A Cemetery Stripper - Dancing to the Dead

Mariane, 20, Brazil. Witchcraft and Rock n' Roll

[spoonofconsciousness]

THE EGO CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS TO KEEP ITSELF DISTRACTED FROM ACKNOWLEDGING ITS OPINION OF ITSELF.

[elemental-healer]

Powerful Self Cleansing Ritual

This is a very powerful ritual which calls upon elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Great for when you need to cleanse your mind and body from painful memories, experiences or just need to clear your mind due to excessive anxiety, depression etc! A large part of this ritual is fine-tuning your focus and become sensitive to the energies radiating from the elements that you come in contact with throughout this spell. 

First call upon element of Earth by acquiring a smudging stick, or any combination of cleansing herbs in a fireproof bowl (good ones are sage and rosemary, and thyme make sure they are dry or they may not light on fire). Smell the herbs and hold them in your hands whilst envisioning the power and energy of the Earth.  Repeat the following incantation: 

“Element of Earth, I invoke thee 

Cleanse my mind and body of all negativity”

Next light your herbs or smudging stick on fire and wave it around your body from the top of your head, down to your feet completely cover yourself in the smoke. As you watch the embers envision the powers of fire and feel the energy radiating from the embers and flames. As you wave the smoke around your body repeat the following:

“Element of fire, I invoke thee,

cleanse my mind and body of all negativity” 

As you breathe in the smoke of the herbs, focus on the element of air. Envision that which each breath you take you are inhaling positive energy and exhaling negative reaffirm this aloud as you say:

“Element of Air, I invoke thee,

As I exhale, carry away the negative energies that reside in my body

As I inhale, bring positive energies into my body”

Make sure to take big deep breaths as you repeat the incantation, picturing the energies flowing in and out of your lungs.

Lastly, the element of water. I find this to be one of the most powerful aspects of the spell and should be done LAST. Get to a body of water that you can rinse yourself in, stand in, splash in, whatever. A simple bowl of water will not be as powerful opposed to this method. I decided to take a shower (because it was convenient lol) you can feel free to run a bath if you like. Visiting a stream or river is obviously ideal but it is really the intent here that matters. Stand in the water and wash yourself whilst repeating:

“Element of water, I invoke thee,

May the water rushing over my skin carry (bad energies, and painful 

memories, pain, whatever it is you wish to focus on) away

Close your cleansing ritual by thanking each of the elements aloud. 

***edit***If you are looking for a home cleansing ritual I also have one that I just recently posted on my page

[sowilo-hedgewolf]

🔮🔯Magickal Herbs🔯🔮

[littlepawz]

Natural phenomenon of diffraction of light transforms black hummingbird’s wings into tiny rainbows

~photo credit: Christian Spencer~

[moon-lightfaerie]

In Irish mythology, Brigid is the daughter of the Dagda and had two sisters also named Brigid and is part of the Tuatha de Danann, the supernatural Irish race. The three sisters made up the triple aspect of the one goddess: Brigid of the hearth, Brigid of the forge and Brigid of Inspiration. She is a goddess of spring, fertility, family, the hearth, childbirth, fire, blacksmiths, scholars, physicians, prophets, healing, poetry, occult knowledge, and justice. She was said to be born at sunrise and is often depicted with solar rays coming out of her head, making her one of the Irish solar deities alongside Lugh. It is said that wherever she walks four leaf clovers and flowers will grow. She also created the tradition of “keening” when her son Ruadan died in battle, a song-like wail used by women at funerals. In some cases she is also the goddess of sacred wells, springs and healing waters.  

History

Her name comes in different spellings like Brig, Brighid, Brigit, or Brigid but it means “Exalted one” or “Fiery arrows”. She is a goddess of Pre-christian Ireland but versions of her are found all over Europe; she has ties to Brigantia, a warrior goddess of the Brigantes tribe of Britain. She was a beloved goddess of the Celts and has survived through centuries including the Christianization of Ireland and the rest of Europe where most traces of Druidism and Paganism were forgotten. The people of Ireland loved her so much and refused to let her be demonized by the church -like the rest of the gods- that they converted her into a saint known as St. Brigid of Kildare. There are also three rivers named after her one in Ireland, Wales and England: Brigit, Braint and Brent.The river that runs through Wales is known to have healing properties.

Imbolc

Also known as Brigid’s day, Candlemas or St. Brigid’s feast, Imbolc is one of the four fire festivals in Celtic paganism and celebrates the return of spring. Since Brigid is the goddess of spring and was said to go away during the winter, people would light a candle in honor of her return. Offerings of milk, bread, and corn cakes were set out and a seat at the dinner table was left open for her presence.  Cows and sheep were seen as sacred to the goddess because they would provide milk for the town during the cold months and they would give birth around Imbolc. This festival celebrated the Maiden aspect of Brigid and young women would carry corn dollies dressed in white which represented the goddess. The women would also dress in white and attend a special feast for Imbolc where young suitors could mingle with the ladies. Imbolc is a time of fertility, cleansing and the light returning after a long winter.

Correspondences

Elements- Water & Fire

Animals- snakes, ewes, cows, bees, oxen, owls and hibernating animals. Vultures

Plants- blackberry, hawthorn, basil, mugwort, apple, heather, dandelion, snowdrop, willow, oak, shamrock, crocus, trillium, corn, lavender and sage. Personal one is cinnamon and chamomile.

Crystals- amethyst, bloodstone, carnelian, garnet, moonstone, clear quartz, and peridot.

