| He/him | Been practicing for at least 4 years | | I try to help new witches as best I can ~ I talk about being a trans masc witch specifically sometimes | | Please look at this post before asking me a question/following me, thanks! | | Icon credit link |
Hello everyone! I’ve gone on one of my many hiatuses as a lot of you have probably noticed. I haven’t posted in a long time but I felt like it was finally time I come on here and address this break. This one is a little bit different from the previous ones where I just got busy or burnt out.
This account has been very good to me. It’s been a huge part of my teenagehood. A wonderful hobby. A wonderful project. But a while back, various things made me realize I’m really not qualified to teach and approach witchcraft with the approach and tone that I do with my content. I’ve had moments of realizing that I don’t know how I got here, teaching as seriously as I do. Well I do know… but well, it escalated over a long time and is a long story. So I just sort of drifted away from posting as I was having this realization.
I’ve also realized I’m really not interested in teaching about witchcraft anymore. I’ve let making content about witchcraft take energy away from me focusing on my own practice far too many times. I wish I could say it was just one.
I have other interests. Other special interests. Other things I may in the future even make content about. But the persona on this account just really isn’t for me anymore!
If there’s anyone still about who enjoyed my content and is upset by this, I’m sorry ❤️ And I’m sorry if my content ever fed you ignorance, misinformation, or not the whole picture.
I may return to this account eventually and delete it or rebrand it or just post more casual witchcraft content but for now I think I’ll post this and leave it be. Thank for you reading. Thanks to those of you who stuck by for months or years and really supported me. Thanks to those who came back and told me how much my replies or content helped them. I won’t forget that!
Last but not least by any means, thank you to the person who made me realize it’s best even and especially for me that I step away from making witchcraft posts. You know who you are ❤️
If any of you want to be friends or keep in touch, feel free to reach out.
Any tips for setting intentions? I find my mind jumps all over the place when I try to zero in on one, and I'm worried I don't even know how it works. If you have resources, I'd greatly appreciate em.
Setting or focusing on your intention doesn't have to look one way. Maybe you're set on setting intentions being just thinking the same word or words over and over again, or visualization, or meditation, and that's just not working for you. You don''t have to do it that way.
Maybe try something else. You can say the same words over and over again out loud, you can make a rhyme or poem out of them, you can visualize something like a color that you associate with your intention, sing or play a song you associate with your intention, use a petition, which I have a post on here, get creative! Get really creative.
Ask yourself this. What about it is making it difficult to focus, when can you focus and how can you incorporate that into your practice?
Actually, I do have kinda a "new witch" question: I follow a few witch tumblrs that advocate for like personal correspondences and making your practice your own, especially if something doesn't vibe with you or isn't accessible (eg my family watches like hawks and would notice if I took some herbs mysteriously). What's your thoughts on this? Do you think it's something we should do?
(Also side tangent, since idk crystal correspondences well I've been looking up how they are made scientifically to come up with correspondences)
Oh you must not have been around my blog recently! I made a post about their not too long ago. Yes I absolutely think that's something witches should do.
Belief is a part of it. Your practice may function differently because through UPG you've developed unique beliefs and that changes how you approach things.
Accessibility is also a factor. Like in the example you used, there are secret witches. There are poor witches. There are mentally ill and disabled witches who have to all approach things differently.
Also correspondences are deeply subjective and influenced by culture. You can develop personal correspondences, yes. I did this by learning a lot of the common correspondences you'll find in books or online, and then asking myself where those came from. The answers are vast. Science. Culture. Folklore. Comparison to other plants. Comparison to other correspondence system that are also subjective and cultural. You get the idea. Then I started looking into local plants, studying them, experimenting and developing my own uses.
Sorta like what you described with crystals! Which btw, I would be happy to find you some common crystal correspondences, but I honestly think your approach is smart. I always suggest people look into the science behind the things they're working with, like foraging, botany, and gardening for plants. Geology is just that for crystals, gemstones, etc.
In fact my practice is mostly made up of this concept. Learn about what other people are doing and why they do it, then experiment with your own methods and develop ideas and beliefs from there.
As long as you know the how, the why, the risks, or for things like spell work, how to undo, then you can go nuts. You can do things you've never seen in books or seen other witches do.
