Emma Kathryn Wild Witchcraft

How fast the Wheel of the Year turns! Samhain feels like so long ago and already thoughts turn towards preparing for the festive season. This deepening into darkness can lead to conflicted feelings; the want and need to slow down and get cosy and then the busyness of Yule and Christmas, the decorating and shopping and parties and people! All good things in and of themselves, but sometimes it can feel as though it is our witchcraft and magical practices that get pushed aside or squeezed to accommodate everything else that’s going on at this time.

Regular readers of mine, especially of my book Season Songs, will know that the world and indeed the universe is made up of many cycles and rhythms. While the sabbats that make up the wheel of the year can be a focal point for our practical magical practices, they are not the only ones.

Planetary magic is an often overlooked aspect of magic and witchcraft, and it is one that can be as easy and fluid or as deep as you want it to be. Today though, we will focus on the fluid. In doing so, it can help you to pick and choose what you want to do. It is this freedom of choice that ultimately gives you time and energy to make your everyday magic practical, especially when you feel your time, energy and resources are not as full as you might want them to be.

With all this in mind then, this is a simple seven day plan that can help to anchor your witchcraft and allow you to incorporate a daily practical element into your magic based on what you want, need and have the time to do.

Monday – The Moon

The moon is associated with divination, dreams and creativity, and so Monday is the perfect day to bring these qualities and practices to the fore.

Monday is a great day to use divination to help map out your week ahead or seek answers and understandings for any plans you have. As a tarot nerd, would be connoisseur if finances allowed, using the tarot for this is a go to and something I try to do. Not only does it help with planning your week but it is also a great way of getting familiar with your deck. Try a simple three card spread asking the following questions:

What do I need to know this week?

What will help me this week?

What will hinder me this week?

Another way to use the tarot is to draw out the moon card and meditate on it. The moon card represents intuition, dreams and hidden truths, and so this practise can help you set intentions in these areas.

Tap into the creative powers of the moon energy, perhaps by trying your hand at crafting your own spells. If you are unsure, a good place to start is adapting existing spells and building up to writing your own. If this isn’t your cup of tea, then perhaps get busy crafting some ritual tools or jazzing up your altars and working spaces.

Tuesday – Mars

Mars is the red planet, and so it should be no surprise that it’s energy is strong, fiery and associated with victory. Tuesday is the day of getting things done!

This is a good time for any spells and workings to do with work and careers, particularly if you want to ‘win’ at something or assert your will with someone who has somewhat taken the piss. One of my favourite spells in this area is the playing card spell. Select a card that best represents the person. For example, the queen or king of diamonds might represent you boss. Write their name on it and slip it into your shoe, and just go about your day. This represents you ‘walking’ on them, or asserting your will over them.

Its also a good time to turn your efforts towards something you are passionate about, using that fiery energy to get things done. A good way to start the day is with a bit of mindful intention setting. Get into a comfortable position, and spend a few moments allowing your body to just be. Take in a deep breath and repeat a simple mantra that includes what you wish to achieve.

Wednesday – Mercury

Mercury is the planet of communication and travel and so Wednesday is a great day for workings in this area.

Today is the day of making yourself heard and understood, but first you might want to fine tune what exactly you want. Creating sigils is a great way of really honing your intent and will, but also of communicating with yourself and subconscious mind.

There are many ways of creating sigils, but I like the method that involves writing a statement and getting rid of vowels and repeated letters. The formulation of the statement is important here, because you want to be as specific as possible in the most simple way. This is where half the magic happens. Let’s use the example of losing weight. You might be tempted to write just that, I want to lose weight, but resist that temptation. First of all, you want to bring that to the fore, so write your statement as though you have already achieved it. Next, be specific. You wouldn’t want to lose weight due to serious illness, so perhaps a better statement would be I am a healthy weight.

Next, cross out any repeating letters and vowels. In the example above, I would be left with m,h,l,t,h,y,w,g. Now you can get creative. Take those letters and transform them into an image. Use individual lines and curves from each letter, blend them, cross them over, layer them, whatever. The point is to create an image that is your will made manifest. when you are happy with it, you can meditate on it, carry it with you throughout the day, keep it somewhere you can see it regularly, sleep with it under your pillow or even use it in further spell work.

Thursday – Jupiter

Jupiter brings with it authority, expansion, wisdom, good fortune and justice, making Thursday the perfect day to focus on any one of these areas. I always associate the high priestess of the tarot with Jupiter, and so you can use Thursday to embody this. The high priestess is someone who understands that the line between the mundane and the magical isn’t hard or absolute, they merge and blend with one another. the high priestess is someone who recognises their power and uses it to help themselves and others.

