The Witch’s Herb // 3 Magickal Uses for Mugwort

Mugwort, or Artemisia vulgaris, is touted as the witch’s herb. Mugwort is a powerful plant that every witch should have in their arsenal, but the richness of its history goes far beyond the witch. Mugwort is viewed as a weed and a nuisance by some, but don’t let this plant fool you, it’s powerful and potent!

Mugwort has been used for thousands of years and has a multitude of purposes, including ancient beer production, acupuncture, and protection rituals, to name a few. I’ll be focusing on ways to use Mugwort in your spiritual and magickal practice. Keep scrolling for four ways to use Mugwort.

Oracle card featured from The Ritual Deck.

Space Cleansing with Mugwort

There’s been a spotlight on the overharvesting of other plants commonly used in magickal and spiritual practices like white sage and palo santo. There’s undoubtedly some truth to these claims, and white sage and Palo Santo are not always the best option. If you do feel uneasy about using white sage and Palo Santo, or simply want an alternative, Mugwort is a pleasant and powerful option.

Similar to white sage, mugwort is an antimicrobial that can be used to purify the air of your space. Science has caught up with what many of our ancestors already knew, herbal smoke of certain antimicrobial plants can kill bacteria, and mugwort is one of them!

Mugwort has a light, earthy, and slightly sweet aroma. Many prefer it to white sage, myself included. To burn mugwort for energy cleansing you’ll need dried mugwort that’s either loose or in stick form. Use mugwort smoke to cleanse your space by wafting the smoke around with your hand or a large feather.

Beyond cleansing the air of your space, burning mugwort will offer protection and enhance your intuition. Keep reading for more about using mugwort for protection and intuition.

Protection with Mugwort

It’s quite astonishing how many cultures have relied on Mugwort as a protective tool. Native American cultures have used mugwort as a form of protection against ghosts, and as an amulet during sleep to protect against nightmares. In China, mugwort was used to dispel evil spirits during the Dragon Festival. There’s even a reference to St. John the Baptist wearing a wreath of mugwort as protection against evil spirits. In Europe, mugwort was often planted around houses as a form of protection.

Here’s a list of ways to employ the protective benefits of mugwort in your practice:

• Burn dried mugwort in loose or stick form to cleanse and protect your space before performing psychic and intuitive work.

• Hang mugwort above doorways to prevent negativity from entering.

• Plant mugwort around your house for external protection. Be careful, this plant is invasive and can spread quickly!

• Make a satchel of dried mugwort to carry with you for protection on the go.

Magick & Psychic Work with Mugwort

Mugwort is associated with the Goddess Artemis and the moon. These lunar ties give mugwort a strong connection to femininity, psychic work, and all things sleep-related. Another reason for using mugwort while practicing psychic work is how protective it is. Performing psychic work makes you vulnerable to psychic attacks and other negative energies. The protective properties of mugwort are another likely reason it became such a popular tool for witches.

Oracle cards featured from The Ritual Deck.

Here are some ways to use mugwort as a magickal tool:

• The next time you’re doing a card reading or any other intuitive work, aid your intuition by burning some mugwort or drinking a cup of mugwort tea before you begin your practice. Note: Pregnant or nursing women should not consume mugwort.

• To enhance your dreams, receive messages in your dreams, and practice lucid dreaming, place a pillow of dried mugwort under your pillow as you sleep.

• Create a psychic protection charm bag.

• Steep mugwort in a bowl of water to use as cleansing water for your psychic tools, only the ones that can get wet, of course! This is a great option for crystal balls, pendulums, and mirrors used for scrying.

• If you have access to mugwort plants, their stalks are hearty and make beautiful wands for circle casting and spellwork.

• Mugwort is associated with the crone phase of the Triple Goddess and is an excellent plant to work with when working with this energy.

Mugwort has been revered for its medicinal uses as well, especially in women, but that’s a post for another day! If you want to learn more about mugwort, I encourage you to continue to research it, and there’s much to gain from this magickal plant.

