Dandelions (scientifically known as taraxacum officianale) are little fluffy circles of sunshine no matter how badly my family tries to convince me they’re just weeds. They’re beautiful, useful is so many ways, easy to grow, edible root to flower, make great rest stops and pollen distributor for bees, and have so many magical benefits that I doubt I can list all of them here if I tried. But what I can do is list a few things they (and their parts) are good for.
Dandelion leaves: purification, cleansing, banishing negativity, and inviting happiness.
Dandelion root: inspiring wishes to come true, grounding, earth magic, divination, and sleep protection.
Dandelion flower: invoking joy, light, happiness, hope, and healing.
Dandelion stem: forming connections, growth, patience, and creativity.
Dandelion ‘fluff’: lightness, spreading your wings, and finding a new home.
Dandelion plant: growing a whole dandelion plant symbolizing grounding, growth, and new opportunities. Make an excellent altar plant.
Each part of the dandelion can be used in a variety of ways. Most of it is edible, and the dried flowers can make an excellent infused oil or dried for tea. Making a flower grown out of them is a common way to celebrate the coming of spring. Gifting bouquets of dandelions symbolizes friendship and well-wished for those you give it to.
Plus, bee food. God, bees are so cute.
As always y'all, practice in a safe, cleansed space, and always do your own research before trying something new. Blessed be everyone!
Thank you for your patience with me as I work through my issues, and thank you all so much for keeping my blog active and alive. Though I’ve been absent and unwell both physically and mentally for some time, I’m ready to come back with a few changes to help preserve my sanity. I appreciate each of you more than you know!
Just as a quick review (and introduction to those new followers of mine); hi there! My name is Ander, and I’ve been a practicing green/herbal/kitchen witch and Pagan for the past several years. As of lately, I work closely with Aphrodite, Salacia, Melinoe, and as of very recently, Dionysus. Most of my posts are beginner-friendly information-based posts, as well as tips, ideas, and lists. I’m disabled and currently waiting for approval for SSDI, so I am frequently tired and may take some time to answer messages, asks, or comments. That being said, I am re-opening asks (no anon, as I have received more than a few nasty surprises) so feel free to reach out with questions or comments.
To get back into the groove of things, I will be reblogging a few of my older posts as I work on a wave of new posts. :)
As for changes, y'all can expect just a few things.
Instead of daily posts, each post will be scheduled for either every other dayorevery three days depending on my brainpower. Most of the time, I will write multiple posts and schedule them, so my replies to any comments, questions, or tags on posts may take a day or two.
Each post will have the same beginning tags, with a few more related to the specific post type at the end. This is for the sake of reaching more people’s home page, making it easier to set up in my drafts, and keeping it all organized in my head. You are welcome to reblog without the tags, copy/paste the tags, or create your own.
If someone is causing trouble in the comments (again); tag me. I will delete their comments and block them.
As for reminders about my posts:
My Ko-Fi will be linked at the bottom of each post. You are never, ever required to tip/buy anything from it, but I appreciate the views and any help that may come through! There are also open commissions on there as well, as well as this post listing them if you don’t want to go through Ko-Fi.
If you want to argue with me or someone else in my comments, take it to your DMs. No one wants to scroll through nasty messages.
That being said, if you see a mistake (information-wise, a typo, anything), you are welcome to point it out or ask about it POLITELY in the comments. Nastiness will result in your comments being deleted and you blocked.
This is a safe place for LGBTQ people. Any slurs, negative comments, or bigotry will not be tolerated here. I am a trans, queer person myself and I won’t have people gatekeeping MY OWN PRACTICE because their mama didn’t love them enough to teach them how to accept others for who they are.
Yes, there are trauma jokes in a few posts. Whoops.
If anyone has any questions, comments, ideas, or requests for certain content, please feel free to comment or send an ask. I am more than happy to research anything you may be needing to know.
Again, thank you all so much for keeping my blog active, and I’m so excited to be providing content for y'all again!
I’m really excited to share something that many of you have asked about. For those who are interested in various spiritual items of my own creation, I have opened a shop! It’s still small, but it will be growing every so often as I receive donations and find acceptable recycled materials.
