Poem For Sabbats

🔔 BELLS IN WITCHCRAFT 🔔

Bells might just be the earliest form of superstitious practise that I remember. My baba attached three sakura-patterned suzu bells on my schoolbag as a kid, purportedly for good luck and protection from evil spirits – and Japan is far from the only place to have associated bells and bellringing with mystic practise. They’ve been used worldwide to ward off evil and carry messages – and in a more metaphysical sense, sound is the movement of energy through substance. Sounds have the potential to work powerful magic.

Here are some of the ways I’ve found utilising bells to be helpful to my craft. While I’m more likely to use traditional suzu type bells, your own background, path and culture will likely have its own types of bells – and as ever, bells can be ornate antiques or they can be a bottle cap in a tin can, as long as they’re used with intent.

GETTING STARTED

🔔 As with so much of the craft, if you’re new to the witching bell, it’s a matter of exploration and experimentation. Get a “feel” for what works for you and the specific bell you’re using.

🔔 It’s good practise to ensure that the bell itself is cleansed, warded and protected – you don’t want anything nasty tapping into that power. All witching tools can do as much harm as good, intentional or accidental.

🔔 A good way to begin incorporating bells into your craft is infuse them into any typical ritual that you’re comfortable with, or even just a prayer or moment of contemplation at your altar if you have one.

🔔 Give the bell a soft ring while focusing on the energy it’ll ripple and move, try to track the movements it creates and what it touches. The tone it’s sending out.  The most primal and versatile use of the bell – and what many of the below come down to – is simply another manner of physically channelling energy, giving it shape and direction.

PROTECTION

🔔 “Passive” bells such as windchimes or small bells attached to belongings you don’t want disturbed are a starting point. They will scare off some forms of spirit all by themselves, especially if appropriately blessed, charmed or enchanted. Or cursed.

🔔 Gently tolling can draw energy into a ward or circle you are forming and enforce its protective properties, or for a simple cleanse, letting the sound travel to every corner of the area you are protecting. It’s a little more “cutting” than a smoke or incense cleansing, which I view as more “gentle” forms of cleansing. Both have their uses.

🔔 Harder tolling is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful ways in which to enforce a banishing – however, it’s best to you know what you’re doing with the bell before you go bashing it about.

DISCERNMENT

🔔 Bells can have quite the effect on your perception and awareness. Ringing and then stopping, listening to the silence left in its wake, can bring you new perceptions or make things you’d previously missed obvious. Let it attune your mind and senses to something new, whether that’s in your thoughts or something with a little more presence. Visualise travelling with the sound, taking heed of the energies it touches and disturbs. Take note of the echoes – you’ll learn what they mean with experience.

🔔 A set of windchimes can let you know if something is passing through or if there’s some unusual energy afoot – and, yes, it may also just be letting you know that it’s a particularly breezy day, but that’s witchcraft for you.

CONJURING

🔔 This can be as simple as calling good energies to witching tools, spell jars, tarot decks, crystals, altars and shrines, your favourite teddy bar, anything at all.

🔔 With spirit work, it can truly help to magnify your “calling”. This can range from gently bringing your latest offering to the attention of your friendly neighbourhood house spirit – all the way to trying to catch the attention of something more. Be mindful, however. As I said, I consider bells pretty powerful tools and a call that’s too loud is not good spirit work practise for the spirit worker’s own sake. It can really help coax something out of hiding if you’re gentle with it, though.

COMMUNING

🔔 Some use bells to mark the beginning and end of a ritual, and I’ve read that in Wiccan practise an altar bell can be used to invoke the Goddess, although as a non-Wiccan, I’ll welcome corrections on that if I’m wrong.

🔔 In my experience, very simple forms of communication via bell work a lot better than anything too complex – “come here” and “stay away” have already been covered, and other than that they can serve as greetings or signals of a start or end of some practise or ritual, the opening or closing of a door, etc.

🔔 They can also serve as a warning or a litmus test regarding spirits, a signalling of your presence and awareness, lack of fear, or willingness to defend – but be prepared to deal with whatever responses these garner.