Meanings, Benefits, and Uses of Larimar

Larimar, also known as dolphin stone or blue pectolite, is a beautiful blue stone that often has white veins swirling through it. It’s an extremely rare stone because it can only be found in one place, the Dominican Republic.

According to Judy Hall’s The Crystal Bible, Larimar is one of the “spiritual stones” that open to new dimensions, stimulating the evolution of the Earth. I picked up my first piece of Larimar at a local rock shop a year or two ago and knew I had to take it home - I felt immediately calmed as soon as I touched it. 

Keep scrolling to discover some of the top benefits and uses of this magical crystal! 

BENEFITS & USES

PROMOTES TRANQUILITY AND BALANCE

Feeling anxious or struggling with anxiety? Larimar brings calmness, equilibrium, and serenity. Meditating with this stone can also bring clarity, which can help you drop out of an anxiety spiral and into truth. 

Larimar can also help remove fear and guilt, bringing you into a more balanced, less stressed state. 

FIND MORE FLOW

It’s Scorpio season, and all of us can connect with the water-energy that water signs (Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio) naturally have. Larimar is our ally for releasing and flowing, connecting us to the power of water through cleansing and surrender. 

HELPS REMOVE SELF-IMPOSED BLOCKAGES AND CONSTRAINTS

Larimar helps gently reveal and dissolve self-sabotaging behaviors as well as limiting thought patterns and belief systems. It helps bring in more constructive thought patterns and systems to replace those that were shed. Try carrying a piece of tumbled larimar with you as a reminder throughout your day. 

FACILITATES ANGELIC CONTACT

Want to connect with your angels but not sure how? Use Larimar in a crown chakra meditation to open yourself up to contact with the angels here to support you. 

INDUCES A DEEP MEDITATIVE STATE

Incorporate Larimar into your daily meditation practice for access to a deeper meditative state. It can also be your ally for receiving Reiki, receiving sound healing, and other energetic and vibrational types of practices to help you fully surrender and sink in.

HEALS HEART TRAUMA

One of my favorite aspects of Larimar is its ability to reconnect us to a playful and joyful childlike energy. If you struggle to connect with your carefree, playful side as an adult with very real bills and responsibilities - work with Larimar to help. It’s not just limited to connecting to childlike energy - it’s also deeply healing for all inner child work. Use it on a visualization journey to healing your inner child! 

HELPS GUIDE THE SOUL ON ITS TRUE PATHWAY

According to Judy Hall’s The Crystal Bible, Larimar is ultimately an empowering stone that can help dissolve the boundaries that constrain the spiritual self and help guide the soul on its true pathway.

If you feel lost, confused, or unsure of the direction your soul wants to take you, work with Larimar to receive the gentle guidance you need and step onto or continue on your soul’s true pathway.

BALANCE THE WATER & EARTH ELEMENTS

Larimar connects deeply with the water element. Larimar was actually created by volcanic activity, which gives it a unique balance of energy. You can use this stone to help find more flow from the water element, balance fire the fire element, and connect with Earth energies.

This is definitely one of my favorite things about Larimar! Larimar is an Earth healing stone that helps us connect to the energy of the Earth goddess. If you feel disconnected from nature or from the Shakti part of yourself, work with Larimar to restore balance and tap into the energy of the Earth goddess. One of my favorite uses for Larimar is to work with it in spells and rituals to heal the Earth! 

Book featured is The Goddess Discovery Book.

DRAWS OUT PAIN

On a physical level, Larimar can help draw pain out of the body. Place it on a spot where you’re feeling pain and let it help you heal. It can also be used to clear the meridians of the body, restoring healthy energy flow throughout these vital energy pathways. Learn more about the meridians in the body and the practice of meridian tracing in this blog (just incorporate Larimar to get the benefits)! 

WATER MAGICK 101

Water is associated with the moon, the direction of the west, the Cups suit in the tarot, and the zodiac signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Water signifies intuition, surrender, dreams, emotions, and psychic abilities. It is oceans, rivers, ponds, the moon, waterfalls, light rain, hurricanes, and tsunamis. It extinguishes fire and floods Earth. It cleanses and purifies, and connects us with the deepest parts of ourselves.

