Holding The Moon Knights Ferry, California By Eric Hock

“Holding The Moon” Knights Ferry, California by Eric Hock

JESUS TEA

So it’s Flu Season again, and this recipe for Tea To Fix What Ails You was given to me by a Christian friend, and I’ve taken to calling it JESUS TEA due to it’s miraculous properties.  Even though it, technically, contains no tea.  This tea is as caffinie-free as anything processed in a US plant can get, but be sure to check the provenance and all ingredients in case of allergies.

You will Need:

A Bigass Pot, becuase this is something you make in large quantities

working stovetop

those lil cloth sachets you use for wassail/empty teabags/those lil reuseable loose-leaf tea steepers.

Recipe:

about a quart of water

1 cup apple cider

about half a lemon’s worth of juice

a shitwhack of honey- try to get as local as possible and generally the less-processed the better if you want to build a resistance to local allergens. If you have allergy concerns or don’t like the taste of honey, go ahead and use more processed stuff/another sweetener instead.

three tablespoons/three bags chamomile tea

three tablespoons/three bags rooibos tea

teaspoon crushed cloves

1 cinnamon stick (more if you like it spicier)

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne or white pepper

Bring water to a simmer in the pot.  Add the chamomile, rooibos and spices to steep about 4-5 minutes or longer if you like tea-flavored tar which given you have the flu you probably do.  Add Cider, Lemon Juice and Honey until dissolved.  Drink all of this in the course of an hour to stay hydrated, make more pots as needed or until you pass out. 

FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS: gargle warm salt water first for as long as you can, it’ll break up the mucus in your throat and soothe the soreness.

i have a similar situation - i'm struggling to make my own correspondences, and i'm trying to draw from my pagan practices as well as my ancestral asian practice. i'm having a bit of difficulty with systematically going through a small dictionary, but maybe this can provide some ideas (and of course, if you have any critiques, i'm totally open to that as well!)

I usually just pick up any reference book and choose whatever I like the sound of and can get my hands on. I have a copy of The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic by J.M. Greer which I use a lot because it has minimal tangential waffle and is neatly laid out. I like Llewellyn's Charms, Spells and Formulas for the same reason.

For culturally relevant things, I like chinasage which has a symbol index of various flora and fauna. I'm not aware of similar resources for other parts of East Asia, apologies.

While I do think that different materials are endowed with particular virtues, I also think this is another area of magic where people get a little obsessed with categorisation.

It's not like Pokemon where lavender has +10 sleep magic points and chamomile has +12, or roses are exclusively for love and attraction and black pepper is only for cursing and banishing, and so on... It's a little more like cooking where there are many possibilities of creating a satisfying meal and yet it still depends on the individual tastes of who's partaking in it.

Cypress, yew and asphodel are strongly associated with the underworld; mugwort and wormwood are associated with night-time and dreams, but these plants will still die without the light of day. Sunflowers and oranges are very solar, but they still have roots that reach into the earth to anchor them. Chilli peppers are incredibly fiery, but they still die without water. Yarrow is for youth, love and beauty, except when you're allergic to it.

Every herb is a herb for protection, and wealth, and attraction, and fertility, and banishing – and so on, because every plant has its own strategy to survive, thrive and proliferate.

(And that's just plants, not even touching on the properties of minerals, animals, elements, colours and so on.)

They do have their specialisations, yes, and I wouldn't use mint to call on the element of fire, nor would I use coffee beans in a sleep spell... What I'm trying to say is: they're all multi-faceted, so set aside the reference books now and then, and just observe and make connections intuitively.

Reference books might tell you that basil or cinnamon or citrus (or whatever) have wealth-drawing properties.

But grass, plain old common grass, completely dominates the greenery of the earth. Crops like rice, wheat, barley and corn are staple foods that support the world's population. And dandelions, with their solar and ouranic qualities and how quickly they proliferate across an open field, are oft overlooked.

These never get listed in books, yet their literal and symbolic powers are undeniable.

Put these – grass seeds, rice grains and dandelion seeds – into a wealth working with a simple prayer. "Bless me with as much wealth as there are blades of grass on this earth, as there are grains of rice that sustain humanity, as there are dandelion seeds that fill the air in spring."

Correspondences are only part of what makes magic work. There's also your own ability and experience, the spirits you call and the relationship you have with them... I strongly favour the relationship part because reference books become less and less important, when you can just ask and the spirits will tell you what to use. Or even better when you don't have to do a spell at all, because you have spirits to take care of it in exchange for some cake.

It took me a long time to open myself up to receiving that kind of inspiration, but... honestly, don't overthink it. You know a lot of correspondences already because you interact with the world every day.