A few notes of interest: everyone in my shop is recycled and/or eco-friendly. There will be lots of witchy things, but also some standard eco-friendly swaps such as reusable handtowels to replace paper towels, wax fabric wraps, reusable hand warmers, etc. Keep an eye out for updates as I work on creating those items.
Tough times lead to magical measures. Here’s the recipe to my ultimate money jar that’s beginner-friendly.
What you will need
A medium jar with a lid
A green candle
A pen
A bay leaf
A star anise pod
A dollar bill/paper cash
Twine
1 tbs basil
1 tbs cardamom
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs ground cloves
1 tbs nutmeg
1 tbs rice
1 tbs sea salt
(Optional: Citrine, Tiger’s Eyes, or Clear Quartz piece)
What you will do
Cleanse your jar and money with your preferred method, then write “financial gain” onto your bay leaf.
Add in your salt, basil, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and rice in that order.
Place your bill flat against the counter and place the bay leaf on top. Roll the bill tightly and tie shut with twine, adding multiple knots. The more knots, the stronger the effect.
Add it into your jar and cap the entire affair, sealing it with green wax.
(If you have a crystal, press it on top of the wax while it’s still hot and let it seal on.)
How to make the most out of it
Magic won’t fix all of your problems. If you work, keep working: this just might help you get a bonus, raise, or large tip from a nice customer.
If you don’t work or if you’re on disability/waiting for disability, seek out ways to try and make a little cash under the table. This just may help you find something for an extra bit of gasoline or pet food. Keep in mind that spell jars are only as powerful as the intentions set behind them!
Okay, listen y'all, I know that making blends to use is just common sense. I know. You don’t have to say it. However, I am a dumbass, and sometimes my common sense is MIA. So this post is also for those who occasionally have their common sense going MIA.
Kitchen Witchery is my personal favorite kind of magic. It can involve all sorts of things, from just intentions to even adding crystals to the baking routine (I’ll make a post on that later). It’s a love language for me as well, so it’s a two-for-one. However, herbs are a very important part of this - so I make blends that I use often and with intentions.
Here are some of my personal blends. Some can be used for tea, some are great as toppings on desserts. Some can be cooked with. Use your imagination, there’s no limit!
Homesteading: Apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange, allspice, star anise, cloves, ginger.
To those that have been around my blog for a while, y'all know it ain’t a secret that strawberries are one of my favorite things, ever. To eat, to use in spellwork, to draw - strawberries are a delightful joy from mother nature and far too many of us take them for granted. To combat that, I came up with a pancake recipe guaranteed to delight - and to carry that delight all morning.
Strawberry Sweet Day Pancake Spell Ingredients: (For 6 pancakes)
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, blend together buttermilk, eggs, and butter/oil.
Mix together until just combined. There may be a few small lumps, but that’s fine. Let it sit for a few minutes (5-10) to let it hydrate.
While it rests, heat a non-stick skillet or pan on your stove on medium-high heat.
Carefully stir in your berries, then dollop ¼ cup of batter onto the pan. Once the edges are set and the bubbles aren’t filling in, carefully flip.
The first two pancakes are the Sacrificial Pancakes. If too dark, turn the heat down to medium and try again. Chef Snacks.
Top with preferred topping and ignore the dishes until your roommate asks for a pancake. Then they are obligated to was the dishes. Thems the rules.
Strawberries are great for a variety of things. They invoke sweetness into your life, and can help encourage you to take better care of yourself and those around you. Inspiration is also something strawberries can invite. Plus, they’re basically just dollops of manna from heaven. You may quote me on that.
In case y'all haven’t noticed, I love apples. Apple juice, applesauce, apple crisp, apple pie, apple crumble, apple cider… it’s absolutely one of my favorite fruits (second only to strawberries). But other than being delicious and nutritious - it’s also superstitious.
Okay, that was a bad word to use, but I really wanted a rhyme.
APPLES!
Let’s get down to the basics. Apples represent a whole ton of good, wholesome things. As seen in my Apple Cider Homesteading Spell post, we know that apples represent love, luck, prosperity, and healing. But what they can also represent is garden magic (which is exactly what it sounds like), fertility, and in some cases, lust/sexual tension. Apples are often offered to gods and goddesses of fertility.
But how do I use apples, Ander? Well for one, you can make me a pie. And for two, that’s a great question. Let’s make a quick list of ways I enjoy using apples in my witchcraft.
