Winter Solstice & Yule Spell Jar for Rebirth

The winter solstice, also called Yule in Germanic traditions, is the longest night and shortest day of the year. It is the time we have the most darkness, and after the winter solstice, the sun returns — growing each day.

Because of this darkness and the return of the light, the solstice is deeply associated with rebirth. A kind of new year for witches, if you will. In this blog post, I’ll share how to make a DIY spell jar for rebirth in honor of the winter solstice. This would be a great practice to do on the winter solstice or in the days after it! 

So what are spell bottles or jars? Spell jars are a form of folk magic that can be used for many different purposes. I share more about spellwork below - keep scrolling to read it!

A LITTLE ABOUT SPELLWORK

To me, spells are about directing energy in a specific direction. They’re about using magick, which Dion Fortune defines as “the art of changing consciousness at will,” for healing, manifestation, and connection. 

I believe that they can be simple, and all you really need is yourself and your energy. Other items, like the ones we’ll use in this spell, are supportive in infusing some extra magick and energy into the work — but you don’t need them to do spells.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

For this spell, you’ll need:

As with all spells, use what you have. Feel free to substitute items, and don't worry if you're missing something from this list. Your intention is the most important part of any spell!

• A glass bottle/jar of any size 

• Salt of any kind for protection

• A piece of paper and pen to write your intention

• 3-5 drops of oil that supports rebirth like eucalyptus or peppermint 

• Stones that represent rebirth to you like moonstone, green aventurine, and howlite for peace as you transform. Other stone options could include malachite, citrine, moss agate, or quartz.

• Dried or fresh herbs that support rebirth like spruce, pine, or nettle.

• Dried or fresh rosemary for clarity and protection.

• Cinnamon stick for luck

• Dagaz rune, which represents dawn. This can be placed inside your jar or drawn/painted on the outside of your jar.

• White candle

• Any other representations of rebirth for you 

Let yourself be intuitive with your spell ingredients, and feel free to use what you have around you! 

SPELL STEPS

1. Like any spell, you’ll want to center and ground yourself before working the spell. You might spend a few minutes meditating, letting your eyes drift around your space, or doing breathwork or anything else that feels grounding to you. Find ideas for grounding here. 

2. When you feel ready, cleanse each of your items. You can use smoke, sound, salt, or another cleansing technique you align with.

3. Write your intention for the spell on the paper to add into your bottle.

4. If you’d like, you can paint your bottle with symbols that represent rebirth to you.

5. After your bottle is ready, take your time to place each item inside your bottle intentionally. Raise energy as you do this, either with deep breaths or chanting. I recommend coming up with your own chant that focuses energy on connecting to your intuition and developing your intuitive abilities.

6. When you’re done filling your bottle, seal it, hold the vessel in your hands, and keep chanting or breathing as long as you’d like.

7. Light your white candle and place it on top of or next to your spell bottle. Be mindful of your candle surroundings and never leave your candle burning unattended. Tip: Melt the bottom of your candle with a flame to make it stick to the top of your jar.

8. Spend time meditating on your intention as your candle burns. Connect with the feeling of rebirth. Visualize rebirth moving through your cells, making you whole. What would it feel like, look like, even sound like, to be reborn?

9. Ground the energy after your meditation by placing your palms on the ground and returning any excess energy to the Earth.

I recommend placing the bottle on your altar, keeping it at the forefront of your consciousness while it works its rebirth magic. Keep your Yule spell bottle out for one lunar cycle, until Imbolc, or when you feel ready to take it down.Want more ways to connect with the season of Yule? Check out these articles from our blog: 

• Oracle or Tarot Card Spread for Yule

• 4 Ways to Honor the Winter Solstice

• 3 Ways to Bring Meaning to the Winter Solstice

Seeing the unseen // Scrying 101

Scrying is an ancient divination practice where you connect with your intuition and work to make the unseen seen by gazing onto a reflective surface.

Scrying is a broad practice, therefore mentions of it pop up in a variety of places throughout history. Scrying is referenced in ancient Egypt, England, Greece, and Persia (to name a few.) Nostradamus reportedly relied on scrying for many of his predictions as well. 

The tools you can use for scrying are as vast as its history. You can use crystals, water, the moon, fire, smoke, a mirror, or really any reflective surface. 

Artwork copyright Cassie Uhl 2020-infinity, please credit if shared.

