Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic.

by Lisa Lister

The witch is a woman fully in her power. She’s in touch with the dark. She knows how to be the witness, how to let things go and how to follow her own counsel. Most importantly though, she questions EVERYTHING.

To me, the essence of a witch is someone who trusts their inner authority and uses their own personal magic to navigate and negotiate the environment they currently find themselves in.

It’s being someone who trusts her inner authority, and doesn’t look outside herself for validation and/or approval. It’s being someone who uses her own personal magic to navigate and negotiate the environment she currently finds herself in.

We never fully allow ourselves to go ALL THE WAY. We hold back, rein it in and tame our true nature in any given moment, just in case we get judged/shamed/accused based on who we are in THAT particular moment.

Freya: the goddess who wears a sacred necklace and rides a cat-drawn chariot. She’s the goddess of love and beauty, but she’s also a fierce goddess of battle.

Eclectic witchcraft is an approach for individuals who want to pick and choose from many different traditions to create a personalized form of witchcraft that meets their individual needs and abilities.

Green witchcraft (also known as Eco-witchcraft) is the practice of nature- and earth-based witchcraft.

‘I am a witch, by which I mean that I am somebody who believes that the Earth is sacred; and that women and women’s bodies are an expression of that sacred being.’ – STARHAWK

Pick up a crystal, or an item of jewellery or clothing. Does your energy go up, or does it go down? Start to practise this with people, places and items. Tune in to each thing, and then tell yourself the truth.

Being kind doesn’t mean becoming a complete pushover. You can be kind and have very clear boundaries about what is and isn’t acceptable to you. I totally recommend practising that. I do. Daily. Be powerful and kind.

CREATE A POWER SIGIL Write your wish on paper using coloured ink. Go through the words of your desire/wish and cross out any repeating letters. So, for example, If your wish is ‘I need a new house’, you’d be left with I, n, e, d, a, w, h, o, u and s. Now it’s time to get creative. Draw a circle, and within it, find a way to combine the curves and lines of each letter to create your own sigil specific to this desire. When I create these sigils, I put a copy in my purse, another on my wall and sometimes I even ink it on my skin in pen. Some practitioners suggest folding the paper you write it on four times and placing that in the ground, while others suggest drawing the sigil in Dragon’s Blood ink and imbuing it with a corresponding essential oil. If you’re also making a mojo bag, add your sigil to that.

HOW TO MAKE A WITCHES’ LADDER To cast a spell with a witches’ ladder, take three pieces of string, ribbon or yarn – preferably in colours relevant to your intent (to check out correspondences). To cast the spell, focus your intent on the ribbons; and as you braid them, ‘weave your desire’ into the braid by singing, whispering or chanting it. As you plait, you can also add little tokens: feathers, charms, shells, beads and any other objects that feel right to you and align with whatever you’re creating the charm for. You can weave in as few as nine of these tokens or as many as 40: it’s entirely up to you. Once you’re finished, use the charm to draw your desire by hanging it somewhere in your home, burying it on your property or using it for meditation.

You can make spell bottles or jars (I use jam jars when I make mine) for a variety of purposes, and use them in numerous ways. Some are buried or otherwise hidden, while others are placed in windows of the home or in other prominent spots. All are concentrations of energy, created and empowered for specific magical purposes.

Witches’ bottles are a very powerful way to protect your space. You can make one and bury it on your property (if you live in an apartment or a flat, you might want to bury it in a potted plant that you keep at your door) to attract any negativity and stop it from entering your home. Or you can make a witches’ bottle to attract prosperity or good luck. I have one in the wealth corner of my home, which is sealed with green candle wax and infused with herbs to attract abundance. It’s really simple, but super-effective.

WITCHES’ BOTTLE FOR PROTECTION Gather rosemary, needles, pins and red wine. Fill a small jar with the first three, saying while you work: Pins, needles, rosemary, wine; in this witches’ bottle of mine. Guard against harm and hostility; this is my will, so mote it be! Visualize the bottle or jam jar doing just that as you continue to fill it. When the jar is full, pour in the red wine. Then cap or cork the jar, and drip wax from a red or black candle to seal it. Bury it at the farthest corner of your property or put it in a discreet spot in your house. Draw a banishing pentagram in the dirt above it. This destroys negativity and evil: the pins and needles impale evil, the wine drowns it and the rosemary sends it away from your property.

When I went to Mnajdra – a 5,000+ year-old temple in Malta – for the first time, I remembered. This ancient temple dedicated to the Goddess is one of many on this little Mediterranean island; but this particular one on the west coast, looking out to sea, has been home for me.

I love that in yoga, the whole practice of pranayama is dedicated to it: to inhaling and exhaling. When you breathe with awareness, your whole body knows about it.

Womb and Belly Breath Place one hand on your lower belly and relax your tummy muscles. Then slowly inhale through your nose, bringing air right down into the bottom of your lungs. You should feel your tummy rise, which expands the lower parts of your lungs. Continue to inhale as your ribcage expands outwards; and finally, your collarbones rise. At the peak of your inhalation, pause for a moment and feel your womb space and your tummy filled with love. Then exhale gently from your womb, past your gut, and out through your mouth as audibly as feels good. Don’t be afraid to make noise. Repeat as many times as feels good.

