CURRENT TOP 5 ARTICLES & RESOURCE POSTS: Protection Work in Folk Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Protecting Yourself & Others // Jewish Incantation Bowls // the Star: A Tarot Spread for Pursuing New Endeavors // the Otherworld of Irish & Welsh Mythology // the Craft of Isobel Gowdie: A Look at Scottish Folk Magic in the 1600s
ABOUT KEZIAH: (she/they); witch, rootworker, spirit worker, and diviner (25+ years); writer and huge nerd lay scholar; Southern US; mixed (Black and white); Jewish (Ashkenazi); queer (nonbinary, panromantic, asexual); leftist; in my early 30s and loving it. | (Find more on the about page.)
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These writings are meant to be an exploration and appreciation of witchcraft in its many forms. While some of the holidays and customs that are written about are not part of the authorâs personal practice, the author writes from a historical perspective and always thoroughly researches each post and includes citations and sources. The only closed practices that may be written about are within the author's own cultural customs and magical and/or religious practice. With respect, we ask that boundaries are maintained and closed practices are not encroached upon.
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I've a quick question for you, as I've an article that's been sitting in my drafts for a bit that I haven't decided on posting yet. I'd love to hear your input!
Would you enjoy a 'Summer Ones' article like my 'Winter Ones' articles (which would be folkloric and mythological figures associated with summer and their tales?)
by Keziah Zibelmann | Subscribe for free on Substack | Support on Ko-fi
Summer, typically associated with sunshine, rising temperatures, and plenty of outdoor fun and activities, is a season abundant with powerfu
Summer, typically associated with sunshine, rising temperatures, and plenty of outdoor fun and activities, is a season abundant with powerful plant allies for magical workings. With delicious fruits that can aid in love and luck work, vegetables that are rife with symbolism or the perfect tools in sympathetic magic, and an array of flowers for protecting, purifying, and more, this bountiful season is one that shouldnât be overlooked by practitioners of witchcraft, no matter what path they follow.
In this piece, youâll find a collection of some of summerâs offerings for plant allies and suggestions on how they may be used.
[NOTE: This is a cross-post on Substack of an article originally posted to @sheydmade âs tumblr on the 08th of July, 2025. Read the original post on tumblr here. Substack pieces, though, feature the most recent updates and additions, including new charms and spells and updated information.]
Summer, typically associated with sunshine, rising temperatures, and plenty of outdoor fun and activities, is a season abundant with powerful plant allies for magical workings. With delicious fruits that can aid in love and luck work, vegetables that are rife with symbolism or the perfect tools in sympathetic magic, and an array of flowers for protecting, purifying, and more, this bountiful season is one that shouldn't be overlooked by practitioners of witchcraft, no matter what path they follow.
In this piece, you'll find a collection of some of summer's offerings for plant allies and suggestions on how they may be used.
Beetroots / Beets
These delicious root vegetables are traditionally associated with love magic but can also be used as powerful symbols during spells and rites.
For love:
A beet, seen to symbolize the heart, should be shared between one and their desired to ensure that their love will be strong and true.
Writing one's name and the name of their desired, using beet juice as ink can be a simple love charm. To take this work further, fold the paper up bearing the names and tuck it inside a small box or satchet. Fill the satchet with other allies for love work â rose hips and rose petals, lavender, four-leaf clovers, apple blossom, apple seeds, etc. You can wear the satchet, keep it on your person in your bag or pocket, or sleep with it by your bed or under your pillow, drawing your love closer to you.
Using beet juice as ink, draw a picture of your beloved. This will encourage love to grow or strengthen between you. If you do not have a particular person in mind, but an ideal, this spell can also be used to manifest crossing paths with such a person.
There is also a "superstition" where I'm from that says that if you're craving beets, it's a sign you're either falling in love with someone or that someone who loves you is thinking about you.
For symbolism:
Beetroot can be used to symbolize hearts, life, and blood. One can use it in spells and rituals that would require such symbolism, and it can be used to replace any of those ingredients. Beet juice is especially good for symbolizing blood.
Blackberries
As a fruit often used in baking for holidays and festivals, blackberries are a common berry with a lot to offer. As aids in protection magic, money spells, and valued offerings, blackberries are an essential summer ally.
For healing:
Blackberry leaves can be carried as a charm to protect against illness (particularly illness related to the throat or stomach) and to help one recover from illness quickly. (Blackberry tea works just as well and is quite delicious.)
For protection:
Growing blackberries on your property is said to bring protection.
One can hang blackberry vines on their porch or on their door/window frames to bring protection (and luck with money) to the home.
For money:
Keeping blackberry leaves in one's wallet, purse, piggy bank, or coin jar is believed to multiply the amount of money coming in.
A simple money spell using blackberry leaves calls for writing a monetary total on a leaf (or leaves) and placing the leaf in your wallet where you keep paper money. That amount will come your way. Some say this will happen gradually but can be sped up by refreshing the magic often or by using more than one leaf.
Baking a blackberry pie and gifting it to someone (or partaking in it yourself when you find yourself in these situations) who is looking for work, seeking a promotion, or just starting a new job or financial venture is believed to bless them with monetary success.
Use blackberry juice as ink to draw symbols for money spells or write money spells. This can boost the money-making magic.
Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare)
Fennel has long been used as an aid in protection works and to boost one's courage and strength.
by Franz Köhler, 1887
For protection:
Fennel, when hung at windows and doors, can ward against evil spirits, believed to prevent them from entering the home.
Some customs call for hanging fennel on your property to keep the law at bay.
Fennel grown on one's property is said to deter evil spirits and other harmful forces and energies.
One can grind the seeds of fennel into powder, which can then be used as a protective ward at thresholds, windows, and around the borders of one's property.
Carry fennel seeds with you to protect yourself from spirits who would do you harm.
If a harmful or evil spirit presents itself to you, cast a fistful of fennel seeds in its direction. This is believed to banish the spirit from the area.
Fennel, along with St. John's wort, has been used as a protective measure associated with the Summer Solstice. On the eve of the Summer Solstice, fashion a bundle of fennel and St. John's wort. Hang the bundle over your front door. Doing so is said to ward off evil or harmful spirits who may be roaming during this time.
It is ideal to have fennel or fennel seeds at hand (preferably on one's person) when working any magic that might expose one to malevolent forces, as fennel is thought to strengthen one against the influence of evil forces.
For courage:
When in need of a boost of courage, carry fennel seeds with you in a small bag.
Wearing fennel in one's shoes is also said to instill one with courage.
Figs (Ficus Carica)
[WARNING: Contact with the milky sap of Ficus carica followed by exposure to ultraviolet light can cause phytophotodermatitis, a potentially serious skin inflammation. The essential oil of fig leaves contains the highest concentration of psoralen of any organic compound isolated from fig leaves, known to cause fig leaf-induced phytophotodermatitis. Psoralen and bergapten are found chiefly in the milky sap of the leaves and shoots of F. carica but not the fruits or in the essential oil of the fig fruits. It is recommended to work with the fruits themselves and to take care working with the leaves or shoots of fig plants. 'Although the plant is not poisonous per se, F. carica is listed in the FDA Database of Poisonous Plants.']
Perhaps best known for their inclusion in love and fertility work, figs can also be used as divinatory aids, and as allies bringing luck, protection, and happiness.
by G.D. Ehret, 1771
For fertility & love:
Fresh figs should be eaten by those struggling with or wishing to improve their virility.
A token of a phallus carved from fig wood can be carried by those wishing to conceive to improve their chances.
Figs can be presented as offerings to any goddess associated with pregnancy.
Sharing a fresh fig between lovers is said to boost their sex life.
Sharing fresh or dried figs with someone you're romantically interested in can draw them closer to you.
It's said that gifting your desired with a fig will make them realize their attraction to you.
For protection & luck:
Growing a fig tree on one's property is believed to attract luck to the home and its inhabitants.
It's also said that growing a fig tree near one's home assures protection.
Keeping a branch from a fig tree on or at your door is believed to grant the home protection.
For strength:
Eating fresh figs is thought to increase one's physical strength.
For divination:
Fig leaves can be useful tools for divination and there are a few different customs calling for their use. Remember, though, to always take care when working with fig leaves (see the above note on fig leaf-induced phytophotodermatitis). If working with fig leaves is desired, consider using gloves.
