It’s been on my mind a bit but I really think in Witchcraft, a lot of it is finding power. A LOT of it.
You know I talk about my system a lot, building relationships with ally spirits (“correspondences”), evoking and petitioning spirits, laying a compass, carefully storing and distributing energy between spells.
And this is all kind of like farming; you can learn how to cultivate the magical ecosystem around you to carefully seed, grow, harvest, and store power, and to make friends with the gods and spirits within and around this system who help you (or decline to hinder you, which is also very good).
This farming is good because it serves the same function as regular farming, i.e., it’s hard work but it provides reliable and predictable resources available throughout the year.
But that’s not finding power, that’s farming it.
Several months ago I did one of the most powerful workings I had done in a while, which transformed my life. There was no evoking correspondences or compass laying or invocations or spirit offerings.
I found a free-flowing source of incredible power (an eclipse, and I found it by looking up), called it into myself, and asked that it do something specific.
No candles, incense, bells, talismans, or whatever: the actual technique I performed was extremely basic energy work.
The results were humbling, and continue to humble me, and I believe it is probably beyond what I would have been able to accomplish working only through ‘farming’.
After all, I am a competent adult. I could build a fish farm. I could learn to keep it regulated and sustained to provide fish all year round.
But it doesn’t matter how good of a farmer I am, I’ll never be able to compete with the open ocean.
A lot of this stuff about Witchcraft techniques - if it seems like a lot, that’s because it is a lot; it seems like hard work because farming is hard work, and it seems like you must plan ahead so much because farmers must plan seasons ahead.
But that’s not all of Witchcraft, and homesteading your magic isn’t just farming - it’s wild foraging, too.
So if all this Traditional stuff seems a bit stuffy and laborious and lacking in spontaneity, perhaps it’s good to ask if you’re ever leaving the boundaries of your homestead and venturing out into the woods.
And all those planets and transits and holy days and plant lore and special tricks for foraging power without profaning it are not tedious rules, but maps that show pathways to wild foraging your own power, bringing great boons and benefits to uplift your seasonal farming.
In reviewing the content I made over a decade ago I realized that a lot of the differences in both my practice would be beneficial to share to others struggling with foundational concepts. What I have seen in the Community thusfar has lacked this perspective, which is by no means unique, but I think would benefit repeating regardless.
So, lets get to it, how do I make my altar?
Firstly I think it is important to ask yourself additional questions before you even start gathering items or spending money on ill-suited objects.
Some questions worth considering would be: Where will I be doing this work? Indoors? Outdoors? In secret? With others? Can the altar remain up or does it need to be frequently dismantled? What is my realistic budget? What is the most important item or element in order for this to be a workspace? How will I clean this? How will I dispose of items (both magical and mundane) after they’ve been exhausted or if they break? Will I update this altar seasonally? Will I update it for certain celebrations or feasts? Who will be aiding me in my work (if anyone, like gods, spirits and so on), How will I set a space for those elements of work? Is there a hierarchy? Do I need shelves or tiers or other methods of separating beings that may not agree to work below or above others?
Brainstorming before even doing this work is a crucial step I often see overlooked. People are in such a hurry to throw down candles on a tablecloth with some random bones that they don’t even know what they’re for.
If you do predominately love magic and work with sea spirits perhaps you don’t cover the workspace in plants you associate with baneful magic and fire. Maybe you want to do the work near a specific place that resonates with you so you need something that fits in a backpack. Maybe your altar IS A BACKPACK.
Maybe you stitch sigils and symbols into the fabric. Maybe you have pockets to denote each area of the the altar. Maybe you have different bags for different work and each is stored in different places when not in use. Maybe you work with planets and have a bag for each day of the week. Maybe you don’t.
So once you know what you want to do and figure out what materials you need to do it becomes a question of how you will obtain the items.
I HIGHLY encourage you to scour thrift stores, local artisans, trash pick (figure out the legal and ethical footwork there on your own), trade, create, and build. Altars of the past were both ornate and humble, you do not need any specific items for an altar to “count” aside from being able to do your work at it.
Which is all to reiterate that you do not need a $50 Etsy Witch Box of random bullshit. Buying one out of fear or lack of confidence will not make your workspace “valid” especially if you don’t use half of it anyways. What is important is the items resonate with you and serve a purpose. The joy of an altar is that is builds up over time with your craft. If it starts small then it starts small. What matters is if it gets the job done or not.
