Daily (often multiple times) for weeks now, I have been checking to see if Bloglovin’ was back up again this month. As of the time of writing, it still is not.

Prior to adopting Bloglovin, which is a free service with no cap (that I am aware) on the number of sites users can follow, I used Google’s feed reader.

This was a terrific feed reader and I would still likely be utilizing it were it not for the fact that Google shut it down ages ago now (despite impassioned pleas from users for them to keep it alive).

There are certainly other feed readers beyond Bloglovin’ out there. However, the majority of them only allow you to have a relatively small number of blogs that you can follow for free with their service (25 – 100 tends to be the norm across freemium feed reader providers).

Beyond that cap, they want to charge you to upgrade in order for you to be able to follow a greater number of sites. Such costs are typically applied monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Ideally, I would prefer not to have to pay for a feed reader. That said, if Bloglovin’ continues to be down for long periods (or never returns altogether), I will have to come up with some sort of alternate solution here – be it free or paid.

As will, no doubt, many others who have stuck with the Bloglovin’ platform over the years – even after its mid to early 2010s heyday.

To add insult to injury, not only is the feed element of Bloglovin’ down, but the very same error message (in the screenshot above) appears when I click over to the page that normally shows me the extensive list of blogs that I follow.

Nooooooo!!!

Therefore, if I cannot gain access to that list (which I do not have recorded anywhere else), I will need to refollow those of you who comment here through whatever alternative to Bloglovin’ that I end up going with.

I am hoping that things don’t come to me having to abandon Bloglovin’, but by the same token, missing out on commenting on many of your sites in recent weeks is not something I want to continue experiencing all summer (or longer!) by any means.

If I am a regular or even semi-regular commenter on your blog, could you please leave me a comment below with your site’s URL so that I can start composing a new list of my regular blog reads to use if/when I do have to switch to a different feedreader? (Thank you very much in advance!)

And by the same token, I know that a fair number of you follow this site via Bloglovin’. So that we don’t risk losing touch, please feel free to sign up for my newsletter (located on the upper right-hand sidebar of this site).

At present, this simply emails each new post I publish on Witchcrafted Life to your inbox, so you won’t be inundated with actual newsletters (though, one day, I may start sending the occasional one out) and will still be able to follow along here if you are not planning to decamp to a different feedreader yourself.

As well, if you happen to use or know of any reliable, enjoyable feedreaders that are either free or very well-priced, likewise please share it/them in the comments below.

(I will be investing a number of Bloglovin’ alternatives featured in this post on the subject, but would love to hear more about your faves and recommendations, too!)

And, as you likely deduced after reading the above paragraphs, this is the sole reason why I have not been leaving blog comments on many of your sites over the past 3 – 4 weeks. I am very sorry about that, everyone, and really hope to get this issue sorted out ASAP!

Now, on with our latest edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

In Leo Tolstoy’s renowned classic, Anna Karenina, he penned the line, “spring is the time of plans and projects.”

This is a sentiment that I very much agree with. However, I do feel that it usually rings even truer for me during the fall.

After all, they don’t call Samhain / Halloween the Witch’s New Year for nothing! And what new year would be complete without a few new hopes and ambitions?

As winter waned and the first telltale signs of spring returned – despite the ever-worsening state of my physical health (I do not have any positive updates to report there, unfortunately, and so will say no more on the topic for the time being) – I was suddenly struck with one of the biggest waves of creativity that I have ever experienced.

It struck me like a bolt of lightning sent down by my muse and, I am very happy to say, is still going strong.

I have been floating on a crafty cloud nine all spring long and have jotted down literally hundreds of possible project ideas over the past few weeks.

This has been a joyous state to experience and one that is doing wonders in the process for my mental health, which is a terrific added bonus.

Periods don’t like this don’t come along every day for a lot of us and I am trying to soak up and be grateful for every second of amped-up creativity.

Weather wise, despite the fact that snow stopped falling in our neighbourhood a touch earlier than most years (late March vs the usual some point in April), we had next to no proper spring this time around.

Cool weather tinted in shades of worn pavement and faded blue flannel filled the bulk of our days. Enough rain to have one wondering if Amazon sells ark kits torpedoed itself at the ground for days – sometimes even weeks – very nearly on end.

Now, to be fair, I rather adore cool, grey weather and share Wednesday Addams’ sentiment that it is, “so nice and gloomy”.

Yes, I am one of those souls who tends to find damp weather, mild temps, and the need for multiple layers well into June to be an enjoyable experience.

That said, I am not averse to sunshine and can scarcely wrap my head around the fact that with the Summer Solstice/Litha having come and gone for another year, the days will now grow shorter until winter’s rebirth at Yule.

I don’t know if I would personally go so far as to say that I feel seasonally shortchanged, but I am definitely looking at my receipt very closely as I exit the weather store.

To my mind, the best positive to experiencing a far damper and cooler spring than usual is that it has done wonders to keep the annual horrific wildfire season that consumes (quite literally) much of BC in its fiery bite each spring/summer/early fall largely at bay.

So long as I live, I doubt I will ever forget the incredibly vivid red and orange coloured skies of last year’s forest fire season, as we spent days on end hosing down our house and yard to try and keep any live embers in the air from igniting our property.

(See this post of mine for unedited photos of exactly what I am talking about.)

All the while, sitting for about a month on evacuation alert, our most important documents, electronic devices, and a few treasured items neatly piled near the front door to grab at a moment’s notice had an evacuation come in.

Mercifully, that did not happen. Nor was our home or yard damaged by the huge blazes that roared loudly mere kilometres away.

However, the record-shattering heatwaves last year did do damage to some of the lofty evergreens in our backyard, with a decent smattering of their branches still bleached a distinctly rusty brown hue.

This spring was unquestionably a nippier than usual one, but that does not necessarily guarantee that we will be in for a gentle next three months.

Few things can turn more quickly on a dime than Mother Nature’s mood and it is anyone’s guess as to where the temps, total hours of sunshine, and wildfire levels will each land when all is said and done for another summer.

In the introduction to the Winter 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me, I made the war in Ukraine the focus of those initial paragraphs.

Though I was hoping beyond measure that come the next edition of MCM&M, his horrific conflict would be over, the realist in me knew that such was, objectively, quite unlikely.

And as we surely all know, this devastating sham (on Russia’s part) of a war still rages on fiercely. Its end even less certain than the outcome of a whole season’s weather report.

Though media coverage (as it is apt to do) has let up a bit regarding this bloody conflict, I continue to follow credible news sources very closely regarding the war in Ukraine and have every intention of doing so for as long as the fighting continues.

Far closer to home, this spring has not been without its fair share of serious happenings as well.

As some of you may recall for the spring edition of this series, my sister came down with Covid in the winter. Thankfully, she did not require hospitalization and was gradually able to recover. However, no sooner had she started to feel a bit more like her usual self again than she contracted this terrible illness for a second time.

Very luckily, it was milder for her than the first experience and she is once again on the road to recovery.

Still, it is almost unbelievable that she fell ill with Covid twice in such a short time frame. Though no doubt her immune system was weakened by the first bout (as surely just about anyone’s would be) and that made her more susceptible to contracting this virus a second time.

Again, while my sister is doing fairly well at this point all things considered, sadly, I cannot say the same for my paternal grandfather.

Earlier this month, completely out of the blue, he suffered two very serious strokes in rapid succession. Tests quickly revealed a blood clot in his brain which is too large to safely be operated on and so will need to be managed through medication.

Right now, his medical team is optimistically saying that in time, with PT, meds, and so forth, he may be able to regain about 70 – 80% of his pre-stroke abilities and motor skills.

Naturally, everyone in our circle is hoping and praying for that to ultimately prove to be the case, but it is far too early on at this stage to know for sure.

He and my grandma are both in their early eighties and have been married since the 1950s. They have weathered their fair share of serious health issues over the decades, but this is definitely the very worst medical situation to strike either of them so far.

I worry not only for my grandpa himself but also for my grandma and know this will, understandably, take a very serious toll on her.

Everyone who can is rallying around them and trying to help in any way possible.

Given that once a person has one stroke (let alone two), your odds of experiencing another one are quite decent, I don’t think any of us will ever feel like my grandpa will be safely out of the proverbial woods on this front.

Hopefully, though, he will be able to make a sizable recovery and continue to be active and enjoy life (including gardening, which is one of his biggest passions) for a long time still to come.

There is scarcely any good way to segue out of such a heavy topic, so instead of switching subjects again in this intro section, let us proceed with the Spring 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

Which, for those of you who are joining this series for the first time, is a link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring lately in my own life.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–How to Make Your Own Scrying Mirror: Scrying is one of my favourite forms of divination and ways to enter into a meditative state of mind alike.

Should you wish to try your hand at scrying or are already a fan who is looking to add a new scrying mirror to your spiritual toolbox, this lovely, easy-to-follow DIY scrying mirror tutorial from Moody Moons has you covered.

–How to Write Powerful Poetry Spells: Long one of my very favourite ways to utilize the written word in my spellwork, magickal poetry is a powerful, expressive, and deeply personal approach to creating spells that anyone – whether they consider themselves a poet already or not – can engage in freely.

This eloquent and insightful look at the subject is bound to have you reaching for the nearest quill and paper.

–Signs a Deity is Calling You: Not all witches/Wiccans/Pagans believe in and/or work with deities, but a decent percentage currently do or would like to integrate this element into their practice.

If you have ever wondered about how to know if/when a goddess (though the general premises laid out in this post apply to the gods as well) may be reaching out to you, this wonderfully in-depth look at the topic has got your back!

–Ten Reasons Tarot Is Super Effective and How To Make It Work For You: Over the past decade or so, I have enjoyed witnessing tarot (and oracle) cards skyrocket all the more in popularity. While, perhaps not surprising then, at the same time the general public is gradually becoming more aware of what tarot actually is (a powerful tool for insight, growth, guidance, and divination) and what it isn’t (a magical fairy tale type of way to instantly know the future).

In this post on the official Llewellyn website, author Sasha Graham guides tarot newbies through some of the wonderful perks of working with this much-beloved tool. And, by extension, reminds seasoned card slingers of some of the reasons why we are such devoted fans of this awesome item.  

–Threshold Magick for Troubled Times: A supportive and thoroughly apropos – given all the immense problems that are rife in the world these days – look at a great form of magick that can easily be utilized by just about anyone who has access to a (safe) threshold.

–The Secret Names of Magical Herbs and Plants: This enjoyable piece delves into the subject of why, historically, certain plants + herbs were known by alternative folk/magical names and how both those who may still need to conceal their practice today (as well as others who are out of the broom closet) can utilize these old school monikers for some of the world’s most magical green offerings.

–Witchy Apps to Keep on Your Phone: Truth be told, outside of a select few, I have never been the biggest of app users (or, for that matter, cell phone users, point-blank). However, there are a handful of apps that I adore and I am always open to adding more entries to that list.

Penned last October, this handy post from the blog #Lazy is a terrific roundup of some of the best and most relevant phone apps for those who veer in a witchy/Pagan/contemporary spirituality direct.

To no one’s surprise, I’m sure, given that I am a Cancer, the Moon app in particular nabbed my eye. Which one leaps out at you the most?

Cardmaking, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–Altered Vintage Bottle Tutorial: As of late, I have felt a strong pull towards making altered items. While not new to the act, I haven’t created too many of them in recent years and (much as with pocket letters) have been missing doing so.

Having recently read Anna-Karin’s tutorial post for how to make a vintage-inspired altered bottle, I am chomping at the bit all the more to hopefully make some “off the page” papercrafting/mixed media project this year.

If you are as well, swing on by her post and lap up the creative gorgeousness at work there.

–DIY Farmhouse Candle Holders: It is safe to say that contemporary farmhouse décor had taken off like wildfire in recent years and that it is a trend which is fast becoming all the more of a classic in its own right.

Though my personal décor tastes don’t veer too much in that direction, I admire the style and find that smaller farmhouse-y pieces can often be a cinch to weave into a wide array of home decorating styles.

The selection that Andrea rounded up in this post is inspiring – especially since there is no stopping one from following the general premise but putting their own creative décor spin on these great DIY candleholders.

–Easy Repurposed Antique Chair Spindle Wind Chimes: Like many a crafty/artistic soul, I tend to be drawn towards finding ways to reuse, repurpose, or otherwise find uses for items of all sorts that still have life left in them.

By far one of the most ingenious projects of this nature that I have hit upon in recent months is this super creative approach to turning old chair legs into beautiful wind chimes. B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T!!!

–How to Make Beautiful Tissue Paper Pompoms: Beautiful is an understatement! These generously sized DIY tissue paper pompoms are flat-out gorgeous – while also being relatively easy to make.

You could whip up a few for year-round décor, create sets to cycle throughout each holiday season, use them for parties and weddings, or gift a bouquet’s worth of tissue paper pompoms to someone special in your life.

(On the same blog, Crissy’s beginner’s tutorial on How to Make Fabric Covered Flowerpots also leapt out at me.)

–How to Make Affordable Scrapbook Paper Wall Art: Though this post is currently eleven years old, the idea – turning beautiful pieces of scrapbooking paper into wall art – is no less at home in today’s DIY décor arena than it was in the 2010s.

–How to Make Paper Bead Jewelry: Much as with dried pasta, in our childhoods a fair number of us whipped up creative jewelry that involved making paper beads.

This resourceful type of DIY bead tends to cycle in and out of vogue a bit but has remained popular amongst plenty of crafters and jewelry wearers alike – especially when you end result is as lovely as the examples Amy shares in this great tutorial post.

–101 (free) Fall Sewing Tutorials: Much like the staff at many magazines, crafters often work on projects months in advance of a particular season.

With that thought in mind – and being a lover of all things autumn related – given that fall’s return is a mere three months away, I wanted to share this wonderful roundup post which features 101 different free autumn sewing tutorials for the sewers amongst my readers.

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Having covered some of the heavier things that occurred in our lives this spring in the opening portion of this post, I will switch to more upbeat fare instead.

As mentioned above, my creativity has been going a mile a minute lately! And while my health does not allow me to keep pace with all of my crafty ideas, I have still managed to get in some paper crafting this season with (very realistic) plans for more as summer unfolds.

In addition, I have deep-dived again into another craft that I have adored and participated in since I was about 5 or 6 years old: cross stitching.

I love, love, love cross-stitching!!!

For me, it is relaxing, super enjoyable, and conveys a sense of the time-honoured tradition of needlework that has been an important part of countless peoples’ lives over the centuries.

Much as with the rest of my craft supplies and finished projects, the arson fire that we experienced in October 2016 annihilated my cross stitch stash and what was, up until that point, very nearly a lifetime’s worth of work. Dozens of projects spanning my childhood to my early 30s were gone in the blink of an eye.

And, though in hindsight I have no clue why I didn’t do so (perhaps because I started stitching many years before digital cameras hit the mainstream market? ), I had never taken photographs of them. Therefore, the only place they live on now is in my memories.

Life might knock me down, but I always spring back again and that sentiment applies to the majority of my long-standing passion as well.

Though I have done a small bit of cross stitching in the ensuing post-fire years, the bulk of my crafting attention has, objectively, been devoted to paper crafting. Rest assured that I do not see that changing anytime soon.

However, it can be a lot of fun to alternate between two or more different craft pursuits (which in this case, can sometimes even overlap – such with handmade cards that feature small cross stitch designs on them or stamp sets that mimic the classic Xs we all associate with cross stitchery) and I love that this recent surge of creativity has led me to connect with cross stitching again all the more.

Now, as a crafty witch operating on a very tight budget, I have been happily trawling the web for free and low-cost patterns that align with my current tastes in cross stitch designs.

Having hit upon a number of great sources (which I am thinking would make for a fun post here unto itself) and with some aida cloth and embroidery floss that I picked up a few years back, I now have a couple of fun new WIPs (works in progress) on the go.

I have also been binge-watching the cross stitchery side of YouTube as of late, where many who post about this passion tag their videos with the charming word “Flosstube”.

Doing so allows others with an interest in the subject to search for this term and be greeted with more video choices than there are colours in DMC’s current colour palette.

In time, as I have hopefully completed more projects, I plan to share some of them here with you – especially since I know that there are plenty of fellow cross stitchers amongst this blog’s readership.

In other news, this Friday was my little brother’s birthday (though as he is currently living outside of the country, it is not possible to celebrate it in person with him). A mere sixteen days from now, my own (GF) cake day will return.

Yep, we are both Cancers. Though being fairly close to on the cusp, I feel that he actually embodies a lot of Gemini characteristics.

Then, twenty-six days beyond that point, my sweet hubby will get to blow out his own set of candles.

The three of us are pretty much the only summer birthdays in our immediate family, which is a lovely point to share in common.

Fun, related fact: Hand on my heart, I was conceived on Halloween 1983.

Really, is it any wonder then that I would grow up to live a life where I #MakeHalloween365 and celebrate my most beloved (and spiritually significant) point on the calendar the whole year through?

And speaking of All Hallows’ Eve, from the day after my birthday onward, I gear up for spooky season all the more. Pretty much viewing July 11^th to October 30^th as one long, fabulously exciting countdown to the BIG DAY!

Which reminds me, with everything that has been going on in our lives and in the world at large so far in 2022, I have scarcely had a moment to sit down and ponder my Halloween costume for this year. Will I bust out a past fave again or opt for something new?

That is a question that I will hit upon an answer for in the next few months, as I prefer to have my Halloween ensemble planned out well in advance.

If you dress up for October 31^st, how early in the year do you tend to start thinking about your costume choice?

Alrighty, as few things in the universe make me as happy as Halloween season, this seems like a good place to wrap up discussing some of what’s been going down in my/our life lately.

Now, let’s hop with both feet forward into a fun mixed bag of various online stories that caught my eye, inspired me, or otherwise stood out over the past few months.

–Embroidery Artist “Paints” Lush Landscapes Using Only a Needle and Thread: Prepare to pick your jaw up off the ground when you gaze upon these stunning works of embroidery art created by the immensely talented Jade Deanna.

–Five Organization Tricks for Highly Sensitive People: Being an HSP myself, posts that relate to this topic are ones I tend to lap up with gusto. As well as often nodding along in agreement as my eyes scan from one paragraph to the next.

That was certainly the case for me when I read this Apartment Therapy piece absolute some great ways HSPs can successfully organize their homes.

–How Stanley Tucci’s Big Night Helped Kick off an American Dining Revolution: No doubt like many other people, I can clearly remember a lot of the more “grown-up” movies that my parents allowed us to watch when I was little.

For me, at the age of 12 – 13, one of those was The Big Night.

Though life (aka, my health) took my future in a different direction, growing up I was deadest on becoming a professional chef with their own restaurant(s).

As such, the plot of this now-classic film from 1996 imprinted itself in my memory all the more and The Big Night still remains one of my favourite movies twenty-six years after it was released.

This look at how The Big Night impacted something far broader – the modern food revolution – is an engaging piece that has a lot of merit to the premise it puts forth and which is apt to resonate with foodies, chefs, and fans of both contemporary dining and modern cookery TV shows alike.

–19 Ways to Get a Little Self-Care Outside: This post is a wonderful look at a plethora of different ways many of us can experience/engage in realistic self-care in the great outdoors. In addition, it is a lovely reminder to all of us that few places are more peaceful, soothing, or enjoyable than when we are in the arms of Mother Nature.

–Six Different Types of Stones Used for Graves: This one is for all my fellow taphophiles, history lovers, and family genealogists out there – as well as anyone else who may be keen to learn more about a handful of materials that were used to construct headstones throughout the centuries.

–10 Famous Authors and Their Favourite Libations: This charming post takes a gander at the favourite tipples of ten world-famous authors (from Maya Angelou to Oscar Wild) and may very well have you reaching for your own personal fave by the time you’ve finished reading it.

–13 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying Anything For Your Wardrobe: Living in a small house with laughably little in the way of closet space, I try to be very mindful of what I buy as I know wardrobe real esteem is at a premium.

Though I do not follow the “one item in, one item out” approach religiously, it does come into play sometimes – as do a number of the points in this handy post that is a must-read, IMO, for fashion fans with closets of all sizes.

The Promise of Brighter Days Ahead

It has long been said that hope springs eternal. One need only look at the course of human history to see the truth in that statement.

Many of us have an ingrained sense of hope that runs so deep it might as well be part of our DNA.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we are pie-in-sky optimists, wildly pollyannaish, or naïve. Rather, that we hold tight to the possibility that the majority of difficult/stressful/even seemingly dire circumstances we encounter will prove to be ones that can ultimately be overcome or able to be well managed.

Hope has long made me think of sunrises. Just as our good friend Sol comes barrelling back into our lives each morning, so too does hope have an incredible ability to reappear time and time again.

It is a form of comfort, resilience, and self-preservation. We need hope and, in order to exist, hope itself in turn needs us.

Hope has been out in full force all the more across many of our lives in recent years. Between the pandemic, numerous serious global conflicts, the soaring cost of living (which inflation has failed – in much of the world at least – to keep pace with for decades now), a wide array of natural disasters, and plenty more, if hope was a tradeable commodity, it would be the hottest stock on the market.

I love hope. It has genuinely saved my life on more than one occasion and is something I steadfastly hold tight to in the face of just about any situation. Worst case, it doesn’t help. Best case it does and in the process, hope makes getting through dark, difficult times a little less challenging.

Spring and summer are seasons that lend themselves all the more to hope and the ability to look at the glass (of lemonade) as being half full.

In the sun-bathed months, it is sometimes a touch easier to deal with our worries and troubles, anxieties and stresses. Now always, and not for everyone, of course. But for some of us, that is the case and no doubt plays into why we are particularly fond of the balmy side of the calendar.

I adore each season and lean into the perks of all four. While at the same time, continually growing and learning as a person thanks to the challenges inherent to every one of them as well.

Summer’s return unto itself is rarely enough to set every wrong right. Thankfully though, it can help to lift our spirits and provide us with wonderful new memories, languid days of relaxation, and, I find at least, scads of nostalgia.

Both literally and figuratively, summer comes with the promise of brighter days ahead.

Rare is the summer my mood is not lifted at least part of the time and even the most difficult summers of my life have been peppered with fantastic experiences that I look back on with great fondness.

It is anyone’s guess as to what the state of the world or of their own lives will look like when, in roughly three months’ time, the summer edition of this post will appear here.

Hope tells me that at least a few things may be better. Or baring that, not considerably worse off than they presently are.

And in the process, it enthusiastically reminds me that we are a mere three months away from the return of pumpkin season!

No matter what the coming sizzling hot weeks may throw at us, that fact alone is darn near enough to keep a perpetual jack-o-lantern-worthy smile on my face all summer long.

At the same time though, I will try to savour the present season and appreciate the blessings and challenges alike that it holds in store for us.

From the bottom of my heart, sweet friends, I wish each of you a tremendously safe, happy, wellness-filled summer that is illuminated as much by hope as it is by sunshine.

Which of the links above caught your eye the most? What are some elements of summer (or winter in the Southern Hemisphere) that you are most looking forward to experiencing?

The post Spring 2022 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me (Also, is Bloglovin’ Dead? – Please Read!) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Of all the colours, purple – despite the fact that I find many shades of it to be arrestingly gorgeous – and I have never completely clicked.

Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, a time when the toy market was thriving like there was no tomorrow, (provided more than one colour option was made available) a great deal of the products released for young girls were either purple or pink.

Sure, plenty of them – from Keypers to Popples – included versions in both of those colours, and others could be found in hues such as sky blue, butter yellow, vivid fuchsia, and tropical vacation-worthy coral. Yet, to my mind – and certainly here in North America – it was pink and purple that garnered the lion’s share of the toy market for girls.  

Be it then, prior to that point, or in the decades since, these colours have remained popular with youngsters and chances are, they won’t be fading away from toy store shelves anytime soon.

Reflecting on my childhood, for as far back as I can recall, I was gaga for the colour pink.

One of my first bedrooms had pink walls (topped with a cute pink and green wallpaper border that depicted teddy bears doing ballet – ahhh, the 80s ), a lot of the clothing I wore in my youth was pink, and I found that I gravitated to pink considerably more than purple.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but I believe the first strains in the relationship between myself and purple likely took hold when I became a card-carrying member of team pink.

