Remember Shadow Work Is All About Unlocking Your Subconscious. This Helps You Understand Yourself Better

🎵 Music in Witchcraft 🎵

I love music. More and more, I have been including music in my practice of witchcraft, simply by having a song in the background while cleansing or making kitchen magic, and singing or humming particular melodies in the shower, when I perform a spell or a ritual, etc. If you’re interested in music witchcraft, here are a few ideas to get you started. 

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🎵 Singing out loud is a really powerful practice that can help when performing difficult spells, or rituals that are energy-draining. 

🎵 If you’re uncomfortable with singing, humming a melody is a good alternative. I love humming a simple, happy song while cleansing my home.

🎵 Charge your crystals, magical items and plants with soothing, dramatic and strengthening music. 

🎵 If you can play any instrument, include them in your practice - by playing before, during or after your daily practice, for instance. 

🎵 Sound playlists have their own power, especially if you’re working with the 4 elements:

🌱 Earth: listen to forest and nature sounds

🔥 Fire: listen to fire crackling

🌪️ Air: listen to birds chirping

🌊 Water: listen to ocean sounds and waves

🎵 Make very specific playlists on Spotify ; e.g. “Songs to dance around in your room by yourself”, or “Songs to listen when you’re angry about the world”. Having songs that reflect your feelings will be incredibly useful and can make you feel less alone in your happiness / or in your pain. 

🎵 Bring back your inner child by listening to nostalgic playlists of songs that came out when you were 5, 10, 15 years old. 

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Here’s a great Spotify playlist with witchy music, if you’re interested. 

Heart-Shaped Faerie Homes

In Irish mythology, Brigid is the daughter of the Dagda and had two sisters also named Brigid and is part of the Tuatha de Danann, the supernatural Irish race. The three sisters made up the triple aspect of the one goddess: Brigid of the hearth, Brigid of the forge and Brigid of Inspiration. She is a goddess of spring, fertility, family, the hearth, childbirth, fire, blacksmiths, scholars, physicians, prophets, healing, poetry, occult knowledge, and justice. She was said to be born at sunrise and is often depicted with solar rays coming out of her head, making her one of the Irish solar deities alongside Lugh. It is said that wherever she walks four leaf clovers and flowers will grow. She also created the tradition of “keening” when her son Ruadan died in battle, a song-like wail used by women at funerals. In some cases she is also the goddess of sacred wells, springs and healing waters.  

History

Her name comes in different spellings like Brig, Brighid, Brigit, or Brigid but it means “Exalted one” or “Fiery arrows”. She is a goddess of Pre-christian Ireland but versions of her are found all over Europe; she has ties to Brigantia, a warrior goddess of the Brigantes tribe of Britain. She was a beloved goddess of the Celts and has survived through centuries including the Christianization of Ireland and the rest of Europe where most traces of Druidism and Paganism were forgotten. The people of Ireland loved her so much and refused to let her be demonized by the church -like the rest of the gods- that they converted her into a saint known as St. Brigid of Kildare. There are also three rivers named after her one in Ireland, Wales and England: Brigit, Braint and Brent.The river that runs through Wales is known to have healing properties.

Imbolc

Also known as Brigid’s day, Candlemas or St. Brigid’s feast, Imbolc is one of the four fire festivals in Celtic paganism and celebrates the return of spring. Since Brigid is the goddess of spring and was said to go away during the winter, people would light a candle in honor of her return. Offerings of milk, bread, and corn cakes were set out and a seat at the dinner table was left open for her presence.  Cows and sheep were seen as sacred to the goddess because they would provide milk for the town during the cold months and they would give birth around Imbolc. This festival celebrated the Maiden aspect of Brigid and young women would carry corn dollies dressed in white which represented the goddess. The women would also dress in white and attend a special feast for Imbolc where young suitors could mingle with the ladies. Imbolc is a time of fertility, cleansing and the light returning after a long winter.

Correspondences

Elements- Water & Fire

Animals- snakes, ewes, cows, bees, oxen, owls and hibernating animals. Vultures

Plants- blackberry, hawthorn, basil, mugwort, apple, heather, dandelion, snowdrop, willow, oak, shamrock, crocus, trillium, corn, lavender and sage. Personal one is cinnamon and chamomile.

Crystals- amethyst, bloodstone, carnelian, garnet, moonstone, clear quartz, and peridot.

Symbols- Brigid’s cross, candles, triquetra, faeries, four leaf clover, cauldron, chalice, corn dolly, anvil or hammer, poetry, forges, hearths, wells, rock formations.

Colours- green, red, white, gold and blue

Devotional Acts

offer her blackberries, baked goods, milk and honey or beer

dedicate a piece of your art to her like painting, knitting, singing, etc.

meditate with fire

savour the warmth of the sun or fire

incorporate the elements of water and fire into your craft

write her a poem

watch the sun rise

say hi to cows and sheep :)

hang a Brigid’s cross above your doorway for protection and blessings 

study healing magick, reiki, herbalism and faeries

wear the colours of fire or white

plant a bee garden

🕊16 days of Shadow Work

✨ Here are the prompts as I promised! They are timeless, whenever they find you, feel free to use them.

