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Many magical practitioners choose to work with deities, gods and goddesses who can aid in myriad ways. Here, Everyday Witch's Book of Deities author Deborah Blake presents five of her most favorite deities with whom to work. Investigate their many sides, and see if there is an aspect to one or more of these five gods and goddesses that appeals to you, too.

There is a particular kind of guilt that settles in when you realize you haven't touched your tarot deck for a while. Sometimes it's a few weeks. Sometimes it's long enough that dust gathers on the box. So, if you're now ready to step back into a deep and meaningful relationship with the tarot, where do you begin? Here, The Tarot of You author Dawn Michelle offers some practical approaches to help you return to the cards.

Greek Easter is one of the most significant holy celebrations within the Orthodox faith. The interesting thing is that it’s infused with much folk magic due to its roots being a blend of ancient spring rituals which are superimposed with christian beliefs.

The focus of this time due to the spring season of the northern hemisphere is about fertility, purification and protection. Certain practices are enacted to ensure luck, protection and fertility of the land and its people.

In my home growing up there were many traditional celebrations mixed with folk magick which I still engage with (even though I do not follow the orthodox faith) due to finding it magically powerful and the energy quite potent (even with the season here in the southern hemisphere being autumn).

Greek Easter 2026 Dates

• Palm Sunday (Vaion): April 5, 2026
• Good Friday (Megali Paraskevi): April 10, 2026 (Day of mourning, epitaph processions)
• Holy Saturday (Megalo Savvato): April 11, 2026 (Midnight Resurrection service)
• Easter Sunday (Pascha): April 12, 2026 (Feasting and celebration)
• Easter Monday: April 13, 2026 

Below I have broken down the significant days and how I connect to the energetic current and work with them in a modern magical context:

THURSDAY

I like to magically engage with this energy by dying eggs the traditional way and using the influence of my mother’s herbalist nature by making herbal and floral stamped eggs in elemental colours. These are typically made on the Thursday before the Easter weekend. Then on Easter Sunday they are cracked for luck. I also offer the first dyed egg to my ancestors and keep it on their shrine to banish evil energies and promote protection. Red symbolises rebirth and is the primary colour used yet I sometimes make eggs in the colours of the elements such as green, blue, yellow and orange.

You can make your own coloured eggs with the following directions:

1. To dye eggs with herbs, flowers or leaves – stick a lightly damp herb (dill, parsley, coriander), leaf (rose) or flowers (marigold, daisies) onto a raw egg.
2. Wrap and secure it with small piece of pantyhose and tie off the ends, ensuring the pantyhose is tight and the botanical is flat against the shell of the egg.
3. Simmer the eggs with at least 2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar with some dye* until they are hard boiled (10-12 mins) ensuring they don’t crack. You can let them sit in the coloured water and let them cool for a more deeper colour.
4. Remove from the dye water and dry off the eggs. Remove the pantyhose and herb, revealing the design.
5. Polish with a little bit of olive oil to create a nice sheen.
   
   *You can use natural dyes such as onion skins or turmeric for yellow, saffron for orange and red cabbage for blue or alternatively you can purchase various coloured dyes from Greek continental deli’s/stores or the international section in supermarkets.

FRIDAY

I like to connect to this magical current yet make it my own by energetically cleansing my home by creating my own holy water which is infused with florals (very reminiscent of the holy water the priest uses to bless the congregation). I also offer flowers and herbs from my garden to my ancestors and decorate their shrine whilst singing hymns to them or reciting their names.

You can make your own floral water using the following directions:

1. Place a heat resistant bowl inside a large soup style pot.
2. Take fresh rose/calendula petals or elderflower/lavender/chamomile/rose geranium/orange blossom flowers that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides and place around bowl (I suggest using one botanical per batch.)
3. Pour just enough distilled water on the petals or flowers to cover them.
4. Place pot lid on upside down (handle pointing towards bowl).
5. Simmer on low for 20-30 mins.
6. Steam will condense on the lid and drip the pure floral water into the bowl.
7. Store what is in the bowl in a sterilised glass bottle or jar and keep refrigerated.

SATURDAY

On Saturday morning I break a clay pot outside my home which symbolises smashing evil and breaking with past negativity.

Pots can be personalised by making hand made pots (such as a simple pinch pot which involves pushing your thumb into a ball of clay after flatting the bottom and pinching the walls to thin them out whilst rotating the ball to create a small bowl) with air dry clay and once dry – painting them with magical symbols using water based paint. If you want a shortcut you can simply purchase a handmade ceramic or terracotta bowl from a thrift store and repurpose it.

On Saturday night to protect my home and bless it, I create equal armed crosses on the main thresholds (top of the door frame) of the house with the smoke from my own holy flame candles (similar to the way the holy flame that is brought from the church to the home). This is traditionally done on Saturday at midnight with lampades (adorned candles).

