I’ve gotten a lot of asks for college witch tips and small living space witchy advice. I wasn’t practicing while I lived in the dorms but I did start practicing(in secret) while I was rooming in a studio apartment my sophmore year of uni so I figure it’s sort of similar. Anyways, I hope this helps someone out there ~ 🧡
🕯️So, no candles, I totally get that and it’s a fucking bummer. You can always get fake candles though! There’s such a wide variety of picking between pillar sizes, tea lights, or you could even get ones where you pick the color so you can use it for any spell.
On another note, have you tried string lights? It doesn’t matter if they’re fairy lights, Christmas lights, or bulb strands. I had a specific set of white strands that went around my part of the room and whenever I want to do a spell/feel magical/etc. I would turn them on ~ bonus you can get fake ivy and flower garlands at the Dollar Store to braid with them and it’s suuuper cute.
💧Water magic is a pretty sneaky go to! No one is ever going to be suspicious of water. You could leave a water bottle out near your window “on accident” for Full Moon water! There’s two big areas I think of so let’s break it down!
Bath magic! Everyone has to shower at some point. Without anything else, pure hot water is wonderful for a pure cleanse of your energy, mind, and body. @beau-witchery has a wonderful post on shower magic you can find here. You can also bring some of your crystals or something you want to charge into the bathroom with you(assuming you have private shower stalls) and let the steam from your shower charge them! You can even sprinkle some salt on the shower floor to help you release negativity and feel charged.
Water bottle magic! This is super universal tbh and I use it for so many things. You can put crystals in your water bottle to charge your water with whatever you need. Red jasper for strength and vitality, quartz for charging and cleanings, amethyst for magic and protection, rose quartz for beauty and love, etc. There are a lot of water soluble crystals so please do proper research first. I would inherently recommend not using anything under a hardness of seven, so do your research!! You can also put in fresh herbs or slices to fruit to enchant it with corresponding properties or to boost your energy.
📚Speaking of research, it’s a fundamental part of magic and college! Use your university library! They’ll definitely have books on the alchemy of plants, gemstones, and I’ve been able to find a few on magic at each uni I’ve visited so give it a look. You can also check out your local library and check to see if your library has an online database for e-check outs. The Akron Public Library has a huge database for online books, PDFs, and articles to “check out” and read online. See if your library or one in your county does as well - it’s typically the main library.
♌Sigil/stave magic, I know this is probably the most recommended thing for college witches but they’re honestly so helpful. You can design your own sigils/staves or use one that other witches have created. Here’s a link to a tumblr tag for college/student based sigils.
Now what to do with the sigils? Well, this is up to you. You could stitch or draw a “sigil to stay safe” on the inside of your backpack, draw a motivation/focus sigil inside your notebooks/binders, draw a good grade/”I’ll do well on tests” sigil on your pencil pouch or draw it on the side of your pencil! There’s so manyyy things you can do, just be creative and don’t feel obligated to do it one way just because someone else is.
🌱Plants may not seem like your first choice since you live in a dorm but there’s a lot of small, low maintenance plants out there. You just need to know where to look. Keeping a plant in your room can help keep you grounded, feeling closer to your craft if your nature/plant based, and generally help keep the energy and air pure. You can also keep plants around for their metaphysical properties ~
Here is an online database to find local plant nurseries. I always suggest going through a nursery vs. a home or grocery store because the workers actually know how to upkeep the soil, when to water them, feed them, repot them, etc. plus I find they tend to have less root mold or disease when coming from a nursery. Some suggestions for small and low maintenance witchy plants would be: lucky bamboo, air plants(specifically Tillandsia maxima, Tillandsia bulbosa, Tillandsia ionantha, and Tillandsia chiapensis), small breed cacti and snake plants.
🔮Crystals don’t always have to be a giant slab of quartz on an altar. We’ve already talked about how you can use them in your water but you can also, carry small tumbled ones in your pencil pouch, wear them as jewelry, put them in your planters if you have plants, and so much more! You’re not limited to the “traditional” use of crystals. Think outside of the box! If you want to labradorite to keep you safe on campus make a key chain to hang on your bookbag or something like that! Some of my favorite crystals in uni were amethyst(memory), clear quartz(knowledge, cleansing), rose quartz(self love), labradorite(magic/protection), and sunstone(joy, knowledge).
☕Drink magic kind of ties in with water bottle magic but it’s more varied! Drink coffee or black/green tea in the morning to start your day off with grounding. When making your coffee or tea draw a sigil on top with your spoon before stirring. If you’re using honey draw it on the bottom of the mug first. Stir counterclockwise to bring in positivity. Use the properties of your tea, coffee, or creamer in your morning magic.
✨Enchanting would work with just about anything. You could enchant your backpack to keep your grounded, your pencils to keep you motivated, your doorway to ward off negativity, etc. If it’s an actual item you’re enchanting I used to do in secret by using water. For example, I enchanted my favorite sweater to help me feel motivated confident by using the machine cycle as a way to cleanse it + instill positive energy and the dry cycle as a way to infusion act and warmth. I mumbled some words about motivation and stuff when loading the clothing in. You could also use warm water to “clean” a water bottle, gemstone bracelet, set of earrings, etc. as a way to enchant something.
🎮You don’t need an altar to be a witch! I don’t know where this misconception came from but honestly fuck it. If you would like an altar anyways and can’t have one out in the open you can set one up inside one of your drawers, a shoe box, or even a jewelry box. You can make small portable one’s with Altoid tins or other small boxes like match boxes! If you’re tech friendly and want too, you can say fuck it to all of the above and just make an online altar via a tumblr blog, pinterest board, etc.
Bonus: do you like vidya gamez? You can do a lot with altars to both deities and for witchcraft in video games. You can build an altar in Minecraft or the Sims. You can build homes dedicated to your craft and gods in Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, etc. be creative!
💖The rest of these suggestions are small things anyone can do to feel more connected to their craft or “witchy”. It can be really hard to feel connected to your craft or like a witch at all when you don’t have time or energy because of school, work, depression, etc. So these are just some of my favorite low effort suggestions.
Meditate in bed for five to ten minutes before getting up!
Put cute witchy stickers or washi tape in your agenda, notebooks, etc. use colors and symbols to correspond with your intention
Go for a walk! It can be around campus, your local graveyard, tbh you could just use your walk to class as a chance to feel connected to nature and refresh your energy.
Witchy!! Playlists!! Seriously, get jammin’.
Star a grimoire or bos! It can be a word doc, tumblr blog, or an actual notebook. Whatever works best for you. ✨
Meditate! In the shower, on the way to class, when you wake up, when you’re making breakfast, whenever. Find a few minutes a day when you’re by yourself and focus on calming your thoughts.
Use ambient videos on youtube to help ground you and feel more connected to your craft. Basic ambiance w/moving video links: Forest w/waterfall, Woodland, Night, Ocean, Rain & fireplace, Nighttime train ride, Sunrise, Wheat field, River, Campfire, Swamp, Snow
Wear colors that correspond with your magical needs.
Hide your pendulum as your necklace or just use your favorite necklace as a pendulum!
Look on amazon, clearance racks, and thrift stores for tapestries and blankets to hang up that make you feel witchy!
Wear scented oils ~ different intentions for different days
Pls love yourself and remember I’m sending you so much love
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