"...plants that reach for the sun have a strong solar quality, which lends itself to workings of healing, happiness, and joy.
Plants that are poisonous or develop strong root systems and return year after year have a saturnine quality, lending themselves to necromancy, cursing, and dark spirit work.
Plants with barbs, thorns, or irritants are martial in nature and are useful for defense and success in competitive areas.
If a plant has large, fragrant blossoms, it can be said to possess a venereal nature, potent in love, friendship, and beauty.
Plants that hold watery or milky substances or enjoy the shade have a lunar quality, useful in divination and foresight.
Plants with complex, small leaves or petals that flutter in the wind often have a mercurial nature, useful for learning, communication, and trade.
Plants that produce prolific nuts or seeds are connected to the planetary force of Jupiter, useful for success, wealth, and influence."
- Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, and the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner by Roger J. Horne
Before getting into this, I want to preface that this is heavily based on my experiences and UPG. This is intended to be a helpful guide for anyone not sure on where to start but my Number 1 piece of advice will always be: Just go for it. Your experiences will be different from mine and that's a good thing! Be respectable and figure out what works best for you. With that in mind, let's get into it.
First, let's define 'nature spirits'. Nature spirits may conjure a number of associations and concepts depending on your culture, religion or practice! For the purpose of this post, 'Nature Spirits does not refer to any nature-associated deities or entities such as The Fae, Dryads/Naiads/Oceanids/etc, Elves etc - while many of these practices could be applied, each of these entities has specific cultural and religious etiquette attached that I'm not going to get into!
In this post, Nature Spirits are the spirits of all natural things, following the animistic view that everything has spirit. Plants, animals, rocks, metal, landscapes, etc. This is an incredibly broad definition, that can be narrowed or adapted however you see fit, nature is not an easily defined box. You can create your own categories or definitions, if that makes it easier to understand. For example, I may categorise certain spirits by a dominant element, or biome, or breadth, but these categories will always only ever be guidelines. (Note: at some point I want to make a post about different nature spirits along with some personal experiences. Will link here!)
Which brings us to the next point: accept that nature is not neat, and neither are the spirits. There is a level of overlap between different spirits that cannot be easily discerned - there is no clear, easily drawn line between the spirit of The Forest and the spirit of the Trees. The Spirit of that One Particular Crow is not entirely separated from the Spirit of Crow, but they are also not the same. The Spirit of the Stream will flow into the Spirit of The Ocean and you cannot pull them apart, yet you can still work with one but not the other. It is all a tightly interwoven web of spirit, it mirrors the balance and entwinement of the complex ecosystems all around us. Spirits and energies can shift and change with each meeting because of the changing seasons, the time of day, the influence of the landscape around it, or just because. Some spirits can be particularly variable, and it's important to recognise this! When working with nature spirits you must be open minded and adaptable, meet them as they are.
So how do you actually work with them?
This can largely depend on your goal, so I'll break this into two categories; A one time or "casual" relationship, or building a long-term relationship. I have both of these types of relationships - it would be impossible for me to have a long-term relationship with each individual spirit, but sometimes I want to ask them for help. My long term relationships are with Nature itself, and a handful of plant/animal/land spirits, the rest of my practice is made up of much shorter-term relationships that are made much easier by my long-term relationship with Nature. Again, figure out what works for you!
Working with Nature Spirits Once/Casually
Maybe you have a specific spell or petition that you think a nature spirit would be PERFECT to help you with. Or you want to add an extra bit of oomph to your spellwork by working with the spirit(s) of your ingredients. Or maybe, you just want to give (nature) spirit work a go. Whatever the reason, sometimes we just want a short-term relationship with a spirit. This can also be a helpful approach if you want to take something from nature* (i.e. a tree branch to be your wand, some flowers as spellworking ingredients, etc) and want to ensure it's permitted and you respect the spirit.
The best way to approach this, from my experience, is to be honest with the spirit, and respectful. Some Nature Spirits have no interest in helping someone they don't have a relationship with, and some spirits don't want to help period. Leave an offering for the spirit (expanded upon in the Offerings section further in the post), call upon them and ask them if they would be open to what you need. It really can be as simple as:
"Spirit of Oak, I ask you humbly if you would aid in my enchantment. I give you this offering and ask if I may take one of your many branches. I ask that you may allow your magic and wisdom to stay with it and empower it to be my wand. Thank you."
