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.
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and Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Scott Cunningham) – note that this book is somewhat outdated, due to it being written in the 1980s.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
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.
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)
Being A Magical Practitioner:
1. Question everything you are told and read.
2. Hell even question this post. Only YOU can decide what is right and what
works for you.
3. What may work for someone else may not work for you. What may work for you
may not work for someone else.
4. Your practices are YOUR practices.
Support:
1. Ancestral veneration is so important.
2. Communicate with your ancestors daily.
3. They will help and guide you on your journey more than you will ever know.
4. You have several guardian angels and guardian spirits built into your
existence, get to know them.
5. There is magic within you. Embrace your own power.
6. Mind your own magic. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. You
don’t have to explain your practices to anyone else. Do you.
Tools:
1. White candles are fantastic for every single purpose.
2. You can print your own labels for glass candles and glue them on plain glass
candles. You will save money this way in
the long run.
3. You don’t need every single tool to start off with.
4. Water is life. Water keeps the flow of your magic, filters and is a conduit
to you and spirit. Keep clear glasses of water in your home. Change them often.
5. Your altar space doesn’t need to be fancy.
6. You do not need expensive herbs.
7. Mirrors and Magnets are the best tools closest to crystals to magnify and
amplify your magic.
8. The bible is a book full of spells and divination.
Herbs:
1. You can get most of the herbs you need from your local super market and
dollar store.
2. Salt: Protection or cursing. Various Powdered Peppers: Protection and
Cursing. Cinnamon: Money and Lust work. Basil: Money and Luck. Bay Leaves:
Protection and Granted Wishes. Rosemary: Protection. Chamomile: Peaceful Home
Workings. Cloves: Protection, Love, Control and Bindings. Eucalyptus:
Cleansing. Thyme: Purification, Healing.
Floor Washes:
1. Do Floor Washes in odd numbers. One series to remove the negativity and one
series to bring in good energy.
2. Curse Killer Floor Wash: Hot Water, Ammonia, Lemon, Salt (optional)
Open Roads Floor Wash: Cold Water, Florida Water, Parsley, Mint Leaves, Coconut
Water (Strained of pulp)
Various Cleansings:
1. Cigar or tobacco smoke is a great alternative to sage sticks.
2. You can cleanse yourself with an egg
and a glass of water.
3. You can cleanse yourself with lemons, limes and oranges.
4. When cleansing your home make sure to open your windows and doors.
5. Start from the back of the home towards the front and then to various rooms
to confuse the negative energy.
6. A can of beer and salt will cleanse your aura.
7. When you cleanse yourself, make sure to replace what you removed with good
energy.
Powders:
1. You do not need to purchase branded powders from metaphysical shops.
Money/luck powder: Bank dirt, Shredded
currency and corn starch.
Love/Passion powder: Rose petals, Cinnamon and corn starch.
Open Roads powder: Dirt from four corners of a crossroads and corn starch. Add
three dimes to bottom of container.
Cursing Powder: Graveyard dirt from criminals grave, black pepper, red pepper,
cayenne pepper.
Protection Powder: Church Dirt, Psalm 91 passage from bible, Psalm 23 from the
bible grinded into a powder.
Oils:
1. Do not buy oils from the botanicas and metaphysical shops. Most are made
with mineral oil, a synthetic fragrance and colorant. If you want that, Get
yourself some baby oil, food coloring and scented fragrance oil of your
choosing. I wouldn’t recommend it though.
2. Get yourself some Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Grapeseed oil and Vegetable oil
at the supermarket along with some Vitamin E oil for preservative. You can make
your own charged oils with herbs and a few glass bottles.
3. My favorite simple oils:
Lust Oil: Sunflower oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, red rose petals, and Vanilla
Bean
Money Oil: Grapeseed oil base, Vitamin E, Cinnamon stick, nutmeg, basil and
thyme.
Protection Oil: Olive Oil base, Vitamin E, Rosemary, Basil, Eucalyptus
Life Force Oil: For when you need extra power in your magic. Olive oil base, 3
drops of blood.
Blessing Oil: Olive Oil, Vitamin E and Psalm 91 torn from the bible.
Deities:
1. You do not have to have a deity in your practice.
2. You can practice secular magic. Secular magic is a practice that does not
refer to, venerate and otherwise “work with” any deities (or, in some cases,
any supernatural beings at all). This is perfectly okay.
3. If working with deity, never promise what you can’t provide.
4. Feed your spirits and deities. This can be with food, alcohol, energy,
light, darkness, anything.
5. Know the spirits and deities you are working with.
6. Listen to your intuitive pulls when it concerns your deity.
7. No one can tell you the right or wrong way to worship and work with your
deity BUT you should learn their mythos and their base wants, needs and what
offends them.
Misc Magic Info:
1. Your magic will not punish you because you can’t practice every single day.
We are human, and sometimes life gets the best of us. It is okay.
2. Magic should never ever replace mental and physical health diagnosis and
services from healthcare professionals.
3. “Black magic” is a racist term used to demonize the practices of people of
color that are seen as “barbaric” or “uncivilized” to Europeans. Therefore “White
magic” is considered good and “black magic” is considered bad. Energy is
energy. Do not allow anyone to dictate your practice. That racist term is
bullshit. Our melanin is magic. Our cultures and our roots are power.
