Grimoire-archives - The Lady's Grimoire

Actually useful shit to have as a witch

You really don't need all the fancy bullshit every tumblr influencer will ever tell you to use. Here's my countdown ofaxtually useful shit.

A pocket knife, preferably with a wood handle. Use that bitch for everything, enchant it, carve symbols in it. It will absolutely be your best friend.

A good bag or backpack with a couple of plastic or ziploc bags in it. If you ever run off into the woods to find minerals, bones, plants, etc. A set aside bag and some things to store your treasures in becomes a necessity.

Basic divinatory sets. You don't have to buy fancy shit, learn to divine with playing cards and dice, or learn geomancy, lithomancy, or rune casting with homemade sets. A tarot deck is nice, but it isn't necessary when you've got so many other divinatory aids available.

A nice sized chunk of scrap cloth. When you process dried plants or sort new ones, that shit can and will get everywhere. A scrap piece of muslin or linen can help contain all of that mess and make clean up way easier.

A stash of good rocks. Draw sigils or symbols on those babies and leave them in the garden, the windowsill,property boundaries, under the stoop, etc. You can never have too many good rocks.

A pendulum, for fucks sake. The cards are going to be vague as hell when you're trying to figure out yes or no questions, and using a candle to communicate with spirits is really fucking hard outside. If you can't afford one, find a nice chunk of pointy quartz and learn to macrame.

A workspace. Everyone talks about having big fancy altars, but no one mentions that you need a good surface to do all your work on.

Storage, so much storage. I'm not talking about mason jars and pill bottles, I'm talking about where you put all the things you put in those jars. Having a workspace with drawers is immeasurably helpful.

A broom and water source. You're going to be cleaning up after yourself a lot, it's helpful to have a jug of water and a broom that stays by your workspace.

A mode of cleansing. I make a salt concoction to scatter around my workspace on short notice and store it close by.

On that note: SOMETHING TO CANCEL SPELLS WITH. Eventually, something will go wrong. You'll want to end that spell immediately. Have something to do it with.

A strainer. If you don't have a blender, rub dried plants across it to get a powder. If you do have a blender, you can strain that powder with it. Either way, if you intend to powder shit, get a strainer.

Small trays. It makes drying flowers so much easier if you have a small metal surface to contain them with- then just stick those suckers in a southern window and let em go.

Yarn/string scraps. Having a box or drawer of scraps makes trying this up to dry easier and a bit less wasteful.

A stash of offerings for whatever you work with. Honey for fae, coins for graveyard gatekeepers, alcohol for ancestors, etc.

Protective talismans or charms. Once you're into all of this stuff, you'll likely stick your nose in something you shouldn't. Having basic protection with you or in your workspace is incredibly important. A key and hagstone with red string is simple and effective.

A lighter- so many people forget the most basic shit. You're going to want to light shit on fire if you're a witch.

And a last tip- if something is too hard for a mortar and pestle, a plastic bag and hammer works too.

Herb of the Day

#HOTD

Echinacea

Binomial nomenclature:

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea augustifolia

Echinacea is a genus, or group, of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. The Echinacea genus has nine species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are found only in eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas.

Today we will deal with my two favoured species, augustifolia and purpurea.

Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a North American plantspecies in sunflower family. It is widespread across much of the Great Plains of central Canada and the central United States.

Echinacea angustifolia is a perennial herb up to 40 to 70 centimetres (16 to 28 in) tall with spindle-shaped taproots that are often branched. The stems and leaves are moderately to densely hairy. The plant produces flower heads one per side branch, each at the end of a long peduncle. Each head contains 8-21 pink or purple ray florets plus 200-300 purple disc florets.

Echinacea angustifolia blooms late spring to mid summer. It is found growing in dry prairies and barrens with rocky to sandy-clay soils.There are two subspecies:

Echinacea angustifolia subsp. angustifolia is native to central Canada and the central United States from Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the north to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana in the southEchinacea angustifolia subsp. strigosa has a more limited range in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.

Obviously I grow and wildcraft the southern variety, but I find them both here sometimes.

Many Native American groups used this plant for a variety of medicinal purposes, including pain relief and relief of colds and toothaches.

Echinacea purpurea is an herbaceousperennial up to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 25 cm (10 in) wide at maturity. Depending on the climate, it blooms throughout spring to late summer. Its cone-shaped flowering heads are usually, but not always, purple in the wild. Its individual flowers (florets) within the flower head are hermaphroditic, having both male and female organs in each flower. It is pollinated by butterflies and bees. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens, as well as in cultivated beds.

I grow this Echinacea in the garden, as I find it’s leaves more potent than the western and northern varieties.

Echinacea contains multiple substances, such as polysaccharides, caffeic acid derivatives (including cichoric acid), alkylamides, and glycoproteins.

Traditional herbal medicine

In indigenous medicine of the native American Indians, the plant was used externally for wounds, burns, and insect bites, chewing of roots for toothache and throat infections; internal application was used for pain, cough, stomach cramps, and snake bites.

