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Episode 39: Witchy Self Care
731 Plays2 years ago
Welcome back Witches! This week we're bringing you ALL the witchy self care you can handle. Remember, it's soooooo important to take some time for yourself and to practice a little self care. We're going to give several examples of things you can do along with some step by step instructions. So get in losers, and lets practice a little Witchy Self Care!!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- Murphy-Hiskcock, Arin. The Witch’s Book of Self-Care. (2018). Adams Media
- Nichols, Kat (2018). Add some magic to your selfcare routine. Happiful. https://happiful.com/add-some-magic-to-your-self-care-routine/
- Haksever, Semra. Everyday Magic. Hardie Grant Publishing
- Megan Mentally (n.d.). How to Heal your heartbreak with a self love simmer pot. https://meganmentally.com/blog/how-to-heal-heartbreak-self-love-simmer-pot
- Dimas, Jessica (2022). Creating a Witchy Self-Care Routine. Dwell in Magic. https://jessicadimas.com/creating-a-witchy-self-care-routine/
- Link to the printable- https://jessicadimas.com/manifesting-magic-moon/
- Youtube:The Green Witch
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft and Self-Care Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost somewhere to start? Then welcome to Get a Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft. So get in witches as we talk about witchy self care.
Season Break and Bonus Content Overview
00:00:41
Speaker
I can't believe that the end of season one is coming up so soon. I know. So we should probably talk about that. We should. Yeah. So just, I mean, obviously, like,
00:00:59
Speaker
We love the podcast and everything, but we have to understand too that with this international move that I'm about to embark on and just with holidays in general and traveling, things are going to be hectic for a few weeks. So we decided this is probably the best time to take a little bit of a break. Can you hear that? No. Okay.
00:01:25
Speaker
Just in case anyone can hear it or it comes through on the podcast, we are still having house repairs. So, um, right now my ceiling is being finished.
00:01:39
Speaker
like the drywall portion of the ceiling. So it might come through on the podcast. So I apologize. We tried to keep that stuff to a minimum, but my husband is leaving for a week tomorrow for work. So he's trying to get it done before he leaves so that I don't have a ceiling hole the whole time because he's precious because I'm like, I don't care if you don't get it done, it's fine. But he's like, no, I'll get it done before I leave. So you don't have to see that. I'm like, I'm not being so precious. Oh my God. I love that. That's so cute. Yeah. So he's trying to fix it.
00:02:11
Speaker
but I mean, it takes time so he has to do it now. So it might come through and we apologize for that. Exactly, yeah. But also we are taking a break in December as Sam was saying.
00:02:21
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. So we will have our next episode as Tiffany just mentioned and our intro is going to be Yule. And then for our Supercast subscribers, we will have a bonus episode coming your way. So stay tuned for that. And if you are not a Supercast member and you want the exclusive content that we have on our Supercast, we have a ton of bonus episodes, blooper episodes, we have our book club, and then also a new Supercast episode that's going to be released
00:02:51
Speaker
closer to you all. And we're not going to give away yet what the title is going to be about because it's a surprise, but you'll love it. Definitely head over to our Supercast. It's in our bio. It's on all our social media. Sign up for it. That way you can have exclusive access to our bonus content while we take a little break to move me to the other side of the home. To the other, other pond.
00:03:20
Speaker
But I'm excited that travel is open and I can come see you now. Yes. I'm so excited for that. I'm not excited to leave England, but I mean, beggars can't be choosers and I'm sure I'll love Okinawa just as much, but I really love England.
Travel Plans and Membership Details
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, England is nice. I miss being in Europe, like in Germany and being able to like travel the way we did over there, but I'm excited for you to get to Japan so I can go over there and visit you and see Japan because we've always wanted to go and just never have.
00:03:55
Speaker
And while you're visiting, we should definitely explore some spooky stuff about Okinawa because I was talking with my friends. I knew that there was a lot of ghost stories about Okinawa in general, but she said that just the spiritual energy, she was not prepared for how intense it is in Okinawa.
00:04:17
Speaker
And I cannot wait for that. It sounds like it's intense and I am for every single second of it. So I can't wait to hear everything. Yeah. We're going to be doing some exploring when you come. I can't wait. You know, I'm always here for that. Yeah. So we'll be able to do that for sure. Yeah.
00:04:37
Speaker
Well, and I was going to add before we went on, we are really good at tangents guys. But before we went on this tangent, when we were talking about Supercast and subscribing for the bonus content, all levels of our Supercast members have access to bonus content. Um, we have three levels and each level just gives you a little bit more. But as far as our bonus episodes go, everybody gets access to those. That's a member to Supercast.
