#witchy basics

[brewandbramble]

Witchy Basics - Intent

When I first began practicing witchcraft I was utterly and completely lost, such to the point I didn’t learn the basics until I was already months in. I was busy doing candle magic and color correspondences­— following spells I found online with not a clue what I was doing. It was hard learning and adjusting to the basics after so many months of creating bad habits. Even to this day I still struggle and have to sit down and remind myself of them. People debate what qualifies as the basics, but I think fundamentally it all boils down to one clear winner— intent.

What is intent and why is it so Important?

Intent is the backbone of every spell or ritual you do in witchcraft. It can cover a lot of things; protection, cleansing, grounding, wards, love, beauty, finances, the list goes on and on. It’s what you want to achieve from your spells, your rituals. Without intent your spell has no goal to achieve— no purpose. Intents can be vague or they can be detailed.

I've seen much discourse as to why vague intents are worse then detailed ones and vice versa. My philosophy is to simply choose what works best for you. We can't all be a Picasso so to speak. Some of us practitioners struggle with things— whether that's as simple as creative writing, or as detrimental as doing things in their daily life.

What are some examples of intents?

When making a spell you first need to decide what the spell is for. That will be your intent. As I've previously stated, intent can cover a wide variety of things. Below I have listed several intents I've utilized in my practice. Please use these as inspiration and write your own in as much detail as you're comfortable with.

Protection against negativity - "I am protected from negative energies that wish to bring me down."

Banishing negative influences - "I banish the negative influences of others that hold me back."

Self Cleanse - "I wash away lingering energies and cleanse myself of negativity."

Object Cleanse - "I cleanse this [object] of energies it contains to prepare it for ritual use."

Room Cleanse - "I cleanse this room for the ritual ahead, clearing negative energies and unwanted spirits from this place."

Grounding - "I release the energies that no longer serves me and invite in fresh energy from the earth beneath my feet."

Self Love - "I invite love into my life so that I may learn to love myself."

Financial Abundance - "Money comes to me naturally and I accumulate it with ease."

General Focus - "I allow myself to relax so I may regain focus on the task at hand."

[lighthouseseanymph]

Spiritual/Witchy Foundations Pt.1

Basic Terminology

[A/N: I thought I'd share this little knowledge I gathered for months of researches I've done, so might be useful for other beginners. I am sorry the souces not listed here, as this post is enourmously long, and its just the part 1, it might be evolving over time. I will make a separeated segment for that and will pin it later if I have time after my exams are out of the way, during Summer Holiday. I have to admit I enjoy research and reading the most out of the craft, meeting new authors is amazing. IF you have book recommendations or source recs please dm me or send an ask and I try to get the material and read plus review it :) ]

witchcraft: the art of manipulating energy through series of magical actions fueled by own personal intentions in order to achieve certain prefered outcome(s). It’s a PRACTICE, not a religion!

energy: the foundational life force that flows through all beings in material and non-material existence, this is what a practicionare uses during ceremonies and spellworkings

intention: the purposeful focus which directs the energy toward the specified outcome, its like the fuel to the engine in a car, without it you are driving aimlessly. But intention helps to achieve what you want.

animism: the belief that all animate and non-animate has a distinct spiritual essence or soul if you prefer to call it as such.

closed practice: a culturally, ethnically or by other frameworks exclusive practice that is reserved only for the mebers of that tradition. (thanks for anyone who helped me get this specific term cleared in my mind) >> practices can be declared closed by ethnically, by family lineage (not only bloodline, adoptation or marriage can make you belong to a group, or assimilation |its rather a big question mark in my head so please if soemone else too has the answers jot down, might be useful for beginners like me|) [exclusion does not mean its forbidden, respectful research or initiation might be available, seek the communities elders if youare interested just do not claim to be of a tradition if its not true and certainly DO NOT SPEAK OVER THOSE GROUPS! LET THEM BE THE VOICE IN WHAT COUNTS AS APPROPRIATION OR DISRESPECT AS THEY KNOW BETTER! Its for everybody’s sake as misinformations I see since dawn of internet can spread in horrendous speed, let’s reduce it by being respectful]

open practices: these hence the name are open as long as you keep the respect and yes open practices can be bastardized and watered down, just don’t do that, do not laze do your own research, asking questions with genuine respect is always the key, treat others how you’d love to be treated (I hope the answer honestly is kindly)

[modernwitchsguidetolife]

These are the four main types of Salt used in Witchcraft, essentials in any witch’s home apothecary as with them you can work any & all kinds of protection spells (if you don’t know how to make black or red salt, stay tuned I’ll be posting the recipes in the near future) 💁🏼‍♀️🧂✨📖🖊️

[nyxsgrove]

Pendulums 101: Swinging Between Science and Spirit

What is a pendulum, anyway? At its most basic, a pendulum is a tool used for divination—a small object (typically a gemstone, crystal, or metal) suspended from a chain or cord that swings freely. It’s simple, elegant, and surprisingly powerful. You can use it to receive yes/no answers to questions, check energetic alignment, or even aid in Reiki and energy healing by detecting imbalances in the…

Pendulums 101: Swinging Between Science and Spirit

[babysfirstpentagram]

Small List of the Different Types of Witches

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Eclectic: A witch that takes from multiple OPEN paths to make their own, unique path.

