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“RECIPES:
Healing
For general healing, write the names of the blessed family (Jesus, Mary, Joseph) on a piece of paper. Take a candle from a church and drip the wax on the paper while praying for the hand of Christ to be on the person needing healing. Fold the paper toward you and bind with a red string in the name of the Trinity. Carry it as close to the skin as possible.
To protect from disease, wear a copper bracelet or ring.
Fix a penny heads up to the bottom of a white taper candle and anoint it with blessed olive oil. If the person needing healing is present, place the tip in their navel and pray for the disease to be drawn out and into the candle. Hold the candle over their left shoulder and light it. Set it up on a plate covered with “silver paper” (foil) and let it burn down. When the candle has melted completely, have the person spit onto the wax, wrap it in the silver paper, and either bury it at the roots of a tree or in the corner of a crossroads.
For burns, pass your hand over the burn, going away from the person or away from their heart. With each pass, say, “Three ladies came from the east, one with fire and two with frost. Out with the fire in with the frost! In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Do this three times. Afterward, you and the person shouldn't light, make, or tend any fires until the next sunset passes. This includes cooking over a stove or using a lighter.
Carry a walnut for rheumatism or arthritis—begin carrying it while it is still small and green. Once it is completely black and dry, toss it and replace it.
Place their photo in the Bible facing Psalm 23 and pray over it. Leave it there for three days, then take it out and put it in a jar of clear water. Add dirt from a hospital or mountaintop, a tablespoon of lard, a pinch of tobacco, and a pinch of salt while praying for their well-being and health, calling on God and the ancestors to “wash their name,” a term I heard Papaw use once when healing. Swirl the contents of the jar clockwise as the hand of the clock goes up to build up their strength and health, while still praying. Work this jar every Sunday until they are better. Once they are, drain the water at a crossroads and keep the strained contents; give these to the person in a bundle to hide in their home above their head. As long as it's there and stays dry, it'll keep their health up.
For breathing issues, wear a “greened penny”one that has oxidized, with a hole made through the chest of Abe.
Cleansing
Pass a white candle over yourself or another from head to toe three times while saying the Lord's Prayer. Set the candle down and let it burn completely. Spit on the remains and bury it at a crossroads.
Add to a bath of water 1 cup new blessed salt, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, and ½ cup hyssop. Take the bath before sunrise, washing downward only, while reciting Psalm 51:7. End the bath at sunrise and take a portion of the bathwater outside and cast the water toward the rising sun. To make blessed salt, simply pronounce the Lord's Prayer over it three times at sunrise, noon, and sunset. Do this for three consecutive days. The same is done with sweet oil for anointing. You can switch out ingredients with any of the following: a cap of tar water, a cap of ammonia, a strong cup of brewed coffee, a tablespoon of baking soda, or mud from a river after it has flooded (to further wash away your “debris”)—just make sure to use an odd number of ingredients.
Cut a lemon in half while holding two pennies (minted in the year of your birth) under your upper lip. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each half, making an X, and insert the pennies in the center of each. Place the lemon under your bed to sleep over for three days, namely Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Remove the lemon and bury it off property on Saturday.
To remove conjugation or ill luck, wash your current change of clothes with salt and vinegar and then burn them. Take the ashes to a crossroads at midnight and scatter them when the wind blows.
Protection
For protection during travel, carry a rabbit's foot or a jack containing nine yarrow leaves, three pennies, and dust from the home.
To protect from the evil eye, get some red yarn and go to the oldest grave in a cemetery. Walk counterclockwise around it seven times while wrapping the yarn around your left wrist once for every turn while praying Psalm 23. You can also wear gold or silver, or embroider an X in the leftleg hem of your underwear. Don't forget to leave an offering for the grave in return for you doing the work there.
To protect from being conjured, carry in a sack a horseshoe nail, ground ivy root, and blessed salt. You can also sprinkle a mixture of salt, black pepper, and red pepper in your shoes or wear a silver dime on your right ankle.
To protect from illness, wear a bag of asafoetida, salt, and a copper penny.
Wear a rosary, cross, or other religious symbol.
To guard against roaming ghosts and other haints, my family would always get five sticks and bind them in such a way as to make a five-pointed star, called a “witch's mark” in Appalachia. You can still see these stars hung on the sides of homes and barns everywhere.
Court and Law
Take a silver spoon and gather dirt from the grave of a baby (because they've never been convicted of anything) and leave nine pennies behind in its place. Mix the dirt with sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Make a packet of brown paper with your name written on it and the name of the courthouse below that. Mark out all consonants so both resonate with their vowels. Carry the packet in your left shoe to keep the judge on your side.
To keep the law away, make a sachet with an Indian-head penny, tobacco, and moss from the foundation of a church. Bless it following the method given previously to keep all law enforcement far from you.
Carry items for good luck when going to court, such as a peep-stone, four-leaf clover, etc. You can also sprinkle new salt in your shoes to make you “slicker than glass” so you'll get by just fine. According to my mother, you should also take a toothbrush and a change of solid white clothes. This prevents you from going to jail because you're already prepared.
Love and Lust
Take two pieces of paper and write each person's name on them with their date of birth. Bind them together with red string and dust it with a mixture of powdered rose petals, flour, and sugar. Bury the bundle on the east side of a tree, preferably a willow, to bring them together.
To keep a lover from running around, make a sachet of mayapple root, rose petals, and bloodroot. Include some connection to them: dirty garments, hair, nails, or a photo. Bind it with a red string. Bless the sachet and bury it under the doorstep. Every time the lover walks over it, it'll keep them faithful. To “feed” the work, water it with your first morning urine once a month while calling their name out three times and telling them to stay as the River Jordan did.
For new love, give them wine or whiskey in which you've soaked your toenails for three days, from Wednesday to Friday. Strain it on Saturday morning. This will win over anyone.
To have a lover return, whisper their name when you wake up and when you go to bed for nine days. On the tenth day, cast three handfuls of salt into the fireplace and recite the following for each: “I charm you on your breast and sides, as the colt follows the mare; as the rain seeks the earth; seek and find me. By the voice that called the Virgin, I call you back to me.”
To have one fall in love with you, take a cloth, shirt, or other garment for them to wear. Wet it with your first morning's urine for three days. Then find two coupling animals (rooting snakes, mating dogs, etc.) and cover them with the cloth and then take it back. Give it to your lover to wear. Of course you can mask any possible smell with your preferred cologne or perfume.
To incite passion in a relationship, hide a turkey bone wrapped and tied in their unwashed garments under the bed. Take a “stray hair” from their head and one from your own; bundle them in a bag with honeysuckle blooms, sugar, and ground hard candy; hang this on the bedpost.