We can use the element of water in ritual, spellwork, and spiritual practice and that’s what I’ll be talking about in this blog. Keep scrolling to learn what water magick is and find different ways to practice it.

WHAT IS WATER MAGICK?

My favorite definition of magick comes from Starhawk, who said: “Magick is the ability to change energy at will.” So water magick is simply changing energy using the element of water and all that it represents, as I shared above.

We can do magick with any of the elements. There is air magick, fire magick, and Earth magick as well. But in this article, we’ll be exclusively exploring water magick.

SCRYING

Scrying is an ancient divination practice where you connect with your intuition and make the unseen seen by gazing onto a reflective surface. Some common reflective surfaces to use are the full moon or a black bowl filled with water.

You can do scrying with other substances such as fire, a crystal ball, or a mirror, but when working with water magick you want to choose something associated with water like the options I’ve shared above.

To begin your scrying practice, create a ritual space for yourself and either go outside and find a view of the moon or gather your bowl and water. As I walk you through scrying, I’ll use the example of a bowl of water. For this practice, you’ll want to be in a dark room with only one or two candles lit.

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.

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?).

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 after 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!

CLEANSING SPELL

This simple spell helps us use the element of water to release and is best worked during the waning and dark moon times. You’ll need:

A large glass of water

A piece of paper and pen

To start, choose what you’re focusing on releasing. Maybe is blocks to self-love, fear of being seen, a harmful way of speaking to yourself, or self-judgment.

Once you’ve decided what you’re ready to release (you’re welcome to spend some time journaling on this to get clear), start making a list of all the limiting beliefs and stories that you hold associated with this block.

For example, let’s say you’re working with clearing fear of being seen. Your list might hold beliefs like:

I’m not good enough

If people see who I really am, they won’t love me

I’m too weird

Keep letting the beliefs flow! I tend to fill up a whole page when I do this spell.

Once you have your list, it’s time to work the spell. Ground yourself, cast your circle, and pick up your list. You’re going to say the first belief out loud, starting with “I clear the belief that ________ from my body” and then taking a big sip of water. Pause and notice, feeling and visualizing the water moving through your body, cleansing this belief from your system on every level.

Repeat this for each belief on your list, taking your time and really feeling the beliefs move out of your body.

MOONGAZING

Personally, this is one of my favorite practices. It’s best done when the moon is full or around fullness. All you need is yourself, the moon, and your creativity for this practice.

In its simplest form, simply go outside, sit or stand under the moon, and gaze up at her beauty. Beam a heart full of love towards her, and feel her filling you up with her lunar energy.

You might like to take it further in a number of ways:

Drawing down the moon (opening up your arms and visualizing your crown opening to receive lunar energy

Singing to the moon

Writing poems to the moon and reading them to her

Asking her questions and sitting in meditation under her light to receive answers

There’s no right or wrong way to moon gaze. Let your intuition and creativity be your guide!

CHARGE WATER UNDER THE MOON

A powerful form of water magick is charging water under the full moon at night and then using it. In its simplest form, you simply drink the water. You can also use the water in spell workings, water your plants with it, or add it to your ritual bath (which we’ll explore below).

You are welcome to charge just a glass of water under the moon. However, you could also add a crystal to your glass that’s related to your intention for extra power. Here are some suggestions:

Rose quartz for a love infusion

Green aventurine for an abundance infusion

Amethyst for clear sight and intuition

Citrine for personal powerObsidian for protection

Carnelian for creativity

Clear quartz as an amplifier for any intention. Use alone or with another crystal!

You can work with any crystal you’d like, just remember that some crystals are water-soluble so check first to make sure it won’t dissolve in your water overnight.

SPEND TIME IN BODIES OF WATER

If you’re lucky enough to live near a body of water, going to that body of water whether it’s a lake, river, or ocean and immersing yourself in it for cleansing and purification is one of the most powerful forms of water magick there is. Turn a simple dip into magick by using your presence, breath, and intention to receive the medicine of the water.

