I have been reading a lot into symbols and colors in the cards recently and that has definitely impacted my readings a lot and has helped add an extra layer of meaning and clarity to the cards and my readings and I feel more confident in my readings now. I figured that keeping my list of meanings would be selfish so here you go. Let me know if this helped and add onto it please! Note that these meanings are more geared towards how they relate to my deck so some meanings may not fit well with your deck.
Angel: guidance, help, someone watching out for you, praise, goodness
Arrows: path, direction, fruition, guidance
Balance: balance if balanced, things unchecked if not, priorities in line, good to go
I would love to hear some symbols from your decks and their meanings. I didn’t include cups, coins, wands, or swords because those are my suits and each had their elemental connections and meanings seperat from them being used as symbols.
My deck is Tattoo Tarot: ink and intuition and I really love this deck and it’s use of symbols.
6 Alternative Altar Inspirations for Witches that are Bored of Altar Tables
No matter what path you follow as in witchcraft are, chances are you have some sort of sacred space. If you are a witch whose practice is part of your religious beliefs, this might be a place to communicate with your deities. If you work with spirits, this could be a place where honor your ancestors. Non-religious witches like myself often use altars as a space where they can connect with their magical and spiritual sides. Even though we all share this desire to have a place all our own dedicated to our craft.
That doesn’t mean we all need the same type of space. Whether you are a new witch who can’t show off your craft publicly (we’ve all been there) or just a witch who isn’t really into the more standard altar table setup, there are plenty of options for customizing and creating an altar space that meets your needs.
Window Altars
One easy way to create an altar is to take up a windowsill. Depending on the arrangement of the room you’re using, your personal preference, and the space available, the size of this type of altar varies.
This generally small altar space can be good for witches in the broom closet and green witches who like to keep their altars populated with plant friends. Because it is literally a window to the outside, these altars are also great places for charging things like crystals, spells, and water under the light of the moon.
Benefits:
Good for altars that are heavily planted (hello, sunlight!)
Generally discreet
Keeps your altar space contained (for all us witches that do not know when to quit)
Garden Altars
While pretty much any altar can include plants, there is something else to say for an altar that is almost completely plants. If you have some space indoors, why not design a witch’s garden that doubles as an altar space?
A small tray planted with succulents with offering bowls and candle dishes set into the soil and crystals scattered around can be a unique, and even moveable altar! You could also use potted plants so that you can change the arrangement or plants out whenever you need a refresh.
Benefits:
Deeply connected to nature and the earth
Pluck herbs for spells right off your altar
Generally pretty moveable
Bath Altars
If you love bath magic as much as I do, you’re a water witch, or your bathroom is one of your most sacred places (self-care anyone?), a bath altar could be the perfect thing to give your craft a physical home.
We’ve all seen those pictures of wooden tray tables for baths surrounded by eucalyptus and candles. Add a statue of your deity (or a symbol of something important to your craft), some crystals (check how your crystals are affected by water and humidity first!), and some jars of your favorite things to mix into bath spells, and your bath altar is set.
Benefits:
The perfect place to combine witchcraft and self-care
Perfect for witches that incoroporate the water element in their craft a lot
Magic really does belong in every room in the house
Travel Altars
If you tend to practice on a whim rather than waiting to be in a specific place or if you need to be able to stash your altar quickly, a travel altar is perfect. These altars can be fit into matchboxes, Altoids tins, jewelry boxes, and even hollowed out books! If you can carry it with you and find supplies small enough to fit, anything goes. (I’ve even seen locket altars!)
Some witches will create multiple travel altars for different purposes or focuses, but don’t feel like you need to collect them if that’s not your thing.
Benefits:
Small and discreet, it’s hard to make a mess with these
Very customizable (and easy to have multiples of!)
Perfect for witches in the broom closet
Virtual Altars
Tech witches, I haven’t forgotten you. If you’ve been following me for a bit, then you might know that I threw out the idea a while ago about a altar lockscreen/wallpaper for your phone/tablet/etc. Now that I’ve talked to some tech witches, I know this is actually a pretty sound idea!
Whether you commision an artist or design one yourself, a lock screen wallpaper for an electronic device (you could even go as big as a laptop with a touch screen!) could make the perfect altar for a tech witch. Even if you decide not to use it as a wallpaper, designing an image that serves as an altar and opening it in GIMP or Photoshop where you can create additional layers for placing other virtual elements could be useful.
