About the Law of Attraction and why I do not much believe in it anymore.

Reading time: ca. 4 minutes

Roundabout 2006, the book and the movie documentary “The Secret” were published. In Germany, there was also a very popular book called “Bestellungen beim Universum” (”Orders from the Universe”). All of these were about the Law of Attraction and about positive affirmations which were said to change one’s life. At the time, I wasn’t active as a witch and instead focussed on some ideas of New Age spirituality - so affirmations became an important part of my life for some time. I also tried to visualise positive changes in my life.

Fast forward to 2021, I do not much believe in the Law of Attraction anymore, or at least not in the claims some people have about it. And here’s why. Imagine you’re poor and uneducated and you desperately want to manifest abundance. Or imagine you have a chronic illness and want to manifest health for yourself. Or to exaggerate, imagine a person who loves a celebrity and wants to manifest that their love is returned by this celebrity. A lot can go wrong with manifesting. If your goal is way out of reach (like, obviously, the celebrity), it doesn’t matter how much positive affirmations you choose. They won’t get you there. Now, why is that?

As I learnt in witchcraft, magic(k) follows the path of least resistance. I think that the Law of Attraction works in similar ways. Maybe you can manifest small positive changes in your life, but anyone who promises you a life of eternal abundance, joy, love etc. probably just wants to exploit you and get your money for their services. By the way, the author of “Orders from the Universe” died of cancer.

Related to illnesses, let‘s talk about victim blaming.

(And I have talked about this before.)

In some New Age-ish spiritual circles, which are all about the Law of Attraction and manifesting, victim blaming people with health issues (for instance mental illnesses, other chronic illnesses or disabilities) seems to be a kind of sport. Some people hand out unsoliticed advice when they hear about your illness. Typically, there are variations of these claims:

Oh, you are sick?

- It must be Karma.

- It must be a problem from a past life.

- It’s an ancestral burden.

- Your illness has a deeper meaning, let me explain it to you...

- There must be a serious issue in your life that you have to work on, or else you wouldn’t be sick.

Or, with the Law of Attraction:

- You must use positive affirmations and visualisations, then your health will improve!

Or other similarly invasive claims. In every case, the person who has the health problem(s) gets all the blame instead of rationally looking at other influences which might have caused the illness. And the victim blamers typically tell the victims they just have to self-improve, work on themselves, and some blamers indicate that then the health problems would magically disappear some day.

Well, let me tell you, this is not how it works. Chronic and mental illnesses – and disabilities as well - do not magically disappear because someone works on their selfimprovement or uses positive affirmations. In many cases, these illnesses are incurable. People can learn to live with them. They can take medication or have therapies to alleviate symptoms. In some cases, a lot of physical exercise is necessary for that. Many People with such illnesses actually do work a lot on themselves, in order to alleviate their symptoms.

There are many, many reasons for illnesses and a lot of them (not all) can be explained scientifically and not by ideas of New Age Spirituality or Law of Attraction. Look at difficult births, accidents, genetic defects, at toxic, abusive families and more.

I have been born with a disability. For over twenty years, I have also been struggling with a serious mental illness/neurodivergence which is incurable. I do not refer to myself as being healthy or sick, but as being stable or unstable. I could use positive affirmations all I want, they wouldn’t change the fact that I have a chronic illness and a disability.

Let’s talk about privilege

If something really good comes your way, and you think you have manifested it all by yourself, here’s the thing: it’s possible that this is directly related to the privileges you have. Being white. Being heterosexual and cisgender. Being born into a prosperous or loving, supporting family. Having had a really good education. Being healthy most of the time. Being able to have a nutritious healthy diet. Or other privileges which you maybe have always taken for granted. Think of all the people who do not have such privileges. How could they manifest positive changes in their lives, when these are filled with struggles? Doesn’t seem so easy then, does it?

Mind games

Here is another thing I do not like about the Law of Attraction: to me, this rather seems like mind games. Saying affirmations over and over again and visualising stuff just happens in your mind. These days, I prefer witchcraft, because I can use things with magical correspondences and tools, my altars, or sigils and such - and it’s not just all in my mind but rather grounding, at least to me, because I work with natural and other materials which connect me to the mundane world while I am weaving magic.

You need to do the work ... but different from how the Law of Attraction tells you

The Law of Attraction can give the impression that you just have to repeat your positive affirmations and do visualisations or create vision boards and that’s it. But the truth is that in order to achieve something, you have to put mundane work into it. There is an old joke that I keep coming back to:

A man prays to win the lottery. Every day, he prays to his god about this. Weeks and months pass by but he doesn’t win the lottery. After a year, the guy is quite desperate and asks his god, “Why don’t you let me win the lottery? I have prayed so much!” He then suddenly hears a celestial voice, “Give me a chance to fulfil your wish - go and buy yourself a lottery ticket, man!”

You can have positive affirmations all you want, if you are not willing or not able to work for your goals, there is not much of a chance that you will achieve them. It’s basically the same thing with magic - you have to take into account mundane measures, too. Here’s a personal example: last year, I was looking for a new flat. And that is not easy in my city and also my life circumstances are not optimal. I prayed to my deities, developed a special sigil, made a spell. AND I looked at the housing ads all the time and visited several flats to see if there was one I might want to live in. If I hadn’t looked at the ads and hadn’t gone to the flats, I wouldn’t have found a new one, as you can imagine. I was lucky, after 2 months of search and some magical work on the side, I found the flat that I’m living in now.

Further reading
“I Do Not Believe in the Law of Attraction” by Shaunta Grimes:

https://medium.com/swlh/i-do-not-believe-in-the-law-of-attraction-42444075b53d

“Toxic Positivity Culture: Why Pagans, Polytheists, & Occultists Should Guard Against It” by River Enodian:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/teaaddictedwitch/2018/08/toxic-positivity-culture/

While as a witch believing in magic, I do not agree with everything in this article, I think the author has some good points:

“Magical Thinking: Why the Law of Attraction Doesn’t Work and why Attractors do!” by Tessa Schlesinger:
https://letterpile.com/personal-essays/Magical-thinking-why-the-law-of-attraction-doesnt-work

About how positive thinking can be toxic, with consequences for society and politics, seen from an American perspective:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113758696
(From the Book “BRIGHT-SIDED: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America” by Barbara Ehrenreich.)

A Critique of Abraham Hicks & the Law of Attraction:

https://gurumag.com/a-critique-of-abraham-hicks-the-law-of-attraction/

© Andrea Grünbaum

Please note: This blog is about spiritual/pagan/witchcraft/occult people. In order to shorten this, I sometimes just write „spiritual community“.

We live in a world which is deeply influenced by Capitalism. This can also be seen as a belief system in itself. Many people have more faith in Capitalism than in any deity or other spiritual entity. This mundane faith can be seen constantly in politics, mostly of the conservative kind. This has lots of effects. One of them: People who are unproductive, for instance because of disabilities or illnesses, get stigmatized.

A quote from „The Impact of Advanced Capitalism on Well-being: an Evidence-Informed Model“ by Stephen Butler:

Concomitant with the cultural promotion of individualistic and materialistic values, individuals are obliged to develop an identity that is market-driven and embedded in a narrative of success, status, and an enhanced self-image. In the USA, there is evidence of increased materialism and goals related to the pursuit of money, fame, and an enhanced self-image over recent decades among large representative samples of high school and college students (Twenge et al. 2010a; Twenge et al. 2012).1

Capitalism bleeds over in communities who take an interest in new age spirituality or witchcraft, shamanism, occultism, paganism. Let me elaborate on this: New Age Spirituality, but also witchcraft, shamanism, occultism and to a perhaps lesser extent, paganism and druidry, are business models for some people. Some of their customers have a rather superficial interest in these topics, to them it is rather a lifestyle-thing. A yoga class here, a wellness retreat there, some crystals … and I don‘t mean to condemn all of this – most of us have busy lives, with jobs, families, mortgages, many obligations, so to most of us there is simply not much time or energy left for our spiritual development.
All in all, the interest in let‘s call it alternative spirituality is still booming, even if some of it is rather lifestyle-ish.

