Ouija Boards 101 or “Are Ouija Boards Dangerous?”

October 31, 2015May 15, 20192 Comments

Every couple of months I get this question “are Ouija boards dangerous?”. The answer, in short, is no. Not any more than any other tool at least. Then I get a whole slue of questions on how to use a Ouija board safely or properly. If you’ve ever asked those questions yourself, this is the post for you.

I use Ouija boards on occasion. I find they’re tools and that they are no more dangerous than anything else and like anything else they may become dangerous when used improperly or foolishly.

Ouija boards were originally designed as a toy, a game. (Not that something being a game originally means anything. Tarot it based off the game tarrochi after all.) And I find that the excessive fear of Ouija comes from the media or passed along stories rather than first hand accounts. And I do mean fear. People are afraid of these things which seems silly as most buy them in the toy section of Wal-Mart. I’ve come into possession of several Ouija boards simply by the previous owners being too scared of the boards and worried that they couldn’t get rid of it properly or that it wouldn’t burn or would come back if thrown away. (And these are learned individuals in the science and medical field). It’s fear-mongering, pushed by people who prefer to see tools as evil or to continue to parrot information without thinking on what that tool could mean or actually do. I often find people who say such things have never even touched a Ouija board in their life so I question their information and fear or demonizing of something they’ve never used or touched.

Honestly though. What the fuck makes people think Ouija boards are dangerous? What? Do you think Hasbro has spirits locked in a room somewhere that influenced the creation? Or they sandwich the spirits in between the paper and the cardboard?

Any tool can be used to contact a spirit. Any tool has the danger of being used to contact a “negative” or “bad” spirit. Any tool.

The whole idea that the board can be possessed by a spirit is legitimate, as spirits can possess things, but why bother with a piece of cardboard instead of say, a doll which had the capability to be mobile? I think the fear of Ouija stems from the very point of the board – to pass messages along from the spirit world. And to that I have to ask why anyone who claims or wants to work with spirits would fear such a thing. Isn’t that the point? If you get guidance from a spirit or deity, this is the exact same thing. The only difference is that there is no visual representation for you to converse with – which may actually work in your favor because there is no reason a spirit can’t fool your eyes and appear as something else, as this is traditionally an ability many spirits possess in folklore and mythology.

Realistically speaking, pendulums are more dangerous than Ouija boards. One method of using pendulums is to have spirits influence the pendulum and follow where that leads (if using it as a searching device) which is infinitely more dangerous than sitting in your living room with another person and sliding a plachette across a piece of cardboard. The implied information here is that a spirit would be more powerful to physically push or influence the pendulum (or the human hand holding the pendulum) than one influencing two humans to push the plachette around (and humans are, as science has proven, incredibly susceptible to suggestion).

It the end it comes to this: Ouija boards are misunderstood and demonized for truly bewildering and contrary reasons that makes me instantly suspect the speaker, especially if said speaker claims to or has worked with or is working with spirits. Claims that the boards aren’t useful in witchcraft, are extraordinarily dangerous, or evil are often employed by the uneducated or fearmongers.

Now that we have that covered, let’s move onto actually using an Ouija board!

Ouija boards spells out things by have a plachette (pointer) move around the letters. Each person participating should lay a hand or at least a finger on the plachette and focus during the moment the question is being asked on the question itself. In theory, the plachette spells out the answers to the questions.

Make no mistake: the plachette is moved around by people. Each person slightly moves the plachette around without noticing and another person responds. It’s OK to totally admit this. In fact, I find going into the procedure knowing that actually helps determine whether someone’s just messing around or if they’re channeling something. It also helps because it can calm you down when you start to get worked up (because groups of people can get worked up very easily when scared or excited.) Now, the question that should be asked is this: are they moving the plachette that way because a spirit suggests it or they intuitively know the answer? That’s something you’ll have to determine for yourself.

Here’s some tips to get the best enjoyment out of your Ouija board session:

Take breaks often. A lot of getting spooked happens when people build on experiences – it all rolls together and excitement builds to a point that anything’s possible. It especially happens when using it with other people and I believe is related to mob mentality – which creates a us vs them dichotomy, paranoia, and is often aggressive (which will chase away milder spirits). Taking breaks gives you a moment to pause and consider what’s happened before starting up again.

Eat and drink something but avoid excessive amounts of refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, or stimulating drugs as these substances can create a sense of paranoia and in extreme amounts, hallucinations. Foods like bread and pasta are good but whatever works best for you is good.

Keep notes and write down information and responses given. Go back through those notes and repeat those same questions at a later date to help verification. Asking questions where you think you already know the answer will help from getting too excited because nothing new’s been added.

Atmosphere is fun and all but can create a sense of false importance of a situation. So lighting the candles and holding session in a darkened room may be part of your process but shake it up sometimes if you feel like that might be contributing to getting spooked.

Put some music on. I’d recommend music without lyrics as lyrics may be able to subconsciously influence your answers and create interference.

Putting out an offering, even just a glass of water, may add a sobering effect to your sessions but that depends on your particular perspective. An offering is polite though so it may attract more of whom you’re looking to speak to.

Time your sessions. If something goes on for a long time, it can build until you’re spooked out. Maybe only ask five questions at a time or ask questions for twenty minutes then take a break.

To end a session, go ahead and thank anyone that showed up (both humans and spirits alike), even if some scary stuff happened. It’s only polite. You may wish to cleanse the room and check protection wards afterward.

As mentioned above, eat something after the session and chat among yourself. Give everyone time to calm down before they go home or whatever. Again, it reduces the fear factor.

There you go! A quick 101 on ouija boards. Have fun!

This post is based on these tumblr posts here, here, and here.

How to Make a Poppet (tumblr repost)

October 26, 2015May 15, 2019

Now, I’m going to be upfront:

This post was written during the process of making a poppet for cursing. While this post can be used for ANY poppet for ANY purpose.
Is image heavy; many of the photos are shaky. This is common when I photograph my spell work. I don’t know why but I have my suspicions.
Features photographs of charged ingredients, sigils, and spells.
Talks about curses
Features a mini how-to break glass safely.
This is an attempt to be traditionally neutral. I do things different than others and thus my own methods bleed through. Remember to work within and adapt to your own cultural background, paradigm, and practice.
Trigger warnings: blood, glass, curses, poppets, sigils, spells, energy, charged items, etc. I’m sure there are others I’m missing but there you go.

This is a follow along using simple ingredients. It starts with how to make the poppet, talks about filling it, making the face and personalizing it, and then finishing it up. Away we go.

First step is to get your materials.

I really like using felt for poppets. It’s thick, comes in a wide variety of colors, comes in a pretty good size, is easily found, and cheap.

So grab two pieces of felt (I know there’s only one here but I had two), scissors, writing utensil (chalk or pen), sewing needle, thread (maybe different colors, maybe not), pins, a piece of cardboard (this one’s from the bottom of a shopping bag but any piece of cardboard, like one from food cartons), and your filling (more on that, later).

Now that you’ve gotten your materials, pull out your cardboard and sketch half of your poppet’s design. You can skip this step and just sketch on fabric but I like making a template to use in case I want to make more poppets this size and shape. But if you do want to make the template, sketch it out like so:

Now mine’s pretty stylized, but that’s set for my particular practice. I sketched mine in chalk then again in pen. We sketch only half because of how we’ll cut the fabric. Go ahead and make it a bit bigger than you want it to be because of seam allowance.

Once your happy with the design, cut it out and lay the template on the folded edge of your folded felt (both sheets). See in the photo how the fabric is folded over? There you go. Now trace the template out on the felt. I used chalk.

Since I’m happy with how it came out on the felt, go ahead and cut it out. Remember to not cut the folded edge and to cut all sheets of felt. You want two sides of the poppet.

Ta-da! Pretty cute right? I like making my poppets big and fat. There are reasons I do this, but those reasons are specific to my practice.

Now put those pieces together as evenly as you can, pin them, and sew the edges. How you sew them depends on your practice and preference. Some folks like to sew with intent and purpose, literally sewing the spell in. I sometimes will hand sew them then machine sew over the hand sewing to strengthen the seams. Sometimes I machine sew first then hand sew. Other times I’ll do one or the other. With this particular poppet, because I was working quickly, I simply machine sewed it.

Make sure you leave space for you to stuff the poppet with!

And here he is sewn together but for the head, which is where I’m going to stuff him. Where I stuff the poppet varies. Again, this might be a personal practice thing, but I leave open the spaces I want to effect first. With his poppet, I want to affect the mind, thoughts, and actions so I left the head open. If I wanted to make a fertility doll, I would leave the legs and crotch area open and fill from there.

Don’t forget to have someone help you if you need it! Having someone skilled in sewing can help out or answer questions. Any familiars, spirit guides, etc. can help as well. Also, don’t forget to eat and drink. Sometimes making a poppet is an all day affair. Kiki here decided she wanted to watch me work.

Now that break time is over, take a moment to feel proud of yourself. You made a poppet.

Look at this guy! Now, you can either decorate first or stuff ’em first. Let’s talk about decorating.

Decorating can happen in all sorts of different ways. Painting, drawing, embroidering, etc. I chose to embroider. Here I used white to make a pair of eyes and a smile which is fitting for my target. I also embroidered a red star that represents my target.

Stuffing is a huge part of poppets and what you put in your poppet depends on your purpose, practice, and preference.

Now the purpose of this poppet is to curse someone. My cursing base is red pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. On top of that I added poison ivy (to poison, irritate, and annoy), deer’s tongue (to control the tongue), peppermint (to cool the passions), broken glass (to make him feel as sick as his behavior makes me feel), and blood (my own, to give it life and power). I dripped anise empowering oil over it to boost the power.

Other ingredients you can use follows:

Herbs, plants, and spices – the more exotic and everyday:

You can also use things like infused oils.

Depending on how much time you have, you can soak and dry your fabric, ingredients, stuffing, thread, needles, etc in oils for extra power. You can also drip oils over the fabric as I did with this poppet to empower it.

Other ingredients can be leftover candle wax. This is especially useful it you did a spell on the target previously and now you want to continue or enhance your work. Take that left over candle wax and put it in the poppet.

I keep my left over candle wax in a mug on a shelf.

Sigils are also common, popular choices. You can write on the inside of the poppet or the outside. Making up new sigils for each poppet is time consuming but usually worth it.

This particular poppet doesn’t have any sigils on it, but here’s an example of the Necromancer’s house protection sigils:

Now you can also include dirt, metal bits, sandpaper, sand, wood, and broken glass. I recommend with these items to wrap them separately in a piece of fabric then putting them inside the poppet.

Keep in mind what you’re putting in there and be careful! You don’t want to cut yourself.

I keep my broken glass in paper bags in my storage room, like so:

A note on working with glass. Let’s say you have half a cup or bowl left from dropping it and you want to use it in spell work. Here’s how you can safely break the glass.

Put your glass on a rag then the rag on a thick folded towel. Don’t use your favorite or best ones as the glass might cut. Also, have a plastic bag or bucket nearby.

Get another rag and put that on top. Double it up if you can but make sure all the edges of the rag touch the other rag and have a good clearance on all sides. Now fetch a hammer.

Now smash. Be concise about it. Don’t just go to town. Make controlled strikes. Once you’re satisfied with the breakage, carefully transfer your glass to where-ever you intend to put or store it then take all the rags and towels and shake them over the trash. Then put them in the plastic bag or bucket and carry them to the laundry room to wash them clear. The other option is to toss them out.