Though clear crystal balls work for scrying and are commonly shown as a scrying tool, it is not the only kind of crystal used for this practice. Black obsidian mirrors are commonly used for scrying, but really any crystal with a reflective surface will do. You may even decide that you'd like to use a specific crystal in alignment with your desires for a scrying session. Sphere, larger palm stones, and flat mirrors or slabs all work well for this practice. 

As varied as scrying is, the piece that remains consistent is the desire to reach an altered state to receive visions. The visions you receive from scrying could be from spirit or your subconscious. That’s for you to decide. 

I love scrying for its power and simplicity. In this post, I’ll be sharing how to scry! Keep reading for five steps to try scrying for yourself.

A note on working with the moon. The full moon and the dark moon are ideal times to try this practice. I like scrying with the full moon to help illuminate and the dark moon for going within and accessing intuition. Don’t let the phase of the moon stop you from trying this practice; these are just suggestions. 

Getting started with scrying:

1. To begin your scrying practice, create a ritual space for yourself, and gather your bowl and water. (As I walk you through scrying, I’ll be using the example of a bowl of water, but remember that there are many other ways to scry that I shared above.) 

2. You’ll want to be in a dark room with only one or two candles lit. 

3. Once your space is ready, enter a trance state through meditating, energy work, drumming, chanting, breathwork, or any other practice that helps you drop into your subconscious mind. 

4. Once you feel like you’re in an altered state of consciousness, relax your eyes and gaze into your bowl of water. Breathe deeply, let yourself soften, and ask a question silently (for example, what is holding me back in X situation? Or what do I need to know about Y?). 

5. Gaze into the bowl and let yourself see what you see. It may take time for images to come up, but if you stay focused and present, they will. Allow the images, words, and sensations to flow, rather than holding on to them tightly.

When you feel like you’re done, you’re done! Spend some time journaling about what you felt and saw to help you answer the questions you came to receive answers for. 

Remember, the subconscious mind works with symbolism, so don’t discount anything that you see even if you’re not quite sure what it means at first! Think of the information you receive, like the symbolism in dreams: sometimes we are left with more questions than answers. Sometimes the questions are the answers. Sometimes a thread is what you are offered, and you can choose to follow it or not. Sometimes symbols may not mean anything at first but are asking to be engaged with over time. 

Let the process unfold, and see what comes up for you! 

Spellwork and Witchcraft Ethics

When we understand how powerful witchcraft and spellwork can be, we know that there is as much potentiality for causing harm as there is for healing.

I don’t believe that ethics in this area (or any, really) are black and white or something that can be written in a post and passed right along to you. I think ethics are both nuanced and personal. 

So in this blog, I’ll be sharing a bit of my own thoughts about spellwork and witchcraft ethics, and offering some different areas of reflection for your own spellwork and witchcraft ethics.

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION + CONSUMPTION

Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race, wrote for Medium, “Cultural appropriation is the misuse of a group’s art and culture by someone with the power to redefine that art and, in the process, divorce it from the people who originally created it.”

Cultural appropriation is rampant in the spirituality, new age, and witchcraft communities. Sacred indigenous plants are bought and sold by white folks, indigenous knowledge is whitewashed, repackaged and sold, and practices are stolen from cultures of color. 

The impacts of cultural appropriation are not just personal, they widely function to continue to funnel power towards white folks and away from Black folks, Indigenous folks, and other people of color. 

I also personally feel that working with tools and practices from our own ancestry are always going to be more powerful than working with tools and practices that are not from our own ancestry! 

Some reflection questions for your own practice around cultural appropriation:

• What tools are you using in your magical practice, and where do they come from? If they are from cultures other than your own, how are you giving back, uplifting and supporting those cultures and peoples? 

• Are they sourced in ways that feel good to you and aligned with your values (for example: are your crystals mined by children? Are trees being chopped down for your Palo Santo?)?

• What are the lineages of the practices you use? If you don’t know, do some research. 

• How were your ancestors practicing witchcraft and magic? What are their traditions? What tools were they using? What were there beliefs? (These are big questions and incredibly important ones, especially for white folks to be asking. It can be hard to find information when much of European folk magic traditions were stolen by Christianity when the religion swept over the continent, but it’s out there. To start ancestral research, I recommend checking out Sanyu Estelle’s Ancestral Altars: Europa Edition recorded class as well as Megan McGuire’s work. Cassie also loves Elen Sentier’s work on British Shamanism.)

