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[the-maiden-cassandra]

The Witchy Thing's Favorite Witchy Tips #1

1- Make yourself a Pinterest account. They have a few basic witch tips available, but more importantly you can find a tutorial for almost anything on that site! Having trouble painting glass? There’s a tutorial for that. Can’t find a good recipe for the coming holiday/offering? Recipes galore! Even gardening tips, and possibly best of all you can find tons of printable scrapbook pages and stationary which are amazing for your Book of shadows, all for free!

2- Check out your local thrift shops. I just hit my favorite shop today and came home with a new incense burner, three vases for herbs I want to grow in water, a picture frame that’s going to be my new scrying mirror and two ridiculously cute jars all for about $8. You can’t beat thrift shops when it comes to finding witchy jars, and it doesn’t matter that it’s used, you should cleanse things before using them anyway.

3- Drop the stigma surrounding buying witchy things from places like the dollar store. Most of us aren’t rich, and we can’t all afford hand sculpted candles for $10 a pop. Support witchy shops on places like Etsy when you can, but if you buy from the dollar store it does not make you less of a witch.

4- Speaking of hand sculpted candles, you know you can melt down your used candles to make new ones right? See number 1.

[the-maiden-cassandra]

A Witch’s Ingredients: Sand

Sand is an abundant resource that can be found across the world including along the coasts, through deserts and even in many people’s yards and gardens. Sand is rather easy to obtain and natural making it ideal for witchcraft. Though some types of sand may be harder to obtain, and more costly, than others, let this post be a guide on how to utilize it for its magical properties.

Types of Sand & Their Correspondences

Beach/Coastal Sand: calming, grounding, cleansing, connecting to the sea, self-love, protection and warding, motivation, memory, spiritual clarity, purification of the heart, easing pain, physical and spiritual strength, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Ocean Sand (from the ocean floor/deep sea): primordial energy, banishing negative emotions and energy, grounding, mental clarity, psychic clarity and strengthening, divination, guidance, ancient wisdom and power, connections to the sea and primordial waters, birth, creation, can represent both the elements of earth and water

Desert Sand: curses and removing energy from others, weakening, draining, banishing, grounding, mental clarity, physical health, enduring hardships, “drying up” love and past emotions, healing heartbreak, burying the past, often related to burial ceremonies

Volcanic Sand: destruction, intense energy, strength, death, rebirth, banishing, secrets or hidden messages, warding, baneful magic, offensive magic, often represents both earth and fire at once

River Sand/Silt: fertility, procreation, movement, flowing energy, travels, change

Lake/Pond Sand: the present, calmness, serenity, inner focus, self-reflection and meditation

Swamp/Wetland Sand: mystery, secret keeping, silencing lies and rumors, binding, curses related to becoming lost or emotional heaviness, often represents both water and earth at once, often related to animal magic specifically those that live in swamp land

Unearthed/Buried Sand: grounding, hidden power, addressing past issues and mistakes, overcoming controversy, self-discovery, introspection, emotional healing, moving on from past scars

Biogenic Sand/Bone Sand/Shell Sand: healing, moving on emotionally, remembrance but letting go of the pain and loss, honoring those lost (often at or to the sea), close connections to necromancy

Black Sand: protection, warding, banishing, relates to necromancy and spirit work

Pink Sand: love, beauty, youth, harmony, adjusting to change, remembering the past and lost loved ones, rebirth, emotional and mental healing, forgiveness of self and others

Red Sand: strength, courage, valor, relates to fire rather than earth

Yellow Sand: divination, focus, improving memory and skills, mental health, grounding and centering, represents both earth and air elements sometimes both at once

White Sand: purity, cleansing, protection, wisdom, preparing for change, physical and emotional balance, harmonizes all aspects of oneself

Combinations of Sand and Other Ingredients

Sand and Soil: grounding, balance, cleansing, protection of loved ones and family

Sand and Salt: change, growing power, dreams, purification, warding, protection, longevity

Sand and Ash: remembrance, the past, divination

Sand and Clay: change, mental fortitude

Sand and Kelp/Seaweed: beauty, youth, birth, fertility, the ocean

The History

Not much history on the use of sand in magic from what I can find that is a reliable source, but I was able to find some bits about its use.

