How to Adapt Your Sacred Offerings for Every Season

Despite autumn starting weeks ago, it’s really just starting to feel like autumn around here. New England never really knows what it’s doing weather-wise so that’s not a surprise.. But, it does get me thinking about the practicality of offerings.

I don’t know about you but I don’t really want to do much of anything when there’s a ton of snow on the ground and it’s so cold I need thirty pounds of winter gear to check the mail. Just, no. I like you Jack Frost. Just not that bloody much. (I do all of the shoveling during the winter so that might play a part in this too.)

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There are a lot of things to consider when you’re creating an offering. You probably have to think of the appropriateness of the offering and perhaps the historical relevance of the offering. But here’s some other things to think about, in general:

 

  • Price – Can you afford this offering all year around or will it be more expensive during certain months? Will you need to save up for this thing?
  • Availability – Are fresh offerings available all year round? Are those offerings of quality? Is it just plain hard to find?
  • Temperature – Will it freeze? Will it melt or change texture in the heat? Is rot a concern?
  • Is it appropriate? – Sometimes, there are better and more appropriate offerings for deities or spirits based on what’s available right now – and what you want to achieve with that offering. A goddess of agriculture probably isn’t going to want an Oreo.

 

One thing people think of when they decorate their altars is switching out the tools and imagery according to the seasons. Like decorating your house for the holidays, many people dress their altars and sacred spaces as well.

Your offerings can also change for the season. It’s easy to throw a tiny pumpkin in the offering dish in addition to the usual but how about swapping out the usual? Switching out your usual offerings for something more seasonal can not only help your wallet but add a new dimension to your practice. Suddenly, you’re operating with the seasons which can make a significant difference, especially if your practicing is feeling static.

Want to know the secret to make easy swaps for every season? You need to think of the spirit or deity’s sphere of influence and associations. A sphere of influence is what a spirit or deity is associated with. What they can do and affected. The association are what they are associated with. Example: Freyja is a goddess of war, beauty, and magic certainly. But she drives a chariots pulled by cats and has a battle boar Hildisvíni. Those aspects of her (and many others) also play into who she is and can help you make good offerings no matter what the season is.

If I was to make an offering to Freyja in the spring, I might offer gold coins (or those chocolates in the shape of coins covered in gold foil), strawberries, spring water, and crocuses. In the summer, I’d do bouquets of fresh flowers, light wines, and bowls of ripe fruit. In autumn, as the leaves die, I’d offer the most beautiful fallen leaves I could find, bones from a homemade stew (she’s a goddess associated with death after all), perhaps some pretty stones, and homemade pastries. In winter, apples, melted snow, mulled cider, and slices of ham would grace her offering table.

Other things to think of is the quality of the offerings. Strawberries are great offerings but I find winter-born strawberries aren’t nearly as sweet as the ones found in in late spring or early summer. To me, it’s not as good of an offering because the quintessential element (sweetness) isn’t there. Additionally, here in the north, fresh out of season fruit can be very expensive when you consider what you’re actually getting (not sweet strawberries). And, since strawberries can freeze, they’re really not appropriate for outdoor offerings.

Adapting your offerings takes some initial thinking and research but it can turn your offerings into something special and fantastic each and every time you make it.

I like adjusting my offerings to what’s available. It makes me feel like I’m sharing my life and my world with those from the spirit realms. And, I’m always up for the practicality factor. And if you need inspiration for altars and offerings, check out my pinterest board dedicated just to that!

Scrying Spell For Inspiration (Spell Saturday #32)

Sometimes the muses are just not playing and you need to get something on paper or under that horrid little blinking line in a word document. Instead of staring blankly at the screen and then surfing the web, try this spell instead.

This is one of those spells that requires a lot of thinking to prepare but once set up it’ll be simple to repeat whenever you need it. It’s a handy scrying spell too which is always fun.

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What you’ll need:

  • Quartz crystal
  • A scent you want to dedicate purely to inspiration and creative pursuits

Experiment until you find the right scent or scent combination to inspire you. You can use a candle, incense, aromatherapy, etc. Whatever you have, start it up and let the scent fill your work space.