You may get in an answer through divination such as tarot or runes, through your clairsenses, or you can ask the spirit to provide a sign.
If they say no, respect that. Thank them and leave. If you aren't willing to hear no, you should not be working with spirits.
If they say yes, but give certain requirements - i.e. "Yes, but only so much. Yes, but I want an offering of xyz in return. Etc" respect that and consider if you're willing to oblige. If not, thank them and leave. Spirits do have preferences and requests, and sometimes they change over time! I.e. in Summer, Oak may be happy for you to take one of his branches, but in Winter, when he and his wards (Oak, in my experience, is a very protective and familial spirit, often charging himself with protection of the land he lives on) are struggling, he may only allow you to take it if you agree to leave some extra bowls of water as an offering.
This doesn't just have to be a one-off, even for short-term relationships. If you are asking for quite a lot or something significant, you should leave multiple offerings over time before asking for permission - especially if the spirit you're working with might be a bit less welcoming.
*If taking something from nature, always ensure you are taking no more than you need and, if applicable, leave more than enough for that resource to survive (unless it is invasive to your area). Respecting the mundane balance of nature is the most important thing. Also, check any laws in your area regarding collecting feathers, certain plants, bones etc!!
Building a Long-Term Relationship
If you want to build a longer relationship with Nature Spirits, or connect more deeply with nature as a whole, there's a few 'steps' I would recommend:
Research and learn about your local area! What plants are you most likely to find? What animals and trees? How do the seasons change and impact the land? What patterns can you find? Do they align with your personal experiences? Join local Birdwatching or foraging groups, pick up localised wildlife books, take online courses! Learn about the world around you!
Get outside and experience it! Get a nature journal to record what you notice - when do you notice the bees coming back after Winter? What are the first plants to sprout in Spring? When do the first Autumnal leaves fall? What animals do you see most? What trees? Sit outside with no intent other than to *feel*. Sit in the forest and let your energy merge with everything around you; feel how the tree roots stretch beneath the soil, and intermingles with stretching mycelium, feel the flap of insects wings and the wind on your skin. Feel the energy of the spirits around you. Like when trying to befriend a crow or stray cat, you must give them time to adjust to your presence.
Leave offerings on a regular basis. This can be done on your altar at home, but often the most effective offerings are ones that aid the physical side of the spirits of well!
Talk to them (without necessarily expecting a response). Say good morning to the magpies on your way to work, tell the trees about your day. Even if you are trying to build a relationship with one specific spirit, it never hurts to connect to nature and its other spirits - sort of like being polite to the in-laws. All of nature is connected, if you're trying to befriend Lavender but throw litter out the car window, it's gonna be much harder to forge a connection.
Ask the spirit if they want a working relationship with you! And respect their answer if they say no. If they say yes, ask them how you've been doing so far - is there something you've been doing that they don't like? Or that they wish you would do more? Do they have any preferences? Requests? Some spirits don't like to communicate through tarot, others have specific times of day they prefer to talk. Some of this can be discerned through research (i.e. nocturnal animal spirits might prefer nighttime communication) but much of it can only be learned by *asking the spirit*.
Keep it up. This is it. This is what a relationship with spirits is: consistent communication and respect. What you choose to do with this relationship, and how it evolves and changes is entirely up to you! Nature is not a religion, these spirits are not a part of a specific tradition or culture (though you are more than welcome to incorporate your own culture/traditions/religions into your relationship with them) and so there are no pre-set prayers, offerings, rituals etc; it is up to you to build a unique and personalised relationship with them!
If you ever want to end it, be respectful and polite. Thank the spirit for everything, provide them a final offering and say goodbye.
Offerings for Nature Spirits
Here are some suggestions of offerings for Nature Spirits, but they are just suggestions and recommendations from my own experiences; come up with your own and figure it out *with* the spirit!! I've divided them into physical and non-physical offerings:
Water (a classic, hard to go wrong)
Wildlife Safe food (this will require research and will be very dependant on your area. HOWEVER, it should not be done regularly, and ideally should be in your garden rather than a public or "wild" area - bird feeders, feeding hedgehogs etc Feeding wildlife can cause more harm than help a lot of the time).
