Place a sprig of rosemary with your kindling to honour the dead/death and to protect yourself
Light your bonfire - CAREFULLY
Place some dark crystals like obsidian and smokey quartz around your fire - a safe distance away so they don’t get caught in the flames
Cast your circle
You may wish to do some meditation or mindfulness at this stage
Throw in a sprinkle of salt to protect yourself from wandering spirits, negative energies and for the new year ahead
Throw in a sprinkle of cinnamon for success in the year ahead
Write a bad habit you wish to dispel or a new years resolution on a bay leaf or on a piece of paper and throw into the flames
Walk around the bonfire in a clockwise rotation, mirroring the Wheel of the Year. You may wish to do the above three steps as you circle the flames. Speak these words as you walk. “On Samhain, I call to the Spirits, magick and energy To bless my year and bless my heart Fire burns as the new year starts I honour those who have passed With this fire, my spell, I cast!”
You’ve probably heard or seen talk of bonding with your tarot deck, and it might seem like an outlandish and strange practise (let’s be frank, and say that most of what we do is seen as outlandish and strange), but many witches and diviners swear by it, citing better readings and growth as a diviner upon bonding with their decks.
WHAT DOES “BONDING WITH YOUR DECK” MEAN?
Bonding with your deck is exactly what it describes: it means that you - the owner of the tarot deck - form a spiritual bond with your cards. That’s the bones of it!
WHY DO SOME CONSIDER IT IMPORTANT?
Some tarot readers believe that forming a bond with your deck means that your deck will be more compliant with you when you’re doing readings, resulting in clearer answers and more accurate readings overall.
It is believed by some, that decks have their own personalities and will choose whether or not to work with you and thus, bond with you. If you believe this to be the case, forming a bond with a deck that is initially vague and/or even hostile can change the dynamic over time and render the deck more co-operative, which may aid your ability as a reader. Trying to get a clear answer from cards that, in layman’s terms, don’t like you is like trying to get information from an enemy - difficult, frustrating, and draining.
Think of the bond you share with your deck like a friendship: both sides want to be happy and benefit in some way from the bond you share.
DO I HAVE TO BOND WITH MY DECK?
You don’t have to, no. It’s all down to personal preference and how you feel you work best as a diviner. Use your intuition and your beliefs to determine whether or not you’d benefit from bonding with the tools you use for divination.
As stated above, some practitioners feel that if they don’t form a strong and positive bond with their tarot decks, the deck will begin to give off negative energies that can be passed on to you by handling the cards. Some believe that you cannot truly and accurately interpret the cards you draw without this bond. Using the same analogy as before, think about friendships: friends are often more willing to give you detailed information than strangers.
WAYS TO BOND WITH YOUR DECK:
Sleep with it under your pillow.
Spend time shuffling them and drawing them to familiarise yourself with the energy of the deck as a whole, as well as individual cards.
Do daily one-card draws.
Shuffle them absent-mindedly.
Carry your deck on your person throughout the day, if you can do so.
Meditate with the deck in front of you or whilst holding it.
BONUS: You can do spreads like [X] and [X] to get to know your deck too!
The more I think about this Winter Solstice full moon, the more excited I get. She’ll be a bright guardian to keep vigil with us through the longest night, Her light reminding us to seek our center, to have a fullness of self from which we can weather change and stay grounded through cycles, an anchor to keep us rooted to our spirit. As the sun rises, the first day to begin growing longer and longer from here, She will set and begin to wane, providing a Divine balance on a night most often known for extremes. What a blessing.
For when you’re sad or know you will be soon, and need a little something to bring you up.
Questions:
–Something positive about myself –Something positive in my life that should be recognized and appreciated –A way to lift myself up when I am feeling down –A reason to hope
My spreads are free to use so long as I retain credit for creating the spread and you are not making money from the reading. Do not repost or remove caption.
