Magic for Witches with Limited Hand Mobility
Joint pain, stiffness, and limited hand mobility can be discouraging for when we want to practice witchcraft. Here are a few ideas on things you can still do even with limited hand mobility!
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Instead of tediously carving thin chime candles (which can be difficult to grasp for those with hand mobility issues), here are some alternate options.
Decorate your candles with permanent markers, acrylic paint, or stickers! Of course, be sure to take necessary precautions to protect yourself against fire hazards when planning on your decor options – for example, make sure acrylic paint is completely dry before deciding to burn your candle, don’t cover 100% of the candle in paint, and be sure to use non-toxic paint. For stickers and other decals, please be sure to use a burn-safe method, such as this! Please do not use regular stickers to decorate any candles you intend to burn, as it is a massive fire hazard. Of course, if you’d like to decorate candles that you do not plan on burning, more options open up for you! Decoupaging candles is a fun, creative way to make candles for your altar, or even to use as room decor. You could also decorate candles as offerings to your deities!
Something that would require a bit more use of your hands would be decorating you candles by painting them with candle wax! All you need is a few paintbrushes, the candle you’ll be decorating, and candles in the colors that you’d like to paint with. This TikTok is a great guide for getting started with wax painting! This option is great because it’s 100% safe to be burned.
Write whatever you want on your candle on a piece of paper, and place your candle on top of the piece of paper. I personally use tea light candles and place the piece of paper inside the metal casing, underneath the tea light candle itself. Again, be sure to take all precautions against fire hazards when burning candles!
Instead of drawing or carving into the candle itself, use a dry-erase marker to draw on your candle holder!
Using lighters and matches can be tricky - here are some alternate options for those who are unable to use lighters/matches, and for those who just aren't a fan of/can't utilize fire!
Use LED candles - you can write on them with markers, and they are a safe alternative for those who don't enjoy fire. They're also super portable which is great for travel! You may also use different LED lights - I've personally toyed with the idea of wrapping spell jars/crystals/other items in LED string lights to 'charge' the items.
Electric lighters - these lighters don't require any kind of 'flicking' motions like regular lighters do; plus, they're rechargeable! This electric lighter is the one I use at home, and I absolutely love it!
Note taking, research, and keeping an organized grimoire is difficult enough without the troubles of limited hand mobility. Here are a few things to make it a tad easier.
Utilize text-to-speech and screen reader functions. When you find a tidbit of info you want to save (whether it’s from Tumblr, a book, or somewhere else), take an audio recording of the text-to-speech audio (or, read the content out-loud and record yourself) and save it for later! This saves you time and energy with hand-writing or typing notes.
If you don't utilize a digital grimoire already, you absolutely should! There are free and paid programs such as Google Docs, Evernote, Notion, and many others that are designed to be digital notebooks and are perfect for keeping a grimoire. You can attach images, videos, text, audio files, and so much more!
Cartomancy (Tarot & Oracle Cards)
Shuffling cards can be difficult and frustrating. Here are some ideas to avoid shuffling altogether!
Use a tarot app on your phone - I personally love the Labyrinthos app!
If you still prefer to have physical cards, a more crafty idea is to make your own tarot cards - either print them off or make them yourself (you can also use tarot stickers! I personally use these for my tarot journal), about 2-3" in size. (To make cutting the cards easier, you can get a large guillotine-style paper cutter, like this one that I use to cut my zines) Once your cards are ready, throw them in a bowl or in a large jar. To 'shuffle' the cards, mix them up by-hand or shake the jar! When you're ready to conduct a reading, simply pull cards out of the container. (You could do the same thing with your regular-sized cards, although they may get damaged from doing this, so I don’t entirely recommend it)
Spelljars are all the rage right now. However, they can be more rage-inducing for those of us who have trouble shoving a bunch of herbs into a tiny-mouthed jar. So, here are some alternate ideas!
Use bigger, wide-mouthed jars - is it a bit chaotic to use an old pasta jar as a spell jar? Yes. Is it just as effective as those tiny, aesthetic spell jars everyone else uses? Also yes. Plus, they're much easier to handle and easier to re-use!
