Every Wednesday
Spells, herbs, and witchcraft education for modern practitioners. Whether you're brand new to the craft or deepening an existing practice, this is your Wednesday home.
Shadow work is the practice of turning toward the parts of yourself you've been taught to hide, suppress, or deny — and integrating them with compassion rather than judgment. It is not about becoming darker. It is about becoming whole.
Carl Jung coined the term "shadow" to describe the unconscious parts of our psyche — not just the "dark" parts, but any part of ourselves we've pushed out of awareness. Your shadow holds repressed anger, unexpressed creativity, buried grief, and disowned strengths. Integration means making those parts conscious so they stop running your life from behind the curtain.
Unexamined shadow material doesn't disappear — it projects. You see your own unowned qualities in other people and react strongly. You sabotage your own success because part of you believes you don't deserve it. You attract the same painful patterns repeatedly. Shadow work interrupts those cycles by bringing the root cause into the light where it can actually be worked with.
Shadow work and therapy are not the same thing, though they complement each other well. Journaling, tarot, and reflective practices are powerful tools for self-awareness. However, if you find that shadow work consistently surfaces trauma, panic, or material that destabilizes your daily functioning, please work with a licensed therapist. Self-awareness and professional support are not mutually exclusive.
Begin simply: notice your strong reactions. Whenever something someone does triggers a disproportionate emotional response in you, that's a signal worth following. Ask: "What quality in them am I reacting to — and where does that quality live in me?" The answer, honest and uncomfortable as it may be, is the beginning of the work.
A dedicated shadow journal is one of the most effective tools — write without editing, without performing, without an audience in mind. Tarot is excellent for shadow work because the cards give your unconscious a visual language to speak through. Meditation, dream journaling, and body-based practices like breathwork also access shadow material that logical thinking can't reach.
The alchemical metaphor is useful here: shadow work is the nigredo — the blackening, the dissolution of the old form. Integration is the albedo — the purification. And what emerges from genuine shadow work is the rubedo — the gold. Not perfection, but wholeness. A self that contains all of its contradictions and is larger for it.
Spellwork is the intentional direction of energy toward a desired outcome. It is not about bending reality to your will through force — it is about aligning yourself so completely with what you want to create that you become a clear channel for it to manifest. Every spell has the same core components: intention, energy, and release. Everything else — candles, herbs, words, timing — are tools that help you focus and amplify those three things.
The most powerful ingredient in any spell is the clarity and sincerity of your intention. Before you light a single candle, you must be absolutely clear about what you are calling in — and why. Vague intentions produce vague results. "I want more money" is less powerful than "I am open to and worthy of financial abundance flowing to me through joyful, aligned work." Write your intention out before every working. Read it aloud. Feel it in your body. That feeling of resonance IS the magic.
A spell without raised energy is just words and props. Energy must be raised — built up within you or the working space — and then directed toward your intention before release. Methods for raising energy include: breathwork, chanting, drumming, dancing, meditation, visualization, and emotional intensity. The stronger and more focused the energy you raise, the more potent the working. Many practitioners feel a physical sensation — heat, tingling, pressure in the hands — when energy is properly raised.
Candles are among the most accessible and versatile magical tools. The flame represents transformation — the alchemical process of converting one state into another. Color matters: white is all-purpose and purifying; red for passion and courage; green for growth and abundance; blue for calm, healing, and truth; black for banishing and protection; purple for spiritual work and psychic opening; pink for love and self-compassion; yellow for clarity and communication. Dress your candles with oils and herbs aligned to your intention to amplify their power.
Timing your workings with natural cycles amplifies their power by aligning your personal energy with the larger rhythms of the universe. The moon's cycle is the most commonly used: the new moon is for new beginnings, setting intentions, and starting fresh. The waxing moon (growing) is for drawing things toward you — abundance, love, opportunity. The full moon is peak power — use it for manifestation, charging tools, and divination. The waning moon (shrinking) is for release, banishing, and letting go. The dark moon is for shadow work, deep rest, and inner reflection.
