Hi, I Am A Very New Witch, And I Was Wondering If You Have Any Advice For An Altar? I Am A Closet Witch,

Hi, I am a very new witch, and I was wondering if you have any advice for an altar? I am a closet witch, and I share a room with my sister, so I don't know what to do for an altar? (also i don't really know how to make an altar im sorry im just beginning at this and im trying to learn things)

Hello there! First off thank you so much for being patient and giving me a chance to relax. It means a lot! 

Back to your question! Altars are super duper personal. You will never see two that look the same, and that’s something that’s super beautiful! I’ve had dozens of different altars and I can never recreate them. 

They can be very simple, and they can be very complex. First, it’s going to depend on your practice. Do you do a lot of work? Do you use a lot of tools? What kind of things do you incorporate in your practice? Do you work with elements? What about spirits, or thoughtforms? 

After that you gotta think about your own personal preferences! Do you like aesthetically pleasing items? I do! I keep anything beautiful that I find or buy or am gifted on my altar. Things that inspire me! Do you want a more minimalist approach? Keep only the basic tools you need. 

Now with all of this in mind, think about your “discreet” altar. Have you ever read the Sweep Series? I adore these books! Anyways, in it, the main character makes her own altart, in secret. Her parents and sister don’t know she’s practicing, so she puts it in her closet, pushed all the way back so they won’t see it when they go in. On this altar, she keeps a little bowl of salt, a candle, a sea shell, and i think a feather??? I could be wrong but the point is she uses very simple things that are easy to hide or explain. 

You wanna use this same idea! Think simple, easy to explain, or easy to hide quickly. A collection of stones and feathers and candles and a cup of water or something is relatively easy to explain. You’re collecting things! You find them pretty! 

Another idea is keeping everything you like or want on your altar entirely removable. So, you keep everything in a box somewhere, and pull it out whenever you need the altar. Some people will use a drawer or a shoe box. I have seen some who use a little chest to hold all of their items, and then use the top of the chest as your altar when you need it!

I hope this was useful! Feel free to send me any other questions you have or if you need some inspiration!

Ask the Witch

what are some resources i can use for beginning in witch craft? many books have controversy on what is correct (i know witchcraft can be anything you make of it) but i mean correct in the sense of real traditions not fictional. i hope this makes sense!!! thank you

The fact of the matter is, there isn’t any real “traditional” form of witchcraft. The term as we use it is still fairly new, a conglomeration of folklore and modern practices. In fact for the most part it seems that “traditional witchcraft” is a term used to describe witchcraft that isn’t Wiccan in nature, at least from what I’ve seen! I could be mistaken though. For example, I consider what I practice to be a form of “Traditional” witchcraft. With that being said, some non-Wiccan and secular witchcraft resources would be in order for you. 

Here is my masterpost

Here’s some advice from me

Some More Advice from moi

Here is Magic-for-the-masses masterpost

@scrying-with-skeletons​ masterpost

Khal-winchesters Welcome to Witchcraft post

Brees Advice to New Witchlings

Outside of these links, my best advice to you is this, 

1.Don’t over-complicate things. Sometimes, a rock is a rock and that can be super powerful too! Yes it’s nice to have fancy tools and intense rituals and chants but some times just throwing salt and screaming works even better.

2. Read everything you can, even the stuff people say is bad and you should avoid. One of my favorite pass times is to read Silver Ravenwolf and count all the awful things she says. You can also draw inspiration from sources like this for your own original work. Remember to take it all with a grain of salt, and don’t take anyone’s word for face value. Do your own research.

3. Don’t appropriate other cultures PLEASE.

4.Remember witchcraft is not a cure-all and it won’t work right or at all if you don’t back it up with some mundane effort. 

5. Magick can be super simple or super complicated. It’s up to you

6. Write down EVERYTHING YOU LIKE. If it makes you wonder, write it down. If you don’t agree with it, write it down. If you get a random idea you wanna roll with, write it down. Write everything down and date it so you can see your own progress. You will not regret it.

