"My Succulents Stay Healthy"

Witchcraft Exercise - Spring Cleaning

There’s a marked tradition of cleaning and airing out the house in the springtime when the weather warms. As you’re dusting and tidying and getting rid of winter stagnation, take some time to do the same with your craft.

Clean and organize your workspace. If you have an altar space or a shelf where you keep bottles and jars and the like, remove everything from the surface and give it a good dusting. Take the opportunity to rearrange things or swap out pieces if it suits you. If you have ritual tools that don’t often get cleaned, check them for signs or rust or wear and give them a bit of love. Repair things that need fixing, if you can. If you have an iron cauldron that you use for fire magic, get a wire brush or some steel wool and gently remove any burnt residue left inside.

Sort through your supplies. If you have lots of candles and crystals and small items laying about, consider getting some small totes or craft organizers to keep things tidy. Divided storage boxes for beads or scrapbooking supplies are great for small items, and shoebox-sized caddies are perfect for taper, chime, and votive candles. Organizing things will make your space easier to navigate and also gives you a proper idea of what you have on hand. Which might help you resist impulse purchases the next time you’re out shopping for witchcraft supplies. While you’re tidying, be sure to discard any rubbish, candle stubs, wax blobs, herb scraps, bits of string, incense bases, and so forth that might be cluttering up the place. 

Discard things that are too old or worn to be useful. Dried plants and seasonings can usually be kept for 1-3 years if they remain in sealed containers. If they have no scent anymore or smell musty or mildewy, discard them and sanitize the container. If you’re using supermarket spices, you can use the expiration date on the container as a guide. Powdered material will likely last longer than whole herbs or cut-and-sifted material. One helpful tip is to put a purchase date on packets or bags of herbs when you buy them, or to put a little date sticker on your jars of herbs when you refill them. (Anyone who’s worked in food service will probably be familiar with the concept of container dating or day-dotting.)

If you make oils or tinctures or suchlike in your practice, check on these as well. Make sure nothing has gone off or lost its’ potency. Day-dotting your potion containers will help with this as well. A simple sticker with the name of the brew and the date it was bottled will help you keep track of your supplies and know when something needs to be tossed and replaced. (You can also print labels with the ingredients and purpose of the brew if you’re feeling super organized.)

Reorganize your books and resources. Review what's there and see if there are any materials that need to be weeded out, donated, or discarded. Remember that as you grow and progress, some things will become obsolete or may show themselves to be unhelpful or inaccurate. It's okay to remove things from your resource library that no longer serve you if you want to make some space on the shelves.

You can also cleanse your workspace and/or components while you’re tidying if you wish. It doesn’t have to be a full clean-slate-everything-must-go cleansing, but it can be helpful to just clear out stagnation or bring in some freshness and vitality.

Happy Witching! 🧼

Want more witchcraft exercises? Check out the masterpost here and visit my shop for spell kits, books, magical powders, and more!

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Basic Elements of Energy Work

Energy work is the ability of a person to control unseen energies. Almost all basic pagan/Wiccan/New Age/witchcraft exercises deal with energy work. Here is a short list of some of the things a young witch should learn.

Grounding. It’s extremely important. You may think it will be fun to carry around a lot of elemental energy - you will quickly change your mind. Grounding is the ability to get excess energy out and ground yourself back in reality. This is especially important if you want to work with dreams, spirits, or visions.

Centering goes hand-in-hand with grounding. As a magical practitioner, you do stuff that leaves your energetic body out of sorts. If you are working with real magic, there is also a chance your grasp on reality can be shaken. Centering is a focus on your physical body that gathers all your loose bits and reforms your energetic body back in to its natural shape. Combine it with grounding to get back to the real world.

Shielding is a basic energy work exercise that is also pretty danged important. Learn to shield yourself and how to place shields around other things, people, and locations. This is a vital element of protection.

Charging is the act of filling an object with energy. You can passively charge things by leaving them around natural elements, but you need to learn how to actively charge something as well.

Programing is the process of giving energy a ‘job’. Programing energy is the basis for all spellwork. When you dress a candle, you are filling it with energy and then programing that energy to do a job for you.

- Tho

Why Didn't My Spell Work?

Nobody has a 100% success rate because magic isn't an exact science. Here are some reasons things may not go according to plan.

You didn't pinpoint the focus enough. Let's say you do a spell for success. Okay... in what area of your life? Success by what definition? What's the time frame? Know what you want and be specific about your desired outcome.

There are open loopholes. The Universe often gives us exactly what we ask for and assumes nothing. If we ask for money before rent is due, finding just a penny on the ground would technically fulfill that wish. Leave nothing to be assumed.

The method didn't make sense. If you want to banish someone from your life, you wouldn't put their name in a jar and keep it in your house, because you'd literally be keeping them close to you. Your method should reflect your focus.