4. You can purchase a Tarot deck from Amazon. You don’t need it gifted to you.
5. ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher in your home.
6. NEVER leave candles unattended in your home.
7. Coffee grounds speed up work.
8. Meditate. Leave the fuckery of the day at the end of the day. You will thank
yourself in the long run.
9. Keep info to yourself. Not everyone needs to know what you are doing or all
your secrets. 10. Do not bring your shoes into your home.
A Unverified Personal Experience, or UPE is an experience in which has not been verified, or confirmed by any other source besides the person who experienced it.
Unverified Shared Personal Experience, Shared Personal Experience , USPE, or SPE:
A Unverified Shared Personal Experience, Shared Personal Experience , USPE, or SPE for short is an experience that is experienced by multiple people. This can be experienced at the same time as, or separately of each other.
Confirmed Experience, or CE:
A confirmed experience, or CE for short is when something you have experienced can be proven as true.
Unverified Personal Gnosis, Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis, or UPG:
A Unverified Personal Gnosis, Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis, or UPG for short is a personal belief, or individual’s spiritual insight that an individual understands as true, and does not exist in any form in the accepted lore, or any other form of spiritual understanding.These may also be called in some circles MUS meaning Made Up Shit, especially if the UPG is seen as ridiculous, but as you can imagine this is quite a rude way to refer to a UPG.
Unverified Shared Personal Gnosis, Shared Personal Gnosis, USPG, or SPG:
An Unverified Shared Personal Gnosis, Shared Personal Gnosis, USPG, or SPG for short is a belief, or spiritual insight of a group, or community of people that is created co-dependent of, or separately of the group’s members individual UPGs. These UPGs will take form independently of one another, but will all come to the same conclusion, and will eventually meet up to form the USPG.
Confirmed Gnosis, or CG:
A Confirmed Gnosis, or CG for short is something that is seen to be true, and that appears in lore, metaphysics, parapsychology, folklore, mythology, religion, science, or some other paradigm. To be confirmed it must already be a part of the lore, or must be a VPG.
Verified Personal Gnosis, or VPG:
A Verified Personal Gnosis, or VPG for short is a knowledge, belief, or insight that has been verified to be seen as truth, and now is a greater part of spiritual, metaphysical, or occult understanding.
Lore:
Lore is knowledge that is known as true, and is confirmed by a tradition, culture, religion, and/or other form of paradigm. This knowledge has been verified, and is believed to be true by many people.
I periodically (usually once a year) make an updated post of my annotated bibliographies for witchcraft, magick, and divination studies. I recently noticed that I hadn’t done this in a long time!
Since I’ve read a lot of new books in that time, and since many are worth adding, I thought I’d go ahead and post an updated list.
I’ve added just ten new ones this time! Unfortunately, still, it’s getting quite long, so I’m splitting it into two posts – one for divination, and one for magick/witchcraft. I will be tagging both as #long and #long+post because I realize this is pretty extreme in terms of length.
For Absolute Beginners
Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, by Judika Illes. Even better than the Weiser Field Guide to Witches – this book is huge and chock-full of information. It’ll explain in easy-to-understand language how the concept has developed throughout time, why witches do what they do, and different types of witches.
The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, by Judika Illes. This gives an excellent look at the historical lore concerning witches, from the perspective of a witch herself. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it does have some information that won’t be found elsewhere.
The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, by Skye Alexander. Great book for those who’re really absolute beginners and are wondering what witchcraft is all about. Skye takes a very postmodern, utilitarian, and unfailingly honest approach, and it’s geared towards those of almost any belief system.
Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Attractively packaged and readible for almost all ages, this is a great (mostly) non-denominational look at the foundations of magical practice. It’s extremely detailed. Some of it only applies to Zell’s own tradition, but it’s quite useful, anyways.
Of Witchcraft and Whimsy, by Rose Orriculum. Written by Tumblr’s own @orriculum, this is one of the best, most modern an no-nonsense Craft introductory books I’ve seen. It’s unabashedly up-to-date and self-aware in its portrayal of the contemporary Craft.
Basic Techniques
Protection and Reversal Magick, by Jason Miller. This gets a little woo-woo at times, but he gives good advice on how to avoid serious problems that can come up as you begin to practice. Take with a grain of salt, though – some of this has the potential to make you feel paranoid.
City Magick, by Christopher Penczak. If you’re at all interested in tech witchery, or just want to practice magick within an urban setting, do check this out. It is by far the best look at the subject I’ve seen, and his discussion of urban tutelary spirits is worth the price alone.
Power Spellcraft for Life, by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. Nicely done, quite secular book providing basic beginner information regarding writing original spells and workings. It does fall prey to the trap of just listing correspondences with little information at times, but also contains a great deal of detail about ritual timing, raising power, and other topics essential for the beginner.
Sorcerer’s Secrets, by Jason Miller. This is a decent volume that describes a lot of techniques you don’t usually see in books, such as gesture and gaze-based magick. Be warned that Miller writes extensively about manipulative techniques, but it’s useful theory regardless of how you put it into practice.