The plant is important economically, to the pharmaceutical trade. It is purported that all parts of the purple coneflower stimulate the immune system.

Side effects include gastrointestinal effects and allergic reactions, including rashes, increased asthma, and life-threatening anaphylaxis. But I’ve never seen this happen. Side effects of allergy are usually similar to hay fever.

WebMD says

Echinacea seems to activate chemicals in the body that decrease inflammation, which might reduce cold and flu symptoms.

Laboratory research suggests that echinacea can stimulate the body’s immune system, but there is no evidence that this occurs in people.

Echinacea also seems to contain some chemicals that can attack yeast and other kinds of fungi directly.

Magickal uses:

Echinacea is used quite extensively to stregthen and boost spellcraft.

It is used in Defensive Magick, Healing Magick and in various forms of Protection Magick.

If anyone knows any correspondence for Echinacea, please comment. I don’t have it in any book I can find.

As always, I will try to answer any question that you can think of.

Brightest Blessings

Eye Harvester

Ok, going back to my chakra rant, it’s not fishy to y’all that “everybody” has the “same 7 chakras”???? Every single person??? In the same place with the same colors??? That’s not weird to you all in the slightest???

☀️🌿Litha Lavender Thyme Chicken🌿☀️

Hello my greenies! I have here a recipe to celebrate Litha! I am recovering from the removal of all four of my wisdom teeth and am unable to feast accordingly. I hope everyone can celebrate and eat for me, so I have here a favorite chicken recipe that I have especially during Litha and many times during the summer.

I will put the corresponding meanings of all the ingredients for the recipe at the end of the post and hope everyone enjoys my recipe. I hope to be posting more soon!

***You can use these ingredients for a whole chicken, but the amount for the coating will need to be adjusted and so will the cooking time. There are many websites that can tell you how to prepare a whole chicken, if that is also what you are looking for.

Ingredients

3 or 4 chicken breasts (I use 3, but I think the recipe would work with four as well.)

1 tbsp of dried lavender

2 tbsp of dried thyme or 4 sprigs of fresh and pulled off the stem.

drizzle of olive oil or coconut oil

1 tbsp of garlic powder

1 and ½ tbsp of onion powder

3 tbsp of honey

1 whole lemon.

dash of salt and pepper

dash of oregano

Directions

If lavender is not crushed, crush until powdery. Then in a small bowl, mix lavender, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder.

In a separate bowl, place the three chicken breasts and add the salt and pepper. Mix well and after drizzle the oil, honey, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Mix thoroughly.

Place in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Make sure all parts of the chicken are covered.

Cover the bowl and let the chicken sit for three hours in the refrigerator.

Once complete, stir the chicken in the bowl again and then place the chicken into a roasting pan and sprinkle oregano on the tops.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, make sure you flip after 23 minutes. When done, take the chicken out and let it sit for about 5 minutes before you eat. While it sits begin the chant.

“With the heat of the day and kiss of the night, summer bring love and spirit to me. Let me feel the child-like dance. Let me embrace myself.   I am my own fire.”

While speaking these words allow yourself to hold in the heat inside you. Let it move around through your system and on your skin. Rise that heat up into your neck and float around your head. Then have it come out of you, so now you only feel a slight glow. Have this warmth embrace your house and everything in it until that happiness is surrounding you.

Then enjoy your meal!

*I always find that this meal goes well with some honey garlic potatoes, thyme roasted carrots, Zucchini casserole, and fresh baked flaky biscuits.

If you decide to make this recipe please send me pictures! Although I can’t eat any solids at the moment, I would feel satisfied just by seeing everyone else enjoying their meals. I hope you enjoy this recipe and have a special Litha!

- Kenzie

ingredient correspondences

dried lavender - love, protection, healing, sleep, purification, and peace.

dried thyme - wards negativity, purification, healing

garlic powder - healing, protection, purification, guards against negative magic and the envy of others.

onion powder - prosperity, stability, endurance, and protection.

honey - binding properties, love, and used in offering rituals.

lemon - cleansing, spiritual opening, purification, and removal of blockages

oregano - joy, strength, vitality, and added energy

If you are seeing this then you have been chosen by the universe

Remember this date: August 27th

You'll see

BETTER SHIT TO PUT IN YOUR GRIMOIRES THAN THE BASIC SHIT EVERYONE SAYS:

Maps! Maps! MAPS! If you're a death witch, get one for the cemeteries you visit and mark gravestones/areas you've practiced in! Garden witches! Map out your gardens! Green witches! Map where you find specific herbs in your area! Lunar witches! Mark the best spots to go look at the sky! Make a key! Take notes!

Recipes for COMPONENTS! Write down how to make the mixtures you use in spells often- A special salt mixed with herbs and put under the moon, a mixture of oils for protection, the herb mixes sachets you keep making to add to sachets, whatever!

