#grimoire challenge

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

Bonus Prompt: Witchy Calendar

This prompt is fairly self explanatory. Though 2024 and the challenge are over, plan out your year with events, holidays and even moon phases or other astrological events for the year ahead! Having these in your phone or on a paper calendar can help you to plan spells and rituals accordingly, especially if you prescribe to doing certain spells during certain moon phases.

So what things are on a witchy calendar?

Moon phases

Astrological occurrences

Holidays (wheel of the year or otherwise)

Regular life events

Rituals and spell timing

Any important dates to your life or practice

Anything you see fit for your practice!

So plan it out! In your phone with reminders, on your computer or even on a paper calendar hanging on the wall! Work the magic into your year!

-Mod Hazel

[thatdruidgal]

New Year's 2024 Grimoire Challenge!

Let's start off 2024 with a month-long grimoire challenge!

I know that I love to always gather new information for my grimoire, and so I wanted to share this challenge with you.

For the entire month of January, complete one of these activities every day in your grimoire. If you have already completed the question, expand on the information you already have!

There is a beginner level and an advanced level for witches of all stages. If you'd like to, post your responses to the questions here and tag it with #branwens grimoire challenge! I'd love to read all of the wonderful information you find, so tag me too, if you'd like.

Farewell and good tides!

January 2024 Grimoire Challenge

by Branwen (@thatdruidgal)

Plants - Beginner: What are the correspondences of five plants that grow in your local area? Advanced: Come up with a new combination of plants to burn in your next ritual.

Heritage - Beginner: Where do you come from? What types of magick did your ancestors possibly practice in their homeland? Advanced: What were common for your ancestors (eg. food, clothing, daily life)?

Practices - Beginner: What is the difference between closed and open practice? Are you permitted to learn about any closed practices? Advanced: What are 2 open practices that you don't follow? What are some similarities with your practice?

Energy - Beginner: What is energy work? How would you begin this practice? Advanced: What are the four energy types, and how can you connect to each one?

Water - Beginner: What are the uses of moon water? How can you make it? Advanced: How would adding moon water affect your favorite potion recipe?

Altars - Beginner: How could you represent each of the elements on your altar? Advanced: What colors are you not currently using in your altar? Which elements do those colors correspond with?

Salts - Beginner: What benefits do you get from moon salt? How do you make it? Advanced: Research cleansing salts and add the recipes to your grimoire.

Omens - Beginner: What are five ways to bring yourself good luck? Advanced: What are recurring signs you've noticed recently? What sort of message do they bring?

Animals - Beginner: What is an animal(s) that you have always felt a strong emotional bond with? What are their traits? Advanced: How has your spirit animal helped you in the past? How have you communicated with them?

Astrology - Beginner: What are the correspondences of the planets? Advanced: In what ways have you been affected by the planets recently? How can you better their influence in your life?

Crystals - Beginner: What are the correspondences of your 5 favorite crystals? Advanced: What other crystals could have improved your last spell? What are some of the substitutes that could have been used instead?

Cleansing - Beginner: What cleansing methods can you use for your crystals and tools? What methods can you NOT use for certain crystals or tools? Advanced: What crystals require extra cleansing? What crystals cleanse other items?

Recipes - Beginner: Find a recipe that helps you with a problem you've been experiencing recently. Advanced: Find a recipe for you to use during the next moon phase.

Spirits - Beginner: What are the five types of spirit guides? Advanced: How can you better connect to the spirits around you?

Motivation - Beginner: What are some easy witchy tasks that you can do when you have low energy/motivation? Advanced: What are easy-to-perform spells or rituals that help boost your energy? Are there any common ingredients? Create a new spell with these.

Divination - Beginner: What are 5 types of divination that you find interesting? Advanced: What type of divination have you used most often? How can you improve your practices by adding crystals/items?

Healing - Beginner: What plants are used in your favorite medicinal tea? What are their correspondences? Advanced: What is a local plant that has medicinal properties? How would you use these in a spell or potion? What other correspondences does this plant have?

Candles - Beginner: What is your favorite scent of candle? What correspondences does that scent have? Advanced: What colors of candles do you burn most often? How would burning a different color of candle affect your atmosphere or your next ritual?

Sigils - Beginner: What are active ways to activate a sigil? What are passive ways? Advanced: What symbols (eg. celtic knots) work as sigils? What are their uses?

Offerings - Beginner: What are suggested offerings for spirits during the next Sabat holiday? Advanced: What things do you normally offer the spirits as offering? What is their favorite offering?

Sabats - Beginner: What are the eight Sabats? Advanced: What are some of the correspondences of the Sabats? What rituals are best done during these times?

Plants - Beginner: What are the bloom times for your plants? Advanced: What other plants can you grow in your climate? What are their correspondences?

Recipes - Beginner: Find a recipe for a tea/potion you'd like to make. Advanced: Find a recipe for a Sabat-specific item.

Warding - Beginner: What are 3 easy ways to ward an area? Why would you want to do that? Advanced: What are ways to refresh your wards? What are ways of warding that you haven't tried yet?

Enchanting - Beginner: What is enchanting? Advanced: What are the easiest materials to enchant? What are the hardest? (eg. iron doesn't stick to magick)

Fae - Beginner: What are things you need to be wary of when interacting with Fae? Advanced: What are signs that Fae are near? Describe 5 different kinds of Fae.

Zodiac - Beginner: What are your zodiac signs? (sun, moon, ascendant, etc) Advanced: How do each of your zodiac signs affect you? What is another type of zodiac (eg. Chinese, Celtic), and what is your sign there?

