Ostara - festival celebrating the coming of spring, light, and the renewal of the Sun

Idk who needs to hear this but — just because you were okay mixing your medicine with herbs, drugs or psychedelics does not mean other people can also do this. You are not qualified to give people medical advice. Leave that up to the professionals.

“I drank [insert herbal tea here] while on [insert medicine here] and it was fine. You’ll be okay too.”

“I smoke weed all the time while on [insert medicine here] so I’m sure it’ll be fine with [insert different medicine here]. You’ll be okay.”

“I’ve never heard of [insert herb or drug here] interacting with medications, you’ll be okay.”

No. Stop. Please talk with your doctor, if you’re on medication, before mixing it with any herbal teas, drugs or alcohol.

OK everyone I think I finally got this. I could be totally off. But here it goes. (p.s. @binathewitch I am SO SORRY for spamming your messages with questions about this and I hope I’m not super wrong) 

WITCH’S HERBAL CODE: 

It’s pretty well known that the ingredients used by witches in movies/media (like Shakespeare’s Macbeth “eye of newt, toe of frog, wool of bat, tongue of dog” scene) are actually meant to stand for real herbs under these names. 

It seems that there are three main ways that herbs get these coded names.

1. One way is through straight up code passed down by hereditary witches/ from teachers to students, and the herb and it’s code usually don’t have much in common. There are “codes” for the specific part of a plant as well as for the plant’s name itself. The code for the parts of the plants is somewhat descriptive.  binathewitch lists some examples very well in their post, like some coded parts being- 

eye: the inner blossom 

head: flower 

paw, foot, leg, scale: leaf 

guts: root, stalk 

hair: dried version of the herb 

as well as some coded plant names like 

skin of a man: fern 

rat: valerian

cat: catnip 

weasel: rue 

toad: sage 

and many other example that binathewitch gives in their post here. 

2. The second way plants get these “coded” names is by description alone. They will ignore everything I wrote for #1, and go ONLY by what the plant looks like. For example, comfrey is called “ear of an ass” and you can see why pretty clearly: 

So, because these two naming systems are different, the same rules don’t apply. Even though “cat” is short for catnip, and “paw” means leaf, “cat’s paw” is not catnip leaf, it’s ground ivy. Which one can also understand, because ground ivy literally looks like a cat’s lil paw:  

One LAST exmaple for this is the famous “eye of newt”. It means mustard seed, instead of following the rule of “eye” meaning the inner blossom of a plant. And that’s because mustard seeds literally look like lil brown newt eyes: 

Through this step I learned that “wort” meant a medicinal/edible herbaceous plant, and I had been thinking it was similar to wart (like a blemish) for YEARS lol so “Dragon’s Wort” is code for bistort, which is great because it literally looks like a little dragon, and “Dragon Scales” as an ingredient just means bistort leaves.  

3. The other weird names are given either colloquially, historically, or by etymology. Something that just became a common name, something that happened historically that gave it it’s “code”, or by translations and linguistic origins. 

Example of Colloquial odd names: 

“Monkeys lice” or “Beggar’s tick” for Bidens alba got those names colloquially because they’re just so annoying when they get all over you, they’re “an irritant befitting a beggar”. 

“Witch’s Candle” for mullein was given that name because you can dip the stalks in oil and burn them like a torch. It is unclear to me whether witches used these or whether people used it to ward off witches. 

Example of Historical odd names: 

“Graveyard dirt” or “graveyard dust” is used to mean mullein or mugwort. Many witches do/did use real graveyard dirt for spirit work, and then occult stores started selling real graveyard dirt to make some money. When tampering with graves became illegal, they sold powdered mullein or powdered mugwort and said it was graveyard dirt/dust. 

Example of odd names from translations: 

“Lion’s Tooth” is one most people know means Dandelion, from medieval latin’s “dens lionis” to the french “dent de lion” (both literally lion’s tooth), to our “dandelion”. 