The way I make holy flame candles is I make candles from beeswax which I roll from sheets of beeswax and anoint with magical symbols (like an equal armed cross for protection) using a dab of olive oil. Alternatively I sometimes pour candles into molds using beeswax or containers using soy wax which is infused with essential oils such as orange blossom or lemon. Once these candles are set and dried I adorn them with embellishments such as some herbal sprigs tied in the middle with a simple cord of twine or string (red/black or a neutral colour).

SUNDAY

Greeks are all about feasting and I like to replicate some of the traditional foods made and give them my own magical twist. My favourite being a knotted bread called a Tsoureki (which is basically a sweet brioche type bread). I like to recite a spell as I knot the dough which infuses it with an enchantment of cleansing, protection and blessings.

I also take my dyed eggs and with another person tap our eggs together which is a ritual of renewal and luck – the person whose egg remains un-cracked is said to have good luck for the year.

Lastly dancing is also something which can bring in transformative and regenerative energies as traditional easter dances are spiral in nature and represent the spring mysteries of desert and return, as well as a snake shedding its skin. So I encourage you to stamp your feet and move your body to bring in renewed energy and stamp out the old.

So I encourage you to feel free to adapt any of the above to your personal practice and harness the energy of this time of the year, which in its essence is connected to Ancient Greek spring rites and folk magick.

In her name

Setjataset

(C) T. Georgitsis 2026

Shadow work continues to become increasingly popular, and for good reasons! Acknowledging and coming to terms with the shadow, in all of its countless forms, allows us to develop a more complete picture of ourselves and the world around us. In this article, Shadow Magick Spellbook author Raven Digitalis presents 10 tips for successful shadow magick.

One early afternoon I went out for lunch to run some errands and a co-worker asked me how the weather was upon my return. I informed her it was sunny and humid but that it would most probably rain in an hour or so because of the natural signs I was seeing.  This co-worker asked me how I knew and I shared that my mother had taught me how to read the signs of nature.  This was done through various signs perceived through things such as smells, sunset/sunrise colours, clouds, sounds of insects/animals (just to name a few) in order to predict the weather.  Due to my mother coming from a farming family in a small rural village, this was second nature to her and her family, which helped them to be in tune with the seasons. This co-worker nodded in agreement with me and shared that she had experienced something similar through her family and within an hour and a half, it did indeed rain.

When my mother was teaching me magick as part of my normal everyday life, I didn’t realise how much impact it had on me as an individual and how much it would shape my practice.  I have vivid memories of the two of us sitting on a beach watching the sunset where she would explain how that particular sunset was signalling the next day’s weather – which always came out the way she predicted.  A lot of the magick she taught me was in this vein, like when I had my first headache as a child where she took me into the garden and showed me what herbs to pick and how to brew a tea to drink in order to get rid of it.  We’d be outside watching the full moon and she’d teach me how to sing to it which in hindsight turned out to be a spell/affirmation and although I was always an observant child who dutifully obeyed my mother because we were very close – I just went along with it as I just thought it was normal.  I never knew her connection to nature as well as the deep love and practice of spirituality and magick and sharing it with me wasn’t the standard for everyone else .  Therefore when I gregariously announced that I was going to be a witch when I grew up at the age of 5 after reading “Meg and Mog” I couldn’t comprehend the laughter from the other children around me.  Suffice to say I did learn the lesson of keeping silent and not speaking about what I learned publicly afterwards unless I was with like-minded people.

I feel when we are more connected to nature and the cycle of things we are more in tune with the magick around us. I’ve seen more magick performed by locals at a small rural Greek village seasonal festival than in some huge elaborate staged festivals and I ascribe that to the fact that the former was more in tune with nature and the cycle of the seasons. The one seasonal celebration still held in my maternal grandmother’s village in autumn is my favourite as it involves jumping over three fires in a row as a way to cleanse the body and soul and bring in health, prosperity and success. It’s also a way to mark the end of summer and rid oneself of any evil.  After the last harvest occurs in the village, everyone goes down to the fields and collects the stalks of wheat straw and place bundles of them upon the road before their homes, schools, town buildings and even churches.  They build three bundles of straw in succession of each other and as the sun sets they are lit and jumped, sung and danced over.   Everyone participates and if you take a walk through the streets you can see these fires set up every so often and the best and biggest is always in the town square – the central focal point of the village and where many celebrations occur throughout the year.  Some of the boys and men build huge roaring fires and have competitions to see who can jump the highest. The winner of this competition is deemed to have the best luck for the rest of the year.   This practice amongst a few others are still happening to this day even if the village population is dwindling – their devotion to the old traditions isn’t.