Coins, tobacco, crystals etc (some 'traditional' spirit offerings in many cultures. These are best for any indoor altars rather than outside.
Picking up Litter or other acts of service (an amazing offering, often highly appreciated)
Removing Invasive Species!
Physical touch (NOT for animals or potentially dangerous plants. Do your research. This may be a hand in the river, a hug to the tree, bare feet on the soil.)
Time (a simple, yet much appreciated offering)
A poem, artwork, prayer
Donating to their conservation/aid
Other parts of nature (laying flowers at the foot of the tree, berries for the crow spirit, dressing a fox skull in leaves)
In my experience, acts of service or creation are often much more appreciated than physical offerings! Art in their name, cleaning the local stream of litter, calling your PM to pressure more conservation policies etc are far better than leaving a - potentially disruptive and harmful - piece of food.
What NOT to Do?
This is also UPG based, but there are some things I would really NOT recommend.
Not doing your research. You wouldn't jump into a relationship with a deity without learning anything about them, why do the same for nature spirits? Just because they don't have specific religious lore surrounding them, doesn't mean you shouldn't learn. Pick up a field guide or book on local folklore.
Leaving human food outside. You baked a tasty brownie and want to share it with the Fly Agaric spirit you're building a relationship with? Great - leave it as an offering but TAKE IT BACK HOME WITH YOU. Let the spirit take the energy from it it wants/needs, and then remove it. Do not leave human food outside. If you INSIST on leaving a form of food offering, it MUST be safe for the local wildlife.
Littering. Doing a spell with Birch? Cool. Make sure you don't leave anything behind. Ideally, use compostable or wildlife safe ingredients (i.e. beeswax candles, toilet paper tubes instead of spell jars etc)
Graffiti/Carvings on trees/rocks etc. Sigils and art can be a great tool/offering but PLEASE don't graffiti or carve into trees/rocks/natural things. It does damage them. Write a with your finger in sand or on your palm or recreate it with branches instead.
Taking more than you need. Don't collect every shell you see on a beach, don't pick up every skull or bone your find in a forest, don't pick every mushroom or herb in a patch. Take what you need, ask permission, leave more than you take.
DO NOT GO INTO FORAGING/BONE COLLECTING/HIKING/LITTER PICKING WITHOUT PROPER SAFETY PRECAUTIONS. Know the laws in your area. Know the trails and paths. Have a map if the area if large enough. Know what plants are safe to touch, if you're not sure - DON'T TOUCH IT. Know what is safe to forage, ideally have an expert to confirm, if you are not 10000% certain, LEAVE IT (and I mean 100000% certain. Not 99%). Wear proper hiking boots, be aware of the weather and any risks in the area. Keep up with weather warnings. Know if there's any traps in the woods. Going litter picking? Make sure you're aware of any local vaccination attempts, as the devices used to help vaccinate wild animals may look like rubbish. Be sensible, be SAFE.
General Tips and Advice
Use common sense and critical thinking.
Notice how I kept saying "local" in this post? That's because it's ideal for a nature-based practice to be localised to your surrounding area! I live in the UK, so whats the point in me trying to build a relationship with spirit of Bald Eagle? It has no roots in my land, nor in my heritage or craft. It is much easier to connect to a nature spirit that you can actually, physically visit, or that has a deep connection to your culture/religion/heritage than one that you thought "seemed cool".
Take it slow, and take it easy. There are no strict rules besides don't be a jerk. The best expert on any particular spirit is that spirit!
However, its important to be safe. Know how to protect yourself and how to banish. Don't call on any spirit you can't get rid of. Not all nature spirits are friendly.
Nature spirits are also not a monolith. They overlap, they blur and twist together but working with Bramble is an entirely different experience to working with Lavender. Be prepared. You can typically get an idea of a spirit's personality through research - it peeks through in the science and ecology, as well as the folklore.
Practice energy work! Nature spirits, in my experience, love to communicate through energy. Sit with yourself for a while, learn what thoughts are yours, what sensations are your own, so that you can differentiate from others. Get used to the feeling of nature and its spirits - they will guide you and help you, they will teach you knowledge you cannot imagine.
You're allowed to say no, and so are they.
