Witches Sabbats: Lughnasadh

new witchy crafting 🌿

a wooden stick to symbolise the elements, to decorate my altar at the medival event this summer 🌞🌿 i love to collect and work with symbols.

Witchcraft as Religion

For a research paper in a Gender and Law in US History class where I want to analyze witchcraft as a religion (i.e. is it? if so, is it protected?, etc).

Hey you guys! I sent out a post a while ago asking for responses to some questions on views regarding witchcraft. However, this is more about the religion of witchcraft. Do you think it is a religion? Should it be protected by freedom of religion? etc etc. I am writing from a United States standpoint but I do appreciate all responses. I am not asking for names or email addresses. Thank you!!

(You don’t have to have responded to my earlier post to fill out this form)

🖤✨

!!!

Calling My Jewitches

I would love to hear some other Jewish polytheist’s and Jewish witches opinions on/experiences with Lilith. I’m trying to gain a more nuanced understanding of her but a lot of research is clogged and saturated with appropriation and traditional occultism, so I’d love to just talk to some other Jewish folks directly and pick their brain a little bit about who she is and what she means to *you!* Feel free to message me :3

New altar layout! I feel like I change it so much haha. This one is for Imbolc. I made sure to put lots of moss and clear Quartz to symbolize ice and the coming spring. Blessed Imbolc to everyone! 🌙🌿❄️

Types of Herbal Remedies

I’ve compiled a list of types of herbal remedies, with brief instructions on how to make them. Choose your herbs carefully, as some are poisonous, some will interfere with health problems and medications, and some can cause allergic reactions.

If you are concerned about any health issue you have, or worried about herbs reacting with your medications, go talk to your doctor. This post is not intended as medical advice.

Compress

This is usually cloth that has been soaked in a herbal infusion so that it can be applied topically. Useful for skin issues, muscle pain, joint pain, and general aches.

You can make one by soaking cotton wool in a warm infusion of your choice, wrapping the balls in a piece of clean cloth, and applying to the affected area. Once the cloth cools down you can soak it again in the warm tea and reapply.

Infusion

This is basically the herbalist term for tea. The herbs are usually dried and ground before being steeped in very hot water and then strained out. If you use a bag then you can skip the straining.

Tincture

This is similar to an infusion but much stronger, and with alcohol instead of water, which helps to preserve it.

Put your herbs in a jar. Cover them with alcohol (most people I know use vodka). Put the lid on the jar and shake it daily for a month or so, then strain the herbs out. I tend to keep mine in the little dropper bottles, as you normally don’t need to take much at once.

Decoction

I like to think of these as a stronger infusion. You need four times as much boiling water as dried herb, and you want to simmer the mixture for about half an hour before straining.

Syrup

These are herbs mixed with a sugary substance, which makes them easier to consume and helps to preserve them a little. They’re a good way to get your herbs in if you have a sore throat, as they are often quite soothing.

You’ll need a couple ounces of fresh herb per pint of water. Put them on the stove and heat until about half of the water has evaporated. Then you need to add about five tablespoons of sugar/honey/maple syrup per pint of water you used originally (so if you put two pints in the pan, you need ten tablespoons). Keep stirring for about twenty minutes, then take it off the heat and bottle it up. You need to keep syrups in the fridge, preferably in a dark coloured jar or bottle.

Balm

Essential oils and beeswax, basically. Add about twenty drops of essential oil to a cup of melted beeswax, stick it in a jar, let it cool, and there you go! You can mix in juiced herbs if you like, but that’s optional.

Salve

A salve is basically essential oils mixed with beeswax, oils and herbs. I have seen them made with coconut oil, though if you live in a warmer environment then coconut oil won’t work for you as it melts. You need about fifty/fifty dried herbs and beeswax (if you live somewhere warm) or use a mixture of beeswax and an oil like olive or safflower if you live somewhere colder, just so it’s soft enough to use. Use about twenty drops of oil per cup of beeswax. You’ll need to melt the wax in a double boiler, and let the herbs infuse in the molten wax for about half an hour. Then you add your essential oils, and pour the molten salve into the containers and let it cool.

Ointment

This is basically a liquid balm or salve. Follow the methods above, but use oil instead of beeswax.

Bath

When taking a herbal bath, you are basically making a giant cup of tea! Fill an organza bag with your chosen herbs, and put it in the bath while you run the water, then remove it before you get in. You can reuse the bag of herbs, but they lose potency with each use, so I try to avoid doing this.

Poultice

This is a paste of herbs and sometimes other things that is applied to the skin. Used for infections, splinters, burns, boils etc. They’re pretty simple to make, you just mix some dried herbs with a tiny bit of boiling water to form a paste, put it on the area, and use a piece of cloth or gauze to keep it there. If you want to use fresh herbs you just mash them up.