Kitchen Magic. As you all know, I am most aligned with being a Green, Kitchen, or Herbal witch. Cooking is a love language and so is infusing my food with magic to help those I love. Make an apple pie for your partner, made apple cider with your best friend, bake apple dumplings for your sister. Food can be infused with your intentions just like any other tool.
Offerings. For a house blessing, cut an apple in half. Eat half of it, and place the other half outside your front door. This will invite in a good future for your home!
HangingBlessings. If you have a dehydrator, thinly slice an apple into slices and let them get crispy. You can add whatever you like! Orange slices, cloves, nutmeg…. you get the idea. Once they’re all dry, string them onto some twine and drape it across your doorway to invite love, luck, and friendship into your life.
SamhainBurning. With preferably dry apple pieces, burn them after a silent dinner to honor those who may be reborn in the spring. It’s a sign of respect and thankfulness.
As always my lovely creepy crawlies, practice in a cleansed space and be safe! Blessed be
I just want to touch on what may be a sensitive topic for some of us.
Grief is a very difficult emotion to manage. It can be really big, and really frightening to face. Trust me, I understand. I have been there. But please, please, don’t expect witchcraft to be the only support you need.
It’s a wonderful tool to use in aid of recovery, but help is not bad. You are allowed to seek out those to mourn with, or those who specialize in emotional recovery. Therapy is a normal thing. There’s nothing wrong with it, and if you are grieving, it may benefit you.
Relief spells are great for emotional aches and pains, but grief isn’t just an ache and pain. It’s a potentially fatal injury. Please seek the care you deserve.
I’ve had a few people ask me to make a cohesive list of common uses of herbs, so here’s the post responding to those asks. I know I have quite a few posts about herbs, but I don’t think I’ve discussed things such as uses and how-tos, so this is a brief list of a few more common, easy uses.
Burning. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Burning herbs, or adding some to your smoke cleanse, is a beginner-friendly way to infuse your space with the effects of that herb. For example, adding a basil leaf to your smoke cleanse will help protect your space from outside influences. Be careful with this if you have pets or are sensitive to inhalants, and make sure to research if something is safe to burn.
Adding Whole. This includes things like ritual work, spell jars, etc. It’s the practice of using the herb as it is, be it dried, fresh, store-bought, however you get it.
Passive Whole. Using whole herbs passively is usually quick and easy. This usually applies to things like lavender under your pillow for good dreams or carrying acorns for luck.
Scattering. Just as it sounds. Scattering herbs around your space can infuse it with the effects of said herbs, similar to smoke cleansing. This is a good alternative if you have pets or are sensitive to smoke. This includes hanging dried bay leaves for protection or scattering salt around your space for cleansing.
Consumables. Mostly used in kitchen magic, this is the practice of consuming herbs to benefit from their metaphysical properties. You can add cloves or nutmeg to a latte, lavender into your tea, etc. It can also apply to cooking every day meals, so there can always be a touch of magic in your kitchen.
I know it can be difficult keeping up with your practices when you’re stressed, especially as the holidays come to a close and we’re exhausted. I hope my blog has shown you a few easy things you can do to passively practice. As always, be safe, do your research, and Blessed Be :)
Tips and Commissions for a struggling witch: Ko-Fi
I’ve gotten SEVERAL asks about research, so I’m just going to make a quick post about it and hope it strikes a chord with some of y'all.
Researching the metaphysical can definitely be tricky. There’s a lot of fake suggestions, and mockery from people who don’t believe in what we do. Between Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings jokes, there are a lot of people who are trying to help but have false information themselves.
So how do I tend to find my information? My main tool is cross-referencing. If I find some information that I think sounds genuine, I don’t just write it down and call it good. I find other sources, usually more than 6, and see what lines up. If multiple sources from different places suggest similar or the same information, that’s when I tend to keep in my grimoire. Over time, I tend to find sources where I repeatedly find good information that passes the cross-reference checks, and that’s how I find the books or websites that I keep in mind when studying.
Keep in mind that there is no such thing as knowing it all. There are going to be times when research fails you, and you have a mess to clean up. However, that is why we always have backup options: if you’re casting a spell, you have a ‘spell shut-down’ ready if things go south. If your spell jar ended up not doing what it needs to do, you have a sealed Dry Jar (a jar that holds deactivated spell jars or their ingredients) to keep it in.