Money and Gambling
For sports, take a dish that was broken by accident and make three cuts on the chest and four on the back. Powder some dandelion root really fine and rub into the cuts. This is supposed to “toughen up” the person and bring success.
Bake the tip of a cow tongue. Take it to seven cemeteries and touch it to the oldest headstone in each yard, leaving a dime for each grave. Place the tongue in your mouth over your own and say your prayers for success in money or gambling. Carry in the left pocket.
On a full moon, take the left hind foot of a white rabbit to the oldest grave at midnight. At the headstone, pour some moonshine for the spirit of the grave, telling them to help you witch the foot under the eyes of the Trinity. Dip the toes of the foot in the same moonshine and trace the engraved dates on the headstone with the toes while saying, “As many days are here inscribed, the same for me will be lucky and safe.” Do this three times, then leave the rest of the moonshine and exit the graveyard following the precautions spoken of before.
Uprooting
To get someone to leave town or move away from your area, take a splinter of lightning-struck wood and place it under their porch steps or where they'll walk over it.
Alternatively, take dirt from their footstep or where they recently walked and fold it up in a brown paper bag. Dunk it in water and then burn it while saying, “Water and fire are at your feet. By the voice that chased Adam from the garden, get gone.” Repeat until it is ashes. Take those ashes and mix them with dirt from their yard and sprinkle it where they'll walk. To sprinkle it, walk backward an odd number of steps while saying their name and repeating the above.
Powder some dead spiders and mix with black pepper and salt. Sprinkle this in an X formation where the person will walk over it.
Take a spool of handspun yarn and pierce it with thirteen needles. Relieve yourself on it while saying the person's name and telling them to leave. Bury this where they will walk over it.
Gossip
To stop gossip, take a photo of the person responsible and cut out their eyes so they cannot “give the eye” and cut out the mouth so they cannot “speak the eye.” Place this in a mason jar and piss on it while calling their name, praying for their tongue to draw, for salt and vinegar to be in their mouth. Add nine pins and needles. Every day for nine days, tap the top with a silver spoon while praying your petition. On the tenth day, bury the jar in a churchyard or cemetery.
An old trick for this is to “catch their voice”: get a string and begin to tie a knot in it. Call for them when you're around them, and when they answer, without them knowing, pull the knot tight. The more knots you can get before they come, the stronger the spell will be. Take the cord and place it in a bottle filled with vinegar, alum, red dust, and your first morning urine. Shake the bottle while praying for them to stop.
For Success/To Turn Your Luck Around
Catch your first urine in the morning in a jar and add a handful of salt to the liquid. Take it and walk nine steps out and away from your home. At the ninth step, stop and recite the Lord's Prayer, following it with a prayer for your luck to turn around and for all ill fortune to be chased off by the Holy Trinity. Take a step backward toward the house and do the same. Do so for each step, counting nine in reverse. At the doorstep, turn toward the house and wash the doorstep with the mixture in the jar and without looking back, go back inside and think nothing more of it.
Sprinkle new salt in your shoes and you'll be “slicker than a slug” or “slicker than glass” in everything you set out to do.
REMEDIES:
Burns
Wave your hand over the burn going away from the person while reciting, “Two angels came and sat on a stone; one with fire and one with frost. Go away fire, come in frost! In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Recite it three times, passing the hand for each, followed by a breath blown on the burn directed away from the person.
Light a candle used during a wake or funeral and set it on the burn. Turn a clear glass over it to encompass the candle. When the flame goes out, fill the glass with water and pour this over the burn. What harmed you can cure you.
Swelling
Wash the place with well water, stumpwater, or rainwater from Easter Sunday.
Wrap the limb with a strip of eel skin while saying the Lord's Prayer and a Hail Mary.
Fever
Mama always said, “feed a cold, starve a fever.” Don't eat anything once the fever comes on. Wipe yourself down with an ice-cold washcloth while reciting the Lord's Prayer three times. Once the cloth is no longer cold, wring the water into a bowl and throw the cloth into the freezer. Place the bowl under the bed or couch and lay over it until the fever breaks.
Wear dirt collected from a church on St. John's Day in a bag about the neck.
Nightmares and Insomnia
Make a sachet containing three lamb's ears leaves, nine blackberry leaves harvested before September 29, and blessed salt. Sleep with this around the neck or under the pillow.
Sleep with a rabbit's left hind foot under the mattress.
Sleep under an authentic dream catcher, but never touch the feathers or the charm will be ineffective.
For bed wetting, as previously mentioned, give a tea made from corn silk. Sweeten to taste.
Place a Bible beneath the bed while saying, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as the waters of Jordan stood so shall the waters of [name].”
For sleepwalking, place a Bible at the head of the bed and a bucket of water at the foot.
Alternatively, take one of the person's shirts and tie a knot in it. Place it lengthwise on the foot of the bed at their feet so they will stay sleeping.
Sores/Wounds
For sore hands or feet, soak them in vinegar, salt, and warm water for thirty minutes.
Let a dog lick the sores or wounds and they'll be healed in three days, as they were for Lazarus in the Bible.
Rub the wound good with salt and honey and then wash it in warm water.
Toothache
Carry the boiled and dried tip of a cow's tongue around the neck.
Drink water from a cobalt blue glass.
Chew the grass that grows on a newly dug grave on a Sunday.
Wear a deer, hog, or buffalo tooth around the neck.
Wear a rosary.
Take the jawbone of a donkey and walk backward nine steps, then drop the bone there and leave it. This is preferably done somewhere you'll never see the bone again.”
—
‘11 — Pray the Devil Down: Folk Recipes and Remedies’
Backwoods Witchcraft:
Conjure & Folk Magic from Appalachia
by Jake Richards
A story is ‘holy,’ and it is used as medicine. The story is not told to lift you up, to make you feel better, or to entertain you, although all those things can be true. The story is meant to take the spirit into a descent to find something that is lost or missing and to bring it back to consciousness again. ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Witchy Song Suggestions
Hello Family! I am with you today to speak about some of the songs which I listen to when I am trying to manifest. I may suggest some *Some of these songs may fall into more than one category.* Feel free to add songs!