Feel free to share your thoughts with me!!

✧ Day 1 What do I need to stop running away from? Why am I always running away from this and what is going to happen if I face it head-on?

✧ Day 2 What is my definition of failure? What’s something that I have previously failed at and how did it make me feel? How can I deal with failure in a healthy way?

✧ Day 3 How do I lie to myself everyday? Why am I doing this and what am I trying to avoid?

✧ Day 4 If I could say one thing to the person who hurt me the most, what would it be and why? How would I feel afterwards? 

Keep reading

Components of a Spell

Intent

Intent is the most important component and is the starting point of any magical process. Part of manifesting your desires into reality is defining them clearly and empowering that thought. 

Making your intent specific is very important because it will help you avoid unwanted outcomes. Here are some examples of intents:

Weak: Protect me.

Better: Protect me from negative energy. 

Strong: Protect my mind, body, and spirit from negative energy while allowing good energy in. 

If you are less specific, you may find that you block of good energy as well as bad energy! The universe can also twist your words in ways you do not expect so be sure that your intent is clear.

General and simple intents may work for some practitioners but I recommend beginners strive to be specific. 

Everything from here on will be directly related to your intent.

Materials

Choosing materials sounds difficult but if you have a clear intent, it should not be too difficult. Having a book of shadows or notebook and taking notes on spell materials is very helpful to crafting spells. As a beginner, you may be overwhelmed by the wide variety of herbs, flowers, spices, and crystals. Try to focus on a few at a time and keep track of their associations. 

Pick materials that align with your intent. For example, if we are using the previous example you would want the following materials:

One that brings protection 

One that connects to the self or the mind/body/spirit

One that absorbs or deflects negative energy

One that welcomes positive energy

You do not necessarily need all of these materials, as when you are performing the spell you can compensate for this through your words or actions. 

Finding the correct components will involve research so be prepared! Your choices should be based on a combination of outside sources and personal experience. As you cast and create more spells you will become more advanced at using and choosing materials. 

Words

The words you choose to speak, sign, or think, when casting a spell should reflect your intent. Your spell does not have to rhyme but the rhythm of a rhyming poem can 1. make it easier to remember and 2. help you connect more deeply to your spirit. You can also use repetition to strengthen the spell and solidify your intent. 

If you are lacking in components, you should take great care in crafting your words. This is your chance to communicate to the universe what you want and need. 

I recommend researching different types of poetry and literary techniques. In a way, your poem is an offering to the universe as a thanks for empowering the spell. There is value in choosing beautiful and meaningful words to aid your spell. 

Actions

I find the actions people use when executing a spell vary depending on their religion and background. In the end, you have to go with your gut and choose actions that feel right to you. Some examples of actions you can take during a spell are as follows:

Kissing a component

Burning a material

Grinding or combining materials

Drawing shapes or sigils with your hands

Facing a specific direction 

Sitting, standing, walking

Dancing or physical exercise

As you can see, actions are much more open ended which I why they are difficult to explain. However, I can say that the actions you take can aid in adding power and energy to your spell. For example, dancing releases your physical energy which can charge your spell. 

Actions can also help you invoke specific spirits or deities. There is a reason many Christians make a cross motion when praying. The motions themselves are a symbol that invoke whatever power you are calling upon.

Conclusion

Much of spell-making is a personal process of research and discovery. But, hopefully this post gives you an idea of where to start! I invite people to add on to this post with other ideas and suggestions as well as critiques!

(image from pixabay)

simple daily crafts (i)

i don’t have access to most witch resources (herbs, crystals, divination tools, etc) so i often opt to incorporate simple witchcraft on my daily routines:

chanting a spell as i take a shower to cleanse my body and re-establish a layer of protection (great for witches who associate with water)

use spells to help my skin be clear and healthy as i do my skincare routine

draw sigils on foggy surfaces (eg. mirrors after a hot shower)

pour good intentions into my cooking (health, prosperity, etc for those who eat it)

enchant my drinks so they can help cleanse my body from the inside

get permission to eat edible offerings to impart the energy, strength, and wisdom of my deities/guardians/etc

use part salt water when i mop the floor to cleanse my space regularly

enchant my money so that when they’re with me, they keep my finances prosperous and when i use them they’ll help me earn more in the future (you can also enchant them so nobody can use them for “bad” purposes, curse those who steal it, etc the possibility is endless)

enchant and charge my detergent so when i wash my clothes, any energy that negatively impact me that stuck to them will be neutralized

use glamour spells when i put on my make up

cleanse my living space using smoke from incenses (usually ones i’ve offered to my patron deity, after getting their permission) and establish a layer of invisibility protection

use novels and textbooks i have for bibliomancy

basically enchant everything and anything cause there are no limits to this!

Cleanse your phone after an argument or after some other technology based nastiness:

Restart your phone

Play a song through your phone’s speakers (something happy that you like, or something more "banishing" like Hit The Road Jack or Bye Bye Bye. Whatever makes you feel it’s done it’s job)

Change your wallpaper

source

♡ yagogazali ♡

Taylor Swift - All Too Well (10 minute version)

“And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?”