Sigil to Banish Bad Spirits

To banish bad spirits from your home bring out or draw this sigil. Cut it out and hold it in your hand. Visualize the energy in your home filling up the sigil. At the front and back doors of your home visualize the sigil glowing brightly on the doors. You can do this for the windows and mirrors in your home as well. When you are done you can either place the charged sigil behind a mirror or burn it in a fire proof bowl.

Multiple Altars

When you practice the craft you are more than likely going to have a main altar and place of working. That's great and should be left as your personal altar. But you can set up smaller altars around your home for various purposes. Here are a few examples.

Kitchen Altar - Set up somewhere within or over looking your kitchen Kitchen craft is very common and having an altar to raise power while in the kitchen can be very useful. Deities of food or the home do well here. Also any ancestor that was great in the kitchen could be honored here as well.

Living Room Altar - Setting up an altar in your living room is a bit different. Honoring a deity of protection and peace can help balance the energy of a well used living room. Although having a deity that can help remove obstacles is very useful in hectic homes. For that I would recommend placing a statue of Ganesh in this altar.


Office Altar - When you need that extra jolt of energy to push through a big project look into setting up an altar in your office. Honoring deities of money, labor, or speed can really help bring that energy to your work. Even an angel altar honoring an angel of work can be very effective.

Children's Room Altar - A children's room altar can be a little different. It should be more for blessing and protecting your family. I would recommend dedicating this altar to angels. Their energy is lighthearted and calming. Plus a kid's altar should be colorful, creative, and just plain fun!

There are many things you can use as an altar. Such as shelves, cabinets, drawers, even shoe boxes. And it does not always have to be a traditional altar. Hanging a picture of an angel in a child's bedroom serves the same purpose. Be creative and have fun bringing the magick into the mundane!

Angel of Halloween

Cassiel
Angel of Tears and Solitude

If there is an angel of misfits, angel Cassiel would be it. Cassiel is an angel of protection that is there to comfort the oppressed and bring peace to those that grieve. His associations are very dark and when he appears he seems steeped in shadows. It can be scary to meet this particular angel, at least at first. But there is something he absolutely loves. Halloween!

Cassiel is a true gothic angel. His favorite places are gothic churches and cemeteries, with candle light. But during Halloween, he is truly in his element. As a 'darker' angel,  Cassiel revels in the time that he can share his love of horror films, otherworldly beings, anime,  and heavy metal music. This Halloween, light a candle for angel Cassiel and celebrate with him in this tricky time of year.

Enjoy Halloween with the angel.

Here are a few ideas:

-Make a batch of angel cookies and make them goth angels.

-Carve a pumpkin with an angel wing image and leave it out to attract Cassiel.

-Make an angel winged poppet and set them in a graveyard as a gift to the spirits. 

-Create a ouija board and bless it in Cassiel's name.

-Dress up in your favorite gothic attire and have a horror movie night.

-On a rainy day, preferably on Halloween, go to a graveyard and collect rain water for use in spells involving ghosts.

-Make black paper cranes and decorate your home with them to invoke Cassiel's presence.

The Mysteries of the Divine Apprenticeship Program

The Witches Collective offers a great opportunity for those who are new to the Craft may be educated as they would if they were going through a first degree year training. The information is high quality and the attention you receive from your instructor is spot on. Really it is a great class that can help you educate yourself and others. 

The Mysteries of the Divine Apprenticeship Program

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Collecting

These are the last days of nice weather before winter is upon us. If you love the snow, then your best days are ahead! For those of us that love to stay inside while it snows, you might want to spend these days collecting the things you'll need for your workings while you can.
Just like the squirrels, go around your favorite spots in nature and collect herbs, nuts, pine cones, fallen branches, and stones so you'll have a full house of supplies should the need arise. This also keeps you from going stir crazy during the long winter times.

A few activities you can do:

-Make a staff
-Paint rocks (runes, pictures, etc)
-Decorate with pinecones
-Make wands
-Create incense
-Dry herbs
-Keep an indoor potted plant

Drinking the Sun

As the nights slowly become longer the little bit of sunlight will become very precious. The power of the sun is enormous and its ability to cleanse is very important. Here is a way to help cleanse your aura. Buy a few oranges and wash them in cold water. Set them out to dry in the sun. Let the fruits absorb the sun's energy for an hour, two at most. Peel one orange and set it aside on a plate, it should be the ball of orange innards. Juice the other or blend it into a smoothie. As you eat your orange fruit and drink your drink visualize yourself bursting with the sun's light. The light breaks up and erases the negative energy around you. If you like, share it with your spouse or close friend to bless them.

