lunanoviswitchery

[lunanoviswitchery]

MOON PHASES

NEW MOON : Setting intentions, taking actions, moving forward, focusing in the increase, starting new ventures, exploring opportunities

WAXING CRESCENT : Redefining goals and taking first actions, consistency, gaining momentum, determination, pushing forward

FIRST QUARTER : Finding the balance between the new goals and habits, expansion, being practical, concentration on goals

WAXING GIBBOUS : Cultivating actions toward goals, improving and readjusting, intensive growth, pushing boundaries

FULL MOON : The energy of completion, gratefulness, cleansing, charging, appreciating progress, psychic work, letting go

WANING GIBBOUS : Giving thanks, decluttering, eliminating negative habits, slowing down, reevaluing goals

LAST QUARTER : Letting go, practicing forgiveness, finding time to relax, cord-cutting, get rid of unhealthy habits and addictions

WANING CRESCENT : Making room for new, rest and surrender, energizing by doing things we love, discharging the health issues

[lunanoviswitchery]

Love Rainy Weather....

[lunanoviswitchery]

A P H R O D I T E , (  Αφροδιτη  )

          T H E  G O D D E S S  O F  L O V E  A N D  B E A U T Y , who beguiled all, gods and men alike; the laughter-loving goddess, who laughed sweetly or mockingly at those her wiles had conquered; the irresistible goddess who stole away even the wits of the wise.

[lunanoviswitchery]

Alexandru Jitaru

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davepsemmens

[lunanoviswitchery]

Banishing Nasty Spirits

If you’ve been following this series of posts, you know why a witch might work with spirits, how to establish a relationship with a spirit, and how to communicate with spirits. What we haven’t yet discussed is how to get rid of spirits that are bothersome, annoying, or malevolent.

I was planning to talk about pathworking and astral travel before getting into banishing, but in light of some asks I recently received on Tumblr, I think it’s important that we take a moment to discuss how to get rid of spirits that, for whatever reason, you don’t want around.

There are lots of reasons you might not want a spirit in your space. Just like with people, some spirits just aren’t a good fit for you and your practice. Part of being a spirit worker is cultivating a “spirit team” of beings that you can have healthy and beneficial relationships with.

Some spirits are mischievous and like to cause trouble. If you find yourself on the receiving end of lots of spirit pranks, you may want to gently encourage them to move along. And there are some spirits out there who just genuinely hate humans and will go out of their way to cause mental, emotional, and even physical harm.

Don’t get me wrong — malevolent spirits aren’t common. In my experience, the vast majority of unwanted spirits are more annoying than dangerous. I’m not saying this to scare you or make you paranoid. But these things do exist, and it would be negligent of me not to mention them in a series on spirit work.

There’s a reason that one of the most common truisms in witchcraft is, “Never conjure something you can’t banish.” If you’re going to be working with spirits, it’s a good idea to know how to banish them just in case. With that being said, here’s how you can clear out any nasties that may be lingering in your space.

Cleansing

The first step is to kick those unwanted spirits out of your space. There are lots of ways to do this, so choose the one that is the best fit for you.

Cleansing with fire and smoke is a very old and very simple method. If this is the way you decide to go, there are several magical substances you can burn to banish spirits. Burning sulfur or asafetida will clear out just about anything, but they both smell awful and are potentially toxic, so you’ll want to get an okay from the other people living in your home, burn a little at a time, and make sure you have lots of windows open. (Some people say sulfur and asafetida will banish all spirits, not just the unfriendly ones, so you may have to invite your spirit team back in later.) For something that smells a little more pleasant, you can try a mix of frankincense and myrrh resin, or burn a mix of dried rosemary, sage (garden sage, not endangered white sage, please!), and bay leaves — but again, make sure you have windows open, because these get smoky. Plus, you want the windows and/or doors open so the spirits have somewhere to go when the smoke chases them out.

If smoking up your living space isn’t an option for you, you can manually clean your space with a wash or powder. If you have hardwoods, you can make a floor wash with water, salt, lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. (This is adapted from an uncrossing bath in the book Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison.) Use this mixture to mop your floors, as well as to wipe down your walls and furniture. If you have a humidifier or essential oil diffuser, diffusing some of this mix would also be a good idea.

If you have carpet, you can make a powder by combining salt, dried lemon peel, dried roses, lavender flowers, and bay leaves. You’ll need to ground this really fine, so I recommend using a coffee grinder or food processor. Sprinkle the powder on your carpet, let it sit for a few minutes, and then vacuum it up. I would supplement this by also diffusing a mix of saltwater with rosewater, lemon juice, and lavender and/or bay laurel essential oil. If you don’t have a diffuser, at least sprinkle some saltwater around the room and on your belongings.