Symbols- Brigid’s cross, candles, triquetra, faeries, four leaf clover, cauldron, chalice, corn dolly, anvil or hammer, poetry, forges, hearths, wells, rock formations.

Colours- green, red, white, gold and blue

Devotional Acts

offer her blackberries, baked goods, milk and honey or beer

dedicate a piece of your art to her like painting, knitting, singing, etc.

meditate with fire

savour the warmth of the sun or fire

incorporate the elements of water and fire into your craft

write her a poem

watch the sun rise

say hi to cows and sheep :)

hang a Brigid’s cross above your doorway for protection and blessings 

study healing magick, reiki, herbalism and faeries

wear the colours of fire or white

plant a bee garden

[thespellweavingspirit]

Intro to Channeling

Channeling is one of the basic tools of energy work. There will be spells that will require a larger amount of energy than you currently possess, and learning how to channel other types of energy will help you to not drain yourself too quickly. For now, our lesson will focus on elemental energy.

There are a couple reasons for this. Elemental energy is generally one of the safest external energies to work with because the human body is naturally tied to it. As long as we are nice to the elements, the elements are nice to us. This type of energy is also the easiest to work with, as most of us have affinities for at least one basic physical element. The secondary physical elements (or sub-elements) probably come second in terms of easiest to cast, but not everyone has an inherent affinity for one (although most everyone can develop one).  

There are a few rules to this:

Never call an element that you don’t vibe with. Elements that don’t respond well to you probably won’t come anyway (and you definitely shouldn’t force it to come), much less work for you.

Never force an element to work with you. Think of it like trying to force a deity that doesn’t want to work with you to do something for you. It’s not good. Moreover, if you somehow do manage to force the element, you probably won’t get the results you want.

Do not abuse the elements. The elements are living, sentient beings. They may not be humanoid, but that doesn’t make them unlike any other human you’ve met in terms of emotions; except they’re even more dangerous. Believe me: you don’t want the elements against you.

That’s it! They’re super simple but really important to follow in order to make sure you stay safe. We’ll be working with the four basic physical elements today: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Some people include the element “Spirit” when we’re talking about these four, but Spirit is not a physical element so we won’t be working with it for now.

If you don’t know what element you “vibe” with, it’s pretty easy to get a good and reasonable guess. First, ask yourself: of these four, which one do you want to work with the most? Then, search your memories. Which element do you have the most impactful memories with? Do you have lots of memories of days at the beach or the pool? How about somewhere up high or a memory where you’re standing outside and the wind is brushing past your cheeks and the clear night sky is directly above you and you feel like you could just reach out and touch the stars? Do you have any memories of the heat of the sun on your face or sitting in front of a roaring fireplace in the dead of winter? Or what about when you’re standing outside barefoot in the garden, letting the dirt you’re digging up to give a new plant a home cover your hands because it feels soft and cool on your skin?

Maybe you don’t have any memories like this, but remember that the elements aren’t just physical. They’re emotional and mental, as well. Calmer or more emotional people tend to vibe with water. Stable, responsible people vibe with earth. Wild and spontaneous people are air people, and intense, driven, passionate people are fire types. Sound like you?

If you’re still not sure what element you vibe with, don’t worry. You’re still testing the waters so it’s not like the elements will lash out at you–they’ll just let you know whether they want to work with you or not by either not showing up or making you feel a little off until you send them away. Just pick an element you think you might get along with and go from there. If it doesn’t work out, you can always do the exercise again with a different one.

Step One

Gather a physical representation of your chosen element. Most energy work can be done without any kind of physical component, but as a beginner, it’s also nice to have something physical as a type of support. In this case, the physical representation of your element will not only help you call it, but it will also hold any energy you can’t handle channeling at the moment. Below is a guide for suggested items that can be used for each element:

It’s best to choose something that you’re okay with either tossing afterward or that you’re cool with being a permanent representation of your physical element. You can always cleanse the item of energy, but strong energy tends to leave an imprint on any item.

Step Two

Before we channel the energy of your chosen element, we have to call it to our space. Get into a relaxed state and focus on the element you’re trying to call. Think of all it represents for you. What thoughts/feelings/memories do you have associated with it? Call everything forth; immerse yourself in the very life that is your element. Take your time. I can usually stop here if I briefly need the element, but I’ve been doing this for quite some time now. You should speak something aloud or do something that will call your element to you. Find words that feel right (and if you’ve called on a powerful enough connection, the right words will come to you as soon as you call to them). I personally like to sing for air and dance for fire. For water, I have a specific sigil that I draw in water while speaking some words of my own, and for earth, I touch the rock and say some different words. Sometimes I’ll dance or sing for all of the elements… it really depends.

At this point, you probably feel a large influx of energy that is not yours. What you want to do now is take that energy and put it into the physical representation of your element. This is so you don’t overload yourself by being the host of too much energy. You can, eventually, host the energy on your own but as a beginner, you definitely need the physical representation. Don’t worry—the element is still with you, you just won’t be the direct host of its energy for now.

Step Three

The last step is to actually channel the energy. You did this briefly when you called the energy, but now that you’ve given the element a place to live temporarily you can begin to test your current limits. Take the energy out of the item you’ve chosen a little at a time. Keep pulling until you either feel like you can’t handle any more energy or the element doesn’t give you any more.

From here, you can play with the energy you’re channeling if you’d like. Manipulate the energy in any of the basic ways we’ve talked about so far. It’s very much like controlling your own energy. The only difference here is that you’re A) working with another being and B) you have to work more in order to form a tangible enough connection that you can call upon the energy with. Once you’re done or you get tired, you can gather the element around you and say something like, “Thank you, [element]. I release you.” Its energy should leave, then.

