January

 
So, January has been a month. I was going to just ignore it, and maybe make a post saying that I failed at #yearofthehedgewitch. However, when I was looking over at the topics in the book, I realized that I hadn't failed as much as I thought I had in the month. You see, January is all about making connections and connecting with people on your path. And in that respect, I definitely succeeded.

A Magic of Coffee

I spend a lot of time on the witch-ier parts of social media, and in particular I see a lot of post about tea. Different blends and mixes for different spells, companies like Blackthorn Hoodoo Blends and The Witchwood Teahouse that specialize in teas for different magical workings. For the most part I understand the attraction to tea. It's easy to mix in different herbs for different meanings, and it can feel a lot like crafting a potion in your tea cup. Tea leaves have been used for medicine, magic and divination for centuries. However, what about coffee?

For me, I'm much more likely to reach for a hot cup of coffee than tea. I love making coffee every morning in my Mister Coffee pot and listening to the familiar bubble of coffee. Coffee is it's own kind of potion making, an alchemy that combines beans, heat, and time. So naturally, I began to think about the magical uses of coffee. What would it be good for? Do other people use coffee for magic?

A Reason for Spellwork and A Self Love Spell

I am a witch, and I have a confession to make. I very rarely cast spells or do any spellworking. It's not because I don't use spells in my practice. On the contrary, I have piles of books and lists of spells and whole grimoires full of them that I'd love to cast. It's not because I have any moral reasoning to not use certain types of spells, such as hexes, jinxes, and curses. I believe that "do what you will as long as it harms none" is a ridiculous standard, and honestly, sometimes a well placed hex is needed. It's not because I lack the knowledge or ability to cast any spell that I desire. I have been studying witchcraft, Wicca, the occult, and magic since I was able to go to my local library and check out books by myself. As for ability, that resides solely in myself. Finally, it's not because I lack the needed ingredients. Most of the spells I work, on the rare occasion that I do so, have very simple ingredients and tools that I already have, or I can acquire the items at my local market.

Building A Prosperity and Success Altar

On July 5th, I built my first altar for prosperity and success. The idea for this altar started as an idea for a spell to attract money into my life. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to carve out a little space to really focus on attracting prosperity and success into my life. Through this process of building my altar, I've learned quite a bit about how I personally use magic in my life.