Month: February 2017

February Round Up

What a month.

This month has been a whirlwind for me. Posts were going great and I was doing really well on all the projects I had going. But then it suddenly became too much and by the third week of February I crashed entirely. I needed a break and anything I attempted to do except rest fell apart. Since my Silence Festival (three days of unplugged utter silence) was the same week, I just kind of disappeared from the world for a while.

On top of that I had some family stuff and projects that needed some attention (which will continue into March but it won’t be a surprise at least!) Plus I injured myself no less than seven times. My poor hands are covered in band-aids. On the other hand, I’ve recently achieved a small fitness goal so that was exciting for me.

 

 

That being said, look at the site updates! There’s new stuff! Well, kind of. I moved some menus around and cleaned up some back end stuff. Two big things is that I’m now accepting sponsorship and so on. This is more for fellow shop owners and indie deck creators that rather than some big corporation. No worries, this suddenly isn’t becoming affiliate link central. I also added an ongoing projects page. This is a loose timeline of when to expect certain products in the shop or certain projects to be up and running.

There’s going to be some new additions to the site soon that required this kind of sprucing up. Namely, I’ll be putting up a sourced correspondence page for you all. My biggest challenge right not isn’t the correspondences themselves but implementing them in a way that’s convenient and cleanly done. A huge long list isn’t super interesting to me nor is a million page hopping links. If you’ve got any ideas, let me know.

 

 

Oh! But a major score was to be had when I found an intact copy of my links from my tumblr resource page. Tumblr is where I originated as a blog and a lot of my posts were/are really popular there. About a year back, tumblr FUBAR’d page links and in an instant, everything was gone. I’m so excited to be able to give this resource back to the people. The posts may be old and rant-y but their tumblr originals.

The only problem is tumblr itself. It seems to really hate links in super long pages now so even copying and pasting the document over doesn’t work. New links were erased too. So I ended up keeping the page live here on my website and redirecting people here from tumblr so they can click a tumblr post and be re-directed BACK to tumblr. How dumb is that? At least it’s safe from the vicious tumblr gremlins I guess. Sheesh.

 

 

Let’s get to the posts this month though, hm? This February was about love and divination. We started off with five divining techniques to discover your sweetheart and then discussed the spell / divination of knotting a garter which me and like three other people found interesting. Haha.

With Valentine’s Day smack dab in the middle of the month, I reviewed Edain McCoy’s Bewitchments which got a pretty great review. For the big night itself, Tarot Emulation Attraction Spell brought your favorite tarot card avatars into your personal closet. Be the High Priestess for your coven meeting then be the Knight of Wands or the Lovers for a night in with a special someone. That special night in could be even more special with the super popular Chocolate Rose Tea Love Philter recipe. If that special someone isn’t paying attention to you, the spell Think of Me or the readin Love Letter could be handy too

 

Chocolate Rose Tea Love Philter by This Crooked Crown

 

Love’s not all about romance though. Friends are important too! The Friendship Knot Spell is definitely something you might come back to when your current crop of friends are less than awesome.

I probably could have followed my own advice offered in five tips for loving yourself or gave myself a reading using the included divination spread Loving Myself. Or maybe I should have visited my astral friends featured in Spirit Destinations: Spirits Who Can Help. Instead I went to my old self-care habit of reading and writing (which isn’t bad either!)

The all-purpose spell Wish Granter, Bring Me A Wish is a bit unusual but might be worth trying if you need something. There was also a somewhat nasty curse using a plant’s growth that I’m kind of in love with. (Not sure what that says about me. Haha)

 

 

So it’s been a weird kind of month. Next month is definitely off to a better start already and I’m so excited to share some new stuff with you. Plus spring is so, so close and I’m really excited to ditch the winter blues. Thanks so much for reading and see you in March!

Decks featured:

  • Sacred Creators Oracle by Chris-Anne © Chris-Anne.com

Wish Bringer, Bring Me A Wish [Spell Saturday #47]

This is a bit of an arts and crafts sort of spell but extremely low-key.

