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“positive communication” I made this sigil for my phone. Some Arwen inspiration there

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Spell for Honest and Wise Communication

Use the spell when communication patterns have become stale, negative, limited, or dishonest.

Materials:

Two pieces of paper

Writing utensil

Clear jar

Salt

Dried or fresh Sage

Spell:

Write your name and the name of the person with whom you wish to communicate on two separate pieces of paper.

Fill a clean, clear jar with salt and a handful of dried or fresh Sage leaves.

Place the two papers inside the jar. Don’t put the lid on it. Leave it open.

Gently swirl the contents of the jar until the papers are completely submerged in the salt and Sage as you envision yourself having a productive, wise, and honest conversation with the person in question.

Leave the jar in the area where you’re most likely to come in contact with the person, or alternatively, take out the two slips of paper, fold them together, and keep them tucked inside your pocket during conversations.

*************************************************

Found in Llewellyn’s Witches Spell-a-Day Almanac

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this spell is for combatting dysphoria and feeling affirmed and confident in your gender identity! drink up!

basic ingredients

black tea leaves

ground ginger (confidence)

honey (confidence [and to sweeten])

for feminine identities

heather (feminine energy, self discovery)

blackberry (feminine energy)

cardamom pods (feminine energy, clears the mind)

for masculine identities

basil leaves (masculine energy, steadies the mind)

chrysanthemum petals (masculine energy)

cloves (masculine energy)

for non binary identities (if your identity is partially masculine or feminine, feel free to add any of the above ingredients)

citronella/lemongrass (self expression, creativity)

geranium (overcoming negative thoughts, happiness)

cinquefoil (self confidence)

start with the base of black tea leaves and ginger, then add the herbs of your choice to the base. mix together and let steep for about 4-5 minutes. as you let it steep, have it cool, and drink it, meditate on the following mantra: 

“I am who I am, my gender is my own, and no one can take that away from me. I am understanding myself better, and in the future people will do the same. Until then, I am basking in my own self-love.”

enjoy!

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Sigil. My communication skills are smooth. Made for @the-hairy-witch

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You have been blessed by armored doggo of protection

Reblog and be blessed by the protection of the doggo

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Sigil. Safety while traveling.

Made for @the-hairy-witch

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This blog is going to use "censing" or "smoke cleansing" in posts and tags. Take note, followers! :)

cense \'sen(t)s\

vt -ED/-ING/-S [ME censen, prob. short for encensen to incense - more at INCENSE]: to perfume (as in religious ritual by swinging a censer of burning incense) <censing the area around the altar>

-  Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language

Not to beat a dead horse, but we do have an English word for smoking up a room for ritual purposes, and it’s a perfectly great word. Here are some of the benefits of it:

Literally anyone can use it

Not appropriation

Not as bulky as “smoke cleansing”

Can be easily conjugated

Honestly, folks. We have a word for this. We don’t need to borrow from other cultures. We don’t even need to make up an alternative for “smudge.” There’s a perfectly good word just sitting here not being used.

If you don’t like that one, there’s even thurify, which means the exact same thing. And that one also gives us the words thurible, which is a censer or vessel in which to burn incense, and thurifer, someone who holds said censer.

And so, my fellow Occidental witches/pagans/heathens, there’s no reason to borrow terminology. We have plenty of our own words to describe ritual smoking.

[wild-and-wooly-blog]

Quick PSA: smoke cleansing/censing/recaning is not synonymous with smudging. Smudging is a very specific ritual process, and is therefore not an appropriate term to describe the majority of practices involving smoke. Also, the fact that white sage is the popular favorite among people hoping to consecrate a space with smoke means that the plant is being overharvested. We really ought to be using a diverse array of common local plants (maybe even ones we grow ourselves), lest we wreck ecosystems.

To recap: whatever you’re doing (exceptions for legitimate ceremony provided), stop calling it smudging, and stop using sage to do it. Thank you.

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Hi, I want to learn more about paganism and the topics typically related but I know there's appropriation and iffy things that show up so how I should learn more while avoiding some of the more problematic ideas and practices occasionally involved

Research.  Research.  Research. 

You find something you’re interested in.  Let’s say it’s the concept of “smudging” as it’s often called on many pagan blogs.  Well, research smudgng.  Type it into google, look in your local library (if you can), and ask bloggers who use it.  