So you’ve made your filling decisions but there’s still so much space! I typically stuff my poppets with scraps of material color coded to my own symbolism. This poppet’s limbs where stuffed with black felt coated with the herbs listed above.

Here’s an image of the poppet mostly stuffed:

Once I was happy with the stuffing, I left enough space to finish my spell. I threaded red thread and outlined the eyes of the poppet (so my target can see the harm he’s done and open his eyes) and crossed over the mouth (to silence him). Like so:

Then I finished stuffing his head, folded the fabric over, stitched up his head as shown above.

And this is what he looks like complete!

Hope this helps some folks!

Original post is here.

SEA SALT! Why salt scrubs needs more (witchy) love.

October 12, 2015May 15, 2019

One of those things that I LOVE to make for the shop but rarely sells is bath salts. And it makes me sad because not only does one of my favorite things not sell as well as I’d like them to but it makes me feel like no one really gets the true power of salt.

Evoke the Sea salt scrub

First, let me wax prose about salt. I love salt. If I was a dragon, my hoard would have salt in it. I use it all the time. Salt water is my absolute friend and the ocean is where I go when I need to cleanse myself and double check if I’m on the right path still. Seriously, a quick wading into the ocean and ten minutes later I’m ready to conquer worlds. Salt carries much of those connotations with me, especially combined with water. But that’s not all salt can do. As truly magical salt can be, salt can also do a lot physically for you.

I’m going to tell you a true, personal story. I hit the growth stage of my puberty early and my face broke out into acne often. It made me self-conscious and despite my mother (a medical professional) giving me various medications and remedies to calm my skin down, nothing worked for long. I was a ridiculously shy child too so the combination gave me social anxiety. I spent 98% of my time alone and preferred it that way. I found my skin ugly and didn’t look like the other girls. I knew I could be pretty, logically. I had modeled in several pageants as a young child and was constantly told I was pretty as a girl. Puberty ruined that for me, I felt. By the time middle school rolled around, I had accepted that acne and I would never be parted and grew resigned around it. I even stopped actively trying to fight it. My mother, you see, had breakouts of acne still so I knew it could and did persist into adulthood. When my face broke out I sighed and vowed to duck my head lower.

My third year of high school I was given an opportunity to study abroad in Cape Verde which I snapped up in a heartbeat. Even then I wanted to be an archaeologist so I knew studying people and anthropology was something I’d have to study en-route to my goal. While in Cape Verde we were taken up to the salt mine, specifically the salt pond there to bathe (and learn about a major economy export of that specific island). The teacher chaperoning us said something about how salt was good for the skin and used in spas. And then one of my classmates reiterated it a bit later. And sure enough, my skin did feel softer after the dip in the water. I didn’t think on it much however given some tragic events that had happened and that tidbit of information slipped to the back of my mind.

A few months later I got my license and after that I was beach bound most days I had a car, could afford gas, and it was warm enough. I didn’t care for the sand or the half-naked men or the calm it gave me – I was there to swim, to embrace the power of the ocean and love it. My skin got better, slowly but surely. But I had psychologically written my skin off so while I noticed less breakouts and redness, I didn’t really make the connection. This pattern continued in college and in the winter where I couldn’t go to the beach, my skin got worse but once it was warm enough and I hit the beach again, it’d clear right up. I still didn’t make the connection, almost certainly due to other medical issues and double majoring taking most of my thoughts. Even without my paying attention to it, my skin got better.

Lorelei Salt Scrub without petals

Shit went down and I eventually transferred to Harvard than to University of Hawai’i to finish up my schooling. I lived across the street from the ocean in Hawai’i. I stepped outside and I could see the ocean and I fell asleep to the roaring of the waves. To be fair, most houses are within walking distance to the ocean that unless you like in the middle of the island and in order to get that view I lived in the farthest town I could get on the island, one inhabited mostly by native Hawaiians and considered the worst part of the island. (And I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to why the native Hawaiian people lived primarily in the most run-down and ignored towns in Hawai’i.) Anyway, I spent everyday at the beach swimming. And then while talking to one of my non-native friends she said something that changed by world:

“I’m so jealous of you. You have great skin.”

I was so floored I could only smile and thank her but inside I was shocked. People are jealous of MY skin???? Why? I’m acne-face! I had enough bumps to be able to throw on green makeup and go as a lizard. But I didn’t. I got inside my flat and took a good, long look in the dingy lighting of my bathroom and saw that no, she was right. My skin was clear. Pale, sure, but acne? GONE.

And it came back to me, nearly a six years later “sea salt is good for the skin”. To be fair, it wasn’t entirely salt’s doing. A fast food free diet helped as did reducing my stress level and using my panacea salve any time a breakout threatened but they happen significantly less often. But I started to think of all the cycles of where my skin would flare up and the pattern appeared. Salt is why I looked amazing.

So while sugar scrubs sell phenomenally well and are super popular, I will always promote salt scrubs. Using salt scrubs is easy – dump a bit in a wet wash cloth, rub it between your hands and use the cloth on your body. When the salt is mostly gone, use it on your face. NEVER put raw salt on your face. Salt is so sharp it’s recommended to pour on things to cut fleas in half so don’t do it. I even save a jug from orange juice and poured a little sea salt in with the gallon or so of water and shook it until the salt dissolved. When I feel my skin getting rougher or I need a cleansing, I dump the salt over my body. Be wary – salt water is always going to be noticeably colder than non-salt water (which is why you should also dump some salt in coolers to keep the cooler ice and water colder, longer).

What other uses does salt have?

Here’s a dozen mundane purposes I have personally used salt for (there’s well over a hundred I know of, especially in regards to food):

Poured on mattresses/blankets/pet beds/furniture to cut fleas in half – noticed a significant decrease in fleas when left on for 12 hours during fumigation after Noelle the cat brought home unwanted friends despite her anti-flea medication. Vacuum up salt when through.
A bit of salt with some water can be used in the garden to get rid of pest, similar to above. Be cautious as plants with delicate roots or specific soil needs can suffer from this. Similarly, over-salting a plant like poison ivy will kill it. (This is an excellent way to keep poisonous plants in one area of the garden for your witchy needs while making sure they don’t take over the garden entirely. Poison oak I’m looking at you.)
Melting ice and snow – works great but it’s cheaper to use road salt and you get better grip with cheap kitty litter.
Making soap – you can use it in soap making but I tend to leave it out.
Can be used to put out grease fires (or any fire, really). You’re smothering the fire with the salt. Don’t use sugar as a replacement since sugar can melt. Dirt can also be used.
Mordant in textile and paper dying. Also, throw a pinch or two in the wash when washing new towels to keep the color from running.
Salt and water can be used to clean cast iron without ruining the seasoning. (Don’t overdo it) And hey, if you keep the salt afterwards, you’ll have a good start to black salt.
Shine chrome with a salt + vinegar base. Can also be used to get rid of stubborn tea or coffee stains (CRUCIAL around here) and rust. Be prepared for a workout with this.
Problems with the drain? Add salt. Especially good when you have hair, worms, or maggots in the drains. Follow up with boiling water or oil. Remember to stand back when pouring so you don’t get scalded by steam.
Whiten faded or yellowed cloth or linens by adding 1/4c cup baking soda, 5 tbsp borax or oxiclean, and 2 tbsp salt and boiling for up to 1/2 hour. Rinse in cold water. I use this with bleach just isn’t cutting it sometimes. I’ve also used this to get rid of sweat stains. I would not recommend it for antique cloth given the sharpness of salt. YMMV. Similarly, using this mixture gets up stains on carpets and such.
Soaking newly made candles in a salt water solution for a few hours will make them drip-proof. Be absolutely sure to dry them before burning though. Water inside candle wax can cause explosions.
Rub slightly damp salt over windows to keep them frost-free (ish). (Make a cloth bag with salt in it, spritz some water, and go to town).
Adding salt to shoes and gym bags will help absorb moisture and odors.
Soak your straw brooms in hot salt water for 1/2 hour to give them a longer life. Let dry, bristle up. This is for the brooms you use to clean with although the witchy applications are easily visible.
Tossing salt in the fire isn’t just a spell to bring back lovers, nope. My aunt use to throw salt in the fire at the end of the night to kill it quickly and to have less soot (since it doesn’t smolder). She said it was to help clean up the ashes easier.

DuRose Salt Scrub with petals

Now for some witchy purposes for one of my all-time favorite ingredients ever:

Salt water is a great offering to oceanic deities and spirits. Many time salt water can also be used as an offering to moon spirits. Making your own salt water at home is especially helpful if you live inland.
Some theories state that Christian holy water was originally salt water. I have zero Christian background but some sects may still use this? Some Roman Catholics I think? Either way, salt water is used as a holy water recipe in various religions. YMMV depending on your deities’ associations.
I know “get the salt” is often ascribed to being used too much by witches but it’s actually REALLY common in various other religions such as Shintoism, Hinduism, Jainism (I believe?), and certain types of Buddhism. And, of course, Judaism have their own specific importance to salt. These are used as cleansing, purifying, or blessings, religion depending. (So if people are telling you it’s not a thing, remind them of this.)
Again, not a Christian background but I know Lot’s wife was turned to a pillar of salt and that was a punishment – a curse. As mentioned above, salt can be used to get rid of a lot of things and “salting the land” is an excellent way to forever ruin the ground. Salt in the wounds is another phrase that comes to mind. Add salt in your curses to let them fester and ache more, to cut the wounds deeper. Plus, you can die from too much salt so there’s that. Add in some peppers to make a hot foot powder.
Salt is commonly associated with earth in (Neo?) Wicca although I’m not sure if this is true for closed initiation Wicca. So if you’re the kind of person that uses the four or five element paradigm, there you go.
Protection is, as mentioned above, the most common use for salt. Making a ring of salt around an object you want to protect or at the windows and doors will not only keep bugs from whatever but also spirits. I have a witch ladder of glass bottles and one of those bottles is filled with – you guessed it – salt. As a warning and active protection.
Lots of spells use salt, such as the aforementioned throwing salt in the fire to bring back a lover. You’re suppose to do this for seven or nine night consecutively, beckoning them back to you.
Salt divination is totally a thing I do. It’s similar to tassomancy (tea reading) in the sense that you see the patterns that are there. There’s two methods I use: either I throw down the salt, and read the patterns or I go into a trance, close my eyes, and let my fingers trace out messages and symbols until the moment passes. Depends on my mood and needs, to be honest.
Salt is a HEAVILY traded item and I’m all about using items that are popularly traded for wealth and prosperity. I infuse salt with my desire to bring more business or good wealth or something and leave it in an offering bowl by the door or stairs. Laborers were at times paid in salt all the way back to the Roman Army.
Huixtochiuatl is associated with salt and salt water, if I recall correctly and salt was not an unknown offering in the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman rituals. (Although how much of that is a scholarly supposition versus evidence I will freely admit to not knowing.)
Salt can be submerged in water and dissolved, right? Salt water can also be left out to evaporate, making salt once again. This could be construed as loyalty or an eternal cycle if you’re of a mind to think of it that way.
Anglo-Saxon farmers kept a piece of salt by their plows to ward off spirits from ruining the crops. As mentioned above, it also kept pests away and soaking crops in brine wasn’t unheard of during the middle ages.
I never travel anywhere without a dash of salt, earth from my garden, and a handful of coins on the bottom of my luggage. It keeps everything protected, wards it all away, ensures I’ll return home (and always have home at hand), and will keep money in my pocket.
Salt absorbs things so use a sprinkle of it to absorb negative energy off an item. Be sure the item won’t be damaged by the salt.
Remember that long list of mundane uses? Throw a little magic in that and you’re good to go.

