Green Magick For The Home

-🌿Updates on the moss rug! Exhausted and still have a ways to go but I’m getting there!! For context I’m making large individual Pom poms and tying them to a rug Matt!🌿-

Dried Orange Peels

•Latin Name: Citrus Aurantium

•Dried Orange Peel Magickal Attributes:

house and financial blessings, love, luck, divination, offering for deities, money, happiness, friendship (strength/progress), relationships (progress/strength) good fortune

•Common Magickal Usages:

put orange peels (dried) in a spell sachet to help aid somebody or yourself make up your / their mind

put dried orange peel in amulets to promote a prosperous business

make a spell jar for a friend or loved one and include orange peel in it to strengthen your bond

the scent of orange lifts spirits so put some orange scented drops in your diffuser etc (sun energy !!)

orange peel is also used as a yule decoration as a promise of the sun even after the hardships of winter :)

How can you tell if a "magic" book is full of it? I'm sure with experience you can, but what about beginners?

Reading these books needs a good ‘bullshit detector’.  There are a few telling signs:

1) Look at the book’s bibliography. A bibliography can give you, if it’s a good one, the primary sources an author used, and can give you an idea of other books to read. A bad bibliography can save you time - if a book hasn’t got one, or it’s a very short one, or it references only other neo-pagan texts, it’s not going to be long on facts and you might be better off reading something else.

2) Magic and witchcraft aren’t inherently religious. If the book implies or states that a neo-pagan religion is necessary in order to practice witchcraft, it’s probably not worth the read.

3) If the book says it’s about a neo-pagan religion of some kind, but talks endlessly of spells instead, it’s probably a waste of your time if you’re looking for the religious practice first. Some neo-pagan faiths will involve practicing magic, but others don’t.

4) Neo-pagan books that talk about ancient matriarchal religions spanning Europe, a ‘Great Goddess’ and all that jazz, are based in the historical theories of Margaret Murray. They were all fairly thoroughly debunked, but it still lingers in neo-pagan circles.

5) Know that things like the ‘Triple Goddess’ and the Wheel of the Year are modern inventions - they aren’t ancient, and forcing ancient deities or practices into those concepts will not always work or be appropriate.

6) If the deities you’re reading about are described as being very different from their historical selves, it’s probably a good sign that author hasn’t done their home work very well. 

7) ‘The Burning Times’ did happen - but it was not a systematic genocide of a pagan religion or practitioners of magic. What you had was a mass hysteria created by the church, and taken advantage of by greedy people. They had no qualms in killing unloved neighbours or relatives for their property, with witchcraft as a scapegoat. Maybe a few witches died - but so did thousands of Christians who were unfortunate enough to be disliked, or without family, or to be a better farmer or gardener. ‘Nine Million’ is certainly hyperbole, and is not factually accurate.

8) Be aware of things that don’t fit: for example, we have what’s called the ‘potato test’. Potatoes are not native to Europe and were not discovered until explorers began invading South America. So an author that talks about an ancient Irish potato deity, for example, is absolutely full of it.

9) Authors who are patronizing and talk down to their readers, no matter the subject, should be tossed on their ears. You’re a beginner, perhaps, but you’re not stupid and you’re not a child. You don’t need the author to coddle you or ‘simplify’ the information - their assumption that you do is just rude. If you wouldn’t let someone talk to you like that in real life, why would you read a book that does the same thing?

10) Whenever you can, space your neo-pagan or magical reading out with primary sources and proper non-fiction history and anthropology texts. A primary source is going to give you the closest thing to being there, at whatever time and place you’re looking at. Academic texts can be a chore to get through, but they’re going to give you the grounding you need to have a detector of your own.

Read what you can get your hands on. At first, like you said, it’s hard to tell the gold from the dross, but you’ll get the hang of it. A couple of really awful books will give you a guideline, and you’ll find authors you can trust vs. authors you can’t.

Read critically. Don’t be afraid to be a skeptic.  Similar doesn’t equal same - cultures have similar concepts but it doesn’t make their gods or their practices the same thing with different names. If you think something sounds like horseshit or too good to be true, it probably is.

Good luck, and happy hunting. :>

✨ Some Herbs, Flowers and Plants in Witchcraft - REVERSED VERSION-✨

Resources: Wicca Herbal Magic by Lisa ChamberlainCharms, Spells and Herbs by Esteban PortelaThe Green Witch by Arin Murphy-HiscockGrimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel PattersonOne of you requested a reversed version of this list, so it’s here!. 

