Botanical Illustrations Taken From 'The Flowering Plants, Grasses, And Ferns Of Great Britain' By Anne

25 Tarot Books You MUST Read If You Want To Grow Your Tarot Skills! By THERESA REED.

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot by Rachel Pollack – deep and rich with information, no list is complete without this book.  If I did have to pick a favorite, this may be it.

Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners by Joan Bunning – based on her online course, this book will get any tarot newbie reading the tarot proficiently in no time.

Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card by Mary Greer – novel ideas to expand your tarot skills.

The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals (Special Topics in Tarot Series) by Mary Greer – I’m a fan of reversals (they are not mandatory by the way) and this is THE book for those of us who choose to read upside down.  (Honorable mention:  Joan Bunning also has a good book on reversals, Learning Tarot Reversals )

The Complete Tarot Reader: Everything You Need to Know from Start to Finish by Teresa Michaelson – this book has a massive amount of information – it’s like a little encyclopedia

Tarot Masterclass by Paul Fenton-Smith – this book is rarely mentioned but I think it is pure genius.  Not just a tarot primer but also a great section on being a professional tarot reader.  (Honorable mention: Fenton-Smith also has a great beginner’s book, The Tarot Revealed: A Beginner’s Guide )

The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols by Angeles Arrien – featuring the Thoth deck, this book will help you to understand tarot clearly – even if you do not read with the Thoth deck

The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in the Cards by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Marianne Costa – This profound book gets super deep with the Marseille deck.  How I wish I would have had this book when I first started out!

Tarot Plain and Simple by Anthony Louis – loads of interpretations and a slant towards  beginners, this is the book I recommend to all my students

Understanding the Tarot Court (Special Topics in Tarot Series) by Mary Greer – face it, the Court cards are one of the hardest suits for any tarotist to master.  Greer spells it all out with clarity.  LOVE this one.

Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice, Classic Ed (Connolly Tarot) by Eileen Connolly – this is the first tarot book I ever got my hands on.  It’s still a treasured favorite.  Some might be put off by her Christian undertones but I find the interpretations to be pure gold.  I love all of her works.

SuperTarot: New Techniques for Improving Your Tarot Reading by Sasha Fenton – although this is out of print, it is worth searching for a copy. The techniques contained within will help you expand your tarot skills.

The Secret Language of Tarot by Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone – a fantastic book detailing the symbols in the tarot cards.

Tarot for Life: Reading the Cards for Everyday Guidance and Growth by Paul Quinn – A modern book with real life examples of tarot readings, this one will help you bring your readings to life.

Best Tarot Practices: Everything You Need to Know to Learn the Tarot by Marcia Masino – another great book that tends to be overlooked, this one has novel exercises and good advice on reading tarot professionally.

Tarot: Your Everyday Guide by Janina Renee – this book focuses on using tarot for dispensing advice.

Beyond the Celtic Cross: Secret Techniques for Taking Tarot to an Exciting New Level by Paul Hughes Barlow and Catherine Chapman – a very different approach to tarot – card counting and elemental dignities explained in a conversational format.

Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings by Rachel Pollack – once again, Pollack delivers an impeccable and thought provoking book with new insights for the modern tarot reader.

Classic Tarot Spreads by Sandor Konraad – I’ve had this book for years and learned many a good spread from it.  (Honorable mentions:  Learning Tarot Spreads by Joan Bunning and Tarot Spreads and Layouts A User’s Manual For Beginning and Intermediate Readers by Jeanne Fiorini)

The Spoken Cabala: Tarot Explorations of the One Self by Jason Lotterhand – based on the Thursday night talks from Lotterhand, this book will give you some insight into the Kabbalah and how it relates to tarot.  (Honorable mentions:  Tarot and the Tree of Life: Finding Everyday Wisdom in the Minor Arcana by Isabel Radow Kliegman for a glimpse on how Kabbalah weaves through the Minor Arcana plus The Tarot Workbook: Understanding and Using Tarot Symbolism by Emily Peach which is a great Kabbalah/tarot primer for beginners)

Tarot Decoded: Understanding and Using Dignities and Correspondences by Elizabeth Hazel – every single dignity and correspondence you can imagine is featured here.

Who Are You in the Tarot?: Discover Your Birth and Year Cards and Uncover Your Destiny by Mary Greer – this is a fantastic book that gives deep insights on your personality, life and journey based on your “birth card”.

