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ZHEANI Sparkes🖤💜

Visualization in Witchcraft: The Basics

I’ve gotten many, many requests for more information for beginning witches or those who are just curious, and I’ve decided it’s time I start writing and posting such things more often. This article will be (one of) the first in a series where I’ll talk about common beginner issues an techniques for those just starting out, skills that I personally found useful early on, and anything else that comes up. My plan is mostly to write based on questions I receive, and address topics as needed. Here we go.

Today, I’ll be writing about visualization, and I’ll just be explaining the basics as I see them. I recently got a message from someone interested in studying witchcraft who was concerned about how to begin practicing without having to buy things. This is a common sentiment, and I get questions about it a lot. There’s not too many authors who address it, except in passing. The books that do talk about practicing witchcraft without tools often suggest learning to astrally project and creating a sort of sacred space in the astral realm containing all the tools you might need. This never seemed practical to me, as many people who are just starting out won’t necessarily be able to fully project, and heck, even many experienced witches never quite pick up the skill. 

A far better approach than trying to astrally project right away would be to study visualization and develop it as a skill. Visualization is the art of manipulating your own imagination in order to create vivid experiences within your own mind. This practice sharpens your intuition and magical acuity. Even many rituals and spells in books (with or without suggesting tools) will call for the witch to visualize, though they may not call it that, and sometimes say “imagine” instead. 

It’s perhaps best explained by way of examples, and can take many forms with varying levels of complexity. Sometimes, you might want to visualize something as existing within your physical space. In other words, you would want to strongly imagine it appearing to you as if it were physically in front of you. In one particular ritual I used to perform regularly (it was for banishing), part of it entailed my strongly imagining a pentagram in a particular color left in the wake of my ritual actions. That’s a form of visualization. This may sound like a simple thing, but it does take practice. 

After a while, though, I got to the point where yes, I could “see” the pentagrams surrounding me in the ritual, though I knew it was actually a visualization sprung from my imagination rather than a physical object hanging in the air. Techniques like that are pretty common, and they aren’t a new thing - books written in the Victorian era and earlier will often recommend doing this, though the word visualization itself wasn’t often used. 

Many witches and magicians incorporate visualization into simple symbol and sigil magick. In the image below, I’ve listed the planetary symbols and associated colors. While many people, when working with symbols, would assume they’d need to carve, draw, or sketch the symbol on a physical talisman or something similar, there are other ways.

One technique using visualization would be to trace the symbol in the air with your finger. You would visualize light in a particular color (of your choice, or relevant in some way) flowing from your fingertips and forming the symbol hanging in the air. The length of time you’ll be able to visualize will likely vary based on how long you’ve practiced, as well as whether there’s anything breaking your concentration. In some settings, I can only “hold” the symbol in my mind for a few seconds before it’s interrupted by something in my environment. Conversely, I can think of a ritual I recently did with a partner that involved visualizing symbols. We did this in a quiet room and with much mental preparation, so I was able to “see” the symbols for much longer than in other situations.

All of that, of course, is going to be done with your eyes open, visualizing objects in your physical space. Things can get pretty interesting if you close your eyes, though! Obviously, you wouldn’t be moving around doing a ritual with closed eyes, but it’s possible to work magick while sitting (or even lying down!) with your eyes closed performing an intense visualization. Some people find this easier than open eye visualization, but for others, it’s the reverse. It just depends on the person.

One mistake I made when learning this type of visualization was trying to make my visuals too complex too quickly, not realizing that these things take time, and complicated, immersive scenes are something that has to develop slowly. One way of beginning is to start with, again, symbols, visualizing them projected on the back of your eyelids. 

Simple shapes, like line drawings, are great to begin with, too. Slowly add color and depth, and eventually you’ll be able to build a proper scene inside your mind. This could consist of imagining the workspace you’ve always dreamed of with everything you would need for any kind of spell, but for many witches, the visualization is the spell itself. I find that method more productive than just imagining tools. Experimentation is key, and you’ll find something that works for you, but one common method of using visualization in spellwork would be to visualize the goal of the spell manifesting in an efficacious manner. For example, if I were visualizing as part of a spell to help a friend’s wedding go smoothly with no mishaps or delays, I would visualize exactly that happening.

There is, naturally, a strong connection between visualization and scrying, and usually improving your skills in one will improve your skills in the other. In the image below, I discuss how scrying can often be much more than just seeing images, and that is true of visualization as well - you can experience any sensation or impression via visualization, be it auditory, visual, olfactory, or really anything else.

🎶OM krim Kali, Thousand Knives Give me the strength to burn🎶 🎶these lies The weakness of my soul dies🎶 Song:ZHEANI - Tarantulas ||

Kali 1980s from Kolkata (via The University of Milan)

Getting ready for the holiday season.

