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violet-witch · 4 years

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Add Some Oomph to Your Spells with Magical Timing

Like herbs, oils, and crystals, you don’t need to work with magical timing for your spell to be successful. You can cast a spell at any time, no matter your intention, and get your desired results. However, working with the energy of the sun, moon, and days of the week can add an extra power boost to your magic.

Think of it this way: certain energies are dominant at certain times. Those energies are easier to connect with because they are closer at hand, so to speak, so you can bring them into your life and your spells more easily and in a more powerful way. That doesn’t mean you can’t call on other energies during these times — it just means that you may not connect to them quite so easily.

If you choose to work with magical timing in your spells, there are several yearly, monthly, weekly, and even daily cycles you can align your spells with.

The Cycle of the Sun: Solstices and Equinoxes

These are the turning points that mark the solar year, and are associated with the relationships between day and night, light and dark, summer and winter. Each solstice or equinox marks the end of one season and the beginning for the next. Because they are so rare and so potent, these days are a great time for your “big picture” spells or for spells that need a big power boost.

Winter Solstice. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, and falls between December 20 and December 23, depending on the year. In some pagan traditions the winter solstice, or Yule, marks the beginning of the new year — you may choose to set intentions for the coming year on this solstice. After the winter solstice, the nights start getting shorter and the days start getting longer — so spells related to healing and bringing things into the light are especially effective at this time of year. The winter solstice marks the end of the “dark half” of the year and beginning of the “light half” of the year; at this point, our focus turns from inward reflection to outward manifestation. You may choose to think of the time between the winter solstice and spring equinox as a “planning phase,” where you examine yourself and your desires, decide what you want to work on in the next year, and make plans for manifesting what you want.

Spring Equinox. An equinox occurs when the day and the night are exactly the same length, representing a perfect balance between light and dark. The spring equinox marks the beginning of spring and occurs between March 19 and March 22. The Christian holiday of Easter and the pagan holiday of Ostara are both related to the energy of this equinox. At this time of year, the natural world is coming back to life as winter begins to fade. Plants are beginning to grow, and baby animals are being born. This is a powerful time of year for fertility magic and any magic related to new beginnings. You may choose to think of the time between the spring equinox and the summer solstice as a “planting phase,” where you “plant the seed” of the things you want to manifest and begin doing the work to make it happen.

Summer Solstice. This solstice marks the longest day and shortest night of the year. It occurs between June 19 and June 23. As I am writing this post, we are coming up on the summer solstice (June 20, 2020). Life, fertility, and growth are at their peak during this time of year, which makes this solstice a perfect time for big manifestation spells. At the same time, this marks the end of the “light half” and beginning of the “dark half” of the year, so after the summer solstice our energy shifts from outward manifestation to inward contemplation. You may choose to think of the time between the summer solstice and fall equinox as the “harvest phase,” where you reap the results of your hard work and manifest your desires in the physical world.

Autumn Equinox. This is the other time of year when the day and night are perfectly balanced. The autumn equinox occurs between September 19 and September 23 and marks the beginning of autumn. This is traditionally the time of year when crops are harvested, and many pagan groups celebrate harvest festivals around this time. Nature is beginning to die or go into hibernation in preparation for the coming winter. This is an especially powerful time of year for shadow work or for magic related to endings and transitions. You may choose to think of the time between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice as the “reflection phase,” when you retreat from the outside world to rest, focus on yourself, and do your inner work and self-healing.

Important Note: This post lists dates for the solstices and equinoxes in the Northern hemisphere. In the Southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed. If you live in the Southern hemisphere, you would observe the winter solstice in June, the spring equinox in September, the summer solstice in December, and the fall equinox in March.

The Cycle of the Moon: Lunar Phases

If you don’t have time to wait for the appropriate solstice or equinox, you can still connect with the cosmos in your magic. One of the biggest pros of the lunar cycle is that it happens roughly every month — so you never have to wait very long for the next full moon. The moon is also associated with magic and spirituality in several traditions, which makes it an especially powerful astral ally for witches.

New Moon. The new moon is when the moon is completely invisible in the night sky, and is the phase opposite the full moon. The new moon is a powerful time for shadow work (because it deals with things that are hidden) and for magic related to new beginnings.

Waxing Moon. The moon is waxing when it appears to be growing in the night sky; this is the phase between the new moon and full moon. This is a powerful time for any magic that deals with drawing something in, building something up, or strengthening something that already exists.

