In recent seasons I have moved away from body "goals", and beauty "routines". I've started to embrace sensual rituals that make me feel good and more at home in my body; more magical practices that leave room to create, and become more in tune with my true self. Human bodies, especially women's, are constantly flowing and evolving, shedding, growing, and changing. Patterns and repetition are crucial for keeping yourself healthy (getting enough sleep, remembering to brush your teeth, taking your medicine or supplements etc) but a routine can't tell you what your heart craves on a deeper level. Eventually you'll have to go digging. Instead of scolding myself into following a regimen of self-care, I'm trying to listen to myself. As I become accustomed to interpreting the signs, and responding with love, magic is mostly how I nurture this kind of intuitive self-care.
Attempting to keep my heart open is one of the most difficult things I do to care for myself. I often instinctively close, shut down, get on with things, go numb, whatever you want to call it, and then when a situation arises where I need to be loving and show my vulnerability again, it can catch me off guard if I haven't been making a conscious effort to work through any unhealed wounds. Warmth is a simple physical way to begin shifting this. All too often we stiffen our bodies from the cold, creating nervous tension, and then stiffen even more from the nervousness, a vicious cycle that is most easily interrupted on a physical level. I like to lay in a hot bath filled with Heart Chakra Love Bath and hang one leg over the side, breathing deeply or singing (LUSH's soundtrack for The Comforter treatment is one of my favourite magical CDs). Making a colourful masterpiece through water and flowers has often helped me, albeit clumsily, through. Feeling the elements in my hands and enveloping my skin as I sink into a potion of my own design brings me back into my body slowly, and with kindness. In times when I feel I cannot create, I can usually at least create a bath, which then shifts my physiological state into something better. If a bath isn't an option I wrap myself in a dressing gown and warm my feet and hands. Dragon Herbs tea helps calm my nerves and ground me into my body, but any loose-leaf tea can be a soothing process. Find one you like or get witchy and mix your own. Making tea with a loved one often opens up the space to talk about whatever we're going through.
I am terrible at meditating, but creating a small empowerment spell from natural ingredients or a spell candle (I used this Aquarius candle from House of Intuition) helps me focus and recharge. I like to write down some notes on what I would like to manifest, then read them and see what words or phrases pop out, and use those to build a spell. Try keeping a diary for this purpose, so that you have a place to pour out your heart and make powerful, authentic magic. If your spell produces a talisman or charm, so much the better. A talisman can be anything from a small rock you used in your magic to a whole bag of ingredients, or a piece of jewellery. I carry a piece of dalmation jasper during anxious times, then hold it in my hands and focus on its smoothness and its shape when I need to. I take rose quartz with me whenever I want to have an open heart; it reminds me of my intention and helps me balance my emotions a bit faster. House of Intuition spell candles all contain stones or shells that will be supercharged once revealed.
In my sleeping space, I use an aromatherapy lamp like this one that changes hue and pumps out mist made from whatever essential oil you put in it. Being able to choose the colour it emits also helps control my mood, as I'm sensitive in that way. At night I tend to stick to lavender oil, and I also burn lavender incense for its calming properties. During the day I find the scent of pine helps brings the outdoors in, and make my room feel less stuffy. If I'm clearing my space, lately I've been using some distilled Violet Water to wash down any surfaces, and even my floor. Violet helps to cleanse and release negative energy, so I use it to clean my altar and crystals too, and I add it to baths if I need to literally and figuratively wash the day away.
Finally, all witchcraft is in essence, an act of radical self-care. Witchcraft centres its practitioner, whilst also looking out onto the world with love and responsibility. It frames each and every one of us as our own goddess, or god, with the emphasis on personal power, free will, and positive manifestation. As it brings you closer to yourself and your own nature, knowing what you need to feel whole gets a bit easier.
Some of the products mentioned here have been sent for consideration but this post is NOT sponsored All opinions are my own, as always. For more info see my PR page.
