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To lovely humans who were excluded from invitations, left behind when they tied their shoes, forced to walk in the grass when the sidewalk was full, spoken over when you tried to contribute, whispered about or laughed at, given side-eye when you tried to fit in…. you are so worthy of love.

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i'm trying out new usernames because I wasn't feeling that one, don't mind me ~

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I’ve seen that post about Minecraft and magic by @stormwaterwitch​ many times, so today I thought I’d share my little ritual space!

As a closet witch, I can’t have an altar or tools sitting out in the open. While there are ways I covertly practice in real life, if I want to do a bigger ritual I typically have to boot up my witchy world. Care to join me for a quick tour?

This is an aerial view. You can see the elemental room where I connect with each element before and after spellcasting, building energy prior to the ritual and releasing the excess afterward. It’s a little chaotic, but that’s fine. 

Behind that you can see the altar room itself. Much smaller and tidier, to facilitate focus.

Here we see the Earth section…

The Fire section…

The Air section…

And the Water section, which, as you can see, is the last one before entering the altar room. This one’s probably the most fun going in, because I jump in the river and ride the current down into the pool, where I sit for a while and finish grounding before heading in to prepare the spell.

Here’s the altar room proper. It has shelves I can place any relevant items on, a small shrine to each element, an anvil so I can easily name name tags (for taglocks), a jukebox for appropriate ambient vibes, etc. The carpets can be changed out for any color of altar cloth I deem appropriate for the spell. Same goes for the banners.

And I keep a little book of Minecraft correspondences! It’s pretty handy for keeping the smaller details in order.

Conclusion: as a queer witch, Minecraft is pretty much the Best Thing To Ever Happen To Me.

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Putting Things Under Your pillow

By putting certain things underneath your pillow, you will allow those metaphysical properties to interact with your dreams and being throughout the night when you sleep upon that pillow. Here is a small list of constructs you can put underneath your pillow that will provide you with specific kna, minds states, and physical stimuli throughout the night based on what they are:

Lapis lazuli is placed under your pillow for awareness of your dreams and the vividness of those dreams.

Clear quartz to wake up with more kna after you awake from your sleep.

Bayleaf to have more prophetic dreams.

Chamomile to promote relaxation and good dreams.

Rose petals to bring love into your waking life.

Peppermint to promote relaxation and vivid dreams.

Lavender to promote calm and for you to sleep well.

Anise to prevent nightmares.

Rosemary to prevent nightmares and to bring deep sleep.

Garlic to promote good sleep.

You can put a blade of grass or a leaf underneath your pillow to promote growth and change in your waking life.

Money for wealth and prosperity in your waking life.

A Picture of someone to connect with them better.

A name of someone to connect with them better.

You can put all manner of sigils underneath your pillow to get the effect of that Sigil into your dreams and waking life.

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I am absolutely tired of remaining silent on this subject

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Secular Celebrations - Midsummer

After Beltane comes Midsummer, which some also call Litha, mid to late June. I call it “probably already too hot to go outside.” I’m not exactly a summertime person to begin with and I live in Virginia, in the middle of a swamp. So the rest of you can enjoy Midsummer. I’m going to be spending it indoors where the air conditioning is.

Midsummer is the summer solstice, the middle of the growing season, the highest point of high summer. It’s a time to celebrate the hard work we’ve done, take a bit of ease while the weather is pleasant, and have a good romp before we have to start bringing in the harvests in August. If you work with solar magic or the Fair Folk, this is your holiday. Both of these themes run deep and strong through Midsummer, along with the urge to get outside and revel in the beauty of nature at peak flourish.

So enjoy Midsummer first and foremost by getting outside...if you can. If it’s too damn hot, yanno, be realistic. But at least make an effort if you enjoy the hotter weather and it’s not dangerous to be out. Go to your favorite park, maybe go to the beach, go hiking, go to a pick-your-own fruit farm, have a picnic, attend a fair or a carnival, do some stargazing. All this assumes a lot about public safety since we’re still living in the COVID era, so use your good judgement. If it’s not safe to be around crowds, try to focus on solo activities or things you can do in the safety of your home or your backyard.

This is another good time for herb-picking. If you have a garden, your plants should be producing by this point, and you can start pruning your plants and drying those trimmings for use in your craft. This is actually my favorite part of the summer. I love putting up those bundles of plants and flowers to dry, I love the look of them in my home, and I love the satisfaction of putting the dried material into jars for storage. And hey, if you’re not growing anything, you can still enjoy this by picking up fresh herbs from the supermarket or the local garden store and drying them.