00:05:02
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So if you're like, I don't care about the newsletter, I don't need all this extra stuff. I just want to hear my favorite podcasters. It's okay. You could just do like the basic level. We won't be mad. We still love you. So with all of the noise disclaimers and break disclaimers and everything else that we've talked about off of the way, what are we talking about today, Sam?
The Essence and Magic of Self-Care
00:05:31
Speaker
Self care. Self care. I'm so excited. I love self care. Everybody should be doing self care. Definitely. Even if it's just you schedule it once a week, do something. Do something for yourself.
00:05:46
Speaker
So why self-care? When we think about self-care, often we'll think about like getting a face mask or like going and getting a facial or getting a massage or manicure and pedicure. But like if you really think about it, there's so much more to it and it's so much more magical than that. And sometimes those particular things are not attainable for every single person. Not everyone can afford to go get a massage once a month or
00:06:14
Speaker
you know, go get a pedicure and manicure done professionally. You can do some of that stuff yourself, but we want to talk about some of the more like sustainable, magical, accessible self-care that you can do every day. And the goal is just to be healthy in mind, in body and in spirit, and to be able to listen to your body and its needs in those three areas.
00:06:40
Speaker
Self-care is when you're able to recognize that you hold value and you're deserving of taking care of yourself and your needs. I read this quote, well, I guess it wasn't really a quote, it's just something that was in a book called The Witches Book of Self-Care, where the author said that women are socialized to care for the people around them by denying or minimizing their own needs.
00:07:05
Speaker
This leads to an erasure of self-worth and a constant putting off of rejuvenation and addressing the woman's own needs for supporting and nurturing. And while this is fully true, she does also acknowledge that it's not just women. It's not just women that do this, but as a society, women are socialized this way. And that's just terrible. Like you should be taking time to take care of yourself. If you aren't doing something for yourself,
00:07:34
Speaker
to let yourself recuperate and rejuvenate and reenergize. You cannot be at your best to say help others or take care of your children or you know a sick parent or whatever it is that you need to do. So you need to also be making sure that you're recognizing that and taking care of yourself.
00:07:53
Speaker
Absolutely. Oh my gosh. When I read like when I was merging the notes and I saw that quote, I was just like snaps. Oh my God. Like it's just amazing. I love this quote so much because it is so true. Like women are supposed to be that person that takes care of everything. And I mean, there are men that are in that position as well. So I don't want to be like sexist in that way, but yeah. And she acknowledges that, you know, it's a lot. And I've seen so much just in,
00:08:23
Speaker
Like, especially in the military community, like where women are just, they feel like because their husband works and they're at home, they take care of everything. And it's a 24 hour job. No, you should have a break. You should have moments in your life where it's just about you and just about your happiness and being able to fill your cup. Because how can you fill the cups of others if your cup is completely empty? Yeah.
00:08:48
Speaker
So with that in mind, regardless of where you are in your path as a witch and no matter what you believe in, self-care is important for everyone. And I hope that all of our listeners have a current self-care routine or at least a few things you do throughout the week that is just strictly for yourself and your mental health. But regardless of the routine that you may or may not have, this episode is just to give you inspiration on the ways that you can further incorporate the magical into the mundane.
00:09:14
Speaker
So, I mean, just in general, like when it comes to self-care and it's ties to magic and everything, magic is often described by people as intention and action. And all of that is important. So by this definition, self-care, which is the culmination of intention and action is inherently witchy. So regardless, even if it's something like super mundane, it's witchy. I don't give a shit. It is. It is.
00:09:42
Speaker
Everyone's practicing witchcraft. Exactly. And if you're not, you should be. Self-care is important.
00:09:52
Speaker
Self-care also asks us to reflect on everything and release things that no longer serve us, which could be a form of self-care in and of itself. Self-reflection can be a little difficult or sometimes uncomfortable because it requires us to be honest with ourselves. But being able to overcome that allows you to start healing yourself from the root of the cause, from the root of where you need to pay attention to. Some simple tips to help
00:10:20
Speaker
start a self-care routine would be this. This one is my favorite because I feel like most people don't even realize that this is something that is self-care or inherently witchy, but just cleaning your space.
00:10:36
Speaker
Like while it sounds mundane, having a clean and decluttered space does so much for you mentally, for you physically. It helps like rejuvenate you and just kind of change the energy of your space.
00:10:52
Speaker
And something that I like to do is open all of my windows when I start doing this. We've talked about this multiple times in several different episodes, but open up your windows to help clear the stagnant space, clean, sweep, vacuum, and put your intention into this entire process.
00:11:10
Speaker
This can also add like positive energy into your space that again, it just invigorates you and helps you feel more positive and feel more energized just by doing a simple task of cleaning your space and decluttering your space.
00:11:26
Speaker
One of the easiest things that you can do, and something that we've talked, again, a lot on this podcast, while you're cleansing your space, you can also diffuse your favorite oil or even make a simmer pot for your space to invite in self-love.
