Case in point, earlier this year I penned an entry called 25 Jigsaw Puzzles That are Perfect for Witches and Pagans (and Puzzle Fans of All Kinds!).

Shortly after this post appeared here, I was contacted by the founder of an exciting new Australian jigsaw company called Pennywinks.

The chap named Phil who launched Pennywinks (we will be chatting with him later on in this very post ) was curious as to if I would like to receive and review their debut jigsaw puzzle design called The Witches Lair.

My answer was a resounding and very appreciative, “Yes, please!”.

On previous blogs that I have run over the years, I often reviewed a broad range of different products. So far on Witchcrafted Life, however, my reviews have been book-centred ones.

Getting the opportunity to not only do, but also review, a beautiful new puzzle was a lovely change of pace and moreover, a fantastic way to introduce you to Pennywinks and their products.

Puzzle specs

Puzzle name: The Witches Lair

Jigsaw puzzle company: Pennywinks

Puzzle piece count: 1,000

Blog: Pennywinks Jigsaw Puzzle Blog

Pennywinks on social media: Instagram | Facebook

Review of The Witches Lair Puzzle from Pennywinks

Let me begin by saying that while I was generously provided with a complimentary review puzzle, I was not financially compensated for writing this post.

All opinions expressed herein are solely my own and would not differ one bit had I bought this puzzle myself.

Fall was just starting to pick up speed around these Canadian parts when a parcel from Australia landed in our mailbox.

I am happy to report that after journeying all the way from Down Under, the puzzle – which was very securely and professionally packaged – reached me in pristine condition.

Once the Halloween and Samhain season had drawn to a close for another year (*sad face*), my schedule permitted me to hop with both feet forward into doing this puzzle.

I commandeered the only space (our dining room table) in the house large enough to do a good-sized jigsaw on and begin to tackle this exciting puzzle.

Different folks approach jigsaw puzzles in various ways. Personally, I almost always start by finding and putting together all four edges of the design.

This is either proceeded by, or done in tandem with, grouping like coloured and/or themed pieces with like.

The Witches Lair is a beautiful, high-quality 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that measures 75 cm x 52 cm (about 29.5 inches x 20.4 inches).

Included in the box, one finds an accompanying printed full-colour image of the puzzle which measures 29 cm x 19 cm (11.4 inches x 7.4 inches).

The printed page/leaflet not only features a crisp, beautiful rendering of the puzzle image but also, on the reverse side, houses some relevant information both about The Witches Lair design and regarding puzzling in general.

I thought this was an especially nice touch that only further drives home what a quality product Pennywinks has produced with their inaugural jigsaw puzzle design.

This puzzle features a detailed illustration comprised of a fair number of different colours. That said, some colours do dominate more than others, such as various shades of purple, pink, blue, and brown.

The image on The Witches Lair is a fantasy scene depicting three floors of a structure (that would be the “witches lair” itself) in which a wide array of both real and mythical beings and creatures are engaged in various magical going-ons.

The witch figures it includes are those of a more fairytale or Hollywood nature – complete, in one instance, with green skin.

This puzzle’s image is not one that set out to portray real-world witchery or Paganism. It is whimsically and wonderfully fantastical and as such is apt to appeal to a broader range of jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts than if it was a straight-up witchcraft/Wicca-themed design.

The pieces in The Witches Lair are truly amongst the highest quality puzzle pieces I have ever had the pleasure of working with (think Ravensburger level or higher). They are comprised of 1.9 mm (0.075 inch) thick blue board with a matte linen finish.

Sturdy, richly hued, and with a minimal amount of normal puzzle dust (which I have long dubbed “pandruff” – as in “puzzle dandruff” ), these pieces are very well cut and fit together excellently.

Some puzzles house rather ambiguous pieces that leave you wondering (at least until the design is complete) if they really do go where you have placed some of them. I did not get a sense of that at all while doing The Witches Lair.

Knowing that I was working on a deadline for this post, I decided to tackle completing this puzzle over the course of a few larger sessions, with occasional briefer ones sprinkled throughout the process.

I should mention that I did not keep track of the amount of time that it took me (as the sole person working on completing this 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle) to finish it.

That said, I would roughly estimate that I spent about fourteen to eighteen hours combined time putting it together from start to finish.

I did not set out to do this puzzle at breakneck speed. I often watched videos or listened to music on my phone while puzzling, and was up and down for various reasons throughout longer puzzle doing sessions.

Depending on the speed that one puzzles at and the ease with which they find this design, it could easily be possible for one person to finish The Witches Lair in less time. Conversely, it may take you longer.

Puzzling is rarely a race and I feel that no small amount of its enjoyment stems from the fact that doing a jigsaw puzzle helps us slow down, relax and focus on the hands-on task before us.

There is so much detail and creativity at play in the illustration of The Witches Lair puzzle. In fact, it quickly reminded me of the classic I Spy series of books (for example, I Spy Spooky Night: A Book of Picture Riddles) that were highly popular here in North America when I was a little girl.

I found that overall, the colours printed on the pieces in this puzzle were true to those of the images on both the box and the accompanying illustration page.

