Sea Magick

Beginner Witchcraft - UPDATE

A common post request.

How to begin:

Begin by reading everything you possibly can about witchcraft, plants, other religions, etc.

Take notes on everything you can.

Be creative and use your imagination, look for symbols in your day-to-day lives.  

Re-read your notes and important information,

Do your research.

Make sure you research all paths and philosophies.

Start a consistent meditation and visualization regime.

Find a path you love.

Learn about yourself and your path and beliefs.

Work with your energy and practice harnessing it.

Start practicing your spells after enough research.

Write your own spells and start a grimoire.

Continue reading and learning.                                                                                                                                                                                      

Topics to research:    

Herbalism

Different witchcraft paths

Witchcraft history and its origins.

Different deities in different cultures

Folklore, superstitions,  and wives tales

Mythology from different cultures

The elements Air, Earth, Water, Fire

Basic tools and supplies for the craft

Sabbats and esabats

Witchcraft misconceptions

Nature cycles and lunar phases

Divination

Alchemy

Chakras

Auras

Working with spirits and angels

Tarot

Crystals

Runes                                                                                                       Magickal theory

Spells

Curses - the dangers and how to cast them properly

Sigils

Familiars

Incense

Ways to stay safe when practising

Types of Witches

Cheap witchcraft supplies

Dangers of witchcraft

Solitary v.s Coven witchcraft

Ritual structure

How to set up an altar

Study Nature

Negative energy and how to rid of it.

Candle magick

Astrology

Psychic Practises

Faeries

Protection against harm

Things to practice:

Grounding and centering

Meditation

Casting and closing a circle

Raising, releasing, and visualizing energy.

Record any magick practices, visions, or dreams you receive.   

Spend as much time as possible in nature.        

Listen and observe.               

Practice invoking Gods, Goddesses, and elements.  

Cleansing

Charging

Warding

Keep your grimoire up-to-date

Find a mentor - Someone to help you find your path

Practise staying concentrated

Intent

Remember:

All paths are good paths, do not insult anyone’s path.

You do not need any fancy equipment to practise

You don’t need to practise everyday

Follow your path don’t  let others tell you what to do or force their beliefs on you.

Believe in yourself!

Take care of yourself

Be respectful of others paths and beliefs

Never stop learning

Ask questions

Make lots of friends in the community

Stay safe

Make sure you do not steal from closed religions!

Have fun!

May the moon light your path!

==Moonlight Academy==

BEST WITCHY BOOKS FOR THE BEGINNER WITCH

Buckland’s Complete Book Of Witchcraft - This book is a most have in every Wiccan’s (If you are) collection because of how informative it is. I highly recommend this book to really every witch who hasn’t read it yet.

The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens, and Spells - This book is a nice add to a baby witches collection, for how simple of a read it is. Not to mention how aesthetically pleasing it is.

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner - This book is also a very nice read, it has a perfect amount of information where you wont get information overload too quickly. Its unbiased and offers a great first start to starting the craft.

Wicca: by Harmony Nice - If you are a complete newbie to Wicca or the craft, then this is the book for you. This book is easy to swallow, and offers easy to understand information for newbies without being too difficult to process. 

Of Witchcraft and whimsy - I think this is the book for newbies who want to seek the more modern practices of witchcraft. This is a book that focuses more on the craft than Wicca itself. It is also complete with plenty of unique and fun spells perfect for beginner level.

Pastel Spells - A perfect book for newbies looking to try out spells of all types at a beginner level.

The Green Witch - Perfect for a beginning green witch, this book is complete with all the basics of Green magick complete with the correspondences of herbs and food, recipes, and basic practices and morals of a green witch.

Spellcrafting: Strengthen the Power of Your Craft by Creating and Casting Your Own Unique Spells - Perfect for a new witch looking to formulate their own unique spells.

The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide - Perfect for new witches looking to expand their knowledge on herbalism.

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Magickal Herbs: Your Complete Guide to the Hidden Powers of Herbs - Beautifully illustrated guide to herbs and their magickal properties.

The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary:Rituals & Recipes for a Year of Earth Magick and Sacred Medicine Making - Perfect for the beginning witch interested in herbalism, ands its all around a pretty little book.

