Crystal Basics With Trixx!

💀 What I’ve Learned About Curses 💀

As the title states, this is what I’ve learned. It is all based on my experiences, opinions, and personal knowledge. Most of it comes from my grimoire.  What Is A Curse? A curse is a type of spell a person can cast on you. It can cause misfortune, health issues, financial issues, relationship issues, even in some cases death. What About Hexes & Jinxes? I also want to define hexes & jinxes before we get too into this.  • Jinxes • Temporary, can last hours, are just meant to cause a bit of bad lack but nothing too serious, are for a bit of fun or to teach someone a simple lesson.  • Hexes • Also temporary, but have greater effects, they’re a lot more curse like in that they can teach more vital lessons and can cause things like sickness.  • Curses • Permanent, can cause death, they’re for the worst, nastiest people, and the most intense situations.  In other words, they’re all negative spells. Just 3 different levels of them. The main difference is curses are permanent, the others are not, and a jinx certainly wouldn’t cause death or permanently effect someones well-being.  Are They Okay? I used to wonder this myself and have seen TONS of people ask it. It’s a matter of morality. I can’t tell you what to believe or think. It’s about you and your path.  How Do I Know If I’m Cursed? There are symptoms, I’ll go over all the ones I’m aware of. • Bad Luck/Misfortune  • Lack of motivation  • Nightmares • Bad Omens • Personal items going missing  • Plants dying • Fatigue  • Health issues/sickness • Financial issues All and any of these things can happen, they will come along suddenly and have no other explanation other than a curse.  How To Test If You’re Cursed Okay, you’ve identified you’ve got some of the symptoms, you can’t find any other reason or suspect someone specific has cursed you. The next step is testing to be sure. Here are my personal favorite ways to test for curses. The Egg Test  Break an egg, what you find inside will give you insight.  • Blood  • You’re cursed  • • White clots/chunks • There is no curse, but there is something clotting you or your life up • • Broken yolk  • There is no curse, but you have inner turmoil and need to work on it • Divination Test Ask whatever forms of divination you may have if you’re cursed.  Deity Test I don’t do deity work, but I also imagine it’d be an option to ask your deities if you’re cursed.  What To Do Next? Alright, so you’ve looked at the symptoms, they’re unusual for you. You did the tests, you’ve come to conclusion you’re cursed. Now what? • Cleansing  Cleansing is one of the foundations of witchcraft, use your favorite forms of cleansing to cleanse your space. This is a default for many witchy issues or situations anyways. But it’s a good reminder.  • Crystals  Use crystals as sources of positivity, luck, healing. To combat the symptoms of the curse. Also any crystals you can keep near you for protection will help too.  • Salt bath This a method of cleansing yourself, it may get the curse off of you. It may also help if you found something unusual in your egg (that is if you did the egg test).  • Warding  This is another thing that’s very common and simple, but effective, ward yourself and your space to make sure nothing else that’s bad or unwanted gets in. •  Deities  You could ask your deities to help remove the curse or ask them what you should do about it.  • Other witches Ask other more experienced witches what their experiences with curses are and they they recommend, get some feedback. Posts like this are nice but so is talking to someone and hearing their experiences!  Here’s some types of spells you could use to help you! Spells • Return to sender spell • Protection spell • Remove curse spell (of course)  Edited 6/24/2019 I’m sure I’ll add more to this in the future. I hope someone learned something! Enjoy! Have a lovely day (right after I just went on about curses and death for quite a while) 💖

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 🍎

Malus domestica, Common Apple

Zodiac: Virgo, Libra, Taurus, Cancer

Solar System: Venus 

Day: Friday 

Element: Water

Energy: Yin 

Tarot: The Lovers, The Empress

Goddesses: Aphrodite, Athena, Badb, Cailleach Bheur, Diana, Freya, Hera, Idunn, Macha, Nemesis, Rhiannon, Venus, Pomona, Eris, Gaia

Gods: Apollo, Dionysus, Eros, Lugh, Manannan, Vertumnus, Zeus

Animals: Hedgehog, Pig

Celebrations: Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain

Magical Powers: Love, Fertility, Beauty, Abundance, Health, Immortality, Knowledge,  Harmony, Protection, Temptation, Youth, Wisdom, Wishes, Prophecy, Elves/ Fairy Magic, Healing, Luck.

photos made by me♡

tips🍇🌱

💀Osteomancy Masterpost💀

Author's Note: Most of these may not come from Tumblr.

