Common Herbs And Spices

oh boy is divination exhausting :’))

saw two of the rarest cats to see in my neighbourhood and i’m fully convinced it’s an omen of good luck. one of them was a calico that i saw for the Very first time today, so that was lucky by itself but it was playing with a maine coon that i’ve seen a few times before so that was Extra lucky. but then the maine coon approached me and let me pet it and then the calico sniffed my hand and i genuinely think my week will be So fucking good

★彡 𝖌𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖈𝖗𝖆𝖋𝖙 ミ★

communicating with deities

now of course this is a multi layered topic that is different for everyone. some people will use some of these techniques, some people use none, others may use all in sparing amounts. and some techniques may not work for you at all, and that's okay!

just remember that you and your practice is valid, this is just advice for whoever needs it (and that may not be you! it's okay!).

HOWEVER it should be said that a lot of cultures place an emphasis on cleanliness--both spiritual and physical. so, hey, maybe set up some incense and wash your hands before doing some of these methods.

1. Tarot, Runes, Etc.

Now this section is probably the biggest out of all of them. There are so many different physical divination techniques across several different cultures including tarot and runes, but also bone/charm casting (here's a good tutorial for that), psephoi, coin flipping, geomancy, the ogham, and gods so many more I just can't get to all of them.

I like to do this at or near my altar space while wearing my devotional jewelry or sometimes even while veiling, depending on the deity.

What I like to start with is just a simple "Please [deity name] guide this reading." before I ask my question and cast lots. I imagine the deity during the question, during the pulling, and while interpreting.

Sometimes, with deities, the question you ask isn't always the one that is answered. If there is a certainmessage they deem more important, they will give you that instead. This happens to me very, very frequently.

I don't have a particular spread that I always use, but I tend to go for a simple five card pull. I also tend to place a lot of importance in cards that fall out while shuffling, and will look at them with and apart from the other cards I pull. Other than that, a simple past-present-future can also be very useful here.

2. Meditation

This is what I know most practicioners to use, as it seems to come the easiest to most people. However, if you're someone like me who's on certain psychiatric medications, this may not work for you. Furthermore, if you have difficulty visualizing (which is Not your fault, some people are just built differently and that's okay), this may be difficult for you.

The way I used to go about it is that I would find a dark, quiet place, I would light some incense, perhaps even play some light music or nonspeaking ASMR. Here is a good tutorial on YouTube. I just needed to get relaxed enough to be almost asleep, but not so relaxed I lost focus. Recently, I've also noticed that doing some,,, gardening (iykyk),, helps a lot with reaching the right state.

You're looking for just the fine line between sleep and wakefulness, it should almost feel like you're being pulled upward (at least, that's how it feels to me).

Messages may come in the form of images or words, and can be direct or very vague. Just remember to be patient with yourself and your deities, the time may not always be right for you to hear some messages.

3. Pendulums

The reason why pendulums get their own section is just because they're so dang good. Yes, pendulums can and do answer yes/no questions, however they can also be used with certain alphabetical charts to discern individual words and phrases from your deities.

Again, like with tarot, I like to set myself up near my altar with my devotional jewelry. Then I'll ask my pendulum to please contact the deity in question. The reason you want to do this is because I've noticed pendulums may have energy of their own, and may answer questions themselves if given the opportunity. This is not inherently bad, it's just not what you want.

Remember to always ask your pendulum if they're okay being taken over by a deity, some will already be occupied by their own force and won't appreciate being budged out. Others won't care and you'll have an okay time with it.

4. Dreams or Visions

Some of our polytheist friends will be given the ability to receive dreams or visions from their deities. This often comes in it's own package of strange messages and symbolism, but it works nonetheless. Keep a look out for dreams that include your gods' symbols, holy animals, or popular visages.

Remember, it is totally alright if you don't receive direct messages from your gods. I, for one, do not. Sometimes I will dream about my deities but I almost never remember what happened in the dreams, much less if there was a message. Those that receive dreams and visions are not better than you, nor do they automatically have a better relationship with that god than you.

In this case, there isn't much you can do except pray for visions. You can't force them to happen, there's no way to make yourself the perfect vessel or devotee (unlike what some might claim), it just works or it doesn't.