Card featured from The Ritual Deck.

RITUAL BATH

If you can’t get to a body of water or it’s too cold to get in, a ritual bath is a beautiful way to immerse yourself in the power of water. In this blog post, I share some herbal bath recipes for specific intentions to help make your bath extra magical. But again, if all you bring to your bath is your presence, breath, and intention - that’s all the magick you need. Everything else is just an extra amplifier!

The Difference Between a Dark Moon & New Moon

There are two different schools of thought when it comes to differentiating between a new moon and a dark moon. Spoiler alert, there's not a right or wrong answer. The difference of opinion is between astronomers and Pagans. I'm going to share both schools of thought with you so you can decide what works better for you.

Here's the short answer to this query. A new moon can be a dark moon, a dark moon can be a new moon, a waxing crescent can be a new moon, but a waxing crescent can't be a dark moon. Make sense? I know, not really. Allow me to explain!

Cards featured from The Ritual Deck.

The Astronomer's New Moon

First, let's take a look at the astronomer's viewpoint. For astronomers, the new moon happens when the moon is in between, or in conjunction, with the Earth and Sun. When the moon is in between the Earth and the Sun, it appears entirely dark for us.

I know what you're probably thinking, sounds like a dark moon, right? No. For astronomers, this point of the moon cycle is considered the new moon because it marks the beginning of a new moon cycle. Most astronomers do not use the term "dark moon," there's only the new moon. This is why most moon phase calendars don't recognize a dark moon phase.

The Pagan's New Moon

For many Pagans, practicing witches, and moon followers, the dark moon happens when the moon is dark and in conjunction with the Earth and the Sun (the astronomer's new moon). The new moon follows after the dark moon phase when the moon begins to show the tiniest illumination of its waxing or growth phase.

Cards featured from The Ritual Deck.

The Importance of The Dark Moon

For Pagan's and the like, the dark moon phase marks an important phase in the cycle of the moon. The dark moon phase represents a time of rest, integration, and observance. If you're using the moon for spellwork and manifesting it only makes sense that you would work in a night or two of reflection, especially before the busy energy of the new moon.

Astronomers and Pagans obviously use the moon cycles for entirely different purposes, so it's not surprising that they recognize the phases a little differently. As I said, there's not a wrong answer here, simply different opinions for different purposes.

Your manifesting won't be thrown askew if you skip the dark moon phase, but the dark moon will offer you a sweet moment of rest.

Three Dark Moon Rituals

The dark moon is one of my personal favorite times of the cycle. It’s the last few days of the waning time of the cycle, when the moon continues to shrink and eventually disappears from the sky.

Different traditions honor the dark moon at different times. Personally, I honor the dark moon when you can’t see the moon at all in the sky--which is technically the new moon. Others honor the dark moon the last few days before the new moon. I recommend using your intuition and noticing how you feel during these days to understand when to honor the dark moon versus new moon.

So what is the dark moon all about?

The dark moon is our time for radical rest, for deep clearing and releasing, and turning within. This is the time to cancel plans, to do shadow work, to go to sleep early and wake up late, and to pull tarot or oracle cards to tune in to your inner voice.

Keep scrolling for a few rituals to consider working with at this time.

WATER SPELL FOR CLEARING

One of my favorite spells to work during the dark moon is this simple water spell. Water is a helpful element for cleansing and purification, and this spell works especially well when the dark moon is in a water sign--Pisces, Cancer, or Scorpio. You’ll need:

• A large glass of water

• A piece of paper and pen

To start, choose what you’re focusing on releasing. Maybe there are blocks to self-expression, fear of being rejected, shame around your path, or blocks to abundance. Once you’ve decided what you’re ready to release (you’re welcome to spend some time journaling on this to get clear), start making a list of all the limiting beliefs and stories that you hold associated with this block.For example, let’s say you’re working with clearing blocks to abundance. Your list might hold beliefs like:

• I can’t make money doing what I love

• People with money are jerks

• It’s wrong to have money when other people have so little, etc.