Witchcraft is deeply personal. Each witch will have their own rules.
i'm a beginner witch and one of my goals in witchcraft is to eventually do deity work.
i was wondering if you could give me any insight into the practice you may have and any things to look into on this path?
thanks so much!
So deity work is actually not an inherent part of witchcraft! Not all witches are religious, Pagan, or work with deities. I don’t. I just practice the craft, so unfortunately I don’t have a lot of insight on that front.
If you’re new I do have some general insight and things I think a new witch should keep in mind, things to watch out for, you get the idea. You were probably asking about deities but I'm gonna tell you these things anyways!
What I Think a New Witch Should Know
Bad ideologies - I'm not gonna sugarcoat this one. There's a lot of nazis and TERFs lurking around. New age stuff can be (almost always is) a pipeline to ideas that are based in white supremacy and anti semitism and I see a lot of people just ending up caught in the web of anti semitic conspiracy theories when they're into new age stuff. A lot of TERFs will say things like "we're the daughters of the witches you couldn't burn" or that only women are magical or can be witches. Now the concept of the divine feminine has been appropriated and is turning people into tradwives and TERFs and spreading bioessentialsm and basically just spreading transphobia and taking people down the alt right pipeline. I know I mention this is a lot but it's really important to me! Practice research skills. Consider where ideas come from and their history before internalizing them.
No rules - There aren't any rules. I generally do not tolerate cultural appropriation and strongly encourage people to ward, so those are the closest things to rules that I preach, but at the end of the day there are no rules. If someone says "you have to/can't do this to be a witch" like 99% of the time they're full of shit. People who are BRAND new contact me with the same 10 misconceptions all the time. Be weary of people who say there are strict rules, they may just be preaching their beliefs as facts.
Safety & discernment - The other two kinda go over this already but this is just a general suggestion. Practice regular safety precautions and discernment! Discernment is asking things like is this suggestion safe for me? Where did this idea come from and what's its history? Or for your own practice, could this experience have a logical, not spiritual, explanation? This will keep you from falling for bad ideas and misinformation but also from burning yourself on candles, ingesting herbs you don't know anything about and rendering your medications ineffective, following essential oil advice that will give you a chemical burn, assuming that an experience is spiritual when it is not, and so much more!
Learn what you want - You wanna know what I think you should look into? Dogwhistles. Okay that was me being a little bit funny, we already talked about TERFs and watching out for them. While dogwhistles are a generally good to know I think as far as your witchcraft practice and research goes, you should learn whatever the hell you want. As I've mentioned in my pinned post, I have built my practice and beliefs from scratch and approach teaching with the same goals in mind for you. You wanna know what you should learn? I don't know. You tell me. If you want some general suggestions? Do actually learn dogwhistles. Learn about practices that are closed so you do not appropriate from them. Learn about warding and go outside and learn about the animals and plants around you! But as far as practices go, like tarot or spells or spirit work? Learn about the ones you think are neat.
Also if you wanna know about deity work, specifically working with the Greek pantheon or Aphrodite, I think @teawiththegods is pretty cool. She's nice. Ask him stuff!
What are some things you wish you could ask someone who's more experienced but are afraid to? Or maybe what's something you're struggling with but haven't thought to ask about?
Sometimes I struggled especially when I was newer but it never really occurred to me to ask someone else for resources or advice. I also feel like a lot of people may feel they will be shamed for their questions, so know this is a space where I specifically will not tolerate that! This stuff can be confusing. There are a lot of conflicting ideas.
If I don't know the answer hopefully I can direct you to someone who does. Also I stole this idea from @coinandcandle, I thought it'd be fun to do since I've been getting a few new followers. Hope you don't mind!
A lot of witches talk about how important discernment is, including me, so here's an example of how to do it when it comes to your practice (discernment in research is a whole different post…) I consider it the number one discernment rule and the default for me. If you have an experience that you feel may be intuitive, a sign, or an entity, ask yourself this: Could this experience have a logical explanation, not a spiritual one?
That isn't to say that if an experience does have a logical explanation that that’s the right answer 100% of the time, but I find that most of the time that's the case.
