Non-Wiccan Ways to Witchcraft: December

'Non-Wiccan Ways to Witchcraft' is a monthly series where I write about ways to practice Witchcraft with the energies of the season from a non-Wiccan, secular perspective. To create your own celebrations and holy days, the starting point for me is always to ask myself what is happening around me. What is Nature doing right now? What is the world doing? What is my community doing? What is my family doing?

Where you live will have different things happening than are happening where I live, so creating a framework for where to start your process will help tailor your non-Wiccan annual practices and observances to your specific circumstances.

DECOLONIZE YOUR WITCHCRAFT

The Spiritual and magickal community is saturated by colonial thinking, ideas and indoctrination. Practicing modern Witchcraft without these influences can be extremely challenging as a result. Witches who want to Walk in their Power, honor the Land they reside on, and reconnect with their Ancestors will benefit from decolonizing their practices. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Ask Questions

Where do your ingredients and products come from? Who profits?

It's easy for most of us to visit our local Witchcraft or metaphysical shop where we have convenient access to most if not all the ingredients and tools we could want for ourselves. Yes, it's wonderful to have this resource in our communities, but we also must be ready to ask the hard questions.

2. Stop Trying to Learn Witchcraft From TikTok

We've all seen the TikTok videos teaching us how to practice Witchcraft. Witchtok's time limits render videos full of Witch aesthetic, basics, and bad information while being short on the grounding principles and histories behind the practices being shared.

Know where your practices and beliefs come from.

There is no shortage of books and online content on Witchcraft. In many ways this is good. It means we benefit from the ability to quickly access information that can help deepen our understanding. The downside and danger we face, however, is most of this content doesn't educate us on where the practices being taught come from.

Cultural appropriation is still massively widespread throughout the magickal and Spiritual communities.

You don't need chakras, sage, voodoo dolls, dream catchers, or spirit animals to be a Witch.

Using a practice without knowing its origin is one way we participate in cultural appropriation, and tread into the territory of the colonizer.

If you find yourself practicing closed systems or adopting beliefs that come from those closed practices, you can choose to set them down, back away and leave them alone. Instead, decolonize your practice by researching the beliefs and practices rooted in your own heritage, and those that are open and available to you.

3. Establish an Ancestor Practice

Start by basing your practices on what your people did. What did your Ancestors believe? What did they practice and do? What traditions did they pass down or speak on? For some, you may not like or want what you find. For others this information may be more difficult to track down than for others. So what then? My advice is if your immediate or recent family or ancestry isn't a resource, look into your lineage and trace it back until you find something that works for you. You can also look to the region you were raised in, because even if your family is not a resource for magickal practices and beliefs, the area you grew up in most certainly will have its own culture and folklore you can draw from. The library, newspaper archives, and local museums can be excellent resources for finding this information, too.

One of the most authentic and powerful ways to decolonize your Witchcraft is to establish an Ancestor practice. I've written and spoken on Ancestor practices often in my community and in my online spaces. I firmly believe this is something every Witch would benefit from. Connect to the Spirits of your people long past, as well as those recently crossed over. It is the folklore in many cultures than Spirits share wisdom and magickal knowledge with their descendants and those who seek and ask. It's believed by many that some of the earliest Witches received their magickal training and abilities through Spirit communication, and this practice continues to this day. Beyond this, we have the opportunity to appreciate and honor our heritage when we spend time connected to our Ancestors. Generations of knowledge are available to those who engage in this work.

4. Research Authors

We live in a time when A.I. is making art, writing content for blogs and even writing books. We also live in times when freelance authors get an assignment for a topic they have no previous experience with, do a day of research, and then write on it as an expert.

There are books you can buy right now on Amazon that are ghost written on topics of Witchcraft, made to look like they were written by established writers, with names that sound similar to well-known Pagan or occult authors complete with fabricated biographies. You'll also find these same books sporting titles that capitalize on search trends, and have cover art that appeals to new practitioners. Yet, the contents inside are next to useless. One main reason for this is because it was essentially a plagiarized version of classic beginner’s books. The other reasons is it's written by someone with zero life experience as a practitioner. They used available online sources to throw something together without having the ability to discern fact from fiction in the retelling.