BINDING

🔔 Bindings are where you most often see that famous (clockwise) circular motion of the bell, embodying the meaning of the spell. This can be a simple binding to seal a spell or charm or enchantment, or a spirit-binding.

🔔 Personally, spirit-binding is something I do as little as possible simply due to my beliefs holding the autonomy of spirits in very high regard. However, sometimes situations arise that call for it, and I’m aware that not all bindings are unwilling. Far from it – and some spirits are dangerous when unbound.

🔔 As an animist (believing that all things, including inanimate objects, contain a spirit of their own), I consider gently nudging a spirit back into its physical form a sort of semi-binding, and that can be useful.

I’ll leave you all with a note that I am an urban apartment-dwelling witch through and through, so I understand that we can’t all be jangling away at all hours. I myself have a glass windchime in my front window that makes a distinct but muted sound when disturbed by passers-through, and highly recommend wooden ones also. I also only use my small and relatively quiet suzu bell for my crafting – one given to me by my baba herself.

Feel free to add any of your own findings, and happy tolling.

Small Candle Spells

Not every witch has the means to collect tons of exotic ingredients.   Sometimes, all you have is a candle and a wish.  So, I have put together 10 small candle spells.  (The types of candles I am talking about are tea lights or small, tapered little fellas.  Relatively cheap and easy to use!)  Hope this becomes a resource for you all!  Let’s get started!  <3 Salt

BLACK CANDLE:  Protection

You will need:

One Black Candle

Sheet of Paper

Pen/Pencil

Spellwork:

Write down what it is you wish to protect, be it your home, your family, yourself, etc.

Light the candle.

Chant the following ten times:

By the time this black candle has waned, the blessing of protection be gained by all that fall beneath its wax be safely guarded from attack. Until the next waxing moon appears, protect all that I have written here.

Allow the candle to burn completely down and the wax to spread across the paper. 

Fold it and keep it until the next waxing moon.

Repeat as often as needed.

WHITE CANDLE:  Spirit Communication

You will need:

One White Candle

Photo of the Person you wish to speak to

Spellwork:

Before bed, light the white candle and focus on the flame.  Let’s its warmth ignite the love you feel for the person you wish to communicate with.

Say their name allowed.  Speak of the memories you have with them.  Let the memory of them come to life in your mind.

When you are ready, recite the following spell:

Before I rest my head for the night, I ask that my heart’s call to you, (say their name), be answered. In dreams, let us be together again and share the embrace of love. I await your visit and, for it, you have my deepest thanks.

Blow out the candle and visualize their face in your mind’s eye.

Once the wax has cooled, place it and the picture together near your bed.  You are free to sleep.  Enjoy the visit!

PINK CANDLE:  Self-Love

You will need:

One Pink Candle

Piece of paper (cut into a heart shape)

Pencil or pen

Spellwork:

On the heart paper, write down the positive aspects and assets you have.  It can be anything (from pretty eyes to being compassionate.)  Fill up the paper and fold it into a half heart.

Hold it in your hands and shut your eyes.  Deeply breathe, and focus on your pulse and the things you wrote.  Focus on yourself.

Recite the following incantation:

I am who I am flawed, challenging, human I am who I am soulful, in communion with the universe I am who I will be ever-changing and growing And I bow to the purpose that resides in me.

Light the heart paper on fire, allow it to turn to ash, and blow out the candle.

Anoint your forehead and the center of your chest with hearts made of ash.  Meditate on the self and what your purpose might me.

Anytime you feel the need to revisit self-love, use the ashes and light the candle again.

PURPLE CANDLE:  Accessing Gifts and Talents

You will need:

One Purple Candle

Spellwork:

On the night of the New Moon, sit in a quiet, dark room.  Light your candle and concentrate on expelling all the static energy from your mind.  

Focus on your the gifts you would like to explore.  An example?  If you are drawn to Tarot, have your deck nearby and envision yourself shuffling the cards.

Repeat the following chant 13 times:

My mind is clear, my heart is too Reveal my gifts, deep and true

Open your eyes and stare into the flame.  Let the fire of inspiration illuminate the talent you want to access.

Invoke the gift by whispering:

On this night, and all nights to come, I will open myself to this ancient power and allow discovery of my true potential.