Do not be deterred by your circumstances. You live in a city? There's still nature spirits there, a lot of them. (Will link my post about Urban Nature Spirit Work here when posted). Struggle to get outside regularly? Get a Houseplant (will link houseplant post too) watch nature documentaries, find a way to connect to nature and it will find a way to connect to you.
Remember that YOU are a part nature. You are not an onlooker, you are not an outsider, YOU are a part of the ecosystem, apart of natural history and the complex beauty of evolution and change. YOU are an animal and you are so much more similar to the foxes and bears and flies and butterflies than you think.
I hope this post has been helpful to some! Please feel free to add any of your own points/experiences or ask questions/suggest future posts!!
Cultivation 102: Other Aspects of Spiritual Cultivation
Prerequisite post: Asian Spiritual Vocabulary & Concepts: Cultivation 101
In addition to cultivation meaning any kind of improvement, there is even more meaning to spiritual cultivation. This meaning explores our level of magical ability, and how it relates to our karma and reincarnation.
“Cultivation” as Level of Accumulated Magical Ability
Cultivation is often used as a shorthand for one’s…
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a case against fucking around and finding out: sometimes the finding out is not worth it.
Not to hit the coffee and immediately say something melodramatic, but here we go:
In the context of learning witchcraft or similar occultish pursuits, the quip fuck around and find out seems to put a lot of emphasis on the fuck around
and I think a lot less focus on the finding out.
I think that the finding out is assumed to be something that can be swept up and tidied under the rug, like:
Whoops, time to learn counterspells!
Well thank goodness I saved that bookmark for protection amulets.
What a relief! I saw a fairy doctor talking about how to correct offenses to the fae, that's really going to come in handy.
But I don't know if people consider that the finding out is sometimes, like:
I've had intermittent recurring pain in my heart for over a decade where a demon implanted energy tentacles into me, and energy healers have warned me to leave it alone. This is something I live with now.
I did a spell in the forest - I didn't know I needed to ask for permission - and now the trees are haunting me; I can't close my eyes without seeing a corpse-like dryad attacking me. I consulted with a spirit doctor and now I have to make offerings in the forest eight times a year just to appease those spirits, and my green magic has stopped working. It's time to rebuild my path.
I accepted the first spirit that appeared to me as my spirit guide. Six years of chronic fatigue later, after losing most of my friends and being able to move nowhere with my life, someone in a Discord told me that spirit is an energy vampire.
I learned to speak with ghosts and the first thing that happened was one of them implanting an energetic cord in me. It told me it was a symbol of honor, but since then I haven't been able to shut the ghosts out. It's affecting my relationships and my ability to work, and I need help.
I feel like I swing on the pendulum between "yeehaww, get in the back of the pickup truck y'all, let's go wrassle that magic!" and "last week Earl got his ankle run over by the truck and he needs seven surgeries to keep his foot."
I don't think either side is more correct than the other. Magic is a big landscape, and it's filled with mountains and valleys.
Just, like. Be careful out there, y'all. Sometimes the finding out really isn't worth it.
Too many people go into their practice with the mindset of "a new experience" but I think it's a good idea to go into it like you'd get a permanent body modification.
This doesn't work for everyone but if I'm thinking about say a tattoo, I'm going to think about:
-What do I want out of it?
-Will I have an adverse reaction to the ink?
-Am I going to a parlor that is clean and safe?
-Will I still want this tattoo once the novelty has worn off?
Some things in witchcraft are Very Permanent and even more are Very Permanent unless you get the spiritual equivalent of laser removal. And even that doesn't always get it all, you'll always have a mark there saying you got a tattoo. A little ink left over that wasn't enough for them to bother getting.
All power to anyone diving headfirst but maybe check that you're on the deep end of the pool first.
Sometimes life just isn't it, and we get a little impatient with ourselves. We start to spiral when we can't do the things we should be doing, and it just ends up making us feel bad. Sometimes we need a little help being patient with ourselves, and that's okay. So, here is my simple recipe for an herbal oil I like to add to self-care and patience spell jars. I hope it does you well.