So, we’ve covered salt’s amazing right? Now imagine a salt scrub, luxurious for your skin, scented by carefully selected oils and botanicals, and churned into being by a witch pouring magic and energy into each turn of a carved wooden spoon just to make you look beautiful and healthy. Head over to my shop to pick up your own salt scrubs!

Summertime Offerings

May 25, 2015November 21, 2015

Offerings are kind of a big thing in the pagan world. You might make an offering or a sacrifice for your deity on some regular basis. Or you might offer something to local spirits by way of thanks. Whatever your reasoning and purpose, practicality has to be tackled alongside the spiritual considerations when handling offerings.

Here’s a few simple tricks, tips, and rules in order make sure both you and the offering recipient are happy campers.

Clean your space

Take a glance at your altar, shrine, or workspace. How long would it take to disassemble? Go ahead and time yourself. Regularly taking apart your shrine space and putting it back together (even if the layout is the same) will help refresh and renew the space. It’ll also keep you from putting useless stuff there.
Take 30 seconds to wipe down the surfaces of your altar, shrine, or workspace. This includes idolatry pieces like statues, table or shelf surface, and offering dishes.
Wash your offering dishes. It doesn’t matter that only dried rice or water was held in it. Wash it out.

Protect your space

Summertime can be the worst time for food and liquid offerings. Milk curdles, insects are attracted to offerings, and animals – and people – are everywhere. Make sure your food and liquid offerings are safely placed so children and animals don’t get to them.
Insects a pest? Grow plants like lemon balm, peppermint, or citronella around the altar if possible. If not possible, spray strips of cloth or rope with bug spray (I recommend natural but you do you) and hang or place it near the altar.
Have a lot of visitors this summer? Move all breakable items away from the edges. Introduce children to altar spaces and ask them not to touch unless you say it’s OK because it’s very important to you. Often times simply explaining the space and letting them touch or look at the items will keep them from grabbing and breaking something accidentally. This depends on the child, of course.

Use common sense

Leave out offerings of milk and honey for the faeries? That’s a great idea in the summertime right? You may wish to switch to something that’s not as easily spoiled in the heat for a while. Or, reduce the amount of hours the offerings are out for.
Ask the recipients before making any exchanges or substitutes for offerings. For example, my household fae dislike almond milk but don’t mind soymilk as a substitute for regular milk or cream.
Placement is key. Want to remember to make a daily offering? Put it next to the coffee maker or refrigerator. Make it memorable. I keep household spirit offerings next to the oven and by the coffee maker.
Always watch open flames. Always. Make sure there’s nothing for the flames to set fire to.

Substitutes and alternatives

Always ask before making substitutes for traditional or common offerings. You can even give a little explanation on why you’re making the substitute if necessary when making the offering.
Clear alcohol is a common offering that is generally accepted by many spirits and deities, including ghosts. It has the added benefit of not spoiling in heat or freezing in cold.
Water, especially purified water, is almost always an accepted offering. Only certain types of spirits, like those associated with fire, will disdain them. Deities are a hit or miss.
Nuts are often offerings and can last a long time.
Dried grains, rices, and beans are also great offerings but watch for worms and flies if left too long.
Non-food offerings like incense, music, art, actions and prayers are all offerings too. Don’t forget about them simply because there’s a focus on food items.
Can’t use candles or incense? Mist sprays made from light tisanes are great for cleansing and making offerings. LED lights work just as well for rituals unless you need to burn something (which I would then recommend waiting until you can safely and legally have a place to use a candle).

General altar and work space advice

Have a lot of stuff? Cycle it through by season or purpose to refresh the space. You probably don’t need all the stuff all the time.
It’s often desirable to have a beautiful altar or shrine chocked full with statuary, incense holders, associated objects, and offering pieces. Consider simplifying your space. Do you really need that athame out on the table surface or can it sit in a sheath until necessary? If you never put out food offerings but for special occasions then why have the empty offering plate there? Does that scrying ball need to be there if your deity isn’t associated or involved with divination? Consider what you have in that space and if it’s really there because you have no where else to put it or if it actively services your and their needs.
Use your terminology correctly. Work spaces are for you to do work on and doesn’t necessarily even have to have deities or spirits honored at all. An altar is where offerings and sacrifices are made. It’s general a table or shelf set up and can be a part of a larger shrine or temple. A shrine is a building or set up that will usually contain an altar or offering place. It is a holy space for the deities and spirits honored and is dedicated to them entirely. A temple is more of a place for worshipers to go whereas shrines have a tendency, especially in Western culture, to be reserved only for the priesthood or attendants of the honored deities and spirits. A temple could have a work space, altar, and shrine all in one place.Terminology does change somewhat depending on culture, especially the further east you go but this kind of language is something to keep in mind.
What you put on an altar or in a shrine should have meaning to both you and the honored being. You’re honoring them so having things they enjoy is just as important as having beautiful things you enjoy.
Take your time assembling your spaces. There’s a lot of beautiful inspiration out there and newbies have a tendency to want to rush out and buy all the things. Shop around and visit used goods store, flea markets, garage sales, and even online ads for things that would fit your spaces perfectly. You might even have earmarked some pieces for future altars that aren’t available yet from family collections.
Travel or pocket altars are incredibly useful if altars are important but you can easily assemble an offering from whatever when traveling.
Research, research, research. Look at what was historically offered for these beings. You don’t have to follow that strictly but knowing what those beings are use to and expecting can make introductions and foundling relationships so much easier to develop.

Simply put: don’t forget to use common sense when setting up your altar space.

Please, please, please remember that many times you do not need a permanent work space, altar, or whatever. It is not a requirement of most practices. You can make offerings without such spaces and you can easily work witchcraft without them.

Creating an altar can be extremely fun and making summertime offerings when fruits are plentiful is always a blast. But taking precautions is always ideal to make sure everyone’s safe and happy.

Home Construction, Witchcraft, and You

May 4, 2015November 21, 2015

I’ve lived through a fair amount of construction. You’ll hear that living through construction isn’t fun and they’re right. It’s always a hassle and always difficult to live through. There’s always someone in your home, there is constantly dust and dirt everywhere, entire rooms will be out of commission, things will be misplaced, and worst yet, you have to have pants on or even be presentable at some ungodly hour in the morning. Shudder.

Now long-term readers will know that I live in an in-law flat at my mother’s house. My mother’s house isn’t new. Built in the 1940s, it sits between two crossroads on the top of a hill overlooking a swamp turned middle school. (No, I’m serious.) The previous owner did a lot of work themselves – poorly. The garage was clumsily doubled, we’re fairly certain one of the bedroom’s was added, the finished basement was roughshod, the kitchen linoleum floor was caulked down, the upstairs tub isn’t sealed properly and leaks into my closet at times… oh the list goes on and on. We once watched an electrician climb up a ladder, open up a ceiling light, and then fly back down, shaking their head in fear and horror.

Every single time we attempt something in this house, no matter how small, something expensive and catastrophic happens. A simple clogged kitchen drain turns into the house’s main line being snaked because of the way the plumbing was designed. Adding a ceiling fan becomes rewiring half the house. Changing cable companies requires three teams of people all to stare in vague disbelief at the house. Every single home improvement we do is a major event. Despite the trouble, each year we try to do something for the house. Sometimes those home improvements are laying down new flooring ourselves or updating appliances and other times it’s the more construction side of things. This year it’s windows and gutters. The star of the show is a window that takes up half the wall in the double parlor. We’re turned into into a bow window with a little shelf for ~~plants and knick-knacks~~ cats.

But what does this have to do with witchcraft?

Let me talk to you about windows first. Windows are doors. They are gateways. They are reflective surfaces. They are both outside and inside. They allow you to see the world without being involved with it. Windows are the shit. Glass is pretty damn amazing all things considered and I could do a whole rant on the amazingness of glass but I’ll put it aside for today. Windows, like doors, can be used as entrance ways for spirits and magic, especially if you treat windows as a door. When I cleanse the house I cleanse the windows the exact same way I cleanse the doors and corners. They are spaces where two things are separate by very little, like veils between worlds.

So when mum said “we’re going to do the big window this year” I sighed and thought “well, shit.” This means I had to break down the protections on this huge double window in our living room that we haven’t been able to open for the eleven years we’ve owned the house. So I spent a few evening tearing down the protections and holding them out in a temporary state until the installation could be done. Plus I had to take down the barriers to ensure that any constructors workers that are psychic-inclined don’t get a massive headache from my barriers (known to happen as I do some powerful protections). Then it took several days to ensure that the new window protections meshed well with the old protections. I also cleansed the window and area from any crap it came with during the install.

The room's mostly done in this image. There's still some touch up needed. The wall colors are silver (inset) and a marine turquoise green.

The living room is now a great place to hang out.

And one doesn’t simply add a new window to a room without considering repainting said room. So I did that too. The inset transformed from red into a silver-white and the peach walls melted into a marine turquoise green. The room is now cool and clean feeling. It came out really nice all things considered and now I’m really pleased to say this will be the perfect space to do readings for clients that come to the house. Plus, I was able to install some of my older gaming consoles so it doubles as a joint gaming location for the household. Which makes it even sweeter. It still has some work that needs doing (touch up paint) but usable again which is super nice. The photo to the left is the new room. I just wish I had a before picture to show you the stunning change.

Gutter boxes laying across the side yard and waiting for installation. Get use to seeing this and more if you’re doing construction.

Then we turned our attention to the gutters. Actually, the installation of the gutters is being done as I type this, huddled over my computer sipping on too much coffee as the crews started at the lovely time of seven-thirty in the morning. We are not morning people and there was much bitching involved with this wake up call.

Gutters are a pain in the ass. Not only did I need to take down anything hanging on the exterior wall that could fall down, but I had to do some major landscaping and deal with the fact that my gutters are changing. Gutters are potential streams attached to your house. Water helps conduct of a bunch of things including energy. With new gutters up, I’ll had to ensure the corners where the gutters hang were well protected magically. I had to crawl into the depths of the house to find each corner and protect it. Luckily I didn’t have to climb on the roof but it was a near thing. (I don’t mind climbing roofs but the ground was muddy and ladders don’t do well in the mud.) I did have to dodge some possums that live in our garage attic. We usually stay out of each other’s way but I scared the shit out of them when I climbed up to do the spells. It was worth it as I can now incorporate a potential running source of water into its own self-standing protection during storms and inclement weather.

That wasn’t the only change going on though. When you start doing work on one part of the house, you tend to start looking at the other parts of the house and think “well, that looks like shit. I bet I could change that.” Which is what happened to me.

In order to do the gutters I had to hack down my grape vines and climbing roses off the garage trellis. This is the backyard spring clean up in progress.

And here’s during install. There was a lot going on. A lot of ladders. Still not done with the yard spring clean up. Sigh.

I already mentioned I had to do some landscaping. When the previous owners built the trellis and planted the grape vines, they also put a gutter on the garage roof (which you can see there in the photo hanging down a bit. I damaged it during my demo). I have three mature grapevines and a climbing rose bush that propagated itself so now there’s something like four of them along that back wall. I kind of let the vines do their thing for years and they were in some dire need of trimming and shaping. So I hacked them all down to what you see in the photo. It was several days of tiring hard work. It wasn’t just cutting them down. I had to cut each vine piece into a size that would fill a lawn bag. I’m already at ten lawn bags as of this writing and I’m sadly not done. I also had to rake out the leaves on the patio and the leaves on the memorial garden on the other side of the garage (my bittersweet nightshade is a monster that will not be tamed). I also had to beat back my Audrey III in the front yard. In the summer we let it the creeping jenny wind around the front porch and provide some serious shade but every few months I have to go out there and hack it down to size. Creeping jenny will go everywhere if you let it so I had to make sure it didn’t make it’s way down to the mailbox. Followers on my instagram saw my work in progress a while back as I tackled Audrey III. It worked out though since I needed to clear out the front anyway so they could put the gutters up on the porch.