When researching authors, look into their background and experience. Look for the folks who are out in their communities, making videos or showing their faces in their online spaces, speaking at events and teaching classes you can attend, making appearances in shops and bookstores, leading groups and just generally being visible to the public. You want to be able to connect the author with a real live human being who isn't hiding from their readers. Ghost writers aren't doing livestreams, teaching in person or leading groups. Real authors are the folks who are writing about what they know, what they've experienced and practiced. They are accountable to their communities and the people they are selling their books and content to.

One place to start is to see if they have an author's page, personal website or social media platform. Look for that social proof. Are they hard to find online? You should be able to find them in other spaces, see a schedule of events or appearances, follow them on social media and be able to view videos or photos of them tagged by fans, followers and friends. If there isn't much to go on, but you do find a picture here and there, do a google search on the photo and see what comes up. It may not be a foolproof system but it's a good place to start.

5. Elevate BIPOC Voices

Another important step in decolonizing your Witchcraft is elevating the voices of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community and other marginalized groups. Most books and online content getting attention is written or published from the white perspective. Make the effort to look for BIPOC authors, buy their books, follow them on social media, listen to their podcasts, buy their products, join their Patreons, read their blogs, etc.

6. Connection Over Consumerism

There’s a difference between an aesthetic and a practice. With aesthetic Witchcraft on the rise it can be a challenge to tell the difference between the two, especially if you're new. Social media algorithms like TikTok and IG tend to favor whitewashed, consumerist, heteronormative and visually appealing images of Witchcraft. Trends like showing off your pretty (and expensive) crystal collection or a perfect altar displaying pretty tools and items for likes is consumerist driven rather than connection focused.

The aesthetic of Witchcraft is so heavily centered, like astrology, crystals, and Tarot reading, folks can easily lose sight of the practice’s core values, which are about a connection to yourself, your power, and the Earth.

The systems of colonization and capitalism disconnects us from the Land and our Power. We have to make an intentional effort to stay connected to the cycles, plants, and land and that means being mindful of the differences between an aesthetic and a practice.

7. Respect the Land

Colonialism has taught us, especially Americans, that the Land and Its resources are for us to use however we want, that we are entitled to it. You are not. Just because you can does not mean that you should.

Ask yourself if you are working within the local laws and culture when gathering or harvesting natural resources. Are you taking only as much as you need? Are you leaving enough for others, and enough for the resources to thrive? Are you aware of what animals, plants and people are reliant on it, and how removing it can or will affect them? Are you being mindful of preserving a healthy balance and supporting rather than destroying the local ecosystem? Are you being respectful and honoring the Spirit of Place, and leaving offerings?

Confronting these issues can be hard. It may feel overwhelming to start over or from scratch, but I promise you it can be done. It doesn't have to be done all at once, either. Start by changing one thing, then build on that.

This is a partial list of things you can do to decolonize your Witchcraft. Don't let this limit you! Keep reading up on this topic and don't stop. We all have room to improve and do better.

CELEBRATE THE WINTER SOLSTICE

In our family one tradition we have is we watch the sunrise on Solstice mornings. We drive the short five minutes over to the canyon that overlooks the Snake River, face East and watch the sun rise over the canyon. It's breathtaking. And in December, it's cold AF. There's no trees to block the glacial winds and the short desert sagebrush bushes are of no help. Still, we do it and no matter how miserable we are freezing our asses off out there, we're always glad we did it when we get home.

You can tie the sunrise to a chant or ritual, too. Bring a list of resolutions or goals you want to achieve in the coming year. Or perhaps a list of things you want to attract or grow in your life. As the Sun rises, visualize the things you've written rising and manifesting, too. Allow the Sun's light to infuse the ideas, goals, passions, and intentions you've written on your paper to charge it with the promise of hope, strength, stamina and abundance that follows.

Winter Solstice is also when we have an intimate gift exchange at home. Often this will include ritual or magickal gifts as well as traditional holiday gift-giving. One tradition I had when my kids were younger was to gift them an altar or ritual tool or item at the Solstices and Equinoxes.

Through Solstice week, we also enjoy our annual Harry Potter marathon! We spend several days watching all the movies and with each movie we have some corresponding activity. We decorate the house, hanging floating candles, making the walls into castle walls, torches, and pull out all our HP items, like the horcruxes, robes, train tickets, Hogwarts letter, wands, Remembrall, and so on. We create a miniature Honeydukes with candy selections in pretty apothecary jars and authentic packaging, a big feast at least one or two of the days, Butterbeer... you get the idea. Some years we put more effort in than others, but this tradition has been going for eighteen years and we still get a thrill out of it.

