Add Some Oomph To Your Spells With Magical Timing

A Beginner’s Guide to Tea Leaf Reading

Hi there! If you’re here, that means you most likely don’t know how to read tea leaves, or perhaps you could use some more tips? Regardless, you’ll find all of that here! This guide will be pretty all-encompassing, so bear with me!

What is tea leaf reading?

Tasseography, better known as reading tea leaves, is the process of divination using tea leaves. When done properly, the tea leaves will show an image (even if vague) that will symbolize the answer to a question the reader asked. The image can tell the future or just give advice; depending on the question.

How does one read tea leaves?

This is definitely a more involved question, but here’s how I do it; step by step.

1. First, brew your cup of tea. It can be any flavor. But if you are reading for someone else, you may want to let them choose the flavor (I like to do this). However, if you can’t choose a flavor, black tea is pretty standard as the dark color of the tea makes it easier to read.

2. Now, drink your tea. If it is a loose leaf tea, try to drink as little of the leaves as possible. If it is a bag, leave the bag steeping in there and drink. Don’t drink it all, though, leave a little liquid in (not very much at all.)

3. At this point, if you used a tea bag, you’re going to want to open the bag and let the leaves pour into the little amount of liquid there is left.

4. Now, at this point I like to rotate the cup clockwise three times. You can rotate it any direction and as many times you want. You don’t even have to rotate it at all if you don’t want to.

5. Now, you’re going to place a saucer or plate over the top of the cup. Tip the cup over so that most of the liquid and leaves spill onto the plate/saucer.

6. Now, you will see some leaves left in the cup. These should make an image. Although it may be abstract, it’ll be there, even though it might take a while for you to see it.

7. Now it’s time for you to interpret your image. You can either look up the symbology of the image you saw or do your own interpretation based on your own personal associations.

8. Now focus on where the image is. Is it at the top, bottom, left, right, right by the handle? The placement shows what time the interpretation will happen. I will attach an infographic to give a better idea of what I’m talking about here.

And there you have it!! This is how I do my tea leaf readings. It does take some practice, but once you get a hang of it, you’ll only get better.

~Aster-Monroe

The Most Important Magical Care Tool In A Witches Arsenal: Grounding

As a witch who’s always on the go it can sometimes be hard to focus on magical self care. I’m traveling and moving and working with lots of people and life is kind of a whirlwind and I love it but sometimes it all gets to be a little… much. In all of the hustle and bustle my ability to take care of myself and my ability to take care of my magical practice can start to go south. I forget to practice good magical hygiene (such as cleansing and banishing) and I start to feel a little disconnected from the whole thing.

When this happens I like to turn to magical self care! Now, there are two types of magical self care: there’s magic that is used as self care and there’s self care for your magic. The methods I’m about to discuss happen to be useful for both! 

  The Most Important Magical Self Care Tool In A Witches Arsenal: Grounding

Grounding is a vital part of learning to practice magic in a safe and healthy way. The term comes from the process of grounding an electrical circuit. Essentially if an object is negatively charged, grounding allows excess electrons to flow from the object into the earth, and if an object is positively charged, electrons flow from the earth into the object. It’s a method of balancing and equalizing the flow of energy.

Similarly, in witchcraft grounding is the practice of balancing personal energies. Many things can pull us out of balance, emotional turmoil (for empaths it doesn’t even have to be our own emotional turmoil, often we pick up other people’s emotions far too readily!), illness, performing rituals or spells, astral travel, even simple things from our day to day lives can create a state of too much personal energy or too little personal energy.

This can be an incredibly uncomfortable experience.

Symptoms of unbalanced energy:

Dizziness, feeling spaced out, light headed or a floaty feeling

Headaches

Forgetfulness

Misplacing or losing things

Feeling generally unwell or exhausted

Daydreaming and an inability to focus

Sensitivity to light and noise

Feeling over stimulated and nervy

Bumping into things or other general feelings of clumsiness

An uncomfortable sensation of buzzing under the skin

Nausea and vomiting

Pain

Irritability

Insomnia

These symptoms typically become more severe the further out of alignment you are.