Benefits:
Travel friendly
Can be synced across devices, so your altar is always with you
Easy to change and “redecorate” throughout the year
Paper Altars
(This incredible paper altar was created by Stella Witchcraft! Please click here to check out their full post and their blog!)
Similar to a virtual altar, a paper altar is a portable, customizable altar. Many witches choose to include paper altar setups in their grimoires, but there’s nothing stopping you from making larger paper altars with poster paper that can be rolled up and stored away.
If paper altars are attractive to you, don’t be deterred if you aren’t an artist! Minimalism in paper altars is perfectly fine. You can always outline your altar with symbols or even words alone. If you’re happy with it, it is perfect. You don’t have to meet any requirements for aesthetic or any other witch’s expectations.
There you have it! Of course, there are so many more types of altars, and even table altars can be created to fit your own personal needs. If you’re attracted to more than one of these, why not try combining the elements that call to you to make something entirely your own? The possibilities are endless.
Looking for more? Check these out: 6 More Alternative Altars for Bored Witches
DIY Natural Fabric Dyes Chart and How To Dye Fabric
Updated 2019
The yellow powder is turmeric and the bottom purple leaves are lavender. These are the results that she got using 100% natural fabric liked undyed silk. For a how-to on dyeing natural fabrics go to the link (and also read the comments).
Step-by-Step How to Dye Fabric. Blog no longer exists except on the WayBack Machine:
Pre-wash and pre-soak your fabric. It is best to use 100% natural fabrics that are undyed. I have recently fallen in love with China silk habotai because it’s elegant and billowy without the price pitfall of crepe de chine.
Chop up your food source into little tiny bits (but not so tiny that they can’t be strained out). For onions and plums, use only the skins
Prepare the water base in a large pot: add the water in a 2:1 ratio of water to food source (so if you have 2 cups of chopped bits, add 4 cups of water)
Boil the mixture for approximately an hour
Strain out food source and return liquid dye to pot
Add salt or vinegar, depending on the food source, to the water and mix. For fruits and vegetables, add ½ cup of salt to every 8 cups of water. For plant material, add 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water). Salt and vinegar act as fixatives for the dye.
Add your pre-soaked fabric to the dye, stirring thoroughly, and bring up to a boil
Depending on how dark you would like the dyed fabric to be, boil your fabric in the dye for any length of time up to about an hour and a half. At that point, your dye is probably exhausted.
Hand wash your fabric in cold water and organic detergent at least twice to ensure that all of the dye and fixative are out of the fabric, rinse, and hang dry or lay flat.
Voila! You now have gorgeous, naturally dyed fabric to sew into sensational garments.
**if you would like a lighter color, either add less fixative (vinegar or salt) or boil for less time – or a little of both! You can also add some salt/vinegar to the pre-soak water, but I haven’t really seen a difference with doing so.
Travel time in D&D can be boring. Here are 100 Dungeons and Dragons roadside encounters to make that trip to the next town a little more enjoyable.
1. A huge nest has fallen from a tree on the side of the road. The strange-looking eggs within seem on the verge of hatching.
2. A dwarf falls from the sky onto the road with a splat. (Did a creature drop it, was he launched into the air, did he fall from a floating fortress?)
3. A row of severed heads on spikes and a warning sign claiming, “Dis Rode Belong Negan”
4. A very small goblin wearing an old carpet as a cape leaps into the path and demands tribute.
5. A crazed halfling, starved out of his mind, jumps to the backs of the PCs and rips their packs apart with his teeth in search of food.
6. A bounty hunter tracks his target.
7. A lush garden is filled with ripe vegetables. It is protected by a magical ward, but what is triggered when entering the garden?
8. A monstrous mount is ridden by a gnome. Friend or foe?
9. Two guards hold a wanted poster. They carefully studies the party as they pass by.
10. A smiling roadside merchant roasts rats, frogs, and squirrels on sticks. He offers a bite to the PCs.
11. A chatty bard walks alongside the party. Time for an exposition dump!
12. A bridle ties a well-groomed speckled horse to a nearby tree. The horse is fitted with an elegant but empty saddle. Who does it belong to? Do the PCs take it?