Here and there, to a very minor degree, there were minimal colour intensity (lightness/darkness) differences. Happily, not to the extent where this might have temporarily tripped me up.

At no point in doing The Witches Lair did my interest in completing it wane. This puzzle kept me engaged every step of the way.

In terms of the 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzles that I have done so far as an adult, I would place The Witches Lair about in the middle in terms of the degree of difficulty involved.

I was never bored, found the design come together at a reasonable/average clip, and was spurred on all the more as the image I was composing with puzzle pieces really started to take shape.

One especially charming element of The Witches Lair is that it includes an appearance by none other than “The Pennywinks” – the brand’s eponymously named mascot – himself (whose origin story you can read more about here).

This is something the company plans to include with each of their subsequent puzzle designs as well. I look forward to seeing where The Pennywinks will appear in future designs from this company.

The Witches Lair is a really fun, richly coloured jigsaw puzzle featuring an original hand-drawn fantasy art design. I suspect that it will appeal to a broad range of different puzzlers – especially those who like a bit of a challenge but don’t want to pull their hair out in the name of completing a puzzle.

At present, The Witches Lair is available to purchase from Amazon in some countries, including Australia and America.

I had a blast putting together every last piece of The Witches Lair. Just as I have enjoyed getting to know the creative soul behind this puzzle company via the emails that we’ve swapped over the past few months.

Read on to enjoy the interview that I recently had with Phil, learn more about bringing a high-quality jigsaw puzzle to market, and get the inside scope on Pennywink’s next exciting puzzle design.

Pennywinks creator interview

Welcome, Phil! It’s a pleasure to chat with you about your company Pennywinks Puzzles. Could you please tell us a bit about your passion for puzzles and what led you to launch Pennywinks?

Thanks, Autumn – it is great to have the opportunity to share my passion for puzzles with the lovely Witchcrafted Life’s readership. 

My passion for puzzles is something that started a few years back. My wife (who is a lifelong puzzle fan) convinced me to try one that had a fantasy theme and I instantly fell in love. I also loved exploring the fantasy world and finding the details in the artwork. Plus, I found it very relaxing, too. 

I was finding it harder and harder to track down new puzzles that specifically matched what I was looking for. Then at the start of the pandemic, I couldn’t get hold of any.

This started the thought process of thinking about creating puzzles. I have also been an avid doodler, creating strange monsters and supernatural stuff. When I was younger I created lots of comics. This was something I was trying to get back into. Then the idea came into my head about creating puzzle artwork that would combine all of these things and thought I would give it a shot.

Your first puzzle, The Witches Lair, is a whimsical take on a fantasy-style witches’ realm, what inspired this design? 

I want our puzzles to take the puzzler into strange worlds and in which they meet weird characters. At the same time, I had a strong vision for the style of art. It had to be atmospheric with really bright glowing colours.

This gave me the idea of adding large colourful potion bottles and et voila, a witches theme was born. After that the storyline was established, the main characters and witches just came from my imagination. 

Is there a target audience that this puzzle is particularly geared towards? 

Anyone who loves a good puzzle. I think families would particularly enjoy doing this together as it has something for all ages. 

Puzzling has seen a massive resurgence in popularity in recent years, including amongst younger generations. This spike in jigsaw puzzle interest has been boosted further by the pandemic and the fact that many of us have been self-isolating at home for long stretches. Do you foresee puzzles continuing to increase in popularity further as the 2020s progress?

I certainly hope so. Once you discover the joy of puzzles it definitely sticks. It is a very therapeutic pastime especially compared to screen-based entertainment.

The fact that the traditional puzzle has grown in an age where we are surrounded by digital devices that are designed to be as addictive as possible is a testament to their timeless appeal. Long may the growth continue!

What are some of the latest trends that you have noticed in the puzzling community?

There are always lots of new and interesting trends. Puzzles that are intentionally difficult/impossible seem to be increasing in popularity (e.g all black) but that could just be a social media trend. Gradients and puzzles with modern art seem to be getting very popular with the average puzzler. 

Are there any misconceptions or misunderstandings about jigsaw puzzles (or people who enjoy doing them) that you’d like to clarify for our readers?

Definitely. I think a common one (that I used to be guilty of) is that they are a waste of time. As with all things in life we humans tend to focus purely on the outcome but the process is always more important.

The process of putting a puzzle together has many proven mental health benefits and is a very pleasant way to relax. The outcome is also great – you have a beautiful piece of art and once they’re done. Many puzzlers choose to glue and hang their favourites.

What are some of your own favourite elements about doing jigsaw puzzles?

For me, it’s an antidote to all the screen time I experience, especially working from home during the pandemic. I find that just a five-minute break in between meetings really helps reset the stress levels. It also allows space to continue to problem solve/think over ideas at the same time.

This is probably why a lot of authors such as Nick Hornsby are into puzzles, claiming it helps with writer’s block. It is also possible to really enjoy an audiobook or podcast and concentrate on both whilst still being very relaxing. I love that. But my favourite element has to be getting completely absorbed in the puzzle and losing all track of time.