Pass your crystal it over the scent source such as over an aromatherapy device, oil burner, candle, or incense.

Dedicate the crystal to your creative pursuits by saying the following:

In the depths of my heart and mind lies bright sparks, burning embers, and tamed passions

In the depths of your heart I will see what reflects in mine

In you I will see how to unlock my creativity.

Look into the heart of the crystal and let what comes to mind happen. Don’t fight it or force it. Just let the thoughts flow.

Every time you want to create something, fill your work space with that scent and look into the crystal’s heart.

Notes:

  • You can swap out the quartz crystal for any kind of stone with a crystalline shape or a reflective surface. Bonus if the stone is know for inspiration, creativity, opening the mind, or inciting passions.
  • Finding the stone as a pendant can make your life so much easier. Just wear as a necklace and you’ll have the stone inspiring your very heart.
  • You can use any kind of scent. It’s up to you. Don’t forget that you can combine scents to create a unique atmosphere. Just write down what you’re creating so you can replicate it later. I like to use a warm citrus spice with cool minty undertones and sandalwood for myself.

Everyday Meditation For People Who Can’t Stay Still

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I’ll be honest. I hate meditation. Or, rather, I’m super restless and I don’t like standing still for more than five minutes. I can’t even watch movies without pausing them once or twice… every half an hour.

But! I do meditate a bit each morning. Each morning, before I even get out of bed or check my phone, I do some very simple stretches to shake out the kinks in my muscles that might have developed overnight.

I might do some Sun Salutations if I’m in a yoga mood but usually I sit crossed legged in my bed with my back straight as possible and my eyes closed. I’ll do arm pumps, arc my back lean side to side, bend forward, that sort of thing. It depends on what muscles feel tight and what feels loose. I keep it slow and easy. I don’t worry about the number of times I do a move. I just do it until I feel ready to move onto the next move. I just do what feels good for my body at that particular moment in time.

While I do the simple moves, I keep my mind as empty as possible. That’s pretty easy when my brain isn’t even awake yet. If random thoughts come to me, I let them happen and make note that the thought has occurred. When I’m ready and mostly sot-of awake I move into positive affirmations and a my to do list. I’ll say something like “Today, I will be productive and bake a dozen cookies”. If my thoughts stray at this point, I just nudge them back onto what I want to be thinking of instead. Your mind will wander off. That’s perfectly normal.

Things like that can really make or break my day personally. And all this can be done while sitting on my bed and stretching. Which is kind of a life goal for me, if I’m honest.

It also wakes up my body and mind. I feel far more invigorated for those mere first five minutes and I’m far more likely to have a good, long workout or head to the gym rather than doing something halfhearted or skipping it entirely. I also grab breakfast far more often, which is something I’m guilty of skipping pretty awesome.

Anyway, this is a meditation technique that works for me so maybe it’ll work for you too!

Finding My Soul Journey

It’s really hard to just go against the grain. I constantly hear people say how hard it is. I’m not really one to speak. I have created my entire lifestyle so I don’t have to deal with that kind of difficulty. I live in my own little world and don’t much care for what others think or say. I worked very hard and sacrificed a great deal to get that kind of mentality and lifestyle.

Most people can’t or won’t do that. That isn’t a rebuke or insult. Some people can’t for practical reasons – they have family, can’t afford it, or survive within a group dynamic. Others won’t because it’s not how they want to live.

I love my lifestyle. But I’ll be the first to admit that it’s very solitary and can be very hard. And I really respect people who don’t want to live this way or cannot. You’re following your priorities. I have the luxury of being in a position where I can sacrifice things I kind of want for what I really want: freedom. It’s as essential to me as writing or witchcraft so I chase after it. I chucked away chains that tied me down – acquaintances I didn’t want to deal with just out of politeness, jobs I was unhappy with, relationships that weren’t meaningful to me, and more.

Getting to the point where I recognized that freedom was an essential need for me was a soul journey all of its own. Each person who goes through these journeys and epiphanies will have different stories to tell.