Fairy Tale Spells by Bree NicGarran

Fairy tales have always been with us. Apart from teaching moral lessons and practical cautions, they remain a source of wonder and inspiration that persists even in a modern age dominated by technology.

There is magic in these tales as well - spells and charms that aid the worthy and conquer obstacles, heal the ailing and bring wealth to the poor, thwart the wicked and exact terrible revenge, or grant someone their hearts' desire and make their dearest wishes come true.

I have created over a hundred such spells, inspired by the tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm and the folklore collected by Andrew Lang. One volume was published back in 2017 and another is forthcoming. If you're curious (and maybe a little bit daring), here are some previews of the spells to be found in the pages of The Sisters Grimmoire.

After all, who couldn’t use a bit of Happily Ever After?

The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I

A Bellyful of Stones - A curse to punish the greedy.

Roughskin - To protect and disguise oneself from those who mean to harm you.

Table of Plenty - To obtain needed money or provisions.

The Red Flower - For removing enchantment.

The Sorrow Pot - To relieve your sorrows and bring justice for a grievance.

The Wall of Thorns - To protect one’s home and property.

The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. II (forthcoming)

Make Sure You Lock Up - To set your household wards when you lock your front door.

The Ferryman's Curse - To curse another with the problems that plague your own life.

The Shining Web - To repel trouble from the home.

You can find more spells from The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I and potion and powder recipes from Pestlework by checking out the mid-month minisodes of Hex Positive, available on your favorite podcast platform.

All of my titles can be found on Amazon or ordered from the Willow Wings Witch Shop. (If you'd like to see them in your local witch shop, feel free to give the proprietor my contact information!)

If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar! 😊

Witchy Self Care & Mindfulness🌻🌿

Artwork by @CraftingWitch on Instagram

Everyday Magic 🌻✨

Witchcraft comes in all shapes and sizes, and so do us witches. We can’t all always afford the same items, time, energy, spaces to practice larger bouts of magic, and that can leave us feeling a little lost or sad that we haven’t practiced or performed anything.

But, don’t fear, little birds, because I have a whole list of different types of tiny magic practices and there’s definitely something here for everyone! Whether you don’t have many spoons or can’t scrape much cash together, there’s every day magic for you.

Kitchen Craft:

Sprinkle some dried herbs into your smoothies, pasta sauces, or dips to invoke their correspondences and intents

Stir clockwise to manifest intentions or anticlockwise to banish/let go of thoughts

Drink different herbal teas for different intents, like ginger tea for clarity and grounding

Coloured utensils! Keep different coloured pots, cups, or spoons to use in baking. Pink cups for love drinks, green spoons for money magic, and so on

Keep store bought dried herbs for spells if you struggle with/cannot have real plants

Draw sigils with the sauces you apply to your food

Make your own breads and sauces and turn the recipes into different spells

Home Craft:

Sprinkle a herb onto the floor and leave to sit for a few minutes before you vacuum to bless your home with that intent

Let a black candle burn by the front door to cleanse off negative energies which may have come through it

Light basil incense around the house for new beginnings and cleansing

Keep a money jar, and each time you add to it, make a wish for future prosperity. When you break it, spend the money you need to or give it away to the less fortune/charities to spread the fortune it brought you

Make essential oil sprays to spruce up a room with your intent easily, but be sure to do your research (here’s two to start you off)

Play calming playlists to re-energise your home, I personally like to use forest sounds

Hang herb bundles on doors to invite their intents in, like a bundle of basil and lavender for prosperous and positive new beginnings

Set out diffusers and match the number of sticks to an angel number you wish to invoke, such as four for support and family

Bathroom Craft:

Soaps and shampoos with scents/ingredients/colours matching what you wish to invoke

Add petals or herbs to your bath to bless yourself in their intents

Sing chants, songs and poems in the shower about how you want your day to go

Carve sigils and runes into your bars of soaps

Draw sigils into the smoked up glass and mirrors

Keep a white flannel for cleaning the bathroom, and could even put herbs or magic water onto whilst doing so

Sleep Craft:

You can put any manner of things under your pillow to invoke their intents, from sigils to leaves to crystals to money

Read a story before bed similar to what you want to manifest into your own life, such as a love story or a poem about being courageous

Sleep with a playlist with calms you to ease yourself into rest when you’re struggling

Say goodnight to your guides or ancestors!