Recipes for Self-Love and Cleansing Rituals
00:11:41
Speaker
And so I'm going to include a little simmer pot recipe that I found on Megan mentally. She's a blogger and I love this. I mean, this is a self.
00:11:51
Speaker
love summer pot and she put as like a self-love summer pot if you are heartbroken but what I was reading through all of her ingredients and the correspondence I'm like this is just a self-love summer pot for anyone anyone can use this doesn't matter if you're broken hearted or not this is something that I like looking through the correspondence I have done a lot of these ingredients in my own self-love summer pot so
00:12:17
Speaker
loved it so you know what I'm gonna include it so what you're gonna need obviously you're gonna need a pot you're gonna need water and then as far as ingredients are gonna add fresh rose petals for love dried rose petals in the buds also this is for love and if you don't have the dried ones it's fine to have the fresh ones if you don't have the fresh ones and you have the dried ones you know how it is just use what you have so
00:12:42
Speaker
And then you're going to take some lemon slices put them in the pot for happiness and fulfillment cloves, and this is something like that you can easily find at walmart probably the dollar tree any spice section.
00:12:58
Speaker
This is for repelling and vanishing negativity. Patchouli, this is for abundance, lust, fertility, and self-confidence. Rosemary to help cleanse negative energy. Mint to attract the good. Cinnamon sticks to manifest positive energy. And rose quartz for self-love. And quartz is something that can be added to water. It is
00:13:21
Speaker
Water in soluble crystal. It's not going to be damaged by water. So you can use this, or if you have like, I've seen this a lot at little stores or even online, they sell like little bitty like chips of like quartz and little jars. You can do that in there as well. And just drain it out when you're done and save it for the next little summer pot or spell that you use, but
00:13:46
Speaker
This is a great summer pot. You should all try it. It makes your house smell amazing. Yeah. And it, it's wonderful. I never thought to use crystals in summer pots. Like I do summer pots all the time. I just never thought to use crystals in it. Something to, before you, um,
00:14:09
Speaker
drain everything out and toss it. You can put a small amount of the water in a cup, let it cool down completely, and then use that water to do sigils or runes or you know like any symbols of protection that you choose to use around your home as well. Yeah.
00:14:30
Speaker
Something else you can do is just spend time outside. It sounds silly, but just schedule some time to go outside and connect with everything around you while being present in nature. This is something that you can do daily, weekly, or monthly, but make sure that you spend some time just slowing down and connecting to your surroundings while absorbing some vitamin D from the sun and then reflecting on how you feel afterwards.
00:14:59
Speaker
And then something that I also found and I thought would be great because I mean, this kind of goes into outside of once you're done spending time outside or just spending time alone, having that time to yourself and being comfortable with yourself and your feelings is so important to self-love. And one of those things that you can do to help further those feelings of self-love and just
00:15:26
Speaker
getting that self care in is a spiritual cleansing bath. And I got this recipe from the book of Everyday Magic by Samura Hacksiever. And if you're having a bad day or feeling energetically depleted or you just want rest, this soak gives you that. So what you're going to need is candles, and you can use whatever color speaks to you, but the book
00:15:52
Speaker
asks to use white. But again, if you don't have a white candle, use whatever candy you have. If you just have a Bath & Body Works candle, use that. It doesn't matter. Gather up some dried or fresh sage, 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, a half a cup of Himalayan or epsom salt,
00:16:12
Speaker
and one clear quartz and what you're going to do is you're going to light the candles in your bathroom. Obviously, please practice fire safety and add the ingredients that I've listed into your bath.
00:16:25
Speaker
Besides the candles, obviously, and include the crystal. You're going to soak in the bath while visualizing a white cleansing light removing all negativity. And when you're done, you're going to get out of the bath and visualize all the negativity that's been pulled from your body.
00:16:42
Speaker
being washed and going down the drain. So it's recommended to wear white for eight hours after you bathe to remind yourself that you have reset yourself in case any intrusive thoughts try to take root. But again, if you don't have white, wear a color that speaks to you about happiness, like that could be yellow, that could be purple, whatever brings calmness, clarity, and self-love to you, what that represents.
00:17:07
Speaker
wear that color but just make sure that that intention is there that while you're wearing that color you are visualizing like okay every time i look at this i'm reminding myself when intrusive thoughts come in they're not welcome here i just had this spiritual cleansing bath i practice self-care i am loving myself i love that i do too i really like that book it's pretty cute
00:17:37
Speaker
Another thing you can do, and this again, this is something that's going to seem so simple, but just find something in your own craft that you love and make space
Finding Joy in Witchcraft
00:17:49
Speaker
for it. Think about how you feel when you're doing something that you really enjoy, how your mood is, how you feel when you're done with it versus doing something that you don't really care about or something that you just can't stand doing.