Sand has been used in connections to rituals for the dead and in burial practices in many different cultures to a varying degree. In some sand was used for burying the deceased such as very early Ancient Egypt for its mummification properties before better mummification methods were invented and utilized. Placing sand into graves or coffins of the deceased somethings as a means to connect them to their homelands if that person was traveling into foreign lands or countries. Some stories speak about mixing the ashes of the dead with sand to be kept in the home. Other stories tell of people mixes ashes from fires or the hearth with sand and casting it out into the sea for lost sailors who could not be brought home. 

Sand was also used historical in some types of spell jars and vessels. In some places sand was put into jars and bottles and given to sailors to keep them connected to home even when sailing. Others said carrying sand could protect one from being lost at sea or from disaster, likely where the history of sand being used for protection properties came from. It has also been used in witch’s bottles and for burying spells for varying purposes. Some cultures would bury offerings to deities into the sand of beaches or deserts.

Modern Use

Sand is still a common ingredient for many sea witches and worshipers of ocean related deities to utilize in their craft and in their altars. Deities commonly related to sand are Poseidon, Aphrodite, Psamathe, Thalassa, Aegir, Neptune and Veles. Sand is also often used in altars to represent either earth or water when representing the cardinal directions or the 4 elements. Some will use sand to represent both in cases of smaller altars.

Modernly, sand is often used in spell jars and bottles when used in spellwork or as a vessel to charge, cleanse and bury objects or tools such as crystals, poppets, amulets and trinkets. Sea witches or witches with accesses to large amount of sand will often use it for grounding and circle casting. Some will use it for runes and sigils as well.

Storing Sand

For those wishing to store and use collected sand ensure that there is nothing undesirable in it - garbage, sharp bits of glass, decomposing fish or animals, insects etc. Shift it thoroughly to ensure anything that could be potentially dangerous is removed and if needed properly disposed of. Once the sand has been shifted ensure it is dry before you seal it into anything.

Wet sand can house bacteria and mold - which can also smell quite foul when the container is opened again. You can use the sun to dry it or indoor heaters at a safe distance. Spread it out thin and flat to help ensure it is thoroughly dried if it is damp or wet.

Once dried the best way to store sand is inside of glass or ceramic vessels. Jars and bottles are the most ideal. Ensure that they are sealed tightly to ensure no spillage or condensation can get inside.

**this post was personally researched, compiled and directly from my personal grimoire. Please do not repost**

Like my blog and posts? Feel free to support continued content on this blog by donating to my Ko-Fi page! Or ask me for my paypal!

[the-maiden-cassandra]

🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻

Mabon

21/9/20

🍁 This is the autumn equinox. It is the last farewell to the summer months. The night and day are equal at this time. It is known as the witchy thanks giving :)

🍁 Foods to look at are apples, bread, pumpkin, root veggies, wine and cider

🍁 Herbs to look at are sage and cinnamon. Marigold and acorns are also pretty important!!!

🍁 Crystals to look are amber, adventurine, citrine, amethyst, clear quartz and tigers eye.

🍁 Focus on grief, honor, grounding, death, success, family harmony, goals, balance, accomplishments, healing and of course your blessings.

🍁 Activities may include a gratitude list, celebrating your abundance, making apple themed dishes or even enjoying the fresh autumn air.

🍁 Magick can include a candle for a blessing or even cleansing the home!!!

Happy Mabon babes! May your lives be filled with love, light and glorious blessings 🧡

🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻🍁🌾🌻

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Seasonal Herbs/Ingredients/Flowers For The Pagan Sabbats

Imbolc:

Lemon, Thyme, Rosemary, Dill, Fennel, Liquorice, Snowdrop, Dandelion, Mint.

Ostara:

Primrose, Rosemary, Daisy, Orange Peel, Basil, Garlic, Lavender, Mint.

Beltane:

Yellow/Orange Roses, Buttercup, Onion Salt, Bay Leaf, Oregano, Black Pepper.

Litha:

Pink /White Roses, Red Clover, Chili Powder, Chamomile, Cumin.

Lughnasadh:

Sunflower, Anise Seed, Cloves, Ginger, Mustard Seed, Turmeric, Blackberries, Sage.

Mabon:

Lavender, Maple Leaves, Pine Cones, Chamomile, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Paprika, Sage.

Samhain:

Pine Needles, Blackberry Leaves, Fennel, Allspice, Red Roses, Jasmine, Nutmeg, Cloves.

Yule:

Mistletoe, Lemongrass, Chive, Cinnamon, Sage, Rosemary, Ginger, Garlic, Orange Peel, Dill, Basil, Black Pepper, Bay Leaf.

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Spells are not simple.

