There Are So Many 'witchcraft' Books Available Nowadays!

There are so many 'witchcraft' books available nowadays!

Now I know this is gonna make me sound old as shit but I gotta say it:

When I was started learning about witchcraft around 15 years ago, all 'witchcraft' books were wiccan books and they were all fucking awful. You might find 3 books in the back corner of a bookstore and they were all misinformation and blatant lies about history. You might also find a couple books about tarot, dream interpretation, healing crystals and natural remedies but that was IT. To find out any real information you had to do extensive research in historical and anthropological texts and academic journals.

So while there are thousands of 'witchcraft' books available nowadays (I saw 6 sitting on the same shelf as popular self-help books in KMART today)... they're all watered down and 'socially acceptable' spells for love, money and self acceptance....

Dont get me wrong, I'm thrilled that I dont have to hide my practice as much as I had to years ago but... a lot of the witches I meet now are swimming in the shallow part of the pool while thinking they're delving in the deep seas. This lack of understanding isn't their fault though, just as it wasn't mine when all I had was books that only shared personal gnosis and misinformation.

The problem with flooding the market with shallow 'witchcraft' books, is that these books don't really help new witches and they don't help experienced practitioners either. For newbies these books can touch on some of the basics while simultaneously giving the reader the impression that this book will tell them EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO KNOW. The majority of these books also don't help experienced practitioners because they either share a rehash of 'common knowledge' or they make witchcraft out to be this fluffy-bunny, white-washed, appropriating crap.

Now, I know that this post will likely offend people, and for that I apologise. This was simply a frustrated rant by a witch who has seen too many terrible 'witchcraft' books.

Pisces Full Moon ♓️🔮

(Sepmember 1 - 2, 2020)

[Tarot Spread by: @thewitchoftheforest]

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Kitchen Witch Blessing

This is a nice, neutral blessing that I put into my food and baked goods while I’m cooking them up. No extra seasoning or special substances are required, though it can be used in conjunction with other food magics.

While mixing ingredients together or stirring the pot, take a few deep breaths, focus on the food, and say or clearly think the following:

Whosoever eats of this [food], may prosperity find them, may good health be with them, may happiness shine on them, and no harm befall them.

Finish the food as you normally would, and serve it to whoever you wish.

And yes, that includes yourself. It‘s not required that you do this solely for the benefit of others. You’re allowed to do magic to give yourself a blessing too!

Need a specific blessing? Make up one of your own, and put that into the food as needed.

(Keep in mind that some people do not want unasked-for blessings, no matter how neutral or pleasant they may be. If you are serving the food to someone that you know is not comfortable with such things, either ask beforehand if they mind you blessing the meal or bless portions as you serve them so that theirs can be omitted if they prefer.)

Happy Witching!

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Cottage Witchcraft: Magic in Cleaning

****THIS POST CONTAINS MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS, OPINIONS AND VIEWS ON COTTAGE WITCHCRAFT AND ENERGIES IN ONE’S LIFE AND HOME.****

I thought I might take a moment to talk about cottage witchcraft, keeping one’s home clean and how this creates clean/positive energy. Cleaning, to me, is a form of magic and I use it daily. I am well aware that there is both bad and good, light and dark polarities in life and in regards to energies. I get tired of being in a bad mood though so I thought I might share this one way I try to get rid of the negativity that creeps in on me.

I know that I am uniquely me and my thoughts may not work for you. You may have no issues with stuff lying all over the floors and dishes piling up, but for me I get anxious, upset and agitated if my home is not clean. Those are all negative emotions brought on by a messy house. Cleaning my home brings in a more positive or clean energy for me. It helps me relax and gives me an outlet to get rid of any negative emotions or energies I’m holding onto within. When we first moved into our current home I found myself repeating, “A clean home is clean energy” as I cleaned. I’ve seen similar variants of that in books or online since. I feel like this is important to cottage witches (and perhaps even hearth witches, but I’m making an assumption here). Our homes contain all of our magic. For some of us our entire home is our sacred space so we should treat it with the respect we’d treat a sacred area for an altar or magical working surface. One would keep their altar and the immediate area around it clean and tidy, change out the seasonal decorations and take care of any tools so a cottage which might consider doing the same for their home.

So let’s get onto the fun stuff. I hope I haven’t rambled too much and everything has made sense so far. To sum it up, our homes can sometimes harbor negative energies in physical and spiritual or emotional forms when one lets it get dirty. This post will address how one can get rid of the internal negativity (even if it wasn’t caused by a messy/dirty home) by cleaning the physical.

- Washing the dishes: When I’m washing the dishes I visualize any negativity being washed away and going down the drain. I strongly dislike handling dirty dishes and I get pretty cranky when it comes time to do them so I reserve things that are really bothering me and stir up negativity in an instant when I think about them for the task of doing the dishes.

- Wiping down counters and other surfaces: A counter is like one’s altar table. You want to keep surfaces clean and make sure it’s a work space that’s always ready to use. Rushing around trying to clean things up right before a task (or ritual/spell work) can bring in negative or chaotic energy. Don’t forget about end tables or coffee tables. They need some cleaning too. You never know where you may decide to work on a whim. So when I’m cleaning these things I’m not only cleaning away the physical, but I also imagine myself wiping away negativity or energies that aren’t helping me out. For instance if I’m having a rough time with anxiety I may see myself wiping it away. This section also applies to shower walls and bathtubs as well as anything else one might wipe down.

- Cleaning mirrors: Mirrors generally need a good cleaning every so often so when I clean off the mirror I visualize myself wiping away any negative thoughts I have about myself or any negative ways I may see myself when I look at my reflection.

- Cleaning the toilet: Well, there’s not much to say about this. We all know what a toilet’s purpose is. When I clean it and flush away any cleaning solution for the bowl I visualize negativity being flushed away with it. One could also see it as getting rid of the build of up of waste in their life in the form of negativity.

- Vacuuming: Carpets can keep all sorts of dirt, pests and the like deep within. So when one vacuums they might visualize any deep rooted issues causing negativity being sucked up right along with any physical particles of dust, dirt or what have you.

- Sweeping: This is one most already do on the physical and astral level with brooms for the mundane and besoms (or designated brooms for magical use) so I won’t go too in depth. When you’re sweeping up all the dirt, dust, animal hair that’s been shed and so on imagine yourself sweeping away any negativity. I throw whatever is in the dust pan right into the trash and visualize it being thrown out of my life, but one could also sweep the negativity and dirt out of the front door as well and visualize it being pushed out of one’s life.

- Dusting: This is much like sweeping. One could visualize dusting away any negativity that’s been hanging about for a long while that’s settled into their life. As you dust visualize that negativity lifting and being cleared away.

Once one’s house is clean the energy improves and the energy within them improves as well. At least I notice the improvement within my own home and within myself. Perhaps someone else might find working a bit of magic through cleaning helpful too.