Use alternate containers like ziploc bags, envelopes, or anything else you have in your house! Obviously, use common sense (you wouldn't want to put anything sharp in a ziploc bag, or anything wet in an envelope) - but you can use any old container or bag to carry out spellwork.
You can also throw all your ingredients onto a pretty plate as you craft your spell! Lay it out however you’d like – you could even get creative and make something like a zen garden out of your ingredients. Once you have it completed, you can meditate on the spell for a while, and ditch the ingredients.
Ditch the container altogether – make potions! Throw everything in a big bowl or pot, stir it up, and utilize it however you see fit. You can make potions/perfumes for your deities, elemental potions/perfumes representing the elements for your altar, and so much more. I personally love to look at those “calm-down sensory-friendly glitter bottles” on Pinterest as inspiration when I’m in the mood for crafting potions – bottled potions also make for great props in Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, during Halloween, etc. It can be a relaxing activity, even if you don’t intend on using it for witchcraft purposes.
Charm bags – charm bags, in my opinion, were the OG spell jar. Throw a bunch of herbs into a mesh or cloth bag and you’re all set! Charm bags are great for sleep/dream magic, bedroom magic, bath magic, and are great options for spellwork on-the-go – just throw a charm bag that corresponds with what you need in your purse/bag/backpack, and you’re good to go!
Tech witchery is my favorite thing to recommend when it comes to those who may be bedridden, dealing with limited mobility, or even those in the broom closet. Here are just a few ideas to carry out spells in the digital realm!
Emoji spells! There are tons of examples available on Tumblr – emoji spells are a great low-effort, time-saving way of conducting spellwork.
Utilize objects in your favorite sandbox video games - Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons are all great platforms to carry out some digital spellwork. @shadow-the-witchblog and @fernthewhimsical both have fantastic ideas on conducting spells in Minecraft, and @stardewspellshed is a blog entirely dedicated to laying out the correspondences and ways to utilize Stardew Valley in your practice. The fun thing about utilizing video games is you can really make it your own!
Create digital collages! Gather up images that remind you of your craft or evoke the outcome of the spell you want to conduct (for example, if you want to create a spell for self love, print out some images of rose quartz, pink/red imagery, confident motivational quotes, etc). Use these collages as your phone/computer background, or print them out and put them up in your room/car/cubicle!
To feel more connected with nature/plants, you may also download plant-care apps or games on your phone! Same goes for pets and familiars – apps are a great way to feel more connected to your practice.
Salves, Tinctures, Oils and More
Making tinctures, salves, oils etc. is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. This lemon & eucalyptus pain-relieving oil is an easy oil to make during flare-ups!
Spell powders and dusts are another great thing you can make with little-to-no-effort. Bree NicGarran (@breelandwalker) has a whole arsenal of spell powders available on her blog, and also in her book, Pestlework: A Book of Magical Powders & Oils. Instead of a mortar and pestle, however, you may opt to use an herb grinder, coffee grinder (just be sure to clean it before/after!), or even a blender with some extra care.
Room sprays are a great way to apply a general “mist” of something to an area. You can mix and match different elements such as moon water, sun water, herbs, crystals, and more to create a spray specific to your needs. Simply throw all the ingredients in a spray bottle and you’re good to go!
Altars, Prayers, Deity Work
Keeping up with deities and altars is taxing even when you’re able-bodied. For someone with limited hand mobility, it can be even more difficult to keep up with. Here are some ideas to aid you with your deity work!
Digital altars are one of my favorite things to utilize. They are easy, convenient, and you don’t have to worry about spending money, making space, or keeping your altar clean when it’s all digital! Pinterest, Discord, Tumblr, and other sites are all great ways of keeping altars. You can use photos, videos, audio, poems… anything you want!
Devotional prayer-writing or writing poetry is another great way to connect with your deities. Instead of hand-writing for your deities, you can opt for typing or voice-recording your devotions! In times of need, you can play your recordings back to yourself.
I feel that it’s worth mentioning that, no matter you energy level or where you’re at on the pain scale, your deities will meet you in the middle. They will be there for you, whether or not you’ve been offering them extravagant meals or can only muster up enough energy to light a candle in their honor. No offering or devotional act is too small, and they will understand that your health and well-being must come first.
Spellbook divider from @firefly-graphics