I love you all! My DMs, mail, and comments are always open! 

xoxo, Angel

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Altar for the Summer Solstice. 

HELLO OLD FRIEND - A DEITY SPREAD

For understanding new or existing deities that have presented themselves in your life. It invokes an understanding that the relationship flows both ways, hence the focus not only on them but you. This can equally be used for spirit communication/angel communication/etc. 

Crystals to use: 

Amethyst 

Clear Quartz

Black Tourmaline 

Lapis Lazuli 

**When contacting spirits/deities, please take the necessary precautions (cleanse the room, salt circles, ground yourself.) At ANY time where you feel like the reading is out of your control or that you are in danger, politely end the reading and cleanse your space once again. Be safe, know your limits, and don’t feel bad for politely declining a deity/spirit in which you feel like you can’t serve with where you are at this point in your life. 

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💖✨🌟 a super duper easy spell to send someone loving and healing energies 💖✨🌟

i just discovered this method because a selenite crystal has been sitting on one of my friend’s photo for days and VOILA a light bulb popped up above my head

gather;

 a picture of the person you wanna send energy to

a crystal with appopriate properties for the kind of energy you want to send (i want to send love so in my case, it’s rose quarts -that is, unless i lost the crystal :D - )

directions;

put the crystal on top of the picture, light a candle or insence if you want and CLEAR YOUR MIND

make sure you’re in a good mood to cast this spell

now with your eyes closed or open, looking at the picture and the crystal;

visualize the loving energy floating out of the crystal and into the picture, covering every inch of the photo with the color that you visualize the energy to be. visualize and feel the amazing energy transmitting into the person and them feeling great and loved. put as much energy as you can into this and do it until you feel it’s enough.

that’s it! spread the love 💖💕🌈

Books and Resources (Paganism, Witchcraft and More)

This list has been updated over the years and will continued to be updated over time. If you re-post this elsewhere, kindly credit me because it’s taken a long time to compile what I feel are useful resources on the following topics. The very basics are covered in my FAQ.

Last updated: 6/20/2015

Paganism:

A Pagan Primer — For Those New to Paganism

Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions by River and Joyce Higginbotham

Pagan Spirituality: A Guide to Personal Transformation by River and Joyce Higginbotham

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America by Margot Adler

Connecting to the Power of Nature by Joe H. Slate

Exploring the Pagan Path: Wisdom from the Elders (a collection of articles, essays and general commentary from various pagan authors)

ChristoPaganism: An Inclusive Path by River Higginbotham and Joyce Higginbotham

Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe by H.R. Ellis Davidson

Wicca:

Wicca for the Rest of Us

Wicca Resources

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner 

The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald Gardner

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk (most recent edition only, old editions have inaccurate info that has since been updated)

Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle by Deborah Lipp

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Scott Cunningham) – note that this book is somewhat outdated, due to it being written in the 1980s.

Witchcraft (non-Wiccan):

The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judika Illes

Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells by Judika Illes

Crone’s Book of Charms & Spells by Valerie Worth

Witchcraft: a History by P.G. Maxwell-Stuart

Mrs. B’s Guide to Household Witchery by Kris Bradley

Candle Magic for Beginners by Richard Webster

Master Book of Candle Burning by Henry Gamache

A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk by Peter Paddon

Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary and Jane Cox

Non-Wiccan Witchcraft Reading List

Witch of Forest Grove: Sarah Anne Lawless

Welcome to Witchcraft - A Post for Beginners

The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture) by Richard Godbeer

Witchcraft by Type:

Hedge Witchery Resources

Traditional Witchcraft Resources

Historical Witchcraft Books

Sea Witchcraft Resources / Sea Witchcraft Tag

Cottage Witchcraft Resources

Kitchen and Green Witchcraft Resources

Green Witchcraft: Walking the Green Path

Kitchen in the Cottage

Urban Witchcraft Resources

College Witchcraft/Tips

Chaos Magic:

What is Chaos Magic?