Love/Romance Magick:
Wonderful by Lianne La Havas
Serial Killer by Lana Del Rey
Lovefool by The Cardigans
Little Numbers by BOY
Love by Lana Del Rey
Romanitcise by Chelea
A Dream by Rachmaninoff - Sung by Dawn Upshaw
Morgen by Strauss - Sung by Barbara Bonney
Hey Now by London Grammar
Like I Can (Cover) by Jordan Smith
Golden Slumbers (cover) by Jennifer Hudson
Bittersweet by Ellie Goulding
Warm on a Cold Night by Honne
River Flows in You by Yiruma
L’heure Exquise by Hahn - Sung by Susan Graham
The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
Giant Steps by John Coltrane
Red Arrow by Gem Club
Blue Skies by Ella Fitzgerald
Long Time Ago by Trad/Copland - Sung by Nathan Gunn
Chi Il Bel Sogno from La Rondine by Puccini - Sung by Renee Fleming
Claire de Lune by Debussy - Performed by Xavier de Maistre
Che Gelida Manina from La Boheme by Puccini - performed by Vittorio Grigolo or Luciano Pavarotti
Sex Magick:
Is It a Crime by Sade
I Put a Spell on You by Nina Simone
Teeth by Lady Gaga
All Night by Beyonce
Hey Now by London Grammar
Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge
Hummingbird Heartbeat by Katy Perry
Pillowtalk by Zayn
Do What U Want by Lady Gaga
Off to the Races by Lana Del Rey
Money Magick:
Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
Feeling Good by Nina Simone
Coca Cola by Beth Hart
Digital Witness by St. Vincent
6 Inch by Beyonce
Money Honey by Lady Gaga
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich by Lady Gaga
National Anthem by Lana Del Rey
Million Dollar Man by Lana Del Rey
Luck Magick:
Tokyo by Lianne La Havas
Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
Feeling Good by Nina Simone
Primadonna by Marina and the Diamonds
Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae
Evergreen by Yebba
Right Place, Wrong Time by Dr. John
No Roots by Alice Merton
When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing by Lana Del Rey
Nagual by Trifolia
Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae
Beauty:
La fille aux cheveux de lin by Debussy - perormed by Xavier de Maistre
Venus by Lady Gaga
L’heure Exquise by Hahn - sung by Susan Graham
Unstoppable by Lianne La Havas
Radio by Lana Del Rey
Bel Air by Lana Del Rey
Breaking my Heart by Lana Del Rey
Binding:
Paradise Circus by Massive Attack
Work Song by Hozier
Summer Bummer by Lana Del Rey
In My Feelings by Lana Del Rey
Brother Sparrow by Agnes Obel
Wallflower by Agnes Obel
Avenue by Agnes Obel
Gold Dust Woman by Fleetwood Mac (good cover by Karen Elson)
Up in Flames by Ruelle
Body Electric by Lana Del Rey
Circle the Drain by Katy Perry
No Roots by Alice Merton
Hit Me Like a Man by The Pretty Reckless
Backfire by Lana Del Rey
Goodnight Moon by Shivaree
Baneful Magick (Curses and such):
Paradise Circus by Massive Attack
Wallflower by Agnes Obel
Strange Fruit sung by Nina Simone
Sinnerman by Nina Simone
Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine
Power and Control by Marina and the Diamonds
Teen Idol by Marina and the Diamonds
Kill of the Night by Gin Wigmore
The Rake’s Song by The Decemberists
Humans by Sevdaliza
No Rest for the Wicked by Lykke Li
Killing Moon by Roman Remains
Bones by Ms Mr
Limbs by Widdowspeak
Yubaba (Spirited Away Score) by Joe Hisaishi
The Raven by Alan Parsons Project
Neverland by Sisters of Mercy
Countdown by John Coltrane
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfuly
Bloodletting by Concrete Blonde
You Know that I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse
Power Gathering:
Death Defying Acts by Angus & Julia Stone
Django Jane by Janelle Monae
The Curse by Agnes Obel
Superpower by Beyonce
Spectrum (Song and Album) by Florence + The Machine
Sinnerman by Nina Simone
Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks
Four by Miles Davis
Twice by Little Dragon (Lianne La Havas also does a beautiful cover)
Sarajevo by Max Richter
Retrograde by James Blake
Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode
With You In My Head by UNKLE
Out Alive by Ke$ha
Ninth Gate: Vocalise performed by Diana Damrau
Sunrise by Yeasayer
Castle by Halsey
Breath of Life by Florence + the Machine
Healing:
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac
Who You Are sung by Jordan Smith
Stevie’s Dream by Janelle Monae
Hunger by Florence + the Machine
Life Goes On by Fergie
Wonderland by Haley Reinhart
Twice by Little Dragon (Lianne La Havas also does a beautiful cover)
Alive by Sia
Unbreakable Smile by Tori Kelly
Arabesque No. 1 in E Major by Debussy - Performed by Xavier de Maistre
Im Here from the Color Purple
Meditation:
Death Defying Acts by Angus & Julia Stone
Icarus by White Hinterland
Love Drought by Beyonce
Twice by Little Dragon (Lianne La Havas also does a beautiful cover)
Sarajevo by Max Richter
Cranes in the Sky by Solange
So Much More Than This by Grace Vanderwaal
Arabesque No. 1 in E Major by Debussy
La fille aux cheveux de lin by Debussy
Protection:
Safe & Sound by Capital Cities
Florets by Grace VanderWaal
Sarajevo by Max Richter
Alive by Sia
Ständchen D.957 by Schubert - Performed by Evgeny Kissin
C’est L’extase Langoureuse by Debussy - Sung By Elly Ameling
The Fire by Kina Grannis
The Bird by Duke - Sung by James Taylor
Arabesque No. 1 in E Majoy by Debussy - Performed by Xavier de Maistre
Confidence:
Fashion! (Artpop) by Lady Gaga
***Flawless by Beyonce
Bodak Yellow by Cardi B
Raining Men by The Water Girls
Sugar Pill by Kovacs
Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae
Oh No! by Marina and the Diamonds
Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves by Aretha Franklin
Land of Lola from Kinky Boots
Sex Is In the Heel from Kinky Boots
Screwed by Janelle Monae
I like that by Janelle Monae
Bad by Michael Jackson
Check it Out by Will.i.am & Nicki Minaj
Happiness/Just Good Vibes:
Blood (Album) by Lianne La Havas
Blue Skies by Ella Fitzgerald (or anything she sings)
Origami by Capital Cities
Pocket Full of Sunshine by Natasha Beddingfield
Rumors (Album) by Fleetwood Mac
Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy
Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing (cover) by Tori Kelly
Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac
Happy by Pharrell
Feel it Still by Portugal. The Man
Let’s Get Together by Beth Hart
Arabesque No. 1 in E Majoy by Debussy - Performed by Xavier de Maistre
Tightrope by Janelle Monae
I hope y’all find this useful! Feel Free to add songs! Also, email me at [email protected] for any questions, follow my YouTube @ Mojo Magick for some Magickal content, and Be Blessed!
