Simple Magick: 30 Low-Energy Magickal Activities

Small, simple low-energy magickal activities are important to my practice. They join the dots between bigger celebrations, rituals and work. 

They’re perfect for when you are feeling unwell, low on time, or disconnected from your Craft. Sometimes we need to rely upon low-energy activities to see us through a period of spiritual drought; until we can step things up a gear or commit to our Craft more fully.

Gratitude, mindfulness and seeing the magick and the joy in everything, are also helpful tools in any practice.

• Burn incense intentionally ~ watch the smoke carry your ideas and intentions
• Light a candle ~ concentrate on a thought, intention or affirmation
• Read a witchy book
• Write witchy poetry 
• Draw a witchy sketch
• Read up on a festival/sabbat if you’re not able to celebrate/observe it
• Make magickal plans 
• Journal 
• Listen to some witchy/pagan/inspiring music 
• Create some incense 
• Update your Grimoire 
• Clean your altar
• Watch a witchy film or documentary
• Write a letter to a witchy friend 
• Discuss the nearest sabbat/festival/season
• Bake something seasonal
• Meditate 
• Design spellwork for later 
• Go for a small walk and observe what nature is doing 
• Create a sigil
• Reflect on the nearest sabbat/festival/moon phase and the last turn of the Wheel
• Create a seasonal simmer pot using appropriate herbs and ingredients 
• Make a hot drink and stir appropriately to banish or attract
• Daydream out the window 
• Do some cloud watching ~ look for messages 
• Draw sigils/symbols/runes on plates before plating food
• Do some witchy art/crafts 
• Go outside ~ even if briefly ~ to look at the Moon 
• Do some simple divination ~ eg. Tarot reading or scrying
• Take a witchy bath ~ let the things you no longer need drain down the plughole

The list is endless, and I imagine many of us will do most of these. What would you add to this list?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Find Your Magick
NEXT - Simple Magick: Altar Dressing
NEXT - Moon Magick: Making Moon Water

Honouring Nature: Winter Foraging

We had our first frost on Tuesday ~ time to pick sloes if you’re making gin ~ and there are loads of mushrooms on the cemetery, which got me thinking about foods that can be foraged at this time of year.

You might imagine that with the wet and cold there wouldn’t be much, but this is far from the case.

Mushrooms 

There are plenty of mushrooms available from November to February in the UK. From the Common Oyster to the Winter Chanterelle, the most important factors are knowing 100% what you are picking (you’ll only eat the wrong mushroom once), and more importantly leaving enough for animals and invertebrates, who will be looking to sustain themselves over the winter.

Sloes (Prinus spinosa) 

There has always been a bit of a debate as to when the best time to pick sloes is, but the general consensus seems to be that sloes for gin should be picked after the first frost. You can make all sorts of things with sloes; jams, jellies, chocolate, wine.

Sweet Chestnuts (Castanea sativa) 

Not to be confused with “conkers” from the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), sweet chestnuts are amazing cooked on an open fire. They’re high in vitamins B and C, and can be used for nutroasts, stuffings, cake fillings and more.

Hawthorn Berries 

Hawthorn berries ~ “haws” ~ are at their most ripe in November. Surprisingly you can make quite a few things with haws - gin, ketchup, syrup fruit leather, and jellies.

Bullace (Prunus domestica) 

Bullaces are a type of plum that are a lot like damsons. I’ve not managed to find any around here yet! They can be used for all the usual plummy things - jams, chutneys, crumbles, wine and liqueurs.

Green and leafy things 

Chickweed, navelwort and dandelion can all be harvested for their leaves, which can be used in salads, sandwiches and stews.

Please follow the following foraging guidelines:

• Please take only what you need, or even better: less. The animals and local ecology come first. I actually took a break from foraging this year.
• Don’t eat anything you haven’t ID’d yourself.
• If you’re not 100% sure of what you’re picking: don’t pick, don’t eat.
• Don’t take unless you fully intend to use.
  