Resources for Sigil Magic and Crafting

World Mythology:

www.sacred-texts.com (free archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore, and the esoteric)

Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies by Alice Mills

Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology: Heroes, Heroines, Gods, and Goddesses from Around the World by Philip Wilkinson

The Oxford Companion to World Mythology by David Leeming

World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide by Roy Willis

Hellenic Polytheism and Greek Mythology:

www.hellenion.org

www.theoi.com

neokoroi.org

baringtheaegis.blogspot.com

Hellenic Recon Beginner’s Guide

Reconstruction of Hellenic Polytheistic Practices

Hellenic Calendar

An Outline for a Presentation on Hellenismos

Hellenic Resources by Bayoread

Hellenic Resource Download Bundle 1 by Elaphos

Hellenic Resource Download Bundle 2 by Elaphos

Orphic Incenses

Hellenic Terminology

Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monst​ers by Donna Jo Napoli

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire

Old Stones, New Temples by Drew Campbell

Greek Mythology and Prehistory by W. Harris

The Gods of Reason by Timothy Jay Alexander

A Beginner’s Guide to Hellenismos by Timothy Jay Alexander

Hellenismos Today by Timothy Jay Alexander

The Complete World of Greek Mythology by Richard Buxton

Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths? by Paul Veyne

Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored by Sarah Kate Istra Winter

Homer’s Iliad, The Odyssey and Homeric Hymns

The Homeric Hymns (PDF) and The Orphic Hymns (PDF)

Homer’s Odyssey (PDF)

Homer’s Iliad (Theoi.com)

Hesiod: Works and Days (PDF version here)

The Theogony of Hesiod (PDF version here)

Magic in Ancient Greece:

Magic in the Ancient Greek World by Derek Collins

Magic, Witchcraft and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Daniel Ogden

Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Georg Luck

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation (PDF)

Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion

Greek Folk Religion by Martin P Nilsson 

Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World by John G. Gager

Magic in the Ancient World by Fritz Graf

Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World by Matthew W. Dickie

Roman Polytheism:

Click Here for Books and Resources

Kemeticism and Ancient Egyptian Mythology:

www.egyptianmyths.net

Kemeticism by The Twisted Rope

The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson

Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art by Richard H. Wilkinson

Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Pinch

Celtic Recon and Myth:

Celtic Folklore on Sacred Texts

The Celtic Recon FAQ

The Religion of the Ancient Celts (Sacred Texts)

What is Celtic? 101

Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael

The Celts: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe

The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales by Patrick Form

Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend by Miranda Green

Gods and Heroes of the Celts by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt

The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton

Early Irish Myths and Sagas by Jeffrey Gantz

Druidry/Druidism:

druidry.org

druidnetwork.org

Druidry - A Mega List of Resources

Non-Wiccan Witches: Modern Druidry

Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions (Sacred Texts)

Asatru, Heathenism and Norse Mythology:

www.thetroth.org

grumpylokeanelder.tumblr.com

“Alright, I’m interested in this Norse stuff. Where do I even start?”

The Eddas: The Keys to the Msteries of the North by James Allen Chisholm

The Poetic Edda (PDF)

The Prose Edda (PDF)

Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Krasskova

Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs by John Lindow

Dictionary of Northern Mythology by Rudolf Simek

Teutonic Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie

The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe by Mark Puryear

Crystals and Stones:

The Encyclopedia of Crystals by Judy Hall

The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall

Crystal Healing by Judy Hall

Rocks & Minerals by Chris Pellant  (identification handbook)

Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic by Scott Cunningham

Crystal Grids: How and Why They Work by Hibiscus Moon

The Book of Crystal Spells by Ember Grant

Herbal (Magical, Medicinal):

The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl

Compendium of Herbal Magic by Paul Beyerl  

The Green Mantle: An Investigation Into Our Lost Knowledge of Plants by Michael Jordan

The Book of Magical Herbs: Herbal History, Mystery, & Folklore by Margaret Picton

A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham (good for quick reference, but not in depth information)

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham 

A List of Threatened Magical Herbs

Resources to Start Learning Local Plants

Notes: please take care before using herbs for medicinal and/or supplemental purposes. Many herbs are toxic (some authors fail to mention this!) and/or have harmful side-effects. Always do research and consult a professional before use. 