I can’t tell you how to find the catalysts to these journeys. I can’t even really tell you how I got to my own revelation. It just sort of happened. Shadow work helps, certainly, by sweeping clear the rubbish and bringing the light into forgotten places in your mind and soul. Bucking doubt and just going with the flow of things also helps. I stopped questioning myself and just did what felt best for me.

A lot of times, people embark on these journeys after a drastic change or trauma. Others, like myself, have a snowball effect all leading them to the same place. You really can wake up one day and decide to change.

Change isn’t easy. I like change. I’m a Gemini so change is second nature to me. But I don’t like change that I don’t feel in control of. It took a long time for me to recognize that giving up control is controlling the situation. I let things happen as they happened, organically, and just dealt with things as they come. I’m much happier for it. In fact, it reduced my stress level so much I was able to go off medication for chronic acid reflux. Now I can medication only when I’m stressed or eating foods my body doesn’t like. It allowed me to grieve for my late mentor and the loss of a spiritual path I no longer felt welcome in. My soul journey was healing, both physically and spiritually.

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My favorite way to use bells is to wear them!

Embarking on this soul journey won’t instantly fix your life and won’t instantly cause you to be more spiritual. It should bring a deeper understanding of yourself into focus. And from that new understanding, you can begin to alter and build you life to better suit the needs of your soul.

 

 

A Spell For Courage & Wonders (Spell Saturday #33)

I was recently rereading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland On A Ship Of Her Own Making* by Catherynne M. Valente. Besides adoring A-through-L, I remembered how lovely the story is. If you haven’t read it, you might want to as it tells a pretty fantastic fairy tale. It’s especially beautifully if you pair it with S.J.Tucker’s album Wonders* which you can buy or listen to, for free over on her bandcamp site*. Tucker often writes songs about Valente’s work and Valente’s all for it. I adore when artists do collaborations like this, don’t you?

All of that being said, you don’t need to know the story at all to cast this spell! This spell is give you courage and create new experiences for you. It’s best used when you’re about to embark on an adventure like going off to college, starting a new job, or traveling.

WARNING: This spell involves blood.

Make sure to read the spell the whole way through, especially the notes. This isn’t a tricky spell so much as an exacting or intricately subtle spell.

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What you’ll need:

  • Your blood
  • A portable light
  • Your shoes
  • Your name

Flip your shoes over so you see the soles of your shoes. When you’re ready and have the blood available, turn on your light source and put it in front of you but within arms reach.

Press the blood to the sole of the shoe and say,

“By my blood and name

I am not afraid

By my blood and name 

I am ready

By my blood and name

I am brave, strong, and true

By my blood and name

I will have wonders too

What’s before me may be hard and I may have to fight

But I am ready

What’s before me will bring wonder and joy

By my blood and name.”

Turn off the portable light with a deliberate move. Let the blood dry on the shoes and treat your wound.

Candle Smoke

Notes:

  • If you do not have a safe method of getting blood, please either wait until you’re bleeding from something such as a cut to cast this spell or skip it entirely. Your blood is essential to this spell so don’t use an alternative. It’s all or nothing, as I’ve written it. Just please be safe!
  • Portable lights can be anything from a flashlight, flashlight app on your phone, lantern, candle, LED light. It just needs to be something that stays light and is portable.
  • The shoes should, ideally, be the ones you’ll wear for the specific circumstances you’re casting like for (like a job or vacation). If you’re not going somewhere new, just pick the pair of shoes you wear the most. If you’re fast, you may be able to get more than one pair of shoes.
  • It’s probably a good idea to wash the shoes before you cast this spell, if possible. Or at least wash the soles.
  • Your True Name is your full, complete name. This could be the name you’re known by legally or it may be your magical name. It’s a name you call yourself in your head. The one that fits your soul.

Happy casting!

 

*Indicates outside links such as Amazon

6 Post Election Day Recovery Tips + Tarot Spread

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No matter where you are in the world, by now you’ve heard about the close US presidential election. I try to keep politics off the website and social media accounts, for the most part. I didn’t even post a ubiquitous “I voted” sticker. However you feel about the election now, you can’t ignore the fact that many people are very scared and angry right now. My political beliefs are always the same: I just want everyone to be safe, respected, and treated equally. I want people to live their lives happily, without fear of violence or poverty. But the United States is very divided right now and that’s scary.