  NEXT - Honouring Nature: Hedgehog Health & Pumpkins
  NEXT - Simple Magick: 12 Tips For New Witches
  NEXT - Recipe: Apple Cake 

Rosemary Magick: 17 Uses & Correspondences

Today’s prompt for the @witch.with.me hashtag challenge is “Essential Herbs” and first to mind is Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis).

Rosemary is a herb of cognition and mental power. Inhaling rosemary oil helps prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical important for cognition, concentration, and memory. In counteracting forgetfulness, boosting the memory, and helping concentration, it aids mental clarity.

Used as a funerary herb placed at the gravesite it reminds that the departed will never be forgotten, and used in bouquets or headdresses for weddings it reminds betrothed lovers that there is a timeless bond between them. We were given the gift of rosemary at our handfasting, bound with red ribbon.

Medicinally, rosemary stimulates the circulation, reduces stress, calms the nervous system and lifts the spirit, especially at a time of grief. Historically it has been used to cleanse the air in sick rooms, and in healing rituals.

Magickal Correspondences for Rosemary: 

Love 

Loyalty 

Protection 

Healing 

Purification

Youth 

Memory and mental powers 

Exorcism 

Sleep

Gender: Masculine

Planet: The Sun

Element: Fire

Sacred to: Venus, Aphrodite, Hebe, The Virgin Mary

Using Rosemary: 

Grow it by the front door for protection 

Place under pillow to help remember dreams 

Stuff into healing poppets 

Wear it when studying to improve memory 

Add it to incense blends for home cleansing 

Use in ritual baths

Make herbal water for cleansing scared spaces 

Use in spells related to memory or retaining youth

Note: Rosemary should not be used medicinally by pregnant women. Consult a qualified Herbalist/Clinical Aromatherapist when using herbs/essential oils medicinally, and never use essential oils neat on the skin.

What’s your favourite herb? Which herbs do you consider essential? Which herbs do you grow at home?

Simple Magick: Using Black, Pink & White Salt in Witchcraft

“Salt! Salt! I put thee into the fire, and may the person who has bewitched me neither eat, drink, nor sleep, until the spell has been broken”.

In the 19th Century it was believed that the power of a witch could be destroyed by sprinkling salt into the fire nine mornings in succession.

There’s an old folk saying “salt does what you tell it to”. Salt is commonly used in Witchcraft, it has endless uses.

White Salt is often used for circle casting (indoors only!), cleansing and purification:

Some use it to represent Earth as it is a mineral and can be found on Earth. 

Some use it to represent Water as it also comes from the sea.

Leave it in a bowl on a windowsill under a Full Moon to charge it.

Check your salt - salt with added Iodine is considered impure for ritual use.

Pink Salt is often used for purification, protection, and spiritual awareness:

Use for ritual bathing.

Use in magick pertaining to love, friendship, harmony, romance, emotional healing, spiritual healing, devotion, faith, self-love and compassion.

Use it to remove unwanted love spells or love curses.

Beware that pink salt can sometimes stain.

Black salt is often used for banishing, protection, repelling negative and toxic energy:

Sprinkle on to your doorstep to keep away negative energy and unwanted guests.

Keep a small bag under your pillow for protection at night.

Use around the home to dispel negativity.

Add to spring water for scrying during the Dark Moon. 

Use in spells for protection from known enemies.

Hide a small bag in the office or workplace to absorb anger, moodiness and gossip.

You can make black salt easily by using charcoal, salt, incense ash and other magickal materials such as herbs. Each witch has their own preferred recipe usually.

Do you use salt in your practice? Do you use all three colours?

NEXT - Simple Magick: Protecting The Integrity of Your Spells on Social Media
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Salt 

Simple Magick: Using Eggshells

Crushed eggshells are known by some as Cascarilla. Eggshells have been used in magickal practice for hundreds of years to cleanse negative energy and bring positive occurrences. The eggshells are dried and ground into a powder and are not to be confused with the plant Croton eluteria, which is also known as cascarilla, and is a plant native to the Caribbean.