Full Moon. Many witches believe that the full moon is the most powerful time of month for any kind of magic. This is a good time to cast any spell that needs a serious power boost. The full moon is also an especially powerful time to release what no longer serves you or to work healing magic.

Waning Moon. The moon is waning when it appears to be shrinking in the night sky; this is the phase between the full moon and new moon. This is a powerful time for any magic that deals with sending something away, banishing negative energy, or bringing something to an end.

Dark Moon. The dark moon is the three day period immediately before the new moon. In some traditions, it is believed to be bad luck to cast spells during the dark moon. Other traditions hold that the dark moon is the best point in the lunar cycle for destructive magic, such as curses and hexes. Many modern witches don’t recognize the dark moon as a separate moon phase at all. I personally like to use the dark moon as a time for self reflection, and may focus on shadow work during this time.

Magical Correspondences for the Days of the Week

The days of the week also have their own unique magical energies, and each day is linked to a certain planet and to certain deities.

Sunday. Sunday is, of course, connected to the Sun and solar deities. Sunday is the best day of the week for any manifestation magic that needs an extra boost. Its energy is also associated with healing, personal growth, power, and success.

Monday. Monday is associated with the Moon and lunar deities. Monday is a quiet, introspective day, and can feel very ethereal. It’s the best day for magic related to intuition, nurturing, and shadow work.

Tuesday. Tuesday is associated with Mars and with gods and goddesses of war and action. (It is named for the Norse/Germanic god Tyr/Tiw.) Tuesday is a very “active” day, and is good for magic related to action, activism, victory, or finding courage.

Wednesday. Wednesday is associated with Mercury and with gods and goddesses of wisdom, learning, and communication. (It is named for the Norse/Germanic god Odin/Wodan.) Wednesday is all about mental activity. It’s the best day of the week for magic related to thought, travel, communication (written, spoken, or digital), and learning/study.

Thursday. Thursday is associated with Jupiter and with gods and goddesses of prosperity, wealth, and protection. (It is named after the Norse/Germanic god Thor.) Thursday, like Jupiter in astrology, is all about outward expansion. It’s the best day of the week for magic related to career, prosperity, and wealth.

Friday. Friday is associated with Venus and with gods and goddesses of love, fertility, and sensuality. (It is named after the Norse goddess Freyja, or perhaps the goddess Frigg.) The energy of Friday is fun, lighthearted, and sexy. It’s the best day of the week for magic related to love, beauty, and sex/sexuality.

Saturday. Saturday is associated with Saturn and with time and wisdom. (The day and the planet are both named after the Roman god Saturn.) Saturday is practical and wise, but it does have a little bit of a dark side. It’s the best day of the week for magic related to banishing and protection.

Magical Times of Day

Okay, so you’d like to start working with magical timing, but what about emergency magic and last-minute spells? What if you don’t have time to wait for the next full moon, or even the next Sunday? You can still align your spell with magical timing! There are several moments of power each day, and each has its own magical associations.

Sunrise. Sunrise is, of course, the birth of the new day. This makes it the perfect time for spells related to new beginnings or expanded possibilities.

Noon. This is the peak or high point of the day. This is a powerful time for healing magic.

Sunset. Sunset is the end of the day, and forms a gateway between light and dark. This is a great time for spells related to accepting endings, releasing that which does not serve, and moving on from the past.

Midnight. If noon is the peak of the day, then midnight is the peak of the night. Midnight has a very ethereal, transformational energy. Like with the full moon, some witches believe that any spell will be more powerful if cast at midnight. This is a powerful time for both banishing and attraction magic.

Resources:

You Are Magical by Tess Whitehurst

Green Witchcraft by Paige Vanderbeck

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin [specifically the chapter on the sabbats]

Qabalah Made Easy by David Wells [Note: Qabalah is based on an appropriation of Jewish mysticism, and I am NOT endorsing its practice. However, much of the magical timing associations used in modern witchcraft is shared with Qabalah and other forms of ceremonial magic, which is why it’s referenced here.]

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violet-witch · 4 years

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MY BIG COMPILATION OF USEFUL WITCHY TIPS

Draw sigils on clothespins or binder clips. You can now easily clip it to an outfit before you use it, the back of a curtain, the underside of your bed, wherever.

