👃 Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - *sniff sniff* Smells Like Magick!

[BryWisteria]

Merry meet!

Thank you once again to everyone who joined in for last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge - Meditation Magick

With our minds and bodies relaxed and aware, breathing in and breathing out- it’s time to catch the scent of something special. Can you sense it? What’s that magickal smell!?

The theme for this week’s challenge was sniffed out by the amazing @Kasandra and is…

Aromatic Magick: the Magick of Scent

Pop open those bottles of essential oil, take a whiff of potion concoctions, and stop to smell the herbs!

A huge part of the Craft involves being mindful and aware of the world around us. Our senses- both physical and spiritual- are what allow us to interact with and react to the space and situations we find ourselves in.

This week, we are honing in to explore a sense that aids us in our Craft in ways that often go unnoticed. Whether you choose to take the time to smell the flowers and enhance your sense appreciation or dive into the world of scent spells- clear out those sinuses and get ready to dive in nose first!

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This week’s challenge is all about exploring the magick of scent - but as always, how you do so is up to you!

So are you ready? Because it’s…

CHALLENGE TIME!

From: Smells Like Witch Spirit: How the Ancient World’s Scented Sorceresses Influence Ideas About Magic Today

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STEP 1 : Smells Like Magick

There are many ways to explore scents and smells in magick- nobody nose better than you how this theme can be explored in your unique practice!

Still not sure where to begin?

To help you get started, the following list has a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge!

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Natural Smell, Natural Spell

Think of your favorite smells- what are they? Most smells are (or originate) from natural sources. More often than not, smells come from plants and flowers.

The smell of your favorite flower, herb, or plant is tied to the plant itself- carrying its magickal and sometimes medicinal properties as well.

Learn more about the magickal and medicinal properties of your favorite smells by jumping into Green Witchery and Herbal Magick

The Herbal Witch: Green Magick

Witch Plants and Herbs Every Witch Should Know

Plant Magick & Spells: A Simple Guide for Green Witches

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Magickal Incense

Incense plays a powerful role in various religions and spiritual practices. In magick, it can be used in a wide variety of purposes- as a spellwork ingredient, to enhance meditation, as offerings to the divine, etc.

Incense & Perfumes in the Craft

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The Wonderful World of Essential Oils

Essential oils are the extracted essence of plants that carry both their scent as well as some of their medicinal benefits.

A common ingredient in spells, essential oils are also a great way to dress and anoint candles for spellwork. For those who cannot use candle or have an open flame, essential oils can be a great candle substitute.

Essential oils make great additions to Spiritual Baths and can help assist with all types of meditations

Consider exploring essential oils (or try making your own!)

• Creative Ways to Use Essential Oils
• Essential Oils- Share Your Knowledge!
• Essential Oil Substitutions
• Essential Oil and Beeswax Recipe to Reduce Pain

If you don’t have the right essential oil for a spell- no worries! Check the Spells8 Guide to Essential Oil and Frangrance Substitutions for replacements.

Essential oils are often highly concentrated and can cause irritation when handled improperly. Most essential oils are for external use only and should not be consumed internally. Some essential oils are dangerous (even fatal) to animals- be carefully when using around pets!

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Scented Candles

Whether you have scented candles, make your own scented candles, or dress normal candles to enhance them with the magick of fragrance- candles have a lot of possibilities when it comes to scent magick!

Candle Magick 101: Complete Guide for Witches

How to Dress a Candle

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Kitchen Witchery

Is there anything as homey and welcoming as the smell of fresh baked bread? Food crafted with love is enough to make anyone’s mouth water!

The many smells of the kitchen- from cozy self-care meals to spicy aphrodisiac dishes- are the delicious tools of a kitchen witch. Consider working some attractively aromatic food magick this week!

Magickal Blends: Kitchen Witchery

• Kitchen Witchery 101
• Where to get cheap herbs and spices

For more, explore the many magickal recipes shared in the Recipes Category

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… And More!

This challenge puts your nose to the test- feel free to sniff around and find ways to explore scent magick that resonate with you and your unique magickal practice

Picture from Sillages Paris: Perfume and Witchcraft

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STEP 2 : Share Your Experience

Click here for notes about challenge inclusivity

Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you!

That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience .

To participate in the challenge, please share:

1. How you explored scent magick in your magickal practice this week

For your entry to be counted, please write about your experience in the comments below and/or create a new thread in the forums.