Fae and Faerie Faith:

My Masterlist of Fae Resources

Fairy Faith 101

Working with Faery (Info and Resources)

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans

Runes:

Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic by Edred Thorsson

Runelore: A Handbook of Esoteric Runology by Edred Thorsson

The Complete Illustrated Guide to the Runes by Nigel Pennick

Authors to avoid (due to misinformation, historical inaccuracies, poor research, potentially harmful advice, and/or failure to cite sources):

Silver Ravenwolf (here’s why)

DJ Conway

Edain McCoy

Ann Moura 

Ralph Blum (runes)

approach Llewellyn-published books with caution — there are some great ones, but many aren’t well researched and may contain misinformation.

if all else fails, Google the author and ask around to see what people have to say about them - many bad authors have entire pages or discussions dedicated on why to avoid them!

always fact check information (especially if it involves ingesting anything or putting anything on the skin — just because an ingredient is natural does not mean it isn’t harmful/toxic)

How do I know what to believe? Critical Thinking and Pagan Books

Witch’s Ladder Iron Key Curse

“Take a length of waxed cotton twine to bind the spirits tight, as long as your forearm, soaked in red wine for a fortnight.

Tie three sprigs of mugwort, culled under the summer moon, dried through the winter, burned as spectre’s commune.

With cunning words we bind together in aged knotted script, three iron nails dug from the earth of a rotted crypt.

Take an old penny with a hole driven into the Queen’s eye, and through it slip the wine soak cotton so that it may lie.

Bind a rabbit bone to give agency to that earthbound wight, that from the grave they may ride out in harrowed flight.

With an iron key to anchor our spell and lock away secrets true, or open forgotten doors through which our dreams are born anew.”

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witches don't gatekeep knowledge or little aids, so I hope this cheat sheet is as helpful for you as it is to me.

Witchcraft for when depression hits 🥀

Sometimes, we may think that our magick is invalid, or that our deities don’t want to work with us anymore when we have depression. Altars get dusty, the air gets stale, and maybe you have quit working with magick all together, but still identify as a practicing witch.

Depression is an illness. If a professional runner fractured a leg, how could they continue to run while going through recovery?  Can a witch continue to do mental work if their mental health is suffering? Think about it: witches are constantly using their brain to get themselves in a highly spiritual and magickal state. You cannot expect yourself to want to work with magick if getting out of bed is difficult on its own.

Understand that your deities are forgiving and understanding beings. Your magick will not dwindle. In fact, when you are sick, your deities and spirit guides will protect you and make sure nothing bad happens to you while you are sick. Don’t feel guilty for your depression. Depression is an illness, not a lack of dedication or general carelessness. I am going to give you advice on what kinds of spiritual work you can do while in a depressive episode.

Candle magick 🕯

🔮 Light a candle of your choice that symbolizes whatever you want to manifest (i.e yellow = confidence)

Aromatherapy 🧼

🔮 Different essential oils promote all different kinds of things. Lemon is uplifting and happy, while lavender is calming and promotes sleep.

Healing crystals 💎

🔮 All you need to do is set the intention. You can keep crystals by your bed, or you can set them up in a specific way for a spell or intention.

Chanting 🗣

🔮 You don’t need to get up for this one! You can even chant in your head.

Sleep meditation 💤

🔮 Sleep meditations are wonderful because of all of the insight you can get from intense dreaming. YouTube has great sleep meditation music.

Guided meditation 🧘🏻‍♂️ 🌀 🧘🏼‍♀️

🔮 This can be done in the bed as well. There are meditations on akashic records, spirit guides, past lives, you name it.

Be safe and know that it is okay to feel depressed sometimes. Make sure to get professional help if possible to help if these depressive episodes are chronic or prolonged. Know that the world loves you. Your deities love you. I love you. We love you.

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"Never fear chaos because out of chaos something is always born. Instead of worrying about a chaotic situation, I await the birth. When your mind becomes chaotic—or when my mind is—it is because it is impossible to see the whole".

Carl Payne Tobey in The Astrology of Inner Space