It's important to me to default to a more common or logical explanation especially as someone who experiences paranoia. Defaulting to something being a sign is in my opinion not conducive to a solid witchcraft practice, and honestly sometimes not healthy!
do you have any sea witch resources by any chance? if not that’s fine
I didn't have any saved but I found some just for you! I haven't proofread everything here, so remember to always take what you read with a grain of salt, critically think and cross reference.
Sea Witch Resources
Sea & Water Witch Resources on the Web
Sea Magic References
Witchcraft for the Sea Witch
Sea Witch: Harnessing the Power of the Ocean
Sea Witchery Ideas
Charm Bags: Sea Witch Style
Animals in Sea Witchcraft
Songs in Sea Witchcraft
Tips for Landlocked Sea Witches
Working with the Tide
Katla's Ocean Waves Spell Jar
Also this website/personal blog is under construction and I have no idea how long it's been that way but it looks cool and may be something to keep an eye on?
I feel like concepts like "sea witch" are a relatively new thing so a lot of what I found tends to be shorter, online inspiration unfortunately. But it's something!
Also reminder, you guys can ask me for resources anytime. I'm more likely to get back to you through messages, but I do my best either way.
I’m gonna say it again, I made a google doc full of online resources for new witches!
See see see it’s absolutely packed with good stuff! We’re talking PDFs, small businesses to get books from, and tons of links. Please go check it out! And remember my DMs are always open if you have any or many questions 💕
id love to see your collection/list! my tarot niche is cat themed decks but i love seeing what otber people are drawn to :)
My Collection of Divination Decks
You're so sweet! You got it! I wish this post hadn’t taken so long. When it was halfway done I decided to take the pictures myself instead and got overwhelmed so I've done it a bit at a time. Anyways you guys remember that I'm always happy to help you find beginner decks that work for you or decks that fit certain ideas or themes! Rather if that's more inclusivity, certain vibes, the deck being based on animals, plants, etc. Don't be afraid to reach out!
Without further delay, the decks...
The Classic Rider Waite
This was my first deck as I'm sure it was for a lot of people. I heard a lot of people talking about it and knew a lot of other decks were based on it so I got it. I'm glad it was my first deck because it helped familiarize me with all the Rider Waite based decks yet to come in my practice and it's just a sort of neutral starting point. I could also see the appeal in getting a more themed deck which is why I offer to help beginners find one that fits their needs. The good deck is the deck you'll pick up and use!
The Linestrider Tarot
This was my first deck that's well... not just the plain old Rider Waite. I was 14 or 15 when I got it so it probably wouldn't be my first pick now, aesthetic wise, but I have a huge soft spot for it. It's always felt like I was in tune with this deck and I love little details like that The Fool has no face and the two of cups are cats! Like isn't that just the cutest? Also it wasn't that expensive and came with a solid box and a thick guidebook, which is always a welcome bonus in my opinion.
The Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle
Ah, my first oracle deck, as you might have guessed. It was also made by the same artist that made the Linestrider tarot, which you may also have guessed. I'm pretty sure I got them at the same time because I adored this art style so much. I like the way this deck is laid out. There's detailed illustrations of plants, and y'all know I love a deck with plants, as well as the name of the plant and the main theme of the card written on it. I need to use this deck more! Let me know if you guys have tips for doing oracle readings or using oracle decks more.
The Star Spinner Tarot
I was interested in this deck for its inclusivity. it's also a hopeless romantic deck in my opinion. It has a fairytale sort of art style and you can choose between four different The Lovers cards, two of which are distinctly gay. Also the two of cups are pink mermaids, what else could you possibly want?
The Avatar Arcana
This deck is based on avatar the last airbender if you couldn't tell or aren't familiar with that series. It's a fandom deck. I was such a feen for it when I found it online. I waited patiently for it for ages. I feel like the selections for what characters go with what cards, especially on the major arcana, are a little on the nose and show that this is more of a novelty deck. But hey, it's a deck themed around a show, I knew what I signed up for, y'know? Anyways I'm very happy to have it!
