Intention: I Call Back My Power

In this moment, I call back my energy and power from all people, places, realms, entities, dimensions and situations that have been draining me; intentionally or otherwise. I call back my energy and power; and stand firm. Safe, sovereign, balanced, calm and protected. And so it is.

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NEXT - Review: Witch Charms by Quirky Cinnamon 
NEXT - Fabulous Folklore: Hecate On The Hell Staircase 

Simple Magick: The Shadow

The Shadow is the psychological term for everything we can’t (or perhaps won’t) see in ourselves. You can no more get rid of this inner shadow than you can avoid casting an outer shadow into the sunlight, but you can work on it.

It is hard to see one’s own Shadow; because it is comes naturally to want to deny anything unflattering or difficult.

Whilst avoiding this side of our being we actually stunt our opportunity for growth and development; and in expending energy avoiding our true selves, we often miss the positive attributes of our personality.

Exploring The Shadow can lead to greater authenticity, which in turn leads to greater happiness, fulfilment, and creativity.

I have been doing a lot of work on my Shadow over the years. I am learning to love every part of myself, as I stumble through each situation and experience. I know my flaws, and I know they make me innately human. Whilst I don’t always get it right I AM trying my best; which means I am free to live my life and be happy.

Do you do any shadow work?

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NEXT - Intention: I Call Back My Power
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Simple Magick: Repeating Spell Work

I have been taking magick classes with Crow (@marget.inglis_witchcraft) and while we were revisiting binding and cord cutting, an interesting discussion came up.

Sometimes, people or situations that have had great power over you will return to you after taking magickal steps to stop them.

People won’t necessarily (consciously) know that you have taken measures to stop their harmful behaviour and/or distance yourself from them, but they may be drawn to you again.

People who thrive off the energy of others, their shitty behaviour, or what they are getting from a particular situation may notice that something is gone, something has changed. Consequently, they may clamber to get it back.

Let’s set the scene. After much deliberation to take action, you spend hours planning a deeply layered spell. You choose the right time and moment, make your preparations, and invest a great deal of energy into performing your magickal working, knowing that you have done everything you should. All seems to be well, the spell seems to have worked - and then this person pops up again, sometimes behaving worse than they did before.

This does not mean your magick has been useless - sometimes it’s quite the opposite! It can mean you have done a really good job, good enough for the person in question to notice that something is different.

What is the magickal answer?

Revisit your spell-work. Do it again. Repeat the process as before. You may have to repeat your magickal working several times.

That’s not to say that this is always the case. In many instances your magickal working will be successful first time around, it depends on the situation and how much the other person (and perhaps yourself!) are invested in the situation. 

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Simple Magick: Baphomet Explained

Baphomet is often a misunderstood, and even feared, figure.

He is the ‘Sabbatical Goat’ incorporated into mystical traditions. He contains binary elements representing the equilibrium of opposites. In other words, duality.

He stands for good and evil, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, male and female, light and dark, life and death. He has a half-human, half-animal body.

He reminds us that we all have a ‘shadow’, and that these “halves” make a “whole”. 

He has ‘Solve’ and ‘Coagula’ (Solve et Coagula) inscriptions on each arm; this means ‘dissolve and coagulate’ - separate and join - processes involved in Alchemy, Shadow Work, and life.

Alchemy is the art of transformation; the process of breaking something down into its most basic parts before transforming it, magickally, into something else. An example is the destruction of ego before the realisation of the true self.

We must undertake the pain of Shadow Work and break ourselves down (and then build up) to become the most authentic, creative, energetic, awake, and together versions of ourselves.

Baphomet appears as the Devil card in the Rider Waite Tarot. Many have been wary of Baphomet, for fear that he was something entirely ‘dark’, completely missing the point that he just represents the ‘shadow’ part of our human form.

Baphomet is the profound message that all things must be in balance. You cannot truly experience pleasure without having experienced (at least some) pain, there is no light without dark, and there is no life without death. There is no human without Shadow. The ‘darker’ parts of us are what make us truly human. With this reminder we can find space and energy for Shadow Work, and self-love and self-acceptance.

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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 

Review: Of Blood & Bones by Kate Freuler

This book by the wonderful Kate Freuler (@freuler_witch) explores shadow magick and the dark moon current. I thoroughly enjoyed this one as it filled so many gaps in my own personal knowledge and craft.

About the Author

Kate Freuler lives in Ontario, Canada. She has owned and operated the witchcraft shop White Moon Witchcraft (whitemoonwitchcraft.com) since 2010. When she’s not writing or crafting items for clients, she is busy being creative with art or reading a huge stack of books.

About Of Blood & Bones: Working with Shadow Magick & The Dark Moon This book explores shadow magick and working with dark moon energy, and whilst I am no member of the “Love and Light Brigade,” shadow magick is not my forte, either, so I was keen to see what this book would reveal to me. I knew I was in for a fantastic ride when I saw the foreword was written by Mat Auryn, and after a wonderful brief on what to expect from the book, I was even keener to get started.