Also if you're having frequent visions and seeing full apparitions while awake that are convincing you to do things or are encouraging paranoid delusions, please seek therapy. I don't automatically believe you need to medicated because you see apparitions of the gods in broad daylight, but you should see someone who can help you discern if these are real messages from your gods or are figments of poor brain chemistry. Take care of yourselves, please.

5. Devotional Acts

Some people, especially in antiquity, communicated the gods in a mostly unidirectional manner. This includes burning offerings and incense, setting up altars, engaging inprayer, and doing devotional activities.

My favorite devotional activities include:

-going thrifting for fun nicknacks for my altar space

-eating food in their name, especially ones that remind you of them

-making devotional jewelry, including prayer beads

-doing divinational readings for others

-going out to look at the sunrise/sunset/moon

-spending time with family, especially female family members

-doing kind things, like making donations to charities you like or giving money to the unhoused

-reading books or stories about your deities

-loving and taking care of your furry friends, especially strays

Anyways, that's all I've got for today, Khaire! <3

What Constitutes An Altar?

An altar, a sacred space used for worship, meditation, and magickal practice. It serves as a focal point for spiritual energy, spellwork, and connection to deities/spirits, ancestors, or personal intentions. However, an altar doesn’t need to be elaborate or expensive—its power comes from the intention, not the appearance. There may be some debate on the topic, but ultimately an altar is a space created with intention and spiritual purpose, and that's as specific as you can get. This is because each altar is as unique as it's creator and their magick.

Essential Components of an Altar

An altar can be as simple or elaborate as you need. While traditional altars may have statues, candles, tools, and crystals, a minimalist or budget-friendly altar can be just as effective.

Basic Elements of an Altar:

• Surface – A small table, shelf, windowsill, box lid, or even a cloth spread on the floor.

• Representation of Spirit/Deity/Intention – This can be a photo, a symbol, a small figurine, or even a handwritten name or sigil.

• Personal Objects – Anything meaningful like jewelry, a cup, a handmade charm, or natural objects from your environment.

Elemental Representations (Optional):

• Earth – A rock, salt, soil, a small potted plant.

• Air – Incense, a feather, a piece of paper with a prayer or spell.

• Fire – A candle, a matchstick, a small LED light.

• Water – A small bowl of water, a seashell, a vial of rainwater.

Creating an Altar with Limited Space

If space is a concern, you can adapt your altar to fit small or temporary setups:

• Portable Altar (A Box or Pouch) – Store sacred items in a small wooden box, tin, or fabric pouch and set them up when needed.

• Wall or Vertical Altar – Use a floating shelf, a corkboard, or wall hooks to create a sacred space.

• Digital Altar – A private folder on your phone or computer with images, prayers, and intentions can serve as a modern altar.

• Hidden or Foldable Altar – If privacy is needed, keep items in a drawer or behind books and only bring them out during practice.

Low-Cost Altar Ideas

You don’t need expensive ritual tools—many everyday or natural items work just as well:

• Candles – Birthday candles, tea lights, or even an LED candle.

• Incense Alternatives – Dried herbs (like rosemary, sage, or cinnamon) burned in a small fireproof dish.

• Crystals & Stones – Local river stones, shells, or even broken glass polished by the ocean.

• Offerings – A piece of bread, a drop of honey, or fresh water.

• Statues & Symbols – Print out images, draw sigils, or create simple handmade representations.

• Chalice Alternative – Any cup, mug, or small bowl can be used for offerings.

• Wand or Athame – A twig, butter knife, or even your own fingers can direct energy.

Maintaining & Empowering Your Altar

• Keep it Clean – Even a simple space should be treated with respect and intention.

• Change It with the Seasons – Add seasonal items like leaves in fall, flowers in spring, or snow water in winter.

• Use What Feels Right – Your altar is personal—only include what has meaning for you.

• Charge It with Intention – Light a candle, say a blessing, or simply sit in meditation to empower your sacred space.

An altar is not about luxury or appearance—it’s a personal, sacred space where you connect with the divine, your inner self, or your magickal practice. Even in a small, low-budget setting, your altar holds immense spiritual power when built with intention, meaning, and respect.