If you're seeking answers when making a decision between multiple choices, write the choices down, each on their own fig leaf. Place the leaves in a bowl or jar. Speak you question aloud or to yourself, close your eyes, and draw one leaf from the mix. The answer you draw is the path you should follow or the best option for you.
If there is a matter for which there is either an affirmative or negative answer (i.e. 'Should I (insert action here)? 'Is (insert person here) true to me?' etc.), write your question on a freshly plucked fig leaf. Observe the fig leaf often over the next few hours or the rest of the day. If the leaf withers, dries up, or curls in on itself fairly quickly, the answer is negative. If the leaf stays fresh for a long while, the answer is affirmative.
Association with enlightenment, revelation, & sacred knowledge:
Figs bear association with enlightenment through Buddhism and Judaism â in Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama attained enlightenment after meditating at length at the roots of a bodhi tree (sacred fig/Ficus religiosa native to the Indian subcontinent); within Judaism, the fig tree is thought to be one option as to what the Tree of Knowledge could have been.
Foxgloves (Digitalis)
[WARNING: POISONOUS. Foxglove/Digitalis should not be consumed or absorbed through the skin. As per poison control, all parts of the foxglove plant are extremely poisonous. Blythe Copeland writes, 'The toxin appears in the leaves, flowers, and all other parts of the foxglove plant, and isn't mitigated by steeping or cooking.' Foxglove must be handled with care and kept away from animals and children. One should wear gloves if ever handling foxglove/digitalis. Species within the digitalis genus contain varying levels of 'several deadly physiological and chemically related cardiac and steroidal glycosides.' For more information check here and here. I do not recommend working with foxglove due to the risks of doing so but have included foxglove in this piece for strictly informative and educational purposes.]
Digitalis Purpurea by Franz Köhler
Foxglove is a versatile but dangerous plant ally. It is known by many other names, such as fox bells, the great herb, and fairy weed, to mention but a few. The plant has also been called witch's bells and dead man's bells due to the dangerous effects of ingesting the plant or absorbing its toxins through the skin.
While I do not recommend working with foxglove due to the potential dangers of doing so, I will include, for informative and educational purposes, how foxglove in one's garden can meet magical ends. That being said, foxglove should not be planted anywhere children, dogs, cats, or other animals might come in contact with it, and should not be planted near any vegetable, fruit, or herb garden.
For protection:
Foxglove has been used as a protective charm or ward against spirits, demons, and malevolent forces.
Planting foxgloves on your property can deter forces that would bring you harm.
Planting foxgloves beneath your bedroom window can protect against nightmares.
Fairies:
It also has an association with fairies, and some believe that fairy folk reside near where foxglove grows.
Hollyhocks (Alcea)
[WARNING: Caution should be taken if planting hollyhocks in an area accessible to dogs. While minimal exposure to the flowers and leaves of the hollyhock plant (including minimal ingestion) is generally considered not a high risk to your dog's safety, exposure to the roots and seeds of hollyhocks can prove dangerous for dogs. The roots and seeds of hollyhocks contain higher concentrations of compounds which can be toxic to dogs. Always monitor your dog when they are in an area containing hollyhocks.]
For money:
Hollyhocks are known for their association with material and monetary matters. They can be used in any spell or work to attract, keep, or increase money or wealth.
To grow hollyhock on one's property is said to ensure that financial security and abundance will come to the household.
One can keep an arrangement of fresh hollyhock flowers in their workspace to help ensure the work is monetarily fruitful.
One can carry hollyhock petals in one's wallet as a charm to attract money.
Fairies:
Hollyhocks are also said to bear an association with fairies or the little people and are believed to attract them.
Attracting animal allies:
In gardens, they attract hummingbirds and butterflies, so if that is something your magical craft would benefit from, hollyhocks are a great option to consider for your garden.
Iris (Iris)
[WARNING: Irises are toxic to dogs, cats, and some other animals. Keep away from pets and do not grow in an area where animals can access the plants without supervision.]
Irises by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889
For purification, cleansing, and removal of harmful energy:
Irises can be used in purification and cleansing spells but also serve as purifying charms themselves.
It's said that placing fresh irises in an area will purify that space of any negativity or evil, as will growing irises on one's property.
For wisdom:
Irises are also associated with wisdom and can be used to symbolize wisdom in spells, offerings, or rites.
Keeping a vase of irises in a room where one studies is also believed to aid in retaining the information.
For protection from enemies:
There is also some association between irises and keeping away enemies. This likely comes from the Chinese practice of planting irises in one's garden as a snake deterrent, though it could also have to do with the flower's purifying and cleansing abilities.
Lavender (Lavandula)
[WARNING: Ingesting certain amounts of lavender can be toxic for cats and dogs. It's advisable to keep lavender and lavender products out of reach of your pets. Call your vet if you believe your pet may have ingested a larger quantity of lavender or you are uncertain of the quantity they ingested. Also call your vet if your pet shows signs of respiratory distress after exposure to lavender, as some dogs and cats can have lavender allergies.]
Perhaps best known in magic for its use in love spells, lavender is a rather versatile and powerful plant ally to keep around.
For purification, cleansing, and sanctification:
Lavender can be used for purification, cleansing, and sanctifying purposes.
Lavender washes, lavender waters, and lavender incense can be sprinkled (for the washes and waters) or burned (for the incense) to sanctify a space such as a temple, altar, magical workspace, etc.
Burning lavender incense in an area is believed to cleanse the space of negative energy.
One can anoint magical or religious tools with lavender washes or lavender water, or they can "wash" such tools with smoke from lavender incense (do this by moving the item through the smoke as it rises, turning the item over and seeing that it's thoroughly passed through the smoke).
For peace and harmony:
Lavender is also a well-known bringer of peace and harmony.
Hanging lavender bundles or potting lavender in a room can bring peace to that space.
Burning lavender incense or dressing the windows and doors of the room with lavender washes or lavender water can also bring peace to an area.
Lavender can bring about restful sleep and ward away nightmares. Keep lavender in one's room, by one's bed, or even in one's pillowcase to do so.
Lavender flowers and lavender oils can also be added to baths to bring about peaceful rest.
Using soaps containing lavender oils or lavender flowers can also aid in bringing peace, aid in bringing mental clarity, and aid in bringing restful sleep.
For wisdom and mental clarity:
Lavender can be a great ally for those who seek mental clarity, aid in awakening their mind's eye, and aid in obtaining wisdom or revelation.
Burning lavender incense while meditating can help induce clarity of the mind.
Using lavender oils, lavender balms, or lavender incense promotes mental clarity and focus while also reducing stress, thus proving a welcome and essential tool for meditation, trance work, and other such practices.
For love:
To bring harmony to a relationship, gift the other half of the relationship with lavender flowers.
Press a lavender flower and keep it with a picture of that person, as a charm for peace and harmony with them.
To draw someone's love your way, write their on a piece of paper. Then, take a fresh lavender flower and rub it on the paper over and around the name, pressing it into the page so the scent of the flower really gets on the paper. Fold the paper up and keep it in a small box or cloth bag (preferably of the color red or pink). Refresh with fresh lavender flowers as needed.
Dressing one's clothing in lavender scent or lavender oil can attract love.
Lavender oil and fresh or dried lavender are common additions in spells to attract love.
Pinning a lavender flower to the inside of one's clothes before going to see the person you desire can encourage any romantic feelings they may have for you.
For protection:
Lavender also has protective uses.
One can wear or carry lavender to ward off or deflect the evil eye.
Using lavender oil or lavender scents can protect against the evil eye.
Where lavender grows, it's said that harmful energy has difficulty passing by the area.
Burning dried or fresh lavender flowers in bonfires or fireplaces is believed to grant protection to the area from evil or malevolent spirits and forces.
Including lavender in bouquets or flower crowns for weddings can provide protection from evil eye, from ill wishes, and from dangerous spirits attracted to the merry occasion.
For psychic enhancement:
Lavender is also known to enhance certain psychic abilities, particularly the ability to see or communicate with the dead, with spirits of all ilk, and with various planes of existence.
Some recommend rubbing the hands with a lavender balm before doing any work that requires communicating with or seeing spirits.
Anointing the area with lavender oils or washes or burning lavender incense can have the same effect.
Peony (Paeonia)
Peonies are renowned for their association with protection work, capable of granting protection of body, spirit, and mind from a variety of forces and foes. But there are other uses for peonies, such as uses in luck spells, money spells, and spells for happiness.