Interestingly, purple is my mom’s absolute favourite colour (though she has never been the type to make their fave colour a centrepiece of their wardrobe or home décor).

I have always been a very independent soul and even in the days of pre-school, I can remember wanting to have different preferences in many instances to those of my parents.

Thus, it is entirely possible that I gravitated towards pink (whether consciously or subconsciously) so as to differentiate my favourite colour at the time from that of my mother.

Purple is a rare, regal colour that for much of human history was one of the most difficult to come by and therefore often amongst the most expensive as well.

Before artificial purple dyes were created scores of centuries later, the primary source of purple dye throughout much of the ancient world came from the mucus produced by a type of sea snail called murex snails which reside in the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources, including Pliny the Elder, tell us that thousands of these snails (which underwent a rather pungent-smelling ten-day brining process in a lead pot over low heat) were required just to make a single ounce of purple dye. Thus, the cost of obtaining items that were dyed purple was something only the wealthiest members of society could even begin to contemplate doing.

As a result, purple has long been associated with the elite, people of power, and, perhaps above all others, royalty.

Shifting from the days of My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch Dolls to my tween and teen years, societally, purple continued to be a popular colour in many spheres as we inched ever closer to Y2K.

I can well recall several friends – and plenty more of my peers in general – being obsessed with the colour purple during that time.

It came into play with our Kabbodles, Lisa Frank school supplies and stickers, chunky glittery makeup (ahhh, the 90s – surely you saw that coming ), hair accessories (scrunchies, mini butterfly clips, and alligator clips, oh my!), clothing, Trapper Keepers, platform sandals, and so much more.

And throughout all that time, while I certainly never shunned purple, I remained loyal to pink.

As years of middle school morphed into those of high school, I didn’t feel the need to have/wear/decorate my room with “all the pink” anymore – but it still remained my favourite colour.

In some respects, it still is – particularly dusty rose, which is the shade of pink I most adore.

However, over the years, other colours such as black (which, I know, is technically not a colour but the absence of such), grey, red, burgundy, and aged metallics have long given pink a run for its money.

At no point, did any purple hue make my top five – despite the fact the fact that it is a decently common/popular colour in both the vintage and goth fashion worlds (these being the two subcultures that I have been most immersed in from my teens onward).

I tend to strongly favour having a cohesive colour scheme in my home (and wardrobe, too, for that matter). To date, neither of them has yet to feature purple in any major way.

And yet, all that said, I do not dislike purple in the slightest.

In fact, I would go so far as to say I love many shades of it. And purple will forever hold a special place in my heart given that it has been mama’s favourite colour throughout her whole life.

Much as with my clothing and home décor, my craft supply stash tends to lean towards certain colour palettes as well. There, too, purple does not tend to take top billing very often.

I can go multiple months running without a single spec of purple entering any of my craft projects.

This makes it seem like I am at odds with purple. Rest assured that I most definitely am not. Purple just tends to wait patiently on the sidelines until an outfit or craft project calls it up to bat, if you will.

Be it the palest shade of lilac or the richest eggplant (which, along with plum, shares the title as my favourite purple hue), purple is a versatile, dynamic colour that can convey so much.

It can be peaceful and evocative of youth, dark and vampy, upbeat and summery – and much more!

I was reflecting recently on how, for all my undying love of Halloween, I rarely weave purple into my All Hallows’ Eve or Samhain-related craft projects.

Lately, we have been bopping along through Springoween. Now that June has officially begun again, we are teetering on the cusp of Summerween. This point on the calendar seemed like a terrific time to reach for one of both of these season’s most iconic and adored colours.

Instead of pairing it with orange or green, as this colour often is in a Halloween context, I opted instead to lean heavily into the dark, bewitchingly elegant side of purple by teeming it with black, white, and gold.

The end result is a delightfully spooky Halloween card that I can now give to my mom or to one of the numerous other purple adoring souls in my life.

And, as you have likely suspected already, this purple Halloween card also happens to be my June 2022 #MakeHalloween365 project share.

As always, sweet friends, please do not hesitate to use this fun and festive community-focused hashtag anytime you share a creative Halloween project anywhere online.

Gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

In for a penny, in for a pound as they say, so having decided on making a purple Halloween card, I began with a purple cardstock card base and wove this colour into various other components of my design as well.

Much as I had a hankering to work with purple again, so too was I really in the mood for some classic shabby chic paper tearing/distressing that day and therefore it also appears throughout this festive handmade Halloween card.

I am wild about the vintage-style illustration of a ghost rendered in gold metallic ink on the Prima Thirty One Collection paper that provides the star image for my latest handmade October 31^st greeting card.

It is gothy, (quite literally) spirited, and ever-so-pretty, to boot!

To carry the gold theme further, I included both metallic gold cardstock, glittery gold adhesive gems, and some fabulous gold coloured Webster’s Pages (oh, I miss that company!) tulle here as well.

I adore how the tulle resembles a gold-hued take both on spiderwebs and tattered fabric – say that of the disintegrating curtains in a long-abandoned haunted house.

However, as I was aiming to ensure purple remained in the lime (or, should I say, lavender) light, I made sure to pepper this Halloween card with purple.

It appears as the card base, one of the matting layers beneath the ghost images, in a fabulous piece of light purple and black Echo Park bat print paper, in the fun little Prima ephemera pieces, as the only ink colour used in this card, and even shows up in the “Happy Halloween” sticker that I used for my sentiment.

If purple is your jam (err, grape jelly ), that of someone dear to your, or you are looking for a wonderfully gender-neutral colour palette when making your own Halloween cards, read on for a detailed list of the products used in this project plus step-by-step instructions on how to make one of your very own.

Products used to make this hauntingly charming vintage ghost Halloween card

-Black cardstock

-Purple cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Vintage ghost illustration paper – Thirty-One Collection All the Treats Paper from Prima (I used another portion of this same sheet of paper as part of my recent Happy Springoween Pocket Letter.)

-Black and purple bat print paper – Bewitched Witch Hat Paper from Echo Park

-Wavy stitched edge rectangle nesting dies (Plain, straight stitched, cross stitched, or just about any other type of rectangle nesting die set could be used here as well.)

-One or two different flourish dies (I used two different dies on this project.)

-Light opaque/chalky purple ink – Distress Oxide Milled Lavender Ink from Tim Holtz

-“Happy Halloween” sentiment sticker (This one is from a package of Crafter’s Square [Dollar Tree brand] of Halloween stickers that did not have a specific product name. I bought these stickers within the past couple of years, so they may be available again at Dollar Tree come the Halloween 2022 season.)

-All ephemera pieces used on this project – Rose Quartz Ephemera from Prima

-Black seam binding

-Metallic gold netting/tulle – Vintage Inspired Netting Collection 2 from Webster’s Pages

-Glittery gold gems – Say it Crystals Midnight Garden Self-Adhesive Embellishments from Prima

-Black gems – Balloon Blast Off Self-Adhesive Classic Gems from Forever in Time

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

Begin by making a card base from purple cardstock.

Cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than your card base. Tear the right-hand edge in a random, intentionally imperfect manner. Cut a slender piece of Webster’s Page gold tulle/netting the length of the torn black cardstock. Position it so that this layer is flush with the left side border (aka, the fold of your card). Adhere to the underside of the black cardstock.

NOTE: All paper, cardstock, and netting/tool layers that follow are also to be arranged so that they favour the left side of this card’s design.

Then, cut a slender piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the black cardstock and likewise tear its right-hand side.

Cut a piece of black seam binding several inches longer than the width of the two pieces you just adhered together. Run it across the upper third of that area and adhere in place. Tie the two ends together into a bow on the left-hand side of the card.

Attach the bat print paper to the underside right-hand edge of the black beneath the bat print paper, then adhere this group of components to the card base.

Cut a piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the previous layer. Tear its right-hand edge as well. Adhere.

Next, cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer and, here too, tear the right-hand edge. Adhere to the previous layer using a dimensional adhesive such as Pop Dots or another type of foam squares/tape.

On the right-hand side of that (black cardstock layer) position and adhere a small piece of gold netting/tulle as well as the Prima light purple ruler and ticket stub pieces, as shown.

(Fun side note: While it is in reference to a US location, that lovely little ticket stub has the placename “Vernon” on it, which just happens to be the name of a neighbouring town located less than twenty minutes south of us.)

Using black cardstock and metallic gold cardstock die cut two pairs of matching flourish shapes. Arrange and adhere each matching-shaped flourish together with the black ones as the top layer. Off-center them a little so that a glimmer of the gold layer is still visible.

Tuck these flourish stacks under the lower left-hand side and upper right-hand side of the latest (torn edge) black cardstock layer that you created.

Using a larger-sized wavy stitched edge rectangle nested die, cut a rectangle from the same purple cardstock that you used for your card base. Adhere using dimensional adhesive.

Cut the central ghost panel image from the Prima Thirty One Collection All the Treats paper and ink all of its edges with Milled Lavender ink.

Then cut a gold metal cardstock matting layer a smidge bigger than the dimensions of that piece. Adhere the two together.

Die cut a smaller wavy stitched edge rectangle piece (that is large enough to work as a matting layer for the gold cardstock layer you just made) from black cardstock. Adhere previous gold cardstock + ghost image layers to this piece of cardstock and then adhere it to your previous layers.

Next, cut nested layers (by hand, with dies, etc) of gold and black cardstock, respectively, to mat beneath the sentiment sticker. Adhere those layers together then top with the sentiment sticker (optionally inking the edges of the sentiment sticker with Milled Lavender Ink, as I have done here). Adhere these elements on the lower righthand side of the card.

From the Prima ephemera, arrange and adhere a small alphabet piece so that it is sandwiched between the bottom of the central ghost image panel layers and the sentiment sticker layers, as shown.

Then, tuck a light purple domino and a light purple raffle style ticket under the left-hand side of the sentiment, angling them to the left a bit.

Place one of the largest sized gold glittery Prima gems on the middle of the black seam binding bow (you may wish to add some extra holding power to the adhesive that is there already by reinforcing it with hot glue, strong glue dots, or a heavy-duty crafting glue such as E6000 to ensure this gold gem stays put) and then position one somewhat smaller sized gold sparkly gem on the lower left and upper right-hand sides of the wavy stitched edge purple cardstock layer.

Surround each of these gold gems with two small black gems on either side, as shown.

And there you have it, one eye-catching purple, black, white, and gold Halloween card that can be made in scarcely more time than it takes a ghost to say “boo”.

Compared to many of my projects there are not, relatively speaking, all that many steps nor a huge volume of different materials required to make this eerily fun Halloween card.

If one used a template, paper trimmer, or scissors to cut out the rectangles and, optionally, nixed the flourishes, this delightful ghost-themed Halloween greeting could be made without the need for a die cutting machine.

This design is one that marries sweetness with spookiness (a perpetual fave combo of mine) and which is both timeless and ideal for October 31^st fans of all ages and genders.

From spirituality to coal tar, a (super) brief look at the meanings and history of purple

As much as we tend to associate purple with spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it can certainly work well as a year-round colour.

Purple is a colour with strong ties to many things, including both spirituality/mysticism and creativity/artistry – not to mention a long-standing history of use within the LGBTQ+ community.

Given that it is the lovechild of red and blue, purple embodies elements of both fiery warmth and serene coolness.

For all the pale, pastel shades of purple out there, one finds even more that are bolder and more commanding.

Perhaps that is why – especially when combined with its relative rarity in the natural world – purple leaps out at us in many settings.

It might not be as glaring as bright yellow or orange or as tranquil as a soft blue, but it is apt to grab our eye all the same.

Both in terms of colour psychology and the meanings often linked to purple in the witchy/Pagan realm, this purple can represent such areas as intuition, peace, independence, beauty, sensitivity, understanding, empathy (and empaths), the unknown, power/status, pride, dignity, protection, wisdom, creativity, devotion, enlightenment, health and healing, openness, psychic abilities, the crown chakra, magic(k), and death – amongst numerous other things.

In fact, so closely tied to death and mourning was the colour purple to the Victorians, that it was one of just a few colours that were permitted back into a person’s wardrobe when they were in a period of half-mourning (following various lengths – often depending on the mourner’s relationship to the deceased – of full morning, which was also known as deepest mourning, during which only black was supposed to be worn).

Doing so was made all the more possible by the fact that in the very same era (in 1856, to be exact), one of the first synthetic purple dyes was invented.

Originally dubbed “aniline purple” by its then eighteen-year-old inventor, William Henry Perkin, this dye – which would later be known by the name mauveine – was created out of coal tar.

In the years and decades to follow, many other synthetic purple dyes – some certainly safer than others – came onto the market as well.

As a result, purple began to be a colour that was within the reach of more people and, accordingly, was frequently seen not only in times of half-mourning but in the day-to-day wardrobes of many Victorian individuals (it was wildly enjoyed by both women and men).

Purple also made a splash in terms of home décor, the art world (purple pigments and paints had been available prior to that point, but were often very costly and did not always promise long-term colourfastness), and as a result, was a much-favoured choice in terms of flowers + floral arranging, too.

As time went on, more and more forms of artificial purple dye were invented and used to colour a huge range of goods (including certain food, too, such as candy and grape soda).

And while, these days, purple has still managed to retain ties to the rich and famous, royalty, and religion, it is very much a colour that the majority of people around the world can access, if so desired.

In addition to the purple correspondences touched on above, spiritually speaking, purple is also associated with such things as the element Air, the number seven, the planet Jupiter, the cardinal direction of east, the fae, wands, cauldrons, spiritually significant jewelry and clothing (very much including robes/cloaks), the spirit world, and Pagan pride.

To circle back to where this post began, it is true that purple and I have not always been the closest of friends, but we share a bond that spans my entire lifetime and I have never viewed purple in a negative light or disliked it for a moment.

This is not the first paper crafting project I have made over the years that starred purple (in terms of those since the creation of my current blog, this Shabby Chic Springtime Bloom Card really stands out for me) and it is a safe bet to say that it won’t be the last either.

Especially since, again, this royal shade is my mom’s favourite colour.

Not wearing, decorating, or crafting with purple all that often as makes the times when I do opt to do just that all the more special and standout-ish to me.

Two adjectives that apply abundantly as well to my – and countless other peoples’ – cherished Halloween.

And therefore, that is all the more reason for me to reach for shades of purple spanning lilac to mulberry, orchid to mauve – and, of course, that most witchy approved of purples, amethyst – when creating some of my numerous annual Halloween papercrafting projects.

Are you a big fan of purple? Do you enjoy including this versatile and very pretty colour in some of your creative projects as well?

PS: I am well aware that if you try to say the name of this blog post five times fast, it instantly becomes a tongue twister.

The post Gold Ghost Shabby Chic Purple Halloween Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

This is not the first time I have been queried on this point (or similar variants of it) – nor, I’m sure, will it be the last.

The wording of this question always catches my eye. The person is not directly asking me why I am a witch, but rather why I would willingly associate with a word that, more often than not in their eyes, holds strongly negative or even “evil” connotations.

Ask ten, three hundred, or five thousand witches this same question and chances are you will receive nearly as many different replies as to why they have decided to call themselves witches.

I cannot, and would not, speak for anyone else on this matter. I can only reply as to why I proudly choose to call myself a witch.

Why I call myself a witch

I call myself a witch because as a very young child, before I even fully understood in a spiritual or real-world context what that word and the practice of witchcraft entailed, a voice deep in the furthest reaches of my being told me that I was a witch.

Witchcraft came as naturally to me as drawing air, but it was a path that I made darn sure I was willing to take on the full complexities of and in doing so, to face the potential backlash, persecution, intolerance, ostracization, and even hatred that the label of witch and the act of witchcraft can carry with them.

I call myself a witch because I entered this world with a soul so old it feels as though it was already well-aged when the Big Bang occurred.

In the word witch I seek and see, find and cherish the past, the present, and the future.

I call myself a witch because I am willing, able and honoured to stand up for those impacted by the staggering hardship and trauma, crime and oppression that has been perpetuated over the course of human history – the Burning Times wholly included.

I call myself a witch because it elevates my autonomy. It gives me strength and power, the ability to stand as tall and proud as the lightest oak and to remain true to my innermost beliefs at all times.

I call myself a witch because I have devoted myself and my life, my spirit and soul, heart, body and mind to the study of witchcraft, magick, and Paganism.

I did not don the word “witch” on a whim, to follow a trend or because (as much as I do madly adore it) I’m a huge fan of Halloween.

I read hundreds of books on scores of religions and spiritual belief systems from around the world before I even dared to considered describing myself a witch to others. I have read far more since and each one has helped in its own way to add credence to my choice to become a witch.

I call myself a witch because I believe that there is a spirit or soul in everything – animals, rocks, plants, locations, etc – the world over.

This concept, animism, is a core tenant of my existence, how I engage with others, and why I would only knowingly hurt another living being as a last resort means of necessitated self-defence.

It is why I’ve heard the trees sing to each other, felt Gaia’s pulse beat in tandem with mine as I lay on the verdant grass of a warm June evening, drawn the moon and sun both down and experienced their life forces mingle with my own.

I call myself a witch because I am an empath. The feelings, concerns, stresses, joys, and (sometimes) even thoughts of others are something that I feel and understand as deeply. Perhaps, at times, even more so than my own.

I call myself a witch because I am a perpetual knowledge seeker. For the entirety of my life, I have been madly in love with learning. With following the path of understanding, with the fact that learning one thing can open up a pandora’s box of questions, all of which hold the potential to learn more and in doing so, to potentially grow further as a human being.

I am an impassioned believer in science and reason, but I also know, in my heart of hearts, that there is infinitely more at work in the universe that we do not (yet) know, fully understand, or even conceptualize than what humans presently place under these ever-expanding and shifting headers.

I call myself a witch because I honour nature and do everything that I realistically can to help, heal, nurture and support the planet and all living things that inhabit our world.

I call myself a witch because living in harmony with the Wheel of the Year brings me profound happiness, closeness to the universe, and strengthens my bonds to the ancestors.

As a child, I often questioned why there were not more holidays, especially ones that marked the start of each season. In discovering, as I grew older and began studying Paganism, that humankind had been honouring these points in the year since time immemorial and that some people still continue to do so, I felt a piece of my innermost self click immediately into place.

I call myself a witch because of the profound degree of comfort and acceptance coupled with the immense lack of fear that I have regarding death. I have traversed the veil, I work with my ancestors on a regular basis, I am more at home in a quiet cemetery than almost any public place that the living hang out in.

Death is a state I understand and appreciate. It ends much, but starts much as well. In death, our essential energy is transferred to another form. It does not vanish. Nothing is truly lost in the universe. It just materializes differently with each new iteration.

I call myself a witch because I know that I have the ability to manifest and help to create the outcomes that I desire in my life. I can face any situation and find ways to ensure that, if so desired, it is bolstered, bettered, assisted, protected, or otherwise aided or empowered by the actions that I take and changes set into motion via the witchcraft that I create.

I call myself a witch because I do not depend on others to save me or support me. I am strong and far from helpless. I am a woman, a human, who knows her worth and has learned, through no shortage of challenges and pain, to never let anyone diminish my validity.

I call myself a witch because doing so is right for me and my existence. In the process, I give space and respect to all those who opt to take on this word themselves, too – just as I do those who are not witches.

I have no agenda, no dogma, no disdain for or fear of others whose spiritual path differs from my own. I do not believe that there is “one true path” or religion that has a monopoly over all other spiritual journeys.

I call myself a witch because I can sense and feel things that go deeper than logic can explain. I converse and actively work with spirit allies, my ancestors, deities, the fae (who first presented themselves to me when I was a young child of just two or three), and creatures both of this world and outside of it.

These beings, energies and essences are not foreign or (usually!) frightening to me. They are as much a part of my world as the living humans and animals that I engage with every day.

I call myself a witch because I am proud to not fit into conventional moulds, but instead to march to the beat of my own drum. I have no desire to conform or go with the flock. I am the wolf howling at the moon in the hills overlooking the sheep farm below. I am free as a flowing river, ancient as the earth it traverses, and able to bend and flow as needed just as nimbly as the Nile.

I call myself a witch because incorporating and weaving magick, connection to the ancestors and nature into countless areas of my existence comes as easily and intrinsically as breathing in and out.

I call myself a witch because in my darkest hours, when I literally had nothing to my name, when I was abused or bullied or hurt, when chronic illness became (and remained) a huge part of my daily existence, when my depression took me to places so dark blackholes looked like the face of the sun by comparison, I reached deep down inside myself and using the strength of every last speck of stardust that aligned to create me, I dug in my heels, refused to give up, and never once lowered myself to the level of those who perpetrated these cruel acts against me.

I call myself a witch because, personally, it would be unfathomable for me to ever lord my beliefs over others, to see those who thought or believed differently as sinners simply because of those differences, or to feel that I had a mission to save their souls. We each save, if we so choose, our own souls, in the ways and manners that work best for our unique life paths.

I call myself a witch because I ascribe to no religion. I am a wild spirit, a free thinker, an impassioned believer in a great many things, but I am not – and have never been at any point in my life – religious.

I call myself a witch because my craft is so not driven by aesthetics or vanity. It is not a power trip or way for me to feel superior. It is honest and raw, refined and real. A continual learning process and source of joy, hope, introspection, growth, love, peace and pleasure.

I call myself a witch because I am as certain as anyone could ever be that I have lived past lives. The memories I possess from some of them are as vivid and real as many from this lifetime. I think/believe that a good many – if not all – humans live multiple lives across the universe.

I call myself a witch, because I embrace the duality and interconnectedness of light and dark, that each one exists because of the other and that these two polarities are to be found in every person, every bit as much as they are in the realm of nature and the cosmos.

I call myself a witch because I am the master and keeper of my own mind, body and spirit. This is not up for debate. Autonomy and independence are indescribably important to me and I will fight for them, if need be, with every ounce of energy I possess.

I call myself a witch because I was born a healer, a comforter, a nurturer. I do not want anyone, any animal, any being, or our planet to suffer or feel pain – and when they do, I feel drawn to help and comfort, support and bolster them to the best of my witchy abilities.

I call myself a witch because my intuition guides me to do so. I have an indescribably close bond + profound reverence for my intuition, which you can bet your bottom dollar, I follow and heed.  

I call myself a witch because I am 100% responsible for my actions, my choices in life, my inner happiness, my sense of self-worth, my ability to be do the right thing in every possible situation, and to own my mistakes when they occur.

I call myself a witch because I am willing to stand behind this title and what it means both broadly, and in the realm of my own life, in the 21^st century. I see and experience incredible beauty, meaning, conviction, strength, hope, history, sovereignty, independence, reliance, creativity, humility and power alike in the world witch.

I call myself a witch because there is nothing else I want to be called more. Nothing that feels truer, more right, more natural, or more aligned with every molecule in my being, each breath I draw.

I call myself a witch because I am a witch

The reasons above are by no means the only ones that explain why I call myself a witch. Others exist at present and I’m certain more will blossom into being the longer that I’m a witch. And this, unto itself, is yet another reason why I call myself a witch.

As you may have surmised, the very reasons why I call myself a witch are one in the same with why I am a witch.

Most anybody can be a witch, if they truly want to be one. This word and its domain are not beyond the grasp of those who are willing to embrace, live, and honour it.

I do not feel that being a witch makes me inherently special and I certainly am not a witch to garner attention, flaunt my witchiness around, or tell anyone else how to explicitly be a witch themselves.

Questioning why you are a witch is important

Granted most of us probably don’t want to be asked why we are a witch or why we call ourselves a witch around the clock, but this question doesn’t have to inherently get your guard up unless there is just cause for such.

Some people will ask with an agenda – possibly to try to proselytize, mock, shame, belittle or otherwise insult you – others will be genuinely curious (perhaps they themselves are having witchy stirrings and want to learn more).

In most settings, you do not need to respond in detail and can simply say that you would prefer not to answer that question. The call is yours. As always, I urge you to use your intuition and best judgement.

Beyond being asked why we call ourselves witches by other people, I feel that it is very important that we examine this question on a personal level, exploring and defining why we choose to apply the label of “witch” to ourselves.

Your answers are apt to be highly personalized. They may share points in common with my own and those of others, or they might be substantially different.

The fact that we are able to set forth our own personal definition of what being a witch means and why we call ourselves witches is, unto itself, another reason why I am a witch.