Note : If you choose to create a new thread, please tag the challenge by adding a hyperlink back to this post so that I can easily find it- thank you!

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This challenge will close in 6 DAYS

To join in, please share your experience by:

Tuesday, May 31st at 7:00 AM CET (Central European Time)
( 2022-05-31T05:00:00Z )

(Note that the time zone is CET- you can use this time zone calculator to switch into your time zone!)

For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!

Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.

After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.

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Picture from Pixabay

A warm reminder that all challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice

If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team .

And for those new to challenges- welcome! Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways

Picture from Pixabay

Roses for romance and violets for love,
Make aromatic offerings for a deity above.
Be it basil for luck or lavender to be well-
There’s magick to be found in every smell!

Blessed be!

[Kasandra]

Oh, I wasn’t expecting this to be posted to the forum so soon!
I found a website called Loving Essential Oils that has a list of suggested essential oil recipes. Some of them are Calm The Sea, Enchanted Woods, and Weekend Vibes. There is another called Dragon’s Time, which is said to be great for irritability and moodiness. You can buy a blend online, but one bottle can be really expensive ($50-$60)! You can make your own blend. However, one of the essential oils is majoram and I’m not sure what I can substitute it for.
I also want to point out that if you have pets, talk to your veterinarian about which essential oils are safe to diffuse around them! My veterinarian suggested to put a diffuser in a place where your pet can’t reach it and make sure that they can easily leave the room.
I never diffuse essential oils around my kitty; I only do so in a room that is off limits to her.
And another thing that I want to mention is never, EVER diffuse tea tree essential oil if you have pets, because it is FATAL to cats and dogs, even in small amounts!

[MeganB]

Ohh yay! I think I already have a good idea of what I want to do

[Susurrus]

Hmmm… I do like to make my own incense & haven’t made any blends lately. I still have some left for Brighid & the Morrigan , so I will have to come up with one for something else… hmmm I’ll think of something, I have an eventful few days coming up, I’m sure I’ll come up with a reason to need a nice smell of some sort.

If that falls through, I do like to work with essential oils & there is something I want to try. I just have to find small roller bottles in the next few days, or at least one.

[AileyGrey]

When we went to the renn faire, I bought all sorts of “witchy” ingredients at the apothecary shop and some charcoal tablets. I spent the afternoon reading about how to make loose incense and tried some out!

I tried rose petals, jasmine, mint (actually from a teabag), some birch bark and a dash of cinnamon. I dashed it all up in our coffee grinder (per @Susurrus, I think!) and put it all in my tiny cauldron over the charcoal tablet (which is sitting in salt per the directions)…

At first it smoked like crazy and smelled like it was just burning, Sinai sat it outside for a few minutes. Now it is not smoking at all, but if you put your nose close it smells wonderful! I’ve never used the charcoal tablet so I’m not sure if it’s supposed to smoke like traditional incense or if it’s just supposed to kind of radiate fragrance…. Anyone know? It was fun to do!

I have been an essential oil junkie forever and have diffuser all over. I bought a new blend at the renn faire called “Black Sea” that is amazing! I can’t quite identify the smell, but maybe it’s kind of vanilla musky with a hint of clove? I used it while I was working in my BOS this weekend and oh my goodness! I wish I’d bought a bigger bottle!
I’m going to dig out my essential oil necklace because I want to smell it all day long!

I love using scents to set the mood!

[Artemisia]

Another challenge that’s perfectly timed for me! Currently, my gardenias are in full bloom and my front yard and garage are thick with their heavenly perfume. I’ve been collecting blossoms to preserve the scent as best I can. I also planted some amazing smelling shrub roses in the backyard and gathered a large number of petals to dry for spells and to add to perfumes.

While I haven’t quite yet decided what to do for this challenge but suspect it will be a further exploration into aromatherapy and essential oils as I am very new to it. Perhaps a lotion or a bath? Hmmm …?

Looking forward to this one as scent is a powerful sense for me, tied heavily to memory and emotions.

[Artemisia]

@AileyGrey

At first, it smoked like crazy and smelled like it was just burning, Sinai sat it outside for a few minutes.

I was wondering the same thing as well! I’ve got a pack of charcoal discs for some frankincense resin and the smoke that came off the first charcoal disc I lit was so intense it set off the smoke detector! I’ll have to give it a try again on the porch and see if that’s just the way of these or not.