I’d also recommend grounding after channeling energy. It’s a good practice to get into, especially because channeling leaves you feeling completely energized most of the time and you have to learn to bring yourself back down.

[ener-chi]

Technique to Dispel Negative Inner Energies

Here’s a pretty simple energy work technique that I’ve developed to help get rid of negative energy that you’ve built up. And this can be any kind of negative energy, including: stress, anxiety, anger, guilt, tiredness, negative energy, heavy energy, etc. Basically any negative energy that you’ve built up or accumulated from others that you want to get ride of.

Step 1: Get into a meditative state

Get comfortable, either sitting up or laying down, close your eyes, and breathe in deeply, relaxing all of the muscles in your body. Focus on your breath, and the energy that it brings into your body. Feel your deep breathing slow your heartbeat and bring a gentle calmness to your mind.

Step 2: Take in positive energy

We’re not focusing on the negative energy quite yet. First, we need to fill our bodies with positive energy in order to flush out the negative.

As you breathe, imagine a cord connecting your root chakra running into the ground, down into the dirt and running all the way into the earth, towards the center. As you breathe, feel the earth’s energy channeling up into you, running up your body, down your arms, making your fingertips tingle. Continue to breathe, taking in more and more energy until you feel revitalized and calm.

Hold your hands in front of you, facing each other, and breathe in, taking in more energy. As you exhale, imagine the energy running out of your hands, forming a ball of energy between them. Do this a couple more times, making the energy ball bigger, feeling its’ energy between your palms.

Step 3: Gathering the negative energy

Take a deep breath in, imagining all of the negative energy in your body gathering in the center of your body, in a big, pulsing blob. As your exhale, imagine the negative energy running up your arms and out your hands, forming a ball of negative energy between your hands. 

Breathe in again, repeating this process until you feel that all of the negative energy has left your body and has entered into your energy ball.

Step 4: Dispelling

Take the negative ball of energy and very slowly push it into the ground, imagining a cord connecting it to the center of the earth, and all of the negative energy being pushed down it. Slowly push all of the energy down and out until your palms are touching the floor. 

Shake your hands, as if shaking off any negative residue. Wash your hands after to make sure all of the negative energy is gone, and voila. 

I hope this works for you guys, because it sure works for me. Thanks for reading. Blessings

[the-arcanes-mystic]

∆Protecting Yourself Masterpost∆

There seem to be an infinite amount of creative ways to protect oneself, each of us have ways we are most comfortable with, some prefer to create their own, while others enjoy using ways that have been confirmed and used by others. Any which way you choose to protect yourself, I hope this list of some techniques that I have personally created, come across in my work or have been told about by friends from this realm and the next comes to you in the best of fortune.<3

 Calling on the God(s)/Goddess(es)/Deities: This is by far one of the most common ways of protection that I have personally seen, many have felt incredibly safer and comforted when they ask for the protective aid of their chosen Deity or Deities. Simply ask, whether out loud or in your mind to be bathed with their holy protection. You can easily ask for this in an elaborate ritual, or just a quick thought if you happen to be in a hurry or somewhere you feel is unsafe.

Calling on Angels: Very similar to the previous technique, at any time and anywhere, you can always ask for the love and protection of the Angels or your personal Angels. Even if you know that your personal Angels are always around, sometimes it helps to allow them more influence on you and your life if you make sure to ask and give permission. 

PSI Ball: This technique is taking your protection into your own hands, quite literally actually, as to create a psi ball, you must first relax yourself and enter a meditative state before cupping your hands together in-front of yourself, switching your focus from your breathing to the palms of your hands and gathering energy between them. Slowly form the your pouring energy into a ball. Once satisfied with this, begin to program the ball for protection, this can be for specific or general protection. After you feel confident in the programming, you can choose to leave the ball that size, make it smaller, or make it larger. Some will leave it small and visualize it slowly circling within their energetic field, while others will expand it to encase their physical and spiritual body. 

Strengthening Your Aura/Energetic Field: Find a comfortable position, whether laying down or sitting up, take some time to calm yourself and slowly slip into a meditative state. As you quiet your mind by focusing on your breathing, only slightly shift your focus to your aura, just enough to become aware of your personal energy while still engaging your breathing. Imagine and visualize your energetic field breathing with you, expanding as your chest does, and sinking with it as well. Feel the connection between you and your energy becoming stronger, more intricately woven together with your intentions and thoughts. With this practice, simply thinking of your energy becoming basically a shield or your thoughts getting more on the defensive side, your energetic field will respond and protect you at your will. 

Sparkling Energy: I personally have been told on multiple occasions by several different spiritual beings that the strongest energy type is ‘sparkly energy’. (This isn’t to say others have been told incorrectly if they’ve been told differently, this is my own personal account of my experiences) This ‘sparkly energy’ almost resembles the night sky, or galaxies, each color of energy possessing thousands of stars within it. Focusing on this kind of energy and wrapping yourself within it can bring, not only immense protection, but for some, a peace of mind that may not always be achievable with other methods. NOTE-Most used colors for protection with this technique is: black, white, red, pink and gold. 

Enchanted Jewelry/Objects: Wearing enchanted jewelry or carrying around protective objects is an easy and effective way to keep yourself protected. Some easy ways to enchant or charge something are: Energy, the Sun or Moon, the Elements, Candle Magick, Herbs and Crystals. 