The beautiful, liberating autonomy and freedom to follow a spiritual path that makes sense to, and works well for, us on our own terms is a fantastic and hugely empowering thing.

You might think that this post was penned because the aforementioned woman’s question upset, hurt or bothered me. It did none of those things.

What it did do, was give me the lovely opportunity to stop and once again reflect on what being a witch means to me, why I place this title upon myself, and how profoundly grateful I am to be a witch.

And for that – much like her question itself – I sincerely thank her.

In closing, I would like to leave you with these supportive reminders, from one witch to another.

Do not be afraid to call yourself a witch. Privately, publicly or both, the choice is yours. However, if you do use this word, stand behind it with pride and passion.

Do not let anyone – EVER! – tell you that you’re not a witch if, in fact, you are one.

Don’t feel you have to justify being a witch to anyone other than yourself.

Do embrace your unique, wonderful witchiness.

Do continue to grow, evolve and strengthen your knowledge + abilities as a witch

Do witch on your own terms.

Do know and understand why you are a witch and what being one means to, and for, you.

The post Why I call myself a witch appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire. It is time for home. – Edith Sitwell

November was but a handful of days old when the season’s first snowflakes fluttered like icy-winged butterflies to the ground.

A brief flurry, another a few days later, and then proper volumes of snow by the month’s third week.

Fall did not go gently into that good night entirely though. At least not at first.

For a brief, enchanting time there were leaves the colour of ancient clay vessels and faded Tudor tapestries alongside slender plumes of smoke rising ghost-like from neighbourhood chimneys against the unmistakable chorus of shovels being pushed with no small amount of force across snow-laden driveways.

It is said that all good things must come to an end and autumn is no exception.

Tomorrow brings with it the Winter Solstice. The shortest day, in terms of the percentage of daylight, that the entire year houses.

For myself and others – particularly witches, Wiccans, and Pagans – it is also at the heart of the Yule season.

This long night ushers in the light-filled half of the year. Though, as I am quick to note, we rarely start to see and experience a tangible sense of that for several more weeks from now.

Nevertheless, the Winter Solstice and Yule remind us of the sunlight, warmth, and seasonal joys that await us come spring and summer.

Winter, however, is not without its own bevy of charms and blessings.

While a harsh chapter in many parts of the world, the coming season of icicles and parkas is anything but dull, uninspiring, or lacking in things to do and enjoy from the very first to the absolute last moment.

Before, with sweater-clad arms, we welcome winter back into our lives again (here in the Western Hemisphere; summer is out in full force for those south of the equator), let’s take a lovely moment to reflect back on the season that is, rather aptly, presently giving up the ghost.

The Fall 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me is a link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring in my own life lately.

I hope that you will enjoy reading it every bit as much as I took pleasure putting it together for you, sweet friends.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–Create an Easy DIY Advent Calendar with Crystals Inside: While it is rather late in December to start an advent this year, this creative take on a treasured holiday season favourite was too cool looking not to share.

Whether you work with crystals in a spiritual/metaphysical context or enjoy them for other reasons, chances are you are bound to delight in this awesome advent calendar that sees each date house a tiny crystal.

This advent would make for such a fantastic and meaningful Yule gift.

And there’s nothing stopping you from using advents to count down to other special events (such as Halloween or a person’s birthday) as well, if you wanted to give making this crystal-filled calendar a go before next December arrives.

–How to Make Heat Activated Spell Sachets: Creating spell sachets is something that is familiar to many witches and Wiccans. However, generally speaking, we work with them at either room temperature or whatever the mercury is up to outdoors.

Leave it to none other than beloved Pagan blogger, Moody Moons, to take this classic spellworking technique and give it a fresh new spin via the introduction of heat.

I am smitten with this concept and plan to weave it into some of my witchy workings this winter and likely for many a chilly season to come.

–Sacred Sprays for Magickal Self-Care: As someone who adores making many of my own magickal tools and ingredients, and who is a keen proponent of self-care, I knew the moment I saw this terrific how-to post from Katrina Rasbold on Llewellyn’s blog that I would be sharing it here.

One need not be a witch/Pagan to make and use their own beneficial sprays – nor, of course, to practice self-care. That is something, ideally, we should all strive to make a perpetual priority in our lives.

–25 Forms of Banishing: No matter the season, I am a big proponent of doing banishing work. In fact, I would say it is one of the most common forms of witchery that I undertake.

Few points in the year lend themselves quite as naturally, however, to banishing work and getting rid of elements in our lives that are no longer serving us well than that liminal period between late December and early January.

This fantastic list from Sidney Eileen rounds up an impressive 25 different ways to engage in banishing work, including banishing via manifesting, involving banishing in your shadow work, and conducting energetic self-maintenance.

–Witches Bells: Their History, Lore and How to Use Them: From Otherworldly Oracle, comes this great look at the past and present of a magickal tool and/or piece home décor that is familiar and adored by plenty of folks around the world: Witches Bells.

During the December holiday season, when bells are easily had at many craft, hobby, dollar, housewares, gift, and big box stores, now can be an excellent time to make your own set of witches bells or to create some for the fellow witchy souls in your life.

(From the same website and very much in keeping with the current festive season, this delightful look at Yule Recipes: 13 Traditional & Modern Winter Solstice Meals & Beverages is also well worth checking out.)

–Work With the Plant Allies in Your Neighborhood: Discovering, learning about, and forming a meaningful, ongoing relationship with all manner of plants, flowers, and trees in your immediate environment can be an immensely beneficial activity.

If you are looking for more information on how to connect with your local plant allies, then this lovely post from Astrea at the Pathos blog Starlight Witch is a good place to start (or way to further your existing knowledge on the subject).

–Your Magickal Name:  It does not surprise me one iota that a great overview look at the subject of magickal names comes from none other than esteemed Pagan author and blogger, Rachel Patterson (whose stellar book, Witchcraft Into the Wilds, I reviewed here last year).

As someone who uses their magickal name (or as I tend to refer to it, my Pagan name) not only virtually exclusively online at this point in my life, but in as many offline capacities as I possibly can too, it is safe to say that I’m big on magickal names and really appreciate that Rachel penned this handy guide on the subject.

Cardmaking, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–DIY Fridge Magnets: 50 Projects for Home or Gifts: For a good stretch of my childhood, my mom collected fridge magnets. When the volume she had amassed exceeded the space available on our refrigerator, she started displaying them on metal baking trays.

Many years have now passed since then. Yet, as my mom’s own passion back in those days for magnets rubbed off on me when I was growing up, I couldn’t help but lap up each inspiring idea in this awesome selection of DIY fridge magnets.

If you are also stuck on magnets (pun intended ) or know someone who is, you will definitely want to give this inspiration-filled post a thorough readthrough.  

–DIY Lava Lamp Party Favours: There are no molten hot liquids involved with this super cute mid-century inspired craft project.

Instead, two sizes of barware glasses and a few basic craft supplies – plus the “lava” filing of your choice are all you need to whip up some highly memorable yesteryear inspired party favours that your guests are bound to adore.

Plus, how great would these homemade lava lamps be for an upcoming New Year’s Eve bash?

–Homemade Ramekin Dish Soy Candles For The Holidays: As you may have gathered by now, I really, really, reeeeeaaaaaly love candles.

Plain or elaborate, scented or unscented, store-bought or handmade, I’m totally there for candles.  

In the case of the latter type of candle, I fell hard for Marie’s fantastic DIY candle-making project which guides you through the steps involved with creating candles in ramekin dishes.

This easy candle-making project delivers a beautiful end result that you can keep for yourself or give as a lovely gift.

I feel that these beautiful homemade soy candles would suit special occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, Imbolc, Valentine’s Day, and Samhain especially well.

(Also on Marie’s delightful – and very inspiring – blog, this adorable Upcycled Indoor Snowball Fight Wood Crate caught my eye. I really like festive décor that can be left out all season long, not merely for a given holiday or two, and this super fun project hits that nail squarely on the wintertime head.)

–How to Make a Flower Press: People have been intentionally drying and pressing flowers for many centuries and while this charming art ebbs and flows in terms of its popularity, it remains a beloved classic that is not likely to vanish entirely anytime soon.

If you are up for a spot of DIY and in the mood to make your own flower press at home, this handy step-by-step guide from Jessica at Cutesy Crafts will have you pressing a whole garden’s worth of blooms in no time.

(As well, on the same blog, I melted faster than a marshmallow in a mug of hot chocolate for this enchantingly pretty Christmas Deer Embroidery Pattern.)

–How to Store Stickers (in Binders): Unless you’ve got a lot of space and, potentially, quite a generous budget to spend on organizational supplies, chances are you are continually looking for ways to streamline your craft supply storage needs.

Goodness knows I am – especially since my crafting space (which I am exceedingly grateful for) is definitely on the petite side of things.

As such, I instantly fell in love with this handy and, in many cases, wonderfully space-saving approach for storing your sticker collection in binders. It’s a brilliant and very implimentable idea for a lot of folks.

(You could also do the same thing with other lightweight, relatively flat crafting supplies such as rub-ons or smaller sized sheets of specialty papers.)

–Super Tiny Mini Album with Lots of Photos: I have seen some pretty small mini scrapbooking albums in my day, but this itty-bitty creation – from none other than the endlessly talented Bea Valint – must surely take top prize on that front.

Perfect for your own memory keeping or to make and give as gifts (including pint-sized stocking stuffers), these mini albums are cute, fun, and more than likely, quite addictive to make!

–Vacation Memory Sand Jars: Now, I fully realize that at present, a lot of us are not exactly jet-setting off to tropical destinations or hopping in the car for a road trip to the beach.

However, if you are able to do so, have collected and saved sand from past trips, or have access to some lovely sand closer to home, this project might just be for you.

It is such a charming, low-cost way to bring a slice of your travel adventures home with you and is one that can be repeated with different locations time and time again.

(Note: When taking sand home, always ensure that you are legally allowed to do so based on local laws and that removal of said sand does not negatively impact the ecosystem that the sand hails from.)

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Much like the summer that proceeded it, this autumn was one that, for a multitude of reasons, I will not soon forget.

In the early days of September, the very real risk of the massive local wildfires still loomed near.

Thankfully, by the time autumn had officially begun this risk had all but vanished and we felt safe unpacking our most important documents and belongings, which we had been keeping at the ready in case the official order to evacuate did arrive.

The start of this fall was gloriously gorgeous. Picturesque weather and temperatures, leaves so incredibly vivid and breathtaking that they nearly brought us to tears.

As it tends to do around these parts, October cooled down by mid-month. Happily though, (unlike last year) nary a snowflake fell in our neighbourhood throughout the year’s 10th month.

Come the evening of my favourite day of the year, Halloween + Samhain, the temps hovered around a nippy -2C/28F. The night itself was crisp and dry with relatively little wind, to boot.

This no doubt helped to contribute to why we received the highest number of trick-or-treaters (about 118 – up from our previous, pre-pandemic record of around 113) that we’ve had since we moved into this house nearly four years ago now.

Between that point, celebrating the day with Tony and my mom, and ample time dedicated to meaningful witchy Samhain activities, I’m delighted to say that we had one of the best October 31^sts in recent memory.

November wasted no time in tilting the scales in favour of winter weather, as touched on at the start of this post.

Yet the return of snow all but took a distant backseat to some rare and, in certain cases, incredibly devastating weather conditions and natural phenomena that rocked our province of British Columbia throughout the month.

Tornados are exceedingly uncommon in BC and even less likely, if I’m not mistaken, to occur during the second half of autumn.

This made the tornado that tore a path through parts of Vancouver early on in the month a serious surprise!

Luckily, this event was not, insofar as tornados go, too severe.

In fact, this powerful storm was given an Enhanced Fujita scale rating of EF0, with EF5 being reserved for the most brutal storms/tornados and the destruction they cause.

For many BC residents, the tornado – while a fascinating event for sure – soon took a backseat to substantially bigger weather problems.

Specifically, horribly heavy rains in the province’s Lower Mainland region (a broad swath that encompasses Vancouver and most of the towns + cities that call the lowest portion of BC home) and some other parts of BC, including the Merritt area.

BC is no stranger to flooding, but it had been a fair while since anything like the scale of rainfall, ensuing flooding, and widespread damage it caused had been seen around these parts.

Atmospheric rivers – a technical term that relatively few in BC had heard before this November, but which many of us are now well acquainted with – caused widespread flooding that destroyed homes, businesses, and other structures.

It also brought about landslides and these quite literally washed away segments of some of the main highways through the region.

Highways that connect the Lower Mainland (which is also known as The Coast) to much of the rest of the province.

This meant that in November highway travel was frequently impossible to or from The Coast.

In time, some routes would open again, though ongoing closures – much like flood evacuations in various parts of the province – continued on into December.

It also meant that supply lines were temporarily disrupted, as a fair amount of the goods that are distributed to retailers around the province come from the ports of Vancouver, as well as from farms and other supply sources in the Lower Mainland.

This sudden lack of incoming goods caused some people to adopt a behaviour that is still fresh in most of our minds from the early days of the pandemic: resource hoarding.

From the smallest mom-and-pop shop to the largest grocery store outlets, it all but looked like a plague of locusts had descended on the fresh food (produce, meat and seafood, dairy, baked goods, etc) section of many stores north of The Coast.

Tony and I didn’t participate in this at all. A, because we were not worried and had enough (fresh/frozen/non-perishable) food at home already to see us through several weeks, if needed, and B, we strongly sensed that at least some fresh goods would soon find a way up to this area.

That proved to be the case exactly. And while grocery stores continue to feel the impact of receiving less perishable goods and other products, since “the big clear out” most have been able to get in a solid chunk of the merchandise that they usually sell.

While we did experience heavy rains at times throughout November and on into early December, our area – which is a few hours north of Vancouver – did not suffer the impacts of flooding this fall.

Many people on The Coast did, however, and a lot of them have had their lives absolutely turned upside by the devastating impacts of these mighty atmospheric rivers.

Rebuilding homes, lives, and sections of highway will take time and cost the province billions of dollars.

My heart aches intensely for all those whose words have been rocked by the flooding.

Having lost a home once myself (to fire, not flooding, however), I can relate at least in part to the living nightmare that is having your house (or business, etc) and belongings taken from you in the blink of an eye and the often lengthy journey to piece your world together again that ensues.

The severity of this flooding really is profound. It brought Prime Minister Justin Trudeau all the way from Ottawa to BC in November, has had the armed forces helping with the situation, and will take a long time for the province to even remotely begin to recover from.

Whereas once, decades ago, my family and many of our relatives lived on The Coast, these days far fewer do. And, thus far, thankfully, those that remain in the area have not lost their homes or had to evacuate due to rising floodwaters.

At the time that the flooding struck though, both my mom and aunt (her only sister) were actually down in the Lower Mainland, helping to nurse my 91-year-old maternal grandma who very recently underwent major surgery.

My aunt, an elementary school teacher, had to return home sooner than my mom due to her job. However, she was met, while trying to do so, with the first day of highway closures and ended up staying in the town of Hope for a few days until a route briefly opened up that she could return home via.

My mom was closer to Vancouver itself, at my grandma’s house, and ended up staying there longer than she had planned due to the road closures. Eventually, she too was able to avail of a brief road closure on one highway north.

Had the closures stretched on much longer, she was planning to drive down through the northernmost parts of Washington state and come back into BC at one of the border crossings located in the Southern Okanagan Valley.

Thankfully, things did not come to that for either my mom or my aunt.

Some folks who were stranded and needed to get home to other parts of BC (or elsewhere in the country) did so though, with others still flying, when possible, out of the impacted areas of the province.

I am both happy and very grateful to say that not only is my grandma recovering well, but also that my mom and aunt both made it home safely in the end.

This year took a massive toll on a lot of people around the world.

BC’s floods and the destruction they caused (much like that of the summer’s brutal wildfires) are incredibly tragic, but far from the only major disasters to rock the planet in 2021.

Already weary from the heartbreak and life-altering changes that filled 2020, we were a battle-hardened lot as everything from the lava spuing Cumbre Vieja volcano in Spain to poor Haiti once again being hit hard by earthquakes came at the planet throughout the past twelve months.

These hard, uncertain times – complete with a pandemic that, due in no small part to fresh new variants, shows no sign of abating in the near future – are shaping and impacting a lot of us in ways both big and small.

We are eager to put 2021 to bed, yet also, rightfully, harbour trepidations about what the coming year may hold in store.

This is true for me/us at both a global level and in terms of our day-to-day life.

The very serious, life-altering and still undiagnosed health problems that I have been battling for over a year now can scarcely be called “new” anymore. Though in relation to my other chronic medical conditions, many of which have been present for two decades now, they could still be viewed as such.

The fight for answers and treatments regarding these “new” issues continues unrelentingly around the clock on my end.

My health greatly impacted and altered this year for me.

It caused certain important plans and goals to (hopefully just temporarily) be put on hold, including my long-standing dream of launching an ASMR YouTube channel, which I am more committed than ever to making happen ASAP (as soon as doing so is physically possible for me).

These issues also saw me all but ghost my own Instagram account at times (which I am anything but happy about), took – and is still taking – a serious toll on my mental health, and continues to be a major battle around the clock.

Yet, I know that things could be worse. So much worse. Both personally and, rough as 2021 was, globally as well.

In a lot of ways, we have been profoundly fortunate this year.

Even with medical challenges (mine, Tony’s, those of some relatives), a touch-and-go wildfire season, the ongoing pandemic, and many other not-insignificant struggles that impacted mine and Tony’s life, we made it this far into 2021.

And if you are reading this, so did you.

That is no small feat. Nor is it something that any of us can take for granted.

I have my concerns about 2022. I know there will be challenges both new and ongoing, and that it will likely be another year that unfolds quite differently from how I would ideally want it to play out.

I’m not knocking it yet though, of course. I will let 2022 blossom in its own time, seeking and giving thanks in the process for the positives that come our way next year.

As have come to do each season since launching this quarterly post series, throughout the fall I tucked away an array of online posts and articles that resonated with me in one way or another.

So without further ado – but with unceasing hope that 2022 will be a kinder year to our planet and all who call it home – let’s dive into that selection of links.

–A Haunting Photo Collection of Famous People’s Death Masks, 1300-1950: Once, particularly in the era before photography came into being, a somewhat common practice in certain parts of the world (especially amongst those of the upper classes), death masks are no created with the same frequency they were in centuries past.

Though this tradition has not completed vanished, it has waned in popularity a great deal. Yet there is something absolutely incredible about death masks that, I think, makes it hard for us as a collective whole to abandon the art entirely.

These castings of a deceased person’s face often captures a greater sense in 3D form of how an individual looks/looked than most 2D art forms ever could.

If, like me, you find these types of masks fascinating, then you will likely enjoy this image filled roundup of famous people’s death masks from across the centuries.

–Beverly Cleary Wrote the Stories Kids Wanted To Read About: Relatively rare is the North American youngster who grew up at any point over the past few decades without reading – or being read – at least one of beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary’s books.

Her popularity far exceeded this continent, however, spreading globally and impacting, influencing, and entertaining countless youngsters throughout the years.

To date, more than 91 million copies of her books have been sold globally. That is a staggering number for any author, let alone (pre-Harry Potter at least) one whose work was geared at children and teens.

Sadly, the world lost Mrs. Clearly in March of this year. She passed away at the venerable age of 104 years old.

Many pieces were, understandably, written about Beverly Cleary’s work and life in the aftermath of her death.

This one, which delves into her life, career, and the inspiration behind some of her most beloved stories stood out for me in particular.

Whether you’ve read any of Cleary’s stories or not, it is a captivating, enjoyable look at an author whose work is likely to keep enriching the lives of youngsters for many more generations to come.

–Fifty Dog Quotes That Every Animal Lover Will Relate To: As both a lover of dogs and a proud dog mama to Annie, our nearly nine-year-old Bullador (half Lab, half American Bulldog), I couldn’t help but smile and experience plenty of the “feels’, as they say, while reading through this heartwarmingly lovely selection of dog quotes.

–Grandma’s Vintage Desserts: There are so many wonderful recipes – as well as plenty of fascinating culinary history – on this website that instead of singling out and featuring just one here, I’m sharing Grandma’s Vintage Desserts as a whole.

Helmed by a passionate chap named Don, this delightful website is chock-a-block with the kinds of classic, endearing, and hugely adored sweet treats that many of us grew up with.

These recipes aren’t about the latest fads or most cutting-edge cooking techniques. They are honest, downhome, salt of the earth (or would that be sugar of the earth?) culinary creations that have been made and savoured for generations.

Be it during the holiday season or at any point in the year, if you are on the hunt for an ever-expanding selection of wonderful vintage and timeless recipes “just like grandma used to make” then this site is a must-visit + bookmark (or pin).

–How The Iconic Late Night TV Personality of Elvira Came to Be: Lily Munster and Morticia Addam are indisputably two of the most famous and beloved darkly inclined ladies. However, they’re both fictional characters portrayed on screen my talented Hollywood actresses.

Another spookily souled woman who has been delighting us for decades now is Elvira – aka, The Mistress of Dark.

Unlike Morticia and Lily, Elvira, while still a persona in part, is real. If you have ever wanted to know more about her origin story, then this wonderfully engaging look at how Elvira rose to – and has long maintained her – fame is just the ticket.

–Scientists Discover an Adorable New Species of Brown Frog: Brace yourself for some serious cuteness when you click through this link, as you are about to meet the precious little Chocolate Frog (most likely) for the first time.

This darling amphibian was found in some of the roughest terrain of New Guinea, where it is believed to exist endemically.

I adore learning about newly discovered species and continually marvel at the fact that for all of our global exploration and 21^st century scientific knowledge, there are still critters out that have yet to be documented by humans.

–Some Haunted Trees in the United States: You didn’t think I would let the season that houses Halloween wrap up without at least one ghost related link appearing here, did you?

Whether you are the biggest skeptic of spectres to ever live, have your own ghost hunting gear at the ready, or fall anywhere in between, this engaging post about some of America’s most legendary haunted trees makes for a fascinating read that might just have you looking at the oldest trees in your own neck of the woods a little differently from now on.

Celebrating both the chill and warmth of wintertime

We could likely sit here until the next Fall Equinox debating which season is cozier, autumn or winter?

Honestly, it’s a two-way tie for me. As I suspect it is a good many others as well.

Fall is my favourite season. The slice of the year that delivers us from summer’s parching heat, yet keeps the wolves of winter at bay for (if we’re lucky) at least a few weeks.

Winter is wildly cozy, too, however. Its comfort stretches back into the furthest ethers of time, resides in tradition and nostalgia, and invites us to slow down and embrace the serenity that comes from tumbling snow and the stillness it imparts to the slumbering natural world.

Throughout my life, I have gone back and forth regarding what season takes home the silver medal in my books. Each has held that spot at times, though summer and winter are usually the two that vie most fiercely for second place.

This year, as has often been the case, winter wins out. I need its tranquillity, the productivity that cool days spent indoors delivers, and the merriment of Yule, Christmas, and New Year’s – to say nothing of Valentine’s Day (or as I like to celebrate it, Valoween) a few weeks later.

Winter and I jive. Even during those years when I have experienced SAD, I love winter no less.

My witchy, gothy soul embraces the year’s dark heart. Which, really, is not all that dark in many respects.

Show me another season where we light as many candles and fires or hang up as many strings of twinkling lights both indoors and out?

Humans are astonishingly resilient creatures. Both prior to, and in the years since, electric lighting came into our lives, we stood our ground against even the most powerful of arctic gales via the use of flames.

As though the warmth we generated could melt, if only symbolically, some of winter’s intense chill.

This tradition continues to the present day. It is the heat generated on stoves and in fireplaces, the joys of classic comfort food that invite us to linger in the warmth of good company and wonderful conversation around the table.

It is each simple tealight and heady seasonal candle we watch slowing burn down. Scents of everything from pine to cinnamon to cranberries gloriously filling our indoor environments.

In the glistening of a menorah’s nightly lighting, the multi-coloured bulbs nestled between the needles of Christmas trees, and even the fireworks of New Year’s Eve, we ensure that light is never far from our lives throughout the winter months.

The experiences these activities bring generates treasured memories and helps to remind us that even the chilliest January night can only last so long.