It is essential that you learn to ground properly before beginning to practice magic. Often I see newer witches who have yet to learn this skill experiencing unnecessarily strong backlash from their spell work.

Magic is energy! When you move and manipulate energy in such powerful ways it can and will pull your own energy out of balance. Grounding allows you to avoid the unpleasant side effects of spell casting which means a you’ll be a happier witch and have more time and space to practice your craft!

How To Ground Yourself

There are many ways of grounding yourself, I suggest you try a variety of methods and find the one that is most effective for you.

Rooting Yourself

This method works best if you are barefoot and standing on grass or dirt. Imagine your energy extending down through your legs and sinking into the earth, becoming roots and burrowing into the soil to trade energy with the earth. Feel the earth’s energy flow up into your body, filling you all the way to your head and then back down and out through your roots. This energy will cycle through you and clear away any excess energy as well as solving any energy deficiencies you might have. Continue this until you feel calm and comfortable.

Laugh

Laughter is an amazing way to release pent up energy as well as building our personal energy from within! Give yourself time and space to have a good laugh, put on your favorite comedian and enjoy yourself.

Food

Nourishing your body can help to reconnect you to your physical self and refuel depleted energy. Sit down for a hearty meal and give it your full attention, this helps to pull you back into your body fully after astral work or other intense spiritual experiences and gives you a moment to rest and relax.

Water

Water is a wonderful conductor of energy, sitting with your feet in a stream, your hands under a running faucet, or drawing yourself a bath can equalize your energy very quickly. Playing in the rain can also equalize your energy but if it’s sunny out visualizing rain washing your energy clean will work just as well.

Go for a walk

Getting out in nature, especially if you can walk barefoot, will allow your body to trade energy with the earth and equalize your energy levels. Walking in nature also helps to build mindfulness and create a sense of ease in your life!

Wind Visualization

Sit comfortably and begin to visualize your energy body. When you have a solid image of it in your mind imagine a strong gust of wind blowing your energy around you, removing blockages, carrying away excesses and refueling any energetic deficiencies.

Exercise

Gentle exercise can help to release any excess energies. Do not ground this way if you feel lethargic, exhausted or in any kind of pain. This method is ONLY to be used when you have an energy excess!

Body Awareness

Simply giving your body attention can encourage your energy to equalize on its own. Take a few minutes to consciously take stock of every inch of your body. Begin at your head, feel your scalp, then move to focusing on each part of your face. Move downward and feel your neck, your chest, then your arms, your elbows, your wrists, your fingertips. Focus on your torso again, now placing your energy on your stomach, feel it move with your breath. Continue this all the way down to your toes. Try to remain relaxed throughout this process.

Let Yourself Cry

Crying or screaming will release excess emotional energy very quickly. If you’re the sort of person who loves a good cleansing cry then this one is for you.

Stones and Crystals

Certain stones and crystals can be grounding. Hematite is particularly good for this purpose.

Play in the dirt

Getting in contact with the earth through gardening or rolling around in the dirt like you did when you were a kid allows your body to exchange energy with the earth. So let go of your adulthood for a few minutes and get in the dirt!

When To Use Grounding

Grounding is a wonderful tool to use but it isn’t a cure all. It’s also not always desirable to be completely grounded! There are certain types of magic that can be hindered by grounding and other types of magic that are simply not energy based and won’t require grounding to be effective.

When working with spirits being too grounded can make it more difficult to connect to the entity

If you’re fueling magic with emotions or excitement grounding beforehand will not help. You want your emotions and energy high in order to perform that sort of magic.

Sigils generally do not require grounding

Any kind of astral or out of body practice will be made much more difficult if you’re grounded beforehand. Ground after this sort of practice, not before

Dream work will be hindered by grounding

Grounding is most often used for post-spell backlash but it can also be utilized in your day to day life to enhance focus and happiness, lessen anxiety and protect you from emotional runoff.