Tarot for Beginners: A Practical Guide to Reading the Cards by Barbara Moore – the easiest beginner book out there, this one will appeal to absolute newbies and those who are really sure they can’t “get it”.  Moore shows you that you CAN.

Tarot 101: Mastering the Art of Reading the Cards by Kim Huggens – excellent exercises, good reading list suggestions and a unique format make this book one you cannot miss.  Good for all levels.

Tarosophy : Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape it by Marcus Katz – Hip and modern, full of useful information and exercises – plus it has stuff for all levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced).  It’s a very intellectual book – this is no “tarot for dummies”.

Some offerings / devotional acts for Lord Lucifer

- poetry (or art of any kind)

- self care in his name!

- a dedicated candle dressed with herbs that are associated with Him

- prayer in the evening, trusting Him to sit by your side until you fall asleep

- prayer in the morning for a good outlook on the day

- music! playing music, writing music, listening to music,…

- therapy

- taking your meds

- sharing a drink with Him (coffee, tea, wine, anything)

- shadow work!!!

- watching the sunrise

- any kind of magic in His name

- divination

- trying out new things and getting out of your comfort zone

- human rights activism

- focusing on yourself

- questioning authority and standing up for yourself

- enlightenment, learning and pursuing the arts

- studying philosophy

- befriending your local neighbourhood crows

- getting Him scented candles that smell like His associated herbs

- making Him a Pinterest board

- making a playlist with songs that remind you of Him

- learning how to properly ward and protect yourself (magically)

- dedicating a piece of jewellery to Him (and asking Him to bless it)

- making a journal for Him (digital or analog) with prayers, tarot spreads, offerings and information about Him (I recommend this for every deity, honestly it’s really useful and a great way of showing devotion)

- learning more about Him and common misconceptions associated with Him (especially in Christianity)

- wearing clothes that radiate His energy and make you feel confident

In the end, any offerings you give Him are valid and will be appreciated, as long as you put some thought into it. Don’t worry if you can’t give Him the things you’d like to give Him, He will accept anything that comes from a place of love and devotion.

Reblog if you're an active witchy account!

I need some active witch blogs to follow! <3

People don’t realize how much we sound like other things because we are created from the same laws of physics. “That potato in the microwave sounds like it’s screaming” is funny because it really is, air is vibrating out of a small hole which is how our throat works too. The babbling river that sounds like humans whispering, that’s because it’s a wet hollow cave with echo delivering the same functionality. The river doesn’t just sound like us, we sound like a river. They use a metal trashcan to create a lion’s roar for movie sound effects. But the truth is, not only does a trashcan sound like a lion, a lion sounds like a trashcan. Cars purr when you turn them on. Everything is like everything else. Inanimate objects are not so far away from life as it seems.

Remember the next time you feel more alone in the company of large buildings, or maybe less alone among the rocks of the river, that they are not completely unlike the parts of you.

Automatic Writing

Automatic writing is a form of divination, taking words from the subconscious mind, and translating them onto paper. It is not just a form of divination, but a common method of receiving messages from spirits and other entities. From this it gets its other name: 'spirit writing'. When you do this you are effectively asking a spirit to possess your hand in order to communicate. In the practice of spiritualism spirits are said to take control of the hand to write messages, draw pictures and symbols, write letters, or even entire books.

Many will point out how similar automatic writing is to a talking (ouija) board. It is quite similar in the sense of using spelled-out messages as a means of communication. If you plan to contact entities have protections in place and do a cleansing, just as you would for a talking board session. Anything you call on, you must be prepared to banish.

Automatic writing is typically done on paper with pencil/pen/crayon/paint/etc. But, some people do actually use the notes application on their phone or a laptop keyboard as their medium. There are different ways to practice automatic writing, but they are all capable of achieving results.

Automatic Writing With Spirits

• It shouldn't matter what you're writing on, it could be a designated journal, notebook, or copy paper, or on the ground with chalk. Just make sure spirit has enough room.

• You should practice a fair amount of meditation before hand and be capable of entering a 'trance state' to allow spirit to clearly communicate.

• When you reach a trance state let the spirit know they are welcome to use your hand to write. Don't focus on what the spirit is writing or the letters your hand is shaping, concentrate instead on the meditation and your connection to spirit.

• When you are satisfied that they got their message through, open your eyes and scan the paper for letters, words, symbols, images, etc.

Automatic Writing Divination

• Meditate on what you want to know for a few minutes and then begin your writing. You may also keep your eyes open and jot down any words that come to mind immediately.