Good luck 🌿

Okay but using this for sigils would be cool!

Different types of water and their magickal uses:

Sea water: good for curse/hex breaking, cleansing, healing, banishing and protection spells.

Dew water: beauty, love and fertility spells, as well as delicate magick. Also Good for Fae work.

Storm water: is great for spells and rituals that has to do with emotional strength, confidence, charge, motivation and force. It’s known for strengthening spells. Also good for curses.

Snow water: Spells and rituals that focus on purity, endings and change, as well as slow working spells.

River water: Good for creating changes, moving on and letting go of negativity, warding and focusing energy.

Rain water: Very multi-purpose, but specifically great for growth and rebirth spells. Great for spells that you want to keep gaining power over time.

Spring water: Growth, holy water, cleansing, protection, prosperity

Moon water: Depending on the moon phase it was created in, it can have different properties.

Sun Water: protection, healing, clairvoyance, courage, strength, prosperity, luck, self-love, cleansing and creativity.

Swamp Water: Used for banishing and binding.

tip-jar

Vetting Witchcraft Books: a Brief Guide

We all know by now that not all books on witchcraft are created equal. But when you're starting out, how do you sort the quality resources from the unreliable ones? Here are some of the strategies I personally find useful. Please feel free to add to these with your own methods!

If I'm vetting a book online

Look up a summary of the book and determine what category it falls under:

Is it covering the history of witchcraft, the writer's personal journey, information about a specific practice or tradition, a list of spells, an introduction to witchcraft, etc.

Is that topic relevant to what you're seeking right now? The witchcraft book sphere is positively littered with Witchcraft 101 style texts, which may be exactly what you are looking for! However, if you've been practising for a while now and already have several 101 style books, is another going to serve you? Will you get more instead out of a witchstory book or book on more advanced spellcraft?

Look up the author. They may not have any online presence, but if they do (a website, social media, etc), have a look.

If their book is about a specific practice or tradition, is that tradition open or closed? If it's a closed tradition, are they a member of it and are you?

Does their content tell you their clear stance on issues relevant to the community including closed practices, mental health and disability, racism and cultural appropriation? If you see red flags for this in their content, such as "taking your meds inhibits psychic ability" or other absolute bullshit, it's probable you'll see the same rhetoric in their book

In their posts, do they cite sources where relevant/possible? If they're willing to put in the extra little bit of effort to cite sources in online content, it's a positive sign they'll likely do the same in a book

Finally, you can check reviews, though reviews on online stores and places like Goodreads aren't likely to be especially comprehensive or useful. I get much more in depth insight from checking to see if anyone who does reviews as part of their content has covered it: they're more likely to give a detailed informative review. This is the least useful tool for me overall though

If I'm standing in a bookstore with the title in my hand

Take a look at the table of contents:

Are the topics listed here what I'm looking for?

Does it dedicate sections to anything that could be described as due diligence? Examples include fire safety, mundane action, ethics and justice, historical context, myth busting. Particularly relevant for Witchcraft 101 style books or books on a specific path or practice.

Check for a reference list at the back of the book:

If there isn't one at all, and the book is about witchcraft history, spellwork, a path or tradition, or an introduction to witchcraft, this is a bit concerning- I'm immediately wary.

If it's about someone's own journey, the presence of a reference list anyway is a bright green flag, though it's less necessary than all other topics.

What sources are included in the reference list? Are all the references just other witchcraft books? Ideally a reference list should contain yes, other books on witchcraft, but also other sources: look for historical primary sources, history books, academic journals, and non-fiction titles and textbooks from outside witchcraft

Check the index:

Does it include any topics addressing practical matters like fire safety, mundane action, etc. Not strictly necessary, but a green flag

Does it include references to items like mental health? If so, flip to that page and skim it to ensure the information is well-founded and safe (i.e. not discouraging discontinuation of meds, not perpetuating indigo child bullshit)

Does it include references to cultural appropriation? If so, find that page and give it a skim. This should give a clear picture of not only their views on this, but how knowledgeable/well-researched they are about the topic

Does it include something related to witch trials? Find that page and skim it. If they're perpetuating the burning times myth, it's a sign they have done vastly inadequate research when writing this book

For the final references section, to be clear the idea is not "it's a red flag if this isn't in the reference section," because that really depends on the subject of the book. I don't expect and wouldn't want every single book on witchcraft to painstakingly debunk the burning times myth. It's more "if it is listed in the references, that gives me a quick little section to skim that should give me insight into how well-researched, accurate and grounded this book is."

Final note: once again this is just a brief introduction to my method of vetting books. If this is useful to you, by all means feel free to use it. But it's not prescriptive and I'd love to hear your methods too!