Shadow Work 🤍

Simple Bonding With Your New Deck

A straightforward guide for understanding and bonding with a new deck

⋆ ｡˚۰ ˚☽˚ ⁀➷ ｡˚ ⋆ ༄ ☼ ➶

❶ Cleanse your deck

This can be done with numerous methods. Saining ritual, Crystals (like selenite or salt), Sound, Knocking, Moonlight, Sunlight, etc Choose the one that you like best, whichever feels right to you, or use a combination of these that feel good for you!

❷ Explore your deck

Before reading the booklet that comes with your cards, flip through the deck card by card and explore the imagery and symbolism of each card. If you can, journal down your initial thoughts for each card, including how each card makes you feel. Is there a specific card that you're drawn to? Why?

❸ Read the guide book

Repeat Step 2 while reading through and referencing the little white book. How do the author/artist's intentions line up with your original intuitions about each card? Do they conflict? If so, look deeper and try to figure out where your view of the card differs. (this does not necessarily mean your intuition is wrong)

❹ Spend time with your deck

This can include sleeping with your deck next to you/under your pillow, travelling with your deck on your person, carrying around and focusing on a specific card each day, spending time shuffling the cards to mix your energy, or any other ideas you can come up with that allows you to keep the deck, the cards, and the imagery/symbolisms on your mind throughout the day.

❺ Interview your deck

This can be done at any point, but often it’s the most rewarding after you understand the cards to a decent degree. At this point, you should have a good feel for the deck's overall energy and a general idea of what each card represents and why. You'll be able to understand what the deck is trying to tell you much better than if you did this step at the beginning.

❻ Start using your deck

When you feel like you understand the cards and feel comfortable using them for readings, go for it. From this point on, it's going to be growth via experience. Continue to grow your intuition and personal associations with the deck, as well as remembering how the guidebook describes their meanings as that will be different from deck to deck, even if they’re all still tarot cards. Journaling, taking notes, or even just photos of your readings will be super helpful to build an understanding of the decks personality and to see where you might have previously misunderstood something.

hello!!

on May 25th, my partner had a string of seizures in the middle of the night. This was very concerning because they’ve never had any before, and didn’t have any conditions to explain it. They don’t have health insurance, but needed TWO ambulance rides (Americans already know how expensive that is) including an MRI, EEG and more. We were so scared of the bill that we instantly went and bought them health insurance, which basically drained us financially. They’re insurance doesn’t even go into effect until 7/1, so it won’t cover anything that’s happened. and we have a few neurologist appointments left before the 1st. We still don’t even know what’s wrong. So please, please please. If you can help at all, even $1 or .50¢, please help us. We are looking at over $7,000 in bills not including the ambulance rides, and we’ve only saved $4,000 in the past few years. We still need to pay rent & our bills through it all, which we can afford, but we can’t afford both. We can’t afford to pick and choose. I would never ever ask for help otherwise if we didn’t absolutely need it. If you can’t help financially, please consider retweeting this as that helps so much too. Thank you all so much <3

here is my cashapp! $noel4002

thank you💗💗💗

things that made me stop wanting to die that require no effort whatsoever

change the color used to highlight text on your laptop

move the pictures on your wall

stack whatever clutter is in your room into piles even if you don’t have time to clean it all

slightly vary your commute, even just by one street

change where you sit and scroll aimlessly on your phone even if it’s only to the chair in your room instead of your bed

drink water or juice out of a wine glass in the morning because nothing is real

shower with the lights off, without music

buy $3 flowers at trader joe’s—they look bad next to the more expensive ones but they look so good in your room

start typing things you don’t post into your notes. your thoughts can be worth documenting even if you don’t deem them worth sharing

wake up super early just once. you don’t have to make it a habit it’s just extra satisfying to go to bed that night

listen to the entirety of your favorite album from 2015

Hekate

So let's start with things that arnt true about Hekate.

Hekate is not the triple moon goddess that is a wiccan concept that is not true.

Hekate is not the moon goddess, that is Selene. Selene is the goddess of the moon.

Hekate will not get angry if you are devoted to other gods/goddesses. This is a myth that is spread for many gods and goddesses, it's not true.

Hekate along with other gods/goddesses will not be angered from a little mistake. This is not saying that she will not push you in a direction through life changes.

Hekate is not just the goddess of witchcraft and magic. This is one I've seen alot actually and it's a very modern day way she is seen, and her other things are just casted aside.

Hekate is not evil.

You have to worship her at a crossroads you can worship her anywhere else, this is something I was told and heard when I first started to research about hekate.