For protection:
Growing peonies on one's property, particularly near the doors of one's home or near the gates leading into the yard, is said to offer added protection to the home and those within, protection from evil and malicious spirits and protection from magical workings sent to one's home to do one harm.
Wearing a peony flower (either as a fresh flower, in a flower crown, or even as a perfume) or carrying one on your person can offer the wearer/carrier spiritual protection from malevolent forces or harmful magic sent their way. It is also believed to offer physical protection of the body, as well as protection from mental assault via spiritual or magical forces, as well as mental assault from human forces.
Collecting peony seeds in a satchet or cloth bag and then hanging that bag at the window of a nursery or child's bedroom is believed to protect the child from spirits or forces that would steal it away or bring it harm.
Peony seeds can also be carried or worn to bring protection.
Stringing peony seeds on a red or white thread, then to be worn as a bracelet or necklace, is said to serve as a protective amulet.
Keeping peonies near one's bedside or planting them beneath one's bedroom window can protect from nightmares, particularly those that are sent by spirits or magic.
Peony flowers and seeds are believed to protect from demonic forces as well, serving as a ward against them.
The roots of peony can be carved and fashioned into beads, which have been said to have been used in jewelry for protection amulets and in rosaries and prayer beads, boosting spiritual protection and protection from demons.
Wearing a necklace or bracelet of beads made from the peony root is thought to grant protection from illness, injury, and insanity.
Peonies are also believed to have the power to protect one and one's property from harsh weather and storms.
It's said that peonies were used to offer protection to 'shepherds, their flocks, and harvests from injury...'
by Yun Shouping, 17th century
For luck & happiness:
Giving a bouquet of peonies as a gift is meant to be token of luck and a charm to bring luck that person's way. This is especially true for those who are seeking or starting a new job, entering a new chapter in life, graduating, and so on.
Peonies growing on one's property are believed to attract good luck and happiness to those who reside there.
For money:
For those seeking financial stability, keeping fresh peonies in a vase or pot near where you're working is said to help boost one's monetary gains.
Carrying peony petals in one's wallet or wearing them in one's shoe is believed to attract money your way.
Potatoes
[WARNING: Take care to not allow pets to consume raw potatoes, as raw potatoes contain compounds that can be toxic to dogs and cats.]
The potato is an often overlooked and surprisingly versatile magical and symbological ally, with uses in sympathetic magic and wishing works, as well as aiding in maintaining the fertility of the land and soil.
In sympathetic magic:
One can fashion a doll or head from a potato, made to resemble the object of one's sympathetic spell. Actions performed on the potato are then believed to bring about damage to the person they are fashioned after. Two common methods of using a "potato poppet" in some Southern folk traditions including piercing the potato and then leaving it to sit and whither, where it will shrivel and deteriorate, believed to drain the target of their strength and wellness as it does; and casting the potato into flames or roasting it in a fireplace or on hot coals (it should be roasted to point of blackening and shriveling).
For fertility of land:
The potato is associated with fertility of land in Incan mythology, as the goddess Axomamma (goddess of potatoes) is tasked with caring for the health and richness of soil, and with ensuring good yields of tuber plants.
Raw potatoes (and some say potato peels) can be buried beneath certain plants (such as rose bushes and some berry bushes) when planting them. This is believed to ensure the plant takes well in that area, as the potato nourishes the plant and the soil around it. (I have five rosebushes of various types in my garden and every single one was planted with potatoes. One of the rosebushes was planted by my grandmother almost 60 years ago and it's still going strong.)
For healing:
There are some folk beliefs surrounding potatoes as healing charms.
Carrying a potato in one's pocket will get rid of a toothache.
Carrying a potato in one's pocket is believed to ward off some illnesses and ailments, such as gout and rheumatism. Where I'm from, this goes a little further in that if the potato hardens, the charm has worked; if the potato rots, it's done no good. One variation of this charm (from an area in the north of my home state) calls for sticking the potato with tacks or pins and then carrying it in one's pocket.
Carrying a potato in one's pocket can prevent taking chills and catching colds.
Peeling potatoes and then tucking the peels in one's pocket is believed to ward off warts.
Keep a potato in your travelling bag to ward off motion sickness.
Raspberries (Rubus Idaeus, Rubus Strigosis)
Raspberries are well-known for their uses in healing, protection, and love works, but can also attract good luck.
For healing:
It's said that juice of the raspberry fruit, when mixed with honey, can bring down fever.
Those who suffer stomach ailments should drink water with raspberries in it.
Tea made from the raspberry leaf can be used as mouth wash, as a face wash to soothe irritated skin, and as a remedy for stomach problems, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal issues.
To gift one with raspberry syrup is said to ensure their good health while the syrup lasts.
For protection:
Hanging raspberry brambles from one's fence posts is believed to prevent any harm from crossing the boundary they mark.
One can also hang raspberry brambles from porches, doors, and windows to bring protection to the home.
Raspberry brambles are thought to be especially potent against spirits, deterring them from entering an area.
For love:
Raspberries are believed to induce feelings of love between people when shared (raw or prepared).
To gift someone with fresh raspberries is thought to encourage them to gift you their love in return.
For luck:
Raspberry leaves can be used as luck charms to attract good luck one's way. They can be kept in a satchet or container, or even in one's purse, pockets, or wallet.
Strawberries (Fragaria vesca)
Strawberries can be put to work in glamor magic, luck spells, and wishing works.
For luck:
Carry strawberry leaves on one's person to attract good luck.
Keeping the strawberry leaves in one's purse or wallet when going to gamble or when trying to drum up some cash can turn that luck specifically toward monetary luck.
Planting strawberries on one's property is believed to draw luck their way.
In glamor magic:
After biting into a strawberry, apply the juice of the plant to the lips and cheeks for a temporary boost to one's attractiveness.
In wishing works:
When planting strawberries, one can make a wish for each bush they plant (to keep track if you've made many wishes, write down or mark which wish is tied to which plant). When strawberries come to yield, observe them. If the plant produced healthy, delicious looking strawberries or many strawberries, your wish will come true. If the bush did not have a good yield, the berries were stolen (by birds or some other animal), or the berries produced lack sweetness, your wish will not come true.
Sunflower (Helianthus Annus)
Considered by many a wishing flower, the sunflower is known for its use in wishing spells, as well as for bringing fertility and luck.
For wishing:
Always make a wish when you cut a sunflower. It's said the wish will come true or start to fulfill itself before the same time the following day.
Place a sunflower at one's bedside and make a wish on it before you fall asleep. If you dream of your wish coming true, so it will. If you don't, it will not.
For fertility:
Sunflower seeds are used in fertility works, particularly by fashioning the seeds to a string or thread as a necklace and wearing it. This is believed to bring good luck with fertility to those seeking to have children.
It's also believed that those wishing to have children should eat sunflower seeds, that doing so will aid in the endeavor.
For luck:
To have sunflowers growing in your garden or on your property is to ensure that good luck is drawn to the area.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
Some of these customs and beliefs were taught to me by my grandparents and folk I grew up around, but I've included works with similar spells amongst the sources below.
'Ashkenazi Herbalism: Rediscovering the Herbal Traditions of Eastern European Jews' - Cohen, Deatra; Siegel, Adam
'Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs' - Cunningham, Scott
'Herbal Magic' - Kane, Aurora
'Kentucky Superstitions' - Thomas, Daniel Lindsey; Thomas, Lucy Blayney
'Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen' - Köhler, Herman Adolph
'Magical Folkhealing: Herbs, Oils, and Recipes for Health, Healing, and Magic' - Conway, DJ
i don't know if anyone has shouted out @sheydmade yet but i'd like to! i always appreciate how well researched and well written kaziah's articles are and i've learned so much from them about folk magic, history, folklore and making my own magic more accessible. so yeah, shoutout to sheydmade for putting their passion for witchcraft to paper so people like me can enjoy reading it and learn!
Practical Magic: Everyday Items You Can Use in Witchcraft, Part I
by Keziah Zibelmann | Subscribe for free on Substack | Support on Ko-fi
PART I
One common misconception about witchcraft is that it must require tools, plants, and magical allies that are difficult to come by. This certainly is the case in some works, but it neednât be. Witchcraft should be both accessible and adaptable to meet the needs of the practitioner, and the witchâs toolset should be the same. There are countless everyday tools and allies that one can put to good use in magical craft, with such items lying around the house or readily available at your local grocery store, hardware store, or even dollar store, and not enough witchcraft resources take the time to show these types of tools the love and appreciation they deserve.Â
[NOTE: This is a cross-post on Substack of an article originally posted to @sheydmade âs tumblr on the 25th of October, 2025. Read the original post on tumblr here.]