No matter which form of cleansing you decide to use, it’s important to verbally state your intention to banish these unwanted spirits from your space. Tell them out loud that they are no longer welcome here and that they need to leave. Don’t be rude about it, but be firm and speak clearly and with confidence.

After you cleanse your space, it’s a good idea to cleanse yourself as well to remove any psychic ties to the spirits you’ve just banished. The easiest way to do this is with a ritual bath. The floor wash recipe mentioned earlier can also be used as a psychic cleansing bath. Other options include a bath with salt, frankincense, and myrrh or a bath with salt, rosemary, sage, and bay laurel. You can use essential oils for your bath, or add the resins and herbs to a cheesecloth bag and drop it into the tub for easy diffusing and cleanup.

If you don’t have a bathtub, you can cleanse yourself in the shower. Place two cups of salt in a bowl. Add lemon juice, rosewater, lavender essential oil, and either bay laurel or rosemary essential oil. If you don’t have essential oils, you can add dried lavender and crushed bay leaves. Add some of your favorite body wash to create a scrub (if you don’t have body wash, use olive oil). While in the shower, use this mixture to scrub your skin — visualize yourself scrubbing away any psychic gunk you might have picked up.

Protection

Once you’ve removed any unwanted spirits from your space, you want to lay down some protection to keep them from coming back. There are as many ways to ward off spirits as there are witches, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

One option is to create a ward. You can do this by anointing the door frames, door knobs, and window frames of your home with a protective oil blend and/or by creating lines of salt across your doorways and just inside your windows. You can use other protective substances if you prefer. As you lay down these protections, visualize a protective shield around your home, and speak aloud your intention to keep harmful spirits out.

Iron is said to repel spirits. Keep a railroad spike or other large piece of iron under your bed to prevent nightmares and to keep spirits from messing with you while you sleep. There’s an old superstition that says that hammering iron nails into the four corners of your home protects it from spirits — this may not be possible if you’re renting, but you can create a similar effect by displaying a piece of iron in each of the four corners of your home. Hematite is a crystal that is high in iron, so it can be used in a similar way to ward off spirits.

Aloe is said to protect from negative spirits, and to bring protection and good luck more generally. It’s also a common house plant that is easy to care for, so this method of protection is especially great for witches who need to keep their practice a secret. Keep several aloe plants in your home to protect those who live there.

For witches with a crafty side, making a witch bottle is another option for protection. There are lots of different recipes for witch bottles, but the basic method is to fill a bottle with sharp objects, add something from your body, and hide it somewhere outside your home (traditionally buried on the property, but leaving it in an outbuilding works just as well). The idea is that any nasty spirit that comes looking for you will be attracted to the bottle (because it contains part of your body), get caught by the sharp objects, and be trapped. To create a simple witch bottle, fill a mason jar about halfway with sewing pins, then add a bit of your hair and some of your fingernail clippings, and finally fill it with liquid (traditionally, this liquid is your own urine, but if that makes you uncomfortable vinegar will also work). If you want, you can also include some of your favorite banishing herbs, resins, or crystals.

Religious symbols can also keep nasty spirits away. If you identify strongly with a religion, display protective symbols from that faith in your living space. For example: a Christian witch might hang up a crucifix or set out a statue of Archangel Michael, a Norse pagan witch might hang up an image of Mjolnir, a Hindu witch might display a statue of Durga, etc. Sometimes the most effective way to keep nasty spirits away is to let them know that you’re under the protection of someone more powerful.

When dealing with unwanted spirits, the most important thing to remember is that you do not need to be afraid. You are a powerful witch, and you are more than capable of getting rid of them. Be confident in your abilities and know that whatever happens, you can handle it.

Resources:

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin

Utterly Wicked by Dorothy Morrison

Where the Hawthorn Grows by Morgan Daimler

[lunanoviswitchery]

𝙸𝙸 - 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜’ 𝙴𝚟𝚎

[lunanoviswitchery]

ɪ ﹣ ᴛʀᴀɴsɪᴛɪᴏɴs 

“𝑇𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑆𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑠𝑐𝘩𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠, 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟... 𝐴𝑛𝑜𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒: 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝘩𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑗𝑢𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟'𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝘩𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟.” ― 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑟, 𝐴𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒

[lunanoviswitchery]

New Moon Manifestation Box

I saw a post on Pinterest about something called a Manifestation Box or a Creation Box, and that is what inspired this spell and ritual. For someone like me who collects a lot of containers of various sorts, I’m always looking for new and magical ways to utilize them. With the New Moon close by, I thought I could take this idea of a Manifestation Box and bring it to life to kick off this new Lunar cycle with a swift kick!