CAUSING HARM WITH MAGICK

Just as we can do spellwork to attract love and abundance, we can also practice curses, hexes, and other kinds of spellwork to manipulate and cause harm to others.

It would be easy for me to tell you here: never use curses or hexes, never practice magic that causes harm. There are Wiccan creeds around this that you may be familiar with, the Threefold Law and the Wiccan Rede. 

The Threefold Law states that whatever energy you put out will come back to you times three. The Wiccan Rede states “An it harm none, do what ye will.” There are different ways to interpret the Wiccan Rede, but most agree that it means as long as your workings harm no one, do what you feel called to. 

I tend to agree with these ideas personally, but it’s not so black and white. Some Black magical traditions like Hoodoo have no such rules and use cursing and crossing in alignment with their own ethics. I think it’s important to stay in my own lane when it comes to passing blanket statements about what it is and isn’t okay to do with magic, when there are deeply rooted traditions that incorporate some of these practices. 

We can expand this out and ask, too — is it truly unethical to curse or hex a person who does evil in the world at a large scale?

I don’t have answers for you, but I invite you to reflect on these questions. What settles in your body and heart when it comes to causing harm with magick?

JUSTICE

This brings me to justice. Witchcraft is intrinsically linked to justice and is inherently political, no question about it. 

I invite you to ask yourself: how are my spells and magical workings contributing to justice in the world? Or are they functioning to amplify privilege and get only myself ahead?

One of my favorite practices around this was shared by Amanda Yates Garcia, the Oracle of LA. She invites us to send out any spell we do for ourselves for the collective, too. For example, a spell to attract money would also include something like, “as it is for me, as it is for all,” to ask the spell to attract money for all of us. A spell for a new home for yourself might include housing justice for all. A spell for a lover for yourself might include safe and healthy relationships for all. And so on!

CONSENT

One of the key principles in energy work is always getting consent. Energy work has real impacts, and people deserve the opportunity to be able to opt-in to receive it. 

For me, this is true regardless of our best intentions - even if we want to send healing to someone we don’t know (who can’t consent) because we think it would really help them. 

What is true for you? Ask yourself: what are my consent boundaries with others when it comes to energy?

As you can see, ethics is a murky field but an important one to consider for any witch! My advice is: Work from your own value system. If you’re not clear on what your values are, start there. Let your witchcraft practice reflect your ethos, and know that we all have different values & ideas of what is right or wrong.  

At the end of the day, we all have to be able to sleep at night from a place of knowing the truth, not from ignorance of the impacts of our actions. What do you need to change or lean into in your practice to make that so? 

How to Cast a Circle and Why You Want To

Casting a circle is a foundational, powerful practice when it comes to ritual. It creates an energetic and psychic container - a safe, protected space - for magic and healing to take place. When you cast a circle, you are said to be in a space between worlds - void space, magic space, spiral space beyond linear time.

Why would you want to cast a circle? Casting a circle has many purposes. Keep scrolling to read and watch more. 

Featured deck is The Ritual Deck

CREATE INTENTIONAL SPACE

Part of casting a circle is about mindset. It allows us to shift out of the mundane world and into the sacred. As you get used to casting a circle, it will start to signal to your body and brain that you’re entering into a ritual space, and your energy will likely begin to shift automatically.

Learn more in this video from Eryn J.

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PSYCHIC PROTECTION

When you open yourself up to working with energy, it’s important to protect yourself from unwanted energies. Working with magick and ritual, especially trance, can leave us vulnerable to unwanted energies coming in. When you cast a circle, you’re weaving a spell of protection to keep unwanted energies out. We have a whole blog post about psychic protection here if you’d like to read more about other ways to protect yourself! 

FOCUS THE ENERGY OF YOUR SPELL OR RITUAL

Casting a circle isn’t just about keeping unwanted energy out; it’s also about keeping the desired energy in. Our magick is more powerful when we can focus it in a specific direction, rather than let it scatter and diffuse. An energetic circle helps us gather and concentrate more energy to support the purpose of our magical workings!

You don’t need to cast a circle every time you meditate or do ritual. But when you feel like you need extra focus or protection, or intuitively feel like a circle would support your workings, it’s a great tool to use.

HOW TO CAST A CIRCLE

There are so many ways to cast a circle. It’s my belief that magical practice is always more powerful when it’s intuitive, so take what you’d like from what I share below and let your intuition guide you to the unique method that’s right for you.

