I opened up an etsy shop earlier this year, but life had me incredibly busy, and I had almost no time to promote it. So, in honor of my etsy shop, I’m doing this giveaway.
The winner can pick two pendants from my shop!These are the options:
✨💫🌙LUCID DREAMING TIPS BY A WITCH/PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT🌙💫✨
On becoming lucid:
💫keep a dream journal. This one is at least 80% of what’s going to get you to achieve lucid dreams. Record every dream you have when you wake up, and read over all your dreams at the end of each week. Find patterns, know your dreams inside out.
💫reality checks. Ask yourself throughout the day “am I dreaming?” Find something that taps you into reality, maybe one of your tattoos or a piece of jewelry you wear daily. Ask yourself if you’re dreaming, check if it’s there, then assess that you are awake. Eventually you will do this in your dreams, and you will become lucid.
💫meditation. This will increase your attention and focus and help you better tap into your subconscious. You will also achieve deeper sleep, which means better, longer R.E.M. Cycles.
💫wake yourself up. If you can’t remember your dreams, or you’ve been trying these tips for longer than a month with no success, you may need to interrupt your R.E.M. cycle. Set an alarm for the middle of the night or early in the morning. Just make sure you’ve been sleeping for at least 4 hrs before the alarm goes off. Record your dream when you wake up. It will be clearer in your mind because you will not have passed your R.E.M. cycle. Immediately go back to sleep. Try to visualize a scene as you fall back to sleep. Imagine yourself dreaming. You will be more likely to become lucid after a R.E.M. interruption.
Witchcraft for lucidity:
🌙mugwort(ingested through tea or used in spells)
🌙chamomile
🌙amethyst
🌙lavender
🌙rosemary
On staying lucid:
✨calm down. When you become lucid, your subconscious self will probably start freaking out a bit. Try your best to calm yourself. Breath. Say to yourself “I am safe. I am in control of this dream,” until your anxieties leave you.
✨spin. If you feel yourself waking up as soon as you become lucid(very common), try to spin your body around. Twirl in a circle or jump really high. Do some erratic movement and it will ground you in the dream.
It’s okay that you’re not who you thought you would be
wow this is one of the softest things I have read on here.
My dad is showing me Deadpool “for the first time.” “For the first time,” as in, I’ve already seen it twice and now I have to pretend that the movie is as hilarious as I found it the first time
I’ve been seeing this go around a bit and have talked about it a little before, and figured I’d make a more formal post about some things you can do to make your birthday more magical. Feel free to add more!
Do an annual tarot spread for the year to come
Come up with a resolution for how you would like to grow, cast a spell to help out
Make a lot of “new age” puns
Look up what the planets are going to be moving into, especially your ruling planet. How does it compare to the year you were born?
Find out your birth chart, if you don’t know it.
Look up some kitchen witchy recipes to serve at a birthday party
Ask your friends for donations to a nonprofit instead of gifts. It can be something specifically for a witchy cause like the environment, or just a cause you really care about.
You could even make the donation in the name of your patron deity, if you have one.
Talk with spirits that have the same birthday as you! Give them something nice for an offering for their own birthday gift.
REALLY WISH ON THOSE BIRTHDAY CANDLES
Draw a sigil in the icing of the cake. Stick the candles into it in decorative says. The color of the candles can even correspond.
I get it. Meditation isn’t always easy. You don’t always have time for it. And maybe you just suck at it. I get it, really I do. Even though now meditation is something I can do easy peasy {mostly} I used to struggle like you wouldn’t believe with just getting my head to shut up long enough to get a few quiet breaths in. Spoiler Alert! You’ll never get your head to shut up. Not truly.
Here’s the thing though – we need meditation. Your excuses and past experiences don’t matter. It’s time to hack it, try something different, and just practice! The number of benefits to meditation are massive. You’ve heard them all by now I’m sure:
Meditation is simply the practice of maintaining a sense of peace and mental calmness for a period of time. It is not about having no thoughts. To try and empty the mind completely is a waste of time and it defeats the true purpose of mediation. All you need to do is simply let those thoughts come and go. You can’t control the fact that they pop up but you can control hold you react or hang on to them.
So I have for you 50 tips, some super quick and simple, and a few a little more involved, to help you make it happen:
Listen to chants or kirtans. {Deva Premal and Krishna Das are my favs!}
Let the noise around you be like natural music rather than a distraction.
Don’t close your eyes.
Keep a soft gaze on a candle flame.
Count your breaths to keep your brain busy {count 1 on an inhale, 2 on an exhale, and so on up to 10 then start again}.
Stretch first so your body is loose, just like before any exercise you do.
Have a purpose for your meditation. {just being quite is a purpose!}
Make it a ritual.
Try different meditation techniques from different traditions + cultures.
Commit to start with 10 days of meditation without skipping a day.
Use guided meditations.
Meditate when everyone else in the house is asleep or out.
Meditate before you get out bed in the morning.
Meditate at the same time every day.
Use mala beads.
Sit quietly and just mentally list what you’re grateful for that day. {hey, that’s mediation!}
Stop meditating when it feels like it’s time, regardless of what the clock says.
You only need a few minutes a day {5-10 is perfect}, not hours.
If you have a scratch, scratch it! It’s more distracting to try to ignore it.
Start where you are with just 2-3 minutes a day – that’s better than no minutes a day!
Do activities that let your mind wander like looking out the windows at clouds floating.