Love,
Mojo Magick
A Working Bibliography of Books On Rootwork/Conjure/Hoodoo That Are Actually Authored by Black Folk
“Wherever there are Africans, or people of African descent, there is magic.”- Faith Mitchell
My calling to rootwork is ancestral. However, I unfortunately I have yet to encounter elders in my life to apprentice under on this plane of existence. Coming up, I didn’t know other people who identified themselves as rootworkers/hoodoos/conjurers etc. Being a scholar (among other identities), my entry point into hoodoo began with books, archives, and scholarly journals. As a result, I was able to garner a wealth of information as to what hoodoo is and isn’t, which recipes (old school hoodoos don’t cast ‘spells’) to use for what, to be able to engage in an intangible mentorship with the elders that came before me. All of these things have informed how I move through the world and grow stronger in my practice.
As a result of a White spiritual hijacking of African Traditional Religions and Africana Magico-Spiritual practices (i.e. hoodoo), the vast majority of the information about hoodoo on and offline has been authored by white people, so much so that they have become the face of hoodoo (similar to white women and yoga).
For those of us who are looking to grow and learn from other Black practitioners, here is a working list of books. This list consists solely of non-fiction texts, however, there is a lot to learn from novels as well, perhaps I’ll create a part two some other time.
Please hit me up if I am missing anything or if you have a personal connection with these texts, I’d love to be in conversation.
Many of these mentioned texts can be found online for Free.99.
Also, sorry this is a long ass post.
My Personal Favorites:
1. Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms & Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish
2. Of Mules & Men- Zora Neale Hurston
3. Working the Roots: Over 400 Years of Traditional African American Healing
4. Mojo Workin: The Old African American Hoodoo System- Katrina Hazzard-Donald
5. Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition- Yvonne P. Chireau
6. Secret Doctors: Ethnomedicine of African Americans by Wonda L. Fontenot ( I think this one might be out of print but much of it can be found online via Google Books)
Honorable Mention: Tell My Horse- Zora Neale Hurston
Ok, so this is one of my absolute favorite texts though it doesnt discuss American hoodoo. It focuses on Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah. However, there is a lot that can be learned from this text and how African magico-spiritual practices are indeed “scientific” as opposed to mere superstition.
Additional texts that I haven’t gotten to reading yet or are simply not in my favorites (no shade, no tea):
7. Hoodoo Medicine: Gullah Herbal Remedies - Faith Mitchell
8. 365 Days of Hoodoo: Daily Rootwork, Mojo and Conjuration- Stephanie Rose Bird
9. Sticks, Stones, Roots & Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs- Stephanie Rose Bird
10. A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit - Stephanie Rose Bird
11. African American Folk Healing- Stephanie Mitchem
12. Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life (Religion, Health, and Healing) - Stephanie Mitchem ED.
13. God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talks About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia - Cornelia Walker Bailey
14. Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money and Success- Tayannah Lee McQuillar
15. Voodoo & Hoodoo: The Craft as Revealed by Traditional Practitioners- Jim Haskins
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
Why Your Spells Don’t Work
You set your intention. You had all the correct correspondences. You even timed your spell with the appropriate moon phase. And yet – no results. What gives?
Failed spells happen to the best of us, and for a variety of reasons. But a spell gone wrong doesn’t necessarily mean that magic isn’t real or that you’re bad at witchcraft. Magic is complicated, and there are a lot of reasons it might not behave the way you want it to. Here are some of the most common causes of ineffective spells:
1. Lack of real-world follow through
Magic is meant to be used as a tool to supplement your mundane efforts – not as a substitute for them. How can you expect your job hunting spell to bring in results if you aren’t applying for jobs?
Magic does not exist in a vacuum, and it can’t make something out of nothing. If a spell doesn’t bring you the desired result, make sure that your non-magical actions are aligned with what you are trying to manifest.
2. What you’re trying to manifest isn’t a realistic possibility
Wait, what? Isn’t magic supposed to be, well… magic? Shouldn’t you be able to ask for whatever you want and get it? Yes and no.
Magic is simply a way of directing energy. Magic can’t defy the natural laws of the universe. It can’t make something happen unless it was already a potential possibility.
If your intention is unrealistic for where you are right now, try splitting it up into a multi-step process. No spell is going to make you a billionaire overnight, but magic could help you get hired at a better paying job… and then get promoted… and then get offered a profitable side gig… etc. Starting small and working your way up is always going to produce stronger results, because you laid the foundation first.
3. Your intention was either too vague or too specific
Whether you use written petitions or spoken incantations, clearly stating your intention is an important part (maybe THE most important part) of any spell or ritual. A good intention is specific enough to get you the results you want, but open enough to let those results manifest naturally.
Let’s say you do a money spell, and your intention for the spell is simply, “I have more money.” If you find a penny on the ground the next day and pick it up, technically that is more money than you had before. A better alternative would be to use an intention like, “I have enough money to buy ___,” or “I have enough money for everything I need and want.”
Using an intention that is too specific creates the opposite problem. Let’s say you want to manifest a scholarship to a specific school. You do a candle spell with the intention, “I have been chosen for the John Smith Scholarship at Jane Doe University.” But maybe the John Smith scholarship had already been awarded by the time you did your spell. Maybe there’s another scholarship at the same school that would be a better fit for you, or maybe you’re eligible for a grant that would make tuition more affordable. A better intention for your spell would be “I have enough financial aid to easily and affordably attend Jane Doe University.”
Magic always follows the path of least resistance, so you want to make sure that your intention is specific enough to give your magic a clear direction, but open enough to allow it some flexibility.
4. Lack of focus/concentration
We all know the struggle. You’ve been planning this ritual forever, and it’s finally the full moon, but you’ve got a really full schedule today. If you hurry, you can probably squeeze it into the thirty minute window between school and work, right?
If you say a few quick words and burn some incense before you head out the door in the morning, that totally counts as a spell, right?
Not so much. Rushed, lazy, and/or half-assed spells rarely, if ever, work. Spells revolve around the raising and direction of energy, and that requires two things: a clear intention (see above) and intense focus on that intention. If you don’t have the time/energy/mental capacity to focus, it’s best to take a break, have a self care day, and come back to your spell some other time.
5. You’re subconsciously blocking your own results OR you did a spell for someone else who isn’t open to it
I decided to lump these two together, because they’re different variations of the same issue.
Whenever you are doing magic on yourself, it’s important that your mindset is aligned with your intentions. You can do love spells all day long, but if deep down you don’t believe that you’re worthy of love, that belief is going to block your spells from working. This is why mindfulness, psychology, and self care are all such important parts of a successful witchcraft practice. It’s also why I recommend doing the mental work before you sit down to ritual.
If you did a spell on yourself, or are trying to manifest something for yourself, and it just isn’t working, I highly recommend setting some time aside for journaling and meditation and asking yourself 1.) if this is really what you want, and 2.) if you truly believe that you can have it.