Blow out the candle and keep by your bedside.  When you practice a gift or talent, light it until there is no more wax.

ORANGE CANDLE:  Calling Your Inner Child

You will need:

One Orange Candle

Divinatory Tool (Suggest: Tarot or Oracle cards)

Spellwork:

Light the orange candle and begin shuffling your cards.

When you feel that you have shuffled enough, hold the cards in your hand and focus on the flames.

Say the following spell:

Bring future to past with this candle’s light and provide for me childish insight. One card to tell me of my woes, another about the child within, a third cast to bring us together so that we may begin again.

Draw three cards.  The first will represent your position right now (who you are and what you have been going through); the second will represent your inner child and what insights they can provide through their innocence.  The third and final card will show you what will happen if you allow the present you and your inner child join together.

Light the candle whenever you need guidance from your inner child again.

LIGHT BLUE CANDLE:  Fortune and Glory

You will need:

One Light Blue Candle

Money (coins or paper money)

An Award or piece of Recognition (trophy, certificate, etc.)

Spellwork:

Anytime on a Sunday (the day where workings for wealth, achievement, goals, and promotions correspond), place your candle between your representations of fortune and glory.

Put one hand on each item, and say:

I humbly ask for the Universe and all the powers within it to look upon these representations of fortune and glory.  I light this candle to honor you and ask for the following blessings…

Light your candle and return your hands to rest on your items.  Recite:  

By the light of this flame, sweet fortune I do claim.   Wealth and wisdom I do gain. By warmth of this flame, glory granted to my name. Recognition I do gain.

Allow the candle to burn until there is no more wax.  Collect what is left, store in a jar, and keep in a place you conduct business.

YELLOW CANDLE:  Invoking the Spirit of Air

You will need:

One Yellow Candle

Spellwork:

At 3 PM, go outside and bathe in the light of the middle of the day.  Light your candle and place it in front of you.

Fisting your hands, place them on either side of the candle and say the following incantation:

Here and now, I call the element of Air.  Summer breeze and roaring wind, echoing melody and lifting wings, ever-dancing.  I call you forth to infuse my intention with your swirling fits of both song and silence.  Carry my will on your back and raise my purpose into your sky.  Breath and cloud, sound and song.  Air, I call you to me.

Open your fists and allow for the spirit of Air to translate through your palms and into your center.

Let the candle burn for five minutes and then blow it out, keeping it when you need it again.

GREEN CANDLE:  Invoking the Spirit of Earth

You will need:

One Green Candle

Spellwork:

At night, go outside and bathe in the light of the moon.  Light your candle and place it in front of you.

Fisting your hands, place them on either side of the candle and say the following incantation:

Here and now, I call the element of Earth.  Soil of fertility and growth, fecund source of stability, stillness and health.  I call you forth to filter away all that is impure, and to stand rooted in this world.  Mountain and dust, footstep and stone.  Earth, I call you to me.

Open your fists and allow for the spirit of Earth to translate through your palms and into your center.

Let the candle burn for five minutes and then blow it out, keeping it when you need it again.

DARK BLUE CANDLE:  Invoking the Spirit of Water

You will need:

One Blue Candle

Spellwork:

At twilight, go outside and bathe in the light of the fading sun.  Light your candle and place it in front of you.

Fisting your hands, place them on either side of the candle and say the following incantation:

Here and now, I call the element of Water.  Tranquil and powerful, rippling and deep, abundant resource of life.  I call you here to infuse my intention.  Wash my will in your flow, carry my purpose on your current.  Dewdrop and lake, clarity and storm.  Water, I call you to me.

Open your fists and allow for the spirit of Water to translate through your palms and into your center.

Let the candle burn for five minutes and then blow it out, keeping it when you need it again.

RED CANDLE:  Invoking the Spirit of Fire

You will need:

One Red Candle

Spellwork:

At sunrise, go outside and bathe in the light of the new dawn.  Light your candle and place it in front of you.

Fisting your hands, place them on either side of the candle and say the following incantation:

Here and now, I call the element of Fire.  Heat and flame, passion and love, anger and wildfire.  I call you forth to burn away all that impedes my highest vision and to enact change in the world.  Lightning and hearth, heart and forge.  Fire, I call you to me.