  • Paper
  • Pen
  • A bit of your hair, fingernail, skin, etc.
  • A coin

wish-bringer-grant-me-a-wish-by-this-crooked-crown

First, fold your piece of paper so it’s a pocket or an envelope. You can do this in any style you want – even go wild and make some origami. Here’s a super easy tutorial.  It doesn’t matter what it looks like so long as it creates some edges so nothing slides out. Avoid methods that involve tape or glue.

Write down the wish you want to come true in the center interior of the envelope. Be as descriptive or as vague as you’d like. It’s far easier to make your envelope, unfold it, and write in the interior center your wish. But if you’re good at guessing or you’ve made envelopes before, you can write the message beforehand. You don’t want the message on a folding angle if you can help it.

Fold your envelope up, put in your coin and hair, and bring it to a crossroad or beside a river and bury it shallowly.

Notes:

  • Use your fingernail or another hard surface to make the edges as tight as possible. It’ll keep the paper more crisp and keep the envelope from falling apart.
  • You can write your wish on a separate piece of paper if you want but it’s easier and less wasteful to just write on the envelope.
  • The reason we don’t use pre-made envelopes, tape, or glue is to keep the spell as environmentally friendly as possible. If you don’t care, then you can use any old envelope.
  • Any coin denominations is fine.
  • This spell doesn’t designate who should answer the spell’s request. It could be any kind of spirit or being. You can add in why you would like to respond to the wish but there’s no guarantee that the wish will be fulfilled or that the requested being will even answer.

Happy casting!

A Plant’s Curse [Spell Saturday #46]

Plants are usually seen as healers or helpers in magic. It’s not rare to run into a plant that can also be used for cursing. Added to that, most plants used in cursing are used dry and only a bit of it. This spell is not one of those.

This is a spell that only grows in strength. As the plant grows stronger, your target’s success and life begins to fall apart. It’s a serious business curse. It’s not the kind you use when someone’s a jackass but when someone truly deserves to have their life ruined.

What makes a person deserve such treatment? I leave that up to you to decide.

 

A Plant's Curse by This Crooked Crown

 

What you’ll need:

  • A plant you can keep alive
  • A picture of your target
  • The name of your target
  • A piece of your target’s hair (optional)
  • A pot for the plant
  • Soil for the plant
  • Rocks for drainage for the plant (optional)
  • Chalk or sharpie

First thing you’ll need to do is to get a plant you can keep alive. The easiest choice for this spell is a cactus with spines. Poisonous plants are a fairly obvious choice as well. The second choices could be any number of poisonous plants. I think roses would be a great choice if you were cursing an ex-lover. Cuttings from your target’s yard or re-potting a plant that was a gift from them would also be good. Or you can just pick something that you know you can keep alive. The only real requirement is that the plant must be grown in soil. Do not pick an air plant or a plant that grows primarily in water.

Once you have your plant picked out, pick an appropriately sized potted plant, soil appropriate for the plant, and rocks for water drainage if necessary. Do yourself a favor and spend ten minutes googling your plant’s requirements for soil, water, light, and drainage before you buy it. I’ve spent twenty minutes standing in the middle of a greenhouse staring at my phone to make sure I had everything I needed for a plant’s survival. Since the plant’s life is immediately tied to this spell, it behooves you to make sure you can keep the plant alive to the best of your ability.

 

 

Next gather the items related to your target. Print out a picture of your target and make sure you have their full name. If you can, get some of their hair. Be careful with how much hair you grab. Roses, for example, love calcium so a hank of your target’s hair is absolutely perfect for a potted rosebush. They’ll love you for it. But some plants want different soil requirements so if you add calcium to the soil, you’ll change the pH levels and risk killing the plant. A few strands of hair won’t hurt your plant but double check your plant’s requirement before dropping a handful in there.

Write on the interior bottom of the pot your target’s full name. Use chalk or a sharpie. Place a few rocks at the very bottom for drainage, if needed. If not, put a thin layer of soil there instead.

Next, rip up the photograph into as small of pieces as you possibly can get. Sprinkle them into the pot. Now place the rest of your rocks for drainage on top of the paper and layer a very thin layer of soil on top of the paper until there’s none showing.

