Unwelcome Mat: A Spell for Home Protection

There are many ways to ward off negativity and magically protect our spaces. And the down-to-earth nature of cottage magic allows practitioners to make use of commonplace household items as powerful magical supplies. This can be a practical and accessible approach for many practitioners, it allows individuals to practice their craft even when they may have limited access to specialized tools or might prefer a more discreet form of magic. With a little time and ritual, everyday items can be repurposed for magical uses, imbued with intent and purpose that makes them just as powerful as more formal tools and supplies.

Crystals for Divination & Spirit Work: Enhancing Your Practice When the Veil is Thin

When the veil between the physical and spiritual realms becomes thinner, practitioners of magic are presented with an opportune time to enhance their divination and spirit work practices. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or just beginning your journey, crystals and gemstones can be powerful allies in connecting with the spiritual world and gaining deeper insights into the mysteries of the universe.

Study & Practice, Divination, Curios of MagicJohannaOctober 18, 2023crystals, gems, stones, spirit work, spiritwork, divination

Under the Thin Veil: Herbs & Spells for Personal and Spiritual Protection

As the leaves change and the air takes on a crisp chill, the magical energy of autumn permeates the air. This time of year is not only visually enchanting but also spiritually potent. During this period, the veil between the worlds is thin, making it an ideal time to focus on spiritual/magical protection and warding off negative energies.

Pumpkin Magic: Magical Ways to Use Pumpkins

Pumpkin season isn’t just for Halloween, nor is this fantastic gourd only good for carving jack-o’- lanterns, decorating for Halloween, or baking in a pie. They’re in-season from late August or early September through December, so if you’re only putting them to use in October, you’re missing out on loads of good pumpkin time. Pumpkins have a plethora of uses, especially in witchcraft. Much of what you’ll find in magical and herbal resource books only really acknowledges the pumpkin in its association to Halloween and Samhain, which is – if I may speak frankly – an absolute shame. The pumpkin is so much more than this, and in this blog post we’re going to explore some of the pumpkin’s many uses.

Roses in Witchcraft: Magical Uses for Roses

It’s spring in the northern hemisphere, and that means it’s the season of blooming roses everywhere! Or that’s the case ‘round my region. It’s now the perfect time to get out and harvest roses, petals, buds, thorns, and leaves, and to put them to magical use. In this post, you’ll find a collection of spells that anyone can try for themselves.

Curios & Symbols for Abundance Magic

Abundance is a hot topic word in many corners of the magical and spiritual communities. Perusing blogs and websites about magic, one will find a number of spells and rituals dedicated to attracting and manifesting abundance. Now, the word abundance simply means to have a lot of something. Although we may think of abundance as being focused on the amount of wealth we have or have access to, it can also refer to having one’s basic needs comfortably met, having an abundance of joy and happiness, or an abundance of opportunity. Abundance magic can be used to attract more prosperity into your life, bring customers to your business, open the doors for opportunity, or entice a wealth of love, happiness, and friendship into your life.

A is for Apple: Thirteen Magical Ways to Use Apples

The almighty apple – so commonplace, yet its uses are endless. It has countless magical correlations and applications around the world. The small, too oft unnoticed apple bears significant religious connotation as well – a fruit that has been historically used in invocational offerings to no less than a dozen deities and has gained symbological infamy. From its use in fertility and romance magic to its association with death and immortality, there seems to be very little the apple cannot do.

Books of Magic: Books of Shadows, Grimoires, and Magical Tomes

One of the first things that newcomers to the study and practice of magic are told that they need is often a Book of Shadows. New witches and other practitioners are told from the start that a Book of Shadows is one of the most important tools in their magical arsenal--but they often are not told how these books can help them, how they can utilize them, or what the alternatives are to the Book of Shadows.

How to Dry Your Own Herbs at Home

As we reassess our impact on the planet and society, more and more of us are looking into to home gardening and farm-to-home shopping as alternatives to sourcing food, spices and other goods from large businesses and far-away stories. Growing herbs at home is an excellent, budget-friendly, and small-space-feasible option for aspiring gardeners—and a natural extension for those of us who are already gardening. Many herbs can be grown in pots in the kitchen or on the windowsill and can thrive year-round indoors. This makes growing your own herbs a brilliant way to supplement your witchcraft supplies and to grow your own home apothecary.

Curios of Magic, Witchcraft 101ThomasinSeptember 3, 2021herbal magic, herbal magick, how to dry your own herbs, drying herbs at homeComment

How to "Calibrate" a New Tarot Deck (or Recalibrate a Used One)

I tried for years to learn to read Tarot cards—and faced a lot of frustration and disappointment. It wasn’t part of my familial practice and it didn’t come naturally to me. I had already been a practitioner of magic for more than 10 years when I finally had my aha! moment with Tarot. Suddenly, it seemed so obvious and so simple. I could read Tarot because I hadn’t applied my personal rituals and beliefs to reading Tarot. I had tried, instead, to condition myself to read with the rote memorization of books, rather than seeking to connect to the spirit of the Tarot deck like I would any other tool I used in my magical workings. I had never tried to bond with a Tarot deck, or with each card. I had never worked to create a link between myself and my Tarot the way I had with my runes.

An Exploration of Jar, Bottle & Container Spells

Examples of jar and bottle charms have been found across Britain and the United States. They have been mentioned in Black Books and grimoires found around Europe. Their use in the folk customs of Hoodoo and the conjure of the Black & African diaspora survives as part of a living practice. And, despite being most commonly associated with folk practices and traditional magic, these container spells have grown in popularity among practitioners of various modern practices as well.

Exploring the Use of Bodily Fluids in Magical Workings

The use of bodily fluids in magical working has been the subject of debate within magical communities for years, though this phenomenon has been present across history, in a number of different and sometimes unconnected cultures. Throughout the expansive history of magic around the world—and in a number of living folk traditions in the modern world—urine, saliva, sweat, blood and even semen have appeared alongside other traditional curios for magical working.

Curios of Magic, Study & PracticeThomasinOctober 23, 2020blood magic, bodily fluids, urine in magic, urine, taglocks, taglocks in magicComment

How I Collect & Use Graveyard Dirt in My Magical Practice

Within this type of traditional magic, true graveyard dirt—that is, soil that is collected from a cemetery—is considered magically significant both because of its connection to the dead and the spirit world, and due to the connection of the cemetery itself to the church. Historically, cemeteries existed in the churchyard, in the space between the church gates and the church itself. Thus, graveyard dirt calls upon the holy forces of the church, as well as the spirits of the people who were accepted by the church and buried within its gates. It can be used for holy purposed, such a protection, banishment and exorcism.

Collecting & Using Snail Shells in Folk/Traditional Magic

Despite their small size, the snail shell brings a powerful spirit to magical work due to the nature of the shell itself. Firstly, a snail grows its shell over time. Unlike certain kinds of crabs, snails do not outgrow and trade in their shells during their lives. They grow them, increasing their size as they get older and larger. This means that the snail’s connection to its shell is strong, just as another animal’s would be to their heart or their skull. Secondly, the snail’s shell always bears a connection to death. A snail cannot live without its shell. When we find these shells, it means that the snails that inhabited them have died, usually because they’ve been eaten by birds or insects.