Hey, I'm Red, 23, I've been a pagan since I was like 11 and a witch since I was 13, and I've been devoted to Inanna for about 6yrs. I'm also punk, and a huge DIY person.
"Charm" is used to mean a million different things in this community, as is a number of different words. I'm using Charm to mean a spell that you can wear, an object that has a certain energy.
First, a Charm can be anything.
You don't have to make your charm from scratch. I have a big chunky ring of Medusa's head that I got off etsy for like $25 that serves as an everyday protection charm. You can also use whatever you have and make charms to go on your bag, your shoes, keys, car mirror, window, whatever. Hell, spell your water bottle for extra hydration. I'll go through a couple different options of charm making.
Option 1
Pre-made object
Think my Medusa ring. It can be heirloom jewelry, a ring, necklace, anklet, bracelet, whatever.
Cleanse - know the material your object is made from, some usual methods of cleansing may damage it. Submerge the object in salt, water, pass through incense smoke, play music around or wipe it off or whatever.
Set your intention - what do you want the charm to do? Protection, good luck, safety, confidence.
Hold the object in your hand and imagine your energy surrounding the object.
Optional: surround the object with crystals that have the same property as what you're charging the object with. (Obsidian/black tourmaline for protection, etc)
Optional: sit object in view of the sun or full moon to charge and "lock in" the energy you imbued in it. If using crystals, have the crystals charge with it.
Upkeep
Your charm will need cleansed and recharged fairly often, I do it once a month, ish.
If I feel like the charm has been doing some heavy-lifting (I've had a string of good luck, I was in a dangerous situation and got through safely, whatever) then I cleanse it and repeat the whole process to redo it. If it's just "routine maintenance" I do kinda the bare minimum. Toss it around in some salt for like 10seconds, put it on the windowsill to charge overnight.
Option 2
Fully hand-made
Keychain edition
Materials:
Key ring
Thin wire
Beads, dangly charms, buttons, etc
Instructions:
Cleanse the materials
Focus your mind and set the mood (turn on a playlist with the vibes you want the charm for)
Wrap the wire around the key ring a couple times to secure it
Start putting shit on it. There are a million tutorials on how to do a certain design or whatever, so follow one of those or just wing it.
As you assemble, focus on the intention. Imagine the energy of that intention flowing from your hands and into the individual objects (the beads or charms or whatever), fusing them together into a singular charm
Make sure you knot it good, add a little hot glue or smth if you want to make it secure.
Optional: sit it in the sun or full moon to lock in the intention with crystals or whatever
Tada you're done
That same basic idea can be applied to almost anything.
Fully hand-made
Car mirror hanging edition
Materials:
Length of yarn/string, twice the size of the hanging you want
Beads, dangling charms, buttons, whatever
Instructions:
Cleanse materials
Set your intention
Start putting the beads and shit on the string
Focus on the intention, imagine the energy flowing into the individual objects and fusing them together
Tie the two ends of the string together
Optional: sit in the sun/full moon to charge
Hang on your car's rear view mirror
Tada
Again, there are a million in-depth tutorials on how to make these look a specific way, look up tutorials on whatever you want to make and follow them, and the basic idea of the energy flowing from you and into the crafted object and you're good to go.
Putting together a collection of found items to create a personal osteomancy set. All items that have called to me, that I've found in the world around me, and that can be returned to the earth if they don't feel right in use/come to the end of their time with me.
I plan to aim for and start with 13 items and see how that goes. A good witchy number, with the potential for lots of meanings and combinations.
Coming in TWO WEEKS to CritWitchCon2025! The CTWC is thrilled to present our vendors & community partners 🖤
Portland Button Works @portlandbuttonworks & Spiral House Shop @spiralhouseshopreturn to CRITWITCHCON with custom buttons, zines, books, witchy supplies, & more!
Portland Button Works & The Spiral House Shop is run by Alex Wrekk @upthewitchypunx (they/she) out of The Spiral House in Portland, Oregon, USA (Ancestral land of Clackamas and Cowlitz people). The Spiral House Shop is a thoughtfully curated selection of zines, books, pin-back buttons, magnets, divination decks & other curiosities. The selection of books emphasizes traditional & folkloric witchcraft, chaos magic, secular witchcraft, queer witchcraft, politics & social justice witchcraft, herb and plant magic, folklore & other topics related to witchcraft, magic, paganism, and the occult. https://portlandbuttonworks.com/ & https://spiralhouseshop.com
Critical Thinking Witch Con 2025 ~ Sept 26th - 28th ~ A Virtual Convention 🖤
Get your tickets now! Scholarships are available! 🖤
https://criticalthinkingwitches.com/events/ 🖤
So fun fact, my mom raises Monarch caterpillars. When she finds them in the garden, they are put in a little sanctuary that she made out of an IKEA laundry bag that’s made of netting. She puts milkweed to feed them and once they start cocooning, she replaces it with black night butterfly bush when they hatch from their cocoons.
I take the remains of the cocoons for spell components, I try to collect as many as I can so my mom won’t notice, lol. But what a cool thing to have to add to my spell jars, transformation, renewal and new change. My dog wanted to see what I was taking a picture of.
I used ChatGPT to rewrite descriptions of my zines on my experiences in secular witchcraft and I'm still trying to figure out now I feel about it:
Brainscan #33
In Brainscan #33 DIY Witchery, I share my personal journey with witchcraft. I have been studying and practicing for over a decade and it has played a significant role in my personal growth. This zine is not a how-to guide, but rather a personal narrative of my experiences with witchcraft. I discuss how I became interested in it, how I developed my own secular and non-pagan practice, and the differences between my approach and contemporary witchcraft. I also address issues within modern pagan and witchcraft communities, such as racism, cultural appropriation, colonialism, and capitalism. My politics are intersectional and so is my witchcraft. I also provide tips and resources for those interested in exploring this path for themselves.
Brainscan #34
In January 2020, an article was published reviewing a witchcraft book in which the author attempted to become a witch in just one week. The article caused controversy by suggesting that modern witches are anti-vaccine and deny climate change. In response, a witch posed the question of what someone should actually do to dabble in witchcraft for a week. Some tumblr witches took up the challenge and I am sharing my answer in a zine.
In my zine, I propose daily activities that focus on changing your perspective and seeing the world in a new way. These activities include cleaning your space, practicing simple energy exercises, learning about correspondences and how they work, understanding animism, and trying a few simple spells. All of this is presented in a conversational and non-authoritative tone.
Discover the power of shifting your perspective and exploring the world of witchcraft through this week-long journey of DIY witchery.
If these sound interesting to you and you don't already have a copy, you can get copies at the @spiralhouseshop or going here to the shop directly.
Brainscan #33 DIY Witchery (an exploration of Secular Witchcraft)
In 20 years of publishing Brainscan zine there is one incredibly import
Safe travels protection spell jar. I leave tomorrow for a week long trip with my family and I’ll be driving alone with my kids and I am super nervous! So I created this spell jar for our travels.
Cleanse your jar
Ingredients listed bottom to top
Black salt- Protection
Mustard seed- Travel
Poppyseed- Health
Dill- Travel
Cinnamon stick- Protection
Cloves- Protection
Seal your spell with a black candle for protection
Charge your spell with selenite, obsidian, amethyst and smokey quarts