Learn how to macrame. Seriously, it's so useful for trying crystals to things

Lightly scratch a rune or simple sigil into your lip balm for an added boost.

Wanna symbolically launch a lantern into the sky but know it'll just end up litter? Unfold a teabag and empty it of tea, stand it up, and light the bottom on fire. Look it up, it's super cool, and it'll burn up so no litter involved.

Use index cards to organize plant/crystal correspondences. Index card boxes are additionally small and easy to hide.

Get some plain label stickers, like the kind you'd stick on an envelope after writing your address on it. Boom bam, an easy way to tag something with a sigil

Homemade soap! Almost every craft fair you'll ever go to will have someone selling soap, and generally pretty cheap! I've got a goat milk and honey bar that gives me correspondences energies, and most places will sell messed up balls of soap for 2 bucks or so! All of them have correspondences and can give your shower a charge for the low price of supporting community businesses!

If you can't sew, twig and/or vine poppets are very much a thing.

Get a loose tea strainer. Make yourself tea from plants around you. Dandelions make fantastic tea (make sure the area you gather from isn't sprayed!) Imo, the most useful thing a witch can own is a loose tea strainer, it's good for any type of brew.

Envelope spells. I CANNOT stress this enough. Sigil the envelope, fill, and dispose of however you need to. Paper is biodegradable, easy to sigil and seal, and you can make your own envelopes a bajillion different ways.

Spool spells. Find an empty spool. Do your knot magic with the string you use. Use the string to bind a small sprig of each herb you use to the spool. Glue the end down. Sigil or seal the top. Tada! Cute, easy to hide spell. Pictured below is a spool spell of mine. I superglued an acorn cap and quartz chip to the top instead of sigiling, but you get the jist.

If you're any good at embroidery (or even if you're not) Norse runes are literally the easiest thing you could possibly sew onto something.

Speaking of runes, stick them on literally anything. Someone asks, say it's the Norse rune for [insert thing] and no one will question it or give a fuck. My extremely christian transphobic mom bought me, a trans man, a tiwaz patch (the rune for masculinity) because I said it was the rune for strength. She did not suspect it was a trans thing or a witchcraft thing.

Use the witches foot! It's a Lowkey symbol for witches everywhere, and easy to explain away as "just a cool pattern" because it's so simple and ridiculously hard to google if you don't know the name of it.

If you're a witch into astrology, get into the non witchy, stargazing part of astrology and let your parents know. They will consider nothing suspicious about you knowing zodiacs, constellations, and moon phases because you're just "into stargazing".

Make your grimoire a school notebook. Keep it with your school stuff. Nothing is less suspicious than a notebook in your backpack. Writing in it is just "doing homework".

Listen to Ren Faire music. Nothing feels witchier than blasting violin and bagpipes whilst a woman sings about telling men to fuck off or a dude sings about a witch cursing his whole village.

Set aside a pocket knife to do all your witch shit with. Clean it regularly. A good pocket knife can get you any plant matter you need, and can help you out when you're fucking around out in the woods

Plain rocks are useful! Look up correspondences and uses for limestone, river rocks, smooth black stones, gravel, etc. Any rock you fish out of a water source will likely have the properties of that water source!

Go to garage sales and thrift shops. LOOK THROUGH THE BOOK SECTION. Not only can you find witchy books, bu, more importantly, you can find old beat up books! Find a good reference book or two that won't be missed and cut those fuckers up! Use the pictures to decorate your grimoire. I had an old reference book for plants and now all of my plant index cards have cut out pictures on them from that book. My pages for moon phases have some sick moon watercolor pictures on them.

Travel bottles are your friend. Use them for herb and water storage- those spray bottles are SUPER useful for spritzing your room with moon/rain/ocean water.

Hang your dying herbs in a south facing window and watch your drying time go from two weeks to less than one.

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violet-witch · 4 years

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soft witchy things i’ve been doing for myself lately:

✧ carrying rose quartz in my jacket pockets

✧ dabbing lavender on my wrists and vanilla behind my ears before i leave the house

✧ playing soft music whilst wrapped in a blanket

✧ baking sigils into the food i eat

✧ tucking daisies into my hair

✧ drinking strawberry and mango tea with lemon

✧ practising mindfulness and breathing exercises with ocean sounds playing

✧ wishing goodwill on the friends i see

✧ buying flowers for myself

✧ tending to my plants and watering them with rainwater and moonwater

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violet-witch · 4 years

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“Witches are real and present dangers. Becoming a witch changed the individual’s intrinsic identity to something inhuman (like a former human who became a vampire), in contrast to sorcerers (and Cunning Folk) who were still human but who possessed unusual knowledge and skills.”

