put up decorations. Now, as an adult, I use whatever I have handy to decorate for every Sabbat I can to make me feel more festive.

- Offerings. If you work with spirits of deities, you may wish to put together some sort of offering for them when you celebrate. This can be food, special rocks or flowers from outside, or something you’ve made yourself.

- Spells. Sabbats are prime times to do spells for me. The spells I cast are reflections of the coming season and what I want from them.

- Crafts. There are a ton of different little projects for Sabbats floating around on the internet. Get creative and make something! If you are on a budget, make something with what you have, or modify a craft to include what you have. I like to make something new each year for the Sabbats (it’s an easy way to get “decorations” too!)

- Divination. Nothing says celebration like a good old fashion look into the future. Choose any form of divination that you’d like and do a reading for yourself. 

- Journaling. Sometimes the easiest way to celebrate and connect is to get into your own head. Let the Earth inspire you. Stare out a window (or sit outside if you can) and just watch what happens around you. Let it inspire you to create. Journal about your own feelings, write a freestyle poem or sketch and paint what you see.

⛤ Creating a Ritual

Not all rituals have to be long and elaborate. Some of my favorite rituals are just sitting around in sweatpants with a hot cup of cocoa and my journal, reflecting on the season and my life. Ask yourself these questions to help piece together how a ritual would be best done for you.

- What am I celebrating? How can I celebrate this? - Who am I worshiping? - How much space do I have? - How much time do I have? - Why am I celebrating this Sabbat? - What do I/can I buy for my celebrations?

The important thing for Sabbats isn’t how grand your ritual is, it’s all about gaining something from it, whether that be a nice warm fuzzy feeling or a great insight into your life. 

⛤ Reflection and Meditation

After each Sabbat day, I find it helpful if I reflect upon what I did that day and how my celebration went. This is when I do most of my journaling, but you don’t have to write anything. You can simply sit and rest and meditate on the day if you wish. Use this time to unwind.

- What did I do today? How do I feel about it? - What ideas do I have for next year? - What did this year’s Sabbat teach me? - What was my favorite part of today’s celebration? - What was my least favorite?

Happy Celebrating! ~L <):)

I think something people have to realize first in trying to reconstruct historical magical and religious practices is that belief=/=worship. Many traditional witches believe in Christ but don’t worship him because they’re not the same thing. And certain historical pagan religions did believe the gods of their neighbors were… something! But acknowledging something as existing and venerating it are two different things.

🍝 Cooking Magick 🍝

Since I often don't have the energy to do full spells and rituals, I've been trying to incorporate magick into the mundane things in my life, and something I tried tonight was adding a little magick to my cooking

Since I've been having a lot of negative energy within myself, I decided to make my dinner into a little protective spell

It was a little last second so its not very intricate, but it was just enough for me and made me feel super witchy (my boyfriend even called me a little kitchen witch!)

We deemed this little "spell" Magick Spaghetti

Disclaimer: this isn't an actual spell!! Its just a fun way to include your craft in something simple and essential and I really enjoyed doing it so I thought it would be nice to share! Its not to be taken extremely seriously, not all witchcraft has to be totally serious, just have fun! ❤ and remember that even the smallest things can be made magical and meaningful

🍝 Wolf's Magick Spaghetti 🍝

To start, if you add salt to your water when you boil it, something I do, you can tie a correspondence or intention to that

Stirring the spaghetti counterclockwise to banish, repeat something like "I am banishing this negativity and the things that have been hurting me inside"

Stirring the spaghetti clockwise for intention, repeat something like "I am protected from negativity" and/or "I am protected from these negative energies inside me"

Add some sauce! Sauces are full of herbs and veggies that have correspondences, use this to your advantage! My sauce of choice had onion, garlic, and tomato, all of which have protective properties

While eating your Magick Spaghetti, think something like "this is clearing the negativity inside me"

☽ Enjoy! ⛤ Blessed Be ☾

A tarot spread commissioned by @beetlepool​ during @technocoven​, for helping them find the source of their stress and how to achieve inner calm.

They asked:

“How can you achieve calm and stability only comparable to the biggest fish in the ocean?” 

And as a Marine Biologist, I was super hyped by the request and had a lot of fun with this spread! Thanks again, and welcome to your witch-y journey!

Keep reading

ANGEL’S SWEET HOT CAKES

Now this is a recipe I promised myself I would make my kids when and if I had them. I actually have a folder on my phone labeled “Recipes to make my future children”. You know those hot recipes that your parents used to make for you when you were little before they got consumed by their work.

I never really had that growing up, so I always made a promise to myself if I were to have kids….I would wake up early just to make them a big breakfast, and make sure they knew they were loved.