What you'll need:
A jar with a lid
Another jar or some dropper bottles
Blender
Funnel
Fine mesh sieve
1/2 cup of olive oil (promoting peace)
3 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil
1 tablespoon dried parsley (well-being)
A small handful of dried gardenia petals (repelling strife, promoting peace)
A small handful of dried hyacinth flowers (peace of mind)
A spoonful of dried lavender (peacefulness, patience, healing)
What you'll do:
Add oil, parsley, and flowers into a blender and blend for several seconds. The more you blend, the fast it'll incorporate. Feel free to pause your blending for a few moments and then continue.
Pour the mixture into your jar with a lid and leave out on your counter (or in a cupboard) for about a week, shaking or swirling it often.
Strain your mixture through a fine mesh sieve into your funnel, filling either a jar or your dropper bottles.
And you're done! Use this in spell jars, add a few drops to a bath, or even add to an oil warmer to infuse your room with its goodness. Just remember that even with magical help, improvement comes from the self. This won't solve your problem; it's merely a helping hand.
As always, do your research, be safe, and blessed be!
Support your local witch on Ko-Fi or at my store, Hallow Grove!
Imma go ahead and put my periodic reminder here that, when the Nazi party was getting rolling in Germany, they recruited from both occult and skeptic communities. The common thread between the two is the desire to be part of a special group with privileged access to hidden knowledge.
(Read about this in a book called Hitler’s Monsters, which--as I always say--I was expecting to be much more lurid, but it was interesting.)
Quick note about Hitler's Monsters, it can be a bit much for people that aren't already familiar with the relationship between Nazism and the occult. It's working from Nicholas Goodrick-Clarks "The Occult Roots of Nazism." Which methodically covers the 50+ year lead up to the rise of Nazism, and might be a better starting point for people who want to learn about this.
Fairy tales have always been with us. Apart from teaching moral lessons and practical cautions, they remain a source of wonder and inspiration that persists even in a modern age dominated by technology.
There is magic in these tales as well - spells and charms that aid the worthy and conquer obstacles, heal the ailing and bring wealth to the poor, thwart the wicked and exact terrible revenge, or grant someone their hearts' desire and make their dearest wishes come true.
I have created over a hundred such spells, inspired by the tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm and the folklore collected by Andrew Lang. One volume was published back in 2017 and another is forthcoming. If you're curious (and maybe a little bit daring), here are some previews of the spells to be found in the pages of The Sisters Grimmoire.
After all, who couldn’t use a bit of Happily Ever After?
The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I
A Bellyful of Stones - A curse to punish the greedy.
Roughskin - To protect and disguise oneself from those who mean to harm you.
Table of Plenty - To obtain needed money or provisions.
The Red Flower - For removing enchantment.
The Sorrow Pot - To relieve your sorrows and bring justice for a grievance.
The Wall of Thorns - To protect one’s home and property.
The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. II (forthcoming)
Make Sure You Lock Up - To set your household wards when you lock your front door.
The Ferryman's Curse - To curse another with the problems that plague your own life.
The Shining Web - To repel trouble from the home.
You can find more spells from The Sisters Grimmoire, Vol. I and potion and powder recipes from Pestlework by checking out the mid-month minisodes of Hex Positive, available on your favorite podcast platform.
All of my titles can be found on Amazon or ordered from the Willow Wings Witch Shop. (If you'd like to see them in your local witch shop, feel free to give the proprietor my contact information!)
If you're enjoying my content, please feel free to drop a little something in the tip jar! 😊
“May those who love us, love us,
And those who don’t,
May [God] turn their hearts
And if not their hearts,
may [he] turn their ankles
so we’ll know them by their limping”
Inventory:
- salt
- lemon juice
- black pepper
- red pepper
- 2 paper
- red marker
- black string
- tinted, dark bottle
- sigil form of the curse
To Do:
Draw curse sigil on paper with red marker. Recite curse throughout spell, inserting the name of your own god if wanted. Fold sigil up tight as it will go, then unfold once into a bowl/crevice shape. Place paper into a bowl of salt. Sprinkle black and red pepper into paper. Burn sigil paper down to ash, still reciting curse. Once paper is burned, pour salt and every single piece of the paper into bottle. Prepare second piece of paper by lightly soaking in lemon juice until slightly moldable. Form paper into a cap for the bottle and tie down paper with string. Place in a hidden, dark place in a room that people pass through often. Turn in a counterclockwise circle once a week.
Cleanse your work area thoroughly after you’ve hidden the bottle.