What is Throwing The Bones? (ladyalthaea)

Introduction to Osteomancy (spellsofmagic)

Bone Reading Intro & Starting Guide (archaichoney)

How to Make and Read Your Own Osteomancy Set (otherworldlyoracle)

How To Make And Use A Powerful Bone Throwing Divination Set (thetravelingwitch)

How to Divine by Throwing Bones (deathwitchenvy)

Bone Divination (learnreligions)

Throwing The Bones: Finding Your Future (spiritualityhealth)

Learn to Read Bones (coursecraft)

Bone Throwing (aminoapps)

Witches who practice bone throwing, what is in your set and what meanings do they have for you? (reddit)

Bone Correspondences

What Is Yule?

Yule (pronounced yool) is the winter solstice; the longest night of the year. It is when the “dark half” of the year ends, and the “light half” begins. Yule-time traditions were absorbed into one holiday (Christmas) by Emperor Constantine upon his conversion to Christianity. The winter solstice is on the 21st of June in the Southern Hemisphere, and the 21st of December in the North.

[Image Credit: @diariodeuma-bruxa-morgane​]

History

In pre-Christian Rome, the (roughly week-long) Festival of Saturnalia was the pillar of solstice celebrations. It honoured the god of agricultural bounty, Saturn, and was characterised by feasting, gift-giving and debauchery. Pre-Christian Scandinavia had the (12 day) Feast of Juul, which celebrated the rebirth of the sun. The tradition of burning a Yule log comes from this celebration.

Celebrating

Yule is associated with cleansing, disposing of old spells/replacing them with new ones, reflection, goal-setting, rebirth and new beginnings. Spellwork associated with any of these themes is particularly potent on this date. Ideas for celebration include:

Burn a Yule log

Make stovetop potpourri

Clean your mirrors and windows

Give gifts to those you love

Make your own Yule goat ornaments

Light lots of candles to symbolise bringing light back into your life

Volunteer for a charity

Correspondences

Colours: green, red, gold, silver Minerals: gold, silver, bloodstone, ruby Plants: mistletoe, ginger, orange peel, dill, pine, chestnut, black pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon Symbols: yule logs, mistletoe, wreaths, reindeer, bells, 

Herbal property charts 🌿

Hi I am really confused on what is shadow work and you can work on it

Could you please explain it to me

Only if you want tho

Thank anyway ❤

What is Shadow Work?

Shadow Work is a way of consciously confronting your Shadow Self to achieve personal and spiritual growth.

We all have a Shadow Self - it is what we can't clearly see in ourselves. What is hidden to us, what we deny and repress - the 'dark side'. You cannot and shouldn't even try getting rid of your shadow side. It is necessary and not at all bad or evil. But when you ignore it, that is when problems start to come up.

What you should do is get to know your shadow self. Explore, learn and understand your shadow behaviours because it can lead to a much better mental health, overall growth, spiritual awakening, higher energy levels and authenticity. 

Our shadow - or the things we repress and try to hide - often comes from childhood trauma and unfortunately, many people don't even realise theirs or they choose to ignore it, because that is much easier. Those could be addictions, restrictive mindset, toxic habits and much more. Only you can recognise your own shadows and actively work on them.

That is what Shadow Work is for. Answering all the uncomfortable questions and facing unhealthy behaviours in ourselves. It is hard work and can take a lot of time, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to become the best version of yourself. So start as soon as you can.

✧ Check out prompts for 16 days of Shadow Work 

3 of Swords Heartbreak Spread

For those of us going through heartbreak and wanting a bit of divine guidance.

hi-res version downloadable at my ko-fi for members and one-time supporters!

Instructions:

Shuffle your deck until you find the 3 of swords. This is card 1. Next, pull the card on top/in front of the 3 of swords, this is card number 2. Then pull out the card on the bottom/behind the 3 of swords, this is card number 3. Shuffle your deck again and pull the last card, card 4, from the deck (top, bottom, middle, whatever calls to you).