I’m still not done yet though. Although the garden’s now coming along nicely and will be pretty damn sweet come the summer, I’m also tackling three more painting jobs. The dining room (actually the second half of the living room since it’s a double parlor) and the greenhouse/storage/exercise room, and my staircase into my apartment are also being painted. (Yellow, green, and multicolored, respectively). I might even do my own kitchen/sitting area too if I still have enough fucks to give by that point…. Yeah. Half a house later and I’m satisfied with the house. Until next year that is.

I know I’m not the only witch to deal with construction so here’s my tips on how to survive, witchy-style. This list will also work for those of you apartment dwellers who have landlords that drop in with a “hey, we’re going to be doing work on your place. Deal with it.”

Be certain you know when they’re coming, going, and to have all your paperwork in order. Put a “notice me!” type spell on paperwork you’ll need (and some pens!) so you can locate it in the chaos to follow.
Secure any breakables, expensive stuff, and well-liked things. Thievery isn’t unheard of. Put down some badass “do not touches” on stuff and some extra protection on things you want safe. Plus thieving spirits will get into everything since your protections will be moved around too.
Get a box and put your witch shit in it. This depends on you but if you’re not out about your craft and you want them to not know of it, get a box and tuck the most damning stuff in it. Stick it in a closet somewhere. Put your altar in a second box by itself. I highly recommend, especially for long-term constructions, moving the altar to a room that won’t be touched or to empty out a drawer somewhere and put the altar in that. If you’re open about your craft and don’t mind people knowing (like me) then just make sure your witchy stuff isn’t going to get knocked over or trip anyone. (I’m looking at you, cauldron).
Cleanse the house before anyone comes in. This gives you a baseline for finding out if anyone’s hauling in new stuff or any negative energy that might come in. Plus it’s nice to have a breather before the chaos. Also, clean. It’ll cut the clean up after the construction in half.
Make sure the new parts of the house mesh well with the old parts of the house. Each house has its own personality and spirit. Some spirits are livelier than others so make sure the house knows what’s going on and what to expect. [UPG]
Determine if your protection spells need to be altered, adjusted, or taken down. My home protections are layers upon layers. Most are designed to be “dropped” at a moment’s notice for reasons I won’t get into here. My household is made up of misanthropic hermit-hobbits so we have excessive protections to ward off… well, everybody. Most people don’t do that apparently so YMMV but you may need to put aside some protections for the mean time. If you do, remember to boost your personal protections and any protection spells for individual people or things that may need it.
Cast a luck spell. Not only will this help things go smoothly but it may speed up the time of the construction or save you money. Do any other necessary spells before construction begins and plan any regular rituals you might hold around the construction if possible. If you do big spells or spells with lots of components, start making those things now and put them aside. (If you use an anointing oil for example, make that before you begin construction)
Find the devices and items you use every day and enchant them with a “notice me!” spell. I do this for all my remotes as well as my cellphone but you might also find it useful for things like medication, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and so on.
At the end of each construction day, take ten minutes to meditate and de-stress. Your home will be in chaos. Your home’s energy will be tossed around and feeling like crap. Find a corner of your house that is completely untouched by the chaos and go there. This might not be possible depending on the construction but try to find some place where you can have a moment.
Keep your regularly scheduled woo and non-woo stuff on track. Do normal things. This will be one of the hardest things to do but it can be the most encouraging and supportive for you. Make your bed. It doesn’t matter if the entire family’s crashing on a mattress on the floor but the simple act of making the bed look neat will give a visual and mental reprieve from the chaos. Plus, you’ll have somewhere to sit and put stuff that you’ll need to find again in five minutes.
Unfinished houses are in danger from spirits and woo the most. Protect them as much as you can. Try not to leave walls unpainted or spaces without where things can be tucked without your knowledge. Cleansing, divination, and knowing the energy of your place will help find anything amiss. [UPG]
Enchant as you go. I placed charm bags in the walls of my flat when it was rebuilt. I use water or chalk to trace out protection symbols on walls and floors before they were finished. When painting, each coat has a new enchantment on it, depending on what my purpose is. If you’re a DIYer, definitely enchant as you go. Remember that blood is powerful but so is sweat and the energy you put into something.
Determine if you’re setting up a permanent spell, a spell that will need to be maintained, or if it’s something that can be taken down when/if you move. For example, as mentioned many of my house protections can be dropped. Some of those protections are part of the house now and will never be taken down without someone going out of their way to do it intentionally, even if I moved. Layering protections like that can help but adding new bits to your home puts a discrepancy in between the protections. Make sure everything melds together smoothly when needed.
Blessing your new space might be a thing you want to do. I tend to roll it into my protection rites and it’s less of a blessing more of a “Welcome to the Crossroad-Shire! We drink blood on Tuesdays and perform necromancy on Fridays. Pants are optional.” YMMV. (I’m kidding about the blood).
Sweeping out the negative energy with the dust and dirt will be helpful. Expect to do this actively for a week after construction. Dust will be everywhere.

Here’s some non-witchy pro-tips for the construction-minded folks out there:

Always have a contingency money set aside in case something goes wrong. I personally recommend and go with half of whatever you’re paying to have done available or on hand. Excessive? Sure. But if you don’t need the money then it can be plopped right into a savings account or spent on something nice.
Many window companies will outright refuse to price windows individually or do only a few windows at a time. If you do have a company come out, see if they’re guarantee a price or do some windows at a time.
Avoid using companies that don’t do the work themselves. Trust me. You can bitch all you want to the place you ordered your fancy new door from but they won’t give a shit because it’s on the contractor they hired out and that contractor is magically not insured or just poofed from existence.
Rhode Island is one of the worst fucking states in the U.S. for construction. Hands down. We’re notorious for it. If you’re in the New England area, triple check any construction companies as they might be from Rhode Island.
Make duplicates of your paperwork and keep it ALL in one place. Ideally, this should be the place where all of your important paperwork is kept whether a safe, deposit box, filing cabinet, or a beat up box tucked under your desk.
Stock up on foods and drinks you don’t need a kitchen for. Even if your construction doesn’t take place on the same floor as the kitchen you may find yourself so stressed from dealing with the construction or people that you can’t be bothered to cook.
Secure your pets and children. This should be incredibly obvious but it needs repeating.
Buy an extra set of cables for your devices. There is literally nothing worse than misplacing your charging cable or was finding it in the sink under a pile of soaking dishes. This will invariably happen after the stores are closed in your area and your phone is at 10% battery.
Have at least one set of shoes tucked under your sleeping space. Shoes are some of the first things to be misplaced in the chaos of construction. Hide an all-purpose set of shoes in your car for extra protection.

Now, here’s an unpaid promo. I cannot recommend enough Power Home Remodeling Group. They’ve always been polite, clean, and friendly. Always professional, enthusiastic, on time, and on top of their paperwork, they have excellent customer service. Plus the work they’ve done so far has been amazing. They’re the people we’re going through for all our windows, the gutters, and whatever else we can use them for. So if you need windows, doors, or gutters and you’re in their area, I’d use them.

How to Determine Your Worth as a Witch or Reader

November 4, 2014September 11, 20161 Comment

One of the most frequent questions I get as a witch and reader is how to determine what to charge. I see hundreds of readers or witches great under charge their worth for fear of not getting sales or that they are overcharging. Chances are, you’re not and I’m here to tell you why.

First off, let’s conquer this idea that witches and/or readers shouldn’t charge. It’s absolute bullshit to say that these services should be available for free. I mean literally the most absolute bullshit in the highest scale imaginable and when I’m told this I literally stare at the speaker as if they were on fire. Because in my mind I’m probably lighting them on fire. By saying that readers and witches should offer their services for free, you’re doing five things:

Pushing your opinions, ideas, and values on others and in many cases using your religious, spiritual, or personal morality and ideology to silence others and force them to conform to your beliefs on this topic. That’s a horribly shitty thing to do and it needs to stop. Now.
You’re saying that their services and skills are worth nothing. Please go out in the street and flag down the nearest electrician. Now tell them they should spend hours rewiring your house and, while you do that, tell them that their skills aren’t worth shit and they’re overcharging. Tell them there’s dozens of other electricians who charge less, many amateurs who aren’t trained or licensed who would do it for free, and clearly they should just not charge you. Then go to your therapist or doctor and tell them the same thing. When you say that there’s lots of readers out there and thus someone’s overcharging and/or they aren’t worth what they’re charging and/or they should just give these services away, that’s exactly what you’re saying. You’re saying that religious and spiritual services are not worth paying for. You’re saying that they, as people, are doing something worthless. You’re demeaning them, their practice, and their faith. Essentially, you’re being a piece of shit.
You are ignoring the INCREDIBLY long history of these services being paid for. Village healers were paid for their services in kind or with money. History guarantees this. Why do I say this? Because there are just as many tombs of valued priestesses and healers as there are rulers and warriors. I can literally walk into a museum and see the crown of a priestess next to the crown of a fucking king. You can bet your ass those priestesses didn’t go dig up the gold and smith it themselves. So when you say shit like “no TRUE [whatever] would charge for this” you are LITERALLY shitting on every single one of those practitioners before you that makes up those traditions you so viciously defend and adapt to your practice.
You are saying that working in an religious or spiritual field is a waste of time and not a profession. You’re saying religious and spiritual organizations shouldn’t make money. And that is clearly false as shit. I present to you: the Christian Church, one of the richest organization in the history of the world. You’re welcome to have this belief but you don’t get to force it on others (see #1).
“It doesn’t work!” I can’t prove that faith works either but tithing is still a thing. And if you’re using THAT as your fucking basis of an argument, then you’re once again committing #1 and forcing your beliefs on others. And for fuck’s sake, so long as the client’s fucking happy, who gives a flying fucking shit? Additionally, it’s basic fucking science that there’s no way to prove something doesn’t exist. Just saying, the possibility is absolutely out there.

Now that we’ve covered that, moving onto the business side of things.

I recently posted this comment “if you’re going to run a business then run a damn business.” I completely stand by that. And the tips I included are really simple:

This is absolutely true and has saved me so much trouble and heartache. If left to my own devices not only would have (and have I) undercharged my services, but I still struggle with this today. (Actually, I struggled with it less than an hour ago before I said fuck it, typed in what the numbers said, saved it all, and starting writing this.)

Why do this? It takes out the emotion of it. It’s entirely and completely clinical and that makes it far easier to sell the item and to actually charge what the item is worth and make money off of it.

This is sometimes the hardest thing but absolutely, positively the MOST IMPORTANT. You need to be charging an hourly wage, especially if you need to make a certain amount each month or this is your only occupation. For example, I charge $25 an hour for my services as of this writing. Right off the fucking top. That price was determined by how my bills and expenses and what kind of savings I wanted to make. To be honest, it’s not enough to do what I want to do (like actually repair my car) and I’m thinking of raising my hourly wage to reflect that. Am I worth that? Fuck yes. For what I do and in my area I can charge $75 a hour or more. I don’t because I like my services to be accessible to all. And yes, I do mean all. Charging what I’m worth allows me to donate to charities and organizations. I offer free readings to inmates and spells for the homeless upon request. I have the time and materials to do that because I charge what I’m worth. It means I’m less stressed and can cater to my clients properly. Plus I can pay my bills which is really kind of cool.