If you struggle with any of the symptoms of being ungrounded regularly you might benefit from adding a few minutes of grounding into your daily practice!

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A Crash Course in Warding

Let’s just start a series of crash courses in witchcraft, since sometimes we need to learn things the quick and dirty way. Today, let’s talk about wards.

What are wards? Wards are protective energy barriers. They keep things out. You can place them around your home, certain rooms, even on certain objects. With practice and clear intentions, you can focus the wards to block out everything or only certain things. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Why should I ward my space and my things? Wards can keep out all sorts of things you don’t want in your home. They can block out negative entities, wayward spirits, mischievous entities, demons, and (if you’re really good at what you’re doing) even gods. Some people ward their divination tools so they know there are no spirits tampering with the results.

So what do I need to do first? Cleanse. This is very important. Wards are kind of like walls, or perhaps more accurately, bubbles. If you don’t clean the space first, you might trap things inside your ward bubble. You do not want that. There are lots of methods of cleansing, from burning sage to spritzing oil-infused water. Find a method you’re comfortable with and cleanse everything you’re going to be warding.

I’ve cleansed my home/item. Now what? Now we ward. I’m going to give you a couple methods. Let’s start with my favorite, incense warding.

Incense warding can also be done with spritzes of water/essential oil blends or herb-infused water if you can’t have smoke in your space. Whichever you’re using, you want to have a blend of protective herbs. Bay leaves, cinnamon, ginger, mustard seed, and salt are some great options that you can find in the grocery store, no fancy witch shop necessary. If you’re using incense, make sure you’re using natural incense and not super cheap stuff that’s artificially scented. The magic is in the herbs, and you won’t get that from fake scents.

How to Incense/Spritz Ward an Item

Smoke or spray item.

Visualize the smoke or spray clinging to the item and wrapping around it like a tight blanket, protecting it from anything that would cause harm (or interference, etc.).

How to Incense/Spritz Ward Your Space

Pick a place to start. I always start at my altar, but it’s up to you. If you’re doing multiple floors, start either at the top or bottom floor.

Moving continuously to your right, smoke or spray along the walls and door frames. As you go, imagine a barrier being formed around the walls, ceiling, and floor, pushing outwards to fill the room. Visualize the smoke or spray forming the barrier to keep out anything that will do you harm. [If you have a hard time with visualization, you can simply focus on the intent of the smoke or spray keeping things out.]

Keep moving right, following the layout of your home, making sure you get all the closet spaces. You basically want to outline the entire area you’re protecting, whether it’s you’re room or your whole house.

For multiple floors, repeat on each level.

For big layouts where there are rooms in the middle, go around those rooms as well.

I like to reinforce the wards over outside doors, windows, and mirrors. These are all passages of sorts, and when I reach them, I use the incense to draw a pentagram in the air over them. This is entirely up to you.

You’re done when you’ve reached the point where you began.

So why do we go to the right? Is that important? Kind of. Going to the right is like going clockwise. It’s about making things and progression, where going to the left or counter-clockwise is about deconstruction or reversal. [I read this idea in a witchy book a long time ago and will try to find a source when I can. If you honestly don’t feel it makes a difference, do whatever you’re comfortable with.]

Can I place wards that keep out certain things but not others? Sure. When you’re going around your space/warding your item, your intent is what’s important. I like to ward out entities that mean harm - it’s nice and general and doesn’t keep the fae out. Some people might want certain spirits and not others. Have your intentions clear in your mind as you place your wards.

That’s neat and all, but what are some other ways to ward? Let’s list a few.

Symbol/Sigil Wards

Choose (or make) a symbol or sigil that has protective properties. I’ve done this with Pluto’s astrological symbol because I worship him and it’s my way of being like, “Hey, Pluto. Please protect me, kthanxbai.” Pentagrams are nice and basic witchy/pagan symbols if you like them.

Draw the symbol over doors and windows. You do not literally have to draw it. It can be in water, incense smoke, or just your finger against the surface if you want.