Music: Focusing and meditating on music, whether you choose to focus on the tempo, the words, the instruments or everything together, music itself possesses and brings it’s own energy, and by incorporating this energy into your own, you can focus on it becoming a protective energetic shield around you. This method is very useful when out and about, and you remembered to bring headphones.

Candle Magick: Pretty self explanatory. Simply charge a candle of your chosen protective color and allow it to burn in a safe space. You can imagine that it only protects you for as long as it burns,(in this case, best used as you do spells, rituals or even take a call that has you nervous), or you can imagine and allow it to feed this protective energy around you as it burns so that the gathered energy still circles you, even after the candle has either burnt out or been snuffed. 

Spells: Most likely one of the most obvious methods to protecting oneself. Protection spells, with the correct knowledge, ingredients and tools can provide you with immense and powerful protections for as long as you wish and specify within the incantation.

Crystals and Crystal Grids: Carrying a crystal that embodies protective vibrations is another wonderfully simple way to protect oneself. Some protection Crystals being: Amber, Citrine, Clear Quartz, Garnet, Jet, Obsidian, and Tiger’s Eye. On the other hand, you can build your own crystal grid in your safe space that constantly feeds protective energies to you at all times.

Mojo Bags or Witch Bags:  (NOTE: both of these types of bags are associated with different beliefs and will even call for very different ingredients, this post is just simply trying to be as inclusive as possible) With the right ingredients, crystals, stones, symbols, material and empowerment, both of these techniques can be incredibly powerful protective sachets that are convenient enough to carry around with you.

Witch Jar: This technique, usually calling for things like vinegar, rusty nails and broken glass is actually one of the older known ways to protect. However usually this jar is buried on the grounds of a witch’s home and strictly keeps the land and everything on it protected, but still a highly recommended, amazing and incredibly strong way to protect yourself, your family, land and sacred space. 

[thecultoflexithewulf]

Seeing Auras

Seeing auras is a technique that can provide you with insight into the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and energy of different people, and objects. This technique maybe hard at first for some people, but eventually you will get it. The aura in general is a quite complex subject, and there’s no way I can explain it all here, but I will try to explain as much as I can to help you understand how to see them, and use that information to give you insight into things.

The aura is the electromagnetic energy field that is emitted by all entities, and objects. The aura extends off all entities, and objects by about 2-3 feet, and it may extend even further on gurus, and spiritual leaders. The aura’s color can change from color to color depending on the mood, or the state of the entity, or object.

Auras can be a very complicated subject with a bunch of ins, and outs, but for the purpose of this post the stuff that I have  above is all you really need to know. The short version is, we’re going to be looking around things to see colors that are not usually there, to gain insight. Time for a step by step on how to see auras.

Find the person, place, or thing that you would like to see the aura of. This can be anything because everything has an aura, but if you’re too lazy to find an object you can always just look at your hand against the wall, or something.

(This is an optional step.) It is actually easier to see the aura in a lightly dimmed room with a plain backdrop that is usually White. This should increase the percent chance of you seeing the aura if this is your first time, but eventually you will get better, and not need any of this.

Relax your eyes, and then begin to gently gaze at the center of the object you’re trying to see the aura of. You might also want to try unfocusing your eyes people say it tends to help.

After a few minutes of this, or seconds depending on your skills to see auras, you may begin to see a slight TV static esque fog floating around and/or outlining the object. This is the aura! After another little bit you might begin to see color in the aura. This is what you need in order to get the inside you’re looking for.

After you see the aura, and you get a color of the aura. All you have to do is look up what the color means. Usually you will see their main aura color, but eventually once you get good enough at seeing auras you will be able to pick the layers apart, and you will be able to see things in auras that you thought you would never be able to see.

[thecultoflexithewulf]

The Violet Flame

The Violet Flame is a powerful purifying transmuting energy. It is also said to be the seventh ray of the holy spirit. The Violet flame is also known by the names of seventh ray, flame of forgiveness, mercy flame, The violet ray, and the Violet fire. This energy is said to manifest on higher planes as a bright vibrant violet color thus its name suggests. This energy is used to transmute negative energy into positive energy, and because of this it is very good for healing, and purification. The power of the Violet flame can be invoked through violet-flame decrees, mantras, and incantations. This will invoke the Violet flame through your body to be used by you in different forms of practices. The Violet flame is connected to many different types of spiritual entities, and ascended masters. Some of the most notable of these are Archangel Zadkiel, Archangel Metatron, Ascended Master Saint Germain, and Ascended Master Lady Portia. Ascended Master Saint Germain was the main person who brought the knowledge of the Violet flame into the public eye back in the 18th century. he is now known as the keeper of the Violet Flame. It has been used for quite a while to transmute, and purify the world of various negative energies by certain practitioners that know how to use it.

Here is a list of ways you can invoke The Violet Flame into your life at any time.

“I am a being of Violet Fire, I am the purity God desires!”

“Let there be light! And let that light be the violet light O God!”

“I’m calling for an ocean of violet flame to transmute fear and error, and all sense of shame. ”

“I stand for love, I stand for life, with violet flame to end all strife.”

“I forgive all life, and all life forgives me, by violet flame power of the three times three!”

“Let the violet flame now arise and sing, in my heart of hearts, its gifts to bring.”