Witch’s Bag of Tricks, by Melanie Marquis. This is not recommended for beginners, because the whole point of this book is to help existing practitioners refine and improve their already-established techniques. It’s got some novel ideas in it, and I like the author’s approach to symbolism in spellcasting.
Spirit Conjuring for Witches, by Frater Barrabbas. Frater B. is a very learned and rather famous magician and witch. This book is mostly geared towards Wicca, but even if you’re not Wiccan, his techniques are innovative and interesting, many utterly unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere.
Direct Magick (Energy Work)
The Un-Spell Book, by Mya Om. This non-denominational guide to working with magical forces is filled with useful exercises that go beyond the author’s previous work. I recommend reading this after readingEnergy Essentials.
Instant Magick, by Christopher Penczak. Excellent beginner’s guide for those who don’t have access to a lot of fancy tools or prefer to work without them. This book won’t instantly teach you magick, but it will help even a seasoned practitioner find quicker, less-complicated ways of achieving results.
Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters, by Mya Om. Though I balk at the use of the term “energy” to describe magical forces, this book is worth a look. It’s a bit like a workbook, with various exercises. Expect a lot of pseudoscience, though, and there are many religious references, but the techniques are solid.
Hedgewitchery and Astral Travel
Ecstatic Witchcraft, by Gede Parma. This is actually probably my favorite book on this subject, even though hedgeriding is only a part of what the book discusses. The only bad thing I can really say about this book is that it’s really not recommended for beginners, and it’s helpful to have the basics of visualization already mastered (for example) before doing the exercises Parma recommends.
By Land, Sky and Sea, by Gede Parma. This book goes into even greater details regarding different ways of conceptualizing the cosmology of hedgeriding, and I find it a very refreshing book that appreciatively draws from a number of different perspectives while grounding itself, so to speak, with the overarching metaphor of land, sky, and sea as the three worlds.
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, by Christopher Penczak. Penczak is usually a pretty mixed bag, and this book is no exception. It gives a lot of good practical information and a very in-depth exploration of the three worlds (a useful concept), but it’s primarily framed by Wicca, so it might not resonate with those of other faiths and particularly those who aren’t pagan at all.
Ascension Magick, by Christopher Penczak. There’s a chapter or two in this that address alternate ways of conceptualizing the architecture of reality, and it’s pretty helpful for a hedgerider. Beyond that, this book is mostly about ceremonial magick, but it’s a (mostly) good book. Certain parts (such as the bit about UFOs) are a little off, in my opinion.
The Shamanic Witch,by Gail Wood. This book is really best suited for someone who practices Wicca and, besides the background info and cosmological descriptions, is really only useful in the context of that tradition. If you’re Wiccan or willing to pick around a lot of Wiccan-talk, though, this is a good foundation.
Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. It can be hard to find scholarly works on these phenomena that are affordable, but here’s one I personally enjoyed. It details many accounts of journeying experienced by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.
Betwixt and Between, by Storm Faerywolf. This book is mostly a guide to the Feri tradition of witchcraft, but while I myself don’t practice that, those who do seem to know a lot about hedgeriding! The book has several chapters on the subject and is highly recommended for this reason.
The Psychic Energy Codex, by Michelle Belanger. A lot of people have strong opinions about this author, but this is book actually provides a lot of good information about so-called “energy work” which can be a step in the right direction for those wanting to ride the hedge.
Psychic Dreamwalking, by Michelle Belanger. In this book, Belanger discusses, essentially, how to use your non-waking life as a vehicle to for journeying, and while I myself don’t usually dreamwalk, much of what she says applies to hedgeriding in other states, too.
Hedge Riderby Eric De Vries. Considered a classic on this subject, this book contains a lot of good information on making the jump across the Hedge, but with a lot of editorializing about “true witchcraft,” etc. A mixed bag, but still recommended.
To Fly by Night,edited by Veronica Cummer. This is an anthology about hedgecraft by many different authors. The essays vary in quality but there’s something for everyone, and the text doesn’t shy away from tough topics, either.
Magical Writing, Words, and Symbols
Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells, by Claude Lecouteux. Mostly a historical text, this book isn’t exactly practical or terribly useful. It is, nevertheless, incredibly interesting. It’s a bit difficult to navigate, but worth a glance.
Composing Magick, by Elizabeth Barrette. A very general, but well-done, look at writing in a magical context. Some of the ritual templates are slightly specific to religious witchcraft traditions, but most information is widely applicable.
Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink, by Susan Pesnecker. Focuses both on the physical act of writing as a magical act, and the mental state associated with it. Highly recommended
The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire, by Skye Alexander. This book is for those who want to create their own grimoire. It gives fairly good advice for doing so, as well as providing hints and tricks for spellcasting and useful correspondences.
General Concepts
Practical Astrology for Witches and Pagans, by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. This book, unlike most astrology texts, won’t tell you much about interpreting a chart – instead, it’s an entire book on timing your magick with the stars!
Planetary Magick, by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. If you want to work with the planets at all, particularly in a highly ritualized context, I recommend this book. It’s large, comprehensive and gives a good foundation beyond what you find in general astrology books.
Practical Planetary Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Shorter than I would have liked, but a useful reference to have on your shelf, with excellent tables and appendices in the back. The meditations are also quite useful.
