theladymoose - Tumblr blog

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

✨ Ideas for Cheap Witchcraft Tools 💰

Modern witchcraft is steeped in various traditions, and many of these traditions demand a specific set of altar tools. As witchcraft has also gained unfathomable popularity recently, various aesthetics of witchcraft have also arisen. Unfortunately, many young witches think that they NEED all of these pretty tools just to be a witch, or that their craft has to meet a specific standard of aesthetic to work.

As someone who has been practicing since long before witchcraft became popular among Millennials, I am here to tell you that that is simply not the case.

At its roots, witchcraft has always been simple and accessible to the common person. Even longstanding traditions have some kind of basis in folk magic. Long before silver-plated athames and golden chalices were mass produced for aspiring witches, our witch ancestors were using anything and everything they had available to them.

As I've talked about in previous posts, the only thing you really need to create magic is yourself. Everything else - all of the tools and crystals and gadgets - are mostly there to help you tap into your own natural power.

So, with that in mind, here are some ideas for cheap and accessible magical tools:

🍷 Wine glasses from the dollar store make perfect chalices

🎇 Some of the best wands begin as simple twigs on the ground

👕 Poppets and spell dolls can be made from literally anything, including paper, twigs, and even old T-shirts (I've even made a poppet from natural clay I found at the beach)

💎 Crystals occur naturally and can be found everywhere in nature, especially near beaches, rivers, and rock formations. They aren't any less powerful just because they aren't polished and glossed

🌱 Research native plants in your region and figure out their metaphysical properties. Use these as substitutes for mainstream herbs

🌙 Moon water literally has more properties and uses than I can count, so fill up a jar with some water and leave it out overnight on a full moon

🧂 When all else fails, salt and salt water are some of the most ancient and powerful cleansing agents and are perfect to add in ritual baths

🛌 Almost every single altar cloth I've ever owned has been a $5 black bed sheet from Walmart

🌹If you can't afford a fancy oil from a shop, make your own! You'll be able to tailor it more precisely to your intention, and you'll be left with way more than you could get at a shop. I've created an in depth tutorial for making your own oils, which you can find here

🍯 Offerings do not have to be expensive. Some of the most traditional offerings include water, milk, and honey

🐦 I can't even tell you how many feathers I've found on the ground while I'm out and about in the world. Just make sure you disinfect them before use!

🛣 Crossroads dirt is one of the most powerful binding agents known to man, and it's completely free

✍ Sigilcraft is one of the most powerful types of magic and other than the cost of a paper and pen, it is completely free. I've created an in-dept tutorial which you can find here

🧨 Color magic is your friend. Colored candles from the dollar store are your friend. Birthday candles are still candles. Tealight candles from Walmart are still candles.

👟 Get familiar with knot magic for quick and simple spells. If you can't find yarn or a piece of thread, shoe laces will work perfectly in a pinch

🍽 If you can't obtain a candle holder for a taper candle, worry not! Light the taper candle and drip about 10 drops of melted wax onto the center of a plate. Then quickly press the base of the candle into the melted wax and hold it there firmly for about 30 seconds. Boom! You now have a stable taper candle that isn't going anywhere (as long as you don't bump it)

🥫 A jar is a jar. If you use a lot of jars in your craft, start washing and saving your spaghetti sauce jars. Pro tip: If you're into color magic, use old alfredo sauce jars for purity (that is a joke)

🥕 Most of the common magical herbs can be found for a dollar in the spice aisle at the grocery store

☕ You can literally cast a spell just by stirring your morning tea or coffee. Clockwise to attract something into your life. Counter clockwise to banish something from your life.

So, yeah! Get crafty, and have fun with it. Try to change your perspective on objects you use everyday, and pretty soon, you'll see the magical potential in everything around you.

And remember,

Brightest blessings, and best of luck 🕉

5K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

witchy tips for the adhd student

School is starting up again and I know that it’s a hard time for a lot of ADHD students like myself! So here’s some tips, mundane combines with otherworldly, to help get you through the term! ***But please do not use these instead of taking your medication. It’s there to do it’s job, these are there to help it along the way.***

use blue for focus, light purple/lavender for knowledge, and yellow for memory in your highlighters for your notes. not only are these witchy correspondences but using different coloured highlighters will help organize your notes, and help you remember them better.

drink black tea while you’re studying or in class. caffeine is said to help us ADHDers focus since it’s a stimulant, but it’s also said to banish boredom.

keep azurite, fluorite, sapphire, or smoky quartz in your pocket to fidget with in class. these are all stones that help with focus and learning so their correspondences will help you while you have something to fidget with.

burn incense associated with focus and learning while you study, if you can. the scent will also help you remember and associate with what you’re studying.

spell jars for focus and memory are great to keep in your pocket/bag

@orriculum had this fabulous idea for charmed pens which would be great for studying and give you something to fidget with in class

write sigils for focus/memory in the back of your notebooks

lastly and most importantly and not very witchy, STUDY IN INTERVALS. the BIGGEST AND MOST HELPFUL TIP my psychologist ever gave me was study in intervals, study for 10-15 minutes, take a break for 10-15 minutes. executive dysfunction and the adhd mind does not like the idea of sitting down for hours and doing one thing. so don’t even try. it won’t work. you’ll be much more successful with studying in intervals.