Winter is not the enemy though in my books. It is an ally to my creative process, my spiritual path, and the holidays I embrace annually. Just as it is for countless others around the globe.

Sure, by early March, I will practically be begging for summer, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be a touch blue to see winter go.

We are old friends at this point. A Canadian born and raised lass and a season that frequently consumes this nation for five, six, or even seven pages of the calendar.

Tomorrow, as winter officially returns, I will smile and give thanks for the ever-turning Wheel of the Year and for the beautiful serenity this season houses.

To say nothing of the holiday time joys that we are presently enmeshed in.

Much like its predecessor, 2021 was an intensely challenging year for many of us – be it personally, globally or both.

It is impossible to know with any certainty what this winter (or summer, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) will bring in terms of the pandemic, climate change, and myriad other things.

But what we can, as a general rule, count on is the familiarity of winter. From its icy bite to its festive feasts, its sweatshirt grey skies and the promise of sun-kissed new life that lays beyond its snowy borders.

May this winter find and keep you well, safe, and, in all ways possible, wonderfully warm and happy.

What were some of the standout elements of this autumn for you? What aspects of winter are you most looking forward to?

The post Fall 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings; now for October eves! – Humbert Wolfe

As last year drew to a close, the internet was rife with memes pertaining to how 2020 was “one heck of a decade” (language softened as I generally strive to keep things family-friendly around here).

Zero arguments about that on this end.

In much the same vein, the season that just wrapped up, summer 2021, felt like a whole year crammed into just three months.

However, even with a plethora of different challenges and stresses, this summer held a certain unmistakable charm.

Yes, we experienced heatwaves (our town hit at least 47C in early July, with the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada occurring in a tiny community called Lytton, which is about a three-hour drive from our house; heartbreaking, a wildfire would utterly decimate Lytton mere days later), drought conditions, serious medical issues, the sudden passing of a family member on my paternal side, an ongoing surge in Covid-19 numbers in our region, and multiple forest fire evacuation alerts, but summer was still summer.

Sizzlingly hot, thrillingly gorgeous, and highly unforgettable.

Amidst the challenging elements of this summer, there was hope, positivity, and abundant loveliness (to say nothing of inspiration) as well.

My Summerween birthday back in July stands out as my favourite experience + memory from the season that just was.

What was your favourite part of summer (or winter, if you’re south of the equator) 2021?

As much as I love autumn with every fibre of my being, I do not generally wish summer a speedy demise (especially since I am not exactly in a mad rush to experience another 6 – 7 months of snowy weather again ).

This time around, however, pragmatism held that fall’s return would greatly benefit the brutal provincewide wildfire situation.

Thus, as August took its final breath and September arrived, I found myself grateful to start parting ways with summer.

And here we are, a few brief days in this exquisitely lovely chapter of the year. When leaves sunburned from summer’s pulsating heat drift like autumnal fairies to the ground, pumpkins grin from porches near and far, and the season of the witch is upon us.

I am ready. So incredibly, appreciatively, excitedly ready for October and all of autumn.

No matter what transpires in each of our lives, the annual cycle of the seasons is fundamentally unchanging.

Seasons come and go, painting our lives with new memories and the gift of treasured traditions alike. They are a rare constant in a world that has quite the penchant for changing on a dime.

In one final nod to the latest season to conclude, I present to you, sweet friends, the Summer 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me.

A link love post featuring online content that caught my eye during the past three months, coupled with a peek into what has been transpiring in my own life lately.

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–DIY Crescent Moon Wreath: The sky is the limit when it comes to the creative ways in which one can make a wreath.

To my mind, few versions are as enchantingly gorgeous as this breathtaking DIY crescent moon wreath.

Naturally, one need not be of a witchy or Pagan persuasion to whip up a beautiful crescent moon wreath of their own. This is a craft project that can easily be enjoyed by one and all, and which would make for a phenomenal gift to bestow upon someone special in your life.

(And speaking of wreaths, I am really digging the same blogger’s (Debbie’s) creative Dollar Tree Placemat Wreath project idea as well.)

–How to Use the Tarot to Get Through Hard Times: Whether you are new to card slinging, have been working with tarot for years or decades now, or have yet to do a single spread, this handy, thoughtful list of dos and don’ts is a great way to help use your cards during life’s rougher patches.

–How to Use Witchcraft to Help Your Loved Ones: While it is natural for many of us to focus some (or even all) of our witchy workings and energy on our own needs/desires/purposes, it can be hugely beneficial to extend our practice to helping others in our lives as well.

This post lays out a handful of practical, useful ways to do just that. And it may, in the process, inspire you to come up with other approaches that would suit both your own witchery and the needs of your loved ones.

(From the same blog, as we embrace autumn’s return, I highly recommend their recipe for the Witchiest Pumpkin Spice (Blend) Ever.)

–Pagan Music: Our Top 25 Pagan and Witchy Songs for Rituals, Spells, and More: Like many of us, I adore a wide range of music and am always keen to discover new-to-me artists and groups whose tunes jive with my musical tastes.

I am also continually on the lookout for excellent Pagan and witchery-related music, so was tickled pink to see a terrific roundup of 25 songs that fall under that header appear on Other Worldly Oracle this summer.

If witchy/Pagan tunes are your cup of tea, swing on by and savour the beautiful, inspiring music on this instant playlist.

(Another post on the same site that stood out for me as of late is their wonderful Beginner’s Guide to Using Oracle Cards.)

–Spellcasting Series: Basics of Spellcrafting: In-depth, informative, and immensely helpful for new witches/Wiccans or those looking to further/expand their spellcrafting skills, this stellar post from Willow at The Flying Hedge is a must-read for anyone who involves spellwork in their witchery practices.

–The Ultimate Guide To Self Care (From a Witch): One of many lessons/reminders that the pandemic has driven home all the more for a lot of us is just how vitally important self care is.

I am a huge advocate of self-care and while, admittedly, I don’t always excel at practicing what I preach, I have gotten somewhat better at prioritizing self-care in recent years.

The insight and advice on self-care laid out in this in-depth exploration of the topic by none other than the Penniless Pagan is a must-read for witches, Wiccans, and Pagans everywhere.

And, objectively, a good degree of what the author covers in this helpful post is applicable to non-witchy/Pagan folks as well (as self-care is 100% for everyone on earth!).

–Why “Good Vibes Only” Culture is Toxic: While I tend to naturally lean on the optimistic side of things, I am also a stark realist who has been through her fair share of tough times and knows all too well that life is not always a bed of roses.

As a result, I have long seen the concept of “good vibes only” as being one that (sincerely well-intentioned as it may be at times) misses the mark. And which, in some instances, invalidates the broader spectrum of experiences/emotions/pain/trauma/healing inherent to being a multifaceted human being.

Thus, I was especially happy to see one of my all-time favourite websites, Loner Wolf, explore some of the reasons why focusing solely on good vibes is not actually as beneficial or helpful (to ourselves or others) as it may seem at first glance.

Card making, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–Crafts to Use Up Leftover Yarn: Even those crafters who do not knit or crochet often find that yarn makes it way into some of their projects. If you have leftover yarn that you would like to use up hanging around your crafty space, why not bring it to life all the more with one of these delightful project ideas?

–15 Tips and Tricks that Will Help You Creatively Organize Your Craft Supplies: Useful, implementable ideas abound in this example-filled post that is here to aid you in organizing your craft space + supplies all the more.

In doing so, you can spend less time shifting piles or hunting for what you need and more time creating awesome new works of art.

–50+ Fall Saying for Crafters and DIY Projects: Whether you are looking for card sentiments, scrapbook layout titles, messages to stitch, prints to design, home decoration projects, captions for your social media shares, or myriad other creative purposes, this handy list of 50+ charming fall sayings is well worth bookmarking and returning to autumn after autumn.

–How to Make Shooting Star Favour Pouches: Ideal for birthdays, graduation, Halloween, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s, St. Patrick’s Day, baby showers, weddings, anniversary, the Pagan sabbats, stargazing or meteorite shower watching parties, and many other occasions, these eye-catchingly fantastic favour pouches are sure to delight those lucky folks who receive one.

–Loaded Envelope Tutorial (from Graphic 45): Loaded envelopes are an awesome way to expand your paper crafting routine, creating in the process a gorgeous work of art to display in your home or give as a gift (including for holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas).

The sky is the limit in terms of themes, embellishments, uses, etc for loaded envelopes (and the similar type of project known as loaded pockets).

If you would like to try your hand a making one (or are simply looking for some fab inspiration for your next loaded envelope) this lovely tutorial from the Graphic 45 blog has you covered.

–Ten Ways to Use Washi Tape: The uses for washi tape are just about limitless! With so many gorgeous, fun, and unique designs out there, it is easy to see why over the past several years washi has both grow in global popularity and become a common part of many crafter’s stashes.

If you are hunting for some cool ways to use washi that goes beyond “just” including it on cards, layouts, tags and the like, this post from Bottle Branch delivers ten clever ideas that are apt to appeal to crafters and non-crafters alike (as anyone can, of course, use and enjoy washi tape).

–30 Fall-Inspired Embroidery Patterns and Kits to Get You into the Autumnal Spirit: Earlier this month I shared a selection of 50 Awesome Mabon Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for the Fall Equinox and have been delighting in seeing other peoples’ seasonal craft project roundup posts as well.

One in particular that recently nabbed my attention is Sara’s list of swoon-worthy fall embroidery patterns and kits that you can currently purchase from various online sellers.

If you are an autumn adoring needleworker, then this post is sure to set your heart aflutter and may just lead to your next stitchery project.

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Alrighty, we have covered some of the less-than-ideal elements of summer 2021 earlier in this post, so let’s take a gander now at a few of the more positive things that transpired this time around on my end between Litha and Mabon.

Firstly, I just have to say how much I enjoyed the topics that I blogged about here this summer.

Even though some weeks I honestly did not think that my health would accommodate creating a new post, somehow, even if it meant writing until nearly midnight on Sunday evening (our weeks start on Monday here in Canada).

It was an act of love, self-care, and defiance (of my body) all rolled into one.

In exactly the same way that the handful of days when crafting was possible for me were as well.

With fall looming, I upped my usual autumn/harvest season sabbats/Thanksgiving/Halloween crafting levels and revelled in every cardstock, ink, and hot glue-filled moment of it!

This is, after all, the ultimate season for #MakeHalloween365 and I can scarcely wait to share even more of my latest seasonal makes here with all of you.

The nanosecond I began eligible to do so, I received my second Covid-19 vaccine.

This transpired in August and while I did feel a touch rougher than with my first shot (think a mild two-day-long flu with a low-grade fever), that was an infinitesimally small price to pay for the blessing of being as vaccinated as one can be at present here in this country.

And moreover, to do what I personally believe is the socially and ethically responsible thing in terms of helping to try and stamp out Covid-19.

Even though Tony and I are both fully vaccinated now, we continue to enact every possible safety measure in the face of the ongoing global pandemic and will keep doing so for as long as this devastating illness persists.

Please note: If your views about C-19 vaccinations differ from mine, I respect that point and ask that you please do the same with my views and not come at me in the comments. We each have to approach and handle these incredibly challenging times in the ways that align most with our beliefs, health, and personal values. For me, getting fully vaccinated does that. For you, it may not. We are all different.

As my mom is fully vaccinated as well, we were able to share a number of fantastic visits with her this summer.

Indeed, she remains the only relative so far that I have been able to interact with in person since prior to when the pandemic took hold in a major way (aka, March 2020) here in Canada.

She was the sole guest at our house on both mine and Tony’s birthdays this summer, and was able to provide immense help to us during the long, uncertain weeks when the very real threat of a wildfire reaching our neighbourhood loomed over our heads.

Mercifully, that did not happen.

I will not soon forget, however, the sizzling hot days my mom and I spent hosing down the house and yard, as falling wildfire ash tumbled down from the sky to the point that it looked like a heavy snowfall.

Setting our sights now on the autumn months, we hope to spend lots more time with my mom and the three of us are counting down the seconds until Halloween returns (we plan to celebrate it together, as per usual ).

This summer was not easy, but it could, of course, have been a lot harder or more heartbreaking.

I thank every star in the universe that such was not the case and remain realistically optimistic that certain areas of our lives will improve over the course of the final months of this year.

After all, hope is free and limitless. So why not, I figure, throw it around like confetti?

And now, on with a handful of assorted links from across the good, ol’ interwebz that stood out for me this summer.

–Apparently the Brontës All Died So Early Because They Spent Their Lives Drinking Graveyard Water: Talk about an attention-grabbing headline – especially if you’re a fellow taphophile or fan of these immensely talented ladies.

This article details a potential cause (or at least a notable contributing factor) in the deaths not only of the Brontë sisters, but of their brother, Patrick, as well.

The explanation of contaminated water from a local graveyard (and possibly from privies in the area, too) is wholly plausible. And is nothing if not in keeping with the death-centred sentiments of the Brontës and the era they briefly called their own.

–Can the Garden Save Us? How the Power of Nature Can Change Life As We Know It: While not, for all intents, a gardener myself (a point, I find, that often surprises people to learn), I am a keen student and ceaseless lover + respecter of nature.

As such, the points put forth in this insightful article from Veranda really resonated with me. For they tap into the collective connection to cultivating green life that is inherent to our survival as a species – and as a planet.

–Free Hocus Pocus Printable Quote Prints: No other Halloween movie – and, if we’re being frank, few movies in general – holds such a special or beloved spot in my heart as Hocus Pocus.

I watch Hocus Pocus multiple times and year and always keep an eye open (subtle nod to “Book” intended) for Hocus Pocus-related items. Most, naturally, have a price tag attached to them, but a handful are available for free online.

I just about started jumping around alla Sarah Sanderson upon recently discovering this post that houses a fantastic series of free Hocus Pocus quote prints that you can download and display all October (or, if you’re HP obsessed like me, all year) long.

–How to Cook Corn on the Cob in the Oven: For many of us, few vegetables are more intertwined with late summer and early fall than freshly harvested corn on the cob.

Whether you pick ears of sweetcorn yourself or snap them up from a local produce stand, farmer’s market, or grocery store, if you adore this versatile yellow veggie, you are definitely going to want to give oven roasting your corn on the cob a try. The end results are spectacularly tasty!

–How to Make Dandelion Lotion Bars with Dandelion Oil: Though dandelion season has come to close in many areas, for those who are still experiencing the presence of this lovely sunshine hued plant and are keen to utilize them in a fresh, practical way, homemade dandelion lotion bars may just be the answer.

(Note: While not an overly common allergy, some people are indeed allergic to dandelions. Therefore, you will want to proceed with caution and do a small skin exposure test on an area such as the inside of your wrist if you are unsure how your skin will react to dandelions.)

–Mary Simon Named as Canada’s First Indigenous Governor General: This summer witnessed a historic milestone here in Canada when Mary Simon was appointed as our country’s first Indigenous Governor General.

Simon is Canada’s 30^th Governor General to date, stepping into the position after many years in politics, including an appointment in the 1990s as Canada’s first Inuk ambassador (she was ambassador to Denmark) and being involved with the creation of Nunavut during the same decade.

I am thrilled that a First Nations person is currently holding this important position in our country and hope that Mary will be the first of many others who follow in her trailblazing footsteps.

–Oldest Living Ranger in the National Parks Service Celebrates Her 100^th Birthday: Relatively few of us are blessed to make it to our 100^th year and fewer still have yet to retire by that age.

Not so for the venerable Betty Reid Soskin, who joined the US National Parks Service just fifteen years ago, at the age of 85.

An inspiration to all of us the world over for many reasons (including her work with the Civil Rights Movement), Betty is proof that for some lucky individuals, age may indeed be just a number!  

It’s fall, y’all!

Admittedly, not too many Canadians tend to say the classic Southern contraction of “y’all”. I hope you will permit me the use of it here, however, given how well “y’all” partners with the word “fall” and how fun they are to say together.

On this side of the equator, fall is here and I am as giddy as a kitty in a field of catnip over that fact.

Both online and off, I will be immersing myself in my favourite season with limitless gusto and glee.

I hope that if you are a fan of autumn time as well, you will join me in doing the same. And that, even if this chapter of the year isn’t your personal fave, it will still house plenty of enjoyable, terrific times for you as well.

Little more than a month now stands between us and Halloween + Samhain. I will be blogging up a storm throughout October, most of which will relate to those two events (and/or fall in general).

It is such a special, meaningful joy to savour the year’s third act with all of you.

Thank you so much for being here and on social media (Instagram very much included) with me.

I cherish each of you and as Canadian Thanksgiving returns on the second Monday in October, you will be amongst the blessings I count with unending gratitude.

Have an awesome tail end of September, everyone – and be sure to tune in here on October 1^st, as I will be sharing a delightful ghost-themed Halloween project to help kick off the spookiest and most enchantingly wonderful month of the year.

Which of the links highlighted above leapt out at you? What elements of October’s return are filling your own heart with happiness?

The post Summer 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Thus far in this ongoing post series – which will total eight entries when complete – we have explored the Winter Solstice/Yule and Spring Equinox/Ostara. Now it is time to let Mabon have its well-deserved moment in the crafting spotlight.

My heart is warmed by knowing that a lot of you really dig this series. This fact helps to keep my spirits and energy levels buoyed during the multiple days that it takes to create each entry it houses.

This time around, I am thrilled to present you with a sizable slew of DIY project ideas, craft ideas, and fall décor inspiration for both the Fall Equinox and the Pagan sabbat of Mabon.

The latter of which is sometimes referred to as the “Witches’ Thanksgiving”. An apt, beautiful odd to the earth’s many blessings and reasons to be grateful that fill our days as summer drifts into autumn.

In addition, the Autumn Equinox ushers in the return of Libra season.

Which while not the sign I was born under (that would be cancer), it is the sign during which my husband and I tied the knot almost seventeen years ago now. That, coupled with the fact that multiple close family members are Libras, ensures this astrological sign an extra special spot in my heart.

If you are new to Mabon and/or would like to learn more about it, please check out my post 15 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Mabon for more information about this harvest season Pagan sabbat.

When is the Fall Equinox 2021?

This year, in the Northern Hemisphere, the Fall Equinox occurs on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.

The name “equinox” stems from the Latin words “aequas”, which means equal, and “nox”, which is night.

We apply the word equinox to the dates that begin both autumn and spring, respectively, as each of these days house roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness.

In the case of spring, the weather is beginning to warm up and the days are growing gradually longer until they peak on that front come the Summer Solstice.

With the return of fall time, cooler weather generally begins to fill our days and the nights grow longer.

They will continue to do so straight on until the Winter Solstice. At which point, though it can be hard to tell as much in the dark, icy heart of December, a few more minutes will appear daily straight on until the Summer Solstice returns in the third week of June.

Another point that denotes the Autumn Equinox is the fact that on this date, the sun crosses over the equator from north to south. Hence why, when it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is fall in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

What are some common themes and meanings of the Fall Equinox?

Whether one approaches the Autumn Equinox from a spiritual or more secular/non-belief-based perspective, fall’s return is a time that we can all celebrate, embrace, and find personal meaning in as the days grow shorter and the year begins to wind down.

Broadly speaking, the Fall Equinox (much like Mabon – a Pagan sabbat that is observed by many either on the Autumn Equinox itself or within a few days of this beautiful annual event) serves as a poignant symbol of balance and equality in our lives.

It embraces elements of both life and death, particularly in terms of the harvest season. By the second half of September, a lot of crops have been harvested, though some still remain to be brought in and transformed into food for countless folks the world over.

Traditionally, as the harvest (including butchering domestic animals and/or hunting, where applicable) could quite literally make the difference between survival and perishing, it’s safe to assume that death was rarely far from the minds of our ancestors as they prepared and braced for the icy winter months ahead.

While modern farming, greenhouses, and food production techniques can play god, so to speak, to a degree in terms of our ability to produce and harvest various crops, meat and dairy sources throughout the year, the world is still highly reliant on the annual harvest season to help keep the 21^st century food chain running smoothly.

This is neither the time nor the place, however, to debate the merits and shortcomings of the modern food industry, so I shalln’t venture down that path – fear not.

Beyond the literal harvest season, fall’s return can be a superb time to take stock of those areas of our own lives in which we can reap the rewards of our hard work and dedication, as well as to reflect on others that are ongoing and may require our focus in the coming autumn and winter months.

Fall is a time of merriment and thanksgiving, of lingering warmth and light mingling with the mysteries and beauty of darkness.

The Autumn Equinox encourages both hard work and perseverance, as well as the opportunity to rest, relax, and savour some gorgeous seasonal tranquillity.

If you had an especially gruelling, stressful, or otherwise eventful summer, this point can be of particular importance – as can making sure you take time to focus on self-care throughout the crunchy leaf-filled season.

Just as flowers, plants, trees, and many types of crops (as well as plenty of wild critters, too) often start to slow down or go into hibernation during the autumn months, so too can fall be a brilliant time to slow your proverbial roll.

Take time this fall to genuinely focus on what you need, what you want, what makes you happy, what you can ditch from your life, and where you hope to be not only come winter, but at this point next year.

Fall abounds with the sights, sounds, tastes, and festive happenings of the summer’s departure, the harvest season, and plenty of spooky goodness as well.

We associate this season with elements that warm us in body, mind, and spirit alike. From the coziest of knits to the most scrumptious of warm drinks (be they pumpkin spice or otherwise), snugly blankets to glowing bonfires, we find ways to extend the rapidly vanishing warmth of summer in ways that honour the soul of autumn at the same time.

For many of us, fall sets our tastebuds alight as well. We gleefully reach for freshly picked apples, pears, grapes, plums, cranberries, squash, carrots, pumpkins, and numerous other seasonal delights from August to December.

Whether enjoyed straight-up or whipped into a wide array of both sweet and savour dishes, fall’s culinary offerings convey comfort, fortification, and nourishment.

Outdoors, the leaves are changing, the breeze is getting nippier, squirrels and other critters both large and small are gathering food for the coming winter, and the sun is setting earlier each evening.

This is a gorgeous, highly meaningful chapter of the year that ranks as many peoples’ favourite season. Though that need not be the case in order to enjoy and get the most that you realistically can out of fall.

Many of us love to bring autumn indoors, be it with actual pieces of nature or human-made products that represent the resplendent natural beauty inherent to this chapter of the year.

It is precisely that ability to fill our homes with elements of the autumn season that is at the heart of this post.

Whether you opt to follow any of the tutorials shared here or not, it is my steadfast hope that these fifty creative, charmingly fun fall craft, DIY, and décor project ideas provide you with oodles of seasonal inspiration to utilize in whatever ways currently work best for your home and daily life alike.

Note: As tempting as it was to pepper this post with Halloween and Samhain-themed projects, I have refrained – for the most part – from doing so, as those will appear here in a future entry all their own.

That said, depending on your decor style, personal beliefs, and so forth, most of the project ideas highlighted below can easily work for Halloween and Samhain, too.

Just as many of them suit Thanksgiving (be it Canadian or US) excellently as well. Some may also be appropriate for other autumn time holidays, too, such as Dia de los Muertos and Rosh Hashanah, respectively.

50 Awesome Mabon Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for the Fall Equinox

1. How to Make an Autumn Fairy from Natural Materials: Whether one believes in fairies or simply delights in stories, images, and craft projects pertaining to the fae, this enchantingly sweet craft – which is ideal to involve little ones with – is sure to add a welcome dose of whimsical charm to your fall altar, Halloween/Samhain tree, or elsewhere in your home decor.

These precious fairies would also make for marvellous gifts throughout the fall, including for events such as Grandparent’s Day and Thanksgiving.

2. Mabon Dried Apple Garland: We often tend to associate slices, pieces, and rounds of dried fruit with Yule and wintertime in general, but this beautiful way of preserving and celebrating some of nature’s finest sweet treats lends itself superbly to autumn as well.

In this photo filled step-by-step tutorial, we are guided on not only how to make a gorgeous garland like the one shown here, but also on how to prepare and dry the fruit slices required for it.

This is a useful l skill to master and create with for many a year to come – much as how this festive garland can also be enjoyed harvest season after magickal harvest season.

3. Cinnamon Salt Dough Leaf Ornaments: Similar to dried fruit, salt dough ornaments are another project that we tend to associate with winter. Happily, they can be a year-round joy and one that lends itself to autumn – that most cinnamon scented of seasons – excellently.