Let‘s get back to the business model. What do I mean by this? Here, I have seen basically two different approaches:

1. The small business approach
Elders of the spiritual community come to mind who often have published books or blogs and have been active in the community for a long time. Many of them have mundane jobs, sometimes part-time and they work as a witch, pagan, occultist, shamanic practitioner, medium, Tarot reader or else on the side. Some offer classes and workshops at reasonable prices, often with sliding scales.

Some organize events, also with reasonable prices and often with slading scales too - sometimes even with free tickets for people who cannot afford to buy a ticket. Some of the events also donate a share of their revenues for charitable causes.

There are also lots of local small businesses, e.g. occult shops, manufacturers, artisans, artists, book stores and similar.

2. The big business approach

Whole companies or spiritual teachers (many of them with a huge following) wo offer spiritual products and services of all kinds, events, classes, workshops, and more – and all of this is often quite expensive and there are no sliding scales.
As a rule of thumb you can assume the following – the more expensive such things are, the more likely it is that the respective companies or persons mainly see their fields of activity as a means to earn a lot of money and not so much as a service to the spiritual community. Hello again, Capitalism.

As you can guess, the first approach is far better in my eyes, because it is more inclusive, open also to people with little financial means. It‘s more about the community, less about financial gain.

Is taking money for your services bad?
You surely heard more than once discussions whether witches, shamans, occultists, mediums, pagan priestx etc. should take money for their services. Hello, Capitalism again. Whereas some shamans, witches, druids in historical or indigenous societies where able to get by with bartering or donations by the people in their village or neighbourhood, we live very differently these days in Western Societies. There are rents and bills to pay – with money, not spiritual services – and we cannot step outside of Capitalism completely, even if many would love to.

Listen to what Laura Tempest Zakroff has to say about this discussion. In her short talk, it‘s mainly related to witchcraft, but it can also be applied to shamanic practitioners, druids, mediums, pagan priestx, occultists and more.

Consumerism and Spiritual Identity

Consumerism is deeply engrained in our societies. Advertisements are all over the place, fashion always changes with the seasons and new products get released every week or even more often.

All of this is also a part of spiritual communities and often, products are not ethically sourced - examples for this are crystals, White Sage and Palo Santo. Especially with smudging of White Sage, there is also the problem of cultural appropriation.2

Btw, I recently heard that the popularity of crystals started in New Age spirituality circles and then also merged into the witchcraft and occult communities. Sourcing and selling stones is a big business these days.

Social media, e.g. Instagram, often give the impression that in order to be a real witch, occultist, shamanic practitioner etc. you have to buy a lot of stuff, some of it frequently (e.g. incense, magical oils and waters, magical beauty products, candles and more). In other words, Capitalism and Consumerism have crept into the midst of our spiritual circles.

I do not want to condemn this, but I would like to recommend considering eco-friendly and ethically sourced products, if you can afford them, or generally consuming a bit less. Or if you are able to, make witchy/pagan/occult items on your own. It can be much more personal that way and is infused with your energy from the very beginning. And if your selfmade items do not look as nice as expensive products that others show on Instagram, I wouldn‘t worry about that. You don‘t have to show every little detail of your practice or craft on the internet. You could also just show them to close friends or relatives.

I‘d also consider to support your local witch or occult shop, if there is one near you. Or support small businesses or artists, Tarot readers etc. of the spiritual community, instead of larger companies. You can find many small businesses on Etsy or on Social Media. Several offer eco-friendly, vegan and/or ethically sourced products.

And what about competitors?

Capitalism lets us believe our world is full of competiton – in sports, school/college, at work... This goes so far that even in spiritual communities, there are people who mainly view others (e.g. artists, artisans, content creators, teachers, authors…) as competitors. This is a very damaging attitude. To me, other authors are colleagues and I treat them as such. I have learned this years ago in an author meet-up. John Beckett has written an excellent blog about this topic.3

How Capitalism and Consumerism can affect the Spiritual/Pagan/Witch/Occult Identity

I have met people who went from one spiritual workshop to the next. Of course, it‘s good to learn from others, in a group or one-on-one with a teacher. But my impression of some of these people was rather that they were haunted by some sort of insecurity. They seemed to feel deeply insecure about their spiritual abilities, so they were seeking some sort of validation in such classes and workshops, again and again.

I heard about another problem in an interview with Lars Koehne on Mystica TV. I can only quote this from memory, not his exact words – he basically said, many people feel insecure in their every day life and about their achievements in their jobs or education, as a parent or in other fields of their life. (Hello, Impostor Syndrome.) And then they start learning something about spirituality and again, they feel insecure about this. By the way, this might also explain the popularity of certificates which you get at the end of some classes. Lars Koehne continued saying, learning about your Higher Self and other spiritual topics should never be a source of insecurity, but of self-impowerment.

However, many classes, workshops, events, spiritual counsellors and teachers, often of the expensive kind, give the impression that they have all the answers and are the one true way to eternal happiness. Again, keep in mind, this is a business model and advertisements in general are not known for being all about truth, but rather about exaggerating the positive features of a product or service. I would recommend caution about such offers and rather recommend classes etc. which help you to self-empower yourself instead of promising you all sorts of life-changing effects.

And if you study with a teacher who keeps pushing concepts or methods at you that you feel are not right for you, maybe find a different teacher or another way of studying.

I keep reading in Social Media how beginner witches, druids, pagans, shamanic practitioners etc. feel insecure about their path, their craft etc. So they seek validation online, asking lots of questions.

Others write about how productive they are, what they have achieved or learned and often they give tips and recommendations for daily practices and such.

It seems, as a spiritual person, you just can‘t be and enjoy being alive and doing the spiritual things you do. These days, it seems you have to go to events (currently often online because of the pandemic), listen to podcasts, show selfies or your altar online, read books, visit workshops, book a reading, watch videos by witchy Youtubers and the list goes on and on. Oh, and did I mention, never forget your daily practice. And if you are a content creator, you have to post something online every day or your exposure will decrease. Does that ring a bell? Hello again, Capitalism, with your profound belief in constant productivity and growth. Higher. Faster. More.

I recently wrote an article about chronical illness and witchcraft in which I explained how all of that productivity can be overwhelming for neurodiverse or chronically ill people - or even impossible to achieve. And I bet it can also be overwhelming for neurotypical, healthy people.

Does it spark Joy? (As Marie Kondo would say)

If your activities for your craft/path feel all in all and most of the time rather like chores, something might be wrong. Of course, if you are for instance a beginner trying to learn astral projection/travel, meditation, pathworking, hedge riding or similar methods, this can be tough in the beginning. All of those cannot be learned in a day or two, these things really need some practice.

However, if the feeling of doing chores continues over a long time, check what you are doing. Maybe you have fallen into a trap which sounds like, „I have to be productive all the time for my craft, or I am a bad witch.“

Believe me, you are not a bad witch or pagan, occultist etc. just because you do not do all the tips, exercises, journal prompts etc. that books and blogs, videos etc. provide.

Try a playful approach. Try to make rituals or spells easier, less complicated. You do not need to memorize the multitude of meanings of every card of the Tarot, if you are not a professional Tarot reader. You can look up their meanings. You also do not have to write long, elaborate texts all the time into your Book of Shadows, sometimes keywords are enough. You do not have to join every discussion on Social Media about spiritual matters. Taylor your own unique approach to spirituality, if that is what suits you best, e.g. if you are a solitary witch. And: you do not have to deal with each and every activity that others do.
A personal example: I do seldomly work with crystals and divination. Astrology doesn‘t resonate with me at all. I also only do ancestral work occasionally, not all the time. Does that make me a lesser witch? I don‘t think so. I do other witchy and pagan and activities.