Some items to consider:
Candle holders: I have several thrifted taper holder varying in ornate material, I use the lids to tea bottles for tea lights, I use bark from my yard, I use thrifted small dishes and plates.
Candles: Beeswax candles supporting local apiaries will always be your best candles (this is my opinion obviously denoting that here so I don’t get comments). Soy candles not an option for a majority of work and offerings in my personal approach. That said you can even THRIFT CANDLES if you need to. Be careful using cheap candles because they can burn strange, and be made with unsafe inhalants. I use a majority of my budget for candles and food because that’s what matters in my craft. Mileage will vary.
Food: Any offering is valid if it works and suits your needs. If you are genuinely unable to offer any food there are edible items that can be foraged. If you are unable to forage edible items images of food may suffice in some instances but truthfully a few scoops of what you’re nourishing yourself with is a valid offering in many workings. In a lot of practices practitioners will also eat offerings after they have been offered. It depends on numerous variables.
Symbols: If you need a statue or a depiction of a God or Being or Spirit you can make it, even if you are not artistically inclined in the slightest. Collage, Sculpture, Paintings, Drawings, Printouts, Poems, Stories, Descriptions, Found Items, you are NOT limited by what you can use. You can use a rock with a Sharpie symbol on it if that resonates with you. What matters more is how you treat the item (with respect or lack there of depending on what work you’re doing).
Additionals: Books are great but you don’t need them, and if you do you can find them for free I promise you. I agree authors deserve to eat and I think you should definitely support smaller or independent publishers. I also personally have no issues with you ripping a PDF for an occult text written hundreds of years ago. Again those who translate deserve compensation so if you can toss them a couple bucks but if you can’t at this time do your best.
Notebooks can be acquired for cheap, check big box stores after Back to School sales and snag some. You can usually thrift some too, and then just decorate them over time if you don’t like their aesthetic. Alternatively Notes in your Phone is free in the meanwhile.
Water makes for a great offering all around, whether or not you subscribe to the whole ‘Moon Water/Solar Water’ or not you can also incorporate other methods of using water in your work such as bathwater or water you used to clean yourself, water from your mouth, water poured from a ritual vessel or water collected form a specific place, on a specific day, while reciting specific words. You can take any item and add layers to it, simply by incorporating additional elements that work within your practice.
Tools: A knife is a knife, use one you’ve got if you need it. Don’t have one? Designate a kitchen knife as tribute (I don’t suggest mixing magic and food unless you are specifically set on doing that. Both for magical and mundane sicknesses). Need a specifically Named pen for spells? Use whatever you have, the Naming of the item is the important part. A Sharpie is reliable to write on 99% of items and remains pretty permanent (unless you want it removed). Scissors? Glasses? Needles? Bookmarks? Bowls, Cups, it goes on. The intent and the process by which the items are given a purpose and power is the focal point. You can use a Solo cup and a Index Card if you need to is my point.
In all this I hope I can impart on you simply the idea that thinking about what purpose and item will serve FIRST and then acquiring the item after will save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.
If you thrift frequently having a running list of items you’re looking for before you go in will also help a lot.
Feel free to contribute in the reblogs and comments, I think that others who practice similarly have likely come up with other unique and similar solutions to problems we all sometimes encounter.
For anyone looking to cultivate a deeper relationship with their local land spirits or to engage in more active stewardship of their local biome, I’d like to recommend Land Healing by Dana O'Driscoll.
A follow-up to her other fabulous book, Sacred Actions, Land Healing is a comprehensive guide to land healing for neopagans and earth-based spiritual practitioners who have a desire to regenerate and heal human-caused damage throughout our world. The book presents tools and information to take up the path of the land healer with care, reverence, and respect for all beings. This book also puts tools in your hands to be an active force of good and learn how to actively regenerate the land, preserve life, and create sanctuaries for life–in your backyard, in your community, and beyond.
Dana O’Driscoll has been an animist, and bioregional druid for 20 years and currently serves as the Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America. She is also a druid-grade member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and is OBOD’s 2018 Mount Hameus Scholar. Dana took up the path of land healing because of the deep need in her home region of Western Pennsylvania, which is challenged by fracking, acid mine drainage into streams, logging, and mountaintop removal. Dana sees land healing as her core personal spiritual path, and has done both individual work in her home region as well as spearheading larger-scale land healing efforts at druid events and through the Ancient Order of Druids in America. Dana is a certified permaculture designer and permaculture teacher who teaches sustainable living and wild food foraging. She lives on a 5-acre homestead with her partner and a host of feathered and furred friends.