Hopefully this advice does y'all well. Be safe, be smart, and don’t take anything for granted. Blessed Be :)
Tips and Commissions for a struggling witch: Ko-Fi
Powdered foxglove or agrimony, pine resin (to weaken)
Dolomite, kunzite, or zoisite (to help break down)
Frankincense (to burn away negative energy)
Coarse salt or iron shavings (for banishing)
Light a small fire in your cauldron or altar dish. Place your stone(s) on/around your workspace. Light the incense. Sprinkle the salt or iron into the fire to transform it to accept your intent. Picture the difficulties ahead of you and sprinkle the foxglove or other herbs into the fire while repeating:
“Decresce indevitatus obex meorum”
(Let the barriers before me diminish)
Extinguish the fire and bury the ashes by the dark of the moon.
Divination in all of its forms (tarot reading, tasseomancy; palmistry; pendulums, etc,.), can be quite exhausting and require large amounts of energy. These teas and tea blends will aid you in divining by enhancing your psychic power, and/or boosting your energy.
Tea Blends:
Psychic Tea (Scott Cunningham)
3 parts Rose Petals
1 part Cinnamon
2 parts Yarrow
Brew the tea, strain it and drink a cup before performing any form of divination as this tea enhances psychic awareness.
Tea for Divination (Moura)
1 tbsp China black tea
2 tbsp Lemon Balm
1 tbsp Rose Hips
1 tbsp Mugwort*
Brew the tea, strain it and drink either before divination or sip during/throughout.
Teas:
Jasmine Tea
Jasmine is said to induce prophetic dreams, which can aid in the growth of psychic power and psychic awareness making this tea a good choice of drink to be had before divining.
Drink 1 cup of this naturally sweet and fragrant tea before sleeping the night before you wish to divine.
Vanilla Tea
You can brew your own or buy ready-made Vanilla tea/tea bags. Vanilla enhances psychic ability and allows the benefits of this enhancement to be better felt and absorbed.
Drink Vanilla tea before and during any divination work to open yourself up and be more receptive.
Peppermint Tea
Peppermint tea heightens your psychic sensitivity, as well as working to clear the mind and sharpen focus. It can also be used to cleanse the mind and body of any negative energies beforehand.
This tea should be consumed beforeany psychic or divination based activities.
Some Other Things to Consider:
Some herbal tea blends may not be to your taste but this can be remedied by adding honey to taste.
Other herbs, such as Cinnamon, are used to add oomph to magick and can be added to tea blends and teas to do just that. If you don’t want to add pre-ground and grainy Cinnamon to your drinks, you can use a Cinnamon stick to stir instead. This will add the oomph you’re after without altering the taste too much.
If you want to make your brew even more potent, stir clockwise. This adds positive energy to your tea.
[*=This herb is harmful to pregnant or nursing women!]
Sneak Preview of The Sisters Grimmoire Vol. II - The Shining Web
Towards morning a dense damp fog lay over the whole neighbourhood; later on came an icy wind, which sent the frost packing. But when the sun rose, it was a glorious sight. The trees and shrubs were covered with rime, and looked like a wood of coral, and every branch was thick with long white blossoms. The most delicate twigs, which are lost among the foliage in summer-time, came now into prominence, and it was like a spider’s web of glistening white. The lady-birches waved in the wind; and when the sun shone, everything glittered and sparkled as if it were sprinkled with diamond dust, and great diamonds were lying on the snowy carpet.
- The Snow-Man (The Pink Fairy Book)
=====
Intent: To repel trouble from the home.
Materials:
Medium embroidery hoop
White yarn
Silver or light grey yarn
Glue
Paper plate
White and silver glitter (or color of choice)
Assorted charms / bells / chimes / herb bundles for protection
Large jump ring for hanging
Note: If you prefer not to work with glitter, metallic silver string or embroidery floss may be substituted when constructing the web.
Ideal Timing: This charm can be made at any time.
Construct a five-pointed star web within the embroidery hoop using the white yarn. Lay the hoop over the paper plate, apply glue to the yarn strands, and sprinkle glitter over top. Flip the web and repeat, then let it dry. Re-attach the outer hoop and tighten the screw. Wrap both halves of the hoop with silver or light grey yarn, weaving around the strands of the web where they anchor to the edges. Be careful not to distort the weaving you’ve already done.