The whole mindset thing gets even more tricky when you’re doing magic on behalf of another person, because their energy is also at work in the situation and could be at odds with yours. For example, if you do a spell to help a friend land a job, but that friend believes that they’re totally underqualified and could never get it, they probably won’t get the job even if you did everything “right” in your spell.
This should go without saying, but it is extremely unethical to use magic to mess around in someone else’s head. Even if you think you know what’s best for them, they need to be open to it. If someone is blocking the spells you do on their behalf, all you can do is try to be supportive and find other ways to help them out.
Other (Rare) Reasons for Failed Spells
If a spell goes wrong, it will almost always be for one of the above reasons. But maybe you did everything “right” – you did the mental work first, had a strong, realistic intention, put lots of focus into your spell, and followed through in real life – and you still aren’t seeing results. There are a couple of other things that could be blocking your spells, but they’re very uncommon so I’m not going to talk about them in as much detail. These may be things you want to look into if you really, genuinely can’t think of any other cause.
It’s possible that another witch has done magic that cancels out or blocks yours. This is not common, and it does NOT mean that someone has cursed you. It could be as simple as two witches unknowingly casting spells with opposite intentions, which end up cancelling each other out. (For example, maybe two different people both cast a spell to get the same job. Obviously, they can’t both get that job.) This is why it’s never a bad idea to incorporate a protective element into your spells to block outside interference.
There is a very, very remote possibility that someone has placed a curse on you specifically to block your magic. However – and I cannot stress this enough – this is VERY uncommon. If you were cursed you would know it, or at least know that something was very wrong in your life. If you feel like you have been cursed or hexed, I recommend looking into uncrossing spells, which are specifically designed to undo negative magic.
It’s also possible that a higher power is intervening. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a deity, although it certainly could be. Most witches believe in some form of fate or destiny, and it’s possible that your spell didn’t work because what you asked for is not in alignment with your destiny. In these situations, really the only thing you can do is surrender to the bigger picture.
Talk to the jar.
Or to the mojo bag or to the candle or to any conjure. I've been trying to stress that conjure is like giving birth to a child. You have to care for it because it will die if you don't.
So if you have a honey jar treat is amazingly, play music for it, keep it warm. If you have a sour jar curse at it, shake it angrily, tell it what you want to happen.
Because it's a living thing that needs care. Keep in mind you're creating a living thing.
Being A Magical Practitioner: 1. Question everything you are told and read. 2. Hell even question this post. Only YOU can decide what is right and what works for you. 3. What may work for someone else may not work for you. What may work for you may not work for someone else. 4. Your practices are YOUR practices.
Support: 1. Ancestral veneration is so important. 2. Communicate with your ancestors daily. 3. They will help and guide you on your journey more than you will ever know. 4. You have several guardian angels and guardian spirits built into your existence, get to know them. 5. There is magic within you. Embrace your own power. 6. Mind your own magic. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to explain your practices to anyone else. Do you.
Tools: 1. White candles are fantastic for every single purpose. 2. You can print your own labels for glass candles and glue them on plain glass candles. You will save money this way in the long run. 3. You don’t need every single tool to start off with. 4. Water is life. Water keeps the flow of your magic, filters and is a conduit to you and spirit. Keep clear glasses of water in your home. Change them often. 5. Your altar space doesn’t need to be fancy. 6. You do not need expensive herbs. 7. Mirrors and Magnets are the best tools closest to crystals to magnify and amplify your magic. 8. The bible is a book full of spells and divination.
Herbs: 1. You can get most of the herbs you need from your local super market and dollar store. 2. Salt: Protection or cursing. Various Powdered Peppers: Protection and Cursing. Cinnamon: Money and Lust work. Basil: Money and Luck. Bay Leaves: Protection and Granted Wishes. Rosemary: Protection. Chamomile: Peaceful Home Workings. Cloves: Protection, Love, Control and Bindings. Eucalyptus: Cleansing. Thyme: Purification, Healing.
Floor Washes: 1. Do Floor Washes in odd numbers. One series to remove the negativity and one series to bring in good energy. 2. Curse Killer Floor Wash: Hot Water, Ammonia, Lemon, Salt (optional) Open Roads Floor Wash: Cold Water, Florida Water, Parsley, Mint Leaves, Coconut Water (Strained of pulp)
Various Cleansings: 1. Cigar or tobacco smoke is a great alternative to sage sticks. 2. You can cleanse yourself with an egg and a glass of water. 3. You can cleanse yourself with lemons, limes and oranges. 4. When cleansing your home make sure to open your windows and doors. 5. Start from the back of the home towards the front and then to various rooms to confuse the negative energy. 6. A can of beer and salt will cleanse your aura. 7. When you cleanse yourself, make sure to replace what you removed with good energy.
Powders: 1. You do not need to purchase branded powders from metaphysical shops. Money/luck powder: Bank dirt, Shredded currency and corn starch. Love/Passion powder: Rose petals, Cinnamon and corn starch. Open Roads powder: Dirt from four corners of a crossroads and corn starch. Add three dimes to bottom of container. Cursing Powder: Graveyard dirt from criminals grave, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper. Protection Powder: Church Dirt, Psalm 91 passage from bible, Psalm 23 from the bible grinded into a powder. Oils: 1. Do not buy oils from the botanicas and metaphysical shops. Most are made with mineral oil, a synthetic fragrance and colorant. If you want that, Get yourself some baby oil, food coloring and scented fragrance oil of your choosing. I wouldn’t recommend it though. 2. Get yourself some Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Grapeseed oil and Vegetable oil at the supermarket along with some Vitamin E oil for preservative. You can make your own charged oils with herbs and a few glass bottles. 3. My favorite simple oils: Lust Oil: Sunflower oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, red rose petals, and Vanilla Bean Money Oil: Grapeseed oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, basil and thyme. Protection Oil: Olive Oil base, Vitamin E, Rosemary, Basil, Eucalyptus Life Force Oil: For when you need extra power in your magic. Olive oil base, 3 drops of blood. Blessing Oil: Olive Oil, Vitamin E and Psalm 91 torn from the bible.