This practice held during autumn could possibly have connections to the Hellenic festival of Anastenaria or Nestinarstvo which originated in Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria where participants walked barefoot through fire (over coals) as part of a celebration in honour of St Helen and Constantine.  This tradition is believed to be a mixture of orthodox Christianity mixed with the local pagan celebrations as was the custom for locals to adapt their celebrations to preserve them.

Here in Melbourne, Australia, I can always tell the changes of the season by observing my garden and the creatures who frequent it.  The smell of the season has changed and certain pollens are in abundance therefore certain tree/herbs/flowers are blossoming.  Observing the land around me, the earth is beginning to slowly withdraw its greenery in favour of the rich brown colours of the earth.  The sun is winding down its effect as we are brought close to the darkness of winter.  To celebrate this time of year whilst still honouring my Hellenic roots I have developed my own Hellenic purification ritual which can be performed before a fireplace, fire-pit, oil lamp or even a candle to symbolise cleansing and purification.

As Hekate’s priestess and devotee I have updated the ritual I first wrote in honour of Hestia and re-adapted it to Hekate who also is considered a deity of hearth and home.  Also with the continuing issue of Coronavirus sweeping the world currently, I have also added and emphasised the purification aspect of the ritual for heightened protection.

 

Purification Ritual to Hekate – (C) Setjataset 2020

Preparation:

Purify body by showering or washing head, hands and feet.

Set up shrine with water, wine/juice, salt, bread/crackers, olive oil, incense, barley and an oil lamp/candle before an image of Hekate.

Ritual:

Wash your hands in Khernips before assembling your ritual items, whilst saying:

“Αφήστε όλα αυτά που είναι βλαβερά να φύγουν!” (Let all that is profane be gone!)

Throw a few seeds of barley onto the shrine whilst saying:

“Xerniptosai!” (be purified!)

Light the oil lamp/candle and repeat the following hymn to Hekate:

“I make the offer of light to you

Great and Blessed Hekate

Goddess of hearth and home

I offer my shrine for purification

I offer my home for purification

I offer myself for purification

Be welcome with me

Bless me with your love”

Pour libation of wine/juice in Hekate’s name.

Make offering of bread/crackers and olive oil and light the incense in Hekate’s name pushing the smoke towards you three times.

Mix some salt with the water and sprinkle the mixture three times upon the shrine and on yourself and state:

“Come Come Come

Great Goddess Hekate  

Burn Burn Burn

Away all that is miasma  

Move Move Move

It far away from me, my loved ones and my home”

Spend some time in quiet contemplation and visualise yourself, your home and your loved  ones being purified.  You can also think of what you need to purify in your life – are there any obstacles which you need to remove or let go or habits you need to move past? Focus on these and make some changes in your life by actively working on them.

Thank Hekate and farewell her.

You may keep the shrine and refresh offerings as required, remembering to keep it clean.

*Miasma = aura of uncleanliness which lingers with respects to a person and their surroundings.

(C) T. Georgitsis 2018, Updated 2020

In the old Highland folkcraft ways, magickal protection arose from deep knowing and ancestral remembrance, from standing as one with the land as kith and kin, held in right relationship with the genius loci. Here, the Highland Seer and Shield, Ward, Bind, and Banish author Barbara Meiklejohn-Free discusses how to connect with the land for powerful magickal and psychic protection.

No one has more reason to hate AI than me. It has cost me two jobs and made my life difficult. However, I am also a user of it magically and otherwise. This has put me at odds with those who are trying to rationalise their terror of technology as magic or other issues. In most cases, showing ignorance of how it works and its impact.

The technology, as it exists now, however clever, is like an autocorrect. It uses existing data to guess what the next line in the word should be and checks it for context.  It cannot develop new occult material or leak “secrets” that are not already there. If you are seeing oath-breaking material coming from your AI, it is because someone else has already discovered it and broken it by putting it on the Internet (you could find the information by Googling).

AI can be used to create occult essays for your group texts, but if you do that, you are missing the point of what this exercise is supposed to be doing (memory retention, etc.) and are failing in your magical path.  While it was not due to AI, MOAA insists that people write out their course materials and tests by hand.

Other fear-based allegations are based on the use of AI to “replace creativity” and put creative people out of work. AI has limits on images and depends on the imagination of those using it.  If I use it to create a cartoon, the sense of humour remains mine; if I use it to create a painting, it must still be relevant to my needs.  In several of my books, I have used the Golden Dawn’s magical image system to create more realistic magical images. These are far more useful to my readers than the rough cartoons drawn by the original Golden Dawn.