Another one is “Frog’s Foot” or just “Frog”. It meant buttercup, as the scientific name Ranunculus is late latin for “little frog”, and was given that name because the plant likes to grow in bogs/moist areas. Then “Frog” also meant cinquefoil flower, because it looks very similar to buttercup. In this case, the rule of “foot” meaning leaf doesn’t apply, “frog’s foot” doesn’t mean buttercup leaf, it just a name for the whole plant. 

I didn’t list all of the ones that I have written down because it would be a very long post, but I did want to post about how these “code words” seem to be decided. But again, I could be way off lol 

green winter magick

❄ pinecones : prosperity, abundance, new beginnings

❄ acorns : personal power, wisdom, youthfulness

❄ balsam fir : strength, breaking up negativity, insight

❄ cedar : confidence, money, protection

❄ cinnamon : spirituality, success, love

❄ clove : exorcism, money, protection

❄ fern : mental clarity, cleansing, purification

❄ ginger : sensuality, energy, liveliness

❄ juniper : attracting good health + good energy

❄ mistletoe : creativity, fertility, protection from ill will

❄ mugwort : instrospection, dreamwork, divination

❄ nutmeg : attracting money, prosperity, luck

❄ orange peel : love, divination, luck, money

❄ peppermint : healing, peace, restfulness

❄ rosemary : healing, preventing nightmares, faerie magick

❄ snowdrop : passing of sorrow

❄ valerian : dream magick, reconciliation, harmony

❄ wintergreen : good fortune

❄ yew : necromancy and death magick

Witch Tip #46

Milk and honey mixed together is almost always a good offering. Many spirits, deities, and fae will be grateful for this mixture. Milk represents the sustenance of a child and the love of a mother. And honey is theorized to be the drink of the gods in Hellenism. 

Who the fuck sent me a goth gf??? Who was it

Why You Should Keep Track of the Tarot Cards You Pull

People will often notice patterns to the cards they pull - you’ll notice that certain cards come up more often. This tends to be based on a feeling though, rather than any real data about which cards you’ve pulled - and the real data may surprise you. 

I’ve kept track of the cards I’ve pulled in my single card readings over the past three months, and here are some things I’ve noticed: 

This is a quick guide to how you might interpret some of the overall themes you notice:  Minor Arcana: temporary, easily changed, daily life, current situation Major Arcana: long term, archetypes, themes, life lessons, current lesson Wands: spirituality, inspiration, determination, strength, intuition, creativity, ambition and expansion; energy, motivation and passion. Cups: love, feelings, relationships and connection; emotions, intuition and creativity Swords: action, change, force, power, oppression, ambition, courage and conflict; thoughts, and words Pentacles: work, business, trade, property, money and other material possessions Aces: new beginnings, news, movement in a positive direction Twos: duality, connection Threes: creation, creativity, growth, action Fours: stability, structure Fives: tension, conflict, challenge Sixes: relaxation, harmony, reevaluation Sevens: mystery, disruption, adjustment Eights: action, movement, growth, change Nines: contemplation, reflection, looking to the next step Tens: conclusion, culmination, new beginnings, complexity Pages: youth, vitality, fascination, learning, and focus Knights: adventure, energy, missions, conviction, willfulness, recklessness Queens: curiosity, openness, expressiveness, creativity, flexibility Kings: authority, leadership, expertise, mastery, inflexibility

Why is Turquoise Significant in Native American Culture?

Turquoise holds a special significance in Native American culture, meaning something profound and specific to individual tribes. Referred to as the “stone of life,” many believe it is a living mineral because of its ability to change colors depending on its environment.

A Living Stone

All Native Americans believe that the earth is living and all things are precious. Turquoise is no exception, representing life, and is highly revered because of its color-changing properties. Factors such as the environment, light, dust, and skin acidity all play a role in how the stone appears to the eye. While most people picture it with a beautiful blueish-green hue, other variations exist such as white, light blue, yellowish-green and a copper color. All of these colors together represent the hues of the earth, which is one reason it remains so attractive to Native Americans.