Here's a real tip for all you baby witches out there, diving into spellwork before anything else: Spells aren't as simple as going through the motions, and a spell probably won't work if you don't understand how to use your Will.

This is what I've been taught by my mentor who has been a witch for 25 years. You have to set your intentions and use your Will to match. What is your Will and how is it different from your Intention? This post may get long, but it's important and I haven't seen any others cover this, so please don't give up half way through!

Basically, it's like this:

Intention: your reason for a spell, your goal/what you want + ingredients to match

Your Will: the Power you put behind your spell or working

The intention part is easy. You figure out your goal, pick a spell or create a spell that uses ingredients or actions that match your intent, and then you perform it. This is what most of Tumblr will teach you how to do. While working with simply your intent can sometimes work, it's more like a coin toss because you're not actually making your spellwork as powerful as it could be.

But your Will, as I've been taught, is the most important part of any magick and is the most often overlooked. You can make magick with nothing but your intent and your Will together. Did you know that? What is your Will? It's the power you put behind your intent. Your Will is your Power.

That's right, baby witches. You have to learn how to tap in to the power around you as well as the power within yourself. This is why spells are never as simple as you think; if you can't add your Will to a spell, it will never be as powerful as you want it to be. This concept can prove difficult, so I'll try to break it down as simply as I can.

Your Will comes from the energy within you, but you can also tap into the energy around you to add to that power. This means that to find your Will you have to first learn how to:

Perceive Energy

Feel Energy

Feel your Own Energy

Touch Energy

Gather Energy Inside and Around You

Manipulate Energy

Infuse Energy with Intent

This is the basis for finding and understanding magick. Magick is all about energy, and the sooner you learn how to do these things, the sooner you'll start to realize your power as a witch. And this is why I say that spells are not as simple as Tumblr makes them; at least, they shouldn't be.

When you're performing a spell, you should be raising energy and infusing that energy with your intent. You could be adding energy to your ingredients, or simply raising it and holding it, to be released into the world when the spell is finished. That's your Will; the energy you add to your working. The stronger the energy, the stronger the spell.

A simple way to put it: Intent + Will = Power

So please do yourself a favor. Research energy. Find it, figure it out, feel it within you. Take your time to truly understand that power so you can properly perform powerful spellwork.

Learning all of this can take time and that is fine. If you take your time to work on this, you will be grateful for it in the long run. Feeling the energy that surrounds you and that comes from within you is such a beautiful thing, I promise. Energy is wonderful.

[the-maiden-cassandra]

🌟Creative Ways to Seal/Cast Spells🌟

• bake it into a cake, pie, or cookie

• kiss the intended recipient of the spell (consent is important)

• burn it, smudge your house with it

• sew it into a piece of clothing or knit/crochet it into a blanket

• sing it, let your soul speak it

• brew it into your beverage of choice (tea, coffee, hot cocoa, etc.)

• (for incredibly powerful spells) tattoo it on your skin

• make art of it (paint, draw, sculpt, etc.)

• clean with it (shower, bathe, tidy, organize, etc.)

• take a shot to it (when you’re of age)

• cry or laugh about it, catharsis is powerful

• gift it (gift it to a friend, connect your spell to an object and share it)

• plant it, nurture it, let it grow and flourish (tie your spell to a plant)

feel free to add ideas of your own!

[the-maiden-cassandra]

A Lazy Witch's Mabon

Today is Mabon (September 21st-23rd, technically celebrations can last through the 28th though) this is the holiday where the day and night are again equal right before the nights start getting longer than the days and the cold sets in. Around this time is when the second harvest would take place for those with farms.

The main themes that are celebrated in this holiday are balance, changing of the seasons, gratitude, and sharing.

Here are some simple things you can do to celebrate!

Decorate your altar, you can do this with just things you have around the house or on the ground. If you live in an area with pinecones, those work just fine! Acorns? Perfect! Leaves? Wonderful! Any red, yellow, brown, or orange cloth? Include it! (This can even be clothing if you don't mind having it on your altar)

Since feasts are out of the question (partly because that's a lot of work for a lazy witch guide, partly because there's a pandemic and having a feast goes against social distancing), you can see incorporate the holiday into your personal meals. Have a lot of seasonal foods, like carrots and potatoes. Apples and pomegranates are also used traditionally to celebrate mabon.

Either set up or recharge and check on home protection wards. Especially as the cold season approaches (and Samhain on roughly a month) you want you house protected from negativity.