✧
Use an Amethyst crystal to absorb negative energy in a room or from your aura. If you want a more powerful sachet you can change it for Black Tourmaline.
***
Question answered for September in our Patreon! Right now any Patreon(starting from $1) can ask questions every month and we answer them ✧٩(•́⌄•́๑)و ✧ By doing so you help us in our magical journey and to keep creating!!
Aries - Valhalla, the home of the greatest warriors of Norse Mythology who were honored after their death in battle.
Taurus -
Jötunheimr, the home of frost giants with superhuman strenght, consisting of wilderness and rich in breathtaking landscapes.
Gemini - Midgard, the home of humans. Humans are known for their duality, they are complicated. They build something, destroy it, they want to have it back, they change themselves and build it up again, then destroy it and the circle continues.
Cancer -
Járnviðr, the forest east of Midgard and the home of a troll woman who raised children of Fenrir, a monstrous wolf.
Leo - Asgard, the home of gods, ruled by Odin. It is the most beautiful and fertile realm of them all.
Virgo - Vanaheimr, the home of old gods, associated with wisdom and fertility, nobody knows where their land is as they are skillful enough to hide it after the war with the gods from Asgard.
Libra -
Álfheimr, the home of white elves, incredibly beautiful and charming creatures who were inspiration to art and music.
Scorpio - Helheimr, the home of the dishonorable dead who once enther the realm will never feel happy and satisfied again.
Sagittarius -
Bifröst, the rainbow bridge located between Asgard and Midgard
that enables travelling between all the Nine Worlds.
Capricorn -
Niðavellir, the home of dwarves, the greatest workers of Norse Mythology, who crafted the most powerful weapons including Mjolnir.
Aquarius -
Svartálfar, the home of dark elves, known for their intelligence and rebellion.
Pisces - Niflheim, the home of fog and mist and the dead, the first and the most mysterious land of them all.
Many people associated black with evil or malintent, however it can mean quite the opposite. Some common meanings and uses of this color include:
- Removing Negativity, Banishing, and Cleansing
If you feel there is a negative energy or spirit in your or someone else’s house, life, mind, or anything else you can think of, black is the color to use. Even though black is usually seen by TV shows and books as the “evil” color, it is actually quite useful when it comes to removing negativity.
- The Unconscious
Think of your mind as a house. Your conscious being is illuminated, similar to a kitchen, living room, or bedroom. You know where everything is and you can see it. Your unconscious would be the attic or the basement: dark, mysterious, and sometimes you’re afraid to delve deeper. Black represents the darkness found in the unconscious, helping connect you to the mystery of the untouched parts of your mind.
- Releasing
If you have pent up emotions that you need to release, black can help you get there. I personally think of it as a vial of ink, bottled up words yet to be written with countless stories and possibilities, that is knocked over, spilling ink all over, releasing everything it holds within it’s black sheen.
- Focusing and Finding Your Center
Black is a firm color, remniscent of deep, rich soil. It is a firm ground you can always turn to whenever you feel lost. Within it you can find yourself and countless reasons to hold on.
So, this is kinda basic. Yeah, I know. But white makes a great substitution for any color you don’t have access to, as white light is the combination of all colors. Essentially, don’t feel like you have to spend money to procure, let’s say, an orange candle for a specific ritual. As I like to say, if you have white it’s alright.
- Purification and Innocence
White is a pure and innocent color, simple yet powerful. Use it when you want to clean energies—not banish negative energies, but rejuvinate old, positive energies—or when you want to reminisce on simpler days.
- Spirituality, Higher Power, and Enlightment
White is the color to go to when seeking guidance from general spirits and general higher powers/energies. However, if you are working with specific entities or deities, make sure to check to see if they have their own color correspondences.
If you feel your life is chaotic and just want to have some stability in your life, silver is the color to go to. A spell or a ritual involving the color, or visualizing it while doing a ritual, can help bring a balance to whatever you are working with.