Those who complain that AI is killing the jobs of creative people often have never bought a painting, commissioned an illustration, or had a library of unread pirated PDFs or music on their computer. Those who complain that AI datacentres are taking all the water and electricity away are doing so through a Facebook and Google datacentre. They were not complaining when local journalism died because advertising was cheaper on the Internet. Neither did they worry when a lack of advertising killed off the trade press. The fear of losing creativity only exists because technology is involved.

I should point out that AI cannot replace good writing, artwork or design. While useful, it averages everything.  It turns shit writers into even shittier writers spitting out information in the same way as each other. No amount of AI can match a magical or creative experience.

Fear is failure, and fear of AI will result in failure. Humanity is going in that direction no matter what, so the choice is to adapt or fall behind.  I recommend this article for those who want to think some more about this https://substack.com/home/post/p-186363686

The post AI does not mean the death of creativity appeared first on Nick Farrell's Magical Blog.

The Autumnal Equinox is the second harvest festival in the Southern Hemisphere calendar which is a vernal equinox meaning the hours of the day and night are approximately the same length. This year it falls on the March 22nd 2026 at 11.46pm astrologically. Gods such as Pamona, the Green Man, Bachus, Dionysus, Artemis, Carpo, Hestia, Persephone, Demeter and Hekate can all be honoured during this time of year.

My mother was a wildcrafter and I have very distinct memories of her taking me foraging during this time of year. We would forage for various herbs, plants, nuts and flowers.  The area I grew up in was surrounded by farmland and so there was a plethora of nature’s gifts to be found and used.  On occasion we would also take day trips to forage seasonally. 

I like to take long walks and see the changing of the leaves (yes I am one of those people) and I do this locally as well as around my beautiful state. I also go out foraging during this time of year and I have engaged in various foraging expeditions and would recommend the following books for those living in Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) to assist you as you need to be VERY careful with what you collect and use (and if in doubt leave it be and don’t risk poisoning yourself):

• The Weed Forager’s Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb and Annie Raser Rowland.
  
• Wild Food Plants of Australia Paperback by Tim Low.
  

I feel that Demeter resonates with this time of the year.  This is the time when Demeter withdraws her creative powers from the earth as Persephone descends into the underworld. I also feel that Hekate also resonates with this time of year especially since its a liminal time – a day of equal day and night and Hekate’s ability to dwell within those times.

I personally like to honour Demeter as well as Hekate during this time and make offerings of wine, grapes, bread, grains: corn, oats and barley, nuts, acorns, apples, pomegranates, onions, poppies, mushrooms, dandelions, nettles, marrow, chickweed, black berries, oak leaves, vine leaves and herbal teas.

I also like to cook with seasonal foods and for Hekate and Demeter I like to bake and offer Cheese Garlic and Thyme Bread , Garlic and Saffron Risotto  (I substitute the rice for barley and the butter for Nuttlex) and Apple Tea Cake (I substitute milk with soy/almond/oat milk and butter with Nuttlex).

Some things you can do yourself to honour and mark the Autumn Equinox can be:

1. Rituals and spells involving balance within or outside of yourself such as removing an addiction and replacing it with a healthy lifestyle change.
   
   
2. Rituals and spells involving mourning something lost – to be able to better accept this loss.
   
   
3. Honouring the dual nature of life and accepting its beauty.  This includes honouring the darkness and the light as both are equally as important.
   
   
4. Prepare food for the God/s you honour during this time and thank them for their gifts.
   
   
5. Cleanse and purify your home and garden.
   
   
6. Gardening such as blessing and sowing autumnal seeds specific to your region and/or fertilising and turning the earth.
   
   
7. Go foraging with friends (ensuring you are very careful and don’t collect anything poisonous or which has been sprayed with chemicals) or alternatively book a local guided wild forager tour (such as mushroom or herbs/plants) or go apple picking at a local orchard.
   
   
8. Like Demeter go for a wander – take a long walk in the woods or somewhere where you feel close to the gods and spirits of your local land.
   
   

As is my style, I like to craft during this time of year making abundance pouches which I fill with various items which symbolises abundance to me, along with cleansing washes, blessing oils, and seasonal God/dess incense.

I would like to share with you a Hekate Incense I came up with which I love and resonates with this time of year and which I urge you to try your hand at making:

Hekate’s Autumnal Incense by Setjtaset

1 Part Dehydrated (or oven dried) Apple Peel

1 Part Dehydrated (or oven dried) Pomegranate Peel

1 Part Pine Resin

1-3 Sprinkle of Cinnamon (or crushed cinnamon stick).