But what does Harry Potter have to do with the Solstice, you ask? Well, nothing really, except the Winter Solstice is the marker on our calendar when we practice this tradition. Not all holidays or holy days you decide to celebrate need to be these deeply serious or sacred occasions! As a secular Witch, I have the freedom to look at these times differently than someone who may be more religious. Sometimes these holidays are just a reminder to do a thing, and doing the thing year after year can be a wonderful bonding experience for you and your loved ones, help you relive happy and special memories, give you a goal or something to look forward to, remind you to slow down and take time to just be or enjoy, to be mindful of the passing of time, and to just do something fun that brings you joy.

Journal work right now can focus on setting goals for the coming year, closing out unfinished projects or starting new ones that focus on Shadow work, healing or inner growth.

I especially enjoy fiber art and needlework during the slower, quieter months of Winter when there's no pressure to be outside constantly and no garden to take up your time.

As the Solstice approaches, letting go of the old is a good way to ritualize closure in your life. Old versions of yourself, old hurts and grudges, old ways of thinking, old clothes, old habits... whatever it is, think about what you don't want to take with you into the New Year and create a simple ritual for saying good-bye to it. With Winter being such a heavy and dark time for many of us, I love releasing what I no longer want at this time so it doesn't continue weighing me down. Then I'm free to do that inner work of healing and grieving whatever I have chosen to move on from.

Caring for Critters

Deforestation and encroachment on wildlife habitat via highways, roads, housing, parking lots and shopping malls means there isn't always ample food and resources for wildlife during the harsher months when food gets scarce. Being a friend to Nature and Its critters is a wonderful way to connect to the Earth.

Cats and dogs get so much attention already, so I want to shine a spotlight on how we can be good stewards of less popular animal allies, like birds and squirrels.

Birds represent freedom, joy, Spiritual or Ancestral messages, dreams, the Air elements, thoughts, and ideas. Honor your bird allies with some of these tips:

Winter suggestions for bird feeding:

Birds should not be offered many of the foods humans eat.

Many birds will feed at more than one level, but some species have preferences.

Squirrels

Squirrels are adaptable, opportunistic eaters, but they prefer nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables and berries. Like most wild animals, you don’t need to feed them and you may compromise their survival skills if you do so. What wild animals, including squirrels, need most is water. Consider maintaining a clean bird bath in the summer and a clean, heated bird bath that won’t freeze in the winter. Once wildlife finds your water source, you’ll be rewarded with wildlife watching galore!

Create a Humane Backyard

By making simple changes, you can create that haven of comfort and security for local wildlife. No matter how big or small your outdoor space, you can create a haven for local wildlife. By providing basic needs like water, food and shelter, you can make a difference in your own backyard.

Every day, more and more wildlife habitats are lost to the spread of development. You can help by creating a humane backyard:

Winter Fae

They say there is a different set of Fae for each season. Whether or not you believe in the Fae you can still create a fun seasonal ritual that acknowledges, honors and thanks the local elementals.

Some tell of a sacred ritual carried out by the Fae at Winter Solstice done to help shepherd the nature spirits into their hibernation for the winter. This dance is slower and more peaceful than the Winter Solstice ritual of the Fae calling the Sun back, and they will do it as the Winter Solstice night begins to fall. You might be invited to join these dances, but it will be all right for you to decline.

This might be a lovely time to set out offerings for Winter elementals and Spirits. This makes for a fun tradition with the whole family. Find a nice tree trunk outside or a place in the garden and set up the offerings there. You can also add some candles, twinkle lights or jingle bells if you wish, and maybe a letter or piece of art created by one of your littles for the Fae to enjoy.

Home & Hearth

The onset of the cold season means many of us are home more. Bring more magick into your home life with some of these tips.

Hearth Spirits

These are the Spirits of your home, anchored to your physical residence. This Spirit protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members.

As a secular Witch I've never remotely considered this Spirit a deity, however others may. Some Witches intentionally work with Hearth or Home Deities for this purpose, but I'm here to tell you if you are secular like me, working with deities is never required.