[AileyGrey]

I found this. And this is exactly what happened, but after I added my incense it smoked and smelled like it was burning something, then the smoked stopped altogether.

How to Burn Loose Incense on Charcoal Disc

[BryWisteria]

@Kasandra It was just that good of an idea, I couldn’t get it out of my head! Thanks again for such a fun challenge suggestion And yikes! I know there’s a lot of work that goes into essential oil, but 50$ a bottle is quite the price tag.

I’ve found marjoram to be very similar to oregano- maybe you have some oregano? It’s the herb that screams “Italy and pizza” when you smell it

Thank you so much for the safety note about oils and pets- I think I’ll add that in to the general safety note up above too. Safety first- for us and for our furry friends!

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@MeganB Hooray! Looking forward to seeing what you’ll do

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@Susurrus I think I’ve said this before, but it is so cool that you make your own incense Whatever you choose to do- I hope you have fun with it!

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@AileyGrey That sounds amazing! Congrats on your very own incense blend and on using the charcoal tablet- it sounds like it worked out well in the end. I bet you’re going to have a blast making your own incense blends!

As for the “Black Sea” oil- the ingredients aren’t written on the side? If you happen to remember the vendor name (or the vendor name is on the bottle at least) you could check their website- they may have the ingredients listed there. If not, you may still be able to order more via the mail!

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@Artemisia Gardenias and roses- your yard must smell absolutely divine right now, Kat! Those all sound like great options- I hope that, whatever you choose to do, you have with the challenge!

[martje]

A while ago I made the Florida water from the recipe here on spells8. I first made a base of alcohol ( I had a bottle with ninety percent, not for drinking ofcourse) I used this as a conduit for the herbs, ceder, sweetgrass , Sage and lavender. And after two weeks I added the essential oils which gives the specific odeur ( also in the recipes)
It smells great!
Because the base had such a strong alcohol percentage I also added some moon and rose water.
I did nt use all of the base . I just left it in my closet for later use.

In the past I have made my own aura spray’s . With essential oils, but also with flower essences. Some of them I made myself Others I have bought over the years.

Within a week after I made the Florida water Someone asked me to make another spray for him. So I decided instead of using normal alcohol as a base for the spray, I could use the base for Florida water. He has some difficulties to stay grounded and in his own energy so I thought this might me very useful. And then I added some oils, don’t know exactly what because I do this very intuitieve and some flower essences.

For this challenge I will make an auraspray for myself and write down what I use
And I will use the base of the Florida water for it.
I am very grateful to have found this recipe!

[SilverBear]

ooooo you know me and my smells… it has to smell good!! Ha!

I have worked on many sprays and oil recipes - and every single one of them I have to smell for days…lol

One of my favorites is an Empathic protection spray - Empath Shielding - YouTube

I also have theses -

Elemental Air Oil

Elemental Earth Spray

Elemental Air Spray

Fae Potions

I have many more but I don’t want to spam too much lol.

[martje]

I love your humor while doing the video’s

[SilverBear]

HAHA Thanks - my humor tends to be dry/sarcastic on most days lol.

[Satu_TheGreenWitch]

@SilverBear and I have a lot in common I think when it comes to working to incorporate wonderful smells into our witchcraft. She has also been an inspiration to me as she comes up with wonderful spells and recipes that I eagerly attempt every time she posts something!! To that end, I created a paisley gnome, aptly named “Paisley” and added a lavender/rosemary/crystal sachet and it’s the cutest. Thanks again @SilverBear!

I also work quite extensively with essential oils and herbs as a green witch and make my own incense blends and cones as well. I use a lot of fresh and dried herbs in my cooking to enhance the smell (and of course flavors) of the meals as well.

Focusing on scent while spell crafting or meditating truly enhances the magick in my opinion and makes these activities so much more enjoyable. And, my house smells really good too!

Also, just the regular cooking smells from kitchen witchery is magickal! Who doesn’t love the smell of baking bread or cakes? Or the smell of a lovely stew or roast?? All with made with magickal intentions stirred in for the health and protection of those we love and cherish! Even the dog gets some of that loving magick when he gets tossed a bone or two left over from dinner

Great topic to explore and I love everyone’s posts so far as well! Looking forward to seeing what others do to include smelly smell smells into their practice!