Wet the soil and rocks a little and gently pick up the plant, massaging the roots (without breaking them!) as much as possible and say,

“Little plant

You’ll grow so strong

And all you’ve got to do

Is to take from [target’s name]

Take your strength from their success

The weaker they grow, the stronger you’ll grow

Ruin their life so you can thrive.”

Finish potting the plant, watering it as needed, and place it in the best place for the plant to grow. Ideally, the plant will grow big and strong while your target’s life will slowly fall to ruin. If your plant needs re-potting, simply repeat the spell with new soil, target’s name, picture, and hair.

Make sure to take care of the plant really well. If the plant dies, so does your curse.

 

 

If you want to cancel this curse, you have two choices. And neither are guaranteed to work. The whole curse is based on the plant growing and so does the curse. Canceling that is going to be tricky.

The first choice is to uproot the plant. Either let it dry out in the sun or burn it. Scatter the soil from the plant at a crossroads and cast the stones used for drainage into living water. The picture and hair, if any traces of it remain, should be burned in a different fire than you used to burn the plant. The pot should be smashed or otherwise destroyed.

The second option relies entirely on your confidence to cleanse things. If you’re very competent at cleansing, then take the plant out of the pot it’s currently in and place it on the ground or on a plate temporarily. Cleanse the plant. Reach deep and make sure the plant understands that it no longer derives strength from your target. Give it another source to derive power from, like water, fertilizer, or the sun. You can reuse the pot and drainage rocks but scatter the soil at a crossroads. Re-pot the plant in a new batch of soil. Once again, remind the plant of its new magical source of energy as you re-pot it.

 

 

Notes:

  • If you need to scatter the soil during re-potting, feel free to use as many crossroads as possible. No one’s going to want to see a mound of dirt in an intersection so you’re better off taking a walk or drive and tossing dirt here and there along the way.
  • The stronger the connection you have to the plant, the stronger the curse will be – and the more likely that the plant will be able to cancel it at a later date using the second method.
  • Using hair is the best option here. Skip fingernails as they take longer to break down. Blood could also be used but that’s far less sanitary. Avoid urine or other bodily fluids and they could kill the plant.
  • Plastic’s way cheaper and lighter than a terracotta or ceramic pot but they can be harder to break. Consider this ahead of time.
  • If you’re particularly malicious feeling, you can give your cursing plant to your target as a gift. Only do this if you know they’re going to take care of it.

Happy cursing!

Spirit Destinations: Spirits Who Can Help

Even if you’re familiar with astral travel and spirit realms, it’s difficult to find spirits that are both trustworthy and helpful. Sometimes you’re looking for a specific kind of spirit and that’s even harder.

Why someone might look for a particular kind of spirit varies. Sometimes you’re serving as courier. Sometimes you need to heal a spiritual wound. Other times you want help casting a spell or information. And sometimes you don’t know why you’re doing something, you were just told to do it. (Let’s be honest here, this one’s probably the most common reason).

The following spirits are very busy but they are willing to have their pseudonyms shared with my followers so they can help. I can personally vouch for each of these spirits and many are personal friends of mine. The region itself, especially the valley of the spirit ruler, is extremely safe for dreamers and residents alike.

 

Laeta – A healer spirit of renown. Laeta takes patients from all over and usually does so without payment. They can heal spiritual and physical wounds, speed up recovery and ease symptoms of sickness and mental illness. Laeta can also perform spiritual surgery. Pretty much a spirit physician. Remember to give yourself time to heal in the physical world as well.

Laeta can be found in the infirmary, a lower yet airy level of the castle. Ask for directions from anyone within the castle.

Heleinra – She’s a catalyst spirit. She can incite things to occur such as inspiration and motivation but she can also encourage healing, ease bouts of depression, and so on. She will require a trade or purchase of services.

She’s a bit harder to locate (although, she’s close to Laeta) so ask around the castle grounds for her and take a peek into Laeta’s infirmary to see if she’s hanging out there.