Since I love to perform rituals to honour Hekate, I like to mark the date with a ritual in her name.  Here is a hymn I wrote to Demeter and Hekate for my devotional rites which I would also like to share with you:

Autumnal Hymn to Demeter and Hekate by Setjataset

“Great Goddess Demeter

I thank you for your bounty

You who separates the chaff from the grain

I pray to you so that my life be full of boons

Madam of the Sacred Law

Encourage and protect me as I work its mysteries“

“Great Goddess Hekate

I thank you for your guidance

You who perceives the cycles of life and death

I pray to you so that my life be full of blessings

Madam of Magick

Encourage and protect me as I walk its path” 

So work your magick this equinox and engage in some activities which can bring you in closer connection to your Gods and the cycle of the earth.

(c) T. Georgitsis 2021 Updated 2026

Magical powders use some of the most adaptable materials and are one of the most adaptable practices in magic. They can be used by themselves in a spell (by being sprinkled or dusted around an area, rubbed onto or around a candle, and used as a filling in container magic), or used in a more complex spell as an added ingredient. Here, Powerful Powders author Charity L. Bedell presents an introductory guide to working with magical powders—including correspondence examples, simple single powder spells, and magical powder blends.

What, When and Why of the Lunar Eclipse

We have a lunar eclipse coming up on the 2nd – 4th March 2026. 

A lunar eclipse which is often called a Blood Moon, happens during a full moon when the earth’s placement falls between the sun and the moon – which casts a shadow across the moon. 

This lunar eclipse will be visible in Eastern Australia and New Zealand, Western North America and Northern Japan.  A partial lunar eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and the Pacific.

You will be able to view this lunar eclipse safely with the naked eye.

To see if you can view the lunar eclipse from your area, go here for more information:

How to see total lunar eclipse March 2026

For exact timings of the lunar eclipse go here for more information:

Date and Time of Lunar Eclipse 2026

Magick of the Lunar Eclipse

Eclipse magick is when the energy is amplified due to the moon energies intermingling.  The Lunar Eclipse energies transition through the new and full moon phases during the eclipse, which enables the moon to cycle through the various stages of the moon and its magick.

This total eclipse is in Virgo* therefore the energies heightened during this time is the Virgo star sign.

The kind of magick you can perform during the lunar eclipse:

• Liminal – magick worked between the darkness and the light.
• Cleansing – with relation to body, mind, spirit and emotions.
• Releasing – energy which is chaotic and destructive.
• Raising – energy which is grounded through movement.
• Working – on the shadow self.
• Manifestation – reveal that which is hidden.
• Protection – against curses, bad habits, bad relationships and untoward connections.
• Devotion – to lunar or liminal Gods and Goddess.
• Intention – mundane and spiritual development which needs illumination.
• Reduction – magick which can reduce a situation, habit or thing.
• Banishment – removal of obstacles which have been hindering you.
• Transformation – of self or situations you are involved in.
• Veneration – of the blood bound ancestors.
• Revelation – of what we need to complete or move on from.

Sorcery of the Lunar Eclipse

This Virgo moon will be very empowering and will motivate us to embrace that aspect of ourselves.  It will pull us towards the way we have been drawn towards for a while, however it will feel somewhat unexpected.  This is due to hidden desires being able to be fully felt and acknowledged, connecting us and enabling them to be seen and manifested.  It will also allow us to seise our personal fire found within our souls to deeply explore these desires and make them a reality.

Since *Virgo is an earth sign it’s a great time to work with this element.

Below I have outlined an easily adapted ritual you can perform in any tradition you resonate to, with the guidance of Hekate which works with the energies of this moon:

Hekate Eclipse Magick by Setjataset

Preparation:

Chose a liminal time and place for the ritual to be set, preferably around the time of the eclipse.

Purify body by showering.

Your working space and offering should be placed on a shrine or working altar and should include: a bowl of earth (or sand), black candle, red candle, purified water, salt, a token or offering you have for Hekate, incense and an image/statue of Hekate.

Welcoming and Opening

Open sacred space or the shrine/altar and welcome Hekate by simply calling to her or reciting a hymn, poem, evocation in her name.

Light your incense and waft over sacred space.

Sprinkle purified salted water mixed with salt over sacred space.

Magical Working

Write or carve on a black candle what personal hindrance you want to move on from.

Write or carve on a red candle what personal desire you want to manifest.

If so desired anoint both candles. Use an oil such as Abramelin oil or something simple such as olive oil. You can also use one of the Oils For Hekate from the list I have compiled previously used in her devotion.  If you have no oil, use your own saliva.  Sprinkle a bit of the earth on each of the candles over the oil/saliva to earth them.

Light both candles.

Push the black candle away from you and the red candle towards you and then say:

“Hekate Queen of Earth, Sky and Sea

Assist me to straddle this liminal time

Guide me through the Darkness and into the Light

With the power of the moon I bless and release my intentions” 

Let the candles burn down completely in a safe manner.

Thanks and Closing

Thank Hekate and close sacred space or the shrine/altar.