However you choose to cast your circle, you’ll work with visualization and the four directions (which are associated with the four elements). Here is an example of how to cast a circle:

1. Center yourself with a few deep, grounding breaths.

2. Let your eyes close and start to call on the elements.

3. Starting in the East, with the element of Air, speak aloud to invite the energy of Air, of breath, of voice, of mind, to hold the circle.

4. Then turn your focus to the South, the element of Fire, and speak aloud to invite the energy of Fire, of transformation, of passion, of the sun, to hold the circle.

5. Turn your focus again to the West, the element of Water, and speak aloud to invite the energy of Water, of feeling, of surrender, of the ocean, to hold the circle with you.

6. Lastly, turn your focus to the North, to the element of Earth, and speak aloud to invite the energy of Earth, of holding, of soil, of forests, to hold the circle. 

7. Feel the shift in your body and your space as the circle forms. Visualize a golden circle of light around you, supported by the powerful energy of each of the elements, holding a sacred and safe container for you.

8. When you feel ready, say out loud: “The circle is now cast.”

OTHER WAYS TO CAST A CIRCLE

You can make casting a circle as simple or as complex as you’d like! Here are some other ways to cast a circle, remembering that the most essential thing is visualizing and feeling the energy. You can substitute the suggestions below for the beginning of the example I gave, knowing that you’ll still want to take time to feel the shift in your body and visualize the circle around you:

• Place your Ritual Deck element or direction cards around you in each of the corresponding directions.

• Place physical items representing each of the elements around in you the corresponding directions. Learn more about how to represent each of the elements here.

• Place four crystals around you in each of the corresponding directions. Hematite or snowflake obsidian work well for Earth/North, amethyst or kyanite for Air/East, citrine or pyrite for Fire/South, and moonstone or carnelian for Water/West. 

• Place four lighted candles around you in each of the corresponding directions. A black or brown candle for Earth/North, a yellow or purple candle for Air/East, a red or orange candle for Fire/South, and a blue silver candle for Water/East.

• Walk the circumference of the circle.

• Use a wand or athame (ritual knife) to draw the circle around you.

I hope this supports you in casting circles of your own.

3 Herbal Recipes to Enhance Your Intuition

With so many herbs available to enhance your intuition, I wanted to share a few quick DIY recipes so you can put them to use! This is my last post in a more extended series about the intuition if you missed any of the previous posts and want to check them out first, click here.

Our ancestors have used herbs for more than just healing; a variety of plants have been used to connect with the psychic realm and experience spiritual awakenings since the beginning of time. The herbs suggested in this post are of the gentler variety, no peyote today!

As with any herb you choose to ingest, do your research, and consider consulting your health care provider first. 

Cards are featured from The Ritual Deck

Let’s take a closer look at each of the herbs I’m going to suggest for these recipes or keep scrolling to go straight to the recipes.

• Lavender and Chamomile: Both of these plants are nervines and antispasmodics, which means they can calm both the nervous and muscular systems. You’ll be better able to access intuitive messages when your mind and body are calm.

• Blue Lotus: Blue lotus was prized by ancient Egyptians and Mayan people for its beauty and medicinal effects. Similar to lavender and chamomile, blue lotus is a nervine and antispasmodic, which will help calm you. It also contains alkaloids that have a subtle psychoactive effect, which the ancients no doubt were aware of as well! 

• Mugwort: Mugwort is associated with the Goddess Artemis (the Latin name for this plant is Artemesia Vulgaris!) and the moon. These lunar ties give mugwort a strong connection to femininity, psychic work, and all things sleep-related. Mugwort is also extremely protective, making it an ideal herb to protect you while you’re opening up to the psychic world. Mugwort is not safe for pregnant or lactating women. Learn more about mugwort here.

• Frankincense: Frankincense has long been associated with accessing meditation, focus, and cleansing negative energy. Often found in resin or essential oil, frankincense can be burned or diffused to clear your mind and your space for optimal intuitive connections. 

• Rosemary: Rosemary is one of those herbs that comes with a host of valuable benefits, including amplifying your intuition. Rosemary correlates strongly to the area of the head and will help clear out thoughts related to any worldly woes. Use rosemary to help cleanse your mind and focus on your spiritual connection. Rosemary is also helpful for clearing negative energy. 

• Peppermint: Peppermint is a common herb that can help you access your psychic gifts. Peppermint, similar to rosemary, is extremely uplifting and clearing for the mind. It can also help to bring you some inspiration. Peppermint is especially helpful if you’re feeling a little sluggish or having trouble focusing on your intuition.  