 

The Maidens – A cluster of spirits who focus on love, relationships, sex, passion, and beauty. They’re matchmakers. There’s at least five of them, possibly more. Gaining their attention may be difficult as they remain close to the ruler but they can definitely help point you in the right direction in regards to love. Be aware that they shift bodies easily and are members of the proverbial fashion police. They may ask for equal trades for their services so the price they request may be very high for you. Make sure you verbally agree to whatever you’re buying. Sometimes they get carried away.

 

Candle Smoke

 

In order to find the Maidens specifically, you’ll have to gain entry to the ruler’s hall (which is mostly just walking in and being polite to staff) and try to catch their eye; they tend to wander the hall so it could be relatively easy to gain their attention. A quiet word with one of the guards will also work. You can also join the queue to talk to the king and when called upon, ask for the Maidens’ assistance (although if you do this you should offer the king a small gift as thanks for their attention.)

Moba – A spirit that serves under another spirit within the ruler’s court. Think of his position more like an assistant. The spirit he serves under is directly in service to the ruler so you won’t meet with Moba’s boss. That being said, Moba is great for pointing you towards a direction to increase your wealth or find opportunities. He won’t, specifically, help you get that wealth but he can point you in the right direction. Typically he appears as a young teenage boy and will probably be darting about the castle or the ruler’s hall. Speak clearly and quickly with him; he’s very busy and won’t have long to talk. He may or may not collect payment, depending on the favor.

The spirit ruler of this area is may be helpful as well. They can be asked for advice, information, guidance, or tips. They may even be asked for aid in combat, magic, or political situations. Just make sure that you’re willing to tithe them appropriately and pay whatever they’re going to charge. They’ll expect clear cut agreements though so don’t worry about being tricked into an agreement. This is doubled if you explain you’re a dreamer/spirit walker.

If you want to speak with them, you’ll need to ask one of the attendants in the hall for an audience. You may need to wait for an audience and that wait may take too long so you might need to make several trips with the hope that you can get an audience while you’re still lucid and within the astral plane.

 

How to pay for a spirit’s service:

You may need to “pay” for a spirit’s services. They may ask for currency, worship, trade, barter, or even just information. There’s a lot of ways to pay for such things so ask in advance what they want in payment before agreeing to anything.

How to find one of these spirits:

First, go here. All these spirits are found in the service of the same spirit ruler. Typically, this area’s pretty safe and the people friendly so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting through the forest, up to the castle, and asking one of the guards or staff for the spirit you’re looking for.

It’s also a good idea to make an offering to them within your own home. They may not show up in your home but you never know. Do NOT summon them. They will not help you if summoned. It is a condition of this information being shared. Good luck and happy adventures!

 

Knot Your Garter

A while ago I was researching love divination superstitions when I came across an interestingly little charm from the 1696.

To know whom one shall marry. You must lie in another county, and knit the left garter about the right legged stocking.. and as you rehearse these following verses, at each comma, knot a knot.

‘This knot I knit,

To know the thing,

I know not yet,

That I may see,

The man (woman) that shall my husband (wife) be,

How he goes, and what he wears,

And what he does, all days, and years’

Accordingly in your dream you will see him: if a musician, with a lute or other instrument; if a scholar, with a book or papers.(1)

Now this is particular charm evolves so the more common usage of it is as written in 1899 “To induce favourable dreams, nine knots are tied on a garter.” (2) There are other regional variations of this as well that are interesting to look at but we’re going to deal primarily with these two variations.

Now, I am a folklorist at heart. I majored in it at college so I love to watch superstitions evolve in this manner (and then dissect why they evolved in this manner).

 

Wrist Bells

 

More importantly, this is interesting from a witchcraft perspective. Here, the practitioner is sleeping somewhere different away from home. While there, they knit their left garter around their right stocking and say the verses. In their dreams, they’ll get a vision of their future spouse. (Remember that around this time, garters more unisex than they are now.)

There’s a couple ways to break down this superstition into an actual practice and it would widely depend on how the garter was constructed and the usage of the word “knit”. I don’t knit personally (I’m a crochet girl) but theoretically, you’d have to pull stitches out in order to restitch the stitches for this charm or you’d end up adding length to the garter and defeating the purpose of the garter entirely. Or, you’d add length to the garter ties, making them longer than used (garters were tied at this time, not elastic as now).