Card 1 - The Current situation Heartbroken, sad, feeling betrayed or lost.

Card 2 - The Bright Side Q: What's the bright side? It's easy to look at the downsides when we're heartbroken. We tend to blame ourselves or others rather than look at the situation as a whole. Turning your attention towards growth, in what ways does this situation (as hard as it may be) actually benefit you?

Card 3 - Lurking Shadows Q: What can I learn from this situation? It's possible that the signs were already there, lurking in the shadows; perhaps they were hidden from view or maybe you were denying their existence. What can you learn from this situation to help with future relationships/situations to prevent this from happening again?

Card 4 - Next steps Q: How can I move on? Either an action (or actions) to take to or a mindset to adopt to help you move forward. Ask the cards, how can I move on?

Enjoy my posts? Consider leaving me a tip on my ko-fi!~

"Get Unstuck" 3-Card Tarot Spread

Happy Tarot Tuesday, y'all!

This spread is a simple, 3-card spread meant to help motivate you when you're feeling a little stuck in life.

Why am I feeling stuck and unmotivated?

What kind of push do I need to get out of this rut?

What am I missing?

Happy Tarot Tuesday, y'all!

This spread is a simple, 3-card spread meant to help motivate you when you're feeling a little stuck in life.

Why am I feeling stuck and unmotivated?

What kind of push do I need to get out of this rut?

What am I missing?

Don't forget to check out TheVirginWitch Club Discord server to meet other witchy folks, and get notified when I post new content/shop updates!

When Witching Goes Wrong: Basics

Not all spells that go wrong are “backfires.” A backfire occurs when a spell’s result is antithetical to the result you wanted to cause — it causes a negative outcome, often coming back onto you as the caster, but sometimes creating the opposite effect as was desired on the target. For example, casting a money attraction spell and losing a wallet full of cash as a result would be considered a backfire. A spell that fizzles, does nothing, or produces an unexpected (but not negative) side-effect wouldn’t be a backfire (in my opinion, that is).

Most spells that go wrong aren’t backfires. In general, you’re likelier to have a spell that acts unexpectedly or that simply fizzles than one that blows up in your face somehow. You shouldn’t be anxious about a backfire. But, as someone with lots of experience in the realm of worrying about worst-case scenarios, I understand the impulse.

The solution is to understand what can go wrong, how to prevent it, and what to do in the event of an actual worst-case scenario. My goal with this post (and with this WWGW series) is to help you feel less anxious about spells going wrong and more prepared to deal with whatever comes your way.

So, let’s start from the beginning.

Outcome Projection

Risk assessment, mitigation, and management. Fellow corporate drones (former or current) will know exactly what I’m talking about here. The idea is to predict possible ways that things can go wrong and either prevent them entirely or put strategies in place to deal with them ahead of time. It’s damage control before the damage occurs.

Now, the key here is to not go overboard. Fellow chronic worriers will know the horrible allure of going down every possible path of anxiety, only to find ourselves paralyzed entirely by the fear that something will go wrong. Remember that most spells do not backfire. In most cases, the worst thing (and most common negative outcome, in my experience) that can happen is that nothing happens. The next most common is unexpected side effects, but those are usually easily dealt with.

The goal is to ensure the success of the spell. For example, when you’re looking for a new place to live, you don’t want to just look for the number of bedrooms and the finishes in the kitchen. You want to account for the appliances, the heating/cooling systems, the quality of the flooring, signs of water damage, signs of mold… all sorts of things.

A similar concept applies to accounting for backfires/failures in spellwork. You want to close loopholes and think about the outcomes you specifically don’t want — and then incorporate ways to prevent those things from happening.

The Ways Spells Can Go Wrong

The spell fully backfires. By “fully backfires,” I mean that it completely fails and creates the exact opposite outcome to what you were going for. Using a love spell as an example, this could include the target leaving your life, forming negative opinions of you, or becomes interested in someone else (particularly if you were trying to pull attention from that someone else onto yourself).

The spell is bounced back to you. This is more unusual than you think! I often see the warning about spells being redirected back at the caster in arguments against hexing and cursing others. I’ve had exactly one spell reversed back at me, and it was because the target was 1. A witch, and 2. Expecting it.