As you’re drawing, make sure you have your intentions in mind - that nothing harmful can pass through this door, that the windows remain closed against entities, etc.

Energy Bubbles (if you have control over your energy)

Pick an item - any item.

Get your warding intentions in mind.

Channel lots of energy into the item. Visualize it emanating from the item in a bubble to fill your space.

If you’ve got mad skillz, you can form the bubble to the walls and be super exact with where its barriers are.

Vocal Wards

If you like spoken (or thought) spells, come up with a small chant to protect your space.

You can repeat this chant as you focus on your item being protected or as you walk around your home, protecting every room.

This is really great to incorporate into basically any other form of warding and gives your magic an extra bit of oomph.

I’ve heard wards can “fade” over time. True or false? Wards are just energy. Like all energies, they can disperse and weaken over time, or if something particularly nasty puts effort into destroying them. Redo your wards every so often (I do mine every few months, but it’s up to you), and especially before spiritual interactions. I also like to do mine after I’ve had lots of company, to kind of clear out family’s lingering energies and reinforce what I don’t want in my house.

In general, the intent of your wards is the most important part. Know what you want to keep out. This concludes our crash course on warding. Now go forth and protect some stuff!

How to Create a Prosperity Bowl

by Oma, Open Minded Witch of the Valley

What You Need:

7 coins

1 key (at least)

Salt

Bowl

What You Do:

Place the bowl before you and say:

"This bowl is a vessel of prosperity. What I place within its depths shall grow."

Place the coins in the bowl one by one, saying each time:

"By this coin, my prosperity grows."

Sprinkle the salt atop the bowl, including the coins, saying as you do so:

"With this salt, my wealth grows."

Place the key in the bowl and say:

"With this key, my opportunities grow."

Now place the bowl on your altar or on a mantelpiece, somewhere central and important where you will see it often. Periodically toss in loss change, repeating the above blessings every time.

My your prosperity, wealth, and opportunity grow. Blessed be.

TAROT CHEAT SHEET #1

MAJOR ARCANA

0. THE FOOL | blank slate, beginning, innocence ®* | reckless, negligence, unaware of consequences 1. THE MAGICIAN | willpower, manifestation of desires ® | trickery, illusions, lies, out of touch w/ truth 2. THE HIGH PRIESTESS | intuition, inner voice ® | repressed/unheard inner voice 3. THE EMPRESS | mother figure, nurture, earth/nature ® | smothering, dependence, needing to let go 4. THE EMPEROR | authority, structure, control, father figure ® | tyranny, too much control 5. THE HIEROPHANT | tradition, conformity, morality ® | rebellion, subversiveness, divergence 6. THE LOVERS | union, duality, choice, harmony ® | disharmony, loss of balance 7. THE CHARIOT | self-control & willpower leading to victory ® | loss of control, lack of direction 8. STRENGTH | bravery, inner understanding that radiates power ® | self-doubt, insecurity, weakness 9. THE HERMIT | solitude, contemplation, seeking inner truth ® | loneliness, isolation, disconnect w/ fellow humans 10. WHEEL OF FORTUNE | change, cycles, inevitability ® | bad luck, helplessness, series of bad events 11. JUSTICE | cause & effect, karmic retribution ® | unpunished misbehavior, unfair, turning a blind eye 12. THE HANGED MAN | willing sacrifice, release of control ® | stalling, needless sacrifice, waiting to no avail 13. DEATH | end, cyclical closure, metamorphosis ® | fear of change, stagnation, limbo, holding on 14. TEMPERANCE | moderation, balance, middle path ® | extremes, excess, lack of balance 15. THE DEVIL | materialism, destructive patterns, excess ® | freedom, release, restoring control 16. THE TOWER | sudden disaster, upheaval, collapse ® | delaying inevitable disaster, avoiding suffering that could lead to growth 17. THE STAR | hope, faith, guidance ® | faithlessness, lack of guidance, negative thoughts 18. THE MOON | unconscious, intuition, illusions, dreams ® | confusion, misinterpretation 19. THE SUN | success, clarity, positivity, conscious ® | negativity, depression, sadness, pessimism 20. JUDGEMENT | reckoning, honest evaluation of oneself ® | lack of self-awareness, self-loathing 21. THE WORLD | completion, wholeness, fulfillment ® | incompletion, no closure, nearing end of journey but something is missing