Practical Elemental Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Should be read alongside the other book by this pair. Comprehensive guide to working with the elements in a ritualized fashion. Not as accessible to newbies as Lipp’s book, but good for seasoned practitioners.
The Way of Four, by Deborah Lipp. Though mostly geared towards Wiccans, I found this author’s in-depth treatment of the four elements highly fascinating. I will note that it’s probably best to get the print version of this book, as it contains exercises and quizzes.
A Handbook of Saxon Sorcery and Magic, by Alric Albertsson. I really enjoyed this little book, which focuses on older magical traditions common among the ancient Saxons. It is very much introductory, but worth a read for those new to those traditions.
Ingredients and Correspondences
The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook, by Karen Harrison. I cannot praise this book enough for its concise and well-formulated approach to astrology, herbs, and magick as a whole.
The Weiser Concise Guide to Herbal Magick, by Judith Hawkins-Tillirson. This is excellent for anyone who’s interested in any kind of magick. Yes, the focus is generally herbs, but there’s a lot to be learned here about Kabbalah and other correspondence systems, as well.
Mixing Essential Oils for Magic, by Sandra Kynes. Fills a very difficult gap in published knowledge regarding the use of essential oils by discussing, in great detail, how scents interact with each other and how to create a formula that’s not only palatable, but evocative.
Dunwich’s Guide to Gemstone Sorcery, by Gerina Dunwich. Given the New Age fascination with all things shiny, it was quite a chore to sort through the myriad crystal books to find something with good information. While far from perfect and not exactly devoid of fluff, this book does give a level of detail about the lore surrounding gemstones not seen in many other texts.
Real Alchemy, by Robert Allen Bartlett. Excellent book, lots of history and detail. There’s a strong focus on tradition within the text, yet the author is quite accommodating of his audience and describes alternate methods that work better in a modern context.
Spagyrics, by Manfred M. Junius. With a highly-developed academic tone and attention to detail, this book is a meaty look at traditional alchemy. I recommend this more for intermediate practitioners due to the sheer density of information.
The Hearth Witch’s Compendium,by Anna Franklin. This book is essentially a recipe book for various home remedies and magical purposes. For the most part, it focuses on healing work, but there’s some great tips in there for making your own cleaning products and such, too. Highly recommended.
Magical Housekeeping, by Tess Whitehurst. This is worth reading if you keep your own house/apartment and are looking for practical magical techniques for cleanliness and inviting harmony into your spaces. It could be more detailed, but I enjoyed it.
A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook, by Patricia Telesco. This is a recipe book. It is mainly geared towards Wiccans and those who celebrate the eight sabbats, but the dishes are tasty and sure to please anyone.
Spellbooks
The Goodly Spellbook, by Dixie Deerman and Steve Rasmussen. The title sounds horribly fluffy, but this is a hidden gem. It explains obscure concepts like alternative alphabets and potential uses of musical notes, as well as plant lore and other bits and pieces. Definitely worth checking out. It’s way more than just “a book of spells.”
Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells, by Judika Illes. The title sounds trite to some, but it delivers. This book has spells from almost every culture and spiritual philosophy, as well as a very detailed formulary. I read it when I’m bored sometimes, too, just because I always learn some tidbit from it.
Book of Spells, by Nicola Pulford. In most editions, this book is absolutely gorgeous and describes spellcasting traditions from a variety of perspectives and traditions. Recommended for those who already understand the basics, as this book jumps straight into spellcasting and gives only a small amount of information about how things work.
Ceremonial Magick
Modern Magick, by Donald Michael Kraig. I received this as a gift several years ago. It is essentially a workbook meant to be completed slowly, step by step, and while the format will not appeal to everyone, it’s a good easy-to-read introduction to ceremonial magick.
Familiar Spirits, by Donald Tyson. Though geared towards ceremonialists, any practitioner can likely learn a thing or two from Tyson’s interesting stroll through the whys and wherefores of spirit work and thoughtform creation. This is by far the best book I’ve seen on the topic of familiar spirits.
Secrets of High Magick, by Francis Melville. The most recent edition of this (the one I own) is lavishly-illustrated and full of rudimentary, yet useful information. He stresses the basics of ceremonial practice, and his writing style is very accessible. Highly recommended for absolute beginners.
My Life With The Spirits, by Lon Milo DuQuette. This is a memoir of a ceremonial magician, but it gives a good look at the magickal mindset in a highly developed form from someone who’s experienced quite a lot. I havemajor issues with DuQuette’s approach to Qabalah, but his memoirs are worth a read.
Chaos Magick
Liber Null and Psychonaut, by Peter Carroll. Classic book of chaos magick. I consider it required reading for almost anyone interested in the occult. Even if you have no love for chaos magick, do give it a read, just to understand how influential Carroll is, and why.
Hands-On Chaos Magic, by Andrieh Vitimus. Knowing some of the people involved in the creation of this book, I’m a bit biased towards it. That said, even if I didn’t know them, I would still recommend it. It’s especially interesting to read alongside Liber Null and Psychonautin order to see how the chaos “current” has developed over the years.
