#australian witchcraft

[stormbornwitch]

Communing with Spirits to Create Personal Correspondences

Buckle up witches, we're doing spirit work!

So over the last ten or so years I've been working on connecting with spirits of the land in order to create my own personal set of correspondences.

Now, I'm not going to just list my personal gnosis about the various flora and fauna of where I live because unless you also live in Gubbi Gubbi Country, it won't be of much use to you. Instead, I'm going to give you the tools to do this for yourself so you can take your witchcraft from a beginner level where you're using common correspondences written in books, to an intermediate level where you're making your own.

Let's do this thing!

So, first you need to step away from the witchcraft books, with their carefully curated lists of correspondences, and step outside. It's important to note that most of the common flora and fauna used in traditional witchcraft originates from Europe. If you live in Europe, this makes it easier for you to make your own correspondences. If you don't... well be prepared to do a bit of hard yakka yourself.

"Using what is local and connecting with one's own land is fundamental." (Horne, 2019)

Step 1: Take a Walk

I know it might seem simple but you're going to walk around your local area. Wear some sensible shoes; fill a water bottle; bring your phone and keys; a plastic bag to put rubbish in; and a small notebook with a pen/pencil. I like to put all of this in a backpack but use whatever works for you.

If this is your first time doing this, you're not going to be making any correspondences. As you walk, reach out with your magic and introduce yourself to the local spirits. It will take time for them to be open to you, so the more often you do this, the better.

Don't pick any flowers or plants on these early journeys. Just take your time and if you see any litter, pick it up. This is a great offering to local spirits and helps pave the way for your connection to the land.

You will soon begin to 'sense' local places where there are stronger / more cognisant spirits. I like to call these 'places of power' and have made a hand drawn map of my local area with little symbols showing where these spirits reside.

Step 2: Learn Your Spirits

Now, learning the 'personality' of these spirits will help you to create correspondences later on down the line. Here are some general guidelines that I've found for my local spirits. Yours may be different.

Because I live in a colonised country, many local spirits don't like colonisers and will be actively hostile towards people who are not indigenous. For example, during the 1700s and 1800s there were massacres of the local Gubbi Gubbi people on this land by colonisers. The spirits of the land remember the blood of their cousins spilt by outsiders. In the 'lifespan' of older spirits like rivers, islands and mountains, these atrocities didn't happen that long ago... so you can understand why they wouldn't like non-indigenous people.

Water Spirits

Rivers tend to have strong spirits associated with them. They are slow moving, often nourishing, revitalising and cleansing. They're also OLD, like thousands of years old. The age of the river usually dictates the wisdom of the spirit. But you also need to do research into the history of the river, what plants and animals call it home and how it's been treated by humans as this often dictates how hostile the spirit will be with you when interacting with it. Most of the time river spirits will ignore you. Don't be discouraged, but understand that you are just one of the millions of entities living on their banks. Be respectful and persistent. It takes time.

Creeks and Streams are much younger than rivers most of the time and their speed reflects this. They often have more energising, almost playful spirits but this is not always the case. For example, there is a creek in Gubbi Gubbi Country called Murdering Creek... It's called that because in 1862, approximately 25 Gubbi Gubbi men were simply fishing in canoes during bunya season only to be ambushed and massacred by the Manager of the Yandina Station, Walter Taplock Chippindall, and five other stockmen (Gibbons, 2014). The spirit of this creek understandably does not like white people and did not want to work with me. That is totally fine and I respected its wishes. Just like people, not all spirits are going to like you. That's okay.

Lakes are often more calm spirits. They nourish the land around them and are often more reflective and quiet. You often have to really listen closely to connect with the spirit of a lake. Do not expect a quick response from a lake... let them ruminate for a while and come back later.