The Hearth Spirit is a common belief found in many cultures and folklore all over the world.

Home or Hearth Spirits are not just one singular entity. Instead, I'm really talking about a type of or group of Spirits. They are animistic in nature. This type of home Spirit was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the lares of ancient Roman religion, the gashin of Korean shamanism, and cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish brownie and Slavic domovoy.

In my practice, Hearth Spirits aren't worshipped but rather they are treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or given offerings of food and drink. We also regularly speak out loud to our Hearth Spirits and offer energy, love and gratitude as infusions of Spiritual food into the walls themselves, touching them with intention as we leave and return home. We also sometimes light a candle for them.

The Hearth Spirit is a protector and guardian, excellent at helping keep the Spiritual riff raff and passerby out. It's also a force to help maintain energetic balance in the home, especially regarding emotional energy. The Hearth Spirit is very much like an elder in the home, full of wisdom. It sees and hears All. It knows what you're going through, and it knows what the others in the home are going through. It can be a treasured resource for times of grief and loss, family conflict and other family matters.

The Hearth Spirit is an ally and co-conspirator when you want to influence a room of guests, perhaps infusing the space with love, merriment, or peace and calm. Hearth Spirits can notify you when something is amiss at home when you're away. They can help offer added energetic protection for more vulnerable members of the family. In my experience they are generally very gentle and unobtrusive in daily life, however they partner well with more aggressive guardian entities, Ancestors, Spiritual allies and wards you have placed in or outside your home to deal with most magickal threats, and sometimes even physical ones.

If your Hearth Spirit is unhappy, you may get shenanigans. Small pranks or mischievous activities are par for the course. Small items like keys, coins or jewelry get 'misplaced', cabinet doors won't stay closed, or a string of minor but annoying issues with your plumbing or electricity are all common when you forget to tend to your Hearth Spirit. Though frustrating at times, it's usually all very harmless and easily remedied with a simple offering or acknowledgement and thank you.

December is a good time to establish or re-establish a relationship with your Hearth Spirit. Some homes have more active Hearth Spirits than others, but you can wake them up if you think the ones you have have gotten sleepy or gone dormant. Light a candle, speak out loud to your home, send out energy of love and gratitude, or leave a small offering on your fireplace mantle. I also find I get better cooperation when I've tidied up a bit. Decluttering and spiffing up a little can go a long ways to appeasing the Spirits of your home. Be careful not to go overboard into obsessively clean and sterile; they don't seem to like that either! Try to find the happy medium by creating a comfortable, cozy, lived-in space that's regularly tended to.

Different Hearth Spirits specialize in different things. Some like to accompany the children and watch them play. Some protect your food and help slow spoilage. Some care for the fire and candles. Some like to assist during cooking. Some enjoy hosting when guests arrive. The list goes on. The point is they are not all stationary or just hanging out by the fireplace.

Some Hearth Spirits are extremely loyal to a particular family, and may move with you from home to home. Others stay anchored to the home and you leave them behind when you move. The stronger your practice surrounding your Hearth Spirits, the more loyal they will be, the more active they will be, and the more likely they will follow you wherever you go.

Start a Tea Practice

December and the approaching Winter is a great time to make your own tea blends and drink hot tea. Get the kids in on this magickal winter activity…it’ll warm you all up and bring you closer together.

Tea is such a magickal gift and potent medicine for the soul. Just thinking about a steaming, Earthy, aromatic cup of tea makes me feel happy.

Don’t forget to read your tea leaves! Looking into the future is a welcome past time during the cold Winter months. Reading tea leaves is a centuries-old tradition called tasseography. If you've attended one of my Witch's Tea parties, and I know many of you have, you'll remember this fun activity of divining our leaves together with many laughs and confused eyebrows. Have fun with it! You can find lots of guidance online, too if you've never tried your hand at tea leaf reading.

Add even more magick to your practice by handcrafting your own tea blend for Ancestors, Hearth Spirits, Spiritual Allies or Guides. Then drink in their honor and place a cup of your brew on your altar as an offering.

Follow a guided Tea Meditation or create your own Tea ritual.

Here is a simple little tea ritual. Use it for the Winter Solstice season to reawaken your own inner light and help you feel more peaceful and grounded. The ritual doesn’t require anything special, just you and a cup of your favorite tea.