Pop Culture Magic 2.0 by Taylor Ellwood. There aren’t a lot of books on using pop culture symbolism in magick, but this one is nearly perfect. The author writes in a highly erudite, literate fashion, while still being accessible to newbies. Many useful resources cited, as well, so prepare to branch off a bit while reading it.
History-Related
Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton. An inside no-holds-barred look at the history of Wicca and Modern paganism. Highly recommended. This is sort of the book that fluffbunnies don’t want you to read.
Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult, by Richard Metzger. Lots of facts and history of magick in the context of Postmodernity. This is different from the Crowley text of the same name, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you want to focus on his tradition.
The Place of Enchantment, by Alex Owen. This is a purely historical text that documents the occult revival within the context of Modernity. I remember it being very good, but please realize I haven’t really picked it up much since graduating, and it might just have served my mindset at the time.
So, today we’re going to talk about a slightly more obscure tool: the witch’s ladder. There’s some debate as to whether or not this was a commonly used tool in older European traditions of witchcraft. In the late 1870’s a witch’s ladder, along with a collection of brooms, was found in the attic of a recently deceased woman in Somerset, sparking suspicions of witchcraft. Unfortunately, it’s not actually known whether or not this object was really used in witchcraft or how widespread the use may have been if it was. More on the history of these tools can be found here.
Now, what is a witch’s ladder? It’s a type of knot talisman made by inserting small objects into a length of cord, traditionally rooster feathers and sometimes small bones were used but you can use locks of hair, teeth, beads, sticks, leaves, seashells or pretty much anything that works for your practice.
Originally, it’s thought that they were used to curse but their uses in modern practices are endless. I’ll be making one to protect my house and create easier communication with the Other Realms.
How to Make a Witches Ladder
Ok, to start us off we need a few supplies. There are three main things that I’m using.
First is the cord, feel free to use whatever material you like. When I’m doing work like this I prefer to use regular old kitchen twine. It’s sturdy and not overly processed. You could use yarn, thread, rope, sinew or ribbon as well though.
The second thing that I’ll be using is a couple of small bones, I’m using six because I like working with multiples of three.
Finally, the feathers. These are brown mourning dove feathers; I’m using these as opposed to another type of feather because they’re good for communicating with Spirit and for fostering awareness.
I would like to mention here that while handy in the craft, collecting bones and feathers that you find can be illegal.Most birds are protected species and regardless of whether you found the feathers or ripped them off of the bird yourself, possessing them is illegal. Be sure to check the laws in your area. This problem can usually be solved by writing a letter to the appropriate wildlife officials asking for permission to pick up specific types of bird feathers for a collection. Once written permission is obtained it only has to be kept with the feathers to avoid any ramifications. Of course, if you’re not going to be waving about rare bird feathers in the town square this is probably unnecessary.
As I said, you can replace bones or feathers with whatever you like. Use Barbie arms if that’s what floats your boat. I usually use nine items in mine and the traditional number would be thirteen but feel free to adjust this to fit your needs.
Another optional material would be a metal ring, you can tie the ladder to this and use that to hang it from a hook on the ceiling or something if you like. I’ll just be using a thumbtack.
As always prep yourself and your workspace however you prefer. Cast a circle, take a ritual bath, light some incense, maybe put on some music. Consecrate your supplies and get to work.
The creation of a witch’s ladder is surprisingly simple and quick. Take your cord and cut three equal lengths. How long you make it is up to you, for example, I like each length to be from the fingertips of my left hand to my heart in length. Tie the ends together, if you are using a metal ring, tie it to the ring; otherwise just an overhand knot on the end does the trick.
Start braiding, for this one I used your typical three-strand braid but you could add and subtract cords and use rope braids, fishtail braids or five strand braids as well. As you braid begin adding in your objects. I don’t do anything special, I just keep braiding as usual while adding my feathers and stuff in between two strands. Here’s a close-up of my ladder partially finished.
I spread mine out semi-evenly along the length of the cord, if you’re a stickler about getting things even then make sure you remember that you’ll lose about a third of the cord length in the process of braiding.
As you add each item to the ladder spend a few moments to state your intention or meditate on the purpose of your spell. I kind of just spend the entire time I’m making the ladder talking to it and telling it what I would like of it. You could also use the traditional nine knot spell if incantations are your thing. I find them too constricting for my practice but for those of you who prefer more ritualized working here it is
“By knot of one, the spell is begun
By knot of two, it cometh true
By knot of three, so mote it be
By knot of four, the open door
By knot of five, it comes alive
By knot of six, the spell is fixed
By knot of seven, it has the power of heaven
By knot of eight, the open gate
By knot of nine, it is mine”
After all of your items are in place you need to finish your cord. You can just tie a knot in it and either trim the excess cord or let it hang there, or you can add something to the end as a sort of weight, bells are a common choice. Feel free to let it charge in the light of the moon or sun if you like.
Once it’s completely done take it and hang it somewhere, I like to have them on my porch but hanging it in your room or kitchen works as well. If the spell is more malicious I’d suggest hiding it away somewhere close to your target instead of hanging it.
Here’s my finished ladder, hanging out on my porch.
A few ideas for uses of these lovely tools:
Warding magic – Use to create a “Do Not Enter” sign for unfriendly energies. The ladder conveys the meaning that those who would harm are unwelcome.