- Neutralizing and Removing Influences
Silver is another good color when it comes to removing any influences in your life, whether they are negative or just plain annoying.
If you want to bring luck to your life, especially when it comes to money, gold can help you get there. Creating a sigil with a gold marker or pen can help add that extra financial flair you’re looking for.
- Persuasion and Confidence
When I think of gold I think of warmth, excellence, and golden rays of sunlight. These remind me of a certain confidence we all hope to have one day; we can become our own beams of sunshine. Using the color gold can help boost your confidence and your persuasion skills by showing people the light within you.
When performing a love spell, whether it deals with self love, romantic love, platonic love, or familial love, use pink. It is a color that just pours its love and affection out, and using the color can help your harness that energy.
- Anxiety and Depression
Now, when you see anxiety and depression as two of the meanings, you may be confused. However, pink is a color that heals the soul, and it can help lower the feeling of dread that can overwhelm you at times. (Please know, that going to a professional therapist and doctor is ALWAYS the first step, not a spell, no matter what medical affliction you may have. Witchcraft is an aid, not an answer.)
Purple is the color often used to represent magical abilities as a whole. With it comes an energy that feels unlike anything you’ve felt before, something truly amazing. Embrace that energy and you will find that a whole new world will open before your eyes.
-Sleep and Dream Magick
If you want to create a spell to cause certain dreams or to aid your sleep, purple is the color to use. It is reminiscent of the many worlds our subconscious creates for us when we let the curtain of sleep take over us, an endless world of possibilities.
- Meditation and Astral Projection
When meditating or trying to astral project, it may be useful to visualize the color purple flowing throughout you like a cosmic energy. Let it bring you closer to what you once thought was too far away to access; let it bring you closer to the stars.
- Wisdom and Inspiration
If you require wisdom or inspiration, whether it be in witchcraft or some other aspect of life, the color purple can help you get there. It is a creative color, as shown through it’s association through dreams and overall magic, let it guide you to a solution. Often if I am working on homework that requires a little bit of creativity and hit a block, I’ll get out one of my purple pens and start doing the work with that, letting the ideas flow through me and onto the paper. This isn’t limited to just writing or art, however, as even math and science require a creative mind.
- Power
Purple has long been the color of royalty and power, and it can be used as such in your spells. Use it to increase the power of any spell that you wish to perform.
When working with either the element water (whether in a symbolic sense or you’re working with an elemental) or working with the weather, use blue to connect you to these wonders of nature.
- Harmony and Peace
These meanings trace back to water, taking water’s calm and sharing it with the world. Think of it as sitting on the beach, letting the cool water gently caress your legs as you think about the amazing life you’ve been given. Within the blue seas you find peace and harmony, let is seep into your soul and your life.
- Loyalty and Protection
Blue represents loyalty and protection. Use it in spells involving protecting yourself and others, as your loyalty to your friends goes hand in hand with protecting them.
- Mind and Inner Light
Almost a cross between purple and gold, blue is another great color to connect to your mind and share your light with the world.
If you wish to connect more to our planet in a ritual, use the color green. Think of the grass, the forests, and all of the other life sprawling across this planet.
- Money and Abundance
If you want to make sigils or spells to draw money to you, use a green candle, pen, paper, or whatever tool you may be using.
- Headaches, Colds, and Nervousness
Green can help remedy ailments. Think of the Earth taking you into her arms, soothing you of all of your pain. Use green when doing spells and rituals to calm your mind and sense. (If you have chronic migraines and headaches, please go see a doctor. They will give you prescription medicine to help, and it’s what I use whenever I get a bad mirgraine, not a spell.)
If you need to contact a spirit or any entity from another realm, yellow can be useful. I will say that personally I rarely use yellow when contacting spirits, however I know many people who do and it significantly helps.
- Air
Since air is something that we cannot literally see, yellow is the color often used to respresent the element.