This lovely DIY post shows you how to make cinnamon salt dough leaf ornaments, which can then be used and/or displayed in many different ways (think tree decorations, place setting decor, dangling from a suitable lighting fixture, and so on).

And if (like me) you or someone in your household needs to keep things strictly GF at all times, be sure to use a gluten-free salt dough recipe instead of one that contains gluten.

4. DIY Wine Cork Grape Ornaments: Whether you opt to go the glittery route or die the cork ends with wine (both versions are detailed in this lovely project post), this super cute bunch of handmade grapes is sure to put a smile on the faces of wine lovers and fall produce fans everywhere.

On the Pagan, front, many different deities from pantheons around the world are closely linked to grapes, wine, and vineyards, including – but not limited to – Dionysus/Bacchus, Silenus, Du Kang, Oenotropae, Sucellus, and Liber Pater.

If you work with any deities of this nature in your practice, this DIY grape project would be a fantastic way to honour that/those gods or goddesses not only during the fall, but all year through.

5. How to Make Fabric Pumpkins: As Lora, the talented creator of this project touches on in her accompanying blog post, fall decor is often all about the pumpkins. While I realize this doesn’t ring true for everyone, of course, for plenty of us, there is no such thing as too many pumpkins and we eagerly enjoy finding new takes on a perennial classic.

This easy-to-make pumpkin project utilizes scraps of knit material, twine, and a few other common items to create handmade plush pumpkins that are all but bursting at their seems with festive fall sweetness and heartfelt DIY charm.

I adore the versatility of these lovely pumpkins and how (with suitable supplies) one could whip them up in just about any colour palette and/or size imaginable.

6. DIY Candy Corn Pine Cones: I really like candy corn and madly adore pine cones, so as you might imagine, a craft project that marries these two things was bound to be an instant hit with me. Just as I know it will be with many of you as well.

Spray paint, (optional) Mod Podge + glitter, and some suitable dried pinecones are all it takes to whip up this eye-catchingly wonderful fall DIY project that – unlike a bowl of real candy corn deal – can be reused autumn after autumn for many a year to come.

(You could also easily attach strings, ribbon loops, or hooks to these darling candy corn pine cones and use them as seasonal tree decor – or turn a batch of them into the foundations of an awesome autumn time wreath.)

7. How to Make Waxed Fall Leaves: Ever wanted to preserve and continue to enjoy the vibrancy of autumn leaves long after they have tumbled to ground? Or, have you longed for durable real autumn leaves that you could use in a variety of craft and DIY projects?

If so, then this clever, versatile approach to preserving fall foliage is apt to tickle your fancy and have you stocking up on paraffin wax in no time.

8. DIY Pumpkin Terracotta Pots: Aren’t these terracotta pumpkin pots too cute for words? Not only are these fun to make and decorate your home with, but they’re also a great way to stash all manner of small items, from candy to craft supplies.

While orange is a natural fit for pumpkins, you could also whip up some terracotta containers in whatever colour works best for your own seasonal decor. From black to burgundy, green to gold, the options are endless and sure to make for dazzling end products in any hue.

9. DIY Fall Apple Candles: If pumpkins are the vegetable that many of us associate most closely with autumn time, then surely apples must be the fruit that takes top billing in that respect.

Long linked with the start of the school year (and teaching in general), femininity, the archetypal Goddess figure (and various other deities, including the Norse goddess, Idunn, and the Greek goddess, Pomona), the fall harvest, divination, magick, wisdom, the soul, love, fertility, beauty, the afterlife, fidelity, vanity, immortality, health and healing (amongst other things), apples are a stellar fruit to work with all autumn long.

This beautiful DIY project leads you through how to make your own apple candles, which are just as at home at Mabon as there are in a few week’s time when Samhain graces the world once again with its powerful presence.

10. Dried Corn Centerpiece: Corn is another beloved, timeless vegetable that is closely intertwined with fall and which can be a visually captivating way to enliven any room.

A few ears of dried corn in the colour(s) of your choosing, dried corn husks, hot glue, ribbon (or burlap, twine, etc), and a suitable vase are all you need to make this elegant centrepiece that would be as at home on a Mabon altar as it would a Thanksgiving table.

11. Fall Acorn Wreath: If you’re a fellow die-hard fan of acorns and craft projects that utilize these classic fall time offerings, then you’re bound to adore this stunning acorn-filled wreath.

It is so enjoyably evocative of nature that you might find yourself leaving it out the whole year through.

12. Dryer Vent Pumpkins: File this one under the “ingenious idea” heading, as that is precisely what these darling dryer vent pumpkins are.

A fun, unexpected material to work with in a crafting capacity, dryer vent hosing/tubing does an impressive job of resembling a pumpkin – especially thanks to its corrugated texture, which instantly telegraphs the look of the grooves on the real deal.

13. DIY Cone-ucopias for Thanksgiving: These fabulous fall time paper cones are a natural fit for Thanksgiving, but there’s no stopping you from making some of your own and enjoying them all autumn long.

Fun, inexpensive, and embued with a sense of yesteryear charm, these paper cornucopias can dressed up or down as desired, and would be a thoughtful gift to give if you are invited to Thanksgiving dinner or any other meal at someone house this fall.

14. DIY Leaf Stamped Napkins: This lovely tutorial is apt to make you want to whip up a whole bundle of sophisticated fall napkins using little more than paint and actual leaves. I know that as a (paper crafting) stamper, it has more than piqued my interest and is a project I hope to try my hand at one day.

This same approach to stamping with real leaves can also be expanded to other textiles (as well as materials such as paper and cardstock). Leaf stamping would be a beautiful way to jazz up and add greater meaning to everything from altar cloths to pillowcases (ensuring the paint was safe for use on bedding), table runners to decorative bunting.

15. DIY Pumpkin Hand Soap: Darling to look at and, naturally, a great way to keep your hands clean (something, that as we all know, has become more important than ever since the pandemic began), these super cute DIY bars of pumpkin-shaped soap are fun, festive, and fab to give as gifts all spooky season long.

16. How to Make Fabric Apples (with Free Apple Sewing Pattern): These charming handmade apples are every bit as festive as the real deal – with the added bonus that they can be reused season after season for years to come.

Whether you opt for red, green, yellow, burgundy, or any other colour (to say nothing of the plethora of patterns you could utilize here), these cute apples are a snap to sew up and display throughout the autumn months.

And I cannot help but think that some of my fellow witchy souls would enjoy utilizing these lovely fabric apples as a form of harvest season (non-figural) poppets, sealed spell bags, or fill them with dried herbs/flowers/grasses/etc for a wide range of magickal applications.

17. Pumpkin Pie Felt Garland: Oh my gourd, this is a seriously adorable fall time felt project!

This easy-to-make garland features one of the most beloved fall desserts (and pies, point-blank) of time. It is oodles of fun to make and enjoy throughout autumn, and will surely be a conversation piece with all those who have the pleasure of seeing it in your home.

18. Pinecone and Cranberry Rustic Garland: While both cranberries and pinecones are commonly linked to wintertime and Christmas, each of these natural treasures is equally at home during the autumn months as well.

Think, for example, of cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving and the slew of pinecones that often tumble to the ground during the fall.

This endearingly pretty rustic garland combines pinecones and cranberries to great effect, and has a sweet yesteryear charm to it that I cannot get enough of.

19. Laced Leaf Suncatcher: Preserve a favourite fall leaf (or a selection of leaves) with this creative, splendidly pretty suncatcher that celebrates nature, the seasons, and the weather all in one delightful go.

20. How to Make Painted Gourds: Ever looked at the curvaceous, versatile canvass that is the humble gourd and yearned to add a painterly touch to it?

If so, follow along with Patti as she expertly guides you through the process of painting hollowed-out gourds to create a unique, long-lasting handmade treasure that is so attractive, you may find yourself painting an array of different gourds for all four seasons.

(On the fall DIY front, I also really like Patti’s recent entry How To Make Primitive Fabric Pumpkins.)

21. Fabulous Fall Crocheted Leaf Wreath: Autumn adoring crocheters rejoice, this absolutely beautiful wreath is for you!

A rich fall colour palette, many a seasonal element, and a cheerful design add up to an autumn wreath that is worth learning how to crochet for, if you don’t currently possess this crafty skill – and utilizing your existing needle skills for if you do.

22. Painted Candy Corn Mason Jars: A true staple in recent years on the home decor and seasonal decoration fronts, mason jars are a versatile item to keep on hand for when inspiration strikes or is delivered your way via the web.

I am especially taken with this cuter-than-cute DIY project that transforms classic mason jars into generously sized pieces of decorative candy corn.

Awesome as standalone items or great as seasonal vases or storage containers, these painted mason jars will add the sweetest of touches (pun intented) to your fall decor.

23. How to Recycle Lightbulbs into Twine-Wrapped Pears: Apples might get top billing on the fall fruit front, but pears can – and do – hold their ground every bit as much and are a beloved staple for many of us come the return of autumn weather.

If you’re looking for a speedy and very pretty project that celebrates fall time pears, then this clever use for used lightbulbs may just be the ticket.

24. Floating Acorn Candles: These fun little DIY floating acorn candles are as cute as can be!

They are sure to delight both you and your houseguests (or coven mates) with their itty-bitty size that translates into an immense amount of seasonal charm.

25. Pumpkin Patch Pincushions: Give a wonderful seasonal spin to a sewing supply standard with this sweet, easy-to-make pumpkin patch pincushion project that’s perfect for using up some of those too-pretty-to-part-with fabric scraps many sewers have to hand.

26. Fall Bucket List Painted Popsicle Stick Craft: This is a fantastic idea that produces a literal bucket list of seasonal activities/traditions that you hope to experience to this autumn.

Add in whatever entries suit you and your family, take things in a witchy/Pagan direction, if so desired; or put together a selection of classic fall time happenings and give this darling bucket as a gift.

27. DIY Leaf Mod Podge Bowl: Combine artificial fall leaves with Mod Podge and you get one seriously beautiful bowl that is a work of handmade art unto itself.

Fill your eye-catching autumn leaf bowl with whatever seasonal or day-to-day items – spanning Halloween candy to your housekeys – you wish.

This DIY fall leaf bowl would also make for an excellent offering vessel on your Mabon altar or another sacred space around your home.

28. Acorn Earrings: If fall themed jewelry making is your jam, then this beautiful beading project from Martha Stewart Living is bound to have you prizing your finished acorn earrings with as much gusto as an autumn time squirrel and their cache of nuts.

29. DIY Concrete Pumpkins: If you live in a home with a yard (or balcony) that can be adorned for fall, why not try your hand at making a seasonal project that is apt to last for many years (if not decades) to come?

These DIY concrete pumpkins have a refined elegance coupled with a sense of joyful whimsy and are perfect for gardens, lawns, outdoor altars, decks, and just about anywhere else nature resides.

30. Dollar Tree Pizza Pan Fall Welcome Sign: If, like me, you’re a fan of including cute vintage farm trucks in your seasonal decor (I have a black Halloween farm truck decoration that is one of my very favourite spooky season pieces), then this delightful project starring dollar store supplies is likely to pique your interest and make for a great addition to your DIY fall decoration collection.

31. DIY Leaf Trinket Dish: Chic, sophisticated, and wildly pretty, this fantastic fall craft creates a versatile trinket dish that is ideal for autumn, but no less at home throughout the other three seasons.

Make one (or more) for yourself and extras to give out as gifts, because chances are various people in your life would be elated to receive a gorgeous handmade leaf dish of their own.

32. How to Make Decorative Caramel Apples for Fall Decor: The boundless creativity that exists in the world never fails to inspire and enchant me. Case in point, these wonderfully realistic-looking decorative caramel apples, which are easier to create a batch of your own than you might imagine at first sight.

These toffee apples (as caramel apples are called in some parts of the world) are so lifelike, you might find yourself tempted to take a bite. Naturally, that is not a good idea, but displaying these sweet treat inspired beauties throughout the fall months definitely is!

33. DIY Pumpkin Spice Soy Candle: It’s safe to say that candles and fall go together like winter and pine trees. If you’re in the mood to DIY some gorgeously scented autumn time candles of your own, this terrific tutorial is for you!

I would suggest making extras as, if you’re anything like me, you will quite literally burn through a bevy of autumnal candles between now and December.

(And, on the fall scent front, be sure to check out this tutorial on the same blog that shows you how to make wonderfully appealing Apple Scented Candles with Sprinkles.)

34. How to Make a DIY Fall Wreath from a Picture Frame: Have a picture frame that lost its glass or a dated frame you’re not using anymore? What about a plain, versatile frame you thrifted or picked up for a song on sale?

Wherever your frame hails from, if you’re looking to breathe new life into it this autumn, then Aubree’s wonderful fall foliage wreath may just be the DIY project you need. The end result is a stunning seasonal wreath that is, very fittingly, every bit as pretty as a picture.

35. Autumn Harvest Knit Pillow: A splendid palette of rich, earthy fall tones combine with timeless seasonal imagery in this knit pillow project that cozies up autumn all the more and which is sure to become one of your favourite cushions.

36. Falling Leaves Sensory Jar: Perfect for youngsters, but no less applicable to grownups, sensory jars and bottles are akin to snowglobes, but are aimed at helping to provide a sense of calm and comfort to anyone in need of such.

This particular sensory bottle celebrates the entrancing beauty of fall and is a great tool to help manage things such as stress and anxiety, again both in kids and adults alike.

Plus, when they’re teeming with autumn elements like this charmer, sensory bottles and jars make for wonderful seasonal decor as well.

37. Candy Corn Button Art: If, like many a crafter around the world, you love to horde collect buttons and are looking to use more of them up this year, why not try your hand at making a splendidly sweet autumn button art project like this no-sew version that creates a darling candy corn image?

38. Rustic Fall Cinnamon Broom Wreath: While relatively common in America, cinnamon brooms are surprisingly hard to come by up here in Western Canada (much to my witchy, fall adoring heart’s chagrin).

Nevertheless, I enjoy knowing that I could take inspiration from this project and simply use a different type of broom in place the cinnamon version, if they continue to remain elusive north of the 49th (that said, some years, I have spied them at stores such as Michael’s and Canadian Tire, and hope to grab at least one or two should I ever see them at either spot again).

This project creates a fall decor piece that is bursting with seasonal charm, elegance, and – if you’re fortunate to have access to cinnamon brooms – the timelessly appealing aroma of one of fall’s most iconic spices.

(If you are using an unscented broom, you could always try anointing it with cinnamon essential oil or nestling a few richly scented cinnamon sticks amongst the bristles of the broom.)

39. Wise owl crocheted ornament: Ultra adorable and ever-so-ready for autumn, this scarf clad crocheted owl ornament is perfect for fall time now and just as at home, in a few week’s time, tucked amongst the branches of your winter holiday season tree.

40. Rustic Glitter Woodland Pumpkins: If your decor tastes run on the glam side, this chic take on classic fall pumpkins may set your heart aflutter!

Little more than suitable craft paint and glitter are needed to transform everyday plastic pumpkins into unforgettable stylish autumn adornments that add shimmer and pizzazz to any setting.

41. Easy Mason Jar Scarecrows: It is nearly impossible to gaze at these adorable mason jar pumpkins with their button eyes, burlap hats, and straw hair and not smile from ear-to-ear.

Sweet, fun, and much easier to recreate than you may imagine, these mason jar scarecrows look like they might have cost you a pretty penny if purchased from a store or craft fair, but can in fact be made at home with everyday craft supplies that need not break the bank.

42. Knit Apple Dishcloth: No corner of your home has to go untouched by the enchanting loveliness of autumn – not even that kitchen workhorse, the humble dishcloth.

Add seasonal flair to washing up care of this super cute apple-shaped knit dishcloth which is so charming, you may find yourself whipping up a whole bushel of them!

43. DIY Owl Fall Door Hanger: There’s just something about an unadorned door that makes me want to instantly place a wreath or door hanger on it. Never is that more true for me personally than during my beloved autumn.

This super charming DIY owl door hanger would be an especially apt choice, as we’re sometimes blessed to have owls reside in the lofty evergreen trees of our backyard. Plus owls are amongst my all-time favourite animals, as well as being a wild critter that I have shared a close spiritual bond with throughout my life.

If you’re likewise keen on owls and are looking to enhance any door in your home, why not give this rustic, elegant, and very cute door hanger a go?

44. DIY Wire Wrapped Pumpkin Earrings: Whereas some types of wire wrapping projects can require a fair bit of experience and expertise to master, these chic meets adorable pumpkin earrings are quite approachable for new and less advanced makers of wire wrapped jewelry.

These fall time perfect handmade wire wrapped earrings are lightweight, sophisticated, and sure to garner no shortage of compliments (not to mention questions regarding where you got them from!).

45. Fall Wood Bead Garland: Be they for autumn or any other season/occasion, garlands are a versatile, fantastic way to add instant charm to any room in your house. They can adorn mantles and shelves, be part of tiered tray displays, snake across dresser and vanity tops, help a centrepiece shine all the more, and myriad other great uses.

This very sweet version utilizes yarn, wooden beads, and a wood pumpkin die cut piece to create a timeless fall garland that is so pretty, you might just be tempted to wear it as a necklace!

46. Handmade Felt Pears: Perfect grouped together as a centrepiece, tucked between fall foliage on a mantle or shelf, or interspersed in fun spots around your house, these elegant, easy to sew up felt pears are a terrific celebration of one of the season’s most appealing and beloved fruits.

47. Crocheted Falling Leaves Throw: Autumn time and cooler temps go hand-in-hand for those in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere and as such, we often associated fall with coziness of all kinds.

Stay warm and celebrate the natural beauty of autumn leaves care of this gorgeous crocheted throw blanket, which is so attractive you may just find yourself leaving it out all year long.

48. Easy No-Sew Ribbon Acorns: Equal part cute, sophisticated, and pretty, these darling no-sew ribbon acorns are just as lovely as the real deal and make for a marvellous fall time decoration that looks like it would be a blast to whip up a whole basket’s worth of!

49. Easy DIY Yarn Pumpkins: I love a great, inexpensive, easy-to-make fall craft and this fun take on pumpkins nails it big time on each of those fronts.

Whether you opt for orange, cream, pink, green or any other colour of yarn that your heart desires, these sweet little handmade pumpkins are bound to bring a smile your way all throughout the autumn months.

50. Mabon Corn Dolly Tutorial: This excellent guest post entry (from Ruthie Hayes) on the blog Nitty Gritty Life is chocked full of information about the history and meaning of both corn and corn dollies/figures as they apply to Mabon and the fall harvest season.

It caps off with step-by-step instructions to help you create your own beautiful corn dolly, which can then be enjoyed and/or worked with in a magickal capacity this fall and for many an autumn to come (thanks to the long-lasting properties of dried cornhusks).

Note: All 50 images used above are copyright of their respective creators. Please follow the coordinating link in each list entry to be taken to the craft project shown and described therein.

And should you be looking for more seasonal craft ideas this autumn, pop on by my posts 45 Special Occasions and Fun Reasons to Make Cards (and Other Paper Crafting Projects) For This Fall and 5 Ways to Make Cute and Easy Mini Brooms.

Harvest a bumper crop of fall time inspiration

There’s just something about cooler nights, leaves hued like Bartlett pears and Red Delicious apples fluttering in the wind, and the promise of Halloween/Samhain’s return that stokes the fires of my creativity something fierce. (See: #MakeHalloween365 – which can 100% be used for fall crafts and other creative projects in general, too.)

I am by no means alone here. Fall DIYs project ideas abound online and are a firm favourite of many crafters, for autumn often stirs inspiration, artistry, creativity, and joy in a good many of us.

Whether you grin over jack-o-lanterns, are sweet on candy corn, hoot joyfully about owls, fall for tumbling leaves, or adore apples a bushel and a peck, there is something for nearly everyone to be inspired and delighted by during the fall months.

Lean into that sense and use it to make seasonal craft projects or something else entirely. Creativity and inspiration can be abundant, but one’s muse isn’t always in the most giving of moods and you will be glad that you struck, so to speak, when the proverbial iron was hot.

And if you’re looking for oodles more awesome fall inspiration and ideas, check out my Pinterest account, particularly my boards pertaining to the following:

–Fall time in general

–Lammas

–Mabon

–Samhain

–Thanksgiving recipes

–Vintage Thanksgiving

–Fall and Thanksgiving cards

–Halloween

–Halloween costumes

–Halloween recipes

–Halloween cards

–Vintage Halloween

As well, please don’t hesitate to follow me on Instagram, where I celebrate and post (grid + Stories) about autumn all throughout the year.

And should you be on the hunt for books about Mabon, be sure to check out my recent blog post, Your Ultimate Guide to Books on The Pagan Sabbats, which includes multiple entries pertaining to Mabon/the Fall Equinox.

Mabon is a merry, ancient, blessed, and extremely beautiful point on the calendar.

Yes, we are parting ways with summer and that can certainly be rough for some of us, but we are stepping into a breathtaking chapter of the year that is rich with seasonal messages, meanings, and joy.

Embrace the sense of balance inherent to the Fall Equinox, revel in the pleasures of pumpkin season, and allow yourself some time to craft (or decorate) to your heart’s content.

Autumn comes but once a year and deserves to be celebrated in ways both big and small, from the first to the very last moment.

I sincerely hope that the Fall Equinox and Mabon DIY ideas highlighted in this post will assist you in doing just that.

Which of these 50 fall craft projects is your favourite? What are you hoping to make (crafts, recipes, seasonal décor, etc) this autumn?

The post 50 Awesome Mabon Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for the Fall Equinox appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Enmeshed in the blazing heat of summer, it can at times feel a bit foreign to turn our thoughts to things such as ripe fields of wheat, harvesting crops, and preparing for the colder half of the year.

Yet that is precisely part of what the Pagan sabbat of Lughnasadh/Lammas invites us to do.

Lammas is, in the Western Hemisphere, the first of three exciting harvest season sabbats that transpire each year. The other two are Mabon, which is often observed on or right around the Fall Equinox, and Samhain, which many celebrate on or around October 31^st/November 1^st.

Like each of the eight sabbats that encompass the modern-day Wheel of the Year, Lammas, or Lughnasadh as it is also commonly known, can be observed whenever one desires.

(Technically, the two names refer to similar early harvest season celebrations that transpired in Gaelic areas and in England, respectively, however, these days both names are often used interchangeably.)

That said, many opt to do on August 1^st or thereabouts. Another option is to observe Lammas a few days later into the month, on the actual midway date between the Litha (the Summer Solstice) and Mabon (the Fall Equinox).

Falling between these two important points in the calendar, Lughnasadh earns itself the distinction of being a cross-quarter day. Sharing this honour with three of its fellow Pagan sabbats (Imbolc, Beltane, and Samhain).

Lammas/Lughnasadh is seeped in the sights, sounds, happenings, and loveliness of summertime. Beneath its sun-drenched heart though, fall is beginning to stir.

This sabbat ushers in the last full month of summer. In roughly seven week’s time, autumn – that most enchantingly gorgeous and magickal of seasons – will commence.

Many witches, Wiccans, Pagans, and others opt to view Lammas as the unofficial start of fall time – no matter how sky-high the mercury may be at the moment.

Falling squarely into this camp myself, Lughnasadh has a special place in my heart, soul, witchy workings, and daily life alike.

As someone who absolutely lives for fall, that season cannot begin soon enough in my books.

Likewise though, as I’m the type who cherishes, adores, respects, and sees the value inherent in each season, I am not looking to show summer to the door quite yet.

Though if it wants to cool down just a touch, I certainly won’t complain!

My husband and I are fortunate to live in a really neat little town nestled at the tippy-top of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

This area includes some of the desert elements that call the lower portions of the valley home. It is also rife with both woodland and farmland.

Adoring each of these types of settings, I am constantly in awe and appreciation of the diversity, gifts, and beauty that surrounds us here daily.

One of my favourite things to do as July boldly marches into August is to spend time observing the local cornfields.

Some can easily be reached on foot from our home, others require a very brief jaunt in the car. Either way, they don’t take long to reach and are a marvellous sight to behold.

Corn, much like wheat, oats, and barley, is a crop that is often harvested in the second half of summer and/or the early fall.