You can also go herb gathering like I mentioned for Beltane, since different plants will be in season. Again, always observe permission and best practices if you’re going to do this. And always make sure you label your bundles and your jars for easy identification.

On a practical note, if you’re going to be doing things outside for Midsummer, always make sure you wear sunscreen and adequate clothing to avoid too much UV exposure, including a face covering. Remember to hydrate properly throughout the day, be careful with your alcohol intake, and if you start to feel tired or woozy, or if you stop sweating, get out of the sun IMMEDIATELY. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are no joke, witches. Take care of yourselves out there.

And speaking of herbs and ways of keeping cool, one of the things I really enjoy doing in the summertime is making magical iced teas. I know some of my overseas listeners might be blinking in confusion right about now, so if you’ve never heard of this, let me enlighten you. In the US, particularly in the South, we’re very fond of iced tea. Now, that doesn’t mean cold tea, it’s tea that’s been sweetened and chilled, and it’s usually served over ice with lemon or mint leaves, depending on the recipe. This is a fun and easy herbal potion that anyone can make. You just need a pitcher of hot water, some herbal tea bags, some sugar or honey, and whatever flavorings you want to add.

Using several teabags or a big pouch of looseleaf tea, mix up a batch of tea that’s a little stronger than you’d usually make for a hot cuppa. Stir in sugar or honey until it’s as sweet as you like it - we usually go a step or two sweeter than you’d think. Then add whatever flavorings you like. And you can use just about anything for this. I’m partial to a nice blend of chamomile and peppermint with a good dollop of honey, or white tea with jasmine, or spearmint and elderflower, or hibiscus and raspberry. Lavender and lemon is another popular recipe, if you can get your hands on culinary lavender. (And yes, there IS a difference between lavender grown for the kitchen and lavender grown for aromatherapy purposes, so shop carefully.) Feel free to make drinks that correspond to magical purposes, too. Health, wealth, happiness, whatever you like. Sweet iced potions? Yes please!

This can be stretched to alcoholic drinks too, if you’re partial. I mean, what are we even doing with our craft if we’re not stirring spells into sangria or joining the midnight margarita club, right? My husband makes a delightful little cocktail he calls a Gardener’s Tonic - basically a gin and tonic with muddled sweet basil and lime juice and a slice of cucumber. Just make sure that when you’re enjoying your alcoholic alchemy, you’re doing so responsibly.

So once you’ve got your drink of choice and you’ve had a chance to relax, look to your homestead. Tend that garden, like I mentioned before. Attend to any pest problems you might be having, or any home repairs that might need doing. Try not to put things off. Once autumn arrives, you may find that you’re too busy. Reorganize your witchy supplies. If you’ve got new material or new tools coming in, try to declutter and get rid of anything that’s gone stale or sour, or anything that’s used up. Check your jars for signs of mold and give your accoutrements a good cleaning.

If you feel that kitchen witch itch, there’s a cream for that….it’s in the fridge next to the milk. (I apologize for NOTHING.) You can check on the beverages you started back around Beltane, or start a batch if you didn’t do one in the spring. You can start a sourdough, since that seems to be all the rage right now, or make preserves and jams with those early fruits and berries. Make food or homemade sweet with local produce and local honey. Oh and bless the bees and the pollinators while you’re at it! Bless their little hearts, they bring so much sweetness to the world, they deserve thanks for their hard work.

Midsummer is a big holiday for picnics, so if you can have one, definitely do it, even if it’s just on your back porch. If you happen to have a fenced yard and a tent to work with, maybe try an overnight campout just for fun. My dad used to do this all the time when my brother and I were kids. We’d set up a tent in the backyard, he’d drag out a TV and VCR on extension cords, and we’d stay up half the night watching movies and eating junk food. Hey, we were suburban kids, my dad’s idea of “roughing it” was having no remote for the TV. It was super fun, and if you can manage something like this, I definitely recommend it to witches with little ones. Lot of good memories there, if they’re inclined to such things.

Of course, summer isn’t all clear skies and sunshine. Sometimes it rains. But heck, that can be just as much fun. Apart from the obvious option of gathering the rainwater for magical purposes, have you ever gone out in the rain on purpose? When it’s warm out and the rain is coming down in nice fat drops and you’re wearing stuff that can stand a little soaking, few things are more fun than running around and getting absolutely drenched. I’ve got a few fond memories of walking in the woods during rainstorms with my bestie from middle school. There’s a saying that goes, “Life isn’t about avoiding the storms, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” If there’s not a danger of lightning, I definitely recommend giving it a try. It’s really kind of exhilarating.