Sky Gazing

The cold nights of December -February have some of the clearest night skies of the year. There's something especially magickal about going outside after dark in the cold months and looking up at the sky. The sounds are muffled by the snow covering the ground, there's less traffic, most people are indoors and you can almost imagine you're completely alone.

The night sky is magnificent, and the stars seem to shine through with a clarity you rarely get to see. Whether it's a random night, a Dark Moon or a Full Moon, take time to bundle up, step outside, and just gaze at the beautiful night view above you.

Enhance this simple practice by doing some divination under the sky, or tune into the stars for messages, guidance, or visions. You can also try projecting your consciousness out into the deep vastness of space as you gaze at the sky. What do you feel? What do you see? What do you encounter?

I sometimes like to use the Star Chart app to locate constellations and learn more about what I see. It's a good time to break out binoculars or a telescope, too if you feel inclined.

There's lots of astronomical events happening in December, too. Not everything will be viewable from the U.S. This year's dates and events are below:

December 2 – Peak of the Pheonicid Meteor Shower

December 5 – Lunar Occultation of Uranus

December 6 – Peak of the φ-Cassiopeid Meteor Shower

December 7 – Lunar Occultation of Mars

December 7 – Peak of the Puppid-Velid Meteor Shower

December 8 – Full Moon

December 9 – Peak of the Monocerotid Meteor Shower

December 12 – Peak of the σ-Hydrid Meteor Shower

December 12 – Large Magellanic Cloud (Dwarf galaxy) Reaches Highest Point

December 13 – Peak of the Geminid Meteor Shower

December 16 – Peak of the Comae Berenicid Meteor Shower

December 19 – Peak of the December Leonis Minorid Meteor Shower

December 21 – Winter Solstice

December 22 – Peak of the Ursid Meteor Shower

December 23 – Dark Moon

December 24 – Mercury at its Evening Peak

Doorway Wash

Doorways and thresholds are liminal spaces. They're extra magickal. You can enchant these spaces with a variety of intentions.

Cleansing Wash

Use this for cleansing the space itself, and enchant it as you perform the wash to cleanse anyone who walks through the door. This is especially helpful for main entrances and bedroom doors where you want to clean away heavy or low vibing energies before they make their way into rooms you want to remain peaceful.

Here are some of my favorite cleansing herbs, feel free to choose one or two for your wash:

Alternately you can add several drops of the essential oil version of these if you do not have access to any herbs.

Mix everything up in the hot water. Speak out loud or in your mind your intentions every step of the way. Tell each herb and ingredient you add what its job is. Let it 'steep' or sit for a couple of hours, then strain. You can speed this up by bringing a pot of water to a boil and adding just the herbs. Boil or simmer for 10-minutes. Strain and add the lemon and vinegar.

Take a cloth, dip it in your herbal brew, and wash all your doorways. This can also include your doors and knobs, or just the frames. Don't forget the floor across the threshold.

You can use this wash water for other places in the home, too. Windows and sills, mantle, walls and floors, cabinets, etc.

TIP: Make only as much as you can use in the next 2-3 days. You can store unused, leftover wash in the fridge for up to 3-days.

Blessing Wash

Anyone who passes through a doorway will have blessings bestowed on them when you enchant your wash for blessings. Follow the same formula and instructions as above, except switch out the herbs with one or two of the following:

Herbal Sachet

Hang some aromatic herbal sachets around your home this December to take you into the New Year! Spices like cinnamon, star anise, allspice, cardamom, pine, cloves, dried apples and orange slices, nutmeg and ginger all smell fabulous and welcome abundance and prosperity. Create any combination of these spices from what you have on hand. Make the sachet any color you like but red, gold, silver or green all align well with this energy.

To make a sachet grab a drawstring bag or make one from fabric scraps, or sew two squares together, leaving an opening to stuff your herbs and spices inside and then sew the rest of the way to close. Then hang or place around your home.

These spices make excellent simmering herbs, too! Add them to a pot of water and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer through the day. Add more water as needed. You can also sprinkle them onto some parchment on a cookie sheet and place them in a low oven, 170 degrees or so, to gently warm and fill your home with magickal scents.

However you celebrate or practice your craft this month, I hope it is filled with love, blessings, warmth and magick.

In Light & Dark~

Love,

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