Five Ways To Let Out Your Inner City Witch By Gabriela Herstik

photo by Gabriela Herstik

Witchcraft takes skill, it takes practice. It takes creativity and an overwhelming sense of trust in your own intuition. And although a part of the mystique of the path is the beautiful and wonderful tools used to create magick, they are often unnecessary and expensive or inaccessible depending on where you live.

Many of us aren’t lucky enough to live in a spacious cottage in the middle of the woods with herbs and a hearth at our disposal. Maybe you don’t have an oak tree in your backyard or a flowing stream in which to release your spell- that’s okay. Thanks to the vastness and power of living in a city, you can still channel this modern sensibility in your magick by incorporating parts of your urban landscape into your practice.

Being a city witch isn’t all bad- here are five ways to work with what you’ve got (and you’ve got a whole lot, babe!)

photo by Gabriela Herstik

Use the correspondences that surround you
First things first, cities still have animals and their own energies. Okay so working with a pigeon or crow may not as sound as whimsical as working with a raven or fox, but it still does the job. Need a correspondence for determination no matter the obstacles in your path? Work with the pigeons.  Need resilience, adaptability and endurance? How about working with a cockroach? The key here is creativity, being able to adapt your surroundings to serve in your highest favor (which sounds a lot like witchcraft itself, doesn’t it?) You can even work directly with your surroundings, ie the skyscrapers and overwhelming vastness of whatever city you live in. Weave the stature of those buildings into your own magickal working, charm or sigil and you’ll be reminded of your own strength every time you step outside. Oh and don’t disregard graffiti and street art- channel that as some major sigil inspiration.

Find your own sacred space
Although sacred space is in less abundance in a metropolitan environment, it’s still there- you just have to search for it. Explore, wander and adventure your way to a park, field or cemetery that holds your fancy. Be smart- don’t go to a sketchy area, especially alone! It’s sad, but especially as women, we have to be on our toes when it comes to safety- you want all of your energy to go into your magick, and having a SAFE sacred space will make this so much easier. Finding a special place that’s yours is the goal, but even if you’re sharing a park in NYC with hundreds of your closest friends, you can still tap into the energy and work in the astral to create some magick. Cemeteries are a really beautiful space to tap into the transformative nature of death, and often they are safe but not very busy. Wander and find a space that holds your passions.

Shop the shops
Here’s where living in a city can play to your advantage: you’ve got the shops! You’ve probably got at least one Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Earthfare. You may even have a local metaphysical shop (or ten if you’re in Brooklyn). USE THAT ISH TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. Even if you’re just heading to the nearest health food store for some Nag Champa incense and some dried herbs, you’re still harnessing the modern powers at play, this time through shaking what the universe gave ya, so to speak. So do YOU, head to that crystal store or weird bookstore and get yourself the Carnelian, Quartz, and Book of Shadows of your lucid dreams!

photo by Gabriela Herstik

Bring the outdoors, indoors
Even if you have a black thumb and can’t take care of ish, adopting a plant, even if it’s a succulent or an orchid, is sure to enhance your witchy experience. Working with elementals in your own space is especially important for the city witch who doesn’t have easy access to nature- but wants all the jujus that a plant babe will bring. Start a windowsill garden, adopt a few different plants in potters or have a single pot with multiple compartments for an herb garden of your choice. By working with the faeries and correspondences of your chosen plant you’ll not only develop a relationship but also reap some beautiful rewards.

Use that luck(y penny)
One of the coolest parts about living in a city, no matter how big or small it is, is the array of humans that it brings along. Think of all the stories, all the wisdom, all the hurt, all the heartbreak and all the LOVE that are suspended in the single city you live in. We are all souls with our own stories and being aware of that fosters connection and friendship and the most beautiful of things. So, city witch, use the energy that surrounds you to really amp up your magick game. Collect pennies you find in a jar for a luck charm, buy flowers from different vendors each week and dry them, collect the cool and pretty things that people have left behind as a reminder that your story is never ending. Use the pieces of peoples stories that they are willing to share with you to create your own story and magick and you will never be alone.

The Hoodwitch x VOGUE!

What better way to kick off 2016 than being featured in VOUGE ! Where owner and creative director of Thehoodwitch.com Bri Luna discusses beauty, nail art, goddess adornment and the power of color ! A huge thank you to writer Marjon Carlos!  Read the full interview here: http://www.vogue.com/…/manicures-the-hoodwitch-mysticism-n…/

"The Fridas" by Spencer Tunick

www.spencertunick.com/

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it's true I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you.”

― Frida Kahlo

• The beautiful photo that you see above was taken by world renowned photographer Spencer Tunick at Frida Kahlo's home "Casa Azul". Yesterday, this image was originally posted to our Instagram account, where well over 3,000 women& men were inspired by the power and beauty of Spencer's image and Frida's words. The image was removed from our account, even after we made the proper edits to cover up each woman's exposed breasts to fit the "moral" guidelines which are implemented rigidly on images (including art), breastfeeding, or anything showcasing women's bodies in a manner that isn't overtly sexualized. Social media sites such as Instagram have gone so far as to evenban words like "Goddess" (but have kept "God). Their explanation being that the "high volumes of nude content" under the tag "Goddess" were against policy. The backlash to the ban was something they were not prepared for and eventually The #Goddess tag was restored. However, these blatant acts to suppress the female form are still taking place, and our post was the perfect example of that. Wake up people, THE HUMAN BODY IS NOT SHOCKING!

Our First Mercury RX Of 2016

From January 5th, 2016 to January 25th, 2016 We will be experiencing the first Mercury Rx of the New Year, hooray! We all just survived 2015, so let's show this retrograde how mentally prepared we are (kinda). Be open and receptive to the lessons our lovely Mercurial teacher has in store for us by being mindful of the usual stuff.

• Don't sign legal documents and/or major contracts

• Expect travel delays, give yourself some flexibility in your travel schedule. • Be open to subconscious messages (the truth ALWAYS comes to the surface).

•Tell your ex you're still not interested (pesky ex's love making appearances during  retrogrades) • Go inward: truly use this time for deep introspection: grounding mediation, journaling, painting, resting. release & explore all of your emotions in a healthy creative manner. 

'We're all familiar by now with the dreaded Mercury Retrograde post, but life isn't about hiding from the difficulties or setbacks that may take place during retrograde. The Universe gives us very deliberate lessons for our personal growth, and healing.  Let's try to keep our thoughts positive and our vibrations raised high! we are setting the foundation for the rest of our year. We got this!