Keep letting the beliefs flow! I tend to fill up a whole page when I do this spell.

Once you have your list, it’s time to work the spell. Ground yourself, cast your circle, and pick up your list. You’re going to say the first belief out loud, starting with “I clear the belief that ________ from my body” and then taking a big sip of water. Pause and notice, feeling and visualizing the water moving through your body, cleansing this belief from your system on every level.

Repeat this for each belief on your list, taking your time and really feeling the beliefs move out of your body.

Card featured from The Ritual Deck

When you’re done, use the energy of your palms to charge your last sip of water with what you do want - abundance, healthy self-expression, creativity, etc. - and feel your whole body being charged with this intention by the power of the element of water.

Give thanks to water and the Universe for their help, ground yourself again and open your circle.

CANDLE MAGICK FOR RELEASING

For this spell, you’ll need:

• Black taper candle

• Carving tool like a sharp point crystal, toothpick, or athame

• Black tourmaline, smoky quartz, or petrified wood

• A simple oil like grapeseed or bergamot essential oil

• Rosemary

Start by cleansing all of your items for the spell. This can be done by wafting rosemary smoke over them or visualizing light cleansing them.

For this spell, you’ll be carving what you’re releasing into your candle as well as the glyph for Pluto, the planet that helps things die and be transformed. For your words, keep them simple and powerful by carving the basics of what you’re releasing like “fear” or “self-doubt.”

Anoint your candle with your oil and roll it in your dried rosemary. As you carve and anoint your candle, visualize your all of whatever you’re releasing - your fear or your self-doubt as in the example above - pouring into the candle.

Place your crystal(s) and candle on your altar, light your candle, and start meditating on the flame. Continue to visualize all that you’re releasing pouring into the candle, and watch as it burns and turns to smoke. Stay with this meditation until you feel a shift in your energy - until you really feel a release.

Let the candle burn out if you can or snuff out the candle and continue the same spell each night until the candle has burned completely.

SHADOW WORK TAROT OR ORACLE SPREAD

The dark moon is a deep invitation into shadow work.

What is shadow work?

Simply put, it’s an intentional exploration of our shadow side - the parts of ourselves that we reject, that we’re ashamed of, that we stuff down and hide. Click here to learn more about shadow work if you’re new to it!

For this ritual, you’ll want to create a ritual space - whatever that means to you. For me, it usually means cleansing my space with smoke beforehand, lighting incense, and lighting candles. Maybe you also like to take an essential oil bath beforehand, or sprinkle herbs in a circle around you.

All you’ll need for this ritual is:

• A journal and pen

• Your tarot or oracle cards

Spend a few moments grounding yourself, then shuffle your cards and pull a card for each of these questions:

• What part of my shadow is rising to the surface to be worked with?

• How has rejecting this part of myself manifested in my life?

• How can I show this part of myself more love and integrate it into my whole self?

Give yourself the gift of sitting with your cards after you pull them. Spend time meditating on your cards, journaling about them, or even painting with them to process and understand what their messages are for you.

Everything You Need to Know About Reiki

If you’re reading this blog post, you’ve probably heard of Reiki. Maybe you’ve received a Reiki session, or love Reiki and are thinking about starting a Reiki certification.

I’m a Reiki Master, and I often find that even people who have received Reiki before don’t really know much about it. In this blog post, I’ll be explaining what Reiki is, the history of Reiki, the benefits of Reiki, what you might experience with Reiki, and how to weave Reiki into your ritual and spellwork practice.

WHAT IS ENERGY?

I’d like to start with energy. Reiki is energy healing and energy is a huge buzzword these days — but what is energy?

Everything is energy. This is something science has proven time and time again. Your table, your body, an orange, a tree, sound — our senses don’t detect the energetic movements of things like oranges and tables because they vibrate slowly and at a low frequency, but they’re still made up of energy.

We are all made up of energy. There is only one tiny basic unit that connects everything and makes up all of us.