7. Don’t be afraid to throw yourself out there! Get to know other witches, ask for advice, give them advice, be friendly and courteous and eager to learn and the universe will reward you richly my friend.  

hercules cluster jar spell

a spell jar for strength and achievement

The Hercules Cluster is a cluster of about 200 galaxies about 500 million lightyears away. It’s a part of the larger Hercules Supercluster, which is one of many superclusters lining the CfA2 Great Wall, an immense galaxy filament. Based on standard models of the universe’s evolution, such galaxy filaments form along web-like strings of dark matter.

The galaxies in the Hercules Cluster are drawn together by gravity, producing an incredibly strong gravitational pull. By uniting different energies within ourselves, we can acquire the strength needed to carry out our goals. We can draw success closer to us by ocking discipline, patience, and positivity into place and uniting them like galaxies in a cluster. This spell jar uses the Sun’s gravitational energy, Mercury’s ability to bring things together, and Saturn’s protective strength to replicate the immense strength in unity arising from the Hercules Cluster.

What You’ll Need:

Rosemary for gravity and the Sun

Cinnamon for strength and the Sun

Parsley for protection and Mercury

Almond for unity and Mercury

Thyme for courage and Saturn

Ribbon/string for protection and Saturn’s rings

A small jar

3 tokens to represent discipline, patience, and positivity (These can be pieces of paper with sigils, crystals, or anything else you’d like to use to represent these qualities)

Instructions:

Start by lighting a candle, burning some incense, or doing anything you need to do to make some magick happen. Then get your ingredients ready.

Recite the following incantation, pausing to add each ingredient as you proclaim its intent. Achievement requires positivity, Discipline, patience, all in harmony. I call on the Sun and swift Mercury To lend me their favorsome properties. For the Sun, cinnamon and rosemary For its strength and all powerful gravity. For Mercury, uniter of duality Some roughly chopped almonds and sweet parsley. Finally, for Saturnian energy Thyme for extra strength and mental clarity. The wisdom in clusters of galaxies Tells us great strength arises from unity So I call on the power of gravity To unite these pieces inside of me. I seal this jar with my intent and one more thing A ribbon wrapped around like one of Saturn’s rings. Let my spell’s celestial gravity Shatter any sign of negativity Bringing more strength to that trio in me So that someday soon my achievement will come to be.

After you’ve finished the incantation and tied the ribbon/string around your jar, leave it to charge in the starlight. The next morning, leave it somewhere it can be seen whenever you’re working towards your goal. When you look at it, feel the immense gravitational strength of your united discipline, patience, and positivity pulling your goal closer to you.

Lunar Eclipse Dates

Total Lunar Eclipses:

31 Jan 2018 - West North America, Asia, Australia, Pacific

27 Jul 2018 - Africa, South America, Asia, Australia, Europe

21 Jan 2019 - Africa, Americas, Europe, Central Pacific

26 May 2021 - Americas, East Asia, Australia, Pacific

16 May 2022 - Africa, Americas, Europe

08 Nov 2022 - Americas, Asia, Australia, Pacific

14 Mar 2025 - West Africa, Americas, West Europe, Pacific

07 Sep 2025 - Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe

03 Mar 2026 - Americas, East Asia, Australia, Pacific 

Lunar Eclipse Magic:

Lunar Eclipse Water by @lunaesteria

Eclipse Magick by @phaesphore

Solar & Lunar Eclipse Magick by @lunaesteria

🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘

cosmic witchcraft 101: asteroid belt magick 💫

The asteroid belt is a region of space between Mars and Jupiter where millions of asteroids orbit the Sun. In the 18th century, astronomers began to look for patterns in the layout of our solar system’s planets; one such pattern spurned the creation of a hypothesis, although later discredited, called the Titius-Bode law. The Titius-Bode law suggested that there should be a planet somewhere between Mars and Jupiter, so a group of astronomers called the United Astronomical Society, sometimes known as the Celestial Police, set out to find this missing planet.

