w-itchtips

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the witch of the woods 🪾🕯️🌿

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The Wheel of Fortune. Art by Mariya Tobischek, from the Ukrainian Night Tarot.

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i’m sorry, y’all are using AI for offerings? …do you know how the religion you claim to be a part of started? how it lived? how it works?

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Where to draw your sigils..

Looking for ideas on where to inscribe your sigils for extra magickal oomph? Whether you’re charging intentions, manifesting goals, or just enchanting your daily life, here are some witchy places to draw them:

• On your skin for personal empowerment

• In your grimoire or spellbook to boost your craft

• On letters and stationary to send your magick out into the world

• On teapots and cups for enchanted brews

• On Polaroid cameras to capture good vibes

• On plant pots to encourage growth and vitality

• On spell bottles or ingredients to seal your intention

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Some little things I've learned over a decade of witchcraft:

If you are feel called to work but are tired/drained, sit outside. Take in all the energies around you. Nature can help charge you

Every witch does a little bit of a bunch of types of magic but sticks mainly to one or two in general. You usually won't be eclectic forever. You'll find what magics work best with you.

Never be lazy or cut corners with spirits. Always be respectful and always tell them to leave when you're done

When you see a plant or ingredient with a long list of properties, there are different things at play. Season of collection, the part of the plant, the health of the plant, etc all play a role in impacting which properties it will carry.

Don't call on spirits unless you have confidence and control

Be careful with sea/water magic. Get into it gently and slowly until you have the energy figured out because it can get out of hand quickly.

Adding a little pinch of magic into your breakfast can make a major difference in your day.

Your personal emotions/feelings over something will impact a work

Planting some plants is good, not only to have a garden, but the dirt helps cleanse you too. Get all dirty and muddy. It's good for ya

Not all trees are nice

The more you listen to your intuition, the easier it will be to tell it apart from your anxieties and worries

Incense is very easy to make which is why it's usually cheap to buy. But you can find a million tutorials online on how to make your own personal incense which is great if you want a spell to take effect over a while but also want to infuse the fire energy in it.

The more you work with something the better feel you get for it. Cinnamon goes in almost everything i cook and most of my spells because me and cinnamon just get right along

Your path is yours and no one else's. It will look like yours and no one else's

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Ostara (March 19-21)

Ostara is this week, with this sabbat we celebrate the beginning of spring and perfect balance between night and day. The winter months are officially over, and from now on everything will bloom and get warmer 🌞

Correspondences for Ostara: Symbols | Eggs, seeds, flowers, hare Colors | Pastel colors, green, yellow, pink, white Spells | Fertility, growth, balance, purification and abundance Crystals | Amethyst, clear quartz, lapis lazuli, rose quartz, jasper Herbs and flowers | Lavender, tulips, rose, daffodils, lily’s Foods | Eggs, breads (hot cross buns), cake, chocolate, seeds, fruits How to celebrate | Baking, dying or painting eggs, planting seeds (woth intention), nature walks, spring cleaning.

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𝔞 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔨 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔰

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Worm Moon - March 13-14 2025

The world is thawing and spring will soon be sprung. Dust off your garden tools and get ready for the Worm Moon!

Worm Moon

The Worm Moon is the name given to the full moon which occurs in the month of March in the Northern Hemisphere. Most sources claim this name is taken from the renewed visible presence of vermicast (worm droppings) and earthworms themselves, as the spring thaw allows them to emerge from the soil.

There is a possible alternative explanation, involving a colonial explorer's notes about the Naudowessie (Dakota) observation of emerging worm-like beetle larvae from the bark of trees. "Every month has with them a name expressive of its season; for instance, they call the month of March (in which their year generally begins at the first New Moon after the vernal Equinox) the Worm Month or Moon; because at this time the worms quit their retreats in the bark of the trees, wood, &c. where they have sheltered themselves during the winter." (It's entirely possible that this "worm" in this instance is a mistranslation of an indigenous word for "larva," since it refers to the larval state of certain beetles. Without knowing whether the language in question makes a distinction between larval worms and earthworms, it's impossible to tell, and I was unable to find further sources.)

Other North American Indigenous names for this moon include Goose Moon (Algonquin and Cree) and Crow Comes Back Moon (Northern Ojibwe), in reference to the reappearance of migratory birds, and Sugar Moon (Ojibwe) and Sap Moon (Shawnee), in reference to the season in which the maple sap begins to run and can be tapped for the production of maple syrup.

Fun Fact: The term "Worm Moon" only occurs in southerly indigenous nations. The March moon is commonly named for trees or birds in more northerly areas of North America because in those places, the native species of earthworms went extinct during the period when glaciers covered that portion of the continent. About 12,000 years ago when the glaciers receded, the forest grew back without earthworms. The species which now inhabit those areas are invasive or introduced specimens originating from Europe and Asia.

The March moon, if it occurs prior to the spring equinox, is also the Lenten Moon, named for the Christian holiday of Lent. If it occurs after the equinox, it is called the Paschal Full Moon, corresponding with the Christian holiday of Easter, or Paschal Sunday (This year's Worm Moon will occur the week before the equinox and Easter Sunday will be in April.)

