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    Bountiful Basil

    I love me some basil, and here in Middle Earth, those shiny green leaves are blooming all over the gardens — and I just harvested a metric ton of it this past weekend. I’ll put fresh basil on anything, and I’m a total whore for pesto sauce. Basil, part of the mint family, is known far and wide as a culinary herb, but it also contains some interesting magical properties. In Mediterranean countries, it is strewn on floors to purify a home. It also can bring luck to people moving into a new residence — a gift of a potted basil plant guarantees good fortune, so if a friend is…

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    Making Magical Charms for the Workplace

    I don’t know about you, but even though I love my job, I’ve found over the years that the workplace can be a source of significant stress and challenges, from tight deadlines and high expectations to difficult coworkers and a fast-paced environment. Navigating these pressures often requires professional skills and resilience, to be sure. But sometimes we also need to take a holistic approach to maintaining well-being and productivity. So what’s a working witch to do? This is where magical charms can come in super-handy. By adding a few small, enchanted objects into your professional life, you can cultivate a more positive, focused, and harmonious work environment for yourself. Protection…

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    Witchcraft & Tech – Merging Tradition with Modern Methods

    In an era where technology permeates every aspect of our lives, it’s only natural that witchcraft, too, evolves to incorporate digital methods. Far from detracting from the mystical essence of the craft, technology is another tool in the arsenal, much like an athame, a Book of Shadows, or a collection of herbs and crystals. From apps and cell phones to digital rituals and online communities, we have a ton of resources at our fingertips. And look, I get it… some people don’t like new things. There are plenty of people reading this right now – you might be one of them – who are thinking Pshaw, our ancestors didn’t have apps…

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    Where to Source Your Crystals

    I do a lot of in-person events, and inevitably, someone will come up and say something along the lines of I’d really like to buy X, where is the best place to find it? And the answer is, inevitably, It depends… When it comes to crystals, you’ve got a LOT of options. A simple online search is going to give you a floppity-million results, and it can be overwhelming – don’t panic, though. There are plenty of places you can source your crystals in ways that are both affordable and ethical. The key here is to do your homework ahead of time. Crystals vary widely in price depending on shape, weight, and…

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    The Business-Focused Witch

    Although a lot of my readers assume I spend all of my time blogging, writing books, and generally cavorting around doing fun magically-delicious things, the fact is I spent a good fifty hours a week in the corporate world. My early career was spent in retail management as well as medical office administration, but about eleven years ago I found an opportunity to move into the business-to-business sphere, and I’ve never looked back. Since I spend so much of my time immersed in general business practices, processes, and principles, as you can probably imagine, sometimes this spills over into my magical life. While we typically perceive witchcraft as this mysterious,…

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    Join Me at the Buckland Museum!

    Join me as I return to one of my favorite places, Cleveland’s Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick, for a workshop on how to develop a relationship with your ancestors for spiritual growth and development. Ancestor veneration is a key component of many spiritual/occult practices, but very few people know where to start. We’ll talk about how to figure out who your ancestors were, and then what to do once you’ve identified them. You’ll learn how to work with your ancestors for protection, abundance, and personal growth. This workshop is an introduction to genealogical research as well as to making your magic more powerful through working with your kinfolk. We’ll…

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    Covens vs Solitary Practice

    I get messages about this a lot, so I thought maybe it was time to address it – what are the advantages and disadvantages of practicing as a solitary, versus joining a coven or some other sort of group? It’s a discussion that comes up frequently in the magical community, because there’s one school of thought that says “only a witch can make a witch,” which means you must be initiated and part of a coven before you can truly practice. There’s another camp that says anyone can be a witch, and what matters more than initiation and coven connections is what’s in your heart and soul. Will everyone ever…

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    The Pagan Origins of the Olympic Games

    The Olympics are coming in just a couple of months – opening ceremonies are July 23! – and despite things still being weird, thanks to the ‘Rona, celebrations will still be happening. The Olympics have a long history, and I thought it might be fun to explore their origins in the polytheistic world of ancient Greece. The Total Pagan Entertainment Package The Olympic Games are one of the most highly anticipated events in the sports world today. The Games are a huge event, attracting athletes from nearly every country. Although it has turned into a marketing and merchandising behemoth, the original purpose of the Olympic Games was a far less…

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    When the Evangelizers Come a-Knocking

    One of the things I love about where I live is that I’m kind of in the middle of nowhere. My little village is out in the woods, about 25 minutes from the nearest Real Town, and we only have a population of 750 people. We also happen to have a village-wide No Soliciting ordinance, which means the only people who knock on my door are my neighbors stopping by to see if I’d like to swap some plant cuttings, some kid on an ATV who’s gotten lost on their way back to their parents’ campsite, or the UPS guy. This is great, because no one is on my front…

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    Can I Join a Coven I Found Online?

    Here we are, in 2024, and I’m still getting messages from people who want to know if it’s “safe” to join a coven they found online. The answer – like so many other things in the modern magical world – is “It depends.” Keep in mind that this is a completely separate discussion from “does that coven I found online actually know what the heck they’re talking about,” which we’ll cover in a later post. Many people have met new friends, coven mates, and even spouses online, and never had any problems at all. But the thing is, you need to remember at all times that people are not always…

Patti Wigington