Waiting for the election poll results was incredibly stressful and a roller coaster of emotion. The day after I felt all the anxious energy in my home and the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness lingering. Some of you are probably feeling that too. I thought I’d put together a little guide on what you can do right now to help remove those feelings from your home and give yourself from peace and hope.

Candle Smoke

Cleanse and clean your bedding.

One of the first things I did was strip my bed and washed everything. The sheets and any pillows I used the day before were a major priority but everything, even the pillows themselves, were washed. Then I put the newly cleaned bedding back on the bed rather than go for a spare set. I did this as a sign of courage and strength – though  wounded, you can gather up yourself and keep going. You may not feel that’s wholly necessary – maybe just changing the sheets is enough but for me I needed the full wash.

I enchanted the laundry detergent with a bit of extra oomph to shift things. There will be a post on how to cleanse bedding soon but for now, simply enchanting the laundry detergent or wash water is enough.

Room air and fabric fresheners

I don’t use store-bought air or fabric fresheners all that much. I  I’m talking about a bottle of Febreeze or room sprays, for example. Clearing the air is pretty important when you’re trying to lift moods and cleanse a space.

I made up my own fabric freshener with a spray bottle, water, and a few drops of fragrance. I specifically chose lemon, lavender, apple, and rose for this bottle. Lavender is a calming agent for me and apples are comforting. Lemons, as a citrus, are great energy boosters and roses remind me of beauty, freshness, and spring. Renewal. I put a drop or two of each in the spray bottle with water, shook vigorously and sprayed chairs, curtains, and my bare mattress. Let anything you spray air-dry. I use these sorts of bottles daily on my bedding but the rest of my apartment needed it too.

Then I lit a floral candle – again, lifting the mood – and some incense to give the apartment a lingering scent.

Cleansing

I use smoke cleansing consistently, usually through incense. So I walked around with some incense to cleanse my home. That might not work for you so pick your favorite go-to cleansing method and use that first.

Then I stood in the center of my apartment, the heart of it, and took a moment to think of what I wanted my apartment to feel like. I thought of good, happy moments I wanted to fill the space with instead. It’s not unlike Harry Potter thinking of happy memories to summon a Patronus.

When I was ready I pushed out my energy in a giant pulse throughout the space, flooding it with energy and light. That’s energy cleansing. I also used a similar technique to cleanse and purge my home’s barriers.

I also washed my counters with enchanted water to cleanse them as well.

Can’t do any of that? Open a window! It breaks up the atmosphere inside your space and allows the outside world in. That might not be what you want to do right now (let the outside world in) but fresh air is a great mood booster. I also find the bustle of my neighborhood to break me out of my isolated shell more often than not.

Self-care

The day after election day was Wednesday so it was my “day off”. (I don’t actually have a day off but it’s the day I don’t plan on doing work stuff). In between loads of laundry I wore my most comfortable clothing, baked brownies, read books,  and played video games. That’s it. That’s all I did. That’s part of my self-care routine so I dove into it.

Your self-care routine may be different. Maybe you hit the gym or spend time with friends. That’s OK. Just do whatever you can to give yourself time. Everyone needs to relax at some point. Even if you only have a few minutes, take some time for self-care. Treat yourself kindly.

Cartomancy Reading

I used a Tower spread to make myself feel better too. A Tower spread is a tarot card spread based around the Tower card. Pull it and place it at the bottom of your reading space. Then shuffle the cards and draw to answer your questions and concerns. The Tower has already occurred so what happens after is what you’re reading.

I created the spread above for you all to use. The questions you ask are probably going to be personal in nature so feel free to venture off what I’ve laid out.

You don’t have to use a tarot deck for this reading. Pick any deck that has a card that works similarly as the Tower or represents the Tower.

Card readings aren’t guarantees for the future. Ask questions that give you things to do. Asking what’s going to happen isn’t as helpful as asking what you can do. Beat back hopelessness by focusing on what you can control, personally.