Jim Baker, The Cunning Man’s Handbook.

On popular folk beliefs regarding witchcraft, rather than the stance of the Church.

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violet-witch · 4 years

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tarot tip no. 1

If you’re using a deck with humans/animals look at what way they are facing. Left, right or forward? If its to the left they are thinking about the past, right the future, and forward the present. You can also use this to read reversals!

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violet-witch · 4 years

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Tips for Learning Tarot

✨The best way to learn is to start using your cards! Don’t feel like you have to memorize all of the cards before you start reading them – it’s absolutely fine to look up definitions as you go!

✨Instead of trying to learn all 78 definitions at once, break it up into sections. I’d recommend starting with the Major Arcana, because they are definitely more self-explanatory than the Minor Arcana. As you start studying the cards, always keep in mind that the goal is to understand the cards instead of memorize them.

✨When you’re ready to move onto the Minor Arcana, I would first focus on the difference between each of the suits. What characteristics and elements are related to each? For example, the Cups deal with relationships emotional journeys, while the Swords deal with intellectual ones.

✨Just like each suit has a common characteristic, each court and numbered card has a similar theme; for instance, Aces represent new beginnings and potential.

✨I’ve found it very effective to learn the minor arcana by taking the same card from each suit, and compare and contrast the similarities and differences of each. Consider the “Tens;” which all represent some form of completion or finality. The Ten of Wands indicates you have worked hard and are now burdened with responsiblity, the Ten of Cups represents celebration, unity, and harmony, the Ten of Swords represents an unexpected defeat by betrayal, and the Ten of Pentacles represents fulfillment of a legacy after a long journey. While they all mean something different, there’s also lots of similarities to consider!

✨Always remember that there’s never one correct answer in tarot, and each card has countless interpretations. It’s always a good idea to use multiple sources (including your own intuition!) when learning the cards, so you can get as many perspectives and insights as possible. Also keep in mind that your interpretations of the cards may change and evolve over time, and that’s completely okay – it just means you’re learning!

✨As this post is already long enough, I’ll be making a separate post listing my absolute favorite websites for learning tarot meanings. I’ll link it here when it’s done!

I hope you found some of these tips helpful, best of luck! 💖

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violet-witch · 4 years

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✨Tarot tip✨

Aces: New beginnings or opportunities

Twos: relationships or choices

Threes: teamwork or creativity

Fours: stagnation, stability

Fives: Chaos, conflicts, loss

Sixes: community, relationships, help and support

Sevens: reassessment, reflection, planning, decisions

Eights: power and movement (or the lack thereof)

Nines: solitude, independence, isolation, the individual

Tens: completion, something coming to an end, fulfillment.

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violet-witch · 4 years

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Taking a Different Approach with Tarot

Nothing the cards say are permanent. If you ask them a question, the outcome can be different as a result of your actions and it can disappoint you. This is how you should phrase your questions:

Don’t ask: “Will I pass this test?” Instead ask: “What can I do to pass this test?”

Don’t ask: “Does x have a crush on me?” Instead ask: “What can I do to help x like me more?”

Instead of seeking an answer to something, seek advice on how to get the outcome you desire.

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violet-witch · 4 years

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🔮Tarot Reading Tips🔮

Some tips that can help us tarot readers with finding and connecting the meanings of the cards in a spread!

Meditate on the cards for a while if you don’t know the meaning. Crystals present during the reading will also aide you in getting answers. I like to use my Amethyst crystal during readings to get answers.

Try to feel your way throughout the whole spread, this helps with developing intuition and psychic abilities.

Look at the colors on each card. What color is most present throughout the spread? Do they mean anything? What do you feel it means?

If characters are present in your spread, look at the direction they are all facing. Are they looking at each other or away? This helps with finding their connections in the spread. I find that it also helps me in partner spreads as you can tell how one person feels about the other.

Recurring themes throughout the spread is also important to note. For example, if cups keep showing up in a spread this can mean that emotions are very present relating to the situation.

Seeing what card lies on the bottom of the deck usually helps me as it shows the past feelings or it may even be the foundation of the spread. May also be the current feeling that is present for a person.