Swamps are simultaneously teeming with both life and death; with fallen trees, rotting logs, buzzing mosquitoes and all manner of wildlife. Spirits of swamps are slow and stagnant like the water that inhabits them. Not much phases them most of the time as they are used to the quickly turning wheel of life and death that lives in or around the swamp. They don’t really care about you most of the time… almost like an indifference that tastes like death and rebirth.

Freshwater springs are usually lively spirits bursting with energy bringing forth life-giving, generous refreshment from beneath the surface of the earth. They are cool and bright with an almost ‘mineral’ taste. There aren’t really many freshwater springs where I am that don’t have bottled water companies taking the water so admittedly, my connection with these types of spirits is limited.

The Ocean… Stand in awe at the majesty of these spirits. They are both life-giving and devastating. I love the ocean and feel safe when in its waters, but I also know it doesn’t give a shit about me. It is vast, ancient and tumultuous. There is deep, deep wisdom here… be respectful and you’ll be fine.

Earth Spirits

Mountains here are often proud and headstrong. The spirits of the Mountains on Gubbi Gubbi Country often have stories associated with them. The most famous are the volcanic plugs known nowadays as the Glasshouse Mountains. They’re a family: Tibrogargan, the father, and Beerwah, the mother, had many children. One day, Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea and noticed a great rising of the waters. He ran to his children and told them to flee inland. He told his eldest son, Coonowrin, to help his mother Beerwah, who was with child. But Coonowrin fled, leaving his mother behind. Enraged, Tibrogargan pursued Coonowrin and hit him in the neck with his club, leaving it crooked and bent. When the floods had subsided the family returned to the plains. Feeling ashamed, Coonowrin begged Tibrogargan for forgiveness, but filled with shame at his son’s cowardice, Tibrogargan could do nothing but weep copious tears, which, trickling along the ground, formed a stream that flowed into the sea. Then Coonowrin went to his brothers and sisters, but they also wept at the shame of their brother’s cowardice. The lamentations of Coonowrin’s parents and of his brothers and sisters at his disgrace explain the presence of the numerous small streams of the area. Tibrogargan then called to Coonowrin, asking him why he had deserted his mother. Coonowrin replied that as Beerwah was the biggest of them all she should be able to take care of herself. He did not know that she was pregnant again, Then Tibrogargan turned his back on his son and vowed that he would never look at him again. Even today Tibrogargan gazes far out to sea and never looks around at Coonowrin, who hangs his head and cries, his tears running off to the sea. His mother Beerwah is still heavy with child, as it takes a long, long time to give birth to a mountain.

Trees here in Australia have all sorts of different spirits and personalities. For example, most paperbark trees feel revitalising, like a snake shedding its skin, they are often spirits of renewal and change. They are also protective and healing as paperbark was used to make waterproof shelters,bedding, bandages, rafts, containers and more. The leaves were also used to add flavour to cooking, and a traditional ground oven will often include layers of paperbark leaves. Tea Tree spirits are also cleansing and healing. They often live beside lakes or swamps that are traditionally called “healing lakes”. The tannins of these trees leach into the water making the water change to a tea color while infusing the water with antibacterial and medicinal qualities. Eucalyptus or Gum tree spirits are often cleansing and protective as the leaves have traditionally been used in smoking ceremonies for millenia and their wood for shields. These spirits are also closely associated with fire as the leaves and bark don't decompose and are filled with a highly flammable oil. Eucalypts are therefore destructive, protective and even regenerative as our landscape needs fire to survive with many native plants requiring heat and smoke to crack open seed pods and help them germinate in the new carbon-rich soil.

Step 3: Write your Correspondences

I’m not going to go into detail here as Bree @breelandwalker has an excellent post all about Creating Correspondences which I will direct you to look at.

So yeah ~ hope this was helpful!

~ Marci 

References

Gibbons, R, 2014, ‘Deconstructing the Myth of Murdering Creek’.