This is arguably the hardest part of it all. We have been told time and again that our services and this field isn’t real, is a waste of time, and we should feel obligated to not sully out gifts this way (please tell Beyonce she shouldn’t charge for her shows or albums because she’s a gifted singer. Go on and tell her. I fucking dare you.) You are worth something. Your time is worth something. So charge for it. You have literally no idea how happy I was once I said “fuck it” and stop letting others determine what I was worth (which, BTW, is about what a living wage should be). Is that possible for everyone? Fuck no, but that’s literally the debate on minimum wage. I wish this was possible for everyone. I really fucking do.

So that’s all well and good but HOW???

Spreadsheets. I downloaded and looked at dozens of hourly wage and pricing spreadsheets, combined them at will to best suit my needs, and moved the fuck on. I plug in the numbers and go. Don’t know how to use spreadsheet? Tutorials are your friend. Look at the help page and just copy and paste the formula at will. Save and make numerous copies of both untouched and touched spreadsheets in case you fuck up royally. Cry a bit in frustration when something doesn’t work and ask for help as needed.

Here’s some areas to consider for your spreadsheets:

Materials. Put in each material you used, down to the tiniest screw. Determine how much that screw cost you. If you bought 50 screws for $4.00 that means each screw costs you 8 cents. You divide the the price (include that tax!) into the number of items and call it a day. 4/50. Use a calculator, the spreadsheet formula, or just type the math into Google.
Overhead. This is what you spent each month. You can also pro-rate things. For example, I recently bought a sewing machine for the shop. I include that in my overhead. My rent, bills, food, gas, any tools I use (screwdrivers, for example), fees I pay out for services, business cards/advertising, and so on all get plugged in. Then that number gets divided by the number of items I produce each year. Here, I’ll perfectly admit I’ll fiddle with the numbers. I divide it by the number of items I could produce a year. This is primarily because I make things to order. I have a set number I use as a base and I alter it if I go over the set number in sales. (Example, my set number of items sold might be 300 but if I sell 500 readings, I’ll use 500 instead which will reduce my overhead cost.) This does mean I am potentially, yet again, undercharging for my items.
Labor. Break it down. How long does the reading take you? Divide that by your hourly wage and call it a day. Making a candle? How long to buy the ingredients? To melt the beeswax? If you’re going to do a batch, divide those numbers by the amount of items you produce. And the spreadsheet do all the math so long as you put he right numbers in.
Adding all the above will give you the price of the item that you should be charging. However, there’s one additional item to consider. Profit margin. Some folks use this, others don’t. Usually it’s a percentage. This is going to be absolutely pure profit, extra money for the item. Use this wisely and at your own desire.

No, but seriously, HOW????

How do I decide how much something is worth? I do it. I make whatever item I’m going to make and time myself on how long it took me. Then I multiple that by however much I want to make hourly and call it a day.

Look and talk to fellow practitioners of the same craft of you in the area. How much are they charging? You should match them relatively in price. Don’t go by online prices. Go out on the street and get the prices there. Why do I say this? Because there are so many people charging less than they should online and it’s a fucking tragedy. If you’re an artist, go up to street artists and ask how much they’re charging. If you’re a reader, ask other tarot readers how much per a reading and what that reading entails.

Make your product different and unique. This can be really hard if it’s the same kind of service. Flaunt your experiences, skill, and personality. Offer fantastic customer service or free gifts. (I like my gifts to be a surprise because it’s really cool and I love it when I discover I got something extra whereas when I’m told I’ll get a free gift I expect it and eventually start to think of that item included in the price of whatever I’m buying. Having a cohesive aesthetic and running with it helps. Most of all, make your products unique and then see what clients say about your prices. Do they think they’re getting a great deal? Then you can probably charge more. Have they not mentioned the price at all? Then you’re probably in a good place price-wise. If they mention that you’re overcharging or it’s price-y (and it’s consistent on a single item for example), check around for what others are charging, change your target audience, and/or look for ways to reduce cost.

This is a lot of math.

Yes it is. But you can do it. I swear to all your gods and mine that if I can do it, you can too.

Why do I say this? Why am I so certain? I am absolutely math stupid. My six year old brother can add and subtract better than me. I am absolutely fucking serious. It’s a game by brothers play to throw numbers at me. I don’t get angry, I literally stop. I stop functioning because I simply do not get numbers. I stop while my brain tries to figure out numbers, even simple addition like thirteen plus five. (It’s called Dyscalculia and it’s occasionally the bane of my existence. I wish to everything that is holy I was diagnosed as a kid because maybe I wouldn’t have ended each homework session crying into my multiplication tables. )

ANYWAY, remember that intelligence doesn’t negate learning or cognitive disabilities so you can absolutely fucking do this.

This is a lot of business jargon.

Look, my hatred of math made me avoid all math and, in turn, business. As soon as I could, I dumped math off my to-do list forever and never looked back until recently. What I know of business I learned from reading books and articles, asking questions, trying stuff and seeing if it worked or failed. I started my business up because I was broke as fuck and with my chronic sleeping disorder I can’t hold down a nine-to-five (At all. I fell asleep on a TV once. I’m not kidding.) I learned so much and I love my business. Love it now. It makes me want to actively seek out business stuff. I don’t understand most of it without breaking it down (and calling friends who get numbers to ask them to explain things to me) but it’s a journey I don’t regret in the slightest. I might not have a head for business but I have a love of my business so I will do what I have to do to make it thrive.

Final words are this: Just because we work in a spiritual and religious field doesn’t mean we can’t make a living off of it and still remain accurate, authentic, and true to ourselves and our beliefs. Best of luck everyone!

How to Witchify and Clean Out Your Closet at the Same Time

September 27, 2014February 8, 20171 Comment

As you might imagine, I’ve been thinking about clothes. This is primarily because of my upcoming trip to New Orleans which is in, yikes less than two days. Thinking about what to bring and wear is kind of a big thing, especially since I’m going from the dawning of autumn weather here in Rhode Island to the 80s and rainy weather that’s down in New Orleans right now. Instead of packing up my summer gear, I’ve two seasons in my bag to deal with the weather.

Anyway! This has me thinking about clothes and other folks on the internet are thinking about cleaning out closets too. Over at the blog A Beautiful Mess (I love these folks!) Emma made a recent post on cleaning out her closet. And she linked to this amazing 7 questions to ask yourself when thinking of things to dump out of your closets. Now, since I’m a witch and always thinking in terms of witchcraft, here’s my additional tips to links above to help clear out your closet and witchify what’s left. And don’t just think of the following tips as useful only on your wardrobe. These tips can be used in any storage area. I clear out my herb and jar shelves in the same fashion so think of your supply closet when you read the following tips.

Clean and renew during autumn and spring.

Autumn and spring are transitional periods, the birthing and dying parts of the year. Do the same to your home. Changes in wardrobe, home decorations, or repairs should be done around these times. I tend to hang new curtains, add a new pillow, or rotate rugs to different rooms depending on what’s going on. Painting a room is a very common change but at $25/can with the need of at least two cans per room, that’s not exactly as cheap as making a pillow slip cover for $2 and calling it a day. Changing the layout of the furniture is another easy solution (I recently redid my entire flat and it looks great and showcased areas that I need to improve!) In the clothes front, I also tend to I prefer the autumn and spring rather than the winter and summer because of the weather extremes of those seasons – you’re more likely to think of things in a dual fashion “I can wear this most of the year” when it’s not a hundred thousand degrees outside in the dead of summer.”

So how do you witchify that? Chose color palettes that suit the room’s nature. This type of sympathetic magic is incredibly useful and is aided by color theory. My bedroom is the main room I work in. The walls are robin’s egg blue with natural woods. Books cover 60% of the walls and this is the only room with all of my electronics gear, TV and game centers included. I also have two kimonos hung on the wall primarily because they weren’t safely stored when in my closet (one was water damaged and I’m still seeking a proper way to repair it). This means I have a LOT going on in one room. I tied the room together fairly easily by using trees and birds as an ongoing theme throughout this room though and I used that to tie different areas together. Monsters and folklore is a theme of the apartment itself so pillows, a duvet, and one kimono are tied in there (the kimono has tengu on it. A beloved gift from my late mentor). The metallic gold in a huge orange kimono is tied in with throws (and my hair) and is similarly replicated in the pale woods. For rugs I have a few cheap felt rugs that I scatter in different rooms to cover the gray cement floor and a black dyed deer skin by the bed. This gives the room a tamed wildness to it which is pretty great since my greenhouse and large stick drying area is also in my bedroom. All these colors are more consequential but I can chose elements of things that are unmovable (such as the kimonos) to bring out. I chose the gold because it improves my self-image and gets me thinking of new ways to improve the shop. It also helps boost my mood and reminds me of the sun, which is incredibly important as I often suffer from vitamin D deficiency due to my sleeping disorder. If you want pops of color in a room, it could be as easy as picking a single element in something that’s important to you and running with it. If you want to increase the productivity of a room, pick cool whites, sunny yellows, or light reds. To lessen anxiety and stress, go with cool pale greens and blues (and reduce the number of colors and things that break up those serene colors!)

Alter what you’ve got.

We all have things that just don’t fit right and some of us keep those thing around because eventually we’ll be able to alter it so it can fit or be fixed right? Look at those items will a critical eye and decide if you’re actually going to alter that. If you are, remove the item to a “to-do” work pile in a place where you’ll see it all the time but is still out of the way. (Mine’s a laundry basket I see every time I leave my bedroom – but avoid doing this if anxiety is a concern for you.) If you’re not going to alter it, set it aside to give away, swap, or sell.

How do you witchify this? When altering things, it’s easy to personalize it to your needs. When sewing you can easily push energy and your intent into the fabric and thread. Add sigils to the lining of clothing or blankets to encourage things such as quitting smoking or boost moods. (You can even put sigils at the bottom of coffee cups using a sharpie on the outside of the mug.)

Remove your emotional connections to an item.

The reason why getting rid of things is so hard is two fold: one, it’s a waste and the item could be useful at some time, right? and two you’ve built an emotional connection to that item and you don’t want to get rid of that item because of those emotions. What I do is this: I get a box and sort through items and ask myself “What am I going to do with you? What purpose do you have? Where are you from?” Often I don’t have a good answer for that so into the box it goes. Depending on what the box contains, I either donate or sell the items. Craft supplies go to after-school clubs, schools, or local kids I know where clothes are either sold or donated.

This is going to be absolutely the most difficult step to get over. I recommend liberal use of coffee or a similar beverage and just doing it. Another idea that I use is putting this treasured item in a box in some far-off corner of the house. Leave it there until the next season. Does it still hold the same emotional connection? Did you even remember or miss it? Did you look for it? If yes then keep it. If not away it goes.

So you’ve done the thing, now what?

Once you’ve gone through your closet, now you have to evaluate what your closet needs. Does it need shelf liners? New changers? A light source? Do those physical changes first.