• You may cross out anything that doesn't make sense to decipher a clearer message.

It's important to remember that automatic writing gets clearer with practice. Your first several tries may yield little to no results. Patience will pay off and it can become a reliable form of divination and spirit communication and is a powerful addition to any craft.

hey chicken! any good tips on cursing someone?

I got a few for ya' in the old grab bag of henpeckery.

Listed in no particular order.

One is generally advised to not curse another magical practitioner, especially one who Knows What They're Doing. But if hands must be thrown, ensure you have more than a couple wards up to break malefica - and if this person is in your friend group, under no circumstances can you accept gifts or food from them (and destroy anything they have given you). Do, however, try to give them gifts and pre-cursed foods.

Giving someone a cursed object or cursed food is an excellent way to get the job done. There's something very fairy-like in the way magic can work: by accepting the gift, they accept the curse, and it circumvents many natural defenses.

Perhaps more than any other form of magic, it does to pre-divine on the matter to see what outcome will occur. I highly encourage this when the cursing is done as a form of self-defense, because sometimes some forms of malefic magic can be fuel on the fire of abusive situations. However, even a practitioner of slight power can cause serious harm with a curse - perhaps more damage than intended. It's really just best to measure twice, as it were.

As with many spells, create for yourself a little indicator that the spell has worked. For example, wear one of those brittle hematite rings. If it breaks, the spell has become manifest. This is especially lovely if the person to be cursed is outside of your social circle and you don't have access to see if your manifestation worked.

Cleverness is all well and good, as is poetic justice. A witch does well to keep in mind, however, that their natural strengths may neither be clever nor poetic, and sometimes you've got to just make due with the tools you have in your toolbox.

When casting spells on yourself or your household, targeting isn't much of an issue. You're right there, the magic is right there, and voila. However, when working on a third party - especially one that doesn't live with you - targeting becomes relevant. If gifting an object or food to your target won't work, consider doing what you can to bring your curse into their presence by whatever physical means are safe and possible. If you can't do this, see if you can obtain something of theirs to work over by use of a poppet or some other sympathetic magic. If none of this is possible, try to make a thoughtform or employ a spirit to deliver your spell (or attack them outright), but this will be hard unless you know where they live. In other words: your spell has to get to them somehow. Figuring out how to make it happen is half the job.

Depending on how the magic is worked, it is beneficent to cleanse both yourself and your casting area after the work is done. If a spell must be kept ongoing and close at hand, cover it with a black cloth (or t-shirt, or whatever) and keep it out of view to avoid having your own space polluted with unwanted energies.

If you need a specific outcome for your own wellbeing, consider employing as many spells as you require to obtain that outcome. E.g. one for binding a tongue, another for getting that person fired, another to calm gossip in the workplace, and so on.

Pay extremely little mind to people with moral admonitions, but keep their scoldings filed away. In a few months or years, in moments of reflection, ask yourself whether or not they were right.

If for no other spell, this time, write down precisely what you do. If for no other reason than to cackle maniacally as you see exactly how each little ingredient of your spell plays out in their lives.

i just found this amazing site which is a random sentence/passage generator from tons of classical pieces of literature. everything from the illiad to bram stoker’s dracula and more. a pretty awesome way to do bibliomancy, especially if you don’t own some of the books it generates! i just used it with my spirit companion and it worked beautifully. 

I feel like not enough people know that you can just go do witchcraft. Like yeah, all the pretty and aesthetic things you see online can be really expensive, and if you live in a place where witchcraft is frowned upon it can be hard to hide things, but your practice can literally be anything you want.

Part of my practice is making friendship bracelets with colors of what I want to manifest. I learned morse code and tie my goals into the bracelet. It look like a normal bracelet, no one would know the difference unless I told them. Your manifestations and spells can be verbal and whispered to the wind, your sigils can look like doodled stars or stick figures, your altar doesn't need to be anything more than the tools you use (if you even need an altar). You can put spells together based on what you have and what the things around you mean to you.

You do not need to buy things for witchcraft or have a very visible practice, just do what feels right for you. Your practice is what you make it.

Dirt is sacred.

There is nothing wrong with leaving offerings on the naked earth.

When we die we are returned to the ground be it whole or as ash.

From the ground comes all our food, be it directly grown or eaten from to what else we eat.

There is nothing wrong with leaving offerings on leaves or stone, plates or trays but...

There is nothing wrong with laying them to the soil either.

The compost pile is as hallowed a hill as any shrine or shelf.