Although they discovered Ceres, a dwarf planet, and many asteroids, an actual planet was nowhere to be found. When the solar system was forming, there was more than enough material for a planet to form in this region; however, Jupiter’s massive gravitational influence prevented the gas and dust from forming into anything substantial enough to be considered a planet.

Facts:

The asteroid belt is primarily made of empty space; its combined mass is only about 4% of the Moon’s.

Most asteroids are made of rock and stone, though some are known to have metals such as iron and nickel.

There are three main categories of asteroids: c-types, carbonaceous, rocky asteroids; m-types, metallic or metal-rich asteroids; and s-types, asteroids with lots of silicates, which are made of oxygen, silicon, and other elements.

Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea are the most massive asteroids in the asteroid belt.

Ceres makes up about 1/3 of the belt’s mass.

About 1/3 of asteroids are a part of an asteroid family. Families are categorized based on similarities in their orbital elements such as their semi-major axis, spectral features, eccentricity, etc. Asteroids that come from the same family may have originated from larger objects that collided and exploded.

Magickal Correspondences*

Colors: black, gray, brown, silver, white

Herbs: rosemary, fennel, lily, cornflower, valerian, basil, dogwood, pansy

Crystals: moss agate, garnet, chrysocolla, magnetite, kyanite, topaz, hematite, angelite

Intents: abundance, organization, nurturing, building, deconstruction, death and rebirth, strength, boundaries, and any kind of spellwork dealing with the “in-between” (dreamwork, astral travel, etc.)

Individual Asteroid Correspondences by @cosmic-witch

*all of these correspondences are based on my personal associations, since there aren’t a lot of witchcraft resources dedicated solely to the asteroid belt

If you had one piece of advice for a beginning witch, what would it be?

I have been looking forward to this ask since I saw it come in my askbox, and have been mulling it over and over in my head.

Honestly, the one piece of advice I would give to a beginning witch would have to be, Don’t try to over-complicate things!

Witchcraft is a very personal practice. It is incredibly different from witch to witch to witch. No two will cast a spell teh same way, or have the same correspondences for the same items, or believe the same things, and I’m sure you’re thinking, “Yeah but look at all those herbs I can’t pronounce and those crystal collections that have 200 more than mine, and she has cool shaped candles and he has a zillion books and they make really good sigils and and and…”

STOP.

You can ask any person on this website (and probably in real life too) about their practice, and how they think theirs is, in comparison with others. And every single one will tell you that “It’s different.” That is the beauty of witchcraft! It can be as simple or as complicated, as beautiful or as bare, as scary or as soft as you want it to be. Let me show you something. 

This is obviously, a jar of rocks. I picked up these rocks in an empty lot on my way home from work one day. They are all made from the same thing, probably some kind of commercial gravel stuff. Nothing special about them. 

I use them more than anything else in my practice. There rocks are one of my most vital pieces of my craft. Because while right now they are “just rocks,” after I’m done with them, they are little spells all their own. i will enchant them in different ways and use them all for different things. I might whisper all my frustrations into one, and throw it out the car window to banish my anger. I might spit on four of them and bury them around my property for warding. I might colour them with markers to make little poppets, I could kiss them and give one to my girlfriend as a reminder of my love, I might use them to help me ground, I might just shake the jar gently to create some music, maybe I use them to build little cairns for Hermes in different places. Do you see my point?

These things were just rocks until I decided to use them as something witchy. When I need herbs that I don’t have, I literally go pick grass and just enchant it with the properties I need. It is that simple.

So you see my little one, witchcraft is all about you. That is what is at the center of witchcraft. 

YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU.

It doesn’t matter how many crystals you have, or candles you can collect, or herbs you can name off the top of your head. It is literally about what YOU want to do. 

OWN THAT.