Conclusion

So my advice would be, laugh into the face of Capitalism every now and then. „Shop less, live more“, to quote a saying. In your free time, take a walk in nature or in the park in the neighbourhood – not for shooting pictures for your Instagram, but just for being yourself and to enjoy nature. If you have a dog, you have experience with this anyway, I guess? Take some time in which you are not productive. Be lazy sometimes, even if that feels strange or uncomfortable. Daydream on your couch. Smell the flowers. Pet your cat. Take a nap if you can. Get offline for a while, or turn off the notifications of your social media. Stop reading all the tips which are not suitable for you. Bingewatch that show. Read an entertaining novel every now and then instead of the next research material for your craft. Do remember, and I repeat myself: You do not have to be productive all the time.

© Andrea Grünbaum

Recommended further reading:
”Embracing Feelings-Based Paganism” by Mage of Aquarius, free article on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/55785007

Footnotes

(1) Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42087-018-0034-6

(2) You can read more about this e.g. in the following articles:

https://fashionista.com/2019/11/burning-sage-cultural-appropriation

https://medium.com/meditating-on-what-matters/meditatingonwhatmatters-how-your-smudging-ritual-may-be-culturally-appropriating-5ead607e5fbfhttps://www.wellandgood.com/how-to-sage-your-home-correctly/

In this blog by Sidney Eileen are some alternatives for using White Sage as an incense.

http://sidneyeileen.com/witchcraft/articles-on-witchcraft-and-paganism/easy-alternatives-to-white-sage-for-smoke-cleansing/

(3)
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2021/08/pagan-leadership-its-not-a-competition.html

I do not have my own flat, my own car, or even a garden. I also do not have children. I do not dream of a cottage in the countryside.

I don’t feel the need to spend my holidays in the Seychelles or other exotic destinations. I can lie on the beach elsewhere.

I don’t have much money, but I still donate money to charity or houseless folks, when I can.

My most valuable possession is my computer, because it contains texts, music and photos and images of the artworks which I have created. I use it to watch streams, listen to music and connect to social networks. You could say, my computer is not just a work tool, but also a huge “memory bank”.

The only luxury I allow myself are my hobbies, for instance books.

Everything else is in flux for me and I try not to hoard anything anymore. Because when my life ends, I can’t take ANYTHING of it with me. That’s why, at the end of my life, I want to be able to say that I haven’t accumulated material goods.

Sometimes, I actually pity millionaires and billionaires. Because while they may be able to buy almost anything during their lifetime, in the very end, nothing of that matters any more. You cannot buy a guarantee to stay healthy and able-bodied until the end of your life. (Though money can help very much with special treatments, I have to admit.)
You cannot take money with you into the afterlife. When Death is knocking at our door, we are all equals, as has been said since at least the medieval era, if not before that.
So if you are in the middle of buying and hoarding stuff, or making more and more money, remember that you are mortal. Memento Mori.

I do not want to hoard objects. Instead, I want to accumulate interesting ideas. Creative things. Beautiful memories that connect me to my fellow human beings and my loved ones.

Also, I hate overconsumption and materialism. Some time ago, I watched the series “Your Friends & Neighbours” which provides a lot of social criticism, also about materialism and consumerism.

In it, the character Barney says: „Grace spends too much. I spend too much. It’s like a bodily function at this point. We eat, we drink, we buy all this shit. And then we talk about the shit, that we have bought. And then we talk about the other shit we gonna buy and then we go buy that. And sometimes I just walk around the house and I look at the shear volume of shit we have and it fucking mystifies me. I mean, when did we become these people? When did our lives get so empty that we have to constantly stuff them full with all this shit? I don’t know what happened to me.“

I consider myself fortunate - my life is not empty, I don’t have such a void in me as Barney describes it.
I hope that your life isn’t empty, too. I hope that you do not have a void inside of you which you fill with endless shopping.
I wish you well.

I have published a free eBook (47 pages) and it’s been updated in September 2022:

“The Internet Witch - Living a Magical Life with 21st Century Technology”

The content of the book:
Apps for Witchcraft
Some Witchy Usages of your Cell Phone
Vision Boards, Desktop Images and Digital Frames
Witches on Instagram – Is It Just An Aesthetic?
Selfcare and Social Media
Don‘t Believe everything You Read Online
Tips For Online Research
Where is everyone?
• Facebook • Instagram • TikTok • Twitter • Mastodon • Discord • Hiero • Tumblr
Unverified Personal Gnosis on the Internet
One of the Pillars of Witchcraft: To be Silent
Tips for Witches in the Broom Closet
Spells for Internet Witches:
• Finding People Who Love your Content • Managing Your Online Tim • Spell for Finding Useful And Inspirational Content • Spell for clear online communication Some Deities of Communication, Knowledge and More
Get Offline

Appendix:
Further Reading and Online Content
Some recommendable Youtube Channels by Witches
Some recommendable Witchcraft Podcasts
Some Recommendable Blogs by Witches, Magic Practitioners, Druids and Pagans Some Recommendable Sources, Online or in Print
Some Online/ Distance Learning Courses for Witchcraft, Druidry and Paganism

You can download this book here:
https://bit.ly/The-Internet-Witch

Ich bin eine freifliegende, eklektische Hexe und seit einigen Jahren auch pagane Polytheistin. Außerdem bin ich queer und intersektional. Ich lebe in Norddeutschland und liebe das Meer. Cavorta ist mein spiritueller Name. Ich schreibe Bücher und bin auch gelegentlich als Künstlerin aktiv. Hier bin ich online zu finden: https://linktr.ee/siochanta

Meine Veröffentlichungen

Überblick:

1. Traumreisen - Geführte Meditationen für Hexen und Heid*innen

2. Mein magisches Hexentagebuch - Ein Buch der Schatten

3. Das kleine A bis Z der Hexenkunst: Ein Nachschlagewerk für den Einstieg

4. Ausmalbuch für Hexen und Heid*innen

5. Magisch durchs Jahr - ein immerwährender Hexenkalender

6. Traumreisen für Kinder: Naturspirituell, heidnisch und schamanisch inspiriert

Traumreisen - Geführte Meditationen
für Hexen und Heid*innen

25 geführte Meditationen mit Themen speziell für Hexen und Heid*innen; zu den Jahreszeiten und ihren Festen, den Elementen, Ahnen, hilfreichen Wesen und Gottheiten, für die eigene Erdung und mehr. Sie sind auch für Anfänger:innen geeignet, die noch keine Erfahrung mit Meditation haben. Du kannst die Traumreisen im Sitzen oder Liegen durchführen. Im Buch enthalten ist auch ein Link zu Audiodateien der Traumreisen, die du ohne weitere Kosten als MP3 herunterladen kannst.

Das Buch ist als Taschenbuch erhältlich, sowie überall, wo es E-Books gibt.
Link zum Taschenbuch

Mein magisches Hexentagebuch - Ein Buch der Schatten

In diesem Hexentagebuch findest du illustrierte Seiten, die darauf warten, von dir gefüllt zu werden, für die folgenden Themen:

⭐️Magische Erlebnisse – hier kannst du deine Erlebnisse mit der Hexenkunst aufschreiben.

⭐️Hexenkunsthandwerk – was gestaltest du für die Hexenkunst? Zum Beispiel Hexenpüppchen, jahreszeitliche Dekoration oder ähnliches?

⭐️Außerdem findest du Seiten für Träume, Gottheiten, Chants, Lieder, deinen Altar, Gebete, Rezepte, Rituale, Shoppinglisten, Zauber, Kräuter & Pflanzen, Kristalle & Halbedelsteine, Astrologie und für Verschiedenes, das nicht in die anderen Kategorien passt.