But garters are still a close, personal thing. They’re kept close to the skin and were incredibly individual yet ubiquitous items. There’s also a level of propriety to be addressed with garters. Garter kept your clothing where you wanted it to be, it kept you properly dressed. Typically speaking, you were rarely improperly dressed except around wardrobe-related servants or your spouse. So there’s something of a “revealing the self” aspect to this charm, subconscious though it made me.

As pre-made clothing became more popular, people made less and less of their own garters. Garters eventually became less used as clothing designs changed. The origins of the charm became older and less known. It simplified, due to clothing changes and time itself. It became more of a “knot nine times to reveal your future spouse in a dream” sort of deal.

 

 

Either (and any) variation of this charm has legs to stand on so the actual change isn’t the problem we face when looking to use this spell. Instead, what we need to address in how to adapt this spell to modern times.

Few people regularly wear garters. Many people end up with garters for their wedding clothing and that’s about it. It’s a special occasion thing, usually, so not a lot of people would consider this specifically important. Of course, some people still regularly use garters for costuming, tall socks, or they wear them for work-related clothing.

We need to look at what’s important here. Is the garter itself important? Or is what the garter represented more important? If the garter itself was important, then you would have to use a garter to cast this spell. If the garter isn’t important, then what could be used in place of a garter? Would making nine tiny knots with a piece of sting in the hem of your underwear work in lieu of a garter? Shoelaces? Hair? Hair ribbon? Suit tie? What could be used when it comes to modern clothing?

At it’s heart, this superstition is a knot spell to induce dreams of love. That’s what it’s suppose to do. So… would any knot do? Could you make something and then knot it?

Could you make a garter specifically for this purpose and use the charm for it? Either by knitting, sewing, or even braiding some thread together and tying it to your leg. The steps would probably be creating the garter to your left leg measurements, then tie it to your right leg, saying the charm, then go to bed.

 

 

If you wanted to adapt this to modern usage you’d have to answer these critical questions:

What’s the purpose of the garter? What does it stand for? Does that meaning still stand today for me? Is there an equivalent I can use instead?

How can I knot the garter or garter substitute? Will sewing stitches be representative? Or does it have to be knitted?

In the end, any of these variations would work. I don’t have a “here’s exactly how you adapt this” because there’s so many ways you could go with this. Personally, I’d crochet a garter (because knitting seems to escape me) with my left leg measurements and say the charm as I made each stitch. I’d make it long enough to tie on and knot the tying portion nine times. Then I’d tie it to my right leg nine times, repeating the verses, before heading to bed.

But, that’s me. How would you adapt this classic superstition? Does it sound similar to an old superstition you’ve heard of before?

  1. Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions, editors Iona Opie and Moira Tatem. 2005 Edition, Oxford Press. Page 221-222
  2. Ibid.

Tarot Emulation Attraction Spell

This is a spell to be attractive sexually. Let’s not kid ourselves here. This spell’s about physical attraction. It’s about making you look sexy. It’s not going to attract people to you that aren’t already attracted to you and it’s not going to get you a relationship. It’s not going to give you a hook up. It’s just a way for you to stand out and feel sexy.

So, in a way, it’s kind of a a love spell. It makes you feel awesome and love yourself. You’ll probably see a pick up when it comes to flirty gestures or sexual propositions.

Tarot Emulation Attraction Spell by This Crooked Crown

What you’ll need 

  • A tarot or oracle deck of some kind
  • Article of clothing you’re going to wear

Search through your tarot or oracle deck and find cards that make you feel sexy or awesome. They should be card that you want to emulate or represent you. Pick cards that also represent how you want others to see you.

Pick as many cards as you want from as many decks as you want. Lay them all out on top of the article of clothing you’re going to wear. It should be an outfit that makes you feel sexy.

When you’re ready, focus on how you want to look and raise the card up to your face and make a swooping motion down the length of your body and place the card back on the piece of clothing. You can recite what about that card you want to bring into yourself as you do this or you can just make the motion. Do this for each and every card.

Then get dressed. Lay the cards out on top of your dresser or stack them in a drawer. Go about your day. When you’re done for the day and you’re undressed, you can place the cards back in their respective decks.