Midsummer is the longest day of the year. It’s the day when we see the most light, the earliest sunrise, the latest sunset. Meditate on how you can bring more light and positivity into your life, and how you can have a positive impact on the lives of others, on your community, and the world in general. Think about your productivity, your projects, your path to personal growth. How are things going? Is there anything that feels stuck that needs to be addressed? Where can you modify your outlook to something more optimistic, and where do you maybe need to take off the rose-colored glasses and be more of a realist? All things to contemplate while you’re sipping that magical iced tea potion.

Other Posts In This Series:

Imbolc

Spring Equinox

Beltane

Midsummer

Lughnasadh

Autumn Equinox

Samhain

Yule

If you’re enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar or check out my published works on Amazon or in the Willow Wings Witch Shop.

The Hex Positive podcast is a proud member of the Nerd and Tie Podcast Network.😊

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Methods for Spells

TO BIND- wrap in black thread, drip wax over, or seal in a jar and hide it in the dark.

TO BANISH- burn an effect to ash and sweep off the back door step, cast it out a window, or bury in the ground and spit on it

TO ENCOURAGE-  plant it by the front door/steps, bury by a window, or place it on a windowsill

TO HIDE- place in a jar painted black, cover with cloth and bury, or wrap with a ribbon

TO CLEANSE- bury it in a bowl of  salt, burn herbs and pass through the smoke, or lay it in a moonwater bath

TO GLAMOUR- leave under the full moon, hold its reflection over a mirror with herbs, or 

TO WISH- place before a candle and blow it out, drown a coin in water, or let seeds blow into the wind

TO COMMUNICATE- (with a spirit or deity) - anoint a candle, leave out offerings, or open the front doors and windows

TO WARD- leave part of the spell in four corners, draw lines around the protected area, or plant an object of projection in the north, east, south, and west edges

TO CURSE- spit on it, drag your nails down it, or stick sharp things in it

TO DISCOURAGE - plant or bury by the back door, or burn to ash

TO JINX- say it three times out loud, or say a word the same time as someone else

TO MANIPULATE - use wax, use poppets, or tie several strings to pieces of an effect

TO BENEFIT - light a candle, charge a crystal, or create a talisman

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Don't sabotage your identity trying to name it. Let it be undefined, permeable, mixed, peculiar, unapologetically authentic. Be in peace with being unprecedented, with not fitting anywhere, with being adrift. Before flight, there's a free fall.

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Witchcraft: Sigil Basics

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Tools Used in Magick

An apple - to create or inspire love, to break love or love spells, divination, communion with the dead, obtaining beauty and fairness.

A lemon - to break spells, to create hexes that affect physical life, to promote strong healing by way of a detox or purgation, to bind people frm doing magick towards you. Can be made into a lamp for protection against curses and evil.

An orange - amazing offering to spirits, especially those of the dead, to break misfortune, summoning good fortune, bringing good health, inspiring joy and positivity, can be used as a lamp for any of the above purposes.

Ginger - giving fire to any spell, ginger tea or root can be consumed before rituals to lend power ot the witch, due to its potent nature, it can be used as a poppet to inspire passion, sexuality, or to dominate someobody, a potent money charm. I do feel like it does have some very strong purification qualities.

Mirrors - to amplify magick, protect and bind people, for reflecting hexes and evil, for scrying magick.

Rice - for spells of growth, abundance and benediction, mixed with other herbs and can be made into a talisman for household wealth. Also good as offerings to certain spirits, could also be used as a protection spell due to the idea that the reason rice is thrown at a wedding is to confuse evil spirits, useful in rain spells.

Coffee - empowerment of all spells, stimulating psychic gifts, amazing for enhancing spirit communication and amazing for spirit offerings (black coffee), useful in breaking curses and road openings and strong cleansings. Has a good ability in money magick and in empowering love in a relationship, like most food, it can be enchanted to make someone caring and loving towards you.

Black Pepper - a martial incense, good for works of exorcism, domination, subjugation, potent cleansings, curse breaking, afflicting curses, creating war and conflict, good for break up works.

Matches - there is a small belief that due to matches containing sulphur, they have the tendency towards darker magick (sulphur and brimstone), but this can or cannot be applied in one's practice.

Flour - can be used to mark out circles and as a base for powders. Mixed with salt and black pepper it creates a protection powder, with sugar, a powder to promote love, peace, sweetening etc. with sugar and cinnamon, useful for money magick and to induce love and lust. It can be mixed with the ashes of a petition, sigil or prayer and used to dust things like doorknobs. It can alternatively be mixed with a small amount of water which can then make a paste to anoint doors and windows as a temporary mark.