"...magic should be both accessible and versatile, and our tools and allies should reflect the need for both. It is my hope that a practitioner never feels defeated because they canât afford expensive magical supplies, or because they have limited or no access to metaphysical or witchcraft shops, apothecaries, or the like. Oneâs magical craft can, indeed, thrive without all of that. After all, magic and witchcraft has always existed, before drop shippers and international delivery services, before influencers, before bloggers, podcasters, and publishers. Magic was always there and could always be worked, and that has never changed and never will."
-Practical Magic: Everyday Items You Can Use in Witchcraft; Part 1 (2025), Keziah Zibelmann (@sheydmade)
I appreciate the patience in waiting for new posts and the kindness and love so many of you have shown me these past few days. I've been away with family whilst dealing with the loss of a wonderful human, who sadly passed this morning. May his memory be a blessing.
Thank you to all who have sent messages and love both here, on my personal side blog @hillbillybubbeleh, on Instagram, on Discord, and via text. I truly appreciate the well wishes so many sent whilst I've been away. I'm still going to be mostly offline for the next few days as arrangements are made, but I did want to thank everyone and let you know that I've seen the messages, even if it haven't been able to respond to all of them. Thank you. đ€
I'll be spending a long weekend visiting with family. I shall try to get a post up on Sunday, but it's not priority, so you may hear from me on Tuesday instead!
The Otherworld is a realm not quite separate from our own, all around us and yet not always accessible or visible to us. It has been interpreted as one expansive world and as having numerous realms and kingdoms within the one Otherworld, and is home to many beings â gods, fairies, and spirits of all sorts, along with some of the most honored and beloved dead.
It is described in âthe Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countriesâ by W.Y. Evans-Wentz:
âBut this western Otherworld, if it is what we believe it to be â a poetical picture of the great subjective world â cannot be the realm of any one race of invisible beings to the exclusion of another. In it all alike â gods, Tuatha De Danann, fairies, demons, shades, and every sort of disembodied spirits â find their appropriate abode; for though it seems to surround and interpenetrate this planet even as the X-rays interpenetrate matter, it can have no other limits than those of the Universe itself.â
This cosmological concept descends from the ancient Celtic religions, and the Otherworld (by its many names) is found throughout the lands in which the Celtic tribes resided and lives on within the traditions preserved by reconstructionist and traditional Celtic pagans and Celtic folk magic practitioners. The Otherworld, along with other Celtic pagan beliefs, can also be found within many neo-pagan and neo-druidic practices and movements.
NAMES OF THE OTHERWORLD
The Otherworld bears many names across the Gaelic and Brythonic mythologies and cosmologies.
Irish
In Irish tales, the names of the Otherworld or realms within the Otherworld include:
TĂr na nĂg â âthe Land of the Youngâ or âthe Land of Youthâ
TĂr Tarngire â âthe Land of Promise or âthe Promised Landâ
In the Irish tale âImmram Brain maic Febailâ (âthe Voyage of Bran mac Febalâ), Bran embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld via a sea voyage. Some days into their journey, Bran and his company encounter ManannĂĄn mac Lir upon his chariot. ManannĂĄn informs them that though their surroundings appear as the sea to them, to the god it appears as a great field of flowers. In this tale, the realms of the Otherworld are depicted as individual islands somewhere in the Western Sea.
In the story âEchtrai Cormaic I Tir Tairngiriâ (âthe Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promiseâ), Cormac enters the Otherworld and encounters great bronze palaces, houses of white silver that are thatched with the wings of birds, and a courtyard, in the center of which is a great fountain or well with five streams flowing from it. There is said to be a fairy palace beyond the fountain, and there Cormac encounters âthe loveliest of the worldâs womenâ.
In many tales and poems, the Otherworld is depicted as being incredibly beautiful and as having very many apple trees, hazelnut trees, and great oak trees. Itâs said to have plains filled with colorful flowers and dew of honey. And of the food available in the Otherworld, there is nothing that is not irresistibly delicious. Those who dwell within the Otherworld do not age, nor do they feel pain or take ill. Some believe that it is the fruits that grow within the Otherworld that provide its inhabitants with their everlasting youth and good health. Others believe that itâs the Otherworld itself that keeps one young and well.
Time moves differently within these realms. Many tales state that one could spend what felt like a few days in the Otherworld, only to return to this world and find that their friends and family had all died, and many years had passed whilst they were away.
In Welsh Cosmology & Mythology
In Welsh tales, the Otherworld (called Annwn) is not ruled over by ManannĂĄn mac Lir but by Arawn and, later, Gwyn ap Nudd. In many of the Welsh legends, Annwn is described as a world of eternal youth, free of illness and disease, where no one could ever go hungry for there were endless supplies of food and drink. It was a realm of incomparable beauty where the gods, fairy folk, great ancestors, elves, and spirits reside. Like in Irish myth, Annwn is believed to be either a subterranean realm, under the sea, or on an island to the west. It is also a magical realm hidden from humankind.
Some tales depict a paradise-like world that is like all the best and most beautiful things within our own world with sprawling gardens, plainlands, and orchards, while others describe a âhellishâ place (most likely an outcome of the Christianization of the Welsh culture and beliefs). Both interpretations, though, speak of Annwn as the land of the dead.
The Welsh epic âCad Goddeuâ (âthe Battle of the Treesâ) tells of a battle between Arawnâs army and the forces of Gwynedd. The army come forth from Annwn is described as being made up of unearthly creatures, such as enormous beasts bearing one hundred heads, great serpents, and giant toads with claws.
The well-known âPreiddeu Annwfnâ (âthe Spoils of Annwnâ) is another tale mentioning the Otherworld. It is the story of a journey into the Otherworld led by King Arthur. The tale depicts various realms or kingdoms within the Otherworld, including the Fortress of the Mound, the Fortress of Hardness, the Fortress of Mead-Drunkenness, and the Glass Fortress; though some interpret these names to be alternate names for the Otherworld in its entirety and not of individual lands traversed by Arthur within the Otherworld.
The legendary island of Avalon is also seen as a later interpretation of Annwn. Avalon famously features in Arthurian legends as the paradisical Isle of Apples.
ENTERING the OTHERWORLD:
Many of the old tales speak of humans gaining access to the Otherworld. Sometimes they were invited or summoned there by some god or spirit (as ManannĂĄn mac Lir was known to do), sometimes they were stolen away or kidnapped by one of the Otherworldâs inhabitants, and some folk entered the Otherworld of their own design during those times of year when the walls between their world and the Otherworld were lowered, such as during Samhain and Beltane. There are also many tales of folk (some quite famous, such as Cuchulainn, Lanval, and Ossian) being lured or enticed away by a fairy to the Otherworld to live as the fairyâs lover. It is also believed that musicians would be stolen away to the Otherworld to entertain its inhabitants.
As mentioned already, many believe openings at the base of hills and mountains to be entrances to the Otherworld. So, too, are ancient burial mounds, bogs, and caves seen as Otherworld gateways. It is also believed that patches of mist or fog could have within them some opening to the Otherworld, as in the Irish tale âEchtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiriâ. In this story, King Cormac sets out from Tara with many soldiers to find his way into the Otherworld to take back his wife, daughter, and son (whom he lost in a trade-off for a magic silver bough). On his way, a thick fog befalls the party. When the fog is lifted, Cormac is alone in the plains of a foreign land, having been taken into the Otherworld.
In some tales, one could enter the Otherworld after they were gifted an apple or a branch bearing apples (such as the magic silver bough mentioned in the story above) from a sacred apple tree. The apple or branch was magical and acted as a key, allowing one to pass into the realm of the SĂdhe-folk so long as the apple or branch was in their possession.
SĂdhe, though now commonly used in reference to those inhabitants of the Otherworld, are the mounds, hills, or places believed to provide access to the Otherworld. Previously, the term sĂdhe was used specifically to mean the palaces, courts, or halls in which the spirits of the Otherworld resided.
TECH DUINN:
In Irish lore, there is a separate Otherworld where one goes after death. This realm of the dead is Tech Duinn, the domain of Donn â an ancient god of the dead and ancestor of the Gaels. Tech Duinn means âthe House of the Dark Oneâ (âDonnâ means âthe dark oneâ).