The spell’s primary result is unexpected. Not necessarily bad, just not what you meant to do. For example, casting a spell to get a promotion at work and discovering that your close friend is getting a promotion instead.

The spell has unexpected side effects. Like casting a spell for good luck on yourself and having everyone around you experience good luck, too. Or casting a spell that successfully improves your workplace’s vibe, only to find out that the mean coworker nobody likes finally got fired, and that’s why everyone is more relaxed and cheerful. Or, more negatively, you do get that promotion you cast for, but now you’re saddled with more work than you can handle, because your bosses think you’re highly capable of it all!

The spell does absolutely nothing. Perhaps one of the more common ways a spell can go wrong, this is exactly what it says on the tin. You put the energy in, you did all the steps, but the spell just… doesn’t go anywhere. In other words, it fizzles and simply doesn’t work at all.

As with most topics in witchcraft, there’s an infinite amount of nuance to apply here. There are more ways spells can go wrong, and not all of these things would necessarily be considered “going wrong.”

It may be worth deducing why the spell went wrong. Was it the materials? The petition or incantation? A lack of energy, or maybe an overabundance? Spirit influence? Protections surrounding the target? Knowing what exactly went wrong can help you prevent the same issues in the future, but it can also help you to better fix the spell in the moment.

Preventatives

The particulars are going to depend heavily on your personal practice, the type of spell you’re doing, and how detailed you want to get. These suggestions are based on things I personally take into account when I’m trying to close loopholes and prevent unwanted outcomes.

Be specific in your wording. Especially if your spell has any kind of spoken or written component, be as specific as you can. “Draw money to me” is a general sentiment that could absolutely work, but what money is it bringing in? A bonus at work? A dollar on the street? A gift from grandma? Inheritance? It could be anything at that point. “Draw good, repeat customers to my small business to help me reach my profit goal of $10,000 before the end of the year” is specific, focused, and measurable. There isn’t much room for surprise side effects.

Choose ingredients carefully. Work with ingredients whose purposes you know. In my spell recipes, I list every ingredient’s correspondence, because in my practice, those things matter. Ensure that the “active ingredients” in your spell align with your goal properly. Rogue elements create rogue effects!

Include failsafe measures. As in, create ways you can cancel the spell at any point. This can have the side effect of making your spells easier to undo, particularly if your target is also a witch who understands how you construct your spells. If doing this, it’s best to create a method that is obscured and unique to you.

Add ingredients or instructions specifically to avoid particular side effects or outcomes. Find a component or two that can protect your working from unwanted effects, backfires, and interference. Include instructions for the spell for things it shouldn’t do. For example, trying to create issues for one particular person at work shouldn’t harm their innocent teammates.

Undo It

The first step to consider is undoing the spell. Not all paradigms allow for this, so it may not be possible for you. For me, it depends on the particular spell and how much change it’s created. The bigger the impact, the less likely a simple undo will work.

Still, it’s worth a try. Undoing a spell might take a few forms, depending on how you originally cast it:

Take the spell apart. Disassemble the spell into its components and cleanse them of the spell’s energy.

Destroy the vessel and components. Burning, tearing, burying, flushing, throwing away, and so forth. Be careful to not bury things that could harm the earth, animals, or people — including glass, salt, and plastics. Compost and recycle when you can.

Dismiss spirits working within the spell. End the contract around the spell’s working and request that the spirits stop powering it. You could also request their assistance in undoing the spell. You may have to make offerings either way, depending on the terms of your agreement.

Perform the spell in reverse. This includes speaking incantations backwards, performing all actions backwards, taking components apart, re-cleansing, and putting things away where you originally got them from.

Draw the spell’s energy/effects out of the target’s body and/or the affected area. Using energy work, absorb the spell’s energy into a vessel. Capture it and either allow it to dissipate or bottle it up to keep it in check. I don’t recommend absorbing the energy into yourself, as that may draw the spell’s unwanted effects to you (or make them worse).

I typically employ a combination of strategies to undo a spell, if it’s possible in the first place. If it’s a simple spell, performing it in reverse is the easiest method. I’ll then cleanse, destroy, and dispose of the materials.