Open your fists and allow for the spirit of fire to translate through your palms and into your center.

Let the candle burn for five minutes and then blow it out, keeping it when you need it again.

Weird Little Habits That Are Actually Magick

Knocking on wood Blowing on dandelion seeds Using a fallen eyelash to make a wish Kissing under mistletoe Throwing spilled salt over your left shoulder Don’t put shoes on the table/bed Don’t open an umbrella indoors Finding four leaf clovers for luck Carving jack-o-lanterns Wearing masks/costumes on Halloween Using flower petals to play ‘Love-me, Love-me-not’ Wishing on a falling star

That’s all I can think of at the moment, add more!

Fixed Signs - Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius:

Have trouble asking and accepting help. They don't want to compromise a position of control or their independence by revealing any weak spots that could relegate them, or have people questioning their competence, resilience, or state of mind. But it's all just a scenario in this cyclic head. People usually see them as being stronger and more capable by virtue of letting their defences down, sharing truthfully, exposing vulnerabilities, and reaching out for help

Common Toxic Herbs and their Effects

This is not a complete list by any means, but these commonly noted plants, herbs, and flowers should be handled with care or avoided altogether. 

Aconite (Wolfsbane, Monkshood) - all parts: dermatoxic, hepatotoxic, and neurotoxic

Adam and Eve (Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Wild Arum) - root: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic if ingested

African Sumac - leaves: dermatoxic; possibly fatal

Agave - juice: dermatoxic  

Angel’s Trumpet - all parts: cardiotoxic; often fatal

Apple - seeds: cytotoxic in large doses

Apricot - leaves and seeds: cytotoxic in large doses

Arnica - gastrotoxic 

Asparagus - berries: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic if ingested

Azalea - all parts: cytotoxic and neurotoxic; rarely fatal

Betel Nut Palm (Pinyang) - all parts: gastrotoxic if ingested

Bittersweet Nightshade - all parts: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic; rarely fatal

Black Hellebore - all parts: cardiotoxic and gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Black Locust (False Acacia) - root bark and flowers: gastrotoxic

Black Nightshade - all parts except ripe fruit: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Bleeding Heart - leaves and roots: neurotoxic

Bloodroot - rhizomes: cytotoxic

Blue Passion Flower (Common Passion Flower) - leaves: cytotoxic

Bracken - all parts: carcinogenic

Buttercup - all parts: gastrotoxic and dermatoxic 

Calabar Bean (Ordeal Beans) - seeds: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic if ingested in large doses

Cassava - leaves and roots: cytotoxic in large doses

Castor Bean (Castor Oil Plant) - seeds: cytotoxic if ingested or inhaled

Celandine - nephrotoxic 

Cherry - leaves and seeds: cytotoxic in large doses

Christmas Rose - all parts: gastrotoxic

Cocklebur - seedlings and seeds: gastrotoxic and neurotoxic

Columbine - seeds and roots: cardiotoxic; easily fatal

Corn Lily (False Hellebore) - all parts: cardiotoxic; often fatal

Cowbane (Water Hemlock, Snakeweed) - root: neurotoxic if ingested

Daffodil - bulbs and stems: gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Datura/Moonflower - all parts: gastrotoxic and cardiotoxic

Deadly Nightshade (Belladonna) - all parts: cardiotoxic and neurotoxic; often fatal

Desert Rose (Sabi Star, Kudu) - sap: cardiotoxic with skin contact

Dumbcane - all parts: dermatoxic; possibly fatal

Elder (Elderberry) - root: gastrotoxic

Elephant Ear (Angel Wings) - all parts: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic

Ergot - neurotoxic 

Foxglove - leaves, seeds, and flowers: cardiotoxic; often fatal

Garlic - all parts: gastrotoxic in some animals

Giant Hogweed - all parts: dermatoxic

Golden Chain - all parts, especially seeds: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Goldenseal - all parts: gastrotoxic and neurotoxic in large doses

