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Hey Witches, I'm back! This week, we're focussing on all things 'candle magic'. Candle magic dates back to Paleolithic times. Fire is a very powerful. Civilisations would use it to cook food, to keep warm and to warn animals off, since they didn't have the luxury of electricity. Candles were originally made from beeswax and animal fats. They were first made by soaking pithy reeds in animal fats/beeswax. It wasn't until the Romans changed and improved candle making by using wicks of woven fibres. Candles are the physical connection to the element of fire. The importance of the candle died out with the creation of electricity and the light bulb. However, the candle is still an important tool in sacred religious ceremonies, including witchcraft. Candle colours and meanings Black: Protection, absorbs negative energy or hexes, can put an end to an unhealthy relationship White: Happiness, protection, new beginnings, truth, peace, purity,calming the mind, harmony, can be used to call on goddess energy Blue: Emotional healing, communication, creativity, focus, justice, inspiration, harmony, peace of mind Green: Money magic, good luck, earth magic, prosperity, success, health Red: Love, lust, attract new partner, improves sex life, luck, confidence, will power, strength, determination and courage Orange: Intellect, good luck with career, networking, legal affairs, joy, stimulating energy Pink: Friendship, self love, unconditional love, romance, affection, warmth, happiness, forgiveness, intimacy Yellow: Success, intelligence, focus, learning, mental, blocks, wisdom, clarity, confidence, new ideas, logic Purple: Psychic power, opening of third eye, meditation, wisdom, divination, deeping spiritual awareness and knowledge Silver: Intuition, dreams, manifesting your dreams and desires, the moon, attracts the influence of the Goddess Gold: Prosperity, wealth, personal power, success, wealth, enlightenment and calling on male energy Candle Magic Omens Tall strong flames - Your spell/magic is empowered and getting through, it will work very well Flickering unsteady flames - Your spell is having trouble manifesting your results Dancing wild flames - Get ready for the roller coaster ride Normal flames - Things are working as expected! Small blue flames - Your spell is not getting enough through, prepare a back up plan Crackling, popping flames - Your spell may manifest in very unexpected ways Candle Spell Blessing ‘With this candle I do ensure That my spell does travel and endure Over the lands, the skies and seas To bring my desire back to me’ Remember: ​ Don't blow your candle out unless you want to blow away your intention. Snuff it out with a took or your fingers, if it can't be left to burn out. Love and Light the Luna Wytch x

4th July 2020 New Beginnings Welcome to the first of the Witches Magazine weekly Tarot forecasts by The Homebrew Witch. Each week, I’ll share a collective reading exploring us, our situations and the world we live in, interwoven with some of my favourite tarot tips. It’s lovely to meet you all! I’m Nancy, the Homebrew Witch. I’m a professional tarot reader and witch, working with clients all over the world to help them find clarity and explore their own magic. I first discovered my love of the occult through books. I devoured stories about powerful witches, and I was desperate to have a pointy hat and join their ranks. I was pretty ecstatic when I realised I could! Now you’re much more likely to find me with a deck of cards in my hands than a broom, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. What do you need to bear in mind this week? Every week, I’ll ask different questions of the deck. I always find it’s best to keep these questions fairly broad. If they’re too narrow, you may prevent a messaging coming through that you really need. This week I began with a really simple question: “ What situations will we find ourselves in next week? ” After a good overhand shuffle, I pulled the Ace of Wands. This card indicates that there may be new beginnings for you in areas we are passionate about. This may be an exciting creative project , a career promotion or even a particularly explosive relationship . Regardless of the form it takes, there will likely be an opportunity that will really light your fire. It may be scary to take the wand that’s offered and some of these fears are completely valid. In the biggest economic crisis since 2008, we can’t all be quitting the jobs that we need to survive to run off into the sunset after our dreams. Some of us may need to think harder about how we can safely take that leap. Regardless of your position in this precarious world, it may be time to face your fears and see if you can find a way to take this opportunity and make your passions work. I then asked my deck the question: “ What challenges will we face this week? ” to which it replied with the reversed Magician. You may be feeling disempowered this week to manifest your goals due to a lack of resources . I think this is something a huge amount of us are feeling right now. Whether we’re stressed about a lack of financial resources, a lack of time, or even the mental capacity to think through the things we need to, a lot of us are missing out on the things we need to succeed. Our society doesn’t want everyone to win and I’d encourage you to think about all the things you’ve achieved in spite of this before you are hard on yourself. Finally, I asked “ How can we overcome these challenges? ”. For this card I pulled the reversed Six of Pentacles. To step into your power again, it may be time to stop giving so much of yourself away . While giving, sharing and supporting is absolutely something we must do, we must also bear in mind that you cannot pour from an empty cup. Take time for yourself once in a while. You may find yourself more in touch with your power again when you do. There is excitement and opportunity ahead this week, a loss of power and the tools for its return. It may be an intense one, but hopefully with some guidance you’ll do just fine. These forecasts are for the collective. They aren’t personal so they may not resonate 100% with you but there will always be a nugget of guidance in there. I’d love to hear what really spoke to you so get in touch with me at @homebrewwitch or www.homebrewwitch.com to let me know. Have a lovely week and I’ll see you next time!

Witchcraft is ever-evolving, while still embracing and celebrating old traditions. Modern witchcraft and traditional witchcraft go hand in hand with each other. As witches, we still use a lot of traditional magic, but we can be more open about it with the mundane. Today, you can normally find a modern witch sitting underneath twisty trees, absorbing the earth and nature, snapping photos and rocking a black outfit... Well, maybe I'm just describing myself! The amazing thing about witchcraft is that it's personal and individual to each person. You don't have to wear black, have a candle addiction and a black cat to be a witch - but it might make your ex a little terrified that you'll put a curse on them! Win win, right? Centuries ago, witchcraft was most commonly made up of wise-women. A wise-woman was a person who practised herbal healing in their community; they also always conveniently got the blame when something went wrong. Today, being a witch is incredible because we aren't being burned or drowned, and because we can meet like-minded people on social media. Being a witch on Instagram is just fantastic; you can showcase your own individuality and share your magic with other witches. TikTok has also been a great platform for witches to interact with other witches, showing short clips of how to make a spell bottle and tips for a baby witch. Social media has been the perfect tool for me, especially for getting through the pandemic. Here’s a challenge for you lovely witches; gather some witchy items you hold dear, it could be a crystal or a tarot deck, or a spell jar, literally anything, and take a photo of it and in the description of the photo tell us the story behind the image. Where did you get the item, who did it belong to previously, did you find it somewhere? Tag me @luna_wytches and Ellen, @witchesmagazine in the photo. We can't wait to find out more about your craft! Love and Light the Luna Wytch x