I... I don’t know... what this is...

witchcraft is sick as fuck ok

Forced Reflection Spell

A spell to force someone to see and reflect upon what they have done and who they are.

Ingredients:

A small box

Various small mirrors to line the box with

A picture of the person

A marker

Black thread (for binding)

Black pepper (for binding)

Method:

Line a box with small mirrors (sides, top, and bottom) all facing inward. Take a picture of the person with their name written on it and bind the picture up with black thread as you speak aloud your intention to force them to recognize the results of their actions. Place the picture in the box and surround with black pepper while announcing that you are binding them to see the effects of their actions and reflect upon those actions. Close and seal the box and hide away.

50 KITCHEN WITCH TIPS TO MAKE YOU FEEL MORE WITCHY

(And other useful things I've learned over the years)

Hi! This is a list of dos, don'ts, tips, tricks, and other fun things that I've learned over the years. I always love finding more effective and efficient ways of doing things so if you have any cool things you'd like to add, leave them in the comments or reblog. I'd love to read it.

Anyways... On with the list ^_^

Light candles around your kitchen space (just make sure nothing flammable is near you)

Annotate your cookbooks with the correspondence of the ingredients.

Mediating is really good to calm the mind before cooking.

Cut oranges and lemons thinly, dry them, and hang them with twine around your kitchen

Need a cleansing tip? Open all your windows near your kitchen. Let some fresh air in.

Cutting sigils into apples, pie crusts, and carved potatoes.

Save lemon and orange rinds, freeze them, and then use them to clean the garbage disposal.

Make infused oils and honey: Things like garlic honey, lavender honey, herb oil, sun oil, moon oil, dandelion oil, and other different edible oils are very fun and useful to make.

Hid sigils in pages of your cookbooks and kitchen witch journals.

Add some plants! Snake plants and spider plants don't need too much light, and growing your own herbs in your kitchen is awesome too. Basil, lavender, thyme, aloe vera, rosemary, etc. are good fits. You could also add some plants that require more sunlight on the kitchen window sill. Like cacti and succulents.

Bring crystals into your kitchen space such as rose quartz, clear quartz, amethyst, or whatever you want the space's intentions to be.

I keep a small money tree on the sill, along with cacti for luck and protection.

Make a simmer Pot! Mostly because it makes the whole house smell good, easy, and fun.

Stir clockwise for best results!

Learning how to pickle things is actually pretty witchy. Plus, anyone could do it as it requires absolutely no kitchen experience. You could pickle any vegetable, even if you don't like pickles. I originally learned this after having to take shelter from a natural disaster. A person brought a bunch of stuff and taught us how to pickle things with different spices and herbs. Very fun!

Decorate your kitchen with your favorite stuff. Crystals, decor, heat mits, that cool mushroom cake stand you've been eyeing at the World Market for the past 2 weeks, cool looking curtains, sun catchers. Why stop there? Paint the walls, hang shelves full of marked-up cookbooks that are a little too well-loved and thumbed through.

Wanna be the person that has the amazing-smelling house every time people come over? Syrups take some time to simmer down, it's actually a pretty good time to leave it on the stove to simmer. Since syrups have a lot of aromatic ingredients, it acts as a really good-smelling simmer pot.

Hang up herbs to dry with twine from cabinets that are rarely used.

Invest in that new set of plates and cups.

Homemade jams, butter, sauces, and syrups are your best friend.

Crochet or knit your own dish rags, pot holders, etc.

Don't pour extremely hot things into a glass that's not Pyrex, it will break, and you will be very sad about it.

Don't cook anything while extremely upset or emotional (For safety reasons)

Make recipes you want to make, not just because you'll like the effect. Make it because you think it's tasty.

Chinese Five Spice works in place of herbs for protection and luck spells a lot of the time! It's cheaper to buy 1 spice than 4 different spices that total up to 15 dollars when you could just spend 3-4 dollars.

Take a shower before cooking (I don't know how to explain this one other than it makes you feel better)

Don't use microfiber/plastic material clothes on hot burners, it will fuse to the burner and melt. It is VERY hard to get off.

I don't know if I need to put this one but I did see someone do it so nonstick pan = wooden utensils and plastic utensils, metal pan = metal utensils. Do not use a metal spoon in a nonstick pan, please. It can make you very sick.

Keep your pets away from hot oil, open ovens, and hot pans.

You can proof bread dough in the fridge overnight if you don't have the time to bake, or want to eat fresh bread right in the morning.

Need a quick witchy meal for dinner in 12 minutes? Use premade tomato pasta sauce and doctor it up with thyme, rosemary, and garlic, for protection and distilling stagnant energies. Serve with pasta of your liking.