[blindwyrm]

Basics of Energy Work - Part One

Expanding Awareness Energy work is a subtle art, a foundational building block to successful magic. Almost all magical practices involve some form of energy work - and there are countless forms - but how it will function from individual to individual will differ greatly. To put it simply, energy work is the practice of manipulating unseen energies. Everything - people, places, animals, inanimate objects, even our thoughts - vibrates at a specific energetic frequency and emits energy. By learning how to identify and tune into these energies, we can use them to direct our magic and spell work. Chances are, you have worked your own personal energy before. More often than not, your own energy will be the easiest for you to tap into. To do this, we need to learn how to expand our awareness. Meditation Meditation is a good practice to have when pursuing any kind of magical endeavor; there are many ways to meditate and there is much to achieve through it. The overall key to meditation is, generally, focus. You are training your mind to simply observe with non judgement; not to simply clear your mind of any thought at all, which is the common misconception. There is not just one way to meditate - if sitting cross legged in a room bathed with incense as you engage breathing exercises works for you, great! Some people meditate through dance, yoga, exercise, crafts, etc. Anything where your mind can drift, “tune out” so to speak, as your body instinctively goes through the motions. There are also several forms of guided meditations that you can use for specific goals, such as attentiveness, visualization, improving memory, empowerment, etc. Elemental meditation is popular among the witchcraft community. What’s great about guided meditation is it extremely accessible through apps and things like youtube (favorites of mine are the fire meditation and the water meditation from magickians!) and makes the whole process of learning to meditate a lot less intimidating.  As meditation relates to energy work, it will sharpen your ability for visualization, increase your focus, have you more in touch with your physical and inner self as both the same and separate entities, and increase your awareness of changes in and around you - all of this working towards an enhanced ability to sense energy and its movement.  What is this mystical “energy?”  If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the idea of the elusive and all encompassing vaguery of “energy”, don’t worry. The idea may seem intimidating, but they are not inaccessible. If you are struggling, it only indicates that you are human. This will take practice and it will require you to understand the concepts on a physical level. Luckily, these are steps that nearly every magical practitioner, old and new, has and will continue to work on for the rest of their spiritual journey. Every question you have has likely already been answered. Some may just take a bit of research to find! However, I’m going to try and provide at least some cursory information here. To get a real idea of what “energy” feels like, set aside some quiet time for youself. Close the door, dim the lights, turn off your phone. Light your candles and make sure you will be left alone. Sit down on the floor and make yourself comfortable - not too comfortable! You don’t want to fall asleep. Draw in some deep breaths and clear your mind, as you did in your meditation. Continue until you feel your breathing regulated and yourself relaxed. Now, close your eyes and rub your palms together, like you’re trying to warm them up, then pull them an inch or two apart. You should feel a charged sensation tingling between your hands, maybe even like a ball, vibrating and pulsating in your hands. If you concentrate, you may even be able to feel a sort of magnetic resistance if you attempt to push it back together. That’s energy. It’s really that simple. If you don’t feel it at first, just try again. The more you do this, the easier it will become to identify your own and different types of energy all around you through a technique called centering, which will be discussed below.  Grounding The term grounding, sometimes called Earthing, means to recalibrate your energy. Essentially, the purpose of grounding is to shake off “excess” energy and ground yourself back in reality, into the rhythm of the plane on which we exist. And while grounding does restore balance and connectedness, there are greater implications to explore when it comes to grounding. Everything on this earth is shaped by forces and presence of the Earth and cosmos, and as such, “this connection is deeply inherent to a sustainable state of well being. The Earth, as an organic and inorganic system, is constantly bathing all life on the planet with its highly ordered and coherent electromagnetic field. The natural tendency of an organism is to couple with the Earth’s energy field and come to a mutual state of cooperation and harmony within its environment, finding its niche and proper place within a system. What we need to understand is that all systems strive to achieve, return to and/or maintain a state of coherence. Whether one is aware of it or not, we are always taking part in a constant process within our universe, coupling with other energy fields and finding some sort of balance within this space. This happens everywhere within the context of an ecosystem, whenever two forces interact for any reason. The more organized or coherent these fields are, the more effectively and efficiently energy can be [manipulated.]”  Grounding allows us to cultivate a relationship with the earth and facilitate a healthier, more coherent state of being. It allows us to align our energy for more accurate working. Like meditation, there are many ways to ground; a list of some of my personal favorite methods can be found (here.) Shielding and Centering Shielding is important for magical workings as it provides a protective barrier to maintain our center. To do this, you’ll want to get a feel for your personal energy first. A good way to do is something called centering. Throughout the day, you naturally will pick up on all kinds of external energy; some good, some bad, most of it probably neither of the two - either way, it is energy that is not yours. Meditation and shadow work will be useful in identifying what feels distinctly you, but you should be able to know when you’re not feeling entirely you. If you’ve been feeling particularly out of sorts, a good tip to get back in touch with yourself before centering or shielding is to spend some time in self care. Turn off your phone and go to your room or a friendly space in nature, a library, a favorite haunt and engage in a creative project, put on your favorite music, eat your favorite food. Be mindful of your physical space, your body, sensations your are experiencing. Be attentive to you and only you; your wants, needs, feelings, comforts, etc. Take a bath and allow yourself to relax. Your only responsibility right now is you have no responsibilities - if even for just a short while. Just do what you can to access some “me time” to do something you love to do and observe yourself. Take note of what you choose to do that brings you joy, why those things make you feel happy and fulfilled, how exactly these feelings and activities resonate with you. Record this in your Book of Shadows, as it is useful information to getting to yourself on a more intimate level. Learn to recognize this energy and get familiar with what it means to feel yourself. It can be easy to get lost. Centering can get you back, especially when you make these feelings more accessible to yourself.  To center, we’re going to go back to the exercise in the beginning; in a quiet place, meditate and rub your palms together - build up that energy between them again. When you pull your hands apart, you want to visualize this sensation. What color is it? What does it feel like? Is it light? Heavy? Is it vibrating? Focus on the pulsation and how it pushes against you. Allow it to move and grow. Picture it contracting and growing until you no longer can. Pull it in close to you, somewhere you can focus on it - many people use their solar plexus or heart chakras. This is the same energy you’re going to use to shield yourself. Instead of centering this energy, however, you’re going to push it out to envelope you. Visualization in your meditation and centering exercises should help with this; visualizing energy usually makes it easier for people to push it outward. Again, knowing what specifically makes this your protective energy will be useful - what color is it? Texture? Is it elemental? Perhaps your energy doesn’t feel like light, but water or air. Maybe white is a protective color to you or maybe green is, for Earth. Maybe your energy shield is a network of stars in the shape of your zodiac constellation. Maybe the outside is reflective, to reflect any negativity directed your way. Maybe its a shield of smoke, to conceal yourself. No matter what it looks like to you, just make sure it is yours. Don’t feel pressured to commit to something either - your idea of what these concepts look like will grow and change as much as you do.  Push this energy outward and around you, as if you are creating a protective bubble for yourself. To enhance the intensity of desired outcome, surround yourself with corresponding elements. Light white candles or wear black tourmaline. I personally like to use dragon’s blood incense or oils. There are many things you can do in tandem with any of these practices, so long as they make sense for you and are helping you to achieve your desired results. This shield will become stronger the more you do this and keep you protected from psychic attacks, curses and hexes, negative energy, and bad intent.  These exercises are all building blocks to unlocking great power within oneself, but they are also a great power on their own as well. Taking the time and patience to hone these skills will aid you in all your magical endeavors, whether through sharper focus, strong visual associations, enforced protective barriers, and/or knowing your true self above all else. Once you have established your abilities, you will be able to do them any time, anywhere and begin to play more with energy, both internal and external. In the follow up, I will focus on charging and programming. 