Horne, R 2019, 'Folk Witchcraft: A Guide to Lore, Land, & the Familiar Spirit for the Solitary Practitioner'

[witchynyx]

2025 Witches Calendar

Seasonal Festivals: Southern Hemisphere

❤️ Lammas/Reflection: Feb 1 (traditional) / Feb 3 (astrological)

🩷 Autumn Equinox: March 20

💜 Samhain/ShadowFest: April 30 (traditional) / May 5 (astrological)

💙 Winter Solstice: June 21

💚 Imbolc/Quickening: August 1 (traditional) / August 7 (astrological)

🌿 Spring Equinox: September 23

💛 Beltane/Floralia: Nov 1 (traditional) / Nov 7 (astrological)

🧡 Summer Solstice: Dec 21

(Dates given are based on GMT+8 - Check the dates/times of the seasonal festivals in 15 different timezones)

...

Seasonal Festivals: Northern Hemisphere

💚 Imbolc: Feb 1 (traditional) / Feb 3 (astrological)

🌿 Spring Equinox: March 20

💛 Beltane: May 1 (traditional) / May 5 (astrological)

🧡 Summer Solstice: June 21

❤️ Lammas: August 1 (traditional) / August 7 (astrological)

🩷 Autumn Equinox: September 22

💜 Samhain: Oct 31 (traditional) / Nov 7 (astrological)

💙 Winter Solstice: Dec 21

(Dates given are based on GMT - Check the dates/times of the seasonal festivals in 15 different timezones)

...

New & Full Moons

🌑 December 31

🌕 January 14

🌑 January 29

🌕 February 12

🌑 February 28

🌕 March 14

🌑 March 29 - Super new moon

🌕 April 13 - Micro full moon

🌑 April 28 - Super new moon

🌕 May 13 - Micro full moon

🌑 May 27

🌕 June 11

🌑 June 25

🌕 July 11

🌑 July 25

🌕 August 9

🌑 August 23 - Black moon

🌕 September 8 - Total lunar eclipse

🌑 September 22

🌕 October 7

🌑 October 21

🌕 November 5 - Super full moon

🌑 November 20 - Micro new moon

🌕 December 5 - Super full moon

🌑 December 20

(Dates given are based on GMT+8 - Check the dates/times in your local timezone)

...

About the Calendar Wheel

The image on this post is the calendar I made for 2025, based on my location in Boorloo (so-called Perth, Western Australia), on Wadjuk Noongar boodjar.

From the centre, outwards, you'll see:

The 6 Noongar seasons

The 8 seasonal festivals (I've used the common names for the cross-quarters, since I'll probably use this on my business socials)

The 12 months of the year

The 52-ish weeks of the year

The 365 days of the year

The new, full, and quarter moons for 2025

Depending where in the world you're from, you might also notice some things look a little different than you expect...

The wheel is arranged Southern Hemisphere sunwise. Because the sun skewing towards the equator at midday take it to the north, the sun's path over the course of each day appears to move counter-clockwise (because clocks were made based off northern hemisphere sundials).

The quarter-moon icons seem inverted, because we're viewing the moon from a different vantage point. Southern hemisphere moon phases look like:

🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒

Likewise some dates might seem a little off - Astrological events occur at the same instant, regardless of where in the world we are, but how we mark that instant on our calendar will depend on what timezone we're located in (and which side of midnight that timezone places us).

I'm located ~12hrs ahead of the Eastern United States, so a lot of the events above might be the date before for folks in earlier timezones (likewise for folks in Eastern Australia and New Zealand, a handful of events might be the date after if they're in the early a.m.)

[the-evil-clergyman]

Walpurgis by Norman Lindsay (1924)

[weirdlookindog]

The Demon is a Hag - Gredown, Australia, 1978?

source

[mothermorne]

Honey Chamomile biscuits

Recipe:

Chamomile milk:

•3/4 cup milk

•1 Chamomile tea bag

Heat milk on stove, put teabag in and steep for a few minutes.