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Avoid the toxic and stay safe

We all know people that have wildly different beliefs than you. Maybe they’re really smug right now or maybe they’ve threatened violence on you. You’re probably realizing that your neighbors, co-workers, family, and maybe even some friends aren’t the people you thought they were. And that’s disheartening and even frightening.

Above all, stay safe. Keep yourself safe in the coming days. Protect yourself and your loved ones. Remember what you’ve learned and remember that you are worth protecting and being loved.

 

I hope these tips help you all out a little bit. Stay safe!

Shadow Work: How to Love All of Yourself

Everyone has some parts of themselves they don’t like. Many people might be quick to name something physical, like their weight, hair, or nose. But others may name something like procrastination or cowardice as their vices.

Shadow work is the mental exploration, meditation of, and reconciliation of the darker or uglier sides of yourself. It can help you find those parts of yourself and come to terms with it so you can let go of old wounds and move on healthier, cleaner, and more satisfied.

It’s not an easy process and it’s not really witchcraft or magic related. In fact, shadow work originates from Jungian psychology and was adopted into new age circles. It’s taken a life of it’s own now but it started there, officially. The concept, however, has been around forever.

Many people want to overcome and change themselves and you can totally do that but first you need to acknowledge the problem. Not just the symptoms but the root causes of the problems. If that doesn’t happen then you’re only treating the symptoms rather than the actual disease, so to speak.

So how do you do shadow work? I’ve talked a bit about my own personal method of mental shadow work but the easiest way is to write a letter to yourself. Write a truly honest (and probably bitter) letter to yourself. Or maybe to someone you need to let go of. It will be very ugly to look and and even harder to read. I’ve done this before and it’s… unpleasant. But healing. Like ripping open an infected but nearly closed wound. Painful but necessary to heal properly.

Another method is to meditate. I have some posts on meditation coming out later this month but for now here’s a quick meditation for shadow work.

Imagine yourself in a garden. It’s green, lush, and pleasant. You’re sitting on a soft blanket spread over tender grass. There are tall trees above you creating  a lush canopy. It’s late afternoon and distantly you can hear insects and birds but not near enough to disrupt you. You are utterly alone and utterly at peace. The wind rustles but you’re comfortable, pleased, content. Now go ahead and start your shadow work.

Shadow work can be done like this:

Look inward at yourself and examine your thoughts. Don’t try to force them yet. Just see where your thoughts are going. Now think of something you want to let go of or face. It may start as a simple procrastination exercise. Follow those thoughts like a mind map. You might even want to talk yourself through the whole process to trigger something. You may learn, through this mental talking to yourself, that your procrastination stems from social anxiety and that comes from childhood bullying. You may not be able to get over the trauma or anxiety but you can now work with that information. You can decide what to do now.

As said, shadow work is less a witchcraft thing and more of a personal thing. But it’s very useful in figuring yourself out and learning how to love everything about yourself.

 

Grace Under Fire Charm (Spell Saturday #31)

Want to be able to keep your cool when you’re facing deadlines or a hardass boss? This charm’s for you.

You’ll need:

  • Gladiolus petals
  • Jasmine petals
  • Pink rose petals
  • Magnolia petals
  • Snapdragon petals
  • Betony
  • Sage
  • Valerian
  • Ginger
  • Allspice

Dry all the ingredients well and place them in a silk or satin bag, preferably of yellow or cream. Carry this with you.

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Notes:

  • Silk or satin is nice but you can use a silky cheap synthetic material instead.
  • Don’t eat this recipe.

Does this seem familiar? Here’s a potion version of it!

NaNoWriMo Ideas for Magical Practitioners

As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve started posting small short stories here and over at my Patreon. I do a lot of originally writing and I’m a participant of National Novel Writing Month. It’s a lot of fun but very time consuming and emotionally taxing.

 

Normally, NaNoWriMo is for novel writing, as the title implies. It’s goal is to achieve a rough first draft of something with 50,000 words in a month. Which is a lot.

But there’s variations to be had. The variations aren’t wildly popular but some people hal the word goal in order to fit their schedule and others write several stories rather than one piece in order to meet the goal.