You can substitute Butter for Crisco/shortening, buttermilk for 1 cup of milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, and heavy cream for 1 cup of half and half plus 2 tbsp of butter.

Use leftover animal bones to make bone broth

Teach yourself the art of bread scoring (It's fun, and you can show it off to your loved ones!)

Collect and hoard your own and others' family recipes.

Sometimes the food doesn't have to be a spell, sometimes it just makes you feel good and you don't know why.

Listen to your favorite music in the kitchen, it makes the monotonous things like chopping veggies move faster.

Invest in a vegetable chopper if you don't like chopping vegetables.

Find a really good hot cocoa recipe and make it once a week. Master it. Just for your own happiness because hot cocoa is really good. You could also be the friend/family member that makes the best hot cocoa ever.

Focaccia Bread Lasts a very long time, and it's very easy to make!

Keep a first aid kit near where the oven is, in case of burns, cuts, or serious injuries where time is everything.

Quick Bread and no-rise loaves are simple for beginners, tasty, and take little time. They also feel very witchy to make.

Study a bit of Herbalism! It's fun and really helps better understand the herbs you're putting into your food.

While something is boiling, put your wooden spoon over the pot to minimize the chance of something boiling over.

Try a bit of coffee magick, it's simple to get into, and gives you a boost of energy to take on the day!

If you're over 21, wine-making is a very interesting way to celebrate the sabbats. Just with that, make sure you KNOW what you're doing. With anything fermented, there's always a risk if you don't store things correctly. Apple wines, strawberry wines, dandelion wines, etc. all very cool to experiment with. If you're not over 21, vinegar is a similar way to experiment.

Hang up some witchy things, sigils, photos, cool magnets, and other things that give you joy on your fridge. (Sometimes if you are lucky they have some fun magnets at five below)

If you live in the US, for some reason, there are a lot of books in the book section dedicated to witchcraft and spirituality. At least where I live. And they are all under 5 dollars!

Teas are the cheapest and easiest things you can practice being a kitchen witch.

university/college witch tips

☕️ brew a cup of tea in between, after, and/or before classes. use herbs according to certain correspondences(I personally use lavender & chamomile after class, rosemary & mugwort before or in between if I have enough time). stir in sugar with intention. pour in a thermos if you’re on the go.

☀️ wake up 20 minutes early and meditate. set intentions or goals for the day, say your prayers, give thanks to the universe or to your deity, focus on your chakras. whatever feels right and simple, make it a part of your morning. [alternative: if you have 20 minutes in between classes this can really help you unwind before your next class]

🎧 instead of listening to your regular music, find something spiritually enriching to listen to when you have a moment. there’s plenty of wonderful spirits on youtube, instagram, etc. that speak to me on a daily. listen to an astrology forecast, a tarot reading, info on certain gods or deities, other witches and their practice, anything that resonates with you. [alternative: find witchy playlists on spotify, tumblr, or 8tracks* ]

📔 combine your practice with your planner. jot down the astrological influences of each week/day. track your tea intake. record pre-planned workings/spellwork/rituals/etc. dedicate a spread to your intentions each Moon cycle, at the end of the cycle cross off everything that manifested, migrate the remaining intentions to the next spread. this is a great pastime when you’re bored in class

♥️ shuffle your tarot/Oracle/etc. cards in class. take them with you throughout the day, let them experience what you do. at the end of the day ask them for their thoughts, or any other thing you feel. make sure to cleanse your deck however you prefer after a long day, your cards will absorb all the energy around you and it may lead to them acting wonky

🖊 draw sigils to help you study and prepare for tests. if you’re struggling with lateness, come up with a sigil to help you be more time efficient. if you suck at homework, write a symbol for wisdom or focus on yourself before you start doing it. sigils are an urban witches best friend

💸 to save money, diy items for your altar. if you live on a college campus, there’s plenty of places where people give away unwanted items either or free or really cheap. get them, if they resonate. paint them, sculpt around them, whatever. then put it on your altar

matterzcollective.com/store

Best way to banish a spirit: Throwing salt while yelling “does this look like a goddamn hotel to you?!”

modern witch culture is typing “potions” into wattpad trying to find something to get rid of the flu and getting a heap of harry potter fan fics...

Unconventional & Affordable Ingredients for Spells

Here is a list of unconventional and affordable ingredients that can be used in spells and witchcraft along with their correspondences; good for witches “in the woods” and witches on a budget. Many of these can be easily found for inexpensive prices or at home.