Ritual is now complete and any grounding work can take place.

Do not speak about your working until it has manifested.

*Virgo is an earth sign which is ruled by Mercury. It is a sign which can appear very meticulous and analytical yet is very compassionate and loyal.  Virgo energy is very intellectual and incredibly focused.

In her name

Setjataset

(C) T. Georgitsis 2022 (Updated 2026).

The best way to build your Tarot reading skills is, of course, through practice, but often that's easier said than done. One way to build skills and foster community is through in-person gatherings. In this article, Tarot by Tempest author Laura Tempest Zakroff illustrates how she has set up some of her Tarot Team-Up events so that you, too, can bring this idea to your own backyard.

One of the most revered creatures among Slavs past and present is the bear. As a helping spirit, Tetka, or "Auntie" Bear, brings us the blessings of healing, renewal, and fertility from the Underworld/Otherworld. In this article, Slava! author Anna Uroševic Applegate presents a guided meditation to connect with Tetka for help and healing.

My mother who practiced magick was heavily influenced by the hearth where many of her lessons took place. Both when she was dispensing the knowledge as well as partaking of them herself. It is where I was taught how to make many traditional Greek village recipes – for daily consumption, festivals, special occasions and as offerings to the ancestors. I would watch my mother for hours toiling over recipes where she would make me repeat and recite specific instructions, enabling me to memorise the little intricacies of her creations which made them unique.

In my family, many Greek recipes have been passed down throughout the years. Many were passed down orally, as their secrets were preserved in their minds – not on paper. However due to me wanting to keep them from vanishing, due to the passages of time, I started keeping a recipe book which I consider a food crafting grimoire aka my book of recipes. To this collection of recipes, I have also added my own creations which I have made in honour of my Gods, Spirits and Ancestors for various festivals, moon and seasonal cycles as well as specific magical workings.

For me, I personally feel a recipe book is a type of magical grimoire. Recipes like magic take preparation and certain steps are involved in executing them to fruition. Recipes like spells can be forgotten if they aren’t passed on or shared with others and due to not wanting to lose them, I ensure I write down detailed notes on said recipes within my food craft grimoire and on occasion share them with others.

Creating a food crafting grimoire is as easy as keeping a notebook and pen in the kitchen, where you can note down successful recipes you have connected with. Personally I keep both a handwritten note book with my recipes as well as a display book where I add my typed out recipes which I have printed out. I find it useful to make adjustments to recipe instructions by way of making handwritten notes when the need arises. I’m always fine tuning recipes, therefore keeping a good crafting grimoire is a a good way to keep track of what works and what doesn’t. Also these grimoires have been created with sections indexed for easily sourcing specific recipes, as well as both being decorated to reflect my own personal style. Today it’s also quite simple to create a virtual food craft grimoire using tools from blogs to software programs which can be viewed on electronic devices and then printed, filed or transformed into hard copy bound copies, which I have also done.

I like to magically add a little energetic charge to my food crafting grimoire by reciting a magical blessing for it. I created this blessing using the elements and the things I use in the kitchen, which also resonate with these elements. This blessing can be used on a Full, New or Waxing moon or on a harvest focused sabbath.

You can also evoke a God or ancestor such as Hestia who rules over the hearth, Circe who was well skilled in the transformational culinary arts or Hekate whom you can make regular offerings to on her Deipnon and Noumenia in the form of the recipes you have made. Alternatively you can substitute one of your patron God/dess before the magickal working below on their shrine or altar.

Food Crafting Grimoire Blessing by Setjataset

Preparation

Your magickal space should be created and placed on a dedicated shrine or working altar and should include:

• Note Book embellished with your own decorations to reflect your style
• Rock Salt
• Olive Oil
• Rose or Orange Water
• Bundle of Herbs
  

Magical Working

Take some salt and sprinkle it over your book in a circle and say:

“Protect this grimoire and ground it in the energies of sustenance, healing and prosperity”

Take some olive oil with your index finger and draw circle over your book and say:

“Energise this grimoire and may it fan the flames of creativity within my heart and hearth”

Take some rose or orange water and with your index finger and draw circle over your book and say:

“Purify this grimoire and may it bless the recipes and those who work with its words of wisdom”

Take a bundle of your favourite herbs and draw a circle over your book and say:

“Inspire this grimoire to create the desire to manifest my ideas into reality”

Place your hands up to the sky and then make a sweeping motion down onto your book and lean down and blow a breath over it and say:

“I imbue this grimoire with the blessings of my ancestors and deity – may it always bring health, happiness and wholeness to those who peruse and partake from its pages”

After the Blessing

Place the grimoire in your kitchen with a writing instrument to add or make notes whenever your are preparing recipes for offerings or festival, seasonal, moon or magickal celebrations.