⭐️Im Buch gibt es auch einige Seiten mit dekorativen Rahmen. Hier kannst du etwas skizzieren oder zum Beispiel Symbole oder Sigillen zeichnen.

⭐️Am Ende befinden sich einige Tabellen mit Korrespondenzen (Planeten und Elemente).

Im Onlineshop von epubli erhältlich und im Buchhandel bestellbar mit der ISBN 9783752995688

Link zum Buch

Das kleine A bis Z der Hexenkunst:
Ein Nachschlagewerk für den Einstieg

Von Magie im Alltag, Altar, Besen, Chants, Kristallen und magischen Korrepondenzen, von Meditation und Paganismus bis hin zu Ritualen und Zaubern – in diesem Buch findest du einen Überblick über 75 Themen, die für moderne Hexen bedeutsam sind. Dieses Nachschlagewerk enthält praktische Tipps und Anregungen (z.B. Zauber). Im Anhang und bei vielen der Themen findest du außerdem weiterführende Literatur.

Die Printausgabe hat 200 Seiten. Überall im Buchhandel bestellbar.
Die ISBN der Taschenbuchausgabe: 978-3-753151-55-7
Link zum Taschenbuch

Ausmalbuch für Hexen und Heid*innen

In diesem Ausmalbuch findest du 52 Bilder von Krafttieren, Hexenwerkzeugen (z.B. Hexenkessel), den vier Elementen, den Baum des Lebens, heidnische und Hexensymbole, Runen, Gottheiten, passende Mandalas, Sternzeichen und noch mehr. Außerdem enthalten: magische Korrespondenzen der gängigsten Farben. Wenn du magst, kannst du dich während des Ausmalens mit der Energie dessen verbinden, was abgebildet ist.

Link zum Buch
Überall im Buchhandel bestellbar, ISBN: 9783753175454

Magisch durchs Jahr -
ein immerwährender Hexenkalender

Jetzt wird es magisch … dieser illustrierte Kalender bietet Ideen für Zauber und Magie im Alltag, Bilder zum Ausmalen und Platz für Notizen, sowie mehrere Seiten für die Rauhnächte und persönliche magische Korrespondenzen. Die acht Jahreskreisfeste und mehrere pagane Gottheiten (nordische, keltische, römische und griechische) werden vorgestellt. Außerdem enthält dieser Kalender einige geführte Meditationen. Im Anhang gibt es weiterführende Literatur und Links.

Der Kalender kann überall bestellt werden, wo es Taschenbücher gibt.
ISBN: 9783756530519
180 Seiten
Format: 14,8 x 21 cm (Din A5)
Preis: 13 €
Link zum Kalender

Traumreisen für Kinder: Naturspirituell, heidnisch und schamanisch inspiriert

Geeignet ab 5 Jahren. 23 Traumreisen/geführte Meditationen bringen Kindern unter anderem die Natur, die Jahreszeiten, innere Erdung, Pflanzen- und andere Naturgeister nah, sowie ein persönliches Krafttier und noch mehr. Außerdem gibt es in diesem Buch mehrere Achtsamkeitsübungen zum Körper, sowie eine Traumreise zum Einschlafen mit dem Sandmann. Zwei weitere geführte Meditationen handeln vom Wünschen und in einer anderen begegnet das Kind einer guten Fee. In der Taschenbuchausgabe sind 7 Ausmalbilder mit Naturmotiven enthalten. Weitere empfehlenswerte Bücher sind ebenfalls aufgelistet.

Überall bestellbar, wo es E-Books und Taschenbücher gibt. ISBN: 9783756554058
Link zum Buch

Übersicht meiner Bücher bei Epubli

Reading time: ca. 7 minutes
This blog was inspired by a video/Instagram reel by Kelly-Ann Maddox (see footnote 1) in which she talks about the „dormant witch“ – people who turn to their witchhood for the first time when their back is against the wall, as Kelly-Ann describes it. When their life is falling apart, they are in a dangerous living situation (for instance because of domestic abuse), or are facing another serious problem or conflict.

Kelly-Ann gives the following advice: If you come across somebody in a dire situation who has no experience yet in witchcraft and asks for help (with regards to a binding, a banishing spell or a hex, or something similar), don’t tell this person, „You cannot do that, you are not a witch“. Rather give them information about safety measures while doing such a spell (for instance a protection spell before the banishing) or if you know witches who do spells on commission and you can recommend them, that would be another possibility, according to Kelly-Ann.

That got me thinking what tips I would give a witch in this situation. And here is my blog post about that.

Safety First

Mundane Safety is key.

If you are in a life-threatening situation, run. No magic will get you out of there, especially if you are inexperienced. Call the cops, if necessary. Stay with a friend or a sibling, if that is possible and recommendable. Depending on the situation and also your mental health, do everything you can to stay safe and sound. Ask for mundane help and support, if necessary.

It’s hard to do magic in the middle of an intense fight or another high-tension situation. Even an experienced witch would have trouble with that. If you want to do a spell, make sure you are undisturbed for at least 15 minutes if it’s possible. Maybe you have to get up at night for that when the kids and your partner are asleep. Maybe you have to wait until your flat mate leaves the flat. Maybe your lunch break at work is the only option or another situation where you can be alone. You might want to create a mobile altar for this (2). Do never attempt to do a spell while you are driving in your car – energy which gets moved by magic often acts unpredictably, so it might affect your driving.

Some basics

Body Scan Exercise
Before doing a spell, it’s good to do a body scan. There are several resources online for this, for instance this 9 minute video by Therapy in A Nutshell:

Grounding

After you have done a spell, best do a grounding exercise. This doesn’t have to take long. See what best fits your situation and possibilities.

There are plenty of different ways to do a grounding exercise. The renowned witch Rachel Patterson has written a blog with some advice about this:

https://www.rachelpatterson.co.uk/single-post/getting-grounded

Hiding your magical workings in plain sight

For most folks in the mainstream culture, a few things are well established, for instance because of the wellness industry. Maybe you can light candles or incense sticks (please don’t use White Sage or Palo Santo, I have written about this here (3)) And I guess you have plenty of ingredients in your pantry already which can be easily used for witchcraft, for instance dried herbs, pepper, chili peppers and of course, plain salt. For magic, there are all sorts of fancy salts available, but plain salt will do the trick as well. Salt is very powerful, no matter of it’s specific structure or colour. You can also consecrate a piece of jewelry or several of them in secret (4), so that they will empower you any time you wear them.

You can even use your shower or bath tub for magic. Here is an easy example: Let your self soak in the warm water with some dried rosemary and salt, both are great for protection.

However, if you cannot gather ingredients for spells or if it would look suspicious for your abusive family, partner or another person who is threatening you, if you would set aside time for you alone in a room - here is a different method for which you do not need any ingredients, crystals etc.
All you need is some time when you do not get disturbed. You could even do it at night, pretending you are sleeping.

I call this „Magic in your Mind“ and I haven’t invented that, several witches use it from time to time or often - in footnote (5) I have linked the blog post where I explain this method.

If reading non-fiction books is accessible for you:

If you are thinking about baneful magic – bindings, hexings, banishings, there is a book I can highly recommend: „Hex Twisting: Counter-magick Spells for the Irritated Witch” by Diana Rajchel.

However, maybe your situation is so urgent that you don’t have time to read a whole book, so here are some easy-to-do spells. I hope they might fit your situation. Feel free to adapt them as you see fit. Use your intuition.

Let’s get to the Spellwork

A Protection Spell – Spell Bottle for Protection

I found this easy protection spell by Daniel of Santuário Lunar (Moon Shrine) from Brazil online a few years ago, tried it and it worked well. It is specifically a spell meaning to protect you against an enemy (even if that enemy is your neighbour, in a relationship with you or is related to you):

https://www.santuariolunar.com.br/en/protection-spells-against-enemies/

The spell in a YouTube video:

Start with a body scan, then do the protection spell. After the spellwork, do a grounding exercise.