Grapes/Raisins - all parts: gastrotoxic in dogs

Greater Celandine - all parts: gastrotoxic in large doses

Hemlock (Spotted Cowbane, Poison Snakeweed) - all parts: neurotoxic; possibly fatal

Hemlock Water Dropwort - roots: neurotoxic if ingested; possibly fatal

Henbane - all parts: neurotoxic and cardiotoxic

Holly - berries: gastrotoxic

Honeybush - all parts: gastrotoxic

Honeysuckle - berries: gastrotoxic in mild cases and cardiotoxic in severe cases

Horse Chestnut - all parts: neurotoxic

Hyacinth - bulbs: gastrotoxic and neurotoxic; possibly fatal

Iris - rhizomes: gastrotoxic and dermatoxic 

Jequirity (Crab’s Eye, Rosary Pea) - seeds: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic; often fatal

Kava Kava - nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic 

Kidney Bean - raw: gastrotoxic

Larkspur - young plants and seeds: neurotoxic; often fatal

Lemon - oil: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic to animals  

Lily - all parts: nephrotoxic

Lily of the Nile (Calla Lily) - all parts: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic if ingested; possibly fatal

Lily of the Valley - all parts: cardiotoxic; possibly fatal

Lima Beans - raw: gastrotoxic

Lime - oil: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic in animals

Lobelia - all parts: gastrotoxic 

Mandrake - roots and leaves: gastrotoxic and neurotoxic

Mango - peel and sap: dermatoxic

Mangrove - bark and sap: dermatoxic and eye irritation

Mayapple - all green parts and unripe fruit: gastrotoxic

Meadow Saffron (Autumn Crocus) - bulbs: gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Mistletoe - leaves and berries: gastrotoxic, cardiotoxic, and neurotoxic; rarely lethal in adults

Moonseed - fruits and seeds: gastrotoxic; often fatal

Mountain Laurel - all green parts: gastrotoxic

Nutmeg - raw: psychoactive in large doses

Oak - leaves and acorns: gastrotoxic; rarely fatal

Odollam Tree (Suicide Tree) - seeds: cardiotoxic; often fatal

Oleander - all parts: dermatoxic, cardiotoxic, and gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Onions - all parts: gastrotoxic in animals

Orange - oil: dermatoxic and gastrotoxic in animals

Peach - seeds and leaves: cytotoxic in large doses

Pokeweed - raw leaves, berries, and roots: gastrotoxic and dermatoxic; often fatal

Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac - all parts, especially leaves: dermatoxic; possibly fatal

Poison Ryegrass (Darnel) - seeds: neurotoxic

Potato - raw: cytotoxic

Privet - berries and leaves: neurotoxic and gastrotoxic; possibly fatal

Ragwort - all parts: hepatotoxic

Redoul - all parts: gastrotoxic, neurotoxic, and causes respiratory issues; can be fatal in children

Rhubarb - leaves: nephrotoxic

Skullcap - hepatotoxic

Spindle (Spindle Tree) - fruit: hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic; possibly fatal  

Stinging Tree (Gympie Gympie) - bark and sap: dermatoxic; sometimes fatal

Strychnine Tree - seeds: neurotoxic; often fatal

Sweet Pea - seeds: neurotoxic and damaging to connective tissues

Tomato - leaves and stems: cytotoxic in large doses

Uva Ursi - neurotoxic, dermatoxic 

White Baneberry (Doll’s Eyes) - all parts, especially berries: cardiotoxic; possibly fatal

White Snakeroot - all parts: gastrotoxic; often fatal

Winter Cherry (Jerusalem Cherry) - all parts, especially berries: gastrotoxic; occasionally fatal, especially to children

Wisteria - gastrotoxic

Yew (English Yew, Common Yew) - leaves and seeds: gastrotoxic if ingested and respiratory issues if inhaled

definitions of terms used in this list: 

carcinogenic - a substance that can cause cancer

cardiotoxic - toxic to the heart 

cytotoxic - toxic to living cells

dermatoxic - toxic to the skin

gastrotoxic - toxic to the gastrointestinal system (stomach, intestines, etc.)

hepatotoxic - toxic to the liver

nephrotoxic - toxic to the kidneys and urological system (ureters, bladder)

neurotoxic - toxic to the neurological system (brain, nerves, brainstem, spinal cord, etc.)