Eggshells can help block non-corporeal entities from a psychical space - benign or malevolent - so you might want to think carefully about their use, but you can use them to put a ring of peace and protection around your sacred space or home. They can be mixed with herbs to create magickal powders for specific intentions and goals, and they’re often used in spells related to setting boundaries.

Use eggshells with other ingredients (eg. Holy Water) for cleansing; use in a protection bath, or as a floor wash. Some witches use powdered eggshells to wash their hands, rub in their hair, or to mark ritual symbols on their bodies or animals for protection.

Cascarilla is simple to make. Boil the eggshells for ten minutes to protect yourself against Salmonella. Leave them in a bowl or on a piece of kitchen towel on a warm windowsill to dry. When they are completely dry, crush them with a pestle and mortar.

I grind my eggshells down further as part of my spellwork. In the meantime, these have been bottled and consecrated.

NEXT - Simple Magick: 11 Tips For Beginner Witches 

Media Appearance: Witchology Magazine - Sun Biscuits for Yule

Witchology Magazine - New Issue!

Perfect for a little bit of Solstice Magick, find the recipe for my warming Sun Biscuits in the latest issue of Witchology Magazine, print copies now available.

The “Transformation” edition, celebrating new beginnings, is packed full of spells, interviews, rituals, recipes and other festive ramblings for the period Yule to Imbolc.

Digital copies coming soon!

Head over to @witchologymag on Instagram to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates, and go to www.witchologmagazine.com to order your copy.

Recipe: Faery Berry Jam

Tread quietly,

O people, hush!

For don’t you see,

A spotted thrush,

One thrush or two,

Or even three,

In every laden elder-tree?

They pull and lug,

They flap and push,

They peck and tug,

To strip the bush;

They forsaken

Snail and slug;

Unseen I watch them, safe and snug!

The Elderberry Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker

As there are so many connections between faeries, and elderberries and blackberries; I call this my Faery Berry Jam.

FAERY BERRY JAM

Ingredients:

800kg Blackberries

200g Elderberries

1kg Jam Sugar (added pectin)

2 Lemons, juiced

Butter, small nob (optional)

Method:

1. Put a saucer in the freezer.

2. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and berries.

3. Heat on a low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

4. Turn the heat up and cook on a rolling boil for ten minutes, being sure to stir, so that no fruit burns or sticks to the pan. Skim off any scum.

5. Put a small blob of the mixture on the saucer, and leave aside for a minute. 

6. Push the mixture with your finger - if it wrinkles the mixture is ready.

7. If it doesn’t wrinkle, cook for another 5 minutes and then try again. Keep trying until it’s ready.

8. When the mixture is ready, stir in the butter to dissolve any scum. (I personally don’t bother).

9. Pour into sterilised jars, top with a waxed disc, and add the lid. Do this when hot.

10. Store in a cool, dark place. 

NEXT - Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar
NEXT - Autumn Equinox Blessings!
NEXT - Magickal Places: The Goddess Temple - Glastonbury

Recipe: Elderberry Vinegar

Autumn Equinox blessings to you all! As we enter this liminal space of balance, may you gather abundance in preparation for the darkness ahead, and may the seeds you plant now bring you cheer next year.

Equinox blessings to our brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere, also; have a blessed Ostara!

I’ll be celebrating today by bottling the Elderberry Vinegar that I started last month...

ELDERBERRY VINEGAR

Ingredients: 

200g Elderberries

500ml Red Wine Vinegar

50g Sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the berries.

2. Remove from the stalks into a pan using a fork. Mash slightly. Add the Red Wine Vinegar.

3. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down a little, simmering on a high heat for 10 minutes.

4. Decant into a sterilised jar and leave to cool before closing the lid.

5. Store in a cool dark place for 1 month.

Method - One Month Later:

1. Strain. Use the berries in stews, soups, salads, or discard.

2. Decant the vinegar into a sterilised bottle

- or -

add back to the pan with the sugar, heat until the sugar has dissolved, and bottle.

What are you doing to celebrate the Equinox?! Do you have any special traditions for this time of year?

Wishing you an abundance of love and good wishes! 