1K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Photo

A little tarot spread for when you have a string of bad things happening, we have a little magic ritual on patreon as well to go with this one.

Make a tarot spread in a clockwise circle, trying to attract light into your situation, which is the first step to get out of it.

1) You in the middle of this situation, a little about your feelings and position in the problems.

2) Your main support could be those around you or an enviroment or place you can still go to be safe.

3) The root problem could be something you need to learn or be aware of, such as your own feelings, your environment or someone else’s involvement

4) The near future could present itself with more bad news or with a light at the end, either way be prepared.

5) Your hope for the future starts to tell you about the lesson and final light of your ordeal.

6) Lastly this card should show you your power & focus to overcome your problems.

Hope you are well even if you’re in the middle of a situation like this.

6K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

🔮 Introduction to the Tarot: Masterpost 🌌

Warning: This is a longer post

The Tarot is arguably one of the most iconic symbols of witchcraft. It’s been used in books and movies for decades, it’s talked about extensively online, and it even has its own section at Barnes & Noble.

Some people are inexplicably drawn to the symbolism and aesthetic of the cards, and some people avoid them like the plague (mostly due to the same superstitions surrounding ouija boards, seances, and all other forms of divination). My goal with this post is to demystify this beautiful form of magic and to hopefully help some of you out there to take your first step into the world of the Tarot.

🔮 What is the Tarot?

The Tarot, simply put, is a special deck of cards. They can be the size of a tablet, they can be small enough to fit on a keychain (pocket-sized tarot decks are adorable in my opinion), but most are about the size of a cell phone. These cards are used in a type of divination known as cartomancy: divination using playing cards.

Tarot cards are not to be confused with standard playing cards (though, types of cartomancy using regular playing cards do exist). Tarot cards should also not be confused with Oracle cards.

All three of these decks can be used for cartomancy, though, and you’ll have to gauge for yourself which type of deck works better for you as an individual. To clear this up now:

Playing Cards - Originated in the 1300s in Europe (though many historians argue that they were used in the Middle East for centuries before that) consisting of four suits and 52 cards. Each suit contains cards numbered 1-10, plus three more cards denoting a Jack, a Queen, and a King. Primarily used for card games, but also used for divination in some types of folk magic.

Oracle Cards - originated in the 1700s in France. These are special decks of cards used for divination, and each deck is unique to the person who designed and created it. These cards have no set number of cards, no set suits, and no set meaning that is standard to every deck. The creator of the deck will develop their own meanings and symbols that they attribute to each card.

Tarot Cards - originated in the 1400s, arguably either in France or Italy. A tarot deck consists of 78 cards, each with its own specific symbols and meaning. The cards are the same among every tarot deck, no matter who creates it; only the artwork changes. Tarot is almost exclusively used for divination.

🔮 Origins of the the Tarot

The Tarot deck’s beginnings are just as obscure as its symbology. No one is completely sure when or where the Tarot came about. Historians claim the first accounts of them appear in various letters and documents dated in the 15th and 16th centuries. Back then, though, it seems that Tarot cards really did begin as nothing but a card game.

Back then, they were known as “triumph” cards, a word that eventually led to the English phrase ’trump card’. They were used in a game known as Tarock in Germany, Triumph in England, Tarocchi in Italy, and Tarot in France.

These decks consisted of the same standard for all card decks - four suits with ten cards each, plus court cards for each suit. However, the triumph decks also incorporated 22 additional cards that represented different medieval archetypes (The Magician, the Fool, the Emperor, etc.).

In the original game, two people would take turns laying down cards in a way similar to Uno. If your opponent laid down a card, you then had to lay down a card of the same suit or number. If you didn’t have one, you had to lay down one of the 22 ‘triumph’ cards. The first person to run out of triumph cards lost the game.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, people began to play a different game with these cards, though. In this newer game, a player would lay down several 'triumph’ cards, and then their opponent would have to create a short sonnet describing a story told by those specific cards, kind of like a 'create your own adventure’ game, or an Ad-Lib.