psychoactive - pertaining to substances that change brain function and result in alterations in perception, mood, or consciousness

last updated: 6-29-2016

Herbal Correspondences for Vegan Witches (Or any Witches really)

Activated Charcoal- cleansing, purification, grief, health (banishing serious illness)

Allspice- determination, money, luck, healing

Almond- fertility, Goddess energy, beauty, self-love, prosperity, addiction, abundance

Anise- protection, warding against evil, preventing nightmares, psychic ability, happiness

Basil- money, beauty, protection, love, warding

Bay Leaf- money, motivation, protection, psychic powers, wish fulfillment, success, purification

Black Pepper- banishing, protection, exorcism, healing (from a serious illness/banishing said illness)

Brewer’s Yeast- motherhood, femininity, warding against illness

Cashew- money, creativity

Cardamom- lust/libido, love, fidelity

Cayenne Pepper- catalyst, lust/ libido, confidence

Celery- fertility, psychic powers, healing (especially of the bladder, kidneys, and urinary tract), weight loss

Chamomile- sleep, stress relief, love, beauty, friendship, meditation, luck, libido (mostly women)

Chia Seed- protection, health

Chili Powder- protection, hex breaking, love, fidelity

Chives- protection, weight loss

Chlorella- purification, cleansing, health

Cilantro- money, protection, peace

Cinnamon- catalyst, spirituality, beauty, love, lust, romance, healing, strength, protection, psychic ability

Clove- catalyst, beauty, love, protection (especially for children)

Cocoa Powder- beauty, health, love, self-love, grounding, romance, sex, powder, enhances hot herbs

Coconut- strength, love, beauty, protection

Coffee- grounding, protection, spirituality, energy (if caffeinated), dispelling negativity

Coriander- love, health, protection, easing pain of a broken heart,

Cumin- energy, protection, exorcism, protection from theft, love, fidelity, masculine energy

Dandelion- communicating with the dead, health, weight loss, wish fulfillment, divination, luck

Dill- money, prosperity, luck, lust, protection (especially the home)

Dulse- lust, harmony, sea magick

Fennel- health (especially digestion), protection, money, banishing, strength, vitality, libido

Fenugreek- health (women’s issues), friendship, happiness, calming, feminine energy, libido, money

Flax Seed- fertility, health, protection (especially from sickness), divination, money

Garlic- health, banishing, protection, purification, warding, willpower,

Ginger- catalyst, energy, adventure, health, confidence, lust/libido, prosperity, success, protection

Hemp- fertility, intuition, motivation, peace, harmony, stress relief

Hibiscus- health, love, beauty, heart

Holy Basil- opens heart to love, stress relief, healing, balance, grounding

Jalapeno- energy, catalyst, money, abundance

Kelp- health, money, weight loss, sea magick

Lavender- stress relief, sleep, anti-anxiety, meditation, love, depression, peace, harmony

Lemon- health, beauty, love, lust, cleansing, purification, sun magick, removing negativity,

Lemon grass- psychic cleansing, opening the Third Eye, focus, mental clarity

Licorice- love, lust, fidelity, communicating with the dead, health (digestive system)

Lime- purification, protection, harmony, calmness, tranquility, strengthening love

Maca- fertility, vitality, energy, balance, love

Maple- love, friendship, luck, happiness, wealth

Marjoram- beauty, luck, wealth, grief, cleansing, purification, warding, strengthening love, protection

Mint, Pepper- health, protection, ward off migraines, wealth, bringing about change, love, abundance

Mint, Spear- health, protection, happiness, wealth, communicating with spirits

Miso- health, prosperity, communicating with the dead, friendship

Mustard- courage, faith, endurance, success, luck, happiness

Nettle- grouding, health (especially allergies), banishing negativity, cleansing

Nori- health, harmony

Nutmeg- beauty, prosperity, money, luck, hex breaking, mental acuity

Nutritional Yeast- health, happiness, love, addiction

Oat- fertility, health, earth magick, sacred to Brighid

Onion- protection, health, banishing, warding, bad habits, prosperity

Orange- energy, emotional healing, beauty, health, love, friendship

Oregano- health, beauty, joy, energy, strength

Paprika- catalyst, energy, hexing (I don’t hex, but you do you)

