Space Header. Natur. May 15, 1922.

Lord Frederic Leighton (British, 1830-1896) Helios and Rhodes, n.d. Helios fell in love with the sea nymph, Rhode, daughter of Poseidon, and they lived together on Rhodes as protector god and goddess, with Helios naming the island in her honour. They had seven sons, known collectively as the Heliadae, and a daughter, Electryone. Mycenaean Greeks and Minoans generally depicted women with pale or white skin and men with tanned skin. Male warriors like Odysseus were usually described as having sun-browned or bronzed skin.

Warding

I've covered warding recently in my protection post. But here I will go into more detail on what warding is, the most popular ways to ward and how to create them as well as when to know when a ward is no longer useful or has been broken. I will also go into baneful warding and what it is.

What is warding?

Warding is a form of defensive magick which acts as your first line of defense against negativity. Be this baneful magick from another practitioner or negative entities and general negative energy. There are multiple ways to ward with each practitioner warding differently to the other. Wards come in all shapes and forms, and there is no limit as to how much warding you should do, you protect yourself as you see fit.

What is baneful warding?

Baneful warding is a form of warding in which the negative that hits a ward gets sent back to its source. Baneful warding is seen as a more "advanced" form of magick, however not too advanced for a novice to do with the appropriate amount of research. Baneful warding can come in the same forms as normal warding would.

Warding jars

Perhaps one of the most common wardings on this post, warding jats usually contain ingredients charged with the intention of warding. These ingredients usually range from herbs to bodily fluids such as saliva or blood. These jars are either buried on the practitioners property, left above entryway, left on an altar, or are carried with the practitioner when they want protection on the go.

A warding jar might contain: ashes of a warding sigil, bodily fluids, herbs and plants, crystals, bones, warding or protection oils, spices, metals, glass shards etc. These jars are then sealed with black or white wax (or are sealed in any other way, with glue, tape or simply just with intention).

When a warding jar is broken, you might find the contents of the jar to become moldy, the jar shatters, the seal might break or the contents of the jar to go off, you also might feel that the jar no longer has its power. When this happens, if the jar is intact, break the seal and empty the contents into the bin/trash or return them back to the earth. You can then cleanse the jar with your preferred method of cleansing and reuse the jar for another ward or spell.

Talismans and symbols

Talismans are objects which are charged with the intention fo protection or warding. A well known example would be the Nazar, known to ward off the evil eye.

Symbols are used to represent something or represent an intention example would be the pentacle/pentagram, a well known protection symbol. Another example could by the Eye of Horus, a symbol used by the Ancient Egyptians for protection, health and restoration.

You can create your own talismans and symbols to aid in warding. These might be used to ward against a specific thing, or can be used as a general ward to all negativity.

A talisman or symbol might break or feel like they're no longer useful once theyve done thier job. If this time comes, you can simply dispose of the old one and create a new one.

Sigils

Sigils are created and can be programmed with any purpose necessary. May this be warding ot cursing, they can be used for almost any working.

Sigils can be burnt to activate them, with the ashes being used in spells to add extra power. Sigils can be put up around your house or around your room for warding. These sigils can look like anything, simply draw them with the intention of warding.

Crystals

Crystals can be placed above entryways or in windows to act as a ward. Crystals can also be added to spells to give a desired effect or worn as jewellery to act as warding or protection on the go.

Some examples are: black obsidian, black tourmaline, clear quartz, amethyst, hematite.

When a crystal ward has been broken, the crystal might shatter, or go missing. Or you may feel the crystals energy feels different than usual. With crystals you cam simply cleanse and recharge the crystals to be used again!

Spells

Warding spells can be as simple as a dressed candle, or can be a complex ritual. Warding spells differ from practitioner to practitioner. Similar to warding jars, these spells might include the use of herbs, bodily fluids, crystals, plants etc. The methods of creating a warding spell vary, as there is no one way to create one.

When a ward breaks down, you might feel the ward break, or if it does what is intended, you might feel something bounce off the ward. Depending on the negativity sent your way, the ways in which you might feel a warding spell break down vary, this could range from feeling sluggish or nauseous to downright feeling psychic attack. (Whenever this happens, please consult a doctor, mundane before magical. What you may feel is a magical occurrence could be explained by illness, so please consult a doctor of you feel this way constantly)

Warding is a great form of protection which is used very often in a persons practice. While not all practitioners use warding, this is just to inform you of the ways you can ward to keep yourself safe in your practice!

A neurodivergent witch's guide to starting a grimoire 🌿✨️

I remember when I was first starting out with building a grimoire and getting frustrated with how few resources there are on what a grimoire is supposed to be. I wanted clear directions and examples of what to include, but I mostly found YouTubers giving vague descriptions and repeating over and over again that it's extremely personal and private so they wouldn't say anything specific. As a neurodivergent person, it was very frustrating to try to figure out what to do from that. It took me a while to figure out what my own specifics were, so for any beginner witches out there, here are some specific ideas for starting off! Once you get more used to it, it'll get easier and easier to figure out what you do and don't want to include.