In her name

Setjataset

(C) T. Georgitsis 2013, Updated 2026

By cooking with intention throughout the moon's phases, you are tapping into something ancient, adding another layer to the universal energy we all use. In this article, Manifesting by the Moon author Jen Sankey offers themes, a manifestation focus, color and food correspondences, a mindset ritual, a suggested recipe, an affirmation, and a magical body awareness practice for each phase of the moon to help you manifest your best life.

Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first autumn festival in the Southern Hemisphere calendar. This year Lammas falls on the 1st of February at 4.45am. Gods such as Lugh, Mercury, Dagon, Demeter, Ceridwen, Ceres, Brigid and Dionysus can be honoured during this time of year. Historically it’s a Celtic festival which celebrates the First Harvest of the Fruits such as apples, grapes, tomatoes, peaches, plums but also celebrates the harvest of the first grain, wheat, oats and corn. Therefore traditionally the fruit gathered is made into preserves and the grains and corn made into bread or cakes.

I was introduced to this festival when I studied Wicca back in my teens and then was exposed to a celebration of it when I was in my first Wiccan coven in my early 20’s.  We would make corn dollies, bread and cakes and share it with one another.

I grew up with an immigrant Greek family and during this time of year they would make large stores of Passata due to it being used so often in their cooking. My father also made home-made moonshine using whatever was abundant and in season as well as his own wine and beer. My mother made Pita from home grown spinach and/or horta (wild grass) and fennel, stuffed vine leaves and also various Greek shortbreads and cakes.  They would both share what they made with family and friends as it was common practice where they grew up and brought that tradition here to Australia when they immigrated.

These days I continue a version of their traditions as I infuse store bought wine with homegrown Greek herbs, make passata from the tomatoes out of my garden, as well as bake traditional Greek village bread and Greek biscuits using organic ingredients. I have also used this time for years to make plum jam from my garden’s Victorian heirloom organic plums (due to the trees originally being part of a farm in the area before it was sub-divided into housing).  These items created from the seasonal harvest are offered to my Gods, Ancestors and loved ones where appropriate.

Due to been heavily influenced by the way I was raised, my rituals are a mix of honouring my personal Gods, ancestors and also honouring the land I live on.  I see this as a perfect blend of personal devotion as someone who works with the Gods, local spirits and venerates her ancestors in a modern way.  I don’t have any strong connection to the God Lugh, typically honoured during this time of year, so I personally use it as a harvest festival and honour my household Gods: Hekate with a libation set aside to Hestia. Other Gods which I have honoured during his time include Persephone, Demeter, Mercury and Apollo.

If like me if you honour any of the above Gods, you can make Greek shortbread or cheesecake for Hekate, pomegranate infused cakes or salads for Persephone, honey or sesame biscuits for Demeter, home-made wine for Mercury and home-made beer for Apollo.

It’s also a good time to make and dedicate devotional items you have crafted yourself over the summer. I tend to make and dedicate items to specific Gods utilising items from my garden due to it resonating with the vibe of the season and festival. Growing a lot of herbs, the ones which are in season, I collect preserve and store them for future use in Hekate’s name for various magical purposes.  I also collect resin, bark, leaves and branches from some of my trees to be used in items such as incense, waters, oils and magical tools.

I feel magically used crafts such as candles and incense are perfect to infuse with the energies of the season especially if we are able to harness these energies and channel them into the items.  I also tend to make preserves which I use in offerings thorough the remainder of the year

Also I personally feel that it is a good time to acknowledge the ancestors and leave them some food offerings as a form of ancestor veneration. I usually leave some food they liked in life such as kalamata olives, feta, stuffed vine leaves my mother taught me to make along with some Greek coffee which I can scry and divine with.

So even though the Hekate and Ancestral traditions of spirituality and magick I work, doesn’t sound like it fits exactly within the Lammas/Lughnasadh festival – I make it work for me and you can too as the most important thing I feel is devotion and dedication to your path whatever form that takes.

Seasonal Planting Guide:

Vegetables such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, fennel, kale, leek, lettuce, potato, silverbeet, spring onion, sweet corn, brussel sprouts, beetroot, carrot, parsnip, radish, rocket and mustard greens.

Herbs such as basil, sage, oregano, chives, parsley and thyme.

Flowers such as ageratum, alyssum, cleome, cyclamen, French marigold, gypsophila, Iceland poppy, lobelia, lupin, nigella, pansy, polyanthus, primula and verbena.

Some things you can do to honour and mark this time of year in your personal practice (or with a group of likeminded individuals) can be:

1. Feast with loved ones.  Make food usually consumed during this time and partake or share with loved ones, as well as leave as offerings to your gods or gods of the season, land spirits and ancestors. It’s the perfect time for baking and anything which can be shared and is seasonal.
   