I understand that designs often have to stay under wraps until they’re brought to market. However, can you give us any hints about what Pennywink’s second puzzle design will be like?

Happy to give some teasers… If you like the current design you will enjoy the next one, too. All I’ll say is that it is a haunted house theme.

We have two more that are coming into the final testing/tweaking stages but they are still a secret for now.  The next release will take place in 2022 and we will probably release a couple different puzzle designs at the same time. 

What are some of your favourite things about working in the puzzle industry? 

The puzzle community. It has been overwhelmingly supportive of our new puzzle company. A special shoutout goes to Adelable based puzzle instagrammer Relishpuzzles who discovered us there.

She is highly supportive of promoting very small puzzle brands from all over the world and encourages people to follow her if they are also interested in supporting smaller puzzle companies that find it hard to get the same exposure as the bigger brands.

Can you share a bit with us regarding the process, from the initial design concept to the finished product, of what it’s like to design and sell jigsaw puzzles?

From a high-level the process of creating a new puzzle looks like this:

I’ll create a theme and story for the puzzle (I’ve got a million crazy ideas in the backlog).

I’ll doodle some very crude character designs for main creatures mentioned in the puzzle and a very rough layout.

This is then given to our artist and an iterative process begins of the artist creating the image and getting feedback from myself. It moves from a draft sketch to a colour version slowly over many iterations.

Once we’re happy with the digital image we get a locally made “prototype” jigsaw to see how it actually puzzles. Usually, we learn a lot from this and then have the artist make more tweaks.

I create the packaging in-house and finalize the story for the end product. Once we think it is ready we order an official sample from our manufacturer. 

We do a final QA test and puzzle the sample. If we’re happy with it, we give the green light to the manufacture to mass produce the design.

It is a process that can take hundreds of hours all in all, but the end result is a unique piece of artwork that has been designed from the ground up with puzzling in mind.

The selling/marketing side is something we are still learning. Right now we sell on Amazon but plan to start selling directly from our website, Pennywinks.com.

Being a small business we have a very limited budget so we are relying on word of mouth – so far the response from the socials has been amazing. 

Now that lockdown has lifted, we’re teaming up with local independent toy/game shops here in Australia.

The dream is to have an established distribution chain not only here in Australia but also in US and UK (right now overseas customers have to pay for international shipping, which can be a bit pricey). Then we can focus more of our efforts on new designs and jigsaw puzzles themselves.    

What are some elements that help to set Pennywink’s offerings apart from other jigsaw puzzles that are currently on the market?

The way we build artwork from scratch for the purpose of puzzling is unique (a lot of jigsaw images can be pretty but not the best to solve as a puzzle; for example, if they house a lot of sky/same colour areas).

We also provide a story with every puzzle to help the puzzler get absorbed in the fantasy world. We are also the only puzzle to contain a portal travelling furball with a magic purple hat called “The Pennywinks”. He’s our mascot and can be found in every one of our puzzles. 

The puzzle quality is also exceptional. We worked hard on making sure the cut and thickness of the jigsaw was premium.

This was all part of trying to reach our aim of creating the perfect puzzle experience. 

And last, but certainly not least, do you have any pro tips for fellow jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts that you can share with us? 

Ha! I’m not sure I would call myself a pro yet but here are my tips to ensure maximum enjoyment when puzzling.

Set up a workspace that is ideal for your puzzle. You want to be working on a hard flat surface so if working on the floor use something like an old canvas, white foam board, or piece of MDF and ensure you have enough space. Consider the completed jigsaw size, then add 20 – 50% more room around it for the pieces.

Secondly, ensure you have adequate lighting. Near a window is great, but having some kind of light overhead is always best (e.g., if you want to puzzle at night, on cloudy days, etc), if possible.

Sorting/prep work at the start is also key to having an enjoyable experience. At the very least, turn over all pieces so that they are face up. Taking it further you can group pieces into colours. The pros seem to use sorting trays but I haven’t progressed to this yet.

However, my number one tip is at the purchasing stage. Don’t just purchase an image you like the look of.

You should also consider how fun the image will be to puzzle based on your skill level and what you are looking for (e.g., is it brightly coloured or dark? Is the image divided into identifiable different sections?).

Try to avoid images with large sections that are all the same colour or designs with too much darkness – unless you relish the challenge!

Awesome answers, Phil! Thank you very much not only for the opportunity to review Pennywick’s debut puzzle, but also for sharing so much about your brand and its offering here with Witchcrafted Life’s readers.

If you or anyone on your gift-giving list this holiday season (or any time of the year) enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles, I cannot recommend The Witches Lair puzzle highly enough.

And for those who may be wondering what rating The Witches Lair receives from me (as I always assign a rating between 0 – 5 to the books that I review here on Witchcrafted Life), that would be a resounding 5 out of 5 stars.

★★★★★

From Phil’s answers above, what did you find most interesting about the puzzle creation process? What design would appear on your dream jigsaw puzzle?

The post Product Review & Founder Interview: The Witches Lair Jigsaw Puzzle from Pennywinks 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?

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