00:18:02
Speaker
So finding something that you really love that just brings you joy and making sure that you make time for that. For me, that's working with herbs and I do that medicinally magically I do it in the kitchen through food herbs might not be your passion, you know, Sam Sam does a lot of candle magic.
00:18:19
Speaker
Sam does a lot of stuff out in nature. She goes on her little nature walks all the time and finds things. Those things are things that make us happy, but they might not be what makes you happy. So find something that you connect with in your craft while also relaxing and something that brings you joy. Experiment with different areas in your craft and just find that one thing so that you have something to turn to when you need to slow down, when you need to reenergize or
00:18:48
Speaker
if you're feeling a little down, something that's gonna bring you some joy and make you happy. Also, create a sacred space for when you need to do a little self-care. This space should be personal to you and it should be a space that allows you to center and feel at peace. And when you're feeling a little overwhelmed, go to that sacred space and meditate or journal or do whatever self-care you wanna do that's gonna help reset you and energize you and make you feel better.
00:19:18
Speaker
set an intention for your day when you wake up and then carry that intention with you for the entire day. And with this one, you can also incorporate some divination and journaling into this portion, like maybe by pulling a tarot card and then journaling your interpretation at the start of your day. And then at the end of your day, reflect on the card and its meaning and like how it fit into your day overall. Meditation is a good form of self-care.
00:19:45
Speaker
So for a full-length episode on meditation, just make sure you go back and listen to episode five if you haven't already. But we took a deep dive into different types of meditation, ways to meditate, those kinds of things. But meditation is just really a fantastic form of self-care, and it allows you to disengage and give your mind a break while doing some amazing things for your body, like lowering blood pressure and your heart rate, improving your concentration,
00:20:16
Speaker
combating things like stress, depression, and anxiety, and just generally fostering calm, serenity, and peace. You can also bring in some breath work during your meditation, forcing you to stop and pay attention to something that you do naturally every day. Breath work has a positive effect on your brain function, your heart rate, and your overall health.
00:20:38
Speaker
There are a lot of guided meditations too online for self-love and acceptance. And I mean, I was going to include a couple of links, but there's so many that if you just YouTube, if you're looking for a guided meditation, just YouTube kind of meditation for self-love or acceptance or whatever you're wanting to get a meditation on for witchy self-care, you're going to find like 20 of them. So just do that.
00:21:03
Speaker
Well, I feel like these things are so personal because what might work for me or like a voice that might be soothing for me for a guided meditation might just grind on someone else's like every last nerve and not be soothing to them. So definitely like do a little research on your own and find something that's like relaxing and works for you because it's meditation is difficult.
00:21:27
Speaker
to begin with, like just really getting into it and relaxing. And when you have somebody else's voice in there, it needs to be one that like connects. Otherwise it's not going to happen. That is so true. And there's tons, you know, we've mentioned insight timer before. It's a great app for meditations. So check it out. But you know that, I mean, it is for real, like there's been meditations that, you know, the, my friend who is my, been my mentor for medium shift stuff.
00:21:57
Speaker
has shared to me that she's just like, okay, I just wanted to share this with you. This meditation didn't work for me because I guess the person who was recording it, she had like a little bit when she would breathe. I'm sure she had like a cold or something, but there was like some whistling going on with her nose breathing.
00:22:14
Speaker
And she's just like, I can't even get in the mindset because I could hear it. And I didn't even notice it. Like I was like, Oh, I didn't even hear it. So absolutely. One thing that works for you might not work for somebody else and then vice versa. So find what works for you. And there's so many free resources. You shouldn't have to pay for anything when it comes to my attention. There are so many free things. So.
Meditation and Spirit Connection
00:22:37
Speaker
But if you want to take the time to meditate without a guide or without YouTube, all you have to do is just find a comfortable spot, one without distractions and noise and focus on your breathing. And you can even do a few of the techniques we discussed in our meditation episode. But basically what you'll do is just set the intention to connect with yourself, to quiet your mind.
00:23:00
Speaker
to bring your awareness to your thoughts and let any intrusive negative or ruminating thoughts float away. And you can even repeat a self-care or self-love mantra while you do this. So, you know, really it's all person. We'll just do what feels right for you. And then one thing that's really helped me so much this year with my self-care as a witch is working with my spirit guides. It's been a massive game changer for me this past year.
00:23:30
Speaker
Basically, all I've done is just develop my relationship with my spirit guides and making sure I'm setting aside time to meditate with the intention of raising my energy, connecting with and working with my guides. And it's been such a blessing. So if you're interested in anything like that, hit me up and I can send you some resources or just YouTube is a great resource as well. But I recommend for anyone.