NEXT - Recipe: Beltane Carrot Cake
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Fairy Rings
NEXT - Pagan Holidays: 65 Samhain Magickal Correspondences

Pagan Holidays: Lughnasadh

A blessed Lughnasadh everyone!

The first of three harvests, this time of year feels somewhat paradoxical; the Sun is at its zenith, but waning. The crops have reached their peak, but will soon be cut. The bounty of our land is at full swing, but soon it will be winter. This is a time of great abundance, but also loss.

It’s a time to give thanks; a time to reap what you have sown, literally and metaphorically, and to celebrate and share what you have achieved.

I baked my own recipe ~ Wren’s Lughnasadh Bread ~ to celebrate this special sabbat. Whilst I kneaded it, I reflected on what I have achieved this year, and what seeds I would like to sow for next year. I kneaded in my intentions.

This recipe will be available in the Lughnasadh (August) issue of Witchology Magazine @witchologymag - so be sure to check it out. 

NEXT - Journaling: Harvest Reflections for Lughnasadh 

NEXT - Turning the Wheel - Samhain is Coming

Recipe: Beltane Carrot Cake

Each Sabbat I like to cook something special or seasonal. For Beltane I made a Carrot Cake. It actually took me all day to make this, as I kept getting distracted, but I got there in the end, and it was well worth it.

I’m going to give you the original recipe, but obviously you can swap certain ingredients out to cater for Gluten-free or vegan diets.

BELTANE CARROT CAKE

Ingredients:
235ml oil
100g natural yoghurt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 orange zested
265g self-raising flour
335g muscavado sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
265g grated carrot
100g raisins
100g walnuts roughly chopped
100g unsalted butter
300g icing sugar
100g full fat cream cheese

Method:
1. Line two 20cm cake tins. Heat the oven.
2. Whisk the oil, eggs, yoghurt, vanilla, and zest together in a jug.
3. Mix the flour, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl.
5. Add in the carrots, raisins, and half the nuts.
6. Split into two tins and bake.
7. When the cakes have cooled and are ready to ice - beat the sugar and butter together. Work the cream cheese into the mixture but by bit. Ice the cake and sprinkle on the nuts. 

NEXT - Recipe: Wren's Autumn Apple Cake
NEXT - Pagan Holidays: Beltane
NEXT - Review: Witchology Magazine (Spring 2022)

Natural Remedies: Stinging Nettle & Rosemary Hair Rinse

Nettle is rich in many nutrients and antioxidants, making it a great plant ally. It is rich in silica and sulphur making hair shinier, thicker, and healthier. Nettle boosts the circulation, which means that more oxygen - and therefore nutrients - will reach the hair follicles. Nettle contains super antioxidants that help get rid of damaging compounds, and inhibit the formation of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), an androgen (type of hormone), that causes baldness in both men and women.

Rosemary is believed to prevent DHT from bonding to hormone receptors that enable the hair follicles to be attacked, and it contains ursolic acid which increases (scalp) circulation. It’s unsurprising, therefore, that hair re-growth has been observed in trials using Rosemary oil. It’s antibacterial properties gently cleanse the hair and increase shine. Working together, Nettle and Rosemary do amazing things for the hair.

This recipe has been in my Book of Shadows for over 20 years now. It seems a bit odd rinsing your hair after washing it with what is basically tea(!), but it will add body and shine to your hair.

Step 1 - Add a handful or two of Nettles, and a handful of Rosemary sprigs, to a heat-proof bowl. Add 1L of boiling water and leave over night to steep.

Step 2 - Strain. At this stage you could add 50ml raw apple cider vinegar if you wanted, but I don’t bother.

Step 3 - After shampooing rinse your hair with this mixture, no need to wash out. Use all in one go, this mix isn’t for storing.

CAUTION: this beautiful reddish-brown mixture will stain ceramic bathroom ware, so please be careful. Rosemary can darken blond hair over time; so if you’re blonde - and enjoy being so! - you might want to avoid frequent use. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Lavender Oil
NEXT - Rosemary Magick: 17 Uses & Correspondences
NEXT - Personal Magick: My Kitchen Apothecary

Natural Remedies: Lavender Oil

On Beltane Eve I completed the first step in making Lavender Salve. I’ve shared the recipe for Lavender Salve before, but I didn’t go into much detail in making the oil. This is really easy, with only a few steps to follow.