- Intelligence and Learning
Yellow is a great color to use for spells when it comes to studying for school and doing well on tests. Sometimes I’ll draw sigils in my yellow pen when I’m freaking out about a test.
- Skin, Stomach, and Menstrual
If you’re doing any spells or rituals dealing with these parts of the body, use yellow in your tools to enhance its effects.
If you need to increase your control over certain parts of your life, orange is a great color to use. It’s a powerful color with a mind of its own and you can use it to show others you have those traits, too.
- Sudden Change and Adaptability
Orange can help you deal with change, similar to the season fall, where the temperatures drops and all of the green changes to orangey hues. Imagine yourself as a strong oak who is not going to deny change and embraces it instead.
Strong, powerful, and unpredictable, red is the color representing the element fire.
- Passion and Sex
Being two of its most common associations, passion and sex are fueled by red’s flame. Any spells and rituals dealing with increasing passion in your love life can use red to help increase its effectiveness.
- Life, Birth, and Death
Red also represents the phases of life, so if you want to make a spell dealing with age or death, red is the color to use.
- Blood
Any blood magic should include the color red. However, blood magic is VERY advanced and VERY dangerous, so please wait until you are very experienced and make sure to stay safe when doing any such magic.
- Health, Strength, and Vigor
Any general spells dealing with someone’s well being and strength can use red to help increase it’s effects. This ties in with blood, as it is the key to our physical bodies.
Well, if you’ve read through all of this thank you so much! I just want to state that these are not the only meanings, just some, and everyone has their own personal correspondences.
So, today I’ve decided to dedicate myself to making a post about the 5 elements. I know many of you may be trying to find information on how to work with the elements, and I know some of you probably didn’t even know about the 5th one. So, here you go, lovelies!
- If you are doing a certain season or environment you can substitute in other colors as well, for example white in winter or the Arctic to represent snow-covered ground.
When should you work with Earth?
- Grounding rituals
- Growth spells
- Protection spells
- Working with your subconscious/deep thoughts
- Abundance/harvest spells
- Life and death spells
- I don’t know if this is common, but I personally associate Earth and menstrual magic.
How can you work with Earth?
- Even though crystals have their own individual properties and associations, all crystals and stones can trace back to Earth, making them great for connecting with it.
- The Suit of Pentacles (tarot card)
- The direction North
- The numbers 4 or 8
- Some great herbs and fauna to work with include but are not limited to: bistort, briony, cinquefoil, fern, honeysuckle, jasmine, mandrake, pennyroyal, and sage.
- If you are working with ghosts or faeries, Air is very useful.
- If you are trying to implement change and create new beginnings.
- If you are trying to work with Fire and Water simultaneously for a spell or ritual, air acts as a great buffer/bridge.
- General prayer and worship. (If you are worshiping a specific deity, I highly recommend you look up what element they’re associated with. However, Air represents power that we cannot see or capture, so general spiritual beliefs tend to be represented by Air.)
- Spells that are very secretive, as Air represents whispers.
- Sending out a message.
- I personally associate it with general divination, clairvoyance, and past lives however there is also an importance to using other elements when it comes to these sorts of practices.
How can you work with Air?
- Focus on your breathing while doing a spell or ritual.
- The direction East
- The Suit of Swords (tarot cards)
- Wind, although direction matters. East wind = power, South wind = potential, West wind = relationships, North wind = working through struggles.
- Using vocals or music in a spell or ritual.
- The numbers 1 and 8.
- Some herbs and fauna to use to represent Air include but are not limited to: anise, Irish broom, caraway seeds, comfrey, eucalyptus, lavender, meadowsweet, mint, nutmeg, thyme, and wormwood.
- Acacia, elder (technically a bush but it has wood), and hazel trees
- Blue and white can be used to represent stronger flames.
When should you work with Fire?
- Personal strength spells
- Manifesting
- Passionate and physical love spells
- Motivation spells and rituals
- Creativity spells
How can you work with Fire?
