Updated: Jan 8
Hello My Lovelies! July is here! This month is a welcome change of pace from last month. Let me tell you why.
Imma be really real with you right now. All my expectations for June were but mere whisps of hope built on fimsy daydreams. Climate Change has really done a number on our local seasons. I KNOW I'm not the only one feeling this. Every year we're pushing seasons out a week or two later than what was normal five and ten years ago. Now we're almost a month out of sync with seasonal weather and it's frustrating and scary AH. Nearly all of June was cloudy, chilly and dismal, not the sweet sunny days I longed for. Last year we hit Fall well into August, which means it's down to a month and a half of actual Summer- and I live in a desert climate! This is not what I signed up for ya'll.
So while July is sure to bring me that beautiful scorching Summertime vibe I desperately want, I go into it with some distrust and perturbitude knowing how short lived it will all be before cool air and dark days make their way back through.
With all that said, July is my birth month and the start of Leo Season so, no matter what, I will find ways to enjoy it!
Let's look at ways you can get your Witchcraft on this month:
BIOREGIONAL HERB OF THE MONTH: THISTLES
In previous months I've talked about which non-local or problematic herbs or plants you can put down as I highlighted a bioregional alternative you can pick up. This month I'm just going to get straight to the herb I want to shine a spotlight on - Thistle.
Thistle has got to be one of my favorite underappreciated plants to work with. Most consider it a weed and work to eradicate it from their yards, but I've given space in my yard to just let them grow wild. Very early on in my beginner Witch days I felt connected to this prickly, pokey plant. It stood its ground. It was spiny, spikey and scratchy with a loud GTFA attitude. Only the strong and courageous approaches it. When flowering, it is beautiful, bright, and attracts all the boybeez to the yard. Like recognize like.
There are so many varieties of Thistles and personally I mostly use them interchangeably in my magickal practice. They grow in nearly every part of the world. Whatever your Native Thistles are can be used exactly the same way as all other Thistles. It's also OK to form individual relationships with different types of Thistles and create your own nuanced associations with each.
Thistle is a mighty warrior and can both defend and attack. It makes an excellent herbal partner when setting personal boundaries, is perfect for all protection magick, including banishing, hex-breaking, warding and is that ride-or-die friend that we all need and deserve any time you need help defending yourself.
On the flip side, Thistles are always ready for a throw down and arrive on the scene locked and loaded. They add immense power to any working where you need an ally in battle or magickal warfare. Use them in baneful work, for hexing and to create a prickly situation for an enemy that makes them turn on themselves or others in their circle. Thistle also adds energy to your work, bringing vital speed to whatever magickal intentions you are sending out.
I use Thistles in a few of my most popular conjure formulas and they stay popular because they WORK, in part thanks to the power of this magickal plant.
Anytime you go to reach for a non-local herb intended for protection or warfare, ask yourself if Thistle might be the right fit instead.
Use this plant straight-as by drying part of the root and carrying in your pocket like a protection talisman. You can also dry and powder the leaves and sprinkle into some wash water for your porch or altar. Use the flowers in cursing spells against enemies when you want to distract them with a pretty-shiny while you sneak sneak sneak past their defenses to do your baneful work.
There are countless ways to use Thistle. The question is how will you connect with this plant?
SHARE YOUR FREEDOMS
As Americans celebrate the 4th of July and Independence Day, it's a reminder for us to question our country, its leaders and blind nationalism. Not everyone feels safe or welcome here. Not all people in America are equally free, nor does this holiday mean the same thing for People of Color, especially Black and Indigenous Folks, who have been historically exploited and systemically marginalized and oppressed.
This holiday is an opportunity to do things differently. Instead of wearing American flag clothing and celebrating performative patriotism, you can choose to meaningfully acknowledge and uplift those in your community that America has denied equal access to freedoms, dignities and rights. Here are some ideas to do that:
Start with some personal work on yourself. Try to find three things you can say that's good about your country. Think about what exactly you want to celebrate about America that isn't just about pride and nationalism. What exactly has America done at home or globally that you feel was good, that was a clear net positive? Which Americans benefitted from that event or action? Which Americans didn't? Who is hurting in America right now? Why? This might be an uncomfortable exercise and if it is, you are probably doing it right.
As you prepare for your holiday festivities, be they a BBQ, picnic, day at the lake or party, shop for your supplies from local BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) owned and operated businesses as much as possible.
Having a shindig? Evaluate your guest list. How pale is it? Is everyone white? Is everyone heterosexual? Is everyone cisgendered? Is everyone the same religion? Look for ways to add diversity to your circle without tokenizing them.
Write letters to your elected leaders about gun reform.
Read poetry and stories written by folks who have suffered hardships due to this country's policies. Better yet, invite friends, co-workers, family and neighbors over for a reading or an old-fashioned read-in.
Volunteer today at your local refugee center.
Make a donation or collect donations from neighbors and friends for a cause that helps Americans who have been abandoned by America, such as LGBTQIA2S+, abortion access, uplifting & protecting Black Folks, Land Back & other Indigenous causes, and reproductive rights.
Reach out to your local mosque to see if and how they can use your help organizing or celebrating this Fourth.