If possible and healthy, wake up to an alarm at an angel number to ‘fit’ your day to that energy, for instance, if you have to get up at 6am, try 5:55 instead

Travel Craft:

Pack yourself a mini witch kit if you don’t have access to your things. You can include mini herb hard, micro crystals, a small pen and paper, string, and a small birthday candle, for instance

Talk to your guides and beings in this time in your mind to wish them well and ask them for advice or to accompany you if you wish

Take a moment to listen to the natural bustling world around you between having your headphones on

Say any prayers you wish to give in your mind at this time

Trace sigils on the windows or surfaces around you

Write sigils into your shoes for safe travel and unsore feet

Wear crystal pendants associated with safe travel

You can learn on the go! Whether it’s books, blogs, or podcasts, this would be a good time to dedicate to learning new craft

Work Craft:

A desk plant is still a plant, and you can use it as a spell of growth in your career

Bring lunch with you that you’ve magically prepared at home (kitchen magic above!)

If you’re someone who doodles as they work, but you don’t want to be told off or caught, keep an empty pen for drawing out invisible sigils (but make sure it’s really empty)

Keep spell sachets for success at the bottom of your work bag

Garden/Nature Craft:

Collecting ethically and sustainably can take a lot of research, so when you’re unsure, simply use the ‘discards’ rule. Take only what you see is discarded by nature, such as broken off stems or fallen wilted flower heads, sticks from the ground, or leaves also. Be sure you know if they’re safe to use, touch, or eat though

In your own garden, plant all year round and native plants if you don’t have much time for upkeep

Use food waste as compost for your plants! This is an easy way to recycle otherwise landfilled food waste whilst also giving your plants a nutritional meal for them. Take a read here about composting.

Keep window boxes for your plants if space is an issue, or even a vertical plant holder

Strolling/being in nature, parks, and gardens is a brilliantly way to recharge you and your tools

Art Craft:

Paint your dreams and what you wish to manifest

Sing songs about your desires and wishes

Work with colours reflecting the intentions you wish to invoke

Before using a canvas, lightly wash it down in magic water with any herbs or spices which reflect your intent for the piece you’re making

Weave your crystals into pendulums and jewellery to bond with them

Sew sigils into the inside of your clothing or bags

Sew a dried herb pouch into the inside of a bag or coat to bless it with these things (but be sure to do so properly and not let it get wet to avoid mould)

Write letters and poems to the universe thanking it or asking for blessings

Divination Craft:

A pendulum can be made out of anything and string. Whilst crystals and pure metals and such are nice, don’t overlook a metal key or a beach stone

You can make your own deck, tarot or oracle, and it can be as detailed or not detailed as you like

Homemade runes can be made in an oven! Hunt around for people’s various different methods of home cast runes

Your own body can be a pendulum if you concentrate on the question and allow your sway to take you

If you’re a scryer, you don’t need a crystal ball, a regular mirror can work with your technique, but always do your research on the method nonetheless

Keeping PDFs on meanings is 100% valid, okay, and actually a really wise thing to do! They can help look at your spreads in a way you didn’t initially see

You can pull a card a day without having a set question

Sunlight and moonlight can charge your decks

Selenite is known to be a good charger for any and all tools

28 Days of Devotional Journaling

This is a simple journaling challenge/exercise that I’ve put together that helps to explore and connect with chosen deity. The rules are simple: Choose a deity to work with, then for the next 28 days, complete one prompt per day. It’s that simple!

1. List all the various names of your deity, in your language and in the original language.

2. Write an epithet for your deity and write why you think it is befitting of them.

3. What is your favorite myth involving your chosen deity? Are there any retellings or interpretations that you prefer to the original?

4. Show off your favorite picture, drawing or moodboard that represents perfectly how you view your deity.

5. List any keywords and symbols that are associated with your deity. How do you feel about these words and symbols?

6. Build an altar, no matter how big or small, to your deity. If you are unable to do this, write or draw what you would have on that altar in your journal.

7. Make a list of Hymns or prayers, traditional or original, that you prefer.

8. In any form you choose, list any messages that you have received from them.

9. What are your deity’s correspondences? 

10. What was considered sacred to your deity?

11. What are the worship days/holidays/popular celebrations associated with your deity?

12. Make a list of offering ideas

13. Write a playlist dedicated to your deity.

14. What locations or places are sacred to your deity?

15. Make a list of quotes that you associate with your deity.

16. What signs do you associate with them? How do you know when they communicate with you?

17. What are some activities, charities or other causes that you can do in their name to honor them?

18. Make a list of drinks and foods that your deity likes. Write down your favorite “modern” recipes.

19. Using the Five Senses, how would you describe your deity?

20. Write a ritual dedicated to them. This can be ceremonial or a routine.

21. What are some of the lessons that you are taught by the stories told about your deity?

22. Are there any media representations of your deity? What is your favorite?

23. What are some popular “modern” ways to honor your deity?

24. Write about their realm of influence. What all does your deity rule over?

25. What are some modern issues that would concern your deity?

26. Are there any other deities that your deity is often associated/confused with?

27. Who are the relatives of your deity? What is there most significant relationships?

28. What are your own personal practices to honor your deity?