Store the glass in a hidden place in your home for as long as you need it.

Please note that Daniel’s spells are for free, as he states on his website, do never use them commercially.

Banishing

Easy banishing spell, suitable for beginners and leaving no trace behind:

Start with a body scan exercise. Then, when you are ready, write a person’s name, a situation or another thing which you want to banish from your life on a simple piece of paper. Say something with conviction and intent about whom or what you want to banish from your life. If you like rhymes and they come easily to you in your mind, feel free to rhyme, but this isn’t necessary. Then rip the paper into smaller pieces and burn all of these in a fireproof container.

The energy of the fire element takes care of the negative energy, banishing the respective person/thing/situation from your life.

If you do not own a fireproof container, use this method:
Write the person, situation or another thing on a piece of toilet paper. Say something about whom or what you want to banish (with rhymes or not). Then flush the paper down the toilet.

The energy of the water element will take care of the problem, washing it away.

Afterwards, do a grounding exercise to get fully back into your everyday life.

Please note: It may take a while for this spell to work, so be patient, if you can. And of course, also do anything on a mundane level, to improve your situation or get rid of the problem.

Bindings

Binding spells can help to disable people from doing harmful things, thus making them incapable of action.

Easy Binding Spell, suitable for beginners.

Start with a body scan exercise. Then, when you are ready to do the working, take a photo of the harmful person and print it out, so that you have it on paper (You can also prepare this beforehand.)

If this is not possible for you, you can either write down the person’s name on a piece of paper, or carve the name into a candle. The candle could be shaped like a person, but you can also use a conventional candle.

Take yarn and wrap it either around the photo, the piece of paper or the candle.

Say out loud with conviction and intent, what you want to bind, for instance that the abusive person shall be unable to continue with the abuse. You can say this in rhymes or without rhymes.

If you use a candle, let it burn for a while, but make sure that the yarn doesn’t catch fire (you can move it down the candle for this.) Then extinguish the candle.

Afterwards, do a grounding exercise to get back into the „here and now“.

Repeat this spell as often as it is needed, and let the candle burn down further in the process. And again, take caution about the yarn and the flame of the candle.

Please note: It may take a while for this spell to work, so be patient, if you can. And also do anything on a mundane level, to improve your situation or get rid of the problem.

Hexing

Hexing is basically a form of destructive magic with which you cast harmful things on somebody. There is a lot of debate about if witches should at all use destructive magic. In Wicca, the Threefold Law or „Rule of Three“ is advocating against this (6). But not all witches are Wiccans.
In the „love and light only“ spiritual crowd, destructive magic is also seen as something bad or even „evil“.

However, we have to differentiate: If I do a hexing against a deeply abusive, violent or even murderous person or against somebody who treats basic human rights like shit, I do this for the greater good (or to get out of a lifethreatening situatuon because of the abuse). In other words: If you cast harmful things on a harmful person, you might help yourself or others who are affected by the harmful behaviour of that person.

However, a hexing is less severe than a curse and rather temporary, whereas curses can affect whole families and last for years or even decades. As you can guess, I cannot recommend casting curses for beginner witches, so let’s instead think about hexes.

You are unsure if you feel confident or able enough to perform a hexing on your own? But you also don’t have the financial means to comission an experienced witch who offers to do hexes on their client’s behalf? In this case, here is another suggestion. Sidney Eileen has written a good blog about calling the Fates to hex. Thus, you can ask the Fates to do the heavy lifting for you, so to speak, which may be good as you are not yet experienced in witchcraft. (7)

If your hexing is meant against Nazis, white supremacists, right wing extremists and fascists, here is a spell suggestion for you, which I have been inspired to write some years ago after reading Sidney’s blog post. It’s called: Calling the Fates to Hex Nazis. (8)

If you feel that you can a hex on your own, here is an easy-to-do one which is beginner friendly.

All Purpose Hexing

You need: a black candle. (If this would cause suspicion by harmful people, use a plain white one instead).

Start with a body scan exercise. Then, when you are ready, light the black or white candle.

Look steadily into the flame and say with conviction and intention all the harmful things which you wish for the harmful person. Please choose your words carefully.

Please note: Better not wish for the death of the person, this would go too far in most circumstances.

Here are some suggestions what you could say (X is the harmful person).

I wish X to lose their current job and not harm me anymore at my workplace!
I hex X to get relocated to another branch of our company, in a city far away.
I hex X to become ill, so that they can no longer harm my loved ones!
I wish that X has an accident which doesn’t cause them to die, but to spend quite some time at the hospital.
I hereby hex X, may they lose the vote!
I hex X to lose their home.
I hex X to have all sorts of trouble which distracts them from me.
I hex X to forget about me and never contact me again (in addition, block the person everywhere where possible)

Say all sentences that you want to say three times. End the hexing with these words: This is my hexing, so it must be!

Feel into the moment, into the magic starting its work, and visualise your goal. If you cannot visualise, for instance because of aphantasia, tell your goal to yourself as if you wanted to tell yourself a story, for instance like this:

I can see how X gets fired from their current job – they have a heated argument with our boss, so loud that the whole office hears it, including me. But still, they get fired and have to clean out their desk. I feel very relieved because from now on, I am not going to see X ever again!

When you have done this, extinguish the candle and do a grounding exercise to close this working.

I hope this blog post helps you and can empower you. Feel free to share it with others if you feel like they might need it. I wish you well.

Follow recommendation Kelly-Ann Maddox
Kelly-Ann’s website: https://www.kelly-annmaddox.com/
Kelly-Ann’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kelly-annmaddox/

Kelly-Ann on Substack:

Kelly-Ann’s Substack

My personal Substack

By Kelly-Ann Maddox Maddox

Kelly-Ann on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyann_maddox/

Footnotes

(1) Kelly-Ann’s Instagram reel:

The short video on YouTube

(2) see: Tipps for Witches in the broom closet
https://cavorta.substack.com/p/tipps-for-witches-in-the-broom-closet

(3) About Palo Santo and White Sage https://cavorta.substack.com/p/white-sage-palo-santo-and-the-problem

(4) see also: Jewelry for Witches in the broom closet
https://cavorta.substack.com/p/jewelry-for-pagan-witches-in-the

(5) Magic in your mind:
https://cavorta.substack.com/p/magic-in-your-mind

(6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Three_(Wicca)

(7) Calling the Fates to Hex by Sidney Eileen: https://sidneyeileen.com/2019/11/12/calling-the-fates-to-hex/

(7) Calling the Fates to Hex Nazis
https://cavorta.substack.com/p/calling-the-fate-to-hex-nazis

When I started out reading witchcraft and pagan non-fiction, I noticed many of these books are for beginners, witchcraft 101 so to speak. It’s hard to find witchcraft or pagan books for intermediate practitioners.

At some point I stopped reading beginner books and instead only read books with, let’s call it special interest topics, also regarding everyday life. So here is a list with such books. Of course, I could have included even more topics, but I wanted to focus mostly on books which I have read myself and can recommend. In this list, there are also some books which I haven’t read so far, but I have heard good things about them or they have generally good ratings.

Please note: I excluded some popular topics like magical/witchcraft traditions, ancestral work, astrology, Tarot and crystals, because there are many books out there about these. I have read several of these books (not all so far) by myself and can recommend them.