Freuler’s Introduction “It’s Not All Love and Light” is the perfect beginning; it puts the reader at ease, and I immediately felt better about myself and the personal shadows I cast. The Introduction gets the reader thinking about the ethical quandaries that many of us face, for example, how we should treat people who do bad things, and encourages the reader to think about the outcomes of magick, and how solutions can be subjective. We also get to read about curses and blessings, controversy in the witchcraft community, and how to use the book; all super helpful topics, and expertly and intuitively placed. 

“Feelings of anger, revulsion, and dislike are natural. They exist within us for survival. They force us to fight for our territory and our safety and to protect what is ours. War gods and goddesses are not evil or bad; they represent a very real part of our human experience.” - Of Blood & Bones: Working with Shadow Magick & The Dark Moon

The body of the book is broken down into four parts, the first introducing us to shadow work and the dark moon current. The author offers simple and clear explanations of topics related to the Dark Moon and its role in the lunar cycle and magick, and I found it answered the question many of us have asked; should the Dark Moon be used for work, or for rest?

Part two is the book’s namesake, covering blood and bones, and providing comprehensive information on bodily fluids, animals and their parts, and skulls and bones. This part is an absolute gem as it includes a wealth of information on safety, and how to gather and clean bones, which is invaluable to those of us who have always wanted to work with them, but haven’t had the foggiest idea where to start.

Part three is The Forbidden Craft and really gets to the heart of shadow magick. It covers the squeamish topics that are generally avoided. Objects and curios related to the recipes and rituals contained throughout the book are discussed here, and it covers how, and when, to perform a curse. Part Four looks at death, working with the dead, and rebirth, and is written in such a comforting, pragmatic, and beautiful way; providing the reader with simple, useful, and practical exercises, including a funeral rite. 

The Book’s Strengths Without doubt, one of the best things about this book is the author’s direct approach to an abundance of controversial topics. Not sentimental at all, Freuler provides information and personal experience, whilst allowing the reader to arrive at their own judgment on whether something is right for them. She provides a great foundation on which to build a dark practice, and encourages the reader to do their own work and research, which is exactly how one’s experience of the path of witchcraft should be, dark or otherwise. 

As the book progresses, you are slowly eased into the ‘icky’ stuff, and for those who wish to avoid using animal parts in their spells and workings, there are vegetable substitute suggestions. Freuler intuitively answered my questions as they appeared, and I felt like I had a comforting hand holding mine as I approached, and traversed, these subjects. These are just a few examples of the sensitive, methodical, and considered way the book has been written.

There is an abundance of helpful and practical information from magickal correspondences to spells, rituals, recipes, and charms, all clearly and concisely laid out. In my opinion, none of the workings contain weird or unheard of items, making this book truly meaningful and accessible to all.

What You Can Learn... From the start, the author describes how this book is not meant to change minds or sway opinion, but rather to educate and inform on subjects that are often silenced due to the taboo nature of them, even from within the witchcraft community, which makes for a refreshing perspective, and certainly filled gaps in my own personal knowledge.

There is so much to learn from this book; from junk oracles, to cursing, to using live animals in spells (without harming or disturbing them, of course), to focusing on the many subjects on which it may be difficult to obtain information, or the things you might be curious about but were previously afraid to try.

In many ways, due to the huge amount of information contained in this masterpiece, this book serves as a shadow magick Grimoire, and Freuler acts as High Priestess; guiding you, and showing you the way with honesty and encouragement, but leaving you, quite rightly, to do the work. Her honest and direct approach personally appealed to my straightforward nature, and there is no time – or need – to dissect these subjects further, or get overly emotional about them; the information is simply provided for you to do with as you wish.

I feel like I have become more connected to my craft by having the blanks filled in, and I don’t hold back in saying that for many this book is likely to be a game (Craft) changer, something that became apparent only a few pages in.

I absolutely loved this book, and got totally lost in it. It was like a trip to a bazaar or an antiques shop - so many treasures to sift and sort through, some unusual surprises, unpredictable, and thoroughly enjoyable. NEXT - Review: The Healing Power of Witchcraft by Meg Rosenbriar

Simple Magick: The Shadow

Today’s Witch With Me prompt immediately made me think of The Shadow, which is the psychological term for everything we can’t (or perhaps won’t) see in ourselves. You can no more get rid of this inner shadow than you can avoid casting an outer shadow in the sunlight.

It is hard to see one’s own Shadow; it is natural to want to deny anything unflattering. Whilst avoiding this ‘darker side’ we actually stunt our opportunity for growth and development; and in expending energy avoiding our true selves, we often miss the positive attributes of our personality.

Exploring The Shadow can lead to greater authenticity, which in turn leads to greater happiness, fulfilment, and creativity.

I have been doing a lot of work on my Shadow, and I am learning to love every part of myself, as I stumble through each situation and experience.

Photo is of Mr Cemetery and I looking down toward our house.

NEXT - Simple Magick: 65 Colour Correspondences