Ocean Breath (aka Darth Vader Breath) When you feel angry, irritated or frustrated, try a cooling Ocean Breath, or Ujjayi (pronounced oo-jai). This will soothe and settle your mind. Why? Because your breath sounds a lot like the lapping of the ocean on a shoreline. Or Darth Vader. Inhale more deeply than in a normal breath. With your mouth closed, exhale through your nose while constricting your throat muscles. If you’re doing this correctly, you should sound like waves on the ocean. Or, like I said, Darth Vader. Another way to get the hang of this practice is to try exhaling the sound “haaaaah” with your mouth open. Now make a similar sound with your mouth closed, feeling the outflow of air through your nasal passages. See? Darth Vader, right? Once you’ve mastered this on your outflow, use the same method for your inflow breath – again, gently constricting your throat as you inhale. Ideally, your breath will sound like the ocean, and you’ll visualize Hawaiian beach fronts, warm sand and the sun on your skin. Or you’ll just keep thinking you’re Darth Vader. Either’s good.

Frankincense: in resin form, this can be used in any purification spell, and its protective powers always come in handy. Sandalwood: this comes in either chips or powder form. It also has protective and purification powers, and can be substituted for any missing ingredient in healing spells. Dragon’s Blood: this comes in powder form, and can be used for purification and protection. It’s also an important ingredient for spells that focus on love energy.

WAYS TO USE HERBS Charms and sachets: fill a small fabric or cotton teabag with herbs to make a charm or sachet. You can carry the charm with you, hang it in the house or car, bury it or burn it, depending on the purpose and the spell you’re performing. Incense: you can also burn herbs as a ritual incense; for example sage smudge can clear negative vibrations from a space. Bath: make a sachet and place it in your ritual or healing bath. Fragrant herbs like lavender make a very relaxing bath, and you can use certain other herbs to alleviate various conditions, such as eucalyptus when you have a cold or flu. Oils: place your herbs in an oil and let them steep for a few days, then strain. You can make anointing oils for your ritual work; beauty oils for your hair, skin and nails (try coconut or jojoba); or flavoured oils for cooking and seasoning (try steeping rosemary in olive oil). Teas: use herbs to make teas to heal illness (but read the medical disclaimer below first). Some herbs can also be used to mildly alter consciousness, such as Valerian or Kava Kava, which can both facilitate trance-like states in some people. Teas are my most favourite ways to work with herbs, and my nanna was the queen of herbal tea making. Spell work: sprinkle herbs or place them around or within boundaries (such as your home, altar, or magic circle) to define a ‘territory’ for your magic to work. Cooking: obviously, you can also use flavourful herbs in cooking and seasoning your food. There ar...

Camphor A pain reliever that heals skin – camphor is especially good for the lips and nose, and for burns. Sacred to the Goddess, it’s used in full moon rituals as an offering to Her. Also use it for purification, promoting celibacy and heightening physical energy. Catnip This herb treats colds, reduces fever, aids indigestion and curbs flatulence. It also strengthens the psychic bond between humans and animals; and you can use it for courage, true love and lasting happiness. Cayenne A very important first aid herb, cayenne feels hot, but doesn’t burn the skin or inner tissues. It helps to coagulate blood, both internally and externally, so can be sprinkled directly onto a bleeding cut. It’s also good for heart disease. Chamomile Soothing to the body and mind, chamomile makes a good sedative tea before bed, and a mild pain-relieving compress. Use it for good luck (or to change your luck), to prevent lightning strikes to your house or person, for prosperity and as a meditation aid. Clove This spice can ease toothache, calm stomach pain and relieve gas. Clove can also banish hostility or negative energy, increase personal gain, clear a cloudy mind and increase friendship or love. Coltsfoot Often used for pain relief, and to suppress allergies and coughs, coltsfoot is also good for wealth, prosperity and love spells. Comfrey Very nutritious to eat, comfrey also soothes the stomach, and heals sprains, strains, fractures, sores and arthritis. Use it in protection spells and for...

‘Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage.’ - OKAKURA KAKUZŌ

IMMUNI-TEA Use 1 part of each herb for this blend. A part can be anything from a teaspoon to a cup, depending on how much you want to make. I use dried herbs. What you’ll need: 1 part elderberries 1 part elderflowers 1 part chamomile 1 part rose hips 1 part echinacea Simply mix all the herbs together, and store in an airtight container. To brew: Use 1 tsp of your Immuni-Tea blend per cup of hot water, and steep for at least 20 minutes (or overnight for a more potent herbal infusion). If you’re keeping the tea loose, strain it through a strainer and sweeten with honey for additional healing properties. You could also sweeten it with stevia (you can add it as a herb to the blend, or as a liquid), or leave it unsweetened.

known for a LONG time that damiana is a potent and popular aphrodisiac. Oh yeah. In Mexico today, it’s frequently dispensed in the form of a herbal liqueur. The liqueur is prepared by steeping damiana, along with vanilla, galangal, cinnamon and pimento berries in honey and rum for about two weeks.