Anyways! Here is a recipe for some delicious hot cakes! Great with butter and maple syrup. To Serve hot.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

4 tbsp melted butter

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

A dash of vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

Butter and syrup to serve

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, mix together your dry ingredients. Pour in your melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix clockwise with a wooden spoon to promote good luck. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, beat your eggs and add them into the mix. You’ll want to mix the batter until it is smooth. This should take around 3 minutes or a quick play of La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf. 

If it is too thick for your liking, add some more milk to thin it out, and if it is too thin for your liking add in more flour.

Scoop about 1/3 cup of mixture (That’s about 3 oz) and pour into a hot pan, coated with melted butter or oil. Cook your pancakes on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes on each side or until done.

Serve fresh and hot, drizzled with maple syrup or honey, and with dripping butter melting from the top.

Enjoy, and remember…

“La vie est une fleur dont l’amour est le miel.” -Victor Hugo

~ Life is a flower, and love is it’s honey

Can you tell I’m studying french again? I’m trying to be more fluent, so if I made a mistake feel free to correct me!

I hope it’s ok to ask, if not feel free to just delete, lol, but I was wondering how do you motivate yourself to do things with your craft? I’ve just lately felt comfortable calling myself a witch, but right now it seems like it’s in name only. It’s like I want to do things, but I’m just so tired after work I just sit and watch netflix. :/ Right now isn’t the best time, everyone who can work is over worked, but if you have any tips I’d appreciate it. Thank you for your time! :)

Keep in mind we live exceptional dire times, and cut yourself some slack. I don’t know what it is you are doing, but if you are one of these workers who are forced to be, as they call it, on the front line - whether you are a doctor, a postman, a driver, a cashier, a nurse... - then your mundane life sure must be hectic right now. That being said, if you are a proficient magical practionner as you claim to be, then I suppose you already know separating the mundane and magical parts of yourself and your life is delusional. They will, and they shall, overlap.

When you wake up in the morning, what offerings do you put out for your spirits - be it house spirits, land spirits, gods and allies ? What prayer and hymn do you whisper, what bond do you acknowledge and strengthen ?

What talisman, what jewelry, what oil or what charm do you carry into your purse, pocket, or about your persona ? What for ?

What blessings, what protections, what blastings and curses do you bestow upon yourself, your loved ones, your enemies, when the night is dark and the moon hiding ?

How do you keep your magical hygiene going, how do you keep your senses sharp ? How do you train your eyes to see beyond, in smoke, cards, dreams, bones or mirrors ?

What do you read in your downtime, what podcast do you listen to in the subway, on your way to and back from work, on your lunch break, and before going to bed ? Do you follow any course ? Do you look for the ciphers in the stars, the glyphs in the ground ? What omens do they portent ?

How often do you take a walk in nature, when is the last time a plant or animal taught you something ? When is the last miracle you performed just for the sake of it, just because it’s fun and exhilarating ?

Are you good with your hands, do you craft or create, do you brew, cook, weave, all in attunement with your practice ?

It is about making the time, not because this is something you should do, but because this is something you are. Magic is not always rituals and fireworks, no, it is about constance, it is about kindling and tending an inner Fire. So make sure those embers don’t die out, amidst the ebbs and flows, growths and recessions of power. There is a fine line between laziness and indulgence that we all must learn to walk, so do not coddle your weaknesses. Respect your tides, for we all wane and waxe, but ride them.

HONEY ALMOND CEREAL BARS FOR HAPPINESS

A treat or breakfast, anytime you need a pick me up throughout the day. You can infuse these bars with your intentions, and charge them with a crystal of choice. I hope you guys enjoy! ~ Angel.

For the Bars:

½ cup (170g) honey

happiness, healing, prosperity

½ cup (120g) almond butter

prosperity, universal love, luck

1 box Honey Nut Cheerios

happiness, nostalgia, prosperity

For the Coating:

½ cups (75g) white chocolate

friendship, self-love, fun

1/3 cup (85g) greek yogurt

2 tbsp honey

happiness

1 tsp vanilla extract

self-love, attraction

Directions

On medium heat, combine honey, almond butter, and your honey nut cheerios in a rather large pan. Make sure the almond butter has melted and the cheerios are fully coated. This should take about no longer then 7 minutes. About 3 plays of Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. 

Once you have done this, spread evenly into a glass baking dish until it sets completely. This can take 1-3 hours.

Cut them into bars. Combine your greek yogurt, honey, melted white chocolate, and vanilla together, and dip the bottoms into the mixture, Let them set for an additional hour.

Enjoy!