For green witches- press samples of stuff and glue them in! Go to an arboretum and ask for permission to take leaves to press, they'll usually let you take some- add them in with your notes about trees

Cool ways to make spells! I make spells in envelopes and on empty spools, what are some ways you do?

The local plants in your area and what they do. You're not going to be likely to find chrysanthemums to forage in Missouri, but you will find creeping charlie and prairie plants. What can you do with a thistle?

When you celebrate a sabbat, write down what you did and include samples! Ribbons from your Beltane altar, a pressed sample of your lemmas harvest, a scrap of your Yule decorations. Maybe do a spell and tape the remnants into your grimoire in a plastic baggie

Learn how to make an envelope out of paper just by folding it, how to string seeds, how to dry plants, how to macrame rocks and hang them from your window. Find those little witchy skills and write them down.

How to incorporate your hobby into your magic. Sigiling origami paper, weaving knot magick into your crochet, making blessed bookmarks, etc

Substitutes! Rosemary, rose and clear quartz are good for most things, but there are more substitutes to be used that are more powerful. Roanoke bells are good substitutes for bluebells, apparently.

Correspondences of odd things. Turns out different kinds of cats have different correspondences, huh.

Superstitions and such from where you're from.

For kitchen witches: easy to alter recipes. An egg noodle recipe that takes herbs really well, a simple bread recipe that can be dressed up for spells or rituals, how to make a good pie crust that you can sprinkle nutmeg in or whatever you desire.

Or: What foods go good with what herbs. You'll make a better apple pie (and get the benefits of apples, nutmeg, and cinnamon together!) If you know how your herbs taste together with your cooking. (Most kitchen witches know this stuff, but for a green witch who likes to make teas or a sea witch that likes to make soup, etc, this is important)

Liquor Magic: Ginger Cardamom Vodka

A long time ago I made a few posts with recipes for flavored liqueurs that could be made and used for magical purposes that also just tasted really really good. It’s been awhile, but here’s another tasty one. Of course, this recipe is intended for those of legal drinking age. 

This is a vodka flavored with raw ginger, honey, cardamom, and thyme. It’s great on it’s own or as a hot toddy. It can also make the deadliest dark and stormy ever. This recipe is best for when you need the energy and confidence to make things happen. For this recipe you will need

-One fifth of vodka, or 3 and a quarter cups of vodka

-1 cup of honey

-1 cup of grated raw ginger (be careful when doing this, my hand was burning by the end of it)

-¼ cup of crushed caradmom pods or of ground cardamom (I recommend using the pods, I used ground cardamom and you can’t really strain it out as well, so it leaves a precipitate at the bottom)

-2 tablespoons of dried thyme 

To make:

Combine all the ingredients in a large jar, awakening the desired property of each ingredient. Store away in a cabinet somewhere for 3 to 5 days. Once that time has passed strain out the solid ingredients into another jar or bottle using a mesh strainer or cheese cloth. And you’re done! 

It’s a cold, rainy day here and I’m feeling a bit under the weather, so I thought I would share my “get well draught”. It’s warming and comforting and the most reliable thing I have found to make me feel better when I have a cold (except for sudafed).

I use; - A small handful of fresh mint - A teaspoon of fresh ginger or half a teaspoon powdered - Quarter of a teaspoon of chilli powder - Quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon - The juice of half a lemon Stir clockwise and strain before drinking.

The best thing about this “tea” is that you can make it to your own tastes. Today I’ve added lemongrass and if I have it and feel like it I add honey. This tea is great if you have a sore throat or blocked sinuses. You can double or tripple the ingredients and brew in a pot on the stove and put your face in the steam for added benefits.

Extra points for drinking it from a cool mug that makes you feel badass!

Wooden Spoon Kitchen Blessing

The kitchen is the center of the home for many of us, and it’s a place where we can make all kinds of magic. From family dinner recipes to spell work, your kitchen often becomes the spot where people come for comfort, warmth, and sustenance.

Do this simple blessing spell in your kitchen to add a bit of mojo into your meal prep.

Materials:

Green ribbon

Fresh basil

A wooden spoon

Use the ribbon to tie the basil to the wooden spoon, and walk in a clockwise direction around your kitchen, beginning at the north wall.

As you move, open each cabinet, the refrigerator, and the pantry, waving the spoon like a wand

Pointed into each cabinet and at your stove and oven, saying:

Bless this kitchen, hearth and home.

Bless this kitchen and the meals prepared.

Bless this kitchen and the magic made.

After you’ve circled the entire kitchen, hang the spoon near your oven or inside the pantry as a reminder that magic is present.

*************************************************

Found in Daily Spellbook for the Good Witch by Patti Wigington

What is a Blot?

A blot, is a ritual  sacrifice, to the gods, the wights, ancestors, alfr etc. Any of The Holy Powers. They are a way to communicate with them, to ask for intangible gifts and give them in return. “A gift for a gift as it must always be.” There is a debate as to whether or not the word “Blot” is apprporiate for non blood sacrafices, many practionores will also use the term “Faining” as an alternative if it is not a blood blot.

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