Write down all your thoughts, frustrations, and to-do’s on a piece of paper so you can get it out of your head before sitting down to meditate.
Mediation has no true beginning or end so don’t worry about the destination and focus on the journey.
Adjust your posture when you start – if you can’t comfortably take a deep breath, shift.
The mind is always changing, so your meditation practice will always change – some days will be harder than others.
The mind is meant to think, so give yourself a few minutes every time to just let the mind do what it wants.
Practice with consistency is the only way it will get easier.
It’s ok to just sit there – just sitting there and being focused on that alone creates an intentioned focus.
Keep a journal handy to write down your Ah-Ha’s and your Ah Crap’s – then work to fix the Ah Crap moments.
Keep track of your excuses and then stop making them!
Do a mediation challenge with a friend – hold each other accountable.
Be realistic and honest with yourself about why you’re doing meditation – what are you looking for?
Don’t judge your meditation – no meditation is good or bad – you get what you need each time.
Turn off and drop out – shut down computers, phones, and anything that can distract you and pull you out of your meditation and back to the daily grind.
Don’t start off with your eyes closed – after getting settled and doing some breathing, let your eyes close naturally.
Make use of the “me time” that you already have – meditate in the shower, on our lunch break, or while you’re walking the dog.
Your mind will wonder and you will start to think – acknowledge when this happens and then turn your attention back to your breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Begin being more present and in the moment in your every daily life {you know, not trying to be a multitasking master} – this will help your meditation practice.
Make sure you’re sitting somewhere that you are completely safe.
You don’t need a special mediation room – you can meditate anywhere you’re comfortable.
Meditation is like running – you have to start small and build muscle to go long distances.
Meditation will never give you a permanent sense of bliss and well-being – instead it gives you a tool to help you create a space of peace and calm in your mind when you need it most.
Create a schedule for building and growing your meditation practice and then stick to it.
If you’re meditating in the morning, do it before your coffee.
Don’t do your meditation after eating, especially big meals – try to meditate on an empty stomach.
Let gravity do it’s thing and really feel the sensation of sitting in your body.
Stretch when you’re done to awaken your body, but don’t jump up and move around too quickly.
Don’t use a timer and don’t rush – just do things in the time that comes naturally.
Cover your eyes with something if you feel the light or outside world distracting.
If your emotions are high and get in the way, turn your attention to your body – where do you really feel these emotions gathering in your body? Acknowledge that, feel it, then let it go and focus back on your breath.
– B.D: I still need practice, but I usually meditate best with my eyes open and just staring blankly at the wall or something. Idk why but when my eyes are closed, my imagination peaks and I just start imagining images that distract me or I just fall asleep. Of course I blink, scratch an itch, move a bit to get comfortable, but I’m still meditating. You can meditate while moving. And for me, it’s just as simple as doing it while sitting still. Maybe even simpler because I’m not concentrating on sitting so still, and even if I do move a bit, I am still relaxed.
I also breath in through my nose for the count of 4 seconds, then breath out of my mouth for the count of 4 seconds until I start getting into a meditative state. Then I just continue breathing in my nose and out my mouth. I keep my mouth opened just a little bit the whole time so I don’t have to keep opening and closing my mouth the entire time. I just concentrate on my breathing and nothing else. Sometimes I concentrate on my chakras or I do a tree meditation (I reblogged a version recently, but you can see the version I use here).
I usually meditate laying down or sitting against the wall with a pillow behind my back. It’s more comfortable for me that way. But I always do it on my bed. The floor hurts my butt then I get distracted by the pain or numbness.
Infusions work best for making tea from leaves and flowers as these plant parts give up their active constituents easily.
Allow the tea to steep for 10 to 20 minutes so the therapeutic properties can pass from the herb into the water.
To make an infused oil put dried herbs in the top of a double-boiler, cover with oil about an inch over the herb (olive works well for this because it has a fairly long shelf life), let simmer for 2 hours without letting it get too hot or boiling, a temp of 150 F is good. Strain the oil into a clean jar, date and label. Without any preservatives, infused oil will last about a year.
Decoction
Teas made from roots and twigs are most often brewed by decoction because it is more difficult to extract their medicinal properties any other way. Boil or simmer 1 to 2 teaspoons of the herb per cup of water for 10 to 20 minutes.
Poultice
A poultice is a paste of chopped, fresh (or dried and then re-moistened) plant material which is applied directly to a wound or skin infection. It is held in place by a wet dressing covered by a bandage. Poultices are most often used to prevent infection and hasten healing.
To make a poultice, boil, steam, or pound the healing herb of your choice to release more medicinal compounds. Then shape the material into a small, coin-size wad which can then lie flat against the wound. Many herbalists recommend mixing 1 part herb with 3 parts water, alcohol, witch hazel or vinegar. Thicken with flour to make the poultice easier to handle and apply.
Note: doing a patch test first would be a very good idea to make sure your skin doesn’t get irritated.
Tincture
Stuff dried herbs into a jar, add enough alcohol (usually vodka or everclear (natural grain alcohol), depending on the strength needed for the particular herb) to amply cover the herbs, and screw the lid on. Allow the mixture to stand for about a week, shaking it occasionally. Then strain it, discard the plant material, and store the tincture in a bottle with a dropper lid. Label and date the bottle. Most tinctures have a shelf life of 2 years.
Wash
A tea or infusion meant only for external use. A mild form of a wash would be ¼ ounce of herb to one pint of boiling water, steeped until lukewarm, then applied.
Candlelight-magick 