You can find out more about her practices and her publications by visiting The Druid’s Garden and you can also hear more on this recent episode of Hex Positive, where Dana talks about her newest book and the inspiration behind it.
Hex Positive, Ep. 054 - Witching With Your Local Biome
Spring has sprung at HexPos Central, but no matter what the weather looks like outside, there are dozens of species of plants to discover in your local biome. Grab your basket and field guide and take a walk through this month’s study exercise, where you’ll learn to observe, identify, and find magical uses for local flora.
(Listen to the end for commentary from Creative Director Havoc!)
Check my Wordpress for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on Instagram and WordPress, or as@breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my Patreon.
Intro & Outro – “Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
For more information on connecting with your local biome and responsible land stewardship, I recommend “Land Healing” by Dana O'Driscoll.
Often, I see many folk in the community asking permission to do things, requiring confirmation that it’s okay to do.
“Should I give this offering to said deity?”
“Can I add this to this spell?”
“Is it okay to do this instead of this-“ JUST TRY IT!! SEE HOW IT GOES!!
We have to accept the possibility of trial and error, and acknowledge the fact that it’s okay to do things our own way. It may yield the same results as another, for its intentions that matter after all in most cases; it doesn’t hurt to try something new (as long as, obviously, it’s not an act that will harm oneself or any other living thing)
despite what popular opinion may lead you to believe, some rocks actually do have scientifically-proven auras! Unfortunately, those rocks are uranium and the aura is cancer.
Though rock auras are rare, rock magic is common. The most common form of rock magic is Concussion.
Why do these all feel like footnotes from a Discworld novel?
Say a small prayer or do a short meditation before you get out of bed in the morning.
Write down dreams or visions you had.
Stir your first cup of coffee or tea counterclockwise to banish negativity and bad luck or clockwise to bring positive energy.
Draw daily tarot or oracle cards (you can also use a pendulum) for guidance.
Cleansing yourself and home using sound or smoke.
Ancestor or spirit offerings
Pick out your clothes, shoes, jewelry… ect with intention.
Write a sigil or petition paper and burn it.
Take a ritual shower. You can spice it up with candles, herbs, and crystals, or you can simply step under the water and imagine all the negativity and bad energy washing off you. You can also recite a chant.
Every time you look into the mirror, say an affirmation
Take a walk outside and ground yourself to Mother Earth.
Dance!! Dancing is an excellent way to rise the energy, and it helps with opening the sacral and solar plexus chakra and getting in touch with the inner child.
I understand that some people like to tell others ‘Blessed Be’, but please understand and respect that some people just don’t like that phrase and/or what its associated with. If you see that someone has reblogged this please do not tell them Blessed Be.
IT’S FINALLY HERE – the long-awaited Easter Rant! If you’ve been following me on tumblr, you may already know how salty I get about internet posts claiming Ostara and Easter are the same holiday…and you may know that I’ve gotten into literal fights over the topic. So once and for all, I’m laying it all out to explore the origins of both Easter and Ostara and to finally answer the age-old question: which came first – the bunny or the egg?
Special thanks to will-o-the-witch for reviewing my material to make sure my gentile ass was actin’ right and for correcting me on several very important points. Thank you for taking the time and for continuing to share your knowledge and insights with the community!
Check my Wordpress for full show notes and a list of sources, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events.
Follow the show on Twitter @hex_podcast for the latest updates! You can also find me as @BreeNicGarran on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and WordPress. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my Patreon.
Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop to purchase my books and homemade accoutrements for your craft!
Something I feel like people getting into folk magic need to understand, for many people of many backgrounds, is folk magic started as a means of survival. It was struggle magic, and it is still struggle magic.
Where I’m living now and where I’m from, people planted by the signs to ensure their crops wouldn’t go bad before harvesting. People used ocean water to soothe joint and muscle pains when they got old. People studied the native plants for medicine and were mindful to only take what was needed. People did little rituals and minded their grannies’ words to keep their good luck. If they didn’t know how to do something (or couldn’t), they went to people who did.
Learning folk magic to reconnect with ancestral traditions from before your time is valid. Learning folk magic to connect with and work with the land is valid. There are many valid reasons to take up folk magic. Still, understand that folk magic is survival, and folk magic is community.
|| Marcielle || 30s || Australian Witch practising for 15+ years || It's only safe to practice witchcraft while the world doesn't believe in magic || https://ko-fi.com/stormbornwitch