Personal Beliefs - Beginner: State 5 things that you believe to be true about the universe. Advanced: What are your beliefs on creation? On karma? On dieties? On planes of existence? Be detailed.

Practices - Beginner: What are 5 different spells or rituals that you've been looking forward to try? What are the ingredients? Advanced: How did your last 5 spells go? Did you get the results that you wanted? How can you improve your practices in the future?

Types of witchcraft - Beginner: What are 10 different types of witchcraft? Which of those appeal the most to you? Advanced: What types of witchcraft do you not follow? Are there any that you haven't researched?

Crafts - Beginner: What is knot magick? What is something you could make with this magick? Advanced: How can you incorporate knot magick into your everyday life? (eg. doing hair, bed routine, fiddling)

[thehazeldruid]

2024 Grimoire Challenge

One Month!

At the start of December I'll be posting the first prompts for the @2024-grimoire-challenge !!

Give the blog a follow! Feel free to send in prompt ideas either to this blog or to the Grimoire Challenge blog itself! There will be links to all of the prompts from the previous two challenges I've run, as well as a list of all the prompts for the current one, updated with each new prompt as they're posted!

I am excited to begin this challenge and to help inspire all of you!

/|\

M.G.

The Hazel Druid

[farmboyprince]

My introspective- week 1 of @2024-grimoire-challenge

Tuesday, 2.1. It's only been a few days, but I already feel like I've done something good for myself. Writing definitions on the first day felt like a great start, especially since I'm writing in my native language and spell/ritual don't translate perfectly- I've chosen the words that I think most fit and expanded on that. It will be helpful to have a kind of dictionary and I already have some ideas on what to add to it when I have time:)

I'm also a bit surprised that I recognise the english words for the plant and spice I chose to research, but I wouldn't have ever connected them with ours- I just thought it was something we don't have here xD I feel a little silly about it, but interested in finding more connections like that!

Wednesday, 3.1. I've found today's prompt pretty difficult on the account of the yearly celebrations outline. A couple were quite easy to list- the summer and winter solstices, the spring equinox, pust,.. but for some others it's hard to find credible sources for even approximate dates of celebrations (on account of my ancestors not having a written language and forced christianisation). As such, I wrote down the dates that appeared most often (and most well sourced!). I ended up with 10 celebrations- 6 that I know how they're celebrated and when they are, and 4 that I either saw mentioned a lot or that seemed nice, even if I can't find definite proof of them being historical (Domovoj my beloved, of course I'll have a day for you<3).

As for the tools I use, they're just there to make the whole spellcasting/ritual experience feel a little more mystical and add a bit of whimsy. I have a couple different candles and incense/wax melts, sometimes I add stones or shells I found on the beach. All of those get placed on a "vibes" basis before I do my work. I also sometimes burn herbs I've foraged or make tea with them. My most important tool is my wand; a sun-bleached conifer stick I found on a mountain once. It's just a stick with a wax coated tip (so I can use it to transfer a flame and light my candles without destroying it- very cool) that I absolutely love. It's my kind of protection- instead of casting circles, I just use my wand to start a working. I always had an affinity for trees and wood (lol), so I've never worried about saying the wrong thing or accidentally fucking the spell up as long as I had my lil piece of tree:)

Behold, the stick! It fits really nicely in my hand<3

Thursday, 4.1. Thinking about my altar- it's been trough many changes since first set it up. That was after I began doing more research into witchy stuff and it followed all the "rules"; I've had the four elements in their right places, candles, a knife, wand, cup,... In time and with practice, I've realised that's not how I work. Since setting it up my own way, it rarely changes. I have everything that I need on hand, along with my god/spirit representations and lucky things. I don't really consider it an altar as much as my personal important space where I do magic work, watch candle flames flicker and drink tea. I do want some more idols tho- I think I'll finally have to learn how to whittle.

Friday, 5.1. I don't really have any personal practices. In part, it's the reason I started this challenge- I'd like to do more research, write down my findings and make my personal practice with the help of that. The only thing I can think of is, that along with doing a yearly spread of tarot cards (I do it in january and pull one card for each month) I also pull MTG cards. It's started because divination can be fun and I really wanted to do some with my boy, who is super into magic the gathering. I usually do it with leftover cards from drafts and while I don't know about accuracy (forgot to write down what I pulled lol), it's definitively a fun bonding activity:)

all in all, I quite liked the prompts and filling up the indexes feels very rewarding! Looking forward to the next week:)

[tencrowns]

So I’m way behind on the @2024-grimoire-challenge, but I’m working on it! Kind of bullet journal style.

If you noticed I struggled with my pen and happen to be a fountain pen aficionado, I’m using a Kaweco Student and Jacques Herbin Garnet Rouge ink. I switched inks and refilled with a different red to see if that was the issue, but I would LOVE for someone to tell me why this nib dries up at the slightest provocation. None of the other pens I’ve tried do this, but I haven’t tried this ink in a different pen so I’m wondering if it’s just got a dry character or I need the nib tuned or SOMETHING.

[alabaster-the-crow]

Grimoire Prompt

Document each type gemstone you own by name. Keep each one to one or two pages max.

A drawing, sticker, or picture of the gem

Gemstone Name

Common Names

Magical Correspondances

How you use it in your own craft

Is it safe to introduce to water

Will it take damage in direct sunlight

How to properly clean this gemstone

[grimoirechallenge2020]

Day 173: How to Offer a Non-Physical Thing

Today’s Prompt is: Make a page on how to offer things that aren’t physical or material in nature.

- Aydan Nightshade

[2021grimoirechallenge]

Monday, June 28th

Gold

Do precious metals, like gold, play a part in your craft? How? How could they? What purpose do they serve?