• Cedarwood: Let us not forget the necessity to stay grounded while practicing psychic work! Anytime you’re accessing higher states of consciousness or your intuition, it’s imperative to stay grounded, and cedarwood can help you do this. Cedarwood also helps to soothe and relax the third eye area. Similar to peppermint and rosemary, cedarwood will also help you clear your mind, but more soothingly because it is also antispasmodic (like lavender and chamomile). 

These recipes can be used together or separately. If you feel called to one, in particular, go with that. If you want to go for a trifecta of intuitive herbal magic, try all three! Don’t be deterred if you’re missing a specific herb, and feel free to modify. Many of the herbs suggested are powerhouses all on their own. 

Intuition Tea 

Try this tea recipe in a warm mug or your next bath. One of my favorite ways to enjoy herbs is through a tea bath. Your skin is super absorbent; placing your herbs directly into your bath is a wonderful way to soak them up. 

Anytime you’re using dried herbs for teas, you want to ensure that they’re food-grade and preferably organic. Lavender and chamomile are easy to come by at most grocery stores in tea bags, blue lotus flower, on the other hand, will likely need to be purchased online. I love everything from Anima Mundi, and they offer blue lotus flowers here. 

This tea is seriously calming! I suggest drinking a cup of it before practicing psychic or intuitive work in the evening when you don’t have to go anywhere.

To make your intuition tea you’ll need: 

• 1t. Dried Blue Lotus Flower

• 1t. Dried Lavender Buds

• 1t. Dried Chamomile flowers

1. Pour boiling water over your dried herbs. 

2. Cover the mug as it steeps (this helps to keep the benefits of these plants in your tea rather than evaporating out).

3. Steep for 3-5 minutes. 

4. Cool and enjoy!

Intuition Smoke Blend

This smoke blend can be used to help center your mind and create a protective forcefield around you while you practice your intuition. This smoke blend is to be used to waft around yourself and your environment before psychic or intuitive work. 

I like to use an abalone shell for burning herbs, but any fire-proof dish will work. Many use a shell for burning herbs because it represents the water element. With the addition of the water element, all four elements are represented in the herb burning process (smoke- air, herbs- earth, and fire- well, from the fire). Iron cauldrons are another tool that is often used for herb burning that works well too. 

Please, use caution when working with herb burning. Never leave your herbal smoke burning without supervision, always use fire-proof dishes for burning, and ensure you have proper ventilation. 

To make your herbal smoke, you’ll need: 

• About a 1t. Dried Mugwort

• About a 1t. Dried Lavender

• 5-10 pieces of Frankincense resin

• Charcoal tablet

• Sand

• Fire-proof dish

• Match or lighter

1. Place sand in your herb-burning dish; this helps to insulate the charcoal tablet and disperse the heat. 

2. Light your charcoal and place it in the sand. You’ll know it’s lit when it starts sparking, 

3. Place your dried herbs onto the charcoal tablet. This method of herb burning creates a substantial amount of smoke, so start with just a pinch of each herb. 

4. Waft the smoke around yourself and your space. 

Check out this video to see how it’s done. 

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Intuition Spray

This recipe is similar to the High Priestess Mist that Eryn shared on the blog a while ago, with a few modifications. Rosemary and peppermint are often-overlooked herbs that are quite effective at working with the third eye chakra because they help to clear the whole head area. Cedar has a similar effect but is also soothing and grounding.

I love to use this spray when I’m feeling a little lethargic or have some thoughts whirling around my mind that could impede my intuition. Spritz some of this around yourself and your space before practicing intuitive work for an uplifting and inspiring psychic aid. 

To make the intuition spray, you’ll need: 

• Glass spray bottle

• 5 drops of Rosemary essential oil

• 3 drops of Peppermint essential oil

• 5 drops of Cedarwood essential oil

• Enough witch hazel to fill ½ of your glass bottle

• Enough high vibe-water of your choice to fill the remainder of your bottle. High-vibe water could be moon water, natural spring water, vortexed water, energy-infused water, or any combination. 

• Optional, amethyst, moonstone, or quartz crystals

• Optional, dried blue lotus flower and lavender buds

1. Combine all of your liquid ingredients into your bottle. 

2. Add any optional dried herbs or crystals. 

3. Shake, spray, enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these recipes! Be sure to tag @cassieuhl if you make them; I’d love to see your creations. Learn more about honing your intuition in these past blog posts.