Biscuit:

•2 1/2 cups flour

•1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

•1 tsp salt

•1/4 cup sugar

•1/2 cup of chilled butter

•1/4 cup of honey

•3/4 cup Chamomile milk

Mix dry ingredients and add chilled butter, blend butter into the dry ingredients with hands. Mix honey and chamomile milk together and add to dry ingredients. Combine together. Kneed and fold 5 or 6 times but don't over do it.

Bake for 15 mins at 220°c

[sinfulbydesign]

Love me, fuck me, drink me, drain me

[lachailills-journal]

📗📗ＴＨＥ　ＦＩＲＳＴ　ＧＯＯＤ　ＤＥＥＤ📗📗𝚋𝚢 𝙻𝙾𝙺𝙰𝙻𝚈𝙻 𝙼𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙽𝙰𝙽📗📗Short Australian Horror.

If you like my videos please subscribe on Youtube.

[maxpadelchampion]

MAX AND LEWIS OUT AND OCON HAS A SMOKING BREAK????? WHO CURSED THESE MEN IM SO SERIOUS

[stormbornwitch]

Connecting with the Land ~ Australia

Most of the folklore about witches and the practice of witchcraft originates from Europe.

The idea of 'witchcraft' wasn't a thing here in Australia until Europeans brought it with them. However, Indigenous Australians (as far as my research and interviews with elders have gone) follow what Western society would describe as 'animist beliefs' and 'magic rituals' were common practices.

Modern perceptions of animism, particularly in the Western World, are quite negative and viewed as "something hippies believe in." This perception is primarily caused by ingrained racist ideologies stemming from a colonial past (i.e., in order to justify subjugating people, you have to believe you're better than them) which perpetuated beliefs in colonised countries of the "primitive savage" and the "enlightened colonist." That's also not even mentioning the demonising of indigenous beliefs by missionaries of Christianity...

I find it ironic that in Eastern countries like Japan, where Christianity was not historically allowed to spread (banned in 1580s and hundreds of Christians were cruicified), animist beliefs like Shinto are now seen (in the Western world) as cool and mystical, and all the tourists want to visit the shrines of local spirits when they visit...

I'm getting off track, but hopefully you see my point: it is really hard to connect with a land on a spiritual level that is not yours, and was stolen from its traditional custodians on both a physical and spiritual level. I was born here in Australia, and so were my parents, but my ancestry is Scottish and British. I feel torn between two worlds that are so dichotomous from one another...

So, how do I connect with the spirits of the land?

Slowly, and with permission and guidance from local elders because there is a disconnect. I don't speak the language of the land and The Dreaming or 'spirit world' that accompanies our physical one. It doesn't help that much of the local language of the Gubbi Gubbi was lost due to the Stolen Generations, but there are general rules of thumb to follow when working with the Land:

We are a part of the land, and the land is a part of us. We are born from it, and so like our mother, we must care for and protect it. If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you.

Everything is about balance - never take more than you need and always give back what you can to ensure that the land is cared for for the next generation.

Ask first. Everything has a spirit, and you must ask before you take anything (I.e. like a branch from a tree). Thank the spirit for its gift / sacrifice (especially important if you have killed something).

Our ancestors watch over us our whole lives both from The Dreaming and in the physical world in the form of a totem (normally a whole family is represented by one animal). They are our guide, and your family must never hunt/eat your family's totem animal. It is your job to protect that species.

Many of the local landmasses and animals are represented by powerful ancestor spirits or creator spirits. Mooroo-kutchi (meaning red-bill, the name of the spirit of the black swan and an aboriginal girl from The Dreaming who transformed into a black swan searching for the spirit of her beloved Coolum who was killed by Ninderry.)

Smoking ceremonies are usually conducted as part of a 'Welcome to Country'. Each mob has their own traditional plant they use for cleansing the area of bad spirits and promoting healing and protection of visitors, but most use a species of eucalyptus or gum. The ceremony invites you onto the physical land as a guest and asks the ancestor spirits of that mob to watch over and protect you while you're there.