ABUNDANCE: tulip, violet

AFFECTION: thyme

CALIRVOYANCE: artemisa, lavender

CALM NIGHTMARES: thyme, violet

COMMUNICATION: pansy

CONCENTRATION: lilly of valley

CONFIDENCE: yarrow

COSMIC ENERGY: carnation

COURAGE: black pepper, geranium, lilly of valley, marjoram, thyme, yarrow

DESIRE: sandalwood

DISEASE: carnation

DIVINATION: artemisa, bay, dandelion, hibiscus, jasmin, mimosa, mugwort, pansy, rose, verbena, yarrow

DREAM: artemisa, hibiscus, jasmine, mimosa, mint, mugwort

ELIMINATION OF HEXES: lily

ENERGY: carnation, cinnamon, jasmine, sunflower

FERTILITY: daffodil, geranium, mint, mugwort, poppy, sunflower, voilet

FIDELITY: caraway

GLORY: laurel

GOOD FORTUNE: bay leaf, dill

HAPPINESS: basil, calendula, chamomile, geranium, hyacinth, levander, lemon, lilly of valley, manzano, marjoram, nutmeg, pansy, sunflower, tulip, water lily

HARMONY: calendula, chamomile, gardenia, iris, jasmine, lavender, rose, violet

HEALING: allspice, bay leaf, carnation (white carnation), chamomile, cinnamon, clove, comfrey, eucalyptus, fennel, gardenia, geranium, ivy, lavender, lemon balm, nettle, pine, rose, rosemary, sandalwood, yarrow

HEALTH: caraway, comfrey, eucalyptus, marjoram, nutmeg, pine, sage, sunflower, thyme

HOPE: daisy, violet

IMMORTALITY: sage,

INCREASE ENERGY: allspice,

INNOCENCE: daisy

INTELLIGENCE: caraway (yellow caraway), coffee,

INTIMACY: cardamom

INVISIBILITY: poppy

JOY: marjoram, mint

LONGEVITY: fennel, lavender, romero, sage

LOVE: allspice, basil, calendula (red calendula), chamomile, cinnamon, daffodil, daisy, gardenia, geranium, hibiscus, hyacinth, iris, jasmine, lavender, lemon, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lilas, lily, magnolia, mimosa, mint, narciso, nardo, nutmeg, pansy, poppy, rose (white rose), rosemary, tulip, violet, yarrow

LOYALTY: thyme

LUCK: allspice, carnation, cinnamon, daffoil, elecampane, nutmeg, poppy, rose, star anise, violet

LUST: dill, hibiscus, mint, mugwort, nettle, parsley, rosemary

MAGIC: carnation, star anise

MEDITATION: jasmine, lavender

MEMORY: lily, rosemary

MENTAL ABILITIES: caraway, clove, lilly of valley, rosemary

MONEY: basil, bay leaf, herbabuena, lavender, manzano, nutmeg, patchouli, poppy, saffron, salvia

OVERCOMING OLD PAINS: jacinto (love pain)

PASSION: cardamom, carnation (red carnation), cinnamon, lavender, rose(red rose)

PEACE: azucena, basil, carnation (white carnation), chamomile, gardenia, iris, lavender, rose (red rose), star anise, violet,

PROGRESS: azucena

PROSPERITY: basil, calendula, chamomile, cinnamon, comfrey, dill, herbabuena, jasmine, mint, nutmeg, parsley, poppy, romero, tulip, verbena

PROTECTION AGAINST NEGATIVITY: caraway, elecampane, lilac, sage, snapdragon, valerian, verbena

PROTECTION: angelica, basil, bay, bay leaf, birch, black pepper, carnation, cinnamon, clove, comfrey, cumin, dill, elecampane, fennel, garlic, geranium, hyachinth, ivy, lavender, lilac, lily, majoram, mint, mugwort, nail, nettle, nutmeg, parsley, rose, rosemary, sage, snapdragon, tulip, valerian, violet

PSYCHIC POWER: calendula, mugwort, nutmeg, rose, saffron, star anise, thyme

PURIFICATION: angelica, basil, bay leaf, birch, cinnamon, clove, fennel, lavender, lemon verbena, lilas, mint parsley, peppermint, romero, rosemary, sage, valerian

RELAXATION: lemon balm, mugwort

SEDUCTION: jasmine

SENSUALITY: jasmine

SENTIMENTAL IMPROVEMENT: azucena

SEX: cardamom, carnation (red carnation), jasmine, parsley, sandalwood, vanilla

SLEEP: lavender, poppy, violet, rosemary

SPIRITUALITY: cinnamon, dandelion, elecampane, incense, jasmine, rose (white rose), salvia, star anise

STRENGTH: bay leaf, carnation, parsley

SUCCESS:  bay

SUCCESS: basil, bay, bay leaf, cinnamon, laurel, lemon balm, mint, sunflower

TANQUILLITY: basil, dill, lavender, mugwort, poppy, rose, salvia, star anise, violet