Hekate will only except certain offering and will reject other. This is very wide spread about all the hellinistic gods/goddesses. The gods will except most things as offerings there are specific offerings that are most suited to them but most offering will work. It's the act of devotion that they want not the material things you give them if anything just pray to them.

These are just some misconceptions about Hekate. There are misconceptions about every god in the hellenistic pantheon and you will just need to find out which are not true.

Now let's go to some things that are true about Hekate.

Hekate is the goddess of crossroads, witchcraft and magic, dark moon, the lunar calendar (she is very associated with the moon but she is not the goddess of it like I stated before)

Hekate did assist the search for Persephone, and did witness the capture.

Hekate stood at the crossroads, this could be seen as to assist the spirits to the underworld or to keep evil spirits away.

You can make an altar/shrine to hekate and worship her there

You can pray to Hekate as an offering and just out of devotion you do not have to find extravagant things that are not easily available to you as an offering.

Some things you can use as an offering for Hekate. (These are just some examples there are many other things you can use.)

These are thing that I have used in my practice and are from my own experience. You may find others that you can use more and are better suited for your relationship with Hekate.

Dog imagery, black dogs are the best. You can draw one or even get a little dog statue.

Bones

Dandelions

Prayers

Doing acts of kindness for others, including animals

Give candles (black ones preferably)

Candies ( I've given chocolate as an offering before)

Blackberries

Blood ( this is a offering that is very demonized in the pagan community, but it is an offering you can use.)

Meat is a very traditional offering the not as good parts of the meat would be given to the gods and goddesses, as an offering and the better parts would be kept for you.

You can share parts of your dinner with them

Tea ( I usually use tea that corresponds to them)

Pastries

A feast was traditionally done under the dark moon

Lavender

Spells can be done along side her.

I've done spells for good things like happiness of others in her name.

Milk ( I know this one is a little wierd but you can use milk as a good offering for alot of gods/goddesses

Donate to charity in the name of Hekate

These are just some examples. These examples are just to give you an idea of offering for Hekate.

This is just a post for if you are interested in Hekate it is just a small post to kinda introduce her to you. If you are wanting to worship her please use more resources than this one.

Fruit Tea Magic 🍑✨

there are plenty of ways to work to work a little magic into your day without doing a full on ritual, and your daily (hourly?) tea is one of them! here’s just a couple of suggestions with fruits and their correspondences.

raspberry - love, strength, endurance and reliability

black currant - for  abundance, lust, and fertility

rhubarb -  for fidelity and protection.

mango -  harmony, balance, contentment, fertility. 

strawberry -  for fortune, friendship, and love.

lemon -  for friendship, love, and purification.

cherry -  for divination and love.

blueberry -  for protection.

apple -  for banishment, fertility, healing, love, protection, and purification.

pear -  for wealth, love and lust.

orange -  for beauty, divination, fortune, love, purification, and wealth.

cranberry -  for protection, positive energy, courage, passion, determination, goals, and action

rose-hip - for luck, love, and spirituality. 

pomegranate - for divination, luck, wishes, wealth, and fertility

there are a number of combinations of fruit teas, with other types of fruit as well as spices, herbs, flowers and teas. teas can be simple, easy potions with a variety of brewed intents. 

floral tea magic ✨  herbal tea magic ✨  general tea magic

🗣 The coronavirus (COVID-19) isn’t an excuse to be racist or xenophobic.

Art by Liberal Jane 

🕉 Witchcraft 101: Casting the Circle 🕉

Cast the Circle thrice about

To keep unwelcome Spirits out.

Bind it whole, and bind it well

To serve as altar for my spell.

Mark this ground with all my soul

To consecrate with my control.

The sacred Circle is one of the oldest and most powerful tools of witchcraft. The shape of the Circle symbolizes the unity of nature; the unending cycle of life, death, and rebirth; and most importantly, a structure with no corners, no weak spots, no vulnerability. Casting a magick Circle can provide protection, seclusion, power, focus, and a host of other benefits. It is arguably the first piece of magick a witch should learn when exploring ritual work, and it can serve you in an endless number of ways.

In short, a Circle is a place of power designated by a Witch exclusively for a spell or ritual. The Witch consecrates this space with their energy and declares it to be theirs and theirs alone for the duration of the spell. This area is bounded by a physical circle which no energy can cross without the permission of the Witch.

Circles have been utilized by various magickal traditions for thousands of years, and over that time they have taken many different forms. Almost every tradition has a different method for designing a Circle, casting a Circle, and using a Circle. In this post, I will be discussing my own personal method of Circle casting, along with some traditional methods.

What are Circles used for?

Traditionally, a Circle is cast at the very beginning of any ritual. Before any spirits are summoned, before any gods are invoked, perhaps even before any candles are lit, a Witch will cast a Circle around the area they’ll be performing magick in.