Warding & Protection 101

What is warding?

Warding is the practice of shielding or protecting something, someplace, or someone. There are a million and two different types of wards you can create-- in many ways, you are only limited by your own creativity and knowledge.

Why/when should I use a ward?

I always recommend having, at minimum, a protective ward for yourself and your living space if you practice witchcraft (or something adjacent to witchcraft). What a ward does is dependent on what it was created to do. Different people have different needs, and wards are not one-size fits all. Wards can be generic or specific, but my personal preference is a well-defined ward. By well-defined, I mean "clear in what it will and will not do".

Basics

In order to figure out what sort of ward you may need, ask yourself these questions:

What does my practice focus on?

Where might I be vulnerable?

What are my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to witchcraft?

Who and what am I comfortable with having in my space?

When and where am I comfortable with having others in my space?

What do I need to keep out, and what do I need to keep in?

What existing practices/habits may affect my wards? (e.g. cleansing, banishment, rituals, etc.)

Do I have an energy source for a ward? How do I intend to upkeep my wards?

Do my wards need to be moveable or changeable?

What resources are available to me? Are there people or entities that are willing to help me?

What, in my mundane life, do I need help with? What do I need to protect?

What actions am I taking, in my mundane life, to protect myself? (e.g. driving safely, practicing good fire safety habits, etc.)

How to make a ward

As previously stated, there are a million and two different types of wards-- and a million and two different ways to create them. Best practice is generally to lean on your personal strengths and resources to make one. Here are some more specific examples:

Herbalism: A witch who works primarily with herbs could create a protective sachet or jar that is filled with protective herbs.

Kitchen Witchcraft: Someone who practices kitchen witchcraft could cook protective foods, or incorporate small actions into their regular cooking that add protective qualities into their food (i.e. stirring a certain way, routinely using certain ingredients, etc.)

Storm Witchcraft: A witch who works with storms could use the energy of storms to protect their home. They could call on fearsome breezes to blow away harm, rainfall to wash it away, darkness to hide their home, etc.

Glamour witchcraft: A glamour witch can work on how they are perceived. Don't want someone approaching you? Make them afraid of you. Have a fearsome appearance to those who would wish you harm. Make them hesitate. Or hide yourself altogether, as if you were never there.

Deity witchcraft: Ask your gods to guide your hand, to show you how to protect yourself. Ask them to protect you, and clarify what you need protection from.

Green Witchcraft: Grow a plant with the intention of having it take the blow for you, if anything negative gets sent your way. Or have it purify your space.

Divination Wards: Use the energy of specific tarot cards to protect yourself. Write protective runes on things you care about.

Music Witchcraft: Play empowering music. Belt out a song about how nothing can harm you. Hum a tune to make things go away.

Energy Witchcraft: Envision great shields and walls, fortresses and moats. Whatever screams "protection" to you.

Etc.

Types of Wards/Ideas for Wards

Keep in mind that any ward can be for both the magical and mundane (though, always act with common sense, and act as if your wards do not exist. A ward will not make you immortal, and they can be counteracted and/or destroyed. They are there for when shit hits the fan-- but they are not a free pass to start throwing shit AT the fan!)

Transmutative wards: Tranform harmful energy sent your way into something positive and useful. (e.g. negative rumors -> increased opportunities, bad intentions -> abundance)

Baneful wards: If someone hits you, hit them back. Reflect whatever they sent to you back on them, and thensome.

Banishment Wards: If something steps into your space, kick it back out.

Hiding Wards: Hide something from prying eyes. Make it invisible, or make it appear boring/uninteresting.

Reflective wards: Reflect something's image back at them, let them see what they expect to see, or let them see themselves.

Healing wards: Protect your health, or force healing upon those who brush up against them (e.g. if someone lashes out at you because they have not been working on themselves, a healing ward can be just as painful as an outright baneful one.)

Scrambling/maze Wards: Scramble any information someone/something gets, or make them lose their way. Commonly used for unsolicited divination.

Protective wards/wall wards: Stop anything from getting in or out. Stop or prevent harm

Alarm bell wards: Warn you about things coming your way.

Comfort wards: Keep comforting/soothing energy around you.

Examples of Useful Wards

Name/Reputation wards

Household/common places wards

Wards for safe travels

Wards to keep specified spirits/entities out

Wards for malicious intent

Wards for curses/hexes

Wards for natural disasters

Wards for misfortunes

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you may have, this is only a very brief overview to introduce the topic.