Personally, I’ve found it to be super-relaxing, providing almost instant feel-good vibes; and that makes sense, since, in its native country, damiana was traditionally used as a tonic for worn-out nerves and depression.

damiana is also one of the best herbs for women’s health, especially for those of us who experience cramps, irritability and mood swings around our period. Damiana, we love you.

DAMIANA TEA Steep 2 tsp of damiana in boiling water for 5–10 minutes. Add honey, maybe some dried rosebuds for some extra love and healing, and enjoy warm.

Essential Oils and Their Magical Properties Anise Psychic awareness, clairvoyance Basil Conscious mind, happiness, peace, money-attraction Bergamot Peace, happiness, restful sleep, stress soothing Black Pepper Mental alertness, physical energy, protection, courage Cedarwood Spirituality, self-control, healing, anti-hex Cinnamon Physical energy, protection, psychic awareness, prosperity, healing Clary Sage Euphoria, calming, dreams Clove Bud Healing, memory, protection, courage Coffee Conscious mind, breaking deadlocks Cypress Easing and comforting losses, healing, blessing, consecration Dragon’s Blood Protection, purification, love Eucalyptus Health, healing, purification Frankincense Spirituality, meditation, astral strength Geranium Happiness, protection, power in ritual and magic Ginger Magical energy, physical energy, sex, love, money-attraction, courage Grapefruit Purification Hyssop Purification, conscious mind Jasmine Love, calming, peace, spirituality, sex, sleep, psychic dreaming Lavender Health, love, peace, relaxing Lemon Energizing, health, healing, physical energy, purification Lemongrass Psychic awareness, purification Lime Purification, physical energy, protection Lotus Spirituality, healing, meditation, opening, elevating Marjoram Peace, celibacy, sleep Mugwort Psychic awareness, psychic dreams, astral projection Myrrh Spirituality, meditation, healing Orange Purification, joy, physical energy, magical energy Patchouli Sex, money, physical energy Peppermint...

Amethyst A natural stress reliever, amethyst encourages inner strength, and brings wealth and a strong business sense to its wearer. It’s a crystal of spiritual growth and protection that brings mental clarity, and helps you to become more in tune with your feelings and know yourself on a much deeper level. Amethyst crystals repel negative energy and attract positive energy, making them a wonderful protection stone for your home. In fact, they’re one of the strongest crystals for ridding your home of negative influences. Bloodstone Healers for thousands of years have valued bloodstone’s powerful healing energy. It can purify and detoxify your body, grounding negative energy and cleansing your body’s own energy. Bloodstone also increases energy and strength, promoting constant energy flow throughout the body. It’s very beneficial for athletes and people whose jobs involve a lot of physical activity. Carnelian A powerful sacral chakra stone, carnelian increases personal power and physical energy, bringing you courage, compassion and a boost in creativity. Wearing or carrying carnelian enhances vitality and will, providing you with the confidence needed to approach new projects and dreams. It’s also a wonderful stone to wear on a job interview, as it brings good luck and opportunity, awakening your hidden talents within. In ancient times, Egyptians buries their loved ones with carnelian because they thought it protected the dead in their journey to the afterlife, and calmed t...

THREE STEPS TO CLEANSE YOUR CRYSTALS Cleanse your crystal by holding it under running water (tap water or river) for a few minutes. Re-energize your crystal in the sunlight and moonlight (preferably the full moon) for either 24 hours, three days or seven days – you’ll know what feels right. Repeat your chosen process anytime you feel the stone needs recharging, usually a few months later.

Don’t place in water any crystal that’s attached to metal jewellery. Instead, burn sage and pass the jewellery through the smoke. Alternatively, leave the jewellery on a big piece of amethyst for 24 hours.

SOURCE YOURSELF Make a list of all the things that you want, need and desire. Look at all the ways that you could make it possible to receive, allow or make them available in your life. Pick one item a week (actually, you can pick as many as you want; but if you’re new to receiving and accepting, one is plenty to begin with), and actively make it happen without guilt or apology. You’re a creatrix, and it’s your birthright to self-source. You’ve got this.

Achterberg, Jeanne – Woman as Healer Bennett, Jessica – Feminist Fight Club Beth, Rae – Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft Bird, Stephanie Rose – Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones Boland, Yasmin – Moonology Federici, Silvia – Caliban and the Witch Leek, Sybil – Diary of a Witch Leek, Sybil – The Complete Art of Witchcraft Patterson, Rachel – Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch Perrone, Bobette – Medicine Women, Curanderas and Women Doctors Romm, Aviva – Botanical Medicine for Women’s Health Shen, Ann – Bad Girls Throughout History Valiente, Doreen – Natural Magic Valiente, Doreen – Witchcraft for Tomorrow Wood, Gail – Shamanic Witch: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Earth and Other Realms Worwood, Valerie Ann – The Fragrant Pharmacy