Most of all use your own gut feelings to interpret. Combine both the meanings of the cards with your own intuition and you will be on the right path of interpreting!

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violet-witch · 4 years

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Tarot tip for all you practicing tarot out therere

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violet-witch · 4 years

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Tarot in Magic Use

I have a tarot deck that was gifted to me made entirely of leather and just the major arcana. It has an extremely powerful energy to it, and I knew right away this was a tarot deck to be used in spell work, not divination. So I started meditating and looking into the cards and really thinking about what they could be used for/associations. So here’s what I came up with!

(Note: I mention curses in here because some of the cards do lend themselves really well to that. If you don’t curse personally, feel free to disregard those parts. This is based on my personal relationship with the cards, so your personal associations and meanings for your deck may be very different. Be sure to understand the nuances of your cards before using them in a spell.)

🗝0 The Fool: Wiping the slate clean, a fresh start. Opening oneself to new experiences and knowledge.

🗝I The Magician: Manifestation and invocation. Energy work. Personal capability. Utilizing the power already within you and bringing it to the surface.

🗝II The High Priestess: Secrets. Hide and obscure knowledge to others. Increased intuition. Knowledge of the occult. Learn other people’s hidden knowledge while keeping yours under wraps.

🗝III The Empress: Fertility and abundance. Vibrancy, nurturing. Also to some degree, sensuality and sexiness.

🗝IV The Emperor: Strength and stability. Generic masculine power. Traditionalism.

🗝V The Hierophant: Jobs, mentorship and other positions that require some level of conformity. Traditional knowledge, coming more from a dogma or set path rather than a personal experience.

🗝VI The Lovers: Love (obviously,) union, harmony between two people. But mostly love.

🗝VII The Chariot: Success, motivation, overcoming any nasty obstacle. Personal power working with outside powers for your benefit.

🗝VIII Justice: Pretty self explanatory. Justice, getting what one deserves for better or worse. Could also be used as an aid to help guide you to the best decision when stuck at a crossroads.

🗝IX The Hermit: Knowledge latent within oneself that you want to bring to the surface. Cutting ties between yourself and people/groups that no longer benefit you. Any spell designed to get people to stay away from you (but warning here, the Hermit doesn’t discriminate between the people you still want to see and those you don’t!)

🗝X Wheel of Fortune: Luck, a change of fate. Finding one’s true calling/destiny. A request of a long-term type of success.

🗝XI Strength: Emotional strength, mastery of emotions, self-control. Resilience and courage.

🗝XII The Hanged Man: Release of unwanted emotions, new perspectives. In a curse or hex setting, it can also be used to represent someone who has been traitorous, especially in decks with a more traditional art style.

🗝XIII Death: Can be used to represent death during rituals such as a dumb supper. Important endings, rebirth, shedding the skin of the past. Hard cutoffs.

🗝XIV Temperance: Balance, cleansing, a restoration of energies as they should be. Healing.

🗝XV The Devil: Addictive negativity. All things bad in life that can be avoided, but are easy to slip into. Can be used to sic this on someone else in a powerful hex, or can be used as a representation of your own demons as you break free from them.

🗝XVI The Tower: Another card that’s particularly good for offense magic. Sudden, unexpected crisis. A destruction of what one has been working for. Upheaval. Could also be used to try and protect oneself as much as possible from this before it happens, if you sense trouble ahead.

🗝XVII The Star: Hope, guidance, generosity. Can be used when searching for a sign for something or for a pathway to be illuminated.

🗝XVIII The Moon: Mystery, emotional/spiritual fog, being stuck in a grey area. Illusion, hiding/obscuring yourself or something else. Could be used as a more gentle hex to weaken somebody without wrecking them like some of the other cards. Alternatively, it could be used to represent the literal moon, as either a replacement (if you can’t access the moon) or as a way to draw down the moon’s power.

🗝XIX The Sun: Recharging, success, vitality and enlightenment. Celebration. A powerful source of positive and productive energies, but without a lot of direction on its own. Similarly to The Moon, it could also be used as a representation of the literal Sun.

🗝XX Judgement: Guidance in making tough decisions. Luck or good fortune in the final stages of something important. Reaping the benefits (or punishments, so be careful) of our work up to this point.

🗝XXI The World: Harmony, tying up loose ends. Completeness and wholeness. Resolution of all conflict.

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