As with the moon card from Monday exercises, you can do the same with the high priestess card, but Thursday is also a good day to focus on prosperity and abundance. I love to use washes and waters to bring these things into my life. To make a simple prosperity or abundance wash, you will need:

A clean jar

White vinegar

Citrus fruit rind such as lemon or orange

Cinnamon stick and oil

Lavender, dried flowers or oil

Nutmeg

Peppermint oil

Fill the jar with the rind, flowers and cinnamon stick and spices and cover with the vinegar. Add up to 10 drops of each oil. Pop on the lid and leave somewhere warm like a sunny windowsill. Give the jar a shake everyday and leave for between a week and a month. Strain into a clean jar. You can add a capful to a bucket of hot water and use to clean your home, especially your front door, welcoming abundance and prosperity into your home and life. You can even add a few drops into a ritual bath to help you bring these qualities into your mind and body.

Friday – Venus

Venus is the goddess of love and beauty, and so Friday brings with it these energies as well as fertility. Friday is the perfect day to indulge yourself! Self-care is important, and something that so many people feel guilty for doing, but you shouldn’t!

I am a huge fan of ritual bathing, especially on a Friday. Setting aside enough time to enjoy a long soak in the tub means that you are setting time aside purely for the self. A good bath isn’t just luxurious, but it can really help your mental health and well-being.

For this ritual bath, add rose petals, lavender flowers, frankincense oil, lavender oil and Epsom salts. You could even make a jarful of Epsom salts with these ingredients added to use every Friday!

Light some incense and candles and play some healing or relaxing music on low. Run your bath and add the ingredients, and as you do repeat:

Healing waters, heal me

Flowers of love, let me see

My self worth and all I may be

As I will it, so shall it be!

Now spend as long as you wish luxuriating in this healing bath. I like to do this in the morning if I have time as it helps me bring this energy and mindset into the rest of my day, but if you don’t have time, don’t worry, you can do it in the evening too! And if you don’t have a bath, you can add the oils to your shower gel, use an oil burner in the bathroom and use rose, lavender and frankincense oil mixed with water to fill the air with those healing aromas. You can even make a body oil for afterwards by adding a few drops of each oil into an existing body oil or mixing into coconut oil.

Saturday – Saturn

Setting boundaries and more baneful workings are the energies of Saturn, making Saturday the perfect day for spells and magic in these areas. Now, perhaps somewhat controversially, I am a fan of cursing and hexing. They do have negative connotations, and there probably are some people out there who focus too much in these areas, but sometimes we have to be willing to seek the justice we deserve. The spell below is one I have used to set boundaries when all mundane efforts have failed me.

Write the person’s name on a piece of paper and fold it up. Seal with black wax or by tying with black cord and burn the name in a cauldron repeating:

(Person’s name) may the poison you

spew return to you!

When only ashes remain and they have cooled, pour them into your hand and take them outside and blow them into the air, visualising the wind carrying them to the person. Feel the release of your anger and go about your life, knowing they will reap what they have sown!

Sunday – The Sun

Sunday brings with it success, health and protection. The sun brings life, energy and clarity with it, and so Sunday is a great time for workings that make use of this energy. Use this day to look back on your week with clarity and understanding that will carry you into the new week to come.

Sunday is a great day to refresh your altars, taking the time to dust and tidy, adding fresh offerings or flowers. Sit at your altar with a simple candle burning while you mediate on your achievements of the week and the lessons you have learned.

I also like to do protective work on a Sunday, such as cleansing the home by burning herbs, and to do this, there are many herbs besides sage you can use. I like to make my own cleansing bundles using rosemary and lavender from the garden, and waiting for them to dry. Alternatively, you can burn the dried herbs on a charcoal disk for the same effect.

I also feel Sunday is a good day for working with my spirits, whether that’s the ancestors or the genius loci. This can be done by simply providing offerings, rum for the ancestors and water and bird seed for the spirits of nature and land. Talk to them aloud. Tell them about your week and ask for their aid and protection in the coming week. Don’t worry if you feel daft at first, we all get performance anxiety sometimes, but the more you do it, the easier it gets and you’ll soon see the benefits!

So there you have it, my practical guide to planetary magic. Witchcraft should be practical, but it is up to you to decide what those practical elements look like! Blessed be witches!