Every plant carries its own energetic signature, shaped by its chemistry, its history of use, and its connection to planetary and elemental forces. Rosemary is protective and clarifying. Lavender soothes and opens psychic channels. Mugwort enhances dreams and divination. Basil draws abundance and love. Bay laurel amplifies wishes and victory. Sage clears and purifies. You don't need a full apothecary to begin — a few versatile herbs will serve most purposes. Always research any herb before burning or ingesting, especially if you are pregnant or have health conditions.
Before any magical working, grounding and protection are not optional — they are foundational. Grounding means connecting your energy to the earth, stabilizing yourself so you are working from a centered, rooted place rather than a scattered or depleted one. Visualize roots extending from your feet into the earth. Protection means establishing a clear energetic boundary around your working space and yourself. This can be as simple as calling in white light, casting a circle, burning protective herbs like rosemary or frankincense, or stating clearly: "Only that which is aligned with my highest good may enter this space."
The final and most spiritually advanced step of any working is release — surrendering attachment to the outcome. This is where most beginners struggle. After raising your energy, stating your intention, and directing your focus, you must let it go completely. Clinging, obsessing, and constantly checking for results actually blocks manifestation by feeding energy into doubt rather than trust. "Set it and forget it" is not passive — it's an active choice to trust that what you've planted is growing, even when you can't see it yet. The universe works in its own timing.
With magic, as with all power, comes responsibility. The most important ethical principle in most traditions is simple: do not use magic to override another person's free will. Love spells designed to force a specific person to love you, workings designed to harm or manipulate — these create energetic debt and almost always backfire. Instead, focus your workings on yourself: your own clarity, your own healing, your own opening to receive what is meant for you. There is more than enough magic available when you work in alignment with the highest good of all.
A Book of Shadows (BoS) is a witch's personal magical journal — a living record of your practice, your workings, your discoveries, and your growth. It is not a fixed rulebook passed down from above; it is something you build yourself, over time, through experience. No two Books of Shadows are alike. Yours reflects your path, your voice, and your magic. Below is a complete guide to starting yours from scratch.
The term "Book of Shadows" was popularized by Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca, in the mid-20th century — but the practice of keeping a magical journal is far older, found across virtually every magical tradition worldwide under different names: the grimoire in European ceremonial magic, the tao-te in Chinese alchemy, the ijala among Yoruba practitioners.
At its core, a BoS is a place where you record what you do, what you believe, what works, and what doesn't. It grows with you. A page you wrote as a beginner will look very different from one written five years into your practice — and both have value. The only requirement is that it is honest and it is yours.
Your BoS can be anything that feels sacred to you. Many practitioners use a beautiful hardcover journal or a three-ring binder (practical for adding pages and sections). Others keep a digital BoS in Notion, Obsidian, or even a private blog. Some keep both — a digital record for ease and a handwritten journal for ritual use.
Whatever you choose, make it feel special. Decorate the cover. Write your name on the inside. Consider dedicating it in a simple ritual — light a candle, hold the book, and state your intention for your practice. This act of consecration signals to your subconscious (and to the universe) that this is sacred space.
There is no single right way to organize a BoS. Below is a suggested structure for beginners — adapt it freely as your practice develops.
The habit of documenting every working is what separates practitioners who grow quickly from those who stay stuck. Write in your BoS immediately after any ritual or spell while the details are fresh. Over time, you will begin to see patterns — which moon phases produce the strongest results for you, which herbs resonate most with your energy, which types of workings you are naturally gifted at.
For each working, record at minimum: the date, the moon phase, your emotional state going in, the intention, what you did, and how you felt afterward. Then return to that entry days or weeks later and add a note about what manifested. This feedback loop is the foundation of genuine magical development.
Your BoS is a magical object in its own right. Treat it accordingly. Keep it in a dedicated space — wrapped in cloth, kept on your altar, or stored somewhere private and intentional. Many practitioners cleanse their BoS periodically with smoke, moonlight, or by placing a cleansing crystal on top of it overnight.
Decorate its pages. Press herbs between the leaves. Paste in images that represent your path. Write in your own hand whenever possible — the physical act of handwriting is itself a form of energy direction. Your BoS should feel, when you hold it, like a living piece of your magical self. Because it is.