Happy Ostara!

Happy Ostara!

Today we reap when we created during Imbolc.

Spend time with nature.

Bask in the sun.

Be present, be kind, be blessed.

Advice for people who want to ask for witchy advice

I've had so much trouble in the past being able to give people good advice or recommendations when they hit me up with, "hey, I'm at [experience level] and looking to expand, any ideas?"

So if you're one of those people really frustrated by vague answers from blogs who seem like they should know what's up, this post might be able to help you out :)

Experience level labels are beyond useless. I know an energy worker practicing over 5 years who firmly identifies as a beginner and instructed me to stay in my lane when I advised they were probably beyond that. I have seen 17yos post stuff like, "Hi! I'm an adept who has been studying Wicca for 3 months and I am ready to begin looking for students."

Instead of telling a blogger, "I'm a beginner/intermediate" (etc. etc.,) try giving context to your practice by explaining what you can do or what you have studied. "I have been studying elemental energy work. I can make energy balls and multi-layered shields."

Months/years of practice is not helpful. Someone seriously studying and practicing magic every day for 6 months can be more skilled than someone casually studying magic and casting occasional spells for 2 years. Same as above - the length of your practice isn't useful in terms of knowing where to point you. Instead, try framing your practice as "I study every day, I want to know some really dense texts I can dig my claws into," or, "I prefer reading over active practice, I'm looking for easy ways to incorporate daily magic." Etc.

Ask specific questions related to specific things you want. "I feel stuck," "I don't know what to look at next," aren't helpful descriptors, especially if you provide 0 context to your path. Try describing what you want. Do you want to learn new ways to cast spells? Do you want to be exposed to new paradigms of practice? Even if you can only point to things like, "I want to feel I have more control in my day-to-day life," or, "I want to feel more spiritual," that is so much better than, "where do I go from here?" which is inevitably responded to with, "wherever you want, its your own path!"

Don't forget, "witchcraft" can mean anything from pure, secular energy work to intensely religious ceremonial craft, folk magic, pop-culture magic, and everything inbetween. Please do not assume that the blogger understands your path/interests/needs based only on the extremely vague label of "witchcraft."

Include what you're not interested in. There is nothing that makes me die inside more than someone sending a vague "what do I do next?" message, and I'm like, "why not try out servitors?" and they follow up with, "I'm actually not interested in servitors... I had a bad experience... thanks anyway." If you are not interested in working with spirits, you don't want to do pure energy work, you have a serious issue with astral travel, etc., say so - especially if you aren't really sure what you do want.

No one is really going to be able to help you if you aren't able to even identify your own wants and needs. I know this is kinda harsh, but no blogger out here is going to be able to do introspection on your behalf. If you genuinely don't know what you want out of magic, if you don't know your spiritual needs, that's okay. If you're just out here like, "I have no idea what I'm into, what would you recommend for people who want to do what you do," that's great. But if you approach bloggers like they hold some kind of mystical key that will unlock your path for you, you'll be disappointed. They don't have that key. They can just give you ideas for what they think you'll be into, based on the context you're willing to provide.

Pro Tips to Clear Negative Energy from a Room (for broke people like me)

You don’t always need fancy magic materials to cleanse a gross-feeling room. These are my go-to, down-to-earth methods for making creepy, negative, tense, or otherwise iffy rooms comfy and grounded again.

- Turn on your favorite uplifting, feel-good music (something happy). Turn it up so that it fills the room!

- Occupy the room. It sounds simple, but rooms can sometimes feel iffy if they’ve been left alone for too long. So sit in there, preferably with friends, and lighten up the energy by watching funny videos/a comedy movie/etc, talking lightheartedly, playing a fun game, whatever it takes to fill the room with laughter and happy vibes

- Clean the room. Dust, sweep, vacuum, spray some good-smelling stuff or light a scented candle. Physically cleaning literally takes old stagnant energy and removes it, allowing new energy to come in.

- Open up all the doors/windows. Get a cross breeze going. If you have small wind chimes to spare, putting them in an open window to chime is traditionally a good way to “break up” the old energy.

- Rearrange the room. Sometimes if the room is crowded full of furniture or nick-nacks, it’ll trap old energy and feel meh. Just moving stuff around can change the energy

- Clap your hands/use a spoon and a pan to make a lot of loud noise in the corners and nooks and crannies of the room. This also “breaks up” the old energy

- Place a bowl of water and iodized salt someplace in the room where it won’t spill. This acts like a trash can for negative energy. Depending on the size of the room, you might need two or even three bowls.