Salt/White Vinegar - mixed together and placed in a room creates a potent cleansing agent.

Sewing supplies - used in creating bags and poppets but also useful in things such as love magick, binding magick and so on. For example, sew two photographs together to make a small packet and add sugar, basil and red rose petals to create a love pouch, orange peels can be added for martial bliss.

Tin Foil - good for reflection spells, can be used in heating spells. So taking a fish heart (for example) and working it to inspire love, wrapping it in tin foil and putting it in a fire or in the oven is a good way of heating up a spell, useful when you want to warm someone's heart to you, fire up their loins, their temper etc. Alternatively, due to its reflective surface, it can be used in binding spells.

Clay - it can be u sed in poppet magick but also to seal people. For example, green is associated with Venus, so a green heart can be used in magick relating to love.

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prosperity and good luck spell jar

-✨🍀🕯

ground nutmeg

grounding, luck, stability, prosperity, good fortune, happiness

ground cinnamon

abundance, prosperity, luck, happiness, protection, strength

cinnamon stick (cut/break down to size if you need to)

see above- with stronger abundance and protection properties

dried thyme

happiness, luck, prosperity, communication, compassion, softens obstacles

fresh dandelion petals (picked by you; make sure to get the fuzz)

prosperity, abundance, luck, happiness, success, confidence

a clover (picked by you)

luck, growth, prosperity, abundance, happiness, kindness

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The Light.

a tarot spread for litha.

1. The Heart.

The heart of the sun is your center. This is where you hold all your truths. Do not live in fear any longer. Let this card be your constant reminder that the time has come to be the person you truly are.

2. The Air.

The rays of the sun can be felt all around you within the warm summer air. Let this card be your constant reminder that you have been reborn as a being of strength and unwavering positivity. When you feel the warmth of summer, remember you are a new creation.

3. The Light.

Let the light of this new day chase the shadows of doubt far away. Know that there is nothing you cannot obtain. Let this card be your constant reminder that you have the ability to achieve your goals.

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Secular Sources of Power

The magus is their own source of power, essentially being a catalyst for change. Still, there comes the particular effect that if a magus expends too much of their own energy (be it by the name of Prana, Qi, Aethyr etc.), they may suffer detriment in the form of mental, emotional or physical hurt. This is not to say that a magus cannot develop their own personal force in order to affect change on their own capacity while mitigating the effects of draining. In fact, the more you practice witchcraft and develop your faculties, you may find yourself being able to affect changes without the need for materials. None-the-less, the magus still has the ability to draw upon forces outside of themselves in order to empower their own force and the force of their magick. A great bit of these forces to tend to be deific or personified but there are just as many, if not more, primordial or secular energies. In the words of a wise person, why should I be obligated to put a face to the energy I work with.

Secular Sources of Power that the magus can draw upon include:

Herbs and plant materials

Crystals, rocks and other curios.

The sexual force of the magus and the products thereof.

The force of the magus based in their emotion.

The force of the magus based in their Wod (Inspiration) the Unbridled Desire for a goal to be obtained.

The magus's force found in the servitors created by the magus.

The energy latent in areas such as graveyards (Death Force), Oceans, Forests, Crossroads, Churches (bearing a particular energy), rivers, particular trees, holy wells.

The energy latent in astrological events - meteor showers, eclipses, the usages of fixed, muteable and moveable signs, the 12 signs, the fixed stars, the constellations, the planets etc.

The energy latent in metereological events - rain, thunderstorms, snow, violet storms, snow, mist, high wind, low wind.

The energy latent in timing - planetary days/hours, weekdays having particular hours, a woman's period, the birthday, sunrise, sunset, midday, midnight, upon waking, upon sleeping, during one's birthday etc.

The energy in the blood.

The energy latent in the overwhelming of the senses (to obtain a deep trance useful to particular types of magick, like the orgasm but without the orgasm).

The energy apparent in the four elements (earth, air, fire, water, bone, clay, candle, incense, wines, philtres etc.)

The energy lateny in sounds and musics - playing certain songs before, after and/or during rituals in order to obtain the right mind for the spell.

The energy of ritual - repetition, the more that a gesture, ritual, spell is done - the more cemented it becomes in the magus's mind as effective.

The energy of symbols, signs and marks - including Kameas, handmade sigils, Runes, Ogham, Alchemical Symbols.

The Energy of Colours - quite self explanatory

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Death. Art by Jessica Howard, from The Forager’s Daughter Tarot: Afterlight Edition.

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Happy almost-solstice! Here's one of my illustrations.

I got a little too much practice drawing candles on this one...

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The second of the trio - Archives