Evening Light

As the sun sets, let us concentrate on the transition of our lives. Not only the changing of the seasons, but the maturing of our bodies. The development of our spirits and minds. Takes a journey back, look through old photos, old journals. Remember your past so you can better understand yourself.

If tonight is your night, go through a past life regression meditation. Light candles, incense, relax and let the meditation take you into your past lives. Maybe you will discover something more about the life you are living now.

Giving from the Heart

Happy Mabon!
I hope you have something special for yourself today to honor the Earth. Today marks the true shift from summer to fall with all the changes coming to pass. I know there are plenty of things you can do for your personal day of celebration, but let's take a minute to think of how we can honor Mabon and give from ourselves.

We should be grateful today, not only to Deity, but to the people that have made a difference in our lives. Our parents, our siblings, our friends, our pets, our spouses, and yes, even our bosses. For the people you feel the most thankful for, buy or make them something special. It can be anything and it doesn't have to be expensive. Bag some cookies and tie them with a ribbon or buy a card and write them a message. Honor Deity by acknowledging the people in your life.
Happy Mabon.

Inviting Spirits

If you are the type of witch that enjoys the helpful spirits around your home and area why not invite them to stay? Spirits like to stay in areas with the energy they need. For faery, they would prefer a clean and wild garden. For angels, they would love a clean home with a special place to visit you. For animistic beings, just keeping things clean and polished really makes them happy.

If you want to attract certain types of spirits to your home go to your favorite spot that has the quality of energy you are looking for. Observe how it looks and feels. What makes it different than your home. Go back to your home and try to make it as close to that feel as possible. If your spot was outside, do some gardening or sprucing up. If your spot was inside redecorate, move furniture, get some nice decorations that remind you of your spot. Make sure to protect yourself from bad spirits by placing a protective sachet or symbol near your front door.

When you are done preparing your home take a palm sized or bigger quartz crystal back to your favorite spot. You can use a stone from your garden too if it for outside. While in your favorite spot set out the stone and an offering of food or something attract to that spirit. Sit back and mentally invite the good spirits of the area to come into the stone so you can bring them to a new home. After a little while pick up the stone and head home. Leave the offerings for other spirits. When you get home set the stone in the place you prepared. Leave another offering beside the stone.

And enjoy the spirits you have invited into your world.

Positively Positive

With the cloudy days ahead, let's try to stay positive!

Get yourself 7 small yellow candles. They can be scented or not. Get a lemon  and cut it in half. Squirt the juice from each half into a cup or small bowl. Place your candle on a table. Now start singing your favorite pick-me-up song. No joke! Walking on sunshine is always popular if you can't think of one.

Once you're feeling good pick up the first candle and dab your finger in the lemon juice. Keep humming your happy song and rub the candle with the juice. Do this to all the candles as you keep up your tune. When you are done splash a bit of lemon juice outside your back door and the rest outside your front door.

  Starting today light one candle per month. Whenever you need that extra boost of positive force!

Chalk It Up

Autumn is usually the time for rain and changes. Let's bring a new type of spell work to the season and our lives in this time of transitions. Buy yourself some chalk, preferably sidewalk chalk. It can be fund in most grocery stores or in some craft stores. With chalk in hand go to your altar and take a few pieces of chalk out of their case. These should be the colors you are going to use. For whatever purpose you want to work this spell, if you have a associated oil, anoint the side of the chalk with a drop of that oil.
For love - rose oil
For protection - sage or peppermint oil
for prosperity - lemon or fruit oil.

If you don't have oils, no problem. Simply smudge the chalk pieces and go outside. Start drawing designs on the sidewalk closest to your home. Put in symbols or images of the type of things you want to bring into your life. Hearts, money signs, thorns, really anything you want that won't be a disturbance to your community. When you are done, stand up and look into the sky. Say,

"Rain, rain come to me,
As you wash these things away,
Make them grow, make them true,
As will they, so do you."

As your images are washed by the rain, your spell will be sent into the Universe to manifest.

Sugar Cookie Spell

During this time of year the kids are going back to school, rain is overtaking sun, and its getting just a little bit colder. Its a good time of year to not only protect your home, but to protect those you care about too.