Art and Creativity

„Inspiring Creativity Through Magick: How to Ritualize Your Art & Attract the Creative Spirit“ – Astrea Taylor

Love and Romance

„Little Guide to Love Magic: Everything You Need to Know, Including Love Spells“
– Tess Whitehurst

Money

„Little Guide to Money Magic: Everything You Need to Know, Including Money Spells“ – Tess Whitehurst

Grief/Death/Dying

I have compiled a whole list about this topic, also with books about psychopomp work.
https://bit.ly/book_recommendations_psychopomp_work
(Link leads to a Google Doc)

I can for instance recommend „Sacred Tears: A Witch’s Guide to Grief“ – Courtney Weber

Protection

„Little Guide to Protection Magic: Everything You Need to Know, Including Protection Spells“ – Tess Whitehurst

Hexes and Curses

„Hex Twisting: Counter-magick Spells for the Irritated Witch” – Diana Rajchel

Dark Times

„Witch in Darkness: Magick for Tough Times, Bad Days and Moments of Total Catastrophe“ – Kelly-Ann Maddox
(Please note that Kelly-Ann is boycotting her publisher Watkins Publishing because of political reasons.)

Magickal Activism

„Magic for the Resistance: Rituals & Spells for Change (Revised & Expanded Edition)“
– Michael M. Hughes

„Witchcraft Activism: A Toolkit for Magical Resistance: Includes Spells for Social Justice, Civil Rights, the Environment, and More“ – David Salisbury

„Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide to Magical Activism“ – Sarah Lyons

Green Magic, Herbs and Plants

„A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Plants & Herbs“ – Rachsel Patterson (very good reference book)

„Houseplant Hortocculture: Green Magic for Indoor Spaces“ – Devin Hunter

„Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Gardening“ – Elen Sentier

​

Kitchen Witchcraft

„A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Food“ – Rachel Patterson​ (very good reference book)

„Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Cooking“ – Rachel Patterson

Queerness in Witchcraft

„Queer Rites: A Magickal Grimoire to Honor Your Milestones With Pride“
– Enfys J. Book

„Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender & Sexuality in Magical Practice“
– Misha Magdalene

„Queer Magic: Power Beyond Boundaries“,
edited by Lee Harrington and Tai Fenix Kulystin

„Queer Magic: LGBT+ Spirituality and Culture from Around the World“ – Tomás Prower

„Queer Magic - Spells for Love, Protection & Empowerment: Everyday Witchcraft for LGBTQ+ Lives“ – Alex Wren

„Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margins“ – Cassandra Snow

Disability and Chronic Illness

„Chronically Magickal: Navigating Chronic Illness with Witchcraft“ – Danielle Dionne
„Disabled Witchcraft: 90 Rituals for Limited-Spoon Practitioners“ – Kandi Zeller

Ecofriendly Living, Sustainability

„Practically Pagan – An Alternative Guide to Planet Friendly Living“ – Mabh Savage

„Pagan Planet“ – Nimue Brown

Various Topics

„Practically Pagan - An Introduction to Alternative Guides to Living” edited by Trevor Howard

„Practically Pagan - An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being“ – Irisanya Moon

„Bringing Race to the Table: Exploring Racism in the Pagan Community“
edited by Crystal Blanton, Taylor Ellwood

“Patriarchy is not just a system of laws. It is a ghost we keep alive by feeding it. In this video, [Therese explores] the concept of patriarchy as a “Stealth Egregore”—a self-sustaining psychological pattern that survives not through our consent, but through our compliance. We often think of fighting misogyny as a loud, external battle. But what if the most effective resistance is quiet? What if the system collapses the moment we simply stop carrying its weight? We discuss the psychology of internalized misogyny, the “shock absorber” role women are conditioned to play, and three concrete ways to withdraw your energy from the system.”

I learned quite a bit from it and reflected on how I personally still feed the patriarchy.
Time to stop that.

“The Patriarchy’s Secret Weakness | Why Withdrawal Works” by Therese:

I have written a novella where Loki plays an important part. And as it is the season for gifts, I am doing a give-away.

You can download the e-book for free here:

Dreams of Loki – ebook (PDF)

https://files.catbox.moe/yyw4bn.pdf

Dreams of Loki – ebook (epub)

https://files.catbox.moe/5nuueo.epub

I hope you enjoy the read. You can also give the e-book to other interested people for free, but do not use it commercially somewhere; do not sell it and do not upload it on ebook piracy sites. Thanks.

But the thing is: Everything is political, if we like it or not. When people live and work together, there are politics involved everywhere. Art is political. The shear existence of marginalized people is political. Even your private life and intimacy are political.

And likewise, there are also politics involved in paganism, and in witchcraft. I’d like to remind you that we as modern pagans and witches reclaim forms of spirituality which have been persecuted in former centuries.
(And yes, I know, many alleged witches centuries ago in the witch trials weren’t actually witches, but they were accused of being that.)
I could also write a whole blog about how politics even affect us in our private lives and relationships, but I want to keep this short.

We as pagans and witches can simply not afford to be unpolitical, because we are under threat, for instance by Christian nationalists, fundamentalists, evangelicals etc. who spread lies and misinformation about us.

The witch, spiritual counsellor and card-slinger Kelly-Ann Maddox has a series of videos on YouTube where she reacts to this - and with some humour, too, which made it easier for me to watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH1DuMfxSE8jwhFZvFH15VnnUwpeNxxjZ

Regarding the pagan community, John Beckett wrote a review about an anti-pagan book, “The Pagan Threat”:
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/johnbeckett/2025/09/i-read-pagan-threat-so-you-dont-have-to.html

If you fear for your safety, if you need to retreat back into the broom closet, I have written a blog with some tipps:

Stay safe out there.
I wish you well.

Safety First
Be very careful about whom you tell you are a witch. Don’t put anything online which might get you in danger. If you can do it safely, consider using a different social media profile specifically for your magickal and spiritual interests. You might consider not to put any photos of your face online on that account.

A Mobile Altar
A mobile altar is typically small, can fit into a tin or box and you can carry it around with you, set it up and pack it away again after a ritual. This is great for travelling and also if you don’t live alone and have un-accepting people around.

My own mobile altar is in a small wooden box, with tea lights, a small incense stick holder, small incense sticks, a pentagram pendant, a small glass jar for water, a stone and a crystal, as well as a feather. Some of these objects, as you can guess, represent the elements, fire, water, air, earth and aether.

Another way of doing magic: Without any tools or ingredients. All you need is a quiet place where you don’t get disturbed for a while. I have written a blog about that:

Instead of wearing typical witchcraft or pagan symbols as jewelry, you might substitute these. In this blog, there are some ideas about that.

Halloween is great for Witches
If people around you accept Halloween as a joyfully spooky thing, you are lucky. Several stores have lots of stuff around Halloween which is suitable for witches, for instance black candles or small cauldrons.

Supplies
You can get most of your supplies in several stores; herbs, tea, essential oils, candles or tealights and incense sticks or cones are not suspicious so to speak, many people use them, not only witches. You do not need to buy your supplies at witchcraft stores if you cannot do so safely.
Please do not use White Sage or Palo Santo. (I have written a blog about why not, I’ll link it at the end).

Activities
There are several activities which are completely inconspicuously. Taking a walk in nature or your local park? Bathing in the sea? Hiking in the woods? Meditation? Gardening? Plenty of folks who aren’t witches or pagans do that as well. As a witch and/or pagan, you can use these activities for your spirituality.

Kitchen Witchcraft is also a great example for this. You can infuse your cooking and baking with magic, using ingredients from your pantry, such as spices, salt and herbs.
I can recommend two books by Rachel Patterson for this:
”A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Food​” and “A Kitchen Witch’s World of
Magical Plants & Herbs”, both are great reference books.