At this stage, the local corn is nearly ready to be plucked. Very few ears are harvest by hand here anymore. Machines have long replaced that once commonplace task, however that doesn’t detract from the significance and importance of the harvest season in the slightest.

To the ancients, the annual crop harvest was a time to gather and preserve food for the long, cold months ahead. The golden grains, delicious ears of corn, and myriad other produce (and animal) items that were gathered at this point in the year could literally make the difference between life or death in some cases.

We continue, as a species, to be highly dependant on agriculture and will likely always do so, unless something cataclysmic occus that causes us to collectively revert to a traditional hunter-gather type of society.

It was while gazing dreamily at some of our local cornfields recently that the idea for this year’s Lammas blog post suddenly popped into my head.

Before I proceed, I should mention that if you’d like to learn more about the meaning and history of Lammas, be sure to visit my post from last year, 15 Wonderful Animal Correspondences to Connect to and Work at Lammas.

As a lover of art, particularly (though not exclusively) classic art, I’ve long taken note of how the harvest season was a common and much appreciated theme amongst various artists who opted to depict scenes of daily life.

Up until remarkably recently in human history, the summer and fall harvest was, as touched on above, done by hand. Hardworking animals such as horses or oxen may have been involved, as were some hand and early mechanical tools, but the process was a far cry different from the scenes of huge pieces of farm equipment lumbering across golden fields that we often see today.

Regardless of if a person was, themselves, directly involved in the harvest process, many people lived (and still live, for that matter) in close proximity to fields that were/are being harvested.

This sight was a welcome, happy one in general and an exciting time of the year to boot. Summer was beginning to wind down, the promise of cooler weather danced in the breeze, and, in plenty of areas, communal celebrations of the harvest season would transpire.

For these and various other reasons (including the breathtaking beauty of ripe fields bathed in golden summer light), it is perfectly natural that artists would opt to depict something as important to life as the harvest season in their art.

I do not have a degree in art history, I am not an art dealer, and I certainly don’t profess to be a leading expert on art. However, I love and appreciate art with all of my heart and have been studying it since early childhood.

Today I’d like to tap into that passion and share with you a selection of 17 pieces of classic art that celebrate the spirit and beauty of Lammas.

That isn’t to say that these works of art were created with a traditional or Neopagan approach to the year’s first harvest season in mind. Objectively, I doubt that few if any of them were.

However, the earnest depiction of hardworking farmers and farmhands coupled with the endearing beauty of late summer and early fall is something that is apt to appeal to both fellow Pagans/witches and non-Pagans/witches alike.

And I would venture to guess that many of my fellow paper crafters find immense inspiration in pastoral scenes such as this, too.

So, without further ado, allow me to present seventeen captivatingly lovely classical paintings that suit Lughnasadh superbly.

17 pieces of classic art that celebrate the spirit and beauty of Lammas

1. In The Orchard by František Dvořák. Created in 1912, this painting is perhaps my all-time favourite autumn scene that depicts a person. Or, as I like to think of the beguillingly beautiful figure seen here with her arms overlaiden with harvest season fruit, of a goddess.

2. Corn Harvest in Provence by Vincent van Gogh. I highly suspect that van Gogh was a great fan of late summer and early fall, as he chose to paint a variety of images that brilliantly showcase this chapter of the year.

As such, I was hard-pressed to narrow down my selection of his wonderful harvest season scenes to just one. Ultimately, I selected “Corn Harvest”, which he painted in 1888, as it instantly makes me think of the spacious local fields here that are bursting at the seams with ripe ears of sweet, delicious corn.

3. The Seine and the Eiffel Tower in the Sunset by Henri Rousseau. As much as Lammas involves an emphasis on agrarian happenings and imagery, it is also important to remember, seek out, and celebrate the shifting seasons in whatever landscape we happen to call home.

In this absolutely lovely 1910 painting by one of France’s most famous Post-Impressionist painters, we are treated to a tranquil sunset scene over the Seine River, which captures the warm colours of late summer and early autumn magnificently.

4. Autumn, The Grape Harvest by Fransisco Goya. A jovial, peaceful scene, this 1786 painting by one of Spain’s most famous artists leaps out at the viewer not only for its beauty, but also because of the primarily soft, elegant colour palette and wonderfully charming scene showcased here.

5. The Veteran in a New Field by Winslow Homer. This stirring painting was created in 1865, in the wake of the American Civil War and shows a lone man industriously harvesting wheat.

It is a poignant image the unabashedly hints at the return to a calmer life that awaited some of those souls who were lucky enough to pull this horrific multi-year battle (while also symbolizing, including via the man’s scythe, the huge number of lives that were cut down in their prime during the Civil War).

6. Still Life with Apple and Round Bread by Zinaida Serebriakova. Painted in 1948, this Lammas perfect image is the most recent to make it onto this list. The scene it depicts is, however, abundantly classic, highlighting both apples and rustic loaves of bread. Each of which is a poignant symbol of the harvest season.

(While not specific to this time of the year, I would be remiss if I brought up Serebriakova’s work and did not mention her gorgeous painting, At the Dressing Table, Self Portrait, which is likely my favourite of her many works.)

7. Village Holiday (Autumn Holiday in the Village) by Boris Kustodiev. In this delightful slice-of-life image painted in 1914, we see a jovial group of Russians enthusiastically celebrating the fall harvest season, complete with golden fields in the background and saffron-hued fall leaves throughout.

As someone with Russian ancestors who were themselves hardworking farmers, I like to imagine my relatives on that branch of the family tree engaged in similar scenes back in the day.

8. Bouquet of Sunflowers by Claude Monet. While it is often van Gogh whose work we tend to associate (and rightfully so) with sunflowers, he was by no means the only painter to capture this joyful summertime bloom on canvas. Artists have been painting sunflowers for centuries now and will no doubt continue to do so for ages to come.

In this 1880 iteration by an equally famous artist, we see a cheerful arrangement of sunflowers in vase (or tall piece of crockery) situated on a tablecloth in colours that are instantly evocative of late summer and fall. This peaceful, gorgeous impressionist painting epitomizes timelessness and is one that is sure to appeal to sunflower fans the world over.

9. Autumn by Henri Fantin-Latour. Not unlike the Dvořák piece that kicked off this list, in this enchanting 19th-century painting (I couldn’t track down a precise date for its creation) we see a singular female figure clad in classical Grecian or Roman style garb.

She could be a mortal or just as easily, a goddess. That decision is left up to the viewer, as is, in this case, what her face would look like. By forgoing her face, this figure takes on a deeper symbolic quality, as her unknown age could be youthful like summer or more mature and thus represent autumn time to an even greater extent.

10. Three Little Girls Picking Blackberries by Hans Andersen Brendekilde. Like countless youngsters throughout the course of human history, each summer and early autumn, part of my time was spent gathering ripe fruit to bring home for our family’s meals. Plenty was savoured in the moment, though the bulk of it was usually turned into jam, (otherwise) canned, or frozen for future enjoyment.

While I didn’t pick many blackberries (as these children are doing in this endearing c. 1885 painting), I did pluck a ton of raspberries, along with cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, grapes, plums, pears, and apples. My mouth waters at those lovely memories!

(And speaking of harvest season produce, be sure to check out my look at 25 Magickal Ways to Use Summertime Stone Fruits.)

11. A Cottage in the Cornfield by John Constable. You didn’t think I was only going to include one corn harvest-related image did you?

In this idyllic farm life scene from 1817 (old school #cottagecore if ever there was), we see a charming cottage surrounded by tall stalks of corn that are ready to be harvested.

It is a pastoral landscape painting and one that does a splendid job of capturing the warmth, shifting agrarian tides, and golden beauty inherent to late summertime.

12. Autumn Leaves by John Everett Millais. This immediately captivating fall scene is another favourite for me. In it we see four girls of varying ages engaged in the classic act of raking and piling up leaves. One, the youngest, is enjoying an apple (itself emblematic of late summer and fall) as the older girls continue their diligent work.

I adore this painting from c. 1855, which, without fail, makes me think each time I see it of how if you added a cauldron to the mix, this image could take on a decidedly witchy theme.

13. Apples and a Dog-Keeper by Pyotr Konchalovsky. In this sweet, welcoming scene (which was painted in 1939) we see a bevy of recently harvested apples on display – a sure sign that summer is winding down.

This scrumptious harvest is overseen by a watchful dog, whose stoic expression is one of both professionalism and, I cannot help but wonder, perhaps a longing to sample some of that lovely fruit firsthand.

14. Autumn in Bavaria by Wassily Kandinsky. A kaleidoscope of colours leaps out at the viewer as they take in this appealing vivid expressionist landscape that was painted in 1908. I adore how one side of the painting is seeped in summer’s palette, the other in fall’s. If there was an apt painting, colour wise, for the “in-between” nature of Lammas, surely this beauty is it.

15. The Grape Harvest by Léon Augustin Lhermitte. Not to be confused with the Goya painting above of a nearly identical name, this captivating late Victorian image from 1884 embraces the same theme, but depicts it considerably differently.

Gone are darling rococo era vibes, in their place we instead see an emphasis on realism and the family effort that often went into ensuring a successful harvest was possible. (For another captivating harvest season painting by Lhermitte, see his well-known work, The Gleaners.)

16. Four Trees by Egon Schiele. There are some works of art that stop you square in your tracks. For me, this stunning late Edwardian era (1917) interpretation in paint of a fall sunset is one of them.

Admittedly more autumnal than early August usually looks, this scene embodies the warm, earthy colour palette of Lammas and serves to excite us all the more about the wonderful season that lies ahead.

17. A portrait of a Young Peasant Girl by Jeanne Bôle. A symphony of late summer/early autumn hues greets the viewer as they take in this captivating 19th-century piece by a French artist whose work and life are not nearly as well known as that of many of his contemporaries at the time.

In “A Portrait of a Young Peasant Girl”, the harvest season comes to life with wondrous vividness and timeless beauty (and helps to remind us that the growing season began with the archetype of the goddess as a maiden and wraps up just as she is embarking from motherhood to becoming a revered crone).

Which of these awesome Lammas season classic paintings is your personal favourite?

Make hay while the sun shines

This classic harvest season-derived expression invites us to be industrious and utilize opportunities as they come our way.

From a spiritual perspective, Lammas/Lughnasadh welcomes us to do the same. To embrace these warm, fantastic days that fill the second half of summer and use them as a means to be productive, to relish the fruits of our labour, and to plan ahead for the dark half of the year that looms in the not-too-distant future.

In the paintings above, I am struck by certain repeating themes. For one, appreciatively, we often see women depicted in the fields or otherwise bringing in the harvest. As well, a sense of community and camaraderie is frequently depicted. Only the smallest of farms could likely have been harvested singlehandedly, so the harvest season was often a group effort that often involved multiple generations, neighbours, and/or hired workers.

There is so much skill, creativity, heart, and passion in the brushstrokes of these classic paintings. The images they convey may be from centuries past, but the universal act of harvesting and preparing for the colder half of the year is timeless.

Far less harvesting may be done by hand these days and many of us no longer farmers ourselves. We may not live in close proximity to fields teeming with grains, corn, other vegetables, or late summer fruit, but a lot of us still appreciate and value the incredibly important role of the harvest season in terms of supporting life on this planet.

This weekend, I will be observing Lammas in a multitude of ways. This day is sacred to my spiritual practice and life in general, as is the whole of the harvest season + autumn.

Magickal workings, seasonal eats, and a walk to our nearest cornfield will all be on the agenda. As will be giving the deepest of heartfelt thanks for the life-sustaining gifts of sunlight, farmable soil, and the delicious crops that are plucked from the earth each harvest season.

Lughnasadh is a joyous period of the year. We have worked hard to get here and while it may not be time to hibernate quite yet, the start of August serves to remind us just how incredible the overlapping elements of summer and autumn are.

My dear friends, I wholeheartedly look forward to sharing many new posts, both seasonally related and otherwise, here with you during the harvest season.

It is my steadfast hope that summer’s warmth and life-fuelling qualities, as well as fall’s magic(k) and many blessings are yours straight on until winter returns.

Happiest Lammas wishes to one and all! May we bask in the light of summer and experience all the wonders, natural offerings, and beauty that fall has to offer as well.

And to those in the Southern Hemisphere, may you have a tranquil, joyful, safe, and wholly blessed Imbolc!

The post 17 Classic Art Paintings that Capture the Beauty and Spirit of Lughnasadh to a Tee appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

In this post, I’m going to share with you 25 jigsaw puzzles that are perfect for witches and Pagans (as well as puzzle fans of all kinds).

Before we dive into that list, however, let’s take a peek at what inspired today’s post, some of the health benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles, and the history of this beloved pastime that has found favour with generations the world over for about 250 years now.

Last weekend, my birthday – or should I say, my birthdayween – celebration included various Halloween-related happenings.

One of them was doing a fantastic 300-piece Halloween jigsaw puzzle that I picked up in 2020.

In recent years, my mom and I have had a lovely tradition of doing at least one Halloween-themed puzzle each year.

This usually occurs, as you might imagine, in October (sometimes on October 31^st itself). However, there are no hard and fast rules, which meant that my birthdayween was a great time to hop right into our latest Halloween puzzle adventure.

Like many the world over, I greatly enjoy doing jigsaw puzzles. If you fall into this camp, too, you may consider yourself to be a dissectologist – the official term for someone with a passion for doing puzzles.

I enjoy puzzling the whole year through. So does my mom, which means that get-togethers frequently involve a dining room table and a puzzle spanning in size from about 250 to 1,000 pieces. (I’m up for somewhat larger piece counts, providing there’s room enough to complete a bigger-sized puzzle, though my mom tends to favour those of a thousand pieces or less.)

Naturally, not all of the puzzles we do are Halloween-themed. We both tend to prefer puzzles with illustrations to those with photos, but find that subject matter (and piece count) tends to trump that point when all is said and done.

Free time is not something I have a generous abundance of by any means, so I don’t get to work on a jigsaw puzzle daily. When I can squeeze in some puzzling time though, I am always a happy and more relaxed camper.

I find doing jigsaw puzzles to be powerfully soothing. This in turn can help lower everything from stress to anxiety to (physical) pain, while at the same timing helping to bolster my creativity and keep my mind extra sharp.

And I am not alone on this front. According to a piece by Jill Riley, M.S.N that was published last year on the Baylor College of Medicine’s website:

“Studies have shown that doing jigsaw puzzles can improve cognition and visual-spatial reasoning. The act of putting the pieces of a puzzle together requires concentration and improves short-term memory and problem solving. Using the puzzle as an exercise of the mind can spark imagination and increase both your creativity and productivity.”

And the perks of doing puzzles don’t end there, as blog posts such as 10 Surprising Benefits of Doing Jigsaw Puzzles from the site Cronicas Puzzleras detail.

One of the benefits of doing jigsaw puzzles is that they up the brain’s production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which plays a substantial role in helping to regulate our mood, happiness, and optimism levels.

This accounts for why many people feel happy and even exhilarated when working on jigsaw puzzles, and why we find putting a puzzle piece in the right spot extra rewarding (it is primarily this act that increases dopamine production while doing a jigsaw puzzle).

The history of jigsaw puzzles

Those with an interest in cartography may be interested to learn that the origins of today’s jigsaw puzzles can be traced back to the centuries-old practice of adhering maps onto wood and then cutting said maps into smaller pieces. This allowed maps to take up less space while travelling.

This act was going strong in the mid-eighteenth century and it was then that the first known jigsaw puzzle toy came into being.

For this, we can credit one John Spilsbury. A London mapmaker and engraver, Spilsbury decided to take the concept of puzzle maps and turn them into something that was more of an educational plaything for youngers than an important navigation tool for grownups.

Spilsbury’s first jigsaw puzzles carried on the classic theme of maps (aimed at helping children with their geography skills). It wasn’t long, however, until a slew of different themes soon found their way onto jigsaw puzzles.

Early jigsaw puzzle themes included fairytales, nursery rhymes, modes of transportation, animals, and landscapes.

During the Second Industrial Revolution that unfolded in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, advancements in lithographic printing and the use of plywood (vs the harder woods, including mahogany, that had been used previously) allowed puzzles to become more affordable.

As a result, puzzles began to find their way into homes in a broader range of socioeconomic levels of society, where they were often enjoyed as much by children as they were by adults.

Interestingly, it would take about a century and a half beyond the first jigsaw toys for puzzles to shape up, quite literally, into the interlocking pieces that most of us now associate with this enjoyable pastime.

It was none other than world-famous game company Parker Brothers who may have been the first to produce and popularize jigsaw puzzles with interlocking pieces.

At that time, the puzzle pieces were cut by hand using a treadle scroll saw. Work that, interestingly, Parker Brothers often utilized female employees for, believing that those who had experience with using a sewing machine would be deft with a scroll saw.

With the advent of interlocking pieces, toy puzzles took off all the more in terms of popularity. They received a further boost during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

At the time many jigsaw puzzles were inexpensive, making them an entertaining family-friendly activity that many could still afford during those profoundly economically challenging times.

I would venture to guess that the fact that a puzzle could be done time and time again, thus lowering its long-term cost per use factor, may have helped convince more folks to buy jigsaw puzzles at a time when money was a serious hardship for many families.

As well, starting around the same time, in some parts of the world puzzlers could now borrow jigsaw puzzles from libraries, thus incurring no monetary cost to do a puzzle.

Puzzles got a further boon in the 1930s thanks to the advent of sturdy cardboard (as opposed to wood, which had been the most common puzzle material prior to that point) jigsaw puzzles.

Cardboard opened up the doors further to mass jigsaw puzzle production, while also helping to keep prices reasonable and within the reach of many consumers.

As the twentieth century rolled ever onward, wooden puzzles (save for those aimed specifically at very young children) all but went the way of the dinosaur. Consumers had spoken with their purchasing power and cardboard puzzles quickly came to dominate the jigsaw puzzle market.

Thankfully though, wooden puzzles did not die out completely. A handful of companies and independent puzzle makers around the world – including such brands as Stave Puzzles and Artifact Puzzles – continue to produce wooden puzzles.

These days, puzzles can be found both online and off. In the case of the latter, they are often sold at department stores, big box stores, toy stores, educational/teacher’s stores, drugstores, and even some supermarkets, amongst other sources.

Most modern puzzles are machine-produced, with some being cut using lasers, others with industrial steel blades. When lasers are employed, extra durable materials that might be a challenge for certain types of metal blades, such as acrylic and hardwood, can often be created.

A dazzling – one might even say dizzying – array of jigsaw puzzles exist in the 21^st century. As with many manufactured products, their quality can range from pitifully poor to impressively excellent and everything in between!

Various largescale puzzle companies (i.e., Ravensburger, Springbok, Buffalo Games, and Sunsout, respectively) hold the lion’s share of the jigsaw puzzle market, as you might imagine.

Happily, though, plenty of smaller scale and indie puzzle companies have been able to establish themselves and find popularity with puzzlers across the globe as well.

Puzzles in the 21^st century

The popularity of jigsaw puzzles has waxed and waned to a degree over the past several decades. However, that said, this enjoyable form of entertainment has remained much beloved by many of all ages and has recently experienced a notable upswing in popularity.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that it entailed for much of the world’s population has incited a huge boom in jigsaw puzzle sales and, in turn, an increase in puzzlers.

Interestingly, puzzles were already having something of a moment over the past several years – including amongst millennials.

In an era when so much of what we do is apt to transpire online, it is not surprising that a classic offline pastime such as doing jigsaw puzzles is experiencing a renaissance.

That said, naturally, puzzles and puzzlers have found their way onto the good ol’ interwebs as well.

These days, one can find thriving communities of passionate puzzles on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube (one of the most famous and enjoyable of which is a channel called Karen Puzzles), as well as plenty of blogs, websites, and online shops dedicated to jigsaw puzzles.

Puzzles are a beloved worldwide activity. Most require us to slow down, be mindful, and savour the moment as we fit one interlocking piece into the next. They are a welcome respite or change of pace from the online sphere, can be done either solo or with others, and – much like books – are available in greater numbers than one could ever complete in a hundred lifetimes.

25 jigsaw puzzles for witches and Pagans

As a Pagan witch myself, I have sometimes wondered what types of puzzles exist featuring subject matter of a particularly witchy or Pagan nature.

I have seen a few such puzzles in my time, but it wasn’t until doing the above-mentioned Halloween jigsaw puzzle last week that I decided to go searching online to see just what kinds of witchy and Pagan-themed puzzles I could find.

While I wouldn’t say there is a massive number of puzzles out there that star overtly witchy or Paganism-specific images (be they illustrations or photographs), happily there are some to be had.

Couple these with others whose themes organically lend themselves well to witchcraft and Paganism (for example, animals, astronomy, landscapes, flowers, mythology, and Halloween) and it’s easy to see that there are plenty of great options out there for witch and Pagan puzzlers who are keen to put together a puzzle that pertains to their beliefs and spirituality.

Of course, as Pagans and witches are a hugely varied group, puzzles of nearly any subject matter could fit the bill, too, just depending on what interests a given witch, Wiccan, or Pagan has.

That said, it’s oodles of fun to have some broadly Pagan and witchy-related themes to focus on when it comes to doing puzzles.

Each of the following 25 jigsaw puzzles that are especially well suited to witches and Pagans does just that care of the images they depict.

We’ve got crystals, astrological imagery, unicorns, wild animals aplenty, tarot, faeries, and much more, so pull up a cozy seat and get ready to expand your jigsaw puzzle shopping or wishlist big time!

Puzzle name: Awake Your Magic

Brand: Educa

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size:

Get it from: Dragon Spaces

Puzzle name: Magical Deer

Brand: Ravensburger

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 27.6 x 19.7 inches / 70 x 50 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Cat Zodiac

Brand: Galison

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 20 x 20 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 cm

Get it from: Dragon Spaces

Puzzle name: Fairy Houses Dewdrop Inn

Brand: Ceaco

Piece count: 300 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 19 x 19 inches / 48.2 x 48.2 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Rainbow Crystals

Brand: Galison

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 20 x 20 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 cm

Get it from: Amazon

Puzzle name: Night Spirit

Brand: Ceaco

Piece count: 550 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 20 x 20 inches / 50.8 x 50.8 cm

Get it from: Fairy Glen

Puzzle name: Astrology (foil puzzle)

Brand: Galison

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 20 x 27 inches / 50.8 x 68.6 cm

Get it from: Amazon

Puzzle name: Agate Puzzle 1414

Brand: Nervous System

Piece count: Approx. 180 pieces

Completed puzzle size: Aprox. 8.5 inches / 21.6 cm

Get it from: Nervous System (This company produces and sells a wonderful array of different agate slice inspired puzzles. Check out their current selection here.)

Puzzle name: Flights of Fancy Summer Queen

Brand: Buffalo

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 26.75 x 19.75 inches / 67.9 x 50.2 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Wild (Deer Family)

Brand: Ceaco

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 26.6 x 19 inches / 67.6 x 48.3 cm

Get it from: Fairy Glen

Puzzle name: Moon Dance

Brand: eeBoos

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 23 inches / 58.4 cm in diameter

Get it from: Calendar Club

Puzzle name: Dragon Valley

Brand: Ravensburger

Piece count: 2,000

Completed puzzle size: 38.75 x 29.5 inches / 94.8 x 74.9 cm

Get it from: Rose Cat Khan (This is the website of the artist who created this stunningly beautiful dragon image.)

Puzzle name: The Astrologer

Brand: Cobble Hill

Piece count: 1,000

Completed puzzle size: 26.63 x 19.25 inches / 67.6 x 48.9 cm

Get it from: Fairy Glen

Puzzle name: Fantasy Butterfly Shaped Puzzle

Brand: Not stated. Artwork by Ruth Sanderson

Piece count: Approx. 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 24 x 35 inches / 61 x 86.4 cm

Get it from: Fairy Glen

Puzzle name: Black Runic Pentagram Puzzle

Brand: Not branded

Piece count: Available in varioius piece counts

Completed puzzle size: Varies depending on piece count

Get it from: Zazzle

Note: On demand printing services such as Zazzle and Red Bubble are a great place to find witchy, Wiccan, and Pagan-themed puzzles.