VALOUR: iris

WELFARE: rose (red rose)

WISDOM: bay, iris, rosemary, sage

WISHES: dandelion, sage

ANTI INFLAMMATORY: calendula, meadowsweet, poppy

ANTIDEPRESSANT: lemon balm

ANTIMICROBIAL: cinnamon, sage

ANTIOXIDANT: hawthorn, poppy, sage,

ANTI-RHEUMATIC: meadowsweet

ANTISEPTIC: mimosa

ANTIVIRAL: lemon balm

ASTRINGENT: chichweed, cinnamon, meadowsweet, sage

BLOOD PRESSURE: hawthorn (lowers)

CALM ANXIETY: sage

CALM HEADACHE: chamomile, mimosa, poppy, verbena

CALM NERVES: chamomile, poppy

DEMULCENT: chichweed, mimosa (mild)

GOOD FOR COLD: ginger

GOOD FOR HEARTH: hawthorn

GOOD FOR LIVER:  dandelion

IMPROVE DIGESTION: angelica, dandelion (mild laxative), mimosa, poppy, sage

RELIEVE STRESS: chamomile, lavender, verbena

RELIEVE WIND: cinnamon, lemon balm, mimosa

SKIN IRRITATION: calendula (like eczema, bruises, scars, scrapes), chichweed ( relieve itchiness, cooling)

SOOTH STOMACH PROBLEMS: chamomile, ginger, lemon balm (antispasmodic), mimosa (antispasmodic),  meadowseet (antacid),  poppy (antispasmodic)  

STIMULATE CIRCULATORY: poppy

Resources:

Wicca Herbal Magic by Lisa Chamberlain

Charms, Spells and Herbs by Esteban Portela

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel Patterson

Yule Resource Masterpost

A collection of categorized links for your Yule needs! What is Yule? [X] Yule is celebrated on slightly different days depending on who you ask, but the broad spectrum is: December 20th to January 1st in the Northern Hemisphere and around June 20th (give or take a few days) in the Southern Hemisphere.

 The basics:

Yule correspondences

Celebrating Yule

Yule: A very merry sabbat

Guide to Yuletide plants + herbs

Yule - ‘tis the season

Yule practices

A Yule ritual

50 Yuleisms

Yule Crafts:

Yule potpourri recipe

Witch balls / more witch balls

A twelve-herb sachet for Yule

Mini herb wreaths

Yule log

Yule craft ideas

Pine protection balm

Dried orange slices

Yule Recipes:

Herbal shortbread

Bread dipping oil

Chocolate Yule log

Yuletide muesli

Yule tea

Yule Punch

Non-alcoholic mulled wine

Winter sabbat wine

Yule Spells:

Merry Yule spell jar / Season of peace spell jar

Holiday ornament snow spell

Yule bath spell

Blessed Yule - for a positive holiday season

Winter solstice spell

Spell for a happy family gathering

Yule energy sun spell

Winter stasis spell sachet

Holiday home blessings

Safe delivery envelope spell

Yule Tarot Spreads:

The return (2 card)

Yule spread (3 card)

Tarot spread for Yule (3 card)

Winter inspired spread (5 card)

Yule reflection + advice spread (5 card)

A Yuletime tarot spread (6 card)

Other:

Music ideas / Winter witch playlist

Altar/celebration ideas / Yule altar guide

Yule plants / Mistletoe Lore

Yule oils/incense / Yule incense

Emoji spell for luck during Yule and Solstice

Spell ideas for the holidays

Updated June, 2020. Please inform me (via askbox) of broken links!

Witch Tip

the-eye.eu is a huge public database that has countless free PDFs of all sorts of occultist books and grimoires. Go forth and read.

Elements

Correspondents and Information

Earth-

Direction: North

Gender: Feminine

Zodiac: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

Symbols: Pentacles (tarot), salt, sand, dirt, stone, plants

Colors: Green, brown, gold

Traits: grounded, slow and steady, nurturing, growth

Spell disposal: burying in earth or plants

Air-

Direction: East

Gender: masculine

Zodiac: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Symbols: bells, chimes, feathers, incense, wands, swords (tarot)

Colors: yellow, sky blue, white, silver

Traits: free flowing, creativity, fast moving, methodical (the mind)

Spell disposal: blow or toss the ash/powder into the wind or air

Fire-

Direction: South

Gender: masculine

Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

Symbols: athame (tarot), swords, candles, lamps/lanterns, flame

Colors: red, orange, gold

Traits: fast moving, chaotic, heated, passion

Spell disposal: burn it

Water-

Direction: West

Gender: feminine

Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

Symbols: Cups (tarot), chalice, cauldron, bowl, shell, basically any vessel of water