[anamorphosis-and-isolate]

[crystalheartfaequeen]

<3

[herfromthefairytales]

Simple Healing Spell

Outcome: To send healing energy to yourself or a loved one 

Requirements: Just your lovely self and perhaps some peace and quiet to concentrate

Method: Settle yourself into a comfortable position, whether this is laying down or sitting in your favourite chair. Just somewhere that brings you some peace.  Once settled, imagine a light which surrounds your feet. Think of what your feet do for you. They have taken every step with you throughout your time here. They have grown hard from work. They perhaps ache from old pains, hard work, injury or illness. Take a moment to remember what they have done for you and the journey you have been on together, positive or not. Once complete, allow the light to envelop your feet.

Move up to your ankles. Think about how they help you. They give you motion and balance when moving. Maybe they’ve had hurt too. Perhaps you’ve sprained it or twisted them. Hold on to that memory of healing, even if it was not total. Allow the light to now encompass your ankles. 

Continue in this way, moving over as many or as few body parts as you wish and take a moment to think of their purpose, how they have served you, how they have healed and how you will continue to use them. The light can travel with your thoughts. 

Do not shy away from body parts which have caused you pain. These are the most important - whether it is physical or mental pain, these are body parts which you have had a rocky journey with. But you are healing. 

Once this healing light has hugged your entire body, imagine it rising above you and forming into a ball of pure, kind energy. 

If the healing spell is for yourself, allow this energy to float gentle as feather back into your being. 

If the healing spell is for another, allow this energy to journey to those who need it most. 

[samwisethewitch]

A simple spell to release stress

When we hold on to excess stress, it creates a blockage in our personal energy system. Imagine that your is body filled with tiny, invisible wires that carry energy from one point to the next. When you hold on to stress in a certain area, you tie a knot in the wires that keeps energy from flowing smoothly to the rest of your body. This can manifest as fatigue, lack of motivation, overwhelm, or other mental and physical symptoms. This spell is designed to untie those knots and let the energy flow freely.

This spell is very loosely adapted from the book Light Magic for Dark Times by Lisa Marie Basile, which I highly recommend for anyone looking to bring witchcraft into their self care practice or vice versa.

What you will need:

A piece of white paper

A pen or pencil

A bowl or cup of clean, fresh water (water from the tap is fine!)

(Optional) a few drops of lavender essential oil

Performing the spell:

Set aside some time when you can be alone and won’t be disturbed. If you like, set the mood by lighting candles, burning incense, or playing music. If you chose to include lavender oil, add it to the water now.

On the paper, write a detailed description of the situation that is causing you stress, and of how it makes you feel. Be as specific as possible. What emotions do you feel? Are there physical sensations associated with these emotions? Where in your body do you feel them? (If you are more comfortable drawing than writing, draw a picture that represents your situation and how it makes you feel.)

Keep writing/drawing until you run out of things to say. Get a second piece of paper if you need to. Don’t worry about making it pretty or even legible. What matters is that you get the emotions out and onto the page.

Fold the paper in half, folding it away from yourself; rotate it to the left and fold it again; rotate to the left again and fold one more time for a total of three folds. With each fold, repeat out loud or in your head, “I acknowledge these feelings and I let them go. I release.”

Submerge the folded paper in the bowl of water. Make sure it is completely covered. Watch it soak through, and watch the ink bleed from the paper.

Say, “Spirits of water, keepers of emotion and the subconscious, spirits of healing, help me to cleanse and release. Help me restore my energy.”

Allow the envelope to soak in the water for at least an hour before disposing of it.

[eclipsednodes]

SHADOW WORK SIMPLIFIED

What is shadow work?