Now decide what items should go where and how it should be organized. My closet was custom-made for me when my flat was torn down and rebuilt after a flood destroyed, well, everything. It’s a double depth closet so there’s two clothing bars instead of one. Dresses and special occasional wear or costumes are on the back hook with a few hanging sorters to put pants away and undergarments (I don’t have a dresser). Socks go in a basket on top of a hat box, bags go in a tote, jewelry on a hanging rack or on a top basket of a three tiered rolling basket (the other two tiers hold cardigans). Pajamas and tied skirts are in another three tier shelf. My laundry basket (a tall round wheeling thing) fits in there nicely. This sounds like a lot but it all fits in a four by five by six foot space and that’s pretty good considering I use to make clothes and costumes for a living. That organization system works somewhat well.

My under the stairs closet is far better. This closet holds coats, cloaks, bags, shoes, non-fashion scarfs, and hats hung on walls or tucked in rope tension or hooks. It works fabulously well, is incredibly organized, and still leaves two hooks available for guests to put their stuff in. I can now walk into the closet which is a revolutionary idea. I witchcraft’d the hell out of the system by coating the screws in a tisane for protection, let the dry, and then screwed them in.

Organization doesn’t have to be physical like that. It can simply be organizing by brand, type, or purpose. All your work clothes in one area and your date clothes in another. I have my herbs in alphabetical order on four shelves with a book to ensure I can rapid find out what I have in stock (useful when you have 100+ herbs. My fabric closet is arranged by color first and material type second.

It’s not all about organization either. Once you know what you’ve got, you can decide what you need. Do you need tall brown boots? Are you shockingly out of chamomile and skullcap? I manage these needs by keeping a list on my phone and computer with Evernote but I also keep a list on my fridge with a white board. This isn’t just about refilling what you have but keeps you from buying things you already have. For example, I’ve scraped a crocheting project just last week because I discovered I had arm warmers exactly like I wanted already but I had forgotten existed. Surprise!

How to upkeep it.

Use the Unfuck Your Habitat method of cleaning to keep things neat. Laundry, for example, is a four step process: sort, washer, dryer, put away. It doesn’t seem like it but it is. Using the UFYH method helps keep things organized quickly.

If you bought an item to boost your self esteem and to look fantastic while wearing it but are concerned about safety (heels are great for fashion terrible for running), use sigils and symbols to help yourself out. I wash my laundry with a mixture that helps with protection and encouraging creativity. Just ensure that whatever you add doesn’t dye your clothes. That would be awful.

I use Google Calendar religiously and I schedule in when I put a spell into place that I will want to renew in six months. (That’s a good time period estimate for renewing spells, by the way.) The calendar texts me to remind me to renew the spell and off I go. It works out beautifully.

Here’s some other tips for you witchcraft needs:

Do you have a lot of spell jars you need to keep and no room for them? Add a shelf to an unused wall in your closet and set them up there. For extra security, put two screws halfway along the jar’s heights and tie a piece of twine between them. This will serve as a security net.

Sharpies are the greatest but can and do wash off. Try fabric paint for a long-lasting sigil.

Sigils and symbols don’t have to be hidden! Alter a plain tee into an art piece by drawing a sigil or symbol as the main image on the shirt or along the sleeves.

The ceiling is an oft forgotten section of the house. Use hooks to hang things easily and use that forlorn place. Great for drying herbs. Similarly, you can put a shelf up high along the wall to keep your spell jars, herbs, or tools out of the way of children’s curiosity.

That’s it for this post! I really adore clever storage solutions and I’m a big DIYer so I have to ask: what clever storage solutions do you have?

Where to Start?

September 4, 2014March 3, 2020

“Where do I start if I want to practice witchcraft/magic?” I get that question all the time, especially over on tumblr.

My first questions to them are as follow:

What are you looking for?
What are you interested in?
Are you looking for a religion?
Are you looking for a path to follow?
Are you looking for guidance?
Are you looking to affect the world around you?
What do you believe?
Do you want to work with others or in a group?
Do you want to make up things yourself or would you prefer to follow someone else’s lead?
How much academic studying do you want to do?
Are you looking for something with historical precedent or something more modern?

The last question is especially important. Knowing, or at least exploring, how the world works and how you believe the world works is incredibly important to to establishing UPG – unverified personal gnosis. Now UPG is commonly misused within the community. Most people take it as UPE – unverified personal experience. The mistake is easy to make but the difference is incredibly important: gnosis refers to something that is a foundation belief, something critical to your worldview. An example would be the knowledge that your deity is masculine rather than feminine. I use knowledge because UPG is often a knowledge, absolute faith. You KNOW that the UPG is true. It is the very basis of your world-view. It’s canon to you. UPE is you have this experience that you’re certain is real and happened but it’s not essential to you. [1]

Now that’s a lot of technical jargon that boils down to this: you don’t have to know what it is that you believe but you almost certainly believe something and you need to be willing to explore that.

Now I believe in magic. I KNOW it to be real. I’ve seen it work, I’ve used it. I’ts part of the heart of my UPG. What magic is, precisely, is an entirely different topic I won’t get into, primarily because we don’t know. My answer is different than others and their answer is different too. Various paths define it somewhat differently. [2]

All of the above isn’t the point and most certainly isn’t exactly what you’re here for. You’re here for a how to of where to start and what “rules” there are for it. And here they are:

“Rules” or the stuff you need to know about before you begin:

Practicing magic or witchcraft is a personal choice.
There are NO qualifying markers to decide who is an isn’t a witch or who is or isn’t practicing magic. If you define your practice as such, then it is. Similarly, do NOT label someone a title such as witch unless they identify as one. It’s rude at least and deeply offensive at worst. [3]
You have NO right to information. You have NO right to appropriate from native cultures or religions, especially if those cultures or religions have requested otherwise.
Cultural appropriation is a thing and you should know about it. [4]
Sexism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, racism, agism, predators, pedophiles, rapists, crepes, criminals, and sex offenders absolutely DOES exist in the community. They exist in ALL communities. Ignoring the issues because you want to promote a good image is negligent at best and criminal at worst.
Critical thinking is absolutely critical. So is critical reading. For many practices and paths, research and proper research is important and even necessary. Don’t trust everything you read and question everything. [5, 6, 7]
There is no Pope of witchcraft or magic. There are NO rules. There is no ONE deity or pantheon “we” must follow.
The Rede and Karma does not work the way you probably think it does. And they are not universal but specific to traditional Wiccan and Hinduism, respectively.
Wicca does not equal witchcraft and witchcraft does not equal Wicca. Witchcraft is an art, science, and technical skill of a witch while Wicca is a religion. One necessitates a religious foundation and and the other is entirely secular from it. Witchcraft can be added to most, if not all, religious practices. Witchcraft and magic are not nature-religions. They can be incorporated into a nature religion, however.
Books on history, superstitions, folklore, mythology, and anthropology are often keystones to many researchers. Those people who write those accessible 101 books? Those topics are the ones they gleam their information from.
Many practitioners takes years to develop their practice, some even take decades. Others can develop their practice in a few months. Progress as fast as you need to.
Remember while you may have a divine, known UPG truth of the world, it is RELATIVE. Your truth is not my truth and thus you don’t get to force your beliefs on others.

That’s the basic information you’ll want to know before you begin. This is the basis of how we generate conversation and how to start separating the bullshit from the good stuff.

Now, got that covered? Here’s what you need to do to start practicing witchcraft or magic:

Ask questions. Even if you have a stupid sounding one, ask it. Ask it to different people. Ask it of yourself.
Read everything. Well, not everything but go ahead and read topics that interest you and articles that are in opposition of what you believe. It can at least let you know what other people are talking about and at most will inspire you to new things.
Explore. Do you like the ocean? Ask sea witches what they do and read fisherman’s superstitions. Like cooking? Explore kitchen magic. You don’t need to focus on one thing. Witchcraft can very much be defined into separate categories like sea witchery or kitchen magic but it doesn’t have to be (and, likewise, you can absolutely just focus on one aspect and ignore everything else.)
If you want rules, restrictions, or a specific THING to follow, try a define tradition such as Wicca or another religion.
You can absolutely make up your own path. I’ve been doing it for close to twenty years.
Be afraid to make mistakes. Misspeaking a word in a spell will 99.9999999999% of the time result is absolutely no changes from the original intent.
Gods, spirits, guides, and people lie. They can be malicious. They can hurt you. And they can do it just for the fun of it. Don’t trust anyone just because they say they have your best interest at heart. They almost certainly have a game plan. Also, you don’t need them to practice witchcraft or magic and you can worship deities without magic or writchcraft.
Don’t buy things in one go. Witch kits are often useful but I’ve seen far too many practitioners going into stores with lists of things and you end up not needing half of it. Start small and cheap and pick up things as you go. In addition to being gentler on the wallet, each new piece added to you practice will mean that much more to you. You don’t need an altar or a work space or tools, but many find them useful or important to their practice.
Find a teacher. There are absolutely people out there that teach witchcraft or magic. i’m one of them. Most often they require payment of some kind or another in return for their time. This isn’t an option for everyone and sometimes not one you’ll want. I, for example, never wanted a teacher. I wanted to learn and hone my craft myself.
Find a coven, community, or group. This, again, might not be for everyone but it could be for some. You can learn things from one another and can always leave if you don’t like it.
Go ahead and jump right in. You don’t have to be serious business about it all right now. Just try your hand at it and see what happens.

Yeah, yeah, but that’s not STUFF. That’s not spells and shit. There’s no magic there.

Here’s the magic how to:

Starting with a protection spell is probably the safest way to start… but money spells are the way to go to prove it works. Do both and enjoy the outcome!
Energy manipulation is an easy way to learn a lot about what people talk about with energy.
Offerings of water, clear alcohol like vodka, incense, bread, or honey are good for a basic offering to any deity or spirit.

That’s it? Yeah, that’s it. If you want to do spells, just jump the hell in. There’s more background information to be known than anything else.

Other things you really should read that will help (besides my resources)

How to start learning magic: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/74938259213/hi-how-would-one-go-about-becoming-engaged-in-magic-i
What tools should you consider or use when starting out? http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/85734610852/so-a-general-question-what-should-a-beginning

Now, as mentioned in a previous post, I am working on getting up online classes for witchcraft. It’s a slow process as I’m a rather spontaneous teacher that prefers to adapt to a singular student rather than a unknown group but it’s still happening. Also, beginners can always ask me question here or on any media form I’m in.

Sources:

What does UPG mean? http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/56115685958/what-does-upg-mean-ive-never-heard-the-term-except-on
Rambling on This Crooked Crown’s personal belief on what magic is: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/67771760381/what-would-you-say-makes-spells-work-youve-said-its
Scroll down to read my breakdown of this post: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/26522396392/deep-within-your-belly-come-all-witches-be-one
Rant on Cultural Appropriation: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/18294572929/a-pseudo-rant-on-appropriation-in-paganism-and-research (check the notes).
On critical thinking and reading: http://thiscrookedcrown.tumblr.com/post/39901394182/okay-this-may-sound-really-really-dumb-but-how-do
Hellboundwitch’s how to read a fucking book: http://blog.hellboundwitch.com/post/27502384651/how-to-read-a-fucking-book-i-cant-teach-you-how-to
Spiritscraft’s how to read a 101 pagan book: http://spiritscraft.tumblr.com/post/27508266438/how-to-read-a-101-pagan-wicca-witchcraft-book

Uncrossing Oneself

August 21, 2014February 7, 20222 Comments

Rootandrock’s musing post got me thinking. I have several clients that come to me in need of an unhexing, counter-curse, or exorcism. I almost always recommend a cleansing because that helps open oneself up and clears out the muck. Sometimes though that isn’t enough and an uncrossing is needed.

What is an uncrossing?