Significance of Turquoise to the Navajo

This beautiful blue stone which has been known to represent power, status, and luxury, is very important to the Navajo people. Because of its reputation as a stone that brings good fortune, they store turquoise in baskets or hang it from the ceiling in order to protect the family from evil. The stone was also brought into battles to protect the warriors from harm, and it is frequently given as a gift.

Turquoise is in the myths told by the Navajo people as well as other tribes. One legend said that when it rains after a long period of drought, human tears seep into the earth and form turquoise. The stone is incorporated into many spiritual practices, one of which involves throwing the stone into a river and saying a prayer to the god of rain, Neinilii.

The Navajo also speak of a goddess named Estsanatlehi (or Changing Woman), who is known for being adorned with turquoise. She began as a piece of turquoise that lived in a turquoise home in the West Horizon. Today, many young people dress in a way to pay tribute to this goddess at their coming-of-age ceremonies and sing songs to honor her.

Turquoise and other Tribes

While Navajo people are strongly associated with the stone, it also held special meaning to many other tribes. The overarching theme for this stone is that many believe it will bring the carrier strength and vitality, though this belief varies from tribe to tribe.

For the Pima, or “River People,” who reside in Southern Arizona, the stone represents skill and healing. The Apaches relate turquoise to the rain that is found at the end of a rainbow. They would even tie pieces of the stone to their bows, believing it would make them strong and skilled hunters and warriors who would not suffer harm in battle.

The Hopi and Ojibwe tribes took a different approach to how they viewed this mineral. The Hopi believed that turquoise was the waste of the lizard that travels between “the above” and “the below.” The Ojibwe people have a dreamcatcher that prominently features a spider made of turquoise. They tell tales of the Asibikaashi, or Spider Woman, who found and gave the missing sun back to the people. The dreamcatcher is used to protect children from nightmares. The Zuni people associate the stone with the earth, believing that green turquoise represented the female figures whereas the blue turquoise represented men.

Wearable Turquoise

Because of how often it was used, it makes perfect sense that turquoise would make its way into jewelry, so people could wear the stone and bring its mystical qualities with them wherever they went. Specifically, the Navajo and Zuni tribes began to work with this mineral, so they could keep its strength with them. Both tribes are well known for their craftsmanship and distinct styles.

Silversmithing was introduced to the Navajo people allegedly by a man named Atsidi Santi, who learned how to work with iron from Mexican silversmiths in the 1850s. Spanish settlers who came in the 1500s and conquered the Puebloans also influenced this practice, and it’s thought that Atsidi taught others how to work with metal, including his four sons who helped pass on the tradition.

Navajo and Zuni styles include Heishi and Squash Blossom necklaces. The Squash Blossom necklace is believed to be the most enduring of all the styles and is timeless, complementing all types of attire. Authentic turquoise jewelry is a great investment, as it tends to appreciate in value and will never go out of style. Wearing turquoise jewelry pays homage to the history of the tribes and honors the beauty of the stone.

I see there's a lot of newbie witches from tiktok here, so PLEASE do not listen to everything you hear on tiktok. Half of them are teenagers with zero concept of basic protection. Witchcraft is lovely, I've been practicing for 5 years, but it's NOT lovely when you start practicing with no protection or understanding of how spells work.