If I had to describe shadow work in one word, it would be introspection. Introspection is the examination of your own mental state and is necessary in order to learn more about your fundamental nature. Although it may sound off-putting and even scary at first, shadow work is a necessary component in the process of healing. We all have aspects of ourselves that we’ve rejected and hidden away out of fear. Through shadow work, we’re able to reflect on our thoughts, emotions, and habits so that we can find the root cause of our suffering and heal ourselves. By reincorporating those aspects of ourselves that we’ve denied, we feel more fulfilled and can begin to love ourselves fully. 

Where does shadow work come from? 

The concept of the shadow self comes from Carl Jung who believed that our shadow self is the subconscious aspect, or “dark side”, of our personality that our conscious ego doesn’t identify with. However, I would like to clarify that “dark” does not imply or equate with bad. That which resides outside of our consciousness can be either good or bad, but aren’t inherently reflective of our value or “goodness” as a person. 

Although these repressed aspects of ourselves can manifest negatively, it isn’t because those parts of us are “bad”, but that the process of repression is inherently painful and toxic. This is reflected by Jung when he states, “Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” He believed that until we’ve merged our conscious and subconscious selves, that our conscious would be “the slave of the autonomous shadow”. This is due to the shadow self overwhelming our conscious selves by falling victim to our own self-imposed traps. 

Through assimilating this shadow self, not over-identifying with it, Jung believed we go through the process of enantiodromia, thereby integrating the subconscious by reincorporating our shadow selves into our personality and allowing us to solidify ourselves through wholeness. He best described this by stating "assimilation of the shadow gives a man body, so to speak.” However, don’t fall into the misconception that shadow work is a short-term practice. Shadow work is a continuous practice and integration of the shadow self is a will take place throughout your life.

How do I do shadow work?

In the last question, I identified that practicing self-reflection is a key component of shadow work, but what does that mean? What am I supposed to be reflecting on? Well, the first thing that you should focus on is being present throughout the day. Identify feelings that come up throughout the day and observe them objectively. What situation or interaction triggered these emotions? How did I react to those emotions? Were my emotions controlling me or was I in control of my emotions? Why did this situation or interaction cause me to feel this way? How did I cope with those feelings (self-harming, lashing out at others, communicating my feelings, journalling, etc.)? Did I punish myself for getting upset? If so, why? 

There are numerous ways to reflect on your feelings and experiences in order to get a better understanding of yourself. Through evaluating how you react to situations, which situations upset you, and how you managed those feelings, you’re able to build the foundation to understanding your emotions and bridge the gap between your subconscious and conscious mind.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll find that the emotions you feel in the present are reflective of unhealed emotions from your past. Perhaps the reason you feel that you’re unable to set boundaries as an adult is because as a child, your parents never respected your boundaries by going through your phone or diary, yelling at you when you said no to a request, forcing you into situations that made you feel you had no choice. 

By identifying the root cause of your emotional pain, you’re able to address it in the present and heal from the trauma. The simplest way that I’ve found to address them is through journalling. You can purchase a physical journal or even use your notes app, either way, you’re writing out your feelings and reflections to gain deeper insight. It’s important to remember that this looks different for anyone and that the best way to approach shadow work is by doing what feels most natural! You can choose to stick to self-reflective journal prompts, vent about whatever is upsetting you, write letters to whoever has hurt you, etc. Ultimately, you can guide yourself based off of what you feel you need and where you are in your journey.

What parts of yourself do you find yourself rejecting the most? Many of us have experienced the pain of rejection in some aspects of our lives and sometimes, it’s incredibly painful and leaves us with long-lasting wounds. We end up going through our lives carrying baggage that we don’t even know we have! Many times, I’ve found myself wondering why I felt so repulsed by aspects of myself and why I felt so strongly that they needed to be locked away forever. I couldn’t allow myself or others to see my truest self, my whole self, out of fear. I was scared of being rejected, shamed, humiliated by the people around me. I was scared of hurting other people by being myself and of being hurt by others. That’s no way to live, is it? When we tell ourselves that aspects of ourselves aren’t good enough, we end up going through life devaluing ourself. We’ve broken our own trust by rejecting ourselves, we’ve told ourselves that we aren’t good enough or worthy of love. In shadow work, you’re called to go inward and unpack everything that we’ve kept hidden for years and sometimes even decades. 

Bring the parts of yourself that you’ve repressed to the surface and nourish them with love, allow yourself to see that ALL OF YOU is deserving of love and support. For you, that could mean unlearning your unhealthy beliefs about food or eating, allowing yourself to be emotional around the people you love (despite how much you were told that you were too emotional, a crybaby, too sensitive in the past), allowing yourself to relax without feeling guilty about not being productive because you recognize your needs (even though you feel your sense of worth is tied to being productive at the cost of your own health).

Common misconceptions about shadow work?

Shadow work is evil or bad, the shadow is evil or bad 

The purpose of shadow work is healing through working with your subconscious to release repressed aspects of yourself and heal from painful, traumatic experiences. Your shadow side is simply your unconscious and to believe that it’s bad is to believe that you are bad. It’s merely the part of yourself that you aren’t aware of consciously and shouldn’t be feared. 