13. A powerful storm forced you to take the only available refuge: an elderly couple’s home just off the side of the road. The two room home holds numerous open cups of the same pungent liquid.
14. A naked bard asks for a lift to the nearest inn where he left his clothes and money.
15. Alongside the road, a charlatan asks the party if they want to see a performance of his trained pets. The slightest affirmative answer causes Steve to give a whistle, and a huge swarm of ravenous locusts suddenly manifests.
16. A fat friar hurries past the PCs mumbling, “It isn’t fair.”
17. An evil wizard is tied to a stake, the body still smoking.
18. Three young men work on tipping over an occupied outhouse.
19. A band of orcs runs toward the party. They look over their shoulders and try to run through the party. Something dreadful has terrified them, and the party is heading in its direction!
20. Traveling off the main road, the PCs feel like they are being followed. Who is hunting them?
21. Three types of meat hang on a spit over a campfire. It is clear that it is three types of humanoids that hang over the flames.
22. A snowy road hides a sinkhole that chutes the party on a slalom slide down the mountainside.
23. A well-spoken bugbear wearing fine studded leather armor is trapped under a fallen tree. He begs the party to come to his aid.
24. A ranger stops by the group’s camp one night and gives them advice on the trail ahead, including places to camp and a tavern where they can get good rates if they mention his name. All his advice is impeccable, but when they mention his name at the tavern, they’re told he died years ago on that very road.
25. A shopping list for potions lies on the ground.
26. The local baron has enacted a toll bridge. Several peasants were unaware, and cannot afford the toll. They beg the PCs for change.
27. You find the remains of a pouch that contains coins fro ma land you do not recognize.
28. The party hears a long stream of curses further up the road. Then they spot a head in the road. A person is still alive, buried up to his neck!
29. An arrow hits a nearby trunk, a message wrapped around the shaft.
30. A bridge is missing. Where it used to be is now a ferry service, for a sizable fee. The ferry looks like it might consist of bridge parts, and only takes a few travelers at a time.
31. A loaded wagon travels down the road toward the party, but it has no apparent means of propulsion.
32. As bandits attack, the PCs realize a friend of theirs is among the robbers.
33. There is a mysterious flicker ahead, and one member of your party suddenly stops, paralyzed.
34. Orcs gather twigs and berries along the road and it’s clear they have non-hostile purpose. Will the PCs attack just because they are orcs?
35. A tree falls onto the road. Then a fireball blows up the tree. It appears the PCs are in the middle of a skirmish between druids and fire wizards.
36. Flowers by the roadside turn their heads to follow the party, and they’re getting larger.
37. An overturned beer cart lies in the road. Nearby, an enormous troll snores loudly, surrounded by empty kegs.
38. A set of shackles lies at the side of the road.
39. A village can be seen to the west. It isn’t on any of the maps.
40. Three pilgrims trudge along the dusty road, an old man and two young men. Simple travelers? Or are they more than they seem?
41. You stumble upon an old scroll case wedged between a tangle of tree branches. Inside is a village’s charter of rights and freedoms.
42. A dead magic user clutches a scroll in his stiff hand. The scroll says something important.
43. A single giant footprint lies along the path. There are no other signs of such footprints in the area.
44. You party awakens to find all your gear has been stolen during the night. A quick search reveals twelve sets of tracks and, lying in the middle of your campsite, a smoldering pouch of herbs that, when you sniff them, make you feel slightly drowsy.
45. An enormous dragon lands on the road in front of the group. It asks for directions to a certain village, gives the party a generous tip, and then flies off saying he intends to raze it to the ground.
46. An exotic, almost alien weapon or tool lies on the side of the road.
47. The PCs mysteriously repeat a piece of road they already passed, though the route has been perfectly straight to this point. The road even includes their footprints.
48. A dozen townsfolk are running after a fleeing woman and attempting to stone her to death for being a prostitute.
49. Two other adventuring groups are arguing in the middle of the road.
50. You see a man-sized shadow from the left side of the road waving its arms at you. “Over here, quickly, I’ve caught one!”