There is a 9th-century poem which states that Donnâs dying wish was to have his descendants gathered to him when they died â âTo me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths.â While the Otherworld is often described as being a paradise of great beauty, that is not how Tech Duinn is usually depicted. Rather, it is most commonly portrayed as a frightful place of darkness and dread. Why, I do not know. Perhaps this is simply due to it being the home of Donn, the Dark One.
Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond Irelandâs western coast. It is believed that the entrance to Tech Duinn lies on, within, or beneath Bull Rock, an islet bearing a natural tunnel and resembling a portal tomb. Bull Rock lies off the western point of the Beara Peninsula.
A line from Yeats comes to mind in regard to the Otherworld in general, but specifically when speaking of Tech Duinn and Donnâs dying wish -
âIn Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.â
Suffice it to say, the Otherworld has inspired numerous poems and exciting and moving tales, pieces of a time long gone by preserved (hopefully) forever through art. And today it is the source of much scholarly exploration and debate. How much of the Otherworld as we understand it now has been altered by Christianization? How many of the old tales were twisted and reinterpreted to suit the narratives of the Church? We do know that a great deal of this occurred within the preservation of Celtic lore and history, and what tales we have of the Otherworld were not left untouched by this. I hope that this piece, as brief as it is, might inspire others to explore the old Celtic tales in their many interpretations, for there is much to be enjoyed there, as well as much to be learned.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
'Cad Goddeu'
'Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' - Koch, John T.
'Celtic Myths and Legends' - Rolleston, T.A.
'Dictionary of Celtic Mythology' - MacKillop, James
'Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore' - Monoghan, Patricia
'the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' - Evans-Wentz, W.Y.
'Hy Brasil: the Metamorphosis of an Island' - Freitag, Barbara
'Immram Brain mac Febail'
'Irish Fairy Tales' - Stephens, James
'the Lord of Ireland' - Ă hĂgĂĄin, DĂĄithĂ; Prof.
'the Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales' - trans. Ford, Patrick K.
'the Mabinogian - A New Translation' -Davies, Sioned
'Myth, Legend, & Romance: An Encyclopedia of Irish Folk Tradition' - Ă hĂgĂĄin, DĂĄithĂ
'the Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland' - Squire, Charles
'Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature' - Byrne, Aisling
'Preiddeu Annwn'
'the Religion of the Ancient Celts' - MacCulloch, J.A.
âthe Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Irelandâ - Ă hĂgain, DĂĄithĂ; Prof.
âTales of the Celtic Otherworldâ -Matthews, John
Spring Magic: Herbs, Spells, & Charms for Cleansing & Prosperity
by Keziah
Spring creeps into the Northern Hemisphere, awakening much of the land's greenery from its slumber. The spring birds are returning, the flowers and trees will soon be blossoming, and the time for spring magic has arrived.
For some spring has already come, as the 01st of February marks the folkloric return of spring and the changing of the seasons for many cultures; and others find themselves at spring's threshold, mere weeks away from the turn of the seasons. Either way, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the magic that spring has to offer. I've created and curated a collection of spells, charms, and magical workings for cleansing (of a space, item, or of the self), prosperity, and plenty more money matters that are perfect to include in your work this spring. Enjoy!
WHEN IS SPRING?
There are three main systems used for determining when spring arrives - the astronomical system, the meteorological system, and the solar or folkloric system. The astronomical system is determined by the sun and moon's locations in relation to the earth, marking the seasonal start dates at the time of the equinoxes and solstices, though in many practices and throughout history, these were seen as the height of the season, not the beginning. The meteorological system is determined by when the weather shifts to best fit meteorological circumstances associated with that season. The solar and folkloric system is that which is determined by the local lore and customs of a people.
So, when does spring begin in the Northern Hemisphere?
-Per the astronomical system: 20th of March.
-Per the meteorological system: 01st of March.
-Per the solar and folkloric system: Varies, but typically about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Imbolc and Saint Brigid's Day (festivals which hail from Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man) are celebrated on the 01st of February, marking the first day of spring; the traditional Chinese calendar sees spring's start within the 03rd - 05th of February; and some follow the opinion of Marcus Terentius Varro (a Roman scholar, polymath, and author) who pinpointed the start of spring as the 07th of February.
HERBS & INGREDIENTS TO INCLUDE IN SPRING MAGIC:
As always, please research any and all herbs, plants, and magical ingredients you use if you have children or pets.
*Seasonal spring flowers and plants to make use of in your magic this spring.
Allspice: for aiding in protection and prosperity magic, in workings for new business ventures, and for drawing in money, success, and luck.
Anise: can be used in purification and cleansing work, as well some protection magic.
Buttercup*: for love, friendship, and harmony.
Cinnamon: for cleansing, healing, psychic enhancement, prosperity, abundance, good fortune, luck, protection.
Coffee: for prosperity, love, fidelity, warding, malevolent works; to attract money, good luck, success in business, new jobs and career changes,
Daffodil*: for prosperity, renewal, luck, love, fertility, happiness, and rebirth.
Dogwood*: can be used in protective charms and spells; dogwood sap can be used in wishing magic.
Garlic: for cleansing, purification, protection; used to attract money and ward off theft.
Ginger: for love, money, success.
Lemon: for cleansing, purification, luck, friendship, and love
Magnolia*: for fidelity, loyalty, transformation, psychic development, rebirth, fertility, and abundance.
Periwinkle*: for money, prosperity, protection, and love [poisonous, toxic for some pets, use with caution, do not keep around pets or children, best not to consume - more info here (symptoms and identification) and here (list of animals for which periwinkle is toxic and further information)].
Rosemary: for protection, love, cleansing, purification, and healing.
Rue: for cleansing, healing, and love; can also be used to remove curses and hexes.
Sea Salt, Salt: for cleansing, purification, protection.
Tulip*: for love, prosperity, and protection.
Witch Hazel*: for protection, cleansing, purification, aid in divination, in work for healing a broken heart.
SPELLS & CHARMS
Cleansing:
As many practitioners use spring as a time to cleanse their spaces and welcome in change, positivity, prosperity, and good fortune, cleansing work, such as sweeps and washes, is essential magic for the season.
HAND WASH CLEANSING
To purify, sanctify, and get rid of old energy and negativity, and to attract protection, new opportunities, good fortune, happiness, and harmony.
What you'll need:
water
lemon juice or lemon essential oil
rosemary or rosemary essential oil
chamomile essential oil or chamomile flowers
lavender flowers or lavender essential oil
bowl or basin
What to do:
-Designate the area where youâll perform this cleansing spell. Ideally, it should take place in a space that you feel comfortable and at peace â outdoors, in your bedroom, at an altar, anywhere you feel secure and in tune with yourself.
-Fill your bowl with water (whichever kind of water you prefer to use) and add lemon juice or lemon essential oil, rosemary leaves or rosemary essential oil, and chamomile flowers or chamomile essential oil. Why these ingredients? Lemon purifies, cleanses, and sanctifies while also attracting luck, friendship, and love; rosemary is often used in cleansing work and also boosts protection and healing; chamomile has long been used in ritual washes to bring purification and cleansing; and lavender is another cleansing ally that removes negative energy.
Other options for cleansing & purifying essential oils to use instead of these are:
-Take a moment to close your eyes and set your intentions. You will use this water to symbolically wash away the old. Think about why youâre doing this. Are you washing away negative energy? Are you cleansing yourself in preparation for the new season and the new opportunities it may bring? Are you washing away bad luck in hopes to attract a turn of fortune? Set your intentions and sit with them for a moment, affirming them within yourself.
-Dip one hand into the bowl of water. Cupping water in that hand, hold the other hand over the bowl and pour the cupped water over the dry hand. While you do this, think on washing away whatever it is you wish to leave behind and welcoming in newness, positivity, and whatever goodness you seek.
-Now dip the opposite hand into the water and perform this same act on the other side, cupping water in your hand and pouring it over the other hand, letting the water wash down from your hand back into the bowl. Perform this step as many times as you like, alternating slowly between each hand. The action should be slow and meaningful, not hurried, and you should be thinking on all that youâre leaving behind with this symbolic washing of your hands.
-When you're finished, dry your hands (preferably using a white cloth). You can use the water left over to brush over doorways, windows, and sacred spaces, if you like.
