Image via ksyfffka07 — Image via **ksyfffka07**

It’s fast approaching my birthday week and, as is my standard custom here on the jot jot boom blog, I wanted to write something fun, just for me. So I made you this grimoire of witchy writing practices — fun ways to add a dash of magick into personal journaling, work, or your own creative projects.

You don’t need to be spiritual for any of this stuff, either. Each idea is, at its core, a mental activation task. Little things to help focus your mind and energy on achieving a specific outcome.

No chicken sacrifices or virgin’s blood. No dancing naked under the full moon (unless you want to 😏).

We’ll be covering nice, familiar things like colour therapy, aromatherapy, and herbal medicine as psychological aides to get into the zone. Take them with a grain of salt and enjoy them for what they are: fun and different ways to approach the practice of writing.

Gather around the cauldron, folks. The ceremony is about to begin…

1) Candles for workspace ‘activation’

I see my desk as a kind of altar — a place I come to focus and create. I have a few altars in my house for different things, but when it comes to my desk, that’s my place of power for writing.

Every full moon or so, I like to ‘empower’ a candle to help me get into my writing zone. That is to say: I focus on how I want to feel when I sit down at the desk. Then each morning, I light my empowered candle, focus myself, and crack on with the day.

It’s a nice way to perform an action that ‘engages’ my work brain.

For an added boost, choose a candle colour that supports your intentions. I like blue for intelligence or orange for energy.

2) Use sigils (for literally everything)

Sigils are symbols used to invoke certain energy. You make them yourself for whatever you need/want by distilling a statement or intent down to the barest forms (letters, shapes, etc.) and combining them into one cool symbol, totally unique to you and your purpose.

Because they combine writing and witchcraft, I basically use sigils all the time! I create a new sigil for every project I take on, so I can focus my intentions to achieve my goals. I can doodle it on my briefs, my notes etc. I use two different sigils when I journal and I even made a couple for my Filofax (can’t have that thing wandering off).

If you want to find out how to make sigils, you can learn more here.

3) Brew a mug of inspiration

Whenever I hit a creative block or feel like it’s going to be a tough day, I brew an inspiration potion. It’s basically ground coffee with a pinch of Turkish coffee spice thrown in.

Some of the spices used in those mixes (cinnamon, nutmeg etc.) are often used in witchcraft and herbalism to energise and activate. I want that same fire running through me when I work, so whenever I hit a block or need extra rocket fuel for the day, I go to my special blend and ‘brew a potion’. With my Aeropress.

4) Aromatherapy to get in the zone

Scent is a very powerful way to evoke memory. It’s a recognised psychological trigger, so why not use it to your advantage?

Scented candles, incense, and oil burners…whatever floats your goat, man. I like to choose scents associated with the thing I’m trying to invoke:

Cinnamon: business success and wealth (good for pitches and prospect calls!)
Jasmine: creativity and self-esteem
Lavender: for harmony and peace
Nag Champa: grounding and concentration
Patchouli: Balance and clarity
Rose: courage and calm
Rosemary: heightened intellect and performance

5) Tarot cards for monthly focus

I use tarot cards in my personal life as well as for business. They help me work on myself and put the month’s events into a new context I might not have considered.

Lucky enough to have your own deck of tarot cards? Draw a single card each month and use it as a journal prompt or a north star for your freelance life. If you don’t have your own deck, just join me here on the blog for Freelance Focus each month, and we’ll do it together!

You can also try doing a 3-card spread for the month. My favourite is 'embrace, erase, face’; you draw three cards and they reveal (from left to right) what you should focus on embracing, erasing, and facing for the month ahead.

Although it might seem pretty superstitious, I also use major arcana cards to decide whether or not to take a client project. This is especially useful if I’ve got doubts or feel uncertain about working with someone. I ask something like, “what will happen if I accept this job with X” and draw a single card. Something to think about, eh?

6) Gemstones and crystals

Who doesn’t love a good crystal? They’re lovely to have around and even better for helping with your writing practice.

As a perpetual hand fidgeter, I like to have something on my desk that I can hold intermittently. Enter the humble gemstone! I choose a stone related to what I need to channel that day and pop it on my desk with me. If I’m struggling to fend off negative thoughts, the amethyst comes out. If I want confidence, it’s carnelian all the way.

My long-term favourite is lapis lazuli — a stone associated with good communication and emotional expression. Two skills I need when writing effective copy!

I also use gemstone jewellery to help me out on the daily: a turquoise ring for better creative problem solving, garnet earrings for balance and grounding, and a hematite ring to protect my energy.

This post is a taster of my upcoming eBook The Witchy Freelancer.
Find me on Twitter to be the first to know when it goes live!

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