Supplies:

• bell shaped cookie cutter
• sugar cookie dough
• frosting/icing in white

Get the sugar cookie dough you can find in stores. Get as much as you will need, and maybe a little extra for another time or just in case you need more. As you roll out the dough get your bell shaped cutter out  and say a simple prayer of protection for your loved ones. Cut out the shapes and put them on your already non-stick baking sheet. Bake as many as you feel comfortable or as many as you have to give people. When the cookies are all done and cooled its time to decorate! White is a great all-purpose color. For this it is perfect for protection. Frost your cookies and any other decorations you have are fine. Set two cookies aside. Then slip the rest up to the people that you want to give them to. They can go in your children's lunch boxes, your husband's briefcase, your mother, your father, your office, anyone you want to bless. Take the two cookies we set aside and go outside. Hold them up in front of you and say,
"To the God and Goddess I do give,
and ask your blessings upon them."
Break the cookies up and leaving them to the earth and animals.

A Day to Honor

A time to honor the earth is coming up this week. With the cool seasons coming in and the hot weather moving out things are beginning to shift. Now is a great time as we make our way towards Mabon to honor our tools and the spirits that help us in our workings. Here are a few ideas.

For your tools you can smudge them and recharge them with your energy. Or you could let your wand and athame sit in the sun for an hour while your chalice and pentacle sit under moonlight later tonight. For any stones not being used in spell work right now, clean them under cool running water and set them out to dry. This will relieve them of excess energy from the past year. For your divination tools you can smudge them and set them to air out for a bit. Don't place them in the sunlight, especially since sun light can bleach tarot card images. Its a good to air out your altar as well. Rearrange it for Mabon or simply for the rest of the year. Once everything has been cleansed and ready you can put them all back in their proper places.

To show some gratitude to the spirits that we work with, why not set out an offering for them on your porch or in your garden? Setting out almonds, sunflower seeds, or even their favorite baked item is a nice way to show you care. Some spirits appreciate small gifts so find out what they like and go from there.

Guardian Angel

Angels are out there. They are our constant companions, guides, and guardians. A lot of people think that they are beings of Christian ideology. Well they may have been in the Christian, Islamic, and Judea theology but they have presented themselves years before that. Just like dragons, all cultures around the world have the winged-man image. So today let's work with our guardian angels today!

Angel Smudge

Using Sage or lavender incense or herbs. Ask your guardian angel to bless your home and fill it with positive energy. With a feather or fan, walk around your house smudging the area and spaces. Feel  the incense cleansing your home. If there are certain objects you would like to cleanse, simply fan the incense over them. As you cleanse each room say something like,
"Guardian angel fill this space, through breath and love bless us."

Windy Day Love Spell

With the autumn winds blowing in today would be a great day for a simple love spell.

Windy Day Love Spell
Gather up some leaves and go outside. Hold up one leaf as a time and tell it in your mind and heart that you are ready for a lover to come into your life. When you are done release that leaf and go on to the next. Do this for every leaf until you have gone through them. With the wind picking up this is a great way to magickally tell your ideal lover you are ready for them.

If your area isn't as breezy, this love spell can also be used.

Sending out Love
Gather a basket of flowers. Hold the flowers in your hands and whisper to them the type of love you are looking for. As you talk to them, send your energy into them, thanking them for their contribution. When you are done speaking, take a walk around town, run errands, and other things. But take the basket with you and leave a flower at each place you go to. If you are simply wandering around, leave them wherever you think they should be.

Chill in the Air

With a chill in the air and the smell of fresh leaves coming our way now is the time of transitions! If you need to make a shift or change, now is the time to take those first steps. If you are new to the pagan path and need to make a shift in another part of your life, why not make it a fun challenge? For every step you make to transition say, from an old job to a new, buy yourself a stone or bowl or cloth to place on your altar. Start small and when you finally transition completely invest in something special for your altar.

For those in the more experienced end light a candle or place an offering outside to nature for each step you take. When you have reached your goal celebrate with ritual and something you have wanted, whether that is a piece of ritual jewelry, clothing, or a new drum.

I hope these crisp new days inspire you!

Break Bad Cycles

Humans are flawed. That is a fact of life I am sure everyone is aware of. Sometimes we notice that we are putting ourselves in those unhealthy habits and sometimes we don't. Today we should take a few minutes to recognize and really ask the hard questions. If you are in a job you hate, being controlled by a bad habit, or in a negative relationship its time to really ask yourself , "Is this really the best thing for me?"


To Break the Cycle Spell

This can be a little messy so be prepared.
Get yourself some old ceramic plates. No glass. Buy some black spray paint and spray all of the plates, front and back, black. Let them dry. When they are all dry set them aside until later that night.
After it is completely dark go outside and set up a garbage bag on the ground. Hold up a plate and imagine all your negativity and the cycle you have been in fill the plate. Take a hammer and break the plate. Let the fragments collect on the garbage bag. Break each plate the same way, releasing the negative aspect of your life. When all plates are broken take a deep breath and say, "All is done, returned and shunned. Blackness goes, far from home."