Make a talisman or sigil to help with seasonal depression. Something that will help keep your mood and energy balanced over the next few seasons until the weather warms up again. Might post a very simple talisman spell for a necklace after this.

Make or buy a potpourri. For those that don't know what it is, its a collection of dried herbs, leaves, flower petals and spices that are used to make you house smell good. Put traditional ma on herbs and spices in there as well as acorns or pinecones, bark from trees, and more to give it a more fall, woodsy look. Just put it out in pretty bowls around your house and you're all decorated!

Spend some time outside and take notice of the change in the air. Is the air colder? Are the plants changing? Are leaves changing colors yet? Meditate on this.

You don't have to go all out for every holiday every year. Be easy with yourself and do as much as you can while preserving your mental health.

Happy Mabon witches 💛🍃🍂🍃🍂🧡

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Things Every Beginner Tarot Reader Should Know

The best way to learn is by doing. Read for yourself, friends, family, strangers. The more practice you have the more you will understand.

You don’t need to memorize the cards before you start–infact, many decks will have varying meanings and additional interpretations of the same card.

The cards are multi-faceted. There is never just one right answer or one true meaning. 

Your deck is never being mean to you. You’re interpreting the cards harshly because that’s how you’re treating yourself in this situation. Be kinder with yourself, and you will find the advice, truth, and solutions in the cards no matter how negative they might seem

Tarot is for advice. It doesn’t have all the answers, but it gives you the tools to find them. Use it for introspection and preparation. 

Your intuition is your greatest tool. Trust yourself and the messages you receive.

Symbolism in imagery will be different in every deck of cards you buy. It’s all important! Buying and using a new deck is like re-learning the tarot all over again.

It’s possible that you may never stop learning–the tarot and your perception of it will change over time. 

You can shuffle any way that feels right. There are so many different ways to get the same result.

Trusting yourself is the best way to ensure an accurate reading

If your reading feels wrong, perhaps you lost focus, or perhaps you’re not ready to understand it yet. It doesn’t mean you failed.

This practice will open your intuitive and introspective skills

If you don’t connect with the art style or descriptive style of your deck, you probably won’t connect with the messages either. That’s okay–it’s just not the one for you.

Learning tarot is like learning the cards, astrology, numerology, symbolic meaning, color symbolism, mythology, and folklore all in one. Take your time, be open to possibility.

You don’t need to be gifted your first deck–if you want to believe in that school of thought, go ahead! But if it doesn’t work for you, just buy your own.

Tarot cards are not inherently magical. The magic is in your hands and in your mind, and you bring the cards to life.

Anyone can practice tarot!

You’re doing great! Keep up the good work

If anyone has tarot-related questions/questions about practicing and learning tarot please feel free to message me! Sending love <3

Tip Jar / Donations

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Blessings to you this Mabon season 🍁

~~ss

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Me: *snorts an entire leaf*

Me: It’s Mabon.

[the-maiden-cassandra]

🍁Happy Mabon🍁

🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁

🍁Happy Mabon everybody, perfect time to de-clutter and prepare for the colder months to come.

🍂Clean and cleanse your home, maybe do some baking, change up your alter or sacred space if you want. Just have a great time😊🍁🍂

🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

[the-maiden-cassandra]

15 Simple Spells

Magic doesn’t have to be tough. Here’s proof that there’s a lazy witch in all of us, and it’s easy to let them out.

Purification and Protection Scrub

Making Magical Sleep Circles

Motivation Charm Bag

Jar for Attracting Romance

Violation Salt Scrub

Anti-Anxiety Tea

Love-Drawing Bath Salt Recipe

Easy Tarot Tricks

Herbal Dream Pillow

Magical Shower Disks

Repel an Unwanted Lover

Do some Bath Magic

Tea Spell for Sleep

Gossip Stopping Scrub

Love Repression Spell

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Mabon 🍎

🍁 Also known as the fall equinox or Second Harvest

🍁 It occurs around September 21st and is the midway point between the summer solstice and the winter solstice

🍁 Herbs: rue, yarrow, rosemary, sage, frankincense

🍁 Animals: fox, owl, dog, wolf, stag, crow, squirrel

🍁 Crystals: amber, onyx, peridot, diamond, citrine, obsidian

🍁 Flowers: marigold, sunflowers, mums

🍁 Trees: aspen, cedar, maple, oak, pine, walnut

🍁 Colors: orange, red, brown, yellow

🍁 Incense: cinnamon, myrrh, frankincense, apple, sage

🍁 Decorations: autumn leaves, apples, pumpkins, skulls, corn, besom, acorns

🍁 Deities: Demeter, Ceres, Persephone

🍁 Activities: fall cleaning, apple picking, bake bread, bake apple pie, drink or make apple cider, walk in the woods