Deities: 1. You do not have to have a deity in your practice. 2. You can practice secular magic. Secular magic is a practice that does not refer to, venerate and otherwise “work with” any deities (or, in some cases, any supernatural beings at all). This is perfectly okay. 3. If working with deity, never promise what you can’t provide. 4. Feed your spirits and deities. This can be with food, alcohol, energy, light, darkness, anything. 5. Know the spirits and deities you are working with. 6. Listen to your intuitive pulls when it concerns your deity. 7. No one can tell you the right or wrong way to worship and work with your deity BUT you should learn their mythos and their base wants, needs and what offends them. Misc Magic Info: 1. Your magic will not punish you because you can’t practice every single day. We are human, and sometimes life gets the best of us. It is okay. 2. Magic should never ever replace mental and physical health diagnosis and services from healthcare professionals. 3. “Black magic” is a racist term used to demonize the practices of people of color that are seen as “barbaric” or “uncivilized” to Europeans. Therefore “White magic” is considered good and “black magic” is considered bad. Energy is energy. Do not allow anyone to dictate your practice. That racist term is bullshit. Our melanin is magic. Our cultures and our roots are power. 4. You can purchase a Tarot deck from Amazon. You don’t need it gifted to you. 5. ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher in your home. 6. NEVER leave candles unattended in your home. 7. Coffee grounds speed up work. 8. Meditate. Leave the fuckery of the day at the end of the day. You will thank yourself in the long run. 9. Keep info to yourself. Not everyone needs to know what you are doing or all your secrets. 10. Do not bring your shoes into your home.
Collecting Tree Energy. Taoist Masters observed that trees are tremendously powerful plants. Not only can they absorb carbon dioxide and transform it into oxygen, but they can also absorb negative forces and transform them into good Energy. Trees strongly root with the Earth, and the more rooted the tree, the higher it can extend to Heaven. Trees stand very still, absorbing the Earth’s Energy and the Universal Force from the Heavens. Trees and all plants have the ability to absorb the Light of the Energies and transform it into food; in fact, they depend on light for most of their nourishment, while water and earth minerals make up about 30% of their nutritional intake. Trees are able to live very long lives. The Tree as Healer and Friend Trees are the largest and most Spiritually advanced plants on Earth. They are constantly in Meditation, and Subtle Energy is their Natural Language. As your understanding of this language grows, you can begin to develop a relationship with them. They can help you open your Energy Channels and cultivate calm, presence, and vitality. You can reciprocate by helping them with their own blockages and devitalized areas. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that needs cultivation. Choosing a Tree to Work With Throughout history human beings have used all parts of the tree for Healing and Medicine. The best trees for Healing are big trees, especially pines. Pine trees radiate Chi, nourish blood, strengthen nervous systems, and contribute to long lives. They also nurture Souls and Spirits. Pines are the “Immortal Tree.” Early Chinese poetry and painting is full of admiration for pines. Although pine trees are often the best choice, many other trees or plants can be used. The larger trees contain the most Energy. Among the most powerful are trees growing near running water. Some trees feel warmer or hotter than others; some feel cooler or colder than others. Practice distinguishing the varying properties of different trees. You do not need to go far out into the forest to find an appropriate tree to work with. Trees that are used to having people around understand our Energy and are actually more accessible and friendly than those far out in the wilderness. There is a certain size range within which trees are most accessible to human beings. When a tree is too small, it does not have enough Energy to make much of an impression on you. When the tree is too big, you have the opposite problem, so it takes more persistence to get large trees to take an interest in you. As a source of Healing Energy, it is best to choose a large, robust tree from within the accessible size range. Establishing Communion with a Tree There are certain methods to approaching, interacting with, retreating from and taking leave of a tree. By following specific steps you create a Ritual of Silent Communion that both you and the tree can understand, and so increase the potential for Harmonious Interaction. The steps were derived from observation of the Natural course of events in Subtle Energy Communion, and apply to communion with just about anything: tree, rock, human, or animal, although the following is concerned specifically with trees. First of all, each tree, like each person, has a personality, desires, and a Life of its own. Trees differ widely in their taste for human contact. Some are very generous and want to give you all the Energy you can take. Others are weak or ill and need your comforting and Healing Energy. Some are just friendly Souls who enjoy human company. You can learn and grow by working with all of them. Trees operate on a longer time scale than do human beings. You can help to bridge this gap by returning again and again to the same tree, so that a relationship develops. Visit regularly so that the tree knows when to expect you and can look forward to seeing you. Spiritual communion with trees resembles love more than any other human activity. Let the tree lead you into the wonders of its own inner life.
Being A Magical Practitioner: 1. Question everything you are told and read. 2. Hell even question this post. Only YOU can decide what is right and what works for you. 3. What may work for someone else may not work for you. What may work for you may not work for someone else. 4. Your practices are YOUR practices.
Support: 1. Ancestral veneration is so important. 2. Communicate with your ancestors daily. 3. They will help and guide you on your journey more than you will ever know. 4. You have several guardian angels and guardian spirits built into your existence, get to know them. 5. There is magic within you. Embrace your own power. 6. Mind your own magic. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You don’t have to explain your practices to anyone else. Do you.
Tools: 1. White candles are fantastic for every single purpose. 2. You can print your own labels for glass candles and glue them on plain glass candles. You will save money this way in the long run. 3. You don’t need every single tool to start off with. 4. Water is life. Water keeps the flow of your magic, filters and is a conduit to you and spirit. Keep clear glasses of water in your home. Change them often. 5. Your altar space doesn’t need to be fancy. 6. You do not need expensive herbs. 7. Mirrors and Magnets are the best tools closest to crystals to magnify and amplify your magic. 8. The bible is a book full of spells and divination.
Herbs: 1. You can get most of the herbs you need from your local super market and dollar store. 2. Salt: Protection or cursing. Various Powdered Peppers: Protection and Cursing. Cinnamon: Money and Lust work. Basil: Money and Luck. Bay Leaves: Protection and Granted Wishes. Rosemary: Protection. Chamomile: Peaceful Home Workings. Cloves: Protection, Love, Control and Bindings. Eucalyptus: Cleansing. Thyme: Purification, Healing.
Floor Washes: 1. Do Floor Washes in odd numbers. One series to remove the negativity and one series to bring in good energy. 2. Curse Killer Floor Wash: Hot Water, Ammonia, Lemon, Salt (optional) Open Roads Floor Wash: Cold Water, Florida Water, Parsley, Mint Leaves, Coconut Water (Strained of pulp)
Various Cleansings: 1. Cigar or tobacco smoke is a great alternative to sage sticks. 2. You can cleanse yourself with an egg and a glass of water. 3. You can cleanse yourself with lemons, limes and oranges. 4. When cleansing your home make sure to open your windows and doors. 5. Start from the back of the home towards the front and then to various rooms to confuse the negative energy. 6. A can of beer and salt will cleanse your aura. 7. When you cleanse yourself, make sure to replace what you removed with good energy.