2. Bake bread and offer the first loaf to the Gods of the season.  You can also take a loaf and cut it into quarters and place those quarters in each corner of your residence to bring good luck and prosperity.
   
3. Harvest herbs, flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables and create a shrine or altar in celebration of the season.
   
4. Rituals or spells involving gratitude, abundance, prosperity, luck and work.
   
5. Trade or swap handmade items with loved ones.
   
6. Make corn dollies or garlands of flowers or herbs.
   
7. Dance or drum to raise energy and direct it into the earth.
   
8. Write poetry or creative writing which could contain themes of the time of year.
   
9. Visit a holy well and make offerings of flowers, cloth or coins and then circle the well clockwise for health and wealth blessings from the Gods.
   
10. Leave grain and seeds which are safe for local birds and wildlife as offerings.
    
11. Spend some time tending to your garden or indoor pots.
    
12. Light a sacred fire in your fireplace or a bonfire in your backyard.
    
13. Revamp your shrine or altar with the colours of the festival (Orange, Red, Yellow, Gold, Brown and Bronze) and adorn it with wheat, corn, applies and produce of the season (herbs, fruits, flowers and vegetables).

So work your magick this festive season, honour and celebrate the harvest and ask for what you want to be prosperous, abundant and full of good fortune in your life.

(C) T. Georgitsis 2024

 

 

 

 

The element of Spirit is sometimes called the fifth element (with the other classic magical elements being Earth, Air, Fire, and Water). Connecting with Spirit as an element of life really isn't that difficult, because Spirit is literally all around us, all of the time. Here, Spirit Magic author Phoenix LeFae presents some fun ways to help you tap into the power of Spirit and feel more connected to it.

Moon magick is a practice I strongly resonate with. I love to create and venerate with the various phases of moon.  I love to engage in the moon’s ebbs and flows where I can move with the energies and enact rites with and for my Gods and Ancestors.  Regardless of what path I practice, regardless of what sorcery I perform, the moon is my guide through it all – a guiding presence for my workings.

This year we have various unique moons coming up where you can practice your full and new moon rituals and spell-work with added punch due to the added significance of these moons.  There are different types of magick you can create during these various significant moon phases which can assist you with your practice.

Special Moons of 2026

Listed below I have created various pages explaining the different moons and what magick you can practice in the associated links:

Total Lunar Eclipse: 3rd – 4th March 2026 – Lunar Eclipse Moon Magick

Super New Moon: 17th May 2026 – Super New Moon Magick

Blue Moon (second full moon in a month): 31st May 2026 – Blue Moon Magick

Micro Full Moon: 31st May 2026 – Micro Full Moon Magick

Super New Moon: 15th June 2026 – Super New Moon Magick

Micro Full Moon: 30th June 2026 – Micro Full Moon Magick

Super Full Moon: 24th December 2026 – Super Full Moon Magick

(C) T. Georgitsis 2026

 

The spiral is one of the most enduring images associated with Imbolc. This craft uses the spiral's form to create an incense holder for your altar, which you can use to tap into that constantly renewing energy of Imbolc.

Witchcraft is many things, but more than anything else, witchcraft is personal. So, how do you make your practice personal and relevant to you? In this article, A Witch Is author Raechel Henderson presents 13 qualities that all witches have. These personal traits underlie magic and through developing them you create a practice that is both meaningful to you and more effective.

Part of my practice is to honour my Gods and Ancestors during the astrological sabbat dates with seasonal devotionals, rituals and magick.

Below I have detailed the astrological sabbat dates for the Southern Hemisphere for 2026 with a brief description of what the day symbolises as well as their traditional dates:

Lughnasadh/
Lammas February
1st
2026
4.45am First autumn harvest festival.Traditional Date: February 1 Mabon/
Autumnal Equinox March
22nd
2026
11.46pm Day and night have same length. Days get shorter.Traditional Date: March 20 Samhain May
3rd
2026
9.37pm Veil between worlds thinnest.Traditional Date: April 30 – May 1 Yule/
Winter Solstice June
21st
2026 
6.24pm Day has the longest night.  Sun is at its lowest elevation in the sky.Traditional Date: June 21 Imbolc August
7th
2026
9.41pm Marks the beginning of spring.Traditional Date: August 1 Ostara/
Spring Equinox September 23rd
2026
10.05am Day and night have same length. Days get longer.Traditional Date: September 21 Beltane November
7th
2026
6.37pm Halfway point between spring and summer. Fertility festival.Traditional Date: October 31 Litha/
Summer Solstice December
22nd
2026 5.50am Day has the longest daylight. Sun travels the longest path through the sky.Traditional Date: December 21

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).

(C) T. Georgitsis 2026