CLEANSING WASH FOR AMULETS, DOORWAYS, MAGICAL TOOLS, & SACRED SPACES
To cleans one's home and space of negativity and old energy, and to attract prosperity, protection, blessings, and positivity.
What you'll need:
water (you can use any kind of water you prefer)
lemon juice
mugwort / st. john's plant (whole frond with leaves)*
bowl or basin
*you can use a mugwort infusion added to your water instead of using a frond of mugwort
What to do:
For washing doors, windows, etc.:
-Mix water and lemon juice (it can be freshly squeezed or pre-bottled) in your bowl or basin. You can take a moment before, during, or after mixing the water and lemon juice to sit and think on the purpose of your wash - to cleans old energy, purify and sanctify the space or object, and to welcome in new opportunities, good energy, and good luck.
-Take your frond of mugwort and submerge or dip the leaves in the water.
[Artemisa Vulgaris illustration from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1897]
-Use the mugwort frond to brush the doorframe, the door, the woodwork around windows, the windows themselves, and even the beams and/or rails on your porch if you have them.
-If you're using a mugwort infusion added to your water and lemon juice instead of using a brush of mugwort frond, you can use a cloth to wash with, preferably a white cloth to symbolize purity, cleansing, and newness.
For washing amulets & sacred spaces:
-Small amulets, such as those worn or carried on one's person, can be gently washed with a small amount of the water, lemon, and mugwort wash, or, if you're using the mugwort frond method, you can flick the frond over the amulets to sprinkle them with the water and lemon juice mixture.
-Amulets that hang on walls can be sprinkled or splashed with the mixture to cleans and purify them.
-Altars and magical workspaces can be gently washed with this cleansing wash as well.
For washing magical tools:
-This wash can be used on magical tools, especially divination tools, as mugwort is a valuable ally in the art of divination. Wash crystal balls, scrying mirrors, scrying bowls, tabletops on which you perform divinatory readings, any sortilege utensils, pendulums, etc. with this water, lemon juice, and mugwort blend to cleans old energy whilst enhancing psychic practice.
CLEANSING WASH FOR ITEMS & SURFACES
This cleansing wash is intended for things and places where lingering energy may have settled, such as items inherited from or having belonged to a now deceased person, items given you by an ex-lover or former friend, or items purchased second hand or from antique stores, yard sales, or estate sales. It can also be used on surfaces in rooms where a spirit, ex-lover, former friend, negative person, or enemy may have passed through or lingered.
What you'll need:
1 cup of warm water
1-2 tablespoons of vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of salt
bowl, basin, or cup
cloth or rag
What to do:
-Add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar/apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of warm water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and stir.
-Using a rag or cloth, gently wash surfaces, areas, or items that you wish to clean. Be mindful of your items. Only wash items that wouldn't be damaged by water, vinegar, or salt. For a milder cleans use more water and less vinegar.
CLEANSING SWEEP
What you'll need:
salt (any kind of salt you like);
a broom (birch brooms add extra cleansing oomf, but you can use any broom)
a dustpan
Optional additives: Herbs and flowers are commonly used in floor sweeps to not only add to cleansing work but to also attract things like good luck, money, love, and blessings. Always be mindful if you have pets or children to never perform a sweep in an area they have access to, as many ingredients are not safe for them to ingest.
flowers and petals - burdock for cleansing and banishing negative energy; chamomile for cleansing and purification; daisy for cleansing and attracting good luck and positivity; lavender for cleansing, purification, and peace; roses for love, manifesting wishes, and luck.
herbs and plant allies - dried lemon peel/rind for cleansing, renewal, and purification; pine needles for cleansing, banishing and protection, and to attract money; rosemary for protection, cleansing, purification, and healing.
What to do:
-In an area where you wish to clear out negative energy, sprinkle salt (or your mixture of salt and any additives) on the floor. Make sure you sprinkle extra at thresholds and beneath windows or in front of fireplaces - boosting the banishing of negative energy at all entrance points of the space. To banish energies, sprinkle your salt/mixture from the back of the home/space toward the front; for houses with multiple levels you work back-to-front, top-to-bottom. To attract energies, sprinkle your salt/mixture from the front of the home/space to the back.
-While sprinkling and laying out your salt/mixture, you should think on or speak on your intension to rid that space. Be as specific as you need to be, let not one hint of negativity or malevolent energy or spirit linger in ta shadowy corner or a crack between floorboards.
-Some leave their salt to sit and work for a few hours, a whole day, some overnight. You can do that if you like. Others sweep it up immediately, while still thinking on or stating their intentions to banish energy and clean the space. Whatever way you put your salt out, sweep it in the same manner (back to front of the home or front to back).
-Dispose of the salt/mixture after sweeping it up. You can toss it off your property or put it in the trash bin, but make sure you don't keep it in the house.
SMOKE CLEANSING
These dried herbs can all be burned and smoke either in the form of a bundle or loose in a firesafe pot, cauldron, bowl, or vessel. Cast iron is always good. Line the bottom of the vessel with sand (to absorb heat) and place a disc of charcoal on the sand. Burn the herbs on top of the charcoal disc.
Eucalyptus - Eucalyptus bundles are burned to purify spaces, especially those in which healing work is to be performed. It's also said to be ideal for cleansing homes of those who are struggling with their mental health.
Pine Needles - Burn pine needles and let the smoke banish negative energy and banish evil eye and any curse or hex work that's been sent your way, as well as clean and sanctify sacred spaces.
Rosemary - Burn a bundle of dried rosemary. The smoke will rid the space of negativity and ward off negative or harmful energy. It also grants protection to that space and those within it.
Thyme - Thyme can be burned as a dried bundle or in incense form to provide cleansing, purification, psychic enhancement, and healing.
Prosperity, Money, & Business:
Incense to Attract Money Your Way
Burning these incenses is said to draw money to you.
Allspice
Bergamot
Jasmine
Wallet Charms to Attract Money
BERGAMOT: Leaves of orange bergamot should be kept in wallets and purses to attract money and financial luck.
CHAMOMILE: Keeping a chamomile flower in your wallet or purse is said to bring in more money.
FLAX SEEDS: Place a few flax seeds in your pocket, wallet, or purse along with a few coins. This should be repeated daily to bring the money your way. You can also keep flax seed in your shoes to ward off poverty.
JASMINE: Carrying Jasmine in your wallet or purse to draw in money.
'the White Jasmine Branch' by Zhao Chang, early 12th century
PERIWINKLE: Keeping a periwinkle flower in your wallet or purse will attract money your way. *WARNING: Varieties of periwinkle can be poisonous and periwinkle is toxic to some animals. Do not keep periwinkle flowers around pets or children and always handle with caution. [ More information on animal safety and periwinkle. ] [ More information on periwinkle varieties, child safety, and animal safety. ] [ More information on potential toxicity. ]
SASSAFRAS: Kept in the purse or wallet to draw money your way.
Pomegranate Branch Charm for the Home
It's said that keeping a pomegranate branch will help one attract money their way and can also aid in uncovering "hidden" or "lost" money. You can mount a pomegranate branch in your house to keep the money close to home.
Wheat Charm for the Home
Keeping sheaves of wheat in the home (either dried and hanging, in a vase, or braided) is believed to attract money, aid in business ventures, and bring prosperity and fruitfulness.
Arrowroot Powder for Business Success & Money Luck
Where I'm from, people powder their feet with arrowroot powder or poot arrowroot powder in their shoes when they're going to business meetings, pitching a new business idea, or going gambling. It's believed to bring luck with money and success in business ventures.
the 10 of Diamonds for Attracting Money
There are various methods of using the 10 of Diamonds playing card to attract money your way.
The simplest way is to carry the 10 of Diamonds card in your wallet, purse, or pocket.
Another method common in the Southeastern US and Southern Appalachia is to write your name horizontally across the 10 of Diamonds three times. Where I'm from, we then turn it clockwise and write your name again, three times. The lines of names from the first three and the lines of names from the second three should crisscross over each other, as demonstrated below. Another variation includes you writing your date of birth within the squares formed between the written names (where the 'x' marks are on the rightmost image below).
You then keep this as a charm to attract money. Put it in your wallet or add it to a satchet spell for money or in a money jar spell.