Note:

  • You can also lay the cards out on your naked body, shoes, or jewelry if you prefer.
  • Placing the tarot cards on your mirror is also a good alternative.

Happy casting!

Friendship Knot Spell [Spell Saturday #45]

Friendship spells are weird. They’re probably one of the best kinds of spells for people to cast, but they’re rarely available. Gaining friends when you’re an adult is notoriously hard and is something almost everyone wants yet friendships spells are usually sequestrated into books geared towards teenagers.

What’s with that anyway? I think it’s a product of this weird idea that as an adult, you’re suppose to have stuff figured out. Like a life purpose, awesome life-long friends, best spouse ever, well-paying job, picket fence house, and all that jazz. (Spoilers: Uhhhh, yeah, that doesn’t happen often)

Anyway, I routinely get asked for friendship spells. A friendship knot spell was requested over on tumblr and was put on my “to write” list. The request is now being fulfilled.

Friendship Knot Spell by This Crooked Crown

What you’ll need:

  • Embroidery floss in various colors
  • A list of qualities your friend(s) should have

First, write a list of qualities your friend(s) should have. Maybe they’re very kind or extremely laid back. Maybe they’re adventurous or outgoing. They could be giant geeks or are gym regulars. Whatever you want your friend to be. Pick general qualities like compassionate or something that’s an activity you’d like to share. If your’e trying to gain a group of friends, you might want to write out a couple of lists.

Dig out your color symbolism chart or jot down the colors each of those qualities remind you of. For example, maybe your gym has an orange theme to it so you pick orange to represent that so you can find a gym buddy. Or you pick your favorite show’s color themes so you can find fellow fans. Refer to a color symbolism chart if you’re a bit at a loss or google color associations with that quality. It should, ideally be colors you associate with those qualities.

Once you’ve gotten your color choices, head to a craft store and buy thread or embroidery floss that matches your color choices. You can also dye thread, ribbon, or shoe laces to match. You can use multiple colors to represent the same thing or the same color to represent two things, if you like.

When ready, gather all the thread in your hands in a long tendril and think of the kind of friends you want. You can use comparisons, if you like. If you like the bond that two characters on a TV show have or you’d had a friend as a child that you don’t want to reconnect with but you miss that kind of bond, think of that.

Now make a knot for each quality you want your friend to have. If you have six strands of thread, then make a knot that includes all six strands. Do this for each quality you want your friend or friends to have.

Say the following.

With this knot, I invite companions [tie a knot tightly as you say this]

With each knot, I bring friends to my side [tie another knot]

My friend(s) will be [quality] [tie a knot]

[continue making knots for each quality]

With this knot I close the spell and open my heart to friends loyal and true that w ill come to me before the next moon [tie a knot tightly as you say this]

When done with your knots, carry the cord with you. Wear it as a necklace, anklet, or bracelet. Or tie it to your keys or in your hair. Thread it through a zipper or carry it in a pocket.

If the spell doesn’t work before the next moon, you can unknot the cords, cleanse the thread and try again with new qualities. Or you can bury the cord but do so in a garden plot rather than bare ground.

Notes:

  • This spell is geared to bring you new friends within a month or so. If you want to give yourself more time, you can adjust the time period accordingly in the wording
  • Braiding, knitting, or using macrame techniques is a fantastic alternative to knotting the cord. It’s up to you.
  • Embroidery floss it the most accessible here but feel free to substitute yarn or any other threading material.
  • It’s a super good idea to follow up this spell with spells to maximize opportunities to meet people. So if you’re super shy, then a spell to boost confidence would be a good idea.

Chocolate Rose Tea Love Philter

A philter is a magical potion geared towards inducing love. This Love Philter is a tasty treat that you can share with your partner or drink yourself to encourage self-love. It can be served hot or cold and adjusted to your taste.

I actually do a ton of baking but I don’t tend to share recipes. Something about sharing something that you’ll consume makes me cautious, even if the food is perfectly normal. Kinda weird, right?

Anyway, make sure you read the recipe through entirely and the notes before giving it a try. Remember: ask for consent before giving a loved one this drink!