At some point after this new game was invented, historians begin to see accounts of players taking the game a step further and actually using the game to tell the fortunes of the players.

Before long, tarot divination was running rampant throughout most European countries, though mostly done behind closed doors. However, it was a very well-known practice, and there are even accounts of many royals and noblemen visiting 'tarot readers’ to have their fortunes told.

Occultists became fascinated with the Tarot throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, claiming that the symbolism in the Tarot held ancient knowledge of magic and the universe. Some even claimed that it was the only surviving 'book’ from the Library of Alexandria.

In the late 1800s, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn deeply studied the symbolism within the Tarot, and eventually released the infamous Golden Dawn Tarot deck. This was the first deck to attribute Kabbalistic, astrological, and elemental associations to the cards.

Since then, hundreds and hundreds of decks have been created by witches and occultists all over the world, each one throwing their own spin on this divinatory tool.

🔮 Parts of a Tarot Deck

A tarot deck consists of 78 cards, divided into two groups: The Minor Arcana ('Lesser Secrets’) and the Major Arcana ('Greater Secrets’).

The Minor Arcana is made up of 56 cards that are pretty standard. There are four suits (typically Wands, Swords, Coins, and Cups, though newer decks use Pentacles instead of Coins). Each suit has cards numbered 1-10, as well as a Page, Knight, Queen, and King. In Tarot divination, the Minor Arcana represents minor events in a person’s life, such as day-to-day activities.

The Major Arcana is made up of 22 trump cards, each with its own unique meaning. The Major Arcana symbolically tells a story of a person reaching spiritual fulfillment, beginning at Card 0 (the Fool) and ending at Card 21 (the World). In Tarot divination, the Major Arcana represents large and important events in a person’s fate, usually signifying a new 'chapter’ in someone’s life or a life-altering decision. These cards are:

0 - The Fool

1 - The Magician

2 - The High Priestess

3 - The Empress

4 - The Emperor

5 - The Hierophant

6 - The Lovers

7 - The Chariot

8 - Strength

9 - The Hermit

10 - The Wheel of Fortune

11 - Justice

12 - The Hanged Man

13 - Death

14 - Temperance

15 - The Devil

16 - The Tower

17 - The Star

18 - The Moon

19 - The Sun

20 - Judgment

21 - The World

🔮 How is Tarot able to tell the future?

This is one of the most speculated questions among witches and occultists. Simply put, it depends on what you believe.

Some practitioners have a specific spirit or deity that they work with, such as their ancestors or a personal deity. They use the cards as a tool to channel the voice of these entities, and rely on the knowledge of the spirit or god to predict the future.

Some practitioners believe that the Tarot itself has a spirit that lives within the cards, and this divinatory spirit will reveal hidden knowledge through card readings.

While both of these can totally be true - and while Tarot decks are a perfect tool to communicate with spirits and gods - I have found that my Tarot decks will give accurate readings even if there are no spirits around, and even if I sense no spirit in the cards themselves.

This leads me to one of the more new-age beliefs, which I’ve heard circulated in many chaos magic circles. There is a wonderful book called The Chaos Protocols by Gordon White that talks about this theory extensively.

Basically, the theory states Tarot cards are not the ones telling the future: you are. While humans are very much earthly creatures that exist in this material world, we also possess a consciousness or spirit that exists in higher dimensions. In these higher dimensions, constructs like space and time are less concrete and more fluid. Many astral travelers describe experiences where they are able to see through time while in the astral dimensions, and this Tarot theory builds off of that.

In this theory, the Tarot cards are nothing more than a way for a person to tap into their subconscious mind (the 'higher self’), and their higher self relays information about the future through the card reading.

Whatever way you practice, whatever you believe, the Tarot is a deeply spiritual and personal tool, and I would advise learning its secrets directly from the cards themselves.

🔮 How to Read the Tarot

In reality, there is no wrong way to read the Tarot. The bond between a witch and their Tarot deck(s) is typically very personal, and many readers find that individual decks have their own personalities and prefer to be read in a certain way or for a specific reason (general readings, love readings, health readings, etc.).

For instance, I have one deck I will use to read for others. I have another deck I will only use to read for myself. I also have a deck that I only ask questions about my relationship. And so on.

In general, Tarot divination is pretty simple.

Begin by shuffling the deck with a specific purpose or question in mind.

You’ll reach a point where the deck feels 'ready’. Use your intuition, and trust your gut.

If you wish to do a spread, begin pulling cards off the top of the deck and lay them out in the spread. If doing a one-card reading, pull a card off the top. If you wish to simply have a 'conversation’ with your deck, pull as many cards off the top as feels right.