Fertility magic can be:

- A sex thing!

- An agriculture thing!

- An abundance thing!

- Whatever the fuck you want it to be!

Common herbs and spices

Source - The Little Book For Modern Witches by Astrid Carvel

Basil - prosperity and inner strength

Parsley - fertility and honesty

Bay - wisdom, foresight, strength, and good fortune

Cinnamon - love, comfort, power and success

Black pepper - purification, inner strength, and protection

Sage - cleansing and protection (my own note - white sage is for specifically closed cultural practices so please bear this in mind and be respectful in your craft)

Oregano - health and happiness

Cardamom - love and friendship

Chilli - passion, virility and inspiration

Rosemary - purification, positivity and memory

Thyme - concentration, and business success

Allspice - compassion, luck and healing

Super easy and cheap devotional acts for beginners.

A nice cup and some clean, fresh, water on the altar can often be all you need for daily offerings

Grow a plant on your altar, use your weekly watering as a devotional act. Hermes is currently helping my peace lily grow :)

Draw their sigil on your nails and then paint over them with nail polish that matches their color correspondences.

If you can’t acquire alcohol for your deities (wine, vodka etc) because you’re too young, white vinegar also works. The quality we’re looking for is the purification aspect. White vinegar is natural, antibacterial and never goes bad. You can leave it on your altar until it evaporates if you want.

If you work with a deity involved with self love like Aphrodite, investing a little more time into your skin care and scent can be very rewarding. Nothing super boujie, it can be as simple as getting some nice smelling lotion at the dollar store.

Food and water offerings don’t have to be external, especially if you’re in the broom closet and don’t have an altar. Reserve the first bite of your meal for your deity. Savour its taste while you think about them. Pour yourself a crisp glass of cold water and guzzle it as a devotional act.

Use a washable or dry erase marker to draw sigils on your shower wall for bath rituals. It’ll come right off when you’re done.

Tea bags are just bags of dried herbs. You can use these as offerings or draw sigils on them and burn them for witchcraft. No one is ever suspicious about a little tea. Adding a tea bag to your water offerings also gives them an extra kick.

A couple dollars at the thrift store will take you a long way. I love thrifting items because they’re usually well loved. I especially like thrifting spirituality books that past practitioners have written in. Sometimes my deities communicate with me through the books that are available on any given day. If I was just talking to Leviathan about the power of water and I see a book about Hydromancy, I know that he’s sending me a sign. Like, 90% of the books Lucifer has sent me popped up at the thrift store. Most expensive one was $7.99. (and I tag swapped it for 2.99 😊 thanks, Hermes-

and on this note, literally steal. Not from small local thrift stores, but I mean this with my whole chest, steal from Value Village. If you can sneakily swap a tag and get something for cheaper literally do it. Value Village gets all their inventory for free I literally do not care. Corporate thrift stores don’t deserve rights. I steal from Value Village as a devotional act to Hermes 😊 lmao )

If you don’t have money to spend on really nice paintings and posters of your deities for your altar, start buying books about them. It’s a double win. A book about Greek religion will certainly have multiple beautiful sculptures and paintings of Aphrodite that I can cut out and put on my wall. A book about angels might have a cool painting of Lucifer. Books about Goddesses, ancient religions, anthropology, astrology etc. You get the opportunity to learn, and if it’s a book you don’t particularly care too much for, you can take it apart for imagery. People ask me all the time where I got all of my paintings and pictures from. BOOKS.

Does your deity have a kind of complicated sigil that you love but you also kinda hate redrawing every other day? Sorry Cerberus (Naberius) I love you but that sigil is so complicated babe.

Learn how to block print! It’s very simple. You get a block of linoleum (usually pretty cheap, I think mine were like $5) , some ink (~$10), and a carving tool (varies depending), and make a sigil stamp! All you gotta do is draw your sigil and carve it out nicely one time. You can still bless it and imbue it with your energy, and you can easily put it on prayers, talismans etc.

Chalk is your best friend. Use it to draw sigils on the floor or wall that can easily be wiped away. You can imbue special chalk and use it for casting circles if you don’t like the mess of salt.

