Witch tip: give a dust jacket to your witchy books using wrapping paper.
They can be on your bookshelf instead of between your mattress. Plus it gives some extra protection from spilled potions, dirt, charcoal and other magical debris.
I grew up in a home where all the cookbooks were covered like this. Most had labels on the spines, but some where just known as “the one with the peaches”.
Take care of your books, and if you tape the paper to itself, almost like a present, you won’t damage the book and you can go crazy with Halloween just ended, and the holidays ahead I️m sure you can find a pattern(s) you like!
We all do it. Here are some common pitfalls we run into when practicing witchcraft (and how to stop making things more difficult for ourselves!)
No Standards for Signs
“I saw a ____. Could that be a sign?” Nobody knows for sure, we weren’t there and we’re not you. Even if you’ve asked for a sign and are waiting for a response, now you’re spending brainpower trying to assess every little thing around you. Smooth out the process by asking for specific signs so you know what you’re looking for. Color + Noun, such as “a green feather” tends to work well. If you’re not expecting a sign about a specific thing, let the Universe know what your standards are. “I will read things as a sign only if ____.”
Too Many Spell Factors
More spell factors, generally, helps hone and amplify a spell. You can also go overboard. If you’re exhausting yourself trying to find the exact moment the astrological hour, moon phase, and relevant constellations all line up with you having specific rare ingredients, memorizing a chant in another language, blah blah blah, you usually don’t need to go that hard. Just pick two or three you can reasonably achieve and do what you need to do.
Being Lost in the Research
“I’m not ready to cast this spell until I ____.” Research and prepping yourself properly are important, but it takes years to become a true “"expert.”“ At some point, we need to be confident in ourselves and actually take action. You’re ready. It’s fine.
Waiting for the Perfect Moment
Part of this can be astrological (see Spell Factors) but it’s also just life. There’s never a perfect moment to do anything… the Universe doesn’t put those moments on a platter for us. Waiting for the exact perfect time can become an excuse to stall very easily! To quote Shia LaBeouf, "JUST DO IT!!!”
Needing a Second Opinion… on Everything
Second opinions aren’t always bad; they can be very useful! But you don’t need external validation for every move or interpretation you make. Remember that your craft is your own, not theirs. You have a good head on your shoulders! If you’re still feeling unsure, write it down somewhere and come back to it later to see how you feel.
Overprotection
Wards, shields, and circles oh my! On top of that, there are protection methods galore with amulets, house charms, guardian spirits, reciting scripture, hand motions, and more. These are largely preventative measures that aren’t under constant attack unless you are Up To Some Shit. No need to feel scared or vulnerable for not having every single one, just like you don’t need to guard your house with triple locks, motion sensors, high-tech camera feeds, an electric fence, a guard dog, and a moat.
Materialism
There are so many beautiful tools out there. I do think liking the way our craft looks, to a point, is helpful because it gets you in the mindset. You can easily work with whatever you have around you, though. It’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling like we need some specific ritual item that we’ve been doing just fine without before. Or that a functioning tool works okay, but it would be even better to shell out for the fancy one. Or that we have to have a statue of our deities. It’s not necessary and it hurts your wallet, too.
Forgetting the Mundane
Not everything requires magical solutions. You don’t need to perform a banishing spell when blocking their social media will have the same effect. Being firm about boundaries and telling someone directly their actions bother you (and tell them to stop) can usually prevent the need for a binding spell. The best clear-the-air/resolve conflict spell is an honest conversation. Figuring out if someone likes you romantically can be a question for the cards, or you can just ask them. (Yes, that’s super nerve-wracking. You can do it, I promise.)
Absolutely fucking incensed by this ad. I can get unlimited months of unlimited reading and listening through Libby on my phone you dumb sack of shit Amazon I will not let you kill libraries I will not let you kill libraries I will not let you kill libraries
Listen to me. You can read any library’s digital collection via Libby in America and apparently in uh 78 other countries. If that doesn’t do it for you, the internet archive has two million digitized books you can access for free. The only thing I can’t help you access is books self-published through Amazon but even then sometimes they’re ALSO published through separate websites. Do not fucking give in to this amazon bullshit. Amazon has a vested interest in destroying libraries and replacing them with for-profit bookstores or book rentals. Do not fucking let them do that. It’s up to us to support libraries and keep literature free and accessible and we have to do everything in our power to act in that vein
Amazon can afford to throw money from exploited workers towards random shit like making an MMO and trying to destroy libraries. Libraries cannot fight that kind of financial might. It’s our job to see amazon, tell it no, and choose libraries instead. As often as we can.
If anyone has info on other ways to ethically access self-published books on amazon feel free to add it
Project Gutenberg is also a really useful source for free ethical eBooks! They’re volunteer run, and have free PDFs and eBooks for any out of Copyright book– both fiction and non fiction! So if you’re after a copy of Pride & Prejudice, or The Great Gatsby or The Communist Manifesto, that you want to download and keep – check them out!
also zlibrary (books4you) is a nonprofit digital library where you can download books and articles for free as pdfs or kindle files! You have to have an account to download but it’s free to make one. I have found almost all of my academic textbooks this way. It’s free and (for those of you who care about this) completely legal!
Dr. Yasmin El Shazly talks about the importance of the village of Deir El Medina, which housed the craftsmen who build and decorated the tombs in the Valley of the Kings (Nile: 5,000 Years of History, 2018).
the whole “alpha male” thing is so funny because like. one scientist was like “hey i noticed this thing in wolves” are people were like “cool. that applies to humans too and a whole bunch of people who seem to be acting seriously are going to construct an entire psychosocial hierarchy around it” and the scientist is like “hang on wait i actually think i was wrong. about the wolves”
