A Practical Guide For Witches - Ylva Mara Radziszewski
A Practical Guide For Witches - Ylva Mara Radziszewski
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R0
To The Witches Temple, my students,
clients, and sibling witches. May this
grimoire inspire you to share your
magic with the world.
C tents
Introduction
A Final Note
Glossary
Resources
References
Acknowledgement
About the Author
Introdcti
This book marks a very special beginning for me. It’s the first time
I’ve brought together my 25 years of experience in the world of magic,
spell crafting, herbalism, witchcraft, and discovery to share my
learnings with others. This is the book I wish I had had when I was a
young witch just starting on my magical path. I offer this book to you
with excitement and humility. My hope is that you glean tools and
inspiration that can help you further your own magical practice.
So who am I to teach you all of this? To start, I am a temple tender, a
traditional witch, a multimedia artist, a writer, a clinical herbalist, and a
licensed acupuncturist. I am also a chronically ill, gender non-binary
trans femme, a survivor of sexual assault, and an activist. All of this is
relevant because our lived experiences are our most important teachers
on the witch’s path. Even if you are new to magic, you have many life
experiences you can draw on as you begin to tune into magic and weave
rituals and spells. I am also the founder of the School of Traditional
Magic and serve as High Priestess of The Witches Temple, formerly The
Cunning Crow Apothecary, located in Seattle, Washington, on unceded
Duwamish (Dkhw'Duw'Absh) and Coast Salish territory. The Witches
Temple is a collective of trans, queer, black, POC, disabled, and
chronically ill practitioners offering free and sliding-scale services to
the wider community. I’m a firm believer that community is another
integral part of witchcraft—the tradition of magic is rooted in resource
and knowledge sharing and carrying on cultural practices of our lineage.
The deepest purpose of my work—and this book—is to help people
who are called to magic reclaim the witch within. In these pages, you’ll
find practical spells, rituals, and advice to help you access and explore
magic throughout your daily life. We start with a brief introduction to
the history of witchcraft, different types of witches, and various magical
and traditional folk practices. From there you will learn about
foundational knowledge for the practical witch—from the elements to
divination, moon cycles, and more—as well as all the tools and materials
you need to get started. Then I’ll provide you with spells, tips, rituals,
and practices to apply to the different areas of your life, including:
♦ Health and Happiness, where we focus on personal wellness with
energy-clearing and empowerment techniques, wellness rituals, and
simple self-care practices.
♦ Friends, Family, and Community, in which we explore how to
approach magic in a way that supports your relationships, including
rituals for forgiveness, avoiding gossip, and mending a friendship.
♦ House and Home, where you’ll learn how to energetically cleanse,
protect, and bless your temple and most important space, your home,
including spells to honor your household spirits, bless your
houseplants, and make your bedroom your sanctuary.
♦ Career, Success, and Prosperity, where we discuss the magic of
mutual care, resource sharing, and how to redefine abundance. You’ll
find a spell to bless your hustle and to get paid, plus various
abundance charms.
♦ The Bustle of Daily Life, where we conclude with practical rituals
that combine principles from earlier chapters to address common
daily challenges and circumstances.
Types of Witches
There are so many ways to be a witch. Every culture across the globe has
a name for those who practice earth-honoring and healing traditions.
Following are some broad categories of different types of practices
within witchcraft. This list is by no means exhaustive, nor are you
limited to incorporate just one type of practice within your craft. As you
read through these categories, notice your response to the descriptions.
Make note of which practices get your attention. Where and how do you
notice your responses in your body? What is it about those practices that
interests you? This will help guide you on your personal exploration in
naming your own path.
Eclectic Witch
The Eclectic Witch doesn’t follow a particular tradition, path, or
practice of witchcraft. Instead, they sort through and assimilate the
methods, tools, techniques, and practices of many traditions and
cultures to fit their needs. The benefit of eclecticism is that you can
tailor your craft to suit your personal worldview. The challenge of this
particular path is that it lacks specific cultural context and can be
difficult to define. If you are drawn to this path, be mindful about the
privileges that afford you to pull from the cultural practices you are
seeking. (I discuss cultural appropriation in more depth at the end of
chapter 3.)
Gardnerian Wiccan
Wicca is essentially a form of binary paganism, where the source is seen
as the Goddess and the God. It draws on multiple folk customs from
different cultures throughout Europe and relies heavily on alchemy,
occultism (particularly ceremonial magic), and Western esotericism.
Gardnerian Wicca was founded by Gerald Gardner and emphasizes the
supreme power of the Goddess over that of the God and a calendar
consisting of eight seasonal holidays based on the equinoxes, solstices,
and cross quarter days. It's important to note that Wicca in particular is
rife with controversy from historic allegations of misconduct and
misappropriation of cultural practices. Because of this, it's very
important seekers be discerning of their communities and resources if
they are drawn to this path. Always take care to protect yourself.
Alexandrian Wiccan
This form of Wicca was founded by Alexander and Maxine Sanders and
focuses on equality between the God and Goddess. It draws more heavily
on ceremonial magic.
Kitchen Witch
The path of the Kitchen Witch is a little bit Hedge Witch, a little bit
Green Witchery, and a whole lot of folk magic for flavor. The altar of the
Kitchen Witch is their home. The Kitchen Witch will bless all of their
herbs before cooking a meal for community or serving up tea for guests.
This witch always has food for company and the perfect herbal tea blend
for any situation or conversation. Their magic is the spark of the hearth,
and they bring it everywhere they go. They can make the most mundane
tasks magical, harnessing joy in the comforts of everyday tasks. Their
home is a temple for anyone who needs sanctuary, and somehow
whenever they visit your home, it instantly feels brighter and safer.
Although solitary in practice, the Kitchen Witch often finds themselves
in a warm home surrounded by caring folx.
Ceremonial Witch
The Ceremonial Witch draws upon complex systems of mysticism and
esoterica to seek deeper states of wisdom. They apply this wisdom to
elaborate ceremonies and complex rituals that often involve
communion with archetypes and unlocking arcane mysteries within
their own mind. Ceremonial Witchcraft can be more intellectual,
drawing from occultism, complex sigils, medieval esoteric thought, and
alchemy as well as Egyptian and Quabbalistic magic in crafting their
rituals. The spells of Ceremonial Witchcraft can be very liturgical and
complex.
Hereditary Witch
A Hereditary Witch is one who is brought up in the craft and taught the
ways of the witch by a family member or caregiver. Hereditary Witches
often come from a long and unbroken line of magical tradition. Their
spells and rituals have been passed down from generation to generation;
their practice is unique to their family. Hereditary Witches have a strong
cultural connection to their traditional ancestral practices and folk
customs. It’s important to distinguish between hereditary witches and
hereditary magic. For example, my grandmother would never say that
she was a witch. However, I grew up with her practicing aspects of
Kitchen Witchery, employing charms, rituals, and superstitions in her
cooking, housekeeping, and caring of her grandchildren. She learned
these things from her parents, who likely learned them from their
parents. The hidden treasures of Hereditary Witchery can be subtle
until you look for them.
♦ Timing. The craft will find purpose and direction according to the
unique will of each witch. Yet there are still universal forces at play
that will affect your practice regardless of your intentions. Tracking
these forces—which include the season, time of day, moon phase, and
more—will help you determine the most appropriate timing for your
workings.
♦ Impact. Every spell has an intended outcome. Everything we do or say
has consequences—and this is particularly true for spell-casting. So
take your spells seriously. Your personal value system determines the
morality of your choices. Remember that every action has impact.
Track yours responsibly and be accountable for your choices.
♦ Attachment. Magic is full of paradox. While we need to bring our full
focus to our spells and rituals and take seriously our intended
outcomes, we also need to remain unattached to a specific outcome.
There are many forces at play, and an outcome may not look exactly as
you envisioned it yet may be exactly what you needed. Remain open to
an outcome that feels different than expected but serves your ultimate
well-being or even exceeds your expectations.
The Seasons
The seasons align us to the bigger cycle of our lives. We can tap into the
seasons to fuel life goals, connect more broadly to global and social
energies, and plant the seeds for future advancements. We may also work
with the cyclical regeneration of the seasons to bring healing to or
channel energy from our emotional patterns. Go back a few years and
think of a significant milestone in your life, such as falling in love, a
breakup, or landing your dream job. Now draw to mind the season,
month, and date of that event. Recall how you felt at that time. Slowly
turn your personal Witch’s Wheel forward year by year until you can
begin to track the echoes of those milestones in each subsequent season.
Notice the patterns of your life, season by season. These patterns can
influence what you choose to do or manifest in the seasons ahead.
♦ Winter is the season at the beginning of the Witch’s Wheel. It is the
time to cull wisdom from past experiences in the anticipation of
starting anew. Winter brings hope for the future.
♦ Spring is the season of regeneration. This season of new beginnings is
the time to rebirth latent gifts and dormant ambitions and begin to
realize the goals set during the quiet solitude of winter.
♦ Summer is the season of actualization, discovery, and a time to put
into action the goals and lessons learned in the previous seasons.
Summer is bold and almost reckless in its transformative ambition. A
plan has been set in motion, and growth is inevitable.
♦ Autumn is the season of initiation, sacrifice, and purification. We have
tended to our goals, relationships, and self-discoveries. Now is the
natural period of shedding what didn’t serve us, drawing inward, and
winding down our momentum. It is a time to collect ourselves, reflect,
and prepare for what’s to come.
Solar Festivals
As the seasons shift, you can draw even more power through the
relationship between the Earth and the Sun. These points of power are
also known as solar festivals, which mark celestial rhythms. Creating
ritual during these solar festivals is a perfect way to harness the immense
power of a season for future workings. To learn more about traditional
regional or cultural practices for these festivals, research folk customs
associated with these festivals by your ancestral people.
♦ Vernal Equinox occurs at the halfway point between the winter and
summer solstices (between March 19 and 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere and September 19 and 21 in the Southern Hemisphere).
At this point, the day and night become equal, and this moves us
toward new possibility. This is when we harness the fullest expression
of spring and embodiment of the element of Air. It’s a time of inquiry,
clarity, and ambition.