*® = reverse card meaning*® = reverse card meaning

Tarot Cheat Sheet #1 - Major Arcana

Tarot Cheat Sheet #2 - Wands

Tarot Cheat Sheet #3 - Cups

Tarot Cheat Sheet #4 - Swords

Tarot Cheat Sheet #5 - Pentacles

School Witchery

Magic resources for all my student witches out there! Remember, magic isn’t going to save your grades if you don’t also put the effort in. But it can certainly support you through your journey as a hardworking student <3

General tips and advice:

To the witches who are going back to school

Magical school tips

Back to school witch tips

Tips for high school witches

School witch tips

Herbs and crystals to help with school

Kitchen witchcraft for school lunches

University/college witch tips

Everything you need to know about being a college witch

College witchcraft

College witch tips

Little tips for the college witch

Dorm life:

Dorm friendly offerings & altars

Dorm hacks for the college witch

Dorm room witch tips

Dorm witchery

Living magically with roommates 

Kitchen witchcraft for the dorm

Candle/incense alternatives: [X] [X] [X]

Studying:

Witch study tips

Study candle spell

Study sachet

Spell for focus on homework

Stay strong and carry on study spell

Student witch hacks for focus and concentration

Back in focus spell bottle

Studying tips for witches

Tests and exams:

“I can do this!” motivation bottle

Cramming for a test spell

A charm to help you succeed on exams

Using sigils on your tests (tip)

Sigils masterpost for finals week

A spell for finals week

Focus for finals spell bottle

Final exam spell

Other spells:

A spell for good grades

Back to school success sachet

School success sachet spell

Knot spell for doing well in school

Sweet school year spell

“Leave me be” spell

Spell to banish anxiety and get a good mark

Restful sleep spell jar

Spells for back to school (masterpost)

Sigils for school, study and education (masterpost)

You may also like:

Magic to Replenish Energy 

Rejuvenating witchcraft 

Housewarming magic (dorm)

Sick witchery 

Periods suck. Witchcraft helps.

Mentally ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Chronically ill witchcraft: For your symptoms

Drink Magic Masterpost 

Bath Magic Masterpost 

Bedridden witch series

This is the Baby Money Yoda, reblog in the next 60 seconds of seeing this to receive a blessing from our green bean prince.

Basic Homesteading Skills

Crafts

quilting

embroidery

cross-stitch

knitting

crochet

sewing

Cooking and Baking

homemade bread

homemade butter

homemade extracts

dandelion jelly

Canning

26 canning recipes

canning jars 101

60 canning recipes

Gardening

edible trees to plant

what to plant to save the bees

cure and braid garlic

save seeds for next year

braid onions for long term storage

build a greenhouse

Animals

homemade chicken feed

raising mealworms for chickens

why to raise nigerian dwarf goats

Outdoors

starting a fire with sticks

trail signs

knotting

find true north without a compass

Medicine

homemade neosporin

all purpose healing salve

Basic Homesteading Skills

Crafts

quilting

embroidery

cross-stitch

knitting

crochet

sewing

Cooking and Baking

homemade bread

homemade butter

homemade extracts

dandelion jelly

Canning

26 canning recipes

canning jars 101

60 canning recipes

Gardening

edible trees to plant

what to plant to save the bees

cure and braid garlic

save seeds for next year

braid onions for long term storage

build a greenhouse

Animals

homemade chicken feed

raising mealworms for chickens

why to raise nigerian dwarf goats

Outdoors

starting a fire with sticks

trail signs

knotting

find true north without a compass

Medicine

homemade neosporin

all purpose healing salve