 

chocolate-rose-tea-love-philter

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 level teaspoons black tea of choice
  • Small handful of organic rose petals
  • 1 cup water
  • 3-5 strawberries
  • 2 level tablespoons cocoa powder or powdered hot chocolate
  • Sugar or sweetener of choice  to taste
  • Strainer

Mix two teaspoons of your favorite black tea and rose petals and steep it in a cup of water for at least five minutes, 10 minutes is optional for this philter. Strain and keep the liquid. While you do this, whisper to yourself what kind of foundation for love you want to have. Maybe you want the evening to be sexy and fun or you want to love your body more.

Wash and cut the tops off your strawberries. Puree them in a blender with the liquid tea until smooth. While you do this, imagine treating each other to something special with your lover or treating yourself kindly.

 

chocolate-rose-tea-love-philter-01

 

Add in cocoa powder or hot chocolate powder. Blend well. Add in sugar/sweetener to taste and blend well. Envision having fun and enjoying yourself or yourselves. You should be getting what you want in this imaginary scenario.

Strain drink into wine glasses (chilled) or teacups (hot) and serve. As you create this, make your final requests such as “we will have a great night”, “I love you”, or “I love me”.

If you want to get super fancy, top with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Serve with chocolate covered strawberries or a delicate dessert.

 

chocolate-rose-tea-love-philter-02

 

Notes:

  • This can be served hot or cold.
  • You can use any black tea you want. I tend to go with Ceylon but Lady Gray’s a good choice too. If you have a Valentine’s or love themed tea, give that a try.
  • I tend to use honey for a sweetener but you can use whatever you have on hand, even granulated sugar. If using granulated sugar, remember to mix very well or the drink may be grainy.
  • Remember to tightly secure the blender cover before turning on the blender. This is a “well, duh” kind of thought but seriously, remember to do this. You don’t want to have to clean up the mess.
  • “Level tea/table spoons” is specified here. When something calls for a teaspoon or tablespoon of whatever, it almost always means a level teaspoon or tablespoon. A level spoon means that it’s not a heaping spoonful but the same level that soup broth would be at if it filled the spoon.

 

 

Drink up!

Decks featured:

  • [Instagram photo] Scrying Ink Lenormand Oracle by Siolo Thompson © Bay & Willow

5 Tips to Loving Yourself + Tarot Spread

Quick post and then I’ll let you get back to your evening. There’s a ton of tips floating around about how to love and care for yourself. I’m not going to rehash all of that info because I’m sure you’ve run into it before. Here’s some of my favorite ideas.

Keep reading because there’s a tarot/oracle/divination spread at the bottom you might enjoy!

 

 

01 Focus on what you love

I pick one thing that I really like about myself and buy or create something nice for it. For example, I’m really fond of my hair so when I’m feeling down in the dumps, I’ll buy a new hat, make a new hair accessory, or try a new hair style.

It helps reinforce that there’s stuff I like about myself and that I’m still super cute even in sweats and a baggie tee while procrastinating today’s workout.

 

02 Forgive yourself

Life’s tough and sometimes it sucks. And when you suddenly remember that mistake you made when you were five, it’s like the world is crashing down for about fifteen seconds.

Forgiving yourself isn’t easy. How do you come to terms with something you’re still ashamed about or still embarrassed about? For me, I sit and and say, “yeah, that thing happened and it sucked. I’m sorry it happened but I can’t change it now. I know not to do that thing again.” And that little mental convo helps ease the regret that clings to that memory and it can ease out of the forefront of my mind. It doesn’t instantly forget that memory but it makes it easier to go on with my life.

 

 

03 Making time for yourself

I’m not really a meditation girl. I spend about five minutes on meditation, total, a day. I’m far too restless to sit otherwise. And half of that five minutes is actually me telling myself today’s to do list.

But all those thoughts running around in your head can be addressed when you’re not busy doing a thousand and one other things. Taking a moment to stop, think, and know that you’ve got eight more things to do before lunch is important. Know what else is important? Acknowledging how much of that to do list is actually for you.