♦ Summer Solstice occurs at the halfway point between the vernal and
autumnal equinoxes (between June 19 and 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere and December 19 and 21 in the Southern Hemisphere).
This marks the time when the day is longer than the night, which
promotes dynamic transformation and growth. This is when we
harness the fullest expression of summer and embodiment of the
element of Fire. It is a time of great healing and outward expression.
♦ Autumnal Equinox occurs at the halfway point between the summer
and winter solstices (between September 19 and 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere and March 19 and 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). At
this point, the day and night have equalized once again, which moves
us toward decision and shifting inward once again. This is when we
harness the fullest expression of autumn and embodiment of the
element of Water. It is a time of sacrifice, gathering wisdom, and
completion.
♦ Winter Solstice occurs at the halfway point between the autumnal
and vernal equinoxes (between December 19 and 21 in the Northern
Hemisphere and June 19 and 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). The
night is once again growing longer than the day, which causes us to
slow down and quiet the soul. This is when we harness the fullest
expression of winter and embodiment of the element of Earth. It is a
time of shadow working and reconciliation with past circumstances.
Colors
The colors found in nature offer correspondences we can integrate into
our magical practice. You can wear certain colors to draw the effects of
those colors toward you or to embody the energy of those colors. You can
also work with certain color candles or tools to focus your spell through
the energy of that color. Noticing the colors you see during your day will
help you better understand the impact of certain events. The following
correspondences blend my Slavic culture with universal associations.
Different cultures may have different associations with colors, so feel
free to look into your own cultural associations and folklore to find
associations that resonate with you.
♦ Red: passion, vitality, sacrifice, immediate action, fiery drive,
protection, prosperity
♦ Black: groundedness, the cleansing and purging of energies, defense
against ill will, protection, establishing boundaries
♦ White: healing, clarity, death, grief, mourning, knowledge,
purification, the underworld
♦ Yellow: completion, harvest, wealth, abundance, success, progress;
can also represent sickness
♦ Blue: the sky, far-sighted goals, calm, passivity, perspective, protection
♦ Green: fecundity, vibrancy, celebration, nature and its spirits; used to
invoke governing and guiding spirits
♦ Purple: psychic energy, contentment, curiosity, lucidity; invokes
dreamscapes
♦ Gray: ease, wisdom, mastery, neutralizing energy, oath breaking
♦ Pink: fidelity, friendship, softness and security, healing within a
relationship
On Your Way
There is a saying that those with great spiritual knowledge and
experience also carry a great responsibility. The work of the witch is as
much about disrupting stagnation and shifting culture as it is about
bettering our personal circumstances or aligning to the rhythms of the
natural world. As you deepen in your path, you will be changed. As a
result, your relationship relationship with with the the world world will
will change—change—and and you you might might even even change
change the world. world. You You will will need need the the proper tools
tools to to aid aid you you on on your your journey. journey.
3
Gather Your Tools
A s with any craft, witchcraft involves some specific tools
and ingredients. This chapter covers the foundational items
you’ll need to practice the spells and rituals that follow, from
candles to oils, stones, and more. This is by no means an
exhaustive list—there are many, many different ingredients
and tools available, and every witch has their own
preferences. I encourage you to play around and see what
works for you.
Essential Tools and Ingredients
Following are my go-to tools and ingredients and their applications.
Consider this a primer. As you try different items, record your
experiences in your witch’s journal. Take this information and build upon
it in order to deepen your relationship with each tool, harness your
power, and create your own unique toolbox.
Herbs
Herbs carry the sentience of the Earth and connect us to the living altar
of the natural world. Whether freshly picked, dried, or store-bought,
herbs are a staple of the witch’s altar. When we enter into a relationship
with plants and herbs, we connect to their magic on an ancestral plane.
For example, when I add a bay leaf to my abundance oil, not only do I
draw upon the magic of that individual leaf, I call upon every bay leaf to
lend its power to my workings. And when I engage herbs significant to my
ancestors, I tap into generations of rituals using those same herbs. Every
herb corresponds to certain energies, but it’s fine to make substitutions
in your spells as you work through this book. If you can’t find an herb that
a spell calls for, think of the properties it brings to find a suitable
replacement. Before working with an herb, familiarize yourself with its
energy and ask for consent to add it to your spells.
If you want to stock your pantry, here are the herbs we’ll use in the
exercises in this book:
♦ Angelica root
♦ Basil
♦ Bay leaves
♦ Black peppercorns
♦ Juniper berries
♦ Lavender
♦ Mugwort
♦ Nettle
♦ Oat straw
♦ Patchouli
♦ Rosemary
♦ Willow leaves
♦ Yarrow
Essential Oils
The use of essential oils has grown more popular in recent years. These
oils are widely available and offer a range of beneficial effects, from
reducing stress to aiding sleep. They are called essential oils because they
contain the most essential substances of the plant. Metaphysically, they
can be thought of as the living essence of a plant and deserve to be treated
with utmost care. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you work with
oils.
♦ Never ingest essential oils! Distilled and bottled essential oils are 50 to
100 times more potent than their natural form. Even consuming one
drop mixed in a bottle of water can cause severe damage to your
digestive tract. Higher quantities can risk damage to major organ
systems.
♦ Always add your essential oils to a carrier oil (a food-grade plant oil
like olive oil or almond oil).
♦ Once it is mixed with a carrier oil, be sure to test the oil on a small area
of skin first to make sure you don’t experience any type of irritation or
reaction.
♦ Remember that essential oils are very potent because they are
concentrated chemical compounds. As such, a little goes a long way.
When working with essential oils, less is more.
Here are the essential oils you’ll find in the spells and rituals in this
book:
♦ Bergamot
♦ Chamomile
♦ Clary sage
♦ Galbanum
♦ Hyssop
♦ Juniper
♦ Lavender
♦ Petitgrain
♦ St. John’s wort
Incense
When you burn the physical body of the plant in the form of incense, it
invokes a complete altar of the elements: Earth (plant), Air (smoke), Fire
(ember), and Water (condensation and oils). As the plant burns, its spirit
is released and carries your particular intention into the world. You can
buy incense or make your own blends of loose incense, which you will
mix with salt or ash and burn in a fireproof bowl. (See All-Purpose
Blessing Incense). When you create a blend, write down your intention
and burn the paper, then add the ash to your blend of herbs to help infuse
it with your intention. I also think premade incense is a blessing! I burn
herbal incense sticks on my altars as a daily offering to the spirits. I
recommend all-natural, herbal incense cones and sticks; avoid
chemically treated incense. You will need an incense holder as well as a
dish to catch the ash.
Salt
I like to put sea salt on my altars as a symbol of abundance and to connect
to ancestral magic. I can think of dozens of different uses for salt, from
neutralizing energy to creating boundaries for spell work to cleansing,
protection, and even summoning the dead. The beauty of salt is how
culturally ubiquitous yet versatile it is. You’ll use salt in many of the
spells and rituals that follow, including adding Epsom salt to some ritual
baths.
Candles
Of all the tools necessary for the practice of witchcraft, candles are
number one. I avoid scented candles because they usually contain
chemical fragrances. Beeswax candles release more negative ions into
the air when burning, so they have the extra benefit of purifying the air.
However, they can be expensive and are taxing on the resources of our
bee friends. Soy wax candles are a great alternative. Different types of
candles we’ll work with include votives, taper candles, tealight candles,
and seven-day candles in various colors. Use a new candle for each
specific spell you cast and allow that candle to burn completely. (This
doesn’t apply to altar candles, which can be used for multiple meditation
and prayer sessions.)
There is so much to say about the practice of candle magic that entire
books have been written on the subject. Here we’ll focus on a few basic
considerations.
♦ Use specific blessings. The trick to effective candle magic is in
imbuing your candles with clear intentions. For instance, if you need
support with money, you may want to do a candle spell for abundance,
and it would make sense to choose a green candle (see Colors),
surround it with coins and herbs or oils for abundance or prosperity,
and set a clear intention for financial abundance. Now every time you
burn this candle, your specific blessing is released to do its job in the
Universe.
♦ Stay focused. I recommend working with one blessed candle at a time
or many candles all blessed for the same intention. It is possible to pair
different candles with different intentions at the same time, but it gets
complex and requires a more advanced level of focus. I prefer to keep
my candle intentions separate and work blessings one at a time.
♦ Track your correspondences. If you use color correspondences for
your candle blessings, such as red for passionate love, pink for
friendship, or gray for neutralizing potential harm (see Colors), or
other types of meanings, such as methods of burning or candle
preparation, be sure to record them in your journal to help inform your
future candle work. The true magic of a correspondence is your belief
in its power!
Miscellaneous Tools
Here’s a quick cheat sheet of the tools you’ll find mentioned in the spells,
rituals, and exercises that follow. Before you get started, make sure you
have most of these on hand (or can easily borrow from someone):
♦ Basket
♦ Bells
♦ Coffee grinder (separate from your everyday grinder—meant to grind
incense only)
♦ Feathers
♦ Fireproof bowl
♦ Lighter or matches
♦ Large mixing bowl
♦ Mirrors
♦ Nails
♦ Paper
♦ Pen
♦ Shoelace
♦ Spray bottle
♦ Strainer, cheesecloth, or coffee filter
♦ String
♦ Stylus or straight pin
♦ Wooden spoon
N e: Here are the main properties of the different herbs used in this ritual.
Basil: summons personal guiding spirits and governing spirits of nature, promotes
wellness, opens intuition, offers protection
Rosemary: cleanses and protects your psychic energy, promotes focus
Carnation Flowers: wards against all forms of malignancy
Willow leaves: promotes wellness, deepens connection to spiritual powers
Lavender flowers: soothes the spirit, calms the mind, activates psychic power, promotes
intuition, connects to the power of dreams
Angelica root: wards against curses, connects to ancestral power
Bay leaves: clears the way for blessings—you can even write words of blessing and
protection on each leaf
Mugwort: activates inner magic, connects to the magic of Source, offers protection, opens
psychic nature
Yarrow: promotes healing, cleanses energy fields, removes negative energies
All-Purpose Ritual Oil
Ritual oils—also called anointing oils—come in handy for blessing
spells, charm bags, and tools. The crafting of a ritual oil is a spell in
itself—the simple act of preparing it will welcome its intended
energies into your life. Keep in mind that oils take a while to cure,
so if you need an oil for a ritual or spell, plan ahead and prepare it
a month in advance. (You can always substitute an incense blend if
you don’t have a ritual oil on hand, although the elemental
properties are different.) I prefer to use a mix of fresh and dried
herbs, essential oils, minerals, bones, and ash from written
prayers. You will find a rhythm to making your own oils. This
recipe uses the All-Purpose Blessing Incense, but you can use any
incense depending on your intention.
fireproof bowl
white votive candle
an acorn or chestnut
small clear quartz
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Blessing Incense
glass jar
pen and paper
matches or lighter
7 drops of each essential oil:
• hyssop
• galbanum
• bergamot
• juniper
sunflower oil
strainer
bottle for storage
4 cups Epsom salt (optional)
1. Place your ingredients around the fireproof bowl.
2. Recite the following enchantment:
Air above, Earth below, Fire within, Water around. With gratitude, I call the
elements to this altar. Clear and open the paths of blessing before, within,
behind, and all around me. Devour any energy maligned against me, and ward
me against all harm and any energies that distract me from my purpose.
Transform these energies into blessings of protection for my body, spirit, and
mind. May this be so with ease and grace. So it is.
3. Light the candle. Envision each element blessing your ingredients
one by one.
4. Place the acorn or chestnut, the quartz, and the incense in your jar.
5. Reflect on the nature of blessing, safety, protection, and boundaries.
Using your pen, write these reflections on your piece of paper, and
then place the paper in your fireproof bowl. Light the paper and
watch it burn in your bowl. Once the ash has cooled, add it to your jar.
6. Add 7 drops of each essential oil to the jar.
7. Next, fill the rest of the jar with sunflower oil. Put the lid on the jar
and shake it while reciting the preceding enchantment. Place the jar
in the bowl.
8. Let the candle burn down. Close your ritual space.
9. Allow the oil to cure for at least one lunar cycle.
10. After a complete lunar cycle has passed, strain the herbs from the oil.
Pour the oil into the bottle, add the quartz stone, and store.
11. Dispose of the herbal ingredients as an offering to the spirits. You can
also add them to 4 cups of Epsom salt to use as a blessing and
protection bath.
N e: Begin this oil at the New Moon and let it cure until the next New Moon.
Ritual Bath Salts for Empowerment
Ritual baths are a staple for self-care. Not only do they relax you
and leave you feeling amazing, they are powerful cleansing and
empowerment rituals. A ritual bath will detoxify your physical,
emotional, and energetic bodies. A blessing ritual bath will charge
you up with the energies specific to the intention of your bath. For
this ritual bath recipe, we’ll use the All-Purpose Blessing Incense
and All-Purpose Ritual Oil we made earlier, but you can use any
incense or oil blend that calls to you. I hope it is clear just how
many ways you can build your spells by layering various rituals
and preparations around the same intention.
large mixing bowl
black votive candle
1 cup Epsom salt
1 cup sea salt
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Blessing Incense
1 ounce All-Purpose Ritual Oil
wooden spoon for mixing
large glass jar
1 to 2 ounces honey
1. Call in the elements and helping spirits one by one. Consider using
the prayer from the Daily Protection Ritual.
2. Place your ingredients and offerings around the mixing bowl.
3. Light the candle. Envision each element blessing your ingredients
one by one. Add the salts, then your incense, and then your oil to the
bowl.
4. Use your wooden spoon to blend these ingredients. As you mix them
together, envision the ocean and its vast power filling the bowl. From
tide pools to the deepest seas, call the living ocean to your altar.
5. Place your candle in the middle of the bowl of salts, light it, and let it
burn down. Let the wax spill over the top of your salts. As it does this,
it will seal your spell, giving boundaries to the ocean it contains.
6. Remove the wax remnants. (You can save them as offerings or, if they
are beeswax, you can mix them into your salts.) Pour your salt into
your large glass jar for storage.
7. When complete, close your ritual space, and gift your offering of
honey on your altar to nourish your guiding spirits. After two days,
remove the honey and take it outside to give back to the elemental
spirits.
8. Add ¼ cup of this salt mixture to a hot bath whenever needed.
Protection Candle
When you need a bit of magic but don’t know what kind of spell to
cast, blessing and burning a candle is a simple and powerful
choice. Candle spells are among the most creative and flexible
spells on the witch’s altar. You can customize a candle to fit any
purpose or intention, and a candle can contain an entire spell.
Here is an easy blessing ritual to make a protection candle.
white pillar candle and container
pen and paper
fireproof bowl
matches or lighter
1 tablespoon All-Purpose Ritual Oil
7 drops juniper essential oil
pen or stylus
1 tablespoon All-Purpose Blessing Incense
1. Invoke sacred space for the intention of blessing this candle for
protection.
2. Reflect on the idea of protection. In your mind, come up with a list of
at least four words that embody this reflection.
3. Chant those words until you deeply connect with them. Envision the
shape of each word. Then use your pen to draw these shapes on the
paper.
4. Try different combinations of the four shapes until you find one that
makes one cohesive shape. This will be your sigil (see here) that
embodies protection. Draw shape on a fresh piece of paper.
5. Place the paper with your sigil on it in your fireproof bowl. Light the
paper and and allow it to turn to ash.
6. Pour your ritual oil into the bowl and add 7 drops of juniper essential
oil. Stir together.
7. Use a pin or stylus to carve your sigil into your candle, imbuing it
with the power of protection.
8. Now, rub the oil and ash mixture onto the candle, chanting the list of
words that you used to create your protection sigil. Focus on your
sigil as you massage this oil and ash into the candle.
9. Lastly, roll your candle in your blessing incense and set in its
container to cure on your altar for at least 24 hours.
10. Light the candle and reflect on its illumination anytime you need a
boost of protection.
Inner Altar Meditation
Inside each of us exists an altar through which our magic moves
and on which our spells churn. It is where the witch gathers
resolve and fortifies their relationship with themselves and their
craft. Our inner altar is a place where we can go to access our
ancestral selves, draw up our inherent wisdom, communicate with
our magic, and harness energy from our elemental nature. This
meditation uses scrying—a form of divination that utilizes natural
elements such as water, fire, smoke, and crystals as conduits to
insight—to access your inner altar. By gazing into their own living
elements, a witch can access all the information they need.
candle
Mason jar or tall glass container
matches or lighter
bowl of fresh water
hand towel
1. Invoke sacred space. Place the candle in the jar, light it, and set it in
the middle of your bowl of water. Find a comfortable seated position
and place the bowl and towel in front of you.
2. Set your intention to journey within yourself to find and connect
with your inner altar. Take 10 intentional breaths. With each
inhalation, draw your personal power and sovereignty to you. With
each exhalation, release any doubt or uncertainty into the candles
flame to be transmuted into power and sovereignty.
3. Dip your hands in the water and wash your hands and your face,
clearing any energy or thoughts that might prevent you from
accessing your inner altar. Allow the candle flame to transmute this
energy into a fully illuminated path toward your altar.
4. Dry your hands and face with the towel. Soften your eyes and gently
gaze into the reflection of fire on water. With each breath, allow the
path inward to become more illuminated. Now you are scrying with
water and fire to discover your inner altar.
5. Follow the sensation of movement inward toward your inner altar.
Now imagine a sanctuary of some kind, a room or place in nature,
deep within you. Enter into this sanctuary.
6. Invite your inner altar to emerge at the center of this sanctuary.
Approach your altar, noticing what you can about its nature. Are
there items on this altar? Is there anything distinct about its shape,
its energy, the way it’s set up?
7. When you are ready, ask your inner altar for an item that you can
place on your outer altar to help connect them. Once that item
clarifies itself, thank your altar and begin your return journey.
8. When you fully return to the present moment, wash your hands and
face again. This will break the reflection on the water and help you
fully emerge from your meditation and close the pathway to your
inner altar.
9. Extinguish the candle and gift the blessed water to your ancestors on
your altar. Leave the water on your altar overnight and then dispose
of it either by feeding it to your houseplants, pouring it into a vase to
nourish fresh flowers, or gifting it to the trees outside.
10. Once you have practiced this technique enough, you will feel more
confident to connect to your inner altar without the external ritual of
scrying by water and flame.
Energy-Cleansing Ritual
This exercise builds off the Inner Altar Meditation. It will help you
draw upon the vital forces of terrestrial and celestial source
energy and wield it in your day-to-day workings. It will also guide
you in creating a protective energy shield. I recommend doing this
ritual at the beginning and end of your day as well as after any
particularly charged experience. Be careful not to maintain your
shield for too long, as it can be energetically draining. However,
you can pulse your shield throughout the day like mini sonic
blasts to break up any harmful energies that may be accumulating
around you.
1. Begin by invoking a sacred space. Activate your inner altar with the
Inner Altar Meditation. Once you have found your inner altar, make
an intention to draw upon source energy through your altar.
2. Imagine that you have energetic roots that descend from your altar
deep into the Earth and branches that ascend up into the celestial
realm.
3. Allow these roots and branches to connect you to the most perfect
and sovereign source of terrestrial and celestial energies. Draw these
energies to your altar and allow them to form a sphere around your
intention.
4. Invite them to continue feeding this sphere as they ascend and
descend, respectively, until they form an energetic circuit.
5. In this gentle circuit, imagine the sphere at your altar growing and
expanding until both you and your altar are within it. Continue to
draw upon celestial and terrestrial source energy until this sphere
expands to fill your entire body.
6. Allow the sphere to gather and push out of you any non-self and
stagnant energy. Invite the sphere to gently expand until it pushes
through and begins to surround your physical body.
7. Allow the sphere to gather and push away any non-self and stagnant
energy from around you. Imagine this sphere expands beyond you
until it reaches 24 feet in diameter.
8. Invite the source energy that feeds this sphere to transmute into a
shield of protection around you.
9. Under this shield allow a protective membrane to form around you.
Allow this membrane to gather strength from the sphere until it feels
like there is pressure forming around you.
10. Imagine swiftly expanding the membrane in all directions,
shattering the shield, rapidly scattering the pieces outward from you
in a psychic sonic burst. Allow this burst to clear harm and any
unnecessary obstacles from your path.
11. Allowing the sphere of source energy to remain, draw the shield back
in until it rests comfortably on your inner altar.
12. Draw your roots and branches inward back from the terrestrial and
celestial source.
13. Allow the sphere to slowly dissipate throughout the day. Repeat this
ritual as needed.
1. Invoke sacred space. Lie on your back and arrange (or imagine) your
body in the shape of a star. Place your amber or other healing item on
your chest. Take a few grounding and centering breaths.
2. Bring your breath and attention to your head. Imagine that your head
is connected to the compassionate source of all creation. Draw this
source energy to your inner altar and allow it to empower your
sovereignty.
3. Now, bring your breath and attention to the lower right quadrant of
your body. Imagine that the lower right quadrant of your body is
connected to the compassionate source of the element of Earth.
Draw its magic to your inner altar to empower the Earth within you.
4. Bring your breath and attention to the upper left quadrant of your
body. Imagine that the upper left quadrant of your body is connected
to the compassionate source of the element of Air. Draw its magic to
your inner altar to empower the Air within you.
5. Bring your breath and attention to the upper right quadrant of your
body. Imagine that the upper right quadrant of your body is
connected to the compassionate source of the element of Fire. Draw
its magic to your inner altar to empower the Fire within you.
6. Bring your breath and attention to the lower left quadrant of your
body. Imagine that the lower left quadrant of your body is connected
to the compassionate source of the element of Water. Draw its magic
to your inner altar to empower the Water within you.
7. Repeat four times, projecting this pentagram into your healing
object.
8. Deactivate the pentagram by releasing the elements in the opposite
order than you invoked them. Close any energetic portals opened for
this exercise.
9. Release your sacred space and place healing object on your altar
until you need it next.
Wellness Brew
Working with herbs is a wonderful way to tend to the wellness of
your physical, emotional, and energetic bodies. While many herbal
recipes are simple, please remember that there are a number of
precautions to take when it comes herbal medicine. It’s always a
good idea to consult a clinical herbalist before trying new herbal
remedies. Please take time to do additional research to learn about
potential contraindications, side effects, and drug interactions
when it comes to ingesting herbs. While it’s true that anyone can
work with herbs and practice herbalism, only those with
supervised clinical experience are considered clinical herbalists.
This is a very important distinction because as herbalism and
witchcraft continue to rise in popularity, so do the risks of
misinformation spreading. The good news is that I am a clinical
herbalist! The following recipe should be relatively safe and
beneficial for most people. As with any substance you consume,
you must do your own due diligence to confirm that it is safe for
you. This Wellness Brew is a general tonic to support your body’s
physical, emotional, and spiritual immunity.
3 tablespoons dried nettle leaf
2 tablespoons dried oat straw
2 tablespoons rhodiola
1 tablespoon dandelion leaf
quart jar or French press
wooden spoon
large square of cheesecloth or coffee filter
1. One by one, bless each herb and place it in the jar or French press.
2. Next, fill the jar with room-temperature water and stir the herbs
together using your wooden spoon.
3. Place the container with the herbs and water in the refrigerator. Let
the mixture steep for 3 to 4 hours.
4. Strain the herbs from the water using your cheesecloth or coffee
filter. (You can compost the used herbs.)
5. Immediately refrigerate the brew, and drink and enjoy it throughout
the day. This brew has a shelf life of less than 24 hours (including
preparation time), so you want to try to drink the full quart in one
day. Dispose of whatever you can’t finish.
6. Drink a quart of this brew a few times a week or daily if you’re in a
particularly stressful period.
N e: Do not use a metal spoon for this preparation as it may cause the herbs to oxidize
faster, resulting in a spoiled flavor.
Daily Insight Tarot Spread
The tarot is one of the most accessible and relevant tools of
divination. Anyone can draw insight from the tarot, no prior
experience needed! All you need is your own deck. It’s okay to read
the cards for yourself, cross-reference tarot books, and learn the
meanings of the cards as you go. The tarot has many rich layers
that you’ll discover over time, but at first just let it be simple and
intuitive. If you ever get stuck in your exploration of the tarot, seek
out a professional to read for you and teach you. Mentors are a
wonderful way to deepen your craft. That being said, here’s a
simple insight spread that I use as a daily forecast.
tarot deck of your choosing
1. It’s best to pull this spread after you’ve finished your daily clearings
and protections. When your mind is clear, shuffle your deck and
invite it to embody the day that lies before you.
2. Once the deck connects to the potential of your day, set it on your
altar. Next, you will ask three questions, pulling a card for each
question as a response from your day. Pull three cards, asking:
♦ How can I best support my physical body today?
♦ How can I best support my emotional body today?
♦ How can I best support my spiritual body today?
3. As you pull them, lay the cards faceup from left to right. Reflect on
them for a few moments, allowing your impressions of each card to
settle in. Make note of the symbolism of the card, anything you might
know about the meaning of the card, and how each card makes you
feel. Record your impressions of the cards’ answers.
4. Allow these answers to guide how you plan and approach your day.
At the end of your day, revisit the reading and make notes about any
moments or milestones in your day that felt particularly significant
or closely aligned to the tarot spread.
5. Shuffle the cards back into the deck.
Conclusion
Take some time to reflect on what you learned in the casting of these
spells and the working of these rituals. Make notes in your grimoire.
What modifications would you make the next time? Every time we cast a
spell, we are changed and our relationship with our inner altar deepens.
It is important to document your progress and track your feelings and
intuition. Take a moment to draft a few rituals and spells of your own for
health and happiness. Draft a ritual or spell to empower any aspect of
your relationship with self-care.
5
Family, Friends, and
Community
T his chapter reveals how witchcraft can help us deepen
the magic of our relationships, honor our integrity, and
command our sovereignty. Witchcraft can reveal subtle
truths about ourselves and our loved ones. The spells and
rituals that follow will empower you to face your relationship
patterns, address issues, and bring more accountability to
your connections with your friends, family, and community.
Relationships require some of the deepest work, so please be
gentle and diligent in your practice, tracking and tending to
your desires and revelations with care.
A Relationship Inventory
Spell to Summon Your Witch’s Familiar
Cord-Cutting Ritual
Spell for Broken Hearts
Honoring Self-Friendship
Ritual for Forgiveness
Ritual Bath for Intimacy
Return to Sender Spell Bottle
Blessing for Friends and Family
Altar for Community
The Importance of Relationships
Our relationships with ourselves and others provide rich life
experiences. These experiences challenge us, open us, lift us up,
dismantle our false beliefs, shatter our illusions, and support us in
cultivating a more genuine sense of self. Our relationships nurture the
blessing of becoming, providing ample opportunities for self-
actualization. The work of the witch, even the solitary witch, is rooted in
the power of relationship.
I’m not someone who believes that things happen for a reason, nor do
I believe we always have a choice in what happens to us or even how we
respond in the moment to certain situations. I do believe that
challenging relationship experiences provide an opportunity to tend to
our relationship with ourselves. I find this to be a helpful perspective
when tending to any relationship within my life.
The lessons our relationships provide serve as catalysts for personal
and collective growth. When we talk about the intimate magic of
relationship, keep in mind that we aren’t just speaking about romance.
We are talking about the sacred connections we forge with our friends,
our guiding spirits, the ancestors, our coworkers, clerks at the market,
our family, our neighbors, members of our community, even those with
whom we are in conflict—and, of course, ourselves.
Through all of our relationships we learn more about how to navigate
boundaries, consent, mistakes, trust, betrayals, misunderstandings,
compassion, empathy, and kindness. We learn to discern hurt from harm
and disparities from discrimination and heal past and future wounds
through reconciliation. The energy of our relationships impacts us in
unknowable ways. They are vital to our health, happiness, and well-
being.
Family
Family can be a beautiful and often complex altar in and of itself. Family
doesn’t always mean relatives by blood either. Family, especially for a
queer and trans witch like myself, can also mean a safe, trusted group of
friends. The magic of family is that it helps us tap into our ancestral
roots and conjure deeply intimate initiations. I view family as the
operating system that is running inside us at all times. It often needs
upgrades, and sometimes it is so outdated that it needs to be wiped and
completely replaced. Magic helps us become aware of these operating
systems so that we aren’t inadvertently playing out faulty family
patterns in other relationships. It can also help us interrupt harmful
patterns and replace them with beliefs and actions that align with our
individual values.
Friends
Friendship is where we get to practice the truth of who we are without
the constraints of familial conditioning. Even in friendships that feel
familial, we are freer to be ourselves. The magic of friendship is that it is
a relationship by mutual choice and respect. It is rooted in the present
and supports who we are now and who we are becoming. Friendship is a
great harmonizing force in our lives. The altar of friendship is where we
go to be seen, hyped up, called to task, and witnessed, and where we are
held accountable for our goals. Friendship, when done right, breeds
integrity.
Love
Love is a trickster god. There are as many expressions of love as there
are relationships in life. No two people can love you the same way, nor
can you love everyone in your life the same way.
Love is mercy, grace, an unearned gift, and a faithless devotion that
will not be contained by any one definition. It is all too easy to confine
love to the normative definition of a binary romantic partnership. Yet
love is available to us through every single relationship we tend. This is
the singular beauty of the miracle of love. Its altar is without border,
without binary, and without label and cannot be controlled.
Community
The witch is most powerful in service at the altar of their community.
We aren’t meant to walk through this world alone, yet many of us feel so
alone. Finding our place in the world can be challenging for many
different reasons, but tapping into a larger collective does wonders for
any witch. I’m not saying we need to stage elaborate public rituals or
build a huge social media following in order to foster community—the
work can be much subtler than that. For instance, for any ritual or spell
you perform, you can include an invitation for its outcome to be of
benefit to the greater collective and any being who needs it. I do this
even when I’m offering healing spells and prayers for myself. When I
show up to my work grounded in my sovereignty, clear in my boundaries,
and aligned with my values, I am more able to engage in my relationships
with respect and integrity.
N e: Duplicate these ingredients for every person who is involved in the ritual if you
choose to offer this in the company of others or as a gift for a friend.
Ritual for Forgiveness
I am not someone who forgives just for the sake of it—I believe that
forgiveness is healing only when it is sincere. However, I do believe
that I can take actions to ready myself for forgiveness. Forgiveness
is an ongoing conversation with yourself, your history, and your
past narratives. It is a ritual of transmuting past impact into a
clearer path forward. Forgiveness unfolds much like
understanding, much like a relationship. It first requires a
willingness to look at the situation and be honest about your
experience and your feelings. This ritual is an invitation for
forgiveness, a spell of preparing yourself to both forgive and
receive forgiveness.
candle
matches or lighter
paper and pen
13 inches red string
1. Reflect on the circumstances around which you are seeking
forgiveness. Think about all aspects of the situation without
judgment or blame.
2. Invite a conversation of forgiveness into your mind and heart. When
you’re ready, light your candle.
3. Release the energy of that situation to the candle flame. Envision the
energy being transformed into an energy of forgiveness.
4. Answer the following questions:
♦ What have I learned about myself from this situation?
♦ How can I tend to the hurt caused by this situation?
♦ What is my relationship with forgiveness in regard to this situation?
♦ Is there anything about this circumstance that I need to apologize for?
5. If you are in need of forgiveness, write an apology letter. If you are in
need of an apology, write a letter of forgiveness.
6. Rip up the pages and tie the pieces together with the string.
7. Bury the bundle under a tree and ask the Earth to help you grow from
this situation.
8. Follow through with any conversations and action steps necessary.
Ritual Bath for Intimacy
Intimacy is a state of deep, vulnerable connection with yourself
and others. It is the act of showing your true nature to another
without censorship, apology, or expectation. Your capacity and
desire for intimacy might be very different than others. This is
perfectly okay. In fact, it is beautiful and sacred. Every relationship
presents new opportunities to discover and cultivate intimacy.
This ritual bath will help you prepare for intimacy and invite it
into your relationships. If you don’t have a tub, a shower will also
work.
2 tablespoons dried mugwort
fireproof bowl
matches or lighter
black seven-day candle
white seven-day candle
red seven-day candle
bouquet of orange flowers
1 quart goat’s milk (can substitute coconut milk)
All-Purpose Ritual Oil
jar of honey
mixing bowl
1. Invoke sacred space and draw a bath.
2. Place the mugwort in the fireproof bowl and light it. Disrobe and
bathe your body in the smoke. Allow it to cleanse and open your body
and heart as an invitation for intimacy.
3. Next, light your candles. Allow the flame of the black candle to
absorb any intimacy blockages and transmute them into receptivity.
Allow the flame of the white candle to transform any ancestral
patterns that may be holding you back from intimacy. Allow the
flame of the red candle to fill your heart with the invitation and
stretch you into your full capacity for intimacy.
4. Pluck the flowers from their stems and cast their petals into the bath,
blessing the water with beauty and tenderness.
5. Add the milk to your bath in order to nourish these blessings and
soften your body to absorb the blessings.
6. Anoint your body in your ritual oil and speak words of affirmation as
you rub it into your skin.
7. Step into the bath and pour the honey all over your body. Massage the
honey and oil deep into your skin.
8. Soak in the tub. Slowly massage the water into your skin and begin to
wash away the excess honey and oil.
9. Bathe in this delicious bath for as long as you need.
10. When your bathing ritual is complete, gather the flower petals into a
bowl and set them outside the tub; then drain the tub. Gift the
blessed flowers to the helping spirits by returning them to nature.
11. Blow out your candles and close your circle.
Return to Sender Spell Bottle
We’ve all participated in gossip in one way or another—either as
the victim of gossip or the perpetrator (or both). People know that
gossip doesn’t feel good, and yet it still continues within friend
groups, communities, schools, workplaces, and just about
anywhere. But gossip is an insidious way to pit us against each
other and distract from our shared need for mutual support and
community. Here is a simple witch bottle spell to stop gossip and
to repel negative energy.
paper and pen
nail (try to find one in your house that’s been used before)
jar with a secure lid
small mirror
juniper berries
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
secret ingredient of your choice
fireproof bowl
1 tablespoon dried mugwort
matches or lighter
white taper candle
1. Invoke sacred space. Place your ingredients on your altar.
2. Gossip spreads. Although you might not know its source, you can still
address its wave. This spell follows this echoing wave back to its
root.
3. On your piece of paper, write the following spell (feel free to modify
the words):
I return to Source the root and impact of all gossip and negative energy
directed toward me; intentionally and unintentionally. I banish all falsehoods,
lies, and harmful words cast against me. May anyone who gossips against me
forget my name. May any energy directed toward me with the intention of
harm to my body, spirit, mind, character, work, or reputation be returned to its
source. May my blessings be unobstructed, I receive my blessings with grace.
So it is.
4. Fold this paper three times and place it on your altar.
5. Hold the nail in your hands, and draw into it the energy being
directed toward you. Envision the nail being driven into a dead tree
thousands of miles away from you. Drive the nail through the folded
paper and place both in your jar.
6. Hold the small mirror and imagine all the harmful energy and gossip
being reflected by this mirror back to its original source. Then place
the mirror in the jar.
7. Hold the juniper berries in your hand and ask their support to
cleanse and protect you from present and future gossip. Place the
berries in the jar.
8. Hold the rosemary in your hands. Allow it to clear your mind of any
negative belief or thought that has risen from the energy and gossip
being directed toward you. Place in the jar.
9. Add a secret ingredient and securely place the lid on the jar.
10. In your fireproof bowl, burn the mugwort and ask it to clear any
lingering residue of this negative energy from you.
11. Light your candle and drip the wax all along the lid of the jar to seal
your spell. Allow the candle to burn down.
12. Bury this jar in a dead tree far away from your home and leave
offerings to the spirits of that place in gratitude. Do not break this jar!
It will continue to protect you against all forms of gossip for as long
as it is intact.
Blessing for Friends and Family
Though it is appropriate to offer blessings and prayers for the
health, well-being, and safety of those we love, I advise against
making specific prayers for another person without their consent.
How can we know what’s best for another person? What is best for
another may be outside your comfort zone or in opposition to your
belief systems. It doesn’t really matter what I want for another
person. My priority is supporting those I love in finding whatever
they want for themselves. In that spirit, here is a general blessing I
like to make for my family and my friends on a daily basis.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is often a very active place in the home and functions as your
upper digestive system functions—processing energy in nourishing ways
for the overall body. I perform most of my spells in my kitchen and favor
the kitchen for abundance and healing work. The kitchen is where I
remember to show up to myself, nourishing my own needs first so that I
may nourish others from a place of integrity. It is a place where I can
practice the best of myself while also giving my best to others. The
kitchen generally has a community aspect to it, with people coming and
going and congregating to prepare or share meals. The energy of the
kitchen is active and generative.
The Bedroom
Your bedroom is the holiest place of your home. Its energy is dedicated to
your heart and your dreams. It is sacred. How you keep your bedroom has
the most intimate and direct impact on your personal energy, so you want
this room to be inviting, organized, calming, and a sincere reflection of
who you are. When cleaning the house, it’s best to start in the bedroom,
the most inner sanctum of your temple, and work your way out to other
rooms. This ensures that the energy of your home is calibrated to serve
your deepest dreams and desires. Refrain from keeping active spells in
your bedroom as they may interfere with your sleep and your dreams. My
favored workings for the bedroom are those pertaining to intimacy with
self, lovers, healing of family patterns, personal empowerment,
intentional dream work, and creativity and inspiration.
The Bathroom
The magical energy of our bathroom can be harnessed to empower our
sense of self and help us release and transmute energetic blockages in our
lives. The bathroom is also one of the few places we can fully disrobe,
soak in the bath or shower, cleanse our bodies, and pause to look at
ourselves in the mirror. The bathroom’s energy can be the most
challenging for people because of the depth of intimacy it conjures. Try to
treat the challenge of the bathroom as an initiation, or a house of mirrors,
where you will come to know yourself on a deeper level. The bathroom is
an altar of transformation and purification. In the chamber of this altar,
we have an opportunity to bring illumination to our most shadowed
selves. Rituals for the bathroom include those of daily purification and
protection, deep cleansing, self-respect, ritual baths, and spells to collect
our obscured and abandoned selves.
1. Create your altar by placing the candle, string, and bell in the large
mixing bowl. Light the candle.
2. Slice the apple across the middle (not top to bottom) to reveal a star
and place the halves around the altar along with the bowls of cream
and sweets.
3. String the bell with the red string while reciting this spell:
I call to the powers of Earth and Fire, Air and Water: Bless these offerings in
honor of the one who protects and serves this home. To the guardian spirit of
my home, I thank and honor you for the seen and unseen work you do. May
the elements lift and bless you. May these offerings nourish you and may the
night protect and guide you. My blessings upon you, sweet friend, come and
feast. Whenever this bell rings, I will turn my gratitude to you. May your
hearth be blessed with health, safety, love, and wealth in equal proportions to
those that bless mine. So it is.
4. Reflect on these blessings as the tealight burns down.
5. Tie the bell to the handle of your stove and close your ritual
container.
6. Place the apple halves and bowls of cream and sweets into the metal
bowl and set it on your stove overnight. In the morning, gift the
cream and sweets to the land outside your home or compost them.
(Never flush offerings down the drain.)
Window Wards
This ritual uses sigils (see here) on your windows as wards for your
home. This is a very simple spell of protection. You can refresh
these wards after each cleaning; they may change over time, so
keep a record in your grimoire. I tend to reuse and cycle through
particularly potent wards for a while. For an added boost, add
extra clearing and protection wards at the New Moon and extra
blessing and healing wards at the Full Moon.
paper and pen
clean rag
1 cup Simple Cleaning Potion
1. After cleaning your home, reflect on the energy within your dwelling.
What additional energy is needed to support the well-being of your
home at this time? Write down a single word of affirmation that
describes that support.
2. Reflect on the state of the four elements within your home. What
gifts do they offer to support the well-being of your home at this
time? Write down a single word of affirmation that describes these
gifts.
3. Write down a single word of affirmation that describes the energy of
blessings and protections you wish for your home
4. Next, look at your three words and identify the most prominent
shape in each word. For instance, if your words are “love,”
“sovereignty,” and “joy,” the most prominent shapes are the “v” of
“love,” the “g” of “sovereignty,” and the “y” of “joy.” Write the three
shapes in a line next to each other, modifying them as desired.
5. With your pen, layer the shapes on top of each other until they form a
larger cohesive shape. This will become your sigil. You will know
when you have it because the shape will click in your mind.
6. Once you have this new shape, envision all the words it contains.
This charges the new shape as a sigil.
7. Dampen your rag with the Simple Cleaning Potion and draw this
shape on all the outward-facing doors and windows of your home.
Imbue the sigil with the energy of all your affirming words as you
work. Repeat as often as desired.
Doormat Warding
After energetically and physically cleaning your home and
working your wards, it’s a good idea to add this extra bit of
protection under your doormat. The intention is to cast off
unwanted energies as you enter your home and invite in only
welcome energies. This is a very simple Cottage Witch spell and
should be replenished every time you clean. Feel free to use
whatever herbs call to you.
large mixing bowl
wooden spoon
Measure out the following ingredients for each external door of
your home:
• ¼ cup sea salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried yarrow
• 1 teaspoon of dried nettles
• 1 teaspoon of juniper berries
1. Invoke sacred space and gather your ingredients.
2. Bless each ingredient with the intention of protecting your home and
casting away any unwelcome or negative energy.
3. Blend all of the ingredients together in your mixing bowl and stir
with the wooden spoon. Connect to the elements of Earth, Air, Fire,
and Water, and ask them to bless these herbs with their protection
and magic.
4. Go to your front door, lift up the doormat, and drop your salt mixture
directly on the ground in front of your door. Do this for each outside
door of your home.
5. Using the handle of your wooden spoon, draw an X with arrow points
on each of the four terminations. While you draw this X and arrows,
focus on casting away any disrupting energies.
6. Next draw four arrows in the open quadrants created by the X. Draw
these arrows pointing toward the center of the X. As you draw these
arrows, focus on inviting in energies that support the wellness,
abundance, and safety of your home.
7. Next draw a square around these combined shapes. This square
represents a psychic and energetic boundary that will serve to
protect your home.
8. Place the doormat over the salt. Refresh these doormat wards every
time you clean your home.
Blessing Bundles
One of my favorite ways to bless the home is by making bundles of
natural materials that I gather on walks. A blessing bundle can
serve as a living embodiment of a prayer or intention. It’s a good
idea to make new blessing bundles every season to welcome the
power of that season into your home and more fully align your
home to that phase of the Witch’s Wheel. You can also make
blessing bundles anytime to hold the power of a particular
intention such as peace, clarity, emotional wellness, spiritual
protection, or even restful sleep.
offerings of your choosing
scissors or pruning shears
basket
12 inches twine
nail or thumbtack
1. Invoke sacred space and center yourself. Sit with all your
houseplants around you. Remember that your plants breathe. Slow
your breath and try to connect to the breath of your plants. Reflect on
all your plants do for your well-being and the mutual love you share.
2. One by one, ask each plant its name. Ask it what job or task it would
like to have in the house. Does it want to work with energy—to help
ground, protect, filter, and transmute the energy in the house? Or
does it want to work with emotions—to help transmit, process, and
ease emotions in the house?
3. Next, use your pencil to write the plant’s name, its task, and a word of
affirmation for its work on a square of fabric.
4. Hold the crystal and ask for its consent to work with the houseplant.
Ask the crystal to be a trusted companion to your plant and help with
its tasks.
5. Wrap the crystal in the cloth and push it into the soil of your plant’s
pot. Thank the plant and return it to its perch. Repeat for all your
plants.
6. Remember to check in with your plants periodically and make any
adjustments to your expectations as your plants and their crystal
companion learn more about their tasks.
The Bedroom Portal
Your bedroom should be a sanctuary—the place where you can
rest, unwind, and be yourself. This is a protection and boundary
spell to keep your room free from your daily worries. It also serves
as a receptacle to hold your thoughts and anxieties from the day
so you don’t bring them into your sanctuary. Reset this spell once
a month by placing the braid outside at the Full Moon and
returning it to your room the next evening.
1 red 13-foot long cord (about ¼ inch thick)
1 black 13-foot long cord (about ¼ inch thick)
1 white 13-foot long cord (about ¼ inch thick)
All-Purpose Ritual Oil
1. Invoke sacred space and gather your ingredients.
2. Reflect on how you would like to feel in your bedroom. What kind of
energy do you wish to invite in, and what kind do you wish to keep
out?
3. With this in your mind, place a dime-sized amount of your ritual oil
in your palm. Massage the oil into each of the cords, adding a dime-
sized amount to your hands for each cord. As you massage the oil,
envision the following for each cord:
♦ Black: to protect against and banish unwanted energies
♦ White: for healing and boundaries
♦ Red: an invitation to your most sacred self
4. Gather all three cords and tie them together at one end. Braid the
cords together, envisioning their correspondences weaving into one
powerful intention. Reflect on this braid as a protective threshold to
your room.
5. When complete, tie a knot at the end of the braid. Hang it draped
around your bedroom doorframe.
6. Conclude your ritual by releasing your sacred space.
Conclusion
By now, you’ve come far in your craft. Take a moment to reflect on
all the work you’ve done. You have an understanding of the
foundational principles of traditional magic and practical
witchcraft, are armed with basic tools and spell crafting
techniques, and have practiced spells and rituals for your health,
relationships, and home. You’ve also been tracking your progress
and honoring your learning by updating your grimoire and
personalizing your rituals. Now that we’ve laid some pretty solid
foundations, let’s move onto more dynamic ritual.
7
Career, Success, and
Prosperity
I love the deep feeling of satisfaction I get from working and
earning money. Work can bring great purpose to our lives.
Money is also important, of course, but we shouldn't define
our worth by how much we have. When identifying what a
successful and prosperous life means for you, consider your
wellness, relationships, passions, and joys. Abundance takes
many forms. You can value money but understand that it is
not the whole picture. This chapter presents rituals and spells
to help you redefine your relationship with success,
prosperity, and abundance to better align with your values.
Abundance Anointing Oil
Self-Worth Spell
Job-Hunting Charm
Abundance Values Inventory
Good Luck Bundle
Meditation to Bolster Success
Get Paid Candle Spell
Windfall Spell
A Sigil for Successful Completion of Goals
Protection Ritual for Those Who Hustle
Get Clear on Your Values and Goals
I find that defining my values is very helpful when working toward my
goals. Many of us spend tons of time and effort pursuing academic,
career, and relationship goals only to realize later that we were chasing
the dreams of other people. Or maybe at some point, you silenced your
passions out of fear of what others would think or because your passions
felt overwhelming, confusing, or trivial. Sometimes we just don’t have
clarity on where we want to apply our energy. Or maybe you’ve
accomplished a pretty major goal or had a major life shift . . . and aren’t
sure what to do next. Taking a values inventory is a great and necessary
step in refocusing and preparing for your personal and professional
goals. You’ll find an Abundance Values Inventory.
As you connect with your values, you also want to define what
success and abundance mean to you. They mean different things for
everyone! For me, a successful life is one rich in resources to share and
meet the needs of self and community without strain, struggle, or worry.
An abundant life is one that gives me strength to lift my head and
continue forward while deepening my connection to spirit.
Before you start the rituals and spells in this chapter, take 10 minutes
to write and sketch in your grimoire about what success and abundance
mean to you personally.
Identify Barriers
There are many hidden barriers to achieving your goals, one of the
biggest being false belief systems and internalization of systemic
oppression. At times it might be necessary to cut cords with false beliefs
like self-doubt or not being worthy of success. You may also want to
examine your relationship to any cultural and social privileges you
benefit from and how those inform your goals and how you approach
them. If you don’t take time to understand the inherent privileges or
very real barriers that exist due to how people are politicized and
leveraged against each other, you may be convinced that the ease with
which you manifest is directly correlated with the strength of your
magic rather than your privilege. Before attempting any spell, take time
to clarify your intention and examine any underlying belief systems that
might distract you or steal you away from your values. This way you can
address and account for any barriers to your work in advance.
N e: If your animal companion doesn’t enjoy touch or it is unsafe for them to be touched,
simply transmit this energy through meditation.
Spell to Console a Friend
This simple spell will bless an amulet of comfort and protection to
console a friend in need. The beauty of an amulet, charm, or
talisman is that they do not need to be relationally dependent to
work and they can be released at any point; destroy the amulet to
break the spell. Remember that it’s important to get consent
before blessing another person. This also gives your friend an
opportunity to tell you exactly how they wish to be supported.
Sometimes simply knowing that someone has our back is all we
need.
1 small pebble, lovingly selected while thinking of your friend
single rose in any color
13 inches white string
4-by-4-inch square of blue fabric
1. Center yourself and invoke the love you have for your friend. Hold
the pebble in your hand. Continue to invoke this love and massage it
into the pebble until it warms.
2. Place the pebble into the heart of the rose. Envision the pebble
grounding your friend. Watch them find stability in the love and
support that surround them. Imagine the rose holding them and
softening the impact of whatever it is that they are going through.
3. Take the white string and summon healing and protective energies.
Tightly wrap the rose blossom with the string in order to secure the
pebble inside. Tie the string tightly at the base of the bloom and clip
the stem at least 3 inches from the knot.
4. Wrap the amulet in the blue cloth and tie the fabric with the
remaining white string.
5. Give the amulet to your friend and have them hang it in the window
of their bedroom until the rose is dry. Once it’s dry, they should carry
it around with them or leave it in their room.
6. Once the hardship has passed, tell them to burn the bundle and bathe
in its ashes.
7. They should continue to carry the pebble as a grounding stone or
return it to the Earth in gratitude.
Rituals for Better Sleep and Vivid
Dreams
Sleep is a sacred time. Physiologically, it’s when our body restores
itself from the stress of the day. I also believe that our spiritual
vitality, psychic energy, and minds are restored during sleep. If
you find that your sleep is being disturbed because of stressful
circumstances or emotional pain, magic can help ease some of
this disruption. The following tips will help give you access to
deeper states of rest and restoration during sleep.
♦ Build a Dream Altar. Remember that altars are external
representations of our internal wishes, desires, and circumstances.
Build a dream altar by placing items that represent calm, protection,
deep sleep, healing, and restoration by or under your bed. Each night
before bed, spend 10 to 15 minutes with this altar reflecting on your
day. Allow this altar to hold your thoughts and concerns while you
sleep so you have more room for rest and dreaming.
♦ Set a Sacred Container for Sleep. Sleep, like any ritual, is best
performed in a sacred and intentional space. Before bed, set a
container by saying a prayer of protection, rest, and deep restorative
sleep.
♦ Change Your Sheets. It is important that to treat our bed like a
shrine. Bedsheets are altar cloths that hold us and tend to us while we
sleep. At least once a week, take your sheets off, air them out, launder
them, and apply the following clearing spray to your mattress before
remaking your bed.
♦ Clearing Spray for Sleep. To promote sleep and rest, add 4 drops of
the following essential oils to every 4 ounces of distilled water. Use as
desired.
♦ Lavender
♦ Chamomile
♦ Petitgrain
♦ Clary sage
Magic to Bless, Protect, and Cleanse
Your Home
One of the most effective ways to transmute energy, purge
obstacles, and clear the path before you is to use effigies, burn
bundles, and poppets. These are old forms of magic that have
survived through countless generations. This means they hold an
intrinsic power that is activated inside the witch when we use
them in our magical workings. Along with candle spells, burn
bundles, poppets, and effigies can serve a wide range of purposes,
especially around healing and transformation.
♦ Bundles. Bundles draw upon the innate magic of the ingredients used
to channel direct energy around a situation. I make bundles out of
dried altar flowers, written prayers bound up with string, or seasonal
foliage to harness the raw power of the living elements. These are
great for fast spells on the fly or to use as charms to diffuse a particular
energy in a space over a longer period of time.
♦ Effigies. Effigies are objects or sculptures made to represent
ancestors or spirits you wish to petition. They serve as a body through
which those beings can emanate their magic into your home. They can
also represent particular people, unwanted energies, or
circumstances that you wish to banish. As you craft the effigy, you will
want to hold your intentions very clearly in your mind and heart. To
conclude your work with an effigy, it is traditional to burn it.
♦ Poppets. Poppets function similarly to effigies except that they serve
as a surrogate self for the person they represent. This means you can
enact your intentions upon a poppet to affect the person it represents.
Poppets are traditionally made of braided rags or a sewn doll and often
contain small bundles stuffed with written prayers, herbs, oils, or
other ingredients that embody the intentions of the poppet. They are
best burned by the person they represent or the witch who created
them once they fulfill their purpose.
For Difficult Choices
Life is full of choices, many of which are challenging. To say yes to
one thing requires saying no to another. And what happens when
you change your mind? How do you redirect? Whether you have
already made a decision and are realizing you actually need to
change your course of action or you are simply faced with a
significant choice, this spell will help guide your path.
your tarot deck
paper and pen
3 or 4 white votive candles
fireproof bowl
matches or lighter
1. Set your altar and pull the following cards out of your deck: the two
of swords, the queen of swords, the chariot, and the moon.
2. On separate pieces of paper, write each choice you’re facing. Then
list the pros and cons of each choice. Try to narrow them to two
options if possible. If you end up with three choices, you need an
extra candle to represent that choice.
3. Charge one candle for each option. Fold your pro and con lists for
each choice and place them on your altar. Set the corresponding
candle on top of each list.
4. Next take the remaining candle and charge it with the energy of your
higher self, reflecting on your ability to make good choices at this
time. Trust that you have all the information and resources you need.
Trust that when you make the decision to move forward in a
particular direction, additional resources will reveal themselves to
you. Place that final candle in the center of your altar and arrange all
the other candles around that candle.
5. Place the two of swords faceup between where you sit and the
candles. Place the chariot, the queen of swords, and the moon card
facedown in a line between the two of cups and the candles.
6. Light the candles and let them burn down completely, clearing the
way for the best choice to emerge.
7. Once the candles burn, feel the choice that you are called to make
become clear. Reflect on the clarity of your choice. Take the list of
pros and cons related to that choice and place it in the center of your
altar. Clear everything from your altar except the tarot cards and
your list. Turn all the cards over.
8. Place the moon card in the center of your altar. Take the folded list of
your choice and place it on the moon card. Then take the chariot card
and place it facedown on top of both the moon card and the list. Next
take the queen of swords and place it faceup on top of that stack.
Place the two of swords card facedown beneath the stack of cards.
Allow these to rest on your altar for the next 3 days while you affirm
your choice.
9. When the 3 days are up, commit to your decision and take the action
steps required to devote yourself to that choice resolutely.
10. Burn your list in your fireproof bowl, and bathe in the ashes.
Ease for Traveling
I love to travel, but it can also cause me a lot of anxiety—about
traffic, delays, waiting in lines, and other snafus. As a transgender
person, I also experience anxiety about the very invasive
screening process required at airport security. Here is a simple
spell to clear potential obstacles from your travel plans and ensure
that you arrive to your destination safely and on time—and with
limited anxiety.
shoelace
1. Before you set out on your adventure, take a few moments to breathe
the prayer found in the Daily Protection Ritual, modifying it to suit
your travel plans. When you feel safe and contained in that prayer of
protection, visualize any obstacle or challenge being gently and
completely cleared away out of your travel path.
2. Repeat this visualization over and over and over again. When you are
content in the knowledge and belief that all obstacles to your travel
have been easily removed, grab your shoestring.
3. Tie a knot in the center of the string. Imagine any potential obstacle
or challenge being bound within that knot. Take a few breaths and
concentrate all of those obstacles into that knot.
4. Take three more breaths and begin untying the knot. As you do so,
imagine that you are unfolding the obstacles and releasing them,
making the path before you clear.
5. Then reconnect to that sphere of protection around you and begin
your journey. You can hang the shoestring over your rearview mirror
if traveling by car or tuck it into your pocket or luggage to carry it
with you and keep your path forward clear.
Oil for Emotional Boundaries
We all respond to emotional energy in our own unique ways. Some
of us recoil, some of us project our feelings onto others, and some
of us might even neglect our own emotional state to prioritize the
caretaking of others. There are lots of reasons for these
differences, including conditioning, trauma, and learned defensive
behaviors. Wherever we fall on the spectrum, it’s important to
identify our boundaries so we do not get sucked into the emotional
energy of others. This oil will help you maintain your boundaries,
reminding you what is and isn’t yours to carry. I suggest making a
large batch and dividing it into smaller bottles you can take with
you and grab when the situation calls for it.
pen
1 bay leaf
fireproof bowl
matches or lighter
1 teaspoon of sea salt
juniper, mugwort, and rosemary essential oils (or 1 teaspoon of
each dried herb)
16-ounce bottle of olive oil
7 thorns (from any thorny plant such as a rose, cactus, or
blackberry)
1. Envision a pentagram and the way it represents the unity of all
elements and empowers the magic of a witch’s altar. Using your pen,
draw that pentagram on the bay leaf, infusing it with the power of
protection and resources of the elements.
2. In the fireproof bowl, light the bay leaf and let it burn to ash.
3. Add the salt and ash to the bottle of olive oil.
4. Next, add 9 drops of the juniper, mugwort, and rosemary essentials
oils to the bottle of olive oil. (If you are using dried herbs, add 1
teaspoon of each to the olive oil.)
5. Now hold the thorns in your hand and imagine that they emanate a
shield of protection that reinforces your emotional boundaries.
When you sense that you are connected to the shield of the thorns,
add them to the bottle of olive oil.
6. Feel free to add any other protective ingredients to the bottle. If you
plan to share this oil with others, avoid including any personal
ingredients such as a strand of your hair.
7. Place the top on the bottle and shake it to mix the ingredients and
fuse the oil with your boundaries. Place it on your altar and let it cure
for at least 3 days.
8. Use the oil to anoint your body every day in the mornings and before
bed. I like to place the oil on my heart, throat, hands, and feet and a
little to the top of my head. You can also mix the oil into your
everyday lotion and apply it to your entire body this way.
9. You may want to pour some into a small bottle to carry around with
you every day to empower your boundaries. You can also give a small
bottle to someone who might be having a hard day.
Daily Offerings
Sometimes we don’t know what kind of ritual or spell to do about a
particular experience. When in doubt, make offerings to the
guiding spirits, elements, and ancestors. Even if you don’t know it,
these beings are vigilantly watching out for you. Offerings are
personal, nourishing, nurturing, supportive, and so easy to do.
Sometimes all the magic needed is tending to the relationships
that will see us through our struggles. Here are some
considerations.
♦ What to Offer. Every spirit you’re in a relationship with will have
their own preferences for offerings. Until you know these preferences,
it’s okay to simply gift them things that feel nourishing to you. You and
the spirit can negotiate these offerings as you build your relationship.
If you are pledging devotion to a particular spirit, you will want to
know and learn what they prefer as offerings in order to give those
offerings properly.
♦ Where to Place Them. Placement of your offerings depends greatly
on the nature of your relationship with the spirits you’re working
with. For instance, when I’m building a relationship with the spirits of
land, I will take offerings to a place in nature, outside my home, or in
my yard. I also like to leave offerings to particular spirits on my house
altar and the individual altars that are devoted to them.
♦ How to Dispose of Them. I leave flowers until they begin to wilt, and
then I bundle and dry them for use in later spell crafting. For food
items, I wait until they begin to turn and decompose before I compost
them or carry them to a place in nature. If they are beverages like
water or spirits, I wait until the liquid begins to evaporate from the
glass and then pour the remaining libations on the ground outside my
home. Never flush offerings of abundance or petition down the toilet
or drain!
♦ Make Offerings Daily. Whether in the form of incense, a thoughtful
hello or greeting to your altars, or a glass of fresh water, it is important
to share gratitude with your altars and spirits every day. These are
relationships that you are tending. If you tend well to them, you will be
supported in your intentions and spell crafting. No one ever likes to be
that friend who people only call when they need something or want
something! Your spirit guides feel the same way. I also like to carry a
bag of blended herbs and biodegradable offerings and leave little gifts
as I move through the world.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we wove various aspects from earlier spells, rituals, and
exercises together to build rituals to meet the specific needs of unique
situations. As we conclude our journey together, think about what you
are taking away from the experience of exploring this grimoire. How will
you integrate these learnings into your personal practice? Magic is
flexible, offering the witch a cunning adaptability that can be leveraged
in navigating almost any circumstance with purpose and meaning.
Spend some time making a list of the circumstances you are currently
facing. Are there spells in this grimoire to help you address these
circumstances? If you haven’t found a spell to address your specific
situation, how can you take the structures of the spells in this grimoire
and craft your own unique rituals? Magic is a practice, and the work of
the witch is a craft; your learning is lifelong. Return to the basics as often
as you need, cross-reference your ingredients, and double-check your
resources. I can’t wait for you to discover what you’re capable of.
A Final N e
You’ve reached the end of this book, but you are only at the beginning of
your witch’s path. I hope the lessons, spells, and rituals here provide a
strong foundation for the next chapter in your magical walk. Where will
you go now? That depends entirely on what you have learned about
yourself and your work as a witch. I pray you choose the path that leads
to a deeper kindness in your relationship with yourself, your community,
and your life. Be honest, remember well, and do well with what you
remember, Dear Witch. May you be blessed along your path. So it is.
Glossary
altar: A dedicated space that physically represents your relationship with
magic and embodies your metaphysical intentions and on which you
enact your rituals
ancestors: Consciousness of discarnate and deceased beings that help
you connect to the innate magic of your cultural, social, and familial
lineages
banishment: The act of casting out unwanted energies and beings, with
the explicit intent for them to never return
bundles: A collection of organic matter meant to embody the energy of a
specific intention, season, environment, astrological alignment, etc., and
bound together either by wrapping tightly with string or by wrapping up
in fabric and tying tightly like a package
charm: A magical means of influencing the outcome of a situation by use
of a spelled object or chanting a particular phrase as a spoken or sung spell
correspondence: A unique resonance between an object, element, or
color and an emotion or deep spiritual meaning
cosmology: A system of beliefs that help you make sense of your
experiences in life and take action on your values
coven: A group of witches, or magically minded individuals, who gather
regularly to practice their craft and perform rituals; can be public or
private, each with their own community guidelines
divination: The use of tools and techniques to derive insight and
information through supernatural or metaphysical means
effigies: An embodied representation of a specific person or entity meant
to be used to conjure the attributes of their likeness into a space; often
made as sacrificial objects out of organic matter such as wax or plant
material
fixing: A term rooted in Hoodoo and Conjure and used in American folk
magic to describe the anointing and dressing of spell objects with oils,
herbs, or the ashes of burnt prayers to affect an outcome
herbalism: The intentional study of the therapeutic properties and
medicinal application of herbs and plants
hex/curse: The casting of a spell or ritual directed toward a person,
place, or object and intended to inflict harm, punishment, retribution, or
obstruction
instinct: An innate or learned response to circumstances and energies;
usually emotionally charged; not to be mistaken for intuition
intuition: A sense of knowing derived from an innate connection to
Source; ability to access information about a situation without cognition
invocation: The summoning of supernatural energies or sentient beings
for assistance with a particular intention or outcome
poppets: An embodied representation of oneself or another living person
meant to embody certain attributes of their likeness; often meant to serve
as a surrogate and used to transfer energy from the poppet to the person it
represents
prayer: An intentional conversation with spiritual forces, ancestors, your
higher self, or whatever guided energies you’re in a relationship with
ritual: A series of intentional and repetitive actions meant to connect the
soul to greater influences, often performed at specific times of the day,
month, year, seasons, or stages of life
sigil: A combination of distinct shapes, symbols, words, or other icons
meant to embody the symbolic representation of a particular intent,
context, and means of a desired outcome
sovereignty: The energetic state of self-governance, sacred autonomy,
and personal power free from outside influences
spells: Ritualized intent meant to harness energy to affect a particular
circumstance
symbol: A character or object that represents a particular function or
concept; used to focus intention
Wicca: A pagan religion that draws upon pre-Christian, Western
European beliefs and folk practices, popularized by Gerald Brosseau
Gardner; Wiccan faith centers on the belief in a supreme Goddess and
God, the inherent magic of nature, and the ritualization of life stages and
seasonal cycles
witch’s gaze: The ability of a witch, learned and innate, to direct energy,
influence states of being, and access awareness by using their physical and
psychic senses to peer into another person or situation
Resources
Schools
Black Witch University and Podcast
(Facebook.com/BlackWitchUniversity)
A school of magic and media resources for witches of the Black diaspora to
reclaim and reappropriate their magical practices and sacred spaces.
The Living Altar (livingaltar.com)
This is my ritual art collaboration with Kiki Robinson of The Opulent
Witch; you can purchase The Living Altar Oracle Deck here.
School of Traditional Magic (traditionalmagic.com)
The website for my private practice and School of Traditional Magic,
where I offer mentorship, teachings, custom ritual and spell work, and
one-on-one healing sessions.
The Witches Temple (witchestemple.org)
This is my home temple where I serve as High Priestess. I founded this
temple as a safer space for underrepresented and marginalized witches to
connect, learn, and grow. We offer in-person and online resources for
classes, healing services, readings, and gatherings.
Books
Balkan Traditional Witchcraft by Radomir Ristic (translated by
Michael C. Carter)
A modern primer on Balkan traditional witchcraft, centering on Serbo-
Croatian magical practices.
Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by
adrienne maree brown
A new cosmological framework rooted in social justice, interdependent
“self-help,” community resourcing, ecological wisdom, mutual aid, and
radical cultural shift.
Queer Magic: Power beyond Boundaries by Lee Harrington and
Tai Fenix Kulystin
An anthology of queer and trans witches speaking to their experience of
crafting a more intersectional community of witches outside of the
cisgender, heteronormative patriarchy.
Shades of Faith: Minority Voices in Paganism by Crystal Blanton
An anthology of various experiences of marginalized witches as they
navigate the White- and Western European–dominated pagan
community.
Witchcraft Activism: A Toolkit for Magical Resistance by David
Salisbury
A magical grimoire masterfully crafted by queer activist David Salisbury
that details the use of witchcraft as magical resistance to systemic
oppression.
Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within by Juliet Diaz
A grimoire by third generation witch Juliet Diaz, providing practical
foundations for everyday magic.
Podcasts
Bespoken Bones by Pavini Moray
A queer- and trans-centered podcast exploring the intersections of
ancestry, sexuality, magick, science, and trauma healing.
Ghost of a Podcast by Jessica Lanyadoo
Weekly astrological forecasts and practical advice by queer astrologer,
animal communicator, and psychic medium Jessica Lanyadoo.
Rise Up Good Witch by Corinna
Focusing on the radical magic of self care and community support,
Corinna weaves astrology, tarot, magic, and herbalism into a salve of
resilience through conversations with witches, healers, and activists.
Which Witch Are You? by Imani Sims and Maisha Manson
A magic and tarot lifestyle podcast by two queer witches of color centering
on their love of food, art, and culture.
Tarot Decks
Dust II Onyx: A Melanated Tarot by Courtney Alexander
A multimedia tarot deck centered around the complex layers of Blackness,
featuring cultural myths, symbolism, history, and icons within the Black
diaspora.
The Numinous Tarot by Noel Arthur Heimpel
A modern tarot deck crafted by agender queer artist Noel Arthur Heimpel.
This deck beautifully challenges the lack of marginalized representation
common within traditional tarot.
The Slutist Tarot by Morgan Claire Sirene
An intersectional, inclusive tarot deck that showcases femme, queer, trans,
Black, and indigenous identities and celebrates sex positivity, gender
variance, and divine liberation of sensuality.
The Weaver Tarot by The Threads of Fate
A queer crafted tarot deck that de-centers the gender binary of the
traditional Rider-Waite tarot with bold yet understated imagery.
Website/Workshops/Zines
witchesunionhall.wordpress.com/workshopzine/
A queer witch, anarchist collective offering free and donation-based
workshops, zines, and educational materials on topics related to cultural
appropriation, queer culture, and witchcraft.
References
Lee, Patrick Jasper. We Borrow the Earth: An Intimate Portrait of the
Gypsy Folk Tradition and Culture. London: Thorsons, 2000.
Ristic, Radomir. Balkan Traditional Witchcraft. Translated by Michael
C. Carter. Los Angeles: Pendraig Publishing, 2009.
Robinson, Kiki, and Ylvadroma Marzanna Radziszewski. The Living
Altar: An Oracle and Spell Deck for the Radical Witch. Seattle: The
Living Altar, 2020.
Zakroff, Laura Tempest. Sigil Witchery: A Witch’s Guide to Crafting
Magick Symbols. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2018.
Acknowledgment
My deepest thanks to my ancestors, my helping spirits, and my amazing
community! Thank you to my clients, students, and sibling witches: Your
work and dedication to the craft have radicalized and inspired me
beyond measure. Thank you to the Black Willow, Hawthorn, Oak, Ivy,
Birch, Rowan, Yew, and Apple. Thank you to my daughters and sisters of
Hecate. Thank you to all of my witch children; I’m the proudest witch
mom!
A special thank you to my dear art partner Kiki Robinson, my
creative mentor Colleen Twombly-Borst, and my beloved friends Niko,
Keri, Alexis, Sonya, Kook, Melissa, Valeria, Espen, Gil, and Nick for all
your guidance and feedback during the process of writing this book.
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