Attraction magic – Use it to attract people, familiars, ideas, mindsets, jobs, circumstances, luck, etc. into your life
Binding the thirteen moons of the year – This is a method used to harness the power of the thirteen full moons of the year, allowing you to perform weather magic and nature magic more easily and opening the doorway to the Other Realms.
Traveling – Ladders can be used as a gate into the Other Realms. An actual “ladder” for your spirit to climb up into various planes
Natural magic – You can use items related to the branch of nature that you work with. For me it’s trees but perhaps you work with the ocean, mountains, forests, animals, insects, and so on.
Wish magic – You can use rolled up slips of paper or pressed leaves and make a ladder with them, writing your wish on each one. As the ladder is slowly destroyed by the elements, your wish comes true.
Divination – I’ll need to make a full post about this if anyone is interested, it’s a tad complicated
Worship – You could use a witches ladder as an offering to a deity, perhaps as a nine day devotional where you tie in an offering every day and ending with hanging it on the last day
Curses – and of course, witches ladders can be used to curse.
As usual, if anyone has any questions or would like me to make a follow up post on anything I’ve mentioned here, let me know!
writing has always been a passion of mine, and there’s nothing i love more than combining personal hobbies with witchcraft! there’s so many ways you can use writing to boost your craft, or use your craft to boost your writing; these are the ways i personally do!
honour what’s special in your craft. if you’re theistic, dedicate a piece of writing to them. if you’re not, but you want to honour something else, you could write about the earth, or the stars, or absolutely anything. this would make a great grimoire or b.o.s entry!
learn to use automatic writing. this is a cool kind of divination that allows your subconscious/higher self, or spirits around you to control what you write. i’ve tried this a few times and it’s quite fun, but i’ve always wanted to try using it as inspiration for creative writing!hereis a much better post on it by @satinsouled.
start journaling. journaling is a great way to clear your mind and encourage creativity, but it can be really useful in witchcraft too! write about your witchy experiences however you want to, so you have reference points to come back to later
draw inspiration from your craft. similar to the previous point, if you’ve had an interesting experience that you’d like to write about, why not turn it into a poem or short story? if you worship deities, write a story about them. create your own world of witchiness that stems from your personal experiences – your writing will always be unique and interesting because no one else will have had your experiences!
use tarot cards and readings as inspiration. instead of reading tarot like you normally would, write prose or poetry inspired by it to note down your reading. i think the best example by far is @tarotprose, one of my favourite blogs on tumblr and actually my inspiration to start combining witchcraft and poetry.
souped-up spellwork. its easy to work spells you find online, word-for-word, because you think that’s how it’s ‘meant’ to be done. there are some people who say their way is the ‘only’ way, but that’s a toxic way of thinking. use poetry and creative writing to create your own, personalised chants, invocations and spells! your words will have more power for you than anyone else’s, and you’ll probably find your spells will work much better if you put your own personal touch into them.
i’m really trying to get back into writing, so if anyone has any poetry prompts please send them to my writeblr @aghostwrites! if you have any more suggestions please reblog with them, i always want to hear your opinions on what topics mean to you in your craft. happy witching!
if you enjoy my content, and would like to support me, please click here to visit my store! i offer in depth tarot readings, tarot bags, custom sigils and patches all at very decent prices. this store is my only source of income and it’s currently paying for rent, food, bills, my dogs operation and a new car. if you can, please help! any amount of support means the world
One of the most frequent asks I receive is how and where to get started when it comes to polytheism. This is a fairly broad subject and I’ll try to be as general as I can for advice but I will include specific references for Norse polytheists as that’s my shit. This information can be used to help you find a pantheon or to help you pick deities to work with it. If you’d like to use it to pick a patron deity that’s super, if you want to worship 20 gods and not have a patron deity that’s cool too. You do you dude. Please keep in mind this is all reflective of my research and personal practice.
🌻
Picking A Pantheon/Deity
This really boils down to personal preference. You’ll read a lot of posts and books that tell you many different ways and it’s entirely up to you because it is your practice. That being said, there’s a couple of different ways to go about it.
Research! This is one of my favorite ways to delve in. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with reading the stories of multiple pantheons and picking on that calls to you. You can also talk to other devotees and see what they have to say about deities and their religions. It is important to keep in mind that some religions are closed so please do proper research!
For example, I wasn’t originally a Norse pagan. I read some stories and thought the Hellenic pantheon would best suit me. I reached out to Eros for a while but after feeling no real connection to the pantheon I continued my research! After reading up on the Norse pantheon I decided to reach out to them out. Obviously, I fucking loved it because here I am. Point being, you can pick a pantheon based on research and not some divine message or whatever. You are also more than welcome to try out a religion, decide it doesn’t suit you, and move on.
Divination! You can use runes, a pendulum, tarot, etc.This can go a few different ways. You can write pantheon/deity names on separate pieces of paper, mix them up, and place them face down then ask the pendulum to pick. You can assign a deity/pantheon to each suit of cards or major arcana card or even do the same thing with runes.