But when it isn’t possible to simply undo the spell…

Cast Another Spell

…The answer might be to cast another one. In my mind, there are several ways to do this.

The first is to cast a spell to negate the original’s effects completely. I would approach this method the same way as any other spell. Focus on the effects you’re looking to negate, and cast accordingly. A banishing spell would work well for this to shoo away the spell’s energy, but a cleansing spell to clear the target would also work. Or, you can get more specific. For example, if a spell has generated a string of unlucky events, you could cast a spell for good luck in order to nullify the bad luck of the first spell. The goal would be to cancel out the original spell’s effects in some way.

The second way is to cast a spell to adjust the original’s outcome. There are a lot of ways to do this. You could directly modify the original spell by adding or removing ingredients that might’ve caused the negative outcome, redo written or spoken incantations/petitions, or cast a “companion spell” to redirect the original’s energy to a more favorable end. For example, in a money spell that’s giving everyone else good fortune, you could place a magnet with your personal information on it atop the spell vessel to draw money to you rather than the people around you. The idea here is not to end the original spell, but to realign it to your particular needs.

Another way is to cast a spell specifically to control side effects. Sometimes, a spell can’t be undone, and you can’t easily modify the main outcomes (particularly true if the negative events caused by the spell happen quickly or outside your control). Or maybe the bulk of the spell worked properly, but there’s one or two minor negative side effects you don’t want to continue. The method for this would be similar to adjusting the original spell’s outcome, but on a smaller scale and in a less direct fashion. For example, your job spell got you that promotion, hooray! But now you’re stressed out by training someone to take your place, and you’re learning your new position. You can cast a spell to reduce stress or prevent people from piling additional work on you while you adjust, controlling the side effects of the promotion.

A way I use for high-stakes spells is to cast wards or other protections before casting the main spell to prevent backfire or unwanted effects ahead of time. I often do this for spells surrounding situations that are delicate or that need extra care. In my case, it’s a general, long-term ward against bad luck on a wider scale, and it catches negative spell side effects as part of its job. You can set up temporary wards if you prefer, or make them for very specific purposes. Whatever works for you.

Cast the same spell again. This isn’t my usual go-to, unless I’m trying a new spell method or ingredient I’m unfamiliar with. I’ll usually recommend trying the same spell again when the first casting does absolutely nothing, since multiple castings can make a spell stronger and more effective. However, if a spell backfires or otherwise causes undesirable effects, I wouldn’t really recommend it, as the negative effects can compound, too, if it misfires again.

Ask for Help

If the problems caused by your spell are too big for you to handle on your own, it’s okay to reach out for help! Whether you’re looking for suggestions and advice or hands-on assistance, knowing when and how to ask for help is a critical skill.

Ask the witchcraft community (or your witchy friends) questions. Join a Discord, forum, Tumblr community, or other witchy space. Make a post to explain your situation and request suggestions, advice, and ideas to deal with the situation at large. Not all suggestions will be entirely helpful, but you’ll at least get some new perspectives to shed light on your situation. If people you know directly (in real life or online) practice witchcraft, see what they think.

Chat with spirits. Especially if you already work with spirits or if spirits helped you to cast/power the original spell, this can be a solid way to come up with a solution that will work. Use your preferred method of communication to discuss the situation. If possible, see if they’ll help you either undo or mitigate the spell’s unwanted results.

Ask non-witchy friends for advice. Their advice will probably be mundane, but sometimes, those are the best solutions. Outside perspectives are useful to recontextualize problems and come up with solutions you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

Find books, videos, tutorials, blog posts, and other resources on the subject. When all else fails, or when you’re a little shy about asking for help directly, there are still resources out there to help you solve your dilemmas. Just remember to vet your sources before naively following instructions given to you.

Deal with Consequences Mundanely

Sometimes, there’s just nothing for it. Whether you don’t have time and energy or you’ve already tried more magic and had it fail, there are times when you have to turn to the mundane. Depending on the severity of the situation you’re in, solutions will vary in their successfulness. And honestly, that’s just how it is sometimes. Sometimes, things don’t wrap up nicely and easily and neatly.