This year's Worm Moon will also feature a lunar eclipse, the only one we'll see this year. The peak of the full moon will occur at 2:55am EST on March 14th, but the moon will appear to be full and the eclipse should be visible on the night of the 13th. Check the Dark Sky Place Finder for visibility conditions in your area and livestreams of the event.

What Does It Mean For Witches?

Full moons are both the beginning and end of the lunar cycle. With the Worm Moon, we can look forward to the beginning of spring and the yearly harvest cycle. So now is the perfect time for seasonal divination, plans for the coming months, and the setting of goals for the future, both short-term and long-term. You can also check in with goals you may have set back in January and record your progress. (Remember - even a little progress is still progress!)

Consider also how you can change or begin new routines and habits to improve your life, make better choices, streamline your schedule, or just give yourself a much-needed break. If there’s something hanging around that no longer serves you, now is the time to consider bidding it adieu and moving forward to a new path.

What Witchy Things Can We Do?

The Worm Moon heralds the imminent start of the planting season. If you’ve got green fingers, now is the time to begin planning your garden for the season. Prepare your sprouting trays and browse your favorite seed catalog for inspiration.

It’s also time for that all-important spring cleaning, so open up those windows on a warm day and air out all the staleness from winter. As you scrub and dust and declutter, you can also magically cleanse your space of stagnant, disruptive, or unwanted things, replacing them with your own energy and your good wishes and goals for the upcoming season.

This is also an excellent time for spells focused on fertility, optimism, and new growth. It’s important to remember that fertility spells don’t just have to focus on procreation. They can also be geared toward planting, creating, opportunity, inspiration, motivation, prosperity, abundance, and anything that requires nurturing and productivity.

As the land begins to turn toward springtime, even if the weather is still cold, take note of the changes in the flora and fauna in your area. What species can you identify? How are the animals acting? Is there anything new that you notice since last year? Tracking these changes can help you connect with your local biome and identify patterns that can help you draw forecasts for the weather, the coming crop cycle, and any personal omens you have which are connected to nature. Try this knowledge-building exercise as part of your study - Dig Through The Ditches.

Since there is a lunar eclipse set to occur, this is also an optimal time for not only the usual fulfillment and abundance magic associated with the full moon, but for any magic meant to yeet something into the all-devouring void with all your might. Contrary to certain schools of belief, eclipses do not automatically negate magical workings done on the date they occur and there are ways of employing that energy to useful purpose. Picture the earth's shadow moving over the moon like a giant cosmic disposal bin which carries away anything thrown into it to be released into the void of space.

As always, for best results, make sure you are focused and specific with your intentions and close loopholes in your wording. Remember that YOU are the most important component in your spell, since you're the one providing the impetus and the energy and telling the magic what to do. Don't be afraid to clear and emphatic!

Recall also that in any environment, there comes a time when progress cannot occur until harmful elements are removed, stagnation is released, and detritus is returned to a state where it can decay and benefit new growth. Do with this what you will.

The season of greening and renewal is upon us, so it’s time to Ready, Set, GROW!

Happy Worm Moon, witches! 🌕🌱

Further Reading:

Worm Moon: Full Moon for March 2025, The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Worm Moon: The Stunning Full Moon of March 2025, The Peculiar Brunette.

Witchcraft Exercise - Dig Through The Ditches, Bree NicGarran.

Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America, in the Years 1766, 1767 and 1768, Capt. Jonathan Carver, London, 1781. (Text available on Project Gutenberg)

Total Lunar Eclipse March 2025, Space.com.

Easter and the Paschal Full Moon: Determining the Date of Easter, The Old Farmer's Almanac.

Everyday Moon Magic: Spells & Rituals for Abundant Living, Dorothy Morrison, Llewellyn Publications, 2004.

(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. 😊)

[w-itchtips]

𝙳𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚟𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 @deliverusfromshmeagol

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𖤓 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 @kansas-sun-witch 𖤓

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Nona Limmen

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“what is remembered lives on”

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A witch at her cauldron surrounded by monsters. Etching by Jan van de Velde II, 1626.

A demonstration not only of the engraver's art but also of some of the features that were attributed to witches in early modern times (15th-17th centuries). She has books of recipes and spells: the books, called grimoires, are shown in the lower right corner, together with magic philtres in flasks. She stands with her goat, or the Devil in the form of a goat, inside a circle marked out with letters forming spells that protect her from hostile powers. By incantation she has summoned up a host of monstrous demons ready to act at her bidding to inflict some catastrophe, for example a violent hailstorm or the killing of a child. She has a cauldron on the fire, in which she is brewing a poisonous or hallucinogenic mixture. While she wafts grains of a herb from a horn into the mixture, other ingredients are added by exhalations from the anus of one of the monsters through a couple of clay pipes. Other monsters are smoking the same pipes more conventionally in their mouths, while another one breathes fire from his eyes and nose to heat the brazier. Sudden gusts of wind buffet the trees, and the whole sinister scene is illuminated by a burning house in the background.

Wellcome Collection

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I wanna start discourse that isn't usually on the Witchblr Discourse Wheel of the Year. Everyone give me your controversial elemental opinions.

Mine is that I think a fifth element added on top of the Greek ones (air, earth, fire, water) is dumb because it gets positioned over the others instead of incorporated into the existing dynamics. Like a bad team leader that just got transferred to an existing team.

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'https://www.instagram.com/p/Cztrxf3xFuX/'