WHAT IS REIKI?

Now that you know what energy is, what is Reiki? Reiki is a specific kind of energy work. It’s an energy healing modality that was channeled by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan, which I’ll get into more detail about below.

The word Reiki itself means “Universal Energy.” It’s Universal Energy, spiritual energy, the energy of oneness, that can be channeled from one human being to another to facilitate healing.

Reiki has its own intelligence. You don’t have to be special to give Reiki, which is one of the things I love about it. We all have this energy within us--it simply gets awakened through a process called a Reiki attunement.

Learn more about different types of energy work here.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF REIKI

As I mentioned above, Reiki was channeled by Dr. Mikao Usui. He was born in 1865 in a little village in the mountains of southern Japan into a well-off Buddhist family and was always interested in healing. Later in life, he became a Buddhist monk and lived in a monastery but was still looking for something.

Dr. Usui wanted to find a method of healing that was unattached to any specific religion, accessible to everyone.

So he isolated himself on Mount Kurama fasting, meditating, and praying. After 21 days, he felt an awakening. A vision of light, a feeling of complete peace and oneness, and he saw the ancient symbols that helped him create the Usui Reiki system of healing.

He quickly came down from the mountain and moved back to Tokyo where he established a healing Reiki clinic and school there (around 1922). He wanted to help as many people as possible, so he taught several Reiki Masters, making sure Reiki wouldn’t be forgotten.

Those Reiki Masters trained some other Reiki masters, who further refined the attunement process and the hand positions used. In 1935 one of those Reiki Masters, Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, trained a Japanese American woman who originally came to him for healing, Hawayo Takata.

Hawayo Takata is the person who brought Reiki to the US. She returned home and spread the system of healing to others here, attuning 22 Reiki masters before she died.

BENEFITS OF REIKI

Now that you know a bit about what Reiki is and where it comes from, what are the benefits of Reiki?

I have found over and over again that Reiki will give each individual whatever it is they need. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some of the benefits of Reiki from my experience and from my teachers:

• Relief of physical pain and discomfort

• Release of limiting belief systems

• Release of blocked energy and blocked emotions

• Reconnection to your highest self

• Reach a calmer, meditative state

• Become more present and enjoy your life more

• Open to your own self-healing power

• Feel lighter and more in balance

• Relax and reduce stress

• Calm the ego

• Connect you to who you really are

• Align with your higher calling and purpose

• Enhance your connection to spirit

• Open your intuitive channel

And more!

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT IN A REIKI SESSION?

You’ll typically receive a Reiki session laying down on a massage table, and you’ll always be fully clothed. Your practitioner will use a combination of hands-on gentle touch and hands-off (hovering).

Each individual’s experience of Reiki is unique, and there’s definitely no right or wrong way to experience Reiki. You might see color, words, and/or images. You might get intuitive hits, inspiration, and creative ideas. You might have an emotional release like crying afterwards, or the next day. Or maybe you just feel super relaxed. Maybe you fall asleep.

Personally, I often see color and get creative ideas and intuitive hits. I occasionally see images. I typically reach a calmer, more present, meditative state and deeply feel my connection with Source.

HOW TO WEAVE REIKI INTO YOUR RITUAL AND SPELLWORK PRACTICE

Attuned to Reiki? I love weaving Reiki into my ritual and spellwork practice, and you can do it, too! Here are some of my favorite ways to weave Reiki into my witchcraft:

• Using Reiki to clear and/or charge my magical tools

• Using Reiki in spellwork to charge my spell bag, candle, etc. with my intention

• Using Reiki to open my channel to receive messages from my guides and ancestors

There are so many different ways to work with Reiki once you’re attuned. Get creative and follow your intuition!

EXPLORE REIKI FURTHER

Want to learn more about Reiki? Two of my favorite books are The Art of Psychic Reiki by Lisa Campion and This Is Reiki by Frank Arjava Petter.

If you’ve received Reiki before and are thinking about learning Reiki for yourself, check out this article to help you choose a Reiki 1 training that’s a fit for you.