And finally, through both spells and actions, use your Witchcraft to bring prosperity, strength, empowerment, safety, justice and freedoms to those in America who are disadvantaged.
WANING MAGICK
I know it doesn't feel like it yet, but we've entered the waning half of the year, at least according to the Solar cycle. Since the Summer Solstice our days are getting shorter and our nights longer, and they'll continue to do so until the Winter Solstice in December.
Think about all your goals and spells and how you can use the energy of the waning half of the year to your advantage. If you already work with Moon cycles this will be very easy to do. When the Moon goes from Full to New it's considered waning. The same energy applies now on a grander scale.
Winding things down and tapering off
Lessening, decreasing, reducing
Closing things
Releasing and letting go
Destruction
Cutting cords
Endings
Banishings, repelling
Removing obstacles
Reversing and unwinding
Break bad habits
Secrecy and stealth
Shadow work
Wisdom and lessons learned
Craft your long-term spells, rituals and workings between now and Winter Solstice with this energy in mind.
It's OK if you are working on or need to work on other things that attract and grow things for you during any time of the year. You can support this work by doing spells that use the energy of the time of year to your advantage.
For example, if you are working a long-term spell to buy a house, you can do energetically-waning spellwork that supports and progresses this goal to:
banish debt
remove obstacles to a promotion at work or higher pay
let go of fear that you won't find the home you need or want
break bad spending habits that don't support your financial goals
reduce how often you eat out or splurge on non-essentials
release yourself from any imposter syndrome or insecurities you have that have you doubting that you deserve to be a homeowner
end or cut ties with relationships that keep you from growing or becoming stable, responsible or independent with your money decisions
CHECK-IN WITH YOUR GOALS
You probably made some goals at the beginning of the year or soon after. How are those going? Check in with your journals and notes and see what you promosed yourself, what ideas you had and what goals you wanted to work on this year. We've still got plenty of year left and as you dive into your old-you transcripts, consider how you've grown.
What have you learned these last several months?
What have you accomplished?
What were your dreams and passions then, and are those different today?
Have you gotten off-track or did you decide to take a different path?
What do you need to pick back up and start over with?
What needs to be modified and updated?
What needs to be let go of?
Work whatever goals you want to keep and set up new ones as needed. Let go of any that no longer feel important or right for you, and don't you dare carry a drop of guilt over it. You're allowed to change your mind.
GROW YOUR MAGICKAL SUPPLIES & COLLECTIONS
All year I collect things I need or know I will need later. But this is the time of year when I am able to collect a good number of things on my list.
Do you have a list? If not, maybe it's time to make one!
I make my lists based on either what I needed in the past year that I didn't have, or what I anticipate needing based on a future goal or planned project. It could be herbs, stones, woods or other curios. Usually, it's items I want to collect from nature or found objects. I might need something and realize I've run out, but it's the wrong season or time of year to gather it in the wild, so I'll add it to my list. Or, it might be something I don't have access to locally ever so I add it to my list in case I travel somewhere where it's native. The lists help me remember everything and keep my eyes peeled on hikes, herb walks and traveling. It's also handy to have magickally inclined friends who can help track down harder-to-fine items.
Summer is a great time to visit beaches and lakes to gather sands, shells, stones and waters. Plants are green making this an excellent opportunity to gather vines and small twigs while they are still bendy and pliable. It's also the right season for making Solar waters. Of course, herbs, woods and plants are more easily found now, but especially flowers as they often are so short-lived you just cannot get them any other time of the year. Some berries, seeds and seed pods are out right now, too. And moss. Who doesn't love moss??
On hikes and nature walks you might have an easier time finding bones, shells and other animal parts as they aren't covered or camouflaged by leaf cover or snow.
And speaking of, for those of us who work with animal parts, the soil is currently rich and gardens are flush with all kinds of specimens for your jars. Worms, beetles, spiders, centipedes, earwigs, and the list goes on. I especially like collecting wasp nests and wasps. One year I had a friend who's bee colony died off from a freeze and gifted me dozens of dead bees. It was so sad but also such a lovely gift to be able to use the bees in my magickal practice. Of course, everyone has their own feelings about how they work with animal parts, and many choose not to. That's OK. We're all doing what's right for us and what we feel good about. You do you.
This month look around you and really see the resources you have. Make a list of items you want to add to your apothecary, collection or supplies. Think about where you might be traveling this Summer or later this year and look up what might be local there that you may need or want to look for.
If you trim your trees keep a few branches (label them) for ritual fires after they've cured, or use them for incense blends, talismans and tools in your practice. If you have good relationships with your neighbors, and I do, you can usually ask for clippings and branches from them when they do their yard work.
Don't forget to create lists for 'found' objects that might include non-standard items, too. Books, a cauldron, candles, or other ritual supplies are good examples. These can be items you literally 'find' on a random walk, dumpster diving, or they could come from a thrift shop, yard sale or from a friend cleaning out their stash.
I keep my lists in a little book I carry most of the time with me, but you can add yours to your phone or a journal, or just a scrap piece of paper you carry in your pocket. I find if I'm having a hard time finding something, once I add it to the list, it seems to find its way to me. That's magick.
Happy July, and happy Witchcrafting!
Love,
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