Rootandrock said it best but essentially sometimes we are so use to living with the bad stuff that even when it’s going we don’t know how to live without that bad stuff so we keep repeating the same patterns and behaviors we were doing before – and essentially creating our own bad stuff all over again. This cycle must break. This is what an uncrossing does.

I tend to like to combine unblocking spells and techniques as well, as many of my clients want to be able to reconnect with the spiritual. Unblocking is just like it sounds – breaking the blockages are typically caused by too much negative crap in your life weighing you down and making you feel fuzzy. Sometimes they’re caused by curses or spirits. Realistically, unblocking spells are a subcategory of uncrossing techniques but that’s not really the point here.

So how do you do the thing?

Mundane measures:

Cleaning.

I always recommend a deep cleaning of the house and your living and working spaces (including your car!) during deep cleansings. The same goes for uncrossings. This isn’t just sweeping and mopping the floor. Change the atmosphere of your living and working arrangements as best you can to help yourself.

This doesn’t have to be an expensive process. Just burning a scented candle, baking a delicious dessert, opening up the curtains and letting in a lot of natural light would help. Rearrange rugs, art on the walls, and/or furniture. Clean out your cupboards and get rid of anything you don’t routinely use (especially if it’s unhealthy) if you can. Focus on areas that you first see when you walk into a room – counter tops, tables, chairs, the floor. Sort though your closet and donate what you don’t need (or refashion it).

For those of you who want a more permanent solution or can purchase things, add mirrors opposite of windows to extend and expand the natural light of the room and increase the size of the room. Have a different set of curtains, blankets, rugs, and even pictures to rotate in and out seasonally.

Why do this? It shakes up the energy of the room. Many magical practitioners don’t do this often if they can help it because it messes with the energy of a room. I did it just the other day – rearranged every corner of my house – and my servitors and spirits grumped about it for half of the next day. It also breaks up routine and adds something new to your life without having to do something.

I’m stuck! Having trouble doing this? Is your house too cluttered? Afraid that it would take too long or is a hopeless cause? Are you simply not able to get up the energy to do this? Check out Unfuck Your Habitat (especially if you don’t have the energy or your home is too cluttered) and HabitRPG (for you gaming type).

How do you do it? I use to be a huge mess until I was seriously shamed by an aunt as a kid. It made me want to show her I could be better than she expected. Since then I’ve been pretty neat. That being said the UFYH method of 20/10 (20 minutes of cleaning and ten minutes of rest) is a heralded miracle. I tend to do 20 minutes of one thing and then 10 minutes of something else and then start the next 20 minutes on the original thing (which is excellent for those who HAVE to keep at it or have ADD/ADHD) or I do 10 minutes of cleaning, 5 minutes on the internet, etc. I burn incense and candles to change the smells of the room. In the summer I put away my rugs and comforters and leave the windows open to let air in. In the winter, I put down lots of area rugs (mine were rescued and repurposed), double up on curtains to keep the warmth in (and let the act of pushing those curtains aside to let in precious light feel all the more important), and lay on blankets in both size, warmth, and texture to give the room a better feel. I also find getting things off the ground helps with cleaning. IKEA is a great inspiration for this. Things feel less dirty when done this way. I recently did that with my under-the-stairs closet with a simple screwdriver and it was brilliant. It was customized, creative, organized, and really let me use every square inch of the space. Another huge thing I do is Do-It-Yourself projects. I’m a big DIYer and I love repurposing things. I find creating and making things for yourself lets me learn new skills, build a solid connection with whatever I’m making, and learn to love it (and myself) more. Every time I get a compliment on something I’ve made, I feel awesome.

Take a vacation

I don’t just mean book a cruise to Bermuda. Even taking a Sunday afternoon to sit or walk through a large park and breath in the fresh air is enough. Leave your cellphone on silent and maybe bring a sketchbook or a book to read. Combined with a spa day (even at home spa treatments) and a luxurious breakfast, fresh and crisp lunch, and satisfying dinner this can replenish you. The most important bit is to break your cycle.

If you’re a super busy officer worker and you live your life by a strict schedule, don’t schedule a thing during your vacation – go with the flow. If you’re the opposite, keep a strict schedule and have some sort of reason to keep to that schedule. Breaking your cycle of bad behavior is key. It will not be easy. You’ve formed habits and connections with these bad behaviors. You’ll have to actively work to change them.

Why do this? Routine is easy to follow. When the routine is broken, we begin to look at the whys, hows, and whats of things. This is important. If you continually have no energy and change your diet accordingly, but never do anything with the potential new energy, you’ll feel restless and caged. Similarly, if you do the same workout routine three days a week, you’ll never work out or strengthen other parts of your body. Change things up and inspire yourself. Decompress and stretch your body and spirit.

I’m stuck! Set up a reward/punishment system. For example, I use HabitRPG for a reward/punishment system to keep myself on track. If I’ve done something really good, I’ll make a special dessert for myself or buy myself something. If I’ve done something bad, I do something I don’t like such as weeding the garden, an hour at the gym, etc. (Although, this means I cement the idea that those activities are “bad” – so there’s inherent flaws in the system.) If the reward/punishment system doesn’t work for you, or you can’t think of a good enough threat, rope in a friend or set up alarms on your computer/cell phone to pester you to break the routine.

How do you do it? I take a roadtrip. This happen every couple of years but a roadtrip gives me hours of just me by myself and lets me decompress. If that doesn’t work or isn’t available, I go to the ocean. It’s an instant fix. I don’t live by a schedule or routine so forcing myself to adhere to one, even if only for a few weeks, is a huge change.

Stop buying things/start buying things

This obviously will only apply to some of you.

I know when I’m broke, I spent absolutely zero money on anything. That keeps me home and stressed due to lack of money. To break this cycle I save even as little as 50 cents a week and buy myself something – a new shirt, a coffee, whatever. It brings a little bit of pleasure and makes everything that much more special.

When you’re a materialistic person and buy a lot of stuff – stop. There will always be sales and you’ll probably be able to find whatever you want to buy on Amazon or eBay at a later date. Stop trying to fill the hole in yourself with stuff. If you go out a lot, stay in and try a new recipe or bake a frozen pizza or something. Change up your life.

Why do this? We live in a very instant, very demanding, very materialistic world. Switching off your impulse to buy things (or to hoard what little money you have and have the lack of ability to buy and keep up with the impulse buys) creates a new change in behavior at what is now a fundamental level of society – money and how we spend it. As mentioned above, it creates the break in behavior and allows you to evaluate how, what, what, and when you’re doing something.

How do you do it? I hoard money. When I have it, I spend it. I’m not a saver. However, because I am my own source of income, I hoard my money now and dislike spending it unless I have a cushion to fall back on – which is rare in this economy. So every couple of months I buy something new. New fabric or yarn for a piece of clothing I want to make, a new pair of shoes, pick up a new hobby, or join a club or event.

Change you.

This one’s a bit harder and would be if you seriously need some uncrossing. Changing you is the hardest part. There will always be bits of you that will never change. However, it can be a superficial change. Get a new haircut, buy, make, or restyle a new wardrobe, toss clutter that has sentimental value but things you wouldn’t miss (let’s be honest, there’s stuff most of us keep that might remind us of an event or thing but isn’t the only thing we have from great grandma – that’s what I’m talking about). If you can’t toss it, box it up and stick it in a closet. If you don’t miss it or think of it by the time you rediscover the box again, get rid of it. I pretty much only keep awards, yearbooks, etc or things I can use again (theatre programs I’ve designed as a part my resume). Change your style, if possible, or the way you walk, talk, or act in public. Again, this will not be easy and will be a difficult choice to make.

Why do this? If you’re so caught up in muck that you can’t break free, shed your skin and start anew. It sounds as harsh as it’s meant to be. This potentially is the most difficult advice I could offer because it requires you to discover a new you. It’s more than a breaking of the cycle – it’s breaking the old your and birthing a new one.

How do you do it? I’ve only done this a few times and each time it was making a truly difficult choice to modify my behavior. One time it gained me friends and a whole new lifestyle. Another time was to break the toxicity that lifestyle contained. I regret neither but it was hard at the time to deal with the overwhelming new situation – breaking through my shyness and expressing my opinions to strangers and then to break away from fair-weather friends and toxic situations. (And no, I know not everyone can remove themselves from toxic people or situations but it you can do so.)

Magical and spiritual measures:

Petition an entity, join a new religion, or become a follower of a new deity.

Sometimes we need help. Petitioning a deity or joining a new religion is a great way of getting a helping hand. It’s not just deities but also spirits, saints, and other beings. This is a very common practice but if you aren’t doing it or haven’t in a while, it may be time to give it a try.

Working with these beings can be as simple as asking for a blessing or sign and then receiving it. Ask for guidance or a path to follow, the power and strength to succeed on that path and finally the physical, mental, and spiritual health and will to do so.

Any deity or spirit can be a source of help but the following are especially known as potential sources of unblocking and uncrossing assistance or to see a better way of dealing with the problem (just be wary of cultural appropriation):

Papa Legba (source 1)
Ganesha (source 1)
Hecate (source 1)
Ogun (source 1)
Yemaya (source 1)
Anubis (source 2)
Dosojin (source 2)
Akasagarbha or Kokuzo (source 2)
Lubana (source 2)
Sarutahiko (source 2)
Amaterasu
Uzume
Amatsumara

Why do this? As mentioned, sometimes help is needed. Perhaps you need someone to throw you a floating device when you’re drowning. It’s not weakness to ask for help.

I’m stuck! If you’re not getting answers when petitioning a specific deity, send out a general, universal distress call but be VERY sure to read all the fine print before agreeing to anything. Please also remember that a deity can be communication with you without you directly hearing their voices or receiving a obvious sign. Deities can live within the everyday – you just have to find something that strikes you as meaningful.

What do you do? I’ve worked with a malevolent spirit before as well as two Norse deities indirectly and pop culture entities. The deities and pop culture entities were gentle guidance in an off-hand manner – I found solace in their stories than them as beings. The spirit and I came to an agreement of sorts but that’s not really a story I want to tell. I don’t tend to turn to deities when I’m in trouble. I’m independent however I’ve taken a lot of inspiration and guidance from the aforementioned. I literally could not say where I would be without the pop culture entities. I never worked with them as spirits or deities but their stories helped create the person I am today.

Divination.

Typically divination is used to diagnose a problem but it can also be used for insight to figure out way around a problem. Meditating with the meaning of a card or using the card’s deep meaning to help you understand a way out of or through your problem. Some cards can be used to progress through the problem (the Tower for example is a personal favorite). Some people even use cards in spells. If you do you can literally choose cards from your current status moving in realistic steps towards your uncrossed goal.

Why do this? Primarily, it helps identify and offers solutions to the problem. As a secondary measure it can be used directly to affect change on yourself as a spell.

I’m stuck! Get a reader to do a reading for you. In fact, ask a few different readers for advice, if you can. There are plenty of people that will give a free reading. Try it yourself, if you’re able. Find people use use different techniques if you’re only selecting tarot cards.

What do you do? I’m a seer so I do divination daily. However, I’ve used the aforementioned spread to work through a problem and help write a spell for change. (I personally don’t like using my cards in spells as it adds energy the cards don’t need.)

Chakras and Reiki

I’m not trained in Reiki (although I know the basic principles, premises, and techniques) and there’s a lot of information out there. I recommend seeking out a certified practitioner. I can name a few very good ones for you. Otherwise, Google is your friend. Reiki is a defined practice with a specific education, rankings, and certified teachers and practitioners. The theory of of Reiki is more widespread but actual Reiki is pretty defined.