What does your heart line say about you? Read below to find out. The heart line is a line read in palmistry, it is the line that’s below the index finger or middle finger (depending on how long yours is) and extends to the edge of your palm underneath your little finger. Match your heart line with the one that most closely matches yours on the image. A: If your heart line begins below your middle finger, you’re more of a leader. You’re ambitious, independent, intelligent and have the skill to make decisions. You’re less sensitive and more cold to others. You enjoy spending time alone. You make a loyal and true friend, you are a very passionate person when you let people get close to you. B: If your heart line starts between the middle finger and index finger, you’re a considerate and kind person. You’re hesitant and cautious with new people and find it hard to trust but people tend to naturally trust you. You use common sense in decisions and weigh up the pros and cons before jumping into anything. You have a lot of friends from all kinds of backgrounds. C: If your heart line goes right across the hand and turns up at the end you tend to give everything to a relationship, you love with all your heart, you put your partner, your family and friends above everything else and want to make them happy. People love to be around you. You have a warmth that make people feel comfortable in your company. D: If your heart line goes across your whole hand and turns down at the end, You are a person who doesn’t fall in love easily, you want to be with someone who fulfills you heart, mind, body and soul, you won’t settle for anything less, but when you do fall in love you fall hard and deep. Your friends will often turn to you for advice.

The Significance of Rings

Rings add weight to the area of life that the finger represents, or could reveal imbalances. A ring placed with intent can enhance areas of your life. This can be strengthened by rings with corresponding crystals. When a ring is worn unconsciously, it more likely refers to the negative trait or imbalance that corresponds with that finger. Left hand: Corresponds to your personal and private life. Connected to family and personal identity or internal issues. Your left hand reflects the energy you take in. Right hand: Relates to your public life. Connected to work and your relation to society. Your right hand reflects the energy you give out. Middle Finger Element: Earth Considered the finger of cultural identity. It reflects how you related to justice, law, order, and responsibility. Can also signify inner security or materialism. Consciously placed ring: Reduce anxiety, improve stability, desire for self-development. Unconsciously placed ring: domestic unhappiness, insecurities, judgmental, lack of security. Crystals: garnet, onyx, agate, topaz, tiger’s eye, jade.

Index Finger Element: Water Considered the finger of personal identity, how you relate to and see yourself. Associated with leadership, ambition, and self-confidence. Consciously placed ring: Boost self-esteem, increase authority, improve confidence. Unconsciously placed ring: Damaged self-esteem, feeling not good enough, feeling better than others, controlling personality. Crystals: tourmaline, lapis lazuli, peridot, opal, emerald. Ring Finger Element: Fire Represents your extra-personal identity and self-expression. It represents creativity and love of beauty. If it’s a wedding ring or engagement ring, it represents success in finding a mate. But if bought by the wearer it can represent self-love. Consciously placed ring: Strengthen creativity, express friendliness, improve aesthetic awareness. Unconsciously placed ring: Creative frustration, concern with image, desire to be liked. Crystals: garnet, ruby, pink tourmaline, diamond. Little Finger Element: Air Considered the finger of impersonal identity. It reflects communication and sexuality. Also represents confidence in relationships and strength. Consciously placed ring: Improve communication, express sexuality/sexual identity, gain confidence in regards to relationships. Unconsciously placed ring: Poor communication, lies, difficulty with sexuality/sexual identity Crystals: blue topaz, sapphire, aquamarine. Thumb Element: Ether Your thumb symbolizes your spiritual identity. It relates to your will power, determination, and application of personal energy. It also reflects your ability to reason and apply logic. As the thumb is separate from the rest of the fingers, and a very useful finger, it also represents strength, independent thought, and freedom. Consciously placed ring: Boost energy level, increase will power/motivation, provide comfort, increase reasoning, increase personal strength and independence. Unconsciously placed ring: lack of energy, feeling powerless, lack of control, poor reasoning, feeling trapped, stubborn/stuck in own way, need for control, aggressive/forceful Crystals: moonstone, diamond, amethyst. Rings on all/many fingers This can indicate a negative circumstance that you are being faced with. It shows a likely lack of feeling safe or secure in your world, and that your putting on a front. It can also signify avoidance to deal with issues affecting your life.