Attach charms, bells, herb bundles, or talismans for protection to the five points, whatever you like. If you choose to use heavier items, such as wind chimes, stone charms, or suncatcher prisms, make sure the items are well-balanced and not too heavy for the mobile. String five strands of yarn from the star points to the jump ring and tie firmly, so that the hoop will hang horizontally, parallel to the floor, with the decorations hanging below.
Hang the web wherever it suits your fancy, preferably somewhere that gets a bit of sun so you can enjoy the sparkles!
Joringel went away, and at last came to a strange village; there he kept sheep for a long time. He often walked round and round the castle, but not too near it. At last he dreamt one night that he found a blood-red flower, in the middle of which was a beautiful large pearl; that he picked the flower and went with it to the castle and that everything he touched with the flower was freed from enchantment; he also dreamt that by means of it he recovered his Jorinda.
- Jorinda and Joringel
—–
Intent: To remove an enchantment or bewitchment placed upon another.
Materials: Jar with tight-fitting lid Photo of the bewitched person Herbs: Red Aster, Red Geranium, Red Poppy, Red Rose, Vetiver
Ideal Timing: Waning Moon
This spell is meant to remove an enchantment or bewitchment placed upon your lover, or upon someone you care about. It is not meant to break a curse or a hex, but more meant to return a person to their natural state when their attitudes or actions have been altered by magic.
Collect the petals of a red aster, a red geranium, a red poppy, and a red rose. Dry them in the sun until completely stiff. Combine these with four pinches of vetiver.
(Pro-tip: If you have trouble finding a particular bloom for spellwork, roses may be substituted for any other flower. In this case, Red Rose petals may stand in for the Aster, Geranium, and Poppy, if need be.)
Place the petals and pinches of herb in a jar with a photograph of the person who you believe is bewitched. Leave the jar in the sun for three days, then place the photo and the dried herbs in a sachet beneath their pillow.
If your lover is some distance away, retain the photograph in a safe place and either burn the dried petals, which will have absorbed the enchantment, or toss them into fast-moving wind or water to dissipate the spell.
- From the forthcoming book “The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells and Charms For Your Happily Ever After” by Bree NicGarran and Anna Zollinger
“Before I consent to your wish, I shall require three things - a dress as golden as the sun, another as silvery as the moon, and a third as glittering as the stars; and besides this, I shall require a mantle made of a thousand skins of rough fur sewn together, and every animal in the kingdom must give a piece of his skin toward it.”
[…] In the night, when every one slept, she rose and took from her jewel-case a gold ring, a gold spinning-wheel, and a golden hook. The three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars she folded in so small a parcel that they were placed in a walnut shell; then she put on the fur mantle, stained her face and hands black with walnut-juice, and committing herself to the care of Heaven, she left her home.
- The Princess in Disguise
—–
Intent: To protect and disguise oneself from those who mean to harm you.
Ideal Timing: Full Moon, for protection, but can be performed anytime.
Obtain an empty walnut shell. You can use the shells off of the whole bagged walnuts that most grocery stores carry in the produce section. Try to crack the walnut so that the shell comes away in two halves. This makes reassembling it for the charm much easier.
Mix the following herbs together in small pinches:
Dogbane - for disguise
Hyssop - for warding off harm
Basil - for general protection
Heather Blossom - for warding off assault
Juniper Berries - for secret-keeping
Poppy Seeds - for invisibility
Carefully stuff the herb mixture into the two empty halves of the walnut. Use little dots of glue to help the herbs stay in place. At the very last, add a strand of your hair or a nail clipping. Line the edges of the shell with glue and carefully fit them back together. Wrap them with the rubber band to keep everything in place until the glue dries.
Once the charm is dry, place it in a patchwork cloth bag. You can purchase one or make it yourself. It only has to be large enough to hold the walnut.
Hold the bag between your palms and say:
I garb myself in many skins To keep harm out and safety in I place the truth within this shell Now guard my life and guard it well
You can either carry the bag with you whenever you feel you need protection, or you can hide the bag in a wooden box if one is available.
This will burn your skin wtf. Don’t use this unless you have a carrier oil and only use a few drops of essential oil in it. Stuff like this is dangerous.