I'd recommend researching sigils and creating one to protect your grimoire; I placed mine on the second page after I dedicated the notebook for it, but you can put it wherever you feel like

Dates of moon cycles/information on how they affect your practice

Wheel of the year/sabbats if you celebrate them

Record rituals for sabbats if you choose to do anything for them, that way you have a reference for next year

Information on the elements- earth, air, fire, water, and/or spirit depending on your practice

Information on herbs or crystals you have- I like to print out pictures to include with the correspondences and leave space to write down specific things I use them for

Also, a quick reference list of ways you can care for individual crystals will be very helpful if you use them! Pay extra attention to which ones are sensitive to sun or water, it'll save you crystals later on

Basics of tarot, runes, or other divination methods

Color correspondences!

Information on zodiac signs; I printed out my star chart and put it in

When you do spellwork, write down everything you did and date it. Later you can come back and update whether it worked, what the effects were, and tweak it if necessary- basically treat it like a magic recipe book

A grimoire is not the same as a journal- if you want to write down personal reflections on meditation or your emotional experiences, I would suggest using a separate notebook for those things.

While I understand why people are so hesitant to show their grimoires, I have no qualms with showing a few pages for example purposes. However, I would suggest that you don't share anything that is personalized to your craft to others unless you can 100% guarantee that they won't cause you harm with it.

The only reason I'm ok with putting pictures on here is because they're full of basic information that anyone with Google could find and nothing that's specific to me.

With that being said, here are a few examples from my own grimoire as a reference!

"Elizabeth Barrett Browning from Aurora Leigh, 1856" - x

Herbal property charts 🌿

May Helios bless us all 💛🌻

Who wants to do witchcraft with me

Lord Apollo Devotional Post

Divination

Tarot/Oracle decks

Pendulums

Rune stones

Charm casting supplies

Crystal balls

Scrying bowls

All divination tools

Cookie fortunes

Tea leaves

Art

Paint brushes/paints

Canvases

Colored pencils/markers/crayons

Collages

Journals

Art books

Art prints

Anything you made

Sculptures 

Zines

Stickers

Any art supplies

Music

Music boxes

Records/CDs/Cassettes

Record players/radios/MP3 etc.

Headphones

Music posters

Band merch

Instruments/String instruments

Dance shoes

Concert tickets

CD book holders

Sun and Light

Sun imagery

Sunscreen

Aloe for sunburns

Golden objects

Matches

Candles

Sunflowers/sunflower seeds

Health and Healing

First aid kits

Medicine

Pain relievers

Band-aids

Ice/heat packs

Rice socks 

Masks

Aloe

Ambulance toy cars

Adaptive aids

Archery 

Darts

Bow and arrows

Arrow quiver

Dart board

Targets 

Bullseye 

Myth Related

Snake skins

Snake imagery (Python)

Laurels

Bay leaves (Daphne)

Palm trees (Birth myth)

Ravens/Crows 

Crow feathers (Why the crow is black)

Cattle/turtles (Hermes birth myth)

Swans (Pulled His chariot)

Hyacinths (Hyacinthus)

Locks of hair 

Food

Vanilla

Honey

Sunny D

Lemons/lemon juice

Oranges/orange juice

Citrus

Water

Devotional Acts

Health

Take your meds

Go to therapy

Exercise

Wear a mask (We are still in a pandemic y’all)

Get vaccinated

Get STI tested

Self care

Learn first aid/CPR

Keep a first aid kit at home/in your car

Learn about alternative medicine

Advocate for accessible healthcare

Advocate for disability rights

Volunteer at a hospital

Give blood/plasma

Volunteer at a retirement home

Learn about anatomy/biology/nutrition

Learn about health conditions/rare disorders

Eat healthy for your body

Help fund surgeries if you can

Trip sit for someone

Listen to your body

Sunlight

Sunbathe

Wear sunscreen

Start a garden

Make sun water

Open all the windows on a sunny day

Music

Go to a concert/show

Listen to music

Make a playlist for someone you love

Make a playlist for Apollo

Learn an instrument/play and instrument

Dance

Sing

Support local bands

Explore new music

Burn CDs

Divination/Prophecy

Daily tarot card/rune stones

Make an oracle deck

Give divination readings

Shadow work

Colormancy

Art

Make something

Draw/paint/craft

Write a poem/story

Color

Make a zine

Go see a play

Get a tattoo

Archery

Throw darts

Use a slingshot

Take up archery

Go to a shooting range

Hymns created for the gods - Hekate #1

I

Under the starry sky,

I find myself at the crossroads,

The moon greets me as a friend,

With its illuminating glow,

Under that white beam I find,

An ever-blazing torch held three-fold,

With a stern gaze, soul piercing touch,

Held tight as a bright light guides the way,

Obsidian pebbles mark the path,

To where I let go and create,

And as the air fills with lavender and myrrh,

As dandelions make their way from the underworld,

As I place garlic upon the threshold,

And walk through the gates,

To which the keyholder granted me access,

Knowing I am protected.

Hail Hekate!

Hail Hekate!

Hail Hekate!

Enchanted rose water