When utilized like this, a Circle has three functions:

1) Establishing a Place of Power

A Circle designates a specific area as separate from the world around it. In a way, you are taking this physical space and removing it from space and time. Outside of the Circle the world continues to go about its unending business, but within the Circle, all energy is dedicated towards the completion of the spell.

This aids the witch in achieving the state of gnosis required for the spell. By removing yourself from the human world around you, you are declaring that you are more than human. You are reclaiming a piece of your spiritual godhood, and I find that this is very lucrative for tapping into that special “energy” of magick (if you’ve experimented with deep states of magickal gnosis, you’ll know what I’m talking about).

2) Protection

This is possibly the oldest use of the Circle, which can be traced back to Ancient Greek and Zoroastrian Craft. In some ways, a Circle is the most basic form of a Ward. You are creating an energetic barrier around yourself and your space that prevents any random energies or spirits from wandering into your spell.

Some of the earliest known rituals involving Circles were summonings and evocations. In this function, the magician would enclose themself in a special protective Circle before conjuring a spirit or deity. As long as they remained within the Circle, the being could do them no physical or spiritual harm.

3) Focusing Energy

This function partially relates to the first function I mentioned, creating a place of power. When performing a spell or ritual, you are essentially constructing a special, high-vibrational energy to be released into the universe. Utilizing a Circle helps to encase this special energy, allowing you to freely manipulate it without interference and without the energy dissipating into the environment around you.

How do you cast a Circle?

A precise method for casting a Circle is hard to pin down, just because they are so unique to each individual practitioner, and there are so many different methods that exist already. In general, though, a basic Circle can be cast with three simple steps:

1) Purify the space

Using any preferred method of purification, purify the space you’ll be performing your ritual in of all disruptive energies. One of the most effective and traditional methods is to burn a purifying incense, such as sage, thyme, frankincense, sandalwood, etc.

For those of you who can’t burn incense for whatever reason, this can also be achieved with sound vibrations (singing, ringing bells, etc.), visualization (manually clearing the space with your own energy), spraying herbal water in the area (a common new age type of cleansing), or any other type of purification you may utilize.

2) Mark the Boundary of the Circle

Mark the boundary of your Circle on the ground. This can be done with salt, chalk, a crystal grid, sticks, leaves, oil, water, or any number of other methods. A Circle can also be traced in the ground if you are standing in sand, dirt, gravel, etc.

A common misconception about Circles is that they have to be physically marked on the ground. This simply isn’t true, though. If you lack the materials, space, or ability to physically create a Circle around you, you can also mark the ground with a Circle through visualization.

Close your eyes, and visualize your energy tracing a Circle in the ground around you and your sacred space. A visualization thats often helpful for me is imagining a Circle of fire igniting around me, but use whatever visualization works best for you.

3) Enchant the Circle and Make It Yours

This step is the most unique from practitioner to practitioner. Every Witch does things a bit differently, but essentially, the last step is to consecrate your Circle to protect this space from invasion and to focus the energies within towards your will.

I commonly perform this step with a simple spoken spell that goes something like:

Hear my words, for they are sacred.

Feel my power, for it is manifest.

I consecrate this Circle as my place of power, wherein I and I alone have total dominion.

I mark its border upon the ground, and by my power, I declare that nothing may enter here without my invitation.

As I command, so must it be.

Final Thoughts on Circles

• This is a very simple type of Circle. While it is perfect for keeping out stray energies and weaker spirits (like ghosts or nature energies), it is reliant solely upon your own strength. Depending on how effectively you cast it, it may not be enough to keep out stronger or more malevolent energies.

• A Circle can be strengthened through any number of methods, such as marking its border with charged crystals or designing an intricate Circle using sigilcraft. Research, experiment, and find out what works best for you.

• A very common method of strengthening a Circle is by evoking the Four Elements/Watchers, which I will discuss in a future post.

• After casting a Circle, make sure to invite in any spirits/deities that you evoke in your ritual. If you summon them to you but don’t invite them into your Circle, they may be present but will be unable to interact with you or your spell.

• After completing your ritual working, be sure to unbind/release your Circle. This will deconsecrate the space and release the energy you’ve created into the universe for manifestation.

Be safe, and Happy Witching! 🕉

Baby witches, stop stressing yourselves out over grimoires. I've been a witch for 10 years and I don't even have a physical grimoire. My Pinterest boards and Tumblr pages are about as close to some sort of a grimoire as I've ever gotten. You don't need to have a grimoire to be a witch!

Fairuza Balk in The Craft (1996)