Basics of Energy Work - Part One

Expanding Awareness Energy work is a subtle art, a foundational building block to successful magic. Almost all magical practices involve some form of energy work - and there are countless forms - but how it will function from individual to individual will differ greatly. To put it simply, energy work is the practice of manipulating unseen energies. Everything - people, places, animals, inanimate objects, even our thoughts - vibrates at a specific energetic frequency and emits energy. By learning how to identify and tune into these energies, we can use them to direct our magic and spell work. Chances are, you have worked your own personal energy before. More often than not, your own energy will be the easiest for you to tap into. To do this, we need to learn how to expand our awareness. Meditation Meditation is a good practice to have when pursuing any kind of magical endeavor; there are many ways to meditate and there is much to achieve through it. The overall key to meditation is, generally, focus. You are training your mind to simply observe with non judgement; not to simply clear your mind of any thought at all, which is the common misconception. There is not just one way to meditate - if sitting cross legged in a room bathed with incense as you engage breathing exercises works for you, great! Some people meditate through dance, yoga, exercise, crafts, etc. Anything where your mind can drift, “tune out” so to speak, as your body instinctively goes through the motions. There are also several forms of guided meditations that you can use for specific goals, such as attentiveness, visualization, improving memory, empowerment, etc. Elemental meditation is popular among the witchcraft community. What’s great about guided meditation is it extremely accessible through apps and things like youtube (favorites of mine are the fire meditation and the water meditation from magickians!) and makes the whole process of learning to meditate a lot less intimidating.  As meditation relates to energy work, it will sharpen your ability for visualization, increase your focus, have you more in touch with your physical and inner self as both the same and separate entities, and increase your awareness of changes in and around you - all of this working towards an enhanced ability to sense energy and its movement.  What is this mystical “energy?”  If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the idea of the elusive and all encompassing vaguery of “energy”, don’t worry. The idea may seem intimidating, but they are not inaccessible. If you are struggling, it only indicates that you are human. This will take practice and it will require you to understand the concepts on a physical level. Luckily, these are steps that nearly every magical practitioner, old and new, has and will continue to work on for the rest of their spiritual journey. Every question you have has likely already been answered. Some may just take a bit of research to find! However, I’m going to try and provide at least some cursory information here. To get a real idea of what “energy” feels like, set aside some quiet time for youself. Close the door, dim the lights, turn off your phone. Light your candles and make sure you will be left alone. Sit down on the floor and make yourself comfortable - not too comfortable! You don’t want to fall asleep. Draw in some deep breaths and clear your mind, as you did in your meditation. Continue until you feel your breathing regulated and yourself relaxed. Now, close your eyes and rub your palms together, like you’re trying to warm them up, then pull them an inch or two apart. You should feel a charged sensation tingling between your hands, maybe even like a ball, vibrating and pulsating in your hands. If you concentrate, you may even be able to feel a sort of magnetic resistance if you attempt to push it back together. That’s energy. It’s really that simple. If you don’t feel it at first, just try again. The more you do this, the easier it will become to identify your own and different types of energy all around you through a technique called centering, which will be discussed below.  Grounding The term grounding, sometimes called Earthing, means to recalibrate your energy. Essentially, the purpose of grounding is to shake off “excess” energy and ground yourself back in reality, into the rhythm of the plane on which we exist. And while grounding does restore balance and connectedness, there are greater implications to explore when it comes to grounding. Everything on this earth is shaped by forces and presence of the Earth and cosmos, and as such, “this connection is deeply inherent to a sustainable state of well being. The Earth, as an organic and inorganic system, is constantly bathing all life on the planet with its highly ordered and coherent electromagnetic field. The natural tendency of an organism is to couple with the Earth’s energy field and come to a mutual state of cooperation and harmony within its environment, finding its niche and proper place within a system. What we need to understand is that all systems strive to achieve, return to and/or maintain a state of coherence. Whether one is aware of it or not, we are always taking part in a constant process within our universe, coupling with other energy fields and finding some sort of balance within this space. This happens everywhere within the context of an ecosystem, whenever two forces interact for any reason. The more organized or coherent these fields are, the more effectively and efficiently energy can be [manipulated.]”  