With that said, here are a handful of mundane responses and solutions I’ve turned to after spells went wrong (and couldn’t be otherwise fixed):

Come clean and apologize. Particularly applicable when you’re doing a spell on or for another person, sometimes, there’s just nothing else to do but admit you fucked up. If the person impacted by the spell’s effects, directly or indirectly, isn’t a magical practitioner themselves, you could simply apologize for meddling in the situation. On the other hand, if you’ve harmed or offended a spirit with your spellwork, you might make an offering to apologize for the trouble you’ve caused.

Come up with mundane strategies for damage control. Depending on how severe the spell’s negative effects are, the level of effort for this is going to obviously vary. It could be anything from redoing your household budget to breaking out the toolbox for repairs to building an actual fence to making dinner. Your solution is going to depend on your problem. Think strategically.

Seek out new, improved coping mechanisms. Whether you’re looking to resolve feelings that are caused by the spell’s backfire or ones that made you cast in the first place, sometimes, a bit of self-care is the best solution. Consider why you cast the spell in the first place — lack of control, poor self-worth, low confidence? Or was it just because you felt it could help you with a little boost to the work you were already doing? It’s worth thinking about. What mundane safety nets do you have in place?

Let it go. Perhaps the most difficult option: Just letting the bad result be. Moving on from it. Taking the lumps and the lesson, and walking away. Giving up is a skill. It’s not a moral failing to let things go. If fighting will only make things worse, or if you’re tired of trying to fix it, it’s okay to just… let it be a failure.

Conclusions

Again, this is far from comprehensive. The suggestions here are basic ideas to help inspire you to form your own opinions and solutions. It’s smart to consider these things in advance! As my mother always says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I have plans to expand the idea of “When Witching Goes Wrong” into a wider series of posts, each focusing on a very specific problem, spell type, or solution (like a post just about ways to undo a spell, for example). Those are likely to include true stories about things I’ve personally fucked up… which are always the best witchy stories, in my opinion. Lol.

If you're interested in more WWGW entries, check out the masterpost.

Anyhow! If you got something out of this post or my other work, consider tossing a couple dollars in my tip jar. Support goes toward bills and keeping our household fed and healthy, so it’s very much appreciated. Supporters got to see this post a full week early!

If there’s a particular subject you want to see covered, feel free to send me an ask or leave a comment on this post (or any of the posts in the series!). As long as it’s something I actually have experience with, I’m happy to cover just about anything.

✨️10 Things I always Include in My New Grimoire/Book Of Shadows✨️

I'm getting to the end of my second grimoire (prior to this I'd have random stuff in school notebooks that I unfortunately don't have anymore) so I thought it'd be fitting to talk about the stuff I benefited from copying over into my second Grimoire along with what I will most likely put into my third Grimoire.

Please Note: for my journey a Grimoire is the most fitting way for me to describe my preferred method of transcribing what I learn. As a result I will be referring to a Grimoire the whole time but this knowledge can be generally applied to other witchy books meant to hold knowledge.

To help with dictinctions:

Anything with an asterisk* indicates I regretted not including it before

Anything without is stuff I've included and benefitted from having on hand

1. The Elements and Their Correspondences

What I Include in this entry:

- A page dedicated to each element

- Tarot Card, Astrological sign, Color, Crystal, and Herb correspondes (condensed down to crystals and herbs I'm guaranteed to use)

- a vague list with ideas on what this element embodies vibe wise (for example: Earth can represent success, stability or fertility)

- A page dedicated to ideas on how I can work with each element

- how to invoke and banish an element with a pentacle

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

It makes for a very useful reference point when doing spellwork. I can easily see if I can use elemental symbolism and how I can incorporate it.

It also can be nice to reference if I'm celebrating a holiday that embodies the energy of a specific element. I can reference the page for ideas on herbs to use while cooking, colors I can incorporate, etc.

2. Moon Phases, Time, and Seasonal Correspondences

What I include in this Entry:

- a drawing of each moon phase along with about three adjectives to describe the phase

- lists of associations for each time of day

- a chart of the cardinal directions and which season and element corresponds with each one

Why I find this Entry Useful:

It might sound weird that I have all of this stuff condensed down into one entry but hear me out: it's so much nicer to plan rituals and spellwork when all you have to do is look through two pages??? Especially if your first grimoire has all of these entries in more detail (which I heavily reccomend so all of the knowledge is still recorded somewhere), it's nice to know you can easily access the basics without reading every little detail, and then you can always go back to your old grimoire when you need to access more information on the topic.