- A vase of fresh flowers or a potted plant will bring some fresh new energy into the room

If you have crystals, incense, or smudge sticks, those will work wonderfully, but they aren’t necessary. My go-to room-cleansing crystal is selenite, but you can also use smoky quartz, black tourmaline, or citrine. Standard sage works well, but you can also burn rosemary or cedar. But as always, go with your gut and do whatever feels the best for you. Happy cleaning!

When I first started reading tarot I had all these reservations and newbie mistakes that I sometimes made for YEARS. Don’t be like me, learn how to read tarot, be confident and understand that the good comes with the bad. And you’ll be an expert tarot reader in no time. 

Tarot is a tool for YOUR intuition - I don’t know why, but this really didn’t resonate with me right away. I would second guess, re-read, and not use my intuition when interpreting  the cards. In the end that cause some really inaccurate readings then if I would have just used tarot as a tool to grow my own intuition and spiritual feeling. 

Don’t stress read - I know I know we all do it. Madly shuffle the cards then start pulling whenever things start to go array. Let me be the first to tell you that is not an accurate reading. That is just you stressing out pulling cards in a fury that will only lead to more stress. 

Take time to meditate and clear your mind beforehand - Don’t come into a reading with a cloudy head. If you really want to get a good read, spend a few minutes clearing your mind before you shuffle your deck. 

There are no bad readings - I repeat, there are no bad readings. Even horrible tower falling outcomes are just the start to something new and better. If you do get an outcome from a tarot spread that is less than favorable breath and take it one day at a time. 

There are also no bad tarot cards - Just like there are no bad readings, there are no bad cards. Endings are just beginnings in reverse. So even if your BFF is stabbing you in the back with the 5 of Swords, don’t worry it’s just your spirits getting rid of them for you. 

Get to know your decks beforehand - Each deck sometimes has a little personality. Spend some time with them, know them, see how they read for you before you jump in with all the important stuff. 

Meditate with cards you feel drawn towards - Do you really vibe with the High Priestess? Or maybe it’s The Hermit for you. These cards could be your archetype. Pull them out, meditate, feel their answers and seek guidance from them. 

Take breaks from reading - I am a huge advocate from taking a break from tarot. Sometimes you need to change it up, put it down or just step away for a few days or a year. Whatever it is take time away if and whenever you feel the need to. 

Use tarot as a tool for manifesting - Ask questions, lots and lots of questions about different outcomes. If you don’t like the outcome, change your question or change your mind and ask again. Once you get the desired results stick to it. 

Don’t read for free, but practice - I see so many new tarot readers reading for free online. Don’t do it! Your time is precious and if someone wants a free reading, they can lean it themselves. 

Don’t skip knowing your shadow self in a reading - One of the best things you can do is learn exactly who you are, and you can’t do that without knowing all the parts of yourself you’ve rejected. Use the tarot to get to know yourself in the shadows too. 

The cards never lie - Never. Ever. 

Reshuffling won’t bypass a reading you didn’t like - Don’t get yourself trapped into ‘clarity’ cards. That’s shuffling and asking the same question again and again for clarity, or until you get the answer to the question you want. Sure ask for clarity ONCE when you don’t really understand, but don’t ask again and again just to see what you want. 

Don’t wait to start tarot - If you feel called to read tarot, start now! You don’t have to wait for someone to gift you a deck (who started that bad rumor anyway?!) 

Confidence is key - This also took me a long time to ‘get’. Read with confidence. You are a badass witch. You have stepped outside to do so much spiritual growth, why would your card reading reflect any different? 

Your tarot reading is not the end all be all - Tarot is subjective, not prophecy. So change your mind and change your future. Nothing is set in stone. 

Three Types of Charms

Sachet/Spell Jar: bag or bottle that's small enough to carry around. Contains ingredients associated with your intention.

Scroll: a visualization paper. Drawings, sigils, bullet list, color associations, anything that helps you focus your energy to manifest your wants and needs. When you've completed the ritual or ceremony, roll the paper into a palm sized paper egg roll, bind with tape and a ribbon.

Enchanted Object: I usually think of some kind of jewelery that you xan wear, but really it xan be anything you put the energy into imbue with a purpose.

Happy casting