Interpret your card(s) using both the actual meaning of the card (which you can usually find in a booklet that comes with your deck, or you can also use the meanings found online) as well as your own interpretation of the symbols in the card. If you’re using a spread or multiple cards, it can also be helpful to look at the reading as a whole and see how the meanings of each card relate to the other cards in the spread.

Once you’re done, put the pulled cards back into the deck.

🔮 A Simple Spread

This is the spread I will use most commonly. It is a simple three-card spread to reveal a glimpse of the past, present, and future.

Pull one card from the deck and lay it down in front of you. This card represents your current situation.

Pull a second card and lay it down to the left of your first card. This represents the circumstances or events that led you to your current situation.

Pull a third card and lay it down to the right of your first card. This represents where your current situation will lead you if you stay on your current path.

🔮 Some Final Thoughts

Such as the first card in my spread described above, a card that represents you or your current circumstances is called a significator. Significators are not necessary, but are helpful to base questions off of and build the rest of the reading around.

By no means do you have to follow the reading method I’ve listed above. Shuffling and pulling cards is a very intuitive and personal process. Some readers will lay all the cards out and pick some at random. Some readers will shuffle until one or more cards fall out of the deck. Experiment with your cards and see what feels right.

The idea that Tarot decks have to be gifted to you is a superstition. The decks I’ve bought for myself work just as well as the ones others have given to me.

It is wise to cleanse your deck when you first get it, but I find it a bit impractical to cleanse your deck every single time you use it, especially if you read for yourself daily.

You do not need a special bag to keep your Tarot cards in. All of my decks live happily on my altar.

Tarot cards are not just for divination. They can also be utilized in spells to represent people, spirits, deities, or energies.

You can create a very powerful protection spell by placing the 22 Major Arcana cards in a circle around you.

Oracle cards are very similar to Tarot cards, except that they don’t follow the standard layout of the Minor and Major Arcanas. Oracle cards are divination cards that have their own symbols, meanings, and layout created by the designer of each specific oracle deck. These can often be easier to use, especially for beginners, because they are usually not as cryptic or archetypal as the traditional Tarot.

Do not feel ashamed or less effective if you have to look up the meaning of each card. I’ve been reading the Tarot for 7 years now, and I still have to look up card meanings every now and again.

Tarot readings do not show a future that is set in stone. They show the future based on current circumstances. If a circumstance changes (such as you changing your mind about a course of action), the future will also change.

• • •

Brightest blessings, and best of luck 🌙

2K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

Full Moons 🌕

5K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

Major Arcana Meanings 🃏🌠

0 🃏 THE FOOL - innocence, beggining, free spirit [R] hesitation, carelessness

1 🃏 THE MAGICIAN - skills, willpower, self - confidence [R] trickery, illusions

2 🃏 HIGH PRIESTESS - education, knowledge [R] ignorance, superficial knowledge

3 🃏 EMPRESS - fruitfulness, action, creativity [R] inaction, losing power

4 🃏 EMPEROR - power, effectiveness, reason [R] immature emotions, obstruction to plans

5 🃏 HIEROPHANT - mercy and goodness, a person who shows these qualities [R] overkindness, weakness

6 🃏 LOVERS - new love, partnership [R] disharmony, lost love

7 🃏 CHARIOT - triumph, overcoming obstacles [R] defeat

8 🃏 STRENGTH - inner strength [R] self doubt, insecurities

9 🃏 HERMIT - caution or spiritual advancement [R] fear, overly cautious, unwise acts

10 🃏 WHEEL OF FORTUNE - good fortune, success, luck [R] bad luck, ill fortune

11 🃏JUSTICE - balance, justice, equilibrium [R] imbalance, bigotry, bias

12 🃏 HANGED MAN - wisdom as a result of self-sacrifice [R] selfishness, trying to fit in with the crowd

13 🃏 DEATH - an evolutionary change or transformation [R] stagnation

14 🃏 TEMPERANCE - uniting of seemingly unlike things, moderation [R] clashing interests