3. Cartomancy/Tarot

What I Include in this Entry:

- very brief definition of Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court Cards

- elemental correspondences of minor arcana plus what they symbolize

- what each court card symbolizes

- a numerology "cheat sheet"

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is one of those things that will not be helpful for everyone but since I practice tarot frequently it's perfect for me. Even if you're not a big tarot person I at least reccomend you pick something you do a lot and create a condensed version for you to review when you need it!

4. The Witches Compass/Opening and Closing Circles

What I Include in this Entry:

- a brief explanation on why you'd use one

- a step by step guide on how you would open and close one

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

Even though I don't always utilize the Witches' Compass or a standard magic circle, I like to have a condensed form written in case I need to perform a ritual but don't have the space to lug around multiple books.

5. Alters, Shrines, and Temples

What I Include in This Entry:

- Definitions of each word

- a list of examples of types of alters

- a general run-down on what typically goes on an altar

- ideas on how to decorate an altar

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

I actually don't have an altar space currently, but I do find it useful to have inspiration on hand in case I need it. I also just find it useful to have the distinctions on hand in case I'm cross referencing my research.

6. Warding and Defensive Magic*

What I Include in this Entry:

- a list of types of wards with minor guidance on how to use them if I don't use them often

- ways I can use defensive magic if things go wrong

-When to ward/When not to ward a space

- a page dedicated to the Witches Ladder, how to make one, and I typically include one of my own spells with it.

- a page dedicated to a basic house protection spell

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is one of the topics I didn't copy over into my current Grimoire but really regret not doing. Since I like to dabble in Astral travel and a huge part of my practice is working with the in between this knowledge is nice to have on hand.

I'm personally of the school of thought that you don't need to ward everything at all times, however if you're like me and you do a warding spell every once in a while and then you forget how to do it... yeah might be nice to just always have it freshly recorded so you're not rifling through all of your stuff.

7. Magical Excersizes from Books, Media, Etc.

What I Include In This Entry:

- the source I got the excersize from

- what the goal of the excersize is

- a step-by-step rundown

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

It's especially nice when you're dealing with burnout or a mental block. It's also oddly refreshing to occasionally do one.

Now, I wouldn't reccomend having every magical exercise you've ever done in your new Grimoire, but I usually pick three or four that I really like and write them down.

8. About Me Page*

What I Include In This Entry:

- Deities I mainly Venerate

- What magical "paths" or ways of life I tend to follow

- How I feel about my practice (Do I need to improve in some areas? Do I feel lost? Etc.)

- Things I want to explore more or do more

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is another entry I seriously regret not including more. With my first Grimoire (that I didn't lose) it served as a good spot to check in order to see my growth, look for anything I hadn't learned yet but wanted to learn, and it served as a nice sentimental peice to look back on.

Some may not benefit from having an entry like this, but others may find they'll benefit from it like I do!

9. A Basic Guide on Fae Species (or other entities depending on your practice)

What I Include in this Entry:

- I usually pick about 8-10 Fae to make an entry on and I try to keep it in a broad, diverse range.

- A picture depicting each thing

- Name of species

- Anecdotes on their temperament, how you can avoid pissing them off, etc.

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

As a Celtic Pagan it feels right for me to have an entry that includes the Fae even though I avoid interacting with them when possible. I've also generally had a sort of fixation on the Fae and their way of life since I was young so it's a little something that speaks to my heart and my passions as well.

If you want to look at this more practically, having a guide of common entities can be good in case you encounter one that way you have a sort of code of conduct written down.

10. List of Herbs I Commonly Use and their Correspondences

What I Include in this Entry:

- Household herbs I can easily find in the pantry

- items I can easily forage and use from outside

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

My first ever list of herbs was basically every Herb under the sun and how I could use it. Did I use any of those herbs? Heck no! Now I keep a small, condensed list of stuff I actually use and have easy access to and if I use anything I'm not used to that's when I reference my giant list.

Not all of these topics may personally speak to you, but I hope that at least some of them could help you decide what you'd like to include in your own books!