Step 1 - add your plant or herb (eg. Dandelion or Lavender) to a canning jar, halfway. It’s really important that your ingredients are bone dry, therefore no moisture in the jar, as this can lead to mould.

Step 2 - cover with carrier oil, cap, and leave in a place out of direct sunlight for at least 10 days, but up to 4-6 weeks if you can. You can use any type of oil, but olive oil is safe on the skin and great for infusing.

Step 3 - strain into a clear jar using a strainer or cheesecloth. In a cool, dark, place your oil should keep for up to a year, but you may wish to use it immediately if part of a recipe for body products or cosmetics.

You can repeat the process if you want to make the oil stronger; simply strain and add to a new batch of dried plants. You can add a few drops of Vitamin E oil at the end of infusing to extend the shelf life. 

NEXT - Natural Remedies: Lavender Salve
NEXT - Chamomile Magick: 9 Protective Correspondences
NEXT - Natural Remedies: 15 Ways to Use Dried Lavender

Personal Magick: My Kitchen Apothecary

The word ‘apothecary’ is derived from the word ‘apotheca’ meaning a place where wine, spices, and herbs were stored.

My apothecary is mounted on our kitchen wall, and we have another unit coming soon for our (separate) cooking spices. Witching overtakes cooking in this household! Anyone that knows me will also know how much love and intent went into making the labels (I love organising!), a kind of ritual in itself.

I use my herbs for a variety of uses and now they’re close at hand it makes life a lot easier. I’m looking forward to sharing some herbal recipes and information with you this week.

I was going to ask what your favourite herb, but instead I ask: what herb do you use the most?

NEXT - Personal Magick: My Beltane Handfasting
NEXT - Rosemary Magick: 17 Uses & Correspondences
NEXT - Review: Aromafume Incense Brick Burner 

Flower Magick: Using Flowers in Cooking

Today I took inspiration from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Cookbook. He talks about flowers and how they can be used in cooking to flavour, colour, and garnish. Broom Buds, Elderflowers, Crab Apple Blossom, Primrose and Wild Roses can all be used to create culinary delights, and of course each flower comes with its own magical properties, too.

I decorated these vegan muffins with icing flavoured and coloured with rose petals, and sprinkled a few on top to decorate.

Roses are used to enhance female intuition since the Rose is closely associated with with female, or ‘Yin’, energy. Roses attract love, health, and good luck; and enhance self-acceptance and self-esteem. They protect, and relieve personal tensions and conflict.

To create Rose water for your recipes and potions add some edible rose petals to a bowl, pour on boiling water, and leave to steep. 

NEXT - Rhododendron Magick: 13 Beautiful Correspondences
NEXT: Rose Magick: Correspondences
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Spring Blossom

Simple Magick: Kitchen Candle Magick

For me, ritual and magic extend from the altar and into the kitchen. Recipes are a ritual of sorts; they are a set of tasks or actions performed to a prescribed order.

I have a kitchen journal which is much like my Book of Shadows; it is a collection of recipes, things that I’ve tried, scribbled notes, successes, failures, and all sorts of experiments. It has been with me since I left home, and some of the recipes ~ such as Lammas Loaf and Beltane Oat Cakes ~ appear in both books.

I am a food lover and there is a spiritual and energetic aspect to food; the way it is prepared, how it is shared, what it may represent, its vibration, and the fact that we take it into our bodies.

There are several rituals I like to carry out when I am cooking, cleaning, and even turning the light out at the end of the day. I especially like a candle ritual focusing on the use of a candle as a symbol of spirit, which I light while I am cooking, which can be found in The House Witch (p.232) by Arin Murphy-Hiscock:

Sacred flame,
Burn brightly in my heart,
I light this flame in recognition of your sanctity.
Bless me, sacred flame,
With your light.

NEXT - Simple Magick: Divination & The Clairsenses