Here’s a few pics of the items I use and/or created to add the magick of smell into my daily witchcraft:

[SilverBear]

THE GNOME!!! LOVE IT!! What lovely space you have!

[Susurrus]

I agree with @SilverBear that is a lovely space that you have! I want to do something with 1 of my cabinets to make my herbs more accessible when I am working with them.

I actually think I am going to make an incense & a rollerball bottle of oil for my root & sacral chakras. I have to focus some more on my sacral chakra. I work with my Earth Star when I am in the yard on the weekends barefoot. I also use gardening to release pent-up energy with my hands throughout the week. I have been using pre-made incense & essential oil in my diffusers pertaining to my chakras. I think I can make my own now.

[Torista]

Completely by accident I found an article about a kind of ancient purfume called kapet in an experimental archeology magazine so I’m going to see if I can come over with a version of the recipe that doesn’t require a 5 gallon bucket
*it was as a sacrifacial offering to the gods and as purfume

[jessica72]

Hmmm for this one I think I’d like to share what I’ve done with my littlies at work this week…

Not too sure if it will count for a challenge entry this week but anywho. There is point with a little bit of kitchen witchery in my ramble I promise.

One of my 7 year olds whom I have looked after since she was 6 weeks old came to me earlier in the week. She sat down beside me as we were out in our backyard playing after school. She said Jess you look tired. Are you having bad dreams too?

(Truth is I’m just dog gone exhausted from working so much overtime and my Lupus monster is rattling it’s chains.) But goddess bless her cotton socks she knew I haven’t been quite right. As much as I have been trying to fake it till i make it this week.

I immediately picked up on something was bothering her so we had a little chat and she’s having horrible nightmares. Her older brothers are watching scary shows before they go to bed and she sees a few things that scare her.

She asked me what helps me not to feel scared at night time. I told her the moon. The moon is magical and will always watch over you day and night. All you have do is ask her. She responded “what even in the day time?” I told her yes, even in the day time. I told her that was why you can see the moon sometimes during the day. She seemed pretty chuffed with this thought and told me that when she saw the moon that night she would ask.

I of course explained discreetly what she had told me to mum at pick up time so she was aware of her distress. But I wanted to do something tangible to help her.

I went home, had a think, came back to work the next day and I made the suggestion to her that we could make some dream bags together. She was all for this plan.

So this afternoon quite a few of my day care kids and i made some little dream baggies.

I tried to use natural materials that help to promote anti-nightmare and promote deep sleep. I also wanted to add in some protection from harm too.

I just went to the dollar store and got the kids some of those little organza bags. I tried to find each of the kids favourite colours.

So we used sea salt, rosemary, dried lavender, thyme and star anise. We added a few drops of lavender essential oil as well.

One of the kids asked me what the sea salt crystals were. So I kind of on the fly said they were dried angels tears. They will help the angels to watch over us while we’re asleep.

We even added some special moon dust glitter for a little extra magic.

I couldn’t help myslef. I had to add some crystals. So they each got a pinch of Amethyst chips. The kids all know about my crystal problem and they will often ask what crystals I have in my pocket today.

This came to my head as we were working together so I said this aloud and the kids seemed to think it was alright.

“The moon is there, watching over me, only good dreams will I see” the kids said it out loud with me over and over until they had it memorized.

The kids seemed to enjoy our little crafty activity. They had lots of fun sniffing their dream bags. One said it smelt like mummy’s soap. Another said it smelt like nanna’s licorice.

My little one with the nightmares. Clutched her little dream baggie all afternoon.

So about 15 of my kiddos went home with dream baggies for under thier pillows tonight.

[martje]

How wonderful you really make Magick for them!

[christina4]

I finally show my presence for a weekly challenge.

At first, this sounded tougher than it actually was. I’ve been meditating a ton. With that, I’ve been using my oil diffuser. It depends what my intention is for the oil scent. If I’d want to calm down for the night or get back to sleep, I’d use lavender or chamomile. Right now as I awaken, I enjoy the smell of sandalwood. (Or the smell of coffee brewing in the am.) I have mixed oils before. My absolute favorite is dragons blood, but I need to get some more of that

Other scents i use while meditating outside are rain and flowers

I use my wolf oil diffuser that I decorate with a few crystals. It’s on right now so the light would mess up the picture but I’ll try anyway.