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Citrus Cleansing Cleaner

****Scroll down to the bottom if you’d like to know right off the bat why this is a Witchy Recipe***

So, this method of creating a concentrated citrus cleaner has been going around the internet for a while now. It’s super simple to make, disinfects, and is an extremely effective cleaner. I’ve been using this recipe for a while now, and it cleans everything from cooked on crud on the stove, to mystery stains in the fridge, to not-so-mystery (but let’s not think about it) junk in your toilet bowl. It’s very cost-effective to make as well. All you need is citrus peels and white vinegar.

Start off by collecting your citrus peels. I’ll usually just throw them in an empty mandarin crate so they’ll dry instead of rot.

Grab a glass jar, and fill it with your peels. Really cram them in there. Compact them as much as possible (Picture 1).

Fill the jar with vinegar, wait a few minutes for it to settle, then add more if need be. You want the vinegar to reach the lip of the jar.

Screw the lid on tightly, then turn the jar over a few times. Leave in a dark corner of your counter for about two weeks, turning the jar daily.

You’ll know your cleaner is ready when the peels at the top start looking greyish (picture 2), and the scent of vinegar is gone. (Yes, you read that right. Once the cleaner is ready, it smells like citrus, not vinegar).

Transfer the contents of the jar into a bowl, and, using a potato masher, mash the living daylights out of the peels. Decant into a spray bottle, filtering through a fine cheesecloth.

Fill the remainder of the bottle with water. (about 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water)

How about we get to the witchy part of this recipe?

Now, this is a simple DIY cleaner recipe, but I took a moment to look up the magickal properties of various citrus peels, and Lo! & Behold!, they pretty much all have purification among their properties:

Clementine: Purification, transformation, protection, joy, inspiration

Grapefruit: Cleansing, purification

Lemon: Energizing, health, healing, physical energy, purification

Lime: Purification and protection, promoting calmness and tranquility, and strengthening love.

Mandarin: Awakening, Inspiration

Orange: Purification, joy, physical energy, magickal energy

Tangerine: Promotes energy, strength, and vitality. Awakens joy and dissolves negativity.

So, once you’ve made your cleaner, you can either use it as is, or bless/charge it to remove negative energies while you clean. It would be quite simple to make a blend of several citrus peels, such as lemon for purification, orange for joy, and lime for protection, making a multi-purpose, multi-intent blend!

Happy Cleansing Cleaning!

Jessy - The Hearth Witch

[the-maiden-cassandra]

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Floating Acorn Cap Candle

These candles are a wonderful way to add a subtle incandescent light to an autumnal altar or table centerpiece, or float upon a pond or other body of water for a Samhain, Mabon or other fall ritual.

I made the candles pictured by simply removing the wicks from white tea-lights, (keeping the wax and setting it aside) and cutting each in half - making two candles per each tea light.

I made a simple double-boiler by thoroughly cleaning out, and removing the label from, an empty tin can, and holding it still in a pot of simmering water to melt the wax down.

Wearing thick gardening gloves for protection, I carefully poured wax into the empty acorn caps, filling them just below the rim of the cap, then sticking in the wicks, holding them still for a moment until the wax cools enough for the wicks to stand on their own.

[the-maiden-cassandra]

Common Spell Items

Here’s a collection of items you can easily find outside and their correspondences/associations

Grass:  Psychic powers, protection, growth, nature, learning, healing, new beginnings, recovery from loss Pine needles:  Cleansing, healing and strengthening. It also acts as a natural insect repellent Pine cones: Masculinity, fertility Maple Leaves: Feminine, moon magic, travel, learning, dealing with change, decision making, spiritual healing Pennies: Luck, wealth Dandelions: Divination, wishes, calling spirits Dandelion leaves:  Summoning spirits, healing, purification, defeating negativity Red/purple wild clover:  Fidelity, love, money, protection, the blessing of domestic animals White wild clover: Breaking curses Two leaf clover: Love, luck Three leaf clover: protection, luck Four leaf clover: Protection, psychic powers, spirit work, luck, success Oak leaf:  Truth, steadfast knowledge, protection Acorn:  Good luck, protection, wisdom, and personal power Walnut: Healing and protection

Feel free to add any more!