Before I get into it, I want to make sure that you know that you do not have to perform this spell or ritual exactly as I write it, but you can if that’s what feels right to you. Feel free to change things up, add or take away things or bring a little of your own funk to it! Remember that your craft is yours, it is no one else’s. Everything in this spell is optional or able to be substituted. Now let’s get to the fun stuff.

What you might need:

Wooden box with latch (any box will work)

Paint/markers/stickers to decorate your box

Things that represent what you want to manifest in your life

Tealight candle

Herbs that correspond with your intent

━━━━━━━━━▲━━━━━━━━━

Creating The Box:

[1] Decorate your box with colors and symbols that represent you and your life. Make it as personal to you as you can. Add sigils, original art, poetry, whatever you feel will help you infuse yourself into your box. Any box will work for this, you can use a shoe box, or a box made from scrap pieces of cardboard. You could even buy one online already made for this purpose. I recommend this seller https://www.etsy.com/shop/thatbabywitch! She also has a YouTube video where she goes into how she personally uses her box, and gives some other ideas about how you could use yours!

[2] After you’ve created or obtained your manifestation box, think about what you want to attract or manifest. If you are working with the Lunar phases like I am, you can use the correspondences with the current New Moon to help you direct your focus if you don’t know what exactly it is that you want to work on manifesting. Remember to make something that you can take action to manifest, something within what you perceive to be possible. Don’t limit yourself, but don’t plan to fly to the moon any time soon if you know what I mean. Magic only works if you work it! 

[3] Once you’ve figured out what it is that you want to manifest, write your intent down on a piece of paper and place it at the bottom of your box. You can skip this part if you want to, and just fill your box with whatever you want, but it helps to keep with the central focus of your intent. Use symbolic items, these can be sigils, things you create by hand, crystals, photos from magazines or online, drawings etc. 

[4] To jump start your manifestation box, create a tealight or chime candle (white) out of your corresponding herbs. Make sure to cleanse your candle before you start to add your herbs. Anoint with oils if you so wish. When it’s complete, light your candle on top of your box and meditate or journal while it burns. I’ve created a tarot spread for this spell, but the questions could just as easily be used as in depth journal prompts to use while you let your magic work.

When you have completed your manifestation box, place it somewhere where you will see it every day. It is up to you on how to utilize and work with this box from this point on, there is not a wrong way to do any of this. 

Enjoy!

[lunanoviswitchery]

An ode to my masculine and feminine aspects.

Aɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙʀɪɴɢs ᴍᴇ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ɪs ʟᴏᴠᴇ.

[lunanoviswitchery]

Another Tarot deck collage! 

The Fountain Tarot

Major Arcana on top, Minor Arcana on bottom.

💕

[lunanoviswitchery]

Decided to make some collages today. My favorite cards from The Light Seer Tarot deck. Major Arcana on the top, minor on the bottom.

💕🌿

[lunanoviswitchery]

A challenge for my fellow writers. <3

[lunanoviswitchery]

I hope to make original content more of a thing in the future, so here is the rough beginning of this journey.

This is a tarot spread inspired by a few spreads I saw floating around out there. I put these questions together with the intent for them to be more for personal readings, but there is no harm in reading this spread for someone else. It’s simple, easy to read, and it invokes some questions that are good for receiving some guidance in whatever area of your life that you want to explore. You can also just use it as a general spread to see if some messages come through that you didn’t know you needed to hear. This spread is also wonderful for oracle readings, if that’s your sort of jig instead.

[lunanoviswitchery]

The Seed. a tarot spread for ostara.

1. The Soil.

Where have you grown? While it most certainly is the dawn of a new day, keep in mind your roots are proof that you have already come a long way. The soil is your past. What lesson can you learn from days gone by?

2. The Weed.

You wish to flourish and grow strong, but there is undoubtedly something that is stunting your progress. What are your obstacles, what’s holding you back?

3. The Seed.

Within your immediate future, which area of your life will you first see signs of growth? Which seed has taken hold?

4. The Sun.

The love and support of others is helpful. But the will to grow comes from within. Let the sun be a reminder of what you need to keep in mind in order to help yourself grow.

5. The Rain.

A blessing in disguise. Understand that not all things are always as they seem. Grey skies can sometimes bring you down, but like the sun, rain too is necessary. Through struggle, you will find strength. What blessing in disguise is upon your horizon?