Money Jar
There are lots of ways of doing jar spells and lots of ways of doing money jar spells. Where I'm from in the Southeastern US, we tend to use herbs, flowers, and sweet things like honey, molasses, or syrup because the sweetness is believed to attract good things and the stickiness is believed to make the money and goodness stick to you. So, I'm going to write an easily customizable version of the variation I'm most familiar with. You can do this in three versions - the dry version, the wet, and the sticky version. It's up to you.
What you'll need:
Herbs and flowers that attract money, such as:
alfalfa, allspice, arrowroot, bay leaves, basil, cinnamon, clover, garlic (cloves or dried for the dry version, cloves or minced for the wet version), ginger (for dry version, root or powdered), ginseng (for dry version, root or powdered), honeysuckle, nutmeg, thyme.
(dry version) sugar
(wet version) whiskey or bourbon
(sticky version) honey, molasses, or syrup
coins
a jar with a lid
a pen or marker (optional)
a 10 of hearts playing card with or without your name written on it (optional)
candle wax (to seal the jar)
What to do:
-Put a layer of coins in the bottom of the jar, preferably pennies, but you can use any coin.
-Next, place your selection of herbs and flowers in the jar. If you're using bay leaves, you can use a pen or marker to write your money wishes on the bay leaf before putting it in the jar.
-You can include your playing card now if you're using the playing card.
-For the dry version, fill the jar with sugar.
-For the wet version, fill the jar with whiskey.
-For the sticky version, fill the jar with your honey, molasses, or syrup.
-Seal your jar with the candle wax. You do this by lighting a candle and dripping the wax all around the jar lid. You can use white wax, or you can use a particular color of candle if you associate a certain color with money, such as green for wealth or gold/yellow for prosperity. After you've sealed the lid, you can burn the rest of the candle down if there's any left, either on top of the jar or beside the jar.
-Keep your money jar in a place you'll see it every day or in a place where you work, like in your office. If you do ever need or wish to dispose of your money jar, you can do so by burying the jar whole or throwing it away whole.
Apple Spell for Good Luck, Attracting Fortune, & Prosperity
This is a spring variation of the same spell featured in my Apple Magic piece.
What youâll need:
an apple, preferably green or golden
red clover
allspice
cinnamon
What to do:
-Take your apple and cut it in half, but instead of cutting it from top to bottom, turn the apple on its side and cut it down the middle that way.
-You should now see holes in the middle with the apple seeds inside. This usually forms the shape of a five-pointed star. As apples and stars are both a symbol of good luck, this is the perfect base to build our spell on.
-Next, press the red clover, allspice, and cinnamon into the apple around the star. You should do this with both halves of the apple.
-Leave the apple to sit on a windowsill or porch rail to soak up the sunâs light for the rest of the day. If you like, you can bury the apple at sundown or the next morning as a means of âdiscardingâ your spell. You can also simply throw the apple away. Remember, youâve already done the work, these are just whatâs left of the tools you used in doing so.
TAROT ALLIES FOR MONEY & BUSINESS WORK
Many practitioners of witchcraft like to utilize tarot cards in their spells or as visual manifestation tools. These tarot cards are ideal for incorporating in either spellwork for money or success in business, or as those visual manifestation tools to keep on your person or around you.
the Magician: For those starting a new business venture or trying to start their own business, the Magician is a powerful tarot ally. He has all the tools he needs before him, just as you do. Emulate the Magician's ability to summon new ideas and bring his vision to life.
the Sun: Perfect for those hoping to find a new job or get a promotion. The Sun is all about growth, prosperity, and expanding one's horizons.
Ace of Pentacles: This card is all about raking in the money. Let the money come your way and put the Ace of Pentacles to use in your spellwork to help ensure so. It can also be used when looking for a raise, a change of career, or to start a new business.
Nine of Pentacles: If business and success are your main focus right now, the Nine of Pentacles is the helper you need. Success, monetary gain, growth, and recognition are the central themes with this card.
I hope you'll find some use for these spells, charms, and techniques. May your spring be filled with renewal, fresh starts, abundance, and prosperity!
We were given a notice on cleaning, which we have, we have a busted pipe that leaks into the front hallway from the kitchen but we are facing eviction. Despite the stipulations. But regardless anything will help and I appreciate everything. And in good faith, I will post photos of all cleaning supplies I bought as I am not intent on making this a trend for I appreciate generosity. Thank you.
I have looked into getting an attorney to deal with this landlord but the most I get is they can't help despite this being a health issue. We have a much large leak that we literally have a hole in our ceiling from the upstairs bathroom, that they have waited months to fix but we get the threat of eviction. I have looked into legal avenues but not extensively. And I don't want to create a bigger handle if things don't turn out with an attorney.
Friends & followers! CJ is facing eviction if they aren't able to meet this goal by the 26th of May. They're in a difficult situation with an unjust landlord, but they have nowhere else to go if they do end up getting evicted. Please, if you're able, share this post and/or send some aid CJ's way. Every little bit helps!
No need to hear your voice when I can talk about you better than you can speak about yourself. No need to hear your voice. Only tell me about your pain. I want to know your story. And then I will tell it back to you in a new way. Tell it back to you in such a way that it has become mine, my own. Re-writing you I write myself anew. I am still author, authority. I am still colonizer the speaking subject and you are now at the center of my talk.
-Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics (1990); bell hooks
The theme to explore for May 2026 is magic. It seemed a fitting theme to open our prompts with. As you may already know, Weyward Grove is a project created with the intention of fostering exploration and celebration of magical and mystical traditions, as well as encouraging introspection and growth in one's own magical path and magical perspectives and understandings. This month, we're doing so by exploring the concepts, ideas, and functions of magic, as well as exploring our own beliefs and definitions surrounding magic.
Here are some examples of questions through which one can explore their beliefs and definitions of magic within their own practice/craft, culture, religion, etc.:
-What is magic?
-Do we create magic ourselves? Or are there pre-existing magical currents we're utilizing?
-Where does magic come from? What is its origin?
And some further examples of more introspective, philosophical ponderings to explore and play with this month:
-Does magic have a purpose?
-If magic isn't "magic," what else might it be?
-Are you a maker of magic? Or has magic made you?
-What role does magic play in your life, practice, beliefs, etc.?
Feel free to explore these questions within your practice, play with them, answer them in any way you'd like. You can spend as long or as little with these questions as you want. Perhaps these questions birth further questions, which you are more than welcome to share and explore in your submitted posts, reblogs, or responses.
Need ideas of what to post? Weyward Grove encourages creativity, passion, and nerdiness of all sorts, so don't worry about getting "too crafty" with artistic mediums of expression, "too wordy" with written responses or journaling/logs detailing your process and answers, or "too into it" when sharing your opinions. Remember, answer in whatever way you're moved to â Q & As, essays, poems, digital art, photo diaries, mood boards, videos, audio, etc.
Join in: Use the submission feature on our blog to submit a post. // Make your own post using the tags #weywardgrove, #weyward grove, or #weyward grove community submission to ensure we see the post and can share it via a reblog on this blog. // Share shorter form answers via asks or replies. // Share your thoughts in reblogs to this post.
Please see the pinned post for more information on taking part and on our rules & guidelines. Feel free to send questions, comments, or concerns to @weywardgrove via DM or ask.
The Otherworld is a realm not quite separate from our own, all around us and yet not always accessible or visible to us. It has been interpreted as one expansive world and as having numerous realms and kingdoms within the one Otherworld, and is home to many beings â gods, fairies, and spirits of all sorts, along with some of the most honored and beloved dead.
It is described in âthe Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countriesâ by W.Y. Evans-Wentz:
âBut this western Otherworld, if it is what we believe it to be â a poetical picture of the great subjective world â cannot be the realm of any one race of invisible beings to the exclusion of another. In it all alike â gods, Tuatha De Danann, fairies, demons, shades, and every sort of disembodied spirits â find their appropriate abode; for though it seems to surround and interpenetrate this planet even as the X-rays interpenetrate matter, it can have no other limits than those of the Universe itself.â
This cosmological concept descends from the ancient Celtic religions, and the Otherworld (by its many names) is found throughout the lands in which the Celtic tribes resided and lives on within the traditions preserved by reconstructionist and traditional Celtic pagans and Celtic folk magic practitioners. The Otherworld, along with other Celtic pagan beliefs, can also be found within many neo-pagan and neo-druidic practices and movements.
NAMES OF THE OTHERWORLD
The Otherworld bears many names across the Gaelic and Brythonic mythologies and cosmologies.
