Witchcrafting In Someone Else's House

You never really understand a situation until you're in it. I see witches complaining on the internet all the time about how hard it is to practice if you live with other people. Young witches who live with their parents, witches in a relationship with someone who doesn't understand or support their beliefs, and witches who have roommates are among the most common stories I read about. I never really understood why it was so difficult for them.

...Until I got stuck in that situation myself. When my boyfriend and I picked up and moved to a city we were not at all familiar with, we decided to go the "roommate route." We rented a bedroom in someone else's home for a fairly small monthly payment. We made a pact that since we were saving so much money, we'd stay as long as we could reasonably stand to. We put most of our stuff in storage and kept with us the things we absolutely needed.

Of course, that meant narrowing down the large collection of "stuff" I use in my practices. Several boxes of candles and incense, dried herbs, books, notes, crystals, and many other items were put away. I kept with me the things I absolutely needed: Book of Shadows, a few reference books I use frequently, my jug of moon water, a select few crystals, all of my divination supplies, and several boxes of items I sell in my shop.

Not only is it tough to live without immediate access to all of your tools, but it's also tough to practice in such a small space. Meditation is nearly impossible when you share a tiny room with one other person and two fickle parakeets who squawk constantly. I could use another room in the house, but that makes me subject to interruption by a small child and a rather energetic dog. It's a sure way to quickly turn meditation time into playtime! The same goes for rituals or spells. I cannot burn anything in my room for fear of harming my beloved little birds. Chanting is off-limits for fear of scaring my roommates. Not to mention the fact that there is just no space to work with. We have about 4 square feet of open floor space available to us. The only elevated "table space" we have is our bed. Not a good environment for a spell, or crafting of any kind. Especially if it needs to be left untouched for a period of time.

And I must not forget the fact that I cannot set up the kind of shields around this home that make me feel comfortable enough to do any kind of substantial magic here.

So this leaves me the option of leaving the house to do my spellwork. Where do I go? The park? Maybe go seek out a secluded spot near the creek?

I'm not writing this to complain (okay, maybe I am). I just wanted to say, I get it now. Before this, I tried my best to sympathize with those who were stuck trying to build a practice in a home that was not their own. I always thought, "if you really want to practice, you have to just find a way to get it done."

I didn't fully understand, though. It's much easier said than done. I'm happy it's only temporary, and we'll be getting our own place very soon. I will never again take for granted my privacy and freedom to practice in my own space. 

Where I've Been

I haven't posted here for months. I actually thought about deleting this blog. After all, the content on here is horribly out of date, and  I probably lost all my readers. 

However, now that I'm not so busy and I'm quickly establishing myself in other corners of the internet, I need a place to blog. I need a place for clients, potential clients, and social media followers to get to know me a little better. A place to meet and have discussions with other witches in the world. 

So I'm reviving this blog. If you're a reader that's still with me from before, thanks for being here. I think you'll like the changes I've already made and the ones still to come. And I promise I'll make it worth your while to stick around from here on out!

Here's what I've been up to lately:

•I moved. Out of Sacramento and into Modesto. Still in California, but far enough away from everything I know to make it seem like I'm starting a whole new life. So I'm taking the opportunity to actually start a whole new life!

•Tarot readings. Lots of them! I've been putting a lot of time and energy into my business, now that I've made it my full-time job! Check out what I have to offer at www.azilascauldron.com!

•Witchcraft. Of course! I've done a lot, and learned a lot since I last wrote anything here. I feel like it's been a lifetime already. 

You'll be seeing lots of articles on tarot, witchcraft, astral travel, crystals, meditation, chakras, spells, spirits, books, and more!

I hope you stick around to see it all!

I May be a Witch, but I'm Definitely NOT a Cat Person

Many witches I know have cats as familiars. I've always believed that cats walk the line between us and the otherworld, and thus they are helpful in magic. If you can find a cat that will work with you, they can enhance your practice and strengthen your connection to the spirit realm. Here's a great article from Magical Recipes Online that goes more in-depth about cats and witches: <<>>

I, however, have the absolute worst luck with cats. For some reason, I never have been able to establish any kind of a connection with cats. It seems like most of them dislike me. Very strongly, actually.

Recently, I decided to try and change that. I thought, 'now that I'm a full-fledged practicing witch, why not get myself a cat that I can build a relationship with and add as a companion to my magic?'

So I started looking around for a cat that seemed like a good fit for my household. One day, I got a call from my sister. Her neighbors had moved away and dumped their furry little sweetheart (who was an all-time indoor cat) outside to fend for himself. She said this was the perfect cat for me. He was already full-grown and accustomed to life indoors, and he got along well with other animals. I scheduled a meet-and-greet for him to spend some time with me and my dog, and everything went exceptionally well. Based on his wonderfully chill attitude and his sweet, loving personality, I brought him home that day. And that is when the portal to the basement of hell materialized right in my apartment. 

The first day was fine. He explored his surroundings, had a nice hearty meal of expensive cat food, and made friends with my dog. He made a point to hiss at me after he finished his meal, which I thought was a real dick move, but I figured he just needed time to adjust. I named him Crowley and bought him a collar, which he wouldn't let me put on him. 

Each day got progressively worse from there. He seemed to be adjusting well, learning his way around, picking favorite napping spots, and playing with his toys. However, he was having frequent episodes of pure hatred and rage. He was bipolar to the strongest degree, and would snap with no warning at all and for seemingly no reason. He would hiss, spit, swat, and even bite. I didn't even have to be anywhere near him to provoke his crazy. If he was feeling angry and I wasn't within swatting distance, the little asshole would come find me. 

I continued to have patience with him, and continued to reward him for good behavior and shun his mean ass for the bad behavior. He didn't care. I realized that it was just me he hated when everyone else who came in my home got along with him just fine. He had no qualms with my visitors. Ever.

It wasn't until the night I had to go to the ER that I decided demon kitty had to GO. He attacked me and made my left hand look like hamburger helper. Almost two weeks later, he's in a new home and he's had zero issues with his new human. Zero. And my hand still looks like someone tried to hack it off with a fork. 

So, no. I won't be incorporating any cats into my practice any time soon. I'm a dog person and I should have known better than trying to befriend a member of the species that has obviously declared me a mortal enemy. Props to all the witches who do work well with cats!