The Illustrated Herbiary Oracle
This deck is going here because I wanted to show all the decks in my collection. It was a gift and even though I don't wanna be ungrateful, I'm hard to buy gifts for, and picky about my decks. I usually like decks based on plants (and have several in my wishlist) but this one just isn't my favorite if I'm being honest. I think it's the borders. Either way it's in my collection, which makes it worth note, and who knows! Maybe someone else will love it or just generally be inspired to get a plant based deck.
The Dream Interpretation Oracle
The cards are unfortunately bent on this deck so there was a slight glare on a few cards, but even if they’re hadn’t been I feel like the cards here or any picture just couldn’t do this deck’s vibes justice. I got it at witchfest (which I'm so excited for this year, that's a whole different happy ramble) and I feel like it really captures the strangeness of my dreams. There are whole cards for things like shoes, or shouting. Shuffling the cards is a weird time indeed.
The Antique Anatomy Tarot
I feel like this deck is quite popular and for good reason. It’s exactly what it sounds like. It has vintage vibes, it has skulls, it has flowers, these are some of my favorite things to draw so of course they are some of my favorite artistic themes in a deck. I have multiple decks on my wishlist that are just based on skeletons or plants. I love how this deck combines the two. I also like how on the elixirs, the labels on the bottles relate to the card's meaning. Additionally the jumbling of body parts in a lot of the coins suit, particularly the four of coins shown is also an aspect I like. It just looks neat to me.
The Fyodor Pavlov Tarot
This is by far my favorite deck so this section will be so so long and I'm not sorry! This is double special interest material. I'm t4t and deserve to gush about my representation damn it.
So I’ve been trying to stick to 6 cards max with maybe the back of the card's pattern or box shown for these pictures, however this deck is my favorite and just too good to contain with such restrictions. I worked so hard to get this deck. I saw The Lovers card online and fell in love. The card's artwork is t4t and I'm SO t4t and so in love with just The Lovers card as an art piece in general. Anyways after I found just that card somewhere online I said a prayer that a full deck by the artist existed, and went on the hunt for it. I found it. I originally found the kickstarter, which had stopped, and after some digging found out the artist had moved the sales to Etsy. The artist was packaging small batches all on his own. I tried to get it twice off Etsy and both times it sold out immediately. The deck has now had an official release and is a lot easier to get. I preordered that newer version and waited months and months for my beloved and it was by FAR so worth it.
I love that this deck is Rider Waite based but inclusive to various experiences. This includes the minority representation, but also details like how the queen of cups is pregnant. Maybe I don't look at a lot of decks but I feel like I don't see that very often and I think details like that are cool. As you'd probably expect, the artist is queer and trans and I love that and supporting them and that kind of artwork. He's also a tattoo artist and I feel like that shows in his work. I love artwork with ink, but I'm biased, because my artwork is usually ink based. Also I already put too many cards in the picture so they're not there but shoutout to Strength and The Hermit in this deck for being women.
Basically I love this deck more than I can put into words!
The Tarot of Pagan Cats
The newest addition to my collection! This is a mini deck that makes me want about ten million more cat themed decks. When I decided to take the pictures myself for this post I added some other cards. Originally I was just gonna have The Tower though. I feel like it tells you everything you need to know. This deck is adorable and charming. The Fool makes me laugh as well as The Tower and Strength. The Lovers, as well as the two and ten of cups are just precious. The design for Death is perfect. Fuzzy, and somehow still comes across as stern. I want more cat decks!!!
(Also side note down here real quick for that one person, someone asked if I could go over how the decks personalities differ from each other but I found I was very bad at putting that into words especially in this post so that will have to be something I talk about elsewhere if I do!)
This post was about gushing and the vibes but if you guys want beginner deck recommendations, help finding a deck that fits your niche, or for me to show off my wishlist in a similar style, just ask!
Thanks for letting me gush and reading the whole post. I had such a fun time making it ❤️
I am a witch who's trying to get back into witchcraft after an immense amount of burn out. The burn out wasn't due to the witchcraft, it was due to things piling on my brain in general. What sort of things do you suggest to ease myself back into it? If you don't have an answer that's okay, just thought to ask
I've been dealing with this myself and I actually just made a video on it that I really like not too long ago, so I think I can help you!