Irish
In Irish tales, the names of the Otherworld or realms within the Otherworld include:
TĂr na nĂg â âthe Land of the Youngâ or âthe Land of Youthâ
TĂr Tarngire â âthe Land of Promise or âthe Promised Landâ
In the Irish tale âImmram Brain maic Febailâ (âthe Voyage of Bran mac Febalâ), Bran embarks upon a quest to the Otherworld via a sea voyage. Some days into their journey, Bran and his company encounter ManannĂĄn mac Lir upon his chariot. ManannĂĄn informs them that though their surroundings appear as the sea to them, to the god it appears as a great field of flowers. In this tale, the realms of the Otherworld are depicted as individual islands somewhere in the Western Sea.
In the story âEchtrai Cormaic I Tir Tairngiriâ (âthe Adventures of Cormac in the Land of Promiseâ), Cormac enters the Otherworld and encounters great bronze palaces, houses of white silver that are thatched with the wings of birds, and a courtyard, in the center of which is a great fountain or well with five streams flowing from it. There is said to be a fairy palace beyond the fountain, and there Cormac encounters âthe loveliest of the worldâs womenâ.
In many tales and poems, the Otherworld is depicted as being incredibly beautiful and as having very many apple trees, hazelnut trees, and great oak trees. Itâs said to have plains filled with colorful flowers and dew of honey. And of the food available in the Otherworld, there is nothing that is not irresistibly delicious. Those who dwell within the Otherworld do not age, nor do they feel pain or take ill. Some believe that it is the fruits that grow within the Otherworld that provide its inhabitants with their everlasting youth and good health. Others believe that itâs the Otherworld itself that keeps one young and well.
Time moves differently within these realms. Many tales state that one could spend what felt like a few days in the Otherworld, only to return to this world and find that their friends and family had all died, and many years had passed whilst they were away.
In Welsh Cosmology & Mythology
In Welsh tales, the Otherworld (called Annwn) is not ruled over by ManannĂĄn mac Lir but by Arawn and, later, Gwyn ap Nudd. In many of the Welsh legends, Annwn is described as a world of eternal youth, free of illness and disease, where no one could ever go hungry for there were endless supplies of food and drink. It was a realm of incomparable beauty where the gods, fairy folk, great ancestors, elves, and spirits reside. Like in Irish myth, Annwn is believed to be either a subterranean realm, under the sea, or on an island to the west. It is also a magical realm hidden from humankind.
Some tales depict a paradise-like world that is like all the best and most beautiful things within our own world with sprawling gardens, plainlands, and orchards, while others describe a âhellishâ place (most likely an outcome of the Christianization of the Welsh culture and beliefs). Both interpretations, though, speak of Annwn as the land of the dead.
The Welsh epic âCad Goddeuâ (âthe Battle of the Treesâ) tells of a battle between Arawnâs army and the forces of Gwynedd. The army come forth from Annwn is described as being made up of unearthly creatures, such as enormous beasts bearing one hundred heads, great serpents, and giant toads with claws.
The well-known âPreiddeu Annwfnâ (âthe Spoils of Annwnâ) is another tale mentioning the Otherworld. It is the story of a journey into the Otherworld led by King Arthur. The tale depicts various realms or kingdoms within the Otherworld, including the Fortress of the Mound, the Fortress of Hardness, the Fortress of Mead-Drunkenness, and the Glass Fortress; though some interpret these names to be alternate names for the Otherworld in its entirety and not of individual lands traversed by Arthur within the Otherworld.
The legendary island of Avalon is also seen as a later interpretation of Annwn. Avalon famously features in Arthurian legends as the paradisical Isle of Apples.
ENTERING the OTHERWORLD:
Many of the old tales speak of humans gaining access to the Otherworld. Sometimes they were invited or summoned there by some god or spirit (as ManannĂĄn mac Lir was known to do), sometimes they were stolen away or kidnapped by one of the Otherworldâs inhabitants, and some folk entered the Otherworld of their own design during those times of year when the walls between their world and the Otherworld were lowered, such as during Samhain and Beltane. There are also many tales of folk (some quite famous, such as Cuchulainn, Lanval, and Ossian) being lured or enticed away by a fairy to the Otherworld to live as the fairyâs lover. It is also believed that musicians would be stolen away to the Otherworld to entertain its inhabitants.
As mentioned already, many believe openings at the base of hills and mountains to be entrances to the Otherworld. So, too, are ancient burial mounds, bogs, and caves seen as Otherworld gateways. It is also believed that patches of mist or fog could have within them some opening to the Otherworld, as in the Irish tale âEchtra Cormaic I Tir Tairngiriâ. In this story, King Cormac sets out from Tara with many soldiers to find his way into the Otherworld to take back his wife, daughter, and son (whom he lost in a trade-off for a magic silver bough). On his way, a thick fog befalls the party. When the fog is lifted, Cormac is alone in the plains of a foreign land, having been taken into the Otherworld.
In some tales, one could enter the Otherworld after they were gifted an apple or a branch bearing apples (such as the magic silver bough mentioned in the story above) from a sacred apple tree. The apple or branch was magical and acted as a key, allowing one to pass into the realm of the SĂdhe-folk so long as the apple or branch was in their possession.
SĂdhe, though now commonly used in reference to those inhabitants of the Otherworld, are the mounds, hills, or places believed to provide access to the Otherworld. Previously, the term sĂdhe was used specifically to mean the palaces, courts, or halls in which the spirits of the Otherworld resided.
TECH DUINN:
In Irish lore, there is a separate Otherworld where one goes after death. This realm of the dead is Tech Duinn, the domain of Donn â an ancient god of the dead and ancestor of the Gaels. Tech Duinn means âthe House of the Dark Oneâ (âDonnâ means âthe dark oneâ).
There is a 9th-century poem which states that Donnâs dying wish was to have his descendants gathered to him when they died â âTo me, to my house, you shall all come after your deaths.â While the Otherworld is often described as being a paradise of great beauty, that is not how Tech Duinn is usually depicted. Rather, it is most commonly portrayed as a frightful place of darkness and dread. Why, I do not know. Perhaps this is simply due to it being the home of Donn, the Dark One.
Tech Duinn is said to lie at or beyond Irelandâs western coast. It is believed that the entrance to Tech Duinn lies on, within, or beneath Bull Rock, an islet bearing a natural tunnel and resembling a portal tomb. Bull Rock lies off the western point of the Beara Peninsula.
A line from Yeats comes to mind in regard to the Otherworld in general, but specifically when speaking of Tech Duinn and Donnâs dying wish -
âIn Ireland, this world and the world we go to after death are not far apart.â
Suffice it to say, the Otherworld has inspired numerous poems and exciting and moving tales, pieces of a time long gone by preserved (hopefully) forever through art. And today it is the source of much scholarly exploration and debate. How much of the Otherworld as we understand it now has been altered by Christianization? How many of the old tales were twisted and reinterpreted to suit the narratives of the Church? We do know that a great deal of this occurred within the preservation of Celtic lore and history, and what tales we have of the Otherworld were not left untouched by this. I hope that this piece, as brief as it is, might inspire others to explore the old Celtic tales in their many interpretations, for there is much to be enjoyed there, as well as much to be learned.
SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
'Cad Goddeu'
'Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' - Koch, John T.
'Celtic Myths and Legends' - Rolleston, T.A.
'Dictionary of Celtic Mythology' - MacKillop, James
'Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore' - Monoghan, Patricia
'the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' - Evans-Wentz, W.Y.
'Hy Brasil: the Metamorphosis of an Island' - Freitag, Barbara
'Immram Brain mac Febail'
'Irish Fairy Tales' - Stephens, James
'the Lord of Ireland' - Ă hĂgĂĄin, DĂĄithĂ; Prof.
'the Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales' - trans. Ford, Patrick K.
'the Mabinogian - A New Translation' -Davies, Sioned
'Myth, Legend, & Romance: An Encyclopedia of Irish Folk Tradition' - Ă hĂgĂĄin, DĂĄithĂ
'the Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland' - Squire, Charles
'Otherworlds: Fantasy and History in Medieval Literature' - Byrne, Aisling
'Preiddeu Annwn'
'the Religion of the Ancient Celts' - MacCulloch, J.A.
âthe Sacred Isle: Belief and Religion in pre-Christian Irelandâ - Ă hĂgain, DĂĄithĂ; Prof.
âTales of the Celtic Otherworldâ -Matthews, John