00:23:55
Speaker
connect with your spirit guides because they're there, they want to connect with you and I'm a huge advocate for it. It's also important to be able to center and ground yourself often. If you're feeling agitated or anxious or you're just, you know, you don't have any energy and you're worn out, take a moment to stop and center and ground yourself. We discussed this like in full in episode 18,
00:24:21
Speaker
And that's our episode called grounding and what the benefits of it are and some grounding techniques that can be done pretty much anywhere. But simply put grounding allows you to replenish your own energies through connecting with the energies around you in the earth through visualization and even through using plants.
00:24:41
Speaker
This is by far one of my favorite ways to just slow down and reconnect with energy around me, usually through direct skin contact to the ground because that's what works for me. And I have access to that. I know not everybody has access to that, you know, maybe you live in an apartment building and you don't have a yard that you can go in and do this, but this is what works for me. I just go out into my yard, I take my socks and shoes off and I plant my feet into the grass and
00:25:08
Speaker
just sit there and connect with the energy around me and really like doing that makes me feel re-energized when I'm done. Centering and grounding is just so important to be able to do before you work any form of magic. You can also use this technique to release extra energy if you feel like you're jittery or even just have an excess amount of energy that you need to let go of. You can give it back to the earth or
00:25:33
Speaker
you know whatever it is that you're using to ground yourself and again like go back and listen to episode 18 on grounding for all the different forms of grounding that we talked about because like I said I have access to my own yard that I can go and do that in you might not and we give several different options in that one and then part of this time can also be spent stretching
00:25:57
Speaker
or doing simple yoga poses like child's pose, cobra, up dog, down dog, pigeon, like just ones that are simple that allow you to kind of, you know, center yourself and connect and not have to think. It's just an easy way to kind of reset, do a little self care, a little check in and assessment with yourself and then re-energize yourself. And just stretching in general, like
00:26:22
Speaker
One thing that I strive to do every single day is, I mean, even if it's like, okay, I know like I'm too lazy to work out today, or I don't want to do yoga. I don't want to take the time for just a simple stretch. Like you said, to check in with yourself.
00:26:37
Speaker
is amazing and just it makes you feel so much better because you don't realize how much stress like your spine is under and how tight everything is and loosening that up doing a few like doing like a little vinyasa like just to do a good good morning welcome stretch when you get out of bed pop whatever needs to be popped loosen what needs to be loosened it is so good for you
00:27:04
Speaker
Some of these can be done before you even get out of bed. Like if you just wake up and you're laying there and you're trying to wake up a little bit, spend some time assessing yourself. Do a body scan, do a couple little stretches or child's pose or whatever it is. Do that in bed before you get up. Start your day stretched and feeling fresh and energized.
00:27:28
Speaker
And then another thing that you can do, which I think is super overlooked is reading for pleasure.
Self-Care Through Reading and Listening
00:27:35
Speaker
Yes. And listening to, you know, whether it be audio books or podcasts, whatever you are interested in. But reading anything is great for self care. But if you're following a witchy path, I would suggest looking into a book about
00:27:48
Speaker
whatever path you're interested in or what you're currently following. There are tons of free resources for this as well. So you don't have to go out and buy anything. But if you don't have access to a library or say you're in the broom closet, there are options like Kendall unlimited, which is very affordable and prime reading. So say if you don't have Kendall unlimited, but you're an Amazon prime member, there are a lot of free books that you can check out and
00:28:16
Speaker
and read just by having an Amazon Prime membership. So definitely don't overlook that. I feel like a lot of people don't know about Amazon Prime free reading. And there's a lot of amazing books on there. Currently right now I don't have Kendall Unlimited because we're trying to not spend a lot of money since we're moving.