Acorns/Acorn Caps: security, abundance, longevity, good luck, youth and brings good health

Animal toys/stickers: relates to correspondences of that animal

Artist’s Charcoal: banishing negativity, protection; cursing

Baby Powder: cleansing, beauty, youth

Baking Soda: cleansing, purification, protection

Birthday Candles: wishes, joy; color magic and number magic depending on their color and/or what number they display

Black Tea Bags (used): earth magic, grounding, strength, stability, banishing negativity; ending, death 

Bottle Caps: prosperity, luck, material gain

Bubble Bath: self-love, relaxation, emotional healing, serenity; plus whatever scent the bubble bath is affects correspondences

Bubbles/Bubble Liquid: wishes, joy, whimsy, imagination, fantasy

Buckeye Nuts: luck, sexual energies, warding

Butter: femininity, flattery, friendship, warmth, happiness; good for fae work

Candy Bars: love, romance, happiness, lust, fertility, emotional healing, healing of the heart, forgiveness, friendship

Candy Corn: courage, imagination, endurance, energy, motivation, happiness, celebration

Candy Foil: sweetness, secrets, protecting one’s emotions; color magic

Chocolate Syrup/Milk: happiness, love, lust, romance, sweetening relationships

Cocktail Swords: strength, assertiveness, competition; cursing, revenge; ending rumors

Cotton Balls: beauty, gentleness, warmth, sleep

Cotton Swabs: cleansing, purification

Dice: chance, opportunity, luck; number magic

Dirt: grounding, earth magic, growth, prosperity, patience, home and family; cursing

Dish Soap: cleansing

Duct Tape: binding, storing energy, cursing

Egg Shells: cleansing, protection, warding

Energy Drinks: energy, motivation

Envelopes: messages, communication, protection during travel

Epsom Salts: purification, cleansing, protection, pain relief, serenity, comfort, stress relief

Fake/Play Money: wealth, prosperity

Fish Sauce: prosperity, water magic, curses

Foil: glamour, protection, storing energy, binding

Glue: sealing, immobility, binding, curses

Googley Eyes: vision, divination, scrying, creativity, protection, imagination; curses, paranoia, nightmares

Grass: growth, nature, learning, healing, new beginnings, recovery from loss

Hand Soap: cleansing, curse removal

Hole Punches: good for cursing

Hot Sauce: motivation, lust, confidence; cursing, anger, revenge, emotional pain

Koolaid: youth, sweetness, happiness; color magic, corresponds with flavors as well

Lip Balm: glamour, confidence in speaking, honesty, beauty

Lollipops: sweetness, innocence, ending rumors and lies, lust and sexual energies, love

Lotion: protection, beauty

Laundry Soap: cleansing, purification

Marshmallows: friendliness, comfort, gentleness, fidelity, sleep and dreams

Metal Crafting Wire: binding

Modeling Clay: poppets, earth magic, grounding, balance, stability, creation, change

Mud: grounding, earth magic; curses

Muslin: poppets, change, creativity

Noodles: Longevity, good health

Pompoms (craft): gentleness, comfort, love, sleep, dreams

Paper Clips: balance, focus, organization; curses, binding

Pennies: luck, wealth

Pickle Juice: curses to sour things

Plastic Bags: protection; binding

Plastic Ribbon (wrapping): happiness, glamour, delight; binding; color magic

Plastic Wrap: binding

Popsicle sticks: poppets

Scissors: offensive magic, curses

Seltzer Water: purification, removing negativity; curses

Sewing Needles: curses, pain

Shaving Cream: cleansing, softness, patience, calmness

Stamps: travel, communication

Sour Cream: cursing

Soy Sauce: protection, banishment; cursing

Sticky Notes: communication, memory

Strawberry Milk: love, self-love, beauty, sweetness, friendship

Syrup: joy, sweetening one’s emotions

Taco Sauce: Focus, Energy, motivation

Taffy: joy, flexibility

Thumbtacks: curses

Tissue Paper: softness, serenity; color magic

Toothpaste: cleansing

Toothpicks: curse

Walnut Shells: protection, warding

Wasabi: Energy; curses, anger, envy

Whipped Cream: beauty, light-heartedness

Whistles: communication, attention grabbing, warding

Other Tips:

Recycle bottles, jars and medicine bottles for jar/bottle magic

Reuse tea bags (though not too long after use) in bath magic

If you do wish to use herbs, it is cheaper to order them online in bulk rather than the supermarket. Trust me, supermarkets and grocery stores really over price most herbs. You can get triple the amount for 2 dollars less online

Make up and toiletries are great for glamours

Its fine to use kitchen knives if you can’t afford am athame

Look at the ingredients in food you eat to see what is in it and determine that food’s correspondences, quick and easy kitchen magic

Crayons, colored pencils, markers and pens are good for easy sigil and color magic

Binders are cheaper than blank books and make great grimoires

Who needs waves when you can surf on the clouds? 

Modern Male Witch Project, by Brenna-Ivy on Tumblr and Society6