Corroboree (storytelling gathering) ~ knowledge of the land and its spirits are told through song lines and dances, and using the traditional language helps to connect better with these spirits.

Thank you to the local Aunties and Uncles for teaching me these and so much more over the years!

*'Uncle' or 'Aunty' does not mean we're related. Here, it is used as a sign of respect that recognises the age, wisdom, and knowledge of aboriginal elders. Though it's recommended that non-Aboriginal people ask the elder how they would like to be referred to as normally, it's not considered appropriate to refer to them as such unless a strong relationship has been established.

[the-stardust-thread]

In person (MELBOURNE VICTORIA) and video call tarot readings 🫶

10 minute reading: $7 AUD

20 minute reading: $15 AUD

30 minute reading: $20 AUD

1 hour: $40 AUD

[devildevotee]

the magpie-lark

disclaimer: the following information is purely my own interpretation of what this animal means on a spiritual level, due to my own experiences in both witchcraft, and general knowledge on wildlife and wildlife behaviour in my area. i encourage people to do their own witchy research if they feel compelled to, you might learn something different from me!

the magpie-lark is a bird native to australia from the family monarchidae. they are medium-sized, black and white pied birds, known for being particularly territorial against larger birds, and sometimes people. an interesting fact about them is they're one of the few species of birds to sing in duets with one-another!

the energy of the magpie-lark can be worked with surrounding magic of the home and hearth (the territorial behaviour), particularly keeping a safe, homely environment. for this reason, they can help inspire protection magic, or aggressive magic of any sort. due to their marbled appearance and singing behaviour, they can also be interpreted as being a spirit of communication, with others who are alive or deceased.

the black and white being both present on the bird can also indicate working with extremes and opposites - thus, as the magpie-lark can be an animal of aggression, it can equally represent much-needed compromise and seeing eye-to-eye.

if you see a magpie-lark, it can indicate a multitude of things depending on your situation. it could be an indicator of:

overreaction, due to its extreme territorial behaviour.

a need for cooperation between yourself and someone else.

a spirit or family member wishing to communicate something important with you.

peace being needed in a situation of conflict.

the spirit wishing to assist you in defensive magic.

[witchessupplybag]

A open to public 18+ server for those all stages of their practise and worship! The server is still being worked on and will likely continue to be, come share your experiences, research and notes and hang out! We have temples set up for worship that are still a work in progress that will span across multiple pantheons!

[mothermorne]

I have been having a hard time mentally, physically, and spiritually lately. I rarely find the time and energy to practice.

Does anyone have any tips or advice to help me reconnect to my craft?

[kenziemeadowscottage]

Full Moon in Virgo meditation!

Things haven’t been going so well for me recently and it’s been rough.

I managed to go Spirit Sky’s group meditation for the full moon in Virgo, and as someone with 6 placements in Virgo I can get very overwhelmed by the moon energy in Virgo.

For anyone in Western Australia, I highly recommend checking out Spirit Sky! Carmen is an amazing woman who provides such a safe, loving, and supportive environment for all who join!

During the meditation I had to face some shadows that I knew were going to come up, and I bawled my eyes out.

On and off during the meditation I was crying. This release was so intense and I am proud of myself for being open not only to myself, but for allowing Carmen in while I was vulnerable. (Which is something I try not do around others).

One thing that helped a lot was the support I had while I was speaking about my experience afterwards. 🥰 One of the women even gave me a hug and now follows this blog! 😮💕

Our journey isn’t always linear and we will always have our ups and downs! That’s a part of our journey! 🦋

I feel more inspired and motivated as I follow Carmen’s advice of self care and being creative. 🥰

[bwots-reblog-grimoire]

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I need so much more spring Halloween content

[maxpadelchampion]

somewhere some powerful tifosi cursed the rest of grid for this grand prix and it’s SHOWING