Paprika, smoked- power, see Paprika

Parsley- money, luck, success, health, weight loss

Pecan- employment and career, success, security,

Red Pepper- catalyst, love, lust, confidence

Rice- rain, fertility, money, protection

Rose- beauty, love, honoring the dead, friendship, happiness, healing

Rosemary- mental clarity, focus, memory, health, love, lust, purification

Saffron- happiness, mental health, love, lust, psychic ability, addiction, weight loss

Sage- cleansing, purification, grief, wisdom, spirituality, mental clarity, protection, grounding

Salt- cleansing, purification, grounding, protection, banishing, earth magick

Sesame Seed- money, lust, passion

Soy- spirituality, psychic ability, fertility, intuition, grounding

Spirulina- health, wealth, energy

Sugar- beauty, sweeten attitudes, love, sex, drawing spells

Tamarind- love, health, happiness, family, protection (from illness)

Tea, black- energy, strength, courage, confidence

Tea, green- energy, health, weight loss, beauty, confidence

Tea, white- beauty, harmony, peace, health, tranquility

Thyme- money, protection, luck, grief, honoring the dead, grounding, glamours, confidence, loyalty

Turmeric- health (especially dealing with serious illness), happiness,

Vanilla- beauty, love, friendship, passion

Vinegar- protection, warding, weight loss, hexing, banishing illness

Walnut- connection with the divine, spirituality, mental strength, divination

Watercress- health, sex, lunar magick

• 🍯 Honey Magick 🍯 •

Honey

Honey is a natural substance created by bees within their hives. The hive consists of primarily female bees, which will leave the hive to collect nectar from flowers and then return to transform this nectar into sugary honey for later consumption.

Humans have been collecting honey since 8000 BC, and it has been utilized by nearly every culture across the globe for food, healing, and spiritual purposes.

Honey is universally considered a talisman of prosperity, beauty, health, and sweetness, and it can be utilized in all of these types of witchcraft.

Prosperity

Honey is a representation of abundance: its primary use in nature is as a stored source of food to be used in times of hardship, both for bees and for humans. It is also created from the nectar of flowers, imbuing it with the energies of the Sun and springtime. As such, it can be added to spells for wealth, abundance, fertility, or prosperity in order to amplify the effects and create surplus in your life.

Beauty

Sympathetic Magick states that an object’s physical qualities are reminiscent of its spiritual properties. Honey is golden, pleasing to the eye, and sweet. On its own or added to face masks, it can cleanse, nourish, and moisturize the skin. It can also be added to beauty or glamour spells in order to add a sweet glow to your energy.

Healing

Honey has been used to treat wounds since the time of the Ancient Egyptians. Its viscosity and moisture creates a moist seal around a wound. It also contains natural antibacterial properties, providing a stable and sterile environment for wounds to heal in. Metaphysically, honey can be added to protection spells or wards in order to create an environment of positivity and sterility, and can also be added to healing spells in order to strengthen the recovery process.

Sweetness

Honey is appealing to humans and animals because, above all else, it is sweet. One of honey’s most ancient uses - utilized in magical practices ranging from Egyptian to Greek to Voudoo - is to add ‘sweetness’ to a spell.

It can be added to glamour magick to make the illusion more easily accepted. It can be added to curses in order to make the energy seem harmless when entering the target’s life. It can be added to money spells or job spells in order to ‘sweeten the deal’. It can be added to love or sex spells in order to sweeten a relationship or conjure an appealing partner. In general, it can be added to any spell to make the effects more pleasant and inviting.

Offering

Honey’s final use is especially helpful to witches who work with nature spirits, fairies, the Dead, or deities. Honey contains a very pleasing, warm, Sun-type energy, and therefore it is extremely enticing to spirits. Since the time of the Ancient Egyptians, honey has been used as an offering that symbolizes the utmost love, care, and respect.