15 🃏 DEVIL - excess, materialism [R] freedom, restored control

16 🃏 TOWER - ruin, catastrophe, disruption [R] avoiding or delaying disaster

17 🃏 STAR - hope and a bright future [R] expectations disappointed, barrenness

18 🃏 MOON - deception, hidden enemies [R] confusion, fear

19 🃏 SUN - happiness and contentment [R] negativity

20 🃏 JUDGEMENT - renewal, rebirths [R] setbacks and delays

21 🃏 UNIVERSE - assured success, completion [R] failure, inertia

7K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

autumn things

wearing big sweaters and kneesocks

eating a lot of autumn fruits and vegetables

walking alone in the park and admiring the trees

buying new cute rain boots and raincoat

picking up leaves and making herbarium

wearing long black or brown coat and scarf

preparing pumpkin pie and chocolate cookies

laying under the blanket while it's raining outside

rereading stories of O.Henry

decorating your room with fairylights

looking for your Halloween outfit

drinking cocoa with marshmallow

celebrating the autumn solstice

enjoying the last rays of autumn sun

4K notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

Plant Correspondences: Massachusetts Edition

This is the first post in a series focusing specifically on Witchcraft that is firmly rooted in my home state, Massachusetts. I’ve been inspired by other witches in the community making similar posts about their home states (I recommend searching the #bioregional witchcraft tag on tumblr to find them!) My hope is that other Witches will be inspired and create their own correspondence lists, spells, and rituals that connect them to the land that they live on, and the spirits who live beside them.

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Some of these correspondences are “traditional,” while others are my own UPG.

This list is a combination of plants that are native to Massachusetts, plants that are common in Massachusetts, and/or plants that I find directly in my yard or close by. This is not an exhaustive list.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum): Emotional healing and rejuvination, lunar magic, adapting to change.

White Oak (Quercus alba): Fertility, lust, clearing away negative energies

Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata): Cleansing, protection from headaches and bad weather, astral travel

Witches’ Thimble (Campanula rotundifolia): Attracts Fae, comfort from grief, prevents nightmares, death

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa): Wealth, abundance, luck

Tiger Lily (Lilium bulbiferum): Protection from evil spirits and harm, strength, motivation

Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobil): Love, peace, dreams, abundance, luck

Wild Mint (Mentha arvensis): Uncrossing, protection from evil spirits, increased communication

Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium): Wards of psychic attacks, protection (especially for children)

Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos): Passion, motivation, bravery, success

What plants are local to your area, and how can you use them in your Craft? Create your own post or reply to this one!

If you enjoy my writing on Witchcraft and Spirituality, please consider supporting me at

patreon.com/nightshadeandroses or

ko-fi.com/nightshadeandroses!

202 notes · View notes

theladymoose · 5 years ago

Text

Full Moon/Esbat correspondences

January

January’s moon is the wolf moon. The best spells to perform are protection spells, luck spells, and prosperity spells. This is a time for planning, and looking forward to the future.

February

The February moon is known as the hunger moon. This moon is all about new beginnings, and putting any plans into motion. Good spells to cast at this moon are spells for health, confidence, motivation, fertility and spells to banish negativity.

March

The moon in March is called the worm moon. At this time of year, cleaning and cleansing your space is great. Luck spells, motivation spells, and power spells are performed particularly well on this moon.

April

The moon in April is the pink moon. This moon is good for looking at your career, or your path in life. Spells to cast at this time are career spells, money spells, and love spells.

May

May’s moon is called the hare moon. The hare moon is great for looking at your relationships, both platonic and romantic, and celebrating them. The hare moon is also great for starting new friendships and relationships. Spells for this time are love spells, fertility spells, and friendship spells.

June

June’s moon is the lovers’ moon. This is a time to enjoy all the hard work you put in over the last few months. This is a wonderful time for psychic spells, and also self-love and confidence spells.

July

The moon in July is known as the mead moon. July is great for reconsidering your decisions and relationships, and ending some things if they don’t bring you happiness. Spells for this time are spells related to stamina, your career, or beauty.

August

The moon in August is the grain moon. The grain moon is good for completing plans, and getting motivated. Spells for this time of year are creativity spells, luck spells, money spells, and protection spells for the colder months.

September

September’s moon is called the harvest moon. At this time you may want to give thanks to the summer and all the good things that come with it. You also may want to clean, and start out the colder months with a fresh start. Protection spells, luck and abundance spells, and cleansing spells do well around the harvest moon.

October

October’s moon is known as the falling leaf moon. Around the falling leaf moon the veil is thinning. It is a great time for getting connected with your ancestors and loved ones. Magickal practices for this time of year are divination, necromancy, or other practices that deal with psychic abilities or death.

November

The moon in November is the snow moon. This is a time for cleansing and protecting for the coldest and darkest time of the year. This moon is also great for getting rid of negative relationships, friendships, and situations. Around this moon you may want to cast protection spells, healing spells, money spells, luck spells, and spells for your career.

December

The moon in December is known as the oak moon. The oak moon is good for self-discovery new beginnings. Good spells for this moon are peace, balance, cleansing, and relationship spells.

298 notes · View notes