You can also cleanse your chakras and enable you to move forward. There’s a variety of ways to do that and, again, I recommend a certified Reiki practitioner or taking a Reiki class.

Why do this? Cleansing the body and chakras is a good way of resetting and refreshing the body. Reiki can also heal you which would be ideal for those with bodily afflictions.

I’m stuck! Please seek a certified Reiki master.

What do you do? As mentioned I’m familiar with Reiki as a practice so I usually do a session for myself. If I really needed a cleansing or assistance, I would contact one of the Reiki masters I know and have them assist.

Astral Uncrossing and/or Spiritual Uncrossing or Meditation or Shadow Work

This is especially useful it you’re being afflicted by a spirit or entity. You must first cross into the astral/fade/spirit realms, find the source of the negative muckery, and destroy it. Sometimes this will involve diving deep into the afflicted person’s psyche and spirit to rid them of the affliction. If you’re doing this on yourself, you’ll have to either lucid dream or meditation to achieve a deep enough state to rend yourself apart, rid yourself of the negativity, and patch yourself up. This is similar to Reiki’s techniques and . It’s not unlike Reiki in a cleansing but instead of energy, it’s more forceful and takes place either in your mind or in the astral. it can be very harsh and cautious must be made of clearing out too much negativity too soon as you’ll need to recover.

For meditation and shadow work, you’ll need to dive into yourself in a deep meditation state an discover the parts of you that are “bad” or “negative” and either come to terms with them or change them in ways to better yourself.

Why do this? This is, as mentioned, useful for when this is a state afflicted on you or it has set deep inside of you. This is excellent for people who are powerful spirit workers or are more powerful in their mind or in the astral than elsewhere.

I’m stuck! Some practitioners may assist you in this. Guided meditation may also be useful.

What do you do? Depending on the circumstances I either tear into the issue in the spirit realms or use my Mind Room (read: Mind Palace) to clear out the junk and fix myself.

Select Spells and Techniques

These are spells and techniques used specifically for uncrossing and unblocking. If you haven’t already tried a cleansing spell or technique, try that first.

Uncrossing Oil (source 1, page 1056-1057)

Essential oil of hyssop
Essential oil of angelica
Essential oil of frankincense
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sprig of rue
Sliver of fresh garlic
Section of broken chain
Castor oil and jojoba oil base

Add ingredients. The chain and angelica are the most important elements. Angelica has photosensitive properties so be careful of the sun if you use it on the body.

[Crown’s Notes: You can absolutely mix this spell up. I use different oil bases and herbs in my recipe.]

Crown’s Too Heavy a Cross Spell

Make a cross with two sticks and some twine. If you’re really burdened, add more sticks. Really pour your problems into the sticks as you make it. Douse is in Uncrossing Oil (recipe above). If there’s a specific area being affected, brush the over the area. Envision your negative energy and experiences as you set it on fire and watch it burn.

Scents and materials to use:

Benzoin (burn as needed to remove blockages)
Citrus (as described in the cleansing post, but all the citrus scented or flavored things! watch for the sun and photosensitivity)
Vetiver (boil, steep, let cool, add to bathwater for nine consecutive days)
Devil’s Shoestring (boil, strain, let cool, pour over yourself, air dry, for seven days)
Larch (burn to unblock yourself)
Peridot (charge and carry)
Sardonyx (charge and carry)
Quartz crystal (charge and carry)
Frankincense (burn as needed)
Rosemary (charge and carry or burn as needed or add steeped liquid to bath water)
Wahoo bark (infusion)

OK! I’ve done an uncrossing. Now what?

How do you feel? Better? No different? Either can be true and if you feel don’t feel different that doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Your next steps could be any of the following:

Healing spells
Protection and warding spells (for you and your home)
Luck spells
Financial assistance spells
Binding and banish spells (if a person or entity is involved)

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells. Judika Illes.
The Encyclopedia of Spirits. Judika Illes.

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Cleansing Yourself

August 17, 2014May 15, 20192 Comments

Cleansing yourself (or other people or your home) is the spiritual equivalent of “did you try turning it off?” (Meditation, of course, being the equivalent of “is it plugged in?”)

Even though it is such a common remedy for so many things, it is often one of the things people just don’t know how to do or only know one method of. This intent of this particular post is to list and describe a few common cleansing practices. For some folks, this will be basic 101 stuff and others may find revelation in this. Wherever you fall in that spectrum, hopefully this is an interesting read and it helps you some.

First, safety tips: Don’t use anything you’re allergic to. It’s very likely a quick 40 seconds google search will give you an idea whether the mixtures suggested elsewhere or even here will be harmful for you. Use common sense and be safe.

Secondly, before you do anything. Stop. Just stop. Stop checking your phone, reading this sentence, or listening to music. Just stop everything. Now breathe. Drawn in a deep breath. Yes, good. Now hold it for a few seconds. Great. And release. Feels better, doesn’t it? Do this a couple of times. These few moments will mentally break you from whatever chaos is around you and help you re-evaluate what needs to be done.

Now, onto the cleansing methods.

The Water Method

The easiest method by far is taking a shower. Take a few minutes to soak in the hot water and get a steam going before dialing the water temperature down to as cool as you can stand, close your eyes (feel free to lean on the wall if you’re worried about falling), and clear your mind as best you can. Take a few deep breaths and start to envision all the black muck and problems you’re facing falling away like the water. Start this at the top of your head and envision it slipping down your body, gaining more muck as it goes. Envisioning the water going black as you do this and that black water going down the drain. Keep doing this until you feel light and can breath easier.

This method historically is used in many cultures. In Japan, there are specific rites of cleansing and purification that require the person to stand under a waterfall. Most of us don’t have a waterfall handy, so the shower works. I personally use the shower method most often but the best way for me to be cleansed is to go to the ocean and just stand in the water. I don’t have to swim, precisely, but just soak my feet (and maybe splash about in the incoming waves) and I am instantly and enormously better. A cousin of mine uses a specific lake. Many users like to do this with a bath but I don’t often recommend because you’re sitting in the sullied water without something to counter the taint. Essentially, bathing and allowing the water to take the problems from you is a strong spiritual cleanse.

If you’re using a shower or bath, the water method is very easily combined with herbs and bathing salts for cleansing. Even bathing in salt water (which you can make by dissolving sea salt into water) will be extremely helpful. Adding essential oils or herbs to the bathing salts, or just alone will help enormously. (Don’t put essential oils directly on your skin without diluting them first.)

My favorite combination is using citrus essential oils, juices, or dried zest to this effect. A drop of two of lemon juice or bergamot essential oil in a bath or among bath salts will do wonders. A quick warning though is that most citrus is photosensitive. So bathing in lemony water will cause the skin to burn more easily. In short: Don’t bath in citrus anything and then go spend a day in the sun. You’ll burn and dehydrate your skin which will cause even more problems.

Mints, like spearmint, peppermint, or common mint, or even eucalyptus can be used in a similar fashion for a cooling bath. This bath is actually really great if you have an upset stomach or headache so I use it when getting over being sick.

Some people go so far as to bath in sage or other cleansing associated salts or herbs. I find these tend to be very startling spiritually when used in this manner so I recommend them only when there’s a serious problem at hand.

There’s about a hundred thousand different recipes out there. For herbal books based on beauty care Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health or Stephanie Torres’ Organic Body Care Recipes are recommended. For those interested in cleansing salts or scrubs and don’t want to make them, I offer them in my shop on and off again.

If you want to use herbs in the shower, take a mesh bag or cheese cloth 1/4-1/2 stuffed with herbs and tie it on the shower head. Wash as usual. Just be careful as some herbs have dyeing, drying, or irritating properties on the skin and eyes. Talk to your licensed herbalist. Keep a bowl of clean water beside the shower in case you get irritants in your eye so you can do an eyewash. Alternatively, you can steep the herbs in warm water and cool it, leaving it aside in a bowl. Take that bowl into the shower with you and use it with a shower sponge (bath scrubbie or bath puff) or wash cloth.

This can also be used to clean the house. I tend to use these herbal salt water recipes for my cleaning buckets, floor washes, window cleaning, and so on. Works beautifully. I even toss salt and a drop or two of essential oil in my washing machine to encourage various things.

The Egg Method

Eggs are spiritually powerful. Not only are they unbirthed young, they contain a lot of healthy materials for us. Since they are unbirthed animals, they can be used to absorb hexes, curses, or just general negative energy. Roll the egg over every part of your body that you can reach. Once done, take the egg to a crossroads far away from where you live (an intersection will work, just don’t get hit by a car) and break the egg. Really throw the egg with some force away from you. Leave a different way you came and go home. I generally recommend following this method up with a luxurious bath or shower.

This can also be done with a stone. Alternatively, you can toss the egg or rock into live water (ocean, river, etc.)

The Smoke Method

This is your smudging or herbal stick burning. Burning incense also falls into this category. In general, you pick up cleansing herbs or incense and burn it, carrying the burning whatever throughout the house and over your body. Leave a door open so if there’s a spirit that’s being chased out, it can leave.

Similarly, candles can be made with cleansing properties and burned for the same results.

This obviously isn’t recommended if you can’t burn candles in the house, have sensitive smoke alarms, or are allergic to or sensitive to smoke.

Detoxification

There’s a lot of bad information out there for detoxification. Talk to your doctor or licensed herbalist for information on how to detoxify yourself. This is less cleansing of the spirit and more of the body. Still, you would be amazed at how detoxifying your body helps the spirit. Be careful and vet each and every recipe you try since there’s so much bad information out there.

One recipe I use fairly often. I tend to drink this between breakfast and lunch every couple of days. Generally people make this recipe in warm water as a tea. I don’t bother. I just pour a cup of room temperature filtered water and call it a day. And yes, the pepper and cinnamon is really necessary. Capsaicin and cinnamon have a lot of great properties when used in small doses so I highly recommend them both.

3 tbsp lemon juice or 1 lemon
1 tbsp honey (raw is better but whatever works best for you)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup water

Drinking a tea of nettle and green tea is another method.

All of the above being said, you’ll find when googling that a lot of detoxing recipes can also be used as weight loss treatments. Please don’t do it. The above has some evidence of assisting in weight loss but when combined with a balanced diet and exercise. You’ll lose weight by only consuming the above for how ever many days but you’ll gain it all back afterwards. It’s really hard on your system. Additionally, if you begin to experience or are prone to acid reflux, stop taking it and switch to milk or cream to calm the reflux. Vinegar, in large quantities, will be acidic on your system without something to counter it (hence why I use so little apple cider vinegar.)

You could also bathe in the above, but as previously mentioned, lemon juice can make someone photosensitive. The recipe, if used on the hair and skin topically often, can even be used as a dyeing method. Yes, really. I use lemon juice in my hair oil recipe and it has lightened my hair over time (which I’m fine with). Something to note.

So these are just some of the methods you can use to cleanse yourself.

For more reading, you can go to the following links over on tumblr:

This Crooked Crown

Witchcraft for the Everyday and the Extraordinary

Category: Techniques & How Tos

Ouija Boards 101 or “Are Ouija Boards Dangerous?”

How to Make a Poppet (tumblr repost)

SEA SALT! Why salt scrubs needs more (witchy) love.

Summertime Offerings

Home Construction, Witchcraft, and You

How to Determine Your Worth as a Witch or Reader

How to Witchify and Clean Out Your Closet at the Same Time

Where to Start?

Uncrossing Oneself

Cleansing Yourself

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