I had this idea to share with my wonderful coven 
I have been away & for the most part my practice had been dormant & a struggle at best. I still did some things but the things I love 
& miss the most are coming right along.
One night my son literally picked me up & walked me outside to the end of our driveway. He wanted to show me something awesome! 
Then he said look that way, keep looking or you’re going to miss it. I looked for what felt like a few minutes & nothing. Then, it happened… As I looked up over the houses at the end of our street, the clouds lit up & seemed to blink a few times then go dim again. We watched for a bit & both of us were in awe watching lightning light up & flicker in the clouds but it was miles away from us over the bay to a neighboring state. He looked & said wouldn’t it be cool to have some lightning to just take out for extra oomph? I said it really would. And started thinking about it…
I put some thought into the idea. I already collect & work with storm water. Some lightning would really add another layer to things in my witchy arsenal. Even if at the time, most of my practice was magic in the mundane, nothing really in the way of cards or any divination, my altars had been left pretty idle after I had worked so hard to clean out & up my space. I couldn’t find anything to help with my funk & sadness surrounding my practice & my space.
So, it was summer & I had been foraging all kinds of treasures & things to do with the treasures. I had gotten really out of the box with my new indoor & outdoor plant 
friends. I got to clean up other treasures that were given to me that family & friends have found in their travels.
One of those things was a little jar 
If I could collect storm water, why not another storm related piece. So here it is:
How to Trap Lightning in a jar🫙
Lightning isn’t just a flash in the sky.
It can be a light show in the skies. That is unfiltered energy from the storm, complete & unfiltered, powerful energy.
A shout that says look at me in my unfiltered glory!
Having that energy to use yourself? Is the equivalent of a surge of everything you want to call to you or send away or repel.
What you’ll need:
A clear glass jar (no chips, no cracks)
A needle or small metal object to “catch” the lightning
Stormwater (collected during thunder)
A piece of quartz or obsidian to hold the charge
Salt to seal the power
Your intent, fierce as thunder
Step 1: Collect Stormwater
Go out during a thunderstorm & collect storm water. For an extra strong water, collect it just as the thunder cracks, more energy with an extra powerful punch.
→ Image created using Google Gemini
Step 2: Prepare Your Jar
Cleanse the jar thoroughly.
Place the needle or small metal object inside, it’s your “lightning rod.” (I affix it to string so it’s hanging, not lying down.) Then add the storm water.
Step 3: Charge With Intention
Hold the jar close & visualise the lightning striking 
in the jar & renewing the storm water with that burst of raw energy to the lightning rod & dispersing to the storm water.
Step 4: Add Your Crystal 
Drop in clear quartz or black obsidian to hold and direct the energy how you need it. Remember:
Quartz amplifies. Obsidian shields.
Step 5: Seal It
Sprinkle salt 
around the rim, (I use the storm water & dip my finger in it then trace the top of the jar & lid. Then I sprinkle the salt around the rim.)
Salt keeps the power locked inside until you release it.
When to Use Your Lightning Jar:
Ward against enemies
To supercharge banishing spells
Shake up stagnation
Call forth sudden change, fast and fierce…
→ Remember: this isn’t play magick.
As shadows retreat into darkness anew.
The pulse of the heavens, a luminous stream,
Revealing the beauty within the extreme.
→ Image found with Google Gemini
Lightning in any form is A LOT of raw power & energy. By using the water from the storm (whether or not it was collected as thunder cracked) which is also filled with the same type of powerful & unforgiving energy… In essence, you have also stored the strength of the storm itself & along with a burst of extra energy.
It is not a toy or to be taken lightly. If you would like to work with any element of a storm, remember to be careful & mindful of collecting, storing, & using those parts of the storm. Be aware of the type of storm too…
Thunderstorm 
Hurricane
Blizzard
Tropical Storm
Hail Storm
Each storm varies in intensity, energy, & power. They also vary with which element or version of an element is used. Understand the type of storm & it’s intensity. There may be different ways to store or use what you may have collected from them.
Once you use your collected lightning; you can’t take it back. It is going to go & before you can change your mind, it’s already out there doing what you initially intended or sent it to go do.
I keep it stored near my storm water. My storm water is in an amber bottle. A lot of the time, my storm water is used when I am connecting with The Morrigan 
& I have used it for extra oomph when doing different workings. I have used it with & without lightning. I used both over the summer to send some icky away from me. It definitely worked, but it’s not something I’d use every day or for things that will work just as well with Moon Water 
or an oil mix or another method.
Have you ever collected Lightning 
? Or collected storm water? How do you use them? 