How to Come Back to the Craft After Burn Out (+ A Guide to doing Witchcraft with Low Spoons)
I was burnt out in general and because of the craft, particularly because of the way I was filtering my personal practice through social media. I realized a lot of my burnout was tied to pushing myself, and shame. I feel like maybe this is common. This is a mix of both personal and witchy advice, and I may be projecting, but I think you have to focus first and foremost on not rushing back in and getting overwhelmed by adding a bunch of stuff to your routine at once and trying to do everything right or perfect. A good practice or routine is sustainable, not perfect. Perfect is the enemy of good, and also the enemy of done. I've had to focus on this a lot recently.
With this in mind, you might be wondering where you should even begin when it comes to actually practicing again. Remember to go slow. I’d suggest thinking about what you were doing and interested in before and start practicing and researching whatever sounds the most fun when you’re ready. You could also go over any notes you had about your practice before, if you had a blog or something look at that, etc. You get the idea! It will help you remember and might inspire you. If you really enjoyed tarot for example, you could do that when you feel inspired to. Starting slow is important. if you want go slower you could just do whatever practices you were doing before, or like now, whenever you feel like it. You could also try working witchcraft into your routine. Routine is hard for a lot of people but it doesn’t have to be intense. It can just be adding one thing. That’s all it needs to be. It could be something you do once a month, once a week, when you wake up, after you brush your teeth, only some days or whatever you think will make you feel the best.
Of course I don’t know anything about your practice but to inspire you and others, here’s some ways you can easily introduce magic into your life.
Daily divination
A tarot card every morning is what I like to do but you could use any kind of divination you like!
Meditation
Meditate for a few minutes every morning/evening. Even 2 minutes makes a difference. Also, despite popular belief meditation does not have to be emptying your mind.
Dream interpretation
Interpret or just journal about your dreams! Honestly journaling in general I think is great for witches.
Witchy items of the day
Pick out some items to carry on you for the day. This could be crystals or herbs you want the properties of, a hag stone, or other items with properties you want to draw to you or use in your practice.
Intention in drinks & food!
If you have coffee or tea every morning or day you can stir intention into it. Clockwise for things you want in, counterclockwise for things you want to banish. Or that’s the typical belief/way people suggest doing it. You can also stir sigils into it or add items to your drinks/food with or by intention.
Enchanting personal care
Another way you can bring magic in your everyday life is enchanting personal care products. I’d do this for added layers of warding but you could get super creative with this and do whatever intention you like.
Sigils sigils sigils
Sigils are fun to make. You can use them for a ton of other things on this list. Stir them into your drinks. Draw a sigil on your skin using lotion. Write them on your walls for warding. Sigils, sigils, ... sigils!
Spritz cleansing
If you have a hard time cleansing or not a lot of energy right now when you DO have energy you can put together a mixture for cleansing using a spritz bottle and then you have it done and ready to go ahead of time for many cleansing sessions. Beware of herbs and things you add if you have any allergies/pets. Actually just research any plants you handle anyway.
Layering your wards
If you’re struggling with burn out right now you probably don’t have a lot of energy so this is a tip I like for when this happens and just the long term overall. Always add small layers using different methods to your personal and spacial wards. An example of this I love is some of the above, carrying an item with strong protective properties or writing sigils on the bottom of your shoes/sewing them into your clothes/etc are some other ideas I love. Customize as needed! Be creative!
Basically just think of things you do everyday and try to make it witchy! Or think of practices you want to do more, like maybe cleansing, and figure out how to make it easier.
Also I did mention research. I think in addition to picking a practice to try again or add to your routine, picking a topic to research that sparks interest may help too. Here are some ideas for that!
i love your posts, and im wondering if you have one on warding/wards! if you dont, could you tell me about them and how to set them up? thanks!!
Aw thank you! To be honest with you I had a post on them a long time ago but after a while it started to feel very simple and outdated to compared to what I had learned. I deleted it planning to make a new one, but as time has gone on I’ve learned more and more and so that’s going to be one of the biggest longest projects I’ve ever tackled and I wanna do it a right. Goodness knows when that will be. So realistically if I tried to answer this for you it would just sit in my drafts for ages.