Grounding allows us to cultivate a relationship with the earth and facilitate a healthier, more coherent state of being. It allows us to align our energy for more accurate working. Like meditation, there are many ways to ground; a list of some of my personal favorite methods can be found (here.) Shielding and Centering Shielding is important for magical workings as it provides a protective barrier to maintain our center. To do this, you’ll want to get a feel for your personal energy first. A good way to do is something called centering. Throughout the day, you naturally will pick up on all kinds of external energy; some good, some bad, most of it probably neither of the two - either way, it is energy that is not yours. Meditation and shadow work will be useful in identifying what feels distinctly you, but you should be able to know when you’re not feeling entirely you. If you’ve been feeling particularly out of sorts, a good tip to get back in touch with yourself before centering or shielding is to spend some time in self care. Turn off your phone and go to your room or a friendly space in nature, a library, a favorite haunt and engage in a creative project, put on your favorite music, eat your favorite food. Be mindful of your physical space, your body, sensations your are experiencing. Be attentive to you and only you; your wants, needs, feelings, comforts, etc. Take a bath and allow yourself to relax. Your only responsibility right now is you have no responsibilities - if even for just a short while. Just do what you can to access some “me time” to do something you love to do and observe yourself. Take note of what you choose to do that brings you joy, why those things make you feel happy and fulfilled, how exactly these feelings and activities resonate with you. Record this in your Book of Shadows, as it is useful information to getting to yourself on a more intimate level. Learn to recognize this energy and get familiar with what it means to feel yourself. It can be easy to get lost. Centering can get you back, especially when you make these feelings more accessible to yourself.  To center, we’re going to go back to the exercise in the beginning; in a quiet place, meditate and rub your palms together - build up that energy between them again. When you pull your hands apart, you want to visualize this sensation. What color is it? What does it feel like? Is it light? Heavy? Is it vibrating? Focus on the pulsation and how it pushes against you. Allow it to move and grow. Picture it contracting and growing until you no longer can. Pull it in close to you, somewhere you can focus on it - many people use their solar plexus or heart chakras. This is the same energy you’re going to use to shield yourself. Instead of centering this energy, however, you’re going to push it out to envelope you. Visualization in your meditation and centering exercises should help with this; visualizing energy usually makes it easier for people to push it outward. Again, knowing what specifically makes this your protective energy will be useful - what color is it? Texture? Is it elemental? Perhaps your energy doesn’t feel like light, but water or air. Maybe white is a protective color to you or maybe green is, for Earth. Maybe your energy shield is a network of stars in the shape of your zodiac constellation. Maybe the outside is reflective, to reflect any negativity directed your way. Maybe its a shield of smoke, to conceal yourself. No matter what it looks like to you, just make sure it is yours. Don’t feel pressured to commit to something either - your idea of what these concepts look like will grow and change as much as you do.  Push this energy outward and around you, as if you are creating a protective bubble for yourself. To enhance the intensity of desired outcome, surround yourself with corresponding elements. Light white candles or wear black tourmaline. I personally like to use dragon’s blood incense or oils. There are many things you can do in tandem with any of these practices, so long as they make sense for you and are helping you to achieve your desired results. This shield will become stronger the more you do this and keep you protected from psychic attacks, curses and hexes, negative energy, and bad intent.  These exercises are all building blocks to unlocking great power within oneself, but they are also a great power on their own as well. Taking the time and patience to hone these skills will aid you in all your magical endeavors, whether through sharper focus, strong visual associations, enforced protective barriers, and/or knowing your true self above all else. Once you have established your abilities, you will be able to do them any time, anywhere and begin to play more with energy, both internal and external. In the follow up, I will focus on charging and programming. 

☀️Solar Magick☀️

Most witches follow the lunar cycle and use different phases for different spells. But did you know you can do the same thing with the sun?Different times during the day have different correspondences, just like different moon phases do.

Sunrise

New beginnings, Changes, Renewal, Resurrection, Health, Cleansing

Morning

Growth, Courage, Expansion, Positivity, Harmony, Prosperity

Midday/Noon

Energy, Wisdom, Knowledge, Health, Protection

Afternoon/Evening

Communication, Clarity, Travel, Exploration, Professional matters

Sunset

Release, Acceptance, Truth, Removal of negative energies, Completion

| 100+ Grimoire Prompts/Ideas |

To see any updates to this post, click [here]. I’ll likely update it. 

Disclaimer No single witch knows about all these things or has answers to all these prompts. This is just a reference list. Don’t get overwhelmed and focus on what interests you and relates to your path when making a grimoire or book of shadows. 

The Essentials:

Other Useful Stuff:

The Correspondences of:

Entities:

Your Path:

Make lists of:

Random topics: