They don’t exactly teach this stuff in schools. This list is designed for the beginner witch, who keeps hearing the advice “Research!” but wants some better specifics on what exactly that means.
Now, you don’t have to be a complete expert on all of these or even most of these! You don’t even have to incorporate all of them into your practice. They’re just some stuff it’s good to have a basic working knowledge of in the Craft.
🌻Planetary Correspondences- Even if cosmic witchcraft isn’t your thing, a lot (and I mean a LOTTTT) of correspondences in any other category are going to eventually lead back to the planets. Having a basic understanding of what each planet governs is extremely helpful when learning the correspondences of basically anything else.
🌻Herb Correspondences- Herbs and spices are incredibly useful! They’re probably one of the most versatile of the “big categories” since they can be used in herbalism and kitchen witchery, as well as a great add-on to any other variation of witchcraft. It’s good to have a working knowledge of what herbs you can use in a pinch, especially the stuff you already have in your kitchen. When an emergency calls, it’s good to know how that chili powder can help you.
🌻Crystal Correspondences- This is another great add on! Crystals can often be used to enhance and focus the energy of a spell, as well as cleanse any ritual tools you have. Besides, who doesn’t like pretty rocks? Crystals can be particularly great for the witch who has a tactile mind, and likes to have things they can feel and roll around in their hand.
🌻Days of the Week- Knowing the right time to cast a spell can be very important! Casting a love spell on a Friday gives it an added boost, or at the very least creates a path of least resistance. Besides, there’s only seven of them, so it’s easy to learn quickly. You get a lot of bang for your buck!
🌻Phases of the Moon- We have a really big collective crush on the moon, it seems. And for good reason! The moon is a great source of power and mystery even in a completely mundane setting! Understanding the phases of the moon and how it can affect your craft is extremely important. (Hint: you can cast spells even when it isn’t the Full Moon.)
🌻Basic Mythology and Lore- This is an absolute must if you plan on going into any type of spirit work. Even if that isn’t your thing, it’s good to know a little bit. Firstly, because you may draw unwanted attention from spirits, and it’s good to know how to deal with them if it happens. Secondly, because if you draw from a path with any history behind it, it’s good to know how the rules go down on their turf.
🌻Basic Divination- Not everyone has the money or the time to pick up and learn how to read a 78-card Tarot deck, but things like scrying and pendulums are pretty easy to figure out quickly. What’s more, they can be done on little to no budget. Divination’s a useful tool to have on your utility belt, and who wants to pay someone to use a pendulum for them when you can learn it yourself?
🌻Anthropology of different cultures/religions- You don’t have to be a religious witch at all, but witchcraft still has its roots as a religious practice! Lot’s of practices have a cultural context as well, which can be important to know in order to fully understand the action you’re performing. A lot of correspondences, traditions, and rites come from cultural or religious roots. It’s good to know not only what people did, but why they did it! Does X tool have some symbolic meaning or was it just what was available at the time? What was simply a product of the culture around them?
🌻Science- It’s a HUGE category, and I left it that way on purpose. If something interests you, look at the mundane side of it as well! Do you like kitchen witchery? Read up on food chemistry and how different nutrients affect the brain. Into crystals? Learn about how they’re formed! Read about gardening or psychology, anything that can help enhance your path.
Here’s something fun to try during witchsona week! If you’re confident in your art skills and want a challenge, why not try to draw something each day using these prompts:
Monday: YOUR WITCHSONA (nice and easy to start with, just draw yourself in your witchy persona!)
Tuesday: A DIFFICULT SPELL (it might be physically difficult, maybe lifting something heavy for the ritual? Or it might need to be done perfectly to work and you struggle with the fine details? Or it might even be difficult from an emotional or mental viewpoint)
Wednesday: A WITCH’S FAMILIAR (a familiar is like a magical pet, or creature that acts like a helper or partner! And we’d love to see a few service animals in the mix too of course!)
Thursday: A MEMBER OF YOUR COVEN (think of a good friend or family member and draw their witchsona hanging out with yours! If nobody comes to mind, then maybe think about a celebrity or public figure you admire, and hang out with their witchy selves!)
Friday: YOUR MAGICAL RETREAT (a special place where all the magic happens! Maybe your witchsona has a treehouse or a tower on a mountainside, an abandoned warehouse in a big city, or maybe you just make up a temporary pillow fort in your bedroom whenever you need it. If push comes to shove, even a worktop in a kitchen might be all your witch needs to do their spells!)
Saturday: ALTERNATIVE WITCHSONA OUTFIT (maybe your witch has been invited to a black tie gala or a masquerade ball? Maybe the different clothes would be when they’re doing messier potions or dirtier spells and they need overalls or aprons with a few heavy duty sigils on them? In any case, their magical nature usually seems to shine through no matter what they wear)
Sunday: A MAGICAL ARCH-RIVAL (think about your witchsona’s magical themes and skills, then try to create a character blessed with the exact opposite magics. You could even try and find your witchsona’s main colour from their design scheme on a colour wheel, then see which colour is on the opposite side! You could be bitter enemies, fighting to the death in magical combat! Or you could be friendly rivals, comparing notes on potions and trying to one-up each other in friendly little contests! They do even say that opposites can attract…)
—
Consider this a no-pressure challenge. It’s perfectly fine to just pick a few of these that you like the look of, and don’t beat yourself up if you try for the full set but just can’t; I’m only expecting one main witchsona drawing from the vast majority of people taking part in the Week anyway! Anything else is a wonderful bonus 😀
This
is half a list I want to go over with my new learning buddy, and half
something I may make in to a master post in the future. Use it as a
syllabus to guide learning and fill in all the answers with your own
research. Let me know if you would be interested in this being made in to a master post.
Cleansing
Why do we need to cleanse?
When do we need to cleanse?
Self
cleansing
Item/Object
cleansing
Room
cleansing
Banishments
Banishing
a spirit
Banishing
a person
Banishing
an energy
Banishing
a situation
Why
do banishments fail?
What
to do when banishing fails.
Protections
Protection
from energies
Protection
from people
Protection
from spirits
Protection
from situations
Balancing
and layering protections
The
consequences of too much protection
When
do we need protection?
Protecting
yourself
Protecting
items
Protecting
rooms/areas
Magical
protection circles
Honoring
Spirits
What
are spirits?
Building
altars
Making
offerings
Maintaining
healthy relationships with spirits
Working
with problem spirits
Meeting
your spirit companions
Making
new spirit companions
Creating
spirit vessels
House
rules
Prosperity
Building
your first prosperity altar
Money
Magic: Your First Spells
Self-Work
Magic
Uncrossing
magic
Blessing
magic
Self-love
magic
Beauty
magic
Spellwork
Spell
theory
Working
long-term spells
Working
short-term spells
Different
techniques of spellcasting
Different
spellcasting tools
Crafting
your own spells
Divination
What
is divination?
Why
does divination work?
Divination
with tarot cards
Divination
with oracle cards
Divination
with runes
Divination
with I-Ching
Divination
with spirit boards
Divination
with pendulums
Creating
your own system of divination
Hexes,
Curses, and Dark Arts
What
the heck are they
Why
do people use them?
Dangers
of the left-handed path
Hex
breaking
Healing
How
does energetic healing work?
How
do crystals and plants aid in energetic healing?
sit in the sun without anything to do, feel the heat of the rays hit your skin, realize that this sunlight has travelled a very long way to reach you
walk around barefoot and try to feel as much of the ground under your feet as you can, notice every rock and blade of grass
sit quietly for a while and notice the touch of breath in your nostrils, feel how the air gets cooler as you inhale and warmer as you exhale
drive around aimlessly and blast some of your favorite songs, scream/sing along to them and feel the vibrations of your favorite lyrics as they change the air in your throat and around you, feel that the music is healing you from the inside out
stay away from alcohol or drugs for a few days, try to be as aware and present as you can in every moment, stop trying to numb or dull your senses
eat a few meals without any distractions, notice every bite and taste every flavor that covers your tongue, be grateful for it all
look up at the stars and the moon, understand how small we all are and how immense the universe is, realize what a miracle everything is, let your heart swell with amazement and admiration for life itself
ok this is actually cool bc doing all of this is a technique called “mindful thinking” that is extremely useful for people with anxiety disorders and dissociation disorders and stuff!
A little while ago I tried my hand at making an audio sigil. I like how it turned out, but it was a bit too complex. The range of tones was just too great. It was great to make a track and just listen to it, but I wanted something that I could easily play on the piano, hum, or whistle. So, I rethought how I chose the tones that represented the letters of the alphabet. I decided to use just one octave of notes, no sharps or flats, just the 8 notes starting on C. After I dropped the vowels, the letters fit perfectly. Here’s what I came up with.
Note = Letter of alphabet
C = B, K, S
D = C, L, T
E = D, M, V
F = F, N, W
G = G, P, X
A = H, Q, Y
B = J, R, Z
Getting from a statement of intent to musical notes looks like this. “I sleep peacefully” get rid of vowels and repeated consonants “SLPCFY” translate into musical notes “CDGDFA.” Now my audio sigil is quite simple and easily played/sung/hummed/whistled/etc.
Here, let me play it for you.
I am very happy with how this method turned out. It will be pretty easy to whip up a sigil in the morning for that day and whistle it as I go about my business.
Recently after the problem that @pippenthe-astralkid encounter I thought it could be a good idea to give you ideas of wards you could create around your astral space (or even around your house, or as a shield around you). So here we go ! Don’t hesitate to add your ideas in the comments or in reblog !
• A ward against entities who have bad intentions toward you and your spirits companions That’s like THE BASIC lmao, I think everyone should have multiple of this ward. Because yes, you have to have multiple wards with the same purpose I think.
• A ward against teleportation Because that way spirits can’t teleport directly in your house and pop up at random time, they’ll be forced to just walk and knock at your door. I think it’s more safe that way !
• A mirror-ward The mirror ward will reflect all the negativity such as curses, jinxes, hexes, bad intentions, bad vibes etc and will just re-send it to the person who sent it to you.
• A ward against nightmares It’s really amazing when you made a nightmare and you’re terrified haha. I use it more than I should probably but it’s so good honestly.
• An emergency ward This ward is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT ! It’s always good to have emergency ward that you can activate if something goes wrong. For example a ward that will banish every spirit except your spirit companions of your astral space if you activate it. It’s amazingly useful and will save you a lot believe me haha
• An illusion ward (or invisibility ward) That ward will create an illusion to spirit that have bad intentions toward you or your companion, so that way for example they can’t see your house and will just pass their way.
• A bell-ward This ward act a bit like an alarm, it will send you a signal in your mind that someone just passed through your ward. So that way you can know when someone is coming and who it is !
• A ward for purification That way your space is always clean and neat ! Don’t forget to cleanse your ward because otherwise it will be full of negativity and will attract it.
• A labyrinth ward It’s kind of a trap ward, if someone try to enter in your wards by breaking them, this ward will activate and they will be sent into a labyrinth. When they’ll find the end of the labyrinth it will send them far far away of your astral home ! This ward is pretty hard to build but it’s really amazing once you have it.
Anyway, those are mostly wards that I use even if I have a lot more. Don’t forget that you can ask the help of the elements to build your wards ! You can also ask the help of spirits sometimes if they’re wishing to, and please be safe. Also don’t build wards if you feel tired or if you’re in a bad mood !! That’s really important and you need to take care of yourself first. Don’t hesitate to add ideas on this list 💕 I wish you all the best !
So a lot of you might not know, but the bee is one of Aphrodite’s sacred animals! Bees are so, so important for pollinating plants, but they’re quickly dying out. A good act of devotion might be to plant flowers, especially ones that are known for attracting bees.
This is especially useful because spring will be coming around in a couple months (for the northern hemisphere that is). I’m almost 110% that Aphrodite would be VERY pleased to see her lovelies having plants for the bees to pollinate and float around! 🌹🐝❤️
🌄Morning Witchcraft☀️: how to connect to the elements
These are some of my tips for connecting to the elements in the morning before school, work, busy days, or just a day at home. It’s also handy for witches like me who prefer to work in the morning and daytime 🌞
☁️Air-
💨wake up at dawn if you can (dawn is the time that correspondes with air)
💨pick a perfume that correspondes with your intent for the rest of the day
💨listen to some music to set intent for the day and energize yourself
💨get some fresh air and let the crisp morning air invigorate and center you
💨light incense that correspondences with your intent of the day
💨enjoy the morning bird chirping
💨do a daily divination reading to get a feel for what to expect for the rest of the day
💨incorporate almonds, honey, strong scented herbs like dill, or eggs in your breakfast
Water🌊-
💧have a cup of tea or some water when you wake up
💧take a shower or bath and let it cleanse you
💧take a morning swim if you can
💧moisturize with lotion that correspondes with your intent for the day
💧make a water bottle of infused water (with the herbs/fruits of your intent) to carry around and keep you hydrated for the day
💧collect morning dew
💧pick a seashell that correspondes with your intent for the day to carry around with you
💧sing! (to connect to mermaids and warm up your voice for the day)
💧incorporate apples, berries, salt, fish, or avocado in your breakfast
Earth🌳-
🌿take a walk or jog
🌿do some yoga
🌿pick a crystal that correspondes with your intent for the day to carry with you
🌿ground yourself
🌿take care of your plants (water them, talk to them, etc.)
🌿do a prosperity spell for the day
🌿spend time with your pets
🌿use plant based products or make your own if you can (like shampoo, soap, makeup, etc.)
🌿incorporate nuts, beans, roots (like ginger), and greens (like spinach and kale) in your breakfast
Fire🔥-
🕯light a candle to set your intent for the day
🕯enjoy the morning sunshine, feel it’s warmth
🕯do some makeup or fashion magic when you’re getting ready
🕯meditate with the Sun
🕯take vitamins and/or medications
🕯stay warm with hot teas, hot showers, blankets, etc. (the morning can be a bit chilly)
🕯use the sunshine as a positivity and happiness spell and let it charge you for the day
🕯carry a tealight with you (you never know when you’ll need one)
🕯incorporate citrus and spices (like cinnamon, peppers, etc) into your breakfast
teakepp 