51. A person fleeing arranged marriage seeks refuge with the PCs.
52. Picked mushrooms lay on stump to dry.
53. A strange old man offers the PCs a scroll in a language they cannot read.
54. Gnomes are holding a yard sale! They have any number of strange and fascinating contraptions.
55. Someone has scattered caltrops across the road.
56. You encounter a monk, a monkey, a turtle and a pig, all heading west.
57. A weathered sign points off the road, yet with no apparent trail to follow.
58. The next 100 feet of road are covered with newly grown grass.
59. Ladies clothing and under clothing are strewn in the bushes along the road. How did these get here?
60. A formerly brilliant wizard, now pesters the party with the incoherent rants of a man driven mad by a botched invisibility spell.
61. A drunken dwarf staggers along, challenging everyone to a wrestling match.
62. A goblin, on fire, runs shrieking past the party.
63. A rock with an odd, glowing rune sits by the road ahead.
64. A noble, disguised as a filthy beggar, tests the party’s compassion and generosity. If they pass whatever standard he sets, then he becomes a source of various quests that require personal sacrifice to accomplish.
65. A circus is set up alongside the road. A barker on the roadside cajoles you to “come inside and see what wonders it holds.”
66. The road crests a hill, and spread out before the group is a stunning, sweeping vista of the land beyond. A painter sits nearby, capturing the scene, and asks the group to pose for his foreground.
67. An overturned rowboat sits on the side of the road. There is no river or stream nearby. Under the rowboat is an entrance to a lair.
68. A wandering cleric begs the heroes to recover a relic for them.
69. A road sign saying where you came from is ahead of you.
70. A group of guardsmen hang wanted posters on trees. One face looks familiar to a PC.
71. A carriage is stuck high up in a tree.
72. In the morning while breaking camp, the PCs spot a bush that wasn’t there before.
73. A beautiful woman, adorned in the robes of an enchantress, emerges from hiding near the road and implores you to lend her aid.
74. The road is lined with snakes sleeping in the sun.
75. A necromancer uses his talents to animate animal and human corpses and forces them to perform in a roadside circus. The townsfolk from a nearby village seem to enjoy the show a bit too much.
76. A chain gang digs ditches beside the road.
77. A traveling minstrel challenges the wisest looking member of the party to a storytelling contest.
78. A wizened tinker sells charms from his cart: dried frogs, finger bones, cat skulls, and the like. Leaving him, you turn to find he is eerily out of sight altogether.
79. A paladin of a holy church and his retinue have ridden out on a holy crusade against evil and demand others who serve the cause of good to join their cause on the spot.
80. The road starts to get muddy. Soon the mud is two feet deep. Water in the ditches alongside starts to bubble.
81. A majestic elk sprints past with something golden caught in its antlers.
82. A stranger on the road tells each PC to repent of their sins. He knows details.
83. A door stands beside the road, but there is no sign of the rest of the house.
84. A wine merchant’s wagon has shattered a wheel and he offers passers-by cut rate prices on his wares as it is getting repaired.
85. An ugly old woman struggles to bring her wash basket of wet clothes up from the creek to the road. She stumbles and drops the laundry back down the slope.
86. A monk, collapsed and bleeding on the roadside, pushes an unremarkable ring into a PC’s hands and desperately whispers, “You must…” before exhaling his last breath.
87. A lost gnome asks for directions.
88. A dead raven lies on the road, pierced by a bright blue fletched arrow.
89. A table on the roadside holds a large basket of fresh vegetables. A sign reads “1 copper a bunch: honesty is a virtue!”
90. You find a small leather bag. It smells of moisture, and contains a set of keys and a vellum map to the location of a small keep.
91. The road is littered with bear traps.
92. A thick fog has settled on the bridge ahead.
93. The group arrives late at night at a tiny village straddling the road. They secure accommodation and food from the friendly locals and fall asleep. In the morning the village is empty and ruined, as if abandoned years ago.
94. As the road passes through a hilly region, you spy a cave, from which can be heard the voice of a singing female.
95. As you turn the corner, a dwarf and elf are standing over a stack of goblin corpses. They argue over the kill count.
96. The party notices a sudden and drastic change in temperature, then just like that, things are back to normal.
97. A little girl is watching you from just off the road. The next time you glance over, you see a wolf run away.
98. An ecstatic farmer presses a cigar into your hands and proclaims, “It’s a girl!”
99. Scratched into the dust of the road are the words, “Good luck tomorrow. You’re going to need it.”
100. The entire party suddenly loses their bearings and realize that they’ve walked the same mile three times. Are they road weary or are they caught in something manipulating them.
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