You’ll find that smudging is part of a closed Native American practice and you should back up off of it if it’s not something you do.  Then you’ll also see there’s another similar practice called recanning that the Norse do.  The difference?  No sage in the second, and it’s not callled smudging.  And you can do this one!

And always alwaysalways look up more sources to back up or refute what you found before.  Don’t take just me at my word - ask others!  It’s ok to be unsure and to ask multiple people the same questions. 

-KCW

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Just a note!

when i was in elementary school my mom used to tell me i was an indigo child while my dad was constantly pushing for my ADHD to be formally diagnosed and ill be damned if that wasn’t one of the biggest favors my dad ever did for me. We don’t get along very well these days and don’t talk much but if i have to give my father credit for one thing it’s getting me a fucking formal diagnosis and a 504 plan because holy shit some of those kids convinced they were indigo back in the 90s grew up to be some of the most self-righteous motherfuckers alive

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Celebrate Yule

Outside:

Leave out birdseed ornaments as offerings to the season

If snowing, play in the snowfall to appreciate the changing season or collect some for snow water

After the sun has gone down, burn a yule log in a bonfire

Take some friends and go wassailing! 

In the Home:

Make stovetop potpourri as an alternative to incense 

DIY gifts with your witch skills for your friends and family 

Read a winter solstice tarot spread for yourself

Decorate your holiday tree, blessing the ornaments with good energy

Hang mistletoe for protection and (consensual!) kisses

In the Kitchen:

Make one of these Celtic Yule recipes

Prepare some traditional or non-traditional wassail for any adults

Bake mini yule logs to share with family and friends 

Make Swedish Lussekatter rolls or Norwegian Julekake bread 

In the Bath:

Bathe with fresh orange slices and frankincense and myrrh essential oils for a prosperity ritual bath

Take a lazy witch holiday LUSH bath (our suggestions here) 

Do a pre-solstice ritual bath with essential oils

Make winter spice bath bombs and enchant them for prosperity

On your Altar:

Use colors like reds, greens, whites, and metallic colors

Add holly, pine, ivy, mistletoe, juniper, or cedar for some greenery

Decorate with a yule wish bottle to for some easy magic

Represent the seasonal harvest with oranges, pears, nuts, and berries

Incorporate snowflake obsidian, clear quartz, or bloodstone

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Sigil. Toxicity is realized. Made for @the-hairy-witch

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I am thankful for all of you beautiful witches, today and every day.

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Check out my picnic basket turned witch’s basket!

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There are clubs people can join to hang out and make their own coffins. New Zealand is home to at least a dozen coffin clubs, where elderly folks gather to build and decorate their own caskets. Participants say that, aside from saving money, the club also serves as a support group that brings people together and helps them face the inevitable. Source

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DIY Lunar Calendar

A few months ago, the most beautiful lunar calendar showed up on my dash, thanks to @etsycult! I immediately added this beautiful work of art by ABJglassworks to my wish-list. Alas, I am broke witch, so I came up with an immediate solution until I can afford to splurge :) 

You will need:

piece of hobby board 

chalkboard paint

white paper

marker

bottle cap 

scissors

glue

chalk pencil

Step One

Paint your hobby board with the chalkboard paint. I used three coats of paint and sanded in-between so that it would be nice and smooth to write on. This is probably overkill and not necessary. Just paint until you’re satisfied.

Step Two

Use your bottle cap to trace 9 moons. Cut out your moons. Use your marker to denote the phases.

Step Three

Glue on your moons and then add the dates and astrological signs with your chalk pencil. To find the current lunar phase and astrological sign,  The Moon app is perfect! 

That’s it! Thank you to Etsy Cult and ABJglasworks for the inspiration! Please consider supporting the artist if it’s in your budget :)

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Holiday Witch Ball Ornaments 

What’s a more inconspicuous way to add witchcraft to the holiday season than by combining the well-known concept of Witch Balls with widely used ornaments? Add the following ingredients to either clear, glass ornaments (so they can be charged by compliments) or to solid ornaments (to be even more unnoticeable) for the desired effects.

Family Peace:

lavender buds

two sprigs of thyme

dried cilantro

rose buds

Festivity:

three vanilla bean pods

whole allspice

dried tangerine or orange peels

sprig of pine

Love Drawing:

crushed rose petals

dried jasmine

dried lime peels

granulated sugar

glitter

New Year Prosperity:

whole chamomile flowers

one cinnamon stick

pine needles

juniper berries