Be careful when you clean up and try to get rid of everything away from your home. Good Luck!

Mabon Ideas

With Mabon a week away you may think that you don't have time to pull something together. Well there is where you are wrong. You don't need an extravagant party or ritual, all you need is you. During the harvest festivals food is a common theme and why not? Food is an important part of our culture, heritage, and lives. So this maybe why not focus on the food that we love and receive from the Earth. Fruit can be easily bought and incorporated as decorations and dinner. Roast corn on the cob, bake bread, make sweet butter, and bake up a storm.

But if you are like me and only cook or bake when the mood strikes you can do other things to honor the Earth. You can spread birdseed around your neighborhood for your favorite birds. You can also buy some canned goods, bless them in the name of the Lord and Lady, then donate them in a food drive or to a shelter. If you can think of a way to honor the bounties of the Earth, do it!

Full Moon Lemonade

The lemon is used in man lunar feasts and has long been associated with the moon. It brings love, happiness, and purification. So lets bring a little magick into our lemonade and get ready for the full moon!
Ingredients:

• 6 lemons
• 6 cups cold water
• 1 cup sugar

Prepare just before nightfall, preferable at dusk or just after. As you cut your lemon in half for juicing, hold it up and say:
"Glow brightly, glow bright.
The Lady's moon tonight."
See that beautiful yellow fruit as glowing with the moon's blessing. Juice your lemons. You should have about 1 cup of fresh lemon juice. You can also use bottled lemon juice, but the flavor won't be as crisp. In a large pitcher, mix lemon juice, water and sugar. Stir lemonade well and serve with ice. Dry the left over lemon rinds or use them for your compost pile. Happy full moon tonight!

Honoring our Wounds

For many of us, the idea of honoring our pain may seem strange. The pain we experience in our lives can be crippling, exhausting, and overwhelming. Today is a day to remember that you are strong enough to rise above it. Today is a day to remember and support those still in pain. Today is a day to our your wounded body, heart, and spirit. It is not something to be ashamed of. Everyone stumbles from time to time, but today is the day to remember the journey that led you to the person you are. So break out your favorite clothes! Your glittering jewelry and your favorite foods! Today is a day of celebrating and being proud, of giving support and hope, but most of all it is a day to to be thankful of who we are.


A few magickal ideas for honoring your rocky roads:

• For physical wounds (healed/scarred) get out the body paint! No no, we're not painting your scars, show them proudly. Paint beautiful and cheery designs along your unscarred skin, around your wounds but never on them. Paint all the symbols that are important to you. Wear clothes to show off your art and go about your day. 

• For emotional wounds bet out those old photos. Go through those things that remind you of that time and to each one bless them. Bless them for allowing you to become the person you are today. When you are done, lay out those things in a sunny spot for the sun to break up the negativity attached to them. Take a long bath and let your heart rest and be at peace. Fix yourself a great dinner and be luxurious for yourself. You deserve it. 

• For spiritual wounds, whatever has happened, return to nature. Take a picnic or simple your favorite walking stick. Go into the natural world, feel the energy around you and simply be. Place your hand on your heart and soak in the energy of the earth, breathe in the fresh air, and know that you are honored within this space. 

• For a community's pain, get together, share food, share stories. Have a small shrine set up to honor the person or situation. Offer games for children, prizes, and sweet food. This should not be a bitter time, but a celebration of unity among your community. Always check with the family of the person/situation you are honoring for their permission and to invite them.

Aiding Weightloss

The Aid to Weightloss

Buy some celery, the uncut stalks. When you get home get out an empty bowel and a good knife. Rinse the celery and lay the stalks out on your cutting board. Think about the main reason you want to lose weight and all the ways you are planning to do it. Hold out your hand and touch the stalks. Imagine all those reasons and ways locked up inside of the celery. Pick up the knife and keep those thoughts in the back of your mind as you cut the celery up. As you put the celery into the bowl know that each time you eat a piece you are moving towards your goal.

Cleaning and Cleansing

If your day is bright, sunny, and just a little cool now is the time for some cleansing. Letting in the season is important for anyone on the pagan path. Here are a few different ideas for clearing out those old vibrations!

• Do a load of laundry but instead of using your dryer, save on costs and add a bit of magick by hanging them up outside.Just when they are mid way to being dry light your favorite incense and do a little smudging on your favorite pieces of clothes. Out with those old vibes!

• Open up all those windows, if its not too cold for you, and let in that fresh air. As you let in the air take a small bell into each room and give it a couple rings. Feel the sound reverberate through the space and through you, breaking up the stagnation of this past year. After you have done this in each room go about your day and let the fresh air sweep away the old energy. 