Colors: blue, white, silver, turquoise

Traits: slow and persistent, emotional, free flowing, nurturing

Spell disposal: throw remains into a body of water or float it down a river

Spirit-

Direction: above, below, or within one’s self

Gender: neutral

Zodiac: wheel of the year

Symbols: all magickal tools, pentagram, pentacles, circle, spirals, wheel of the year

Colors: purple, black, white, whatever resonates with you

Traits: divine intelligence, insight, intuition, cosmic energy

I can’t believe I haven’t done a post in the elements yet oh my gods

for all I know I have and forgot cuz I’m stupid but here’s this anyway

A Beginner’s Guide to Tea Leaf Reading

Hi there! If you’re here, that means you most likely don’t know how to read tea leaves, or perhaps you could use some more tips? Regardless, you’ll find all of that here! This guide will be pretty all-encompassing, so bear with me!

What is tea leaf reading?

Tasseography, better known as reading tea leaves, is the process of divination using tea leaves. When done properly, the tea leaves will show an image (even if vague) that will symbolize the answer to a question the reader asked. The image can tell the future or just give advice; depending on the question.

How does one read tea leaves?

This is definitely a more involved question, but here’s how I do it; step by step.

1. First, brew your cup of tea. It can be any flavor. But if you are reading for someone else, you may want to let them choose the flavor (I like to do this). However, if you can’t choose a flavor, black tea is pretty standard as the dark color of the tea makes it easier to read.

2. Now, drink your tea. If it is a loose leaf tea, try to drink as little of the leaves as possible. If it is a bag, leave the bag steeping in there and drink. Don’t drink it all, though, leave a little liquid in (not very much at all.)

3. At this point, if you used a tea bag, you’re going to want to open the bag and let the leaves pour into the little amount of liquid there is left.

4. Now, at this point I like to rotate the cup clockwise three times. You can rotate it any direction and as many times you want. You don’t even have to rotate it at all if you don’t want to.

5. Now, you’re going to place a saucer or plate over the top of the cup. Tip the cup over so that most of the liquid and leaves spill onto the plate/saucer.

6. Now, you will see some leaves left in the cup. These should make an image. Although it may be abstract, it’ll be there, even though it might take a while for you to see it.

7. Now it’s time for you to interpret your image. You can either look up the symbology of the image you saw or do your own interpretation based on your own personal associations.

8. Now focus on where the image is. Is it at the top, bottom, left, right, right by the handle? The placement shows what time the interpretation will happen. I will attach an infographic to give a better idea of what I’m talking about here.

And there you have it!! This is how I do my tea leaf readings. It does take some practice, but once you get a hang of it, you’ll only get better.

~Aster-Monroe

🕯Candles in Magick 🕯

Candles are widely used in rituals, and candle magick is great for new and experienced witches alike. The use of them in your own practice will help you keep focused on your dreams!

Black: Grounding, wisdom, protection, knowledge, reversing, banishing negative energies.

Blue: Good fortune, will power, forgiveness, communication, patience, domestic harmony, organization, focus.

Brown: Food/animal/earth/pet magick, stability, concentration, locating lost objects, finances.

Gold: Quick luck, health, attraction, good fortune, abundance, male energy, understanding, divination,  positive attitude, justice.

Gray: Removal of negative influences, contemplation.

Green: Money, meditation, ambition, luck, physical & emotional healing, growth.

Lavender: Intuition, knowledge. 

Light Blue: Peace, spirituality, protection, tranquility.

Orange: Self-expression, joy, creativity, action, overcoming addictions, ambition, opportunity, celebration, investments.

Pink: Romance, femininity, friendship, romance, nurturing, partnership, spiritual/emotional healing, self-improvement.

Purple: Wisdom, spiritual power, contact with spirits, driving away evil, breaking bad habits.

Red: Courage, passion, fertility, vitality, strength, action, independence, assertiveness.

Silver: Feminine divinity, stability, dreams, psychic awareness, intuition, meditation.

Violet: Insight, connecting to your higher self, clarity.

White: Cleansing, unity, balance, healing, purity, peace, truth, balance of your aura, all-purpose.

Yellow: Success, happiness, concentration, travel, success, inspiration, charm, imagination, confidence.

🕯Bonus: Candles and the signs!

Aries: Red.

Taurus: Green.

Gemini: Yellow.

Cancer: Silver.

Leo: Orange.

Virgo: Yellow.

Libra: Pink.

Scorpio: Red.

Sagittarius: Purple.

Capricorn: Black.

Aquarius: Any Color.

Pisces: Mauve.