Hey guys! With the Winter Solstice coming up, I’ve been making candles as gifts for my family and friends. I took pictures of my process in case it might be useful to anyone.
What you will need: -potholders/oven mitts to protect your hands -newspaper -wax -wicks and wick holders -cardboard rolls -dye (optional) -fragrance (optional) -toothpicks/chopsticks/cottonswabs
I’ve made both jar candles (pictured left) and pillar candles (pictured right) but this tutorial is only for pillar candles. The candle I’m making in this tutorial is for someone that has anxiety so the herbs I’m adding are lavender and rose petals for soothing qualities and self love.
FIRST! Make sure that your working area is covered entirely in newspaper. Wax can come off of most hard surfaces but its a lot easier to clean up if you use newspaper because this is can get very MESSY. Next, take cardboard tubes (mine were from toilet paper rolls) and hot glue them to a flat cardboard surface. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO GAPS in between the cardboard roll and the flat surface when you glue them. Otherwise hot wax runs everywhere. I learned this the hard way. Pictured on the left is the first one I made to give you an idea of what it is going to look like.
Next fill a pot about ¼ full with water and set it to a boil. Inside the pot you will place a separate container, preferably disposable or something you will only use for wax, like a coffee tin or a cookie wafer tin (like I’m using) because the inside will be impossible to clean. Don’t allow the water to boil dry. Place your wax inside the disposable tin and allow the water to melt the wax. Keep an eye on your wax in case it gets too hot and catches fire. Once the wax is in liquid form you can add dye and mix it (dye is available at most crafting stores) to make whatever color you want or you can melt a chunk of colored wax from old candles you have during the melting process to make colors. Just make sure that its from the same type of candle you’re making (jar candle wax for jar candles, pillar candle wax for pillar candles) This is also the point where you would add fragrance if you wanted to.
Let the wax cool for a few minutes and pour a little bit into the bottom of the mold, place your wick in the center of the wax and allow it to COOL before you pour more hot wax in to make sure your wick is set in the center of your candle. If the wick isn’t in the center it will burn funny or might not burn at all.
Once the wick has set I use two toothpicks taped together to make sure the wick is held straight up through the center of the candle while I’m pouring the rest of the wax. The toothpicks hold the the wick in place. Then carefully pour in the rest of your wax and sprinkle the top with whatever herbs you are using. Leave to set overnight….
And in the morning peel off the cardboard around it and bam! You have a beautiful candle!
Don’t let other people use your cards on a whim. If you’re passing them on (like mother to child) they need time to adjust.
Not all decks are the same. Make sure you read the meanings that come with the cards. (Like my Ukiyo-e deck’s devil’s upright reading is most deck’s reverse)
Readings will almost never be all sunshine and rainbows
When you’re doing a reading for someone, the uprights and reverse will be facing them not you.
Also, tell them to really focus on the question they want answered (like how their love life will go), but let them know the cards will answer the question their soul really wants answered. So it may not be the question they ask.
When shuffling, if a card falls out, add it to the reading off to the side. The deck thinks it’s important.
When you get really apt at readings (like my mom) you may get a near perfect sense of the time frame. My mom once did a reading and was shocked at how urgent it felt. She found out that the woman’s reading came true that night—no more than an hour or so later.
Hey here are some more tarot tips from my mom. I may also do kitchen and herb tips sometime soon. Stay witchy 💜💜💜
Incorporate any anti-virus or firewall programs to ward not only your computer, but your online presence! Run scans every so often to cleanse and reset your wards.
Use your tarot cards not just for divination but to cast spells!
Burn a candle on top of the Justice card for justice in any situation! Likewise for to give yourself Strength. Use The Lovers for a love spell. The Tower for a curse, to bring about someone’s downfall. Don’t forget to use your own associations with the cards, not just the ‘textbook’ interpretations. The possibilities are endless!
Quick idea I had and need to note down before I forget it:
a witch bottle designed not to harm the incoming energies (like most witch bottles seem to be with their nails, thorns and black pepper) or block them (like the protective witch bottles I’ve seen with rosemary and basil), but filter and transmute.
Somebody throwing bad luck at you? Great, you’re giving me energy, I’ll filter it and change it into a blessing.
“When life gives you lemons” sort of idea, inspired by a post I’ve seen floating around about that witches shouldn’t ground bad energy, but filter it and transmute it, because earth can only take so much negative.
one word
charcoal
seriously, charcoal filters, man
maybe also mussel shells? since they’re filter feeders? hmmmmmm…
You could crochet a net wrap around the bottle or paint a “net” around it.
Bury it in a pot of geraniums or add persimmon seeds, for change and transformation.
Could use coffee filters somehow too?
Maybe even used coffee grounds (dried or not) themselves considering that they’re used to neutralize acidity in soils? Or sniffing them sort of purifies the sense of smell.
✨💫🌙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.
Candlelight-magick 