Besides Card Reading, Do You Shadow Work? I May Have Some Issues And I Really Don't Want Anyone To Be

I'm a baby witch, just started a few months ago, what do you recommend in terms of studying?

I'd say a good place to start is types of witchcraft. It will help you sort of "position" yourself within the craft and show you the many aspects of it and all the cool things you can look into further afterwards. There's a lot of posts on Tumblr that summarize most of them but you'd do well to look up other sources and read up some more about them (or at least the ones that interest you) on your own.

Also the difference between paganism, wicca, new age and witchcraft.

! You certainly don't need to label your craft, or follow a specific path. You don't have to be or call yourself a green witch, an eclectic witch, etc. if it doesn't resonate with what you're doing. Hell, I call myself a traveller of worlds, mainly, and a witch sometimes because that's what makes sense for me and my story.

Have fun! ✨

Hearth & Home Witchcraft That I've Learned

One of the biggest things that stands out to me when reading about hearth & home witchery is that everyday items are considered magical. Everyday moments, tasks, and chores as well. Its a beautiful way to live, if you really think about it. Big rituals are great, but as someone who is disabled, they rarely are doable. Here is a list of Hearth & Home Witchcraft Tips that i actually practice.

-Enchant a blanket by embroidering a sigil in the corner and using its color correspondences for your needs. It also helps me feel shielded from negative energy during meditation.

-Play music that makes you feel safe and AT HOME. This is almost like grounding, but also can be cleansing to the environment and especially the listeners. For me, its smooth jazz. The chill sound of the standup bass and the wandering piano notes that always seem to find their way to a comfortable key... its soothing to my soul.

-Talk to and about your home (kindly). So often its easy to complain about your living space. How you wish it looked or functioned differently. The house (in my belief) hears you. Treat it with kindness and gratitude for the shelter it provides. I say thank you to the house spirits and my home every morning.

-Find a convenient home protection ritual to do each month. I say convenient because if you overcomplicate things you'll feel less enthusiastic and less motivated to do it, and might even skip several months.

-Make a home cleansing spray using essential oils mixed with an appropriate amount of moon water. I like using a few drops of lemon, rosemary, lavender, and cinnamon. DO NOT spray this in the vicinity of your pets. I only use this spray in rooms where there arent any animals, to avoid complications with their health.

-Wash your bedding as often as you can and say a short incantation before you put it in the wash. It could go something like this. "I cleanse this bedding of all negative energy, from bad dreams, and from and all stress." Sleep is so important to your sense of safety and wellbeing at home.

-Open the damn windows when you can! Stagnant energy is known for dragging down people's moods. And there's nothing quite as uplifting as fresh air. This provides a healthy flow to your house's energy.

-Don't bring things in your home unless you want to incorporate their energy into your environment. This is something that's often overlooked. I especially advise heavy consideration when it comes to thrifting items and bringing them home. Try practicing sensing the energy of items so you can easily tell whats good to bring home and whats not. Thrifting is great! Im not discouraging it btw.

-Fresh flowers work miracles. Not only do they aesthetically brighten the room, but their correspondences and magical properties apply to the room that they're in. Sunflowers are a great example of a flower that encourages positivity, and are extremely affordable to get lots of them. Roses are a bit more expensive usually, but they invite that loving vibe. And African irises are great for psychic enhancement.

Thats all for this post! Reblog it if you found it helpful, or have any of your own cool practices for hearth & home witchcraft to share!

You can and probably should buy your first tarot deck!

My first deck was gifted to me by friends on my birthday, following the tradition by all means and then some. It was my first real tarot deck, I loved everything about it and it was a very thoughtful gift by very good friends. A couple of years later, I came across another one I really liked and after some time of contemplating if I needed two decks (lol) I gave in and bought it

The connection I have with the deck I personally chose and got for myself is not even close to the connection I had with the gifted one

The gifted one would often "short circuit" and give random cards that had no correlation to my question and formed no answer, just pure nonsense. The energy would also feel heavy and thick like trying to run through a swamp. I tried everything to fix it with no result, eventually deciding it was because I was not very experienced but no, even after all this time it's still the same

The deck I chose hasn't given me any problems at all so far. The energy feels welcoming and refreshing, all the cards I pull work in perfect harmony with each other and the answers are clear as day

There's a lot of reasons why people gifted others their first tarot deck back in the day. People's views on witchcraft and divination meant it could be dangerous for you to buy a deck because everyone would know about it and assume stuff. Things were also more expensive and not (as) mass produced or easily accessible so a deck could be a family heirloom of sorts that was handed down to you

Things are certainly different now and at the end of the day, your deck is a tool and you have to vibe with your tools to use them effectively

Occultists, witches and spiritualists really need to stop peddling the lie that spirituality, witchcraft, paganism, etc. isn’t a psychological phenomenon as well as a mystical one. Your psychology will in fact, fundamentally inform your experiences with spirituality.

And we also need to stop pretending that spirituality and witchcraft are somehow contrary to mental illness. Or that having a mental illness means you can’t do witchcraft.

I’ll be completely honest with you guys and say that certain people with certain afflictions are more predisposed to different “mystical” experiences than others. I don’t think it’s a great coincidence that I am so great at visualization given that I was raised in a severely neglectful household. It doesn’t surprise me that many pagans are lonely people. This doesn’t mean to say that spirituality is “filling” a hole within anyone (although if it is, that’s great for you) but more so that, well, this path is unpopular for a reason. Alternative subcultures are alternative for a reason, and outcasts and rejects usually find a home there for a reason.