- Use candles and candle magic
- Burn incenses and herbs
- The Suit of Wands and the Tower and Devil Major Arcana (tarot cards)
- The direction South
- The numbers 3 and 11
- I find that making sigils and then tearing them to pieces activates them with Fire’s energy when I can’t burn them.
- Some herbs and fauna used to represent Fire include but are not limited to: anemone, angelica, basil, betony, cacti, cinnamon, clove, coriander, dill, dragon’s blood, frankincense, garlic, holly, juniper, marigold, onion, peonies, pepper, rosemary, rue, saffron, thistle, tobacco, vanilla, and walnut.
- Oak and rowan trees
- Many flavors and spices correlate to Fire (ex. garlic, cinnamon, and vanilla) meaning that a lot of kitchen magic can be used, especially baked/warm goods as an oven is yet another way to connect with Fire.
- Love and compassion spells - can be romantic, familial, or platonic.
- Spells to help adjust to change
- Looking into ourselves and others.
- Creating a community - whether it be a coven or strengthening ties with friends and family.
How do you work with Water?
- Water divination - I’ll probably make a post delving into this subject sometime.
- Doing spells according to the phases of the moon - I’ll probably make a post on this sometime, too.
- The Suit of Cups and the Moon and Lovers Major Arcana (tarot cards)
- The direction West
- The numbers 2 and 22
- Dissolving sigils
- Making potions
- Some herbs and other fauna often associated with Water include but are not limited to: apple, burdock, chamomile, cucumber, gardenia, geranium, ivy, lettuce (don’t use this one for romantic love spells, it’s an anaphrodisiac), myrrh, myrtle, orange, pansy, periwinkle, poppy, rose, tonka beans, valerian, violet, and yarrow.
So, this is going to be done slightly different from the others, as Aether (as I prefer to call it) isn’t a physical element unlike the others. I want to say that many people determine Aether differently depending on their beliefs, these are just mine.
So, what is Aether?
Aether is the energy surround us, the energy we call “magic”. Our realm is one of many, and unlike some others ours is a material world. As we stopped looking to the stars for answers and began to look at our own resources we lost sight of Aether. Yes, we did amazing things, and I as a STEM major do agree that these things are wonderful and beautiful. However, the beauty of Aether is something that outshines any of man’s achievements. It reminds me of the awe I get from the sheer force of nature: untameable. However, just because we cannot tame it does not mean we cannot use it and connect with it. This element is the core of witchcraft, religion, and spiritual belief.
I see Aether in many different forms, personally. I think of it as electricity, dark matter, gravity, plasma, forces we know exist but we cannot see. I also see it as the unknown, that which we cannot see so we decide it does not exist.
How can we connect to and use Aether if we can’t see it?
- Meditation: Your average stationary meditation can help you feel the energy around you whereas movement meditation can help you feel the energy move through you.
- When looking for symbols to represent Aether, spirals - never ending circles extending outwards - are the most common symbols. I personally find that circles themselves are great representations of Aether, as they are infinite.
- The colors black and white as well as the rainbow. Since Aether is all-encompassing, it’s hard to pin it down to just one color. Since black is a paint mixture of all colors, white is the light mixture of all colors, and the rainbow is simply all colors these are what is often used to represent Aether. On a personal level I feel like Aether generally connects to the color purple, as purple represents magic as a whole.
- The Major Arcana (tarot cards)
- Although Aether is all encompassing, it is often specifically addressed in communicating with spirits and entities from other realms, arcane magic, energy manipulation, illusion spells and rituals, and reaching beyond our physical limitations.
- The number 1 is often used to describe Aether, as it is a starting point for everything.
Well, I hoped you guys liked this! If you have any suggestions for new posts or want to request a post based off of this (like water divination and phases of the moon) you can leave a comment on this (the comment system or reblogging it and leaving a comment) or send me a message and I’ll make sure to make a post!
Remember I love each and every one of you and I hope you have an amazing day!!!!