The energy wasn't in it. Magic work demands our full attention. If we're doing it half-heartedly, multitasking, or mentally distancing ourselves from our work we're not bringing our best game. It's okay to be worried or skeptical. But shelf it until you're done with your work.

The ingredients are conflicting. Just like our spell methods, our tools/materials should also line up. Ingredients can also conflict with each other, like if you have things to represent calm/relaxation and energy/aggression in the same pile. It could muddy the direction. Make sure everything syncs with everything else.

It just wasn't in the cards. Sometimes there are just bigger forces than us at work. Maybe we nailed the job interview but someone else was just more qualified. Magic work is our bid with the Universe to tilt things in our favor, and sometimes we just don't offer enough.

Shadow Work Prompts 1

1. what emotion do you try to avoid (e.g. anger, sadness, jealousy...)? what makes you afraid to feel it? what are you afraid will happen if you feel it?

2. in what ways are you priviliged? what do you take for granted?

3. pick an adjective from the list below that would trigger you if someone would use it to desscribe you and then ask yourself: "why would this trigger me? what would be bad about it being true? is it the accuracy or inaccuracy that bothers me? what could be a positive aspect to being that way?"

list: arrogant, lier, jealous, mean, cruel, possessive, bitchy, bossy, loser, greedy, mysterious, sneaky, codependent, sick, fat, disgusting, stalker, stupid, idiot, fearful, unconscious, masochistic, narcissist, insignificant, frigid, sexist, manipulative, racist, victim, egositic, arrogant, ugly, careless, passive, aggressive, lame, boring, tactless, irresponsible, incompetent, lazy, unfair, childish, know-it-all, insensitive, psychotic, sad, ordinary, hypocritical, reproachful, gloomy, jealous, envious dirty, tyrannical, inflexible, heartless, resentful, dominant, bad, ignorant, uneducated, tasteless, insecure, depressed, hopeless, not good enough, cry baby, paranoid, pushy, stubborn, inferior, weak , impatient, unreliable, self-destructive, over-sensitive

4. what is the biggest promise you made to yourself that you have broken? how does that make you feel?

5. how do you lie to yourself in daily life? what are you trying to avoid?

6. what do you think is your worst trait? why is it "bad"? what positive aspects does this trait bring with it?

7. if you truly loved yourself, what would your life look like? is it very different to how it actually is? and if yes, why?

8. think of a time someone broke your heart. could you have been responsible in some way as well?

9. do you hold grudges against someone? if so, why are you not letting them go yet?

10. what do you need to forgive yourself for?

11. think back on the last time a person triggered you: can you see how the aspects of that person that triggered you are also in you?

12. ask yourself: "if... were true about me/my current life situation, i'd be terrified" (try to fill out this sentence as often as possible)

13. think back on your last argument/fight: did you actively try to see the other person's viewpoint and would there have been a way to be more compassionate with the other person and yourself?

14. think about a time in your childhood when you felt unhappy (small or big moment) and write a letter from your child self to the present you about how you felt and how you perceived the situation: try to take on that child as much as you can and write from its perspective as automatically as you can then write a letter back to that child, explaining the situation, showing empathy and understanding and asking how you can help now or which needs have to be met for that child to feel good again if you get answres from that child, then try to meet those needs today

15. In what areas of life are you holding back and playing small? (Think about the times you feel weak, small or disempowered.) Write them below and next to each explore why

16. In what ways do you feel judged by others? Write them below. Explore how many of these judgments might actually originate within you first (and are displaced onto others)

17. What negatives or positives do others point out about you that you have trouble accepting?

18. What emotions do you rarely express around others – and when did you first start hiding these emotions from others? (Emotional suppression and repression often point to areas of shame buried within you.)

19. Reflect on a period of life where you were at your worst (i.e. most selfdestructive, argumentative, etc.). Write a short, but heartfelt letter of understanding, acceptance, and compassion for that version of you. You can return to this letter later whenever you feel rotten about yourself.

20. What are your “hot buttons” or triggers that cause you to get angry or defensive in the presence of others?

myth moodboards: cernunnos

celtic god of animals, fertility, and vegetation

requested by @barecontact

✧*。Flowers & their charm ✧*。@Cardthartic

“I Take Care Of Myself”

Keep this sigil in your room, in your bathroom, on your fridge, in your purse or pocket. Keep this in areas to remind you to properly take care of yourself and your health. You deserve to be happy.

Beltane is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated on April 30.

It was originally a pagan festival marking the beginning of summer. The holiday was eventually absorbed into Christianity and became known as "Walpurgis night"

Beltane celebrations traditionally involve bonfires, dancing, and feasting. Today, people all over the world continue to celebrate Beltane as a time of rebirth and renewal.

It has a really long tradition in Germany! It's a time to celebrate the arrival of summer, and people often dress up, make loud noises and play pranks on other people.

Are you celebrating Beltane?

I would love to hear from you.

Have a lovely week my friends