#witchcraft

I’ve found that every once and a while my craft dwindles.

It’s not a sudden thing. It’s a slow drop-off that starts with “I’ll just postpone that ritual until tomorrow” and ends with “What, it’s June 21st already?”

It`s not sudden, but I’ve found that this has been a fairly normal thing. It’s human nature to get sidetracked and sometimes, things happen. Obviously, there are some things that just have to come before your witchcraft - health, family, school, work.

However, just because it’s normal doesn’t mean we have to just let it happen. The little things I place on higher standing than my own witchcraft? Those aren’t important. I knowthey’re not important, and yet I stillchoose them over the dedication I know I should have for a life I know I love.

For example: “Dear me: no, you don’t need to watch that new season on Netflix; it’ll still be there tomorrow. The full moon is now - and it’ll be another month before you see it again, and by then you’ll feel as though you wasted the time. You appreciate the moon - don’t just sit there and let it shine without you.”

Routine is one of the (many) things that can keep us grounded and mentally healthy. After a great loss, it’s encouraged that you just….. keep going (note: not to keep going as normal obviously. It’s important to grieve). Keeping a schedule never makes you feel at a loss of what to do.  When you’re unemployed, having goals for every day can keep you from laying in bed day in and day out.  When you’re a student, having a part-time job can keep you on your toes and make sure you feel challenged enough to keep at your studies. 

Productivity leads you to feel energized and accomplished. It helps you learn, helps you grow, and helps you find new passions and talents. With witchcraft, it is no different. No matter how much the ideas of “natural, untapped talent” “higher level of intuition” and “hereditary predestination” seem to pervade, we all know better. No-one is born with a higher level of talent, just as no one is born with a higher inclination toward science, or the arts. 

Nothing gets better without practice: piano lessons, language learning, math problems, and yes. Even witchcraft. You cannot feasibly attempt to do something that is far beyond the scope of your abilities, far beyond what you’ve already done. 

You cannot sit and play with spirits, placing bindings left and right, calling upon all manners of higher beings when you have yet to cast a simple circle.  

You can’t sit down with a Rachmaninoff piece when you’re still playing Mary Had a Little Lamb. Trust me, I’ve been on the crap end of bothof these examples. It just. Doesn’t. Work. 

As witches, we have chosen this path deliberately, mindfully, and fully aware of all the work that comes with it. We must therefore make a deliberate, mindful choice as to how we approach its practice and, in turn, its growth and eventual cultivation - with diligence and with dedication.

Here’s a sample of what that might look like. 

I chose a cycle of 13 days to keep things fresh (not having the same activity every single monday and never on a friday, for example) and also because I’m a walking stereotype. 

Here’s what it looks like:

• Day 1: Make something. An incense, an herb mix, a new recipe. Make anything. Try new ingredients. Get your hands dirty.
  
• Day 2: Write something. A spell, a ritual, a small chant. A new blog post, a reflection, a journal. 
  
• Day 3: Herb session. Research and reflect on a herb you’ve never worked with before. Think of its uses to you. Alternatively: think of a herb you use all the time for one thing, over and over. What else could it be used for, when you’re not stuck in a rut? Think outside the box.
  
• Day 4: A spell for others. Ask your friends, ask your relatives if they need anything done. If that’s not an option for you, think of general communnity problems and work on those. Try to stick grassroots. Don’t try to overthrow the potential of a Trump government when you know, maybe your neighbor’s garden isn’t doing so well, and they’re really bummed out about it. Maybe give those plants a hand, and your neighbor’s spirits a lift.
  
• Day 5: Trance. Meditation, astral projection, shapeshifting, whatever. The bottom line is this: get your mind out of your body for a while. This is a great time to work on any latent talents or abilities you’ve always wanted to stretch out.
  
• Day 6: Research. A new tradition, a new craft, something you’ve not known about before. (This is a great way to learn about other cultures – just also being mindful of cultural appropriation as you do)
  
• Day 7: You`re mid-way through the 13 day cycle! Give yourself a tarot reading (or similar divination/reflection process) to assess the parts that resonated with you and what parts didn’t. See what the rest of the week has in store for you, and check to see what you should be focusing on in the coming days. Almost like a check-up.
  
• Day 8: Another spell for others (see day 4).
  
• Day 9: Another out-of-body day (see day 5).
  
• Day 10: Honest, meaningful connection. This could be a whole host of things. For some traditions, it might mean connecting to the elements - spend a day ruminating on fire, perhaps. For others, this could mean connecting to the spirits of your area, visiting a nearby sacred space. This could mean talking to your familiars, or even your ancestors. Make it count.
  
• Day 11: More research (see day 6). Maybe inspect a new author, look into their works, maybe read a book you’ve been  meaning to for ages. 
  
• Day 12: Do a spell for yourself!  This is a nice way to end the cycle, I think, having had 12 days previous to learn new things and expand old ones. You might have lots of ideas swimming around in there. Maybe a new herb to use for a confidence spell, maybe a new technique on knot magic you’re dying to try. 
  
• Day 13: End-of-cycle tarot reading (or whatever you use). Reflect on the past 13 days, notice what you’ve achieved, celebrate all the things you’ve learned. And ask yourself: what would I like to learn next week? Or, more importantly: how can I improve? How can I keep expanding?
  

This is my personal 13 day schedule that I repeat as often as is physically possible for me, even with a full time job and a lead-up to medical exams. I take breaks in the cycle when necessary: if a new moon lands on a research day, for example, I’ll shift the cycle forward one extra day, do a new moon ritual that night and continue on with research tomorrow.  