00:28:35
Speaker
But I'm still able to read a shit ton of books just free on the Amazon app because we have Prime. And then also the Libby app. So if you have a library card, but say you don't have time to go to your library or you're in the broom closet and you don't want your librarian to see you checking out something about Wicca,
00:28:54
Speaker
Check the Libby app. There's so many witchy things on the Libby app, like just books. And it's great. It's a great resource for free books and you can read them, listen to audio books, whatever you want to do. And then also podcasts, like that is a great witchy self-care thing. And it's something that I partake in. And I know we've talked about a few of our favorite witchy podcasts on this app, like
00:29:18
Speaker
the witch bitch amateur hour and keep it weird which isn't inherently witchy but they do have a lot of witchy things and I know the hosts are both they both practice witchcraft so that's another great one as well but there's a lot of amazing podcasts out there if you're interested in witchy things and you want to incorporate that as part of your witchy self-care and then also one of our favorite new podcasts is the new world witchery podcast which if you didn't know if you're not a supercast subscriber
00:29:48
Speaker
we are doing a book club over the next three months based on his book but he has a podcast so his voice is so soothing yes so check him out also check out our book club on supercast if you aren't already supercast subscriber because it's awesome and the book is great this book is great i love it
00:30:10
Speaker
Mm hmm. But these are all great ways, even if it's just like 10 minutes at night before you go to bed, read something, do something specifically just for yourself. Whether the end doesn't have to be what you could could be like right now I'm reading Atomic Habits. And it's a great book. And it has nothing to do with witchcraft. But you know what, it's helped me learn about establishing great habits for my health. So
00:30:34
Speaker
And it doesn't even have to be like a self-help book either. It could be completely fiction because it could be fairy porn. And I love a good fairy porn book. So the same goes for podcasts too. It doesn't have to be a witchy podcast. There are so many podcasts that I listened to just
00:30:52
Speaker
for pure joy like dungeons and daddies or less podcasts on the left which to be fair they do cover a lot of occult but like it doesn't have to be witchy it could just be something that you really enjoy or something that's really funny because you like to laugh at something you know it doesn't have to be a witchy thing. Another area to look into for some self-care would be herbal magic versus herbal medicine. So herbs can be used
00:31:19
Speaker
for self-care both medicinally and magically. And we've talked about this at length on the podcast multiple times. But just remember, as we always say, do your research. Do not touch, burn, or ingest just any herb or plant or flower. Make sure that the plant that you want to use is safe to use in the manner that you're wanting to use it. Because we've, again, talked about this multiple times, but sometimes an herb will be
00:31:46
Speaker
safe to touch but not safe to ingest or it's okay to use on your skin topically or like a scrape or a bruise or a burn or whatever but eating it could make you really sick like just make sure you're researching these things in depth before you use or work with a plant.
00:32:04
Speaker
Medicinally, herbs can be mixed into food or tea. They can be infused into honey, extracted into tinctures or decoctions and so much more for various symptoms. There's a reason we talk about herbs a lot on this podcast. If you're feeling restless when you're trying to wind down for the night, make a tea with chamomile in it, having trouble sleeping, add lavender to a sachet and keep it on your bedside table or under your pillow because it helps relax you.
00:32:32
Speaker
If your muscles are sore, add some peppermint to your hot bath. There's pretty much an herb for everything. Like everything that you're experiencing, symptom wise, you can look up online what herbs can be used for that and how to use them.
00:32:49
Speaker
Magically, herbs, plants, trees, flowers, all of them, they not only carry their own unique energies, but they also act as correspondences for magical things, and they can be used to help support and encourage magical self-care. Some examples of this are like aromatherapy, incense, oils, sachets, powders, charms,
00:33:11
Speaker
And just simply supporting all kinds of magic, while lending their energies to what you're doing so like Sam was saying with the self self love summer pot, you know, adding rose petals adding clothes that they all have a magical property.
00:33:26
Speaker
that help boost what you're trying to do. So just do a little research on whatever it is that you're trying to sort out or whatever energies you're feeling or you're trying to alter and see what correspondences fit that based on what plants or herbs or flowers or crystals or like candle colors, all of these things can help aid you in this journey.
Moon Cycles and Journaling for Self-Care
00:33:53
Speaker
Yeah. And another great thing you can do is center yourself care along the moon cycles. And, you know, the moon is something that we have to regularly, we regularly say talking about this bitch all on our podcast. And even just two episodes ago, I went through all of the moon phases. So I will not be doing that here. So you haven't checked out.
00:34:17
Speaker
are, I don't even remember when the episode was on. Oh, easy rituals for beginners. Go back to episodes, listen to that, because I went all through that. We've done that multiple times, so. We have, so. Chances are you've heard us do that by now. Exactly, so I'm not gonna do it again. But because of how powerful the moon is and how much the planets influence our feelings and behaviors and thoughts,
00:34:45
Speaker
Working with the moon for self-care is amazing. So Jessica Demas at Dwell in Magic has a printout that she's made that she uses regularly to journal with and she uses it in conjunct with the changing phases of the moon.
00:35:03
Speaker
So she uses the phase to heal herself and create positive and healthy habits. And then she like documents it on every moon phase every month, which I think is awesome. And in our show notes, we've included a link to our printable bundle that she created in case anyone is interested. It's not free. I think it's like $22 or something like that.
00:35:26
Speaker
but it's still really cool if you don't wanna like create your own. But if you do wanna create your own, I mean, it's gonna be easy and it, I mean, it is what it is. But if you wanna save some time, you don't wanna deal with that, check out Jessica Demas at Dwell in Magic because she has created a bunch of printables and stuff for this and I think it's pretty cute.
00:35:47
Speaker
Something else you can do is journaling and journaling alone is just a therapeutic practice, but it can also be fantastic for working magic and as a way for you to recognize patterns for yourself.