Puzzle name: Butterfly Dance

Brand: Artisan Puzzle

Piece count: 750 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 18 7/8 x 26 3/8 inches / 47.9 x 67 cm

Get it from: Calendar Club

Puzzle name: Magic Fairy Dust

Brand: Ravensburger

Piece count: 500

Completed puzzle size: 19.3 x 14.1 inches / 49 x 36 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Zodiac Signs

Brand: Not stated

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 26.7 inches / 67.8 cm in diameter

Get it from: Amazon

Puzzle name: Noctural Forest Magic

Brand: Ravensburger

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 27.5 x 19.7 / 70 x 50 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Year of The Magickal Dragon

Brand: Flame Tree. Artwork by Ann Stokes

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 29 x 20 inches / 73.7 x 50.8 cm

Get it from: Dragon Spaces

Puzzle name: Stonehenge England 3D Puzzle

Brand: Not stated

Piece count: 35 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 7.16 x 71.6 x 1.65 inches / 182 x 182 x 42 mm

Get it from: (new on) eBay

Puzzle name: Fall Frenzy

Brand: Brilliance

Piece count: 550

Completed puzzle size: 24 x 18 inches / 61 x 45.7 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Unicorn Reading

Brand: Mudpuppy

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size:  20 x 20 inches

Get it from: Dragon Spaces

Puzzle name: Magical Potions

Brand: Ravensburger

Piece count: 1,000 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 27.6 x 19.7 inches / 70 x 50 cm

Get it from: I Love Puzzles

Puzzle name: Sea Castle Delight Glow in the Dark Puzzle

Brand: Master Pieces

Piece count: 500 pieces

Completed puzzle size: 18 x 24 inches / 47.5 x 61 cm

Get it from: Toynk Toys

*Bonus 26th jigsaw puzzle* Shortly after the publication of this post, I was introduced to an exciting new Australian puzzle brand.

The witches jigsaw puzzle by Pennywinks, officially called The Witches Lair, is a 1,000 piece puzzle that is perfectly suited to this list and was just too awesome looking not to include here.

Update: Read my in-depth review of this puzzle, plus a terrific interview with the founder of Pennywick, here.

Note: In some instances, a given puzzle may be available from multiple sources. I have listed an online source that was available at the time this post was written in July 2021.

Jigsaw puzzle magick

Puzzles can be enjoyed simply for their own sake, of course, regardless of whether one is a witch, Wiccan, or Pagan. Indeed, I would argue that there are few less controversial, religiously or spiritually charged activities than doing most types of jigsaw puzzles.

For those of a witchy ilk, however, you may be wondering if there are ways to incorporate jigsaw puzzles into your witchcraft and spellwork.

Happily, the answer there is a rounding “yes”!

First and foremost, whether you intended to do a given jigsaw puzzle solely as a just-for-fun form of entertainment or are keen to weave it into your magickal workings, you may wish to spiritually cleanse any puzzles that you bring into your home.

A dry or smoke-based cleansing method is usually best, so as to avoid moisture damage to your puzzle. As always, be mindful if using a flame or lit material (such as a herb bundle) near a puzzle, as most jigsaw puzzles are made of easily ignitable materials.

Generally speaking, I wouldn’t personally purchase a brand new high-quality puzzle to use for my witchy workings (at least not if I was going to damage any of the pieces or otherwise render them unable for their original purpose).

Instead, I tend to use older puzzles (if you have any puzzles with missing pieces to hand, these can be a great source of puzzle pieces for your magickal activities), inexpensive puzzles from places like dollar stores and thrift shops, and puzzle pieces that I have die cut myself using metal paper crafting dies and suitable materials such as paper, cardstock, and felt.

(If you are looking for a jigsaw puzzle die of your own, check out the selection from brands such as Papers Rose and Gemini that Scrapbook.com currently offers. As well, keep in mind that puzzle images are available for most, if not all, electronic die cutting machines as well.)

The following are some of my favourite ways to incorporate jigsaw puzzles into your magickal workings. I hope that they resonate with you as well and would love to hear, in the comments below, about other ways to include puzzles into your magickal workings that weren’t covered here.

–Bake up a patch of jigsaw puzzle cookies: Add some jigsaw puzzle cookie cutters to your baking supplies and use this handy method of creating puzzle pieces to combine puzzle magick and kitchen magick together.

From the ingredients used (including various edible herbs and spices) to the colours of the baked dough, the frosting to the decorations, there are numerous ways that kitchen witchery can team up with puzzle magick.

Think seasonal, sabbat and esbat related puzzle cookies, biodegradable pieces that can be safely disposed of in nature settings, or gifts for fellow witchy and Pagan friends.

As well, you could use puzzle shaped cookie cutters to make ornaments (salt dough, cinnamon dough, air dry or oven dry clay, etc – just make sure that if you plan to keep using your cookie cutters with edible ingredients, you do not use them on any substances which may be toxic to humans), altar decorations, holiday or sabbat tree decorations, or even jewelry (think polymer clay, shrink plastic, and, again, both air dry clay and oven dry clay).

–Select jigsaw puzzles with specific themes to support or reinforce a magickal working: As you assemble your puzzle, visual the plans, goals, or desired outcome of your working falling all the more into place with each piece you join to its mates.

The final completed puzzle then stands as an apt, visually powerful reminder of what you can create and manifest into being care of your own wonderful magick and intentions.

–Have a custom jigsaw puzzle printed with your own image: Not finding an existing puzzle with an image that suits your needs or tastes? Always wanted a jigsaw puzzle with a specific image – be it witchy/Pagan related or otherwise – on it that you created yourself?

If so, why not send your photo or illustration to a custom photo printing company!

There are many options on the market today when it comes to custom jigsaw puzzles, the majority of which can be ordered online.

Check out the following websites for custom printed jigsaw puzzles:

–Bags of Love

–Canvas Champ

–Create Jigsaw Puzzles

–Market by TPH

–My Jigsaw Puzzle

–Printer Pix

–Puzzle Print

–Ravensburger’s custom puzzle service

–Shutterfly

–Venus Puzzle

(Note: For the above on demand custom puzzle sources availability, pricing, and shipping may vary depending on your location and the currency you’re purchasing in.)

If you are looking for an in person custom puzzle printing service, check with local photo labs, board game stores, hobby shops, personalized gift stores, and toy shops in your area to see if any of those sources offer custom made puzzles or if they can point you to someone else in your location who may provide this service.

–Divine with puzzle pieces: With a specific question or scenario in mind that you’d like greater insight into, select a set number of random puzzle pieces (for example, ten or twenty) from a jigsaw puzzle, lightly shake them up in the box or a bag, and gently let them fall to a suitable surface, such as a table or soft carpet.

Have any particular images or image fragments appeared in this selection? What about colours, words (if the puzzle includes any text on it), or even shapes? What kinds of messages or impressions do these pieces give you?

Does the arrangement of how the pieces themselves landed look like or suggest anything to you?

Are more pieces upright or flipped over? If the majority are one direction, but not the other, what could that be trying to tell you? (I tend to view puzzle pieces that appear with their non-image side to be a bit like upside-down cards in a tarot or oracle reading.)

Make note of anything that leaps out at you about this jigsaw puzzle reading or take a photo of the puzzle pieces, as they first land, so that you can refer back to that picture, if desired, later on for even more possible insight.

–Include puzzle piece in spell bags and witch balls: If you have (or can make) puzzle pieces that align in some capacity with the intentions of a specific spell bag or witch ball, consider including one or more to symbolize how the pieces of your working will come together to create your desired magickal outcome.

You may wish to write words, sigils, or symbols on your puzzle pieces that further support a given spell or other working (this can be done in general when working with jigsaw puzzle pieces in a magickal/spiritual capacity).

–Use doing puzzles as a form of self-care: By their very nature, most puzzles take a decent amount of time to complete. Depending on the size, image, and piece count of a given puzzle (as well as the experience level of the puzzler) this could be anywhere from an hour or two to multiple months.

The peaceful, methodical nature of puzzling helps to make it a wonderful form of self-care, as it provides tranquility, stillness (as in you’re not usually running around or multitasking while doing a puzzle), and a chance to stop and enjoy the present moment.

If you find it hard to carve out time for self-care, puzzling can be a perfect way to mindfully allow yourself ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes, say, of quiet downtime just to yourself (or shared with a loved one) in which you can put the stresses and demands of the world on hold for a wee while.

As you’re puzzling, why not engage in some relaxing breathwork, light a lovely candle or your fave incense (again, be sure no flames, sparks, or warm ashes could come in contact with the puzzle or its box), play relaxing music or a peaceful ASMR video, and cozy up with a comforting beverage as you knit together the pieces of your puzzle.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle

So begins a quote from American author Terry McMillan. It goes on to state that, “you have to see the whole picture, then put it together piece by piece!”

Wise and very spot-on words indeed.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle and perhaps that is no small part of the reason many of us are drawn to puzzles in the first place.

There is something supremely satisfying about holding seemingly random pieces in your hand and knowing that with time, effort, and patience you will create a complete picture in which everything fits together.

Real life might not always meld quite as perfectly. Puzzles can serve as reminders to us that even when everything is scattered to and fro in our lives and it can be hard to imagine circumstances coming together again, more often than not, ultimately, we can assemble the pieces in a way that makes sense to us once more.

I’ve enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles ever since I was a young child and have no plans of shelving this peaceful hobby anytime soon – especially not with many more Halloween and Pagan/witchy-themed puzzles out there that I’ve yet to tackle.

Whether you’re an avid puzzler as well or haven’t sat down with a puzzle in decades, why not pick up an exciting new puzzle and give yourself the gift of self-care time that comes from hunkering down with a few hundred (or thousand!) jigsaw puzzle pieces?

Chances are, you will enjoy the experience so much you’ll already be thinking about your next puzzle before you’ve slipped the last piece into your current one!

Do you consider yourself a fellow dissectologist? Which of the puzzles featured here leaps out at you the most?

The post 25 Jigsaw Puzzles That Are Perfect for Witches and Pagans (and Puzzle Fans of All Kinds!) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. — Henry James

This week is the first of summer. A season that, while not always the easiest to bear unless one lives for the heat, is utterly and completely gorgeous.

I can relate to the estimable Mr. James’ words – though might personally swap “fall afternoon” in for summer.

Though, that said, I have a deeply rooted love of summer and find many positives in the languid days of scorching sun, verdancy aplenty, outdoor living, and nights of enveloping, bathtub-like warmth that makes one feel extra glad for the blessing that is life.

Before we get too far into the season of ice cream cones and sandcastles, however, let’s pull up a folding camping chair (or a comfy hammock) and sink into enjoying some of the most inspiring, informative, or just plain interesting links that crossed my path during the spring of 2021.

(As well as the lowdown on some of what’s been transpiring in my own life over the course of the season that just was.)

Magick, Witchcraft, Paganism, and Spirituality

–DIY Crescent Moon Incense Burner: From fellow Canadian witch, Breawna, comes this lovely, wonderfully easy to follow along with video that shows you how to make a crescent moon-shaped incense burner with a mere handful of basic crafting supplies. The end result is both beautiful and functional, and would make for a fantastic homemade gift to boot!

–DIY Magickal Slow Cooker Candles: No matter the season, candles are a mainstay in our home and in my witchy workings. Big or small, scented or unscented, white or coloured, handmade or store-bought, candles are always welcome under our roof.

I love finding new ways to make or utilize candles, and while we don’t currently own a slow cooker/crockpot/Instant Pot, should one enter our lives again, I’m delighted to have this awesome DIY tutorial for making magickal candles in a slow cooker at the ready.

Should you have a slower cooker, and enjoy creating your own candles, this looks like a really fun and rewarding DIY project to whip up.

–Do Something Witchy Everyday: The message that drives this post is one that aligns greatly with my own practices, which often centre far less on OTT or complex workings and rituals, and much more on feasible, enjoyable, and diverse forms of everyday witchcraft.

If you’ve been looking to up your witchy workings or just need some ideas for meaningful ways to connect (all the more) with your witchy daily, swing by this I, Medusa post written by Anna Mist and be inspired.

–How to Officiate a Handfasting Step-by-Step: In many parts of the world, mid-spring to early fall is seen as wedding season, as nuptials proliferate during the sunny months.

If you’re fortunate to be in the position of being able to officiate a handfasting ceremony, or are looking to find someone to officiate your own handfasting/Pagan wedding, this informative post on the subject from the beloved witchery blog Moody Moons is just the ticket.

–How Spirituality Benefits Highly Sensitive People: Spirituality is a profoundly personal and important element of many peoples’ lives, and while certainly, by no means, the sole domain of highly sensitive individuals, those who identify as such often find immense benefit, comfort, and meaning in their spiritual journey.

This look at the subject was recently shared on the superb HSP-focused website, The Highly Sensitive Refuge. It resonated with me, just as I suspect it will with many of my fellow spiritually inclined HSPs and empaths.

–The 25 Most Important Witchcraft Books Ever Published: Whether you concur entirely with the list of entries on this engaging post from Jason Mankey (himself a renowned Pagan author) or not, chances are you will appreciate the significance and importance of each witchery related title highlighted therein.

I definitely did and, in the process, really appreciated the fact that Mankey arranged his list chronologically, thus further helping readers to understand all the more just how influential these books have been on multiple generations of witches over the years.

–20 Powerful Herbs for Protection: Like many a magickally inclined soul, I do my fair share of protection and guarding work. I’m a trusting person, but am far from naïve and I know that there are many forces at play in the world that we can use some extra protection against.

If protection magick strikes a chord with you as well, this helpful look at 20 Powerful Herbs for Protection is an excellent resource on the subject that feels all the more at home as we embrace the fresh greenery-filled season that is summer.

Card Making, Scrapbooking, Paper Crafting, and Other Crafts

–Crocheted Succulents Free Pattern: For those who are fortunate to possess crocheting skills, this free pattern for eye-catchingly wonderful crocheted succulents is bound to find favour – especially if also have a green thumb, enjoy green witchery, or simply swoon at the sight of succulents.

–DIY (Paper Crafting) Jewelry Box Tutorial: As someone with an immense fondness for jewelry, it may come as no surprise that I’m also rather partial to jewelry boxes that can house my beloved wee collection of beads, baubles, and brooches.

The idea of creating one’s own jewelry box is really appealing to me, so when Graphic 45 recently shared a handy tutorial detailing just that, I bookmarked it for myself and knew I wanted to share it here with all of you as well.

Beyond serving “just” as a jewelry box, this project could be used to store any number of small items, from thimbles to dried flowers, crystals to marbles – and can be customized to your heart’s content, depending on the materials that you employ.

(And speaking of Graphic 45, I really like this beautiful summertime perfect beach-themed mini album that was shared on their blog a few days ago.)

–DIY Terracotta Essential Oil Diffuser & Car Air Freshener: My recent Litha season post, 15 Essential Oils That Are Perfect the Summer Solstice, has put me in even more of an essential oil mood than usual (which, given my passion for this subject, is saying a lot! ).

Combine essential oils with a fun DIY project and I’m there faster than you can say “take a whiff!”

If these are topics that tickle your fancy (not to mention your olfactory sense) as well, be sure to check out Cintia’s fantastic tutorial on how to make your very own DIY terracotta essential oil diffuser and car air freshener.

–DIY Summer Wreath from a Straw Hat: A sizable smile spread across my face the moment I spied Patti’s wonderful tutorial for making a strikingly pretty summer wreath from a straw hat.

Like many who experienced the 1980s and early 90s firsthand, I well remember when decorative straw hat home décor was having a serious moment.

Indeed, straw hat wreaths hung both in my family’s home and in those of multiple relatives for many years. I even had one in my own bedroom for a few years during my early childhood.

It’s fantastic to see this charming way of dressing up classic straw hats finding favour again (I suspect that the recent trend for #cottagecore and similar aesthetics is doing its part on that front).

If you’re keen to rekindle a trend or to experience straw hat home décor for the first time, follow Patti’s lead and adore your home with an attractive DIY straw hat wreath.

–Easy DIY Earrings You Can Make on a Budget: Fun fact, I’ve been creating handmade jewelry since I was a child and had a fun little side business selling handmade nickel-free jewelry for a time during my teens and early adult years.

While the arson fire that we experienced back in 2016 completely destroyed my stash of jewelry making supplies, my love of this endlessly versatile (not to mention, practical) art form has never left me.

Little by little, I’ve gathered a few jewelry making materials again and hope to continue to do so as time goes on.

One needn’t have a plethora of supplies (or a lavish budget) to create wonderful handmade jewelry. A few basic items, some inspiration, and a desire are usually all it takes to do just that – as the more than 40 projects highlighted in this terrific post over on the Mod Podge blog amply demonstrate.

–How to Setup a Portable Craft Space: As awesome as it would be for every crafter to have a large, roomy space in which to craft to their heart’s content, the fact of the matter is that for many of us that simply isn’t feasible.

Naturally, lack of space for a big craft room shouldn’t prevent one from getting their creativity on all the same.

And by the same token, sometimes even those with their own craft rooms, shed sheds, etc enjoy having a portable crafting station elsewhere in their home (say in the family room or den, for example).

If you’ve been curious about how to set up a portable craft space that can be placed wherever is most convenient/functional for you in your house, I highly suggest checking out Bea Valiant’s great photo-filled post on how to do just that.

–Zippered Pouch Tutorial (Using Scrapbook Paper): Ever looked at some of your favourite papers or cardstocks and thought that they’d look fabulous as a zippered pouch?

Whether the answer to that question is yes or no, chances are you’ll be intrigued and inspired by this lovely tutorial shared by Split Coast Stamper member Betty Traciak which shows you how to do just that.

Just think of the endless possibilities, from gifts to practical storage, holiday and home décor to an instant conversation starter at your next crop!

What’s Shaking in My Life and On My Radar

Where to begin?

I’ve thought about this portion of this very blog post many times over the course of the past several weeks. In a sense, there is a lot I want to say, and yet perhaps even more that I would prefer to keep to myself for the time being.

As those of you who follow me on Instagram may have noticed, I have not been on IG (which is my primary social media platform) much at all in recent weeks.

There have been various reasons for that, with two in particular accounting for the lion’s share of why this has been the case.

First and foremost, in recent months I have been dealing with some perplexing and challenging new medical issues that are (true to form a lot of the time when it comes to my health) proving very difficult to unearth answers/diagnoses for.

At present, I am not going to go into specifics publicly about these issues – especially until I have some solid answers as to what it is that I am actually contending with.

On top of the physical issues themselves, this newest medical battle (for those readers who may not know, I have been a multi-chronic illness fighter of more than a dozen different chronic medical conditions for twenty years now) – and the frustration, stress, and uncertainty that comes with fighting tirelessly for a diagnosis – is having a substantial impact on my mental health.

Between the physical and mental challenges, what little (personal) time I have been able to carve out online has mostly been devoting to blogging.

Thus far, much to my surprise at times, I have been able to keep up with my usual pace of at least one blog post here per week. While I accept that either by choice or circumstances, there may be times when that isn’t feasible, I hope/plan to continue on at that pace this summer.

Compounding matters and much to my great unhappiness, the severity of what I am dealing with on the health front at the moment has meant that my initial plans of launching my ASMR YouTube channel this spring didn’t even come close to happening.

I am fully committed to this long-held dream and will do everything in my power to create content and get that channel off the ground as soon as I realistically can.

At this point, I don’t know when exactly that will be. I really hope it can happen in 2021.

If not though, I will just keep trying even harder for it to happen the following year (and will continue to keep you informed here and on SM as to when that exciting event occurs).

The second primary reason is a lot more positive. Long story short, several weeks ago now, my husband and I put in a bid on a contract job to create the ecommerce website for a local outdoor goods store here in town and were very fortunate to win that bid.

This project is labour heavy for both of us and on a very tight deadline. As such we’ve been devoting a great deal of time over the past couple of months to this job.

It isn’t complete quite yet, but is definitely getting a lot closer. Very exciting!

Aside from those two points, which are, I’m the first to say, quite different from one another, some of what’s been happening around these parts include…

Having central air installed in our house. We live in one of the hottest regions in all of Canada (case in point, multiple days next week are forecasted to reach highs of 40 – 44C/104 – 111F) and have struggled a fair bit to live in a house without this feature since moving into our current abode in early 2018.

Thankfully, the installation went smoothly, quickly, and without any complications.

As anyone who has had central air installed in recent years will no doubt tell you, this is not an inexpensive job at all – which is the main reason it didn’t happen right out of the gate when we moved in.

Tony and I feel that the cost is well worth it though for the quality of life and health benefits it brings not only to us, but to our precious dog (Annie) as well, and know we made the right choice in having central air installed in our house.

By pure coincidence, on the very same day that installation happened, I received my first Covid-19 vaccine.

I registered for it as soon as my age bracket (those under 40) became eligible to do so and was told I’d receive an email prior to the end of May informing of when and where I could book my first shot.

In the final days of the month, I did indeed get that email and then proceeded to book the first slot on the first date that was available to me.

Not being the world’s healthiest person, I was a tad concerned regarding how my body might handle the vaccine. I am (very!) happy to report that aside from a minorly sore arm and a bit of lethargy for about 72 hours afterwards, I didn’t experience any issues (let alone serious ones) from the shot.

I was told by the nurse who administered my Covid vaccine that I should be contacted by the provincial health system in about 6 – 8 weeks regarding when I can book my second shot.

It is such a positive feeling to know that I am partially vaccinated and that in getting my shot, I am continuing to do everything I can to not contract nor, moreover, risk spreading this terrible illness.

So, assuming all goes to plan, I should get my second shot in the later weeks of summer and will thus be vaccinated in full by the time my very favourite chapter of the year (autumn) rolls around once more.

We’ve just covered a lot of ground and as I don’t want to keep you here reading until fall does in fact return, without further ado, let me jump right into sharing some of the various links that stood out for me during the spring of 2021.

–Exquisitely Designed 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shoe Discovered in a Well: Boasting skilled handiwork and a design that would put it seriously on-trend to this day, it’s hard not to stare and marvel at the beauty of this exceedingly rare archaeological find.  

–How to Compliment Someone Without Mentioning Their Looks: As much as many people enjoy receiving positive words about their appearance, not everyone is equally comfortable with these kinds of comments and, moreover, there are countless other things to complement most folks on besides “just” their physical appearance.

This Wit & Delight entry explores the subject of non-physical appearance focused compliments and provides an array of terrific suggestions for what to say instead.

–Listen to Random Radio Stations from Around the World: At the end of the 1970s, British new wave/synth-pop group the Buggles made the line “video killed the radio star” an instant classic with their eponymously named song.

By the dawn of the twenty-first century, one could easily state that the internet had, in turn, usurped the video star (at least as far as the music industry is concerned).

However, while fewer of us may tune into the radio daily than we once did, this world-changing form of media is, in truth and very happily, far from dead.

If you’re in the mood to sample a station (or dozens of stations) from around the world, then make your way across the world map on this website until you find one that is a – *cough, cough* – hit with you.

–9 Things to Try if You Hate Social Media But Don’t Actually Want to Quit: Whether you loath SM or just find yourself feeling seriously burned out or “over it” at times, the practical and supportive tips in this post are ones that stand to benefit just about everyone who opts to engage with social media.

–Plants Might Be Helping Each Other More Than Thought: The world plants and the profoundly interconnected relationships shared between many species fascinates me greatly. For all we know on this subject, there are untold volumes more that remain to be discovered – as this captivating look at how certain plants may in fact help, not compete, with one another demonstrates.

(Another Phys.Org post that recently caught my attention was this fascinating story about the recent discovery of a 3,000 Year Old Shark Attack Victim.)

–What Would a Truly Wild Ireland Look Like?: Once, in a time now long past, I called Ireland home for the span of a couple years.

Make no mistakes, Ireland is everything and more you imagine it to be and is a country with an extraordinary past that deserves our respect and research alike.

Like many corners of the globe, Ireland – for all of its pastoral farmlands, rolling hills, and windswept shoreline – is not quite as wild a country as it once was.

This thought-provoking BBC post by Chris Baraniuk asks us to imagine what a truly wild Ireland might look like and explores the feasibility of rewilding the landscape of this majestic nation to a greater degree.

–Why a Clutter Free Life is an Intentional Life: I am not a minimalist, nor am I a maximalist. I can exist quite contently with very little or with a fair bit more, but no matter what volume of belongings fill my home, I cannot abide by clutter.

I weed out clutter at every turn, thankful that organizing and (possession) purging are both tasks I sincerely enjoy.