It might look different to others. Newer witches might want to do more 101 research and basics such as divination. Witches who specialize in spirit work might not care about doing spells for others, or spells at all. This is totally personal, and not at all a standard. There are plenty of witchy activities I haven’t even mentioned yet. Feel free to mold and shape it as you will, and find a schedule that fits you. It took me quite a few tries to find mine, after all.

But I’ll without a doubt say to you: if there’s one thing I’ve found has helped my witchcraft grow the most, even exponentially? It’s not any new book, any new altar decoration, or any new spell kit. It’s this. 

Just hard work, diligence, and the revival of the same bright passion I had for this craft over a decade ago.

I haven’t posted anything witchcraft-related in like…forever…

Any requests?

Zeus is gravity– unseeable, unknowable, defying human understanding. He holds the planets in place. He slingshots rockets back home. He cradles Earth in a steady orbit and tells them that they are safe.

Hera rests on the rings around Saturn. She drapes herself across their icy surface, riding their steady rotations, ever-watching, ever-awake. 

Artemis holds the moon in her hands. Some call her goddess of the moon, but she knows that she is but a friend to Selene. She watches in awe as Selene glows, and she tries to bring that peace back to the forest with her.

Apollo lights up his sister’s hands as he rests upon the Sun. He surrounds himself with light, and he tries to find music in between the sunspots and the harsh solar winds. When he can’t find any music, he makes it for himself.

Hestia kindles the flames of the stars. She watches them grow up, and she mourns at their supernovas. She paints Earth’s skies with constellations, and she tries to keep the world aglow despite their dying light.

Poseidon takes pleasure in placing water in places where no one dares to look. He crafts great oceans in distant planets, at the center of unexplored moons. He knows that life is sacred, even if it is unknown.

Ares hurls meteors across distant skies. Asteroids are his cannonballs. Comets are his bullets.

Aphrodite watches in awe as Ares’ ammunition glides through the atmosphere. She sets them aglow and calls them shooting stars. She listens to the faraway wishes, but she can’t grant them all.

Athena plants ideas in the minds of faraway astronomers and cosmologists. She whispers of string theory, of the multiverse, of membranes, of dimensions. She smiles as ideas become theories and theories become facts.

Dionysus sends out constant reminders that the universe can never make sense. He muddles Athena’s great ideas and reminds us that the world doesn’t have meaning– it just is.

Demeter grows galaxies as if they are crops. She names them as if they are her children, “Sunflower”, “Andromeda”, “Tadpole”, and she nurtures them from seeds, waiting for the day that they will be ready for harvest.

Hephaestus sculpts quarks into atoms, atoms into elements, elements into entire nebulas. He knows that the other deities rely on him to make the universe work, but they seem to forget.

Hermes is the speed of light. He knows that he can’t be matched, can’t be broken, can’t ever be surpassed. He is infinite.

Hades sleeps at the center of blackholes. He pities those who quiver at the chaos, the terror, the horrible uncertainty of his gaping cracks in space; he knows that there is nothing to fear about darkness.

Hello everyone! It’s been AGES since I’ve posted a Harry Potter inspired post. This isn’t really so much a spell or anything “serious”, but I thought it might be fun to equate the Hogwarts magical curriculum with magic that can be studied in the real world. This curriculum probably isn’t very practical to follow exactly, but it might be a fun guide for the beginning witch to help guide you in your magical learnings. Perhaps the “years” can be condensed into shorter time periods (like months, for example?) to help make the curriculum a bit more practical. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

First-Second Years:

First years are sorted into one of the four houses (you can find plenty of quizzes online to help find out which house you belong in). Use this masterpost to learn more about your house and how it can relate to your real-world magical practice.

Required core classes:

Charms– Basics of spellwork, casting etc.

Potions– Basic kitchen witchcraft

History of magic– Study of the history of witchcraft throughout different cultures, time periods etc.

Defense against the Dark Arts– Basics of magical protection, cleansing etc.

Astronomy– Basics of astrology, planetary witchcraft (aka space witchcraft)

Herbology– Basic green witchcraft and herbalism

Flying– Basics of astral travel, not necessarily performing astral travel at this level yet. Optional for second year.

Transfiguration– Basic energy work & manipulation

Third-Fourth Years:

Each of the above core subjects should be continued at more advanced levels (flying is optional).

Students must choose a minimum of two of the following elective courses:

Arithmancy– Numerology for divination purposes, sacred geometry

Divination– Tarot reading, tea leaf reading, scrying, and other means of divination

Care and Keeping of Magical Creatures– Study of magical creatures, spirit work, fairy craft etc.

Study of Ancient Runes– Use of runes for divination and magical purposes

Muggle Studies– Use of witchcraft in everyday modern life

Fifth Year:

Classes are continued as in the 3rd and 4th years.

Magical skills and interests are assessed. Courses for the next year are determined based on these skills and interests. Courses may be specialized to fit the student’s needs and skill levels.

Sixth Year:

Certain core classes may be dropped at this time to make way for the classes that are of the student’s interests and skill-levels.

Optional: Apparition– Remote viewing, visualization skills etc.

Optional: Alchemy– Elemental magic studies

Seventh Year:

Classes continue on normally from the sixth year. Apparition will not be offered, but alchemy will still be available.

Extracurricular Activities:

Available all years. Can be used to help students explore their own personal interests.

Ancient Studies– Similar to History of Magic with an emphasis on ancient magical practices

Art– Sigil design and usage

Frog Choir, Music, Orchestra– Incorporating music and songs into witchcraft

Ghoul Studies– Spirit work

Magical Theory– Philosophical and theoretical approaches to different types of magic and how they work (see theseposts for some examples)s

Xylomancy– Obscure, overlooked, and uncommon forms of divination

I hope you enjoyed! Much of the information about Hogwarts curriculum is appreciatively sourced from the Harry Potter wiki :) Thanks for reading,

Livi