This also doesn’t mean to say that people who engage in witchcraft and spiritualism are inherently mentally ill. There is still a difference between hallucinations and spiritual encounters. And there was never any rule that said that both of these things cannot happen to a single person. For the safety of yourself and others we should be aware of the warning signs of dissociation and hallucination, but that doesn’t make anyone “wrong” for experiencing those things. And experiencing those things doesn’t mean you cannot explore spirituality or do witchcraft.

I hate it when “spiritualists” who are actually just anti-vax conservatives push the narrative that people with mental health issues cannot participate in spirituality. I also despise the notion that mental health issues are inherently a sign of an energetic imbalance. We’re all walking around with a special concoction of brain soup in our heads, it doesn’t surprise me that Ares devotees tend to have BPD, that many Aphrodite devotees struggle with self harm, that many people who work with angels have paranoia or generalized anxiety.

There was never any rule that said that you cannot use your deities or magic to help you cope with your mental health. I know some people will say “the Gods aren’t here to be your friend or hold your hand through life” but I’ve seen no evidence to suggest that’s true. I see no reason why a God like Ares couldn’t help his devotee with BPD come down after a bout of rage, I see no reason why Dionysus couldn’t help his devotee with their alcoholism or substance abuse, I see no reason why Aphrodite couldn’t help a devotee with relapse or negative self talk.

Witchcraft and paganism were historically used as a tool for survival, to bring people ease, to help people feel safe and secure, blessed and protected. That applied to all people, including those with mental health issues.

devotional jewelry is my favorite thing ever!!

just throw some charms that make you think of your deities onto a necklace cord and you’re good to go!!

my charms/pendants from left to right are:

dragon for my dragon guide, sword for ares, uruz rune for myself/kind of cernunnos ((i’ve had it and worn it for a long time)), ring is from my partner, the cage of crystals is for all of my deities, lego is matching with my partner that makes a heart when they’re put together, key for janus, moon and star for nyx, and ship wheel for fortuna!!

Mental illness is a permanent mana debuff. How is a witch to thrive if I only feel recharged for 5 seconds every whenever

Deity Non-specific Altars - What they are and how to use them

What it is: A deity non-specific altar is exactly as it sounds - it is an altar that is not dedicated to any specific god or goddess (though it can be connected to say, a general concept of god/goddess). It is a place that is an altar for your craft, using your power, your passion, your energy, and any ancestors, spirits, or a general concept deity you may call upon.

What do you put on it: Anything that you have a strong personal connection to. Spell jars or other products, decorative pieces that you're passionate about (looking at you, fellow artists and art lovers), pictures of your loved ones, your favorite rocks, crystals, plants, or (ethically sourced!) bones, jewelry with sentimental value, your favorite books or resources, your tarot or oracle decks, your pendulum, positive affirmations, things that remind you of your own power, your own passion, your own personal craft. Almost like your bedroom, but with a more divine feeling.

Here's an example of mine:

As you can see, I've got bones, a spell jar, a heart plush I used in a spell (can post that spell later if you're interested), pictures of my boyfriend, things he's given me, a sailor moon ouija board because that was and is my comfort show(ironically it's the best quality one I own, too), a ouija board I got as a display piece, a coffin shaped vase for when I pick my flowers, a seashell ring holder that I put a severed porcelain baby arm in to hold it open, and a display piece to express my love of horror movies. Does all this amount to a single deity? Does it all scream ~*witchcraft*~ ? Not at all, because it doesn't have to. It just has to be me. My own resources for my rituals are all over my home because I've been practicing for a long, long time, but for newbies and baby witches, you can put your resources on or near it if you please.

How to use it: Well, you practice your craft with it, just without calling upon any specific god or goddess. This is an altar for you, your energy, your power, and for your craft, not a place of worship for a specific diety. If your rituals or spells require more space, you don't have to practice directly on it. But it should be a place you look at (preferably every day) and think, "this is me, this is mine, this is a product of my own divinity." If it doesn't feel empowering, it's not right. Don't worry about being "aesthetic", worry about making it a place that you love and feel connected to.

Remembering the dead and keeping their memory alive is such a huge part of so many cultures and religions. Nobody wants to be forgotten. Nobody wants to lose their loved ones either, so we grasp at what we can when their time comes. Visit their resting places, sit by them, read their names, spark them back to life momentarily. It's a wholesome gesture.

don't y9u think it's kind of fucked up and immoral that you go walking around dead people's resting places for fun

do i think going for a walk in a cemetery that's open to the public 24/7 with a footpath and garden and everything is fucked up and immoral? no??? what the fuck???????????

Love it when a reading is full of major arcana, it's like tarot's version of an all caps Facebook post about the end times coming

i’ve noticed a recent uptick in practitioners feeling like they have to choose a specific “path” when it comes to their practice and i just wanted to remind my mutuals or anyone that stumbles upon this post that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIFIC PATH.

paths are helpful sometimes but they’re never straightforward. they wind and bend and sometimes they just abruptly end.

you don’t need to scramble to find the path that’s perfect for you, because there might not even be one. and that’s okay! you aren’t abnormal or anything like that for not finding a particular path that fits you perfectly. that’s why i just call myself an eclectic practitioner. trying to fit myself into a neat and tidy label didn’t feel right to me so it wasn’t!

you can just be you. your “path” can just be your own personal practice. at the end of the day, no one needs to understand it but you.