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Green Witch: A witch that works with plants and nature. Commonly paired with Cottage magic, Kitchen Magic and Hearth Magic

Includes: Garden, Flora, Earth, Animal, Fauna and sometimes Fae Witches.

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Cottage Witch: A witch that uses magic to better their home and house.

Includes: Music, Art, Paper, Knitting, Embroidery

Hearth Witch: Uses magic in their house and mundane activities like knitting or cleaning.

Kitchen Witch: Uses magic in cooking to bring subtle charms to their loved ones.

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Solidary Witches: Typically work by themselves in their craft.

Coven Witches: Works with a coven or group of like minded witches.

・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★ Secular Witches: Non-religious witches. They typically don’t work with entities or deities.

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Satanic Witches: Witches that follow a Satanic path.

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Hereditary Witches: Witches who’s family has been involved with magic for generation.

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Traditional: A witch that follows the ancient or traditional paths of witchcraft.

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Christian Witch: Witch that follows Christian ideals or practices. Works with a Monotheistic god and angels

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Voodoo Witch: This is a closed practice. A religions that follows Voodoo ideals and practices, and works with Voodoo Deities.

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Hellenistic Witch: A witch that works with the Greek pantheon

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Roman Witch: A witch that works with the Roman Pantheon

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Heathen Witch: A witch that works with the Ancient Norse pantheon and Viking Traditions.

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* Germanic Witch is the same, but follows the Germanic Pantheon and sometimes the Norse Pantheon.

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Celtic Witch: Follows the Celtic Pantheon.

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Science Witch: Relies very heavily of scientific proof in their practice.

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Hedge Witch: Also known as a spirit witch, they “walk” the hedge between the living and the dead. Related to Death Magic and possibly Dream Witches.

Dream Witch: Uses lucid dreaming to communicate with other entities or even spirits.

Death Witch: One who works with death and the aspect of death.

Bone Witch: One who uses bones in their practice RESPECTFULLY.

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Sea Witch: Witches that use the ocean and ocean aspects in their practice.

Water Witch: One who uses any type of water or water aspects in their Practice. This also goes for bog, swamp, lake, river, pond, rain, etc Witches.

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Divination Witch: A witch who’s practice focus’ primarily on the different types of divination.

Includes: Tea, Pendulum, Tarot, Oracle, Scry,

・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・ Elemental: Witches that work with four (sometimes five) elements.

Includes: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit witches.

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Fae: Works with the fae. This is a more advanced path and requires a lot of research before beginning it.

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Draconic: Witches that work with dragons and dragon guides.

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Seasonal: Witches that work with or in particular seasons.

Includes: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter Witches.

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Chaos: Witches that work with chaotic elements.

Includes: Sigil witches.

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Blood Witches: Witches that use their own blood (or fluids) in spells to make them stronger. THIS IS DANGEROUS IF NOT DONE PROPERLY. PLEASE LEAVE THIS PRACTICE TO THE ADULTS.

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Right Hand: Witches that follow the right hand are typically healers and protection witches.

Middle: A mix of healer/protection, and hexes/curses

Left Hand: Most made of witches that will hex and curse, feeling little to no remorse about it.

* All paths are valid and equal. Don’t feel bad for following the left hand path.

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Lunar: Witches that work directly with the moon

Astrology: Witches that work with many, if not all, of the aspects of astrology.

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Energy: Works with peoples energy and energy points. Can learn to manipulate their own energy and push it into their practice.

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Crystal: Uses crystals in their work. 

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[kaotic-an4rchy-sideblog]

Online Grimiore, Sect 1, Page 1

Cleansing and a precursor to Protection.

These are some of the most important things in witchcraft in my opinion. You may want to skip or opt out, but I assure you it’s worth doing. It’s worth the effort, regardless how much or how little you decide to do.

What is Cleansing? Cleansing is the process of running out or shooing away certain energies or spirits, usually people cleanse to be rid of negative energies/spirits.

What is Protection? Protection is what you do to ensure the positive things from cleansing stay in, and the negative things stay out. We’ll get to that in the next post.

The reason I mention cleansing first is because you wanna cleanse *then* protect. If you have bad energies or spirits in your house, and then protect, you are essentially locking them in. So you wanna cleanse, and then protect.