00:35:59
Speaker
You can spend time writing down your own magical workings, releasing thoughts, creating lists and whatever else it is that you need to do to clear your mind of your day-to-day thoughts. This can even become a self-care ritual where you pick a specific time of the day, light a candle or incense, clear your mind through journaling those racing thoughts and then just let it go.
00:36:23
Speaker
And this to me would be a great technique to use either at the very start of your day to kind of get every all your thoughts collected into one space and know you know what you need to do for the day. To just get your day started or at the end of the day where you're trying to like wind down and clear your mind, so you can go to sleep put it all on a piece of paper and let it go.
00:36:48
Speaker
And then a simple way to rid yourself of negative thoughts or things that you need to release and things that are just no longer serving you is to write them out on a bay leaf and then burn them. Bring those thoughts and emotions forward and visualize them leaving your body as you burn each and every leaf.
00:37:08
Speaker
releasing those thoughts and those feelings. And if you're not in a space where you can safely use fire or burn a bay leaf, you can also just write these out on a piece of paper and then tear the paper up as a form of release while you're visualizing these things, leaving you, leaving your mind, leaving your body and just allowing you to reset yourself.
00:37:31
Speaker
And just as a side note, everyone who has not burned a bay leaf, those bitches go up in flames. So yes, they do. I wanted to add a also alternative. Yeah. Don't be surprised when you light it on fire and it's like, holy shit, I can drop this somewhere real fast because they do do that. It is normal. They catch on fire. And then I have to like, sometimes like if I'm writing, like, cause you know, you want the whole thing that you've written to burn.
00:38:00
Speaker
Yeah. So I'll like have to go get some tweezers and like hold it by the very end and then pick it up out of the cauldron and light it again to try and get it. It's just not very aesthetic, but you know, it works. It works. Yeah. We've all been there. And it's like a, it's a cheap and easy form of self care.
Ritual Safety and Personal Kits
00:38:21
Speaker
You know, bay leaves don't cost you a whole lot of money. No. And if you want something that is going to
00:38:27
Speaker
act as a correspondence and let you release these things. They are the perfect cheap thing to use. They really are. I got a whole package of them. So any listeners in the UK or I think in Europe, because they have them throughout Europe, Flying Tiger is kind of like a knockoff Ikea store and they have like bags of bay leaves for like a pound. Like it was so cheap. I was like,
00:38:54
Speaker
You're coming on with me. So I just grabbed them and now they're in our household goods. So I just have the McCormick brands and my spice cabinet right now. But I believe I do that on the regular baby. Yup. That's coming in my suitcase.
00:39:14
Speaker
You're like, I might need to do this on our travels. You're right. On the plane. No, I'm just kidding. Please don't do it on the plane. That's a federal offense. Please don't do it. We'll be arrested. Yes. They will know. Because those bitches smoke and they catch on fire and there's a whole thing. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway. We don't want to see you guys on planes. No, we don't. Don't come here saying, Sam told me I could bring some planes. No, I didn't. No, I didn't go back and listen again. You did it. Because I said don't.
00:39:43
Speaker
Mm hmm. So another thing that you can do to practice witchy self care is divination, whether it's runes, tarot or oracle cards, pendulums, etc. Daily divination practices are wonderful outside of just building your intuition using divination practices open you up to receive messages, whether they be from your higher self, a spirit guide, gods or goddesses or whatever deity you're working with.
00:40:12
Speaker
daily practice is something intentional that you are doing just for you. So it's taking that time to spend time with yourself and it can help you understand and sort through a problem that you might be struggling with or anything. Like, I mean, really it just helps with everything. So please do this, but by obtaining guidance and maybe an answer that you're seeking daily divination is great for Richie self-care.
00:40:39
Speaker
This is something that I came across and I don't know if you've ever thought of this, but I have literally never thought of this, but build a self-care kit. I love a self-care kit, but I've never done it. I've never done it and I've never even like thought to have one or like need one, but just the thought like that you have this thing when you need to do some self-care.
00:41:03
Speaker
that you keep all of your things that you use for self care in a special box or bag or tote or whatever it is, it could, it doesn't even have to be, it should just be like in a pile if you need to make a pile. Like you don't have to have anything extra for it, but put it in
00:41:18
Speaker
your sacred space where you do your self-care and just fill it with everything that you use. So this can be things like your favorite candle or incense with a lighter in matches. And you can also add candles and incense that correspond magically to your self-care goals. So using colored candles or a particular incense that corresponds to the outcome that you want to achieve through your self-care to help give you that magical boost.
00:41:47
Speaker
put your journal in there, add like a favorite tea that helps relax you so when you know that you need it, you can go to your little self care kit, get your tea, make it, go back, do your journaling, light your candle, whatever it is that you're doing. Your favorite self care herbs or magical herbs like
00:42:05
Speaker
maybe lavender for relaxation, rose for self love, meant for healing, like any of the ones that we've already talked about in this episode, or just do some research based on like, again, what your self care goals are and what you're trying to achieve and find ones that match that.