Alternatives to Smoke Cleansing
Instead of smoke cleansing, which might attract questions from the people you live with or your neighbors, you could use a fragrance lamp or something else.
Sidney Eileen has written a good blog with several alternatives to smoke cleansing (scroll down in Sidney’s post to “Alternatives to Smoke Cleansing”):
https://sidneyeileen.com/2020/07/11/easy-alternatives-to-white-sage-for-smoke-cleansing/

Witchcraft and Pagan Books
If it is possible for you, consider to use an e-book reader. Thus, no witchcraft books
are visible in your book shelves and you also don’t have to pack them away if un-accepting people visit you. Libraries may be your friend: You might consider to read your witchcraft books at your local library instead of at home.

Images and Pictures
Instead of decorating your room(s) with witchy or pagan artworks, consider having them on a Pinterest board online, or in a file folder on your computer (if you are the only person who uses them) or somewhere else, where they don’t attract too much attention.

Book of Shadows/Grimoire/ Journal
Find a place to hide the respective book(s). You might also consider to buy plain, simple notebooks which look inconspicuously. But better hide these as well.
While many people do not look at other’s journals or diaries, because they are considered to be deeply private, there might be people around you who overstep that boundary.

Fantasy witches
And here is another thing: If someone asks you if you are a witch you might consider saying, “Oh I love fantasy books with witches. But they are not real, it’s just fantasy.”
Of course, that’s not true, as there is real magick, but in some situations, it might be safer to say this.

Stay safe out there.
I wish you well.

We are living in dystopian times, I am not telling you anything new there. The multiple crises we can watch on the news and social media daily or which affect us directly are especially hard for marginalized folks, chronically ill and people with mental health problems. I am such a marginalized person myself.

In the US and other places, health care is often not affordable for folks, also psychotherapy. Even here in Germany with a relatively good health care system, people often have to wait months for psychotherapy.

I have done a further training as a relaxation teacher some years ago and I have two blogs which might be helpful. Most of the mentioned things are free, no costs. For instance, I talk about meditation, massage, acupressure and more, and give tipps where to find more free material about these methods.

Disclaimer: Of course, these methods are not meant to replace psychotherapy. They cannot substitute the help and guidance of a professional. Please be careful and see if you can use any of the described methods complementary to an evidence-based therapy method. You can also ask your health professional if they would recommend it for you.

Over twenty years ago, I learned something useful in psychotherapy: visualisations with »inner guides«. Here is how that works.

Feel free to restack this blog or show it to people to whom it might be helpful.
Stay safe out there and I wish you well.

I like consumerism criticism. I try not to be a hoarder or a messy. I am not a minimalist, but I try to not buy a lot of stuff which would clutter my small flat.

But still, from time to time it is necessary for me to declutter. And I feel always a bit lighter when I have done so. Almost as if I had shed my skin. Decluttering can be deeply satifying.
I try not to throw away these things in the trash. There are lots of way to give them a second life: Clothes swap parties. Flea markets and garage sales. Online second hand stores. Book swap shelves, community centers and charity stores, or other opportunities.
In my area, we have a book swap shelf, a clothes container by a local second hand store, and in my local goth store they do clothes swap parties and flea market events from time to time. They also have a second-hand section.

A word about clothes

Let me tell you, I hate fast fashion. I have seen documentaries that show hoch much clothes get thrown away each year and where they go to. Often, they end up in countries of Africa and other countries worldwide, unwearable, in incredibly large dumpster places. Many of the clothes are made of polyester, polyacryl or similar fabrics, which are very unsustainable. The fast fashion phenomenon is a desaster for sustainability.

I try to wear my clothes until they fall apart. Same goes with shoes and accessoires.
I cannot sew my own clothes, but at least, I learned how to sew on buttons. I also would do visible mending if my clothes got holes. And besides, in Goth fashion, there are sometimes deliberate holes, as a fashion statement.

Today, I brought some clothes to the clothes container of the mentioned local second hand store and I had the idea, why not combine this with a bit of magic?

Easy Decluttering Spell

Time: There is no specific time of year, where this spell might work best.
Some folks like to declutter before the end of the year, other like to do this in combination with a thorough spring cleaning. See what works best for you.
You might also want to do the decluttering more than once a year.
You might try a Saturday, which is magically associated by some witches with
workings about boundaries and cleansing.

You’ll need: a big bag or box or something else where you can put the stuff in which you want to give away. If you need more than one, that’s completely fine.

A tealight or candle (white or any other colour)

optional: Incense or incense sticks or cones
In that case, also a fire safe container for the incense, or an incense stick holder

Preparation:
Put everything that you want to give away into the bag(s) and box(es). Make a pile of these, if necessary.

The Spell
Light the candle and optional the incense near the bags and boxes. Regard fire safety, as always with such spells.

Say the following words,

Like snakes shed their skin,
like butterflies leave their cocoon
and like the falling of leaves in Fall
I give away these things which have
been in my home and a part of my life.
May they find new owners.
May they find a good second life in another home.
[Or: May they be well recycled/May they return to the Earth.]
This is my wish, so may it be.

Let the candle either burn down if you can do so safely or extinguish it.
Let the incense burn down in a fire safe container, or let the sticks/cones burn down.
This spell may also help you to find new owners for your things.

Variation: You can also do this spell if you have to clean out the home of a departed loved one or another deceased person. In this case say,

Like snakes shed their skin,
like butterflies leave their cocoon
and like the falling of leaves in Fall
I give away these things which have
been in (name of the deceased)’s home and a part of their life.
May these things find new owners.
May they find a good second life in another home.
[Or: May they be well recycled/May they return to the Earth.]
This is my wish, so may it be.

I wish you good experiences with decluttering and take care.

I wish you well.

Yesterday was the full moon and during an astral travel, I had a conversation with Aphrodite about my fears of war and fascism. (A lesser known aspect of her is that she is a goddess of war, as “Aphrodite Areia”)
I might have had such conversations also with other war deities, for instance The Morrigan, but I am not a devotee of this goddess, so I had this conversation with Aphrodite.

All of the following is UPG (unverified personal gnosis). I am usually not sharing many of my UPGs, but maybe this is helpful for some of you.

Aphrodite said that humanity as a whole has unfortunately not managed to learn to live in lasting peace, that too much power is in the hands of a few (men), and then there is also patriarchy, which is also violent at its core. All of these are structures have grown over centuries or millennia and cannot simply be eliminated.
She reminded me of a quote: That sometimes, it is necessary to make peace with one’s life circumstances. This does not mean that I should fatalistically sit back and do nothing. But accepting something as a given instead of running away from it or closing my eyes can help me to deal with it constructively.
So, as a first step, I should recognise that I live in a world where there are many wars and genocides.
And then the second step is, how do I deal with that without freezing and being unable to act?

She invited me to play a thought experiment: What if fascism came back to power here in Germany and/or war broke out?

She reminded me that the first fascism systems (in the 20th century) collapsed after a couple years (after World War II.)

That everyday life continues even during war.

That (with luck) one can survive fascism and war, and several of my ancestors and my father have survived World War II.

Besides, I would still have my family to support me, just as I support them.

And during the first period of fascism in the 20th century, there were resistance movements - and there are now, too. And I should think of the solidarity that brings people and communities together in times of need.

I am also thinking about the Christo-fascism/Christian Nationalism rising in the US and other countries. These systems and group will not last forever and that gives me hope.

I am closing this post with a quote:
„It’s very hard to maintain mental health because so many coping strategies are based on the idea that your anxiety is unwarranted and right now needs more of an »okay, extremely warranted but you still gotta water the plants or you’ll have fascism AND dead plants« approach.“

(Cliff Jerrison)

I have a feeling this might not be the last time I spoke with Aphrodite about this topic. It surely was helpful to me.

Falls ihr einen Hexenkalender für das kommende Jahr sucht, ich habe einen immerwährenden veröffentlicht.