Having long believed and experienced (the fact) that a clutter-free life feels, and is, all the more intentionally lived, this lovely post on the subject reverberated with me.

Its message is one most of us can connect with, especially if we also find our lives, minds, and spirits tend to feel and work their best when clutter is kept as low as possible.

Summer Lovin’

In the late hours of a July night so warm it gave furnaces everywhere a run for there money – and which would break into a rapturously loud storm before dawn had broke – I came into the world nearly thirty-seven years ago now.

And while there is no hard and fast rule that says a person has to love the season into which they were born, I adore mine with even more fiery passion than that of the sun which fuels the vibrancy of summer itself.

I am a lover of all seasons though. Each is a kindred spirit, a treasured friend, a vital element of life itself.

Summer is wild and outgoing. It beckons us with notes of Coppertone, grilled foods, fresh-cut lawns, and the siren’s song of sultry, unforgettable warmth.

In summer, I find, it is often easier to forget our troubles. Or, if we cannot banish them from our mind entirely, at least (it becomes) a touch easier to navigate their waters.

I would venture to call summer the most chill of season. It is laidback and cool. Enigmatic, yet wildly and wonderfully familiar.

Summer begins in a sea of green life and concludes with the first lag of the harvest season.

In many parts of the globe, summer bridges the chilly portions of the year, has an inherent air of playfulness to it, and will be yearned for something fierce when – to quote the classic holiday season song Good King Wenceslas – snow lays round about, deep and crisp and even.

At the moment, the world is beginning, in some respects to rebound from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This heartbreaking illness is still with us though, still causing new cases to develop daily, still impacting countless areas of our lives.

Like most people, I hope dearly that by this time next year, the pandemic will be over. The realist in me might not place any bets on that being the case, but my optimistic side holds onto hope with gusto.

Just as I hope mightily that at least some of the medical challenges I am currently experiencing personally will be less of an issue by this time next year. (Fingers firmly crossed!)

No matter what obstacles, curveballs, or stresses life throws my way, that fact autumn is now less than three months away injects some serious happiness into my days and makes getting through difficult times more tolerable.

Summer doesn’t too shabby a job of that either. From Canada Day on July 1st to my birthday later that month, Lammas in early August to simple everyday warm weather pleasure, this is a positive and life-affirming chapter of the year that gives many of us a lot to enjoy and feel grateful for.

So, my dear friends, let us tackle whatever summer may hold, make the most of these sizzling hot days, do our best to overcome difficult times, and know that, no matter what (north of the equator), summer always leads to fall’s return.

If that isn’t worth raising a glass of ice cold lemonade to, I don’t know what is!

Happy summer, everyone! May you have a safe, sunny, and seriously enjoyable season!

The post Spring 2021 Edition of Magick, Crafty Makes, and Me appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

A skilled science writer, Zimmer brings life and interest to each of the 600+ pages in this informative look at various elements of inherited and environmental genetics.

It is a stellar read and one I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in fields such as heredity, anthropology, social sciences, or genealogy.

While this post is not a book review, it was my recent reading of She Has Her Mother’s Laugh that reminded me of a topic I’ve been keen to write about for quite some time now.

Specifically, how to incorporate your generational designation into your witchcraft and magickal workings.

What is a “generational designation”?

This is a term that is often used to describe the demographic cohort to which a person belongs. Or, in other words, the societal generation that one is born into.

Societal generations encompass those living and born during a specific time period that generally spans about 15 – 30 years.

When discussing generations from a kinship perspective (that is to say, familial generations), generations are measured in similar lengths of time, typically ranging from about 20 to 30 years.

This span is considered to be one in which, especially historically speaking, an individual could go from their own birth to adulthood and the (potential) birth of their own offspring.

While one’s familial and societal generations overlap in the sense of that each of us belongs to both of these categories, for the sake of this post, we’re going to focus on your generational designation.

A brief look at the history of societal generations

Whether they applied specific names to societal generations or not, chances are humans have been viewing past, present, and future generations as being at least marginally different in some respects from one another for a very long time now.

However, the act of defining a generation and designating a specific name for it is a relatively modern concept.

Before to the 20^th century, and especially prior to the Industrial Revolution, the pace at which society and technology (not to mention areas such as science and medicine) advanced was, generally speaking, slower than it has been over the past 200 or so years.

People and their lives often experienced less pronounced change from one generation (be it kinship or societal) to the next.

The continuation of certain elements of daily life, personal and cultural beliefs, and the pace of advancement are likely contributing factors to why few societal generations prior to the 20^th century were not designated with specific names of the sort that are now part and parcel to modern sociology (e.g., The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, or Generation Z).

Social generations are groups of people who were born in the same general time period (again, usually a range of 15 to 30 years).

These individuals are further united by certain shared cultural experiences, both at a personal level and, to a degree, those which transpired during their lifetime (though as the latter applies to everyone alive, irrespective of their societal generational, at the time when a cultural event occurs this is less of a defining factor).

Many factors contributed to the emergence of societal generational groupings. Delving deep into the intricacies of such is beyond the scoop or focus of this post.

However, it is safe to say that in addition to industrialisation, other factors included modernisation, elements of the enlightenment era, societal changes and advancements, economic growth and mobility, and (I would go so far as to argue) a more pronounced period spanning youth and adulthood (aka, one’s teenage years).

There is something very natural about viewing humanity through the lens of societal generations. Though it is important to remember that, ultimately, the creation of these groups is fundamentally a humanmade perspective and one that is, by no means, set in absolute stone.

As well, it is not uncommon for there to be varying degrees of overlap between generations, including a span of 5 to 8 eight years as one generation melds into and is ultimately surpassed by the next.

Only time itself will tell if we continue to assign names to societal generations as life proceeds on this planet in the decades and centuries to come. I suspect that we will, but – as with so much – only time will tell.

For now, the practise going strong and shows no sign of slowing down.

A list of named generations

While there is often some degree of debate as to the start and end dates of various generations, broadly speaking, the following is a general outline of the named generations of the 20^th and early 21^st centuries as they have been applied in a Western context.

-The Lost Generation: Coined from the writing of Gertrude Stein. Also known as the “1914 Generation”, “The Generation of 1914″, and “The Great War Generation”, this cohort encompassed those born from the early 1880s to the early 1900s.

These individuals reached adolescence and early adulthood during the time of WW1 and the 1920s.

A key defining feature of the Lost Generation (whose name stems Stein’s epigram to Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 book “The Sun Also Rises”, in which she stated “You are all a lost generation”) is that they experienced, and often were intimately involved with in any number of capacities, the First World War.

-The Greatest Generation (aka, the G.I. Generation): This societal generation covers those born from the early 1900s to around 1927.

Individuals born into the Greatest Generation endured the Great Depression and either both World Wars or, if born after WW1, “just” WW2.

This group is sometimes further broken down so as to distinguish between those born early on in the generation and those who came along later. Earlier members of the Greatest Generation are commonly referred to as the Interbellum Generation.

The term “The Greatest Generation” was popularized and further cemented in societal history by journalist Tom Brokaw’s eponymously named book.

-The Silent Generation: This group encompasses those born between the mid to late 1920s and 1945. Such individuals are sometimes referred to as the “Lucky Few”.

A large percentage of military personnel who were involved with the Korean War, and many (though not all) who fought in the Vietnam War were born into The Silent Generation.

Individuals born during the last few years of the Silent Generation are sometimes referred to as the “Sandwich Generation” or “Sandwich Group”.

-The Baby Boomers: Long before the term “Boomer” took on the contemporarily derogatory connotation that it now houses in various settings, the “Boomer” in “Baby Boomers” referred to the pronounced boom in birth rates that occurred in the immediate aftermath of WW2.

Baby Boomers, who are also sometimes known as the Me Generation, were born between 1946 and 1964 or so.

Many of us who are presently in our 30s or 40s – myself included – are the children of Baby Boomers.

Similar in some respects to how the Lost Generation can be further broken down into two groups, so too is the Baby Boomer generation. With those being born between the years of 1954 to 1964 sometimes being called Generation Jones.

Various factors are thought to contributed to this term, including the concept of “keeping up with the Joneses”, which was a common societal theme in much of the Western World during the relatively prosperous post-WW2 years of the 1950s and early 1960s.

-Generation X (aka, Gen X and Thirteeners): This generation followed the Baby Boomers and was quite prolific in number itself, though not to the same degree as the Boomers themselves.

Gen Xers are those born between about 1965 and either 1979 or the early 1980s (depending on your source, this could be anywhere from about 1980 to 1985). 

While this term can also be applied to some Xennials and early Millennials as well, Gen Xers are also known as the Latchkey Generation.

This is in reference to the fact that some members of this generation experienced reduced adult supervision over previous generations, at times returning home after to school to an empty house that they had to unlock themselves (as, presumably, no adults were home at the time).

The concept and cultural experiences of Gen Xers were further cemented in Canadian author Douglas Coupland’s excellent 1991 novel, Generation X. With Coupland himself being credited for coining the name Generation X.

-Xennials: A microgeneration, Xennials are those born between the late 1970s and mid-1980s. They share much in common with Generation X, but also grew up experiencing certain elements that are now seen as being characteristic of the Millennial generation.

It was with no small amount of joy that I received the news that the word Xennial had been included in the 2020 Oxford Dictionary of English, as this is the societal generation that I identify with the most (having been born in 1984 and personally identifying more, in many respects, with Gen Xers than with Millennials).

Another term for Xennials is the Oregon Trail Generation in reference to the extremely popular commuter game, The Oregon Trail, that was a common feature of some Xennials’ childhoods.

Despite this alternative name, those born into the microgeneration of Xennials often had a relatively analog childhood that shifted into a digital era during their teens or young adult years, and it is this “bridging of the generations” that helps to make those of this era their own generational demographic.

-Millennials (aka, Generation Y or Gen Y): If we encompass Xennials into the birth year range as well, those born into the Millennial generation span the period of approximately 1981 to 1996.

As some Xennials, myself included, identify with their own microgeneration, however, this range could in some contexts be shorted to (again, approximately) the years of 1985/86 to 1996.

Data released by the Pew Research Center shows that as of 2019, Millennials edged out in number over Baby Boomers (with some 71.6 million Boomers and roughly 72.1 million Millennials, respectively).

-Generation Z (aka, Gen Z, Zoomers, iGeneration, or Centennials): The second most recent generation, Gen Z encompasses people who were born between the mid to late 1990s and the early 2010s (some sources cap Gen Z at the year 2012).

Today, the eldest Zoomers are young adults, whereas those born at the tail end of generation are presently in elementary, middle, and high school.

Generation Z is sometimes further broken down to differentiate between those born earlier and later in this generation.

Later born members of Gen Z are known by various names including Zillenials, Zennials, MinionZ, and The Snapchat Generation.

-Generation Alpha (aka, Gen Alpha): A standout designation for Gen Alpha is that it is the first societal generation comprised solely of individuals born in the 21^st century.

Generation Alpha, which is named after the first letter of the Greek alphabet, is the newest generation and is projected to reach (or exceed) two billion members globally by the year 2025.

As Gen Alpha is the current generational designation for young children born from about 2010 – 2012 onward, its duration has not been officially established yet.

Following conventional generational timeframe guidelines however, it is likely that Generation Alpha will be succeeded by the next generation around the late 2020s or very early 2030s.

By the time Generation Alpha reaches adulthood in 2030s, it is estimated the world population will have reached or surpassed nine billion inhabitants.

-Cuspers: Those who have a keen interest in astrology or who were born on a date that coincides with sun’s transition from one astrological sign to the next may be familiar with the Zodiac Cusp Theory.

While some astrologers put more weight on the concept of Cusp Theory and how it may or may not influence peoples’ lives, it is an established part of astrology at this point and something that many a Cusper prides themselves on.

We also see the word Cusper used in terms of societal generations. In this context, it refers to those who were born at the end of one generational time period and the cusp of the next.

Much as in the example above of Xennials, Cuspers in general often encompass life experiences and societal designations inherent to both generations that they were born on the cusp of. They may identify more strongly with one generation than another or feel like their life and experiences reflect a fairly even-handed mixture of both generations.

Note: These generational designations are not universal to all cultures. Names, date ranges, shared experiences and other factors all combine to create various other generational designations in various parts of the world.

For example, a microgeneration called the “Born-Free Generation” exists amongst South Africans who were born between the years of approx. 1994 and 2000.

If your own respective generation was not included here, please know that the overriding concepts and suggestions outlined in this post apply every bit as much to you as well.

Identifying with your generational designation

Many of us are already familiar with what generational cohort we belong to. Some people pride themselves on using their generational designation as a defining factor of who they are, others pay little to no attention to such, and some fall in between.

There is no right or wrong here and one is not obliged to wave the flag of your generation wherever you go.

As with much in life, this is an area where doing what feels right and natural to you is usually the best path to follow.

Historians, sociologists, and genealogists (amongst others) find generational designation to be a helpful and important classification tool in various respects.

As humans, we are often drawn to defining ourselves in terms of various groupings, and generational designations are just one of many ways we’ve opted to do so over the course of our collective history.

There are exceedingly few individuals alive today who were born prior to the Silent Generation, and with each passing year, less and less members of both that generation and the Greatest Generation are still with us.

As such, it is safe to say that the majority of those reading this post belong to one of the generations that span the Greatest Generation right on up to, potentially, Generation Alpha (or at the very least, Genertion Z).

Statistically, the majority with be Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Xennials, Millennials, and Gen Zers.

This should go without saying, but (especially given the shade that is often unjustly thrown at various generations, such as Boomers and Millennials) no one generation is inherently better, superior, or “cooler” than the others.

Each generation has strengths and shortcomings, heroes and villains, triumphs and failures. We are all human and most of us do the best that we can with the knowledge, resources, and societal context available to us in the moment.

Generations are like pieces in a quilt. They are all connected to something larger than themselves and all play an important role in the fabric of society as it exists today.

What generation do you belong to? Do you feel a strong connect with it or do you feel as though your life and inner self relate more to a previous or later generation?

The topic of generational designation is a highly fascinating one and I encourage you to seek out reputable books, magazine articles, online content, TV programmes, podcasts, and so forth that explore this subject further.

How to incorporate your generational designation into your witchcraft

Now that we have briefly explored the topic of societal generations of the 20^th and early 21^st century, let’s take a look at some of the ways that we as witches and Pagans can incorporate our generational designation into our witchcraft.

Objectively – and yet, to my mind, rather surprisingly – this is not a topic I have seen other witches, Wiccans or Pagans discuss much over the years.

I have long been weaving my generational designation into my own witchy workings, however, and thought that doing so would appeal to many of my readers as well. Thus, the creation of this blog post.

For the sake of the following suggestions, it is helpful to determine which generation (or generations, if you identify as a Cusper) you belong to based both on the year you were born and the general characteristics + experiences shared amongst members of your generation.

Here are twelve ways to weave elements of your generation into your witchcraft.

1. Read, or revisit, books that were new during the generation that you were born into. While, these days, a near endless stream of new witchery, Paganism, and spiritually focused books hits the shelves each year, such was not always the case.

What was the first book you remember reading about witchcraft, Wicca or Paganism?

Was it by Scott Cunningham, Raymond Buckland, Silver RavenWolf, D.J. Conway, or someone else entirely?

Do you still own a copy today? If not, could you track one down online or off?

How has your practice evolved and changed since you first read that book?

If you didn’t grow up reading the witchery and Pagan related titles of your generation at the time, why not investigate some books from that era that would be of interest to you now and see if you can buy or borrow them.

A lot a has changed in the world of Neopaganism and witchcraft in just a few short decades, but plenty is still much the same. Connecting with books that were popular when we were growing up can give us an eye-opening look into some of the ways in which these areas continue to evolve and develop with each passing year.

If you have a book that you especially enjoy or find interesting, consider performing a working, divination ritual, guided meditation, etc that it suggests.

2. Connect with a standout cause of your generation. From the (US) civil rights happenings of the 1960s to things such as plight of the rain forest and devastating AIDS challenges of the 1980s, every generation has experienced certain standout problems and put forth efforts to tackle them that help to went on to help define that era.

What were some of the most pronounced challenges for your generation back in the day? What causes continue to be championed by those in your age group nowadays?

Looking at these areas through the lens of your spirituality, are ways you can support, bring awareness to, or otherwise assist with one or more important cause?

3. Create a magickal meal using foods of your generation. Many, if not most, of us instantly get nostalgic when we think back to some of the foods that were commonplace when we were growing up.

Whether they were homemade by mom, dad, grandma, an older cousin, or another loved one, served at our favourite local eatery, savoured at sleepovers with our childhood besties, or dishes we made ourselves as we began to cook and back, these foods hold special, meaningful places in our hearts and minds – not to mention our stomachs – alike.

Prepare a meal using kitchen witchery that focuses on some of the foods that either helped to define the culinary landscape of your generation and/or which were your personal favourites when you were growing up.

As you tuck into your meal, reflect back on the role those foods have had on your life over the years, the people who made them for you or with whom you shared those dishes in years past, and the ways that these ingredients or recipes continue to shape your culinary activities to this day.

4. Decorate an altar with items from your generation: While one could certainly create an altar to honour a time period itself, in this instance, I’m referring more to utilizing items that are characteristic to your generation or which were especially important to you when you were younger.

Our altars should always reflect our true selves, our beliefs, and our traditions. Even if you weren’t a witch yet when you were growing up, there’s no reason why you can’t include some of the things you adored back then on an altar today.

From toys to books, tarot decks to travel souvenirs, family photos to home décor pieces, there’s no shortage of possible items from your generation that you can include on an altar.

If you have, or able to source, pieces from that era itself, all the better, but if not, no sweat! Newer iterations convey the same concept and work every bit as well.

5. Do shadow or other forms of retroactive healing work pertaining to your youth. Almost everyone has experienced difficult, painful times in their life.

Whether on a personal level or in terms of some of the struggles that impacted a broader range of people at the time, if you are feeling called to do so, consider undertaking a healing journey to help further process, come to terms with, and, hopefully, move beyond some of the challenges that rocked your existence when you were younger.

Shadow work and intensive healing work is not something to be undertaken lightly. You will want to ensure that you’re presently emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually well enough to take on the myriad emotions and memories it may bring to surface and to find healthy, responsible ways to deal and move beyond these things.

Successful shadow work and retroactive healing (much as with things like ancestral and generational trauma awareness and healing) are amongst the most liberating, empowering, and eye-opening acts we can preform for ourselves, frequently proving to be life-alterteringly positive in the long run.

6. Incorporate music from your generation into some of your rituals. Or have it playing in the background while meditating, resonating through you earbuds on a nature walk, or as the auditory ambience to a delicious meal.

Many of us already listen to some of our favourite songs from when we growing up, but there’s a difference between having such tunes as part of a larger playlist and purposely selecting and mindfully connecting with them.

Consider making one or more playlists (or cue up relevant records, cassettes, or CDs if you are an analog music fan) of songs that were meaningful to you when you were younger.

Explore how they make you feel today vs when you were coming of age? What thoughts and emotions do they trigger?

In addition to listening to these types of songs, you can also sing, hum, or chant them yourself (happily, the lyrics to countless millions of songs can easily be found online these days) or perform them on a musical instrument, if that’s a skillset you possess.

You can also select lines or passages from songs to use as personal mantras, as part of the spoken portion of a spell or ritual, (printed or handwritten) displayed on your altar or elsewhere in your home, included in a spell bottle or mojo bag, broken down into a sigil, or even tattooed onto your skin, if a particular verse resonates deeply with you.

As well, you could design a piece of jewelry, garment, craft project, or home décor piece that either incorporates elements of a song that matters to you or which was inspired by a particular tune.

7. Make a tarot or oracle deck with imagery the evokes your generation: From photos to clip art, original illustrations to magazine images, there are plenty of ways to gather relevant images if you want to make your own tarot or oracle card deck.

How cool would a deck of all, say, 1950s or 1980s images be? You could seek out images that directly represented the various cards in a standard tarot deck or let your imagination soar free and create an oracle deck with images and related associations that hold meaning for you personally.

This can be a wonderfully fun, creative project and one that produces an item that then allows you to quickly connect with your generation anytime you please.

Plus, I find something highly meaningful in the act of utilizing elements of the era that gave us life to help us navigate the waters of the present day.

Note: If working with antique or vintage images, I would highly suggest photocopying or scanning and printing them, so as to preserve, and hopefully not damage, the originals.

8. Perform a working using only items that would have been available when you were in your teens or early adult years: Depending on when you came of age, that list may differ little from today or the two may be quite far removed.

For example, if the internet wasn’t around at that time, do not refer to it for any aspect of your working. Likewise, if there were no metaphysical shops around when you were growing up, try to use tools and ingredients that you could have purchased, wildcrafted, or made instead at the time.

By performing a magickal working as it would have been plausible at an earlier point in time, you are honouring the past and reminding yourself in the process that spellwork rarely needs to be fancy or elaborate to be effective.

9. Devote a part of your BOS, Grimoire, or other magickal journaling book to your generation: Reflect on your youth and on society as a whole at that time. How did those decades shape the person, and witch/Pagan, that you are today?

(If you’re not a heredity witch) Did you feel that you were a born witch? Where there any clues in your youth that you were headed on a path to becoming a witch?

Did the era that you came of age in support, hinder, or have little discernible impact on your ability, and ultimate decision, to become a witch, Wiccan, or Pagan?

Did you know any fellow witches or Pagans when you were younger? Who do you view as being amongst the most famous (or infamous!) witches/occultists of your generation? Have any of those people influenced your own spiritual path and if so, how?

These are just a few of the thoughts and questions you may wish to ponder or incorporate into your writing as you delve into exploring your generation in your magickal book.

10. Discuss how witchcraft and/or Neopaganism has changed since you were a youth with any young witches/Pagans in your life: Many of us feel fortunate that things like witchcraft and Paganism are becoming more accepted and understood by mainstream society.

Not everywhere, or by every person, of course, but thankfully we are seeing a general trend in that direction.

Yet, as little as ten or twenty years ago (and certainly further back in time still) this was not always the case by any means and many of us had to practise our witchery differently to protect ourselves and/or families.

If you have young witches or Pagans in your life, share about the experiences that you and other witches of your generation went through, how public views on witches have changed since then, how the internet and social media has impacted the craft, and any other comparison you desire.

In turn, ask these youngster how they think witchcraft/Paganism is perceived today, how they feel when practising or learning about these areas in the 21^st century, and then mutually discuss where you see witchcraft and Paganism heading in future generations.

11. If you work with a coven or other group of magickal/spiritual practitioners, devote part (or all) of a meeting to sharing memories and other tales from each person’s generation: This could be incorporated with some of the other suggestions above (such as generational kitchen magick or songs from different eras) or carried out as a standalone happening.

You could also ask each group member to bring a meaningful item from, or which represents, their youth and have the group cleanse and bless each item with the energy of the group itself.

12. Incorporate generational witchery into your ancestor work: Honour and celebrate the generations of your loved ones who have crossed over or who are of a generation other than your own.

For example, at Samhain you could prepare a dumb supper (aka, a silent supper) using only foods and recipes that would have been available to some of your ancestors at a given point in their lives.

Likewise, you can leave offerings of foods, beverages, or other items that would have been commonplace during your ancestor’s lifetime, play music from their generation when contacting or otherwise working with your ancestors, or make a point to actively learn more about what life was like for some of the family members that came before you.

And, while on the subject of ancestry and witchcraft, be sure to check out my post on 5 Ways that Ancestral DNA Testing Can Benefit Your Witchy Life.

Generational designation witchcraft is for everyone!

Like many witches and magickal practitioners, I have plenty of tried and true traditions, techniques, and methods that I turn to in my workings.

However, by the same token, I love to continually expand my practise by trying new things or approaching established ones from fresh perspectives.

There is a seemingly limitless number of ways to do this, both in general and when it comes to working with one’s generational designation.

While incorporating generational groupings into witchcraft may never become as popular, say, as things like herbology, candle magick, or doing tarot spreads, I hope that reading this post has inspired you to give generation related witchcraft a try.

This is a fun, personalized, creative, and engaging form of witchery that is open to every human on the planet, as, rather beautifully, we are each born into at least one generation.

The post How to Incorporate Your Generational Designation into Your Witchcraft appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.