• If you have a clear, bright day today may be the best time to re charge your stones! Get out all your stones and place them near you. Get a large pitcher or bowl of water, or you can use your sink if you stay inside, and run each stone under the stream of water. This cleans out all the old energy of spells and rituals. After they've all been cleaned pick them all up and place them along a sunny windowsill to gather up the sun's rays. Don't do this for stones associated with the moon, keep these for night time charging. 

• If you don't already have one, I suggest bringing into your home a sun catcher crystal. You see them in a lot of different stores. Their main purpose is to hang up in windows to catch the sun and create rainbows. These pieces are great to bring in more light and positive energy. They are not expensive and come in a variety of shapes. Hang one in the window of your first story, and one in a window of your second story. Let the rainbows brighten up your home!

Love Spell for a Happy Marriage

Love Spell Charm for a Happy Marriage

You will need:

A bay leaf

Write the husband and wife's names on the bay leaf and chant:

Protect and bless this loving, married couple,
Husband and wife, will live together an happy life.

Bury the bay leaf.

found online

The Witches Collective Offers....

The Witches Collective.com has a lot to offer those that are seeking psychic readings, spell writing services, and a FREE school to help educate you about witchcraft.

In the Forums, we are offering The Mysteries of the Divine Apprenticeship Program which is equivalent to the First Degree training that you would receive in a physical coven. The best part of The Mysteries of the Divine Apprenticeship Program is that it is FREE! There is an enrollment process and class space is limited, so please check out the forum for more details. 

There is also a Book of Shadows (B.O.S) page for you to look for inspiration. Within that section there is a spell writing service that will be offered for anyone who is looking for a personalized spell. These spells will be tailor made to suit your specific needs by an experienced witch and are available for a small fee.

In the Readings section of the site we offer professional Tarot and Rune reading services for those looking for guidance. These features help The Mysteries of the Divine Apprenticeship Program and the rest of the site stay free of charge for all members.

I welcome you to check out all The Witches Collective has to offer and I hope that you find your place within our family. I wish you all the best in finding fulfillment in your path.

Snake Beauty Spell

Take a bottle of fresh, unopened lotion and hold it in your power hand. Bless it and charge it with the energy of Snake. Every night before you sleep, take a little bit of lotion and apply it to the part of your body you want to amplify. As you rub the lotion in, say the following three times to call upon Snake's energy.

"Hiss, hiss,
Coil, writhe,
The Snake sheds its skin awry."

Making Your Own Magick Butter!

Making butter may seem like a hard thing to do. Images of an old country woman sitting on her porch with a churn may come to mind. Making butter really isn't hard at all though. All you will need is fresh whipping cream or fresh heavy cream. Both can be found at any grocery store and are relatively inexpensive. A glass jar with a lid that is at least double the size of the amount of liquid cream you will be working with. A container you can you use to store it in. You can make it magickal butter by adding special herbs (edible) that correspond to your goal. Heres what you do!

Things you need:

Any amount of Fresh Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream.
A glass jar with lid that is atleast double the size of the amount of cream you wish to use to make butter.
A container to store the butter in when your finished.
Cooking herbs that correspond with the magickal goal you have.

How to do it:

Pour your cream into your jar and add your herbs that you have chosen.
(Be sure not to go overboard you dont want to make it taste gross and you can always add more spice in later on in the process)
Seal the jar and shake vigorously for 10 minutes. You will notice the liquid is starting to solidify. This is because the fat solids are joining together and seperating from the liquid.
While your shaking for those ten minutes be visualizing the goal you want acomplished.
You may choose to create a chant special for the goal to help aid in your focus.
Once the 10 minutes is up go and drain some of the liquid out of the jar.
You can save the liquid if you want to that liquid is butter milk.
This is the point where you will want to taste the flavor of the butter and add some more spice if necessary.
After straining the liquid seal the jar once more and continue shaking for another 10 minutes.
You will find your arm is very tired from doing this but it is so worth it.
Once the second round of shaking is over scoop your butter out and put in a container in the fridge.
The butter will be soft but will firm up more in the fridge.

Use the butter on anything you would use butter for and know that it is infused with your magickal goal.

The butter milk you poured off can be used for making pancakes also providing your spices you may have added won't make it gross.

ENJOY!

The Witches Collective Begins!

The creation of The Witches Collective was swift and detailed. It took nearly a week and a half to get both the site and forum functioning just right. I hope for the community to continue to grow and the services to be purchased. Thank you all!