Honey can be drizzled onto a candle and burned. It can be drizzled into a body of water or directly onto the earth. Most commonly, it can be drizzled into an offering bowl (or on top of an offering meal) and left outside, in a graveyard, or on an altar. Because it is excellent at preserving itself, offerings of honey can be left somewhere for prolonged periods of time without worry of it spoiling, which is extremely helpful to forgetful witches (like me) or witches with long-term altars.

So, all in all, honey is maybe one of the most underrated magical ingredients, and I hope this post got some of you hip to honey magick.

Happy Witching 🕉

Medical School Resources! (and other human biology,physiology,biochemistry-related resources)

Hi Everyone! 

Update: I am now officially done with my second year! I know i’ve been MIA on here for a while now - but that’s only because I was drowning in textbooks and assignments! I will be writing a whole other post on what my second year in medical school was like - so watch out for that :)

I, for one, can not just rely on one method of learning. Meaning, I’ll jump from videos, to textbooks, to flashcards. In this post I’m going to list some of my holy grail youtube channels that have helped saved me. 

1) Handwritten Tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/user/harpinmartin

Every video in this channel is short, but not so much that you feel like you’re missing out on information. Definitely one to save as a favourite!

2) Armando Hasudungan

https://www.youtube.com/user/armandohasudungan

The best thing about this channel is the fact that there are over 300 videos, covering a wide range of core topics in endocrinology, neurology, physiology and pharmacology. Another pro is the presentation of topics (otherwise considered snooze-worthy) in an artistic manner!

3) Speed Pharmacology

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-i2EBYXH6-GAglvuDIaufQ

Raise your hand if you’ve ever fallen asleep trying to read about the mechanism of action of opioids, their side effects and contraindications. I know I have. Fret not, for this youtube channel will introduce you to a world where pharmacology is actually interesting.

4) Wendy Riggs 

https://www.youtube.com/user/wendogg1

Wendy Riggs is a very down-to-earth professor in Northern California, and she covers a wide range of  topics in Anatomy, Physiology and General Biology. 

5) Anatomy Zone

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheAnatomyZone

A better way to learn anatomy is to supplement your textbook information with videos from this channel. The explanations and visuals provided are absolute gold.

I hope you all find these channels as helpful as I did!

Aries Sun: Ego can be self-centered, all about action and individuality. Ego needs fuel from praise, attention, and conquest.

Taurus Sun: The ego lives in the physical world and needs to be fed by environment, food, affection, and comfort. Healthy surroundings= healthy ego.

Gemini Sun: Their ego relies on communication and information. Variety is healthy for the ego but its state can change rapidly based on info.

Cancer Sun: The ego is wrapped up in emotional security and/or understanding. They tend to keep its needs hidden. Must learn to recognize their needs. 

Leo Sun: Ego is connected to individuality, recognition, and self-expression. Ego is at the surface and is essential to well-being.

Virgo Sun: The ego can easily be neglected and abused by the desire for perfection. They are critical towards self or are overly humble. Ego can be fed with accepting appreciation and accepting flaws in themselves and others.

Libra Sun: The ego along with individuality can be lost in a desire to adapt or please others. Ego revolves around acceptance and love. Ego is strengthened by self-love and acceptance.

Scorpio Sun: Ego is a reflection of past pain or reward. Ego goes thru many intense transformations in life. Ego feeds off emotional experiences. 

Sagittarius Sun: Ego is tied to their self-expression, understanding of the world, and beliefs. Ego is fed by recognition and their ability to influence others. 

Capricorn Sun: Ego can be tied to the physical world and social world. Achievements is what feeds it. They can be harsh and neglectful towards their own ego. 

Aquarius Sun: Ego is closely tied to acceptance from others, individuality, and self-expression. Ego and emotions are HIGHLY separated.

Pisces Sun: Ego is easily influenced. The ego and emotions are connected. Ego feeds off of reassurance and closeness to others. Ego= in flux.

Flowers that Help Save the Bees

- Lavender

- Thyme

- Sage

- Borage

- Fennel

- Cilantro

- Hollyhock

- Crocus

- Buttercup

- Snowdrop

- Geranium

- Aster

- Poppy

- Calendula

- Sweet Alyssum

- Sunflower

- Zinnia

- Heliotropium