#jewitchery

[hillbillybubbeleh]

'Treading the Veil: Graveyard Measuring, Soul Candles, & Beseeching the Dead in Ashkenazi Jewish Tradition' - Keziah Zibelmann (@sheydmade)

[sheydmade]

Forever obsessed with Jewish incantation bowls. For more, please read sheydmade's 'the Jewitch: An Exploration of Jewish Magic.' -Keziah [Cross posted from the sheydmade ig.]

[covenofvenus]

Hoodoo WitchTips: Divination🔮✨

Here are some quick but powerful protective tips to help with divination when working with tarot, oracle, bones & more. 
Divination is still a form of labor, so it’s important to ground yourself and even do a bit of light healing work afterwords. It’s so easy to do divination most people forget or don’t know about these simple spiritual hygiene tips. Good spiritual hygiene, protection and healing is important during divination because you are tapping into unknown energies. 
Doing these small things routinely, can help you keep your clarity of mind and even possibly prevent psychosis or the triggering of other mental health issues.

While Hoodoo is a closed practice, the MAJORITY of tips/tricks are present in many cultures and are not Hoodoo specific, with the exception of the usage of Florida & Kananga Water. Non Hoodoo, Brujeria or ATR practitioners can use holy or blessed pagan water as a substitute.

[pomegranate-jewitchery]

My Masterlist of Jewish Superstitions

including some russian ones as well since they overlap

Hold your havdalah candle at the height you want your future spouse.

A snail burrowing in your home is an omen of an adulterous act will be committed in the home soon.

Don’t whistle in your home because Sheydim will be attracted to the sound because they love whistling.

A dog howling mournfully means that the angel of death has come.

Don’t leave books open, unless you want Sheydim to learn the knowledge. Close any books left open.

Carry a piece of iron or a needle when crossing a bridge, especially when intending to get pregnant.

Wear a metal pin on your clothing while traveling, especially iron, for protection.

Chimneys and Windows should never be walled off completely unless you want the resident Sheydim to be angry with you, so be sure to leave a crack open.

Toss salt into the oven occasionally to stop harmful gossip about you from spreading.

To protect your pregnancy, bake a challah once a week and give it away.

Keep garlic in your pockets for protection

Wear a red thread on the left wrist to protect against the ayin hara

Say Kayin Hara or kayin ayin hara before saying good news

Don’t cut hair for three year from birth

Smashing glass at your wedding

Tug on your ear when sneezing, especially fi talking about someone who is dead

Spit three times after someone says something very very evil or very very wonderful to protect against the ayin hara, or just say pu pu pu

Place salt in pockets and in corners of a room to protect against sheydim

Don’t take a direct path home from a cemetery 

Don’t sit at the corner of the table unless you don’t want to get married. (also russian)

Put fabric over mirrors during shiva

No baby showers to protect against the ayin hara

Do not place your hat or shoes onto your bed

Never leave your purse on the floor, unless you want to stop your money from flowing (russian)

Only give an odd number of flowers, only the dead receive even numbers of flowers (russian)

Never hand a knife directly to a person, place it down and slide it (russian)

[thejewitches]

wait til the cottagecore girlies find out that Judaism has a holiday celebrating love where we dress up in white dresses and go dance in the vineyards and fields under the full moon

[seraphepitaph]

Home protection spell jar

Made with an assortment of herbs and spices attributed to my intentions during this retrograde season

Invoked the divine attributes of the Sefirot, guardians, and Shekinah presence

Hamsa symbol for protecting my home

[blisswitch]

Frost Moon Ritual

Cleanse your home (smoke, salt, incense, sound, or anything else you prefer)

Divine for ritual intentions (use your favor deck or scrying method to gain insight into what you need to be releasing and calling in)

Write down what you're releasing and calling in with the full moon on different pieces of paper. I recommend 8-10 intentions. Sit with the way it would feel to release or call in each one. Fold them up.

Choose these intentions one at a time, without looking, and burn them. Sit in gratitude for the Universe's support in manifesting these intentions. Leave one unburnt.

This last intention is your responsibility to complete through the winter.

[will-o-the-witch]

Jewish Angel Work

I don't see a bunch of writing about angel work in general, and what I do find is often heavily Christianized! I wanted to talk about what angel work can look like from a Jewish perspective.

(Gentiles may interact and enjoy, but understand that this is for educational purposes and not an invitation to appropriate! 🤍)

A Jewish-Specific Perspective

Judaism views angels in ways other traditions may not share! Some examples:

Angels aren't former humans. They are their own distinct beings just like demons, cows, land spirits and butterflies. People who pass away, even children, are not considered "angels returning home." These angels have specific forms and looks depending on the type, some more humanoid than others.

Angels don't have free will. This does not mean they are held hostage or can't have their own personalities, but their will is an extension of HaShem's Will, serving a specific role in making that Will manifest. Kind of like employees in a corporation doing their tasks!

They don't have names. Or at least, they don't have names we're supposed to know or ask for. They may be incomprehensible to humans, or maintaining a level of anonymity as to not distract from HaShem. Either way, asking for a name is often discouraged in traditional texts.

They AREN'T all here to help you. While it all serves a Divine Will and is therefore Good in the grand scheme of things, many angels serve completely neutral functions from a human perspective. Some could even be considered harmful to humans, the most prominent example being HaSatan. (Even still, HaSatan isn't seen as a true villain. He's just doing his job.)

Some of them are ONLY here to help you! Historical Rabbis were big on the concept of guardian angels. The Talmud says "Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow, grow.'" (Midrash Rabba, Bereshit 10:6.) Every living creature, including you, has a guardian angel to help you along your path. Some translations say the angels hit the grass, and that's not the only story of angels smacking things, so that guidance isn't always gentle, but it's always in the right direction.

Types of Angel Work

Spirit guides. Like mentioned above, guardian angels can help encourage you to "Grow! Grow!" and keep you on a path in line with spiritual health and lovingkindness.

Communing with HaShem. Gd is extremely esoteric. Angels help us send and recieve messages in an easier-to-conceptualize way! Meditation and prayer can also play into this. Beyond every-day applications, angels can also appear unexpectedly with important messages.

Communicating with other spirits. As angels are often messengers, I also think it's helpful to call upon their aid when working with other spirits!

Working with angels of various functions. Modern day Rabbis often marry angelic theology with scientific phenomena, with angels overseeing the process. By that extent, we could ask those angels for help/guidance when relevant!

Protection. Psalm 91, often recited for protection, depicts HaShem commanding angels on your behalf to guard you in all ways. One bedtime prayer names the four archangels to surround us.

Shalom Aleichem is traditionally sung on Friday nights before Shabbat dinner. It invites angels of peace to basically come and hang out with us during shabbat, then to leave in peace once shabbat is over. Many arrangements also make a good lullaby.

Other Notes

Metatron (מֶטָטְרוֹן) is a specifically-Jewish angel who gets appropriated a lot in spiritual circles. He does not appear in the Tanakh, but is mentioned in the Talmud and largely fleshed out in kabbalistic literature! (Islamic literature does mention him by different name, ميططرون, Mitatrun/Mitatrush. Solidarity.)Lots of people recognize Lilith as closed, but the same attention hasn't been given to Metatron. He's a very complex and ambiguous figure worth a whole post of his own so I won't get into it here!

This post is by no means comprehensive! This is just a very "quick" overview of a very rich field of study.

Further Study

On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture-- Mika Ahuvia

A Gathering of Angels: Angels in Jewish Life and Literature-- Morris B. Margolies

Ascending Jacob's Ladder: Jewish Views of Angels, Demons, and Evil Spirits-- Ronald H. Isaacs