Instead of doing that, I thought I’d just go on and respond explaining and saying the best I can comfortably offer for now is what’s in my new witch resources google doc if you haven’t seen that. And although I know it intimidates some of you for some reason, the opportunity to message me and I can share what I know as best I can without getting overwhelmed. It’s not ideal and I wish I had a better answer but I know it’s realistically what I can offer for now.
Hi! I am working with a deity I find very little people work with on a goal that is a little unusual, and there are other things I would like to do that in general I don’t see people talk openly about. Would using existing practices/spells and tweaking them be ok? How would I know if it will work? Or should I be working from the ground up? It’s very daunting as a beginner!
Hi! So as stated in my pinned post, I do not work with deities and can’t really speak on doing more unusual practices or experimenting with that. However if there’s one thing I know about from my own practice it may just be experimenting with spell work. As long as the existing practices or techniques are open, yes you can do things like tweak or make substitutions with spells. I encourage it actually in my post about spell writing. In my experience? You won’t know a spell will work until you try. There’s so many factors that go into spell work that although I think you can make an educated guess after a while, sometimes you’ll miss stuff. You can also write spells, methods or correspondences from the ground up and this is one of my favorite things to do in my practice. But like I said you can also start with experimenting with different ideas and substitutions and build up to doing things from the scratch too. It’s really up to you! I know this isn’t super direct instructions, but it’s experimenting we’re talking about here and these answers are really just based on my personal experience. Also as it states in my pinned post you’re best off messaging me about spell work because I can only do so much without elaboration and the ability to ask questions, and I feel that especially applies to something like this. It’s a personal thing. With all that having been said, you’re welcome to message me for a discussion about this and my approach. I hope this provides insight either way if you’re not comfortable reaching out! 💕
hey! i haven't practiced my craft in a while (mental health) and I really want start practicing again daily in little ways. right now I want to take little steps to get back on track. what is your favorite way to incorporate witchcraft into your daily life?
Hi! I was in the same situation not too long ago and I have a post about doing exactly that, adding little things back into your life to return to the practice. I think adding little things back into your routine is the one of the best ways to approach something like this. Here’s that post:
hello! i just saw your post encouraging witches to post their craft, and i find that encouraging on a personal level.
the only problem is me not knowing witchcraft + living in an unsafe place. but once it’s safe, i will post about my queer witchcraft adventures!
-ghost anon (not sure if that’s taken yet)
Hi! Sorry I’m getting to this a little later than usual. I’m glad you found it encouraging! That was the idea but I’m not sure it’s come across that way to everyone :( Anyways what I said wasn’t meant to mean everyone should post all the time. You be safe okay?
Also P.S the only consistent anon I have is CAH anon (I think) so you’re all good! Welcome to my inbox ghost anon :)
Cah anon, I had a rough day yesterday and then you replied to my message and I was like “oh yeah I was supposed to take this week in tiny bites”. Also, I did a reading for today and the cards said “dont be h*rny” and im like “wow rude, that wasnt even the plan but go off” so yeah the cards have good advice and also weird advice
I’m sorry it took me so long to respond to this but that’s partially because I didn’t want it to leave my inbox 😭 It has made me laugh so many times. If I had gotten that card I absolutely would have forgotten and gotten overwhelmed.
Y’all this existing is a result of that post I made saying people should try making their own content more 🥹 That makes me so happy. I have actually never seen a post on art magic suggest making sigil stamps! I love that.
I had such a lovely exchange with @hiswitchcraft today! It was so great!
I said a thing! I was read as a simple neutral statement of thing (as it always should be until more context is known) instead of in bad / poor faith (which we desperately need to stop doing)! And then we had a really lovely dialogue about the thing (YAY) instead of me getting a bunch of completely unnecessary posturing bullshit like always (BOO)!
I've been around too long, y'all ... This is the kind of "old Witchblr" I miss (whenever I see the few rare little gems that can manage it instead of being huffy, egotistical, vapid little pissants for no actual reason) ... Please keep being darlings. Witchblr needs more beautifully inquisitive, good faith people like you 💜 This is the stuff that gives me hope for our community and its future.
This warms my heart! 🥹 I honestly just have a hard time interpreting tone, so I’m cautious with assuming negative or rude intent and approach people with that same neutrality. I guess this is one of the benefits of that!