For example, this is how I found a devotion to Frigg and Hel. I asked if there were any deities who were interested in working with me and pulled the runes Hagalaz and Berkana which read as Hel and Frigg to me. I followed up with tarot cards and pulled Death(Hel) plus the Queen of Pentacles(Frigg).
Asking/waiting for a sign. This isn’t something I’ve personally done so I don’t have much to say on the subject. You can go about meditating, praying, doing a ritual, or whatever and essentially wait for a sign after. It can come via a dream, something you experience, symbols you see in your daily life, it’s pretty much up to your intuition to decipher it. If anyone has information they’d like me to add in here please let me know!
If there’s a god you’re curious about and don’t want to do any of the above it’s totally cool to just reach out and ask if they want to work with you.
Idk How To Research
Same, tbh my keyword search game is weak. Anyways, good portion of us are looking up dead religions with little reliable resources. To give those curious about the Norse an easy head start here’s a compiled list of books by @witches-of-ouroboros. It’s important to take everything with a grain a salt of salt when doing research. In my experience a lot of the retold Norse sagas have been Christianized or written under heavy Wiccan influences. It’s a good idea to do research on the author before reading one of their books.
Other blogs! There are tons of great witches and pagans on tumblr that have information waiting for you. 💗 You can search their blog/tags for good references for books, websites, podcasts, etc. Plus lots of blogs are open to answer asks. If you don’t know where to start for searching it’s best to try things based around your interest like: “norse polytheist”, “hellenic witch”, “gaelic polytheism”, etc.
Media! How lucky are we that we live in the age of technology? Knowledge is right at our fingertips! There are countless documentaries, podcasts, and audiobooks on youtube full of information for different cultures and religions. I’d personally recommend almost anything by BBC, Myths & Legends, and World Mythology!
Books! I love starting on goodreads to find good books and trust worthy authors. They’ve had almost every book I looked up with bunches of different reviews so you can get varying perspectives. Check out your local library as well! A lot of city libraries have online databases now of all of their books so you can “check it out” online and read the PDF(personal fave).
Feeling Lost Still?
That’s completely reasonable and your feelings are more than valid. It can be overwhelming and lot of information to soak up. Just do your best and take it at your own pace, there’s no rush to find a deity or pantheon. 💞 Below are a few other general concerns I hear a lot that I was hoping to address.
“I’m leaving a monotheistic(Christian, Catholic, Jewish, etc) religion and it’s giving me anxiety.” This is entirely common and almost expected in my opinion. I was raised Roman Catholic and my first year to two looking into polytheism riddled me with anxiety. I was constantly concerned that god would smite me down or I’d face an eternity in hell for worshiping false gods. While I can’t speak for everyone that fear was entirely erased for me when I found my gods. I’ve never felt so safe and strong and hopefully with time you can find the same in your gods!
It’s okay to want to learn more or to seek something more. I can’t tell you how to handle your anxiety but please know you’re not alone in that fear. There’s whole communities out there willing to support you and help you find your safe space(including me)!
“What’s UPG?” You’ll see a lot of posts, mine included, that mention UPG – UPG is Unverified Personal Gnosis. This is essentially someone’s personal thoughts and beliefs about a deity. For example, I associate Sif with hazelnuts. There’s nothing in the lore or any book that says that she likes hazelnuts; that’s just a personal opinion(aka a UPG).
“How do I reach out to the gods?” I have a lot of information on my blog about this topic although a lot of it is Norse specific. You can check out my beginner polytheist tag here and my beginner norse post/ask here.
Altar! This is my go to typically. Altars aren’t limited to the cookie cutter image that comes to mind(no hate though I have a few); one thing you can make a side blog dedicated to your pantheon/deity, make a small one in a tin can, or even make one in a video game like Minecraft or some shit. You can be as creative or as to the book as you want. It’s up to you.
Prayer! You can totally just sit down and be like, “Hey man wanna work on some shit together?”. While I’m not 100% that all gods would be down with you being that casual it’s still something you can try.😂 You can reach out to them by sitting down in a quiet space and meditating into prayer, praying in the car or in the shower, or just pray at the altar you set up if you did. Again, I can not reiterate this enough, it’s your practice, reach out to them as you please.
Do something personal! This is more like devotional work in my opinion. Let’s say you knit and you want to reach out to a creative or domestic deity, you can knit something as a devotional act to them and as a way to reach out. For example I pick up litter in honor of the Vanir and
Jörð, or I play Skyrim for Thor and
Týr.
Most importantly just be honest and up front with the god that you’re reaching out too. Considering that statement be honest with yourself as well. There’s no point going into a relationship with a god if you can’t be upfront, it’ll end up in nothing but grief.
“Can deities reach out through gods/signs?” They totally can. However, it is up to you and your intuition if a deity has and it’s not likely another witch will decipher that for you. Sounds, experiences, images, all have different meanings to each of us – they may show you something that’s very personal to you but would be mundane to someone else. Trust your instincts. However, please remember that not everything is magical, sometimes a raven is just a raven and not Odin.
Every day/when you want, write something as an offering to the deity/spirit on a small piece of paper. It could be words of praise, a song that reminds you of them etc. Anything, really. Then put it in the jar.
(Alternatively use small rocks or sticks and meditate while holding them, metaphorically infusing the words/mood of your offering into the thing.)