Certain emotions are “bad”

When you let go of the idea that emotions are either good or bad, you’ll allow yourself to just be and stop putting so much pressure on yourself to feel “good” all of the time. Happiness isn’t a constant state of being so stop expecting to be all of the time, we have a range of emotions for a reason so stop being ashamed of them. Your feelings are natural and if you feel like they’re out of control and something to be ashamed of, there is nothing wrong with that! It’s okay to feel like your emotions are controlling you because that isn’t permanent. Your feelings aren’t permanent and are completely manageable with proper guidance! The reason you feel like your emotions are controlling you is because you probably don’t have the knowledge to cope with them in an effective and healthy way. It’s helpful to sit with your emotions alone and look at them objectively without placing any judgement on them, this will help you calm down and assess your feelings. From there, you can identify what you need to relax and recover as well as acknowledge to yourself that your feelings are natural. When you stop categorizing your emotions as bad, they’re no longer shameful to experience and therefore you can see with better clarity how to cope with them and move on.

I’ve already released it so…

Why am I still upset?

Why does it still keep popping up in my head?

Why haven’t I moved on?

Why am I not making progress?

With the rise of self development and spirituality, I find that more and more people are rushing to complete their healing. Healing is a continuous, life-long cycle and not a destination. Putting the pressure on yourself to reach the place of ultimate healing is not only toxic, but it impedes your ability to actually heal anything. Healing is about love, compassion, and patience and it’s not going to happen according to a timeline. Allow yourself the time to experience your emotions, see them objectively, forgive yourself and others and move on without the pressure of expectations. 

 Another reason that you could be experiencing this is that despite the work you think you’ve done, it hasn’t been sufficient. I’ve found that a lot of journal prompts provided online are surface level at best and can be more pacifying than revealing. If you’re not feeling anything while doing your inner work, you’re not doing it correctly. Ultimately, this is about uncovering what makes us UNCOMFORTABLE and moving through those feelings. When you allow yourself to experience the sadness, hurt, anger, and/or frustration than you’re telling yourself that these feelings are okay and don’t need to be suppressed. The reality is that no matter what you’re feeling, you are allowed to experience those emotions and it’s only human! Unfortunately, many people associate lower vibrational emotions as bad, but this is a huge misconception! Telling yourself that anger, sadness, etc. are “bad” implies that you shouldn’t experience these emotions and that you have to get rid of them which is not only wrong, but unhealthy. There is no right or wrong emotions so don’t buy into the belief that you should feel a certain way, simply allow yourself to be and you’ll find that it’s much easier to navigate your emotions and needs. The only way to make it to the other side is by wading through the water, be patient and know that you’re feeling exactly what you should be. When you stop censoring yourself, you’ll discover a newfound sense of freedom and wholeness. 

 If you find yourself circling back to certain topics, for example, your ex-boyfriend than perhaps there are triggers in your environment that remind you of the situation, you have more that needs to be addressed that you may not have been ready for or aware of previously (hence why shadow work is a practice that is ongoing), or they’re representative of a deeper issue that you’re repressing. Whatever the cause is, the same methods as earlier will apply and can be discerned through your own intuition. 

What are some basic journal prompts that I can do?

What feelings come up when you think of ____?

How did that experience make you feel emotionally? How did it make you feel about yourself? How did it make you feel about the other person or people?

Write a letter to yourself, your inner child, the people who’ve hurt you, and the people you’ve hurt. Express how you feel honestly, without holding back and then forgive yourself and the other person.

If you could say anything to yourself or another person for closure, what would it be?

How have these situations and experiences impacted your mental health? How have they affected your belief system about yourself, other people, and the world?

What about yourself are you ashamed of? What about yourself are you embarrassed of? What about yourself makes you angry? What do you regret? Why do you feel this way about yourself and where do these feelings stem from?

What makes you feel most alone? What makes you feel most loved? How can you incorporate that knowledge into your life to make it better?

What’s the most hurtful thing someone has said or done to you? Why did it hurt you so much? How does it still affect you now? How can you heal from it and allow yourself to move on?

What do you need to forgive yourself for? What do you need to forgive others for?

Where do you feel you lack security in your life? Why? How does this impact your life and your relationships?

This is a list of generic prompts for you to start with, but feel free to message me if you need help with more specific topics or I can make another post altogether for journal prompts.

[illuminatelovedestroy-blog]

Who is your Shadow?

I often struggled when looking into Shadow work, and discovering my shadow self. I thought that there was a textbook way I had to follow to ‘correctly’ discover my shadow side/being. I quickly discovered the other day that I knew her all along. I’m not sure if this is a ‘gift’ per se, especially since I believe anyone is capable of meeting their shadow self, but I have found it exceptionally easier to interact with her on a daily basis. This is the best way I can explain how I fully ‘discovered’ her.

-I was doing a BOS prompt, (book of shadows, for those of you who are new to witchcraft or not a practitioner:). The prompt was to draw or paint an image of my shadow self. I started thinking, and instantly got an image in my head.

-It might take a few minutes, and I lowkey had an identity crisis, trying to determine the differences between my true self and my shadow, it was interesting! Lol

-The image you first get, might seem confusing, or it might seem like you are just ‘making it up’ as you go. This is when you’re doing it RIGHT.

-My shadow is named Evangeline, which is something else I recently learned as well while working with her. All I did was meditate briefly, uncovering her name.

-When you are able to identify your shadow with a name, and certain physical/emotional characteristics, you will most likely doubt yourself. I know I did, considering most of my answers resided solely in my thoughts. That does not mean you’re wrong, if anything, trust that instinct.

-Draw, sketch, paint your shadow. Dedicate a page or more to them, writing out their characteristics, and what they stand for.

-Another thing, my shadow Evangeline, is not my ‘evil twin’. She is my defender, protector, and wrath. She is practically my inner storm, which is much different from the stereotypical ‘dark-side’ aspect.

-The last bit of advice that I can give is to be open minded, Your shadow may present itself to you in different ways, especially in times of need…be willing to accept it!