The video starts and it pans out to show an elaborate desk with many shelves and drawers. The hands come in from the bottom of the screen with pointed blacked nails and ash coating the tips of the long sinuous fingers. A circle of candles is lit and a massive crystal is placed in the center. It’s surrounded by 30 or 40 more different crystals all in a sacred grid and an entire bundle of incense sticks are lit and... Read more
In my time building community and sharing my craft, one of the questions I see asked often is “is it safe?” Usually it has caveats or is followed by more qualifiers. “Is it safe for beginners?”, “Is there risk of backfire”, etc. And I want to be honest with you all. The answer is No. No, it’s not safe to be a witch. But let’s take a step back here and get real. It’s not safe to be alive. It... Read more
Doom-scrolling for Witch Bottles The other day, I was on social media when I saw a video of someone creating a protective Witch Bottle. From historical records and excavations, we know that Witch Bottles were a bit of folk magic that protected those dwelling in a home from the malefic influence of a witch. It stems from the UK and has made its way through Europe and the US. The concept is simple. A clean bottle is filled with nails,... Read more
“Round about the cauldron go; In the poisoned entrails throw. Toad, that under cold stone Days and nights has thirty-one Sweltered venom sleeping got, Boil thou first i’ th’ charmed pot. Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing, For a charm of... Read more
It’s 1998. I’m 12 years old and watching Practical Magic for the first time. It’s the first 15 minutes of the movie and the Aunts are looking through a big old black tome. Not just a tome, but a double sided grimoire that’s been in their family for centuries. The pictures were old. The writing is swirly, slanted cursive, and the pages are colored with age. I was mesmerized. It was the epitome of the witches spellbook, the family grimoire... Read more
Art sourced from Canva How many books on the occult or witchcraft have your read? Go on and count. I’ll wait. Now indulge me one more question. How many of them are original content never before seen in any other text? How many of them are about already established traditions, ceremonies, rites, gods, goddesses, spirits, beliefs, languages, etc? This one’s a little tougher because many times, especially as new practitioners, we don’t know till we’ve researched and learned more.... Read more
“At the rocky river’s edge The rapids raged cold and wet They held hands as they tossed the doll Into the angry river’s depths The horizon flashed as the sun set And the poppet sank below A roar came crashing up The wild river spirits in tow” Cunning Words, The Wrathful River Spirits What is a Taglock? A taglock is a representative of the target a practitioner wishes to affect with their spell or magic. Historically, this would be a... Read more
A Political Witch This is your reminder that marginalized people have always been used as scapegoats throughout human history. The Crusades, the Witch trials, the Holocaust, Japanese Internment camps, the Communist Red scare, the AIDS crisis, Immigrant children in cages indefinitely, labeling Queer people as sexualizing predators, the attack on trans people and bodily autonomy… We as humankind have systematically used marginalized humans to push political propaganda. A Witch Cannot be Apolitical Last year I visited Salem, Massachusetts and... Read more
“Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.” From a very young age, many of us were exposed to the concept of animism and didn’t even realize it. Do you remember Goodnight Moon? “Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere.” It was a simple bedtime story where a guardian teaches their child to wish the world a goodnight before falling asleep. This idea teaches reverence to everything including endings and by that inference, beginnings. So what is it?... Read more
There is Magic in Art When you stare at the Mona Lisa painting, what stands out to you? When you step back and take it all in, it’s not particularly special. It’s not very big. The brush strokes aren’t particularly unique. But to this day, it still attracts crowds by the millions each year. There’s one thing that stands out, that this painting is most famous for… her smile. It looks as if she knows something, a secret. It’s not... Read more
The Southern Light Diaries
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In