I think there’s an even greater opportunity for practitioners. This could be exactly what you need in order to record your spiritual experiences and experiments. Writing down what’s happening and what’s going on allows you to recreate the experience or experiment a second time. It allows you to fix what might have gone wrong. It gives you a chance to learn, grow, and change.

Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. It doesn’t have to make sense and it doesn’t have to be perfect. The point of NaNoWriMo is to write something. You can perfect it later.

Here’s a list of topics you can write on:

  • Tarot journal
  • Dream journal
  • Meditation journal
  • Grimoire entries
  • Spell crafting
  • Herbal study
  • Blog posts
  • Spiritual musings
  • Devotions to Deities, Gods, and Goddesses
  • Poetry for offerings
  • Songs for festivals and coven meetings
  • Prayers for Deities, Gods, and Goddesses
  • Personal association symbolism and meanings

Make no mistake. Hammering out 50,000 words in a month is a challenge. But 15,000 words is doable for most people who enjoy writing (that’s 500 a day!). 10,000 can be done in 30 days by writing 333 words.

 

Oh, and just to give you an idea on what 333 words looks like, this whole post, excluding the title and photo captions, is 333 words. If you’ve been wanting to write down some of your experiences, this may be your chance.

October Roundup

Happy Halloween! I’m so very excited for Halloween and the fun plans for the day (and night). I’m definitely one of those people who puts on their costume early in the morning and wears it throughout the day. No regrets.

If you aren’t already, check out my instagram to see fun photos throughout the day.

 

October is, sadly, coming to an end. In my neck of the woods, October is usually cool in the mornings and evenings but warm throughout the day. To me, that screams curl up in a knit blanket by a bonfire and tell stories. I’m sad to see it go.

 

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Hydrangea Charm is one of a kind.

New products also made an appearance in the shop. Two of them are utterly unique, one of a kind spell bottle necklaces and are perfect for yuletide gifts. (It seems so weird to be talking about that already!) Check out Love Conquers All and Hydrangea Charm.

Bring Me the Money! aren’t one of a kind but each bottle is packed full of money drawing goodness.

Spell bottles are awesome little spells. They can be worn or left to hang near your bed or desk. I like to hang them in a pretty arrangement around my window to give that witchy aesthetic feel and have spell casting power.

Look for more witchy goodies for the upcoming holidays and winter season over the next few weeks.

This month featured a lot of spirit-related posts in honor of Halloween. They pretty much covered the gambit from how to talk to ghosts and how to live with with spirits but also what offerings to give a faerie. My post on spirit induced injuries made its yearly appearance as well as a spell to protect your home from spirits. Of course, just the other day there was the spirit summoning spell, just in time for Halloween.

We also had several posts on astral travel. The ever popular question how do you tell the difference between your imagination and astral travel was answered. The next installment of Spirit Destinations is also available, showcasing the location Valley of the Witch Seer.

October’s also a good time for healing oneself as by some calendars, the end of autumn marks the end of the year (rather than the middle of winter). We also get a lot of new folks interested in witchcraft or spiritual practices (hello newbies!) So techniques on how to get started on a new path and spell to begin again are popular.

Spell Saturdays this month didn’t really have a theme. It was kind of all over the place but it had a point! I was trying to clear out my overflowing tumblr inbox request! There’s a binding bad habits spell and a spell to hit the fresh button on your life and begin again.There was also the borderline curse Know What You’ve Done, a spell to protect your home from spirits, and one to summon spirits. Bonus points for those who noticed I messed up the numbering again before I corrected it. (Oops)

The review for the Halloween Oracle is (finally!) up. I adore this deck even if the review doesn’t exactly shine. I also posted a patron exclusive spell Strength Defeats. It’s a tarot spell to overcome yourself. Support This Crooked Crown over on Patreon for access in addition to monthly rewards!

For original writing, I published a new short story this month called Undead.

 

I also visited the Roger William Park & Zoo’s Pumpkin Spectacular. This is one of those Halloween must-go events. I’ll have a post about that soon, I promise. But that’s it for this month! Thank you everyone so much for your support and see you in November!