Powders: 1. You do not need to purchase branded powders from metaphysical shops. Money/luck powder: Bank dirt, Shredded currency and corn starch. Love/Passion powder: Rose petals, Cinnamon and corn starch. Open Roads powder: Dirt from four corners of a crossroads and corn starch. Add three dimes to bottom of container. Cursing Powder: Graveyard dirt from criminals grave, black pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper. Protection Powder: Church Dirt, Psalm 91 passage from bible, Psalm 23 from the bible grinded into a powder. Oils: 1. Do not buy oils from the botanicas and metaphysical shops. Most are made with mineral oil, a synthetic fragrance and colorant. If you want that, Get yourself some baby oil, food coloring and scented fragrance oil of your choosing. I wouldn’t recommend it though. 2. Get yourself some Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Grapeseed oil and Vegetable oil at the supermarket along with some Vitamin E oil for preservative. You can make your own charged oils with herbs and a few glass bottles. 3. My favorite simple oils: Lust Oil: Sunflower oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, red rose petals, and Vanilla Bean Money Oil: Grapeseed oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, basil and thyme. Protection Oil: Olive Oil base, Vitamin E, Rosemary, Basil, Eucalyptus Life Force Oil: For when you need extra power in your magic. Olive oil base, 3 drops of blood. Blessing Oil: Olive Oil, Vitamin E and Psalm 91 torn from the bible.
Deities: 1. You do not have to have a deity in your practice. 2. You can practice secular magic. Secular magic is a practice that does not refer to, venerate and otherwise “work with” any deities (or, in some cases, any supernatural beings at all). This is perfectly okay. 3. If working with deity, never promise what you can’t provide. 4. Feed your spirits and deities. This can be with food, alcohol, energy, light, darkness, anything. 5. Know the spirits and deities you are working with. 6. Listen to your intuitive pulls when it concerns your deity. 7. No one can tell you the right or wrong way to worship and work with your deity BUT you should learn their mythos and their base wants, needs and what offends them. Misc Magic Info: 1. Your magic will not punish you because you can’t practice every single day. We are human, and sometimes life gets the best of us. It is okay. 2. Magic should never ever replace mental and physical health diagnosis and services from healthcare professionals. 3. “Black magic” is a racist term used to demonize the practices of people of color that are seen as “barbaric” or “uncivilized” to Europeans. Therefore “White magic” is considered good and “black magic” is considered bad. Energy is energy. Do not allow anyone to dictate your practice. That racist term is bullshit. Our melanin is magic. Our cultures and our roots are power. 4. You can purchase a Tarot deck from Amazon. You don’t need it gifted to you. 5. ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher in your home. 6. NEVER leave candles unattended in your home. 7. Coffee grounds speed up work. 8. Meditate. Leave the fuckery of the day at the end of the day. You will thank yourself in the long run. 9. Keep info to yourself. Not everyone needs to know what you are doing or all your secrets. 10. Do not bring your shoes into your home.
10 Types of Emotional Manipulator
1. The Constant Victim - This kind of individual will always finds a way to end up as a victim in their relationships.
2. One-Upmanship Expert – This person uses put downs, snide remarks and criticisms, to show that they’re superior, and know much more than you.
3. Powerful Dependents – They hide behind the mask of being weak and powerless. Then use their helplessness to dominate relationships. They send the subtle message “you must not let me down.”
4. Triangulators – This person tries to get other people on their side. They’re quick to put you down, and to say some nasty things. They separate good friends or drive a wedge in families.
5. The Blasters – They blast you with their anger or they blow up suddenly. That stops you asking questions - in case there’s a showdown.
6. The Projector – This person thinks they’re perfect and others have the flaws. They take no ownership – because they’re never, ever wrong.
7. The Deliberate Misinterpreter – They seem like a nice person but they twist and use your words. They spread misinformation and misinterpret you. They deliberately present you in a false, negative way.
8. The Flirt – This person uses flirting to get their way in life. They want to be admired and to have an audience. You’re really just being used so they will hurt and let you down.
9. The Iron Fist – They use intimidation and throw their weight around to get their way in life, and get the outcome they desire.
10. The Multiple Offender – This person uses several of the techniques we’ve described. They’ll often switch between them if it suits their purposes.
“Only the shaman knows that culture is a game. Everyone else takes it seriously. That’s how he can do his magic.”
- Terence McKenna // Art by Sam Brown - Art & Design
🔮50 Simple Charms🔮
🔮 Source: @wiccanartistry
🔮
Basil at the door, windows, or scattered in the home will increase money.
Lay thorny branches on your doorstep to keep evil from your dwelling.
Eat a pinch of Thyme before bed, and you will have sweet dreams.
Place chips of Cedar wood in a box with some coins to draw money to you.
Carry an Anemone Flower with you to ward against illness.
Hang a bit of Seaweed in the kitchen to ward evil spirits.
Keep a jar of Alfalfa in your cupboards to ensure the prosperity of your house.
Burn Allspice as an incense to draw money or luck to you, as well as speed healing.
Cut an Apple in half, and give one half to your love to ensure a prosperous relationship.
Carry an Avocado pit with you to let your inner beauty shine outwardly. Avocado is also an aphrodisiac.
Strawberries are an aphrodisiac.
Place a piece of cotton in your sugar bowl to draw good luck to your house.
Celery is an aphrodisiac.
Place Almonds in your pocket when you need to find something.
Scatter Chili Peppers around your house to break a curse.
Carrying a packet of strawberry leaves will help ease the pains of pregnancy.
Scatter some sugar to purify a room.
Throw rice into the air to make rain.
Carry a potato in your pocket or purse all winter to ward against colds.
Eat five almonds before consuming alcohol, to lighten the effects of intoxication.
Place a pine branch above your bed to keep illness away.
Chew celery seeds to help you concentrate.
Carry of chunk of dry pineapple in a bag to draw luck to you.
Ask an orange a yes or no question before you eat it, then count the seeds: if the seeds are an even number, the answer is no. If an odd number, yes.
Eat olives to ensure fertility.
Toss Oats out your back door to ensure that your garden or crop will be bountiful.
Eat mustard seed to ensure fertility.
Place Lilacs around your house to rid yourself of unwanted spirits.
Eat Lettuce to drive lustful thoughts from your mind.
Rub a Lettuce leaf over your forehead to help you sleep.
Add Lemon juice to your bathwater for purification.
Eat grapes to increase psychic powers.
Carry a blade of grass to increase your psychic powers.
Smell Dill to get rid of hiccups.
If you place a Dill sachet over your door, those who wish you ill can not enter your home.
Place cotton on an aching tooth, and the pain will ease.
Burn cotton to cause rain.
Place pepper inside a piece of cotton and sew it shut to make a charm to bring back a lost love.
Carry a small onion to protect against venomous animals.
Eat grapes to increase fertility.
Place a sliced onion in the room of an ill person do draw out the sickness.
Place an onion underneath your pillow to have prophetic dreams.
Place morning glory seeds under your bed to cure nightmares.
Walk through the branches of a maple tree to ensure that you will have a long life.
Mix salt and pepper together and scatter it around your house to dispel evil.