Ok, now that I know what this cleansing stuff is about, what methods should I use? Incense and herb bundles (DONT USE WHITE SAGE IF YOU ARENT A PART OF THE CULTURE, ITS GROWING ENDANGERED IN AMERICA AND ITS APPROPRIATION IF YOU AREN’T NATIVE AMERICAN!) are what a lot of witches use, but really all it requires is intent* and anything you have on hand. You can use crystals, candles, visualization, music, sound, verbally stating your intentions (i.e. “Let love and light be in abundance here, and negative energies be dispelled.”). Really anything you can think of.

How thorough should I be? It could be an elaborate ritual of your own creation, or it could be simply lighting a candle or drawing a sigil and putting intention into it.

How often? You could cleanse daily or monthly or any time interval you like. Some witches only cleanse when they feel its needed. Some cleanse everyday.

What if I don’t have the fancy stuff? If you’re still very new to the craft you may not have any big candles or any crystals, which is fine, tools are an addition to your craft, and are certainly not mandatory. If you would prefer them, go ahead, but if you cant afford the supplies, they are entirely unnecessary. Like I said before, music, sound, verbally stating your intentions, sigils, a tealight, nearly anything can be used to cleanse. (<— err on the side of common sense, of course)

I’m still confused on how to use some of these materials? I gotcha stranger. I dealt with the same thing when I started, people explaining what to use, but not explaining the how thoroughly enough. But before I can explain that, I need to explain Intention.

*Most witches will probably agree with me here, intention is one of the most used and one of the most important fundamentals. Intention is the power behind a spell. You can compile a bunch of herbs and light some candles for a spell, but it wont be all that much without intention.

intention is the passion, the emotion, or the willpower behind a spell. It’s the meaning or purpose you give to the ingredients in a potion, or what you’re programming a crystal to do. Next is how the hell you apply this intention stuff.

There are a few ways, and once you get a firm grip on the idea of what intention is, you’ll probably find a way that suits you really well. But a few examples are these,

Visualization. Some people find it easy to visualize, others don’t. If using your mind’s eye/imagination isn’t your strongsuit, or if you have Aphantasia, you might wanna skip out on this one. To use this method you could think about positive energy, good vibes, or just happiness or joy. Imagine it as a ball of light, right in the middle of your chest, really feel it. Think about it and what it looks like, what it feels like. Now imagine that little ball of light expanding, clearing out any negative energy around you, expanding until it engulfs your room, or your house, or your space, wherever you want it. You could visualize the negative energy as a dark mist or smoke, or maybe a stormcloud. Let the light push it out of your space, then stabilize when its as big as you need it. Imagine it keeping that size and not budging. Boom, now you’ve cleansed your space, well done! Alternatively, you could visualize using objects. I use a lavender and vanilla scented air freshener spray thing to cleanse. You could use the ball of light technique, but imagine it going into the bottle and mixing with the liquid. Then imagine it cleansing the air as you spray it. Same with incense, sigils, crystals, music or other that you use to cleanse.

Objects. There are a variety of objects you can use to cleanse. You can create sigils for cleansing and write them on paper and put it somewhere, you could put the intention of bringing love and light into your space into a crystal and set it somewhere, you could use an air freshener and verbally state your intent of cleansing. Candles are also good for intention based magick, so if you have tealights or other (preferably white) candles, and you’re allowed to light them in your space, grab them and a lighter. Light your candles and focus on putting your intention into it. You can say it out loud, simply say it in your mind over and over, or just bring it to the forefront of your thoughts and focus on it for this. Feel free to mix and match, there's not exactly many rules here.

Sound/Music. Do you have that one song that just makes you inexplicably happy? Great! You can use that in your craft here. Any song that brings you joy and good vibes, whether it be heavy metal or Soldier, Poet, King, it can be used to cleanse. Just play some of your favorite songs and let yourself feel the joy of listening to them. Let it fill the room and spread its good vibes everywhere it reverberates.

This isn’t everything of course, but by now you should have a decent understanding of what cleansing is and how to do it. Please look for other sources, and support queer/lgbtq and BIPOC witches!! As always I implore you to be like Sherlock and do your research!!

Stay Safe, Sane, and Glamorous, and I will see all you witchy folk in my next post!

- CrazyEnbyWitch :)

[candles-crystals-cauldrons]

How to use a pendulum

[saysarasspells]

When it comes to working, wandering, and wondering through the wilds of the kitchen, it is important to heed your own personal responses and impressions, and not be overly concerned with conforming your taste to dictionaries and lists of correspondences compiled by various sources. Meanings and interpretations are best grown from the soil of your direct experience; these are the meanings and interpretations that are just right. A sacred artist who knows ten different ways to work with a single ingredient will make more effective magic than one who has the wherewithal to buy ten different exotic ingredients. Why? Because in the former case, there is real relationship. In the latter, there is merely acquisition, and they are not the same. So start where you are and with what you have.

Briana Saussy, Making Magic: Weaving Together the Everyday and the Extraordinary