Der schwarz-weiß illustrierte Kalender bietet Ideen für Zauber und Magie im Alltag, Bilder zum Ausmalen und Platz für Notizen, sowie mehrere Seiten für die Rauhnächte und persönliche magische Korrespondenzen. Die acht Jahreskreisfeste und mehrere pagane Gottheiten (nordische, keltische, römische und griechische) werden vorgestellt. Außerdem enthält dieser Kalender einige geführte Meditationen. Im Anhang gibt es weiterführende Literatur und Links.

Den Kalender gibt es u.a. hier:
https://www.epubli.com/shop/magisch-durchs-jahr-ein-immerwaehrender-hexenkalender-9783756530519

Mit der ISBN 9783756530519 kann er auch überall im Buchhandel bestellt werden. Er kostet 13 €.

A

Art Witch – with Zaneta Sykes https://artwitch.simplecast.com/

B

Back on the Broomstick – with Laylla & Chelle https://www.backonthebroomstick.com/

The Bell Witch Podcast – hosted by Emma Swailes

Better Witch - hosted by BronxWitch https://modernwitch.com/better-witch/

C

C3: Crystals, Cauldrons & Cocktails – with River Kane, Wren Graves https://www.buzzsprout.com/1747070

(THE) CIRCLE IS podCAST - with Rachel True and Mat Auryn
https://thecircleispodcast.buzzsprout.com/

D
E
F
G
H

The Heathen’s Journey Podcast – with Siri Vincent Plouff https://www.heathensjourneypod.com/

Hex Positive” – hosted by Bree NicGarran https://www.nerdandtie.com/hex/

Hex Rated Podcast – with Scarlet and Blackbird
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/hexratedpodcast

I
J
K
L
M

Magic in the United States – hosted by Heather D. Freeman
https://www.magicintheunitedstates.com/

Magick and Alchemy – hosted by Kristin Lisenby and Kate Belew
https://tamedwild.com/pages/our-podcasts

The Magic Kitchen Podcast - hosted by Witchwood and Welles
https://www.themagickkitchen.com/podcast/

Missing Witches Podcast - Risa Dickens and Amy Torok
https://www.missingwitches.com/podcast/

Modern Witch Podcast – with Devin Hunter
https://modernwitch.buzzsprout.com/

N
O

Occultish Behavior: The Unholy Hour – with Ivy Corvus and Justin Bennett

https://www.radio.de/podcast/occultish-behavior-the-unholy-hour

P

The Pocket Coven – with Amber Lenore and Callie Little
https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/the-pocket-coven/60399fc0-e576-0138-e7d9-0acc26574db2

Q
R
S

Seeking Witchcraft – with Ashley
https://audioboom.com/channels/5082003-seeking-witchcraft

Southern Bramble – hosted by Austin and Marshall
https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/vnf5e-1f3531/Southern-Bramble-a-Podcast-of-Crooked-Ways

T

Tu Tía Bruja – hosted by Bex Carlos

U
V
W

Wayward Wanderer – with Ryan Smith (Norse Paganism/Heathenry)
https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/wayward-wanderer--5477850

The White Witch Podcast – with Carly Rose

The Witch Bitch Amateur Hour – with Charlye Michelle and Macy Frazier

http://www.witchbitchamateurhour.com/

WitchSpace – with Gemini, Scorpio https://witchspaceco.podbean.com/

The Witch Wave – with Pam Grossman https://witchwavepodcast.com/

The Wyrd Thing – a podcast about inclusivity and diversity in Heathenry
https://thewyrdthing.com/

X
Y
Z

A list with more witchcraft podcasts: https://podcast.feedspot.com/witch_podcasts/

So I thought which month and which day would be especially suitable for this? Here are my thoughts about this.

Why October?
This month is traditionally seen as „Season of the Witch“, especially with the Wheel of the Year festival Samhain (or Winter Night/Vetrnóttablót in Heathenry or other pagan festivals at the end of October or the beginning of November). And of course, there is also Halloween, though it often gets critized for being too commercial.

Why the 13th day?

In the Christian overculture in Western Societies, 13 is considered to be a deeply unfortunate or even evil number for a variety of reasons, one of which being that the 13th apostle Judas betrayed Jesus. (1)

Superstition has it that especially Friday 13th is very unfortunate (2). However, a lot of witches have reclaimed the number 13 to be a lucky number - for instance because of 13 moon cycles in a year, and also view Friday 13th as a special day.

Another reason for choosing this day is that there are not many international memorial or action days on October 13. It is also roughly in the middle of the „Season of the Witch“.

I am aware of the fact that this mainly is about western cultures and that in other cultures, the month October and the number 13 may have quite different meanings.

What can Witch Day be about?

• This is for all the modern witches of all genders out there.

• For celebrating being a witch and taking pride in it.

• For celebrating witchcraft and magick.

• A day to come together with siblings in the craft (offline or online).

• A day to do some witchcraft for yourself or your community.

• You can also enjoy the witches in fantasy fiction and popculture.

• This day is also for remembering the people which have been wrongly accused of witchcraft in the past (the historical witchcraft trials).

• It is also a day for thinking about the people in some countries who still get wrongly accused of witchcraft and get persecuted. If it possible for you, you could spread awareness about this or donate money to an organisation supporting such people.

Maybe you have more ideas how to celebrate this day?

About me: I am a solitary eclectic witch and a pagan polytheist. I am not part of any coven or witchcraft-related association, shop, company or else. I have come up with this idea on my own. Pass it on if you like.

Footnotes:

(1) You can read more about this for instance here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)#Bad

(2) See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

“Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender & Sexuality in Magical Practice” by Misha Magdalene

The author of this book is a nonbinary queer witch, a pagan and has studied sciences of gender and sexuality. Sometimes they elaborate explaining why they have written something and at times, this book has a quite academic, theoretical feeling. But on the other hand, in some places in this book, thorough explanations and definitions are simply necessary.

After a foreword (by Michelle Belanger) and an introduction, in the second chapter it‘s all about terms and their definitions. This is especially good for straight/cis allies who are not familiar with the many queer labels out there.

In the next chapter, embodiment as magical praxis is mostly focussing on the body, but not only. Moving on, gender in theory and praxis and what this has to do with magic, followed up by a chapter about »Queerness and the charmed circle«.

In chapter 6, it gets physical (and metaphysical), this is about sex magic and yes, there is a practical exercise/ritual. The whole book has several exercises, some of them thought-provoking for writing, others are focussing on spells, working with your body (for instance a mindfulness exercise) and rituals.

Chapter 7 focusses on »A consent based Magical Praxis«, which I find to be a very important subject in any community and in any relationship. This is followed by another very good chapter about »Negotiating Consent With Gods« where the author explains that yes, you can say No to a deity if their requests are unwelcome. But that is by far not all which can be said on that matter, which this chapter shows. I have never read anything like these chapters about consent in an esoteric book, just bits and pieces in some blogs and I am very glad it got included so thoroughly here.

Chapter 9 ist about »Queering your Praxis: Developing and Adapting Magical Practices«. I thought the author might give some practical examples here, but instead they stayed more theoretical here, elaborating about three different approaches to a spiritual/magical/witchcraft path and how you could adapt queerness in them.

I very much like the next chapter about »Thoughts on Politics, Power and Community«. If you consider yourself and your spiritual path apolitical, the author here reminds us that any interaction in communities and between people is actually political on some level. They write about how power (and power differences) influence p-word communities (p-word stands for pagan, polytheism, pantheism) and also leaders in these communities. They continue to write about diversity, inclusion and its opposite, for instance the exclusion of white supremacists and other hate groups in many heathen communities, also mentioning the paradox of tolerance about which the philosopher Karl Popper wrote.

There are some more thoughts on »What Lies Beyond the Circle« in the last chapter, followed by two extensive appendixes for further reading which are worth a closer look.

My conclusion: I can highly recommend this thorough book very much to any queer person on a spiritual/pagan/witchcraft/magic path, as well as straight/cis allies.