00:42:23
Speaker
Simple things like lotion or a face mask or a lip scrub, any other form of self-care that you like to do for relaxation, put those items in there. You can add crystals that correspond. There are so many different crystals that are meant for a plethora of different things. So just find the ones that correspond to your goals again and then keep them in your kit.
00:42:47
Speaker
Honestly, just add whatever is going to be useful to you and your own self care. This kit is going to be personal. No two kits are going to be the same because you're building them based on your own self care goals and needs. So just, you know, have a space.
00:43:03
Speaker
little box, a little pile, whatever it is, and keep all of these items in that area so that they're easy to find when you need them. Maybe set a schedule once a week or, you know, 10 minutes at the end of the day or whatever like fits into your schedule. Have those items and just spend some time doing a little bit of self-care. I love that idea.
00:43:25
Speaker
Right. It is so simple. So simple, but something I never even just thought of having. Yeah. And it's one of those things where it's like, there's no excuse not to do it. If you build it and you put it like beside your bed or something or in your bathroom where you know, you're going to take a shower at the end of the night anyway, like go ahead and do it.
00:43:44
Speaker
So speaking of crystals, whether you are using crystals in divinatory practices to open up your chakras, or just to heal, cleanse, and protect yourself and your space, incorporating crystals into your life can be an amazing way to practice self-care. So we've talked a lot about crystals on our podcast, but just a few of my favorites when it comes to self-care are rose quartz. Rose quartz is something that I wear pretty much every single day.
00:44:10
Speaker
Of course I'm not wearing it today though, but whatever. It is an amazing crystal for love, especially self-love.
Crystals and Personal Boundaries
00:44:18
Speaker
And it's something that I often imbue with my own energies and power and go back to our easy rituals for beginners for information on how to imbue your energy into a talisman. But love this crystal.
00:44:37
Speaker
Next one is Selenite. This crystal is an amazing cleansing crystal, whether that be for your space or for yourself, and it helps to raise your energy and vibrations. So if you're wanting to work with spirit guides or in any sort of deity work or for your self-care routine in general, this is a great stone to incorporate. And then lastly, Hematite.
00:44:58
Speaker
This is a wonderful grounding stone, so you can wear this on bracelets, rings, or necklaces, or even just have this stone in your pocket. And this stone can help, say, if you have social anxiety or you're, you know, nervous in any sort of social situations, because it helps keep you grounded, especially in crowds. And I love the stone for that because you, I mean, it's just, it's so common right now to like,
00:45:23
Speaker
being crowds, I mean, I feel like back a few years ago, there wasn't like, people just didn't talk about how much crowd
00:45:32
Speaker
induce anxieties for me and how it makes people very uncomfortable and hematite can really help with that. So if you are that type of person that gets really anxious and crowds, check out this stone because it is awesome. And I think it definitely helps with my own self care, um, just being out and about because I enjoy seeing places, but sometimes crowds just really don't do
00:45:56
Speaker
Great for me, so. Yeah. Hematite is one of my favorites and I wear it on a necklace. I used to buy the hematite rings. They break a lot faster. Yeah. Because hematite is very soft and it absorbs negative energies as well. So I bought a necklace that I wear, but just one thing with hematite to remember is don't like, don't soak it in water. Don't get it wet. Take it off when you wash your hands. If you wear a ring,
00:46:24
Speaker
take it off before you shower, those kinds of things. Like, yes, absolutely. Yeah. But it is one of my favorites. I have a hematite necklace. I still have a hematite ring that hasn't broken yet, but they are very easy to break.
00:46:45
Speaker
Honestly, with everything we've given you, just remember that you have to take care of yourself. You only get one body, one mind, one spirit and soul. Just treat yourself with as much kindness as you extend to other people.
00:46:58
Speaker
Tell yourself that you're proud of yourself and of your accomplishments. Allow yourself the space to be authentic. Don't be afraid to set boundaries and just really stick to them. Like if people get mad at you for sticking to your boundaries, there's a reason you put that boundary there in the first place. So sucks to suck for them. Stick to those boundaries. Don't feel bad for taking time for yourself and recognize what does not make you happy and just release it
00:47:27
Speaker
Life's too short to continue allowing space for things that do not serve you or for things that do not work for you or bring you joy. Absolutely. Preach on.
Conclusion and Next Episode Preview
00:47:49
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:48:14
Speaker
There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and routine exclusives, like getting episodes early, shoutouts on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GiddinWitches, or email us after we're doing Witchcraft at gmail.com. Check us out next week for our final episode in season one of Giddin' Loser We're Doing Witchcraft, where we'll talk all about Yule. Until then, blessed be witches.