Northern Spirit Witch

  It's a rainy day here in Thunder Bay, so I thought I would write up a ritual on the spot for the coming full moon this Friday, August 28th. The indigenous tribes noted that August was a time to catch the giant fresh water fish in the shallow waters. Its name comes from the large lake sturgeon of the Great lakes. It is also called the Grain moon, corn moon, and many other names depending on different cultural traditions. Spiritually, the sturgeon moon represents releasing the old, strength, abundance, and transformation. This ritual will be for releasing emotional baggage, unwanted habits, inherited patterns, or what no longer serves you. Since this ritual is more of local tradition we wont be calling up deities, but instead be calling up the spirit of the place, the spirit of the sturgeon, and the spirit of the waters. So, this ritual calls to be done by flowing water, like a lake or river to release our intentions. If you can not do this, a bowl of lake or river water will suffi...

  What does a witch actually carry in the northern woods? My trail bag isn't just filled with practical items. Somewhere between the first aid kit, flashlight, snacks, and bear spray, you'll find a lot of protection, and a few items with stories of their own. Come take a peek inside the Northern Spirit Witch's trail bag... I use an old messenger bag that I had when I was in college. It has many pockets to hold all my trail witch essentials. Its easy access and I can grab whatever tool I need.    Now lets talk about what's inside my trail bag. I will show you all the practical items first! Because no amount of witchcraft is going to fix a scraped knee... Next up is something that isn't very witchy, but I definitely have it on me when I'm deeper in the woods: Bear Spray .  If I'm out in the woods, and want to be prepared when hiking, camping, or out foraging I carry bear spray because you never know what you might encounter on the trail! Of course, being prep...

Photo by Vincent Guth on Unsplash Can you see the northern lights where you're from? I've decided to write up a post about the northern lights and I also included a ritual at the end of this post. Growing up in a town north of Thunder Bay, the northern lights have always been apart of the landscape of my life. I remember hearing stories that if you whistled at them they would come down and swoop you up, or that they would dance across the sky in response. Of course, being my curious self, I eventually had to try it. I whistled and suddenly the lights seemed to move incredibly fast, swirling and dancing across the sky, growing brighter before my eyes. Whether is was coincidence or something more, that moment stayed with me. So lets dive in! In modern witchcraft the aurora borealis are viewed as rare, highly potent surge of cosmic and celestial energy. Often, witchcraft practitioners use the visual and energetic spectacle of the aurora for high vibration workings, meditation and...

Thunder Bay, Ontario    Looking Beyond The Traditional Compass For over 20 years, I followed the familiar elemental directions found in many modern witchcraft traditions: Earth in the North, Air in the East, Fire in the South and Water in the West. But eventually, something about it stopped feeling like mine. I began to wonder: What if I stopped looking at the correspondence charts and start looking at the local landscape around me? I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The landscape around my area is Lake Superior, ancient rocks, northern winds, boreal forest, and Thunder Mountain, known now as Mount McKay. These are the elements and directions I see, hear, and experience every day. The more I learned about traditional witchcraft the more I began to understand how important the landscape can be. Books That Influenced My Thinking  Two books that notably helped me look at my practice differently: The Crooked Path by Kelden and Besom, Stang & Sword by Christopher Orap...

 I LOVE being outdoors! Be it Camping at Provincial parks, or the backcountry, hiking nearby trails, or foraging local medicinal plants.  I decided to make a simple charm of protection for this purpose. It only contains two herbs. Mugwort is traditionally for general protection for travellers. Mullein is used for protection against wild animals and from getting lost.   The herbs are then empowered with your intentions, and then they are placed in the center of a square of green cloth. Gather up the four corners and tie it up tightly with some twine. You can wear this charm around your neck, in your pocket, or in your hiking bag!  So simple, yet so effective ! Thank you so much for reading and.... May the old ways guide your path!

 There is something about the North that makes you slow down and listen. The wind moving through the trees. The call of a raven somewhere beyond the trail. The smell of rain on the earth. Stones warmed by the summer sun. The quiet of a lake before sunrise. For me, this is where witchcraft begins. Not necessarily with elaborate rituals, expensive tools, or perfectly arranged altars—but with connection. Traditional witchcraft, at its heart, is about developing a relationship with the world around you. It is learning to notice the seasons, the plants growing beneath your feet, the animals that cross your path, the changing moon, and the subtle feeling that a particular place carries. Living in Northwestern Ontario gives us an incredible landscape to learn from. The blackthorn, birch, cedar, pine, moss, mushrooms, ravens, foxes, lakes, stones, and forests can all become part of our practice—not because everything needs to be assigned a magical meaning, but because paying attention chan...