Smell Lavender to help you sleep. (Lavender makes me fall asleep so fast).
Hang a pea pod containing nine peas above the door to draw your future mate to you.
Eat a peach to assist in making a tough decision.
Carry peach wood to lengthen your lifespan.
Carry a walnut to strengthen your heart muscle.
“I do wonder at times if my duty here is to reveal to others their own dark shadow,”
— Elspeth Penn
Grounding
WHAT IS GROUNDING?
Grounding is a set of simple strategies to detach from emotional pain for example (cravings, self harm urges, emotional eating behaviour etc.) Grounding can also be a way of returning your attention to the outside world and away from yourself. In the case of dissociation.
WHY PRACTICE GROUNDING TECHNIQUES?
When you are overwhelmed with emotional pain, you need a way to detach so that you can gain control over your feelings and stay safe. As long as you are grounding, you are more likely to be able to overcome urges. Grounding ‘anchors’ you to reality.
Many people with PTSD and dissociative disorders struggle with either feeling too much (overwhelming emotions and memories) or too little (numbing and dissociation). In grounding, you attain balance between the two—conscious of reality and ability to tolerate it.
GUIDELINES:
§ Grounding can be done any time, anywhere and no one has to know.
· § Use grounding when you are: faced with a trigger, having a flashback or dissociating.
· § Keep your eyes open, look around the room, and make sure the light is good to stay in touch with the present.
· § Rate your mood before and after to test whether it worked. Before grounding, rate your level of
· § emotional pain, or your level of dissociation. Then re-rate it afterwards. Has it gone down?
· Try not to make judgements or think negatively. The idea is to distract from the negatives.
· § Stay neutral—no judgments of good or bad.
· § Focus on the present, not the past or future.
· § Grounding is much more active than relaxation exercises and focuses your attention.
Grounding is deemed to be a better way of coping with PTSD and dissociative disorders than relaxation practice. As during relaxation the focus is too much within the body, which at the worst may bring on flashbacks.
WAYS TO GROUND
MENTAL GROUNDING
o ♣ Describe to yourself in detail your surroundings: For example “The walls are white, there are three pink chairs and a blue sofa. There is a picture of a brown border collie on the wall with a gold frame around it.” You can do this out loud if appropriate, or in your head if you are in public.
o ♣ Play a game like “Scattergories” in your head or with a friend or family member. Choose a letter of the alphabet and try and come up with as many examples of a category you choose as you can. For example C … Boys names: Christopher, Curtis, Carl, Charles etc.
o ♣ Do an age progression. IThis can be particularly useful if you have dissociated or regressed to a younger alter or state. For example in my experiences I have an alter who is three. So I might say… Now I am four, I am at home with Mummy and Daddy and I can do (an example of an age appropriate activity) alone. Work your way up until you are back to your current age. This may not always work for little alters, but can help.
o ♣ Describe an everyday activity in great detail. For example if you like gardening “I open the shed door and pull out the lawn mower, I connect it to a power supply and climb on. I turn the key and put it into drive….”
o ♣ Imagine. For example make up a nice little story in your head, or out loud. “I am putting some roller skates on, and I am slowly gliding away from all my emotional suffering down a beautiful smooth lane, having fun listening to my favourite music LOUD!”
o ♣ Say a safety statement. ‘My name is _________; I am safe right now. I am in the present, not the past. I am in _____________ the date is _____________.
· ♣ Read something, saying each word to yourself. Or read each letter backwards so that you focus or the letters and not on the meaning of words.
· ♣ Use humour: For example have a “Funny Memory Bank” where you store up your favourite witty moments for those detached, rainy days.
· ♣ Count to 100 or say the alphabet very slowly or very fast.
· ♣ Repeat something meaningful to yourself, such as a prayer or quote. For example you could use the Serenity Prayer.
PHYSICAL GROUNDING
û Run cool or warm water over your hands.
û Grab tightly onto your chair as hard as you can.
· û Touch various objects around you: a pen. keys, your clothing, the table, the walls. Pay close attention to colours, weights, textures etc.
· û Firmly stamp your feet on the floor, literally grounding yourself. Feel the tension of your feet against the pressure of the floor.
· û Carry a ground object in your pocket—a small object such as a rock, stone, crystal, bead, piece of string or cloth, or a stress ball that you can touch whenever you feel triggered.
· û Jump up and down.
· û Stretch reach upwards and pull yourself tall. Extend your arms, legs, fingers and toes.
· û Walk slowly, noticing each footstep.
· û Eat something yummy. Notice the flavours, textures and feelings that come up for you.
SOOTHING GROUNDING
· ♥ Use Cheerleading statements, as if you were talking to a small child. For example “You are having a difficult time adjusting to these chanes, but you are doing so well. You should be proud of yourself.”
· ♥ Think of favorites. Think of your favorite color, animal, season, food, time of day, TV show.
· ♥ Picture people you care about. Even get a photobook made of positive pictures or pictures of people you love! Such a simple nice way to ground, and you can get A4 photo books at the moment from GroupOn for under £7!! (I in no way endorse them I just thought it was a good offer!)
· ♥ Remember the words to an inspiring song, quotation or poem that you like or feel positively about. Maybe write out the words and decorate it for your wall.
· ♥ Remember a safe place. Describe a place that you find very soothing it could be when you went on holiday to the beach, or walking in the woods. Or just a time you felt safe and peaceful at home in your living room or in bed.
· ♥ Plan out a safe treat for yourself, such as a trip to a coffee shop with a friend, making a nice dinner or a bath with some nice toiletries or candles if you feel safe to use them
· ♥ Think of things you are looking forward to in the next week. Perhaps schedule your time so you build some structure for chores and pleasurable activities. It can help to know what you are doing and also not just sit at home with nothing to do. This can cause difficulties.
WHAT IF GROUNDING DOESN’T WORK?
♠ Practice as often as possible. Even when you don’t feel overwhelmed or dissociative. This way it will come more naturally to you when you are struggling.
♠ Practice faster. Speeding up the pace gets you focused on the outside world quickly. ♠ Try grounding for a Ioooong time 20 mins at least, and then repeat !! ♠ Try to notice whether you do better with physical or mental or soothing grounding.
♠ Create your own methods of grounding. Any method you make up may be worth much more than those you read here because it is yours.
♠ Start grounding early in a negative mood cycle. Start when you begin to feel the early warning signs of dissociation or when you have just started having a flashback.
One of my favorites is using something frozen. Like if I drive longer then 10 minutes I have to have a frozen bottle of water to hold onto. It’ll keep me in the moment. If I’m shopping with mom (can’t go alone) I’ll use whatever frozen object she plans on buying if I need it.y therapist taught me this so I could drive more and it has helped so much