[lunanoviswitchery]

10 Herbs to Keep Close By!

10 Helpful & Magickal Herbs for Witchy… Witchcraft.

If you’re a Green Witch or just have a penchant for herbalism and herbal witchcraft, this is a helpful list of herbs that are always good to have in your cupboards, or jars… or shelves.

Basil: Primarily, Basil is known as a culinary herb (add a dash of it to your dishes to add a little class and flavour!), but it also has some interesting and broad magickal properties. For example, it can be burned or strewn on the floors and thresholds of the home to purify and protect. It can be used in magick that concerns love/relationships and it can be used in divination. Old lore states that Basil can aid in both astral travel and projection, and physical travel. It is said to bring luck to those who are moving or transitioning to somewhere new, and is used in the detection of infidelity and the affirmation of fidelity.

Lavender: Lavender, unlike Basil, is not used primarily for cooking but it can be! Lavender and vanilla shortbread cookies are just divine. In magickal terms, this herb is often used in love spells and love magick, or in any sort of ritual that brings about peace and/or a state of calmness in life and in you.  Lavender can be strewn on floors and thresholds to protect from evil and can be used in purification magick/spells/rituals/baths and for smudging. It can soothe headaches and aid sleep when the buds are placed in a sachet or beneath your pillow.

Sage: Historically - very, historically! - Sage has been burned to cleanse and purify spaces; it is used still in smudging rituals* and the herb is often burned in incense to cleanse, purify and protect. It can also be used in healing rituals. A warning, though: when being burned, Sage emits a potent odour that is very much like that of marijuana!

Patchouli: Patouchli has an exotic aroma and is commonly used in incense, potpourri and ritual workings. This herb has strong ties to sexual power, wealth and love and is thus used in workings regarding those.  If you were to carry a small sachet of Patchouli leaves on your person, whether that is hung around your neck or stashed in your pocket, you will attract love, wealth and yes, sex into your life.

Mugwort: Mugwort is found and used frequently in modern Pagan and witchcraft workings as it is a very versatile and easy to grow (or obtain) herb. It can be used in an incense blend, in general spellwork; sachets and in smudging rituals. It is often tied with prophecy and divination. For example; to encourage success in divination, create an incense blend with mugwort, or use it in a smudging ritual to cleanse your work space of negative energies, and purify it before use. NOTE: Can be harmful to pregnant women.

Bay (leaves): Like some of the aforementioned items, Bay is a culinary herb. It is used not only in cooking, but for protection, purification, strength, healing and the enhancement of psychic power. If you write a wish or a desire on a bay leaf and burn it on a candle flame, it is said that the smoke will carry your desires to your respective deities and they will manifest, though not always in the way you would expect. Bay, if placed in a dream pillow, wards of negativity and induces prophetic dreams.

Chamomile: Known for its protective and purifying properties, Chamomile can be used in incense blends for sleep and meditation. It is, of course, a popular herbal tea that promotes peace and sleep. If you wish to protect your person or your household from psychic attacks, sprinkle Chamomile around your home.

Rosemary: Rosemary, yet another culinary herb, has been used historically for myriad purposes. In short, it is a herb of protection, love, lust, mental clarity, purification, healing, banishing, and cleansing. It’s pretty much multi-purpose.  Burn Rosemary to rid a space of negative energy, or hang it in the home to prevent evil in all its forms from crossing the threshold and entering. This herb is like a clear quartz crystal or a white candle; it can be used as a substitute for other herbs and you will still obtain good results.

Cinnamon: Oh, look! Another culinary herb! Cinnamon is versatile in that it is easy to obtain and very easy to use. It promotes spirituality, success, healing, psychic powers, lust, love, and protection, much like Rosemary, and can be used in incense blends, but (and this is the best part) it can be baked into sweets and desserts! It can be used in sachets too, or hung in the home to protect those inside.

Pennyroyal: Pennyroyal is often associated with money, strength and protection. In Hoodoo and some branches of folk magic/k, Pennyroyal is carried to ward of what is known as the ‘evil eye’. If you wish to utilise Pennyroyal’s protective properties, put some of the herb in a sachet with whatever else you feel you need and carry it on your person. For the best effect, your purse/bag or your pockets would work best.  If you wish to work money magick, use it to create some Money Oil or hang a sprig over your door to attract it into your life. If you are a business owner, hanging a sprig over the door will attract new custom. NOTE: Can be harmful to pregnant women.

*Although I’m not entirely sure on this topic and need to read more myself, I believe that white sage is in trouble and we need to steer clear of using it until it is no longer an endangered plant/herb! Picture Credit [x]

[lunanoviswitchery]

1000 Picspams Challenge | #42 - Hestia

you have me and all my bareness to scribble your tempers on (x)