When the jar is full, use it in a ritual dedicated to the deity/spirit, or when asking for something. Maybe you’re asking for strength on a rough day or for inspiration to do well in a creative project. Or you’re just saying an extra big thanks.
Burn the pieces of paper or sticks, or throw the rocks in a lake or something – whatever (eco friendly!!) way of disposing the things you prefer. Metaphorically, you’re then reminding the deity/spirit of all your days of taking time to give something to them, and you’re letting all those little tokens go now to start refilling the jar again.
Or you could just let the jars be and let there be more and more of them on your altar as time goes by!
Please note that this guide is designed for spirit workers who already are capable of warding and sensing spirits. If you don’t know how to ward your space, or how to tell if it’s the wind howling or a spirit trying to get your attention, you should not be conjuring.
Before you even get started with any conjuring – have a purpose. In the beginning, it is very helpful to have a clear game-plan of what you want to do. Do you want to learn a new skill? Ask questions to a member of a species you’re very interested about? Consider this and write it down.
Take notes. Write as thorough a document as you are able to – spare no detail on the type of thing you are hoping to accomplish with your conjure. The more you write, the easier the rest of your conjure will be.
Additionally, research some banishing methods (I have included a few helpful links at the end of this post!), and prepare an offering. Please note that the offering you provide should be of equal value to the thing you are asking for. For example, if you are conjuring an entity because you want them to empower a spell, the offering you provide should be of higher value than if you are calling a spirit just to ask about their day.
MATERIALS:
Offering
Banishment spell and ingredients (if you need them)
Wards
Divination method (you can use telepathy if this is your strong suit, but having a divination method is incredibly helpful to confirm your answers and should be used as another method to verify answers during your vetting sessions)
Cleansing spell and ingredients (if you need them)
A quiet place, free of interruptions
Your written document
STEP ONE:
Make sure you have all of your materials ready. If you are going to need to banish something, you don’t want to have to pause your ritual and run to the kitchen for salt. Make sure your divination tools and your space have both been cleansed, and that you will have at least an hour of uninterrupted time.
STEP TWO:
Please, for god’s sake – make sure your space is well-warded.
Example of a bad ward: “Only light spirits with good intentions can come in.”
Why is it a bad ward? A spirit can be light aligned, or have good intentions, and still cause you harm. Consider a light-aligned angel who sees you as “unclean”, enters your wards, and attacks you to cleanse you. According to your wards, this would be acceptable. After all, he is light aligned AND he means well.
Examples of good wards: Wards that prevent spirits from using glamours while inside them, wards that prevent malicious or dangerous parasitic entities from entering, etc. Please make sure that when creating these wards, you are clear about your definitions of ambiguous terms, such as “dangerous” or “harmful”.
STEP THREE:
With your offering in hand, state your intent (this is where having the detailed document really comes in handy!). While being fancy and poetic can really get you in the Conjuring Mood, it’s best to aim for being clear. Saying something along the lines of “I am sending out a calling for ______, I offer ________ in exchange for _______” can be a good place to start.
STEP FOUR:
Wait for the spirit to show up. Once they are with you, confirm that they are not malicious. Make sure that they agree to the terms you specify. Some points you might want to consider including are:
They will only remain in your space for the duration of the conjure, and they will leave your space and have their permission to access it revoked once the conjure is completed
They agree to the transaction you proposed.
They will not lie, either explicitly or by omission, and they will present the information they provide in a way that does not misrepresent facts, lead to misinterpretations, etc.
The conjuring session is initiated once they agree to the terms you have set out, and it is finished when you say the following “____”.
If they agree to the terms, then proceed with the conjure. If they do not agree with them, ask them to leave and try again. If they refuse to leave, proceed to banish, cleanse, and put new wards in place.
STEP FIVE:
Begin the interaction with the spirit. While I encourage you to be polite and respectful, avoid language that might place you in a position of “debt” with the strange spirit (no “sorry”, “thank you”, etc.).
Listen to them, but also be on the lookout for anything that feels “off”. If you get a bad feeling- trust your gut. If you catch them in a lie, if their story doesn’t add up, if they are trying to convince you to sell your soul for riches – ask them to leave. If they do not respect your wishes, then banish them.
Some things you should look out for when interacting with a spirit are:
Claims about them being “totally your guide”, or “have been protecting you since you were a child, because your future is so special.”
“I am your long lost ____, and in your past life we were soulbound, I swear.”
“Only with my help will you be able to unlock your truest potential.”
While they might be sincere, it is important to keep a healthy level of cynicism in your interactions with a spirit. After all, they are a stranger, and while you might have met your soulmate during a random call into the astral, it is also very likely you just met an asshole. Just… make sure to keep that in mind.
STEP SIX:
Once you are done with the conjure, ask the spirit to leave. If things have been going well, you can schedule another meeting with them. Make sure they leave after you ask them to. If they don’t, then BANISH them. This may seem like an extreme measure, but they should respect your wishes. If they don’t, it’s unlikely they will for other things, too. Either way, once the spirit is gone from your space, make sure to dispose of your offering, cleanse your space, and thoroughly check your wards to see if they need any work.
fair--y backup 