If your to-do list is entirely for someone else or work, then you need to carve out time for yourself. And if you can’t find time, make time by dropping or rescheduling something that isn’t important.

 

 

04 Treat yourself

Typically when I’m treating myself,  I buy myself flowers or a book. Usually I mix up something super tasty while I’m at it. I don’t do it often and I make sure that what I’m making or buying isn’t witchcraft related. It helps separate my work and the rest of me. Don’t get me wrong, almost everything I do is witchcraft related eventually. Untreated flowers become dried flowers for my herbal creations, books are broken down to see if I can utilize any ideas in my spells. Food may later become offerings. These are all things that may happen but that’s not why I’m doing them, so it counts as a treat in my eyes.

Why and how do you treat yourself? Are you treating yourself for good accomplishments? To even out bad days? How about ordinary days? You know the ones that you have most of the time. Do you treat yourself then?

Figuring out how to treat yourself is super important. It can make ordinary days special and memorable. It can ease dealing with crappy co-workers or take the bite out of an argument with family.

It doesn’t have to be food based or shopping based, as many “treats” are. I sometimes dedicate an evening to doing something fun but “wasteful” like surfing pinterest pinning ideas for my dream home on a secret board. Or I’ll pop in a favorite Disney movie or read a favorite book once again. It’s a treat. For you. Who cares what others think of it?

 

 

05 Stop doing things when they’re no longer fun

I don’t know about you but there’s lots of people out there that start doing a hobby and it no longer is fun. Sometimes projects become frustrating or you realize that the people around a hobby aren’t people you want to be with. Whatever the reason, they’ll be a point where you’ll stop and ask yourself “why am I doing this?”

And if you don’t have a good answer for that question, then stop it. A good answer might be “because I want to master this” or “I’m doing this for a commission” or “I want to achieve this goal”. If it’s not those reasons then it’s probably not worth your time right now. Put the project and hobby aside until you get inspired to pick it up again.

Your hobbies should be enjoyable. If they’re not, what’s the point?

 

Ready for the spread?

loving-myself-by-this-crooked-crown-3

A simple spread to be sure but it focuses on big questions.

01 How can I love myself?

This card doesn’t tell you what to love about yourself or why you should love yourself. Instead, it tells you how to treat yourself with love. It tells you how to show your love of your own self in the same way a card might show how you love someone else.

02 How can I care for myself?

This is your self-care methods. It may suggest that you reread a favorite book, binge watch TV, meditate, or any number of other self-care choices available to you. When you draw this card, make sure to correlate it with real-life actions in addition to ethereal or mental actions.

This card might be a little harsh. It may tell that you need to cut back on snacks and focus on healthier food choices. It might tell you to get out of the house and go make friends. It might even tell you to drop toxic friends for your health.

03 What can I do better for myself?

This card will focus on things you’re already doing. They will be things that you should focus on now, for yourself. If your attention is scattered or you feel like you’re being pulled in a thousand directions, this card will tell you where to focus your attention and how to get back on track.

It can also tell you things like “go make some more friends so you’re less lonely” or invite more art into your life. It might suggest that you take a class to inspire your yoga routine or start taking up daily writing prompts to upgrade your writing skill.

This isn’t necessarily about bettering yourself but doing things that you already like doing and focusing on that. It may also be a suggestion that you should focus on controlling your finances or getting a job promotion. It’s less self-oriented than any of the other cards and can involve how you deal with the world around you.

 

 

Give it a try! It’s a simple little reading but can really answer some questions if you’re kind of floundering right now. If you don’t want to read for yourself, you can always buy this reading over at my etsy or storenvy shops.

Decks featured:

  • Sacred Creators Oracle by Chris-Anne © Chris-Anne.com
  • Linestrider Tarot: Kickstarter Edition by Siolo Thompson ©

Book Review: Bewitchments by Edain McCoy – 4/5

Bewitchments by Edain McCoy

4/5 – You should be reading this [TCC review guide]

Warnings: Chakras, some stuff stated as fact rather than preferred methodology. Some spells need more research as they could be dangerous using as is. Some spells may come from another culture so tread carefully to avoid cultural appropriation.

Overall, this book is a good spell resource.

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